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Shan



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 18 11:08 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Just made a huge big batch of a cheat's version of Mexican Salsa Verde. Very yummm... but kitchen looks like a bomb site. Dishwasher load no.1 on the go!

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 18 3:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Well a fair dollop of snow arrived so I didn't make work on Friday. But it was cleared sufficiently by the snow plough doing its job so I was able to get out and shop later in the afternoon on Saturday; it is not totally 2 way traffic, but luckily narrow parts were seen from both lots of traffic, so no danger. We still have plenty of snow about, but I managed to get to work for 5 am both today and Monday. Our council lorry men love the snow as it is a lot of overtime for them but they do a good job. I am stopping complaining about the rates-they seem extortionate, but to be able to get out is good when you need to; they do the roads so that idiots like me can go to work at 5am in frosty weather. This computer has gone funny and is deleting things before I have finished. I am able to continue somehow. More accident than design/ability. I am a reasonably slow driver in inclement weather.

Cassandra look after yourself. Don't take on too much and be too thin on the ground. If you are going for politics then other things will have to go. Right now give or take you can do what you want when you want. With a political a career you will be at the beck and call of all. Even if dog needs to go out first or you have a patient to go to hospital. Anyway, more importantly,-probably get better first.
I am a shooting man, but don't believe in slack gun laws. Now I have no gun and allowed my license to lapse, as firing a shotgun hurts a bit on the shoulder, probably due to chopping firewood, and a sheep getting up and going before I had loosed hold! I would hate to live in America where it seems compulsory to have a gun, well not really but you know what I mean! The librarian has now in theory corrected the deleting everything I have written ahead of something I have added as an after thought!-pretty regular if your mind is 5 hours ahead of what I am typing at the time as mine is, probably why I make so many mistakes!
Frankly I am surprised that there is no middle of the road party in Tasmania, who can't join with the left to at least give the right a run for their money. I as you know or guess am right of centre, but not so far as to agree with some of Right wing policies. I am much nearer the Lib-Dems than the far right.

As the weather is MR., I am surprised you are able to get into the woods except on foot. If your tracks are stone then not so bad, but up here there are few tracks in woodland and only the density if the wood seems to allow walking in there in the snow if it has been branched and the upper branches meet to form a canopy in our mainly coniferous woods. Our schools went early for one day and closed for 2 days. they are in now as the buses are parked ready to take the children home.
Ihave to go as the time is nearly up and I have to see a lady with some forewood.

cassandra



Joined: 27 Mar 2013
Posts: 1733
Location: Tasmania Australia
PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 18 8:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Labor is the middle-of-the-road party in Australia these days, used to be further Left but now right of centre. The Greens are our lefty radicals these days, why I like Jeremy Corbyn!

Poppet - well yes, she is twice the size and definitely in charge of everything but the bed. One can not do anything without assistance. In fact I have her helping on one side right now, and Seb yearning for attention on the other side. He is quite cowed by her behaviour!

My Facebook page will be shut down too, so MR I will send you a new friend request once I work out what to call myself, haha. I will have a 'candidate page' in my own name.

My current page has some fairly pungent political commentary on it, and since I am standing as an independent I will let people work out which way I lean as we discuss local issues.

Gregotyn, yes, and no. The position comes with a car, an office, an assistant and various other perks as well as a substantial salary, so what needs to be done can be done by others. And mobile phones can be turned off - they supply a dedicated phone. So in many ways it would be quite relaxing after several years of juggling various activities to make ends meet. And the sittings are every two weeks, for three days, so in between times I can be in the office, or not, reading relevant documents, chatting to colleagues and interest groups and so forth. Considerably less intimate than being on the local Council.

Not a walk in the park as there are some very hot issues in the area (fish farm expansion, a tiny country town becoming the locus of massive urban growth, broad highways narrowing to very narrow roads while still subject to heavy traffic due to urban expansion, that sort of thing. Right up my ally in many ways. So fingers crossed. The Electoral commission has pointed me to some resources, I have drafted up my poster (I will run off some A4 ones,and get local businesses to put them in their windows, as well as add them to local community notice boards), have to get someone to take a current photo of me with a high res camera (which I have, just have to dig it out) and track down the relevant media outlets. I will also approach ABC and local radios to suggest they do a 'meet the candidate' slot in the lead up.

Shan



Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 9075
Location: South Wales
PostPosted: Wed Mar 07, 18 9:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Cassandra, it certainly sounds like it would give you a better life balance and of course less hassle than the local Council. Good luck and remember to keep your campaign positive and focused.

Jam Lady



Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2501
Location: New Jersey, USA
PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 18 2:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

May get power back tonight. It has been out since Friday afternoon. Internet was also absent but is now on even though power is not. March Snow

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 18 7:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Sounds as if you have had quite a week Jam Lady, but glad your power is back on now. We have underground feed I am glad to say, so rarely have a power cut unless someone is connecting more houses to the system and does something wrong. Hope you get everything sorted from the storms and are completely back to normal soon. Thought your stems looked like ash; we have been cutting some stems with rot lately and use it as firewood.

Gregotyn, the gritter lorries have been doing really well here too. We haven't had to have a snow plough as it didn't get deep enough near our house; not sure about near the woods, but the ploughs may have been out there. Having been freezing cold for 2 weeks, we didn't see any point in going to find out during the bad snow, and it started to thaw after that.

Cassandra, I hope all goes well with your campaign. At least having stood as a councillor you are not completely unknown as a candidate in the area. How large an area would the constituency cover? Need to make sure you can get coverage over the whole of it.

We went to the funeral in Devon yesterday, so travelled down on Tuesday. Decided to wear the red jacket after all as I had a black jumper and skirt, so thought more dark colour was rather overkill. The service at the crematorium left husbands aunt's family rather damp eyed, but they all recovered a bit at the wake afterwards. Haven't seen quite a lot of the family for a while, so it was nice to see them again. That included husband's nephew. We weren't expecting his sister to come, but her few days holiday in Scotland was cancelled, so her son brought her down. Now a bit tired after 2 days travelling, and back to log sacks today.

Jam Lady



Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2501
Location: New Jersey, USA
PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 18 1:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Shut generator down at 11:00 p.m. last night and pulled the main breaker for the house, concern over low / intermittent power with potential for damage to furnace and well pump. Power is on but at such a low level that lights are orange and flickering. Mr Jam Lord started the generator up. Clearly I have internet this morning. Driveway was plowed yesterday evening. Mostly clear, with some patches of black ice. And Stem Bros. made a propane delivery shortly before 8:00 a.m. this morning. Himself walked down to chat with the driver, who said there are still lots of people without power. And that's the word from Creek Road. Goodbye.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Thu Mar 08, 18 3:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

You are having a rough time Jam Lady, with the power being so poor. The main thing in this weather is to keep warm. I have found for me with no heating operational in the house, I use hot water bottles when I go to bed. I just have to hope that the generating company keep my supply working. Luckily I don't feel the cold too badly and it takes a very low temperature, or no electric to heat the hot water to affect me. Also during the day, after work, I chop firewood and this keeps me warm. They say wood heats several times in its life-when you fell it, log it, split it, carry it home and, finally, burn it!

I had a shock this morning as I opened the back door at 4.30am, to find more snow and no gritters had been down the road then-they do the main roads first. So a bit gently up the hill to start with and when I had done 3 miles to the local town the boys had been out salting on my onward journey route, so all clear. It has gone now but was 3in and still coming down when I went out. Quite a pleasant afternoon. I won't be surprised to see more snow tomorrow.

I hope you make it when the election results come in, Cassandra. We are on your team. Are there any things we can post to discredit any of your competition-only joking! As MR says you must cover the whole of the area, to get those who don't know you, at least get a chance to understand what you are standing for, and why you think that your ideas are going to help everybody, as well as those who need it.
Sounds like a good life this politics stuff. A car and staff as well as being paid? think I could become any political colour for those perks-I mean essentials! I really hope you get in and become a suitable thorn in the sides of those who need it. Too many politicians, get tame after they are elected and become tow the line people, when they should be looking to make radical changes primarily to help those who need help. It might only be a new pedestrian crossing to help the young or old cross the road to get to the shops/school/park, an extended bus route to get more folks access to schools/shops/hospitals. They are not vote catchers but often mean some people can get about. Yes I think you would be a champion for sensible, social, but radical reform.

I have come to the conclusion that funerals should be a celebration of the life of the deceased, even though I get a bit upset sometimes at them. They do bring some families together; my mother's funeral, however, split my brother and me afterwards, but I don't miss him. You can choose friends but you are landed with relatives! I don't like too much travel, we are all too close together now-I think it is called age in my case. I like to be at home pottering about-firewood, mainly; is there anything else?

I have just supplied another lady with firewood today here at the library, what is happening, is it all going up in-oh no-smoke?-think it is time to stop!

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Fri Mar 09, 18 7:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I hope your electricity supply comes on properly soon Jam Lady. Do you have any way of ensuring you are just set on your own supply if the mains is low? If not, it might be worth trying to see if you can get something like that set up for future problems. Anyway, hope to hear from you soon, and hope all is back to normal for you quickly.

Gregotyn, go careful if you have more snow. We seem to be over it now and back to rain. It was a lovely day yesterday, but they are threatening more rain later today.

Our toilet pump in the woods doesn't seem to be happy with being filled with ice, so until husband finds out if it is the switch or pump, it is back to pouring water in when needed.

Yesterday I managed to get another bundle of good birch tops in. While we were away son and the people cutting that coup cut a few young birch as they were rather in the way, and I took the tops yesterday. It made one good sized bundle which I hand carried most of the way back to the yard. I gave up about half way up the hill, so son retrieved it for me and it is now in store. The other plus with the weather is that it is rather warmer and the celandines are coming out nicely. Think I will still have to buy some potted primroses for MIL for Mothers Day rather than her usual bunch from the garden though.

You are right about funerals Gregotyn although it is a shame it drove you and your brother apart. I have been in touch with both sides of husband's family since, and they seem a bit closer, which is good. Hoping at least some of the Devon part will visit us this year, and we will see them in the summer.

Jam Lady



Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2501
Location: New Jersey, USA
PostPosted: Fri Mar 09, 18 2:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

Mistress Rose, power came back around 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. Then shut off briefly just before 7:00 p.m. before turning on again. And staying on. It was a very long week.

We have a whole house, 11KW generator. It was installed after Superstorm Sandy left us powerless for two weeks. We previously had a 5KW portable generator. Good, but unable to handle the surge when the pump to pressurize the well tank came on - unless everything else in the house was shut off.

The generator is wired in with an automatic transfer switch - when power goes out the generator waits for a few seconds, then automatically comes on. When the power comes back on, the generator automatically shuts down. It uses about 3 gallons of propane per hour when running. Generator also comes on for a few minutes once a week, just to confirm that all is well with its operation.

Mr Jam Lord was concerned about partial power as crews were close to getting our road back on line; lights were flickering and orange. To prevent damage to furnace and well pump he just shut off their emergency switches. Just about everyone on our road has a generator of some size or another. Drive down the road and hear them running, often the portables are under a popup, no wall tent to protect from precipitation but ample air circulation.

Our wiring is underground from street to house. new developments are often underground. It is the stony soil that is part of the issue, and the expense to change everything from above ground to under it.

Weekend is supposed to be good, then snow on Monday but nothing like the 8 inches we got on Wednesday. And we were at the low end - nearby places got 12, up to 18 inches of snow. So my snowdrops are under cover.

Our supermarkets are offering small pots of primroses too, Mistress Rose. I treated myself to 3 pots of yellow ones, on sale for $1.29 each. I think the yellow ones are more fragrant - or so it seems to me.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Fri Mar 09, 18 2:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

We are almost snow free as no more fell overnight, and what is left now is residual heaps from the diggers and snowploughs over the weekend and Monday/Tuesday. Quite warm, not sunny, today.

I am now keeping up with the firewood supplies/needs. I have had quite a lot of suitable pallets in and cut 2 yesterday and 2 more this morning. When I get home I will cut the blanks and chop when I need them. I have now got a stock of 20 nets which this season, due to the nets not coming till late, is something of a miracle. I really thought I was going to run out. The annoying thing is that I reached a saturation point of sticks and nothing to put them in; and wood to cut and chop and nowhere to put it to store ready for chopping. All for the moron who 'wanted' me to do his sticks! Still I enjoy chopping wood as much as I enjoy planting trees. My spruce is almost "there" for felling. I aim to put a reed bed in for sanitation if the council will allow. Not sure if Powys is progressive enough.

I am going to see a roller for my fields this afternoon on a local dealer's farm. He has one for sale-but won't tell me the price-obviously wanting to get me hooked before he tells me it is cheap at twice the price I want to pay. I have a few weeks grace before I need it. Still very wet under foot. I am also looking for a set of chain harrows, ideally 8ft wide. I am toying with the spring tine grass harrow which we stock at work, but that is mounted on the tractor and my old tractor-60 years old-is not keen on mounted implements. The hydraulics work, but slowly up and rapidly down in spite of the fact that it is new oil and full! We'll see how the price is first. I should be in tomorrow and may have an answer to my harrow problem a neighbour could have an old set which I can re-join with binder twine to make it authentic and save a few bob into the bargain!

Mistress Rose



Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15539

PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 18 8:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

The countryside runs on baler twine! We use that or the odd bungee, but not as much as some people. Hope you get the harrow and roller sorted Gregotyn. I got a new lot of nets in plenty of time this year as I have been a bit close once or twice, and in full season it isn't always easy to get the size you want. I had about 4 days when I actually had no log sacks on order, but one of our other outlets has now ordered 20. Still best I have been for a while.

Jam Lady, glad you are fully back on power. You seem to have things well organised except when you get low mains voltage, which shouldn't be too often. I can see that your stony soil would cause problems with putting the whole supply underground.

We can get primroses and some which are a sort of polyanthus but with single stems. To me they smell completely different. I am going to have to go down to our local green grocer and find something today, as he usually has a reasonable selection. Most years I can just pick a good bunch from the garden, but at the moment there are very few.

cassandra



Joined: 27 Mar 2013
Posts: 1733
Location: Tasmania Australia
PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 18 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

a generator sounds like it was a good investment JL - not the ideal time of year to be out of electricity - glad it is all sorted now. I am trying to type with a kitten asleep on my left forearm. How she does it is beyond me.

I have spent a couple of days getting my campaign as organised as I can at this point in time - I have set up a candidate page (not currently live) and am slowly adding all my friends to my disguised personal page.

I chose a photo of the East Coast I took some time ago as the background image for the printed material. Business cards, window posters (as opposed to roadside ones) that I will print at home, a magnetic label for the side of the ute, a note book, and that's about it. The commercially printed stuff I have mocked up with VistaPrint, knowing full well they will start offering me discounts the longer it takes me to lodge my order. The background is a nice beach scene from the nearby beach I go to with the dog.



It will be watermarked on the posters, and hopefully on the magnetic panel, but full colour on the rest. Overlaid on this is the portrait I had taken today. Basically I took my hi-res camera into town, baled up random strangers, and asked them to take my picture, then chose the best of the bad lot. I can't post it here as it is indeed hi res, and I have not saved a copy at lower resolution for fear of accidentally losing the raw image, haha.

So apart from placing ads in newspapers I am ready to go.

The district does include a lot of the area where I stood for council, so that will get attention last of all (though is in the broadcast range of the radio station I will be advertising on). It extends from just north of Bicheno on the East Coast (a glorious place), includes both the Tasman and Freycinet peninsulas and a few urban centres, of which Sorell is the most stressed, though Brighton is a close second. Any sensible person would have made it a less widespread and complicated boundary, but apparently sensible is not in the lexicon of government.

Poppet remains the most important person in the house (if you ask her), and Billy is getting rather more exercise the he is accustomed to. The ute is booked in for a wiring check to make sure the indicators and other lights are working (I have a suspicion the left turn indicator is not working, and when I apply the brakes, the front park lights turn on), and now we have staggered past the last two days of heatwave, the ute will be cleaned out internally and given a bit of a wipe-over on the outside, preparatory to a more vigorous wash closer to the date.

derbyshiredowser



Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 980
Location: derbyshire
PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 18 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I've just had to drive to the vets in Ashbourne to pick up tablets for our eldest dog, it was heavy rain , dense fog and the roads are flooding even the main ones. I get home and find an amazing picture of Cassandras dog walking beach and suddenly I'm relaxed, very nice.

gregotyn



Joined: 24 Jun 2010
Posts: 2201
Location: Llanfyllin area
PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 18 10:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
    

I suggest you get Poppet to sleep "beyond" you if it allows two hands to type-extra speed-Cassandra. Once this election gets underway you will not have time to type singlehanded! I do the two handed typing, using one finger from each hand which I call the double chicken system. Seriously, I hope all is going to plan regarding the election for you. I wouldn't count on the print company offering the discounts as time progresses; they may think/will realise that you are desperate and put the prices up? The photo looks lovely of the coast, a good back-drop. Anyway preparation and then presentation are all; good luck. The ute operating is essential, change of oil, as well as the wiring too, I would recommend if it has not been done for a while-you can shoot me down-but it would be sensible, not that I am noted for common sense where I am concerned! I pay now and regret it later.

There is no substitute for baler twine, MR, how much can I sell to you? We stock it and always buy a year ahead, this years I have housed since September. This way we are able to compete with others who pre-order lots of it, but take delivery nearer the time wanted. We sell about a pallet whereas others sell lorry loads. We also sell silage net and silage wrap and are able to get good rates for delivery next year without penalties as there may to be more competitors manufacturing. I am away soon to sort the price on the roller which looks in good order. It is a series of 6 inch wide flat discs rather than the ridged "Cambridge" type, which I like better, but flat rolls are suitable for grassland.

Glad you are up and running now JL. with the electricity I wondered if you could do it all for yourselves and tell the generating authority where to go. You have water running through your ground which would do the job for you in the winter and perhaps enough in the summer when your needs are less I would think, though air conditioning takes a lot of power in the summer. I am only guessing I know nothing about the generating game!
Got to go running late now. Rugby rules today!

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