Sadly, I put them in the rubbish bin

Oh NO! Not another duck picture

It is snowing in Vienna again today – but it is not really very cold so it is melting as soon as it hits the ground. This is no fun at all for Sissi who likes to dig in it. 

Meanwhile – in Australia

the Bureau of Meteorology's interactive weather forecasting chart has added new colours – deep purple and pink – to extend its previous temperature range that had been capped at 50 degrees. They are expecting temperatures of up to 54° in Central Australia.

Read more

It will be a relief to get a Liberal Coalition government in Australia so that we can stop this global warming nonsense. After all – they don’t have it in the USA so why should Australia suffer.

And – more importantly -  in Vienna - Bobby’s has stopped selling Cate’s favourite porridge (Golden Syrup) – but fortunately – (and of course) you can buy it on Amazon.

I tried to throw an old pair of shoes away a few days ago. These were a pair of Florsheim casual shoes that I bought about 15 years ago and have worn almost every day since.

They are the most comfortable shoes I have ever had and I have had them repaired a few times - but finally they are letting go and are probably beyond redemption.

So sadly – I put them in the rubbish bin.

The next morning I took them out again – scraped the coffee grounds off them and put them back in my cupboard.

I will let the shoe repairer have one more go at them to see what he can do. He is a wonderful repairer and does wonders with Cate’s shoes – so we shall see.

Suffering Succotash! That is hot.

Well we finally have some proper snow in Vienna. Sissi has been out on the terrace to (briefly) have a look at it and I have been over to Stadtpark to take some photos.

Stadtpark always looks good but particularly so after snow.   It is  not really cold though – so the pond has not frozen over.

There was a man feeding the pigeons – and if any ducks came near him he chased them away. Strange behavior indeed.

In the meantime Australia is baking in record high temperatures. As reported in the Sydney Morning Herald – Australia has started 2013 with the hottest days on record.

“And the country has set a new national average maximum of 40.33 degrees on Monday, beating the previous record - set on December 21, 1972 - by a "sizeable margin" of 0.16 degrees”

Suffering Succotash! That is hot.

Just imagine the possible scenarios

Each year for the last four years we have disposed of our Christmas tree by chopping it up and burning it. This is a very tedious process – takes quite a while – and is hot work.

However – this year Cate says we should just take it to the place where people take old Christmas trees - and so have someone else take it away.

That sounds like a good idea until you look at the logistics. The tree is about 3 metres tall and the lower branches are three metres across.

When we bought the tree it was wrapped up so we were able to get it through the streets, though our front door, up four flights of stairs and into the apartment – although it was a struggle.

In its current state it would not get out the front door and it would be almost impossible to get it down the stairs and then drag it three blocks to the dead Christmas tree pile.

Cate says we should throw it off our terrace into the courtyard - six floors below. You can just imagine the potentially catastrophic outcomes of this scenario.

Provided we could do this without killing ourselves or our neighbors  we would then have to drag it up two flights of stairs – out the back door and then three blocks – shedding pine needles (or whatever they are) on the way.

I have said that her plan will not work and that we will have to follow our usual practice of burning it. It was going to do this while she was in Saudi Arabia but she has said no to this.

I think she thinks I will set the apartment on fire – and indeed this is possible – I have tried before.

So the burning will take place next week – under Cate’s supervision.