Here, There and Home

MustafaAdelaide;

The Lower Flinders from, Port Wakefield Road
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

Going Home.
Going Home.

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

The Lochiel Lakes
The Lochiel Lakes

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

An Old Lady at Lochiel
An Old Lady at Lochiel

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.

There and back again !!

The drive down to Adelaide was partly cold, wet and miserable to start with but  by the time we were about halfway there, the sun came out, everything brightened up  and it was quite a pleasant  day. Parked in town and spent some time shopping.   I wanted to go to the camera shop at the Central Market but I think the old camera (which still takes good photographs) is now so old technology has passed it. Amazing how things can change in 10-15 years. I was not able to get anything  new – nor even pre-loved. Serves me right for buying a Sony all these years ago. The new camera is a Canon and I have yet to figure how to use all the bells and whistles and get the best out of it. I have bought a number of books and downloaded some things to the computer and I’ll see how I go with them. Booked into the hotel in North Adelaide and walked with John down to the

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

Memorial Hospital. As I said the day brightened up so the walk down to the hospital was  fine. However,  during the time we were in the hospital things changed. His appointment lasted longer that was anticipated and by the time we got out of the hospital it was raining,  so the walk back was not so enjoyable. And that was the rain in for the rest of the night. I watched some television, did some things on the computer and  went to bed. When I rose in the morning, it was still raining.  It was a frustrating drive in that it was showers, sometimes heavy sometimes not so heavy, but windscreen wipers switched on – then off – then back on again.  Took John directly to the local hospital where he made a follow up appointment for an MRI then probably back to Adelaide again to  the Memorial Hospital

SummerBy the time I got home it was mid-afternoon and a short while later Jim brought Yogi over. He will be staying with us until they come back from Adelaide on Saturday.  Jim is taking his wife Fay down to the Breast Cancer Clinic.  Chienne was no problem. Yogi has been here several times before so she is fairly used to him.  I took them both out walking last night – all well rugged up for the cold.  Do you ever think that weather forecasters make information up as they go along? I distinctly remember the weather people warning us that it was going to be a cold, dry winter and to expect droughts. This would be followed by a hotter than normal summer.  Here we are, well into winter and thus far it’s been cold, wet and fairly miserable. Rain here and floods further up north and no sign of drought – Yet! Some places have had average rainfall some much more than average and not much of a sign that it is going to change any time soon.

Not far from where we lived were the ruins of an ancient castle. The castle was once a home of Mary, Queen of Scots and was owned by the Earls of Lennox. The Earl rebelled against King James IV and  the castle was partly destroyed by the canons brought over from Edinburgh. The present  castle dates from around the 15th century but  there is evidence of an 11th century structure.  The castle sits atop a hill and as children we went there to  sled and have snow fights. We used the South side of the hill to sled. The north side was a bit steeper but the south side ended in an area of flat land whereas the north side ended at the river. What brought this to mind was thinking about the long summer days and the concerts we put on as children. We all had something to do and sometimes we entertained the adults, who always encouraged us. Of course, all this was back in the “Middle Ages”when there were no mobile (cell) phones, no computers, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were still  at school, and – most importantly – no television.  I remember reading somewhere, that we were the last generation that went outside to play.