Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Monday, February 22, 2016

Time Will Tell

I have come to the realisation that my mouth is going to take a bit more time to heal properly.

The dental work was quite invasive and extensive and it will take time and diligence to bring it all to optimum health.

My gums feel a little damaged, so I've decided to return to foods that don't require chewing, to give them a rest and a chance to strengthen and heal.

I need to be patient.

I can't wait to tell you about my bingo experience today!

Once upon a time, more than ten years ago, bingo was a regular activity for BGWLBH and I. We would play a couple of times each week in the evenings and during school holidays, if I took my annual leave at the same time, we would play during the day as well.

The prizes, where we played, were meat trays, fruit and veg trays, vouchers for the local butcher or supermarket, vouchers for the club restaurant or free bingo tickets. Legally, they weren't allowed to offer money as prizes.

We used paper booklets of bingo tickets, with dobbers, which were plastic bottles of ink with a spongy end that we dabbed the numbers with as they were called. I had a hand made timber box with a lid that I used to store my dobbers. The box was shaped like a wedge and I used a butterfly clip to hold the tickets to the box as I played.

That was back in the old days.

Today was certainly an eye opener as far as advances in the world of bingo are concerned!

These days, they used electronic devices that look similar to a tablet or iPad and either your finger or rubber tipped stylus pens to touch the numbers as they were called.


The sheet on the left shows all of the games. Each card has two games eg a short game to win the first prize of the card and then the full card to win another prize. The prizes were pretty good too .. $20 for the short game and $40 for the full card.

The first game of the day is worth $500 if you get the full card within 50 calls.

This machine shows two bingo game cards at a time (I think there are 5 cards for each game) and keeps the others in the background. As you mark off the numbers, it automatically brings the two cards with the most numbers marked off, to the front screen.

The other crazy thing, is that it gives you a signal when you have one number left to win. The screen changes to a happy man that looks like an M&M and flashes the number that you are waiting for.

Unfortunately, I didn't win today, and I only got down to one number once .. so at least I got to see my little M&M man on the screen .. I did win a $2 scratchy in the break when they drew the raffle prizes, so I guess that's a bonus. I haven't scratched it yet, so I could be rich and not even know it!

It was a pleasant and different way to spend a Monday morning and when bingo was finished, we met up with Reality TV Queen, Speckled Hen and Party Pat for lunch. I selected slow cooked roast beef and vegetables from the menu. It was ok.

Tomorrow will be spent catching up on some housework, so that I can reward myself with the lady's luncheon on Wednesday.

February is quickly coming to an end, and as scary as that seems (because it feels like new year was just yesterday!), it means that Summer is also coming to an end! We can all breathe a sigh of relief as the weather cools down and we can live in comfort again.

Nite all.

    

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