my eyes! my eyes!

Today started with a visit to the optometrist in Randwick who told me that my eyesite is generally very good apar from the long-sightedness and astigmatism. I am, so it says here, R+0.75/-0.50 x 150. That puts me on the borderline of needing glasses or not and my general good health is what is probably keeping me on that borderline. Basically my eye will not focus correctly on near work. Light hits at two places and the lens tries to sort it out but can't. The mistiness is probably a slight allergy thing and my eyes are better than most he sees. So there. I'll see how I go for a while and probably have glasses by Christmas because when he demoed me with some equivalent lenses my vision was once again all it has been. Until a couple of weeks ago. Ah well, the eyes have had a good innings on their own.

From the optometrist it was over to the bank to see a mortgage advisor who, in about 30minutes gave me and Sally laon approval that means we have a firm offer on a house and are about to launch ourselves even further into (managable) debt. I was grinning like a jackass as "approved" popped up on screen. St. George Bank, who we both worked for and who we have two existing mortgages with need 5 days to assess us but pop into a branck of Westpac and bish, bash, bosh here is a load of cash, enjoy! To be fair to St. George the experience with them may have been the same if we'd wandered into a branch, but hey, they should really be bending over backwards to keep our custom. We shall see, but the iportant news is that our offer has been accepted, we have the cash and are all systems go.

Sally was, understandably chuffed and has been, in between stints of proper work, on the phone to banks, solicitors, the real estate agent and I dare say the Pope if she thought a need existed. She likes to take charge and that is good because I like to do as little as I can get away with. That is whay I get in so much trouble so often. We had lunch and discussed things and I called Derek (DJ/ Mr DJ) to tell him about our house and let him know we'd not be able to make it to their place down south on Sunday - no car to hand. I felt really quite shitty about that because DJ and wife Jo lived in Willoughby, where fingers-crossed we will be living and it is a shame we can't live in the same suburb. Nevermind, these things happen. Plan now is to meet them and the two kids a week Sunday for breakfast when they are in Sydney for a christening.

We parted and Sally went for a physio appointment and I went for a swim. Bonkers weather of the day...yesterday it was 20 and today 34. Go figure. With a NW wind and a rising tide the pool was flat and the sun was warm so conditions were perfect. I did about 850m non stop. Well mostly non stop, I slowed to watch pipe fish, a cuttlefish, blue groupers, blackfish (actually silver with black stripes) morwong, various other little stripey things. It was glorious. I am sure it is my good mood that lead to what was my furthest ocean-if-only-the-protected-pool swim to date, and I still had plenty in the tank. A 1km swim in the pool is not far off.

Geek news....is....that we have....a....SkypeIn.....number....that Dad can use.....to call Australia from London....on. I've not tested it yet, but Sally assures me it is laughably 1970s satellite link delay ridden and she gave up on it. I'll do another test as soon as possible but the delay news does not surprise me as the PC is an old laptop, the internet connection is wireless and the phone that it rings through to is cordless. A new, high powered, wired PC should sort that. If it doesn't, then...well, we're buggered.

Oh yes, and Munchkin, Sally's brother's wife is pregnant again.