A Not Fully Painless Wednesday

It took about 45 minutes in the dentist's chair yesterday to have the first phase of my Root Canal dental procedure completed. It is not my favorite way to spend an afternoon but this morning things seem to be on the improve. The jaw remained painful last night but is probably somewhere between 90% and 95% this morning. This is mainly due to the infection for which I continue to take antibiotics. Drinking a cold drink is not a short cut to hell, and the pain is like a dull ache which you really only notice if you think about it.

It is quite overcast with bursts of sunshine from time to time. Nice and warm though with temps likely to get to 26 or so. A final load of washing is on the line before I catch up with Trish again on Friday soon after lunch. More details to follow!

We do not have any water restrictions here, one of the few places along the Australian East Coast which a free from restrictions owing to the long drought the country has been experiencing. Therefore we are able to water flowers and gardens and refilling the pool as required is not a problem. Some of our potted plants are looking pretty spectacular at the moment, though not as pretty as the snowfalls have made Sweetwater Texas!




The recent Federal Election Results have seen the Howard Liberal Government thrown out of office to be replaced by the Rudd Labor Government. Commentators say the Howard government became even more conservative during its last term in office, allowing Labor to reclaim the valuable middle ground and thus be swept into power. Issues such as Climate Change (the refusal to sign the Kyoto Agreement) and the new WorkChoices Legislation allowing employers to sack workers without reason seemed to go against the grain of the Aussie "Fair Go" spirit. The Howard Government certainly felt the wrath of the Australian voter and suffered a huge defeat. Some say the writing was on the wall when the Liberals won a majority in "The Senate" a couple of years ago which allowed them to run rough shod over any dissent and implement unpopular policies. Labor has promised to repeal these laws as a high priority. The next step will be to see what the repealing of these laws does to the level of unemployment which currently sit at an almost all time low.

D Day (Dentist Day)

A call about lunchtime from the dentist on Monday got me in to see him that afternoon rather than Tuesday. The tooth had become infected and the discomfort has been eased enormously after just taking a couple of antibiotics. I awoke Tuesday morning to just the minimum of discomfort but with the knowledge the dentist wanted me back again ASAP to begin the root canal procedure before the infection flared again. So I am back to see him this afternoon at 2:30 to begin the procedure.

We have been waiting over 5 weeks to have an awning installed over the computer room/office/3rd bedroom window. There isn't an eave over the window so even the lightest fall of rain sees water through the window just near a power point! This is what the window was like at 9:30 am this morning and below is what is like at 10:15.

Now we will be able to leave the window ajar to let cooling breezes in and I don't have to worry if I inadvertently leave it open and we have rain. This room can be the hottest in the house.

Texas Lou sent me this photo after even more snow fell at her Texan home. She said as the tree still had most of its leaves still on it, the snow built up on the foliage causing branches to droop down to the ground under the snow's weight. Pretty though isn't it?

Remember to click on the photo for a larger view, then click on back to return to this page.

A Great Weekend

Trish is still down south and I believe had a great weekend catching up with people and attending Charli's 2nd birthday party. From what I hear everyone had a great time.

Meanwhile, here on the Sunshine Coast, I had some visitors drop in from down south from my from my teaching days while principal at Langwarrin P.S. As many of you know, L.P.S. was involved with an International Exchange Program for senior primary school aged students. There was usually one exchange each year, we hosted their delegates from overseas while later our delegates travelled there.

Trish and I took a delegation of 6 students to new Delhi in India for 3 weeks. We became very close with those kids and their families. For everyone it was a life changing experience.

One of the students was Daniel and yesterday he, his Dad and step mum spent several hours here altogether. Daniel is the person who I have mentioned in my blog before as an engineer who was working in Dubai at one stage.

We had a very quick look around Caloundra, took in lunch at the King's Beach Tavern and then a quick swim back here.


Terry and Jan were attending a friend's 50th birthday party in Noosa and flew up from Melbourne for a few days. Daniel is currently based on the Gold Coast and drove up for a couple of days to see Terry and Jan.

Last week I had some attention to a tooth. It has flared badly and I am in some discomfort but I cannot get in to see the dentist until tomorrow (hopefully). I can still eat on one side and a cold drink does not set it 'off'.

I also have a 'bottling' to complete today! The tomato plants appear to have improved following getting a good serve of fertilizer.

Friday's News Update

Awoke this morning to another fine day but with a build up of cloud expected and a max of about 26 degrees. I was enjoying a coffee in the kitchen about 6:20 am and I noticed some ripples from the pool. A closer inspection showed a cane toad (a local pest) had spent the night swimming in the pool. I removed it and put the two iron to work! Those who have been up here to see us will know what I mean.

After coffee it was off for another 13 kilometre bike ride at about 6:30 am before it gets too hot. Upon my return home it was time for a quick swim to cool off at about 7:30, then a little tidying up, a shower and get ready for another trip to the Chiropractor by 9:30.

While much of this was going on I also converted a movie I had downloaded overnight called "Romulus, My Father" which gets a great ranking on IMDB (Internet Movie data Base) at http://www.imdb.com/ - a site worth putting in your "Favorites".

The Chiro recommended I spend the afternoon quietly to allow my back to recover. I said I will sit down and watch some more cricket on TV. She said I should get up from the chair from time to time and have a short walk. I will do this, I will walk from my chair to the fridge to fill my glass with more home brew! She said that this wasn't exactly what she meant!

I have a bit of a problem with the two tomato plants we have planted in pots in the backyard. Some of the leaves are turning yellow and eventually a whole 'branch' of them will wilt and the branch falls off. Bunnings told me they needed a good feed which I have given them. I hope this fixes them up.

Remember you can click on the photos for a larger view, then hit "Back" to return to this page.

The longer I have the new computer the more small problems I have with Vista. Trish has taken the 'new' Fuji camera to Melbourne and I have been left with the old Pentax. I went to load the Pentax drivers so the computer could 'see' the Pentax OK and I could download any photos I may have taken. Because the Pentax is an older digital camera, the drivers are compatible with Windows XP, not Vista. There aren't any Vista drivers for this model camera.

I can get around this by using a 'card reader' Trish gave me. I pull the CF card out of the camera and place it in the card reader, then plug the card reader into the computer and download the photos that way. A bit messy but at least I can get the photos off the old camera.

We are expecting thundery rain tonight and into tomorrow and cooler temps. Texas Lou says they had their first snow last night, just before their "Thanksgiving" as seen in this photo from her. A few days ago she said they had temps in the mid 20's, then last night it snows!

Tomorrow is Federal Election Day.

Wednesday's Busy Start

Awoke to a beautiful morning but a little on the cloudy side. I then did a 13 k bike ride down to the beach. It is not a direct 'as the crow flies' line to the beach but it is right on 5 k's to get there. You have seen this photo before but I took it again this morning. The build up of cloud off the coast is a sign there is lots of moisture and humidity about. When this cloud mixes with a 'trough' or 'cold front' late Friday it means we will be in for some thundery rain. Possibly we will even get a storm tonight.

Our new Woolworths (Safeway) supermarket is well underway. I am not sure when it is due to open but it can't be too far away. I rode past it this morning and took this photo.



Home from the bike ride and a quick swim in the pool. Still about 23 in the pool this morning and hopefully about 25 or so this afternoon. Today's forecast temp is about 27 degrees.

Then washed 33 bottles getting ready for another home brew bottling sometime over the weekend. They are drying right now.

We have new neighbours in the small house next door. There are three kids in there and currently (with visitors) 5 adults. Our quiet little world is not as quiet as it used to be but still not too bad. I can tell you the kids go to bed at 6:30 pm!

My hearing aid device is in for a 'service' in Brisbane at the moment but I hope to get it back tomorrow.

I have added a couple of photos to yesterday's post which may further explain some things.