PHILADELPHIA: “I'll be right back, after my birthday…” Well, he didn’t make it, dying on the same day, Mike Douglas missed by more than Grandma Klump.

Be all that as it may, meanwhile:

In other news…

11^th August 2009:

Tuesday: It was almost dawn when I got to bed ‘last night’, and the bad graces of insomnia chaperoned me as it too commonly does these days, so it was a matter of laying there for a few hours listening to my favourite talking book courtesy of my iRiver T10 and its ear buds, while the most beautiful woman in the world slumbered, for some inexplicable reason innocently, beside me. I had anxiety about the coming day’s outing, and how my health problems would affect what I had committed to do.

I arrived about half one, after a very easy drive, at Melville, where Mum today moves into her retirement village home, to meet her with my dear sisters Mary and Helena, and helped with haulage, unpacking, and shifting a few things around. Very little really, for most of the heavy stuff had been done.

Janny had made us a lunch, and her sandwiches, brownies, and slices (as well as my Oxford comma) were a big hit, of no surprise to moi, long having being married to the greatest cook in Nebadon. Aunt Winnie and Uncle John had arrived by now, and so it was a crowded living room, with a couple of us kids sitting on boxes. I left a clearly stressed and unhappy Mum about three and called at Cousin Vee’s in Kardinya, to spend an hour chatting and catching up. He has lost an enormous amount of weight since his radiotherapy for throat cancer, and has only put a bit more than one kg back on from the twenty he lost, and he wasn’t heavy to start with. I can’t believe that it was way back in early March that Janny and I called in to see Cousin Vee soon after his surgery.

His wife looked very tired, poor thing, and it was nice to see her mother Coralie, and still helping them so much. The kids were just back from school. I interacted with them more than I ever have, and noticed how sharp Jordan is and how artistic and pretty Emily is.

I did something very rare on my way back: I did almost a three quarters of an hour of shopping in Woolies alone at Dog Swamp, and to my delight I found they were selling Bic Ultra biros! so I bought three packets of 8, having turned Western Australia upside down recently trying to find some, on special too, yippee! Another important purchase was four packets of Woolies Home Brand cocoa, to keep feeding my addiction: regular readers are well aware of my chronic cracked and powdered cocoa addiction. And I found a liquid dishwasher detergent after weeks of searching, but it’s going to be too expensive to warrant its continued use after I test this bottle. (One day I must relate my reasons for wanting a liquid.)

At Woolies petrol station locally the blasted pump didn’t click off, causing petrol to overflow badly, and splattering my trousers and shoes as well; the cash register attendant didn’t seem too bothered to even grunt much when I asked had others had trouble with bowser 7. At least I warned the lady in the queue behind me to watch out for it.

After tuck tuck and seeing Kezza the Great gently take the Minister who’s always wong, Penny Wong, through the wringer, I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so the morning sunrise put me to bed for a couple of hours, till Lateline, when SilverToes tried to get some sense out Greg Combet and Greg Hunt about the emissions trading scheme positions of both sides of Australian politics. Ali Moore was her usual perpetual charming and elegant self on Lateline Business, although I took a while to work out what the dark and glittery top was she was wearing, and when I did, it wowed me (yeah, maybe I do need to get out more), and her hair style was just so beautiful as usual, oh, but enough Payton… ummmhh, errr…, no, I must say more: the poor gal indeed might have a developing goitre like myself; my offer to bring her home, give her a hot bath, powder her bottom, put her in fleecy jammies, tuck her in to a lovely cot, and feed her some broccoli and cheese soup still stands, as does the threat to smack her on her bottom is she refuses to go to her doctor and ask is all well with the thyroid. Her interview with Patrick Elliott, chairman of JB Hi Fi, was encouraging regarding the uplift in domestic consumption as it is playing out for his company. Mr Elliott was Mr Cool, and articulate. I think now’s as good a time as ever to share Ali Moore’s lovely smile, one of the best in current affairs anywhere: click here.

Letterman had a funny man, Steven Wright, on (a repeat show), and he had me chuckling constantly. Oh, the exceedingly overrated Paris Hilton was on also, and Dave needs to stop fawning over her.

I descended into the dungeon to write away the night, the most life uplifting way to spend my time nowadays.

+paytontedwithlove+