I still haven't taken any photos!

So here's a very old one. I think it's my father and his brother. Dad turns 90 next year.

I worked Tuesday-Thursday this week so have today off. I had an appointment for a checkup at the dentist. It takes me months (literally) to pluck up the courage to just MAKE the appointment, so you can imagine how unimpressed I was when the surgery rang to cancel because the flippin' dental hygenist had called in sick. I wasn't interested in that. I wanted my dentist to poke around in my mouth and tell me I don't need any fillings. Apparantly the practice has changed so that the dentist (who I love and adore because he is so gentle but he is still a dentist) has his own appointments (serious toothy stuff) and he pops in when the hygenist has done her job and does the check-up. So I am now going to see him (and the hygenist) on Monday 1st May.

Himself and I have our 30th wedding anniversary looming. It's the pearl wedding anniversary. I was flummoxed as to what to get him but found some gorgeous cufflinks with mother of pearl inlays. I took Two and GGF to Chadstone (she has lived here for 5 years and never. been. to. Chadstone. Shock, horror). They mosied around Borders and JB hifi and we had lunch (Sumo Salad ... the bestest) then went to the ABC shop so she could buy Two a tripleJ (local ABC radio station) compilation DVD.

Then home.

He is now driving her home.

I am going to hit my study books (I bought half a dozen novels at Borders!) as I have a practice exam to sit this weekend. And I don't want to get too far behind as I am going to Canberra and Sydney next week and while I will probably take my books, I don't want to be stressed out about not studying.

Himself is home this evening and I think Two and Three are as well so will need to consider something for dinner.

One is going to apply to join the Fire Brigade. He is so keen I hope he makes it through the selection process which is very rigorous.

Have a great weekend.

Just popping in for a quick visit

I really need to take some more photos.

Two has a new girlfriend (GGF - giggly girlfriend). She is the complete opposite of NGF. Yes, he is a fast worker but he doesn't break up with his girlfriends as soon as he feels the romance dwindling. He tends to hang on until he realises that it's really over and by then (probably the reason) someone esle has caught his eye. And before anyone starts on about fidelity and committment ... HE'S 20 FOR GOD'S SAKE! Sow those wild oats, son.

This is good from the weed perspective. Not too good from the tobacco, though, although they are both planning on quitting in June when smoking bans become even more widespread.

It was lovely having Himself home for four whole days. We didn't do much at all. He slept a lot which was good as he doesn't sleep well in Sydney. I played golf on Saturday which was glorious. We went shopping yesterday and I bought a new food processor. DJs had 15% off small appliances and I have been meaning to replace my old one which was, oooh ... 17 years old? Himself and I have become avid fans of the food channel and I NEED a food processor! Now I need some recipes!

I'm working Tues-Thurs this week. Then Mon-Wed next week then SEVEN days off. I'm going to Canberra on Thursday to stay with Other Brother and Mrs Other and then on Friday I will drive to Sydney to spend the weekend and beyond with Himself. Looking forward to it.

I decided to make myself some fishcakes for dinner tonight using up some leftover mashed potato. All was going well. I had an ear of corn in the oven, the salad on my plate and was gently frying the fishcakes when I decided to log into blogspot so I'd be ready to update. And found that MizS had left me a message. Which means she's home. So I had to go and check her site. And leave a message. AND I BURNT MY FISHCAKES! When, oh when, will I learn that I cannot cook and do something else at the same time.

At least I didn't trigger the smoke detector.

What a week

My brother, Dr. Teacher, went into hospital on Tuesday for some tests. He knew he had a bulging disc in his neck and they were going to do an MRI and other tests to decide the best couse of action. Which turned out to be surgery on Wednesday. They went in through the front of his neck, just above his right collar bone, pushed the larynx and other bits and pieces out of the way and scraped out the rubbish between his vertebrae and then put a spring sort of thing in to keep the bones apart. That is the non-medical description!! He says that when he came around from the anaesthetic the pain in his arm and neck had gone. He is thrilled. He came home from hospital over the weekend and I spoke with him yesterday. He is still limited in what he can do and will be recuperating over the next two weeks which is great as it's school holidays and he hasn't had to take much time off at all.

Mother rang me over the weekend to tell me that the bloke who has bought their house wants to take the cat. This is good news for the cat. They tried to get it to the vet last week to be destroyed but the handle came off the cat carrier and he escaped. I haven't worked out how the puchaser found out that the cat was available but as long as she's not bullshitting me, then all is good.

NGF rang on Friday as Himself and I were coming home from work to tell me that Two had broken up with her. And that he is using dope again and drinking too much. I knew he was drinking more than he should but thought that he had stopped smoking dope after his 'issues' just after Christmas (which weren't drug related, by the way). She made out that Two was a step away from the gutter but when I spoke to him he said that she was exaggerating. He admitted to smoking again (since the wedding we went to 4 weeks ago) but didn't sound as badly depressed as NGF made out. I am still concerned (actually, worried sick) about him and am treading a very fine line. I don't want to push him away by being overly protective and fussy nor do I want him to feel that he's alone. He's going for a drink after work with some of his mates so hopefully I'll be able to have a chat with him this evening. He deferred his uni course last week which is probably a good thing. One less thing on his plate and he can concentrate on getting his life in order. He is still working two days a week as an assistant at the uni and two days in a fast food outlet.

One came for dinner on Saturday night. He is getting very frustrated with LGF and her refusal to consider moving out of her parents' place. Also she is spending money on her credit card like there's no tomorrow and expecting him to pay the card debt. I think he is slowly realising that he would be better off financially on his own. Himself tried to get him to consider moving back here for a while to get rid of his own debt and get some money behind him so he can find a decent flat. I'm not holding my breath.

Three is cleaning his room as I write. Then he has to go and pick up the shared car from Two so Two can drink this evening. I might drive him so he doesn't have to take public transport.

On Saturday night as we were finishing dinner Tom jumped on Two's lap. Two complained that Tom stank. I sniffed. He reeked. I thought he had killed something and still had muck on him so he got wiped down with anti-bacterial wipes. (He smelt like dogs do when they roll in something dead and gross which is very uncat-like behaviour but Tom is a very uncat-like cat). Then I realised that the smell was coming from his ear. It really did smell like something had died in there! If any of you have had cats who have had abcesses you will know the smell I mean. When I spoke to Dr. Teacher yesterday he suggested syringing the ear with some warm salty water. The cat is not speaking to me but his ear is less pongy today. Still rank but not as bad. The syringing exercise was a challenge. We had to pin him down and then I gently squirted the water into his ear. Of course he shook his head violently and sprayed all within shot with smelly gunk. But it seems to be working. That is assuming he comes home this evening and lets me have another go! He's not distressed by it apart from flicking his ear occasionally and lots of grooming. He is eating and drinking and smooching (which results in cries of "Tom, piss off, you stink!"). And this morning was sitting on the back door mat warming his ear. Clever cat!

I have cleaned the house, done a couple of loads of washing and spent too much time checking out favourite sites. It's lunch time so I'll go and see if I can tempt Three with something and then I'll hit my books.

And try not to worry too much about Two.

Karma?

About a month ago I was driving home from work and sat behind a woman smoking in her car and flicking the ash out of the window. A common sight. She then proceeded to toss the still lit butt out of her window onto the road. A (thankfully) much less common site but illegal and reportable. So I reported it. Via the EPA website. Because as I am becoming a grumpy old woman. And the laziness and lack of consideration of people who toss litter from their vehicles drives me up the wall. I have had burning cigarette butts land in my lap when I've been driving and that really pisses me off. And we are in the middle of a drought and HELLO PEOPLE our road side reserves are parched and tinder dry.

Fast forward to this morning.

A letter arrives from the EPA addressed to Himself. I opened it (shutup). SOMEONE was driving a certain blue benz in a named suburb last Friday afternoon and was observed to toss a lit cigarette butt from the window.

*ring ring*

Three: 'sup mum?

Me: Where were you last Friday afternoon?

Three: um

Me: Were you in Main Street in Named Suburb?

Three: Yep

Me: Smoking?

Three: yes

Me: And you tossed your cigarette butt from the car window?

Three: yes

He didn't deny it. He didn't ask me how I knew. I think he realises that whatever he does wrong in his life I will eventually find out. He knows he's not allowed to smoke in the car. And he can no longer pretend he doesn't smoke either (hee!)

I did tell him how I found out and asked how he plans to pay the $215 fine!

I just hope that the woman I reported got a similar letter.

There is no excuse for throwing cigarette butts from your car. If you don't want to stink the car up then don't smoke in it. Simple.

I should be studying

Anyone who owns (or should that be "is owned by") a cat will know their incredible curiosity and need to sit in boxes and things. We bought these containers for Two's DVD collection. Sheba had a good look around them and made herself at home. By the way, they are still sitting waiting to have the DVDs put in them!

The bike is called Zog. Thanks Jan. This may change but it sits well with me at the moment.

And I have been hopping on Zog for a few minutes at a time. Interestingly so has everyone else in the family! Tonight I plan to spend about half an hour on it whilst watching some telly. This will be the test.

Yesterday we didn't do much. Himself had to pick some stuff up from his Melbourne office so we went out there and I showed him the unit in the retirement village that parents are planning to buy. They sold their house at the weekend and got a good price for it.

Today I did a quick clean - kitchen and floors only and then had lunch with The Mermaid. I haven't seen her for ages. It was a bit of a rushed time as she had to be back at work by 3 but we will have a decent catch up next week when she has afternoons off (school holidays). Then back home to hit my books. BORING! Lordy, it's boring. I know it's important but the study materials came on CD and I've printed them off and the quality is very poor. They have been photocopied and some of the writing is blurry and it frustrates me trying to make it out. And there is so much of it.

Three was driving the old Benz and rang to tell me that he thinks the power steering is going so he took it to the garage to be looked at. Himself tells me that it only needs the fluid topping up but I am proud the Three had the nouse to sort the thing out himself. Hopefully it won't cost an arm and a leg. So he has now taken my car to drop his ex-girlfriend (who is still very much on the scene but only as a friend, mum) home. When he gets back we'll go to the supermarket to get the ingredients for dinner.

I have started doing more 'real' cooking with proper ingredients and not just out of a jar. It certainly tastes better and the kids are eating it. I think that's when I got fed up with cooking, when the kids were either not home or wouldn't eat what I'd prepared. Two has just rung and he will also be home for dinner so creamy chicken penne it is. I buy the Australian Good Taste magazine every month and they have some yummy easy recipes in it. That's another thing - I am more likely to cook from scratch if it's as quick and easy as using a jar and the AGT recipes are certainly that.

Last evening we made meatballs. Well I decided on meat balls and chose the recipe and Himself made them. They were delicious. We had them in tomato sauce on fettucine. The evening before we had steak with roasted pumpkin and red onion, thyme potates and smashed peas.

It's 4.45 (daylight saving ended yesterday - happy happy happy days) so I'll go and try and get another 45 minutes of study done before Three gets home and we go shopping.

My new best friend (I hope)

Firstly, let me apologise for my tardiness in updating. I have attempted to write on many occasions but the words wouldn't flow. So I abandoned the attempts.

As you may remember I am overweight, suffer with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and am insanely unfit. Walking up a gentle slope can render me seriously breathless.

This, folks, is Not Good.

I have started back on the necessary medication and my blood pressure has come down to a more or less acceptable level. I don't know what my cholesterol is doing and I still can't walk up a flight of stairs or a gentle slope.

Exercise is the key. I know this because I read a lot.

I hate gyms.

Walking around the block again and again and again frustrates me.

So over the past few days I have been thinking about alternate ways of exercising. Especially as we are heading towards winter and ... drum roll please ... IT'S STARTED RAINING!! (more on that later).

Himself and I went to Sportsmart and looked at treadmills - any that were half decent were too expensive and took up too much room; eliptical trainers - didn't feel right; and exercise bikes. The one we chose has 12 programs, fancy features and is whisssssssssssper quiet. It is sitting next to me as I type. As you can see from the photos I can watch telly as I ride. And it tucks neatly into the corner between my desk and the sofa in the family room.

My initial challenge is to work out the instructions.

I figure that if I jump on the thing (it needs a name - all suggestions considered) for a few minutes at a time initially, then I can trick my body into exercise until I start to enjoy the sensation.

**************************************************************************************

So. The rain. We have had the odd shower here and there but last evening we had a heavy downpour (Thomas did the belly run under One's bed; Sheba sat on the back step looking very pissed off at this wet stuff coming from the skies). It has rained on and off since with some good downpours overnight and today. Please let this be the begining of the end of the drought. It was just gorgeous to walk in the rain again and to see green sprouting from the dry, grey dirt. And no, it doesn't take much to get the grass growing again.

Himself moved into his serviced apartment in Sydney. He's not sure about all this as he says it feels too permanent. I can understand where he's coming from but it is so nice to know that he's not going to be spending time tomorrow doing his washing and getting ready to go back.

He is in the kitchen cooking dinner which is just about ready and I should be laying the table and opening wine so I will finish here and come back in the next day or so.

A lesson in communication

Yesterday I was giving a Chinese woman her last lot of chemo. Her English is very limited - not non-existant but very basic. We communicate via an interpreter or by miming. I guess the miming for vomiting is pretty universal.

I became concerned because she had obviously been very sick after her last couple of treatments (she is a very good mime) and yet she said she had enough anti-nausea tablets which I doubted. I also doubted whether she was using them correctly. She pulled out a plastic bag and showed me her stash.

Sure enough, she hadn't been taking the correct tablets. And hadn't been taking the ones she did have frequently enough. One of our receptionists speaks her language so I asked her to give me a hand. (We prefer to use the proper interpreter but she isn't always available and this was a fairly straight forward conversation)

I explained about the tablets I was going to order for her and how to take them. I explained that ones she already had could be taken every 4 hours - not just twice a day (no wonder the poor woman had been so sick).

And I explained that the suppositories could be used if she couldn't keep tablets down.

*blank look*

I explained how to use a suppository. With appropriate hand movements.

*pause*

*eyes like saucers, mouth an O*

*rapid Cantonese exchanged*

*our receptionist almost wetting herself laughing as patient looks at me, clutches her chest and proclaims "I so lucky, I so lucky"*

She thought the suppositories were for a sore mouth.

Thank god she never had a sore mouth. And that she has a great sense of humour!