At Last, Together Again!

Saturday night I waited up to hear from Meg to let me know she was on her way to the airport in LA to begin her journey to Drew. I watched the clock and when I hadn't heard from her I checked my emails and found one from her saying that she'd just tried to ring (skype). I was sad that I'd missed the call (bad reception); I so wanted to talk to her and wish her luck on her journey. I emailed back to say exactly that and then my mobile rang and there she was!! I was very happy. She set off at 4.30am local time, 9.30pm here; she was standing outside her hotel waiting for the airport flyer.

At 2.32 this morning (12.32pm his time) I got an email from Drew saying that in 28 minutes they were leaving Ottawa on their way to pick up Meg! The wheels were turning! Meg landed at 5.15pm (7.15 this morning here) and they managed to find each other although I think Meg called out to him in a whimper because she was crying!

They made the journey back to Ottawa and skyped me from there. It was wonderful to see them both, cheeks pressed together, trying to get in front of the camera so I could see them both at once. I cried. I miss them so much. It's nine months and 2 days since Drew has seen another Gibbons in the flesh; it's wonderful to know they're together for the next week. Maybe I'll sleep better for a few days.

They have lots of things planned so I'm looking forward to hearing about and seeing what they do.

On a crappy note, Chris and Mitch are caught up in the Qantas debacle - they were supposed to leave LA today to head home but have had to stay another night in their accommodation; they went and saw the Qantas desk at LA International when they took Tameeka to catch her Virgin A flight home. Qantas staff told the boys to come back tomorrow and they will be put up in the Marriot Hotel and their accom and meals will be covered. Lucky they're not in a desperate hurry to get home; maybe they'll have to wait a week for the dispute to be resolved and then Meg can meet up with them and they can all come home together!!! I couldn't believe it last night when I heard that the fleet had been grounded; that's pretty serious.

Not long now and I will see one of my babes again; nine sleeps (or nine restless nights at least!).

Where did the Weekend go?

Gibbo got home from his NSW trip at 11pm Friday night. Again, I didn't hear him come in.

I had a quiet weekend that disappeared quickly. Yesterday I talked to both kids on skype then went to town to shop. We didn't need much in the grocery line but I did a little browsing to see what's around and to start collecting some Christmas gift ideas. Someone posted on facebook today that it's 56 days until Christmas; I'm not going to bother checking to see if they're correct; it just seems waaayy too close. I bought this for Drew's host sister. The young assistant in the trendy shop assures me that a 17 year old girl will love it. I hope so.

I also bought this - for $6.50! I thought it was perfect for our Christmas table this year. It will remind us of Drew having a white Christmas in Canada (not that we will need reminding but it will be nice to look at it and think of him). There was a second one there with a snowflake middle and mini moose around the edge. I might go back tomorrow and get it as well. At $6.50 you can't really go wrong can you? Unless you drop it I suppose!

I wasn't home for hardly ten minutes before I had to go to the office and have a look at end of month numbers. I could ramble on here and whinge about a lot of things but I won't except to say my vision of how this year was going to pan out is very different to how it's actually progressed. It's worth a post one day.

We had fish for tea again; seems to be a Saturday night menu. I picked lettuce, eschallot and radish from the garden  and combined them with carrot, mushroom, cucumber, tomato and feta cheese to make a fabulous salad.

I spent the evening a little anxious until I got a phone call from Meg...see the next post for that news.

I had a restless night and woke at 3.30 and again at 5.00 and got up. I seem to be developing a touch of insomnia; I hope it goes away soon 'cos it sucks.

Today didn't turn out as I would have liked although there was one very bright episode amongst a sheet of grey when the kids rang me (from the one phone!). I had to go back to the office to still work on the end of month balance - I went at 8 and was there until 2. The longer I was there the grumpier I got. If only people took care and paid attention to what they're doing, it wouldn't be this drama every month....and if I wasn't here they'd have to fix it themselves. In saying that, I do like numbers and I do like to balance things and I do like to seek out a problem and fix it - but not on a Sunday and not when simple errors create complex problems. I should have been an auditor. Rant, rant.

Gibbo went to cricket and got an early mark; they were all out for a rather paltry two figure sum, with his contribution being a single digit figure (higher than 1 but lower than 9!).

He mixed chook feed for me while I prepared Coco's meals for the week - fresh beef heart and simmered lamb liver, made up into frozen meal size portions. Then I went out and cleaned the chook water dishes and watered the two vege gardens (vine and permaculture). It helped me calm down and some of my crankypants attitude left me.

I went back to the office for an hour and a half to collect everything we need for a big week. Gibbo's Group (CQ and south Q) is heading to G to do budgets for next year. There's also a meeting of northern stations in MI. This is the first time we've got together and done then as a group (but individually for our own stations/feedlots); I'm feeling a bit nervous about the process - I have no idea why but that's just how I am.

I'm feeling myself getting drawn (sucked) more and more into the guts of "the business" - and as my intention this year was to try to gently extricate myself from "the business" I find myself trying to fight against a lot of things, to no avail really. That draining 6-8 weeks going out to W earlier in the year seemed to set the tone and the rest of the year has followed that pattern. Maybe 2012 will be different!

So now it's 11pm, a storm that went around us a little while ago has come back with a vengeance; and I'm so tired I just want to fall sideways on the couch and sleep; but I need to go have a shower and falling asleep on the couch is not a good idea 'cos I wake up in the really early hours, get into bed - and then can't sleep!

Goodnight!

Farmer Andy

My brother Andrew contacted our local paper about the recent multiple birth event in his flock - and they puthe story on the FRONT PAGE and page 3 and our resident cartoonist commented in ink on page 2! The lady at the newsagency told me, when I went to buy several copies, that it was nice to see a good news story on the front page for a change! I tried to scan and copy the pages so as to send them to the kids but the images were black and impossible to read as the scanner picked up both sides of the page. Anyway, they will have to read about it here now.

Just Marvellous

I continue to marvel at the vege garden.........marvel, marvel, marvel. When I went over this morning, drops of water from the rain last night were glistening in the sunlight and everything just looked so clean and fresh and quite beautiful....and peaceful. I had to take some photos!

 I planted a new batch of lettuce even though we haven't eaten any of the first lot yet! Gibbo filled the tubs with dirt and scrapings from one of the chook pens that he concreted on his week off. I wonder how well they'll grow. I also planted new basil and coriander.

 The lettuce look really crisp and tasty and we'll probably pick one or two this weekend. They're small and they'll be sweet.

 The spinach has really picked up since I mulched it with lucerne hay. I put some in the bacon and egg pie last weekend. When they're bigger I'll share them with the chooks.

 The zucchinis are going great guns.

 It is this mandala that has really amazed me the most. I've done a Mud Pie Ali and forgotten what the bigger vege is. I think it's a cabbage but I'm not really sure....Anyway, it seems to grow overnight. This mandala is one that I rested over the winter after moving the chooks. I don't always strictly follow the rules of permaculture - I leave the chooks on their site for much longer than a few weeks and when I move them I dig in a bit of extra manure and dirt then leave it sit for a few weeks. It really seems to have had a positive effect on this garden.

 Look at the size of those leaves!

 When I looked a couple of days ago these radishes were still tiny........after a bit of fertiliser on the weekend they've exploded! Gibbo loves radish so I'll have to pick these soon....maybe I'll put them in a salad with those little lettuce leaves.

 The flowers have got buds on them so it won't be long until I've got some baby zinnia (I think that's what they are).

Just Marvellous! I love it!

OMG - Drew Rode A Horse!!!!!!!!!

Drew and the ESL kids visited a riding school; he had a ball, riding for a couple of hours on a very friendly horse called Hank.

 And he found me a silkie!

A Little Guy called Bob

I got a hurried phone call on Monday morning from someone who lives nearby....he was heading to the NT for a few days and needed somewhere for his little friend to board.....so, because we're a magnet for strays and orphans, Bob came to stay. I've cleaned up 55,000 poos and wees since then - but he is very cute, isn't he?

Chloe has not accepted the new arrival at all. She stares at him with suspicion and spits at him if he comes too close. She doesn't want to even come inside or be in the same room as him. She has totally forgotten where she came from - she was a foundling, born under a tree. I told her we should always remember our roots and that we should always be kind to others. She didn't listen.

Typically, Poofy has welcomed Bob into the family. He wanted to play this afternoon but he doesn't quite understand that the difference in size dictates how rough (or gentle) the play should be. Little Bob got rolled once or twice (while cat eyes watched in the background).

Unfortunately, (or perhaps it was timely) Coco missed all the excitement. She went to the vet on Monday and still isn't home yet (Wednesday). Her quest to eat everything in sight has got her into trouble. It looks like she's had a bout of pancreatitis, possibly after quaffing Poofy's dinner of left over wagyu roast on the weekend - too much fat in it for her tender little organs to cope with. I hope she'll be home tomorrow and Bob will go home tomorrow. I don't think she would have liked him very much; in her mind she's #1 dog around here.

Andrew has a Problem

My brother felt sure this ewe would lamb today............and she did...........five times!! Yes, she had five lambs. He's got the bottles out. No Megan, you can't have one; and you can't have one of Fiona's piglets either!

What must she be thinking??