Thursday, February 26, 2009

Long time no speak!

It's been awhile!!! I've just been ridiculously busy/tired/injured of late.

It was my (and mums) birthday on Monday; it was a very nice one thankyouverymuch. Spent time with family, then friends, then the actual day was spent at home with the kids. Just a really nice way to celebrate.

My injury consists of a twisted quad (possibly a tear) and a twisted hamstring. Being unable to walk without electric shocks is something I will never take for granted again. I am fixed now; but the muscle itself is ridiculously sore. I have to suck it up in a way, because the muscle is extremely tender. I feel 110% better than I did though. I regularly have to lay flat on my back and stretch it all out; but the pain in getting down / up is just so so bad. Like I have done about 35,000 sit ups with my leg.

My darling husband has thrown out my medication. It's only over the counter stuff, but it is helping enormously. Well, it was. I've looked through the outside rubbish bin and haven't found it - I hope it will be sitting somewhere stupid. (*Thought* - maybe it's in the new rubbish bag he put in the kitchen last night!!!)

The vegie patch has all been pulled out and is ready for Winter. It's different this time, but it's still very functional (probably even more so). I look forward to planting.

My darling big boy got a 'student of the week' award this week at school - the look on his face was just priceless. He was so proud!!

That's pretty much it for the minute; I have to hop around and get these kids ready - and everything is taking about 3 times longer than it ever has before!!

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Chasing tails

I feel so completely and utterly drained. The saying 'getting ahead of the 8 ball' - heck, I'm barely racking and stacking the balls full stop!!

I can't seem to catch up on anything. I'm exhausted; which I am sure are due to the changes going on, the last fortnight and everything else that goes on. I'll get there, I always do.

Our new tank came yesterday. This week I am pulling apart the vegie patch and we're putting the tank in behind the shed. It's nearly time to start thinking about Winter Vegies, so I really want to have the soil ready for them to start.

It's going to be a different looking patch to the previous; mostly because of room. But, also, experience has taught me a great deal with regards to what to put where, and what would work better where.

I've also gone back to school of a Friday; doing an Autocad drafting course for work. Of course, it will assist in all types of drafting - but primarily electrical drafting at this point. It's nice to have something new to focus on; but Friday nights I'm wiped out!

Riley is loving school. And he's doing so very well. He had his prep entry assessment last week and is reading well and above his station - I am hoping he has inherited (if not, he'll accumulate) my love of reading. Writing....well, all I'll say is that doctors write horribly!!

Connor is settled right into kinder; he started back at swimming too, and has already skipped a class there. He just loves the water.

Smoky haze is still hanging around. They have been backburning not far from here for the last week or so; and there are still fires in Kinglake. But, hopefully, in the next few weeks, that all starts to settle down a little and people can start to breathe a little easier. I feel dreadfully sorry for those hard of breathing at the minute; it must be so awful trying to breathe through it!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Shatter that glass house....

I have come here a number of times in an attempt to update, but just haven't found the words.

What's happened this week has changed me forever. It sounds stupid and it sounds cliche; but these fires happened close by here.

For years, numerous people in the shire have been wanting, no screaming, for backburning. Because, being where we are; it's just not safe to have such fuel loads in such hard to get to places. It's not rocket science.

We have had drought here now for 12 years. In a shire where it's illegal to cut down any sort of tree, remove any sort of grass, or take away any dropped wood; surely, surely someone in authority was awake to what was going to happen.

Introduce the exact receipe for a firestorm - add the fuel load that was there; and bam. Up to 300 people gone. Maybe more. 8-10 towns either severely destroyed; or like Marysville, wiped off the map.

Had the fires burnt the other way from St Andrews, or even Whittlesea / Doreen; we'd have been in real trouble. We're in suburbia and we're worrying about bushfires. I am feeling very much 'there but for the grace of god go I' at the minute.

All we can do is give what we have. We have been up to Whittlesea and given bedding, clothing and all manner of toiletries. We have donated to the Red Cross and have registered to give blood. I have put my name down to volunteer, should they require. Because, if that's all I have to do to help them out; I'm getting off lightly.

These people, to me, are not just fellow Victorians. They are my friends. They are my neighbours. And that terrifies me.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Maudlin

My cousin nearly lost their house today.

My close friends also nearly lost theirs.

Another friend did lose their house.

I'm feeling incredibly maudlin. And sad, and scared.

Today, we hit 45 degrees; the highest ever recorded. We are now in our 12th year of official drought. Is this to become the norm?

What are we doing to this planet to have floods at one end of a country; and severe drought and bushfires at the other?

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Death of the garden

Just some photos of my sunburnt garden. I'll start clipping all the dead stuff off on Sunday (when it's cooler), depending on what weather is coming in the next week or so.

Sunburnt strawberries...
My tomatos that were just starting to turn red
Scorch marks on this plant (I wish I could remember the name!!)
Withered Bells
My Japanese maple took a hiding - at least it's alive!

I'm pretty disapppointed, but that's life I guess. I could've been one of the extremely unlucky ones who lost houses, pets and livelihood in the bushfires; mine is only sunburn. I guess I am 'lucky' that most of it is established and didn't completely keel over and die.

It's not very nice to see even this much of your hard word decimated in 2 days. I can't fathom it, given everything was watered every day; particularly the vegie patch.


Goes to show just how harsh the sun can be though!!

Rileys back at school today for the entire day. Poor kid can't wait! I want to know just when it is that they go from loving school with a passion; to not wanting to ever see the place again. I remember liking it and then not liking it; I just can't remember when I started not liking it.

Kevin Rudd set forth a second stimulus package for Australia on Monday. Pretty scary stuff, the PM chucking money about. I must say though, I feel much more comfortable with this package than the last one; it doesn't seem so much 'bucketing money from the balcony' this time. Each and every school will get something; as will a great number of workers.

Lets hope it works huh? I don't think it will turn the country around; but it just might put us in a better position to weather the storm that is on it's way.


I just thank dog I'm not in a great deal of debt. And we have extremely managable amounts of debt. Because, if I were in much more debt; I'd be starting to find it really difficult to sleep at night.


Things I am doing today;
*making Quiche for our dinner
*making Quiche for my darling friend who has just had a baby boy (and going for a cuddle!!)
*making dog food
*making sausage rolles for me and said friend
*getting out into the garden to start the big cleanup (Saturday is meant to be 43 with a cool change, so today and Sunday might be garden days)
*make a start on pulling out the old vegies and getting the soil out of the raised beds (so we can re-arrange that area.

Monday, February 2, 2009

First day of school



He loved it. Really LOVED it. I was so so proud of him. I'm so very proud of the little boy that I have raised today.



















And so did Connor. Although, he has only had an information session at this point; we'll see how well HE takes it all tomorrow.

Sunday, February 1, 2009

So much for sustainability...

My entire vegie patch has been murdered in this heat. After all the water, all the care, all the shadecloth....gone. My *nearly* ripened tomatoes are now a shade of light brown; not unlike the vines they hang off. My capsicums are just brown bits of weed, hanging sadly where there was once small green capsicums. My snowpeas? Gone. I even think my wormies have all died too. I checked tonight and couldn't find any!!!

How? Why? Well.

45 degrees is no fun for anyone. I even took my dog to work with me last week, it was so hot. I should've bought my vegies too I think. But still, I watered, and shaded and was very careful...

I think it was the shed. My patch backs onto our shed, and I imagine that the heat radiating from that over the last week was enough to send them all to heaven.

Although; it's not all bad news. We were going to wait for the summer vegies to grow and finish before we pulled out the patch and redid it so we could fit a water tank in there.

At least it's going to be sooner now, rather than later. :(

Blathering of not much

It has been a shocker of a week. Hot, blustery. Busy, lack of sleep. No power, cranky everyone....I just really hope that this is not an indication of what is to come. If it is, I'm moving to the bottom of Tasmania. ;)

The 40+ (it was FORTY FIVE on Friday!!) temperatures were hard. Although, I thank dog I'm not in Adelaide.

G is a refrigeration mechanic. I haven't even seen him this week. I carry a pager for a refrigeration electrician - I got 8 hours sleep all week.

This weekend has been rather quiet though. Catching up on sleep mostly. Putting names on school things....

Connor had his kinder orientation on Friday - he loved it. Riley started his swimming again on Saturday - he's trying which is fantastic.

I babysat for friends last night, so did a whole lot of not much.

Tomorrow. My oldest is at school tomorrow!!!