Still no luck posting anything other than titles - will have to get on to management!

For some unexplained reason I am again unable to post comments - titles are fine, but not photos or comments.

Surviving 2007

Thanks Colleen for the following email - good advice on how to survive the coming year.

Sleep as much as you can...
Read books that you enjoy...
Play with simple things...
Do whatever you want whenever you want...
Look for affection when you need it...
Get serious once in a while...
Forget about diets...
Show some affection...
Get angry once in a while...
Change your look...

Be happy, above all, regardless what your challenges may be...
Have a great year!
May your troubles be less, your blessings more, and nothing but happiness comes through God's love each day.

Radiotherapy

Our first appointment with the radiotherapist went well yesterday - one more week of hormone tablets and then a 2 week break. Radiotherapy sessions start on Wednesday April 11th, so we will be in Adelaide for the best part of 8 weeks after that.

Painting

Having just spent the last 3 days filling, sanding, scrubbing and painting walls and ceilings in the unit there is one thing I do not want to become: a house painter! there must be an easeier way to make money! All that is left for us to do now is the doors and a bit of wood staining inside.
The little Italian tiler is a perfectionist - the tiles look fantastic to date. The cupboards should be installed on Thursday in the laundry and remainder of the electrical and plumbing work should be finished early next week.

Obituary on the passing of Common Sense

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.
He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
1- Knowing when to come in out of the rain
2- Why the early bird gets the worm
3- Life isn't always fair
4- Maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple & sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not kids, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a 6 -year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Midol, sun lotion or a band-aid to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the Ten Commandments became contraband; churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust; his wife, Discretion; his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason. He is survived by his 3 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

Mothers

A great email I just received - thanks Mignon.


* WHY I LOVE MUM
Mum and Dad were watching TV when Mum said, "I'm tired, and it's getting late. I think I'll go to bed"
She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day's lunches.
Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.
She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer , ironed a shirt and secured a loose button
She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer.
She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.
She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.
She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.
Mum then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.
Dad called out, "I thought you were going to bed."
"I'm on my way," she said.
She put some water into the dog's dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.
She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV's , hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.
In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.
About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. "I'm going to bed."
And he did...without another thought.
Anything extraordinary here? Wonder why women live longer...?
CAUSE WE ARE MADE FOR THE LONG HAUL..... (and we can't die sooner, we still have things to do!!!!)
Send this to five phenomenal women today...they'll
love you for it!
I just did.
THEN, GO TO BED!

Back on the air

The last 8 days have been very eventful since arriving home.
The garden had grown dramatically with all the tender loving care given it by our good friends Robyn, Georgeana and Kerrie who diligently watered around the clock (we don't have any water restrictions, since we have a bore and are not reliant on Murray water). Everything was looking healthy, but so many shrubs and bushes needed a good haircut - blisters and time prevented me from doing as much as I would have liked. Having departed in such a hurry, unexpectedly 3 weeks prior, there were so many things to sort out in a short time.
Catching up with sleep was our first priority, but the main thing is that Rick is making good progress as far as his surgery is concerned and he has been able to start the hormone tablets (only 2 weeks to go) and had his hormone implant on Wednesday ( a pretty nasty looking needle in the stomach). Now we need to concentrate on this next challenge in our lives.
Additionally he had 2 teeth filled on Friday and blood tests on Thursday. you could call him the "million dollar man" these days - he's getting the complete makeover.
It was good to catch up with a number of friends during the week - the coffee pot is getting a good workout and the phone calls are most welcome. Elyssa and Jordan popped in briefly on their marathon trip to the South East.
I managed two days of teaching before we returned to Adelaide last night to start the next round of jobs. Before we could get into the carport I needed to move all the tiles/grout etc that had been deposited on the floor. It looked like a bomb had struck and Rick can't do any lifting yet (he is good at doing the dishes though) .
The bathroom/toilet/laundry floor tiles have been laid in the unit, so I was able to start preparing to paint. That has taken most of the day, in between ferrying Kerran to and from Port Adelaide for a kayaking course as part of the outdoor education component of his Uni course (same tomorrow again), washing floors, planting a few plants, dropping Jessie into the city, shopping for groceries/paint etc and taking the week's washing to the laundromat. Jessie and Kerran don't have a car and Rick still can't drive.
Tomorrow, if nothing else I need to paint the bathroom ceiling before it gets too awkward. The wall tiles are going from floor to ceiling so then will only have the cornices to do in there.
Showering with a camp shower in the carport is interesting to say the least and the portable hire toilet works well. Tomorrow we might venture elsewhere for a real shower.
We plan to go home for a couple of weeks on Wednesday at his stage, but that all depends on the outcome of the appoinment with the radiotherapist on Tuesday.

Home at last

It has been a long 3 weeks, but the outcome has been worth it.
I taught at Salt Creek "on the way home", so it was a very early start - it's a 2 hour trip from Adelaide.
A friend picked Rick up from there and brought him back to Kingston so that he could rest.
By the time I arrived home I was so tired, then there was the cleaning and watering to do after having left in such a hurry on the 14th. Fortunately we don't worry about Valentine's Day!
Dhonda dropped us a huge pot of soup which was received most gratefully - I hadn't had the inclination to think about food and Rick can't cook or prepare anything.

Gluttons for punishment

Round 2 of the bathroom sagas.
Yes, the demolition squad arrived early this morning at the unit - it's been noise, dust and mess ever since.
First the site supervisor, then the "wreckage" man (his own words), then the hire toilet, the skip(which filled quickly with tiles, bricks, bath, cupboards etc) and then the jackhammer.
Unfortunately the washing machine is too computerised and high tech to be connected up outside so will have to resort to other means. Tonight we plan to erect a borrowed camping shower under the carport, but we will venture elsewhere when we can coordinate everyone.
I need to start sanding and painting the doors while they are outside - one less job to do then when everything is finished.
Photos will follow soon. 20 days to go and it will be finished.

Staying on in Adelaide

Thanks Raelene and John for a fantastically healthy and enjoyable lunch today - good company and therapy. And we came home laden with fresh fruit and vegetables - yum!

Rick has relented - we now appear to be staying on in Adelaide for a few more days. We are both a bit apprehensive about going home - it's a long trip and we would then away from specailist help if it's needed.

The bathroom/toilet/laundry renovations start at 8am Tuesday. We are hiring a portable toilet and will erect a borrowed camping shower (ours is at home, we don't usually carry it around with us) under the carport. Occasionally we will bludge off our friends for a real shower. At this stage we are being told the reno will take 3 weeks but we're hoping for a quicker finish. Something has to go our way.

In the meantime we need haircuts, a visit to the Heart Foundation and to ensure the bathroom is going ahead as planned. Jessie needs to see her specialist on the other side of the city so I guess I'll ferry her over there too.

Rick still tires very easily and needs an afternoon rest, but can walk for around 25 minutes now at a time. His pain is quite well controlled with Panadol - only needs it twice, sometimes three times a day. His wounds are healing well and to date he has only mild side effects from the hormone tablets, though it's not fully clear that it is the medication and not the heat, surgery, tiredness, anaesthetics or a combination of all these factors. I suspect it's the latter.

After a very hot week it is now much cooler so sleeping will be more comfortable. We are very spoilt at home with regular evening sea breezes usually arriving in time for sleep.

Clipsal also finished today so travelling around the city will improve tomorrow (it has been diabolically slow), and the noise levels will decrease - we have been able to hear the cars racing, the announcements, the fireworks, the planes and the concerts from the unit with great clarity for 4 days. Sometimes late into the night. Sleep will come easily tonight.

Continued progress

Rick's rehabilitation is going well, though we aren't quite sure whether some of his symptoms are due to two anaesthetics in 5 weeks, to the extreme heat, to overdoing things or to the new hormone medication. The oncologist has had several phone calls from us over the last week, just checking on finer details with regard to medication and ongoing treatment.

Nevertheless, Rick is behaving himself. This morning we walked twice for around 20 minutes each. His main problem is his leg wound which "stings" when exercising (walking is the prescribed exercise). When he's immobilised it's fine, but he will need regular painkillers for a while to come.

It's easiest for us to do things on the spur of the moment, rather than planning too far ahead for the time being. Late this morning we rang our dear friend Olga (an amazingly young 86 years old) and took her to lunch, so we had a lovely hour or so catching up and eating out.

This morning the weeds in the lawn finally got to me - it is only about 3.5 square meters in area - so I dug out the bulk of the weeds and planted lawn seed and mulched it well to protect the area form the heat. Now I have to illegally keep the water up to it for a while. The forecast is for cooler weather tomorrow, so that will help.

Having had a very disrupted sleep last night we've both felt rather tired today. Even though the unit is quite small for four adults, keeping up with the housework, shopping and cooking is time consuming and wearing. Jessie and Kerran are back at Uni now, so they are both seemingly otherwise occupied.

Tiredness

Thanks Rob and Mignon for a lovely dinner last night. It was good therapy, but we were both rather tired today.
Each day sees Rick moving a little easier, though he can only keep going for about 10 minutes, especially since it's so hot at the moment. And' that's all within the prescribed time frame we were given, so he's doing well. We have both been sleeping each afternoon in order to try catching up on the last few weeks.
He helps with the dishes then needs to rest, is still sore when coughing (which he has to do regularly), has some pain in his leg where the vein was taken from, needs a cushion to pad the seat belt in the car and is now on the hormone therapy.
Rick is unable to drive for 6 weeks; there are legal issues within 4 weeks, when there is no insurance cover in the event of an accident.
The programme for the next few weeks includes a checkup with the cardiologist in 6 weeks, the GP in 2 weeks, hormone implant in 2 weeks, dentist in 2 weeks (chipped tooth), CT scan in 2-3 weeks, radiotherapist in 2 weeks.....I think that's enough of a list for the moment, I think you get the idea...I am having trouble getting my head around all these appointments.
We just want to get home to our own bed and to some brief sense of normality before embarking on our next journey, which will see us travel up and down the Coorong road many times.