And on and on. August is the cruellest month, they say, I say. In this location, it’s the back end of winter and the coldest, wettest month. I always wish it was at an end, so that we can move on to September and Spring, that glorious time of the year. When the days become noticeably longer, the light comes earlier and lingers longer. The rain lessens, the temperatures rise a little each day. I love Spring and Summer.

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I’m still trying to regain my strength after my sojourn in hospital in mid-June to early July. I still feel weak and with poor balance. I’m worried about falling all the time (wrong: I’m worried all the time about falling.)

The physiotherapist was here last Wednesday and she remarked that I seem brighter than a couple of weeks ago. I agree, I do feel brighter and less depressed. But I seem to have lost a lot compared with a year ago. Lethargic, tired all the time, lacking motivation.

In addition, I’m noticing a new problem: nausea. I actually vomited last week, which is very unusual for me. It’s about the first time in more than 40 years since I’ve done that. I wish I knew why because it’s a very unpleasant feeling. All I can think of is that I ate a hard-boiled egg which smelled slightly off at the time I ate it. It was new stock, fresh from Coles. I hard boiled half a dozen at a time and only ate this one. I’m a bit reluctant to try another. But I will.

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My brother’s been here today, doing odd jobs for me while I feel unwell. We’re doing each other favours, quid pro quos. We each have our strengths and weaknesses.

It looks like he’ll take the Verada off my hands. As I’ve said, it’s a lovely car and if I could hold onto it, I would. But he’s owned one before and knows what he’s getting into, so it’s a good deal for both of us. He’s capable of doing more repairs than I am.

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We had a go at connecting up the Sony ES Series amp (see below, gold colour) this morning, but there are a few problems. It’s a beautiful amp but it’s dated and doesn’t handle video very well. I just got confused this morning and gave up, meaning I need to draw a diagram and try again later.

This ES amp lacks HDMI inputs and outputs (High Definition Multimedai Interface) and although I’ve got adapters, they are only 1024×768 standard.

I’ve realised that there’s a Sony amplifier in the lot I bought last summer (black, shown above), which although slightly lower in power (100W pc vs 150W pc), has a full set of HDMI ins and outs. It’s probably ten years younger than the ES series amp. What a pity to not use the ES amp.

So now I’ve got yet another piece of “broken” hi-fi gear to fix. Kerrrumbs, will I never learn? Still, the newer amp only cost me less than $10, so it’s a genuine bargain. That’s if it works. I haven’t tried it yet!

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I’ve been bleeding. I had a nap on top of my quilt last week and awoke to find a large (15cm diameter) patch of blood. Trouble is, I don’t know where it came from. Obviously my leg, or toes, but I can’t see where. The Silver Chain nurse was here this morning and couldn’t see either, so it looks like it’s a mystery. Too bad.

I’m noticing the changing light at the moment. As we’ve passed the solstice and slowly move back to summer, I notice the lengthening days and extended afternoons. The sun slants through my dining room window between about 3.30 and 4pm. I have to move a bit so as to not be blinded.

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I’m listening to a lot of Amazon Prime Music at the moment. It’s a paid subscription but I think it’s worth it. It’s very “yoof” oriented but it has long curated classical collections too. I’m listening to a lot of Mozart in this list, but yesterday was Rachmaninov day. I am a huge fan of ol’ Rach, especially his symphonies.

I’m also an advocate for Tchaikovsky. He’s dismissed a bit by the musicologists but I care not; I like his music. Sure, it’s a bit “sugar-coated” tunes (Nutcracker, Swan Lake etc) but there’s real depth to his later symphonies (4 5, 6), number 6 in particular.

In fact, I’m a fan of Russian composers. I can always find something to match my mood.

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Once again, I’ve tried to generate sales of my photo books, with no success. I mean by making a sales pitch on Facebook, e.g. by saying “Available to order” along with a dozen or more sample images. I get quite a few “likes” but not a sniff of interest in buying my book. Not once, not ever!

One guy, a friend from Ch.7 days, said, “I didn’t realise you were selling them”. Huh?

However, I must admit I would have to price the books so high these days that I doubt anyone would buy. Photobook have raised their prices by around 50% in the past 10 years (who hasn’t?) and although I always buy two copies for myself, I’ve never succeeded in selling them.

So I’ve had an idea – to make the books in PDF form (or Flip Book) and put them in a USB stick, in a nice presentation box. The box would be book shaped, so that it would look good on a bookshelf.

It turns out that lots of companies make these presentation boxes. They range in quality from plain and basic to fancy and expensive, complete with silver or gold embossed lettering and logo.

The problem is that the Photobooks I’ve made (around 13 in the past 15 years) are not compatible with a PDF file. It means I’ll have to remake them for the new format. I’ve got everything I need to do this, but time! It would be a LOT of work. I’m not sure I’m up for it.

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I had the mobile mechanic here on Friday to look at Vera, the Mitsi Verada. I’ve been told to sell it for scrap, but I love that car and I thought I’d spend a bit of money and get it going again.

Well, the result was an estimate of $2,500 to $3,000 depending on how far I want to take it, just to get it roadworthy. Ugh! I was just thinking of the cost of a power steering rack overhaul, and a new batery, but he took the view that he doesn’t want to sign off on work that would still leave the car in an unroadworthy state. He picked rust in both A-pillars for example, and oil leaks from the rocker covers.

So it looks like a hopeless case and he suggests I just advertise it on Facebook Marketplace for about $1,500. “Someone will buy it”, he says. I hope so, because I’ve put a lot of money into it in the four years or so that I’ve had it. I would put in the ad that “If you bring a battery, you could drive it away.” It’s not a lost cause. So, wish me luck.

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Crikey, I’m not too strong on my feet these days. I seem to have lost my sense of balance and have to be so careful how I move. I need to touch something all the time to keep my orientation. I tire so easily and quickly.

I’m sleeping reasonably well and feel rested when I wake up, but I still HATE the mattress I bought a couple of years ago. Australian brand A. H. Beard. Bloody awful!

I’ve found one that looks suitable to buy in the Amazon range, $259.

That’s about 1/3 of the price I paid for the AH Beard mattress (~$850).

It comes rolled up and compressed in a box, so I’ve got a bit of work ahead of me to get the existing mattress picked up by the Slavos and this new one decompressed and laid onto the base. I’ll have to move to the spare bedroom for a few nights while it’s settling down.

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Yeah, it’s been a while since I posted, sorry. I just seem to have other things on my mind at the moment.

The pacemaker is going fine — I don’t notice anything. But neither have I noticed any energy boost from it. That’s disappointing, but I suppose I’ve misunderstood. They didn’t tell me much in the hospital.

One thing is that I was given a box, which contained a bowl shaped thing with a green ring in it. It tells me to place it on my bedside cabinet and plug it in. When you do that, the green ring turns on and a ring of LEDs starts circling. Eventually it settles down to a constant green ring of light.

Apparently it monitors the pacemaker at night while you’re asleep (it has a light sensor) and reports your waveform to a monitoring business in Heathridge, a suburb about 15km down the road. How? Wi-fi?

Anyway, you have to pay $75 for a year’s monitoring. I got a letter from them even before I’d paid saying that they’d noticed my signal and the monitoring had commenced. even before I’d paid. I’ve done so now, as $75 is OK by me.

To be honest, I feel that I came out of the hospital worse than I went in. I lost so much condition in those three weeks. I’m weak and my balance is shot. I have to use the rollator all the time, and my walking stick as well. I need to keep my phone close by at all times in case I fall.

I had a fall on the day after I got home from the hospital actually, July 9. Big bruise and blister on my left knee, but no other damage, which was lucky considering how hard I fell on the tiles in the passage. Wham!

I had another fall today — I was trying to get into a mate’s car, a BMW X5 with high sills. I was trying to swing my right leg up and kept missing, then suddenly lost my balance and fell backwards. Embarrassing. No damage done, except that I was a bit winded.

Luckily two people were passing and rushed to help. One was a nurse. She gave me a quick check, then she and the two guys lifted me pretty easily.

I felt OK after that, but now my left knee is a bit painful. A warm bed for a couple of hours was a big help.

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I’ve had a small adventure in buying on-line in the last couple of days. Last Friday I decided to take what I thought was a small risk and bought this on eBay from a seller in Japan.

Ordered Friday, arrived about a week later. But problem! It was faulty. Incorrect messages on the display, CD tray won’t eject, MiniDisc initially wouldn’t eject or inject, and so on.

Eventually it ejected a MiniDisc, but it wasn’t mine. But I still can’t insert a disc. Can’t select CD/MD and so on.

So working through eBay, I reported this to the seller and said I didn’t want to go through the hassle of packing it up again (I squashed the box for disposal) and I didn’t want to pay the return postage. I suggested a deal — refund me half the price, and I keep the unit. Net cost to me, $95.69. I’m happy.

He came back agreeing to that, so I’ve got my refund and a non-working deck. But I reckon I’ll be able to fix it. Since both decks have failed at the same time, I reckon it’ll be a power supply problem, because it’s common to both. Or else a plug has worked loose in transit. I shall report on progress.

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I have to make a decision about the Mitsubishi Verada. It’s sitting out in the laneway, unused for about six months. It’s got a faulty power steering rack, a faulty Mass Airflow Sensor (my diagnosis) and need s a new battery.

By rights, I should sell it to a scrap dealer. You get about $100 to $200 for it apparently.

But I’ve been thinking about it constantly and I don’t want to lose it. I love driving that car – smooth, quiet and powerful. I think I’ll get the Verada fixed and sell the Honda, no matter what is costs. Probably stupid, but we’re not logical at times. The Verada is a station wagon, which I want for carrying stuff. I should get several thousand $$ for the Honda, which is a better deal than $100 for the scrap value of the Mitsi.