Annabell – Page 4 – Edgar's Page

2019 – Meet the New Year – Same as the Old Year :o)

07/01/2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Well, time to think about taking down the tree and all the decorations. Once I’ve done that here, I’ll go down to the church, dismantle and put away the Christmas Tree there. Then after that I might take a drive down to the supermarket and get myself some Hot Cross Buns – might even pick up an Easter Egg whilst I’m there. Sad, isn’t it?? I mean we only just cleared Boxing Day and the Hot Cross Buns were in the shops already. Don’t know about the Easter Eggs, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Things have been fairly quiet on all fronts – a heatwave followed by two serious thunderstorms, then back to more normal weather for this time of year. We will have one day ( Thursday) when the temp. is forecast to hit 42c but other that that fairly normal mid 30s,

The company John works for has just completed a multi-million dollar upgrade and a rebuild of part of the facility. Because of the disruption they are well behind on orders and need to catch up – so they have that as well as starting up new equipment and sorting out any problems that may arise with the new plant and equipment, so in order to bed in the new plant, and work on catching up with orders, the company has gone on twelve hour shifts for the time being. John is on nightshift —- bit of a shock to the system :o) Andrew is supposed to be on holiday but he was called out and t

here was a possibility that he would be called out again, so he stayed at home. And there you are – Annabell and I – for the first time ever – spent New Year’s Eve on our own – well we did have Benji and Dougal – but no other uprights. Did get text messages from both boys so that was good. Sam ( Dougal’s daddy) is still in hospital. It was thought that they had sorted the blood loss problem and he was allowed to go and stay with his daughter for a bit before coming home, but after two days he was rushed back into hospital. This was just before Christmas and I haven’t heard how things are since. We could have Dougal for a bit longer. That’s ok – he is not a problem.

Got the dogs out early this morning before the temperature builds up to the expected 42c today. This time next week I should be in Adelaide. I have some things that I need to do and I want to get the problems with Annabell’s mobile (cell) phone sorted out. We do not have an Optus shop here, only an agent and they can’t do much other than sell you a phone. So, anyway, here we are in 2019 and I have to say that I haven’t really noticed much difference. I’ve gone back to an A5 Organiser rather than an A6 mainly because I was having difficulty getting A6 inserts and I am not really keen on Filofax Personal. Years ago David Jones used to be the place for Filofax and other Organisers Years ago it was also so simple – not so now. Now if I want inserts for my organiser I have to order them from overseas – the UK or the USA – in the case of the USA $30 for the inserts and $26 for postage and that’s $US converted to $AU $87, which is ridiculous. I could go into Officeworks and buy a brand new Organiser with inserts for just about that. Ok so it wont be good quality leather, but chuck that in a cupboard somewhere and use the inserts that come with it. So I have gone back to a larger size because, oddly enough, the inserts are easier to get and I can download them and print that size on my printer. Not so A6.

I’m not very good at joining things but I did join a Filofax/Organiser site and although I still follow it, I find that there is very little that really interests me on there these days. I find my self playing Batman’s Joker – “Why so Serious?” There is also a regular round table Skype call but it’s always a Sunday and the family are here so I never take part. Oh and to help me in the joy I find in taking photographs I attended the local Camera/ Photography Club. I did very well, I thought. I lasted two meeting before I came to the conclusion that it was not really for me. and I left. I like taking photographs and I always have a camera with me everywhere I go. I have an old Nikon Coolpix L100, which I keep in my laptop bag. I bought this off some old fellow called Noah many years ago. I am not a great photographer but I like taking photographs. I have bought many books on photography, but I found them confusing even after the blurb says that they are targeted at beginners. I suppose one day they will come in handy as door stops.

“Could we start again, please?”

27/12/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

It’s been a kind of hectic time this last few weeks between getting ready for Christmas and organising fundraising events for the RFDS – the last one being on 23rd December. I was not able to help out at the Carols in the Park event because we were holding a Carol Service at the church at the same time.. Nor was I available for the Pageant. Still and all it was still hectic. Annabell was not the best and she was feeling a bit unwell, but she brightened up somewhat over the Christmas days – particularly Christmas Lunch with the family and, of course, the grandson. The boys organised Christmas Lunch this year. I attended to the Watchnight Service on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day and we were at Andrew’s and as I said, Annabell was not too well, but for all that she had a good time with her boys. She did well for gifts and we have always made a point of two sets of gifts and two sets on cards. Her birthday is on 24th December so we have always given her one card and one gift for her birthday and a card and gift for Christmas. We have always made certain she has never missed out and that the two things are always kept separate. On the subject of separate, I had a telephone call from a member of the congregation who has offered to take over as State Newsletter Correspondent. This is good and one less thing I have to be concerned with.

We were back home by 4:00 and as she was very tired I made her go and lay down for a few hours. I fed the dogs. I didn’t take the dogs out as I didn’t want to leave her home alone – even for the hour it would take me to walk the dogs. When she did wake up a few hours later she was feeling a little better, so I made her some tea and a sandwich. She has been a lot better today. Andrew was supposed to be on holiday this week, but he is still on call

Also, during the week I made a trip to Adelaide. There were some things I needed and wanted and could only be bought in Adelaide. I did, however, go through to Victoria Square

and took a photograph, or two , of part of the square. Victoria Square is quite large so I was only able to photograph a small part of it. The square started a $24 Million upgrade but after half was completed, the Adelaide City Council had funding issues and the rest will have to wait for the moment..

Sam and Ina ( Dougal’s people) are still in Adelaide. Sam,as I mentioned before, was quite ill and is still having a blood loss so it is unlikely we will see them back for a little while yet. Ina did telephone during the week to let us know what is happening. Dougal has now been with us for five weeks. It doesn’t seem like that and as things are we will have him for a little while longer. That’s ok – he’s fine – needs a haircut, but otherwise, fine. The weather has been hot to very hot with a fire ban declared throughout the area for the next few days- Tuesday 36c / Wednesday 41c / Thursday (today) 45c / Friday 46c and then down to the mid 30s for next week. Dogs out very early in the morning and late at night – if it’s not too hot during the day and by late I mean after 8pm. There have been lots of Kangaroos around the place and this morning was no exception – all of them looking for water and food. I have a bucket of water out in the garden and I top it up every few days. I also make sure the bird

Next stop – Cowell – 96 miles away and nothing in between.

bath also has water in it – although not today – today I was the “plant” that was watered as the fixture of the hose blew apart and I was soaked. Fortunately it was at the end of the walk. For those who have not seen it – this is my “back Yard”. Thousands of square miles of nothingness but wild animals and saltbush. The photograph is looking West – north of us are salt lakes and desert. I want to drive up there sometime but at the moment it is waaaay too hot.

One more week and things can start to get back to what passes for normal – a new week – a new year. So until I am back on line again, I wish everyone a Happy and Joyful New Year.

December – Good Grief!!

04/12/201804/12/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The RFDS Simulator last time we used it.

I took the dogs out for their walk this morning, I was at home starting to get ready for the three events today. I would be involved in two of them. About 7:30, down it came – heavy rain, no wind but heavy, straight down rain. It didn’t let up but my fundraising was under cover ( not the best of cover, but still cover) and we were mostly protected. The other one was not and they bravely took the rain in their stride. By 11am the thunder started and then some lightening. There was some concern regarding the Children’s Christmas Pageant due to start at 5pm today. There was no let-up in the rain and the thunder so it was decided at 3pm to cancel the Pageant and the After Pageant Fair. It will now take place on the 9th December. Sadly the RFDS Simulator started back to Adelaide and it is unlikely that we will be able to get the simulator back up from Adelaide again. This is a great pity because it’s a great draw-card and it is very popular, giving people`the opportunity to see how the inside of a RFDS aircraft is set up and all the equipment it contains. This also presents problems for the organisers of the After Pageant Fair in that some of the traders who would have been at the Fair will not be able to come back on the 9th December because of other commitments. We will just have to see how things work out, but the decision not to go ahead with the Pageant was the right decision given the weather at the time. Actually it has been raining again today (Monday) I have to get my terminology right and it’s not the After Pageant Fair anymore – it’s the After Pageant Market

Referring back to the last post, I did resign as Secretary four years ago. The person that took over lasted for less than a year, then left and I was asked to take it over again until the AGM and new elections. LOL, I’m still here…

Dougal is still with us and will be here at least until the weekend, perhaps even beyond that, depending what happens in Adelaide. The were home during the week and I spoke to them and it was my suggestion ( and the right one) that Dougal should just stay here until they finish all the medical appointments Adelaide and be back home. I thought that was preferable to him

being moved back and forward – Benji and Dougal get on well so it’s not a problem. — Wife phoned and Sam is not too great and still in hospital. Not very sure about when he would be allowed out and home. She was concerned about the imposition on us. I assured her Dougal was fine and I was happy for him to be here. It was not an imposition in any way and we were happy to help — better here than in some Kennels ( however good they might be)

Since I started writing this we have had an RFDS Workshop which was run by Central Operations during which we were told that it would be unlikely that we would get the simulator back but they would see what they could. Well, they did very well and the Simulator will arrive here on the morning of the 9th and be set up. The tentative date for the Pageant was Saturday 8th Dec. but it turned out that the Ada Ryan Gardens had been booked out for that day with a big wedding and that date could not be moved, so it became Sunday the 9th. I am not sure if I will be able to assist – actually it is unlikely that I will be able to assist. The same will apply the following week – Carols in the Park – which clashes with our own Carol Service at church.

During this coming week we are in for a few days of hot weather somewhere between 28c on Tuesday up to 37c on Thursday and a cooler 30c on Friday. I think the weather should be ok for the children’s Pageant and the Market afterwards. Annabell has not been at her best this last week, so we will have to keep a close eye on her and make sure she does not overdo things. Only two more coffee nights and them they break up until next February.

Winds of Change

23/11/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The daytime temperature has been nice but the mornings are cold – probably not in Adelaide – but up here, cold. The evenings have been much the same

Some of the larger birds at the wetlands. Swans have gone, though.

and I have taken to be rugged up if I take Benji for a walk around the wetlands in the evening as the sun is on the wane. The other day my son sent me a message – “Wetlands in 30 mins.” so off Benji and I trotted to the wetlands and caught up with him and the pram The day is great, warm and sunny, but the mornings and evenings are still cold. The month of November is a very busy month for the Royal Flying Doctor Group here. I said in the last post that I was asked to organise a fundraiser for this weekend – which I did – but this coming weekend is particularly busy with three events all going off on the one day. Next Saturday I will be on the go from 8am to at least 9:30 pm. Still if it raises funds for the RFDS, it’s all worth it. I will be doing a fundraiser at the hardware store from 8;30 until 1:30 – a quick change and over to the Ada Ryan Gardens and the RFDS Simulator and showing people through that until the close of the After Pageant Fair at 9pm and by the time we tidy up and get everything put away, it will probably be close to 10pm. Never mind – worse things happen at sea, or so they tell me.

The RFDS apart, it is going to be a busy time at church over the next month. The Lutheran Church are holding an Advent Service next week to which Annabell (my wife) and some other members of the congregation will be attending. With the other lady still on the sick list, I am still the Tuesday and Wednesday driver, and to add to that I have to take Annabell and pick up another lady for the Lutheran Advent Service on Wednesday afternoon. I thought after Mount Gambier things would start to calm down – oh sure, lead up to the Pageant, Christmas, Carols in the Park and New Year and you think things will calm down?

I had a bit of a “wake-up”call on Monday evening. On Sunday, the family come here for dinner. This Sunday Andrew did not come. We held off dinner, but still no Andrew. I tried to telephone him, but no reply. He was on call, so we assumed he had been called out. Monday I tried several times to call him and again after dinner on Monday -still no reply. So I got into the car and drove to his place. He opened the door and he looked fit and well to me, but I asked how he was. He said he was fine. Talked to Trish and she was fine too. Trish quietly left the room leaving

me with Andrew. I had just done what Andrew believed I would do when he did not turn up on Sunday and his phone remained unanswered – I would get in the car and drive over – and that is exactly what I did. His reason for doing what he did is that he believed that this was the only way he could get me to come to his house. In the last year I have not been there to see my grandson, or play with him, because there has always been a reason to prevent me getting there – organising some function or event for the RFDS – a church function or I am away for days at either Para Hills, Naracoorte, or Mount Gambier on church business. And if i’m not doing that, I am up to my eyes in paperwork. He asked if I had to do the things I do – i.e. why me, why not someone else? I edit the church Magazine. This takes up time and effort but as much as I have tried to get people to even contribute – well, everyone wants a magazine but no one is willing to help. The same with the State Newsletter – write on what’s happening here for the State Newsletter – every other month I have asked for someone to do this- no one has ever responded. I have to go to the places I go to because that’s my role over and above running the service, if you like. There are three of us who run the church, neither of the other two are fit to undertake the stress of driving around the State – and by fit I mean medically – one is disabled and the other is recovering from Cancer, which leaves me. Helen take care of everything locally and undertakes many of the visits, I look after things beyond local – that’s my role. I have to prepare reports for each of these meetings and be prepared to answer any questions that may arise. But Andrew is right, I am so tied up in other things that I am missing the growing up of my grandson – and to be very blunt and truthful – he is the only one I am likely to have. Things will have to change and soon. I relayed all this to Annabell and she said she was not surprised at Andrew’s method of getting me over there. “Your son knows and understands you more than you think he does”

Trip to Port Pirie Pt. 2

10/09/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Having had lunch at the Tin Man, we had a bit of a walk before going back to the car and heading off to Port Augusta. He did his usual – curl up on the front seat and go to sleep – whilst I concentrated on the driving. On arrival at the Port I managed to complete the remainder of the shopping and we had a small snack and a good long walk along the Esplanade, sat down and had a bit of a break. Oddly enough, although it was quite warm in Port Pirie, Augusta was not quite so warm and instead of the A/C I put the heater on for a bit. The drive back was uneventful and as we neared the town, I noticed a cloud of dust. As I drew near to the source of the dust I discovered that it was caused by several of the Army Tanks heading towards the live-fire area. (more on this later) The boy and I had been away since about 8am and it was now approaching 4pm, so all in we had a good day out together, The Shopping Center at Pirie was really interesting and I would liked some time to explore it. I have a ‘thing’about shopping malls and centers and find them fascinating places. It probably comes from the fact that when we were growing up in Scotland there were no shopping malls or shopping centers. In fact there weren’t supermarkets until the mid 1970s – and they were few and far between. Most shopping was done in individual shops – Fishmongers – Fruit and Veg at the Green Grocer – Grocers,( butter, milk, cheese, bread ) Butcher, Baker and yes, we did have a Candlemaker. (Shearer of Govan) We had two big grocer shops close to us, Galbraith and the Co-op. There were probably others that I don’t remember. All-in-all, we had a really good day out – well I did, he just curled up on the front seat.

Flowers along the pathway at the Wetlands

On Friday, Annabell had medical appointments so not much doing. Saturday I spent the day working in the garden sweeping up leaves and doing a general tidy up. I bought two new plants and will attend to them on Monday. On Sunday (today), after church and lunch the boy and I got in

the car and drove down to the Wetlands. Lovely day with a nice temperature of 25c, just the job for a circuit and a half together. Flowers out and to add to the day, the Black Swans were back again. The Kiosk is still not open. It was supposed to be open this week but there you are – perhaps next week.

This morning (Monday) was a bit on the cool side for our morning walk. Still it is supposed to be around 28c during the course of the day. A nice day in the Arid Lands. On the subject of Arid Lands, the Arid Lands Botanic Garden is under a cloud – re. funding. The ALBG was started many years ago as an initiative of the Port Augusta City Council, but with budget being “tight” the Port might not be able to keep the funding going for much longer. However, having read that I have to say the recent trip to Pirie showed me the amount of redevelopment going on in the port. The Feds and the State Government will start construction on the new major bridge soon. so there will be a fair amount of work at

Not too bad looking – but who minds as long as the coffee is good and it sells scones.

Port Augusta. I have started extra work in the back garden and have planted three new plants – two in the front garden and one (so far) in the back. The soil here is poor and thin so I do have three raised flower beds – two front and one back. They contain 280 ltrs of potting mix rather than soil. In the front I have a Plumbago and a Coleonema and at the back I have a second Coleonema. I also have a growing Sturt Desert Rose which I will plant in a different area. I have

a lot of hope for this because the native plants are growing well. I would like to get time this week to drive out to the ALBG but in order to do that I would have to leave Benji at home – and he wont like that. He does not like getting left – not at all. It’s bad enough when I have to go to away for days at a time.

And they call the wind — Annoying.

09/08/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Thursday and the heavy winds came and with the winds came a health warning that the heavy winds – gusting at around 60kph, – coupled with the dry conditions, are likely to create dust storms. The Health Dept. issued a warning that people with asthma or breathing difficulties are strongly advised to stay inside until the wind storms have passed. The Chief Medical Officer

Dust Storm on the Eyre Peninsula – 250 klms long.
*photograph: Tim Phillips*

was featured on the news explaining the problems of dust storms for people with any breathing concerns. The high winds continued throughout the day and in some parts of the State, gusting at 100+kph. The wind continued into the night and was followed by heavy rain. The dust storms were pretty heavy and covered an area of 250 klms. We did get some but nowhere near as much as the lower peninsula. It is now am Friday and I have been awake for much of the night. The rain stopped at 4:15 then started again at 04:50. I am not certain but I think this just might have broken the drought at least in South Australia. The worst of the drought was inter-state in New South Wales, so I hope that the rain bands are moving in that direction. As far as I am aware, more rain is on the way. The seriousness of the drought has caused a backlash against the government – particularly the Foreign Affairs Minister, Julie Bishop. Our farmers are struggling, there is no feed for stock, sheep and cattle are dying in the thousands and Julie Bishop announces – with a smile – that the Federal Government have donated $68 Million to assist farmers in Vietnam and another $20 million to Indonesian farmers but it

seems there is not enough in the Federal Purse to assist drought stricken Australian farmers. It’s a worry…

It is now 05:55 and the rain has stopped. I hope that’s it for the morning and I can get out with Benji. We didn’t get out last night – not

even for a short walk. Well, we did get out for our walk at 07:20. The rain had gone and the heavy wind had gone. Still a bit of a breeze – and cold with it – but the major wind had died away. A temporary respite before it started again.

Finally staggered into bed at 23:30 and went out like a light. I didn’t set the alarm so it was 06:45 before I said good morning to the world. I pottered about much of the morning trying to tidy up before the forecast wind started again. I took Benji for a walk around the Wetlands. It was quiet and I was fortunate to have a chat with the manager of the new Kiosk. She said that it’s progressing but slower than she would like, but she should, all being well, open in September. Just a mere three weeks away. The wind has started up again so I’ve given up trying to clear up leaves that just keep being blown about. Ah, only 24 days until Spring.

Yogi came this afternoon (Saturday) and will be here at least until next Friday. If not Annabell will have one night of looking after both as I head off to the quarterly conference. Fortunately this one is in North Adelaide, so I will only be gone overnight, plus driving down and back. I have been asked to go out to the RFDS Main base at Adelaide Airport to collect some merchandise that needs to come up here. I was going to Adelaide, so I’ll end up out there. Oh well, didn’t want to go shopping anyway. Despite what we thought the rain was not nearly enough to break the drought, and there is talk that the Goyder Line could be moving more to the south, which will have the effect of a good chunk of the state being dropped back to the “Marginal Lands”designation, which is a worry. Adelaide is being rained on and subject to strong winds. There is even talk about flooding. So very different from up here. I think that is part of the problem. It rains a fair bit in Adelaide so they really have no idea what’s like to have no rain up in the farming areas. Many Adelaide people have no idea what happens in the 85% of South Australia beyond Adelaide, which in usually the norm for country sv. city. With us it’s a bit more extreme since we have a state bigger than Texas and only really one city.

Visitor, Hospital and Cold, Wet Days.

22/07/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Well I survived the week and all the questions and on Monday I had the stitches removed. Next week we should have the report back from Pathology and I will be a lot happier once that’s in. Overall, however, it has been a fairly busy week – apart from being cold, miserable and wet. One of our friends has suspected cancer in his liver and he and his wife are currently down in Adelaide for a biopsy. Annabell and I are looking after Yogi, their dog. They left on Monday and should be back tomorrow (Wednesday) Generally I am happy to take Yogi and this time has been no exception, however I have not had a lot of sleep since Yogi is getting older, misses his people more and cries most of the night. He’s alright during the day, nights are not so good. He and Benji get on well except when Yogi forgets his place in the scheme of things and tries to take over the spot in the bed (next to me) that Benji occupies. Usually I have to intervene only once. Anyway, this is the husband of the lady who picks up Annabell for the coffee evenings and morning. She, herself, has been unwell so I have been filling in for her and doing the taxi thing. Annabell herself is well, so that’s always good.

We still have Yogi – I think he is going home today (Friday) sometime, so instead of two days ( Monday night & Tuesday night) we have had him for five. The reason for the extra days was simply that the results at Adelaide were not so good and it has taken them a few days to come to terms with what has to happen now. Jim has Cancer of the Liver, which is not so great. I suggested to Annabell that we offer to keep Yogi over the weekend but, it would probably better for Jim if he has his dog with him. I know I would. But, Yogi has actually settled down these last couple of nights and slept through the night. Jim is now just waiting on the Royal Adelaide Hospital and the Surgeon being free and then he will be down to Adelaide again. We will most probably look after Yogi while they are down in Adelaide and I expect for a little while once they come back – as Jim recovers. That’s not a problem – well not for us humans but it is a little bit of a problem for Yogi. He was a rescue dog and as far as we know he was shunted about the place, so he has a thing about getting put in a car. I discovered this when I took them both to the Wetlands last time he was here and he whimpered the whole time he was in the car.

It has been a year today since Sooah and her husband came back and collected Kongsoon (The WaWa) She has been back once for a brief visit and the WaWa was looking well. Yes she she was a handful at times, but overall she was a lovable little character. I think of her often and I miss her – don’t think Benji does though.

We had some high winds and rain over the State – well, Adelaide and the lower Peninsula. The storms passed beneath us and although it was a tad breezy and did rain a fair bit, it was nothing like the storm damage in Adelaide and surrounding areas. Mostly the storms and the like miss us. They come across the Great Australian Bight and cross the Eyre Peninsula beneath us. So really it’s not too bad. Yes it’s cold but we don’t get the storms that Adelaide gets. The other side of that is that it gets a whole lot hotter here in summer than it does in Adelaide.

Traveling, Rain and a Mini-rant

12/06/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Despite the fact that it’s been chucking it down all day I spent much of the afternoon, driving through the rain delivering mail for Annabell. She was the navigator and sorted the letters into

post codes so we didn’t keep wandering back and forth across town. The church ladies are holding their Annual Brunch next week and she wanted the letters out now. It is a sad reflection on Australia Post that we could not be certain that the mail would be delivered in time. The person who was going to attend to all this when Annabell was ill, didn’t – so hence the drive through the rain. Anyway, got them all delivered except the Letter for the Lutherans. They use a post box and the church does not have a letter box at the property. We did drive to the property but is was closed despite saying that the church office hours were 10am – 4pm Monday to Friday and it was only just after 2:45. That was the last drop which gave me time to get to the Vet and make arrangements for the Benji ( who was in the car) to have a Parvovirus injection. As it happened, the Vet was fairly quiet so I got Benji out of the car and the Vet gave him a check-up and the injection. Goodness he was a trooper and never flinched – lol – and the dog was pretty good too….

Considering what the weather was like the last two days, today is a beautiful day. Not all that warm, but nice and bright, limited cloud cover and blue sky – a really nice day. Of course things are still wet and damp and it will probably take most of this sun for them to dry out. I think someone is playing tricks on me. I told you how last week I did not set the alarm but I got up at the alarm time anyway – well last night I did set the alarm and was very surprised when I woke up and looked up at the skylight and saw daylight. I got up and found that the time was 7:35 – either I slept through the alarm or it did not go off. Either way I feel quite refreshed today.

Annabell is much better now and in the process of organising things for the Ladies Brunch at the church on Saturday. This is an annual event and generally well attended. We used to do this

kind of thing for a national charity but many people were unhappy with the money raised going out of town and the fact that after payments, wages, administration costs etc., only a small proportion of the funds raised actually goes to the charity. A decision was made to stop doing this and to start

raising funds to donate to local organisations that we felt needed help – The Breast Cancer Support Group / Men’s Prostate Cancer Support / Catholic Ladies Group (they supply meals to the needy and the homeless) Isabell Smith ( a local lady who cooks and supplies meals also to the needy and homeless ( she pays for all this on her own)). Hair to Help Wig Library, also a local Anglican Charity. It’s not that we are being parochial, we just came to the conclusion that with all the glitz and glamour and national and international TV and movie stars of the big national charities competing for your Dollar, the small, local charities and organisations are ignored and left to struggle. We don’t talk in millions of dollars raised but we do what we can to keep our local people and organisations operational – because that’s what small towns like ours should do. Ok, I’ll be quiet and not rant any more.

The Computer Guru ( My Son) is coming over in a day or two to show me how to print off inserts for my A6 diary. Normally I have bought them from the USA but the little shop in Virginia who did them, is not doing them anymore and other shops – large or small, now charge a fortune in postal costs to send to Australia. I tried this downloading years ago and was told to do this, this, this and this – easy.. So I did this, and this and this and what was that other thing again??? The sheer frustration, not to mention the amount of wasted paper and printer ink, and I gave up and bought refills instead, I hope John (son) will help me sort it all out.

Parks, Birthdays and Shows

08/06/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I am happy to say that Annabell is very much improved and has started going back to the coffee evenings. Have no idea why they call them coffee evenings – most of the ladies drink tea. Oh well. I took Benji down to the Wetlands to see the progress on the new Kiosk. It’s coming on well and should be opened soon. The electricity had been cut off to the area whilst work is being done on the kiosk. There doesn’t seem to be much happening on the outside so I suppose it is all happening inside – well I hope that’s the case. But really, some form of kiosk here is well overdue and this one is close to one of the three barbecue areas which should increase the traffic on warm days. I have come down here on public holidays and being family friendly the whole area is well patronised, so the kiosk should do well. My concern is that some “couldn’t care less” dog people are not cleaning up after their dogs and it is becoming noticeable. There are dog bag dispensers situated all over the park, plus there are notices but neither seem to help. I don’t know what the answer is. So, a small minority, not doing the right thing, give us all a bad reputation. When we came here at first there was, on the outskirts of town, a Fauna and Reptile park and an animal sanctuary. Again this was well used and I took a number of visitors down there. There was a Snow Tiger that was no longer able to perform at a circus. The circus people were going to have it put down so the owners of our park bought it and brought it to the Fauna Park where it lived in peace and quiet for its last years. However due to financial problems the Park was closed down about 14 years ago.

Recently a local business family have expressed interest in opening the park again and work has already started on cleaning it up and getting it back in shape. A lot of people and businesses have donated time and equipment to help get it up and running again. Most of us remember it from when we took our own children there. It is believed that the park will be open in time for the September school holidays.

Wilson Park is a family friendly park not very far from Andrew’s house. This is where they held Connor’s birthday party. However, it has drawbacks in that there are no Barbecue facilities there so in order to have a Barbecue Andrew and friends loaded a Barbecue onto a trailer, moved it down to Wilson Park and then manhandled it

off. Just off the designated playground, Council in its infinite wisdom have decided to construct a second skate park. It’s about 30 feet away from where we had the children on Sunday, so that should be “interesting”.

Going back to the Wetlands again – when I was down there with Benji the other day, I took this photograph of a Magpie drinking from the dog trough. Not spectacular, but I thought it was interesting enough to share as something you don’t see very often,

Denver held a Pet Expo and I said that we never held anything like that here and that’s true. However, I did discover that in April of this year there was a two day Animal Expo in Adelaide, billed as the biggest in South Australia, which is really not all that difficult because I don’t think many country towns can afford to run such a specalised event. It is also unlikely that many traders would attend such an event in a country town because of the costs involved – and really not a great return on outlay. Sad but true. However, and this is the thing, until I read the Denver information and started looking at this area, I had never heard of the two day event in Adelaide – which indicated how widespread the advertising for the event was. On a final note – it has been raining off and on – heavy and light – for the last 24 hours. I guess that means that the drought in this area has been broken and that the Emus population that invaded the town, can now go back home.

Ambulance, Cell Phones and a Birthday.

04/06/201804/06/2018 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

A few weeks ago – as you know – Annabell had a fall and was taken to the hospital in an Ambulance. On Monday we received a bill from the Ambulance people ( St. John’s) for a thousand dollars – well actually $997 to be exact. Fortunately my Medical Insurance covers this so they will pay it. This is the first time – ever – we have used an ambulance and the cost kind of shook me a little. True they were very kind and really did look after her so I have no complaints regarding the service, but I did think nearly a thousand dollars was a tad heavy. I could have flown to Glasgow, London, or Paris for less. She is much better now and almost back to herself with a few additional pains for her trouble.

Sometimes I think life likes to play practical jokes on people. For instance, the other night I was very tired and did not set the alarm before I went to bed. I figured I

I have an iPhone. Going back to Samsung after this contract

would take Benji to the Wetlands to make up for not walking in the morning. I was in bed by 11:00 and woke up looking up at the skylight expecting to see daylight. I did not. So I got up and checked the time – 05:41 and had I set the alarm it would have gone off at 05:45. I got dressed got Benji ready and we went out on our morning walk. Sometimes you just can’t win. You are probably wondering why I didn’t see the time on the clock – I don’t have a clock. I use my Mobile (Cell) Phone as my alarm, and I do not keep it near me.

It is starting to get really cold in the mornings so I think it’s time I laid aside the Baseball Cap and started with the Beanie. The long range weather forecast is for very little rain but for colder than usual mornings and evenings, so the Beanie and gloves. But things change and one can never be sure who to believe as another report says that there will be no rain but the forecast will be for warmer than usual mornings and nights. Anyway, for the moment it’s the Beanie.

One of the sites I go to put some photographs of sunset over her area and it reminded me of the photographs I took here. Mind you my camera is probably not as good as hers but I think they came out not too badly. I’ll put one in the next post and you can decide. Although having said that some friends recently visited Washing DC and sent photographs. I asked her what camera she was using and she floored me by telling me she was using her cell phone. The clarity and quality was amazing. She was using a Samsung. This iPhone is the first Apple phone I have ever had. I have always been with Samsung and it was a sudden rush of blood to the head that made me pick Apple, so I am stuck with the decision for two years. However, as soon as the contract has expired I will be going back to Samsung.

Connor, our one and only grandson, is a year old today. Nothing much happening since it’s Saturday and there are games to be played – netball for the girls – Hockey for Andrew. However, tomorrow Andrew is having a Barbecue at Wilson Park, which only a short walk from his house.

After church on Sunday, I took Annabell home and let her get changed – I changed into slacks and a heavy pullover and we drove up to Wilson Park. It was very well attended and I found it good fun. Sadly Annabell was not at her best, but we looked after her and she was not left out of anything. I think she did enjoy herself despite not being able to walk around. Andrew very kindly walked back to the house to get a seat for her. It was, as I said, fun, but very much a chocolate overload :o) We stayed until the sun started sinking and moving away from where we were. By then Annabell was cold and I got a blanket from the car for her and about 2:45 we left and came home. Today (Monday) Benji and me went out for our morning walk – it was cold and very misty with visibility down to about 20 or so feet – less at the top end of our walk. I think winter cometh.

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