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Pick me, pick me...

Just sayin’... By Donna Kelly

I

KNOW it's coming. Every year. But I am never quite ready for winter.

We get wood delivered early and, like everyone, have already gone through about a metre, which is a bonus, because there's no point stacking it now. Then there's the clothing. We have a little rack in the hall that leads to the bedroom. And I have a lot of very nice scarves hanging there. Light weight ones. But when winter arrives, the rack becomes the depository of all things heavy. Coats, woollen scarves, hats and even gloves hanging awkwardly off hangers. And the sandals and thongs disappear for about four months while the water-proof boots make an appearance. The shoe thing has become a bit of an issue at our place. We have just had carpet installed in the hall and bedroom, light-coloured carpet, and have made a pact not to wear shoes through there. Hmm. It's worked for about two weeks so far although, I did see Kyle already take a couple of steps before remembering and back tracking. Is there a time frame for this sort of thing? A point where I think "who am I kidding?" and just give up? I lived in Japan for a couple of years and they don't wear shoes inside at all. Just lovely slippers. And they even have toilet slippers. But I digress. Back to winter and it's the heating of the house that is also a juggle. We have a wood fire in the lounge, a very nice Ned Kelly, along with reverse cycle airconditioning/heating. The latter comes on about 6am and then, if we are staying in the house, we crank up the wood fire about 8am. If we are going straight to the office, we crank up the heater in the office about 7am ready for an 8am start. At the other end of the day, we start the wood fire about 3pm, and about 5pm close the bedroom blinds and start up the heater in there. It's only taken 15 years to get it all in sync. Then there's the towels. Six of them. They lay in wait at the front door for when the wooden deck freezes over. We tried all sorts of other things. Chicken wire - dogs nails got caught in that. Salt - just a mushy mess when it all unfroze. We found the towels work best. We just walk out, throw down a towel, walk along its length, throw down another towel and continue until we make it down the steps. At the end of the day, or when it warms up, you just collect them all up the other way and pop them by the front door again. Finally, there's the cost. Wood and electricity aren't cheap. It costs thousands to keep warm, as anyone living here knows. We actually worked out that it would be cheaper to move to Queensland and pay for three months' accommodation rather than pay for heating in the Central Highlands. Not to mention less chance of coughs and colds! Hmmm. I might finish up and here and go and check out Airbnb. Just sayin'...

Hello, I am Owen. I am six months old and an outgoing kitty who enjoys spending my time with people. I don’t want to share a home with any other cats. I have a wonderful fluffy coat and would probably do better in an adult household or a house with older kids. MC#956000010546118 Mount Alexander Animal Welfare is at 24 Langslow Street, Castlemaine. Phone 5472 5277. (Pick me, pick me is run in memory of Rosie and Curly - we picked them!)

The Local - Connecting the Community The Local is all about Connecting the Community. We run good news stories about amazing people and places, and festivals and events. And our fantastic advertisers run great deals for locals and visitors alike.

To give back to the community, The Local has been running its Connecting the Community adverts for more than five years. The adverts are for not-for-profit groups and organisations to lend a hand when finances can be a bit tight - or just don't exist. We all know how hard it can be to make volunteer-run organisations work on the smell of an oily rag! To apply just email donna@tlnews.com.au with your event or organisation. We also put call-outs on our Facebook page and those of the various communities in our wonderful region. We work on a first-in basis, with a nod to time-lines too. There are a few conditions, well mostly that nonfor-profit bit, and also that you aren't grabbing a free advert and then we see a whacking big paid advert in other media. That wouldn't be fair. Cheers, Donna (Ed)

The FIRST play-along ukulele musical bY Jane Cafarella

A kooky ukey fun night out!

21-30 June 2019 Guildford Music Hall 35 Fryers St, Guildford

Bring your uke and sing-along! Starring

REBECCA MORTON as Karla and PETE GAVIN as everyone else Directed By

KATE STONES Be on stage with Karla uked.beintheshow@gmail.com

BOOK NOW! bit.ly/GetUked

Greatest Hits from Opera and Music Theatre Regional tour More information and online bookings www.operavandiemsland.com La Boheme June/July Ballarat and Ballan More information and online bookings www.operavandiemsland.com Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience The Savoy Opera Company Kyneton Bluestone Theatre, August 31, 2pm Tickets on Trybooking