Here we are two weeks before Christmas. I really need to get my baking started. We’ve had a bushfire here at Sisters Beach for the past three days. It was in the hills behind us which is part of Rocky Cape National Park. We’ve had helicopters water bombing the area since Saturday afternoon. Thankfully the fire services seem to have stopped it spreading but it’s still going. I feel sorry for the wildlife.

SHARE YOUR WORLD QUESTIONS

What is your opinion of the state of health care in your country?  Adequate or inadequate?  What could be done to improve it?

I think that while our healthcare system in Australia is better than that of the USA it still leaves a lot to desire. We have Medicare which provides basic hospital care for anyone who doesn’t have private insurance. I can’t knock it; David was in hospital for something like eight months before he died and I did not have to pay a cent. In Tasmania even ambulances are free, that’s not the case in every state though. However, it’s hard to get a GP sometimes, especially if you live in the country. When Naomi needed a doctor, one Wynyard practice told us they were not taking new patients due to lack of staff and the other said that they could get her an appointment in a few days. We ended up going to a practice in another town. Waiting lists for elective surgery are long and this was before Covid. I was not impressed with some of the practices of the hospital in Hobart. When David was there, he often did not get a physio session because nobody was available to do it. Naomi needs physio but despite being in a lot of discomfort she can’t get an appointment with a public provider. She will have to go private to get help soon it seems.

Our hospitals in Tasmania are the responsibility of the state government. I am a bit concerned that when the state borders open tomorrow to all other states, we’ll get a Covid epidemic that the system won’t cope with even though we are now 90% vaccinated.

What are two words that describe you best?

Practical, people always tell me I’m practical. Not sure what the other one would be.

Do you have a morning routine? If so, what it’s like?

I used to have a fixed morning routine. Get up, let Cindy out, make coffee and toast or crumpets for breakfast and eat it at the computer while reading and answering comments on the blogs. It’s a bit different now and I don’t always get to the computer until much later as we sometimes have a cooked breakfast and there are three dogs to be let in and out.

What’s something that really makes your blood race? 

The idea of being caught in a bushfire.

Do you enjoy singing festive songs during *insert festive celebration that you observe to replace “Christmas” if it’s not relevant to you * Christmas carols or songs?

I do. I love singing festive songs. I’m a terrible singer and in fact I can’t sing much now but I used to enjoy going to community carol singing events. I prefer the traditional carols.
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GRATITUDE SECTION  (as always optional)

Feel free to share something that brings peace to you.

For the past few years, it’s always been nature. Sitting in my garden at Geeveston looking at the trees and flowers or on the balcony here listening to the birds. Seeing the changing seasons from the windows of the bus always calmed me when I was making those long trips to the hospital several times a week.