06

I have been trying desperately to get some information on how to take best advantage of my old Rayburn solid fuel cooking stove. I received a very nice e-mail from the Aga Distributors in Australia. Rayburn is made in the same English factory, and if you can't have an Aga, the feeling is, get a Rayburn. Anyroad, the Aga Distributors said that there is a book out, but it might as well cost a million, it's $55. What I plan to do is to present a whole lot of really wonderful titles to my local library, and, for $2 a time, they will order them in. Yippee! But I must do it quickly. Apparently the new CEO is wanting to put a stop to this splurge-time on behalf of its subscribers. Just because I have a few overdue books, once a month, what, doesn't every failed Librarian?

Actually, we do very well for libraries here in the South West. We have the big one in Warrnambool, which is actually bigger than Head Office in Colac (go figure, not even our Librarians understand that one, except W'bool has a bigger population). We have the other branches with, so far, free loans between them (another thing the CEO will stop, hopefully for a very short period once he gets TOLD what he can do with that idea), the local TAFE (College of Technical and Further Edoocayshun - learn to be a chef, motor-mechanic or farmer. Wonderful and useful, unlike being an Arts Grad. that specialises in Medieval History - in Australia? We don't have Medieval History, we're not old enough), and Deakin University, W'bool Campus.

Even if you can't afford the fee as a non-student/non-staff member, you can still browse for free. Fortunately, I know people in both the latter Institutions, and so if I need to get something in, there are possibilities there. I go troppo over new libraries, and just stand there goggling with dribble running out of my mouth at the wealth of possibilities there. I am always amazed at the heroism of authors, to put their inmost thoughts and ideas out on public display, so that anyone can criticise them (and usually do).

So there I was, on Sunday afternoon, nothing much to do, and thought I'd visit my husband at Deakin Uni, where he does security work (and very well, too, in my totally unbiased opinion, he should get a raise. Is there anyone at Head Office reading this? HE SHOULD GET A RAISE, HE'S VERY GOOD AT HIS JOB). Having said the "Hello, how are you, killed anyone lately" stuff (kidding, really, it's what passes for humour over here), I wandered down to the Library and checked out the information they had on self-sufficiency, permaculture and old ovens.

I found a fascinating volume on life in Elizabethan to Victorian times, from the woman's perspective. My goodness, folks, have we got it good. There were horrible things about how one bloke reported that he brought out a leg of ham for his guests, fully half of which had been eaten by flies. Yecch! And then there was the case of the Industrial Revolution, which put paid to many people and a steady, nourishing diet. When we went from cottage industries to machinery, a lot of lives were snuffed out, along with knowledge. Don't get me wrong, I am not one of those Luddite types that wants everyone to go back to horses. There wouldn't be enough horses to go around for starters, and so few know how to properly look after them. Not to mention the medical problems, dietary restrictions and educational backflips we'd be doing. I like the 21st Century. It has more comforts, more ingenuity and more fun than any other. And I get to wear trousers without anybody thinking that I should be locked up. Maybe I should, but not for wearing trousers.

So, looking at this book, and the treasures that are in it, because they did show some beauties of old machinery, I am very grateful that I am a retro-21, able to pick and choose the very best of the old and the new. Without it, I couldn't be telling you this now. Without it, I wouldn't be interested in old lore.

I brought back from our local Library a wonderful selection of books on tractors, and Brian is hard put to not go through them with a fine tooth comb, which is great for someone who is generally disinterested in books. I also picked up in their discard pile, a book for which I only paid 40 cents, and I can't wait to get into - like the other 3,500 books I can't wait to get into. It was published in 1973 and is Homesteading: How to Find New Independence on the Land by Gene Logsdon. Published by Rodale Press, I'll let you know anything interesting in it. I am going to try and read one Reference Book per week, and take notes for all of us, as I believe if I even find one thing of value, the book has paid for itself in spades.

Tomorrow I am heading off to a Salvation Army Women's Conference at Hall's Gap, a couple of hours North of Koroit. I am so looking forward to a brief break until Friday when I will only have my own needs to impinge on me. Hall's Gap is beautiful, and is named after a bushranger, who used this as an escape route. Brian is working tomorrow, so Alice has been farmed out to her best friend's place until Daddy can pick her up tomorrow night. It works well, and we often exchange timetabling victims, who both love the idea. Alice and Cassie made a tree house at the end of the cypress hedge, after I did some secateuring with intruding limbs. They helped feed the animals, cart firewood, do dishes, eat, make a mess in Alice's room, all the wonderful things you expect of this age. Cassie is desperately trying to convince her Mum to take our last kitten, so if you want the little fester, contact me NOW, and no, I won't ship it overseas. I'm sure you have enough of your own.

Cool Days

Persian turquoise skies

daubed with icing sugar clouds

and the sudden grey and black

of thunder-in-the-offing.

The wind picks up

and I feel like flying with it

that if, like a wave, I could pick

the right moment, if only I could

I would soar and dive and roll through

the air

Bright reds of sunsets

vivid rainbows bisecting the heavens

the temperature drops

and I hurry inside to warmth

I regret that I am not there

to savour the clean air

But I am so grateful

for the living cosiness of

the kitchen.

Dominus tecum

Leonie