Home Again

We're home again already! From the time we left to the time we finally arrived at our destination we spent 11 hours in the car - apart from 2 food stops and the small matter of two flat tyres (at once). We had a small bbq farewell function then turned around and left this morning (Friday) to drive back again, back to the office and an Australia Day bbq.......and now we're finally at home, sitting in the lounge chairs. The cricket is on tv and G is snoring his head off. Don't worry G, cricket puts me to sleep too!!

This is how Gibbo changes two flat tyres at once....lucky we had the boys with us or it might have been me on the ground. With only one spare tyre we were in a bit of trouble. Lucky we weren't too far from civilisation.

Calling the cavalry to bring a spare spare tyre.

Inspecting the damage. G's opinion? Old tyres. My opinion? The rate at which we traversed the Development Road. It was a fast and wild and and rough trip.

The cavalry arrived.

All fixed and we were on our way again.

We went to the new lease property; with access to water levels like this it should never run out.

Finally made it to our destination at 6pm. Walking to the guest quarters for the bbq.

Meg's Skype interview went well; she will now begin the process of applying for a work permit for a resort in Banff. Her visa for Turkey has arrived (April/May trip).

Drew has trained it to Paris where he and Freya hung out at The Mazet; bar fights......

This Week

It's been an eventful week. My Dad went to hospital on Monday in an ambulance, short of breath and feeling very weak. I went in to see him and to go through the paperwork and questions for him. Yesterday I went back while he was having a blood transfusion. He's been on oxygen too. Today he didn't remember I was there yesterday until I reminded him. He is feeling a bit better today due to the new blood. We're not really sure where this is leading.

Lately I have been walking with my next door neighbour. We walk up to the top of our farms and back down again, through the dust and dry grass. We knew each other before we moved to our place, but not very well. We're getting to know each other better. She thinks my job sounds really interesting. I was genuinely surprised to hear her say that which made me think I've been doing the job for too long. In my eyes, all I do is shuffle paper and move cattle into and out of feedlots and traipse after G, crossing T's, dotting I's, picking up and rearranging the furniture and putting out fires (metaphorically speaking). Isn't it interesting, the perspective that a fresh set of eyes can have?

I picked my bike up yesterday after a tyre change and service. I mean to reward myself with a ride on the weekend.

We are off to CQ tomorrow to farewell one of our station managers and his wife and family as they head further north to take on a bigger challenge within The Company. It's a quick trip; we'll only be gone for about 30 hours and 12 of those will be taken up with driving. We'll have a quick look at a new lease property while we're there; we could be back up there in a couple of weeks for a bangtail before taking over.

Meg has taken the plunge and signed up with a travel/recruitment agency with the end goal being a winter job in Canada. She has her first interview tomorrow night, just after midnight. I'm excited for her.

As I lie in bed tonight, it's raining outside. We had a wild wind and lightning storm earlier; last night we had 3mm, so far tonight we've had 4mm. I just checked the rainfall on line - we have a BOM weather station on the farm - it's an early flood warning station. It's good to be able to lie in bed or be somewhere far away and find out exactly how much rain we've had.

A Little Tour of Drew's World

Drew went to France on Sunday for lunch with some of the people he works with! A half hour bus ride and a twenty minute walk and he was at the right place. "Great food, great cheese and great wine" was the verdict.

A batch of photos arrived from Geneva on Monday.

Palais Wilson - former League of Nations.

Palais Wilson.

UN Library Reading Room.

Now that's cold!!!! A little glitch I think.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Paddock 10

We finished the bottom fence in Paddock 10 so that the sheep have more access to feed. More fencing. Will it ever end? I think not.

Sitting under a tree, waiting for the boss my offsider to come back with the post driver and more wire.

Green grass.

The Pied Piper has a lot of friends when there's a bucket of nuts in the equation.

Everyone is happy.

'Tis Done

Booked and paid for. Hello to a week of reading, eating, sleeping, snorkelling and Singapore Slings. No phones. No emails. No shuffling of paper or cattle. Bliss.

News from Geneva

Drew walked in the pouring rain to get to Palais Wilson, the current headquarters for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights. It used to be the old League of Nations headquarters. The conventions for the Rights of the Child are held there.

He attended the evaluation of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was very interesting. Apparently they were asked quite a lot of questions.

He has attended meetings with the Mexican, Czech Republic and Bangladeshi UN representatives to present ERI's proposed questions and recommendations for the UPR sessions. He has been asked some questions that he's had to respond to and follow up on.

He's getting used to shopping in a supermarket where most things are labelled in French. He's cooking for himself, getting ready for this year living in a unit. He's booked a 4 day weekend in Paris at the end of the month, staying with a friend from Uni.

It's a great life hey?

A Quiet One

Last weekend was quiet; just the way I like it. K&D came to visit on their way home from a trip; they had their new van and they parked it just outside the garden and slept in it. We ate like kings (they both thought it was like coming to a B&B). We had patty cakes, honey soy chicken wings for 5 o'clocks one day and fresh prawns the next. We had wagyu and chopped up fried veges one night and wagyu OP rib steaks and y-bone and veges the next. K thought his OP was the best piece of meat he'd EVER EATEN. We pulled weeds and cemented in the shed.

The boys pottered around and finished a few jobs. We all did the tree watering. On Sunday, Gibbo played in a cricket comp and K went along and ended up helping to cook the bbq. I took D into the village to show her around; we went to the community centre art gallery and the community garden. I spent time still catching up on 2013 365.

I have an iPod with some great music on it but I don't play it very often. While I cooked, I listened. Showing my age.

I moved carts of old hay from the cattle yards into the chook pens.

The newly planted bottle trees are loving their new home; fresh growth like this is on all three.

G flew to CQ on Monday. Drew is having a wonderful time. Meg is making big plans. I booked a cruise for March. Can't wait for that one.

Educating Harry

Meg is having a few days at the coast with her other family. Here she is, educating Harry on the finer points of what it takes to make the "Best and Worst Dressed" list. He looks like he's taking it all in (and Meg looks very earnest too).

Carnage at the Compound

Warning - this post is a gruesome one. If you don't want to see mauled poultry, click away now.

G is away in the south (where it was a pleasant 6 deg C yesterday morning). I am in charge at home here. Whenever I am in charge, it seems that something goes wrong. I went up to G's compound this morning just after 7am and found this....

and this.....

The white one has been nesting in the long grass. The bronze one sleeps high up on the double pen. The fox must have come in at daylight once the bronze hen had flown down. She still had quite a lot of meat on her. The poor white one did not. She looked like a pair of angel wings.

This is where the worst of it happened.

What happened up here last night Peppie? You know don't you? If only you could tell me. Did you try to help?

On Monday morning a carpet snake got into the pigeon pen and ate one (before G left for the airport). I asked him how he knew it ate one. I think it had something to do with the enormous bulge between the snake's head and tail. Dead giveaway.

At least the sheep are happy. I feel like the Pied Piper when I give them their feed. They would follow me anywhere!