Mount Gambier – Page 2

Back on my own again.

16/10/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Yesterday afternoon (Tuesday)Dougal went back home. Even after only two days I was a bit sad to see him go. Benji and Dougal got on so well together. Annabell was amazed. It was a lovely day and I was sitting on the garden swing, rocking it gently back and forth – Benji sitting at one side of me and Dougal sitting on the other side. Sadly, Annabell and a camera (any camera!!) do not get on well together, so no photographs. But, Benji and Dougal got on very well together. Yesterday, as I said, was a lovely day – warm and sunny with a temp of 30c, however, today (Wednesday) it is wild with winds up to 75 with gusts of 90 kph. Will not be surprised if there are trees down.

Thursday 12th. Be careful what you comment on because a tree that came down was one of mine – the one that was next on the list to be trimmed. Of course, the bulk of the major branch was in the neighbour garden so I spent the afternoon over there cutting it in bits and lobbing it over the fence. I am bruised, battered, cut, cleaned and bandaged ( thank you Annabell) but I got it cleared out of his yard. A part of it fell back on me and hit my shoulder as it caught on the fence and I do believed I uttered something along the lines of “Oh, the vagaries of inanimate objects” words to that effect. Antiseptic wash, Savlon

Cream and a bandaged hand that still hurts. Fortunately young Benji was not there to hear anything that might be considered untoward. Oh well, worse things happen at Flanders. However, now that everything is back in my garden, even if it is piled up at the fence, it’s my worry and I can take my time clearing it. There is, however, another branch that is a cause for concern but that will have to wait until I get back from Adelaide and call the tree people. Hopefully we wont have a mini-storm between now and then. What I would like is a quiet week. Just looking at my diary for this week it’s very busy which partly explains why I went into the tree cutting thing without being properly dressed and

ready. Had I been, I probably would not have acquired so many well placed cuts and bruises – and no, I do not have a chain saw. These

The road to the lighthouse; The other side of the distant hills

things are best left to people who understand and are familiar with them. Anyway, it was not the almond tree that caused the problem although since one branch heavily laden with almond pods is reaching over the fence, he (neighbour) is unhappy about that. Now me -I would have looked forward to lots of free almonds

After the sort of mini-storm, everything quietened down again. I decided that I will leave the cleaning up until I get back from Adelaide. This should be the last meeting of the West Terrace Committee. Now only one more meeting in Mount Gambier in early November and that will be me for the year. This is good because I have so much work to do around here and less travelling would be great.

Monday and in an hour I set off to Adelaide. The weather is good – sun all the way. Same tomorrow 34c I think. Her microwave gave up the ghost so I’ll be looking for a new one for her.

Walks, Fete and and second dog.

08/10/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Getting much lighter in the morning, but not all that much warmer. The days, however, are warmer and we had a little taste of summer when the temperature climbed up to 35c. That was exciting!! The following day it was 28c then fell back to normal early spring temperatures of 20(ish). However, high 20s – low 30s and the flies are out in force already. One of the advantages of the light in the morning is that a number of Kangaroos have been gathering at the far end of the fence line. Not that we get anywhere near them as they bounce off before we get even close enough to take a photograph but, still, it’s nice to see them and take what photograph we can. I carry a Nikon with me, it’s not really up to serious photography, but it is easy to carry around. When I go to Mount Gambier I generally take the larger camera with me..

Our clocks went forward an hour so it’s back to dark in the mornings. We had a few days of really nice spring weather then back to sort of late winter – cold, wet and miserable. Today (Saturday 7th) it had been raining much of the night and it’s still raining. We did not go out for our walk this morning, but he still got his morning treat – which I thought only fair because he was up and ready to go. The church mini Fete took place today and given the early heavy rain we were concerned that it might have to be cancelled again. However, by 7:30 the rain cleared and the sun shone brightly. The Fete was well attended and overall we raised over $1400. I paid for it in that I was on my feet for much of the day and my knee has been playing up something shocking. This evening I lay down and read a book – vegged out I think.

A recent comment mentioned the surprise that Mount Gambier is over 1000 miles round trip. This is part of the problem living in South Australia and partly why it continues to be

One of the gorges through the lower Flinders

underdeveloped – the tyranny of distance and a lack of a major water supply. Just driving to the Lighthouse and back is nearly 50 miles. This distance will take you from Glasgow to Lochearnhead or from Edinburgh to Callander ( give or take a couple of miles) Some of you may remember that one of our elderly ladies was moved from here to Quorn Hospital because there were no beds at any of the aged care facilities here. I visited her several times as did some of the other ladies – a round trip of 145 miles. For me the problem is that we here are “inbetweeners” too far north to get the benefit of the rolling landscapes of the south, and not far enough north to get the benefit of the rugged mountain country of the Flinders Ranges. To get to either means several hours driving and of the two I prefer the Flinders Ranges.

For the next three days I will have two dogs. When Ina had to go down to the hospital in Adelaide, Irene – a mutual friend – looked after Dougal. Irene is not in town any more so when I was round there the other day getting some things for the Fete, Ina talked about her need to put Dougal into care for a couple of days. I said she was not to do this and she was to bring Dougal round to me and Annabell and I would look after him for the two days. I went home and told Annabell what I had done and she said “good, Dougal is a lovely Shih-Tzu and should be no problem”. Ina brought the dog this evening and after she went home, the three of us- Benji, me and Dougal went out for a walk. Dougal and Benji hit it off and currently they are wandering around outside like old pals.

Winter and a Baby Due.

02/06/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

It would seem at times that I lead a very busy life. Generally this is far from the truth – my life is quiet and peaceful. However, having said that, this year has been different and because of things that have happened, here and elsewhere, I have had to to a lot of travelling. There are four conferences a year, two in Adelaide, two in Mount Gambier. These take place every three months – although having said that, this is the third time I have been to Mount Gambier since January. The West Terrace Committee, of which I am a member, generally meets twice a year – or as required. This time it came right after Mount Gambier, so I was only just home for less than a full day and then away again for another two days. This is where it becomes slightly bizarre. Because of a fear campaign, many young mothers are refusing to have their children vaccinated and as a result many things we thought were eradicated are making a comeback – one of these is Whooping Cough. This has increased to the extent that if a woman is about to have a baby, the adults associated with that baby – Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts etc. – are “Advised” to have a Whooping Cough Injection. My son and his partner are about to have a baby so Annabell and I, along with my other son, need to have this Whooping Cough injection. All of this travelling over May really told on me and I was tired and somewhat rundown. Our injections were scheduled for the day after I got back from Adelaide. I should have delayed them, but time is running out and we needed them now, so we had them. Annabell and son John are fine. I ended up with Flu-like symptoms and am in bed sick. I was concerned but I am assured that this is not uncommon and I just have to see it out. Normally it would have been ok but my body turned gangster on me and forced me to bed. Annabell is very good and feeds me hot Lemon and Honey drinks. It has already started to dry up and I should be fine in a day or so.

The WaWa has recovered and I have removed the Medical Collar. The only concern is that with me being in bed, the dogs are not getting out for exercise. I dare say they will be fine for a few days. The family were here this evening and the date for Trish is tomorrow (29th) anything after that and he’s late. – And yes, it is “him” but no name as yet, or if there is they are not telling anyone.

The Arrium Saga takes another twist as the Shareholders have formed a group “Arrium Shareholders United”which are opposed to the Administrator and are opposed to the company being sold. They maintain that Arrium today is a different company than it was fourteen months ago. They also maintain that the company is viable and trading well and that it should be taken out of Administration, re listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX), a new Board of Management put into place and negotiations commenced for refinancing. The Administrator has considered the suggestions and declared them as unworkable – the price for steel and the price for Iron Ore has decreased while the cost of power continues to increase, and there is the little matter of the $2+ Billion debt – and that the only viable option to ensure long term stability is to sell the company as a whole. The closing date for offers was 31st May at 5pm. There are two contenders – one South Korean the other British. The Administrator will consult with the stakeholders – Banks, Unions, State and Federal Governments and an announcement made in about three weeks.

Yesterday an old friend arrived with a “Hi. Remember me?” as he plunged the overnight temperatures down to -1c and it was cold taking Benji out for our morning walk. You notice I said Benji not “The Dogs” yes, she’s not silly and fails to see the point of getting out of a perfectly warm bed when it’s still cold and dark. Actually I really don’t blame her. Our Old Friend has not been very friendly these last few days. No snow – of course – but lots of frost on the grass. Hmmm – maybe the WaWa has the right idea………..

**newsflash** The Baby was born at 3:13 this afternoon (Friday 2nd June) and, would you believe, they still have not decided on a name. Anyway, until then as far as I am concerned, he is Andrew Junior and he was just over seven pounds

Home; a place for coming from!

22/05/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The last post I wrote was on the 28th April, almost three weeks ago. I took off to Mount Gambier and was there for a two day conference – two days to get there, conference, two days to get back, change clothes and off again for two days in Adelaide. Poor Benji – this is not helping his seperation anxiety one little bit. The WaWa is not too bad since she has Annabell but Benji is my dog and he does not like me being away from him. Anyway, I did bring him back two new toys and a new collapsable, silicone water bowl for when we are out walking in warm weather.

Mount Gambier was cold, but it generally is this time of the year. Annabell told me that it was raining at home. I had no rain to speak of other than a few

showers in Adelaide and some early morning mist in Coonalpyn and Tintinara. It was cold and I didn’t really didn’t do a lot but I did get out to the Blue Lake, which it was still marginally Blue but starting to fade and not the vivid blue of my visit last November. I had intended to get to Bunnings but ran out of time and had to get back to the hotel ready for the first meeting that afternoon. It was almost 9pm before I got “home” and called Annabell to let her know I was still around. The second meeting started on Saturday afternoon and was supposed to finish at 2:30. At it happened it finished at 4:40 and I was only able to get as far as Naracoorte (115klm) before it got dark and I called a halt for the night. I had intended to get to Tailem Bend and Naracoorte was about 230 klm short. This meant that I had to make 800+ kilms if I wanted to get home on Sunday afternoon. Starting to get a bit tired I called a halt every hour or so and used my facecloth, soaked in cold water, to wash my face, not to mention the coffee at Port Wakefield, the Tin Man and Port Augusta. As it was it was getting dark before I pulled into the driveway. Annabell was not at home. Knowing that I was away the boys had opted to look after her during Mother’s Day and dinner was at Andrew and Trishs’ place. I could have gone up and joined them, but I decided not to and to let the boys look after her. The dogs, however, were happy to see me and the WaWa is now my new BFF.

Monday I spent sorting things out and repacking and Tuesday I took off to Adelaide. I miss Annabell – of course – but I also miss the dogs and I have come to think of both of them as My Dogs. They will always be Benji and the WaWa but I feel that the WaWa is now my dog as three months has now turned in to 14 Months and no contact nor any indication if Sooa will return.

The meeting in Adelaide was interesting and I have organised with the CEO to have a meeting with himself and one of the advisors and discuss how we will

Thw WaWa with her collar – not the best because she wouldn’t stay still. Benji looks on bemused

procede with the restoration of two of the graves in the West Terrace Cemetary. Both of these graves are of two of the three founders of the Church in South Australia ( 1860) and both have been neglected to the extent that both are on the endangered list. After the meeting in early July and the CEO has an opportunity to inspect the graves, we should be able to come up with a plan and hope that Mount Gambier – and Queensland – will also get inhvolved and these graves can be protected. For me it has been a frustrating sort of time in that I really didn’t get time to do the things I wanted to do. I wanted an archway for the garden and had fully intended to get out to Bunnings but didn’t , either trip. Also I want to get the WaWa to the vet as she has a bad cut. My vet has gone to see his sick mother again and the clinic is closed – the other vet was too busy to even have a look, so, tomorrow I will phone the clinic. If there is no reply I will make a second call and take the WaWa to the vet in Port Augusta – about 50 miles away. The Vet was

open so I took Kongsoon (The WaWa) over to see him. The wound is not as bad as it looks so, with a slight washing and application of some cream it should start to heal up without causing her too much concern. – Mea Culpa…..

The WaWa – all change.

31/03/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

In all of my life I have only ever bought one dog from a Pet Shop. I have to truthfully say that I have looked and liked what I saw – but then, I didn’t know any better. I bought this dog from the Pet Shop, because I knew the owner, she was also a dog groom and she also ran boarding kennels. We called the dog Chienne – I know some people in France use this as an insult but to me it just simply meant what she was a Female Dog. This was almost sixteen years ago. She died at just over fourteen years of age. She never had a day ill in her life and the only time she had to wear a “Collar of Shame” was when she had been to the vet for “The Operation”. She was a lovely dog, dearly loved by everyone who came into contact with her, particularly the Love of Her Life – my youngest son, Andrew. She also helped to fill an interesting matchmaking role, but that’s another story. My reason for reliving all this, is not to inflict sadness on myself, but to state a point – and the point is this – in my life I have only ever had one experience of a pet shop and that experience was very positive. I do not for one second doubt that many

Puppy Farms are dreadful places and should be closed down. My heart aches when I think of some of these poor animals. However my only experience was a positive one and it is very difficult to set that aside. Every dog, including Benji, was a rescue dog. Only Chienne was a Pet Shop Dog and she was one of the most lovable dogs I have ever lived with – and to be honest it took me a while to stop calling him and at times referring to Benji as Chienne. That’s how imprinted she was on me.

The WaWa and I have become quite close to the point where I can go to her, lift her up and she snuggles into my neck. In my wild erratic fancy, I had visions of her searching where would be the

best point to sink her teeth into, but that’s being unkind :o) I can also sit down on the floor and when Benji is not around I can sit and play with her, scratch her ears and her belly and pet her back and head. Tippysmom was spot on when she said that it will be an incredible wrench if /when the owner comes back and I have to give her up. I never meant to get attached to her but I have – and that’s a concern.

I have been working outside – even in the high temperatures we have had this week – because I want to get as much of the garden finished as I can. At the moment I have completed about half of what needs to be done and I would like to get most of it finished this week. For the gravel I am using Granite Chips – not cheap but they look good and they hold their colour for a long time. Other stone chip seems to fade after a while whereas Granite does not. The Frangipani are coming along well as are the four Mandevilla / white /pink and two red. All very nice and should last until about mid-May, which is when I head off to Mount Gambier for four days. I water and feed the flowers and plants before I go and hope that will be enough to last them until I get back. And before you ask, the answer is NO.

A post ago I used a photographs of snow in Neilson. The photographs was taken in the morning, and by mid-afternoon the snow was all gone. It didn’t last long apparently.

Still no word about what is happening with Arrium. As far as we know there are two buyers interested – One British and one South Korean. The uncertainty is such that there are so many houses

for sale around the town; a number of houses foreclosed by the bank and I know of at least one house – a big house – where the owners just packed up and walked away, leaving everything to the bank. As I said before our major shopping Mall, once advertised as the largest outside of Adelaide, has 18 empty shops. However on a positive note we believe that a large retailer will be moving into the larger of the empty shops ( 3 in 1) soon. Good in that it is a large area and will take away the empty look from that section and also that it will provide jobs.

Fangorn, Road Trip and Benji

31/01/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Conducting a funeral is never fun, conducting two in one week is even less fun, particularly when one (Today / Friday) is conducted in a 43c heat. The funeral on Monday saw the church packed to capacity but the funeral today was even bigger and we had to erect a gazebo outside and have extra chairs in the shade. There was more than 170 there because that’s the number of Orders of Service ( O.O.S.) I printed and the ladies distributing them at the door ran out and I couldn’t print others because the church photocopier can’t process A5 paper and that part of the O.O.S. I printed at home from the computer. Even with the two reverse cycle Daikin Air- Conditioners running at their coldest, it was still sticky in the church – so many people. Lunch in the hall was relatively easy and the two big A/C units there did keep the temperature at reasonable levels, given the number of people Anyway, that’s it and although we told our friends in the Funeral Service that it was nice to see them, we really hope not to see them for a little while longer than four days.

When I came back from Mount Gambier I really didn’t have time to do much, subsequently I didn’t download the photographs from the camera. I

Coming Home - Saturday — Coming Home – Saturday

didn’t go to the blue lake or the sinkhole gardens this time but I have heard that the possums are back in residence again at the sinkhole gardens so I will get down there next time – which should be in May. As I said, the weather was odd so you will see that reflected in the photographs of the River Murray – both sets taken at the same spot – one Friday – one Saturday – and there is quite a difference between the two. The Friday is a bit misleading since that was really the residue of the Thursday night storm and by the time I reached the Forest of Fangorn – well, Penola Forest – but it looks like Fangorn!- the weather had, surprisingly, cleared and it turned out a really nice day. Driving through the forest area is always interesting – just watch out for the big timber trucks. Although trucks are not all I watch out for – if I ever see a person in a long robe, a pointed hat and a white beard, I’m outta there! By the time I reached Naracourte the weather was really nice and driving was enjoyable.

Part of the Forest of Fangorn - well, Penola anyway — Part of the Forest of Fangorn – well, Penola anyway

The drive alongside the forests is always very quiet and considering the amount of traffic i.e. heavy timber trucks, the roads are in very good condition. I didn’t have time to go to the Winery this trip since I had to be in Mount Gambier for Friday afternoon and didn’t have a lot of time. I rather like the wines of the Limestone Coast. Most are small wineries and not readily available in the larger regional shops – or, indeed, in many of the shops outside the region. I like Browns of Padthaway T. Trellis Shiraz, which is a small family estate, but I like most of the wines of this region more so than the Adelaide Hills or the Barossa. I also like the wines from the Margaret River in Western Australia. If you go into any of the bottle

shops most of the stock available is from the larger, well known wineries and little of other regions.

The weather, as seems to be usual at the moment, is very changeable. I took Benji out for a drive this afternoon and we went out to Point Lowly – about 25 miles from here. As Annabell often says, he doesn’t care where you go, he’s with his daddy and that’s all that really matters to him. I assume he enjoyed the drive – he settled down on the front seat and lay there all the time. He never seems to want to sit up or stick his head out of the window, just sits quiet and peaceful. The weather out at Lowly was a bit cooler and a bit more windy and some of the photographs I scrapped because they were out of focus – or fuzzy. It’s like a lot of driving

around the area – not a lot to see.

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.

The Sands of Time

06/01/2017 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

April – a month that will live in infamy – well not quite. After all some wonderful people were born in April – like me for example. However, April was when we acquired the WaWa, or rather, when we (I) agreed to look after the WaWa for a limited period. It’s almost January – nine months later – and she’s still here. We have not heard a word from Sooha since she went back to South Korea. We have written to her and sent emails to the address she gave – all of which have bounced back. I do not know what we are going to do. WaWa is a playful, friendly and loyal little thing and now that I have made contact with the new vet I will talk to her and see what we can do with regard to her attacking Benji and whether a .oo soft muzzle will help – at least it will stop her nipping at his back legs. And I really can’t understand this- I mean it has been eight months. I would really have thought that things would have settled down by now and she would have gotten used to Benji being around. Jealousness continues to be the main problem She can be a real pain in the tuchus, but she has to stay – anything else, however well meaning , would be unconscionably cruel. I have no regrets about taking her – I am being honest when I say she is a lovely dog, friendly, playful, loyal – I just wish we could sort out her jealous attacks on Benji and stop her barking at the least little shadow.

Aside from dogs, 2017 will be a year of change – changes that will be generated by me. There are some things I have let slide and I intend to change them. However, as the Rachel Hunter add

Mandevillia ( not mine - sadly) — Mandevillia ( not mine – sadly)

once said – “it wont happen overnight, but it will happen”. And here I mention that after months of pretending to be just a stick stuck in dirt (potting mix) the two Frangipani have started to grow. There are leaves and other bits sprouting – which I am very pleased about. The four Mandevillia are also growing well and the Poinsettia is still a vibrant Red. My Almond tree is good and I would like a Mulberry Tree, which I will look for when I am down in Adelaide soon. This afternoon, the dogs and I, Benji and Yogi, went to the garden shop and bought new plants – two South Australian Natives and six Geraniums. I will plant them this evening when it is a bit cooler. I use raised planted beds and potting mix because my soil here is not good. When we moved here and I looked at an area with horrible black bark on it, I decided to clear it all off and turn it into a Rose Garden. I did all the things, prepared the soil, bought rose fertilizer and spent a fortune on rose bushes at the garden shop. Every single one of them died. I tried other things and they died too. The soil, it seems had been poisoned – or sterilized – same thing really. The White Ceder tree has taken off again, so this time I will really have it sorted out – no more being nice.

I’m still having problems with the aftermath of the knee operation and have difficulty kneeling on the ground – or indeed kneeling at all. Still, as a famous Australian politician once said, “Life wasn’t meant to be easy”. And on that note it must be said that our current crop of “fly by night” politicians are doing everything they possibly can to make certain that is how Australia will be under their watch – claw $2.5 Billion out of pensions – a crisis with Centrelink and millions $$ being demanded in repayments , which no one understands, but the good thing is a pay rise for politicians and government staff and the $2.5 Billion they ripped out of our Seniors’ Pensions should help to fund the pensions, lurks and perks for politicians.

Sooha and Kongsoon - now called The WaWa — Sooha and Kongsoon – now called The WaWa

Since I started this, we have heard from Sooah and although she is well and still working with the Immigration Department to achieve a return to Australia, there is no indication when that will actually happen. What this means is that the WaWa will be here for the foreseeable future. Yogi will be going home shortly as the friends return from Perth in Western Australia on Friday week and I will pick them, up from the Airport. The week after I head off to Adelaide and then Mount Gambier and an extra-ordinary meeting. Oh come now, what’s a 1300 mile journey and three hotels for a three hour meeting between friends? Still it gets me time to have a wander in Adelaide and I have a pile of Bunnings Gift Cards to use and a Mulberry bush to find.

And finally – we are in the middle of a heat wave with temperatures hovering around the high 30s to the low 40s – what joy..

Boxing Day and it’s raining again !!

26/12/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

38:35:40:41:32 – No that’s not some secret number code – it’s not even Bingo numbers – it is the local temperature for the next five days. After the second 40c on Sunday it drops to 32c with rain and possible thunderstorms for the next two days. The boys and I were out early (5:30am) for our walk this morning before it got warm and we will be out late tonight – after the sun goes down Generally these figures are fairly conservative and the possibility is that it could change quite quickly as the cyclone of the Coast of West Australia makes landfall – flooding rather than heat.

The one think I dislike about this weather is the fact that I get such a pained look from Benji when I go out without him and I feel bad at not taking him with me, but I can’t. In this heat I cannot. If I were to go into the supermarket and leave him in the car – even with the windows cracked open – he could go into heat distress very quickly – I know this, but he does not and I get the “why are you abandoning me daddy?” look. He always comes out to get the mail with me and I don’t let him do that in this weather because the ground is hot and could be too much for his paws. However, in a few hours that will all be academic since the storm clouds are gathering and there has been a drop or two. But as far as I can see we are still on track for 40c on Christmas Day. – Actually – it was 40c today and it’s not Christmas Day – yet.

I hope Christmas is fairly quite in the air. What I mean by that is that we have a small but busy airport and I would like not to look up and see the Red and Blue of the RFDS coming in because there is no base here so they come here for emergency reasons. Last year there were over 572 landing of the RFDS here making it among the highest number of landings in Australia. It would be really nice if the RFDS didn’t have to come here at all over Christmas and New Year. Although, having said that, it’s not all bad – sometimes they are bringing a patient back home, or at least for on-going treatment at the local hospital. I think I mentioned before that we do not have any Therapy Dogs here and only in Adelaide. However, having said that I do remember they there was a Golden Retriever in one of the nursing homes many years ago

Christmas Day and we had a short service in the morning. The Watchnight Service last night was well attended but the Service this morning was not. Still although short it was an enjoyable service

Didn't have enough cash for the Boxing Day sales — Didn’t have enough cash for the Boxing Day sales

none the less and no coffee after since people were going home to prepare for family arriving or to get ready to go out to family. Annabell and I went over to my younger Son’s house and we had all the family there for Christmas Dinner and drinks afterwards. It was a really nice meal and getting together of the family. Annabell and I didn’t stay too long since we had to get back to feed the dogs and let them out for a bit. After the sun went down the rain started and continued on for a while. There was also rain and high winds during the night and it was starting to rain again when we were out for our walk this morning – a short walk but at least we did get some done. It was over 42c here on Christmas Day and pretty hot but a cool change for the next couple of days. The Church Magazine is ready so over the next few days I will get that printed, collated and ready for distribution, so other than shopping with Annabell, this should keep me occupied for the next few days. It should have been completed last week but one of the contributors was late and since I had reserved two pages for her article, I couldn’t finish until that was in. Anyway, it’s done now.

Our friend is still hanging in and has defied the dire predictions of his doctor and a week after he was expected to depart from us, he is still here. A special meeting will be held in Mount Gambier on the 19th January, so I will be away for a few days and unable to help if anything happens. I can’t put this off – it is a Special Meeting that I need to attend in Mount Gambier. I thought I would put in the photograph I tool this morning of the ATM – even in our little backward place, we have our share of drama. And it’s raining again and has been for most of the day.

Weather, Mice, Men and May Babies

21/11/2016 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Three and a half days – that’s how long I was away – three and a half days. The way Benji reacted you would think I have been away for three and a half years. He went absolutely ballistic – the WaWa wanted to say hello but he charged right at her and knocked her out of the way to get to me. I had to sit on the floor and try to attend to both of them. It took us ages to get Benji to calm down and he ran around the house like a mad thing, and heaven help anyone – including a WaWa – that got in his way. This is the longest I have been away from him and Annabell tells me he was not a happy puppy. Since I came home, he has hardly left my side. Odd thing is that as soon as I go to bed he jumps down from the bed and goes into his own bed and no amount of coaxing will get him back up beside me again – although he does stay on his bed and watch me, which is odd – very.

"Just one Cornetto - Give it to me"... — “Just one Cornetto –
Give it to me”…

Generally I have taken Benji with me when I go out – provided I am not going to be too long – and leave the windows partly open and he enjoys the drive. He is not a demonstrative dog so he is not up at the window or sticking his head out, but he just curls up quietly on the seat. I mentioned this to Annabell and her comment was that he’s with his daddy, so he’s quite at peace curled up. However, as the weather gets hotter I can take him out less and less – example was Thursday when the temperature topped 37c. Much too hot to take him out and leave him in the car – even with windows open. Driving is ok – we have the A/C on when we are driving and we did go down to the beach for a walk and some Ice Cream. I am not sure if dogs are allowed Ice Cream, but he enjoys it and I enjoy my Cornetto.

Now that the weather is hotting up I hope to get outside more and get some work done. Sounds strange working in the hotter weather but up here that means very little wind and you can do a lot when there is no wind. I have plans for part of the area and although I have a picture of what it might look like in my head ( that’s a worry!) I just have to wait and see it it works out. I am part of the way into the plan in that I have cleared the area and laid down weed matting and ordered the artificial turf. But then as the poet ( Robert Burns) wrote, “The best laid plans of mice and men go aft agley and leave us naught but grief and pain for promised joy” and what all that means is that that’s the end of the hot to warm weather for at least the next ten days, back to rain, wind and cool days until at least early December.

Generally the family all come over here for dinner on a Sunday. It has been this way for years. However this Sunday Andrew called and said that we were to come to his place for a Barbecue. We chatted around while everything was cooking and when we sat down at the table Andrew got the wine, poured a glass for me, poured a glass for John and was going to pour a glass for Patrica (Trish) when he moved the glass away and said quite clearly “no you can’t wine – you’re pregnant”. Talk about dropping a grenade on the table!! Annabell was sitting next to Trish and hugged her, Trishs’ mum just burst into tears, my word but it was an interesting meal – and of course – at the end of the food we got to see the scans over coffee. The baby should be born late May, early June – we think she is about 12 weeks. I never thought this would happen and I told people “That ship has sailed” It seems that there is yet another tide.

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