Rosemary's Ramblings

August 2011 Blog

Began the month by putting my back out of kilter simply by getting out of bed! However, a visit to the osteopath put that right. It's a bit scary how easily I can put it out, thinking it might happen in an inconvenient place, but so far so good. I have been lucky. I am lucky also to have no arthritis.

We had a couple of visits from Ray's Jehovah Witness friend, Sarah. As both times I answered the door and invited Sarah and her companion in, I could not just leave them, so I stayed in for the discussions. I usually manage to be in the garden or in my room and so avoid doing this. Sarah is a very nice Maori lady. She preaches gently. I find it sad. The Jehovah's Witnesses are so near to the truth in many ways, but as President Uchtdorf says, a slight deviation of a compass course in the beginning leads one a long way astray in the end. I am amazed at the different interpretation they put on many of the scriptures. To the natural mind, their interpretation can seem as good as ours. I am so thankful for the Book of Mormon which verifies the Bible as we interpret it. I did not argue the point with them. As H. Burke Peterson said, “Remember, you can listen to understand, not necessarily to agree.”

Which reminds me, I have accomplished one goal I set for myself this year. I have finished reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish! I am nowhere nearer being able to speak Spanish though! I have now started reading the Spanish New Testament. That is going to keep me quiet for a long time.

I decided I need to add another chapter or two or three to my Recall, even though OPL covers the ground. I would like to have my life under one cover, as it were. However, as I begun reading journals of 20 years ago, I wonder whether I will ever accomplish this. What amazes me is how much I used to do in those days.

Ray has been telling everybody that we have had 'a death in the family'. The old pigeon finally died at 18. He was hardly cold in his grave under a vegetable bed before I invaded and took over his hut. It was a dusty and tedious job cleaning out the hut, and it did not smell all that sweet. I spent a morning at it, and then proceeded to make the hut into my 'potting shed'. It has given me an incentive to improve my garden.

Ann Silva and I had a misunderstanding one day standing at the door of Count Down in an icy wind. Ann is a person I cannot hear well at the best of times, and this was nowhere near the best of times. I thought I had invited her and Keith to lunch on a certain day, and she had actually been inviting us to lunch at their place. So while we were waiting for them to turn up, they were waiting for us. A phone call sorted things out. She said her lunch would not keep, whereas mine I could freeze for another day. So we went there. I took our dessert, which was apple crumble, as she had not prepared anything for that.

Ann and I had been trying to come to an arrangement about a drum carder I had, which she wanted to buy. As I never use it and probably never will, I wanted to give it to her. She could pay me in citrus fruit if she wanted. They have masses of citrus trees, and she always gives me citrus anyway. She insisted on paying, and gave me $120. (The carder cost me $282 about twenty years ago, so as she insisted on paying, I did not feel I was robbing her.)

With my gardening resolve newly formed, I spent all the money on the garden. I bought two new rose bushes. I chose scented roses. I stocked up on potting mix, and seed mix, and bought blood and bone fertilizer and lime. Finally I spent the last $13 on a sprayer, so that I can spray the weeds on my paths instead of the time-consuming business of digging them out. This was after Ray and I, especially Ray, had spent considerable time trying to get his old sprayer operational. Needless to say, we failed.

Now I am reading up on 'companionate' gardening. If after all this, the garden is no better than before, nothing has been lost, and the carder is at last being used. As to the roses. I had to dig a whole new rose bed. That kept me busy for a couple of days. I transplanted a few plants from my crowded original rose bed to keep the new roses company.

As we have mentioned there has been controversy over the southern entrance (that's our entrance) to the Maungatautari Ecological Island. Access to the public was cut off. It was re-opened for a while, then closed again. Last week I read in their newsletter that an alternative access had been provided, thanks to a farmer who allowed a paddock to be used, and carpentering skills of volunteers who built steps down from the parking lot. When I read that, we determined to go to the enclosure in case it gets closed again. They had to make a new 'double lock' gate in the fence. We found that much has been done to enhance our enjoyment of the tracks in the enclosure. We wandered around one of the tracks and it took us hours. You'd think we had studied and learned all the information tablets in that time, but that was not the case. We just meandered. It was great.

We have walked Blue Springs Walkway, the Waikato River Trail and in Barnetts Bush. Nothing new in all that, but it just shows we are still alive and walking – or sauntering. So we go into Spring. September was always my favourite month, both in northern and southern hemispheres.
May you all enjoy a pleasant September. The Rambler.