Cool change.

The temperature hit 42°C late this afternoon. That’s just about the time we headed out to Dandenong looking for a larger TV. The Falcon runs poorly on extremely hot days so we thought it best to leave the aircon off. A 40” TV isn’t large by today’s standards but it’s a big step up from 26. Back in a warm house, Ben played Skyrim on PS3 and watched a Starcraft stream while compensating for the larger screen by sitting further away. As the temperature pleasantly plummeted outside, we re-watched some of Oblivion on Blu-ray and marvelled at the clarity of the images. An online rental copy of Iron Man 3 is slowly downloading overnight, ready for viewing tomorrow. The new TV is really cool.

Australia Day.

© Ben 2012

It’s Australia Day today and the Honours List doesn’t include any family or friends. We missed church last week and, in atonement for watching Supernatural, will attend tonight. Some of the episodes push the boundaries a bit too far at times, at least that’s how it seems. The Ork Boyz are nearly finished thus completing a project that started in Berlin almost four years ago. We’ve seen The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug at the cinema recently and have some Gold Class tickets to use before the end of March. The Hobbit was exciting but a little too long. Ben had to move seats on account of a snoring man in the back row. He hasn’t drawn any hand pictures for a long time. I did find this one in a drawer, it’s the only one with colour.

Surviving the heatwave.

We’ve had four successive days over 40°C and almost reached the predicted 44°C yesterday and the day before. To survive the heatwave, we’ve retreated to the only room in the house with aircon, the kitchen. The downstairs room, immediately below the kitchen, is also reasonably cool and benefits from a steady stream of cold air seeping down the stairs. The rest of the house is like an oven, especially at night, and the hallway thermometer shows 35°C well into the night. We keep doors closed to seal off the rest of the house. I’m back to sleeping in the kitchen and Ben sleeps downstairs with the TV, PS3 and Babar. Like us, Jazz has found her own cool spots and, while she likes her rug soaked with water, she hates being sprayed with a hose. Two magpies have taken ownership of a water container placed under the trees in the yard. While we cope with the weather, another story unfolds as Ben’s grandfather, almost 100 years old, is hospitalised and the doctors want to discontinue treatment. For years, family members have provided total care for him at home in Springvale and they’d like him to get some basic treatment so he can return home for a while. The doctors and social worker have another meeting with the family today. His wife and seven or eight of his nine children will be attending. At least the hospital is comfortable and, we’re told, a cool change is on the way.