Tuesday, January 31, 2012
31 years married
Today is our 31st wedding anniversary. I had to this post up before midnight.
Other news- I found Myrtle's nest on the weekend , with 6 eggs in it. And today I found Henny's with 13 eggs, so the mystery is now longer mystery ie where are the eggs. Oh, and there's no honey on the bees.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Fallible and Fragile
Last Friday week I fell out of a beech tree landing flat, face down. It was my friend Jane's tree, a large, mature tree I've picked foliage from most years of the last twenty. Jane, an elderly lady in her eighties was entertaining a visitor for afternoon tea and they saw me plummet from the tree and rushed out to see if I was alright. They found me with the wind knocked out of me and blood coming from my nose and mouth. My nose hit the ground and my teeth had torn the lip inside the mouth.
I have not felt well since with a chest of sore ribs front and back and some probably related neck soreness/stiffness. Indeed I have not felt energetic enough to do my morning walks knowing I had to continue working each day with the pain in the the ribs slowing and tiring me easily. I can only thank my good luck to not have broken an arm, leg or shoulder or worse and I can report that I'm now quite well recovered though I expect the ribs to be sore for some time yet. I did the morning walk today for the first time since the incident and enjoyed it immensely, waving to my catholic friends going into church, and chatting to Stevie and Annie whom I met along the way.
Last Tuesday I came down with some sort of gastro virus, which remains with me yet and made the working week extra tough coping with the the ribs and general debilitation from the gastro. Yesterday I made a dash to the chemist in Cockatoo to catch him before he shut at 12 midday to get some 'Gastro Stop'. I was conscious of keeping under the speed limit through the town but forgot about it departing and got booked for doing 77kph outside Clappo's garage. There was a couple of cops in a black Commodore station wagon with a radar gun hiding just before the Ure Rd. corner and the light started flashing as I got there. An expensive mornings shopping it turned out to be when the $244 fine is factored in and the 3 points I lose. The sad thing is that we have lived in Gembrook for over thirty years and for the first 28 years or perhaps more the speed limit there was 80kph. Old habits die hard, and it is only in the last year or so that our Gembrook Rds are now saturated with traffic branch police from Pakenham in all manner of ruses including irridescent bright green utes and innovative camera concealment tactics. A sad state of affairs, after a quiet existence here for so long, and a sure reason why I'll not be unhappy to leave this town when the time comes. It has been spoilt by increased traffic and bureacratic interference on many fronts, more of which I'll write about on another day, the suburbanization of our little town.
It has done nothing but strengthen my resolve to "not let the bastards beat me." I've set about retrieving my $244 by cancelling my Weekend Australian subscription and charities and telemarketers will find me a more difficult prey. I'm about to continue cleaning out my shed and setting up the extactor and the tanks to start after a bit of honey. There'll be less given away and the price goes up. This month has been a realization of my fallibility and fragility but will leave me with a hard edge.
So I copped a punch or two I didn't see coming in the first round of 2012 and went to the canvass, but I bounce straight up without taking a count, and expect to finish the round full of fight. I landed a couple myself, we learned on Jan 6 when our first electricity bill arrived since our solar system installation that we'd been approved for the the premium buy back rate. And our carbon emissions reduced from 1.7 tonnes to 0.4 tonnes on the same period last year. That makes me happy.
I have not felt well since with a chest of sore ribs front and back and some probably related neck soreness/stiffness. Indeed I have not felt energetic enough to do my morning walks knowing I had to continue working each day with the pain in the the ribs slowing and tiring me easily. I can only thank my good luck to not have broken an arm, leg or shoulder or worse and I can report that I'm now quite well recovered though I expect the ribs to be sore for some time yet. I did the morning walk today for the first time since the incident and enjoyed it immensely, waving to my catholic friends going into church, and chatting to Stevie and Annie whom I met along the way.
Last Tuesday I came down with some sort of gastro virus, which remains with me yet and made the working week extra tough coping with the the ribs and general debilitation from the gastro. Yesterday I made a dash to the chemist in Cockatoo to catch him before he shut at 12 midday to get some 'Gastro Stop'. I was conscious of keeping under the speed limit through the town but forgot about it departing and got booked for doing 77kph outside Clappo's garage. There was a couple of cops in a black Commodore station wagon with a radar gun hiding just before the Ure Rd. corner and the light started flashing as I got there. An expensive mornings shopping it turned out to be when the $244 fine is factored in and the 3 points I lose. The sad thing is that we have lived in Gembrook for over thirty years and for the first 28 years or perhaps more the speed limit there was 80kph. Old habits die hard, and it is only in the last year or so that our Gembrook Rds are now saturated with traffic branch police from Pakenham in all manner of ruses including irridescent bright green utes and innovative camera concealment tactics. A sad state of affairs, after a quiet existence here for so long, and a sure reason why I'll not be unhappy to leave this town when the time comes. It has been spoilt by increased traffic and bureacratic interference on many fronts, more of which I'll write about on another day, the suburbanization of our little town.
It has done nothing but strengthen my resolve to "not let the bastards beat me." I've set about retrieving my $244 by cancelling my Weekend Australian subscription and charities and telemarketers will find me a more difficult prey. I'm about to continue cleaning out my shed and setting up the extactor and the tanks to start after a bit of honey. There'll be less given away and the price goes up. This month has been a realization of my fallibility and fragility but will leave me with a hard edge.
So I copped a punch or two I didn't see coming in the first round of 2012 and went to the canvass, but I bounce straight up without taking a count, and expect to finish the round full of fight. I landed a couple myself, we learned on Jan 6 when our first electricity bill arrived since our solar system installation that we'd been approved for the the premium buy back rate. And our carbon emissions reduced from 1.7 tonnes to 0.4 tonnes on the same period last year. That makes me happy.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Fifty Bucks is Fifty Bucks
It was with some alarm that I opened the mail yesterday to find a renewal notice for Lib's car insurance saying that the premium payment was overdue and must be paid immediately, and that the car was currently uninsured. I don't recall the first notice at all, it must have slipped by me pre Christmas.
I didn't have time to act straight away, but I rang another company at about 5.30pm looking for a quote for comparison, being mindful also that Lib was now home so there was little risk till the morning of the car being damaged before I could sort out new cover.
The company I rang is based in Sydney, Real Insurance, and I thought they'd be worth a try as they were cheaper when I shopped around last year for cover for Ian's Subaru, Lib's old car, which is still with us here in Gembrook and available for our use. I took it to Pakenham yesterday to drop some documents to the council and do some shopping. After a wait of 5 minutes listening to music a girl spoke to me apologizing for the delay and explaining their office worked till 8pm so she would take my details and someone would ring me back at a time that suited me if they could.
I said 7.30pm and gave her my home phone no. The phone duly rang a little after 7.30pm, just before Lib was to dish our Atlantic salmon that I'd bought on the way home, much to her irritation. The young man took all details of the car and came up with annual premium $53 cheaper than AAMI which could be paid monthly on credit card in 12 equal instalments with no penalty for the monthly choice over one annual payment, the same deal I'd taken on the Subaru. It makes sense to me.
So I grabbed it and we finished up quickly without any spoilage of the meal. I have two more cars covered by AAMI, my carryvan and Meredith's Ignis and as they fall due I'll try Real Ins too. Fifty bucks is fifty bucks, and it may as well stay with us. I had said the same thing recently when I wrestled with the farmpak insurance on the farm, for the house and sheds. The premium jumped from $2800 to $4200 with no explanation so I spent quite a bit of time seeking alternatives. One came in at $3450, I waited a bit another came in at $3250 by email after some delay. I rang and accepted that over the phone, the broker said he'd send me the paperwork. The very next day another one came in by email at $3200 so I rang and accepted that. Fifty bucks is fifty bucks.
The next morning I emailed the broker who offered $3250 saying I was not proceeding. The phone rang ten minutes later, it was he. "Why not", he asked. I told him a cheaper price had come in, different broker, same insuring company. "How much cheaper," he asked.
I wasn't going to tell him so I said, "Three figures woud cover it." He then offered a premium of $3030 so I grabbed that and rang the other broker saying I was not proceeding. She was fine about it. So I saved over $1000 on the original gouge but the insurance still costs about 7% above last year's.
Also yesterday we received invoice for our water diverting licence and entitlement fee, $577, increased 15% from $502 last year. We used no water last year because of all the rain, (you pay for it whether you use it or not or lose the licence), and are unlikely to this year also as it is pouring rain outside and our recently acquired tanks are full. We installed tanks because we weren't permitted to use the creek water the two years previous because stream flows were so low. They waived payment in those years. We have to pay now because if you lose the licence you wouldn't get another one. I'm intending to look into possibility of selling the water, 14 megalitres, but who wants water in wet years.
Speaking of rain, this lot is accompanied by a cold snap and a thunderstorm and strong wind. The dogs are peculiar and I missed my walk choosing to do this post instead. The radio news just said squalls of 100kph winds are expected in tha Dandenongs. I'll have to go out and pick later but i have some slack this morning so I'm off to cook up some eggs.
I didn't have time to act straight away, but I rang another company at about 5.30pm looking for a quote for comparison, being mindful also that Lib was now home so there was little risk till the morning of the car being damaged before I could sort out new cover.
The company I rang is based in Sydney, Real Insurance, and I thought they'd be worth a try as they were cheaper when I shopped around last year for cover for Ian's Subaru, Lib's old car, which is still with us here in Gembrook and available for our use. I took it to Pakenham yesterday to drop some documents to the council and do some shopping. After a wait of 5 minutes listening to music a girl spoke to me apologizing for the delay and explaining their office worked till 8pm so she would take my details and someone would ring me back at a time that suited me if they could.
I said 7.30pm and gave her my home phone no. The phone duly rang a little after 7.30pm, just before Lib was to dish our Atlantic salmon that I'd bought on the way home, much to her irritation. The young man took all details of the car and came up with annual premium $53 cheaper than AAMI which could be paid monthly on credit card in 12 equal instalments with no penalty for the monthly choice over one annual payment, the same deal I'd taken on the Subaru. It makes sense to me.
So I grabbed it and we finished up quickly without any spoilage of the meal. I have two more cars covered by AAMI, my carryvan and Meredith's Ignis and as they fall due I'll try Real Ins too. Fifty bucks is fifty bucks, and it may as well stay with us. I had said the same thing recently when I wrestled with the farmpak insurance on the farm, for the house and sheds. The premium jumped from $2800 to $4200 with no explanation so I spent quite a bit of time seeking alternatives. One came in at $3450, I waited a bit another came in at $3250 by email after some delay. I rang and accepted that over the phone, the broker said he'd send me the paperwork. The very next day another one came in by email at $3200 so I rang and accepted that. Fifty bucks is fifty bucks.
The next morning I emailed the broker who offered $3250 saying I was not proceeding. The phone rang ten minutes later, it was he. "Why not", he asked. I told him a cheaper price had come in, different broker, same insuring company. "How much cheaper," he asked.
I wasn't going to tell him so I said, "Three figures woud cover it." He then offered a premium of $3030 so I grabbed that and rang the other broker saying I was not proceeding. She was fine about it. So I saved over $1000 on the original gouge but the insurance still costs about 7% above last year's.
Also yesterday we received invoice for our water diverting licence and entitlement fee, $577, increased 15% from $502 last year. We used no water last year because of all the rain, (you pay for it whether you use it or not or lose the licence), and are unlikely to this year also as it is pouring rain outside and our recently acquired tanks are full. We installed tanks because we weren't permitted to use the creek water the two years previous because stream flows were so low. They waived payment in those years. We have to pay now because if you lose the licence you wouldn't get another one. I'm intending to look into possibility of selling the water, 14 megalitres, but who wants water in wet years.
Speaking of rain, this lot is accompanied by a cold snap and a thunderstorm and strong wind. The dogs are peculiar and I missed my walk choosing to do this post instead. The radio news just said squalls of 100kph winds are expected in tha Dandenongs. I'll have to go out and pick later but i have some slack this morning so I'm off to cook up some eggs.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
The Bell Rings
Here we are on 4 Jan, it's 7.55am as I write, a storm cell is causing intermittent torrential rain, lightning and crashing thunder. The dogs are terrified and are inside with me, right at my feet. It's prudent for me to forget the morning walk.
Round one of my 2012 fight is well and truly underway. I'll take a month at a time, a twelve rounder. The bell went off on New Year's day with me on roster duty in the Emerald museum. Beryl accompanied me, as she accompanies the rostered person every Sunday if she can, whoever is on roster. Beryl is elderly and unwilling to be in the open museum by herself, understandably, so our policy is for two people to be in attendance. Dennis (treasurer) visited to discuss matters park and museum. June (secretary)came with her old school friend Roland Betheras who grew up at 'Tivoli', a Clematis farm of note in earlier times.
Roland, whose son Rupert played football for Collingwood in fairly recent times, reminisced about his own footballing days after a quick tour of the museum. He said he played in the 1955 Emerald premiership team as a seventeen year old, after being promoted to the seniors as a sixteen year old with two others by coach David Cairns whom he said was a marvellous footballer. The coach was criticized picking such young fellows but he stuck to his guns. In the grand final against Monbulk Roland was given the job at centre half forward to play on the oppositions star player 'Sennitt', a huge man who played centre half back and was a fabulous mark and could kick to the Main Rd. ('Sennitt' was from the Sennitt's Ice Cream family at The Patch, which was a major ice cream company distrubuting all over Victoria. My friend Ida Pullar's husband Allan drove a delivery truck for 'Sennitts' for much of his working life and Ida said they treated Allan like one of the family and were wonderful to work for. I think they sold out to 'Streets' in the 1960's.)
Roland reckons he was BOG in the grand final, without having a kick before half time. His instructions were to lead one way to take Sennitt away from the ball as the kicker played the opposite flank. It took Monbulk till half time to catch on to what was happening but by then Emerald was eight goals up and held on to win.
Roland has three sons who are artists, including Rupert. He says they got their talent from their mother. He lives at Sommers now but it made my New Year's Day a rewarding one for me meet him and hear his stories if briefly. There was an interesting old man nicknamed the 'Scrub Turkey' who figured comically and managed to have himself innebriated and locked up regularly. If anything went missing 'Scrub Turkey' was said to be responsible. Once at the football club after training when they'd raffle a dozen bottles of beer somebody bought a ticket for Scrub and it won. They found Scrub asleep at the station and put the box of bottles next to him. The police came along and nicked Scrub thinking he must have pinched the bottles.
On Monday the forecast was for 40C. I picked some abutilons at Pepsi's, pansies and cornflowers at Hannah's for the restaurants, and went to the farm about lunchtime. I whippy snipped grass for a couple of hours in the steep bottom paddock, heat or no heat, determined not to lose the momentum I'd built on the previous Friday and Saturday. Monday night was stinking hot, we slept with an electric fan blowing on us all night.
Tuesday, yesterday, was hot again. I had an order from Foxie for thirty bunches of copper beech and ten green. Gord and I mowed at Hannah's in the morning. Hannah left on about Dec 20 for Cairns to be with her daughter for Christmas and is due back today, I didn't want her to come back to long grass everywhere. After lunch I climbed a tree to cut copper beech with Gord underneath to quickly get it in the shade if it fell in the hot sun. We were working bunching it when Shane came to pick up Australian Herb Supplies order and he said he wanted 30 copper beech for today so it was back up the tree again to do it then to give me some breathing space so I can pick restaurant flowers comfortably and maybe call in on my friend Maria this afternoon and cut some grass for her as I said I would if I could.
I've arranged to interview Leo Buckley tomorrow for my first 'Signpost' article for 2012 which is due next week, and my mind is ticking over on NHPEM business which I need to get activated this month. So the first round is fast furious and somehow I don't think I've had long enough between bouts.
Round one of my 2012 fight is well and truly underway. I'll take a month at a time, a twelve rounder. The bell went off on New Year's day with me on roster duty in the Emerald museum. Beryl accompanied me, as she accompanies the rostered person every Sunday if she can, whoever is on roster. Beryl is elderly and unwilling to be in the open museum by herself, understandably, so our policy is for two people to be in attendance. Dennis (treasurer) visited to discuss matters park and museum. June (secretary)came with her old school friend Roland Betheras who grew up at 'Tivoli', a Clematis farm of note in earlier times.
Roland, whose son Rupert played football for Collingwood in fairly recent times, reminisced about his own footballing days after a quick tour of the museum. He said he played in the 1955 Emerald premiership team as a seventeen year old, after being promoted to the seniors as a sixteen year old with two others by coach David Cairns whom he said was a marvellous footballer. The coach was criticized picking such young fellows but he stuck to his guns. In the grand final against Monbulk Roland was given the job at centre half forward to play on the oppositions star player 'Sennitt', a huge man who played centre half back and was a fabulous mark and could kick to the Main Rd. ('Sennitt' was from the Sennitt's Ice Cream family at The Patch, which was a major ice cream company distrubuting all over Victoria. My friend Ida Pullar's husband Allan drove a delivery truck for 'Sennitts' for much of his working life and Ida said they treated Allan like one of the family and were wonderful to work for. I think they sold out to 'Streets' in the 1960's.)
Roland reckons he was BOG in the grand final, without having a kick before half time. His instructions were to lead one way to take Sennitt away from the ball as the kicker played the opposite flank. It took Monbulk till half time to catch on to what was happening but by then Emerald was eight goals up and held on to win.
Roland has three sons who are artists, including Rupert. He says they got their talent from their mother. He lives at Sommers now but it made my New Year's Day a rewarding one for me meet him and hear his stories if briefly. There was an interesting old man nicknamed the 'Scrub Turkey' who figured comically and managed to have himself innebriated and locked up regularly. If anything went missing 'Scrub Turkey' was said to be responsible. Once at the football club after training when they'd raffle a dozen bottles of beer somebody bought a ticket for Scrub and it won. They found Scrub asleep at the station and put the box of bottles next to him. The police came along and nicked Scrub thinking he must have pinched the bottles.
On Monday the forecast was for 40C. I picked some abutilons at Pepsi's, pansies and cornflowers at Hannah's for the restaurants, and went to the farm about lunchtime. I whippy snipped grass for a couple of hours in the steep bottom paddock, heat or no heat, determined not to lose the momentum I'd built on the previous Friday and Saturday. Monday night was stinking hot, we slept with an electric fan blowing on us all night.
Tuesday, yesterday, was hot again. I had an order from Foxie for thirty bunches of copper beech and ten green. Gord and I mowed at Hannah's in the morning. Hannah left on about Dec 20 for Cairns to be with her daughter for Christmas and is due back today, I didn't want her to come back to long grass everywhere. After lunch I climbed a tree to cut copper beech with Gord underneath to quickly get it in the shade if it fell in the hot sun. We were working bunching it when Shane came to pick up Australian Herb Supplies order and he said he wanted 30 copper beech for today so it was back up the tree again to do it then to give me some breathing space so I can pick restaurant flowers comfortably and maybe call in on my friend Maria this afternoon and cut some grass for her as I said I would if I could.
I've arranged to interview Leo Buckley tomorrow for my first 'Signpost' article for 2012 which is due next week, and my mind is ticking over on NHPEM business which I need to get activated this month. So the first round is fast furious and somehow I don't think I've had long enough between bouts.
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