So Long 2018

What a year. A bit of a pig really, with Lib's cancer and treatment, but as I said to my niece Annie's husband Brett 20 years ago as he contemplated going into self employment, and which he reminded me of on Christmas Day, "Don't expect it to be beer and skittles all the time."

Brett has been successful in business, window tinting cars. He's a one man band in the cut throat car/ after sales business, but by doing it well and being brave, reliable and determined he has prospered. He left school early and went out and had a go, doing a number of jobs before finding a tinter boss who taught him the skills. Good luck to him.

Christmas Day was good, lunch enjoyed at the farm, and the evening meal of roast turkey at home, Lib, me, Gord and Rob. Gord put on his Vincent Price Dr Phibes movie which was most amusing.

Boxing Day was restful, I went to the farm after picking elderflowers in the creek in Emerald for the herb people, then did half an hour or so of whippering long grass and then watering young stuff. It was warm to hot, Christmas Boxing Day and the next couple mid 30'sC.

Morning of the 27th I rang Jax Tyres in Bayswater, where Gord got new tyres recently, to get a  price to compare with two I had got in Emerald and Monbulk just before Christmas, having noticed a front tyre had scrubbed out badly on the Kangoo. They had a special on, 4 tyres for the price of 3, which came out with alignment and balancing at $60 below the Emerald price and $200 below the Monbulk price. They could do me that afternoon so with no customers of my own to have to pick for I got the job done and shopped at the FTG Aldi on the way home,watering again at the farm as it was quite hot still.

Friday I enjoyed a lovely quiet morning at home then did a little bit of sowing at the farm, dill coriander and calendulas, then watered, and tied up tomatoes. I don't know what happened to my earlier efforts to grow dill and cori in the spring. They came up strongly, along with some allissym, then progressively yellowed off and disappeared. It was not for lack of water. I figured there was some virus or something in the soil, perhaps introduced by bought straw mulch I had put there previously. All my garlic died off too, just rotted. Never have I seen that before. Sure I have failure growing things from seed now and again, but always there's explanation such they dried out or weeds beat me or slugs and snails, but this was weird. They got to about an inch high then just stopped, yellowing and diminishing till gone completely. I have sowed in the same place again but as of Friday nothing had yet shot. We had light rain Saturday night, now it's getting hot again I think I can rely on Jod to water till I go back which may be tomorrow.

It has been the best break from work at this time of the year that I can remember. Our main wholesaler has said he's not coming till Wednesday and only wants a small amount, and the herb people are not coming till Wednesday too. Other customers are taking a longer break so it has been blissfully restful, allowing me to catch up on some whippering, weeding and cutting back at home, but leisurely at comfort zone pace. I've sowed some broccolli and silverbeet seed hopeful for planting out seedling late Jan early Feb. Good fun stuff.

I didn't take my methotrexate medication last week, so that I could indulge in wine and other good cheer between Christmas and today, which I have most enjoyed. Back to good habits today, no grog till Friday night, but I'm tempted to stay off the medication and see how I go with just the weekly injection.

Good news is the painful back I have been suffering for the past month has eased. On Saturday night I was hot in bed and fitfully dreaming I think lying with my right leg outside the bed. I semi woke up with the early morning cooling and lifted my leg back into the bed to get under the sheet. As I did I was aware of a big clunk in my lower back towards the left hip which was where most of the pain had been. Since then I have improved dramatically. Maybe the exercises I was doing and Gord's massaging loosened things up and the semi sleep manoevre did the trick. I'm still being careful as it's still a bit tender and I aim to keep up the exercises people have suggested.

Happy New Year to you. I bought a thunder jacket for Pip in preparation for the fireworks, and a cat box to lock her in if necessary, as she likes to hide. The thunder jacket had a bit of a workout on the weekend and it seemed to work but it was not big thunder.