I seemed to think of many profound things to blog about over the past week or so, but all ideas have fled.
I find visiting other blogs is often inspirational, & this morning, I found a lovely blog, with some wonderful posts, & some wonderful bags!! Please go & visit Marigold Jam. I particularly enjoyed her day trip to London, but there are more lovely posts I intend going to read.
Before I get onto the day's wittering, here, in her beauty, is a Beloved Cat, called Mindy.
Mr Catalyst, does she remind you a little of your Smoke??

I keep pleading with Gom to let us have a cat, but he is adamant he doesn't want one. I suppose 2 dogs are sufficient, but when it comes to animals, I am such a fool.
We have been out shopping for a very mundane item. A new toilet roll/tissue holder. Who knew there were so many varieties? Who knew you could pay up to $200 for such a functional, boring, item. We had a perfectly useful one, but it was made of plastic, & as everyone knows, plastic seems to become brittle with age & usage.
I broke ours, so decided that we would get a metal one this time, as this is the third replacement we have needed. When we bought the house, there was an old broken radio-roll holder- remember those? Ugh.
As an interesting aside here,
Toot, WC, Toilet, Loo, Bog, Head, Powder Room, Bathroom, Guest Bathroom, Facility, Thunderbox, Lavatory, Washroom, Lavvie, Crapper, Outhouse, Dunny, Sh!thouse, Potty, Throne room, Library, or my most despised, Little Girl's Room.
Back to the ordeal of buying a new anything. Picture Gom & Meggie stumbling around Bunnings. Lost in the aisles. Finally find a
Finally after much discussing, examining,
Then, we have to go traipsing after insect repellents. I won't bore you with those details! Because there is the "New Bed" story to add.
************
Here, by way, for some light relief, if a pic of my lovely Cousin J's Chook bags. Aren't they cute. I think she makes them for her sister to sell at her Doll stalls.

After we finally got out of Bunnings, alive, sort of, I suggested we go bed shopping.
Now I have read Molly's bed saga, also Persiflage's saga, & remember one of our previous sagas, so I do know that bed shopping is not for the faint hearted, & not to be taken lightly. I also know that male cooperation is likely to be almost nil.
As a light relief, in this harrowing tale, here is a winter sunset, taken about 3 nights ago, from our balcony. Looks cold, & it was.

On with the bed shopping. We did not do a serious round & round the rounds look. We went to a local shopping centre close to Bunnings.
I test drove several likely looking/sounding candidates. (I did not, however test drive the one named "The Workbench", which was being sniggered at by an elderly mother & her daughter!) None seemed particularly wonderful. Of course it is impossible to really relax on a bed on public display. I met with other people who were shopping. Most of them were mother/daughter couples, & I think that option is the wiser choice, since Gom would not deign to lie upon one mattress. Indeed, he tried his best to appear totally unconnected to the plump lump testing beds.
Twelve years ago, we bought a new ensemble. It had a certain type of mattress with a particularly comfortable style of innersprings. Box coil?? I forget now. The sad part was, though it was the best mattress I have ever slept upon, Gom's side collapsed! It sort of caved in, after about 4 months of use! So we had it replaced. The second replacement was faulty also, so we had our money back & bought a completely different style of bed, from another company. It is now past it's use by date. It was never as comfortable as it should have been, & it has become hard, & particularly unkind to aching bodies- mine in particular.
I was advised that latex is very nice, it moulds to your body? I wonder? There has been no decision yet. I will look a bit longer, & perhaps take my daughter with me. I must say, mattresses have increased in price beyond my wildest dreams. haha.
Catalyst, you may avert your eyes. I know you are not fond of Camelias.
This is a 'free' one we get from our neighbour's lovely tree, which leans into our garden, to get away from an ugly conifer on it's own side.

Also this pic of another bloom.
I wonder how many days before it is actually in place???
I wonder how many nights I will toss & turn, & be haunted by words of Leonard Cohen songs? I wonder if a new bed will make sleep come easier?
I never had a Neil Young album. Not sure why. I love this song.
Neil Young, Harvest Moon.