Joseph loved to go to Gluepot. The crazy little reserve, 200kms from Adelaide, only 23 years old, where you mostly need a four-wheel drive vehicle to enter, where you need to be self-sufficient, and not afraid of the heat, where there are Mallee Fowl mounds and birds as well as the wildlife…and where Joseph met lots of really interesting people - from all over the world. So, in his memory, we placed a bench, with a simple plaque, and we hope lots of people will enjoy a rest and maybe some will remember him as they do.
Graeme (Malleefowl Graeme), carted the huge flat-pack, in his huge 4-wheel drive, up there last weekend and assembled it and then tested it out.
It was supposed to be a Muskoka chair but the bench won and I guess is does have a slight “Muskoka” feel about it. It is made of re-cycled materials (Polywood) so requires no maintenance and I hope he (Joseph) would like it and appreciate the re-cycled part of it.
Graeme also reported that the La Niña rains reached Gluepot- the best rains in four years! It had been a devastating drought and last year, almost to the day when Joseph was there, he was so sad at the lack of anything; birds, animals plants - so I hope he knows that the rains finally came and the roads did turn to glue!
I realise now, that whether he knew it or not, when Joseph took his extended trips to Canada etc. he was (sort of) preparing me for life without him. But he was never gone this long … and anyway there was always messages or phone calls … but there is none of that now. Last night there was a “Mopoke” (Southern Boobook) calling in the tree outside the apartment. “Mopoke”, “mopoke", “mopoke” it called until I finally went out on the balcony … but I couldn’t see it. We often heard them but this was the closest … but I couldn’t see him.
As we come across them, friends and family are taking things that belonged to Joseph; clothing, camping items, bike, books, journal etc. and I love it. I know he would love it as well, that people are enjoying camping or riding or reading with the same things he did.
Sadly nothing Joseph did or could do, would be enough to prepare me for the trauma of tax returns. I have managed, in my 68 years to never, ever complete a tax return. I’ve signed my name to lots, but couldn’t tell you what was on the pages. I could say “such was my complete and utter trust in Joseph”, which is true, but the other truth is that I am very (very) lazy and I really do have Dyscalculia! Joseph spent quite a bit of time explaining our finances to Cassia but it’s too much for her to do the taxes- for two countries, with foreign pensions, and withholding tax, and yuk yuk yuk - it’s too much for her and I fear the poor accountant here in Adelaide, who has agreed to look after me, will never be the same after I see him on Monday. “Don’t worry if you don’t have everything” he says, “we can easily work on it as we go along”!! Ha! Poor unsuspecting “CK” he has no idea!
Now we get ready for Christmas. We’ve had Easter and birthdays and anniversaries before without him, but never Christmas. The irony of it all, is that this Christmas he was planning on being in Argentina/Antarctica and now he won’t be there … and he won’t be here with us either. We have rented a house near the beach and with a pool - and we are going to pretend we are in some far off exotic location instead of Semaphore.
It’s been a winter that was never going to be easy and in the time of COVID to be feeling unwell for most of it with COVID-like symptoms has made it a tad less easy. Symptoms that require a COVID (yukky yucky) test to see the doctor and jeopardise the Cardiologist appointment I waited three months for (no COVID symptoms at the hospital clinic please!) I went anyway (next appt was January!) and they let me in the hospital with a mask but the Cardiologist said “NO! NO! NO!” and told me to leave and have a(nother) COVID yucky yucky test - but he did call me right back to tell me there is nothing really wrong with my heart (just take some pills to slow it down) and luckily the COVID test meant I could get an appointment with the doctor to find out I have a virus - not COVID - just a common one found mostly in children that is no big deal but takes eons to go away!!
So Spring is here now and the eons have passed and everybody (except me) is happy the weather is warming up (it’s no longer 9c-12c during the day) and we continue to be ridiculously lucky (in Adelaide) to be almost untouched by COVID and I feel so badly for those that are …
and right about now I’m ready for him to come home.
