Month: November 2014

Groomers, Adelaide, Shopping and Conferences.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Really crazy pavingBecause of his many problems, I now have difficulty in getting a groomer to take the Man. One was recommended and I called her. I left a message on her answering machine and it took her six days to get back to me. In the meantime I went back to Fussy Dogs and had a conversation with Corenza and if I bring him in tomorrow morning before they open, she will wash and groom him for me. I am pleased about this because it will help to make him more comfortable and I’m all for that. I am down in Adelaide next weekend then one more and that will be me until mid-February. I can’t say that I am particularly unhappy about this – I mean,  even for a shopaholic, like me, there is just so many times you can get excited about Rundle Mall, Elizabeth or Tea Tree Plaza. Although, having said that, it will be slightly different because the places will be all decorated and that’s worth seeing. Anyway, once I get back from Adelaide I should be able to make a move on the work of at least one of the projects I started. I will move the Hills Hoist from the back of the house to the area at the side of the house – the area of the Crazy Paving. I have decided that it would be just too much to have the lot dug up, so I have  covered over the worst sections with concrete, so the next thing is to lay down plastic sheeting and/weed matting and put a decent level of topsoil, pack that down,  then artificial grass. That should make it a pleasant area for her washing line – and not so far for her to move things. Once I get this completed I will decide which of the remaining projects to tackle next. I’m not really thinking that far ahead at the moment – one

A Man and His(?) Offic
A Man and His(?) Office

thing at a time.

The Man is starting to wear down and  I have tried to make him as comfortable as I can and been on hand when he’s needed me – even at 3am – but he’s been washed and groomed and he is looking much better. In “The Old Days” Chienne used to attack him when I brought him back from the groomer, but, interestingly, not this time.

I would like not to be running back and forth to Adelaide every few weeks. It is something I could very well do without and it is tiring. However, it is not my choice – well yes I suppose it is since everything really is by choice – but at the moment I am doing the work of two people. Generally Helen shares the workload but Helen has Breast Cancer and is undergoing treatment for that, so I have to fill in and do the traveling she would normally do – hence all the running around this year. I am also a member of two Assembly Committees, which I have to attend. One of these I will resign from after Christmas. Only three people have the authority to attend to the Courts and do all the other things – Me, Helen and Annabell (Herself)  Helen is presently unwell, Herself is disabled so,  lille ole me it is! Believe me, CDL there is nothing I should like better than to sit down, put my feet up and close the door on the world for a while, but I can’t – not just yet. And yes, it is something of an ego boost, but sad at the same time,  when you call to book the hotel and the receptionist asks you how you are by name because she has recognized the voice. I have the 6th December and the  15th December and that should be me until mid-February. As for the shopping, well I have to be down there the day before for an early morning start and I have no intention whatsoever, of leaving here at 4am on the day of the conference and driving down – so I go down a day early and I have to do something to occupy my time  :o)  See, it’s not all bad…

Health and welfare, Man and Me.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

There  is a song from the Musical(?) Jesus Christ, Superstar, called “Could We Start Again, Please” and for some unknown reason it came to mind recently and has decided to take up temporary residence. I remember a group of us went to the musical and not long after this  the family and I left Scotland to come to Australia. So, it’s about 30+ years since I had exposure to this particular piece of music but I think the

Traveling North

recent concerns with my health and the health and well-being of The Man seems to have triggered some kind of  response from the past that has some bearing on the present:

I’ve been very hopeful so far

Now for the first time I think we’re going wrong

Hurry up and tell me this is just a dream

Oh could we start again, please?

Between my health, the Man’s health a garden that looks more like a bomb site than anything else, half finished projects in several places, so, yes, I think, Could we start again, please?  Between today and the middle of December I have to be in Adelaide three times – this week the Sitting of the Commission, nine days later a two day conference and a week after that a one day session that I need to attend and I really have to get some work done on the projects I have started in the garden. So, basically, yes – Could we start again, Please?

The drive down to Adelaide in a 38C heat was “interesting”.  I met up with a friend in Adelaide and had coffee, which was really good. The same could not be said about much else. The temperature collapsed

The lower Ranges
The lower Ranges

overnight and the following day was rain storms and thunder. Fortunately I got out of Adelaide before the real heavy weather closed in. However I did run into a mini-storm on the way up north and the storm was not the only thing I ran into. The mini-storm brought  high winds which brought down a number of  tree branches. I came over the hill saw the branch on the road and hit the brakes.  I was lucky in that I hit  the foliage end rather than the wood end, so other than some minor damage and a bit of a scare, everything was fine, although I did not stop to inspect the damage for a while since I had no intention of coming to a halt on the road in the middle of a storm with heavy rain  and poor visibility. That, I felt could have been dangerous. Once I cleared the storm and could  pull off the road, I was able to inspect the damage, which, fortunately, was light. The remainder of the journey was completed in fairly reasonable weather. Surprisingly the two photographs were taken on that same journey and within an hour the blue had changed to almost black and the white to grey. However, it has to be said that my little mini-storm – violent thought it was – pales into insignificance  in comparison to the storms sweeping across the United States. That’s really scary.

I decided to change my diary system from Filofax to Van Der Speck and I am not altogether certain that I made a good decision. I didn’t realize at the time how difficult it would be to get A 6 inserts to operate the system. I have this feeling that it will look very nice  on  the shelve in my office whilst I continue to work with my old, worn and battered Scanda Filofax.  I blame myself, I should have given it a lot more thought and consideration rather than being swept along on a wave of euphoria . I have, however, ordered a set of inserts from Holland so perhaps once I use them and start to operate the system I might feel differently – but we’ll see.

The Man has recovered from his sojourn in the hospital and the Humidifier  Crib. He still bumps into things and I still have to rescue  him from these nasty corners, but he is sleeping well and eating well. His medication is kept up to date and as far as we can tell he is in no pain,  so I see him being with me for a little while yet.
Crib

The Man

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
The Young Man
The Young Man

I have renewed my WordPress Account for a further year even although I am not sure why. I have, for the most part, recovered from my illness although I am having a little bit of a breathing problem, which, I am told, will  sort itself out. I also get tired easily and I find that I am quite lethargic and not in the mood for doing much.  I missed the last meeting of the RFDS and organized someone to take the minutes. I would prefer not to be going to Adelaide this week, but I have to be there for the Sitting of  the  Commission. To make matters worse,  the Man is not having such a great time. One night I was particularly worried about him and I thought  I was going to loose him, but he seemed to settle down and  slept peacefully. He did not have a great night last night although he not only had his dinner, we wanted more food, so, I fed him again and he scoffed that too. Here again he settled down and is again sleeping peacefully – well, he snores, so as peacefully as that allows. /////   I was out and Herself telephoned me because she was concerned about the Man, who seemed to be fighting for breath and was in some distress. I left and came home and agreed with her – he was not good and his mouth was blue. I called the Vet and he agreed to meet us at the surgery.  He is in some trouble, his heart is not good, his lungs are not good. He was given an injection to try and calm him down and put into a humidifier crib and oxygen pumped in to help his breathing. At the moment it is touch and go and he will be in the crib overnight.  Mustapha (the Vet – he’s Turkish) will have another look at him in the morning.   It’s not looking good and even if he comes through this episode, it’s only a question of a short time before it will be time -a few months at the most.

We went after lunch and collected him from the Vet. Not a clean bill of health but not too bad for his age. He had a wander around, did some sniffing and settled down in his bed, where he has been all afternoon. He is sleeping very peacefully now – not even snoring. We may only have him for a little while longer but we will try to make it as comfortable for him as possible.

The Man, me and sleepy-time.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The first  “real” fire of the season and it claimed a life. A major fire burning north of Port Wakefield was  brought under control but at the cost of a life. Is not a good start to the fire season and despite the odd rain, if has been very dry, so it’s not looking all that good. I  almost had the best sleep in weeks – almost. He finally settled down just after midnight and I went to bed. I went to sleep and was sound asleep when he decided to start yelping at 6:33 and woke me up.” I could have been a contender – I could have been somebody”- I could have slept until at least 7:15. But no! Duty, in the shape of the Man, called at precisely 6:33am.

Here, in the North, we may not experience the problems that  the south has – we don’t have floods and we don’t have serious gale force winds all that often, but we do have major fluctuation in temperature more rapidly here than in the  South of the State. A few days ago it was 34c but up here the temperature can drop as much as  12-15c overnight, which means that you go to bed with a light sheet covering and wake up in the wee small hours just about freezing and scrabbling frantically for quilts or blankets. No – it does not happen the opposite way. Temperature rises are gradual – it can drop from 39c – 24c overnight but it wont rise from 26c – 39c overnight – if that makes sense!! At the height of summer the temperature rises to 42+c and can stay there for days at a time- then the major problem for fire-fighters is a  wind blowing in off the desert and swinging back and forth in different directions. Arizona would know all about fighting fire and changing wind direJohn's Posterction. However, I also have to say that there is nothing in this area that even remotely resembles a  forest – or even a large area of trees and the closest I have ever come to a forest fire was when I drove back from Adelaide last year. In Scotland the North wind came screaming in off the Ice-Cap bring cold, ice and snow. Here the North wind is a hot wind blowing in off the desert.

The Man is not having a good day. I fed him his treat and medication this morning ( at 6:33) but he’s crying as if he was in some pain. I understand that he is a bit scared and has no idea what is happening to him, he is blind and can’t see what is happening around him. There is nothing in this  world that I want more than to be able to lift him, cuddle him, comfort him and somehow let him know that I will never abandon or desert him and be always here for him. I touch him, and he tries to bite me – I lift him and he screams and struggles until I put him down. He fights and resists every attempt to help or comfort him and at times I just don’t know what to do. The closest I get to him is when I hand feed him his treat in the morning. My recovery is not helped by him yelping at 3am and I have to get out of bed to attend to him and  get him back to his bed again.  Poor wee thing…

It seems like weeks since I last wrote anything here and I suspect the reason it feels like weeks is because it is. The  “Bug” turned out to be a little more serious that we thought and the swabs threw up a few “nasties” – interesting but not  dangerous.  I am still tired and unable to do much, but I am recovering and I should have recovered sufficiently to be in Adelaide on 19th & 20th November. I will be down for the Commission – which I have to attend. I also have to attend a conference on 6th December and that should be me until mid-February next year. Because of the lack of energy I have not been able to keep up with much of what’s been happening  around the place and with the other members of WordPress. I really must try and get on top of things. In the meantime all I can do is quote the words of the Great Mark Twain “The reports of my demise are grossly  exaggerated”