Jab time.

First off - my internet and home phone line have been down for a couple of days if you were wondering where I was.  Just part of rural life.  But I've also been busy busy busy planting those 500+ trees and some fruit trees in my orchard (really, really excited about the fruit trees!).

But then I heard some nasty news.  The local council are releasing calicivirus into areas around Northland to control wild rabbits.  Calicivirus was released illegally into New Zealand in 1997 and is now licensed for tightly controlled use as a pest-control measure.  But it doesn't discriminate between domesticated rabbits and those little wild ones who do all the damage,  but there is a vaccination. 

I rang my vet and explained that transporting my five breeding adults into the surgery was going to be difficult.  I don't like the mums leaving their litters and one doe is due to kit today or tomorrow.  Plus I don't have that many cages.  I also explained that I was a midwife and very used to giving injections (to humans, but it can't be that different, huh?).  She said that seeing as they were a 'stock' animal and not a pet, and that she could trust me not to inject myself, she would sell me five vaccination doses over the counter without an actual consult.  Yay! 

So tonight when Hubby gets home, he gets to hold the bunnies, I get to inject.  The young kits (under 6-8) apparently don't die from it even if they contract it.  But I'm still keeping my fingers crossed.

Back again.

Little quilt for the hospital I finished with all my internet-free time.

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments in the trialling broad-band-free time that I've been through ;)

I rang the 'really-cheap-but-lacking-in-customer-service' internet provider this morning and they said,"Your broadband has been active for almost two weeks, did you not receive a phone call to help you access it?" Well, no, actually I didn't. Perhaps that's why I'm ringing you?

Actually I wasn't quite so sarcastic, but I sure felt like being witchy. Anyway, water under the bridge, I have internet again.

I knew I liked the web, but it took this enforced break to realise how much I actually USE the net (as opposed to just passing time on it). There were recipes I couldn't look up, gardening sites I couldn't access for advice, people I couldn't keep in touch with and vice versa, phone numbers I couldn't find, questions my son asked me that I couldn't answer, and I felt quite isolated as I couldn't access blogs of like-minded people and people who I feel I'm learning a lot from at the moment.

It made me a little concerned. What if the world does all turn pear shaped and we all suddenly have to be a lot more self-sufficient? What if, for whatever reason, I lose the internet for good? There is so much knowledge to be had on the web, it amazes me. I don't really buy 'knowledge' type books anymore as I feel that I can find anything I need on-line. But if it all went bust, where would that knowledge be?

My recent Op shop finds: a jersey that felted fantastically and a book of soft toy patterns

In conclusion, I've started thinking about a few things. Like wondering if I should do some formal sort of learning around gardening and sustainability, like these workshops here. I've also decided to do some thinking about goals - what do I want to achieve, where do I want to be in 2, 5 ,10 years time, and what do I need to get there? (Very deep and meaningful, I know).

And I'm going to start being a little more organised with my interests. This means getting some folders with labels on the outside and writing or printing out the tidbits I find and keeping them in hard copy. I will endeavour to write recipes down when I find them instead of trying to find them again later, or worse, forgetting about them completely. I'm going to start using the local library's online service to request books I want instead of writing them down and then losing my list!

Simple lemon cake - I recipe I DID write down.

And last, but not least, I'm going to try and meet more local people, interested in the things I'm interested in, by making the effort to get along to local meetings. For example, I'm a member of Forest and Bird, yet I have NEVER been to a local meeting, not once!

Frustrated!

More than a week ago I changed my internet provider. I must say they are VERY efficient at calling up my previous provider and cancelling my account.....however, they are lagging just a TEENSY bit on getting me hooked up again through them.

I feel like having a little tanty.

But I'm scared that will prove I'm more than a little addicted to the web.

I'm at work and it's six o'clock in the morning and I've been reading all my favourite blogs.

I MISS YOU ALL!!