Iron , not ironing!

Back to see the Doc again today. Still have a problem with iron, or rather the lack of it. I had the usual test last thursday and got the call to come on it. Everything we good, or explainable, except the iron. There is some issue with my blood glucose levels, but the blame there can rest squarely on the shoulders of the Easter Bunny! Everything else is good ... except iron.

Whilst not being a rabid carnivore I always thought I ate enough red meat as I haven't really had an issue with low iron before the Thyroid Cancer.  Even after the partial and total thyroidectomy there was no hint that I was anaemic. In fact I was amazed at how well I felt after all three operations. None of the dozens of blood tests I had back then showed any issue.  That was back in August 2012.    Since the Radioactive Ablation in February 2013 there has been a consistent problem with energy, or rather the lack of it, depleted iron levels and a low blood count. Beginning September 2013 the Doc started to hunt for the answer and since then I have had every test known to man to isolate the issue. I have been tested for pretty much every kind of cancer and they have all come back with reasonable results, but with nothing to flag an iron issue. 

As part of that ongoing investigation I was referred to a gastric specialist in January.  In February he, amongst other things, implanted a camera in my stomach while I was under general anaesthetic to rule out bleeding ulcers or coeliac disease as a reason the the iron problems. Again everything came back normal and whilst normal is a good thing it doesn't help when I can't lift my head off the pillow or walk any distance without having to rest and recover.  The gastro bloke reckoned I wasn't consuming enough red meat and so he gave instructions as to how much red meat I needed to consume before the next round of tests.   I have now undertaken a "meat feast" where I have had red meat at least once a day, every day and am also taking iron supplements.   Those results caused the call in from the Doc today. Yes, the numbers have improved a little, but I am still way off "normal". 

The effects of the iron deficiency are becoming a real issue. Gone are the days of an afternoon spent mowing. I can now do about 10 minutes without having to stop and rest.   So if the iron issue isn't a new cancer, coeliac disease, bleeding ulcers, or lack of consumption what is causing the problem??? I asked if it was from being made Radioactive and so Doc is now turning his mind to that as a cause. 

 
Thyroid cancer does affect a lot of people, but it is not high profile and as such there is little information available on the net in Australia about it. If you were to search the Australian Cancer Council website you would struggle to find anything more than a passing reference to Thyroid Cancer. Searching worldwide does glean a little more information and today I think I hit pay dirt with a couple of lines on an America Thyroid Cancer Survivors website. The following words were buried in a link about Radioactive Ablation under the title "Other potential side effects of RAI" (RAI being the acronym the americans use for Radioactive Ablation). Anyway it said... "Temporary or permanent decreases in blood cell counts can also occur. " YIPEE!!!! Finally a possible reason the lack of iron. Today one of the things Doc said was that my blood count was finally on the rise. So hopefully with some further research by the qualified one ( I rate my Doc, he rocks)  there might be an answer coming.   He is also trying to organise a transfusion for me of chemically manufactured iron (as opposed to a blood product).  This might take some weeks or even months to arrange, but the process has begun.  

Hoping to feel quite normal again sometime soon.  

This may well have been the cause of the iron issues.  Not really the case of what doesn't kill us makes us stronger!!!

Moving house, not unlike moving mountains!

My sister has sold up the house she build over 20 years ago and so, as you do when someone else wants to move in, you pack up all your possessions and move on.  Her problems commenced when her house sold the day it went on the market to the first people who saw it and she wasn't able to find a house she liked!  So instead of moving from one home directly into another she moved in HERE with her youngest son AND cat AND dog!!!

Now I don't have an issue with that, in fact I think it might have been my idea,  but where do you put 20 years of accumulated "stuff".  The garage here is full, the garden shed, similar, so we have had to move her "stuff" into a storage unit.  6x3m is the largest we could get...... and it filled very quickly.  The nephew understands the concept of Tetris and maximising every spare millimetre, so he worked his magic moving the boxed material.  Even so that space filled early on the day we were moving the big stuff, the furniture.  So back we went and signed up for unit number 2.  They had no more 6x3's, but I didn't think we would need that.  We were offered 3x1.5m, 3x3m or a rare drive in 3x4m.  I chose the 3x4 thinking that drive in would make it easy and the spare space would be a bonus.  Ha!  There is no spare space!  The 3x4m was filled in two deliveries and that included stacking bookcases on top of bookcases!!!

Since that filled I have now received 5 ute fulls of "extras" here at home.  Mostly outdoor furniture, garden tools, outdoor umbrellas, pots and more pots.

The good news is sister has found a house she does like and the wheels are in motion for a super speedy settlement.  So in about 6 weeks (although I am hoping for 4 weeks)  the whole process will be reversed.  Truckload after truckload of furniture and boxes will be taken OUT of the storage unit and into the new home.  The new house is nice.  The gardens need some loving, but I might acquire the rear yard for more veggies! The house will hold MOST of what she owns, but I am lead to believe that there will be a rationalisation of goods.  She will have a dedicated sewing room too. YAH!  So no more sewing machine on the dining table.

Moving house is stressful and expensive, but when the dust has settled she will have a beautiful home.

Watch out for the "Operation Rationalisation" coming to Gumtree, eBay and a garage sale soon!  Who needs a pogo stick and some stilts?

Now these photos come from a phone and were shot in almost total darkness as they were snapped as we were doing a quick drop off this morning.   I'll substitute better shots when I can.

Update:  added 2 pics from the second unit, the hi rise!

What to pack? First Aid for campers.

Super excited about the new camping trailer, even though it won't arrive until August.  I've been listing and collecting things I think I need to pack for the first of many weekends away.  Crockery, cutlery, stemware, pots and pans, cooking utensils and bedding are all easily gathered together as I seem to have a multitude of EVERYTHING here.

Each car has a small emergency first aid kit, but I did want a dedicated one for the trailer.  I've looked at some commercial kits, but none seem to be suitable for my needs.  So I decided to assemble my own.   Once again the net supplies great information so I made a bit of a list and again found I already had the majority of the contents on hand.   So far my first aid kit is fairly extensive with creams for burns, antiseptics, itches, a tube of Paw Paw and a bottle of Aloe Vera which are both good for just about everything.  Plasters, non adhesive wound dressings and tape are for any broken skin with scissors, bandages and butterfly adhesives for more serious hurts.  Also packed are latex gloves, safety pins, antiseptic wipes and a digital thermometer.   Drugs included are antibiotics, antihistamines, rehydration tablets and the usual suspects... neurophen, aspirin and codeine.   The drugs I take to replace my mankey cancerous thyroid need to be refrigerated so they will be kept separate, but an esky will work just fine.  I have one esky, but might purchase a second smaller version for the drugs.

I'm not sure what else I might need, so the first few trips will be very close to home.   Facebook offers some good info and I joined a Caravanning and Camping Groups which seems very friendly and helpful.  

It will, no doubt,  take a few journeys before I get fully organised and know what I need and what is excessive, but surely that is part of the fun of it.   I like the idea of GLAMPING.  That little bit of luxury.  Perhaps a candleabra, recliner, maybe a spa?  Ok, maybe a bit excessive for a 6x4 camping trailer, but I will be pursing the more comfortable end of the camping spectrum.

So what am I missing here?  What else do I need to make my first aid kit complete?  Any ideas, tips or tricks  most welcome.

Light Sussex or Welsummers? Choosing chooks!

Well I took one step closer to self sufficiently sunday morning.  I bought a chicken coop!  I hadn't planned to buy a coop although I have been tossing up whether to just continue to buy eggs at the fruito or go all out and "grow my own".   I hadn't made a firm decision but was wavering towards the fruito option!!   This indecision has been about 12 months in the making, with me going backwards and forwards between being a producer or just being a consumer.  Whilst I saw the benefits as far as recycling vegetable scraps and bug control in the veggie patch goes, I just couldn't see myself being a chook wrangler!  

I've never had chooks before,  never touched a chook and whilst I don't endure the same bird fear my sister has, I'm just not fussed on them.  I'm not a big consumer of eggy deggs either .  The Old Cheese on the other hand IS a big egg consumer but she too has lead a chook free lifestyle for her 84 years.  Then a couple of mates stuck their two bobs worth in and both commented on how good it would be to have a few chookies in the yard,  espousing the benefits of the feathered egg producer.  I was still hesitant but when I found a super cheap coop for sale locally I was hooked.

So with coop selected and collected the big question is what breed of chookie to keep.  The coop will hold 4 in comfort, but I was only planning to have 2 chooks.  The dude I bought the coop off suggested Isa Browns. Said they lay every day.   I like the look of the Light Sussex and the Welsummer has been suggested as a good producer of large brown eggs.  2 chooks should give me 10-14 eggs a week thru the warmer months and less thru winter.  That is PLENTY for myself and the Old Cheese.  Sister will reap the excess.  I had not realised how many breeds there were until I surfed the net last night  and found page after page of chookies to choose from!  All have their pros and cons and some are definitely prettier than others!  But how do I decide?   And WHERE does one obtain a pair of chookies???

I'm getting my head around the lingo "Point of Lay", "Pullets" and "Coccidiosis".  I know I need to buy at about 18-20 weeks to ensure they are layers and I need to buy from someone reputable so they come to me wormed and vaccinated.   But I still have no idea where that person or place is!   Apparently different breeds have different attributes.  So many things to consider... broodiness, aggressiveness, frequency or laying, hard feather, soft feather, egg size and colour.  I have read how some breeds will tear apart your veggie patch and that the last thing I want!    Who would have thought choosing a chook would be such a minefield!!!

The breed names bear little or no resemblance to any of their attributes.   The Silver Laced Wyandotte is a very pretty bird, but maybe a bit showy, but its name gives me no idea about its temperament or attributes!    I do like the look of the Light Sussex and the Welsummer, but the Isa Brown is "reliable" said the seller of the coop.  I could also consider the black Australorp and the New Hampshire.  The Frizzle and Silkies are out though.  They are all show and no go! It would make my decision much easier if their breed names reflected their egg producing potential!

I haven't even considered the equipment needed to feed and water them.  Do they get leg bands? How do I fox proof the yard and poor Old Pilchy the cat. I know he is scared of them! One came in the yard once and the old boy was quivering in his flea collar.

I wonder if there is a chicken chooser app somewhere that could help me with this all important decision.   All suggestions gratefully received!

And here it is, the coop,  a little slice of chookie heaven in my backyard!

I should have stayed home!!!

Yep, I shoulda stayed home this morning.  I even worked out a shonkey plan to keep busy to stay home, but it didn't pan out so at 9am I was standing at the entry of the Camping and Carvanning show waiting for the gate to open.

Back in 2012, just before I got crook, I bought a new tent.  It had been many years since I spent my weekends sleeping under the canvas... but the time had come to get back into it.  I was spoilt in the 90's and the 00's by Rod who will only sleep under 5 stars, not a galaxy!  I always liked the camaraderie of the caravan park,  something sorely missing from your 5 star resort, so my mind was turned to prepping for retirement and canvas was again considered.    But as you know I got crook and the tent has never been unpacked.  After due consideration I decided I wanted a higher level of comfort and began to consider my options.   The pop up Avan is most likely my ultimate purchase, but with a base price of about $24K ($32K when optioned up) and a new car needed to drag it about, it is not an 'now' option.

After doing a lot of Gumtree and Carvansales dot com type research I warmed to the idea of a camping trailer, especially the hard floor camping trailer.  Weighty, but still able to be towed by a Laser and reasonably easy to erect.  They seem to hold their value well so I headed to the Show to look at new models.  PRICEY was my first response and as I used the winch to open and close one I thought it was probably something I could do on a regular basis.  $12k was beyond my immediate budget and half the price of the base Avan, so I wandered the aisles of the show looking for alternatives.   Manufacturers and retailers had their best on show and the prices reflected that.  I just wanted something simple and reasonably priced for travelling alone or with one other, but couldn't seem to find what I sought.

Then I lucked across the "MARLIN" brand camping trailer.  I watched a demo of one being set up and thought it looked very easy.   There was a few "older" people looking at them.  When I say older, I do mean my age, but no one wants to admit that!      As I was standing inside the screened room of the larger unit a fellow prospective purchaser pointed out that there was a smaller unit.  He all but dragged me over to see it and it looked pretty good.   In fact it looked too good to be true!   I listened as the salesmen talked to others about their product and the old bloke pushed me to try and open one.   One handed and 40 seconds later it was open ready for the floor to receive 4 pegs.  It was done!!!  One pole inside needed to be extended and slipped into its holder, the awning was already attached. I could reach everything easily and I was super impressed.

I hung about for a while, but eventually headed off with a lot of info and a credit card burning a massive hole in my pocket!!

Once home the research began.  The net is amazing for this stuff.  I sought independent reviews and found a couple of blogs where people were travelling using this camper.  I also read trade reviews and comparisons and read nothing negative in any of them.   In fact all reports were very positive.  I asked my blogging mate Rebecca Hamby for her opinion on camping trailers in general and this one in particular and she, as always, gave top shelf advice.  Having read all the net material, Rebecca's comments and and knowing they are produced in Erina I hatched a plan to hang off till another camping show in May and one buy then.  But that changed and I was back at the Show this morning waving the EFTPOS card about.

Again there was no pressure.  The sales dudes were both lovely.  They offered advice and answered every question easily.  After a bad night, I wasn't at my best so I headed for some shade, a cold drink and a bathroom, but I came back and paid my deposit and elected for an August delivery date with the ability to add more options between now and then.  You see I don't know if I need the extended drawbar or the Treg hitch or the vertical bracket for the spare wheel?!?!    I need to find out those answers and let them know BUT as they are at Erina I can zip down and ask more questions, seek more advice and change the specs.  

So here she is, my newest toy.  Just need a name for her now!  Any ideas?

A garden full of goodness

Well I thought it might be time to do a veggie bed followup.

 A couple of years ago I was given a Hills Adda garden raised veggie bed for christmas.  The Hills Adda garden are 120x90x30cm corrugated iron veggie beds that sit atop the lawn.  Yes, if you were wondering,  I am difficult to buy for and this was a complete surprise.   So with one bed assembled, filled and producing I thought I should buy another.  I had twin beds going for a couple of seasons and I really had the "growing your own" bug.  In 2013 I bought 4 more beds, so I had 6 in total and finally could rely on a reasonable crop of some items.   As 2103 was drawing to a close I realised Hills were changing the profile of the Adda Garden Bed I had to either jump or miss out forever on expanding the garden with matching beds.  Yes, matching IS important!!!  So I found three more matching beds and my garden of nine beds was complete.

The beauty of the Hills Adda garden is there is minimal wastage.   After assembly and before filling, the cardboard  packaging forms the base of the bed and ultimately kills the grass and then decomposes adding carbon to the mix!   The only bin items are a small plastic bag that the screws came in and two cable ties that held the 4 panel pieces together for transport.  Less than half a handful!!

So with 9 beds I began to look at crop rotation as a method of pest control and soil rejuvenation.  I'm seriously no expert but I do understand the concept.  Root crops should be followed by leaf crops.  Beans "fix" nitrogen issues so should follows plants that exhaust nitrogen in the soil.  Some veggie types will not thrive in beds with some from other families.  It's a minefield, but I am trying to implement a relaible and functional system.

I rarely use fertiliser.  I tend more towards enriching the soil between plantings.  Of course there are times, especially with high yielding crops like cucumbers and tomatoes where  a hit of thrive helps in the dying days of the plants to get just that little bit more out of them before they become compost.

I also avoid pestacides.  I try all the touchy feely "green" alternatives before ultimately removing a pest infested plant.  Soapy water, fish emulsion and cardboard cutout butterflies to name just a few of my oddities. I use chillies and marigolds to entice good bugs and bees into the veggies and use lucern in preference to snow pea straw as a mulching product.

I don't have a water tank, so I rely on rain and "town water".   I'd LOVE a tank, but I don't really have somewhere to put it so that it doesn't look like an eyesore.  No matter how much I water, a few drops of rain will yield a better result!  I think it must be the chlorine in our drinking water that acts to hinder some growth.  I do think I would have more produce with stored rain water tank set up.

When crops are at their peak I wander the neighbourhood with a baskets of excess produce and I often receive fresh eggs for gifted veggies.  Its a very gentle system.  There are only 8 houses in our street, so everyone gets something.   One lovely neighbour, new to the street, has no land for produce, so she has recently gifted me some beautiful art books.  Her late husband being an artist and his collection far exceeds her needs.  So win win!!

The nine beds are all numbered with the aim of making my sparse record keeping easier.  Actually the record keeping is a complete failure!  Growing right now are birdseye chillies, spring onions, carrots, 2 varieties  of tomatoes, corn, silverbeet, 2 varieties of zucchini, cucumbers, red runner beans, french dwarf beans, Rajan super hot chillies, baby squash, celery and capsicum.  There is also a vast array of herbs and some other chillies in pots.  This morning I planted 2 more varieties of beans, specifically as a legume crop to follow a brassica crop in bed 5.  I'm hoping that works well.  Fingers crossed!


As per usual some piccies as a thank you for reading this far!

Last night at the Lass

Facebook being Facebook you sometimes miss important stuff while you are bombarded with unimportant stuff.  This was the case for me last night.  At 7pm I saw a post about Snelvis and the Rancheros playing at the Lass O'Gowrie Hotel in Wickham from 8pm.  Now its a 45 minute drive from mine to the Lass and I had just finished the mowing lawns so I was not at my best.  My gear, which had been strewn over my desk for a week had been cleaned and packed away earlier in the day, but I still needed to cobble together a kit suitable for a live show in a small venue with dubious light. Kit sorted, me tubbed and scrubbed and driving like the wind I made it to the Lass only to find the first band had not set up.  Phew!  Door Security made me giggle when said that I didn't need to show ID as I was "obviously" over 18!  If I was thin skinned I'd have taken offence, but at 53 and no oil painting I was ok with it!  Happy in my skin.   Just as I entered the venue band one kicked off.  5 musicians and singers, no name, just a group of friends making music and enjoying themselves.  The audience was pretty pleased with what they heard and saw.

At 10pm Snelvis and the Rancheros took to the stage and the crowd loved it!   I took photos and sang along to a wild country rock version of Staying Alive.  That got the crowds collective feet tapping!!!  They did a 45 minute set to an appreciative audience.

The venue, albeit small, provided a good light show and the quality of sound was impressive.  I'd shoot at the Lass again.  But I doubt many bands would have been as tight and polished as Snelvis and the Rancheros.

There are more photos of both bands on my flickr stream here.

No point just reading... here's the visual proof!