My recent visit had sealed my decision to move out of the city and onto
a farm up by Lake Cootharaba. I moved here two weeks ago and I brought Jordie.
I had spoken to the owner, Brendan, and he agreed that Jordie would be okay if
she didn’t chase the hens or kangaroos. I knew that she wouldn’t, but I hadn’t
truly known that she probably wouldn’t walk anywhere.
Jordie has arthritis in the shoulders which support her front legs, and
a few weeks ago, for a “visitor” visit before we moved, she had a very small
wander around to have a bit of a sniff and lay around in the common area. She
had met Mike and Gail, two other residents who loved her – and, of course, she
loved them. I had almost had to drag her back to my cabin before I got into
bed.
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| Lovely visitor outside my cabin |
I had found out that my sleeping music – waves and rain – was run by
internet which I didn’t get at all in my cabin. For a phone call I’d expected that
night, I’d gone out to Boreen Point and I got 3G and the call went long enough.
Trouble was, I wasn’t staying in Boreen Point, I was staying in Cootharaba. I’d
seen a problem.
During the visit Jordie didn’t really have a bed like what she had
previously slept on – like a chair – so I’d set up her fluffy mats just inside
the front door. It was wet that night so one of her mats was damp, and that one
went on the bottom. She was not too far from the end of my bed, and she snored.
Yes, she snored. Back in Brissie that
was why I let her sleep outside during summer because (a) she’d chosen to and
(b) I could listen to my sleep music and I could sleep. My visitor night had seemed
like a disaster. I had almost no sleep. I can’t even say just when I did sleep.
I had picked one of my music USBs for some quiet music which could send me to
sleep, but I was far too cold and even with the music up a bit more I could
still hear Jordie. I turned over countless times before I figured that I could
stop the wind coming in by hanging a blanket over the door.
Looking through the cabin the next morning I’d notched all the stuff
that I believed I really needed – in the bathroom, a towel rail and somewhere
to put my toothbrush; painting hooks for at least six paintings I would wanted
hung up; outside the front door some roll-down plastic which I could shut when
the rain was happening – and which would keep wind out of my cabin; wooden
rails on the windows so I could hang up my own curtains.
By 6am it was daylight outside, and Jordie was looking, often, at the
door as if she needed to go out. I felt like a coffee, and I took her outside
and headed over to the common area. I walked slow for her…. very slow. Thankfully it wasn’t raining
by then. Jordie would move one front leg forward followed by her other front
leg, and follow up with her back ones. If you can understand that, it was s-l-o-w. I think she was in pain, but
most times she never gives any indication of this. When she finally reached the
common area I dashed back to our cabin and brought the fluffy rugs over for
her, and she’d laid down.
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| Looking outside through my cabin doors |
Fast-forward. On Tuesday two weeks ago I moved here. Actually, Jordan
came up on the Sunday before me because Brendan had come down for my large
furniture pieces and Jordie came up with him. This facility was designed for
seven residents and I was now number five (one had unfortunately left the week
before I moved in). Brendan, Mike and Gail I had mentioned earlier. The fourth
is Rick, who’s away right now – mostly off anywhere in his own motor home. Jordie
has a love of the common area where she can meet people who mean so much to
her. This whole group accepts her.
I settled in, learning the next day just what I could do. I started
cleaning in the common area and now I seem to be a real cleaner there! I fed
the chickens, hosed the vege garden, picked beans which I pre-cooked and put in
the freezer, picked baskets of rosellas for Gail to make cordial and jam, and weeded
around most days. Last week I found a convolvulus growing in the silage heap at
the end of the vege garden – at least, I thought it was convolvulus as I
recognised that from when I was just a kid at home with my parents many years
ago and had helped them clean something very similar from one fence. This felt
like “history”! I’d weeded what seemed to me to be a long patch between the
garden and the carpark – it needs weeds removed, and yep, I did that!
Over the last two weekends we’ve had visitors staying a couple of
nights here – Liz, a friend of Brendan’s the first time, and this weekend Jan,
who is a possible resident. They are both lovely women.
Last week I spent time in Noosa at Telstra and my internet now works,
and my phone can work on the farm on 3G. And I have discovered that Jordie will
sleep in the common area – either on one of the sunchairs, covered, or on her
own bed which is now under the end of the table and last night she seemed
fairly warm. Yay, I don’t get any snoring! And yay, I don’t need my internet or
USB music, for the first time in two years!! Most nights now I just sleep…
well.
Today is the start of another new week, a lovely quiet day where I
haven’t gone out anywhere but I still have company. The sun’s come up behind
the tall trees, it’s getting a bit warmer. I’ve cooked a few meals, made
pumpkin soup and last weekend I made a banana cake. I feel good when that stuff
is eaten.
After our meal we will get ourselves a glass of wine and settle down in
the sunchairs and talk. Maybe it’ll be 8pm, dark, when I feel very tired. I’ll
get up, say good night to whoever is here, pat Jordie, and wander across the
middle piece to my cabin.
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