Every time I feel a little down ( like I do now ). I open my treasure box ;). In it I have cards , letters and other small things that mean so much to me. This morning, I read this letter again which I have read many many times before but still gets me laughing every time and leave me with a lovely memory of a gentle human being. So I thought I will share it here. It's from Russell, a client who became one of my unforgettable friends. This is a bit long but it is worth reading and knowing what's inside a beautiful mind. Russ never mentioned anything about him moving to Tasmania. I didn't hear from him for a while, then I was shocked to hear from him. he called to ask if I received his letter....I treasure this letter and I treasure the day I met Russell and how can I ever forget that magical jacket I made for him?.. ;)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date; 14th October 2002
Dear Hazel & husband .
It has been such a long time since I wrote to you that i thought i had better put finger to key.
I'm enjoying life here in Tasmania, St. Marys, or should I say 5 km out of it, it's lovely and serene. It certainly beats suburbia. I am on 12 HA and there is plenty to keep me occupied and busy. I am doing a two room extension already, after only being here just over 12 months. I'm adding a bathroom, laundry, toilet, combined bedroom/sitter for guests and two balconies. I have put a low window in where the bath/spa is going so i will have a lovely mountain and ocean view. Two walls of the bedroom/sitter are all glass also, I am really lucky to have it at my door step. I still can't believe this and land generally in Tasmania is so cheap, my place was only $55,000. the two storey house is mainly second hand materials but it is only seven years old. The site has been used as a farm complex since the 1850s so the gardens are established, there is another 2 storey building suitable for my lapidary which I still haven't set up yet but is about 5 years old but it's too small and roughly constructed to sleep and live in.
There is also a chook house, there is a fenced off area about the size of a suburban block which is currently a vegie garden but would make an ideal house site because of the views, and , I had a 12x6 meter new shed built, which currently houses my belongings which won't fit into the house, and my 12'6' twin hull boat sits in one of the three bays. Only one of the garage bays is enclosed. Luckily, I have no shortage of water, there are two dams and two springs coming out of the hill behind the house. It was going to cost $19,500 to get the electricity connected, it is a fair way away, so I have opted to a generator which give me about 4 hours of electricity per tank full for $5.00. I don't need it on much since it's only me and my main uses are for cooking, building ( power tools) and computer.
There is a good B-B-Que which i put gas on to and I had 2 circular galvanised steel seats made. One is beside the B-B-Que and the other serves as an outside kitchen table in a nice weather. They cost $750 each to get made to my design. The house site is fully enclosed with a fence and 2 main gates with 2 single gates which i put in to give me access to the dam etc. and is about 2ha in area. One of the springs form a creek and runs beside the house through the yard and then into one of the dams.
When I moved in there was a useless small potbelly stove which I replaced with a gas heater which is great, it warms the house up in very little time. The land is a mixture of slopes, hills and flat areas which all adds to the appeal and character. There are quite a few trees well established but they aren't a fire hazard. Just for emergency I am buying a second hand petrol run fire pump from a farmer for $900 complete, it has a 3000 gal water tank and the pump has only been used 5 times. I have been fairly busy. On Saturday night i wrote list 3 pages A4 of things I had done since I arrived, and another list of 46 things that I can think of that need to be done over the 12 months. I get a man in for 5 hours a fortnight so I don't have to do it all myself. I bought a 5 tonne truck and use it for carting building materials etc. and for landscaping materials. It only cost $800 plus I put a second hand steel tray on for $1500. I also have a series 2 Land rover which I use most of the time to preserve the Mitsubishi 4 WD 7 seat bus.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Date; 14th October 2002
Dear Hazel & husband .
It has been such a long time since I wrote to you that i thought i had better put finger to key.
I'm enjoying life here in Tasmania, St. Marys, or should I say 5 km out of it, it's lovely and serene. It certainly beats suburbia. I am on 12 HA and there is plenty to keep me occupied and busy. I am doing a two room extension already, after only being here just over 12 months. I'm adding a bathroom, laundry, toilet, combined bedroom/sitter for guests and two balconies. I have put a low window in where the bath/spa is going so i will have a lovely mountain and ocean view. Two walls of the bedroom/sitter are all glass also, I am really lucky to have it at my door step. I still can't believe this and land generally in Tasmania is so cheap, my place was only $55,000. the two storey house is mainly second hand materials but it is only seven years old. The site has been used as a farm complex since the 1850s so the gardens are established, there is another 2 storey building suitable for my lapidary which I still haven't set up yet but is about 5 years old but it's too small and roughly constructed to sleep and live in.
There is also a chook house, there is a fenced off area about the size of a suburban block which is currently a vegie garden but would make an ideal house site because of the views, and , I had a 12x6 meter new shed built, which currently houses my belongings which won't fit into the house, and my 12'6' twin hull boat sits in one of the three bays. Only one of the garage bays is enclosed. Luckily, I have no shortage of water, there are two dams and two springs coming out of the hill behind the house. It was going to cost $19,500 to get the electricity connected, it is a fair way away, so I have opted to a generator which give me about 4 hours of electricity per tank full for $5.00. I don't need it on much since it's only me and my main uses are for cooking, building ( power tools) and computer.
There is a good B-B-Que which i put gas on to and I had 2 circular galvanised steel seats made. One is beside the B-B-Que and the other serves as an outside kitchen table in a nice weather. They cost $750 each to get made to my design. The house site is fully enclosed with a fence and 2 main gates with 2 single gates which i put in to give me access to the dam etc. and is about 2ha in area. One of the springs form a creek and runs beside the house through the yard and then into one of the dams.
When I moved in there was a useless small potbelly stove which I replaced with a gas heater which is great, it warms the house up in very little time. The land is a mixture of slopes, hills and flat areas which all adds to the appeal and character. There are quite a few trees well established but they aren't a fire hazard. Just for emergency I am buying a second hand petrol run fire pump from a farmer for $900 complete, it has a 3000 gal water tank and the pump has only been used 5 times. I have been fairly busy. On Saturday night i wrote list 3 pages A4 of things I had done since I arrived, and another list of 46 things that I can think of that need to be done over the 12 months. I get a man in for 5 hours a fortnight so I don't have to do it all myself. I bought a 5 tonne truck and use it for carting building materials etc. and for landscaping materials. It only cost $800 plus I put a second hand steel tray on for $1500. I also have a series 2 Land rover which I use most of the time to preserve the Mitsubishi 4 WD 7 seat bus.
I tried my luck at chooks(24) and ducks(16) but the Devil Cats and the wild cats ate them. I tried sheep (6) but they proved too silly and useless. I had six goats but they made a nuisance of themselves eating the garden and ring-barking the trees so I gave them away free. I had a dog but he attacked the neighbours sheep so he got put down and replaced his sheep with my six. I thought about putting saltwater fish in my fish tank but I can't give them oxygen with limited electricity to run the air pump. Now I have settled to putting plants, rocks and statue animals in my 4ft fish tank and I don't have to feed them and it looks nice.
My double bed is upstairs and I have it suspended from a boat winch mounted to the rafters in exposed ceiling and 4 wires go to the corner of the bed to support it. My rigging skill came in handy and it is a novelty. I can raise the bed up into the ceiling space to get more room for entertaining and for the boys to play when it is raining. Their beds are also attached to one end to the sloping rafters, swing down and are supported by ropes at the other end when horizontal, and pivot up to give more room when not in use. They think it's great. I bought them a mini -bike to also help and amuse them.
Currently I am attempting to get a chess club started. I have displayed some posters around St Marys and the first is December 2nd, if anyone turns up. If it gets under way it will be held in an empty shop in the main street.
There is four bed hospital here and 2 doctors and the usual hospital support staff like physio, social worker, etc. etc.
While I'm on medical matters I have a bit of "Not too good" news. I have to have further spinal surgery at the John Fawkner Hospital in Coburg, Melbourne soon. I will find out the date next week but it will probably be before Christmas if I have my way. It will be done by the same two Orthopaedic and Neurosurgeons who did my back in 1993-4. At this stage there is one joint in my neck and one joint in my back to be fused. I am trying to get them done during the one operation but I won't find out until next week. It has slowed me down a lot because the pain is strong. I have lost 25 kg because of pain and diet in 6 months. I also spent a few weeks in a psyche hospital because of the way the pain affected me recently. If you couldn't contact me by phone that was why. I hope to have D and A (these are his sons who live in Melbourne with his ex wife) over for 2 weeks over the Christmas break but it will depend on when I am to have the surgery and how I am after it.
I got my Marine radio licence and I am setting up a home base station to help Coast Guard. Their radio don't survey this part of the coast and since i am home most of the time i may as well have the radio turned on. It might help someone out one day ( or night ).
That is all about the news I can think of for now. I hope you and yours are well and happy. Drop me a line or give me a call if and when you feel like it, it will be good to keep in touch with you.
Bye for now,
Love, Russ.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I talked to Russ a few times on the phone before he had his surgery but I couldn't get through since then.I hope he survived it and continue to be independent..Who can ever forget someone like him?.He told me he is a schizophrenic and that is why he is on medication but his pain and the day to day dealing with his illness didn't deter his enthusiasm and his love for life. He was very trusting and cooperative with his doctors and other carers that he made everything easier for all of them....
I haven't seen nor talked to Russell for almost six years now but I think of him often..
No comments:
Post a Comment