Kalamunda Farmers Market

Held on Sundays and 25 minutes drive away, but well worth the trip. Val wanted me to buy some fruit and veg for our upcoming trip to Wellington Dam with the Nats Club. The produce was very diverse: lots of interesting plants not available in your local nurseries. Also, an amazing selection of home-cooked meals and treats for dogs. Who knew? There was so much to choose from: bread, olive oils to sample, strange mushrooms, crepes…

I’ll have to go again with a shopping list, now that I know what to expect.

Election

I really don’t like elections. In Australia, voting is compulsory. You can be fined if you don’t cast your vote. Also, the voting system is extremely complicated, with separate sheets for the upper and lower house. I can’t be bothered with all that. I just scribble on my ballot papers in a silent protest.

In England, it was a different story. I worked on the elections: it was a nice little earner! I was in effect getting paid twice, since my branch library was turned into a polling station for the day.

Yesterday, I went to an “early voting” place as I’ll be away from home on 3rd May which is the actual election day. Many people had the same idea. When I arrived at 8.45 am there was already a long queue. There were representatives of all the major parties asking people if they knew what to do: so complicated is the process. I brushed them all off. It took me 35 minutes in the queue. Luckily it was a warm morning or it would have been a cold and draughty wait.

Later, I enjoyed a Moroccan inspired meal in my tagine:

…followed by papaya which is in season right now:

It is delicious served with fresh lime juice. I used to have it every day for breakfast in Singapore.

This is interesting:

https://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/find-legal-answers/books-online/hot-topics-voting-and-elections/compulsory-voting-and-against

Coughs and Sneezes

Since returning from Portugal I’ve done nothing but cough and cough. It is a so-called “dry cough”, whereas on holiday I suffered from a “wet cough”. I think I picked up both on the plane, going and coming back. 

I tried everything, before finally seeking medical advice. I saw a new doctor at the surgery and she was extremely thorough, writing down everything on a piece of paper, as well as handing me several prescriptions. She even gave me some alternatives, which I found a bit disconcerting as I didn’t know which to choose. First was a chest X-ray which showed nothing untoward. She took a nasal swab and sent it off for testing, including for COVID.

In the meantime, I started taking antibiotics: two types together. Surely these will kill off whatever I’ve got! My biggest problem is trying to sleep. The doctor recommended stacking up three pillows in order to sleep on a slope. This is not easy. Here is a pic of all the remedies I’ve tried:

L to R: 3 antibiotics, a non prescription sleeping pill, a medicated cough pastille and a butter -menthol sweet.

You can see I’m getting desperate! Fortunately I was not on any regular medication before all this, which apparently is very good for someone of my age.

Here is an update on Rocky, photos taken a week apart.:

The skin had to be tightly stretched over his knee and as the wound healed it probably itched a lot. He tried to lick it all the time, so first he had to wear a muzzle and then a pair of human exercise shorts to keep him off the area. All because of that inconsiderate Staffy owner.