2026 Begins

Happy New Year!  Did you stay up to see in the New Year?  I’m not one to stay up late as I’m sure you all know but although I went to bed early (with my earplugs in) I faintly heard what I thought was the fireworks somewhere in the distance.  Then at 2:30am I could hear (even through my earplugs) loud talking and laughing somewhere on the foot path near my home which woke me.  Well I was awake and knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep for a few hours so decided not to bother.  I spent some time with the Lord in quiet contemplation and read through my devotional readings for the day while waiting for dawn.  Then when it was light enough (4:45am) I was out jogging.  It was a lovely morning running through the bush listening to the early sounds of the breaking of day.  After my customary exercises and stretches I was off to the beach for a dip.  The tide was way out leaving the reef exposed all the way along the coast.  There was only enough water, knee deep, to lie in which was enough for me to refresh myself.  Even at 6am there were regulars arriving for a swim.  It’s so lovely and quiet at this time of the day. By 6:30pm I was back home and into bed.  I slept heavily but feverishly for the first half hour, feeling cold and shivery even with my winter socks on and electric blanket. My body temperature after a swim takes a while to warm up.  I woke several times but returned to a restless sleep, waking eventually after four hours feeling lethargic, lacking motivation to get the list of things done that I had lined up for the day.

Another morning I had just gotten back to sleep when I heard, Alexia, my neighbour’s 4:30am alarm going off. I was furious especially as I had asked him to turn it down or use an alarm in his bedroom instead of Alexia which was in the kitchen closer to me bedroom window.  Later that day when I was in a better mood I sent him a polite text asking if he could please use a different alarm system and received a “Sure, Sally” with thumbs up.  We’ll wait and see.

For a run of three nights I began to wake sometimes with noises but not always so in the end I broke the run with drugs!  I’m praying, that one day, I will be able to go back to sleep like most people who wake during the night and not spend the next 2-4 hours awake!

One of my pre-Christmas purchases, an alternative milk maker finally arrived. Since then I have tried out several different plant based milk recipes.  Of course I started with the most difficult; soy milk.  Yes, I do like soy milk, I think it’s the Asian influence having been born and lived in Asia much of my life.  I say it’s difficult to make as it has several steps, including soaking the beans before spinning them in the new milk maker; then they need to be simmered for 20 mins before they are ready for consumption. For those who can just tolerate soy, it wouldn’t be a milk I’d suggest making as it does taste very beanie.  This process is also needed when making chickpea milk.  You may ask why I started with these alternative milks; the answer being they were the beans I already had in the pantry.  To use them up I’m going to try to cook the beans after soaking them and before spinning them in the milk maker.  This I think will be easier than standing over the pot stirring it for 20 mins while it simmers. I have also made oat and cashew nut milk.  Both were a success and delicious.  The oat milk had quite a bit of residue left in the mixer as did the soy and chickpea milks.  The oat leftovers I put into my morning porridge (yes, I’m still eating porridge for breakfast as it warms me up after my ocean dip), the soy I gave to the earthworms and the chickpea leftovers I made into a fried vegetable fritter.  My favourite milk thus far is the cashew nut as it is so rich and creamy.  I drank it straight without adding any sweetener. The suggested sweetener for most of the milks is to add a couple of pitted dates before grinding. It’s such a simple process; water is put into the jug which sits within the body of the device, then you unscrew the perforated basket into which the blades are lowered.  After adding whatever nuts you desire to make your milk, the basket is then clicked back onto the blades and the machine turned on.  The blades then grind the nuts three times within one minute (I sometime do it twice as this gives a creamier milk), before the machine turns itself off which is the time to remove the blades from the basket, putting them both aside before lifting the jug of milk use out of the machine, ready for use.  It’s so easy.  As previously mentioned, the residue from the nuts which remain in the basket can then be used for other dishes, including sweet and savoury. There is no waste, which as you know is what I’m after.  This includes no plastic lined containers, no chemicals and if you prefer, no sweeteners.  So, now when my fussy visitors come I can offer them alternative milk in their coffee.

My neighbour Kath bought herself a new, very big, lounge.  Before it arrived she wanted to get her carpet cleaned.  She had called someone who was going to charge $160 for a small lounge room.  I suggested we call the guy Kev, who had previously done ours.  He said he was available and if I got others from the units who wanted theirs done he would give us a good price.  I did, some just wanting rugs done and others the whole house, I just wanted my lounge rug done but should have done two smaller mats as these were included in the $50 he had charged me before.  We were all very pleased with his price and results.

Three days later Kath’s lounge arrived.  Greg, my new neighbour, offered to take the packing to the recycle centre after the driver had unpacked the lounge.  Then Kath and I screwed on the legs, maneuverered the chairs into place and linked up the electrics which operated the console and one of the reclining chairs; the other we left for another day as we were exhausted! The reclining chair and corner piece were so heavy and difficult to wiggle into place.  Kath’s son came another day to help finish off the work.  She was delighted with her purchase.

Kath later helped me to remove all the branches and twigs I had cut off one of the native trees.  I needed to throw them over the boundary fence ready for council pickup.  There were so many more dead branches I had just dumped there from the previous clean up that also needed removing..  Later that week my neighbour Matt borrowed Glenda’s hedger to do his verge plants.  I had offered the hedger to him in the past but he told me it wasn’t his concern and that his landlady could do it.  That’s when she hacked back all his shrubs and trees exposing his back yard to those walking along the street.  He has obviously changed his mind and now wants to do it himself.  I also did my verge side, piling the twigs and leaves into a big pile on the verge for pickup.  Praise the Lord I had finished along the verge the day before it was all picked up.  I now just have the Grevillia down the driveway to hedge.  This I did later in the month on a cool spell we had. I did it over two days as its quite strenuous work.  Both our green garden waste bins seem to be full every fortnight these days.

For sometime now I’ve been looking into getting a skylight in the bathroom, which is the only room in the house that doesn’t have a window and is therefore very dark.  I wanted something that reflected the light as well as extracted the hot air from the roof space.  There wasn’t much space on the ceiling of the bathroom so I needed something small.  I asked around a few friends and acquaintances who might know what to recommend.  One company come out and wanted to sell me a solar light.  Hmmmm?  I already had solar; I didn’t see the need for a separate solar panel to power a light. I also wanted natural light so I could possibly grow a plant in the bathroom too.  He suggested a reflector tube and quoted me $780!  Wow!  I thought that was a bit expensive.   I looked up a few units online and decided against doing it myself as I’d have to get up on the roof.  I then asked around for someone who could do it for me but there was no one.  I even asked amongst my building friends if they knew anyone.  They also reassured me that the price I was given sounds about right these days.  In the end I decided against it as I only really needed extra light in the bathroom at night.

After many years of using a very special Vodafone plan, where I didn’t pay anything at all from 2016, last October things changed.  I first connected with Vodafone when they were charging high prices for every minute during both mobile and landline calls.  This was the norm at the time but when the free local and interstate calls came in (2015) I had moved from Sydney to Perth and was looking after Mum.  When she could no longer operate her mobile phone, I took over her number, putting her SIM into a new phone, keeping the old phone and barring all outgoing calls as under the old Vodafone plan I was still being charged for outgoing calls.  As everyone knew my old number I kept the old phone on for incoming calls only.  Some of you may remember this time which was very confusing as I had two numbers, which one should you call?  Still it was very convenient for me as, now with two phones, I could leave my old phone with a friend in Perth while I travelled overseas.  This enabled me to receive the verification codes from banks which still use a SMS to verify transactions.  Praise the Lord, I later opened another account with a different bank which had an app to verify transactions which I can now use while traveling abroad.

Just recently I saw an SMS on the old phone from Vodafone and wondered if it was scam as it said I had an unpaid bill! I went online to check my account (a very difficult and complicated procedure) and saw that I had been charged monthly since October 2025!  I put a call through to the call centre to ask why my plan had been changed.  After some time and explanation they said all the plans were being upgraded now that they have changed to 5G.  My plan was now $10 per month for 1GB of data but I was only being charged $4.99 due to …. well I’m really not sure, maybe because I’m a senior, or possibly because I’m a long-time customer.  I forgot to ask but I take it as a blessing from the Lord.   Anyway I was happy to pay this till I sort out who still sends me SMS verification codes and then I’ll possibly cancel although after finding out that the new plan included free Australian wide calls, I’m thinking it may one day come in handy if my other phone carrier goes down although I still won’t go online except through WiFi if needed.  It took me several attempts and three more phone calls to pay my outstanding bill as I wanted to do it through BPay and not through a card.  During this time I also set up direct debit. I was a little annoyed when my previous debt was taken out of my account the day after I’d paid the bill in full.  After another phone call they sorted it out to be repaid. During this call I also suggested they include BPay in their payment options.

Since I was not so busy with all the term activities I’ve had time to take a closer look at my new smart TV.  There was a show I had missed and wanted to watch on catch-up TV, so while online through the TV, I searched for the TV station where the program was.  I was unable to find the app to download and then when searching for the same thing on my tablet and later my phone but both informed that I had the ad blocker on and should disconnect this and the VPN.  I tried doing both but still received the message and therefore was unable to watch anything from any of the commercial channels. In fact every time I turned the VPN off on my phone it came back on!   I contacted my IT friend, Grace, who walked me though but without any change.  I then sent an email to the TV channel and one to the malware and VPN.  They weren’t very helpful but the TV brand helpline got back to me within a day.  They walked me through the steps including providing a link for them to see my TV screen through the camera on my phone.  Wow! Today’s technology!  It was a bit tricky as there was a delay in the image he was receiving and he kept asking me to do the next step which I had already done.  When I realised there was a delay he sent another link which was much better.  After he left me to sign in to my account, I struggled a bit as I was asked to download the app onto my phone through a QR code on the TV screen.  This would enable me to use the code given through the TV app to verify I was adding my TV to my account.  I didn’t want another app on my phone but eventually gave in as it seemed like the only way I could access the station on my smart TV.  Having downloaded the app I was unable to login to my already existing account as I’d forgotten my password!  Fortunately I completed the login on my tablet (which had saved the password) and was able to verify the TV code.

Having succeeded with one free to air TV station I proceeded to do the same with the others through my existing accounts with each corresponding station.  The stations did not all have the same system but it was similar; providing a verification code to connect my TV to my account.  All provided a QR code through the TV (which I didn’t use) and fortunately either a link which I could copy onto my tablet or I just logged into my account where a link was provided to add other devices including the TV.  Once the code had been added, my TV automatically updated, giving me access to view their programs.  Wow! What a blessing! I now have an unending supply of movies and programs to watch.  Including the ones I’d missed.

Once these were added I noticed I had so many more icons on my home page.  This had to change.  There were icons I’d never use including ones for: sports, gaming (you need a gaming consult or stick), business and learning (for children only unfortunately).  I learnt how to move these icons around putting the unwanted ones at the very far end of the menu board and the one’s I use frequently at the beginning where I could see them.  I’ve really enjoyed this learning experience and hope it has increased the neuron activity in my brain.  What’s more the TV company called me back a week later to ask if everything was working well.  What service!

The community garden is organising a sausage sizzle fundraiser at Bunning Balcatta on Saturday 28^th February, I volunteered to work four hours in the middle of the day and to set up a signup sheet on a website I’d used before.  Easier said than done as I had to relearn the setting up process.  It took a couple of shots including simultaneously trying to get all the information from our organiser, Mim.  This was a bit of a to and fro procedure as she was busy.  Some final changes and finally it was launched and awaiting volunteers to sign up.  Mim had a list of those wanting to sign up for certain positions and times so she started filling them in online but then her computer froze so I took over with her reading the names out over the phone.  I also posted the link onto our website and Lian put a link onto the Facebook group.  As the publisher I was able to manage the signup page and added a few more manually who were unable to use the link.  We are still looking for volunteers so if you’re in the area and are able to help we would really appreciate it.  Here is the Sausage Sizzle link.

I must admit I enjoy these IT challenges, that is, when I get things right and learn from them.  Something I don’t appreciate is when there is an update on my phone, tablet or a website which changes the look of things!  This happened with the latest iPhone update.  They rearranged the look and the operation of several things making it difficult to find what I wanted. There was no request for ‘would you LIKE us to change things for you’ NO! ….. we will just do it without asking!  I know we should challenge our minds but really it would be nice to be asked.  Mind you they did ask if I wanted the new look for my phone calls. NO thank you, I like it the way it is.  Even my email server wanted to update and change the look of things, at least they asked if I wanted to keep the new look or preferred the old.  I chose the old of course. The new was far too busy with a multitude of colours.

Gardening wise everything is growing well although the 40 degree heat did knock things around a bit.  Praise the Lord we had a week of lovely mild weather after that.  I’ve been harvesting bunches of my tiny black current grapes; the white table grapes will be ready soon as will be the early green figs. I have a new, although very small, bunch of bananas.  I think the blossom was burnt which stopped more bananas from developing. The pears are getting larger but still the pomegranate flowers are dropping off before producing fruit.  I do have three oranges maturing after so many flowers and the mandarin tree has lots of fruit.  I wonder if I will be able to eat any before I go on my next adventure.

The papaya tree needed another branch cut off as it was getting too tall to pick the fruit.  I waited till the last fruit was big enough to pick, then on that branch, I cut just into the cambium layer hoping it would slowly rot and not cause a problem when it fell.  About an hour after I had cut it I heard a loud crash, instantly I knew what it was.  Sure enough there was half a branch laying in my garden.  Praise God, it hadn’t done much damage when it fell.  The other half was in my neighbour’s yard which I was able to pull out and bin before she came home.  The good thing is that chopping off all the branches has enabled me to reach the fruit on the other branches, as they ripen.  Removing the larger, higher branches, has also stimulated the growth of more branches.  It truly is the most amazing papaya tree I’ve ever seen.

During our hot weather, I was visited, for the first time by one of the Bobtail family.  I think it was the little girl. I haven’t seen any of the others which is rather strange as I’ve usually seen a few by this time of the year.

I had a lovely young guy come knocking at my door trying to promote a new car service. He looked at my old Toyota and asked when my Ferrari was due her next service.  I asked him if he wanted to borrow my glasses!  LOL Then told him I have a friend who services my car while I’m away, which was a lovely excuse to say, no thanks.

February is back to the term’s activities, which I’m looking forward to.  What about you?  What adventure do you have planned for February or this coming year?

Photos:  1. Kangaroo Paws in my garden    2. Welcome to Australia – I couldn’t resist sharing this post ‘Survival not guaranteed’    3. Also this flag. Praying we will become more united in 2026    4. My little bunch of bananas    5. Papaya seedlings

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for His provisions. I’m so aware of all the things He had blessed us with throughout 2025 and as He guides us into this new year of 2026.  I pray you too will daily see the Lords’ great love for us.

Please continue to pray for Gayle’s health and for renewed strength and wisdom for the church.  Pray also for her son Joshua who is still waiting for his Indonesian citizenship.

Please pray for my sister Kat, who has sold her house in Cairns and is looking for property around the Iluka area, northern NSW.

Continue to pray for world peace and countries dealing with major disasters, wars and the unbelievable hardships they cause.  Pray for all those caught up in the suffering these events have caused.  Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live with despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.

Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers.  Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.