Purple People-Eater

Some of you may know that I have a condition known as Frieberg's Disease, that affects the second toe on my left foot.  I've had this (and its associated pain) since the early 90s, however, in the last couple of years it seems I'm also developing arthritis in the joint.
   
This is what happens when you get older, people. Try to avoid it at all costs.

Driving any great distance in peak hour traffic (constantly on and off the clutch) has become unbearable. Even the orthopaedic specialists have asked if I'd thought about getting an automatic car.  Well, yes, I had thought about it, but I'm a manual girl and have never owned an auto.  Hell, I'd only driven an auto once in my life before.


Combine this with the fact that Steve was a tad unhappy about all the extra kilometres that I was putting on the Prado getting to and from work every day, and the decision was made to sell his Courier and buy a small, economical auto. After consulting our friendly mechanic, Steve's model of choice was a Mazda 3.

I won't bore you with the tedious looking-at-and-test-driving-of-vehicles drama, other than to say there's a whole lot of crap out there for $6000 (huge mileage, no logbooks - seriously, not one of the ones we looked at had logbooks, only the one key - apparently Mazda owners are a careless bunch who are too tight to pay the ridiculous key replacement cost), so we ended up having to borrow a little extra and look in the $7500-$8000 price range.

Lucky for us that we did, or we'd have never stumbled onto this brilliant little car.  One (retired female) owner, full logbook history, both keys, and genuine VERY LOW mileage, for the bargain price of $7500.  You'd scarcely believe it's a 2007 model.

I don't know about you, but when we saw it, we were sure it was maroon, but apparently it's purple. Phantom Purple Mica, in fact, according to Mazda.  In direct sunlight, it certainly appears more reddish, but in the shade or on an overcast day, it's definitely more purple.

It has been so well looked after and so rarely driven (for its age) that it looks and feels like a brand new car on the inside.  Sure, there are a few small nicks and scratches on the exterior, but overall, pretty damn good considering it's a 10 year old car.

When we bought it, it had done just under 48000 kilometres, so of course we had to take a photo when it finally rolled over to 48000.

That was two weeks ago now, though, and considering I do just under 500 km per week just travelling to and from work, it certainly won't take long before it has the kind of mileage that's usually seen in a 10 year old car.

After two weeks of driving it daily, although I've never once tried to use a non-existent clutch pedal, I still occasionally find my hand drifting out to change gears, and twice I've subconsciously gone to check that it was in neutral before starting, lol.  I'm blaming too many years of driving manuals and the fact that the auto transmission stick looks very much like a manual gear stick.

I'm sure that driving an auto will grow on me.  Eventually.

Trash or Treasure?

It's that time of year again... Council kerbside pickup time!

If one man's trash is another man's treasure, then this time of year is sheer paradise for scavengers, myself included.

Every year Steve says "We are NOT going to bring home any more junk this year!" Every year we still do. We can't help ourselves (I believe I'm genetically predisposed to it). It's part curiosity, part klepto, with a little bit of family "hoarder" genes thrown in.

As I type this I can hear other scavengers driving slowly, cruising past the piles of junk in utes or cars with trailers, ready to bring home the spoils. Sure, a lot of people do this to find items to sell at markets or on eBay, but I only bring home things I can use... or at least had good intentions to use at the time. The beauty of this is that, if for some reason, when you get your collected item home, it isn't quite right or what you wanted, you can always throw it back out on your own junk pile, so that you aren't stuck with it.

Over the past few years I've found several planter stands, glazed terracotta garden pots, some chairs, a couple of tiny decorator side tables, Cheyenne's trampoline (best score yet - it only needed a new mat, which we bought for $60 from a trampoline supply place), and various other treasures.


This year we don't really have time for a proper trawl around the neighbourhood, as we're busy packing for our 10 day trip to Rainbow Beach, but I've still managed to collect a few decent finds. A couple of hanging plant rings (the sort you attach to a wall and slip a round pot plant into), and this lovely round wicker table, which will do nicely on my front verandah. A bit dusty (nothing a good wipe over couldn't fix) and it has a couple of tiny nicks in it, but otherwise, it's perfect.

We also found a backboard for a basketball hoop (one of Steve's brothers had been looking for one for his kids), and a ladder for an above-ground swimming pool. Steve thought it would be just right for placing over our side fence when Cheyenne goes next door to play with Jayden. Turns out he was right! It's the perfect height, and means I will no longer have to lift Cheyenne over the fence to Jayden's or vice versa.

Not bad for a morning's work!