Towards the final curtain C

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
Overlooking the foreshore this afternoon

After the medical alert and the dust storms, we had two days of rain. Still, at least it washed the dust away. The pit at the end of the street is completely full. Benji and I took a walk down there a short while ago when it stopped raining for a bit. More rain is forecast for tomorrow. We were lucky in that our fundraising event was  rain free but it started just as we were starting to pack up. In that respect we were pretty lucky.  It rained today (Sunday) but the fundraising team that were out managed to avoid the showers and stayed a bit longer. It rained for much of the afternoon so we didn’t get out for our walk until later than usual.

One of the common problems I have is the buffering of this machine. I try to watch YouTube or a movie on Netflix and  what I am watching stops and I get to watch the pretty blue circle going round and round until  the program catches up and it all comes back again. As far as I understand this means that the computer does not have sufficient RAM to cope. Well, during the week I put the computer in for an upgrade and 4 more gigabits of RAM giving me a total of 8 gigabits. Surely that should be enough to stop the buffrering – or whatever it’s called.  No. 2 son suggested that we should get a repeater which would boost the WiFi signal from the Modem. I am not the one who watches the television but there you are  I got the repeater from Harvey Norman and set it up for her.

Today much of what I have seen are reminders that the clocks go forward next Sunday (6th Oct.) That’s ok and  probably necessary,  howeffer—- Christmas Decorations are not and I am seeing these in shops already – I mean by-pass Halloween, Thanksgiving and whatever else and go directly to Christmas. This is just money-grabbing silliness.  It’s the same at the pump, the second after  it was announced that the oil production facilities had been damaged in an attack – Australian  fuel prices shot up. It is now announced that  there has been major repairs and production is back to what it was before the attack, but the prices are not coming down.

I went down to the Wetlands with Benji about 10am this morning (Saturday) and I have to say that the kiosk was R.J.F.  (Ram Jam Full)  The new roof has gone up giving shelter from  any rain and shade from the sun. There were also a lot of people walking around. The Wetlands is becoming very popular and it would be nice if the council spent as much time looking after the Wetlands and presenting it better,  than is does with their  $6 Million + Jetty that they rave about. I don’t like the jetty – or at least the plans for the new jetty, one little bit. I feel that close to seven million dollars  could be much better spent.  However it being Monday, the Kiosk is closed. They are open six days so they do need a bit of a break to catch up on upgrades and  cleaning.

After the Wetlands we went for a quiet wander in the shade around the Ada Ryan Gardens –  The gardens are looking fairly good but they tend to highlight a problem – why dog owners

Flowers at the pathway

get a bad reputation- dog poo. Well not enough to be a major concern but enough to be a noticeable concern. Difficult to miss on the  brick walking paths. When we came here Ada Ryan Gardens was the main place for  outings. We used to take all the  Sunday School children – and parents – to a picnic in the gardens several times a year. We could have a barbecue or just a simple picnic with sandwiches,  biscuits and cold  drinks from several Eskies. We played games and fed the ducks in the duck pond. But then the vandals came and began throwing stones at the ducks, killing several. The council installed  higher fencing, but that didn’t deter them and after  two more ducks were killed, the council removed the ducks, drained the duck pond and filled it in. We also had an enclosure where  several injured kangaroos were kept and looked after, but the vandals attacked them too and they were removed and the enclosure dismantled. In the 1980s we had a lot of trouble with vandals, which all the experts blamed on living in the country and isolated from the facilities and opportunities that are enjoyed by the good people of
Adelaide. Like all things,  that passed but I wonder what the new reason is these days for all the vandalism and youth crime ( as young as 13/15) currently taking place in Adelaide.  Hhmmm…

The weather is starting to warm up a bit – 33c today 30c tomorrow and 37 on Friday. Fires are still burning in New South Wales and Queensland but in some places there is an added concern in that several towns are running out of water. There are no water restrictions in South Australia since we have had enough rain to fill the reservoirs and they are fairly healthy. One town in NSW is spending 14 Million to run a pipeline from that town to another town to access their dam. Problem is that the dam is now reduced to 50% capacity so by the time the pipe is complete there might not be enough water to go around both towns .  The long range weather forecast is not  very encouraging..

 

Towards the Final Curtain B

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
Before
After

Blank, Blank, Blank and Blank again!! I don’t know what I have done but I have lost 800 blank words. A full post gone along with all the photographs.  I have no idea how I did it or even what I did, or even if it was my own fault, but everything just vanished

Snow in Canberra

and nothing I have been able to do  has helped to restore the post. I can’t even remember what I wrote. The name of the post is still there but the 800+ words are gone.  I feel that this is merely another chapter in the  frustration that has been me and WordPress over the last year. I have now come to accept Spam as simply a different name for the Inbox but in trying to search for this missing posts I came across posts that I never knew existed. I expect it’s a bit too late to do anything now, but at least two nice people are probably reflecting on my rudeness in not replying to their messages, particularly the lady in Sydney NSW Anyway, this has really added to what has been a really, really bad week. Started off  well with me having to go to hospital for x-rays on my left wrist and arm. Out walking with Benji early Monday morning, I tripped and fell to the ground so fast I was  down before I realised what had happened. For a few moment I just lay there unable to move. Sadly I didn’t hit my head – I say sadly because I figure doing so might have knocked some sense into me.. As for Benji – I think he must have decided Daddy wanted a bit of a rest so he came over, licked my face, then sat down – totally unconcerned. I discovered that I could not put any weight on my left arm so it took me a few minutes to get back up again and discover that apart from the left wrist and arm, I was ok. We finished the walk and went home. Annabell was awake and  she seemed to realise I was in some pain so she helped me get my outdoor clothes off. I managed to see my doctor who sent me to the hospital for x-rays. He also had a few choice words to say about the fact that I drove to the surgery – not the brightest of things to do, but there you are.  Anyway, nothing is broken or cracked,  some trauma to the arm muscles  which has caused swelling and will settle down again – in the fullness of time.  What I did do, though, was go see the Pharmacist  and get a support strap that would allow me to vigorously attack the keyboard.  One of our elderly ladies died on Friday last and there was a funeral to arrange and an Order of Service to  create, print and photocopy. Why didn’t I ask someone else to do it??  Simple – there is no one else! We cancelled Annabell’s hospital visit on Tuesday afternoon because of the funeral, but I did take her to her coffee evening on Tuesday night. One of the things that that always stresses  me is whether or not I have made sufficient copies of the Order Of Service. I stress about it every time, but we always seem to be ok. In the before photograph it was discovered that there was a slight “lip”in the concrete which had to be attended to. That was smoothed out with quick drying cement and a heater the day before the  the workmen started. We put a heater on for a few hours so by the time they came it was dry and work could begin. – And no, I didn’t do it – they did.

Benji likes the new floor
Fire New South Wales

Whilst some parts of the country are in severe drought, other parts are on fire, other parts are running out of water, and Canberra has snow. Spring and snow in Canberra. Well, ok, not quite a patch on the “Beast from the East” but snow…  Last night it was announced on the news that people with breathing difficulties as well as babies and the very elderly, need to stay indoors tomorrow – Thursday. This will be a day of very high wind and there will be  problems with duststorms. This will present life threatening concerns for people with breathing difficulties.  Today is Thursday and I can tell you that it has been blowing all day – sometimes  85 – 100 kph with a temperature of 35c. There is certainly a lot of dust and it has not been – and is still not – a nice day. Still, it could be worse, we could be in a fire zone area. Yet, there was hardly a breath of wind when Benji and I went out at 6am this morning.

What with me deciding to experience homelessness and curl up on the concrete with my dog, we have fallen far behind our step and millage total for the week. Just have to write this week off. Sarurday and we have a Fundraising event  for the RFDS at the local Hardware. Son John, me and one other will do this one. Hope the weather is a bit better than it currently is

Towards the final Curtain?

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs
Before

The new floor was laid over two days and I am quite pleased with it. It is not quite what I imagined but  I am happy with it and I think the Tasmanian Oak was a good choice.

After

Well, here we are in September already and only three month to go until the end of the year. All in it has been an interesting year with a number of medical concerns with Annabell.  Fortunately she is well at the moment

Fires continue to burn out of control in New South and Queensland but the 100kpm winds that have fanned the flames has started to ease. Thus far no lives have been lost but there is considerable property destruction and damage.  We have had a couple of days of high winds up here but no fires just dust and  a fog that closed down Adelaide Airport for several hours. We did have a few warm and sunny days as a “Welcome to Spring” sort of treat and I took advantage of them by getting out to the Lighthouse Area with Benji. This weekend is the Grand Football Final and we (RFDS) will be running a Fundraising event. Son John and I will have a team in the morning and there will be a further team take over in the afternoon. The following week,  we will be working at the  Hardware store and the weekend after that will be a Special Church Service to  celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Ladies Organisation and the weekend after that I will be heading off to Mount Gambier again.  Annabell has had another operation on her eye so I am  looking after her for the moment, not that I don’t look after her normally. I was just thinking of the last time she was in Adelaide with me (Before she became ill) and I asked her where she wanted to go. She said that she didn’t mind and I should surprise her – so I did. I took her to Bunnings. I know, I’m just a romantic at heart  :o)

We are beyond the green belt.

I took Benji for a wander around the Wetlands. The pools are still looking good and the geese are in fine form, but I would like to see a lot more rain to overflow the ponds. The reason for this is to give some hedge against the evaporation that will occur during the summer heat. I think the evaporation that we saw last year is only a foretaste of what is to come. Everything thus far is pointing to a really hot summer and more fires.. On the subject of fires,  units and volunteers have left South Australia to help fight the fires in New South Wales. On the map of the Eyre Peninsula we are beyond the green belt. Any fires that occur here are in the South East of the State, the Adelaide Hills or in the lower Eyre Peninsula. Any fires here

Fires NSW & Queensland

are  wild grass fires and are controlled fairly quickly. There’s nothing much to burn here except wild grass and saltbush.. However, the concern is that it is only really early spring  and already we have fires of this magnatude.  Today, for example, here in  the Arid Lands, the temperature is forecast to reach 32c. The beautiful thing is that it turns out I am not on duty for this particular fundraising at the Football Grand Final – young John is, but  I am not. Anyway,  there have been no lives lost but there has been considerable land and property damage. Two teenagers have been arrested for lighting one of the fires that destroyed land and property ( a house and garage) one is 16 the other – a girl – is 14. Don’t know what we are going to do,  the law calls for 10 years, but this is South Australia and you barely get that for murder, so no doubt a slap on the wrist and a suspended sentence. Currently a hit and run killed a child. The driver was arrested at his home. Judge gave him a discount for pleading guilty so he will walk free in about 22 months. We don’t have justice in South Australia – we have the rule and application of law  but not justice. People protest outside the court but no one inside takes the slightest bit of notice.

Benji managed to  cut his paw when we were out walking. I carried him home and took him up to the Vet. There was a little bit of glass but it was all cleaned out – not without some trauma from Benji – and he was given medication. He was also fitted with a “Medical Collar” to make sure that he didn’t lick off the medication.  Goodness the  performance we have to go through to get the cream on his paw –  honestly, you would think I was trying to murder him.

 

Friday – Floor Laying.

by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

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.