Annabell – Page 7 – Edgar's Page

Melbourne – The journey Home

24/03/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Andrew with Trish's Koala Bear — Andrew with Trish’s Koala Bear

We drove out of the hotel carpark fairly early on the Monday morning to begin the journey home. I have to say that I was impressed with the drive through Melbourne and found that getting out of Melbourne is actually easier than getting out of Adelaide. Once we left the hotel carpark, the journey consisted of a succession of freeways, toll roads and back to freeways again – moving seamlessly from one to the other. It was our intention to get some breakfast along the way but it was Dadswells Bridge before we stopped – about 300klm. This is the home of the Giant Koala and I convinced Andrew to buy a large Koala Bear toy for Trish to compensate for not being able to get the Tattoo Teddy Bear. I also bought one for Annabell. We had a quick snack there before driving on to Horsham

where we finally filled up with fuel for the car and for us. Melbourne – Ballarat – Ararat – Horsham -Bordertown – Murray Bridge – Mount Barker – Adelaide – Port Wakefield – Home. . I thought we would be stopping in Adelaide for the night, but the boys decided that they wanted to get home so we pushed back through to Port Wakefield – fuel and food – then drove the remaining 300 klm to home. At 11pm, Annabell was surprised to see us as she had expected us to stay in Adelaide overnight. Benji went gaga, he was so delighted to see us (me) back safe and sound. We drove from Melbourne to home – about 1300 klm with Andrew doing most of the driving – which he enjoys anyway. Overall, a fantastic trip on every account – me being away with my boys, the Great Ocean Road, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in Melbourne, Chadstone Shopping Centre and then the drive home.

Tailem Bridge and a healthy looking River Murray

The day after we arrived home Andrew telephoned the Tattoo organizers and asked about the Merchandise. He was told that there had been a glitch in the system and many people were without packages. The ship was now on its way to New Zealand and would be attended to when it arrived there. It was not. Andrew telephoned again and was told that the packages would be sent out from Edinburgh (Scotland) in a few days. As it happened the package arrived last Friday and Andrew brought it over last night. It was quite a good package; I particularly liked the coffee mug – and I have quite a few commemorative coffee mugs from various events. However, it’s good to be home and with any reasonable luck I should not have to move again until early May and then out to Mount Gambier for a church conference. Although, since coming home, my computer crashed (Windows 10) and as a result had a meaningful conversation with the Factory Reset Button. Lost much but I was also able to save much and managed to start again. I did have to rebuild my Outlook Address book and some addresses I still have not got, but they haven’t got in contact with me to ask why the silence.

At the moment I have over the last day or so, designed and printed an Order of Service – cover page and contents – for a Funeral tomorrow. One of our ladies died suddenly and I was asked to do the Order of Service for her. Generally I do that anyway, but the church photocopier is on long service leave for necessary repairs so everything has been done here on my computer and printer – all 100 x 4 page Documents. Just as well the Board of Management are paying for the ink cartridges – although only 30 of that total have parchment covers and are in colour – for family. The remainder are in greyscale. I dare say I will get back to what I was doing in the garden ===in the fullness of time :o)

Fires, Funerals and Scammers

05/12/2015 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

One view of the fire front ( Not my picture)

The fire burning out of control in SA has a fire perimeter of some 240 klm. Fortunately it is well away from us, but even so it was a dangerous and deadly fire. Two people are confirmed dead, one is still missing and many people injured. The property losses are high and the livestock losses have been very heavy. We had fire crews come over from New South Wales and Victoria to help bring the fire under control. The high winds didn’t help. I know, driving back from Adelaide last Wednesday, the wind was fairly strong and pushed the car about a bit, which made the driving a bit tiring.

I was only just home, had a coffee and Annabell told me that the husband of one of our friends died suddenly. Annabell suggested that I get changed and go visit, so that’s how I spent my afternoon. Poor Benji -daddy just got in and now he’s gone again. Everything has gone to the Coroner in Adelaide and all she has to to do now is wait until the Coroner makes his/her decision and hands down his/her report. Then the family can make arrangements for the funeral – which they hope will be next week sometime – in Adelaide.

After talking with herself I decided to take the coach to Adelaide for the funeral. It means that I can go down Wednesday morning, go the funeral and be home on Wednesday night. Tell you what bells – the “best laid plans” thing is fairly accurate. I was planning not to be away again until February at least, but life has a way of upsetting plans. There are reports that the lowest of the low have been at work in the fire devastated areas. By “Lowest of the low” I refer to the trash known as looters. There have been reports of looters raiding the damaged property that had to be evacuated in haste leaving everything behind. I’m sure I read somewhere that we used to shoot looters. Honestly, I don’t know what is more devastating, to lose your house and everything in a major fire, or to come back and find the house intact, but broken into and your valuables stolen by looters.

My mail system is still down and although I am getting some limited mail through the browser, it’s not ideal. My son is coming over tonight and we will download and install a new mail program, so by the end of the day we should have everything up and running. I have stripped most of the MS programs from the old machine but I have kept it active because my photograph programs are in there and the difficulty of downloading and installing them again is not really worth the trouble. Better to leave them where they are.

To be cheated (scammed) gives one a sick and empty feeling and, unfortunately that’s what has happened. I thought the site I was using to download Microsoft Programs was a genuine site – it

even has a Google Certificate – but it was not and not only did I not get the program, I lost the cash I paid for it. Not a happy person since my bank said they could not block or stop the payment since I had paid voluntarily and there was nothing they could do except advise me to open a paper trail by writing to them and then, if there is no response or no program forthcoming, I can, in the fullness of time, open a legal dispute claim and attempt to get my money back. And that, it seems to me, is how they succeed with what they are doing – it’s a long and expensive procedure so people just either don’t go through with it, or never start. So from that, you can understand that my email system is still not working correctly. The site, by the way – and to all intents and purposes, it is a sponsored site by Google – is still up and running and I have been advised not to name it as this could create legal concerns.

Settling in: New home: New family.

11/10/2015 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Tuesday and things are settling down. Benji has settled in well and has the full run of the house and the yards. We have been out walking but the harness I have is just a bit tight so I will see about getting a new one today. This has been the October Long Weekend, with Monday being Labour Day and most shops closed. Everything will be back to normal today.

Annabell has never really been a dog person but I have to say that she and Benji have taken to each other. So much so that last night he jumped up on her lap settled down and they watched TV together. I think he might be an NCIS fan. However, I do have a small problem – he gets into the car without any problem – getting him out of the car is something else again. He will work out fine – time and patience.

Andrew came round to visit yesterday and take Benji out for a walk – to get to know him. He was quite impressed with the dog who is both placid and affectionate. This morning I told him ( Benji, not Andrew) No when he tried to jump on my lap as I was using the keyboard. He walked away, then took a leap, went over the armrest and landed on the chair at my back – where he currently is – perhaps he figures if he’s at my back and I can’t see him, I can’t say no :o) Seems logical.

Clever – sneaky, but clever. I have had to go out a couple of times and all I see is a furry face at the window when I go to the car and when I drive out. Annabell says he goes to his bed and then goes back to the window when he hears the car again, which means I see a furry face at the window when I come home. We took him out with us to the Westlands Mall. Herself wanted to do some grocery shopping for the family dinner tomorrow and Benji and I went for a walk around the area and back to the entrance, keeping in the shade. He enjoyed that and started getting excited when he saw Annabell coming back.

I think I am starting to recover for what was for me a long two days. I still can’t over the fact that I came down the steep descent from Crafers to the City in the dark, when I hate having to do it (rarely thankfully) in daylight and I have to the same journey all over again in November. The scenery was very different from this part of the world – grass, flowers, the vines and wineries of the Limestone Coast to the forests of Penola. I didn’t get to see much of Mt. Gambier. I didn’t even get to see Mount Gambier Church since I really wanted to be in Bolivar before it got dark, which, as you know, I didn’t succeed in doing.

Anyway, he has settled in and enjoys his two walks each day. I take him out in the morning and again in the evening. The evening walk will get later as it gets lighter mainly to avoid the heat from the sun. According to the long range weather forecast it is to be a long, hot dry summer with some areas having extended drought conditions.. Let’s just hope that it is not too bad.

Rain and Gala Night.

20/06/2015 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

There are times when I think Mother Nature goes out of her way to contradict me. Only the other day ( yesterday in fact) I was saying that the rain seems to pass away from us and today – yes — it’s chucking it down. Tonight is the Mayoral Gala and apart from Showcasing arts and performing talents, it is also a fundraiser for the RFDS, so we have to be there – not everyone but enough to make a recognised appearance – Red RFDS Shirts and badges. We will also have a Merchandise Table and an Information Table. Not sure when it finishes but I don’t think it will be too late.

As it happened we did finish fairly early but I have to say it was a great night, very much enjoyed – I just need someone to explain to me how six girls from the Dance School can stand in a line on the stage wearing tap shoes and tap out six different rhythms at the same time :o) As far as I am aware we did fairly well and all the proceeds of the night will be donated to us – which is fantastic. In the last five years we have raised over $151,000 for the RFDS. I think it was great that the Mayor chose us as the preferred organization.

Annabell and the ladies held their Annual Brunch. This raises funds for our local Hospital Cancer Support Unit. This year they raised just over $900 and at their meeting this afternoon they decided to make the amount up to $1000, which, really, is a fantastic effort for a few hours but then the ladies put on a great spread and it is always well attended. Not much out of the South-East, but then I never really expected any anyway. When they say that they are going to “Rationalize”what they mean is they will abandon everything outside Adelaide. They have done this in the past so they kind of have a track record. I think they get nose bleeds if they move out of the city limits. Yes, I know, I am being unkind – I’ll feel bad about it later – probably.

It has been raining off and on for three days now. No flooding to speak of but we did have a couple of mini storms when the rain was so heavy that it

Yogi - Our friend's dog — Yogi – Our friend’s dog

overflowed the gutters which means water everywhere. These mini-storms didn’t last long – a sort of cloud burst if you like – but both of the water tanks are full. Everything outside is wet and damp and I’ve had Chienne in here with me. The noise was too much for her and she started to get anxious so I gave her half a tablet to calm her down. I made up a bed for her on my moon chair (bucket chair) then covered her with a blanket. She lay there for most of the night.

PeekaBoo - I see you. — PeekaBoo – I see you.

Next week we will be having Yogi back again. Fay was recalled to the Breast Cancer clinic and now has to go down to Adelaide for further investigation, so we will have Yogi to look after for a few days. I took herself to the clinic today and it will be three weeks before we get any results but we don’t foresee any problems. I head off to Adelaide on Tuesday so I’m looking for calmer weather. I think some showers on Wednesday but if we leave early enough we should be clear of the area before it becomes a problem.

PS: Yesterday I went back to the Art Center to be presented with a cheque by the Mayor as the funds raised on the Gala night for the RFDS.. Had to leave where I was, go the to toilet in the Art center and get changed, then get on the stage for the presentation – photographs and interview – which was pretty cool!

Could we start again, please?

26/02/2014 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

At the start of the week we were breaking records for heat, and sending out bushfire warnings by Thursday we were breaking new records – for rain. Talk about a weird week. It’s Saturday 8am and we have just had yet another downpour. At least there is one consolation and that is that both of my rainwater tanks are overflowing. The major highway, west of here, was closed down and drivers were diverted to the longer and more isolated highway to the north.They were also advised to fill up because there would be no fuel for at least 200klm. Some localised street flooding here but nothing much to speak of – no homes were in any danger. Adelaide floods because Adelaide is on an ancient flood plain and there is the runoff from the Adelaide Hills. There a few dips in the roads here and we do get a bit of water at these places, but nothing comes near any of the houses – not like Adelaide.

Some years ago (2005) I took a party of teenagers to the National Capital of Canberra. It was amazing since very few of them had ever been out of the State – actually, some of them had never been out of the Eyre Peninsula. One of the stops we made was at the South Australia/Victoria Border and irrespective of the time ( day or night) stop was made for photographs with the border post – Welcome to Victoria – very much in the photograph. We went by coach, which had two drivers, was fully air conditioned, had a television and a DVD player. Nineteen hours on the coach was ok – frequent stops for comfort and food (yes there were facilities on the coach), watching movies, reading and just chatting or listening to music.

We had a bad year last year and the start of this new year has not been too bad. This is not to say that everything that bothered us last year has gone – it has not, but we are learning to cope with it and move on. Herself contracted MRSA some years (5) ago and we are still living with the aftermath of that. In order to eliminate the infection drugs were pumped into her through a picc line but although they seemed to control then eliminate the Staph infection, they compromised her liver and kidney functions. She spent over three months in hospitals, mainly the Royal Adelaide, which meant me traveling back and forth and staying in Adelaide for days at a time. When she came home, we still had to travel back to the RAH for check-ups – we still do but not as often. A few years ago she became quite anemic and it was discovered she was losing blood. She was taken into hospital and given blood transfusions. It was thought that this would solve the problem – and it did – for a while. Now we are back to square one again, she is losing blood, is anemic, very tired and the doctors are not sure what to do since the blood transfusion should have solved the problem. However, 2014 is better in that I have things better organised than I did last year. I can organise and to some extent control the visits to the doctor, to fit around a timetable – the specialists are very different. Being in the country we have no specialists here – they all have to come up from Adelaide and these times I cannot adjust. We have to attend these at the time and date specified. Today I have managed to get the doctor at 4pm – next Monday a Specialist at 11am. I was due to attend a meeting in Adelaide but we have a hospital visit on that day so it will be an apology But we are fine and everything is good. I am fit and healthy, except when I do silly things, like go up and down ladders at home all day wearing only sandals and cause some damage to my foot, but otherwise, fit and healthy. The Man is still pottering around, slowly and slightly unsteady. He seems to cope with falling down a bit, and it seems to distress me more than it does him. I think the time for the wheels is just about upon us.

And they call the wind — Annoying!!

10/10/2012 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The temperature has started to rise and today was a nice 26c. However, not a lot of work was done outside because although the temp. is fair, it’s blowing a gale. Dry with high winds – this, if it keeps up, will mean dust storms over the next few days. As it is, trying to keep the place clear of dust is a full time job at the moment. I have cemented the washing line holder into place and although it is a tab too high for herself, I will take it back out over the week end and cut some off the bottom so that it will be easier for her to work with. However, until such time as I can get the area completed I will probably hang out and take in her washing because the ground is too uneven for her to walk on. But this is South Australia – either wet, dry with high winds, or stinking hot (45c) with a hot wind coming off the desert. Gets a bit tiring at times, but I prefer that to the cold and the wet – as do most Australians.

We came to a decision that we will not move the washing area after all. The difficulty in rebuilding the area I had in mind for her was just too great so we decided to buy a new rotary hoist and redo the present area. We also decided to buy a second clothes trolley so that she can use one from the back door to the dog gate, then lift the wash basket onto the second trolley at the other side of the gate and take that to her washing line – repeat process with dry washing on way back. Now that the better weather is starting – despite the winds and the frustration of debris from trees, it is starting to get quite nice outside, so I will be able to get out and get on with some work. One of the wettest winters on record, a few weeks into spring and the farmers are complainig about the lack of rain. You can’t win with some people since it is only a short time ago that they were complaining that the ground was too wet to plant.

Sneaky, very sneaky!

20/09/201220/09/2012 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The weather really warmed up very nicely and then, just as you were starting to welcome spring, it turned on you and it’s raining again. Was cold yesterday and rained for a good part of the evening and into the nighttime. The weather has stared to improve despite the drops in temperature and the rain, but at least it is no longer raining every other day. The sun has been out for the last two days and provided it stays good tomorrow I will make a start on the concrete work and start to get the area ready for her clothes line. Once the line is up I will start work on having the area levelled out so that she can walk on it with relative safety. The badly uneven surface of the crazy paved area is too much for her.

I went across town to the Brick and Paving supply place and had a look at bricks to slightly change the shape of the area but the bricks hat I wanted are no longer available, so I will have to come up with another idea. I have completed the cement and he unit is now in the round. With any reasonable luck I should be able to place the clothes hoist in the area and then it will be a simple matter of stringing it all together. I have not yet decided how I will smooth the area out but I’m working on it. am also doing the section outside my office, which I have never been happy with. So, as spring comes on and moves towards summer, there is a lot of work that I want to be done, some of which I would like finished before Christmas.

The dogs are well although the little man has started to slow down a little when I take him out for the evening walk. carry him for a little while to give him a bit of a break. He is nearly 12 years of age now.

“Aye, aye the year’s awaking, the fire’s among the ling”

09/09/2012 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Winter is slowly loosing its grip and we are starting to have a few warm days in the north of the state. I did, however, spend a few days in the city for a funeral. The funeral was of a dear friend of ours who helped our church look to the future when everything around us looked pretty bleak and people in Adelaide gave us three months (if we were lucky) before we would have to close the doors. That was twelve years ago and here we are, through God.s grace, still flourishing. Adelaide is a strange place and unlike the other major states, South Australia is a one city state – 77% (1.3 Million) of the population of 1.5 million, live in and around the City of Adelaide, so Adelaide people were not really not too concerned about a small, relatively unimportant, country church. They still are not – something that was brought home to me at the funeral judging by the remarks that were made.

Brian was one of the very few that were willing to travel the 400 klms from Adelaide to help us out. The current hierarchy are still not interested in travelling north and believe that having to come up here once a year for a meeting is an imposition that they can do without. We have people who, regrettably, tell you what hey think you want to hear which may not necessiraly be when you need to know. We will miss Brian and there are not many of the few left now and those of “The Old Guard” that are left are piling up the years. Brian was in his mid 80s.

With the warmer weather starting to come in I should be able to get back out and get some work done. The trial has been the back garden and the trees, which, because of the constant wind, has been a nightmare to keep tidy. I must also get the front finish off and the driveway water blasted clean. So, as the weather improves I have a lot of work ahead and “she who must be obeyed” has decided that the inside of the house could do with a lick of paint. I really don’t know how I ever found time to go to work.

Winter is heading off – the sooner the better.

19/08/201219/08/2012 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

I think winter is starting to move on and make way for spring and summer. It would really be nice if we had a summer this year. I just want some warm weather so I can get out and get on with some of the projects I have lined up- such as the decking and replacement of the roof on the pergola, the concrete and rebuilding of the washing area an for these I need several days of dry weather. We have not been getting dry weather. It rained for two days this week including this morning.

I have been using a Filofax for years. I have a Samsung Galaxy S 2 but I prefer to write things down on paper with a pen. I joined phILOFAXY and I did make some comments on there, but with the passing of time I get the feeling that it is really not a group for me. It’s run by some really nice people and I like some of the ideas and the web comments and I will probably continue to look at it, but I won’t comment on there anymore. However,I will continue to look at the blogs that I like and that interest me.

She who must be obeyed, has been quite ill and I have had to take her to the hospital for teatment. Her doctor was concerned about her so he had her put on to a Ventolin machine for about 40 minutes and it really helped her. I have spent much of this week recovering from the flu and trying to look after my good lady. She is breathing a lot easier now, but I feel she should be in the house and not go out for a little while. She wants to go to church and I feel she should not. We do have a Board meeting afterwards but we can manage. She rarely takes time for herself and she should. With the ‘gravel’ in her voice she sort of sounds like Darth Vader on a good day. Poor thing…

Cold with a slight frost in the mornings.

19/06/201219/06/2012 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

On either side of the driveway is an area about two feet wide. When I did the garden I did not attend to this mainly because I wanted to get the granite and the wood chips finished first. I had intended to get to it soon, but the weather put paid to that idea for a while. However, the last days have been fairly dry – cold but no rain – so I started work on getting these two areas cleared, One is completed but the other side will have to be dug out, the old edging dug up and replaced. Provided I don’t get called in over the next couple of days I should manage to get most of it done – at least to the stage where I am ready to replace the edging. Once I have both sides clear and the edging in place I’ll get another load of granite and get that down. That should be that finished and I can then think about getting stared on the next project, which will be getting Annabell’s clothes line area completed. The decking, which is yet another project has been put on the middle burner for the moment – it’s not too far away and if the weather becomes too inclement, I can easily bring that forward. For the moment it is not raining so much but the mornings and evenings are cold with the mornings having a light frost. And I have been called into work where I would have preferred to be at home. Still, only two weeks and everything is on holiday and I can relax knowing that there will be no phone calls in the morning. I have used this photograph before to show it raining but it also shows the area between the driveway and the edging. This is what I am cleaning out. There is another section on the other side of where the photograph was taken and that will also have to be done. I had hoped to do it this week but being called to work has put that on hold at least until the weekend.

The dogs have been well and although I have not been able to take them out in the mornings I do take them out for a good long walk each night. The little man still gets tired and needs a bit of a break so I still lift him and carry him for a little while – until he gets his second wind and takes off again. Both dogs are over ten years old but the little one had a very difficult life before we adopted him.

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