This morning was rather chilly so by the time I had cleaned the bank and gone to the garden I was getting less and less enthusiastic about doing anything outdoors. So I proposed that I take Syche down to Hobart and we go shop for seedlings for the herb garden.

This suggestion was greeted favourable so that is what we did. We did the rounds of the usual four nurseries and since it turned out to be Syche's birthday we went to Northgate and had a coffee and cake at Gloria Jeans (I know, but the choice was limited).

While sitting in Bunnings Car Park I received a call from someone in the Party who wanted to have a rant (one that I suspect has been going on for several years now). She is the one who stood for the State Convenor's role and who was voted against. She continues to hold the view that she would do the job better and tells me she intends to propose a vote of no confidence against the successful person (talk about a bad loser!, it was a bit of a landslide vote).

Her reason for calling me was to demand the phone number of my co-convenor (I am still wondering how she got mine) but I managed to misdirect her so that by the end of the call I was going to get him to call her. I have sent him an email to that effect but suggested he might like to talk to me first.

Some of her ideas are good ones, and ones that I too am astonished have not already been established process. But I sincerely doubt she is the person to carry them forward. So we will see.

We have a candidate de-brief on 16th, and I had already intended to propose one of her ideas (that they produce a candidate handbook to give you the necessary contacts for particular bits of information and support (together with info as to whether they are volunteers or paid staff so you can know what is a reasonable expectation), and an explanation of expectations of behaviour and media management etc. I agree it is necessary and I understand something of the sort was being developed by someone somewhere, so we shall see what eventuates.

Finally got rid of her and we drove home without incident, calling at my place to offload our purchases (it will be too cold for the next two days to plant the seedlings out and expect them to survive), the tip to drop off my rubbish, then to the garden to drop off Syche and collect the table E wanted at the Mens Shed, call in at the Mens Shed and home.

I had intended to cut some fire wood in anticipation of tomorrow's cold snap but failed to do so before it was too late to fire up the chainsaw.

While we were at Bunnings I also bought some bungy so I can replace the tiedowns on the ute's tarp as they have frayed rather spectacularly in the last few weeks. So that is curled up on the back seat waiting to be deployed.

With three cottages to clean and a load of laundry delivered that had to be stacked on shelves, it was some time before I could call my time my own today.

While i waited for the guests to leave the last cottage I wandered over to Mancy's and picked up a pillow since the ones I bought have proven too soft for my needs. This one is firmer and higher so may prove too firm, but I will find out tonight.

I also called in to visit a friend who has just returned from WA towing the 12 foot caravan that she went to collect. Her father built it so it has sentimental value (it would have to given they did the trip in 11 days, driving all the way!).

despite it's tiny size it is considerably more spacious inside than the one I was living in, so I am quite jealous, lol.

The front of the van is a wrap around kitchen with considerably more bench space than I had, and the table (double bed) occupies the other end, with lots of floor space instead of a tiny galley way as I had.

The friends who house-sat while she was away were there, as was another friend from the quilting group, so we chatted as Jenny sewed up a superb quilt that her house-sitter's daughter had embroidered while watching her sick child in hospital (child is well now, but apparently it was a long illness). Jenny is an amazing sewer, her seams are precise and straight which is more than can be said for mine. The first quilter left and then another one called in, so we had lunch and tea and gossiped for a couple of hours.

Then home to walk the dogs and cut some wood in case i need it tonight. I think I will tough it out with a jumper though as it does not seem likely it will get cold enough to warrant lighting one.

Then the dogs' long walk which was made interesting by packs of migrating echidnas, so my shoulder is feeling a little tender at the moment, lol.

The dogs are worn out and so I am I. Tomorrow I will be back in the Garden all day, but I think we will limit ourselves to weeding and tidying as we have had a two week break.

So I posted my 'concede' post in my FB page today. I will be keeping it live a little longer as I am still running the campaign to save the hospital from the proposed cutbacks. Unfortunately the Auxilliary person who I had thought I was working 'with' has been claiming my petition as her own. Since it seems it was poorly drafted and does not comply with Parliamentary rules, I have proposed to Kim that we let her run with it and we will launch an e-petition as well. Said E-petition will be for Tasmanians only but if I post the link here it would be appreciated if any of you who can do so, sign it. I will also be sharing it on my FB pages.

I ended up with 97 primaries so was cut out of the preferencing process pretty early, and excluded from further consideration. So we are stuck with pretty much the same council we have always had, but with one new face who I rather hope, despite being part of the conservatives, will nevertheless introduce a degree of accountability that is presently lacking as he has a legal background. Unfortunately my least favourite councillor got in by the skin of his teeth so we have more of his antics to endure over the next four years unless he drops off his perch. Since he, and our newly re-elected Deputy Mayor have had major health scares in the last six months, we can but hope for a by-election at some point during that time.

Spent some time with the sewing ladies this afternoon after cleaning two cottages and the bank, and calling in on one of my supporters for a chat, as well as at the radio station (I plan to run a 'thankyou' ad for a week to show good grace.)

Weather today was rather nicer than yesterday! But it is cooling off now so I have lit the fire and plan to cook up some more porridge tonight as I ate the last of it this morning.

Only 17 mm out of all the song and dance, so I am not too happy about that!

Well they have counted 100% of the primary votes and I am running second from last behind the least desirable candidate. Not looking good I have to say, but there are always the preferences.....

So much for my foray into politics. Still it was fun and I may consider it again if the opportunity arises. It would have been nice to have a reliable income that did not rely on the whims and manipulations of the Federal government, but there you go.

A wild and woolly day here today with flurries of snow, galeforce winds, sunshine, rain, hail and pretty well everything in between. The roof is still there, which is more than can be said for Hadley's Hotel in Hobart, so there are blessings to be counted.

Very chilly here tonight, despite the fire going all day. Still, I will stay up another hour to see how things go then head to bed to fantasize about winning lotto once more!

I forgot to mention that in the midst of the chaos that was yesterday I was also drafting a submission to LCC about the Woolstores, and also coordinating the drafting of the petition about the hospital while dealing with a slowed download that had been exacerbated by the weather conditions. Oh well, all sorted now.

Gave myself a sleep in this morning which was nice, as was the fact that drizzle kept me indoors for the day so I have started purging the kitchen which was starting to look pretty manky after some time of neglect. Still a way to go (it is a big kitchen) but starting to look more civilised for all that.

A young teenager has gone missing locally - 14 years old. He comes from one of the large, homeschooled religiously inspired households of the area, so I imagine he has run away from home. With forty odd SES out there looking for him, the chances of him lying dead in a ditch are fairly remote (the area where he lives is pretty open farmland in the main), so I am hoping where-ever he is, he has shelter as it will be wet tonight.

Waiting for dinner to cook and I will be heading to bed early once more tonight I think.

Mad sort of day today. Woke up bright and early and got a load of washing on the line, then mowed some grass, then another load of washing and was sitting eating lunch when I suddenly realised I was supposed to be cleaning cottages. So a mad dash into town to do that (with half a bottle of white to pay me for that). Discovered a brown bottle with an apple on the label in the other fridge with only a little bit missing. It seems one of our guests had limited english and had not read past the 'apple cider' to the word vinegar, and had had an awful shock when he started to drink it, lol.

Then home to put another load on the line and walk the dogs and get ready to go out to dinner. In between all of this I was struggling with my slowed download to access and print out the petition that had been signed off by Kim Booth's office which will be submitted to the government once we have some signatures on it (it is about the hospital issue). This had to be printed out to take to the Rotary Dinner I was attending tonight.

Lovely meal with a fine minestrone to start, followed by a mixed bag of roast pork, pasta bolognaise, peas, new potatoes and a few other bits and pieces and finally dessert (Sticky date pudding and pavlova). A couple of tiny glasses of white to wash it down with and off home once more.

Planning a sleep in in the morning if the dogs permit!

Speaking of dogs, Seb took the hint and slept in the lounge last night, so we are back to normal once more!

It was supposed to be warm and windy this morning, but there was no sign of this even after I got back from cleaning the bank. In fact there was a frost on the ground when I left home.

I had had little sleep as Sebastian threw a tantrum. The last couple of nights he has snuck onto the bed after I had gone to sleep. Last night he jumped up as soon as the lights were off. He was thrown off. He tried every side of the bed. Quick jumps up. Sly sneaking oozes, and so forth, all to no avail. So he started a running commentary of complaint. It went along the lines of 'awwwww I'm only a puppy', 'pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease, how can you resist me' to 'what the hell is wrong with you woman' in loud yaps. Meanwhile I was being circled as if by hostile indians, with further attempts at encroachment, and finally Shadow being thrown off his bed as Seb made his feelings  felt. Grumbles and moanings were introduced to no avail.

So I got up and left him in the loungeroom with the door ajar (this is useful as he is too cautious to open a semi-closed door but the cats can still move around), which resulted in the grumbling (and it was grumbling at times) coming from the loungeroom instead. Finally there was a scrabbling as he worked up the courage to open the door, and once again he arrived. Fortunately by this time, it only took one stern 'no' to finally convince him to retire defeated to the loungeroom and curl up on the sofa. We were back on speaking terms come morning!

Since it was so chilly I cut some wood and lit the fire and decided that I would re-arrange my drawers and cupboards in the bedroom. So now I have worked out homes for my new clothes, ironed the ones that needed it, hung them up, and have tidy drawers so I can find things. One for tops, one for woollies, etc. I suspect this will go to custard when the rest of the washing is done and I find out why I now have so much space where before everything was crammed in. I have not discarded that much!

and the bed was made, and that's about it. Still it will be nice to have clean linen tonight and to be able to choose clothes without ratting around in drawers for them.

A full on morning this morning. Kim Booth's office blithely announced he would be here at 9:30 am, so I had to do a mad dash around Oatlands and FB to find people willing to come talk to him about the hospital. Had a nice cross section turn up, from Baden, Kempton and Oatlands itself, so it was a worthwhile conversation.

We then did a quick tour of the facility and on to the Pancake Parlour where we had lunch and met with the auxilliary person who works there. Then Kim set off on his merry way and I had to scramble to get the two cottages cleaned in time for checkin times.

Good thing I did as an unexpected arrival turned up this afternoon.

I was fortunate enough to find a bottle of brewed ginger beer and a block of peppered cheese in one of the fridges, so dinner tonight will be on the high life!

The weather today was supposed to be cool but turned out to be one of those still sunny days that feels a lot hotter than it actually is. As a result I forgot to cut any firewood, so I hope there is sufficient warmth stored to get us through the forecast 3 degrees overnight.

And so it goes on. Bank to clean tomorrow, and then I will head out on the road for a little more campaigning before the weekend - gods willing.

Another day of madness here. Had to clean the bank, then two cottages. Fortunately the cottages vacated early so I was able to go straight from the bank to there, and get them out of the way. Then to the historical society only to realise I had to leave to get to Bridgewater for an appointment with Centrelink. These appts take 10 minutes plus two hours driving time so are a bit annoying at times.

Then back to Oatlands to the historical society and collecting info on the hospital, fielding calls from Kim Booth's office (he wants to come up tomorrow and meet concerned locals but fails to realise Oatlands closes for Show Day). Meanwhile it seems Launceston City Council is planning to consider a proposal to demolish a State Significance heritage building on the eve of the election. So I have been feeding info to Greens candidates up north and to the candidate for Deputy Mayor - my report on the building prepared in 2011 and the subsequent report that refutes my report. I have also had to read that document and find the flaws (gaping holes) in their argument so they know what they are talking about. So a busy day. Am currently trying to round up people to come to town tomorrow morning to meet with Kim and talk to him, but they have all suddenly gone very quiet! lol

So the day didn't quite go the way I had planned, and I am tired out but feeling I have not actually achieved much at all. At least I got the washing done so the house smells sweet once more.

Spent a bit of time sorting out who to speak to and when I might speak to them about the hospital issues we are having here (government cutbacks, you know the drill), and obtained two people who are happy to speak to Kim Booth about it when he comes up on Thursday, and one more to track down. Unfortunately the Doctor he wants to speak to is incommunicado till Thursday morning so that could get interesting!

Did a little weeding to rediscover the vege patch, took a run to the tip, came home, sat back for half an hour and was back into town to meet the GM of the RSPCA who was passing through and keen to speak to council candidates (but only got me, so we had a good chat). I am pleased to report that after the last several years of chaos, the RSPCA seems to be in good hands and heading in the right direction, so that is good news!

Have just sat down from taking the dogs for a walk and rummaging futilely in the asparagus patch. I was hoping to have poached eggs with blanched asparagus for dinner but there is none to be found. I suspect the dry winter may have seen it off. I will investigate further when I have a moment (which will not be tomorrow).

Door knocking today. Down to Rhyndaston and Colebrook. Though by the time I got to Colebrook it was four o'clock and since i have a teleconference at 6 (I am on it at the moment), I had to come home. Very scenic in that part of the world, though I never did work out how to get down to this particular farm.

I went home via Tunnack and this is my favourite stretch of road. I must get someone to drive me up there one day as there are all sorts of rock outcrops and caves there, but the road is a bit twisty to be able to appreciate them.

Got home to find the local pig farmer at my back door, so we had a nice yarn and he revealed that he has voted for me.

Then we cropped the rhubarb (this is the new crown as he has suggested that pulling off the thicker stems will encourage the crown to grow on - not sure I agree with that, but hey, it's worth a try. There is, after all another crown in a pot that has just started to grow). So I pulled some more of the green rhubarb and popped over the road to give them to John who is partial to rhubarb. In return I received a dozen fresh laid eggs which I will convert into dinner tonight. An omelette is about all I can expect tonight with this teleconference that goes on forever and in which I barely participate at all.

What a nice way to spend your sixtieth birthday. My conscience got the better of me for a moment but then I realised if I left early to deliver fliers and doorknock the dogs would be alone in the house for far too long. This gave me the perfect excuse not to do it, so I set off for Swansea at 1:30 (for a 3:00 arrival), stopping en route at the Ross Market where I purchased a couple of apple shortcakes which I will pop in the freezer.

Then an iced coffee from the Red Bridge as it was quite warm, and on my way to Swansea. The drive is quite a long one, being 1:37 according to Google maps, and a little longer the way I drive. But I still got to my destination in good time, and the pig was still on the spit, cooking away.

He was a very fine pig - half Large White, half Saddleback. Paddock raised and slaughtered (shhhh) by a friend of mine.

He took rather a long time to cook through, despite having been over the fire since seven in the morning, but he was well worth waiting for. So tender, he would melt in your mouth!

 Time passed rather pleasantly for all that as there was a good band playing and I had some interesting conversations with my friends an a council candidate from that district (she is going for Mayor). Then the rain arrived. In quantity.

But that did not stop the queue for the meat when it was finally carved. I have to confess I went back for seconds it was so good.

Then home, dodging kangaroos and other drivers on a wet road, to arrive still in daylight and able to walk the dogs. I had learned my lesson from our last dusk walk, so had Seb on a short leash. This was a good thing as the hare that frequented the oval last summer put in an appearance and drove Seb to distraction. So much so he has not done what he went out to do so will need another walk before bedtime.

They both partook of some cooked pigs ear which was consumed without fights (phew, I was a bit unsure of that since it was the first time they have had special treats together), and we are now all waiting for the rain to become snow (since it will be minus one tonight, apparently).

Got home at midnight last night and I was very tired. Fortunately the dogs were too, so we all crawled into our respective beds and went to sleep pretty rapidly. Despite waking several times during the night, I did manage a sleep-in until 8 this morning before having to face the day.

Yesterday was not, however, as tiring as I had expected as E left the garden at around 11, and Syche and I gave ourselves an early mark after we finished all the tasks on the list (and watered the beds).

All of the tomatoes on one side of the polytunnel have been struck with the frost. Not mine though, which are thriving. So some good news at least.

Then home for a little zoning out and walking the dogs to the corner and back, then realised it was four thirty and i had best pull my sox up if I wanted to shower, get dressed, get made up and out the door by 5. Surprisingly I achieved this and had time en route to call into Cove Hill to get some cat litter (a dire  emergency requirement), and got to the Shoreline at 6:30 punctually. My friends arrived not too long afterward and the meal was delish! I had crumbed scallops. They are a lot smaller than they were when I was a girl, so now I feel guilty for pillaging under-sized fish. Then we went back to Barb's place and had a joint cake which was rather nice. Set off up the highway, stopping only to refuel at Bridgewater, and home to bed.

Today after my sleep in I did the usual morning things, drove to Levendale for a cricket match (I was the only person in the very small crowd who was not related to anyone else, and Syche kept introducing me as her boss!), then home for a slowish afternoon with a few phone calls thrown in.

A final load of washing means that everything I own is clean. Ironing has yet to be attempted.

I had three cottages to clean today and two of them were sties, so my three hours blew out somewhat and I had to stop part way through to refuel as I was becoming inefficient.

Then since I was in town I called in to get the results of the bloods the doctor took the other day. As usual I am fit as a mallee bull, so the exhaustion must have another source - can't imagine what it is!

Then home to walk the dogs, and to call a constituent who wanted to talk. Between two signal interruptions courtesy of Telstra, we finally covered off on his interests and goals (most of which are consistent with mine) and I also used the breaks to settle Seb down as apparently he still needed to do something outside.

A cheese omellette for dinner and several handsful of almonds should set me up until breakfast which will be apricot and almond porridge (it's simmering on the hot heater right now). I didn't get any wood cut however as I did not feel operating a chainsaw when swaying with tiredness was a good idea. I will simply go to bed when I run out - if not before!

Tomorrow is a day in the garden once more. I have emailed E and told her I will be leaving at three sharp. Let's see how many stratagems she tries to keep me past time this time. The only one that will work will be if she gives me an opening to call her out on her snide remarks and generally bitchy behaviour of late.

It is probable I won't be posting tomorrow as I have to finish up at the Garden, take the dogs for a walk, shower, change and head down to Hobart for my shared birthday dinner with my friend and her twin children (adults now) as we all fall within a few days of each other.

My 'relaxing' day started with cleaning the bank - a commitment I remembered at 10pm while fiddling with the controls of the electric blanket as last night was rather chilly, me not having had a fire going. Got home and did three loads of washing as I was wearing my last set of semi-respectable clean clothes (and as a candidate I felt the track dax and flannies should take a bit of a rest).

Was chatting to a friend on FB about the candidates when my signal disappeared, so I tore up to her place in the car as that seemed the most sensible solution. She got her voting done, and her husband's, and then we got out more bags of old clothes to rummage through. As a consequence i now have huge quantities of new tops, some very glamourous, some more practical, as well as two new windcheaters, one of which I am wearing now. These all came home and went into the machine as well (lucky it was good drying weather) and the only thing now on the line is a pair of thermals which were a little yellowish still. They will stay there tonight and tomorrow night as we are expecting showers tomorrow and a frost tomorrow night which should whiten them up nicely.

The dogs got short shrift tonight but fortunately have been pretty forgiving about it. This is all down to a glass of butterscotch schnapps! My boss at the cottages called me to see if I could pop into town to put out envelopes for guests arriving tonight. They were both chinese. One had given his name in english characters, the other in chinese characters. So i painstakingly copied it onto the envelope and hope I have not spelled a bad word! I suspect my eyes were not up to catching any upstrokes or such like.

On my way back home I noticed that Jean was still at Diana's (the go there after quilting for a game or two of cribbage and the odd tipple) so I called in and had said schnapps which I have to say was superb (Brad has a still and makes a variety of drinks, mainly gin, but limoncello and Butterscotch schnapps  - with is hard to say after you have had a glass- are also on the menu. I am trying to talk him into doing a 'scotch' run for me!)

I now have seven confirmed votes and apparently most of the girls at quilting are voting for me, so I won't be totally embarrassed come the 28th!

Wow! What a day. Started with a sharp frost (minus 3. something) and cleared to sunny but chilly morning which was perfect for our Open Day.

Setting up the place was marginally chaotic, but it was done and sorted in time for the first groups to come through. Then we had a panic because the barbecue trailer was chained to the fence and we did not appear to have the key so sent off three students to look for the caretaker who finally found it just where I had asked him to put it but in a place I had searched three times.....

But a good day was had and lots of people came through, from the aged care facility, the kids and any number of adults. Met another candidate who was my favourite on paper and who still is. And chatted to several people and garnered a few more votes. Then at the end of the day my early departure was thwarted by billions of people wanting me to do this and that, so when I got home, walked the dogs and checked the clock I was in a panic about timing. But on checking the information about the function I was to attend i discovered that it started an hour later than I had thought, which was a relief.

So I had my shower and got changed and headed off to Bothwell were I didn't know a soul, or so it seemed. But I introduced myself to the organisers and made Cassie's apologies and then wandered off to find some food. As I did so I spotted at least one person I knew so went over to chat for a bit (a very short chat as she is not the world's greatest conversationalist, and then off once more to circulate and look as if I belonged. Spotted our local Uniting Church minister talking to another minister so went over to say hello. His opening words were "I just voted for you today" which was  a little overwhelming and flattering. He went on to say that I was only one of two candidates who had talked any sense! So I am still feeling rather buzzy about that.

I will be off to bed shortly, and luckily tomorrow is free of commitments so I may have a chance to catch up on my washing (since I wore my last clean clothes tonight), and get some more of the back yard wrestled under control.

Well the house didn't burn down last night and the fire is now officially out (i.e. still burning underground, but not sending sparks into my roof space).

The bank got cleaned on schedule and it was into the Garden to pick up lots of stuff that was organised some time ago and most of which was not where they said it would be. The large marquee we were promised has been loaned out and not returned and the bloke we had arranged it with is on annual leave. The barbecue trailer from Rotary was not in its shed (finally tracked down to the service station) and the other marquees were offered to us minus their frames (which luckily I noticed leaning up against the shed wall). One of the stall owners has called in sick (the one I organised so it is all my fault she has the tummy flu), and when I tried to start the whipper snipper it wouldn't run. Fortunately Andrew at the Service Station was able to replace the blocked fuel filter and it is now back in action.

And to top it all off, E announced we would not be needing the tables she knows I have been chasing for the last week or two with a snide 'you were at the meeting' (well yes, I was at the meeting, and it was agreed at the meeting that I would track down tables. I am afraid I lost it and said, 'well thanks a lot for letting me bust a gut to get the damn tables if you knew we didn't need them' before heading off on another fruitless task.

So it was a good thing we were done by two as I really needed some time alone. Cut a few sticks of firewood (it will apparently be zero tonight) and have lit the fire, taken a panadeine to stop the aches and pains associated with total exhaustion, and am now contemplating dinner.

Went to the doctor also and had a lesion burned off and a referral to the Royal to deal with the ones on my face. This may take some time as I gather the Royal is a bit dysfunctional at present, but he has assured me it is not urgent.

Set off back down to Campania this morning and went to the market where I bought some sandwiches and garnered at least one vote, then worked my way around the back streets (it is amazing how many homes there are up there). One house looked less than promising, so I declined when the householder invited me in. He does not vote for political parties as they are all run by the Freemasons, he also told me his father showed me a video of animals and so he now knows about micro and macro-evolution as every good christian should, but he promised to think about voting for me.... most of the remaining households were fairly straightforward apart from the one where the occupant took some time to get to the door and then only poked his head around the edge, apologising that he did not have his trousers on! This is now the second time this has happened. I don't care to speculate what these men are doing indoors on a summers day in the middle of rural Tasmania with their pants off, but I have to admit to some curiosity, nevertheless.

Another household really should be reported to the RSPCA - a lot of small paddocks with horses in them, deep in horse poo and the stallion had warts all over his muzzle, as well as some scarring on his head.

In to one very Establishment property with neatly trimmed macrocarpa hedges and historic homestead only to discover that the owner is a Greens supporter, so definitely worth the trip!

And so home. I ran out of puff before I got to Colebrook, and was starting to smell a bit on the nose due to the unexpectedly warm weather. So they can wait till after the Open day is over and I have had  a collapse on Wednesday.

Next doors little bonfire had been allowed to burn down when I got home which was a bit of a relief as the wind has picked up considerably. But for reasons best known to themselves, they are now feeding it once more. The wind is blowing toward my house ................. At least we are insured!

So another day of doorknocking is over once more, and I am ready for bed, which at 6:25 is not a good thing.

Marginally later start today as the cottage was not vacated till 9. This was good as they have until 11 to check out so I was very happy with this. Dropped the 44s off at the Garden and got stuck into the cottage and was done by 10. Then off down to Hobart. In the middle of the chaos i had discovered that I was about to run out of cat food, so called into the vets for that, then into Barb's to find out what we were doing for our birthdays (which is now a combined her, me and the twins birthday), then on to Campania for a bit of doorknocking. Got a fair bit of the village done - would have got more done if there had not been some very chatty people there. But they have their market tomorrow so I will head down, go to the market and then do the  rest of the village before hitting Colebrook and Rhyndaston.

Them next door have decided to burn out a couple of large stumps near our mutual boundary, so I presently have a vigorous fire burning nearby. I took the dogs for a walk on the off-chance they might set fire to the place, but it seems to be being managed by the over the road who are a bit more competent than next door, so we should be right. Was doing a rapid review of the insurance and thinking this might not necessarily be a disaster, lol. As long as I managed to get the animals out first.

So. Bank cleaned then a dash home for some warmer clothing as it had turned cold, but by the time I got back into town it had warmed up again and remained so for the rest of the day.

More preparation for the Open day, with commentary from E about how I was not pulling my weight (implied, never stated) and a long discussion about how much we had to get done that went nowhere and wasted time we could have been doing things. Then Syche and I got on and did things such as weeding the paths, shifting a picnic table that weighs so much even she had problems, so lots of rests en route. At lunch time some blokes turned up to deliver some things that E had given detailed instruction for placement, and had them completely ignore me to the point I just walked away saying 'Too many F*cking cooks" with the emphasis on the middle word, and left them to it as they can be moved to more convenient locations on Monday, then watered the beds and came home to chase these blooming elusive tables.

First a stop at Bev's to see if I could borrow the ones at the hall that involved a revolving conversation about how Gavin (president before last) had decided against lending them out, asking who were the contacts at the Parattah Rec Ground, advising me to go to them for the keys, explaining for the fourth time the keys were not my concern but the tables that were not inside were the issue, discussions about how to get in touch with Bob Campbell who has obtained an unlisted phone number so is uncontactable, further suggestions as to who I might get keys from and around and around and around. Then a call to a committee member's home to see if he knew were the tables were and he is still away and another call at the home of the President who does not get back until Sunday and to his neighbour who assured me the tables were indeed back in the rooms, just folded up and out of sight from the windows. So finally organised to collect the keys from him on Monday afternoon and staggered home.

Took the dogs for a not-so-long walk, had three cups of tea, then a longer walk with the dogs, shifted the 44s that someone had placed on my front lawn in the least convenient spot (but at least they had taken them to the tip and emptied them for me) and am now contemplating a trip back into town to get a bottle of wine as I feel I need one!

But do I really want to get in the car and go into town again?

There are occasions when I look at the news and think I must be living the old Chinese Curse - 'may you live in interesting times'. Between Ebola outbreaks in the US and now Queensland, the issues in the middle East, the death of the Saudi king .... well, you see what I mean.

Fortunately politics in beautiful downtown Southern Midlands is going along nicely with a sign having been erected on my behalf on the entry point to Oatlands. I am a bit worried it is not authorised, so have sought advice from HO to see if I should whip out my texta pen and add the appropriate authorisation.

Meantime I have recorded my radio advertisement which is going to air on 97.1FM, the Voice of the Midlands from today, and have sufficient cash in hand to pay for it! The dogs and I have had a long walk, Seb is asking for another one, and the rest of the household is fast asleep.

Dinner tonight is a big (family sized) chunky beef pie of which I will eat only a quarter, so there will be plenty for other nights as well.

It is a bit too warm to light the fire tonight so breakfast will be a challenge as I have no porridge made up. I guess I will have to make do with microwave porridge tomorrow.

Apart from cleaning the bank and three cottages, hacking down a bit more grass in the back yard, visiting one of the businesses (well, two of them really) that had been at the meeting the other night (followup to see if we had covered all they wanted to discuss) I have had a pretty quiet day again today. called in for a cuppa over the road, had several cups of coffee from various establishments in town due to energy fall-offs, and walked the dogs for some distance. So a pretty lazy day all up, lol.

A lazy day today - caught up with my various bits of  paperwork, walked the dogs, did a load of washing and cut some firewood. The fire has been lit to dry the washing as it was too windy and rainy to hang it out, but for all that, little rain fell - just light passing showers.

Tomorrow will be busy once more with two cottages to clean as well as the bank and a day of quilting thrown in. Tonight's dinner is a frozen pizza margharita (of the fresh-made variety you get at our local shop on Fridays).

Today was bank first, then down to Bagdad and into the hinterlands. Met some interesting people along the way and had some very interesting conversations. Started to flag a bit around 3, so headed homewards with just a couple of last minute stops to visit houses by the wayside. One I called at not expecting any sort of welcome at all - very establishment. But the person who lived there knew me from my day at the Kempton Market trying to sell diet plans and has promised me her vote.

Then I called in at Jenny's for a cuppa as I was really parched, and so homeward to walk the dogs. Sat and ate my dinner (actually the ham and pickle sandwiches I had had for lunch - as eating and doorknocking are mutually exclusive) and then out to the Oatlands Traders meeting which was a bit of a disappointment as only three traders turned up. But it was a lively discussion and they all agreed to vote for us, so hopefully they will.

Have decided I need a day at home tomorrow if only to catch up on the washing (I have run out of smart shirts to wear) and to have a bit of a sleep in.

Fingers crossed the dogs allow it to happen.

Today was Mangalore and I had no idea how many houses there are tucked up in the back hills, so I ran out of fliers before I was done. Lots more conversations before I headed home to print out more. I have printed off 200 today so that should see me through Bagdad I hope. Some interesting conversations - some people don't know when they are well off complaining about their footpath when it looks perfectly fine to me - not that I said so.

But some really interesting folk including another candidate who failed to identify himself as such, which I found amusing as I had purposely gone to his place to have a chat. But he was quite standoffish so I didn't say that was my reason for being there. Some people are very odd I reckon.

Anyway, home to walk the dogs and I discovered that Shadow does have his limits. To the end of the deer farm is fine, but any further and he starts lagging behind badly. Still walking on the gravel seems to be wearing down his toenails which is a good thing as the sandy soil in these parts fails to do so.

Home now, fliers printed ready for tomorrow, baked cauliflower cheese heating in the oven and enjoying a long evening because daylight savings has finally kicked in!

I met my first maremma today also. Was mildly wary as they are bred to be guard dogs but this one just stood back and woofed occasionally, so all was well. Lots of other friendly dogs too, so my lot got a bit put out when they smelled me on my return.

The horse next door that was stalled in the loosebox has finally been explained. It is a stallion. With two very young fillies in the paddock adjacent to it, and electric fences that are more the sort you use to move stock to another cell for grazing rather than serious electric fences, I can see some unscheduled foals in the not too distant future. He and the fillies were playing making up this afternoon.

Despite my trepidation, the dance turned out to be good fun. It was girls only (the blokes were out the back at the bar patiently waiting for their wives to put in a showing when they came out to get a drink) and the catering was generous. I was asked to draw one of the (several) raffle prizes and pulled out my own ticket, so I chose the koala bear that no-one else wanted, but which is very cute and will be quite comfy in my bear collection. On my departure I was showered with more gifts in the form of various toiletry samples including shampoos and moisturisers, emery boards and a cloth to clean my glasses with, so it was $5.00 well spent. Someone rushed up to introduce herself and offered to distribute the rest of my fliers around that part of town that Eleanor had not covered and numerous people assured me I had their vote.

I went to the bar and ordered a campari and soda (not that i like it but I wanted a pink drink since this was the theme of the night. But they looked blank so I explained what I really wanted and she offered me a mango and raspberry cider instead. Now I don't know about you, but i am not sure how you can make cider without apples, but it was pink and it tasted pleasant (if a little sweet for my palate) and the rest of the stubby came home with me (after checking that the local copper was still in the bar, as open alchohol containers are illegal in cars).

Today I headed down to Bridgewater to stock up on toilet paper and coffee and on my way back started doorknocking my way up the highway. Had some good conversations with most people and most promised me their vote (not that i put much store on this as first they have to remember to vote and then they have to remember who I was). Tomorrow I will head back down and start from where I left off, taking in Bagdad and (hopefully) Kempton. With Daylight Savings starting tonight I will be able to spend another hour on the road and still get home in time to walk the dogs.

Loooong day today with the bank and the Garden then the Menz Shed (to get a hose reel fixed, which is not fixed as one of the plastic fittings is broken irreparably), then back into town to catch up with someone I know from FB who was passing through town. Sat down with him and his partner for a coffee then home to walk the long-suffering dogs. Since I knew I did not have two walks left in me I took Shadow with us on the long walk and we found an echidna and had a few adventures of the moderate kind, then home.

I am currently sitting with my feet in a bowl of hot water with a Body Shop foot spa fizzing in it in the hope they will regain sufficient function to face going back into town to the Pink Dance we have in aid of Breast Cancer. Not that I have any intention of dancing but I thought I could pass my card around a bit and see if I could garner some votes. At this rate it will be over before I get dressed and made up, lol.

Hot cuppa tea to quench my thirst and two very quiet dogs as apparently Shadow's company takes it out of Seb, and a long walk takes it out of Shadow, lol.

The sleepers and fixings arrived punctually but Hugo decided he was not going to work with them today after all (he is still sulky from being told off about his inappropriate remarks). So Syche and I stacked them in the shed which we had just emptied out preparatory to the Open Day. I hope they are gone from there by the time the Open Day happens or I will be very annoyed.

Fairly crazed day today. Started in a reasonably relaxed manner but went downhill rapidly.

First I was off to clean the cottage in town, which went well, but my boss turned up to lay a new rug he had bought which resulted in us moving furniture madly around to fit it to the rug. Then in to the Garden to drop off some stuff, and look for Hugo as I needed him to clarify some info on the order for lumber I was supposed to phone through. He wasn't at home or in the garden so I was at a loss. Then I turned on the radio and discovered his partner was broadcasting, so popped round to the radio station and she phoned him on his mobile for me. Once that was sorted I called the lumber company once again and finalised our order.

Home with a new spark plug which made an amazing difference to the lawnmower, and ran it over the laneway so that at least it is now possible to get to the oval without struggling through the jungle. Then off to collect the wheel barrow from Barry who has repaired it, cuppa with his partner, and back into town to deliver it, then home once more to walk Seb for a loooooong walk. Once that was done I was back into town again to get E's signature on a cheque to pay for the lumber when it is delivered tomorrow morning, and to Bear's place to try to tee up our tables for the Open Day. Of course he was not at home, so I got home once again just in time to light the fire, start cooking dinner then field a phone call to remind me about the teleconference that I am presently participating in. Thank heaven for the mute button on a mobile phone as they are not aware I am typing away as they talk, and neither did they hear me cooking and eating dinner (these teleconferences last forever ....).

Another lovely day at sewing and I completed another star as well as being almost finished on a fourth one. Good to catch up with a few friends who have been away on travels and to eat ourselves senseless on Diana's sensational sandwiches ($3.00 a head and you get to take home the leftovers!).

Received an invite to attend a meeting of the Oatlands Traders Association - a sort of meet-the-candidates invite, so not sure who else will be there or whether there is a dress code or whatever, but have accepted and sent an email to the inviter to check on the rules.

My service has been slowed once more due to over-use, so I have a week of very slow service to deal with. Hopefully I can endure it with patience.

Lit the fire again tonight as it has been a very chilly day. The forecast is actually for a warmish night (getting very confused this Spring) and so I left it till late to light it.

Seb is currently driving me crazy so I may just take him out for a short walk before it gets too dark - daylight savings in a week, so all will be well then.