I am going to be quite late in replying to comments. Yesterdat the workman came and started the preperation for the work today. Last night the boys ( our sons) came over and we moved everything out of the lounge and it is now stacked everywhere. I have a little corner of the desk left and I will lose that when I shut down shortly. The workmen will be here soon (7:30) and will start to lay the new floor ( Tasmanian Oak). The last of the bits – mainly the TV and cabinet – had to leave that for Annabell last night – will be moved and I will end up with that in my room. Poor Benji has no idea what is happening but I guess as long as he has a place to lay his head, he will be quite happy. Now I have to go and get the car out of the driveway so that the truck can get in. See you in a couple of days – actually, if all goes well, and the boys arrive we might get much of the furniture back in place tonight. I am going to try and leave me some space, but I am posting this – just in case.
Month: August 2019
Wednesday
Adelaide, Home and a mini-reflection
The drive to Adelaide was not too bad. The weather up in this little corner of the world was good, but there was bands of rain and mist sweeping across from about Snowtown onward. Annoying in that you just switch on the wipers and then within a minute switch them off again. Bright sun, then another band moves in and wipers on, then off, then…. until after Port Wakefield – about 100 klms. from Adelaide. I spent much of Adelaide shopping and getting things for Annabell as well as spending time in Bunnings for garden things and a new hammock. I also wanted to get a new canopy for the garden seat, but no luck there. I did buy one on line a while ago but Australian Garden seats are smaller than a three seat and larger than a two seat – awkward – I may have to get one made. Friday is late night shopping in town and I like to wander through Rundle Mall. Surprisingly enough, it was not very busy although is was cold. From there I walked the half mile or so to the Central Market which was open until 9pm. I didn’t do much at the market other than get some new cook books and a bag of mandarins,
which I am fond of, but I did take what I thought was a fairly reasonable shot of Victoria Square, which these days is well lit up. Before it was dull and dreary but in recent years Adelaide has started to look much more interesting and welcoming at night – provided you don’t go wandering off the main areas. We still have a few problems in that regard and it’s still not a good idea to go wandering off on your own in less frequented areas – “safety in Numbers”still applies. One of the streets that was a major concern has mostly been “tamed” with most of the “nightclubs”having been moved on.
Built as a minesweeper and launched in 1942 HMAS Whyalla saw service mostly in the Pacific. She was one of 60 “Bathurst Class” Minesweepers/ Corvettes and was awarded
Launched 1942
three Battle Honours for her service. She was decommissioned in 1947 and sold to the Victorian Government, renamed “Rip” and used as a Lighthouse supply ship and various other civilian duties. In 1984 she was to be sold for scrap. HMAS Whyalla was the first ship built in the Whyalla Shipbuilding yard and rather then let it be scrapped and forgotten the Whyalla City Council negotiated with the Victorian Government to buy the ship. This was done and the ship was brought back to Whyalla with
a volunteer crew and under her own steam. She remained in the slipway until 1987 when she was -slowly- moved 2 kilms to her present landlocked position as the centerpiece of the Whyalla Maritime Museum, which was opened in 1988. I have taken family and visitors to the Maritime Museum but Annabell has stayed in the car or watched from the ground – the stairs being too much for her. There are a number of seasonal things that attract people here not the least of which is the diving to observe the giant cuttlefish. This has grown in size in the last few years and the RFDS (Whyalla) has been involved every year since it began. This year, this month, in fact, it will be 40 years since Annabell and I, and the two boys moved to Australia. We had been married 10 years to the month when we left Scotland. Much has changed
Wednesday
Wetlands and Dogs
These last few days Benji has been very reluctant to go out for out early morning walk. I can understand this – it has been very cold. I thought that I would leave the walk to later in the morning – say 8am instead of 6am. I also thought it might be a good idea that we go to the Wetland instead of a local walk. It was a cold but lovely morning this morning and the ponds at the wetlands were like glass – no breeze at all – not a ripple.
However I decided it was not such a good idea. There were a good number of people about and all of them had a dog, or dogs/. Benji does not get on well with strange dogs so the walk really wasn’t much fun for him. I think we will just stick to the local area in the morning and go to the wetlands in the afternoon when it seems to be a lot quieter. The interesting thing was that all the people with dogs this morning were males. If I want to go to the foreshore I have to remember to take bags with me as the council has not yet replaced the dog waste bags that it removed for the upgrade.
Benji is a rescue dog and we have not known what his true age was. In October of this year it will be
four years since we adopted him. At the time I was told he was three years, so plus the four we have had him, that would make seven. I always felt he was older and it turns out I was right – he was born in November 2010, which means he will be nine years, not seven, this year. All of this is academic because in the end I don’t care what age he is, he’s my boy and I love him dearly. However, it may go a ways to explaining why he is so reluctant to get out of bed and get out of the house at 6am on a winter morning – and – I shall have to take the pace at which I walk into consideration and slow down a tad. Of course the reluctance to get out of bed and get out of the house on a cold winter morning could simply be a kind of human trait, since sometimes we are pretty reluctant to do similar ourselves. I had out longer than usual last night and he actually did slow down and he seemed to me to be a bit tired, so I lifted him up on my shoulder and carried him for a while. One of the neighbours asked “who was taking who for the walk?” After a little while I put him back down and he seemed to have a lot more energy
This coming weekend is the weekend of the Whyalla Show (Fair). The RFDS will be on display again this year but I will not be attending this year as I will be in Adelaide for a Presbytery Meeting. We have Yogi here! Jim took what is believed to be a slight stroke and was taken to hospital. Fay is spending much of the day there so she asked if we would look after Yogi for a few hours. I said I would and went down and collected him at 8am this morning (Wednesday) I said before that he has not been a well dog and he has certainly lost a fair bit of weight and he is crying a lot, but that could be because this was all so sudden and he is anxious and does know what is happening. At the moment he is a sad little dog, but Benji and me will look after him for a bit.. Yogi was only here for a few hours and he “cried”much of that time. I held him up on my lap but I had to be careful and not put Benji offside.
As it turned out, Jim did not have a stroke – not even a minor one. He underwent a brain scan an ECG and various other tests and when they proved negative he was allowed home. When I took Yogi back home Jim was
sleeping. He will check in with the hospital every few days for a little while to make certain everything is ok. However they really don’t know what caused the turn he had. Fay was chastised by the doctor because she drove him to the hospital instead of calling an Ambulance. Her comment was that the ambulance can take too long to arrive and is was quicker to drive him to hospital. That’s a worry…
Wednesday
Beach, Wetlands and Dougal is Back
On Friday I set out to Port Augusta -80 klms away. Annabell had been sent a cheque from the UK and it was in Pounds Stg. – no one here would even look at it because it was a foreign currency cheque. Added to the fact that it was a crossed cheque, meant that the trip to our branch in Port Augusta and back was necessary. We set off around 9:30 – oh “We” that’s me and Benji not me and Annabell – but I did the medication in her eyes before we left. Benji really likes road trips. He gets his car harness on, is clipped into the seat and he settles down. He watches me just to make sure I am concentrating on driving and not being distracted. We have this all worked out, I drive, he supervises – it’s a good arrangement.
The bank was a great help even if it did take up more than an hour of our time. The cheque had to be confirmed by Adelaide which required a confirmation email, paperwork to sign and wait. Left said bank, got Benji out
of the car and took him for a short walk. Back to the car, seat belt on and I went back to the bank. The email had arrived from Adelaide and I had to sign an agreement that meant I paid the fee of $15 for the clearing of the cheque and the depositing of same in Annabell’s account. That done, I drove round to Big W and did some shopping, then went for some lunch. I had fresh cooked chips (French Fries- sort of) and a bottle of water. The Benji had cooked Chicken and share of my water. I have a collapsible silicone bowl that I keep in the car for just such times We sat on a bench at the jetty and watched the world. That done, another short walk then headed for home. I would liked to have stopped in at the Arid Lands Botanic Garden, but no dogs are allowed, so that was out.
This afternoon- Sunday – we took a walk down to the beach. I didn’t stay there long because I only had a single waste bag with me and the Council have not seen fit to replace the bag dispensers. The area was almost empty. There was a few children in the new play area with parents close beside on benches, but otherwise, not busy at all. As you can see from the photograph that the beach is all but deserted I used the bag I had and decided to drive back to the wetlands. The wetlands has become very popular and the Kiosk was crowded again. I managed to get a place in the car park, got some bags from the dispenser and set off. Like Friday, it was another warm and sunny day – bit cool at times but generally a good day for walking. We did find the birds. I have asked some people who know these things and I am informed that the birds are “Feral Geese, Domestic, Non-Native” No one seems very sure where they came from, but they are there and settled in by the looks of things. Apart from the geese there are Muscovy Ducks and an interesting little bird – black and white with long pink legs – which I discovered are called Black Neck Stilts – apparently native to much of the USA but we do have them here in Australia..
Annabell is improving, just in nice time for the grocery shopping tomorrow. She goes to the supermarket, I do all the other jobs, post office; newsagent,: chemist then meet up with her
to help her finish off and then checkout. After that – generally a coffee before we head home. Ina has has to be taken to Adelaide for check-up and more tests. She is not a well lady. Sam is taking her down tomorrow (Wednesday) and later on this afternoon he will bring Dougla round here. Annabell and I will look after him until they get home – they hope Friday but probably Saturday. I don’t mind, Dougal is no trouble and he and Benji get on well together.
Dougal came to visit not long after I brought Annabell back from her Coffee Morning, and after a little while I got both Benji and Dougal ready and took them down to the Wetlands. We had a good wander around the wetlands and although it had been my intention to stop off at the Kiosk, the fact that there were people with dogs there already deterred me from doing that. However, we did go down to the foreshore and had a wander and a play on the beach. I understand that Yogi is not a well dog at the moment. I hope he gets better soon. Still, he has a good Vet. – not the same Vet as Benji, but a good Vet.
Wednesday
Wednesday
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