Old people don't bounce!

I was about to have a late breakfast yesterday (been to get blood pressure checked ... all good) when the phone rang and it was a colleague from work to say the emergency department had been looking for me as my father had my mother in ED.

Now, you have to understand, my mother will NOT go to hospital under any circumstances unless she is a) unconscious or b) someone else (other than my father) has called the ambulance.  So you can understand my initial panic.  I jumped in the car and raced into work meanwhile getting Himself to go down to the hospital and another colleague who is more a friend to go to ED to see if they could get more information.  It turned out that mother had fallen in the community centre at the retirement village they live in and the manager had called the ambulance.  Just as well as it turned out she had fractured her femur and required surgery.  If she had fallen at home she would still be sitting in her chair, complaining about a sore hip, taking the occasional paracetamol and not letting my father ring anyone.

It was a difficult afternoon as we waited for doctors and xrays to ascertain the damage.  My mother does not wait well and got crosser and crosser.  Once they found the break they arranged to transfer her to a close by private hospital which resulted in further waiting.  I left my brother to parent-sit at about 6 last evening and she eventually got moved around 9 after Dr Teacher texted me to say nothing was happening and I suggested a gentle fuss be made.  It was and she got moved.  I spoke to her this morning and all she could do was complain which I suppose is a good sign.

The surgeon rang me just before 3 and all went well and Dr Teacher just rang me now to say he had dropped father back there and mother is ok.  I shall go and see her in the morning.

Getting old sucks.  It's also dangerous as the history she was giving the doctors was full of gaping holes.  Fortunately I was able to fill some of them.  I am going to suggest that the two of them sit down with Dr Teacher and me and we write extensive histories for both of them so that if they are ever in a situation where neither of us can be there the histories and medications will be a bit more accurate.  This may well cause some issues but I think my father will think it a good idea so it should happen.

I think a glass of sav blanc and some time on the balcony is in order.  It's a lovely afternoon and we are going out with friends from the estate to a new cafe that's opened up for dinner.

Dentist

So back to work I went.  And boy have we been busy.  But a good busy.

Today I had off as a sick day so I could to the dentist and get the cracked tooth fixed.  I took my iPod and a book and listened to Mozart whilst the dentist numbed my mouth and drilled out the old filling.  I must say, it did not hurt a bit.  But I still didn't like it.  However, I have booked to have the three remaining amalgam fillings replaced with these porcelain onlays.  Two need doing (cracks) and one will probably crack in time to come.  He said that if I have them done now there will be less tooth to repair.  It was a fascinating exercise.  After he has removed the dodgy bits, he does something fancy with a gadget (I think it was some sort of camera) and a 3D image of my tooth came up on the screen.  More wizardry and a square of porcelain is shaped to match the hole in my tooth which was then cemented in.

And our health insurance is very generous so I doubt I'll be out of pocket much at all at the end of this.

It's a glorious Melbourne Autumn day.  Sunny, warm and no wind so I'm going to sit on the balcony and cross stitch for a bit.

Last day of holidays :(

Today is the last day of my annual leave.  Actually, Tuesday was probably my last day as I would have had Wed - Fri off anyway!!

Regardless, I am back at work on Monday.  I am sort of looking forward to it.  I know I'll be busy and that's always good.  I have mixed feelings about the upcoming week where I'll be working 5 days on, one off and then 3 on again but it will be conducting mobile immunisation sessions so something a bit different.

I haven't achieved anything like what I had hoped to.  I have seen 5 movies which was great and has whetted my appetite for more.  I cleaned out the pantry and fridge but none of the cupboards I had planned to.  I haven't exercised like I intended and I haven't read nearly as much as I expected to.  I have done some cross stitching and revived that hobby and played some golf.  And spent FAR too much time on the computer.

Three and I saw Changeling yesterday.  He was reluctant but there was nothing else on.  In the end he thoroughly enjoyed it.  Apart from the audience which was made up of old people (even older than his mother!) who talked all the way through.  Why do people feel the need to comment to their partner/friend about a movie they are both watching?  Hire a DVD.  But it was a good movie and I'm glad I saw it.  Another one of Two's suggestions.  He hasn't steered me in the wrong direction, yet.  

This morning I caught up with the Mermaid.  She is still trying to sell her business.  The fixer upperer person was back working on the shower but at least the noisy part is over.  He can't get back until Tuesday to tile so we will be showerless for another week or so.  Himself will take Tuesday off to be here.  And I have the dentist on Wednesday.  Oh Happy Day!!!

And now I shall go and sit on the balcony and enjoy a bit of sunshine and cool breeze.

NOISE!

When we moved into this place (golly, is it really coming up for 6 months?) we noticed that the shower wasn't draining properly.  After much consultation with the builder (who initially told us there was nothing wrong) and an independent opinion (well, as independent as you can be when you are the 'independent' consultant hired by said builder) they agreed there was a problem (really?  doesn't everyone wade through 2 inches of cold water to exit the shower?) and this morning the tradesman rocked up to fix it.

At 8.00am.  It felt like the middle of the night and made me realise how much I am NOT going to enjoy getting up for work next week!

He has removed the shower screen (with difficulty) and has spent the past hour and a bit drilling out the tiles.  He has managed to remove three.  Lordy, it's noisy.

It's going to be a long day.

Yesterday I had a very pleasant day shopping with a friend and taking in a movie.  "Last Chance Harvey" with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson.  It was OK.  I thought her character could have had a bit more depth but it was a pleasant interlude.

Today I think Three and I will go and see something else!  Anything to get out of the place.  

And of course, it's RAINING!  Which is just delightful.  It's still quite warm so the balcony doors are open and the two cats are dozing just inside.  It would be a perfect day to curl up on the couch and listen to the gentle patter of rain and read and cross stitch and doze.

But it's too noisy!!!

Ikea

I hate Ikea.  I hate their location.  I hate the parking arrangements.  I hate the fact that you have to battle thousands of people for a spot on the curb whilst your partner goes and gets the car and then queues for ages until a spot becomes available.  Or more to the point, queues behind some ignorant driver who sits at the start of the line waiting for a spot when there are several empty spots further down the line.  I hate being herded in one direction whilst trying to find a FAARK storage system then realising it was three sections behind you.  I hate the parents who take their kids to Ikea and let them loose.  I hate finally getting to the self serve pick up section only to find the FAARK isn't there in the colour you want.  But you can come back tomorrow ... we might have some then.  I don't think so.

So yesterday Himself and I went to Ikea (after I swore blind I would never ever ever go there again!).  He wanted some shelving for the garage, Three needed a coffee table for his sitting room and I wanted a small bookcase for my cookbooks.  Himself realised that he couldn't build them for the price Ikea was selling them for.  They didn't have the coffee table I initially picked for Three but we found one that was $50 less.  And Himself got his shelving for less than $100 and I got my cook book bookcase for less than $50 and it looks pretty damn good.  And we got a mirror for the wardrobe and some plastic containers for the kitchen.  We always get something cheap for the kitchen.  I think it's some sort of Ikea rule!  And it will be a cold day in hell before I venture back there again.

We also bought $300 of wine and chocolate for our flu campaign at work.  We did this last year and it was a great success.  Everyone who gets immunised on our designated flu days goes into the draw for prizes.  We should have about 45 prizes this year.  Free flu vaccine and a possible box of chocolates or bottle of wine?  Can't lose.

Plans for today ... well I've already cleaned up the kitchen after Himself cooked dinner last night.  Actually it was a joint effort but he made such a mess I told him he could clean up.  Yeah right!  He did the easy stuff and then nicked out to Bunnings as soon as he got up.  I can't stand being in a messy kitchen and as our kitchen is slap bang in the living area I had no choice but to sort it.  When Himself comes back we will have brunch, he will potter downstairs and I will sit and cross stitch.  Alternatively, he will potter down stairs and I will be down there sorting through boxes cos he wants boxes cleared today.  

One more week of annual leave.  It hasn't been the fun relaxing time I had hoped for but it's been a break.  And I know I will be really busy when I get back to work.

So I shall endeavour to chill out this week.

Friday - already

I must be on leave.  Friday comes around too quickly!

I did go to the shops yesterday.  I saw "The International" - meh.  Not the best movie I've seen by a long shot.  I bought some fish for dinner (which was very nice) and popped into the aquarium and found that I had probably starved the cat fish (they are bottom feeders and I was trying not to overfeed the tank so the top feeders got all the grub and the bottom feeders missed out).  The bloke I spoke with was very helpful and gave me some tips for water changing.  I'll do a change this weekend and if all goes well will replace the catfish - and buy some bottom feeder pellets.

I did a lot of cross stitching in the evening.  I used my headlight and watched telly at the same time.  Most satisfactory.  It also meant that I had very little wine and didn't snack.  

I didn't get the appliance cupboard done.  Maybe tomorrow.

Three has a day off.  He and his girlfriend went out last night and had a fairly big night.  The girlfriend and another friend stayed the night before they headed off to uni this morning.  Three was slightly the worse for wear so I threw a Berocca down his throat and took him for a run/walk down to the beach.  A shower, a sausage and scrambled egg on toast and a cup of tea and he's right as rain.  So we are off to the shops and movies.

See ya.

Weather

We've had a lot of it!

I dusted and vacuumed on Tuesday morning.  The security system person came and fixed the thing so we have phone/back to base alarm AND the internet.  While he was here I had a look at the shutters and realised that what I had thought was more smoke was, in fact, dust.  The strong winds had whipped up dust from god knows where (country Vic I think) and dumped it on Melbourne - along with a sprinkling of rain.  So every surface in the house was covered in black dust.  And any surface near a window (I had most of the open a bit to get a breeze) was covered in a find layer of mud!  I have just about cleaned it all up.  There are few areas I need to tackle but they can wait until I do my next big clean.  And some dust has resettled so will have to go over the areas we use regularly.  sheesh.

I briefly caught up with The Mermaid yesterday.  Things are still looking grim for her and she cannot sell her shop.  On top of that both her kids have moved back home and expect her to provide for them.  She can't provide for herself at the moment.  I'm hoping that she will realise that sooner rather than later she will have to get rid of what stock she can and just walk away.  Or she stands to lose everything.

Three had his first presentation at TAFE today.  The thing I like about TAFE over uni is that they really do have a vocational focus.  The kids had to dress as if they were giving the presentation in the work force (so a suit for Three rather than grungy jeans).  Sounds silly but by the time they come to do all this for real it will feel so familiar.  He assured me he WASN'T NERVOUS but I was still relieved to get the text message to say he had "aced it".  

Now, what to do for the rest of the day.  Seeing as it's nearly lunch time and I've just had breakfast!  I slept in (still on annual leave!) and then went for a walk/jog down to the beach which was just lovely.  Cool, breezy with a bit of drizzle.  Most invigorating.  Then I did a little bit of work on the fitness ball and bunged some washing in the machine (the stuff that was on the line when the dust storm/rain came the other day).  I'm thinking of going and getting some fish for dinner and popping into the aquarium to see why I have had several fish in the tank die.

Or I could clean out the appliance cupboard.

Or I could cross stitch.

Or, if I got off my arse I could do it all!

Speaking of cross stitching ... we had some more violent winds yesterday and our power supply was interrupted.  We have a couple of torches and dinner could have been cooked on the bbq if necessary.  I was cross stitching and it was getting hard to see.  Himself nipped into the supermarket and came back with an LED head light.  It made stitching so much easier.  I'll use it in the evenings when we're watching telly and don't want all the lights on.  And if I ever decide to go for a walk down to the beach in the dark it will illuminate the path.

Now I am going to do something!

Teeth

So I went to the dentist.  I saw the hygienist first.  She commented that my teeth really needed a clean.  *blush*  So she scraped and scraped and scrubbed and polished and now I can feel the gaps between my teeth and my gums.  She also identified that several of my teeth have cracks in them.  OH SHIT  I do NOT do dentist stuff.  The dentist then came in ... a really lovely bloke and we chatted about how well Two's teeth had come up (in fact everyone I came into contact with at the surgery commented on how well Two's teeth had come up!!) and then he had a look and confirmed that 3 or 4 (can't remember) have tiny cracks and one needs attention asap.  He told me what was involved and started to tell me the cost ... I don't care about how much it costs, how much will it HURT?  He assures me it will be fine.  One visit only (as opposed to at least two for a crown) and I will be in the chair for an hour.  Erk.  And he will keep an eye on the others to see if they deteriorate to a point where they will need fixing (porcelain somethingorothers).  I asked him to do them all but he refused.  So I guess I'll HAVE to go back in 6 months or risk breaking a tooth and needing a crown.  Bugger.

Today has been described as having weather conditions as bad as Black Saturday and Ash Wednesday.  They have amended the top temperature from 32C to 26C but the winds are the issue.  And, boy, is it windy.  And overcast and smoky.  I had planned to go to the movies but need to be here for the security system people (who were meant to come yesterday) to come and fix the system they activated last week.  The techo didn't put the right gadget on the phone line so it was internet or security.  Guess which won?!  I miss our old internet and cable TV but we don't have the facilities here so it's all via Telstra phone lines and satellite.  I vacuumed and dusted this morning and am doing bits and pieces of washing and just bludging today.  Unfortunately my plans for tomorrow have also been mucked up as I have to wait in for the TV people to come and fix the damn thing AGAIN.

Dinner last night was homemade quiche (including the pastry!) and salad.  And left over lemon meringue pie.  Tonight I plan to have spag bol with left over frozen sauce from the other week.  Just need to get some pasta and salad.  Last week I bought a Kenwood Chef as I have had a hankering for baking - now I need to replace the baking tins I tossed when we moved (they were rusty).  Then I shall bake away and take the results into work.  We share kitchen space with the volunteers and I'm sure they wouldn't say no to something yummy for morning tea.  And that way I get the pleasure of baking without the kilos on the scales.  

And now I shall go and do some cross stitching ... quite domesticated, I am!!

Autumn

At last.  Yesterday saw the first day of autumn.  We will still experience days over 30C and the bush fires are still a serious threat in country Victoria but OFFICIALLY summer is over.  The days are noticeably getting shorter (we will have the autumn equinox in three weeks) and even the hot days have that lazy, late summer feel rather than the intense, agitating heat of early and mid summer.  

I am halfway through my break and haven't done much!  Last week I cleaned out the pantry and fridge and will attack the appliance cupboard this week.  And maybe our wardrobe.  And I plan to see at least one movie this week.  This afternoon I am seeing the dentist.  Oh joy.  Not.  It's only for a checkup and clean but that is enough to send me into spasms of terror.  I might take my iPod shuffle so I can concentrate on something else.  The only reason I made the appointment was I had to go and finalise Two's account after all his orthodontic work and something in me made me make the appointment.   And they had a cancellation for today so I  didn't even get a week or so to pluck up my courage.  Oh well.  It will all be over this evening.  And yes.  I am a terrible coward when it comes to the dentist.

I have regained so much weight after my wonderful efforts of 2007.  It is making me very depressed.  I know that I can do it but it is quite daunting.  Oh well.  Himself is in the same boat so we plan to nut out some strategies this afternoon.  We both need to move more and eat and drink less.  

Yesterday One, Two and GGF came over for golf and then we had everyone except Three's girlfriend for dinner.  It was a lovely evening with lots of laughs.  Himself made a slow cooked casserole with mashed peas and I made a lemon meringue pie.  Good wholesome, home cooked food.  Good family company.  We are blessed.

OK.  Time to clean my teeth and make my way to the dentist.  I often think that dentists must see life through a haze of spearmint!  Rather like the queen who, wherever she goes, smells fresh paint!