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Jul 2009


Life has returned to normal

Though we regret not having been able to cope with the little dog, we are very relieved that life has returned to normal.

We don't have to get up frequently to deal with his demands for going out and coming back in. We don't have to move him into the bathroom every night. We don't have to respond to his demands during the night. We don't have to keep the doors shut to keep him from rooting around the house without supervision.

Life is once again quite peaceful. We are both happy with that.

Posted: 22/7/09 8:01 AM

The Homeless Dog Rehomed

We have been having lots of trouble with the little dog. When we first had him he was very obedient and well behaved.

Lately he has become very demanding and hard to please. We believe that he needs more activity than he can get with us. We walk him one or two times every day but when we are at home he is either inside on his cushion or in his basket or outside attached to a running line in the front garden. He has taken to demanding to be let out or let in many times a day which causes us a deal of agro and he has become very disobedient.

We have decided that he needs a home with a secure fence where he can do as he wants and needs more walking and playing than we can offer him. We asked Ross if he would like to walk him but he said that he can't do that because the dog pulls too hard for his comfort.

He doesn't suit us and we don't suit him so we decided to have him rehomed. I got in touch with the RSPCA volunteers at Inverell and they offered to take him.

Last night he woke us up at 1 am demanding to be taken outside. He did his business and was returned to the bathroom where he has been sleeping for several weeks after dirtying the carpet in the lounge room during the night. He demanded to be taken outside again and this out and in went on till 2 am. At our age we don't need to have our sleep disturbed so much.

We had arranged to take him to Inverell today and we were met by the dog carer coordinator who was happy to take him off our hands.

He was at times a nice little dog but his demands got too much for us so we are happy that he has a chance of finding a more suitable home.

Posted: 20/7/09 5:47 PM

The last entry has been revoked.

I went to the Council to check on the heritage listing for our house and found that the house described and photographed was not our house. I mentioned this to the lady at the counter and she sent a message to the Planning Dept in Tamworth Regional Council

Today I received a call from the Strategic Planner at the Council asking me to explain my problem. I had found that the description and the photograph were of a house two doors up from our house so I asked her if she could change the listing to that address. I emailed my comments to her and she replied that she had made the alteration I had requested.

She also asked if our house was suitable for heritage listing to which I replied, "I don't want to answer that question".

I had discovered that the subsidy for heritage building renovations was a mere $ for $. As the value of the house would be reduced if it was heritage listed, I thought that the subsidy probably wasn't worth it.

Posted: 16/7/09 5:18 PM

We live in a Heritage Building

Our house in Barraba has been declared a heritage building which makes me feel good about it.

We are required to maintain the original look of the exterior but I always wanted to do that anyway.

There is an advantage to having your house declared. We can get free advice from the Council about heritage issues and we can get subsidies for some of the maintenance we need to do. I hope to get a subsidy for the renovation of the brickwork and the pointing which needs to be done to make the house look like it did when it was new. This means I won't have to do the work myself as I will be able to employ someone to do it which will be good..

I will have to reconsider the name of the house. It is presently called Currawinya after the house of my great aunts in which I lived in Killara for a few years. That house was named, I believe, after the Currawinya Lakes in south west Queensland which are just 250 km (150 miles) from Weelamurra, one of my great great grandfather's second property. His first Queensland property was Gowrie Station, just west of Toowoomba, which he bought when he move from Sydney to what was then northern New South Wales.

When we were grey nomads, we once drove the 600 km (360 miles) from Gowrie to Cunnamulla which is near Weelamurra. We were impressed with the journey because we identified with the staff of Gowrie Station who would have had to do the same journey with a dray loaded with supplies for the crew at Weelamurra. It would have been quite a journey and much harder than our trip.

Posted: 11/7/09 7:06 PM

Life after Lions

I haven't stopped being a Lion but I have stopped being the Club Secretary.

I had a good year but I am pleased to have recovered a lot of time to do other things.

I am fascinated that the new executive have reverted to the style of meetings which they had before I introduced changes which were recommended at my Lions training as an incoming Secretary.

There is a view that the old ways are the best ways. It is sometimes true but not always,

I hope I don't go the way of my mentor who has asked to be made a privileged member as has doesn't enjoy the meetings at all after 25 years.

He had planned to resign and ask if he could be a non-member volunteer but I convinced him that being a privileged member allowed him to continue his good work on projects without having to go to all the meetings.

Posted: 10/7/09 8:12 AM

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