All we seem to be getting so far is a lot of rain. Oddly, despite this, the tank remains only partly full. I had hoped it would at least fill to max capacity with all this wetness. I have taken the dogs for their last paddle of the day - they can pop out the back door for a wee from time to time, but no more walking; it is four degrees out there!

The warmer morning allowed me to defer lighting the fire until about an hour ago, and it is just warming things up now. Good thing too as the sudden temperature drop had my nose getting pinched!

We had a meeting about the community garden Open day today in Oatlands. I did not expect to get home due to the road being in danger of going under, but fortunately the rain eased somewhat and there were no problems. I expect any future rainfall to be more in the form of snow, however.

Have not got out the sewing machine yet as it is jolly chilly in the front room. I must investigate those heated wall panels and get one so the room remains habitable during this sort of weather. Smidgen seems rather better today and actually ate some of the food I put out, so he is clearly on the mend.

Hope all up north are coping and still have their roofs intact. Personally I am not looking forward to high winds in these parts, though apparently I will have little say in the matter.

All we seem to be getting so far is a lot of rain. Oddly, despite this, the tank remains only partly full. I had hoped it would at least fill to max capacity with all this wetness. I have taken the dogs for their last paddle of the day - they can pop out the back door for a wee from time to time, but no more walking; it is four degrees out there!

The warmer morning allowed me to defer lighting the fire until about an hour ago, and it is just warming things up now. Good thing too as the sudden temperature drop had my nose getting pinched!

We had a meeting about the community garden Open day today in Oatlands. I did not expect to get home due to the road being in danger of going under, but fortunately the rain eased somewhat and there were no problems. I expect any future rainfall to be more in the form of snow, however.

Have not got out the sewing machine yet as it is jolly chilly in the front room. I must investigate those heated wall panels and get one so the room remains habitable during this sort of weather. Smidgen seems rather better today and actually ate some of the food I put out, so he is clearly on the mend.

Hope all up north are coping and still have their roofs intact. Personally I am not looking forward to high winds in these parts, though apparently I will have little say in the matter.

All we seem to be getting so far is a lot of rain. Oddly, despite this, the tank remains only partly full. I had hoped it would at least fill to max capacity with all this wetness. I have taken the dogs for their last paddle of the day - they can pop out the back door for a wee from time to time, but no more walking; it is four degrees out there!

The warmer morning allowed me to defer lighting the fire until about an hour ago, and it is just warming things up now. Good thing too as the sudden temperature drop had my nose getting pinched!

We had a meeting about the community garden Open day today in Oatlands. I did not expect to get home due to the road being in danger of going under, but fortunately the rain eased somewhat and there were no problems. I expect any future rainfall to be more in the form of snow, however.

Have not got out the sewing machine yet as it is jolly chilly in the front room. I must investigate those heated wall panels and get one so the room remains habitable during this sort of weather. Smidgen seems rather better today and actually ate some of the food I put out, so he is clearly on the mend.

Hope all up north are coping and still have their roofs intact. Personally I am not looking forward to high winds in these parts, though apparently I will have little say in the matter.

All we seem to be getting so far is a lot of rain. Oddly, despite this, the tank remains only partly full. I had hoped it would at least fill to max capacity with all this wetness. I have taken the dogs for their last paddle of the day - they can pop out the back door for a wee from time to time, but no more walking; it is four degrees out there!

The warmer morning allowed me to defer lighting the fire until about an hour ago, and it is just warming things up now. Good thing too as the sudden temperature drop had my nose getting pinched!

We had a meeting about the community garden Open day today in Oatlands. I did not expect to get home due to the road being in danger of going under, but fortunately the rain eased somewhat and there were no problems. I expect any future rainfall to be more in the form of snow, however.

Have not got out the sewing machine yet as it is jolly chilly in the front room. I must investigate those heated wall panels and get one so the room remains habitable during this sort of weather. Smidgen seems rather better today and actually ate some of the food I put out, so he is clearly on the mend.

Hope all up north are coping and still have their roofs intact. Personally I am not looking forward to high winds in these parts, though apparently I will have little say in the matter.

The wild winds and rain have fortunately so far confined themselves to parts north of here, though we had some good gusts last evening, and presumably during the night as I woke several times for no apparent reason. My porridge, which I set on the heater before heading to bed was a bit soggy this morning as i had left the lid on in case of stuff falling out of the chimney. So I have it finished off right now, with a view to having a less gruel like consistency tomorrow morning. Meanwhile I have steak and onion pie warming in the oven for dinner tonight. I will whip up some mash and peas to go with it.

My sewing machine has now been returned to the fold, so I may get some progress on my blinds and curtains I hope. Apparently I was using the wrong thread. I have no idea what constitutes the right thread as I have changed brands several times. I do hope this does not mean synthetic thread is preferred, as I hate using the stuff. Particularly on natural fabrics.

Cut yet more wood today and the heap is starting to look like it will get me though two days of snow which is the present forecast. But still more to do tomorrow. Another barrow load should do the trick nicely. I am now using the first load of wood that I bought, and while it is overlength, it certainly burns hotly, so it will last longer due to using less per heating hour. It is good dense wood and seems to have gotten over the state of not-quite-seasoned enough that was apparent when it was first delivered.

Smidge is still not eating but is rather more active than he was, so I expect he will get over it eventually. Meantime his figure is returning which is not a bad thing at all.

A bit of unexpected excitement last night. I looked out the kitchen window and noticed a fire. It was quite compact, but clearly blazing merrily and was in the direction where I know there to be a couple of structures. It seemed too high to be either of these, but to be on the safe side I called it in. Turns out I had my directions correct - it was just behind one of the houses, but it was actually a dead cow they were burning with a view to disposal. I discovered this when the VC of the brigade dropped in personally to let me know. Gotta love living in the country!

Today started rainy and has been rainy on and off all day, with the  occasional spot of sunshine, but nothing to brag about. I got out my spare sewing machine and dusted it down, removing the various things that were mine from it and its cover and set it in the kitchen. I am selling it and the buyer will be calling in tomorrow to collect it and to drop off my better machine which has been in to be serviced. It will be nice to have the spare cash. I had kept it on the principle that when the better machine was in for servicing I could still use the other one. But as I have discovered, the thought of wrestling with its uncooperative approach to seaming was too horrible to contemplate and it stayed under its cover.

I also had a call from Workskills. They have a local work for the dole person they want to place in the garden. No details other than a name, that she is local and that she expressed an interest in the garden. We will have to find her a meaningful task - I am thinking of putting her in charge of the herb garden, growing on seedlings to plant in it when we are ready to go, and generally taking responsibility for maintaining the place. Also helping with our open day and so forth, so she gets a variety of experiences and actually learns some skills. That's if she is willing, of course.

It is a big expectation from a voluntary organisation as the placement requires that someone supervise her and report on her participation and attendance. I will suggest Fridays as I seem to have no commitments then, and I will already be in town for the Bank cleaning.

Meanwhile this Friday they are forecasting snow, so I have cut up some extra wood (more will be required as I will use much of it in the next couple of days), and piled it indoors to ensure it is dry.

The reports of strong winds refer to further north, so far we have been OK, though apparently this will change in the not too distant future.

One of the problems with a sick cat (particularly one that is of the oriental breeds, as Smidgen half is) is that if they are sick for long enough they lapse into depression and die even if there was a chance of recovery. Smidgen has been heading that way for the last day or so. Clearly Esther decided he needed cheering up. So she brought a live mouse back from her morning stroll. It seems to have had the desired effect as he spent quite some time covered in cobwebs and other fur balls after chasing it under the kitchen cabinets.

When I got back from town this morning I let him out for a run to enjoy the exceptionally lovely day, and spotted him chasing mice in the orchard with gay abandon. I gave him a dose of paraffin to see if that helped, and he seems somewhat better. Though he is still not eating (and has slimmed down very well!!), he seems to be on the mend.

The Workskills team once again failed to front so I headed home, walked the dogs, caught up with some emails and now have only one more walk to do. At least the evenings are lighter these days, so we get them fitted in without roaming in the gloaming.

Seb apparently decided my arm was tasty today. He was doing his 'crazy' thing which involves running flat chat toward me, launching into the air and bouncing off whatever body part he hits. One of his runs resulted in him hitting the ground and rolling over several times, if that gives you an idea of his velocity. When he gets over excited by doing this he starts nipping at me, which usually results in him being hauled in to the very short lead that I then step on to prevent leaping. Today he got me fairly substantially on the upper arm. I suspect there will be some considerable bruising.

Since i have no idea what provokes this behaviour it is a bit of a mystery to know how to deal with it other than my usual approach that involved tucking in any protruding parts and turning my back on him.  I suspect we will have to go to an obedience trainer to sort it out, but it would be good to get some film of it happening so they knew what I was talking about. No idea how to achieve that since it does not happen every day or every walk, it just seems to come over him from time to time.

Today started foggy, then reverted to warm sunshine but is now cloudy and with a distinct nip to it. Since tonight's temp will be around 5 I have to assume this is a moisture thing, rather than a temperature thing. The seedlings I transplanted yesterday survived the fog and frost, so will presumably now grow on quite happily.

Either there is a lot of food poisoning going around, or I had a  virus. Apparently a friend has been struck down by the same symptoms and is now in stage one of the process. Fortunately I have passed on to the point where recovery seems complete, and was able to get a little gardening done today. I split up the brussels sprout seedlings and planted them into more distant groupings and did the same with some of the cabbages. Slight problem as there is insufficient room to plant out all of them. I may pot them up for onselling to raise some money for the Garden.

It was quite a nice day today, though seems to be going to pot around now. I had expected to be cleaning a cottage, but that has been deferred until tomorrow, so have had a bit of time to myself. I did call in to see a friend (the one who has apparently come down with the bug) but she was out. I found out later that she and a couple of other friends had headed down to the quilt show in Hobart, but returned due to the bug. The friend who was driving called in to chat on her way home, hence my awareness of all of these things! I am so out of the loop at this stage that I was not even aware they were going. Not to worry. I resent paying $15.00 to go and see a bunch of stuff that I have to pay even more bucks to bring home with me, so I didn't miss much, even if they had been able to stay longer.

Bought a pork loin roast which will go in the oven with some apples and other spices for dinner tomorrow night. Tonight I will be cleaning up the last of the corned beef.

Smidgen ate something today (albeit a teaspoon of food) and has also been drinking. I think he enjoys is time sitting in the sun in the chookhouse, so we will continue this approach until he feels better. It gives him a chance to eat grass as well which I am sure is good for him. At present he is in the spare bedroom (aka the toolshed) so I will have to fish him out from there soon so I can close the door and start warming the place up.

Cleaning the bank was about all I was up for today. That tummy thing has lingered on a little longer than expected, though it seems to have cleared up now. I decided the best approach was to put my feet up, snooze when the need arose, and do as little as possible.

Last night's porridge that I put to cook on the woodburner was luscious. I added another selection of dried fruits this time - apricot, pear, peach and apple. Fortunately I chopped them up fairly small as they have expanded enormously during cooking - some pieces are now the size of the bowl of a teaspoon. They taste great too.

To be on the safe side, tonight's dinner will be tomato soup and toast. Last night's was the home made tomato soup with fennel, but tonight's will be straight from the can.

Smidgen remains unwell, but does seem to have moved a few times today which I guess is encouraging. Not convinced he has drunk, eaten or gone to the toilet at all, but since he is still well hydrated, I have to assume he manages to get there when I am not looking. At least it is easy getting the antibiotics down his throat.

The cause of the unusual exhaustion became apparently shortly after I logged off. I found myself perched in the bathroom with a basin in front of me, and shortly after that, lying on the bathroom floor (squeezed into the space between the loo and the cat litter box) having presumably fainted. Fortunately the  bowl had not yet been used for its intended purpose at that stage! lol.

So after I had gotten rid of what ailed me, I hi-ed me to bed and stayed there for the rest of the night. I woke at 11 to discover that Seb had taken advantage of my comatose condition to sneak onto the bed (smidgen was on the couch), so I re-arranged the sleeping arrangements to my satisfaction and crept back onto the electric blanket. It was another cold one last night but I suspect this was compounded by the sickness as nothing was frozen this morning other than the grass.

Smidgen remains unwell but I guess it takes some time for the antibiotics to take effect. At least the entire family has been relaxed today so I have been able to feel frail to my heart's content and do nothing all day bar a load of washing (which is now indoors as it was clearly not going to dry outdoors with the high humidity.

Another early night tonight i think, so I can catch up on sleep.

Last night's Big Freeze was a complete washout which was a good thing because I overslept and didn't have much time between falling out of bed, walking the dogs and getting into the Bank at a respectable hour. Defrosting the car to roadworthy status would have been a bit tricky in the available time. Still, they are gunning for minus 2 again tonight and I will be quite happy to have an excuse to sleep in tomorrow.

Today was the day the chickens arrived at the school Garden, and I was supposed to be there to greet them and to point the children in the right direction when they were dumping the old litter from the runs in to the Garden. Fortunately Barry was fiddling with the glass house once again, so I was able to delegate that responsibility to him since i had to make the run to Hobart once again. Smidgen's health had not improved and he was spewing up little puddles of yellowish fluid which is never a good look.

So we headed down to Hobart to see the vet. The vet on duty tonight had some sense and so instead of suggesting keeping him in overnight for observation (a pointless exercise since the vets don't tend the cages unless the animal needs medical attention during the night), he suggested leaving him with them for an hour. so I off and found somewhere to get some really crappy food for myself, fielded a phonecall, messed around on FB and collected Smidgen, his medication and the bill before heading home. I really don't understand why these trips are so tiring but I could happily curl up and go to sleep right now.

And luckily, as far as I know, there is not a single reason why I can not sleep in tomorrow, so I will.

Even more freezing this morning - pipes frozen and all. Fortunately I had both sides of the electric blanket on or there would have been no room on the bed for me last night at all!

We all finally lurched out of bed after daylight foggily emerged, and the idea of a shower being completely out of the question, I got dressed and walked the dogs fairly promptly. Since tonight will be minus 2 (probably more as last night was forecast as zero and was rather more minus than that), I have had a shower and washed my hair tonight in anticipation of another shower-free morning tomorrow.

Smidgen has been a little unwell for a couple of days and today started throwing up little puddles of fluid. So I let him out and he spent a relaxed day sitting in the hay of the chook shed in the sun, watching the world go by. He is back in now, still subdued. I will let him have another dog-free day tomorrow, in the sun and see how he goes. He is grossly overweight so the fact he is off his tucker is not an immediate concern (may be beneficial). It is not his usual complaint of blood in the urine so I am not too sure what it is all about. I will wait and see what happens and keep an eye on his hydration.

The rest of the menagerie is fighting fit, however, and Seb would happily keep eating till he exploded I suspect. Not that he is given the chance. The last of the corned beef for dinner tonight, on sandwiches with horseradish cream due to me having used the last of the pickles.

Absolutely freezing here this morning, not sure how cold it got but it was minus 4.7 when I woke up. It took quite some time to defrost the car enough to travel into Oatlands (very slowly in the fog) to clean the bank. Came home and walked the dogs as I had to go into town. It was a good chance to turn off a couple of taps I accidentally left running and to put on some war paint.

As I was heading down I pulled over to double check there were no messages summoning me belatedly to clean cottages, and discovered there was one from a friend suggesting we meet for coffee if I was in town this week. We caught up at Retro in Salamanca after I had already collected some vacuum cleaner bags, discovered I could not find the place that sells paper/plastic bags and generally faffed around looking for a place that sells hothouses. Since all I knew was that it was on Augusta road, that was a bit of a failure too.

Then on to Spotlight but they had no upholstery velvet of the weight of the stuff I have (good thing too as I did not have much money with me) and then down to Salamanca.

Thomas had an ulterior motive for suggesting the coffee which was to talk me into standing for Council as the Greens candidate, to which I agreed after some humming and hah-ing (basically, being defined as a Green vs help with running a campaign, lol). Seemed like a fairly good idea from my perspective.

Then home via the dog food place, K&D (in a fruitless - lol  - search for some blueberry plants) and that was about it. Two dog walks, fire lit and now i will be taking Seb out for another chance to do a wee as he is driving the cats insane. Or maybe I will set an example of relaxing and stillness and hope he follows suit......... :-)

It was only minus 1.5 last night but it felt a lot colder, and I was hauling on the extra bedding at some point during the night. We all had a good sleep-in as a consequence and all the animals seemed to feel this was a good idea too, which made a nice change.

The curtains came up well, and are now folded neatly in the sewing room awaiting my attention at some point when my sewing machine gets back (it is off waiting for the repair man, so no idea when that will be). And the rest of the sheets and towels were washed today to take advantage of another lovely sunny day. They too are tucked away and smelling lovely.

I started the epic job of reorganising the kitchen cupboards so everything fits and is accessible. The problem with 600 mm deep pantry cupboards is that you end up either unpacking half of them to get to the back, or you forget what you put there. So the stuff at the back is now contained in various of the plastic storage boxes I had sitting on top of the fridge and has been placed in a cupboard for ease of access. The remaining cupboard space has not yet been reallocated or organised. I think I will remove everything and give it a good wipedown while I am about it. But at least I had the wisdom not to get the stuff out, or it would still be sitting there. All the activity gave the dogs ideas so we have had several walks today.

Still  I discovered another stash of herbs which can go with the rest of them now they have a more permanent home.

Fire back on tonight - I cut some wood today as the short stuff is running low and cutting some of the longer stuff up seemed like a good idea.

Brrr. It is only 4.9 degrees but feels a lot colder. And we are not supposed to be going below zero tonight - it just feels that way.

I did very nicely at the tip today - found 8 red velvet curtains there. Badly perished in places, but there are enough bits there for me to cut out squares  I can piece together. Having removed the rotted backing fabric and washed them, they are still intact apart from failures along the folds. Not sure I will get enough for the door curtain I was envisaging when I recovered them, but I might pick up some upholstery velvet offcuts in complementary colours and see what happens.

Had to clean one of the cottages again today but the occupant had only used the bed - not even had a shower!! Appears to have had six stubbies, gone to bed, crept out in the morning and had a glass of water then left again. How odd some people's habits are!

It just gets worse and worse on the political front. A plane falls out of the sky over the Ukraine and the Russians are accused of shooting it down (or providing the weapon to do so). Not much attention being given to the eye witness accounts that refer to two planes falling out of the sky at the same time. Or the fact that there is no trail of smoke as the plane goes down, only when it hits the ground. Bit soon to start rattling the sabres IMO, but there you go, the US has been itching for a fight with Russia for some time now, what with the situation in Palestine and so forth. One can but pray that our lads will not be sent over to die in yet another war over who gets to be top dog that has nothing to do with us. (I imagine there is oil involved somewhere). I begin to sound like a conspiracy theorist, I realise.

I had a visitor to brighten my day today - my good friend Barbara came up laden with more food than two people could possibly consume and as a consequence the fridge now contains half a roast chicken. Think I will remove the meat from the bones freeze the lot and make a chicken noodle soup out of it using some of the chicken stock I made up before, as well as any I extract from this carcase.

The beef stock I cooked up last night is presently cooling, having been recooked today. The bones have gone in the fire this time, to avoid further garbage tin raids by the dogs. Lord knows what it will do to the flue, but I suppose it will be all right.

We had a couple of rounds of fairly heavy rain last night (so much so that the dog refused his last run for the night due to inclement conditions). Apparently it continued during the night as the loungeroom floor was saturated (and it was not all Seb's contribution). The tank is now three quarters full, which makes a nice change.

I was asked to go and do the cottages again today but decline as I had quite enough to do to rediscover the top of the kitchen table in anticipation of my guest. It will be waiting for my attention tomorrow so I will deal with it then, and fit in a garbage run at the same time.

A dark day for Australia today. The repeal of the Carbon Tax is a step in the wrong direction. When will these greedy fools realise that no economy will survive the impacts of Climate Change unless we act now. We have already exceeded tipping point. So glad I don't have to leave this legacy to any children of mine.

Cleaned the two cottages and headed home before my fingers froze. It may not be snowing quite this low, but it certainly is on the highlands and the air is full of ice.

This has been a strange winter by the standards I have experienced here so far - no snow, hardly any rain, lots of surprisingly warm weather and very little in the way of winter winds. It does not bode well for the summer, it will be very dry year this year.

Today's forecast looked quite promising on paper - clearing showers, 11 degrees. Pity they forgot to mention the sun wouldn't come up until after lunch. At 8 this morning when I walked the dogs it was still so dark it was hard to see the other side of the oval. Not that we got much rain out of it. So naturally the washing remained undone and by the looks of the next few days that may not change for a while. I may have to resort to drying on the airers I had put away with relief when the line was implemented.

The bank was cleaned and out of the way in good order, and I got home to find a lovely thank you email from my tenants (nice to finally be in touch with them, they seem a very nice young couple, and their new daughter, Felicity is a gorgeous child).

So am feeling good about things at the moment despite the horrors that are happening in Canberra and the rest of the country.

Two cottages to clean tomorrow so I will not get much done at home. I have started cleaning the place, since outdoor activities are discouraged by the weather, and hope to have it relatively tidy by Friday when my friend comes to visit me.

Tuesday passed as Tuesdays should pass (but rarely do) with not a single contact with the outside world and ample time to do diddleysquat, which is pretty well what I did. And it was good. Very good. I might do it again tomorrow after I get back from the bank.

It was the sort of penetrating damp cold that bites off the end of your nose and makes your knees get goosepimples despite the layers of cold. Not all that cold thermometer wise (8 degrees), but still really nasty cold. Woolley hat for walking the dogs and all. Sadly getting a sleep in was not an option as the dogs decided to play chasings with the cats this morning, and much of the action was taking place under and over the bed, so I gave in to the inevitable and got up at 5:30. Sigh. Early start tomorrow, of course, but hopefully the rest of the day will be sunny mild and ideal for getting the washing done.

Ah the bliss. I spent an hour sitting at the garden waiting for the boys to turn up (started half an hour before they were due since I had just cleaned the bank), only to find they were not coming. Great thinks me - I can scuttle home and deal with all that paperwork I have been procrastinating about for all too long. So I do just that, but check my emails first (you know, in case something has happened that might impact on the paperwork) and discovered an email from a former colleague asking for my contact details. Naturally I got all excited at the prospect it might involve some work, but sadly that was not to be. Like me, she has been sitting on her hands for far too long and just wanted a gossip.

The gossip lasted for an hour and a half, after which I pulled the plug as clearly it would have gone on into the evening had she been given the chance. This meant I then had to walk the dogs again  (who had been over-excited at all that talking that was not directed at them), by which time I was hungry, and reached for the bread to make a bacon and egg sanger, only to discover there was no bread left. So back into town for bread, home to walk the dogs again as they have a pavlov's response to the car pulling up, and finally to settle down to deal with stuff.

That didn't quite go to plan either as the forms from the insurance had to be completed by the plumber (remember the one who took three weeks to send an email), and the various other things also required further effort. The good news is that the tenants have decided to stay another year and so have been given permission to do so. I have sent them a gift hamper of real ale and associated munchies as a belated housewarming gift to apologise for the eleventh hour reprieve. It should arrive tomorrow, all going well. It's the Stratford Real Ale hamper (him being a young tradesperson I took the assumption-based decision that wine was not going to be as well appreciated) from this website (which looks like a good one if you plan to send stuff to people in the UK). Hope they like it. I have also given them my email address to avoid delays resulting from being stuffed around by the property managers who I have instructed to replace the boiler which has been playing up for ages. Hopefully this time it will not involve fifty emails and resulting confusion and frustration as I have asked them to please obtain the quote and provide that, together with bank account details and amount required (it will require an additional gas check once installed) so that it all goes smoothly. That way we might actually achieve something in under 6 months which seems to be the average period before I get any action normally.

Another cottage to clean today - money hopefully piling up!! Otherwise I did absolutely nothing (well, a couple of loads of washing) and sat by the fire in between dog walks. Girding up my loins in preparation for tomorrow. I have no idea what I will be asking the lads to do in the garden,  unless some materials have turned up for them to work with, but I expect I will think of something.

Had a nice sleep-in this morning because it was going to be cold and snowy. Well that was the plan, and it certainly has been cold today - maximum of 4.5 is not exactly tropical.

I was just eating my porridge when a message arrived via FB to let me know there was a cottage to clean. So that took up a large proportion of the middle of the day I had intended to spend sorting out some paperwork. By the time I was back I was so weary (I know - no real cause, but that was how I was feeling) that even doing a logic puzzle on FB was beyond me, so balancing finances was clearly never going to happen. So I planned to have a wee nap. Seb put paid to that idea, and now I am still weary, unfed and finding it hard to work out what I might have for dinner since the oxtail did not make it into the oven.

No idea what the weariness is about - there are a few lurgies about, so perhaps I have caught one and I am busy fighting it off while it is subclinical. Since I had to leave an envelope out for an incoming guest I am guessing I will be cleaning again tomorrow if Annie is still out for the count. Hope so, it is extra money for me which is always welcome!

It's been a long day today - started with cleaning the bank, then home to walk the dogs once more, then back into Oatlands to join the Winter Garden Tour.

We went to Bridgewater Farm School (now Jordan River something or other) which I have to say was something of a disappointment. Though their large-animal collection seems fairly well off, their smaller animals are kept in conditions that really warrant closer examination. The poultry runs (admittedly we have had damp weather) were awash with mud and reeked of manure - a sprinkling of lime and a few bales of hay would have sorted it out without too much trouble, particularly since they were expecting media coverage over their stoush with Brighton Council. It seems to be more of a petting zoo in the publicly accessible bits. Not at all impressed I have to say. And their hen sheds were filthy - very poorly maintained. Their birds are amazingly big though. This (very fuzzy) rooster - on the left -  is in a run with peacocks and makes some of them look small!

They also had some fairly unhealthy looking, very large rabbits in very small cages, with did not impress, though the ferret looked healthy enough:

 Still. A very small cage, and no entertainment for an animal that we all know is curious and active.

Then we continued to the Community Growth Centre which is run by Vinnies. They grow veges there for community dinners and for distribution to the needy, as well as providing opportunities for people to volunteer and learn new skills, and train in Cert 2 horticulture. Rather a more organised setup there, as they have to ensure they have the right veges ready for picking on the right months for their dinner menus.

Then we headed home via Cove Hill and that little farmlet at Bagdad where they always have signs out. I bought three golden nugget pumpkins for baked pumpkin soup (cooked in the skin, as individual servings). And so home, to walk the dogs, feed the dogs and cats, and now, to feed myself.

Last night I tried out a weird recipe from FB that is designed to remove the dead skin from your feet. I figured that I don't spend enough time with the pumice stone in the shower as I don't spend that much time in the shower at the best of times for water conservancy re
asons. This involved Listerine, vinegar and water in a 1:1:2 ratio. And amazingly enough it works. Not that my feet look anywhere as good as the ones in the photo after the treatment, but I will be repeating it tonight as I have decided warmer water is probably a good idea.

And today I spent labouring in the Garden. We were erecting the frame of the glass house that we pinched from the school farm. No plans to work from so it was a matter of working it out as we went along. Still it looks pretty good and they were still working away when I left (I pleaded the dogs' need for a walk and human time given my intended absence tomorrow also.

By the time they are finished they will hopefully have inserted the lengths of timber under the frame necessary to stabilise it and have bolted it to the concrete footings.

I also finally received a call from the teacher who will be housing chickens in the chicken shed next term. Slight problem there as one of our gardeners is gardening in the chicken run and we were running out of time to do anything to fence off her garden before the chickens arrived. But it is now all sorted and I will be catching up with her when the class comes over to the garden for the first time so that we can talk over the way the garden runs (she is also the cooking teacher and so will be using the herbs that are in the food forest we built). Hopefully a lot of the material out of the chicken sheds will be transferred either into the compost bins or onto the proposed herb garden so that it contributes to the general soil health as well. And future 'mucking out' will contribute even further - all that lovely chook poo!!

My last day of liberty or the rest of the week given E's plans for my time. Tomorrow is the working bee to erect the frame of the glass house, and Friday I am apparently booked from 8 am to 3:30. This may turn out to be an optimistic rumour on E's part as I am damned if I will leave the dogs indoors for that period of time simply to suit her requirements.

Shadow (and today, Seb) have been throwing up with gay abandon for the last couple of days I finally found something in the vomit that may explain it. Monday they raided the rubbish bin while i was cleaning in town, and it seems there may have been the odd bone in there. I usually throw them on the fire, or (as previously mentioned) into a container for later cooking up for stock) but apparently there must have been some small bones, maybe the oxtail, perhaps? Anyway, they seem to have worked their way out now so hopefully no more vomits.

This morning was cleaning in both the bank and the cottages. The bank has finally had new blinds installed so there was sawdust everywhere (to to be fair, not in any great quantity). Then home via the Roxy where i found a large tray of lamb neck chops and another of oxtail. So the oxtail is going in the freezer and the lamb neck is currently in the oven becoming a moroccan casserole. I had my mouth ready for orange and cinamon flavours, but instead it is preserved lemon and coriander flavours instead. Oh well.

Earlyish night planned tonight to gird up my loins (and my patience) for tomorrow.

Yesterday was fairly flat stick once i emerged from the cocoon of my cosy bed. First the bank, then the garden where we made considerable progress on digging out the paths, removing rubble and stacking the various random piles of materials that have been accumulating over the last few weeks when work has been suspended by poor weather conditions. It was nice and warm too.

I had a busy day today too, rather unexpectedly as my neighbour has called in sick so I had two cottages to clean up. Tenants for one of the cottages turned up at 11:00am trying to check in (it is 2pm checkin time), so I discouraged them and told them to come back in an hour (by which time the relevant cottage would be ready for their use). The third cottage was also supposed to require cleaning but clearly the guest had been a no-show as the place was spotless and the bed unslept in, as well as their checkin papers left on the table unclaimed.

I get to clean the cottage again tomorrow, so a sudden and unexpected boost to my income - which is always good.

Shadow has been a bit sick the last couple of days - an upset tummy. Hope it was not the food I gave him (the chicken), but since Seb seems unaffected I have to assume it is simply his jelly belly which he has always had.

Thursday and Friday are also scheduled for more activities with the Garden Tour on Friday and the working bee on Thursday. I have indicated my availability for the working bee is subject to no conflict with paid work. Time I put my foot down there as E is beginning to assume she can simply organise my time at will. For example on Friday she has, without consulting me, booked a meeting for 9:15, before the tour leaves which will mean I am unable to pop home after cleaning the bank and before the tour - she is getting above herself! Grrrr.

It rained last night! And today - well until lunch time. So the tank is staggering up to the half-full mark and I am back in business water wise. Huge relief as it was getting pretty low. Astounding for this time of year.

I was settling back for a day of re-arranging buckets on the loungeroom floor when I received a message requesting I do two of the units. So I hied me into town and did so. I was working on the second one (which fronts onto the Main Street) and spotted this wandering past. A team of bullocks on their way to the Heritage Expo. Never a quiet moment in Oatlands, it seems.

Also in that flat I discovered a roast chicken from the local shop and a bag of lettuce as well as a bottle of balsamic dressing that looks rather tasty. So they came home with me, along with the custard tart from the first cottage.

The dogs got the custard tart as an apology for me going out and the lettuce went into the compost bin. The chicken has served two purposes. The meat was added to the dogs' dinner and the bones have been added to the bones I stockpiled from the last chicken and are now simmering on the woodstove for a stock.

My Canadian friends have a great idea that I have to say had never occurred to me. They keep icecream buckets in the fridge and toss in all the bones left over from meals (one each for chicken, beef and lamb). When it is full, the cook it up as bone stock which goes to making soups and casseroles. They do the same with vege scraps = all those half onions, half carrots etc left over from particularly picky recipes. I have yet to start a vege bowl, but I will do so when I produce any leftovers of that variety.

Some other photos I have taken of late (in the last week) for your delectation.

 A rather nice rainbow that I spotted while we were working in the School garden last Monday.

 A particularly stunning sunrise the other morning!

Last night's dinner - a potato and onion pizza - I forgot to add the cheese, doh. Since it refused to come out of the pan (I forgot to oil it before spreading the dough) it was a challenging meal, but I got there in the end. Tonight is is cumberland sausages, cabbage with bacon and mashed potatoes.

Wow it's the weekend already and I was up bright and early to go into Oatlands. They had a Heritage Skills expo happening with plasters and stonemasons and bullockies and other such attractions. Kept me occupied for all of half an hour (OK, it was a bit same old for me, but others were enjoying themselves).

I have the dough for tonight's pizza rising in the oven at present (if you turn on the oven light it maintains the temp just right for raising dough). Olive oil steeping finely chopped garlic and lots of finely cut onion rings to go on top. Now all I have to do it finely slice some potato as well, and I have a tasty dinner ready to go in the oven. The recipe actually calls for toppers of the tomato, onion, garlic, mushroom etc variety, but my tummy wants garlic onion, so that is what it will get!

Have been contacted by two old school friends via FB today which was nice - one I know will hate my politics so I have suggested she turn off my feed. Her husband is in the property industry in Queensland ..... Still, we are old school mates and that is all that counts really.

Positively spring-like today with balmy warm temperatures, a gentle breeze and all the washing completed and all bar one item dry (it has multiple layers of fabric so it on the airer at present). The fire was not even lit due to it being so warm. Has only been alight for an hour and even so it probably a tad too warm for requirements.

I looked out the recipes for the next month of the recipe plan today and will start on them tomorrow I think. They include such delights as pizza and shepherds pie, so will keep me occupied and fed once again. Pity I have no pizza dish, but I guess there is no law that says it has to be round, so a baking dish of some sort will do the trick.

Other than that a very lazy day I have to say, and no excuses apart from sheer sloth. The plumber responded to my phone message at 9:30 last night by text message so we are no further ahead as I was well abed by then. Hopefully he will send a response tonight some time before midnight.

A somewhat milder night last night and even milder forecast for tonight. So of course the fire going all day will result in an overly warm bedroom and a bad night's sleep once more. So annoying trying to work out what to wear and have on the bed every damn night - grrr. Still, I guess I should be glad it is overwarm and not overcold.

The quick trip into town to deal with the bank was the sum of today's activities and tomorrow ill be even quieter unless there is a late booking at the cottages.

I have just finished re-reading the Harry Potter books and have to conclude that I have not previously read the last two as I had no recollection of the plot at all. I have a habit of buying books occasionally in the middle of house moves or while stuff is still packed. If they are sequels they don't get read a the time as I try to read their fore-runners as a lead up to the new treat. Clearly I bought the last two while my books were in storage, popped them on the shelves and have only now read them for the first time. So there you go - quite a denouement at the end don't you think?

Still waiting to hear from the plumber. I will resort to threats soon.