Jo and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
This is the view from my front window. usually there are hills, then distant mountains. This week we can see as far as the next block..
Alright, maybe it wasn't that bad, but a good, therapeutic whinge never hurt anyone. This week has been defined by smoke. A pall of it hangs over the state. 80 bushfires around Tasmania, mostly far out in the bush away from property and people, but hundreds of thousands of acres have burned, and the smoke shrouds the sun, which casts an eerie light, and we are breathing smoke, peering through smoke to drive, all our washing smells like smoke, and all of our houses, because you can't keep the windows closed forever. It is hot and dry, hotter and dryer than it has ever been, and it feels like we are living in the apocalypse. If there are zombies out there, we would never know, because they could sneak up under cover of the smoke screen and we would never see them..
Tasmanian dams are down to record lows all over the state and water restrictions have begun. Driving through farm country is so sad, because there is no grass. I don't know what the animals are eating. I mowed the 'lawn' the other day, and was enveloped in a cloud of dust because the 'lawn' now consists of bare dirt with a patchy dead grass thatch covering and an occasional persistent weed. This is all something I might expect were I living on the edge of the outback, eking out a living on marginal desert farmland, but I moved to Tasmania for the green and the rain and the pretty roses. This year, the mainland summer moved south. Ugh.
Living in the heat and the persistent smoke haze has made me rather depressed about the weather of the future. I told my children I was so very sorry that my generation had finished off the job of ruining the planet for them. No wonder Chinese tourists are so excited to come to Australia and see blue skies. They live in this kind of smog all the time, man-made, from the factories that churn out our 'stuff'. This just makes me so much more determined not to buy more stuff, because why should our need for cheap, pretty baubles mean that a very large slice of the world's population doesn't get to see the blue sky on a daily basis?
When I haven't been moping around suffering from SAD (Smoke Affective Disorder) or praying for rain, I have been assisting The Girl in the enormous task of packing up her entire life into cardboard cartons to send her off to university in a city far away from me. This has been sad and hilarious at once. The Girl has kept every piece of paper she ever wrote on since she learned to write at the age of four. Also every autumn leaf, feather, sewing and art project has been treasured. While I was busy filling the recycling bin she was reading me snippets from the dictionary of the new language she invented, age nine. There were only four words filed under 'N', one of which was the word for niche/alcove. Because that is one of the first words you would need to include in a new language..
So, all her things are donated, recycled, thrown away, or fitted into six cardboard cartons and two suitcases. I am very proud of her. It is hard to whittle away all those concrete reminders of her past. But today we had a party for her, and she was laughing away at all the memories she shares with one of her best buddies who has shared every life experience with her since they were two years old. The memories are all there in their heads and hearts, and can never be burnt up, flooded out, or eaten up by moth or rust..
It is rather melancholy imagining life here without her, as we count the days she has left with us. But she is heading to an exciting new life and is happy, so we will be happy too. We WILL be happy..
Friday morning I woke up and decided my house is too big, and I want to move. In a couple of weeks we will wake up and find ourselves as a family of three rattling around like peas in a giant house with five bedrooms, two living areas and a study. So I now I have another large logistical problem to obsess about. Because, why not? I accidentally got onto the internet and found a very tiny house which I am rather drawn to and the wee girls absolutely adore.. oops..
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We, on the other hand, where we should have been getting snow have been getting glorious sunshine and above zero temperatures. Frankly I can live with that any time, although the lack of snow is dreadful for the local alpine economy. Of course winter (for us) is far from over, but nobody bothered to tell my crocuses and daffs that. Still, I'm not convinced that this "climate change" is not actually completely natural. By that I mean of course pollution is changing our climate but I personally feel climate change (not related to pollution) is probably completely natural - not sure if I am making sense there.
And I hear you on your house being too big. Now my last son has moved out I am rattling around in what was originally a five-bedroomed house. At some point I will think about moving but for the time being I am staying put as I love where I live, and in any case, if I move nearer to town I will probably pay almost the same for a two-three bedroomed apartment. I'll worry about that for another day. Good luck to your daughter - I bet she will have a blast! Anna
I feel for you, having another child leaving the nest soon. Why must they go and leave us? It's all so bittersweet.
It is bittersweet to see our children launch out into the world on their own. They have so many neat adventures in front of them and I promise, as hard as it is, you will marvel in the things your daughter does.
Be blessed!
I used to sometimes post on Simple Savings (on Mimi's blog) under the Nom de Plume, Mrs Tiggywinkle. It was there that I found your blog which I read for inspiration, laughs and good book tips (those gorgeous Alan Bradley books, for example..Flavia - such a gorgeous character). Anyway, to get to my point, I just wanted to ask about your food dehydeator. I just bought a Sunbeam one and can't seem to get anything except apples to work well. Do you kind of half dry the fruit? Do you keep it for long? Any tips on using the dehydrator would be welcome. Maybe I just need encourage,ent though because the dried fruit is so different from what I am used to buying. Thanks:)
Mrs Tiggywinkle/Lizzie
I've been telling my husband for years that I want to move to Tasmania because it's Summers are milder. When I mentioned this during our own recent hot spell, he reminded me of the heat and bushfires you're currently experiencing. Obviously, I need to rethink and have decided that Antarctica might be the place for me now that Tassy is too hot!
Meg:)
Keep your fingers crossed (as I am) as there may be some solid rain for both of our spots on this planet over the next few days. Yes, the climate has drifted south this year and I've heard quite a few people now saying that this year. Welcome to my summer, it is not good.
Sorry to read that your girl is flying the coup this week. That is hard and you have my sympathies.
Downsizing is a very rational decision. The editor and I live in a small house and I know people living in very large houses whose children have long since flown the coup and I reckon they struggle with that choice and space. Plus maintenance on the place - even new houses require maintenance - and rates, energy bills etc. are all heaps more in a bigger house. I once travelled around Australia for six months (a month in Tasmania, by the way) living out of the back of a small hatchback and I reckon you don't really need a lot of stuff to live day to day.
PS: Watch out for those pesky zombies... :-)!
Cheers
Chris
Your situation (at the moment) is certainly a"pall"ing! Don't be depressed about the future climate; it could take many turns - some of them good! You are one hugely adaptable family, too, and you have each other - that's a lot in your favor.
Cheers,
Pam
And as for The Girl going away, for awhile, I'm with you there. I never cried so much in my entire life after I had dropped off my oldest son at university (over 13 years ago), which was all of 1 hour's drive away. Since then, he has come and gone (as has our younger son), lived in Europe for 3 years, lived across the U.S., now he's back and happy as a clam. You know you haven't "lost" her, as well as you know that young birds must fly.
Pam
I am shocked by all the smoke and fires. Hope more people wake up to climate change as it seems only extreme events prompt any action. Maybe the zombies threat will persuade people to act.
Heather, I think I will move to a house with no lawn.. that will fix that problem. Blue sky I do not have such influence with..
Fran, rain!! The rain dancing worked! Well done you! I can feel the garden gratefully slurping it up. I watch with much interest as always, as you experiment madly in your garden. You have no fear, and are willing to try anything - I love that, carry on the good work:)
Debbie, children leaving home, what can you do? I want to keep them home under my mama hen wings, but they want to leave home and fly and have adventures, and I want that too, but eek!
jj, how wonderful to see you here! I often read your comments on ADR and wish you had a blog, because I find your ideas and lifestyle so interesting. Now we can really talk:)
Now, funny you should mention turning my home into a community house, a friend suggested that the other day. I have another friend whose suburban permaculture garden and house is regularly full of international woofers.. I have considered this idea as generally a Good Thing. If only I liked people.. Don't get me wrong, I am totally in favour of humanity and love nearly everyone I meet, but only for a maximum of two hours, and then I want them to go away.. I really am an incurable introvert. The world's extroverts have my unqualified support to start and thrive in communities, and this house would be perfect for that, but I would descend into a nervous breakdown after about three days. It is a good thing to be older and to know myself. I will have to find some other way to do good in the world. I could write about other people's communities:)
Mrs Tiggywinkle/Lizzie, of course I remember you, lovely to hear from you again, glad you enjoyed Flavia:) I have the Sunbeam dehydrator too - small, round, with several trays? Are you having trouble getting the fruit dry enough, or is it too dry? I find I have to keep moving the trays around because the bottom tray dries better. I don't think you will ever get fruit to look like supermarket dried fruit because they add preservatives, and often oil as well. I add nothing, don't even dip in lemon juice as per instuction booklet, just bung in raw fruit and dry it, for about a day and a half, depending on the fruit (I turn it off at night in case I burn the house down). My favourite whole food shop has a section of organic dried fruit which looks just like the fruit I dry, so I figure I am doing it right. My apple and pear I dry till crispy, like chips, and my apricots are brown and chewy, but delicious. Hope this helps, feel free to keep asking questions until you get the answer you were looking for:)
Meg, yes, next stop Macquarie Island for the perfect summer:)
Chris, it is raining! Real, actual, heavy rain! So exciting!
re downsizing - I have always been inspired by holiday cabins. So small, no wasted space, yet we always have a great time in them and don't feel cooped up. I love the photos of your small house on your blog - it's perfect. I think we are tricked into believing that we need all this space..
Pam, one thing, if I move somewhere small the kids won't be able to move back in..
Judy, yes, family of three soon.. the dynamic changes again. It is so good to see them grow and change. Promise not to listen to any sad songs, that would be fatal, I don't need any excuse to burst into tears at the moment..
Gretchen Joanna, the fires are hopefully out with today's rain, but I have never seen smoke like we have experienced this week.It is something many mainland communities experience most summers; it really does feel as if the climate is moving south.. I feel for your friends rebuilding. That would be very hard.
Has the rain helped with the fires and smoke down there?
An Australian jj! Now that is truly splendid:) Yes, I absolutely agree that rolling up our sleeves and getting stuck in is one of the best ways to keep hoping and not despairing about the future. We really can make all the difference in our own lives; we won't necessarily change the world, but changing ourselves is aspiration enough most days, working out to be fair and kind and sustainable..
As to selling. Nooooo. Your kids will come and go and come again. And you can walk to work. And your house is gorgeous and has such a high quality finish. And all the work in the garden. And the cubby-slash-coop awaiting chooks. And the view. And the double glazed windows. And I found your place even though I forgot the address.
PS my phone died on way home. A week without it. Until my son fixed it. Will send photo soon.
PPS. Keep the beautiful house. Or sell it to me!
Exactly, that is the classic definition of an introvert. I love people too, I love catching up with them and have a great old time. In fact, at Christmas a lovely person said that I was so entertaining that I could be part of a rent-a-crowd. Lovely. But then they must go elsewhere for a while, whilst my batteries happily recharge.
More than you would believe! Magic is the art and science of changing consciousness in accordance with will. And this world stinks of magic to me as it has been taken a little bit too far, for the world will not run on magic. The dark arts of marketing is one good example of that use.
Oooo! How did we slip into philosophy? Nice to hear that you received some rain. I piked up 17mm yesterday much to my relief. I do hope the dams are filling up in your beautiful state.
Cheers
Chris
Chris, yes, that 'magical' thinking that encourages us to believe that we 'need' all the stuff and the personal space and a home theatre, and a pool..
sad and wonderful to read about your daughter going to uni. what a big life change - for you all. it's a cliché, but it all sounds like a new chapter is unfurling before you, somehow!