These are shots that I took earlier this week. I can't remember the names of the first two.




Folklore

The Dark lady

Fragrant Delight


Needless to say, with Les' imminent return I went out and picked all the choicest blooms to adorn the house. The fact that it was raining heavily did not deter me. At least, at the moment is it cool, where we have had very hot weather consistently recently.

Yesterday the temperature reached 33C, so I tried to stay inside, only venturing out in the late afternoon to water the garden. It had started to cool down a bit by then.

I slept well last night and woke about 5.30am. Had my morning coffee, and fiddled around with other things. Then I remembered that I had located one of my CD's that I wanted to listen to so I went into the TV room, set up the CD player, sat down in a comfortable arm chair, closed my eyes and let the music wash over me.....I woke up again 2 hours later.

It only reached 13C today so that I was on the verge of shivering most of the day. However, being heavily overcast and cool it was a good day to work in the garden, so in the afternoon I put in 1 1/2 hours, clearing a lot of weeds from the front, and then later removing thistles and stickyweed from last year's vegie patch. I wanted to get in there to pick what is left of the silver beet, but the stickyweed was in the way. I noticed that a couple of self sown pumpkins are coming up there, so that is good.

I have pics of some more roses today that have just come into bloom.

Just Joey

Freesia

This one I potted 18 months ago and the label has gone missing. It looks rather like Princess de Monaco, except that the petals are a cream colour, and it is like a pink version of double delight'

David Austin rose 'Othello'

This is another I am unable to identify, also potted winter 2008

I think this one is called Folklore

I took these pics on Friday when the rain stopped. Have been too tires to post them, due to lack of sleep.

Mr. Lincoln


Double Delight fully open


2nd bloom on Chicago Peace


2nd bloom on Gold Bunny


Iceberg


Flamingo


Yesterday I needed to go to the local shop and discovered that every garden in the neighbourhood is vibrant with roses. We had a couple of warmer nights this week which made my itch worse and consequently I had little sleep, but the roses loved it, and it was enough to cause a rush of blooms.

E-mails from Les reassure me that he is OK, but missing me badly, as I do him. I am however enjoying being able to concentrate on the projects I'm trying to get done in his absence.

Nick called in this afternoon and discussed the cladding of the shed. He says he hopes to get it done before Les comes home. I wish he had discussed it with Les, as he is providing the money for it, and it makes things complicated for me. My nest egg is shrinking rapidly and I can't be sure I will have enough to cover the materials, etc. However, it will be great to have the job finished so that we can reorganise our living space.

There is so much to be done inside, I just hope I can get the main part of it done, if nothing else. Every drawer I have opened recently also needs to be sorted out.

The bags are packed and waiting to go. Smoky was very vocal, worried that he would be abandoned. I assured him that I was going nowhere, and we would have a 4 week honeymoon together.

Normal service will be resumed shortly.

Sunrise, October 27th


Rosa 'Double Delight' now coming into bloom


Rosa "Chicago Peace' - this is much less colourful than I would have expected, perhaps because the bud was developing during so much rain, it remains to be seen if the next bloom is more true to type


Things are a little frantic here at present, I am reading my friends list but have not had time to comment as yet. Will be back with you after Les leaves for Thailand tomorrow.

and, it reached 25C! Needless to say I did lots of laundry, and also the bedlinen that was washed on Sunday went out on the line for some additional airing. It was lovely to actually get everything really dry. I also vacuumed the house; it is hard getting to it as the noise hurts Les' ears and I can only do it when he is not around. Last night I had only 2 1/2 hours sleep, so I was feeling desperate, but I still accomplished. I slept for 6 hours tonight until the itching woke me.

Les had the swine flu vaccination, and 3 days later had a reaction to it. He was very listless and unwell, didn't eat all day. Fortunately by the next day he was OK. I'm not in a hurry to have it, as I really can't afford the time to be sick at the moment.

Les is getting really hyper as his trip to Thailand approaches. He keeps talking non stop,and I keep asking him if there is anything important to write it down for me, as I will not otherwise remember it. In a way it will be a relief when he goes and I can get stuck into the cleaning and discarding of items no longer needed. I really feel an urge to get rid of STUFF!

Dave came to whipper-snip the front lawn, but only got part of it done before his equipment broke down. I assume it is still being repaired as I would otherwise have hoped to see him while the weather was fine.

Monday, after obtaining the phone no. of the new Water Authority I rang them and asked if they could please replace the stop cock on the street frontage. They actually turned up within 24 hours, so the water is no longer running across the footpath, and the bathroom tap has stopped dripping. (Air in the pipes)

The roses are all racing to be the first to bloom, so I'm hoping that we may even have a few flowering before Les leaves. Otherwise, there will be photos.

So far this year we have had 22 consecutive weekends where it rained. Not an enviable record by any means.

The weather has been warmer than usual, so I managed to get all the laundry dry, and also worked in the garden. I removed 2 barrow loads of weeds on Saturday afternoon, and then went to complete the job yesterday. As I was finishing up I found another cluster of sticky weed, but it started to rain so it will have to wait for another day.

I was in distress yesterday as I had forgotten to take my antihistamine when I went to bed the previous night, so woke up to find myself tearing my skin to shreds. It is very painful at present. The eczema has now spread to the only part of my face that was unaffected, my chin. At least it all matches now, bright red. My feet are the only part of my body free of the rash, and I feel as though I am tempting fate by mentioning it.

I managed to get most of the cleaning done over the weekend, just have to sweep the floors in the back area of the house, and wash the kitchen floor and I'll be done. I hope I can find the time to start sorting stuff that is going to the op shop, I really want to start discarding what is not needed. I know there will be lots of kitchen stuff, as I have had to replace so much that I could not find when needed.

The naturopathic chemist in the city rang to say that my 'Athri Relief' tablets had come in, so I will be collecting them this morning. I've certainly noticed the lack of them, my knees have really hurt when I was going up steps.

And now, to finish, a recent sunrise.

On Friday afternoon I went to town, spent some peaceful time looking at seedlings in the garden dept. of K&D, then on to Chemist Warehouse for anithistamines, then checked out the Spotlight sale, and finally went to Dick Smith and now have Airport Express to be installed. I reached the bus mall just in time to see my bus taking off so went to the Metro Cafe and had some lunch - lasagne with salad, it was really nice and the coffee I had with it revived me a little. I was finished in nice time to catch the next bus. My neighbour Audrey was also on the bus; she is a nice person but I have absolutely nothing in common with her. I managed to make small talk until I got home.

And now, for Tigerweave, another pic of tulips.


Saturday was laundry and cleaning day. The washing when I brought it in from the line was dry and I was able to fold it and put it away without airing, which made a nice change. I was exhausted and went to bed and slept for 2 1/2 hours, just as well as I had only 3 1/2 during the night, before the itch woke me.

Les has been sorting out clothing, etc. and beginning to pack for his trip. The vit. D has made a difference and he is much brighter,in less pain, and not as crabby. He has been hard to live with lately. I'm hoping that by the time he goes away he will be feeling stronger.

The blood tests Les had have shown that he has a severe deficiency of Vitamin D. This is good since it is treatable. He has to take 3 tablets of Vitamin D per day for the next 3 months at least. I googled the condition and found out that it is called Osteo Malacia, which in the elderly causes pain in the bones and muscular weakness, leading to falls. I hope he feels some improvement before he goes away, as it is only 3 weeks now to departure. Bangkok in particular always seems to have some of the pavement dug up, so I'm concerned about the possibility of him falling and really harming himself. (When we were on our honeymoon he slipped and twisted his knee, resulting in my pushing him around in a wheel chair for a week! The hospitals there are very good though.) He has already decided that this time he will have a 'holiday' and not bother about the touristy things. He had planned to at least visit the Grand Palace again, since this is most likely his last visit.

I only got round to the supermarket gig yesterday. It turned out to be one of those shopping expeditions where I needed to restock a lot of stuff, so that I ended up with an overflowing trolley and a bill to match. I was feeling pretty slow in the morning, and had cramps in my leg so didn't rush to go out. Eventually as I was leaving Les came home so I was able to use his bus ticket, which was a Day Tripper. I had only just unpacked and put away the shopping when Nick turned up. He had come to see if the back of the shed had been sufficiently cleared of soil. He ended up staying some time, and we caught up on news.

On Wednesday I was supposed to be having lunch with Trenna and Jan. Jan rang to say that she had pleurisy and laryngitis, so was unable to come. Trenna came round here and we had a light lunch, and then went off to an opportunity shop I had not visited before. I found a lot of very useful stuff - 2 nice soup mugs, 2 plates for Smokey, 3 egg cups, 4 drinking glasses of a style that was popular 40 years ago (they are nice to hold), 4 large storage jars, a T shirt, and 2 botanical prints of roses. Total cost $21!

Today, if I can get my act together I am attending a concert. Tigerweave's husband Eddy is the performer. Hope I can make it. I also need to go to Chemist Warehouse and Dick Smith, if at all possible.

Finally, a sunset pic I took recently.

I rang the Dick Smith shop on Monday morning and explained that the router was not the correct technology for my Mac. This time I evidently got someone who knew what he was talking about, because he said what I need is Airport Express, and has arranged for one to be sent from another of their stores. I'll ring this morning to ask if it has come in yet.

The Seniors Expo was interesting, but unfortunately they had a choir warbling in the background, which made conversation almost impossible. Even though there were certain things I wanted to enquire about I gave up as it was too difficult. The choir was there to promote their agenda. We didn't stay long, and then walked into the city and had lunch. I was home by 1pm, feeling totally exhausted, and collapsed on the bed for an hour, to Smokey's annoyance as he was waiting to be fed.

Tuesday I was going to try and do the food shopping, but decided I was still too tired. I may try again today.

Tuesday evening was pleasant as my grandson was in Hobart and came round to visit with his uncles. Luke seems to have found his course in life, or perhaps just for now, but it is nice to see him motivated and enthusiastic.

Lee, Luke and Peter


Finally, another shot of the garden, taken through the window. The Dutch Iris are starting to bloom now.

Les had to call the plumber back again, as water was still trickling. The plumber had already put in an urgent request to council for them to replace the stop cock on the street frontage. However, this is now handled by the new, and seemingly totally incompetent Water Authority, so who knows how long we may have to wait. The council would have fixed it within 24 hours. The Water Authority has not as yet got it's act together sufficiently to send out bills for water supply. We are all waiting in dread for them to arrive (they should have been sent out in July) as we already know we will be paying more than before. It all seems like a revenue producing government initiative to me, and since this current government does not inspire you probably can't expect much else.

I tried to install the router yesterday, but when I unpacked it and looked at the instructions it said quite clearly that it was for Windows Vista OS. I told the salesperson at Dick Smith I had a Mac. Now I have to go back again!.

Yesterday we went on to Daylight Saving Time. Since I wake up so early anyway it doesn't make much difference to me, but I still resent the imposition of an artificial time. It was actually warm enough to change into light weight clothing and sandals. (Sandals, how my feet love thee!) Because it was likely to be the only fine day this week I worked hard to get 4 loads of laundry done, as well as other fine weather activities like weeding, and was very tired, so slept well, although only for 5 hours. I made a chicken curry for tea, which should have cooked in a little over 1 hour, but somehow on this new stove it took more than twice that time. It tasted good when it was finally ready.

After gazing at bare branches for what seems like forever, in the past 2 weeks we have watched the leaves unfolding on the birch tree. It is now wearing it's 'gown of green'.

It had been my intention to go into town again yesterday but I discovered that I was feeling totally wiped out, so had a quiet day at home, and spent most of it in my dressing gown. A waste really, as it was a lovely sunny day, and I didn't even venture outside until about 4pm.

Les has made soup in the slow cooker and declares himself very satisfied with it. He thinks we should buy a spare ceramic insert for it, since it is the most likely part to be damaged. I suggested that we should simply buy another of the complete appliance while it is half price. I don't want to be the mug who carries it home on the bus though.

Les went to his GP yesterday and was sent for blood tests. The onset and severity of the osteo arthritis in his shoulder and hip joints could be indicative of osteomyelitis. If this proves to be the case there is treatment for it, and he would be in less severe pain.

Today I plan to go into town and purchase the router I need to set up the new printer, which will be located in a different, and unheated room. I will also buy the ink cartridges. Dick Smith currently has an offer where you buy 3 and the 3rd is half price.

Flowering in the front garden today. Have you ever noticed that the first flowers of spring are predominantly yellow? Nature's way of bringing the sunshine back, perhaps.

I bought a mixed collection of tulips, but at first it seemed as though it was a mix of yellow only.

The amazingly green and overgrown lawn.


Les had to call a plumber yesterday to repair a broken water pipe. At first we thought the water was just runoff after all the rain we had recently. However, there is still water trickling over the footpath so it looks as though the repair job was not successful. I think we should give it another day or two as the soil in that area is now terribly wet.

I am trying to work my way back through my Friends List, as I didn't have time last week. If there was anything you really wanted me to read would you let me know please.

We had a lovely visit from Les' daughter Megan last week, which we both thoroughly enjoyed. I get on so well with her that I missed her after she had returned home. She has an interest in Astrology, and I have software for calculating charts, so I was able to send her on her way with charts for all her family, although stupidly I didn't print one for Les, which I'm sure she would like, so now that the printer is replenished with ink I will have to do one and send it snail mail to her.

Proud father Les with Megan.

Even though the weather has been really wild (equinoctial gales which practically brought this island to a standstill - floods, highways closed because of trees blown down, 30,000 homes without electricity, etc.) I have been more productive as the temperatures have been higher and more springlike. I was able to go into town this week and enjoy it as my body was moving more freely. Part of my mission was to restock the ink cartridges for the printer, but I also bought a cheap battery charger as I have been asking Les for some time to recharge the batteries for the compact camera, and he continues to forget to do it. I would rather have my own equipment, as I know where I can find it when needed. As well I bought a head cleaner for the VCR, after we had watched a video together and got a message that the head needed cleaning. I already have this equipment somewhere but haven't sighted it since the move 3 1/2 years ago, like so many other items. We do have a DVD player also, but it is problematical, as it doesn't always want to do what is required of it; I tend to watch DVDs on the computer.

I went in to town again yesterday to buy a slow cooker which was half price, and on the way to the bus stop called in to Dick Smith again to ask about setting up the wireless printer I bought recently. I now have the information I need, and will get on with that project soon. (We have an old PC which is connected to the older printer; the new one will service the Mac). I now need to make another trip to buy a garden fork and new hoses. I am limited in what I can manage to carry, and the price of delivery is outrageous. Today is the beginning of Senior's Week, with free bus travel for the next 7 days, so weather permitting I will be out quite a lot.

I have been weeding the garden when weather permits, but much of it is too wet and heavy at present. However, I will need that garden fork soon. That is something else I brought when we moved, but although I know it is in the shed somewhere it is another item I can't access.

This pic of Smokey sunbathing the other morning. He is back to bouncing around as Mr. Bossy Claws again, so can be considered to be fully recovered.


I went to the chemist on Monday to ask advice on a cream for my face, which has been itchy and dry. It turns out that I have excema there as well. I actually got more helpful advice from the chemist than the dermatologist. I now have a new brand of sorbolene which has olive oil mixed with it. This is relieving the itchiness of my oh so dry skin. I also came away with a different brand of antihistamine which is more helpful, and doesn't turn me into a zombie, plus a cortisone cream that is safe to apply to my face. I'm actually feeling more cheerful, even though I still continue to wake through the night. Even though my distressed skin continues to peel I am hopeful that it will be more normal within 2 weeks.

Had an exhausting couple of days conveying Smokey to the vet, and then bringing him home again the following day. He had lost his dewclaw and an abcess had developed. He was admitted to the vet hospital in the next suburb, and had surgery the same day, stayed in overnight on an intravenous drip, and was then discharged about midday. The bill made a big dent in my emergency fund, but that is what it is for. I was impressed by both the vets and their practice. They obviously love animals and that was good to see. While I was in the waiting room a small silky terrier was waiting. As soon the door of the consulting room opened she raced straight in to the arms of the female vet for a happy reunion.

Not only was I impressed by the vet's professionalism, but also that I was kept informed at all stages, so that I knew when Smokey had come out of surgery and how he was progressing. There was also some concern about one of his kidneys; I have to take him back in 3 weeks time for another blood test to see if he is back to normal.

The building the practice is housed in has paintings of animals all round the exterior (it is on a corner) and when I entered it I discovered there are also more paintings inside. I have been meaning to take photos and post them, but this was not the time as I was too worried about Smoke. However, when Les goes off to Thailand and I am on 'holiday' I will do so.

I'm happy to say that after a day at home Smokey is back to his normal happy self, I wish I could say the same about myself. I've lost 3 days I planned to spend on a big tidy up and clean up, so I'm just going to have to do what I can before Megan arrives. I guess as long as the kitchen, bathroom, toilet and guest room are clean that will have to do, as I don't think I have the time or energy to do much more. Osteo-arthritis prevents me from doing more than the absolute minimum during the cold weather, and parts of the house are squalid at present. Mind you, Les sees no need to offer to get a cleaner in to do the job, and even when the back area of the house is as clean as I can make it it still looks dreadful. I'll be glad when the floor is replaced in the hall and bathroom. This will be the project for 1910 I think, but first the shed has to be reclad so that the furniture in the hall can be stored while the floor is done. Nick will be doing this as we are now back on speaking terms. I hate to think how long it might take.

We have had a man doing more garden work for us, mainly removing the soil that had built up against the side of the shed, so that work can commence there. In the meantime we have had more rain, more sun, the weeds are growing, and I won't have time to work in the garden for at least another week.

I've been spending as much time as I can manage working in the garden. Now that the ivy has been removed many other weeds have taken the opportunity to germinate, and I want to eliminate them before they run to seed if at all possible. On Saturday I filled the wheelbarrow 3 times, and once on Sunday (I was feeling tired by then).

On Friday afternoon I went to the Spring Flower Show at the Town Hall. It didn't really offer much in the way of photo opportunities, but I'll post a couple of pics so you get the general idea.

Long tables with daffodils standing in narrow bottles


This daffodil was unusual


The camellia blossoms were spread out on a table - this was about a third of them


I was not there for long; I actually went to buy plants for the garden as they have items for sale in an adjoining room. I bought 2 unusual blue bell plants (the bloom is curly like a hyacinth), also an iris, and dahlia tubers.

My neighbour's gardens are looking good....

Magnolia


Peony Rose


and finally....my first rose of the season "Gold Bunny'.


With the imminent visit of Les' daughter Megan he finally called in a man to remove the building rubbish which has been lying in the driveway for some time. Tomorrow more will be going to the tip. It is a good feeling to have the garden area looking tidier, now if I can just achieve the same miracle with the house.........

Last week the kitchen floor was resurfaced and then the floor covering was laid. The transformation was amazing. For a few days we were stunned by the WOW factor, and it is still an enormous pleasure to go in there. I've been sick with a virus, so I'm glad I had the flu shot earlier in the year, as it was more of an inconvenience than full on ill. However, because I wasn't feeling well I got slack about treating the eczema as instructed, so that it is a bit of a mess at present, although responding to more care.

August was the wettest since records have been kept, 105 years. Coming after the wettest June for 50 years I'm glad it is over, and perhaps the weather will improve. We have had 3 warm days in a row, the last 2 were 19C although it didn't feel like it as the wind was blowing off snow on the mountain and the chill factor was considerable. I managed to catch up on the washing, and even washed some new towels that were non-urgent, but will be needed when Les' daughter visits in 3 weeks time. By the way, the drought has been declared over, and the farmers are happy indeed, as the dams and rivers overflow, and a good season is assured.

I took a few shots of the kitchen yesterday when the sun was shining, and I will post some although I am not totally happy with them, I don't have a wide angle lens so just had to do what I could.

This is the dining section. The table has 4 chairs, but at present we have just brought 2 of them out. I am grateful that the previous owners built this room with plenty of windows, it was one of the features that appealed to me when we inspected the house. Parts of this house have a severe lack of light. It was a treat to sit here last Sunday and do the crossword. I used to wonder if I was going blind, but the living-room tends to be dark.

This is the flooring. It has the look of a timber floor that is old and worn. We thought it suited the house, which is also old, and we are not keen on a high gloss surface.

We had additional shelving installed under some of the cupboards, to keep things we use all the time where we could easily reach them.

Another view..

We have had two wonderful fine and warm days. I stopped being stiff and was able to move normally, which was energising, and as a result I achieved a much heavier work load without effort. Apart from catching up on the laundry, and cleaning the house, I also managed to do a lot of weeding. The garden up at the top at the back has been cleared of ivy, and is now producing thistles and stickyweed. I spent a lot of time removing both, but still have far to go. Would work out there at night, but can't in the dark. However, the days are getting longer.

The past two days it looked as though it had been snowing, but the 'snow' was plum blossom drifting over from next door.




This is plum blossom in our garden, courtesy of a plum stone dropped by a bird.


We have now returned to average temps of 15C, not too bad considering it has hovered around 9 or 10 for a long time.

Last Saturday was 15C so I was able to get out into the garden and weed one rose bed, then spread sheep manure around all the roses. Since then it has rained, gently but steadily at first, then heavily, but now after 5 days it is clearing, thank goodness. The ground is so saturated that there is at least 1 inch of water sitting on top, as the water slowly drains down the hill behind us.

Many roads around Tasmania are closed due to flooding, with the extra warning that motorists should not try to drive through the floodwaters, as they may be deeper than expected. The last time we had weather like this was about 50 years ago, which makes me wonder if it is cyclical rather than due to climate change.

This winter has been really hard to bear, and I think the difference is that usually we have cold weather, but with sunny days; this time we have had a great deal of wet weather, and a lack of sun. Everyone is commenting on it.

I have tried to do some clearing up in the house to pass the time, but I am so stiff with osteo-arthritis that I decided to put it on hold until the spring comes, it is just too hard to cope with. Les has booked his fares to and from Thailand, and I am trying not to fall into the trap of thinking to put all the cleaning on hold until he is gone, as I will not otherwise have any holiday time for myself.

Tomorrow and Saturday I will be catching up on the laundry, and hopefully inspecting the roses. Already we can see that some of the cuttings are putting out leaves. While the weather was drier I was doing some weeding in the garden at the top of the block each time I went up to the compost heap. There are thistles and sticky weed coming up in wild abandon and I need to deal with the problem while the soil is moist, and before they get out of control. In the meantime the weeds in one of the rose beds are also growing madly.


A spring bulb flowering at the top of the back garden


Our newest addition to the garden; when filled with soil it will be our vegie patch. Much easier to care for than one at ground level.


My little helper, following me back from my inspection earlier today.

The flowering currant has been in bloom since early July, but it is now putting out small leaves so the flowers will be finished soon. A shame, since it has a delightful perfume in warmer weather.

The week just gone was busy, with a doctor's appointment Monday, Wednesday the kitchen was measured for flooring, Friday was food shopping, and in between I did the usual household tasks, cleaning, cooking, laundry, gardening, etc. I was exhausted by Friday, and slept until 10.30am Saturday. I have actually been sleeping well all week. I've been going to bed very late every night in order to be as cold as possible when I finally slip in between the sheets. However, tonight it didn't work for me. In the meantime the eczema is spreading into new areas, although my forearms seem to be clearing (I hope!).

The flooring will be a 2 day job, the first day we have to move the frig's out and the floor will be covered with a layer of filler to give a smooth level surface. The following day the flooring will be laid. The quote for all this is $1,237.00 which doesn't seem too bad since the vinyl itself (Gerflor) costs $129 metre. Luckily when we looked through the sample books there was only one that we both liked, and it was in fact the only one at all that appealed. The vinyl has to be ordered in from Germany so it will be at least a month before all this happens. The flooring has a textile backing, which hopefully will make it more resilient to walk on, and warmer. Even now, with the blinds finally installed the kitchen is several degrees warmer, so when I finally make the thermally backed curtains it should be dramatically improved.

We have had 2 builders come into quote on re-cladding the shed. The first one left saying that he would ring with a quote within 2 days, not a word since. There was a repeat of this on Thursday, with the same result. The only one who gave a straight answer was Neil, who said it was too big a job for him, and he thought we would be better off to knock it down and build a new one. As it is, I think this job is well and truly on the backburner now, and we will get the hall floor replaced first.

I made a new friend on Monday when we introduced ourselves at the bus stop. We got on like a house on fire so I hope we will keep in touch. We actually came home on the same bus as well, so had a further opportunity to chat.

Not a lot else happening, but we spent some time today working out which pieces of furniture have to be got rid of. Speaking of furniture, when I passed the 2nd hand shop the table and chairs I commented on were still there, but having a careful look at them I didn't think that they were that great, and the price was $349.00. No way. I have a lovely solid trestle table with 4 chairs which I bought last year for $120. It will take up more room. but it won't fall apart either.