While Not Working

It's the last day of the year. Time to figure out what I did with my time over the past 364 days... In 2024 I, along with Roger, cared for a total of 7 dogs, 5 cats, and 1 snake* in 8 houses in Goolwa, McClarenvale, Victor Harbor, and various suburbs around Adelaide. Pet Selection.   We had short stays in Air Bnbs, motels, and caravan park cabins in Mt Barker, Goolwa, Milang, and all around Adelaide. The pick of them all was the old butcher shop in Milang. Plus a whole heap in Tasmania but that was on holiday so it's different. Pick of the bunch.  I went on two bicycle tours and pedaled a shade under 2800km for the year.   We had one wallet and one bicycle stolen. Roger got off to a late start on the bicycle front but managed one bicycle tour and clocked up an impressive 1500ish km in just the last 6 months of the year. And that was despite the stolen bicycle so imagine what he could have done otherwise! And he's off! We caught planes to Tasmania (both of us), Sydney (Rog...

Here I am in the void between Christmas and New Year, full of cheese and chocolate and not knowing when to put the bin out because I haven't a clue what day of the week it is. Let's backpedal a bit. I spent the week before Christmas working because someone had to have holidays and it wasn't me. In between working I found several Santas;  went to a Christmas party; Hmmm.   visited Milang where I found my box of Christmas decorations in the storage shed; Pelican flight.  Much more interesting than dusty boxes of decorations.    and tried to take photos of two very patient dogs in Christmas hats. I don't think I have a future as a pet photographer.   My BD (beautiful daughter) arrived by bus and spent three whirlwind days with us, including Christmas day with rellies in Mountain Barker. Not the BD, in case you were wondering.   We took her on a lickety-split tour of Adelaide: Evening picnic at Henley Beach, Big wheel at Glenelg.   Then we decided tha...

I had to go to the dentist as one does periodically, to ensure one's feelings of wealth are adequately controlled.  It was a hot day, well over 35C and humid.  I decided to drive the car to the dentist, rather than riding my bike. The dentist and I had a convivial meeting, at the end of which she presented me with a plan describing all the ways I could spend money on my ageing teeth.  I drove off along busy Port Road, spitting and spluttering at the cacky taste of fluoride treatment in my mouth, and thanking my lucky stars that I hadn't ridden my bicycle in the sizzling heat.  Look at me, turning into a South Australian and whinging about one 30C+ day. Christmas is coming, dentist or no dentist.  There I was, driving along Port Road minding my own business and contemplating dental expenses and all of a sudden alarms pinged, lights flashed, and the car displayed messages to the effect that I had a Problem With Battery or Electrics. Being a responsible car driver,...

We stayed in a unit in North Adelaide. It was a little tatty around the edges but it met the necessary requirements and as a bonus it was slap bang in the middle of North Adelaide where I hadn't yet had a chance to explore. North Adelaide, as it turned out, was dripping with beautiful old buildings from Adelaide's earliest days.  I spoke to the lady trimming shrubbery outside Carclew House , and she very kindly let me come inside and look at the grand staircase and the ballroom. On the way back down the hill I found St Peter's Cathedral .  Normally I would have been able to go inside but sadly it was closed to the public due to rehearsals for a school Christmas concert, so I had to content myself with peering in through the barred doors and prowling around outside like a true cathedral stalker. When I got back to the unit I discovered that the lounge room curtain had parted company with the ceiling. The girl on reception wasn't too worried about it: "Just don't...

Tasmania turned on sunshine for our last day, just to prove that it was possible. We didn't have to get up early after all. Instead we took full advantage of the late check-out, spending some time commiserating with a forlorn Spanish couple who had taken delivery of their camper van and promptly crashed into another car while avoiding an animal. They were having a decidedly expensive and not enjoyable start to their holiday, and sunshine or the lack thereof was the least of their worries. Having finally left the hotel we set up camp at the airport, sampling airport lunch and watching airport activities (planes go up, planes go down). People came and went. I walked the length of Hobart Airport and back again, all 4 (sorry, 6) gates of it. Eventually we wandered out across the tarmac and got on a plane. I had a window seat this time, allowing me to take lots of photos of dubious quality and to spend the flight with my nose squashed against the window, picking out landmarks down below...

The clouds lifted as we left the cabin in Lemana and made our way across the Tamar Valley towards the mountains. Along the way we stopped in Perth just because we could and because it wasn't Perth, WA. A quick hello to some rather wooden friends in Perth. Clouds rolled over the tops of the mountains we were heading towards, causing debate as to whether we would actually be able to see anything from up there.  There was only one way to find out, so onwards we went. As the road began to climb I saw the results of yesterday's inclement weather. Drifts of gravel, rocks, and occasional small logs showed where water had overflowed the gutters and taken the easiest path across the road. Water still tumbled in rivulets down the rocks, poured out of crevices in cuttings, formed impromptu cataracts down the hillside, and pooled in every available depression. Half way up the hill we stopped in to Poatina, another once-was Hydro town now a shell of its former self, clinging to precarious l...