Hallo all! Happy New Week. (Sorry no picture.)
Annette - Thank you for starting us off. Perhaps we in SA have your sunny weather. OH is grumbling as he has spent the day watering the bone-dry garden. Predicted showers have disappeared from forecast.
Heather – Turnips are more common here than swedes. I find turnip too strong and don’t buy them. My pasties are a mixture of diced onion, potato, carrot and butternut pumpkin plus minced beef. And pepper. No salt.
New skills - I operated microwave for Little People's veg! Dau is feeling slightly better, ate 2 pasties for tea, then she slept an hour - despite the pre-bedtime squabbling and noise. After everyone else's tea, MissL woke late & cranky from nap while other two in bath (squabbling). A short dose of TV calmed everyone and MissL ate 2 helpings of tea. I cleared dishes, put away clean washing in between chaos. Two into bed easily, came home near 8 pm, leaving Dau & MissL to look after each other. I wonder why I slept 2 hours this pm.
Not been here for a while as life has been a bit of a roller-coaster. Having seen my GP who, on my second blood test diagnosed my problems were due to a dangerously low B12 level. His comment was that I was within two weeks of being the E of A & E! He put me on a course of five B12 injections which should have taken nine days but actually took 3 weeks. Since then it has been a case of what bit of me is working properly today. It has been a positive time, though, as things have been getting better. I can now walk without pain and weakness and also not get out of breath (not helped by asthma). I have had one surprising shock. 6/7 years ago I had cataracts done and for around 3 years was able to drive without glasses. Then I had to resort to glasses again. Two weeks ago I got into the car and found I could see properly again, also being able to read the instruments as well WITHOUT needing my glasses! Also yesterday morning I did some bulk cooking for freezing, something I would not have contemplated a few weeks ago. Next thing now is to book a B12 blood test in three months to see what has happened and what ongoing treatment is needed. Life is looking somewhat better now.
On quite a different front the weather has been sunny if chilly for the last three weeks. Hopefully I may get to doing gardening next spring, which didn't happen this year. We are now looking forward to our week in Cornwall at half term with all the family.
Other good news is that older SD and SiL have bought a bigger house in Cheltenham nearer to grand daughter's new secondary school so she can walk to it when necessary. We were quite amazed as it is a detached three story building with five bedrooms, four of which have en-suite bathrooms, and also a family bathroom. She has spent her part of her inheritance wisely. Our amazement was that it only cost them £345,000 which, for Cheltenham, is cheap! It was converted to lettings, hence the bathrooms, and the owners wanted to sell quickly as they want to move to France, so they were very lucky.
Good morning, ALL. Thanks to ANNETTE for the new week! Hope you are getting back to normality, whatever that is!
AQ - pleased health of the young family is improving - very tiring when viruses run through them all, one after another. Hope you will feel more refreshed after another night's sleep!
FB - good to hear from you and to know that your own health - including eyesight - is improving! You will be pleased to get back to your cooking and freezing routine too - but do remember to pace yourself! Sounds as if your elder SD has hit on a bargain there - hope they won't have too much disturbance to convert back to a single dwelling. Enjoy your Sunday lunch - assume you are going round the corner!
Gardening weather here - OH is clearing out the greenhouse today, to clean and fumigate ready for overwintering Geraniums, Fuchsias and some of the tender herbs. Concert on Thursday was brilliant as usual - Aly and Phil even had some new jokes (maybe they are forgetting some of the old ones) - such good musicians but they know how to make the whole experience fun for their faithful followers!
Ospreys Rule OK, but Goldfinches come a close second!
OG: The house has already been set up for single dwelling - even luckier!
FB - that's brilliant for them. I hope they will be happy there. I hadn't realise that SD had a husband and family! How old is her Daughter?
After lunch, OH is now clearing the runner beans off the garden - everything is beginning to look very bare, although there are still potatoes and beetroots to be lifted and stored - good use for recycling paper sacks from RSPB bird food deliveries!
OG: Emily is 11 and her brother, Oliver is 9.
Morning all:
ForestBoar: Wow, do you attribute your renewed eyesight to the B12 shots? Where do I sign up? That does sound like a good deal your daughter and SiL got, especially as the house had already been re-converted.
AQ: Congrats on the microwave skills. I tend to use ours mostly for defrosting and reheating. So, you're heading in Spring without enough Winter rainfall from the sounds of it?
OG: Yes! Feeling normal again - as you say "whatever that is." Nothing to organize or confirm or arrange other than picking oranges and usual chores. Did Facetime the UK contingent a little while ago - they were all gathered at nephew's new house near Milton Keynes to celebrate niece's b'day (yes the one who was here) and sister and BiL's wedding anniversary. Next year, they'll have been married 60 years and I am planning (as much as possible) to be back there (maybe as a surprise?) for that one. Would love to see my sister before then too. It's so difficult to just have "us" time when I'm there as her OH (great though he is) never seems to go far for long.... I don't mean that to sound ungrateful but regardless of how much time she and I spend from now on, it will never be enough to make up for all those years we've been apart. Oh well.... We recycle our bird food bags for oranges that are beyond saving.
OK, must venture out to see what's going on in the garden.
Take care all.
FB-So happy to hear of the improvement in your health, eyesight and family news!
Belated saga of bus trip to “east of River Murray”. Down freeway to Murray Bridge, coffee stop, across bridge, past Burdett Hall sitting in isolation. North to Pompoota where swampy lands along river were used as a training farm for returned wounded soldiers 1917-1921, they grew hay, vines, sheep, horses, pigs, poultry. At end of scheme, land was split into blocks and sold. The hall was used for school, church & social. (-34.988, 139.34). At Pompoota, looking across to the River Murray cliffs.
Next the former Cross Roads school. Sitting alone on a back road, this small school opened 1901, closed 1950, again used for school, church & social, renovated 1990 by locals and now is a museum dedicated to the pioneer families. It was tiny.
Lunch in Bowhill (-34.885, 139.622). These cliffs next to our lunch spot.
As we were leaving the Murray Princess passed by. This terrible shot from bus shows the general store, a temp building after a fire some years ago, the tourist paddlesteamer and petrol bowsers!
to be continued
Continuing saga. The road down to Purnong through front of bus.
The Purnong ferry, the narrowest of the ferry crossings (-34.854, 139.617). Our bus is usually too big to use a ferry – it can’t negotiate the steep slope at water’s edge, depending on river height. Hence our travels this time were restricted to crossing at Murray Bridge or Blanchetown (too far north).
Then into mallee hinterland, Claypans (-34.807, 139.69), former school. Copeville (-34.795, 139.848), silos, houses, hall, former church. Nearby we saw these roadside post boxes for local farmers’ mail. First (-34.795, 139.849} is in a haze of dust from unsealed road. If you “drive” Yellow Man along road, you will see white stones cover the soil and the mallee trees which grow with multiple stems from their roots.
Some boxes have names or addresses painted to help delivery man.
On to Mindarie (-34.812, 140.217), another sleepy town with a few houses & a hall. Halidon (-34.874, 140.175), former council chambers, few houses. Sandalwood (-34.943, 140.129), hall, abandoned shop, few houses, derelict school. Borrika (-35.021, 140.05), hall, few houses.
Afternoon tea in Karoonda (-35.095, 139.895). A sleepy town Sunday pm. Centre for district with hospital, area school, shop, Lutheran church (3 others closed), Home via Swanport bridge (near Murray Bridge) & freeway.