Resting between jobs?

Well, I’m back in the land of the unemployed!

It has been a long time, but my four weeks notice is up! That means I have the whole weekend off in order to complete my transformation from Animal Control Officer (Kennel hand!), into a fully-fledged Lawyer. It is a time not without it’s setbacks. I am currently afflicted with the usual painful episode of gout. It started last night as a painful little toe. During the night, it became steadily more painful until I couldn’t bear the duvet weight resting on it. Easy to cure, shove the offending foot out of the bed and let it get cold. Let me tell you that it has been very cold here the last few nights. All in, I didn’t have a good nights kip. Secondly, the partner who was to have been my mentor was taken ill (in a serious way). It did however feel very strange to be phoned on Wednesday by the office manager and be told that my office is being prepared and the new office furniture is being put together ready for Monday. The good news is that I start at 0830, not 0800.

I can’t wait for the grass to come back. Now I will have to consider the condition of my hands. Now, I don’t know how many of you have ever served up cold silage by hand in the morning? Not many I’d guess. It leaves your hands smelling of what else but silage. It is hard to get rid of the smell. Also, the silage I am using is clover silage that is a bit wet. That means it smells a bit of rotting vegetation/fishy. It is quite a strange smell that I find hard to describe well. When are scratch and sniff screens going to be developed. In an attempt to avoid these strange stains and smells, didn’t I mention the staining? Every nick and crack in your hands becomes a highlighted black line, which doesn’t look very attractive. I have taken to using latex gloves. It looks really poncy and I am certain that I will be caught by a neighbour every time that I slip them on to handle the stuff.

Michelle nearly severed her finger the other day and since having the wound stitched up, it has of course, gone septic. The body is a strange thing. You would think that the puss that would come out along the line of the cut when squeezed. It doesn’t. I don’t know why not, just that for some unexplainable reason, it is determined to stay trapped in her body for good. With M’s luck, she will come down with septicaemia and be hospitalised. Never one to do things by half my dear wife. My gout has had me laid up for the weekend. Well, not quite laid up but certainly not as active as I would like to be. I have a lot to do in the fencing line and what with my tennis elbow and this foot, I can’t get on with it yet. Michelle has been a brick as ever. She has done the feeding out in the morning and evening. It is quite heavy as the silage was wet when put down. With all of the rain we have had, the paddocks are quite muddy in the gateways and pushing a wheelbarrow full of goodies through the beasts is not easy without them upsetting the silage cart.

I have just completed playing with 69lbs of sausages. I made a Spanish style Chorizo, my salami, plain pork and pork and leek. The Chorizo is supposed to be hung to dry but I made some patties out of the left overs and fried them up. It tastes so good, I put some down for straight sausages. Even the girls liked them, despite the spices. When I strung them up to dry, several of the lengths didn’t want to play and gravity took hold of them. I have to remove them next weekend as Mandy’s boys are staying over in the flat. They have a sailing event on Lake Karipiro, so rather than drive back to Tauranga on Saturday night, we are going to enjoy their company. I have to go and iron shirts and clean my shoes now so I’ll leave it here and maybe update you tomorrow evening.