hollywood hilarities

If i could vote for my favourite blog, i would have to say:
Dave Globull: fuzz, fact, fiction and friction

Click on the links in the Family & Friends blogs menu on the right hand side.

I recommend paying it a visit but to get the stories in order scroll down and start from the earlier posts. His Hollywood adventure is definitely worth the read!

Dave is in California at the moment, he has been staying with his friend Christian, who has visited Tassie several times, as an exchange student and also stayed at Washington street for a few months on another visit. Dave is in the states for 2-3 months.

More Grandad thoughts and grafting apples

I'm finding it odd trying realise that Grandad isn't here anymore. It's sad, seeing as the whole 26 years of my life have included him. It would be a million times harder for Granny seeing as 60 or more years of her life has been with him, I'm not sure how she will go with adjusting to life without him.

It times like this that show me acutely how precious they are and how fortunate I've been to know them. I'm going up to Launceston on Tuesday so will see Granny then. I'd like to pop into the hospital seeing as that's where I saw Grandad last - i want to see the room where he was. The funeral might be next Saturday.

I think i still haven't returned the information Grandad had loaned me about grafting. He did want it back...

Dad & Mum what should i do with it? Does it matter? Some of the info is published in the 1930's.

There will be lots of memories of Grandad that will come up. One that is special is when Grandad and I went out to buy an apple tree in Youngtown (in Launceston) about 5 years ago. The variety of the apple was called "Pink Lady" (I think it's Grandad's favourite) and he had it planted in their yard next to a fence and trained flat along wires directly in front of the fence (espalier). He got someone, or maybe 2 people to graft on some Royal Gala, which is mine and Granny's favourite apple variety. When we bought the tree i was interested in gardening but I was mainly helping Grandad out by driving him to the nursery and helping to buy it. Now that I'm more interested in fruit trees and grafting myself, I have more appreciation for this memory. I also wish I could have learnt grafting from Grandad except that by the time I was interested, his hands were long past the level of dexerity required due to arthritis.

I had forgotten until writing this that I planned to do some grafting this winter. In March I did some budding after I had been to a budding workshop run by the Permaculture Association of Tasmania (click here to see what budding is). I budded 3 buds onto the old apple tree in our back yard, I think they worked and so hopefully in spring they will sent out shoots. If they are successful then there will be 5 different varieties of apples on the tree (Democrate, Gravenstein, Granny Smith, Alexander and Cox's Orange). I'd love to have a tree with many many different varieties, so I will happily keep on adding more types. Owen knows how to do grafting, he grafted granny smith onto the tree last winter (see my old post, including photo about this). I can get him to teach me how to do it (although he sort of showed me before but this time i'll do some for myself).

There are several advantages of having lots of varieties on one tree:
- space saving (just one tree!), therefore good for suburban garden
- different varieties ripen at different times, therefore by choosing the right ones you could have apples from January to maybe July or possibly later (i'm not sure when the latest ones are around).
- interesting variety of tastes
- a better spread of apple availability rather than having a glut of the same type all at once

That's very permaculture.

Grandad said he heard of 200 and something varieties being on one tree. I wish i could remember the exact figure he said. Mum or Dad, do you remember? Dad, I think you were there when he said that, it was earlier this year - maybe christmas? Was it 250?

Yvonne and Owen

Visit Sherrin's post that mentions me and Owen. Click here

I'm too shy to say anymore . Although my good friend Owen has popped up quite a few posts back when we were friends but not quite as good friends as we are now.

There's lots of good things about Owen. I won't go into them here. One nice thing is that Owen has 2 ducks, one is called Jason, named after his brother-in-law who doesn't eat many vegetables (the duck doesn't eat many vegetables) but i don't think the other duck has a name yet and she doens't eat many vegetables either, so Owen has been trying to think of a female name that sounds like "Jason". Unfortunately the female hasn't laid any eggs yet. Above is a picture of Jason the duck (on the right) and nameless-non-egg laying female duck.

Any advice about names or getting ducks to lay eggs?

Ducks are useful creatures. They eat slugs, produce fertiliser and lay eggs (usually). Owen has a duck enclosure beneath some fruit trees, so these trees are getting some good, free fertiliser at the moment.

Grandad's book

Grandad finished off his memiors this year and he lived to see the published version. The least I can do is give some free advertising for it. Here is the front cover, which Andrew, my graphically-talented brother designed. The cover looks great Andrew, a great blend of the olden-days and good design of the 00's. My dad put a great deal of work into typing up and editing the manuscript and so enabled it to become a book and get published (thanks Dad!). I think my aunt also did some proof-reading.

Available from all good [Launceston] bookstores for $19.95.

From the back cover:

"These are the reminiscences of a proud Launcestonian who has made a significant and abiding contribution to his city and to Tasmania in general.

A pioneer in the electrical industry from its infancy, Lindsay C. Powell has also devoted 75 years of service to a range of charities.

As a businessman of vision - among his achievements, he introduced the first security alarm service to northern Tasmania - his widely-known reputation was for integrity and reliability.

As a committed Christian, his contribution has gone well beyond a deep involvement in his own church to embrace a vital engagement with his community and particularly its less fortunate members.

He offers these memiors in the hope that they might offer some encouragement to others to "live their lives to the fullest possible degree". As the memoirs attest, Lindsay Powell has never himself faltered from this endeavour."

I have my own signed copy of the book! Please let me know if you'd like me to buy you one for christmas.

Life forever

Grandad just died. It hasn't sunk in yet and at the moment i'm still in Hobart. Not sure when i will go to Launceston exactly. However Grandad is experiencing more joy that we could understand:

"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."
the book of 1 Thessalonians (4:13-18) in the bible.

"You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
Psalm 16:11 (in the bible)