The Mossies Are Bad This Year.

Anyone else having a problem with mozzies? They've been driving me mad over the past few weeks and unlike respectable mossie bites whose itch goes away when you spray Stingose, they become raised lumps about the size of a one cent piece, they itch like mad, the skin breaks from all that scratching, then they scab over. And they last for weeks. Most everybody I've spoken to here says the same.
Even applying insect repellent doesn't seem to work - if you've missed a tiny bit of skin, as sure as Bob's you're uncle, those little buggers will zoom in like a bomber on steriods and find it!

I've applied so much calamine lotion, I resemble a beached, polka dot blob. Is the rest of Australia suffering from a mossie plague, or is it just in my area?

The Aussie Mossie

Above: Getting ready for dinner!
One of my favourite songs about Aussie animals. As the opening words state -

There's a little Aussie mossie
In her little Aussie cossie
And she's looking for a possie
On your unprotected skin
When she's finished her inspection
She will give you an injection
And you'll have an itch to show you
Where the Aussie mossie's been.

I remembered I had one of those mossie clickers - you know the things - you place it over the bite and click the end in.

Above: Mossie clicker
It transmits some sort of electric current and is said to stop the irritating itch. Well.......it has worked well in the past but this time it isn't quite as effective. I do believe we are breeding super mossies who are able to withstand just about anything that'll deter the little blighters.

Did you know?
That a mosquito can smell you from around 30 metres away? That's about 300 feet for those who still use imperial. They don't have very good eyesight but there sense of smell is perfect.

Some are of the opinion we are seeing so many mossies because of our recent wet weather and humid conditions. That may be true, but we had hoardes of them before it became humid. And the funny thing is you rarely hear them making that well-known humming sound. Reckon they've become smarter.

Now, if only there was such a thing as the common cold for mossies.

Why didn't Noah swat the pair of mossies before they entered the Ark?

Hot

We have had three days of 33º and the house feels like a sauna. Although the temperature has dropped and it's pouring rain outside, I can't sleep. The weather outside is cooler but inside it's like an oven. Somehow I don't think it would be a very good idea to sleep outside. All those mossies - you'd get eaten alive.

It's times like this I wish I was rich - I'd have a house with air-conditioning.

Well do I remember asking my dad when I was a little girl, "Daddy, would you rather be too hot or too cold?" To which he replied, "Neither". "Yes" said I, "but if you had to be too hot or too cold, which one would you choose?"

Dad said too hot and when I asked him why, he replied, "Because you can always get warm, but you can't always get cool".

Ain't it the truth! Very smart man my dad.

I wish I was here -

Above: Little Mermaid Ice-Cream Shop
You can keep the Danish hot dogs - just lead me to your ice-cream!

Above: Peter's Light
This is an original Peter's Ice-Cream Light from the 1950's. You don't see too many of them now, more's the pity. They've been replaced with neon lighting and modern stuff.

The Six White Boomers

As you know, Christmas "Downunder" is in summer and the poor old reindeer (Rudolph, et al) couldn't stand the heat. And would probably suffer terrible sunburn!

And so, apart from a rusty Holden Ute, if Father Christmas/Santa did use his sleigh, it would of course be pulled by six white boomers. For the uninitiated, a boomer is a kangaroo. Why, we even have a song about them.



The Six White Boomers

Well, yesterday was certainly a "stinker" - 37º with a hot northerly. Junior and I went to the fruit shop and did all the shopping for fruit and vegies. He's been very good and has been a marvelous help - I did my back in and am unable to do very much and he's been a tower of strength. He picked out and carried all the stuff, while I waited near the car. I saw one very hot "Santa" walking along the street, ringing his bell, in full Christmas regalia - red suit, hat, and beard. He must have been terribly hot and I'm sure he would have like nothing better than to be down at the beach, (trying to) cooling off.

Best thing for hot summer days.

I may not be able to post for a bit, so I wish you all a merry Christmas. And for all those who are unhappy or troubled, may the Spirit of Christmas bring you joy and peace. And above all, be happy.☺
God bless.

An Aussie Christmas

Australians let us barbecue for Christmas time is here
A time to stop and rest a bit, and psych up for New Year
On patterned plastic tablecloth we’ll eat our pudding up
And drink a Christmas cordial in polystyrene cup.

Australians let us barbecue for Christmas Time is come
The time we sing that silly song ‘Parum, pum pum pum pum’
We’ll fa la la and ho ho ho and all that Christmas stuff
We’ll crack a gag with Pop and Gran and chuckle our heads off.

Australians let us go for broke in backyards great and small
With Christmas gifts and outdoor chairs, with cricket bat and ball
We’ll pass the salad dressing round, we’ll eat potato chips
And compliment the hostess on a great French Onion Dip.

With sausages and coleslaw too, then let us barbecue.

(Sung to the tune of Advance Australia Fair)

Christmas Downunder

Christmas in Australia - IN the red roofed homes of Australia across this wide brown land, hundreds of people sit down on Christmas Day to a piping hot Christmas lunch (usually) at one o'clock in the afternoon. And there will be a selection of hot meats - roast pork (complete with crackling), or roast beef or lamb,or a couple of roast chooks, roast turkey and ham - the ham is often cold.

And it will be accompanied with all the trimmings - baked spuds, pumpkin and carrot, and green vegies. This of course will be followed by piping hot Chrissie pud with hot custard and/or cream and maybe ice-cream. Very nice on a cold winters day I'm sure. Only thing is - Christmas Day in Australia is in summer and here we are sitting down to a hot meal that would warm the cockles of your heart - and it'll be Forty degrees in the shade! - that's 40ºC - 104ºF!

Christmas Fashions

And you'll find many will be dressed in their Christmas shorts...

and thongs.

With a t-shirt instead of the usual singlet. (A tshirt is dressier)

We've even had to change the words of some of the Christmas songs - like Jingle Bells - To reflect the Aussie landscape of course! I mean, could you imagine singing about sleighs and snowmen? In Australia? There wouldn't be any reindeer (they couldn't take the heat), the sleighs would wear out crossing the Nullarbor, and the snowmen would melt! Here's our version of Jingle Bells -

It's A Stinker

Today it's 38ºC or 100ºF for those who don't do metric and it's a stinker. A "stinker" by the way means it's a stinking hot day - 38º in the shade! As I sit here working on my blog - siomething which sadkly I've not had time to do - the fan is on to keep me sane, otherwise the sweat just runs down my face like a river flowing after a flood.

Weather people tell us this is the hottest November since 1925. Adelaide had 41º yesterday and 39º today which means we get it a few days later. Perth is far west, then Adelaide, an then Melbourne. So, whatever Perth gets, Adelaide gets and so on.

Everyone complains about the weather - it's a national pastime. Where would we be without "the weather"? It's a great conversation starter - good for at least half an hour or so. Another one is tea - having a "nice hot cup of tea" or in the local lingo "a cuppa" that too is good for half an hour. It is said the Melbourne gets four seasons in the one day. But not today, not on your nelly, definitely summer today even though it is spring.

How do you cope with the weather -when it's hot. If you have air conditioners then you don't cope at all for the simple reason you don't have to - it's all done for you. But for those who don't have air con - how do you keep cool? What do you do, where do you go to keep cool?