Adelaide – Page 6 – Edgar's Page

Funerals and Ships of State

27/01/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Driving to Mount Gambier was “interesting”since I at one point I had the A/C on because the outside temperature was 41C and at another I had the heating on at low because it was chucking it down and a bit on the cold side. In fact I sat at the table in front of the window at my hotel and watched a major storm break over Adelaide – 35,000 homes and businesses lost power – again. First time I have stayed in this Motel since this was the period of the Major Bike Race “Tour Down Under” and everything was booked. Normally, I would not have been traveling to Mount Gambier at this time but this was a Special Meeting. It was a hectic four days, alternating between very hot to cool to cold to very hot and the demister on because the windscreen was fogging up. It was a strange and tiring five days. And no the five was not a mistake. I arrived home on Sunday afternoon to be told that one of our elderly ladies had died and her funeral was at the church on Monday 10am. It was a fairly big funeral and the church was filled to capacity. Poor Benji, I abandoned him for four days and I took off again at 9am Monday and didn’t get home until early afternoon, then back out again to take Annabell shopping. By late afternoon I was back home and able to sit down with him – me with my feet up and him on my lap. We did not go out on Monday evening for our walk simply because the forecast rain that had held off all day came pouring down. We had heavy rain all night.

This morning (Tuesday) I took BJ out and there are dark and heavy clouds everywhere, and it was really very cool. I had a look at the satellite image and it looks as if the large rain band will go across the top and although we might get a few spots, I think we will miss the bulk of the rain this time. I’ve had people from Queensland wanting to know what Rain Dances we are doing in South Australia, because they could do with some of the wet stuff up there. The week began with a funeral and it will end with a funeral. The man I mentioned some time ago as having cancer and not expected to be with us at New Year, was, and passed yesterday evening. The funeral will be on Friday at 11am, so what was a hectic four days turned into five days and has now turned into nine days. Tonight I will start to put the order of service together. Presbytery was not popular because I was away and couldn’t do the Order of Service for the funeral on Monday so they had to put something together without me. Isn’t it nice to be missed? :o)

I have not commented at all on the US Election, the President or the Women’s Marches, nor the comments made by celebrities, however as I am told that this is a global issue and I should “Jump in “to the debate I find that I cannot. Having said that I will contribute this:

In the darkest days of World War Two, when Britain was on its knees and everything looked bleak and dark, the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, wrote to Winston Churchill and with the official letter he also included in his own handwriting the following extracts from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – “The Building of the Ship” thus my contribution to the debate is to return these words to you.

Sail on, sail on O ship of State
Sail on, O Union strong and great
Humanity, with all its fears
And all the hopes of future years
Is hanging breathless on thy fate.

Sail on nor fear to breast the sea
Our hearts and hopes are all with thee,
Our hearts, our hopes, our prayers, our tears
Our faith, triumphant oér our fears
Are all with thee – are all with thee.

Playing Santa – Toys for Benji

04/12/201604/12/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Let me tell you that I lurve you and I think about you all the time :o)

The reason I went to Adelaide by coach rather than driving down was that I wanted several things and I believed that I only needed to go to one place, Muno Para Shopping Center, and I could attend to them – Telstrashop (New Travel Modem) Bunnings ( Garden things) and some things for the Benji. Well, I guess two out of three is not bad – although having said that, I could get these two things anywhere but not the Bunnings things. Well, I got the new Travel Modem – I got things for the Benji and discovered that Bunnings Muno Para has closed down and moved to another area. I had been to this particular Bunnings in Muno Para several times before and now, it was gone. Here’s the rub, had I been in the car I could simply driven to another store in another part of town, – Modbury, Mile End or Pooraka- but relying on public transport and having to watch my time for the coach home, kind of put paid to these notions. I suppose I came out ahead, but not really because I actually NEED the units that I was going to get in Bunnings. I did not have the time to go elsewhere and getting there was not all that crash hot on public transport. As I said, I have

The Lower Flinders Ranges from Highway 1

driven to the Muno Para Shopping Center several times before, so when I went over to the train station in Adelaide I got a ticket to Muno Para – seems logical, yes?? Well no! I got off at Muno Para Station in the middle of nowhere – almost. I happened to see a person and asked them where the Muno Para Shopping Center was and they informed me that the Muno Para Shopping Center is in Smithfield – which was the last stop. So I had to go over to the other side of the station and wait for a train back to Smithfield. Agreed, not difficult to do – not rocket science – but time consuming.

After I got the things I was looking for (except the Bunnings things) I went back to the train station and took the train back to Elizabeth and had a look for some things there. Did buy a second toy for Benji so that was good. I have this theory that a dog can’t have too many toys. Also had a belated lunch. I was back in town by 16:40 and spend three quarters of an hour at the Central Market where I finally found a collapsible water bowl. Overall the trip wasn’t a complete loss but a lot of time spent traveling and getting nothing done. I mean 11 hours in coach travel alone. Why Bunnings – why not get what I want elsewhere – because like Ryobi Tools in Australia, there are things that are exclusive to Bunnings – what I wanted was part of that.

On the journey up as it got dark I was puzzled by all the lights around us, then I realised that it was the farmers working into the night – under lights- to get the harvest in whilst it was still dry. This was on both sides of the highway all the way up through the farming areas. After the wettest spring on record, you can hardly blame them working hard to get their crops harvested in case the weather breaks.

Travelling to Adelaide by coach these days is very much a waste of time. The coach leaves at 6 am – arrives in Adelaide at 11:30 am and departs again at 4 pm – not really a lot o

f time to do much other than wander around Rundle Mall. Thursday the departure time is 6 pm so that certainly helps – although it used to be at 6:30. I can understand the coach company reducing services – last Thursday, for example, there were six people on the coach leaving Adelaide. Four left at Port Pirie, one left at Port Augusta, so for the last 80 klms I had a 44 seater coach all to myself. -With the driver, of course. Still, two new toys and a water bowl for Benji – seems like a good day out to me :o)

Adelaide and Forever Easy

02/12/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

As expected the weather has been cold, wet and windy and to add insult to injury, the area in front of the house is about to be dug up as the Fed. Govt. workpeople lay in the National Broadband Network (NBN) cables. They are not quite up to my section yet, but they are about seventy meters away – our section is next, probably in the next few days. I am concerned in that there are many people I know who have been discussing the NBN and how slow it is and yet it is being touted as being able to deliver Internet connections, better and faster. Most of the people who are complaining I know and will probably see some of them in the next day or so. I think you actually have to apply to join the NBN and if it is as they say, I shall delay that for as long as possible.

Tomorrow I start working on another problem – that of finding a new Vet. Not that I need one and could probably put the issue off for some time, but I think I should do this now – when I don’t need a vet. The problem is that Mustafa – our vet for many years – has gone back to Turkey for an indefinite period. His mother is very ill and he has gone to his family home to be with her and at the moment there is no indication when he will be back. I have heard good things about the Vet at the ABC Village, so I will probably go and see her and ask if she would accept Benji as a patient. As I said I don’t need a vet right at the moment but it’s good to know that there is one around that you can call on if needs be.

Yesterday the boy and I drove to Port Augusta. It was a warmish day (33c) but I kept the A/C on most of the time so it was a pleasant enough drive. I got some of the things I was looking for at Better Homes, but I still need a trip to Bunnings to get the rest of what I need for the back garden. On the way back up to the main highway we stopped off at a park and I took Benji for a walk to stretch his legs for a bit and this time I did remember to bring a water bowl with me.

Amazing – truly amazing! Yesterday – as I said – the boy and I drove to Port Augusta and back – it was warmish to hot and we drove with the A/C on. Today, it’s chucking it down and the temperature is about 19c and this is the last day of Spring and whilst it is now in the records as the wettest spring ever, perhaps it’s giving this last rain storm – just to make sure. The interesting thing is that the long range weather forecasters have consulted, whatever it is they consult, and suggested that we are going to have a long, hot summer and that a hot summer means hot north winds off the desert – increased levels of Hay Fever. Not fun in the sun.. And talking about illness, I discovered something new – well new to me anyway. There is this thing called Thunderstorm Asthma, which I had never heard of until a few days ago. Apparently it is caused by the pollen absorbing moisture, which then breaks up into smaller fragments and dispersed by the wind. The smaller fragments can reach the lower areas of the lung and cause terrible consequences. From what I was reading there have been 8 deaths in Victoria ( Melbourne area) in the last few months. Bit scary.

Yesterday (Thursday) I was in Adelaide and arrived home at midnight last night. I did not drive down as I normally would but went down by coach. I decided to have a quick check of my on-line mail before my taxi arrived. To say I was in shock is an understatement – Easy Gone!. How, why what… My taxi arrived to take me to the Bus Terminal and all the way down to Adelaide on the coach I thought of little else. The last thing Easy asked was for us to make a short travel post for his unwell cat friend and I was thinking about that and how I could sent the cat to Mount Gambier and the Blue Lake and I will do that. I think we are all still in shock with the suddenness of events and I am so very, very sorry. I wish there was something I could do. Our thoughts and prayers are with Easy’s family and when I came home last night, I gave Benji an extra hug.

Road Trip and Ice Cream

14/11/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The weather today was a warm 34c. I took the Benji on a small road trip of about 100+ lkms – wandering around the region and ending up having Ice-Cream at the Foreshore Cafe. He had a small tub I had a Cornetto. Well, we sat outside since we couldn’t go inside in the

cool but that aside, we enjoyed our Ice Cream and it would have been much easier if a certain someone hadn’t kept trying to eat the wooden

spoon as well as the Ice Cream. My predictions are going to prove right and already on the first warm to hot day and the flies were ferocious. We finished our Ice Cream and were glad to get back into the car again . A few flies in the car but they went as soon as we started driving with both windows open. Inovation… I brought water but I forgot a container for Benji. Well I did what they did in “The Lighthorsemen”I took off the Akubra and emptied the water into my hat and he was quite happy to drink it from there. – Yes, push in the crown to make a bowl and it can hold water.

Just shows how quickly things change – or how media get things wrong – not really sure which at the moment. Yesterday it was announced that at the meeting of shareholders it was agreed that Arrium would be sold as a whole company. Now, this morning it was announced that Molly-Cop is to be sold off to an American company for $1.6 Billion in a separate deal with the funds being used to pay back creditors – about $0.50 in the Dollar. But this is the last I will mention this because it’s all a mess and things change from day to day. . However, Molly-Cop is being sold (now sold) to American Industrial Partners – but here again there is confusion in that the “Australian”says $1.2 billion while the Arrium Administrator says $1.6 Billion. But there is still a group of shareholders that are opposed to Arrium being sold off now that the Iron Ore Prices and the Steel Prices have risen. They want the company to be handed back to the shareholders and that the company continue to trade and thus trade itself back into profit again. Yes well, As they said in “The Castle” – “Tell him he’s Dreaming”. The idea that we go back to trading and perhaps in a few years go through all this trauma again ( probable) is not really appealing. The idea, I thought, is to mitigate the pain, not increase its severity whilst prolonging it. But as I said, last mention.

Thursday and I head off to Mount Gambier. First stop is Adelaide where I will stay overnight before heading off to M.G. on Friday morning. After the warm and sunny 34c the temperature crashed and it has been cold for the last couple of days. This morning, when I took BJ out I put on a heavy jacket as protection from a cold, biting wind. In our walk there is a section of ground that I walk across to take me from one area to another. I do not know why, but when we went onto that ground, about 15+ feet – Benji goes bottom up, head down, digs in his paws and will not move. It could be the yellow, stubble grass(?) that hurts his paws, but he will not move and no amount of talking or pulling will make him move. Well that’s the way I want to go so I do what any daddy would do, I lift him up and carry him across. Well, you know what they say – He aint heavy, he’s my brother” o:) That apart, it’s a good walk.

The interesting news of this week is that the Electronic Patient Administration System, crashed across most of the major hospitals in the State. Fortunately no patients were at risk during the 10 hour crash ( this time) but doctors and medical staff have been complaining about the system (American) that’it’s clunky. chunky and slow. Not only that but in the new, much vaunted, third most expensive building on the planet, plagued by constant delays. running over budget, New Royal Adelaide Hospital, the builders and designers never included any provisions for storing patient records – all of which will have to be stored off-site. Ah, the joys of living in South Australia.

Rain,Wind and Lazy Days.

21/10/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Last Friday I drove down to Adelaide in lovely weather. It was an excellent day for a drive and I enjoyed the journey. Well I did until I reached the crossroads of the State ( The Tin Man) and discovered that I had left my laptop bag at home – so an exciting two days ahead – no laptop, no modem and – more importantly – no diary. That’s the first time I have ever done that. I completed the task I had to do at Elizabeth, then continued on to Adelaide and met up with a young friend who is currently continuing her studies at Adelaide . We spent a few hours drinking coffee and catching up with each other’s news. I walked her back to the railway station then caught the tram to the Central Market. My son had asked me to look at some computer things for him and the computer store was halfway down Franklin Street. The walk to this store was something I had done many times before, but on this occasion it was a nightmare and I was in pain not long after I got off the tram. When I finally got to the computer place it was to find that the store was closed down and empty – which – to say the very least – was a tad annoying! Anyway, got back to Rundle Mall, rescued the car from the Car Park and drove to the hotel. Once I unloaded the car I was in no mood for anything other than getting my feet up. I did buy a small notebook so I was able to keep a note of things for my diary. I spent most of the evening propped up on the hotel bed with a good book.

The Saturday meeting didn’t last long since there was only one item on the agenda – what used to be called an “in hunc effectum” meeting before the use of outdated Latin phrases was discontinued about four years ago. Anyway, by 11:30 I was on the road home and called Annabell to let her know I was in Port Wakefield. The drive home was something else. Given the poor state of the highway, depressions, potholes, poorly repaired sections and a high wind into the bargain, it was not the relaxing drive it was the previous day. The Port Wakefield Road is part of Inter-State National Highway 1 and I believe the responsibility of the Federal Government. I arrived in Port Augusta tired. I did some shopping there, had coffee and fuel and headed out to the last 80 klms.

Since coming home the weather has been wild and windy and to round off a bad weather week, it has been raining heavily all night. There was an interesting report on the news the other night about the consequences of all this rain – things are growing like wildfire – I know that by the continual battle against the weeds that we are all having – but already the pollen count has been very high and starting to foreshadow what could be the worst hay fever season on record. I spend a small fortune on weed killer and by and large the weeds laugh at it, have a ball and invite their friends to the party.

It now be official! I went to my diet people this morning and was weighed at 82.7 kilo.Not good but a lot better that I had expected and a loss since I was last weighed a few weeks ago. I not only want to get back to where I was before the operation but to push further to about 77 kilo. I shall be happy then. Anyway this bad weather has not been “all bad”and not going out at night means that my Associate (Benji) and I had a few lazy evenings plonked on the bed, propped up watching season 6 of Downton Abbey. I had a look and season 10 of Lewis is not out on DVD yet. I have all the others.

Road Repairs, and Storm Damage

29/09/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Patience is one thing – having to put up with this constant ache is something else. I do not intend to play at being Gregory House, living on pain killers and a cane. But according to what I am being told everything is progressing well and the residual pain is to be expected for a while. Good Grief, I’m a grumpy, impatient patient!! I don’t know why Benji puts up with me. Annabell – she who follows Rugby – tells me that rugby players are out for a while with a knee injury and it will take a while for the discomfort to fade completely.

I have been looking at Therapy Dogs, South Australia and from what I can see Therapy Dogs are not hospital visitors. I don’t think they go into Hospitals at all – more people confined to their homes, Retirement Homes, Aged Care Facilities plus a list of other activities but , not that I can see, hospitals. Bit sad if that is the case. I found their web site slightly confusing, but perhaps that’s just me.

Couple of days ago there was a fatal car crash on the Port Wakefield Road. It is believed that the car may have been thrown off balance by a pothole. I use that road fairly regularly and was there on Wednesday going down and Thursday coming home and for a main road north, it’s not the best. It needs some serious upgrade. Traveling down on Wednesday there were places where it was like driving over corrugated iron. Some genius came up with a new idea to make bad roads last longer – fill in the cracks with bitumen. Yes, it may well help to make the road last a bit longer but it makes for a very uncomfortable ride. That’s what they have been doing on the Port Wakefield Road but it is now widespread and the Council have been doing it here in a number of our roads – not pretty. It’s like a very old British TV show “Never Mind the Quality – Feel the Width”. Why not repair it – don’t be silly, that would mean diverting money away from the South Road – or even worse – the Money Pit AKA The New Royal Adelaide Hospital. Although, having said that, they did go out and fill in the potholes that caused the accident.

Wednesday: According to all the weather reporters and forecasters we are about to get hit with the worst storm since the 1940s and it starts this afternoon. At this moment it is 7:40 and it is blue skies and sunny – no sign of any storm – hardly even a cloud. At the moment, as far as I can see, the storm is still out on the Great Australian Bight and just looking at its predicted movement, it’s still a long way off. Apart from about 100+mm of rain winds almost up to hurricane intensity are forecast, so that should be interesting.

9 am – It begins. The sun has gone, dark overheads clouds, rolling thunder and in the last few seconds, the rain has started. Nothing much to be concerned with right at the moment. Been looking at the weather map and I think this is all going to pass below us. As far as I can make out there are actually two storm fronts, one coming down from the north and one moving in from

the Bight. I think we will get a fair bit of the rain from both but the major front, the one coming in from the Bight will pass below us and hit Adelaide, the South East, Victoria and New South Wales. The one from the north – seems to be heading above us and into Queensland.

9:50. The rain is crashing down now and the noise in incredible. The thunder seems to have gone for the moment and there is no wind whatsoever. Everything stopped for a while then it started up again bringing hail stones and heavy, crashing rain

Thursday: Shortly after that comment on Wednesday we lost power. This was just restored about 45 minutes ago, so 24, cold, dark hours without power. As far as I can see our location protected us from the worst of the storm. Yes, we had rain, hail wind like I have never seen before but

not as much damage as in other parts of the State. I have two trees down and I managed to start clearing one before the power went out and the saw was useless. Other areas such as Blyth, really took a beating with major damage to property. The massive storm front brought down some 24 electricity pylons and damaged the grid in three areas leading to a state-wide blackout. Power was restored to some parts of Adelaide last night , we came back on line at 4:30 this afternoon but there are still about 50,000 without power further north. The news is that this storm front is not over yet and there is a forecast for more rain and high winds late this afternoon and into tonight. Right at the moment I am concentrating on making sure everything is charged up – just in case :o)

Latest: Reports of suggested evacuations of parts of Port Pirie as the water rises and threatens to flood the town..

Here, There and Home

26/08/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

MustafaAdelaide;

The Lower Flinders from, Port Wakefield Road

The drive down from home was uneventful and quite pleasant until I reached the Tin Man. I still had the best part of half a tank of fuel but I wanted coffee as well as fuel. Fortunately I went into the service station before I did anything or I would have really been in strife. Their computer system was down

and they could only take cash for fuel and food and I didn’t have more than $10 on me. It is over 150k to Port Wakefield but I felt I had enough fuel to get there. Besides there were a couple of fuel stations between the Tin Man and Pt. Wakefield if I should feel it was not going too well. As it happened, I had more than enough to make the distance so I was able to fill up with food and fuel.

Up until then the drive was pleasant enough but after Wakefield the rain started, a few light to medium showers with a couple of heavy showers in between. Nothing too difficult but it made for an interesting drive to Bolivar. I did some wandering around Adelaide and visited several camera shops looking for an item that I discovered in the very first stop ( Camera House ) is no longer made by Sony and thus no longer in stock. My old Sony camera will probably be put out to grass because the memory card is falling apart and I cannot find a replacement. Probably find something on line – ebay – but I feel when you have to do that and get something sent from China, it’s time to move on. Of course I have my Canon Canon but that’s too big to just shove into my laptop bag and wander around with, so I need a camera to replace the Sony. I did have a look at a couple of Nikon models in Adelaide and I will have a think about

them. I could, of course, stay with Canon, but I want an alternative and Nikon will probably fill that bill. Adelaide in between showers was not my favourite place to be over the weekend and I was glad to get out to Para Hills, attend the meeting, and then head home. I was home for two days and

then drove back down to Adelaide for another meeting – and these should be the last until November. This was the West Terrace Committee Meeting, which only occurs twice a year and unfortunately it occurred when it did.

Home: (Finally)

In the last ten days I have been away for five of them and to say My Man is not happy is something of an understatement. From the time I arrived home yesterday right up until this morning he has hardly ever left my side. At the moment he is not in his bed but underneath the desk at my feet. Perhaps he thinks I am going to take off and leave him again. We did go out for a walk last night so that kind of settled him down a bit. I think he might have some sort of separation anxiety but not knowing his background we can never really be sure. He was five years old when I adopted him last year so what happened to him in these years is unknown. We still have no idea what will happen regards the WaWa in October, and we have heard nothing from Sooah. I feel in a bit of a bind because in all conscience we cannot just get rid of her. Apart from being wrong it would be unconscionably cruel just to dump her somewhere, either with someone or with the RSPCA for Adoption. When Mustafa, our vet returns from Turkey (his mother has been ill) I’l have a good talk with him and see if we can come up with a solution. I haven’t really did anything because it was only until October, but I think that’s a bit of a dream now. The Arrium problems and the State Unemployment problems make it unlikely that they will be back in October – or, indeed, any time soon.

Hospital, Benji and assorted hackers

11/08/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The weather over the last few days has been fairly mild – 19c – 21c which means that I have been able to get down to the wetlands. We normally do two circuits of the wetlands before we head for home. The foundations of the new bridge across the main pond have been constructed and if the foundations are anything to go by the bridge may well be unnecessarily elaborate and enormously expensive. But then again perhaps the two concrete structures are for something different and not for the bridge at all. Photographs when it’s finally built. Anyway, the wetlands was fairly quiet today.

I have been waiting for it to happen and today it did – Benji turned on the WaWa and she went screaming off in fright. Since then she has stayed away from him. I don’t want harm to come to either of them but I hope this stand off continues for a while. The WaWa has adopted Annabell and she just sees everyone as a potential threat to her and it is unlikely that she will abandon that. This means that the respite is probably only a temporary thing.

I will be going into hospital on Monday 29th August and back home by Wednesday 31st August. Probably spend a few days with my feet up and relaxing, do a few exercises and then start to get back out again. I should be driving within three days. I just don’t know how I’ll manage! Me and Benji, dinosaurs and lions, lying on the bed watching the television. It will be a hard couple of days, but we will certainly try our best. I will be taking a break from all fundraising and other work for the RFDS for a few weeks until the repairs to my knee have settled down and I’m walking easily again.

It’s amazing ; a mere 19 million people trying to get on to the web site and it crashed – how unexpected! Who would have thought that would happen? Now the Government are blaming the crash of the Census Web Site on over-seas hackers. But it’s like everything else this government does to save a few dollars. Go murder someone, plead guilty and you can get up to a 40% reduction in sentence for pleading guilty and saving the government the cost of a trial. And this, by the way, overrides the mandatory life sentence for murder and if you look contrite and even cry and say how sorry you are, there is every chance that a good part of your sentence will be suspended – you might even be home in time for dinner. It used to be that you could be fined for making comments that would bring the law into disrepute, but the judges and lawyers are doing a very good job of that on their own without any assistance from members of the public. Man found guilty of abusing an elderly patient in a nursing home. Judge did not apply a heavy custodial sentence because he felt the young man had been punished enough by having his details in public and having lost his job and reputation, so he sentenced him to six months – five months suspended and the remainder

subject to time served in custody, so he was about ten days to two weeks in jail. This is justice, South Australia. The Attorney General has the legal right to challenge a sentence, but rarely does, and even when he does, nothing much comes of it.

Anyway, back to the census – it is believed that hackers disrupted the web site and denied access. Was unable to get on line last night nor again this morning (Wednesday) The whole thing was a shamble. Whoever came up with the idea of trying to get the entire population of Australia on line in the one night and on a single web site, really needs talking to. Oh and BTW, we have a government with a single seat majority – could be an interesting period. The leader of the party and Primer Minister, is detested by a number of his party so it remains to be seen if they can get over that or if their dislike is so great they will bring down the government. I’m betting on the latter.

Adelaide, Trusts and Operation.

06/08/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Wednesday: Well the good(?) news is that there is damage to the right knee that will require some surgery – generally overnight stay. On Friday I have to go for an ECG then go round to the Pre-Anaesthetic Clinic to do some things and fill out some forms and have some discussions with the Anaesthetist. What this means is that the operation will be carried out fairly soon – more than likely timed to coincide with my Adelaide week. Ho well these things happen. I was able to get the clinic stuff done on Friday because my Cardiologist has been called to Adelaide and has changed the date of my appointment. So that worked out very well. Of course I want this done as soon as possible but after Adelaide would be kind of neat.

Still having problems with the WaWa but managing to control them a little better and I do tend to take Benji out with me as often as I can. In this cooler weather, it’s ok to have him in the car with a window partly open whilst I go into the hardware store. Don’t know what I will do if the WaWa is still with us during summer and too hot in the car, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But then I should be able to get out back to the Wetlands area. The army are all gone and the place seems sort of quiet without them. Operation Hamel was a great success and having 8000+

military here was a breeze. They enjoyed being here – they were well treated and looked after by the local people who, in turn, enjoyed them being here.

Friday: Had the ECG this morning and everything is ok. I am still able to walk in the land of the living. I had a discussion with the clinic doctor, answered his questions – everything is well and I am fit and healthy, which is nice to know. From there Annabell and I went over to the Specialist/Surgeon’s room and discussed with his Associate the possibility of dates. My best date was Monday 29th August, which is just over three weeks away. I had already decided that I would take whatever date was given and as it happens, I can still go to Adelaide and have the procedure when I get back. It’s all worked out well. I did not attend the Mount Gambier Presbytery because of car trouble so I really needed to be at Para Hills. Then the week after I go back down for the Trust Committee, then back and hospital. So, as I said, it all works in very well.

There’s a Dog Wash tomorrow at the Vet Clinic to raise funds for the RSPCA. I was thinking of taking Benji down and get him a bath and a Bandanna. Our Craft and Fabric shop closed down last week, which means no place here to get any material for anything and I have a garden umbrella that needs repairing. I may well have a look for some canvas when I’m in Adelaide. Years ago we had a few small country craft shops around the town, but then a major chain shop moved in and we lost all the little craft shops. Now the chain is in trouble so it has closed down and moved out after about ten years – there is nothing to replace it. The nearest member of the chain is in Rundle Mall, Adelaide.

The Dark, the Ghost and the Rosebush

31/07/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Friday: The workmen came this morning to fill in the trench. That’s all they were contracted to do – they have no idea when the concrete work will be done. Still, at least I can get the car back into the driveway – I think – I haven’t tried it yet. —– I have just been told that the concreting will be done tomorrow, so it will probably be Sunday before I can use the driveway again. I am quite pleased that it is completed now because for the month of August Annabell will be hosting the Ladies Coffee – Tuesday evening and again on the Wednesday morning.

The other news is that I do not have to go to Adelaide to have the Laptop fixed. It has been done. I telephoned the Apple Shop to make an appointment with the Tec, and instead I ended up with one of the Senior Tecs and together we sorted the problem out over the phone. It took a while and I will expect to see a jump in the telephone bill because of it, but whatever it is it will be nowhere as much as going to Adelaide either by coach or driving. So the Laptop is now running El. Capitan the newest AppleMac OS. I am quite pleased about that.

Took BJ out for our walk this morning and by morning I mean 5:50am, and just as we passed a fence we were suddenly confronted by an apparition in white, scared BJ who started barking like crazy ( unusual) and set my heart off racing at a rate of knots. It was only for a few moments before it vanished behind the very large caravan in the driveway. No it was not a ghost, what is was, was the lady of the house out laying towels over her rose bushes to protect them from the cold. Admirable to be sure, but at 5:50 am – still dark, dressed in white ( white dressing gown carrying white cloths) reflected in the street light on the opposite side of the road – scared me half to death! Not quite what you expect at that time on a cold winter. morning. I told a lady in the church today and her comment was “that’s good, John, as long as it was not dressed in black carrying a scythe and an hour glass, you’ve nothing to worry about”.

All completed - just needs to cure — All completed – just needs to cure

The concrete is laid, the area blocked off and all the workmen gone. Looks good and the men have done a really good job. I can walk on it as from tomorrow but not drive on it until at least Tuesday. Busy week ahead – Wednesday I go to the Specialist and hope that he will organise the surgery for my collapsing right knee-cap in the not too distant future. Then I have a day off and of Friday I go see my Cardiologist. I only see him once every four months and there is a good chance that the visits may well be finalised since everything has been great for the last year.

In mid August I head off to Adelaide and will be away for two days. I am no sooner back than I set off again, but this time just for a day, at least that’s the plan. The second visit may also be for two days and that should be me (Officially) until November unless I decide to go down for the weekend and take the trailer with me to Bunnings. Having said that I probably will need the trailer for ten square meters of Synthetic Turf for my plan. I have already started on that and as the weeks progress I will add more to it until I have things the way I want them.

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