Goodness, what a late start tonight! That’s because today was a Sunday, and we usually romp around in Telara all day, only today we didn’t – we romped around on Azuremyst Isle, for a change! Where and what is Azuremyst Isle? I hear you mumbling – well, Azuremyst Isle is a large island – two islands, actually, just off the “coast” (for want of a better term) of Teldrassil, which is a gigantically, enormously gargantuan tree rising up out of the ocean to the north-west of Kalimdor (do you really want a link to that too? Look, if you’re really interested, click on its link from the Teldrassil one!) where the Night Elves live, work and play. The “capital” of Azuremyst is called The Exodar, which is actually part of a crashed space ship – but I digress! We discussed at some length (or about three minutes total, whichever comes first!) whether to pick up where we left off last week in Telara with our two Primalists, or to venture into the strange World of Warcraft universe, “resurrecting” (as it were) two of our top level 90 characters, Wynterthyme and either Mouselet or Bobranda, as mentioned last night, or to start off afresh, with two new characters on one of the new Oceanic servers, because let’s face it, these new servers, one being actually based in Sydney, are a lot faster than the state-side server that our older characters are on – we could have transferred them, but unlike Rift, where transfers are free, we would have had to pay about $50 (about $25 each, from memory) and probably more importantly, it’s been sooo long since we played World of Warcraft that we’re both a little bit hazy about game-play, abilities, and strategies – apart from the expansions, changes, and new features that Blizzard have introduced since we last played! So anyway, we opted to start with two new characters, to bring up together to face the challenges of their little world… After even more discussion about which race to play (about five minutes this time!) we decided to create two Draenei (which is a word like “sheep” – it can be singular or plural!) one of the “Alliance” races. Mine is a Hunter Beastmaster called Callisanda, Julian’s is a Mage called Betrübnis (don’t ask me how to pronounce it, but it means “dejection”, “sorrow”, or “sadness” – nice, huh? 😉 ) Draenei are strange creatures from another planet – some rude people call them “Space Goats”, because they have hooves and horns – you can find some art-work of them here, if you’re interested. So, anyway, we started off with our two newbies and actually managed to get them to level 10 by this evening, so we were quite pleased with that – but I can’t wait to get to level 20, when we can start riding, instead of having to run (actually more like a slow jog!) everywhere! In Rift you can start riding from level 1, if you have a mount, but in WoW you have to be level 20, and you have to pay money to learn to ride! Oh, and I did manage to find that Action Bar Addon that I’d used before, and that I’d been looking for – it works a lot better than the other one – so now I have all these extra Action Bars, I also have the headache of working out what (keyboard) keys to bind to which buttons… *sigh* decisions, decisions… This detour into World of Warcraft does not mean that we have abandoned Rift! We’re… just having a little holiday from it, is all! 🙂 (which reminds me – I haven’t processed my Minions tonight yet!)

Julian has just been speaking to Clarke – we both have a few concerns about my bathroom – Julian is worried that by the time they get to the part where they put the glass shower screen in, the Glaziers will be closed for the holidays – and I’m concerned that the pitch on my bench seat is too steep, and that when I get my bare bottom on the wet bench tiles, I’ll slide straight off it onto the floor! (which would not be a good look!) I understand why the bench has to slope that way – it’s so that water won’t pool there and cause leaks and problems a few years down the track – but this bench looks… odd… out of plumb… too extreme – even from the doorway! Oh well, I’ll try sitting on it tomorrow, and see how it feels. Clarke has assured us both that Julian’s fears about a late finish because of the holidays, and mine about the bench seat being too steep are groundless, and has confirmed that the vanity unit will be installed tomorrow, and the template for the caesarstone top taken, so I guess that’s two less things to have to worry about! 🙂

Last night we had some delicious pan-fried chicken for dinner, with kipfler potatoes, half a tomato, five chips and a spoonful of beans – really yummy – and there was some chicken and potatoes left over, so for my lunch we mushed up the potatoes and spread them on a couple of Ryvita crispbreads, then sliced the chicken up on top of that – I thought it could have done with a little more salt, but it was still just as delicious cold, as it had been last night for dinner! This evening we had pan-fried pork fillet with onions, brussels sprouts, the obligatory five chips, and half a tomato. The pork was really nice, too, especially with the onions! So I’m eating really well now – cross fingers and toes that I’m not eating too much, because I feel really full after dinner… which brings me to….

Weigh-in this morning. I keep expecting the worst…  this can’t possibly last! I stayed the same again this morning – I went from 64.4kg to 64.4kg. Who knows what’ll happen tomorrow morning! All this eating has got to catch up with me sooner or later, surely! I mean, I won’t be miserable if it doesn’t, but I’m starting to get anxious that the longer I don’t put on any extra weight, the more I will put on when I do start to go up again! (worry,worry,worry,worry!)

Well, tomorrow, I’ve already told you about – Julian has a whole heap of Office work and stuff to do (amongst other things!) and I have a whole heap of stuffing around with WoW and/or Rift. As usual (sometimes I feel a bit like a fish with a bicycle!) Tuesday is likely to be more of the same – especially as it’s going to be hot – I’m the sort of person who hates going out and doing anything if the temperature goes above 23C! I do have one idea of what to get Julian for Christmas, but I have absolutely no idea of how I’m going to get out to get “it/them” for him – in fact I don’t even know where there’s a suitable shop that sells “this item/these items”! I may have to stoop to online shopping, or even a gift voucher, heaven forbid! 😉 We should have time to pick up my favourite youngest daughter’s Birthday present next Friday, when I go to the hairdresser; I’ll probably have to get Julian to pick up Neale’s Birthday present next time he’s at Doncaster Shoppingtown… and I guess I’d better get busy writing Christmas Cards, if I want people to get them before Easter next year! And with that somewhat whimsical note, it’s time to say that that’s about it from me again for tonight! But please call in again tomorrow night, and find out if we’ve decided that the shower bench seat is too steep and will have to be dismantled and re-done (don’t worry, I’m sure we won’t! 🙂 ) or whether my weight has suddenly gone through the ceiling, and what the new vanity unit looks like! Until tomorrow though, do try to bee good (the countdown is on! 😉 ) always remember that the only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be – and don’t forget to keep cool – or warm – depending on the weather du jour, to drive carefully, and to look after yourselves… but most importantly, don’t forget to stay safe! 🙂 ciao, all! 🙂