22.3.2023
Our dear friend Benie has passed away. She has fought so hard to stay alive for ages, but there was no happy ending. I am over awed by her courage. She kept working for her university students and her community till the end, and never complained about the disease or the treatments. Several times a day I hear something and catch myself thinking” I must discuss this with Benie”. We must have known her ever since we came to the area over 40 years ago. We met when we joined the local after Xmas trail ride, and she became an important part of our large trail riding tribe. When she left her husband, she lived with us in the donga until she brought herself a mud brick home up the mountain, but she would come down and join us for curry super on Friday nights where we would discuss everything. We will miss her so much.
Whilst we were phoning the other members of the trail-ride tribe we discovered that another friend had also died that week. Aunty was a small lady with a wicked sense of humour and a surprising amount of energy. Perhaps our memories will be ghosts that find our ghostly horses and trek over the mountains for the rest of our lives.
13.4.2023
The last stages of summer have past, and the hour has changed. We finish outdoor activities earlier and we have started to light fires in the evenings. I was really worried that there would be no tomato crop as the fruit refused to ripen. I usually manage to freeze loads of tomato puree for making winter soups and sauces and I began to think that we would need to change our diet this year. Much to my surprise we got last minute fruit and as it had stayed green so long the tomatoes were huge, so my winter stocks are fine. We have had wonderful a wonderful pear and nashi harvest, and now we are getting abundant figs and apples. The oldest chestnut tree has also produced an unexpectedly good crop, too. I need to get in the next season vegetables and have begun digging over the beds ready for planting.
We have had a big bed swap session. Our tenant, CB, has started to furnish the donga to her own taste. She has brought shelves, a couch and inherited a new bed from Beth’s house. We then needed to put the old stuff away somewhere. Most of it went up to the loft floor that Stevo built above Edd’s shed, but the bed was too heavy to get up the stairs. It was nothing special but Edd did not want to burn it so we drove round all the local charity shops to see if they could rehome it. No-one wanted it so we reluctantly decided to take it to the tip where there is a recycling area. This shop is run by an amazing lady who dedicates her time to saving anything she thinks is still useful. Whilst we were there, we saw a great wooded bed and brought it for $25. I have been looking for a bed for Edd for two years and found nothing I liked so this was a great find. We put it up at home and it looked very much as if it belonged. Since we moved in here Edd’s pillows have lent up against the lime plaster which tends to shed sand so the bed head has an important function.
The goats have started to come into season and the bucks are smelling dreadful. We are now milking by hand once a day, but there is still enough milk to make cheese twice a week. I have not started making hard cheese but I probably should. There is a lot of extra work at this time of year as we deal with all the fruit and vegetables but I got a break from routine last week when I was invited by my friend P to an award ceremony at Government house. I shared a lift to town with an artist friend and borrowed some formal clothes and foot wear from Beth. It turned out to be a nice sunny day and after the ceremony we were all sent out to the garden and served food and drink accompanied by live music. It was very like attending my kids’ university degree ceremonies except some recipients were dead so someone else had collect the award. The best bit was getting together with new people and old friends.
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