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Here in Australia the children have finally gone back to school after the very long 6 ½ week summer hell-a-day.
To celebrate my first day sans enfants I booked the car in for a much needed service. I know – I really understand how to treat myself.
What to do during the 5 hour wait while the family car/ mobile kitchen/ occasional child holding cell was being serviced?
As journeys by public transport are not cheaper, not faster and not more convenient than your own car, I eliminated the option of an 80 minute walk/ bus/ walk round trip in
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35° heat. I also decided against the expense of a taxi ($32) from the mechanic to the house and back again to collect the car.
I considered simply plonking myself down in the garage and maximising my reading time. What self-indulgent luxury – 5 hours to immerse myself uninterrupted in my book. Tempting, but the lack of coffee and air-conditioning, and sitting on a plastic chair offering views of the underside of my car, put me off.
Instead, I decided wisely to spend those precious 5 hours doing something for myself and by myself. Shopping!
A
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dear friend commented years ago that I was not a victim of fashion, hastily adding that it truly was meant as a compliment as I always wore whatever I felt was right for me and didn’t reinvent my style (whatever that means) in response to the fashion pages of the day. Twenty years on, I still do not skip with glee into clothes shops, and last week’s shopping expedition (dressed in my 8 year old denim skirt with unintentional, holey, worn in look; much loved 6 year old top on which a carefully placed brooch hides a mayonnaise stain and the oh so
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comfortable Birkenstocks) was definitely a necessity.
Focussed on the task, I systematically worked my way through all the clothes shops within walking distance, stopping only for a coffee reviver and loo break. With another month of high temperatures ahead of us followed by 2 months of warm autumn weather, I scoured the sale racks for summer clothes. Success! Amongst my purchases were 2 tops at half price, a beautifully cool denim dress reduced from $120 to $50 and a pair of strappy leather sandals for an amazing $20.
That evening I showed the
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family (an interested 12 year old, semi-interested husband, and couldn’t-give-a-damn-9-and-6-year-olds) my purchases, and triumphantly explained how, with the $32 I didn’t spend on the taxi and my carefully bought sale items, in 5 hours I actually saved us $187.
Well done me!
Oh and the car…that cost $498 to service and repair.
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A long way from home - 12 Feb 16
Here in Australia the children have finally gone back to school after the very long 6 ½ week summer hell-a-day.
To celebrate my first day sans enfants I booked the car in for a much needed service. I know – I really understand how to treat myself.
What to do during the 5 hour wait while the family car/ mobile kitchen/ occasional child holding cell was being serviced?
As journeys by public transport are not cheaper, not faster and not more convenient than your own car, I eliminated the option of an 80 minute walk/ bus/ walk round trip in 35° heat. I also decided against the expense of a taxi ($32) from the mechanic to the house and back again to collect the car.
I considered simply plonking myself down in the garage and maximising my reading time. What self-indulgent luxury – 5 hours to immerse myself uninterrupted in my book. Tempting, but the lack of coffee and air-conditioning, and sitting on a plastic chair offering views of the underside of my car, put me off.
Instead, I decided wisely to spend those precious 5 hours doing something for myself and by myself. Shopping!
A dear friend commented years ago that I was not a victim of fashion, hastily adding that it truly was meant as a compliment as I always wore whatever I felt was right for me and didn’t reinvent my style (whatever that means) in response to the fashion pages of the day. Twenty years on, I still do not skip with glee into clothes shops, and last week’s shopping expedition (dressed in my 8 year old denim skirt with unintentional, holey, worn in look; much loved 6 year old top on which a carefully placed brooch hides a mayonnaise stain and the oh so comfortable Birkenstocks) was definitely a necessity.
Focussed on the task, I systematically worked my way through all the clothes shops within walking distance, stopping only for a coffee reviver and loo break. With another month of high temperatures ahead of us followed by 2 months of warm autumn weather, I scoured the sale racks for summer clothes. Success! Amongst my purchases were 2 tops at half price, a beautifully cool denim dress reduced from $120 to $50 and a pair of strappy leather sandals for an amazing $20.
That evening I showed the family (an interested 12 year old, semi-interested husband, and couldn’t-give-a-damn-9-and-6-year-olds) my purchases, and triumphantly explained how, with the $32 I didn’t spend on the taxi and my carefully bought sale items, in 5 hours I actually saved us $187.
Well done me!
Oh and the car…that cost $498 to service and repair.
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She was plucked from the bosom of Mother England and sentenced to 10 years of hard core whingeing in the land of Kylie and The Wiggles. Her crime? To fall in love with an Australian who gallantly shivered his way through 11 English winters (and a few summers) and who eventually persuaded her to pack up their three children and move to Oz.
She is a long way from home.
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