Life is good.

The landscaping is coming along really well. 

There will be a fence between the tree and the shed (the shed belongs to the bloke who owns the blocks behind us) but the tree will grow and you get an idea of the fencing from the second photo. The tree, by the way, is a Little Gem magnolia.

I am thrilled with the steps. There is a gentle bend that reflects the bends in the garden beds.

Again, you need to imagine the fence which will be roughly where the dirt ends and the grass begins. This is the other side of the house from the fence above. Things look a bit stark with the black mulch but once I have planted the whole area will sing with colour and texture.

I will need a bit more than these, though! We bought them at the local monthly market and I have ordered more from the chap that runs one of our mini golf venues. What ... isn't that where you get good plants? Tis here! I'm picking them up tomorrow.

Himself wanted to clean the rocks and this was him on the weekend with the garden hose but he ended up using  the power washer which did a great job. You get an idea of the difference the mulch makes.

 

We are getting so close to the end and more and more is being moved into the new house. 

On other fronts my hip has been giving me grief to the point that I have been taking heavy meds and been woken through the night. I had some brusing on my right buttock that concerned me and I rang the surgeon's rooms last week. I was told to see my GP as the procedure shouldn't be producing bruising at this stage. That evening I realised that I had been deeply massaging the area to relieve the ache so the bruising was self inflicted! I see the GP next week (country living, folks, but to be fair city living isn't much better in this regard) and will ask for an xray to set my mind at rest that I haven't damaged things. 

Yesterday I celebrated another trip around the sun. My coffee friends sang to me (and cleared the cafe), Himself and I had a fabulous dinner at the local pub and my kids and friends contacted me. 

I am so fortunate.

Progress pics

I wasn't going to post these as it looks as if we are living in a quarry (all rocks sourced from legal and sustainable quarries) but I have given you blow by blow accounts of the build so it's not fair to go "ta daaahhhhh" without showing the steps towards the final reveal.

Fencing will surround the property which will make things look a lot more enclosed. Soil and mulch will be installed, plants planted and the rocks will be washed to remove the dust and expose their beauty.

And I will have an easily accessable record of the process so you get the photos of the dumping of the rocks. Actually, very precise placing of the rocks. I am amazed at how the landscaper has picked the specific postining of each rock. We are talking many tons (or tonnes?) of rock. 

A quick update

The first of several loads of rocks were delivered today. They range from pretty big to massive!!

Our amazing landscaper installed the risers for the outdoor stairs. There is a gentle curve which will reflect the curves in the garden beds. 

More rocks tomorrow as well as the dude with the machine to move them into place. It's all coming together.

Criminology and Craft this morning. Always a great way to spend a Tuesday morning. We are looking at female killers. Lucy Letby is an interesting study and very current. Today we looked at Aileen Wuornos. Last week we looked at Katherine Knight. I found I had some compassion for Wuornos but none for Knight.

Make up your own minds.

And to brighten things after that disturbing topic ... 

Back to cleaning out the wardrobes so I am not taking unwanted clothes to the new place. I think more will be going to the op shop than coming with me!

Lovely to be home

The Mermaid is fine. She did really well and her surgeon was amazing - no bruising and little pain. Just a very uncomortable piece of plastic across her nose presumably to keep the manipulated bone back in place. We had lots of laughs, take away and cafe meals and more wine than was probably good for us but, hey, we're old and have history!

I drove home fairly early today to escape the front that followed me. 

As I write the sky is lighting up and thunder growls in the distance.

It was lovely to get back to my safe place. 

I know it's only been just over a year since we left Melbourne but it has been many more since we left true suburban Melbourne. I was gobsmacked at the number of people that throng to cafes on the weekend. It was not a pleasant experience and I don't get the attraction.

Anyway. 

This week should have things continuing with the landscaping. We have pretty much cleared out the rental so once the concreting is finished we will move in. The dogs can be taken out to do their business on the end of a lead until the fencing goes in. Not the way I had planned the move but I just need to be out of this house.

Thank you for your ongoing comments (and thanks Peta for sharing your husband's experience - I feel I might be heading down the same path). Once I get my routine back I will be able to get back to replying individually both here and to my blog friends but at the moment life is a tad busy and I prefer to spend my time reading blogs rather than commenting - just know how much I appreciate you all.

Himself has cooked steak for dinner - a treat after staying with a vegetarian - so I am off to enjoy dinner and glass of red wine.

Been busy

With all my best intentions to get here more regularly life got in the way but just with busy stuff - nothing really interesting.

Last Saturday we drove the half hour or so into Bairnsdale so Himself could see if the glasses he didn't see and therefore sat on could be repaired. No, they couldn't but he ordered some new ones and a pair of driving/sunglasses and with our health insurance paid a grand total of $6. A lot of health insurance to pay for glasses but add the new hip, knee, cataracts, angiograms, colonscopies, carpel tunnel et al over the past few years and we aren't complaining.

Over the years a disciplined person could put the money into a dedicated, high interest bearing account for use when and if needed but we aren't disciplined and neither are the majority of folk I would imagine so happy to pay the premiums. Like house, contents and car insurance it is, well, insurance!

I waited in the car and watched the gathering storm clouds even though they didn't amount to much. You can see my paint work here - tell me, yellow or green?

After visiting Specsavers we went to Spotlight and bought a quilt cover set and some curtains for Himself's study. Then to Kmart for a clock for the garage. The clock cost 3.50. The bar stools, storage units, draining rack, shelf for the bathroom and shelf and hooks for the laundry plus other bits and pieces came to about $200. Bloody expensive clock!!

Alice has started following in her big sister's footsteps and is learning ballet. She was telling me at length about her purple bag that she puts on the chair when she goes to dance and Three kindly sent me a photo of the girl and her bag.

 

The landscapers have started. Concrete has been poured and more will be poured tomorrow. All going well the rocks will come soon and the driveway will be laid. 

Solar panels have been installed and the internet is up and running. We are paying for internet at two properties for a month or so but it is needed. When at Kmart on Saturday I even bought a cheap kettle and toaster so we can have tea and toast at either house. The next few weeks will be messy but the end is in sight. 

On Thursday I am heading up to Melbourne so I can take the Mermaid to hospital on Friday to have a broken nose fixed. She got tangled in dog leads when walking a dog and an off leash dog ran up to them. She can't remember much other than the sound of her nose cracking as she hit the ground! She didn't get the details of the owners of the other dog and just wanted to get home. ED would have been a good idea but she is stubborn and probably in shock. 

The hip has good days and less than good days. As I have said before, I think I am super sensitive because of all the issues I had in the early days and keep thinking I might have done something wrong. I can't see what I could have done so I take strong pain killers now and again with anti-inflammatories here and there. If anyone has had a hip replacement can you remember when the pain eased and what the post op pain felt like? I know I have back issues which I am going to have to get looked at but really need the hip out of the equation first. Actually, the back issues scare me as you can't have a lower back replacement!!

The back and hip probably aren't helped with moving. I cleared out a couple of kitchen cupboards to take up to the new house and then realised that because I have done no baking at all since moving into this rental everything was 12 months out of date. 

So there we are. We are enjoying spending time in the new house puddling around and putting things away. The rental is looking sadder and sadder but it has served a purpose and we will be here for another 4 weeks at least.

I doubt I'll be back here til after the weekend but all is good.

Grateful

Thank you so much for your comments. They make me realise how valuable and caring this community is and I feel bad for not saying how I was feeling sooner. Those of you who have the misfortune to share this condition will understand that sometimes just getting out of bed is enough. Stringing words together can be an insurmountable challenge. I know when I don't read my favourite bloggers I am in a bad place. Consequently I am way behind in all your news and am doing me best to catch up (I did check that Olga was still with us!). I did skim and comment on some but after one or two my brain checked out. 

Anyway, I am feeling better although still struggling with getting out of bed (it's my safe place) and limiting myself to in person contact with those I know. 

I went for a walk the other day and took some photos which remind me of why we moved here and how lucky we are to live here.

Jinx has realised that the water on the other side of the wall = the sea and she loves the sea. 

Did I mention why we love living here?

During the whole hip replacement/readmission/mental health debacle we took delivery of the new car (jury is out whether it's lime green or lemon yellow but trust me it's very bright and I am hard to miss around town!)

One day I just decided to go for a drive because I could and went to Lake Tyers Beach. It's not far from Lakes Entrance and is known for periodically breaking through to the ocean. 

I took these from the car park which is somewhat under water as we wait for the next breakthrough. You can see the lake, the sandbar and the ocean. Just glorious.

WARNING!!

If you don't like pictures of surgical wounds then scroll by quickly!

The first is after everything went south and I ended up at the local GP. All they did was take the dressing down - no stitches were touched. This was 5 days post op.

The second is after the eventual return to theatre for cleaning up and resuturing. 

YOU CAN LOOK NOW!!

Things still didn't go according to plan but I won't go into details cos it's a bit messy. 

Suffice to say the wound has healed, the stitches are out (and that was SUCH a relief) and I am well on the mend. Because of the wound issues I sort of forgot that I had actually had some major orthopaedic surgery and started to worry when things started to hurt! I realised I have some good drugs and those, with doing a bit less, have worked well.

The house is coming along well. The landscaping has started and we should be able to move in soon. A sad bit was not being able to be there when the house was handed over but that is a minor hiccup. 

So here I am.

Still not 100% but getting better by the day - physically and mentally.

In no small part to you.

This is why I have been AWOL

Fairly normal for me at this time of year but for some reason 2024 has been a doozy.

One is bad enough but both together really sucks.

This might actually have worked if I had a cat that would allow it!

Thank you for the comments expressing concern. They meant a lot and I apologise for not responding but that bloody black dog shuts everything down.

Give me a few more days and I will be back with the gory details of my surgery, the update on the house and my usual waffle.

A special thanks to a certain blogging mate who contacted me to check in and really helped to pull me back out of the mire.