Welcome back, me!

After such a long drought, I hardly know where to begin. Blame Facebook, some addictive computer games, Donna Leon's Commisario Brunetti novels and my wonderful vegie garden for taking up so much of my free time, leading to this absence of postings for the past two months. 

Charlotte Maudie and her Mum

My gorgeous grand-daughter has to accept a small share of the blame, too. Whenever I've been around her in these first six months of her life, I've had no interest in any other pastime. Just look at this photo and you'll see why!

But now I'm determined to mend my ways and get back here more often.

Speaking of my vegetables, this looks like becoming a bumper year. During the winter I was able to have the lower vegie bed extended, the middle beds raised a little and properly drained and a new upper bed constructed where there was formerly just a sloping bank of clay. I tipped a total of 80 bags of mushroom compost onto all these beds, as well as some soil and sand. And after weeks of letting all that settle, I began planting. Not surprisingly, everything is flourishing. We're already harvesting a number of greens, plus stringbeans and radishes. I've even planted sweet corn this year, which I've only grown in Tasmania before, never Queensland.

Allen is also doing well – ploughing on with his word puzzles and working out every day on his exercise bike. Blue Care is sending in a physiotherapist once a week to help Allen improve his balance and strength, which deteriorated somewhat during the winter. We visit the library just about every week, too. He's moved on to large-print books now. It's not that he needs this for his vision. It is just easier for him to face up to a smaller amount of text on each page. Certainly, 'processing' anything (whether that's ideas, spoken utterances or tasks) is becoming more problematic for him. But he doesn't give up. Even if he can't finish half the books he starts, we are gradually getting better at selecting topics that will hold his interest and be right for his ability level. He's reading more biography and history now, and also enjoying some of the wonderful illustrated books that are available about historical periods – e.g. A Photographic History of World War II.

Shorter, more frequent postings: that's my resolve! So I'll close now and finish making the fish chowder based on the leavings of a large cod my son-in-law left in my freezer a few weeks ago. I cut fillets off the fish for last night's tea (photo); the rest of the fish made the broth base for tonight's dinner.