Would you like to buy a new rug?

Just to show my generous side, may I offer my support for the local business Rugs of Tibet.

Buy a new rug, two rugs or the whole shop.

They need some assistance from the crazy warehouse guy.

New sponsor

I hope everyone will support my latest sponsor, Hobart's Salamanca Collection.

As no doubt you are already aware, I have always been a keen supporter of the arts, and Salamanca Collection will pay me 20 cents for every art work sold.

So get shopping!

Don't forget to mention my name.

Pluto is no longer a planet

This topic appears to be of interest. I am not sure why as I can't see what is in it for me.

I thought I would be able to take my book on the solar system back to the shop and ask for a refund as it is wrong (what would the ACCC have to say?), but then I noticed the inside cover of the book.

I should have returned it to the Devonport library before 17 June 1983. It's a good thing when I moved I didn't give the library my new address.

Pride of Australia Medals

Very disappointing.

I can't understand why I did not receive a nomination after all I have done.

Just what is The Mercury up to?

Shower caps

What I thought were boxes of soap from Freycinet Lodge turned out to be shower caps.

Not really as useful.

But they may be good Christmas presents for relatives and acquaintances.

Freycinet Lodge

Just got back from a work get together. We all stayed at Freycinet Lodge - rather overpriced but work was paying for it. I did ask to be given cash instead of the hotel room and I would have slept in a tent. Not to be.

Still - free food and accommodation - more than acceptable.

The best thing was that the hotel staff forgot to lock the cupboard door where all the soap and shampoos were kept. I took enough to keep me going for a year!

Great Suit Deals

My last Les Lees photo for the time being - unless I am inundated with more requests.

Don't forget the great suit deals. I know I won't.

More Les

Not only can I buy (and haggle for) all my suits at Les Lees, I can get my street wear as well!

It really is the shop where you can get everything.

Why would you go anywhere else?

Sometime I wonder how the other shops survive.

My photo album

I have a request from some of my overseas fans for some photos of the "real" Hobart.

It doesn't get any more real than Les Lees.

I hope you all enjoy. I plan to take a sickie this afternoon and go window shopping there. I will post some more photos if I get a chance.

Hobart's top 10 restaurants

After many requests I have finally compiled my top 10 list. Yesterday's lunch at Harris Scarfe meant that I have now been to a total of 10 restaurants, or perhaps more accurately, 10 "dining experiences".

So here goes.

10. Customs House Hotel - covered in a previous entry. Has a wide and varied menu but unfortunately you have to pay for it.

9. Lebrina - also covered in a previous entry. Excellent and free bread and water. Not sure about the rest of the menu, but it was expensive.

8. Kings - an all you can eat dining experience. More my style. Excellent value for money. Bring a bucket.

7. China Diner - a well regarded all you can eat Chinese bain-marie in Moonah. Catered for my wedding nine years ago. Need I say more. Would have been ranked at number 6 except for a recent change in policy that you can no longer drink straight from the soft-serve ice cream machine.

6. Vinnie's van - soup and sandwiches. Free, so well worth a frequent visit with the whole family. I am waiting for the hospital renovations to complete so the van can return to its usual spot.

5. Fitzie's Cafe at Harris Scarfe - my most recent dining experience was yesterday. Excellent frog-in-a-pond dessert. Rates well due to the 10% discount. Les Lees should consider a similar venture.

4. Pizza Hut - all you can eat. Worth saving up for the special occasion. The only disappointment is that the wife doesn't eat enough.

3. The Dolphin - in Sandy Bay so a bit upmarket. Has free outside dining where you can enjoy a potato cake and can of Dr Pepper.

2. Speed Feed - recently discovered as it is close to the hospital when Vinnie's van used to be. Dim sims and potato cakes three for a dollar. The whole family can dine out for $2. If you need a drink then go along to Cafe Carlton where cans of soft drink are only $1. Or BYO.

1. Meals on Wheels - thanks to the old lady three doors down from home. She has been away sick in hospital for a few weeks so they have been leaving meals for her on the front porch. Can't let them go to waste. And they are free!

That's it. If I go out to more restaurants I will update my list.

Any suggestions for frugal dining are welcome.

LPG conversion

A copy of a letter I posted today ...

Hon John Howard, MP
Prime Minister
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Dear John,

I would like to whole-heartedly endorse your decision to give away $2,000 to everyone who converts their car to LPG.

I have an acquaintance who can convert my car, but he needs to be paid in cash.

Can you please sent me $2,000 and I will get this done. If cash is a problem can you please send a cheque made out to cash.

If you would like to save on postage you can also send me the $2,000 for 20 of my friends and I will pass it on to them.

Yours sincerely,

Whitey

The flea market

Monday is always a good day with the flea market in The Mercury.

It is a good alternative to the Glenorchy market to sell off a few things. I have had a bit of trouble getting rid of and old couch despite several weeks of advertising. It was well and truly cleaned - no chance of anything of value remaining under the cushions - but still no one wanted to buy it.

There is a Human Nature CD in the flea market today for $5. I may try and haggle them down to $2 so I can complete my collection.

Whoa oh oh

We have
The chance to turn pages over
We can write what we want to write
We gotta make ends meet before we get much older
We're all someone's daughter
We're all someone's son
How long can we look at each other
Down the barrel of a gun?

You're the voice try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Whoa oh oh
We're not gonna live in silence
We're not gonna live in fear
Whoa oh oh

This time
We know we all can stand together
We have the power to be powerful
Believing we can make it better
We're all someone's daughter
We're all someone's son
How long can we look at each other
Down the barrel of a gun?

You're the voice try and understand it
Make a noise and make it clear
Whoa oh oh
We're not gonna live in silence
We're not gonna live in fear
Whoa oh oh

Richard Marx article

Interesting full page article in yesterday's Mercury about Richard Marx (I have written a letter to the editor complaining that they only had one page, and half of that was a photo).

Some interesting comments:

Before he released his first album, he sang on commercials and was a backing vocalist for Lionel Richie. It was here that he learned the commercial pop skills that made him a star in the late 80s.

and

... he emerged as a producer working with some of the biggest names in the music business, such as NSYNC, Barbra Streisand, Kenny Rogers, ... More recently, he has written and produced records for Keith Urban, Kenny Loggins and Michael Bolton.

Such a wide and varied career spanning all the way from pop to soft rock. If only he could tour with John Farnham and Human Nature.

I was shocked to read that tickets are $66.40 (plus booking fee).

Power bill

I got our latest power bill yesterday.

I was shocked that it was over $300 - way too many lights on in our house. I have put light globes that have blown in every second light to help cut costs.

The last bill was better. Our next door neighbour was away for a month and gave me the key to their house to keep an eye on things. I ran an extension cord from their house to ours and this reduced our power bill dramatically.

Hopefully they will go away on holidays again soon.

Census

Last night was census night and I filled out everything as required.

I struggled with a few questions. I wasn't sure if checking down the back of the couch for loose change counted as unpaid domestic work.

Also, did I do any voluntary work in the past year? As if!!!

The income section could be interesting. I will have to check if the neighbours leave their census forms on the front porch to be collected. Could be a fascinating read.

A new career?

This job advertisement was in The Mercury on Saturday.

While I have been very happy with my job as a public servant for many years perhaps this is my true calling.

I will have to update my CV and send it off to Alan Parsons.

Price increases

I was shocked and appalled to read in the Sunday Tasmanian that the government is considering adding a 10% health tax to the price of alcohol.

This would be a disaster. My favourite Matthew Lang would increase from $3.99 to $4.39 a bottle and lambrusco would rise from $2.99 to $3.29.

What a disgrace. If this happens I will have to switch to the cheap stuff instead.

More on Hobart restaurants

Due to overwhelming popular demand, I will have to come up with a list of my top ten Hobart restaurants. This could be a bit tricky as most of them are so overpriced that I tend not to go. I have been to a few restaurants over the years so I may have to reminisce instead. My list may be a bit different to Food Kitty, a Hobart women with an eye on the local scene, but who lacks an emphasis on price.

Thinking back to last year's wedding anniversary, the wife booked us into Lebrina - not a place either of us had been to before.

I was very impressed when we arrived, a lovely old house turned into a restaurant, a knock on the door and we were greeted by a waiter. The place looked very flash and I must admit I was a tad nervous as the other patrons were dressed up in suits and I had left my finest polyester at home and worn the white skivvy and Holden Racing Team tracksuit instead.

The waiter took us to our table and brought out some bread and poured two glasses of water. I assumed this was all free so we were off to a good start. There was some spare cutlery on the table so I carefully disposed of that.

Then the waiter brought out the menus and I ran my eye over the prices (I didn't get to what the dishes were).

Then I bolted.

Sponsorship

I am very pleased to announce the first, hopefully of many, sponsorships for my blog.

Lasermonks - a great company.

Their motto is "Saving you money, serving those in need".

I can heartily endorse the first half of that.

Socks

The wife keeps complaining that it is too cold and we need underfloor heating.

Why does she think I got her socks as a wedding anniversary present?

I am always thinking ahead.

Customs House Hotel

Well, a rather profitable evening at the Customs House Hotel last night.

Dinner with a few acquaintances got off to a good start while I sat at the table waiting for someone to offer to buy a beer for me. The trick is to never make the first move and then whoever turns up next will feel obliged to ask anyone sitting down if they can get them a drink. That's why I am always the first to arrive.

Dinner was okay, but way overpriced. The fun started when the bill came out. I refused to contribute for the shared bread (although I did eat about half of it and got the last slice in a doggy bag) as I wasn't the one who ordered it. As usual I took charge of the bill and let everyone else know how much they needed to pay and their tip amount.

Due to an accidental miscalculation by me, the other five ended up paying $2.50 more than the total bill. I took the cash and then paid by credit card to get the points. I didn't think they deserved a tip so I kept that as well.

On the way out I picked up someone's 70 cents change that they had left at the bar so all up I made $3.20 for the night.

A great night. Very enjoyable!