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Dear Megg, Suni & GR Family, My health continues to improve, I’m on once a year visits to the outpatients clinic now plus this year I’ve apparently got an MRI booked as well, I’m less than two weeks away from the fifth anniversary of the surgery to remove my cancer so life is getting back to normal now.

The knitting is still going along with some crocheting, I’ve made myself a list of projects to use up as much of my wool stash as I can. I’ve spent a few days winding skeins of wool into balls to get them ready and once those ones are used, I’ll do some more winding ready for the next batch of projects.

I’ve got myself a goals book, with lots of pictures in it to remind me of what I want to achieve during the year –using the wool is on the list, as is cooking more healthy meals (that’s going well), trying new crafts, saving money for a few adventures, replacing some furniture. The decluttering is going apace, I’ve gotten rid of most of the plants that haven’t thrived in my P o T PLANT GARDEN and will scrub the pots out and find some more suitable plants. I’m booked in for the Herb and Chilli Festival, the Sheep and Wool Show weekend and a couple of concerts for later in the year and those are just a few on the list.

I haven’t gotten back to going for walks again yet, I’m finding that the activity required to declutter, water and weed my plants, take the compost out and other activities tend to wear me out easily, but I still try to work through them and I’ve lost weight in the past few months, so that’s okay with me.

I’ve had to get new glasses to help the blurry vision caused by a cataract. I need a referral to get it removed; they don’t have an eye specialist at the hospital, so I’ll see what the GP says. Once that’s fixed everything will be a lot easier, but in the meantime I’m managing well enough, life goes on and I make the most of it.

I caught up with a lot of old friends going back over 40 years recently, had a couple of lovely days, lots of talking and laughing and so many fond memories, and some sadness when we remembered friends who weren’t with us any more. I’m hoping to catch up with some of them again soon, nice things happen sometimes (many times) and that was one of the nicest.

One thing that came out of that weekend was an invitation to join the c RAFT GR o UP some of the people are going to, so I’ll start going on Tuesday and work on some projects with friends. As well as my wool stash I have a lot of bits and pieces of fabric, lace and heaven knows what else to use up, so I can try all sorts of crafty things, and I’ve seen an ad for a second craft group that meets elsewhere as well, and they have a makers’ market every once in a while, so I could have a stall there to sell some of the items I’ve made.

The boys are all doing well, Chris has been promoted to manager at work, he’s still at the some company after almost 20 years, Bryan is his usual self, although he’s been more helpful than usual lately and Ben is still smiling all the time. However, one of his daily carers lost his job recently after he confessed to leaving Ben locked in the car while he wandered off and did some personal business. The lady who let me know said I was very calm about it, I told her I wasn’t calm at all inside, but sharing my feelings would be inappropriate, plus I know they leave a report on why he’d lost his job, so he’ll never get another job working with disabled people (and hopefully children) again. Gosh, it was not something I wanted to hear, Ben can’t talk and therefore can’t ask for help, and if he’d been able to get out of the car he’d have taken off and they were on a major road. The carer should have either taken Ben with him or conducted his business in his own time, there’s no excuse for leaving anyone locked in a car – same goes for furry four-legged people!

I don’t get angry often, but I was when I heard that and I’m glad Ben was okay, they had the doctor and a councillor check him out, so at least the people who work at his house and those at the agency that run it have done the right thing.

Time for me to finish up for now, I hope everyone in the flooded areas and the fire areas is safe and trying to get back to normal, and I was sad to read recently that Pam Cole had passed away, she was an amazing lady and I’ll miss her.

Vicki Judd & the Boys, Bo R o NIA , V I c. Dear Feedback,

I have a vague memory that some time ago Roberino suggested that stock could profitably share space with solar panels. Well it appears that some small studies have been done with this. Sh EEP AND S o LAR PANELS sharing a field in California. I had no idea they grew sheep in California – but that is irrelevant.

It was a great success – the sheep loved it. The panels provide shade, and the sheep like the shade so much in the heat of the day that they spend 70% of their time there. Being much more relaxed they were healthier. The panels continue to provide electricity so good news all round. Cattle would be too big and clumsy and the panels would have to be so high that the extra cost would make the electricity generated unprofitable.

c

eri Masiulanis, W ARRAND y TE , V I c.

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