Here we go!

Well ... not sure if it has been a 'great' weekend, but things have got done, and so it is now time to relax with a bottle of Leo Buring Clare Valley Reisling, vintage 2011 ... nice, very nice! There are three chicken drumsticks in the oven, coated in sweet chilli & soy, on a bed of vegetables - including some beetroot & parsnip from the garden :) Also pruned about 12 artichokes, and then cooked up in thyme & lemon - also utilised the stalk of some coriander, so will be interested to see how that all turned out!
The rains have come again, but I did manage to finish putting mulch around the roses at the side:
pizza boxes;

• sheep manure/blood & bone/granulated rose pellets;
• wet newspaper sheets;
• straw;
• sticks & cuttings from the garden; and,
• some larger bits of wood - to hold done the straw, when the wind blows.

Also (finally) cut up the final sheet of ply from the kitchen and utilised to hold the garden back on the outside fence line. Tomorrow it will be time to prune some of the outside branches, etc. - got served a notice from the council that there is overhanging vegetation ... TBH, NFI what they are talking about, and (strongly) suspect that it is in response to a neighbourly complaint ... but who would do such a thing, who could be so pathetic as to not just advise me??? Apparently, the regulations are no more than 100mm horizontally, and minimum of 2500mm vertically - well, my overhanging branch was 105mm :o but, it was at 2505mm height, so ... WTF???
Had coffee with Simon and Bagley on Saturday ... both got their cards, but neither said much in response to them - all that thought & consideration for naught? Anyway, after that, went and bought two bottles of a cheeky little cabernet sauvignon (Clare Wine Company Clare Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2012 vintage - n.b. it had crust) from Dale - it was rather nice, too! Lashed out (literally - $48) on f&v, but did not buy anything too crazy ... although, I did buy some yogurt & honey ...  made for a crazy ride home though, with all of that in my bag  - makes me pine for when the show ends, and I will be able to go back to buying the f&v from there, instead ... although, having said that, I suppose I could have gone to one of the other markets ...
Then, last night was the UCI world championships for the women ... so, after 1/2 that bottle from Dale, I dropped in to pick up some cider, and then went to visit Felix, to watch it ... surprisingly, it was seven laps, rather than a lot of travelogue - I mean, I know a lot (most?) of Doha is desert, but still ... mind you, looking at the riders it was rather hot & dry - many were riding & breathing through their mouths ... I know what that is like - it dries out your nostrils, almost burning, so you have to breathe through your mouth ...

031016

Well, have done a bit of riding - Garmin shows that I have averaged every 2nd day this past week. Which is good

• Rode with GTC yesterday - we went out along Queenscliff Road, up Swan Bay, left through Mannaheim (into headwind), coffee at Clifton Springs, then home along the railtrail. Almost got blown off the trail at one point! Felt it was a very hard ride, especially with the effects of the wind - came home & collapsed ... took my 'last' $10 & went to buy chips & cider ... did manage to vacuum the front room & put futon onto floor, so maybe not a completely useless afternoon?
• The past week has been a bit frantic with essays, etc. - one of which I discovered was 1 000 words short ... shall be interested to see how that one works out ... (sigh) I really do not think this semester is working out too well? Still, just as long as I pass ...
• Have started another compost - pine needles, seaweed, blood & bone, sheep & chicken manure, some granulised fertiliser and a bit of paper to balance it out ... still have to add the charcoal, and wood chips, that I have forgotten, but it is a bit full now! Will also need a good soaking, possibly in a few days - the rain is continuing, and many days are cold, but Thursday is expected to be 25c, which will make a difference to be sure!
• Indeed, in terms of the weather, there has been more rain; although, not as much as was predicted - it has come across from SA, who have had a lot of flooding. Welcome to Australia, hey? We get all the extremes here - flooding to droughts ... reminds me of the wry comment re global warming - imagine if we were wrong, and had spent all this money for nothing but a cleaner environment ... Anyway, I do wonder if there is much storage going on?
• Did get to the library - I had come across a reference to this prose poem, called 'By Grand Central Station I sat down and wept' by Elizabeth Smart, and then found that it was in the local library system, so I requested it ... barely started it yet. Story is 'interesting' yet mundane:
• she was a daughter of a wealthy lawyer;
• came across some poetry;
• invited the poet to visit;
• fell in love, and started a love affair with him. Even though he was already married;
• followed him back to UK;
• had three children with him;
• he continued to live a 'bohemian' lifestyle; and,
• I don't think he ever divorced ...
• This, to me, is an unusual relationship - the love, the obsessions, but stringing multi-partners along offends my sense of propriety and morality - I blame him, of course ... TBH, reminds me of people in my life :( which is possibly a reminder to do 'something' about them ... (sigh) at this rate I will not have any friends :o not that I actually have any friends :p but so be it ...

250916

Well, some things are better; some remain the same ...
Been a lot of rain lately, so ground is very wet - much more of this, and I will survive Summer! But, just to be sure, have been (progressively) spreading bales of straw around. Did the apple trees & mandarin - that is the citrus done now!
Had the Evidence moot yesterday, got killed! J was a criminal defense lawyer, seemingly with little tolerance for the prosecution argument - who were, conceivably & possibly, under-prepared ... however, he did seem to pay a lot of attention to leading the defense arguments to where he wanted - 'I agree with that, now what about the probative value? What arguments can you give me about how the prejudicial value of the evidence would outweigh the probative value?' Of course, I may be just miffed that he did not like my 'dying declaration' submission ...

040916

So ... a new toy, hey?

• This new OS (Win 10) is taking some getting used to, I tell you ...
• ATM there is an ongoing struggle - since the hospital visit & job loss, I am really struggling a lot, and it is showing in odd ways, e.g. I am currently about twenty (20) kilos over optimum weight - 10 was hard/bad enough, but 20??? WTF, right?
• Not riding much, although I have been toddling off to the Crit track 2/week;
• Eating too much, although it does tend to be healthy food;
• Garden is going awry, although some larger prunings have occurred;
• Minimal socialising, although I am regularly having the EG Men's group over for tea. Which has also been giving me an opportunity to cook;
• Am using a lot of endone, although it has been good having the access and it often motivates me to do other things - whatever it takes, hey? Plus, when the pain rides in, I can bear up better;
• Study is really hard to commit to ... there is no real compensation to that, I am afraid.
• Might need to get a library book to explain how Win 10 works?
• Got up this morning, staggered off to the markets (buying only eggs, mushrooms & avocado - bread people were not there), then came home & collapsed ... had planned to go riding with Nicole, but energy levels were just too depleted ... ironically, the peleton then rode past the hous about one hour later! Anyway, library opens at 1300, so prepped to go to that, do more study, prepare for this essay due tomorrow ... yet, here I am at 1335, still in bed & not quite either ready or out that door ... WTF, right?