Helvi Oosterman
I’m missing my books, they are physically here, in milk crates and sturdy boxes, stacked high in the garage of my temporary dwelling, but I can’t get to them without disturbing the equilibrium of our possessions waiting to be transported to our permanent abode in three months time.
It’s not only the books I’m missing but also the simple white built-in book cases, we had on the farm. One wall in the family room was ‘sacrificed’ to our old and most faithful friends, books. The bedroom shelves were a home for books in process, not to be written but to be read.
This small townhouse is easy to heat, we have nice neighbours, the living room is cosy and sunny, enough rooms to house the grandsons during school holidays, a garden for Milo, and not too far from shops, coffee lounges and libraries. This will do for us but I find myself complaining about the lack of shelving. The second bathroom eats up too much of the space; a space that I could use to put up a bookcase, however temporary. I’m totally unfair, and find the handy floor-to ceiling shelving in the laundry irritating. I’m even angry about the dishwasher: What’s wrong about using the kitchen sink!
What an unreasonable woman, I hear Daughter muttering to her dad behind my back, fancy complaining about a dishwasher when there are so people who are homeless. Thank god the little boys are outside on their bikes; otherwise they would join in with their homilies: Don’t you know Oma that the poor African children don’t even have books.
I’m fair enough to realise that family is right and that I’m being totally selfish, or did I hear the word ‘childish’. Looks like I have some explaining to do. See, I promised not to buy any more books, life’s too short and it’s time to downsize, libraries are pleasant places, I’ll swap my existing books with family members and friends, and I’ll have enough reading material till the end of my days.
All those promises were made when I was in the middle of the moving, when I was tired and fed-up just looking at yet another box waiting to be filled. Now it’s different, I’m close to shops selling new, second hand, and even antique books; I’m an hour away from my favourite flea markets, those Meccas for book addicts like myself.
I give up, I have a low chest of drawers next my bed, it has a good reading light, ear-rings, bottles of perfumes (some never used= wrong choice of Mother’s day present),last week-end papers, a writing pad and other such things sitting on it. I clear it all away sniffling a bit, no, I’m not crying, I have the flu, I leave only the lamp. I now have room for at least five or six stacks of books, I’m cheering up.
I have finished the Updike memoirs, so I place Hitchens’ Hitch-22, a memoir, carefully on top of it. Some other lovely finds in between and on top, the one I have to read in more or less in one session: Alex Miller’s Lovesong. It’s beautifully written by an older Australian author, it’s hard cover, and what a cover!
The jacket is so eloquent that seeing it you almost believe that you CAN judge the book by its covers; in Alex Miller’s case, you can. Now I have to get the rest of his books…
Window Dresser's Arms, Pig & Whistle 
“I give up, I have a low chest…..’ how disappointing for you Helvi 🙂
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Feeling good Mr HOO after getting that one off your chest 🙂
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I also think Helvi wrote a very nice little vignette about daily tribulations and the move into our new life.
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Hey Gez, how’s your new life? Are you still incontinent or just inconsolable?
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I used to be inter-continental. How about you Hung? Are the pull-ups working?
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Yes, see I’m verbally incontinent, every time I speak shit comes out.
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Copralalia?
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When voting is made compulsory, which is not very common in democratic countries, you would think the AEC would make it easy to vote, not insist on some silly ritual in enrolling.
Do we have to enroll to pay our taxation?
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This is a guess gerard, but presumably it has something to do with your vote being tied to a specific area.
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Voice:
I enrolled many years ago and understand one has to change details when moving into a different area. A myriad of address changes were achieved and done on-line. The AEC on -line fascility does not work on -line. The AEC admits there are over a million not enrolled and not voting.
Gee, may I suggest that the non-compliance ought to be a bit more scrutinized as to why?
I suspect the AEC is still in small English village mode (” if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” as its main credo. I feel they ought to call in some pragmatic Dutchmen to fix it.
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Still fighting the Battle of Camperdown, gerard?
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Voice, as long as he does not put me in a CAMPERVAN….I feel like I am camping now with most things still in boxes or bags.
( don’t they make those caravans of zinkalum?)
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We have a family member, now in his late 50’s, who has never enrolled to vote, and never been caught. Then again, he’s never owned property, a car, mobile phone, uses the email/internet from work, but, as you say, they manage to tax him!
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If there’s ever a situation for which there should be a General Amnesty for Unreasonableness, it’s when you have the flu.
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I agree Voice, especially today when I have had to to deal with very unreasonable people, none of whom the had flu.. 🙂
I even sniffled, and this time because I was upset, not because of the flu.
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My replies have a life of their own today, the short NO is meant for Gerard :), regarding smoking.
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We just inspected our new house. Owned by an elderly couple, moving to a smaller residence, near the grand-children (sound familiar?). They are leaving a huge garden, chooks, tank, extensive watering system, fire fighting pump, and, you guessed it, a great big wall of bookshelves. Plus it’s a quick 15 -20 minutes walk to the hospital via the bush track.
Gez, stay off the cancer sticks, otherwise you’ll be dealing with 107 hanky flus!
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Good on ya, Big M, every young man ought to have a place with chooks, trees, water tanks,a garden and BOOKCASES…
I thought you might have bought something in Tasmania, have you?
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No, Helvi, I love Tasmania, particularly the area around Hobart, but we are moving just one suburb away, to what was the new development about 20 years ago. The developers didn’t place huge houses on tiny blocks. They’re all quarter to a half acre, bordering bushland/parks. We’re excited. Now I have to finish the old place, hence, there’ll be mo time for too much reading.
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Big M, I met the mum of my son’s first girlfriend from primary school days at Rozelle markets. She came all the way from Tasmania, where she now lives to look after her daughter’s children during school holidays. She still likes Balmain, but can’t get back to Tasmania quick enough, she lives near Hobart.
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I’m partial to Alex Miller too H. “Journey To The Stone Country” and “Landscape of Farewell” are recent favourites. I was reading the former the afternoon of the evening of our house fire. You could say it’s been burned into my memory.
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I’m cranky with myself that I did not discover Miller earlier, in my book of lists I have now listed all Millers…
The sage amongst grandsons, Thomas, comforted me by saying: Oma, you can always stack them on the floor as well;. he understands, he’s a reader.
Nice to see you back at Pigs; you naughty boys, you all disappeared at the same time.
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Nice one Helvi !
Should I take up smoking again?
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I wouldn’t. Isn’t Hitchens dying of throat cancer?
(I now can legitimately lay claim to the vigorous anti-smoking posture of the recently given up. My lungs no longer end up in my lap every time I take a deep breath and the last few weeks in the cold winter air of the central tablelands has been an unmitigated joy rather than the coughing hacking misery it has been on occasions in the past.)
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“Dying” might be a bit previous as Arfur Daly might have said – or at least a bit presumptuous, Waz. He is getting chemo for it – which suggests they’re worried about metastices – never a good look.
Just lately I’ve been getting up at 5 so I can beat Sydney traffic …. unfortunately our neighbour gets up early too – and hacks his lungs up and spits them all over his yard. A lovely orchestral accompaniment for my early repast.
Excellent you’ve given up ! Stay gave up.
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5 am. The other day I heard the first koel of Spring at about that time. I think they continue their relentless pre-dawn calls for about two months. I don’t know whether dawn catches up with them as the days lengthen, or whether the trigger for this behaviour (mating?) ends.
So many bird species are endangered. Is it wrong to want to add one more to the list?
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It is certainly too early in the season for koels. I shudder at the thought that they might have started over-wintering.
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Emm, I never smoked, so the flus seem to by-pass me, I feel off colour for a day to Gez’ week.
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Voice, we have thick glassed windows here and don’t hear much about what’s going on outside.
Since I started sleeping with open windows I hear the nearby trains (I like it), and some birds in the mornings, maybe they are koels, I love the sound.
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If you love the sound, they aren’t koels. 🙂
Then again, there’s no accounting for taste. Do you hear a single bird monotonously repeating the same call, evenly spaced, over and over again? Not a song. A call that travels long distances. Then being answered by another some distance away. Then the first bird starts again. Ad infinitum.
I’ve only once seen a koel live. They look like devil birds. Huge and black with bright red eyes.
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Voice, I know my plants, but not my birds, so it’s very likely I’m not hearing a koel, but someting totally different, I promise to listen carefully tomorrow morning…I was elated to hear a birdsong, any birdsong. I’ll keep you poasted.
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Voice, that’s a great line – “if you like the sound, it isn’t a koel” is so true ! Especially when they wake you up at 3 or 4 am. I think the sound of one of Waz’ Purdey 12 gauges goes quite nicely with the sound of a koel.
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No !
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Of course I won’t smoke again and a standing ovation for Waz. clap, clap. It’s just the occasional whisp floating by of the freshly lit Virginia (virgin for short but not for long) ciggy that brings back languid reflections on the Balmain verandah of years gone by.
Even harder, is trying to get an address change on the Electoral roll. Geez, no wonder over a million are not on it.
The web does allow filling the form but is not interactive. The advice is to fill in the form then print it and post it.
With the deadline this Thursday I thought it best to hand the form personally. No Electoral office withing cooee, Nowra or Goulburn.
A drive of 130km ensued, but my worst fears came true. A strident looking woman wearing a tight bun on the back of her head. A bad omen in my opinion. Not unlike knee sock wearing Queenslanders with souteneur shoes.
I politely asked whether a million not enrolled might suggest a problem with the procedure, followed with a slight rocking backwards on my heels. It’s all to do with lazyness, she with the bun offered.
Yes, but you have a data base of all those that are entitled to be enrolled and vote. You often send them threatening letters, don’t you? I said. So, if you know of them, why don’t they become automatically enrolled.?
She just grabbed my form.
Does anyone have an answer?
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I was trying to reply to Gez. I don’t know the answer. Changed details for car/licence with a few keystrokes. AEC is pseudo-on-line, pdf form that one fills in then submits electronically, then, prints, signs and mails a copy??? Other services, a phone call or an on-line form.
I don’t know why the AEC can’t automatically enroll people via car licence, home ownership, medicare card, gas bill, or any of the myriad of other records the government, state and federal, has of our whereabouts!
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