WordPress – Edgar's Page

Still Sinking, but not as quickly!

25/05/2021 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

We seem to have cleared things for the moment. I was in contact with WordPress and they were telling me that it was a common problem recently, but that it is not of their making.. There has been some malfunction in many browsers and the cache is not being cleared. WordPress suggested that I clear the browser history and see if that worked. It seems to have at the moment but we still have a few problems. However, I am happy to know that I am not alone in this particular problem. I don’t know though, I sometimes think WordPress have forgotten the old adage “If it’s not broke – don’t fix it”.

I will take Annabell out for some shopping tomorrow and then take her for coffee. It’s the first time she will have been out of the

house in over a week, so we will see how things go. She is very much better than she was so perhaps the outing will do her the world of good. I would like to go to the photography group on Wednesday but we will see how she is then.. All going well tomorrow should be fine. I’ll take the dog out and then get her breakfast ready when I come back.

Well, so much for morning plans the night before. It has been heavy rain most on the night and still raining now. I’ll do many things for my dog, but going walking in the rain is not one of them. I know, I’m a meanie. However, if it does clear up – as it generally does – I will take him out to the Wetlands later in the day. Actually, I got him into the car at 06:30 when the rain eased off. By the time we got to the Wetlands the rain had stopped and although I sat there in the car for a good half hour, no one showed up, so we just drove back home again. Still Benji doesn’t mind as long as he was out in the car, that’s all that matters. The reason for not going out is simply a concern that if anything should happen, there is no one around to help or call for help if needed. Mind you, calling for help is a bit of a joke ATM. Last night (according to the news) a lady called emergency as her son had an accident. She was told that she should take the boy to hospital herself, or call for a taxi since there was no ambulance available. . No one wants to talk about it but our medical and emergency system is in trouble across all of South Australia and we had to bring an ambulance from 50 miles away (Port Augusta) to respond to emergencies here. Take our problems here and multiply them by 20 and you just about have the current situation in Adelaide. There were 17 ambulances ‘ramped’ at the Flinders Medical Center and a similar number at the Royal Adelaide – emergency patients stuck in an ambulance at the hospital because the A & E was over capacity and was unable to cope. This was repeated in all the main city hospitals over the last two nights.

I really don’t want to abandon WordPress and I would prefer to stay, but this is driving me crazy—- let me re-phrase that — more crazy than I already am. There are alternatives to WordPress, but none of them come anywhere near the market leader. I already looked for alternatives but was not really impressed with what was on offer. I thought that it was probably better to “stay with the devil you know”. The song from the Muppets Movie comes to mind –

“You can’t live with em, you can’t live without em, there’s something irrisistabullish about em, we grin and bear it cause the nights are long, I hope that something better comes along.”

We had a telephone call from Adelaide and we now have a date for the day surgery at Flinders Clinic. I take her to Adelaide on Monday 7th June and then to the Clinic for day

surgery at 8am on Tuesday 8th June. All being well, we should be travelling home on Wednesday 9th June. I have the feeling that I did mention this but the way things are, I can’t go back and check. I keep saving this every few lines just in case I lose it all again. Goodness – talk about paranoid.

Benji is as well as can be expected. We missed our walk today and since I have had to take Annabell out this afternoon, I wont have time. That should please him no end. He can complain – but what about me? It’s not doing my fitbit any good this no walks. Once he has had this operation, I shall really miss being wakened by a bark at 2am because he wants up on the bed beside me, and since he can’t jump, I have to lift him up. Honestly – the things we do for “family”

Fitbit, Stroller and Benji

08/04/2021 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Every time I went to the door, Benji was there already. It was clear to me that he wanted to go out but I wasn’t quite sure that he was ready for a harness and walking. So, I went to the garage and got the dog stroller out and made it ready for him. I got everything ready to go out and then lifted him into the stroller, clipped him and half closed the overhead cover. Off we went. Since it was a public holiday (Monday) the place was fairly quiet. I also decided to go back to our old route. Yes there is a number of barking dogs but I now figure that they can bark as much as they like – they are behind fences and gates and therefore no problem. Except to Dougal who goes ballistic when a dog barks. I don’t mind

looking after Dougal. He is a lovely dog in the house, but a real pain to walk out with. A short tale for Fitbit users. When I took Benji out on the stroller, I was upset that my Fitbit

did not record any steps. Pushing the stroller means that my arms were not moving and the Fitbit needs movement to record. I mentioned this to my son and he suggested “why don’t you strap the thing round your ankle?” Yes, I dismissed the idea with a quiet chuckle. However, later on I thought about it and decided to give it a try – nothing to lose anyway. So, I did that – strapped it round my ankle ( the strap was long enough) and off we went. Well, was I surprised! I have used that route for a number of years and know how many steps it should be – at least I thought I did. When we came back home and I removed the Fitbit from my ankle I was shocked that it had recorded nearly 500 more steps than I had expected. It was a double shock because I really (honestly) didn’t think it would work, but it did. However, it is back on my wrist where it should be, but worth remembering if I have to use the stroller again. However, I think Benji is ready for walking.

I have no idea why WordPress decided to change a system that was popular and working well. I don’t like the block system at all and I have already outlined the process I go through to get back to Classic. It’s long drawn and convoluted but it works for me – as the saying goes.

Benji is coming along well. His wounds are healing up nicely and he gets his antibiotic medication twice daily. Since his wounds have now closed, I will start taking him out to the Ada Ryan Gardens when the weather is not too warm.

I took Benji out to the Ada Ryan Gardens this afternoon. We had a wander around the gardens and then drove to the foreshore where I bought us Ice Cream. Wont do that again! Since the Foreshore Café was closed down and awaiting repairs and renovations, food vans have popped up. It was to the food van that I went for the ice cream. Turns out they

Benji in the Stroller — Same time same area.

use a machine similar to that used by McDonalds and it is not REAL ice cream – sort of soft serve stuff. Anyway, it started melting almost as soon as I walked away from the van and to add to that Benji just wouldn’t look at his. Well, he had a couple of licks but that was it. I finished mine (not great) and was left with this other stuff melting and running over my hand. Never thought I would drop ice cream in a bin, but I did, then looked for a water tap to clean my hands. Should have gone to the Wetlands where they serve real Ice Cream. The reason we didn’t go to the Wetlands is that it was a warm to hot(ish) day and I felt the Concrete Path would be too warm on his paws

Hospitals, Gardens and WordPress

07/11/2020 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

Monday Nov. 2nd. The ultrasound took place last Friday morning and we should have the results – or at least the consultant will have the results tomorrow. When we get them is another matter, Although having said that, he has been pretty good in keeping us informed when he has been here. He is not resident here. But this scan should tell us where the ‘infection ‘is and how widespread it is. At this stage the results seem to indicate that it is in one area and not widespread, but one never can tell with this. I attended the RFDS Meeting last night and drew back from any further

major involvement for the time being. Some things I will continue to do because they are done by telephone and do not require me to be somewhere. I have put my name down for the Men’s Christmas Dinner as has Annabell for the Women’s Christmas Dinner not knowing if either of us will be there at this stage. Everything is very uncertain until we know what is to happen.

Annabell is still very unwell and will require major surgery but the ultrasounds and the blood tests have been quite encouraging, so now we just wait for a bit. Yes we do have the results but we need time to discuss them with the boys. At this stage we don’t know if it will be at the Royal Adelaide or the Flinders Medical Center – this will determine where I will stay when I am down there with her. I understand that the Flinders have a couple of houses that can be rented for a short period so if it is the Flinders I will organise that. If it if the Royal Adelaide I will probably stay at the Princes Lodge, which is where I will be staying this weekend – maybe!!

I will need to get back on to WordPress again and see if they can fix my problem. I can read all your posts – no problem there – if you comment on my post, I can reply – no problem there either. Howeffer, if I try and make a comment on your posts – ah, that does present a problem in that, I can’t. So it’s not that I have not been reading your posts it’s just that I can’t comment on them. When I try to do so, it tells me that my login to WordPress.com has expired and the comment is terminated. I haven’t been ignoring people, I just can’t get in touch with you. On the other hand –

perhaps there is nothing wrong with WordPress.com and you are all trying to tell me something :o)

As an aside, I liked the Spinach and Cheese Ravioli recipe and have downloaded and printed it ( see, I do read them) . Depending what happens and where I go, I will take this with me and perhaps I will be able to use it as a quick meal when I am on my own. Since Annabell cannot have tomato products, I can make it here but it would last me for a few days – and – I suppose that’s good. I love pasta but hate lasagna – strange…

I have booked the hotel in Adelaide for the Conference but I also indicated that I could cancel at a moments notice and that seemed to be fine after I explained why this might be happen. I made a comment on a post this morning – Tippy Tales, – which was good. Perhaps the problem is rectifying itself.

Benji is well. Like the rest of us he is getting older although his enthusiasm for early morning walks has not diminished, he is not so great on mid-

afternoon walks and a couple of times an night I have gone out on my own. We stopped going round the back on the Wetlands to feed the geese and ducks mainly because the path has been upgraded with gravel and he has soft paws and the gravel hurts, so we stick to the main paved paths. Some may say I spoil him – not so – I just look after him a lot.

Towards the final Curtain?

14/09/2019 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

The new floor was laid over two days and I am quite pleased with it. It is not quite what I imagined but I am happy with it and I think the Tasmanian Oak was a good choice.

Well, here we are in September already and only three month to go until the end of the year. All in it has been an interesting year with a number of medical concerns with Annabell. Fortunately she is well at the moment

Fires continue to burn out of control in New South and Queensland but the 100kpm winds that have fanned the flames has started to ease. Thus far no lives have been lost but there is considerable property destruction and damage. We have had a couple of days of high winds up here but no fires just dust and a fog that closed down Adelaide Airport for several hours. We did have a few warm and sunny days as a “Welcome to Spring” sort of treat and I took advantage of them by getting out to the Lighthouse Area with Benji. This weekend is the Grand Football Final and we (RFDS) will be running a Fundraising event. Son John and I will have a team in the morning and there will be a further team take over in the afternoon. The following week, we will be working at the Hardware store and the weekend after that will be a Special Church Service to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Ladies Organisation and the weekend after that I will be heading off to Mount Gambier again. Annabell has had another operation on her eye so I am looking after her for the moment, not that I don’t look after her normally. I was just thinking of the last time she was in Adelaide with me (Before she became ill) and I asked her where she wanted to go. She said that she didn’t mind and I should surprise her – so I did. I took her to Bunnings. I know, I’m just a romantic at heart :o)

I took Benji for a wander around the Wetlands. The pools are still looking good and the geese are in fine form, but I would like to see a lot more rain to overflow the ponds. The reason for this is to give some hedge against the evaporation that will occur during the summer heat. I think the evaporation that we saw last year is only a foretaste of what is to come. Everything thus far is pointing to a really hot summer and more fires.. On the subject of fires, units and volunteers have left South Australia to help fight the fires in New South Wales. On the map of the Eyre Peninsula we are beyond the green belt. Any fires that occur here are in the South East of the State, the Adelaide Hills or in the lower Eyre Peninsula. Any fires here

are wild grass fires and are controlled fairly quickly. There’s nothing much to burn here except wild grass and saltbush.. However, the concern is that it is only really early spring and already we have fires of this magnatude. Today, for example, here in the Arid Lands, the temperature is forecast to reach 32c. The beautiful thing is that it turns out I am not on duty for this particular fundraising at the Football Grand Final – young John is, but I am not. Anyway, there have been no lives lost but there has been considerable land and property damage. Two teenagers have been arrested for lighting one of the fires that destroyed land and property ( a house and garage) one is 16 the other – a girl – is 14. Don’t know what we are going to do, the law calls for 10 years, but this is South Australia and you barely get that for murder, so no doubt a slap on the wrist and a suspended sentence. Currently a hit and run killed a child. The driver was arrested at his home. Judge gave him a discount for pleading guilty so he will walk free in about 22 months. We don’t have justice in South Australia – we have the rule and application of law but not justice. People protest outside the court but no one inside takes the slightest bit of notice.

Benji managed to cut his paw when we were out walking. I carried him home and took him up to the Vet. There was a little bit of glass but it was all cleaned out – not without some trauma from Benji – and he was given medication. He was also fitted with a “Medical Collar” to make sure that he didn’t lick off the medication. Goodness the performance we have to go through to get the cream on his paw – honestly, you would think I was trying to murder him.

Dogs, Medication and the South Road

17/12/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

There is really not a lot (continual wind not withstanding) of things that frustrate me, but twice now I have had someone visit but I have no idea how to return the courtesy. Work Press tells me that Fred Bloggs thought etc. but there is nothing else – no place for me to go and return the visit, nothing other than a profile containing only a name. That’s frustrating. – so, hello and thank you for visiting!

Took the dogs out walking last night (Wednesday) and only had to carry the Man once I think the head wind was a bit too much for him. He is still eating, which has to be a good sign, but we only have a few days of his medication left. Herself suggests that the Vet knew this so perhaps this is the full course and he does not need the medication after this. I hope that’s the case, but now I have another small problem – how to cure his addiction for cheese. My fault.. In order to give him his medication I enclosed it in a small amount of cheese – now he’s looking for it at night.Still it is only a small piece so I don’t suppose it will do him too much harm. I will keep a close eye on him when the medication is finished and watch for any changes. We wont be out tonight because as I said earlier, I’ll be at the Carols in the Park with the RFDS. Looking forward to this tonight, partly because it’s a fun night and partly because it’s the last fundraising event until 26th January. It’s getting to the time when we go walking with a back pack containing water and a bowl- early morning and mid-evening, we can stop and have a drink – all three of us.

I don’t wish to start an International Debate but Cricket used to be a game played at an international Level by Gentlemen – What happened??

The Carols-in-the-Park were well and was attended by a very large crowd. We were kept very busy and had to phone out for someone to bring more food as we were starting to run out. After we did this twice, we decided that if we run out again then we pack up. We did run out but by then it was fairly close to the end of the night and we were quite satisfied with that. Within the next day or so I will probably be traveling to Adelaide to collect Alan and bring him here for Christmas. This was not part of our plans but his “carers” are going off to another city for Christmas and he will be left on his own. Yes he is in a nursing home but that’s not the point- his step-daughter and her husband are the only family, apart from me, that he has in South Australia. It’s a 4.5 hour drive to Adelaide and a further 1.5 hours from Adelaide to where he is and as you know, the South Road is not my favourite of places. And it will be fun because the temperature on Thursday, when I go down to collect him, will be 42c – lots of water for me and the car.

Chienne, Angus and the Road’s End

17/11/2013 by edgar62, posted in House, Garden and Dogs

WHEN I began writing this I really didn’t know what I wanted to achieve. I joined the old My Place and wrote a blog on there for a few years. I didn’t have followers and in essence the weekly post was a way of talking to several friends who had moved away, keeping them up to date on what we were up to in town and at home. (I still sort of do this on Google+) So it was a sort of public/private letter. A few years ago MySpace changed hands and the blog feature was discontinued. I had an account with WordPress but never used it. Once MySpace closed down, I re-activated it and have been here ever since – well a year or so.

Our house, which we bought some years ago, is right on the very edge of the town. The garden was in a bit of a mess so I thought it would be an idea to write about what I’m doing in the garden. I have two dogs that I love dearly – Chienne and The Man (Angus)– and they would be included, as would comments about the family. I dismissed the notion of writing about church activities because I had this horrible feeling that all that would do for me is fill up my inbox with comments from would-be theologians. Once I started I began to look for other posts that I felt I would like and be of interest – gardens and dogs and some general interest. Some of the blogs I looked at were interesting, informative, funny and serious and I joined a few. Some people even joined me, which I thought (and still do) was great.

“Censure me in your wisdom, and awake your senses that you may the better judge.”

Lately, however, I am finding that some posts have become much too serious – almost taking on the dimension of a Dissertation on The Meaning of Life. My other, and perhaps the more serious concern, is that with all I have to do, one post every week, or even every couple of days – which is how many of these started – is quite acceptable – but three – or four – posts from a single site, almost one on top of the other, every single day, is too much and my inbox is just clogged up. Like everyone else they started out as a post every few days but this has changed to a post almost every few hours. So, having said all that, I may have to consider withdrawing from a number of places if only to unclog my inbox for a while. I just cannot handle nor process the volume of traffic. If any I have offended, I am sorry but my continued sanity ( which, to be honest, is not all it’s cracked up to be) demands that I make this change, and the crash gave me an opportunity to do so with the new system – which is still not fully functional as yet. I still have some bugs to iron out and get used to an “All-in-One” system.

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