Another Saturday night, & I ain't got nobody....

Yep, It's Saturday night, & I'm home alone.

Beloved is at work, & Vboy is spending the night at a friend's place. TV is now boring, so I thought I'd drop a little blog, then shower & bed.

It's been a fairly normal week in Blogmuggle land.


Last weekend was good. Poor NannyVal was under the weather with a flu, but we were at a good place to have a quiet time. And yes, time was definitely spent sitting around the lovely fire. The hosts, Alison & Adam were wonderful, and the food was excellent! The company was pretty good too.


Monday was the 1st anniversary of my friend Sharon's passing. Where did the year go?????


Tuesday, I had my first day working with Patient Transport, with a lovely excursion up to the Land of the Golden Guitar to collect a patient & return him to Muswellbrook Hospital. I am looking forward to 4 more Patient Transport days in the coming week. I was curled up in bed with my book by 8.30pm, much to everyone's disbelief.


On Wednesday, I worked an evening shift at Muswellbrook Hospital: it wasn't too busy for a change. The ol' H1N1 flu has been quite rampant up here, with lots of staff having been off work. After work, I drove down to my bro's at Elermore Vale, as I needed to return PoppyKen's car that I had confiscated a few weeks ago.


Thursday morning, I attended an appointment at the Cardiologist with PoppyKen. The cardiologist isn't all that impressed with pop's progress: he is still in cardiac failure, needs to take it easy, and was advised not to drive anywhere (he discussed the insurance ramifications in the event of an accident: poppy said nothing), & increase his medication, pending his visiting with the cardiac surgeon next week. The problem is, neither my brother nor I can attend this appointment with him, so not all of the info will be absorbed, nor shared.........
The doc on Thursday will be most impressed to know that Poppy couldn't wait to go home & have his breakfast in a rush so that he could hop in his car & drive to work on the Central Coast. Evidently, PoppyKen found some keys to the old car, & has been driving himself to work & wherever & whenever he wants...... regardless of the ramifications.


My bro & his lovely wifey picked me up at Pop's then met SBoy (who was driving around in GG's car) at Jesmond so I could drive Sboy up to Williamtown to catch a plane back to the Gold Coast.... He's gone again!!!!!! My wallet will be glad of the relief.........


I then drove a bit further up into the wilds of the Tiligerry Peninsula to visit a friend since I was in the area, but there was a very artfully written sign on the door advising:
"Back at 3.15"........


I drove down to meet GG at Mayfield, but not before I stopped for the 1st ever time to ogle & listen to the wind turbine at Kooragang Island. There's a big kerfuffle up here at the moment as a wind farm has been planned, & the locals are up in arms about it. There is a definite "woosh, woosh" sound, but I think I could live with that. It's got to be better than the rape & pillage of the coal mines that dominate the landscape (& economy) up here.......
En masse, I think that a field of white windmills possess a rather unique beauty. It's peaceful.


GG dropped me off at Hamilton station & I settled in for a quiet read on the train, until a friend got on at Maitland & we talked all the way home. Beloved & Vboy met me & filled me with Maccas for dinner.


Friday morning, I worked for 4hrs at the local hospital, but by the time I finished catching up with people, it stretched out to almost 6 before I arrived home at 12.45pm & made Vboy get out of bed. He's certainly turned into a teenager, that one!


I was so shagged by that time, that I rolled up in a blanket, & barely moved off the recliner, dozing off & on until bedtime.


Today, Vboy played footy in Muswellbrook: they went down again, and have just 1 more game until the semifinals start. 3 weeks ago, they were virtually unbeaten & on the top of the points table. Now they are in 4th position, & will have to work really hard to make the finals.


I should have been at Singin' Sue's Karaoke 40th birthday party tonight. Instead, I came home from footy & a bit of shopping and rolled up in my blanket again, too tired to do anything else. I am really peeved: tonight would have been an enormous amount of fun with the great crowd from the theatre group, but I just couldn't do it. This flu, after almost 3 weeks, is still having consequences...... I have 6 days straight at work this week, so I need to be on top of my game.... get plenty of rest in the bank... if you can bank it, that is.....


Tomorrow, I have nothing planned. I need to make a dent in the washing, and seriously look at cleaning around here. it's been a while since the floors were vacuumed, & even longer since they were washed..... they're all timber....... the shopping can wait until Monday after work, I think.


Anyhoo, it's time to shower & bed, I think.


Goodnight ;0)


zzzzzzzz xoxoxoxoxo zzzzzzzzzzz

Sail away, sail away, sail away..............................

"A ship is safe in the harbour..............

but that's not what it's for."



Is this another way of saying: "You must paddle your own canoe"?



It's a beautiful, wide, vast ocean out there..........


;0)

In a cavern, in a canyon, excavating for a mine, dwelt a miner, forty-niner, and his daughter, Clementine.

This is where Beloved and I are spending the weekend!

It's the Glen Davis Boutique Hotel, located at the once-thriving mining township of Glen Davis, which is nestled in the Capertee Valley, north of Lithgow & east of Mudgee.

As you can see from the rising escarpments behind the hotel, it will be cold..... but once inside, the roaring fire will keep us warm.

If all else fails, we will have our love to keep us warm .........

or we could run up & down the stairs, maybe.......

We might have to, if we eat too much of this.......

Of course, there is the pool, but since it's July, we might have to partake of pool of the indoor variety.....

Evidently, attractions include;

"4WD Tours, Accessible, Adult retreat, Birdwatching, Bushwalking & wilderness, Canoeing & Kayaking, Dinner, Bed and Breakfast, Family Friendly, Farmland Experiences, Fishing, Golf, Great view, Heritage Trail, Horse riding, Massage, Motor Bike Friendly, museums and galleries, One Night Bookings Welcome, Rockclimbing & Abseiling, Romantic getaway, Valentines Day, Wedding venue, Wine Appreciation, Winter Holiday"

And this one is a bit of a personal favourite:

"Take an early drive or stroll in winter and you're bound to see our local wedge-tailed eagles feasting on road kill."

Now, seriously, this Saturday is the first of Poppy Don's birthdays that he is not here to celebrate with us, so we decided a few months ago to take Nanny Val away for the weekend in an attempt to make it a little less traumatic for her. I found the brochures for this hotel in a service station in beautiful, downtown Rylestone when the dog was stolen (sorry, rescued) back in April. Beloved and I will be accompanied by his sisters, brother, and their respective partners, and of course, the lovely Nanny Val. All our meals are included in the package, so hopefully, it will be a lovely weekend full of food, ambience & fun. Lots of memories will be shared, too, no doubt.

Unfortunately, I'm still only firing on about 60%, so I won't be doing much bushwalking or exploring. I'll leave that up to Beloved's very energetic sisters. I can see Nanny Val & I quite happily curled up in front of the fire, engrossed in our respective books with a cuppa and nice little tidbit on the side.

Although, a massage would be nice. I wonder how the massage therapist feels about legs that resemble the forests behind the hotel?


The boys are remaining behind to "mind the house"........ EEEK!


So everyone, please have a good weekend, and if you are somewhere where it might get cold, stay warm! If you're not, then lucky you!


;0)

If you just smile...

Hi guys. This little piece came to me as am email, & I thought that I might share it with you:

BANK ACCOUNT!!!

This is AWESOME ... something we should all remember.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each
morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved
perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After
many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled
sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description
of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
I love it,' he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just
been presented with a new puppy.
Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait.'
'That doesn't have anything to do with it,' he replied.
Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.
Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is
arranged ... it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it.
'It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice;
I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the
parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful
for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day
and all the happy memories I've stored away.. Just for this time in my life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
account of memories!
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank.
I am still depositing.
'Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more..
5. Expect less.

Pass this message to 7 people except me. You will receive a miracle tomorrow.
Now, STOP! Did you hear what I just said. You WILL receive a miracle
Tomorrow. So send it right now!
Have a nice day, unless you already have other plans.

Food for thought.

:0)

This little piggy went to market: this little piggy stayed home....,.

I am still here!

I have not succumbed to the suspected Human Swine Influenza! Ok, I did.... but nothing's certain or definitive.......

Lots of others have gone down up here: the hospital has called 3 times to see if I am well enough to work over the last few days. I'm not and I'm not going back to work until I am well enough to cope with the rigours of the job. I am constantly tired, have a persistent cough that is eventually productive, but dry and annoying until it is, and a runny nose. My chest hurts and I have a very sore rib muscle from all the coughing. And then there are the very stressed out bladder muscles that are beyond hope at the moment........ At least I can sleep relatively well at night.

I rang the GP's this morning: of course, they have people lined up out the doors, and the clinic sister suggested that I give the Tamiflu another day or so to work........ Until this cough resolves, I can't go back to work, and I have now knocked back planned work right up until next Tuesday..... I will be very surprised if I don't end up on antibiotics anyway. Imagine if I had been someone who is really unwell, immuno-supressed or at either end of the age spectrum.....

At least it doesn't look as if I've shared it with anybody so far. VBoy has a bit of a cold, but all other family members seems to be in relatively good health and the household is longer under our self-imposed quarantine.

I'm a bit sad though: school holiday midday movies & kids' tv used to be good. What's happened? Did we get too busy or something for the networks to bother? Thank goodness for J.R.R Tolkien, Peter Jackson, J. K. Rowling and all the other dvd makers that have kept me entertained.... I've re-discovered my David Eddings books.... Unusually, I haven't watched any "Angel" this time around. But I would just about kill for the "Buffy" series...........


Ah well, never mind.

Back to my recliner ;0)

<3>

Miss Polly had a dolly who was sick, sick, sick......

Hi Bloggers!

It appears that the universe may have cut me some slack in the form of the dreaded H1N1 Influenza!

I went down with flu-like symptoms on Tuesday evening, and a visit to the local doctors resulted in 5 days worth of Tamiflu & a week off work. I am also in isolation for the next 3 days. I can't see Dad either.

It appears that a patient that I nursed on Sunday night has tested positive, so any contacts/exposures that develop symptoms are treated as if they have the same thing.

All I know is that, I wouldn't wish this on anybody, & I'm not particularly sick.

I also wish that instead of looking at me as if I was a leper in the docs as I was the only one wearing a mask, that all the other coughers & splutterers had had the common sense to wear one too. What a hot-bed of potential infection!

Anyway, I'm retiring to the isolation of my lounge, where I've been residing since Tuesday night anyway. I've just decided to leave my mask on, & not go near anyone. Beloved & the boys haven't been game to come near me anyway....... The "oink, oink" jokes have been thick & fast until I returned from the docs..... Now they're all just a little bit wary.

Anyway, all jokes aside.... I am not particularly unwell, and will be back on track in no time. I'd better clean the keyboard & mouse, I suppose.

See ya!


Wee, wee, wee, wee............ (you have to imagine this is a squealing piglet.....)

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

downhearted... this post comes with a numb-bumb warning

Forgive me Bloggers: it has been some time since my last blog.

Life is busy, and I seem to have really lost interest in anything computer-related. I have just checked out a few blogs every so often, maybe commented, and then just had a quick peruse of Facebook. Even emails are at the bottom of the "to-do" list.

SBoy came home for his little op last Thursday, survived his overnight hospital stay and he's doing well.

VBoy played football on Saturday and has socialised as much as has been practical when not engaged in school, footy or footy training. He plays at Swansea this weekend coming.

GG is enjoying her life at the moment, & is even attending a school-reunion & career day tomorrow in Muswellbrook. This is amazing, considering her disdain for all things Muswellbrook. She won't be coming home to see us though, as she has to work tomorrow night.

Beloved is recovering slowly from his bike accident & returned to work last Wednesday after 10 days off.

Me?? Well, life has revolved around everyone else, of course, with a bit of work thrown in to give me a bit of respite........ and money. Thank god for the money...and the distraction......

Today however, I crossed some personal boundaries with my dad. As I have previously mentioned, he is not easy, with a stubborn streak and irrational way of making things a tad difficult. Something as simple, say, as following a doctors instructions. Dad has had an on-going problem with swelling in his legs since his surgery. His GP's advice? Wear surgical stockings, elevate & rest the legs as often as possible, but make sure that you go for 15 minutes of gentle walking twice every day. It hasn't really happened. When I left him last week, I was not happy that his swelling & fluid retention had increased further up his body, which is usually a good indicator that something is not quite right with the workings of the heart & cardio system.


Another instruction? Don't drive for 4 - 6 weeks, and don't return to work until fully fit usually after at least 6-8 weeks....
Dad arranged with his boss to pick him up & take him to work last Thursday, 3 weeks after his surgery. Friday night, he called me to say that he was feeling fluey and unwell, but that he was going out for the evening. Early Saturday morning, he phoned me to say that he was more unwell & breathless, and needed the mum's left-over ventolin nebuliser medicine and where is mum's old puffer that he couldn't find? He has never, ever been prescribed ventolin, but was insistent & refused to go to the doctors. My brother, bless him, took dad to the chemist to buy one. It didn't help, as the breathlessness was the result of the increase in fluid pressing on dad's chest. He was also insistent that he needed me to return his car as he had to drive to work on this coming Wednesday, & felt that he didn't have the strength in his right leg to drive the old brown car in the shed. After work, he has tickets to a show in the evening, and needed to drive to that as well. I had arranged my week to return his car on Wednesday, so that on Thursday, 4 weeks after the surgery, he could take a drive up to the shops, or to visit his friends up the road, and gradually increase his driving time, as advised. But not my dad. He kept on nagging until I changed my arrangements & drove to Newcastle this morning & met he and my brother for his appointment with the cardiosurgeon. Dad said that he felt 100% better following the 1 diuretic tablet that he took yesterday as "it's cleared the phlegm and lets him cough better". He has not been prescribed this since his return home following surgery, but lack of a prescription has never stopped him taking medicine before.


His surgeon was not impressed. Nor was he impressed with the admission that dad had gone to work: he's not supposed to return for 2 months, nor to drive for 6 weeks, as his condition has deteriorated & he needs new blood pressure medications that he probably shouldn't have needed, including diuretics... He has had a chest xray, & will see the doc again next Monday.......


He was ropable upon our return home, & stated that he will drive when he wants to & go to work, regardless of what the doc says, as he feels fine and the doc is just "covering his arse...". Evidently, we should respect his right to make bad decisions. Which we do, but not when the lives of others can be affected........

The new medications may cause havoc with his blood pressure and the info sheets that he was insistent upon having advise not driving or operating heavy machinery in the first few weeks of taking it.........

Result?

Boundary crossing 1: I have driven home in his car, as well as taking the keys to the old brown one. I will not return until Saturday, and he's not getting the keys back yet either.


Boundary crossing 2: I contacted his boss to explain the situation, as he was unaware that dad had any issues as he had told them, of course, that he was just fine....... well derr.... that's why the nurses are coming to his home 3 days each week... they thought that it was miraculous that he has returned to work so soon after a major operation....... Dad feels that he will now lose his job as the company he works for will go bust without him there....... and they will think that he is a liar..... who put that thought there?????? ...

From my discussion with his boss, it would seem that he is quite a reasonable man, who would prefer have a healthy Ken back at work in a few weeks rather than one who is not going to be well for a while longer if he returns to work too early. He decided that he would pick dad up this Thursday sometime after 10 and bring him home again about 2 ish so that dad gets out a bit, but doesn't overdo it. I keep trying to find a compromise as I know that dad is hating being at home...... not that dad sees it that way.... I'm just too bossy & interfere too much..... It's got to be better than the 7 till 3 day that he did last Thursday.........

After a tirade on the phone after I arrived home this evening, I am going to make him sick, have a heart attack & vomit all night... evidently..... Well, that's your choice dad... whatever makes you think that this is easy for me?????



Boundary crossing 3: I visited the person with whom he was going out with on Wednesday night, & she informed me that she had expressed her doubts to him before he bought the tickets, but he was insistent that they should go as he would be fine...... There it is again... insistent and the "I" word again..... She is much happier with my disclosure to her. I told dad today that there was no way that I was going to let her go in the car with him.......


Dad is very big on the "I can", "I will", "he/she is doesn't know what they're talking about (even though they are an expert in their field)" & "I'm in charge". I get this: he's always been a control freak. He was something of a maverick in his younger days, with some wonderful achievements in his areas of interest. But he has enormous double standards. Most of the time, we accept that this is the way he is. But in this situation, his arrogance & irrational thinking has gone too far. When the safety of others is potentially compromised, then it's time to do the right thing. Because that's what my brother & I were taught to do: the right thing. Morally, dad is in the wrong, so he will just have to wait a bit longer.


When he IS well, and he is given his clearance to drive & work, then he can. The sooner the better as far as my bro & I are concerned, because it relieves us of the responsibilty that we have at the moment.


As I said to dad tonight:
"You need to just get over yourself & suck it up. You cannot just do whatever you want. You are Ken. You are not superman. You are 72yrs old, you have just had major surgery, and you will follow the same rules as everybody else. You were doing ok, and now you're not. If you were, then we wouldn't be having this conversation. We will fight & argue, & then get over it, because that's what families do..."


Of course, there was a lot more, but I'm sure you get the gist of things......... We have a lot to learn in the family stakes....... Hard work.


It's so sad..... I talk like this to dad, and it's my brother who dad said he will "Knock his block off if he comes anywhere near me tomorrow..."


Of course, he is going nowhere near dad... me neither..... I love you Glen <3


I find it so sad and disappointing that I have had to react in this way to my father's actions. But we were always aware that there would be issues. I took his car keys into protective custody while he was in hospital. I was just hoping that I wouldn't have to actually keep them.......


*sigh*


I feel so sick at heart.........




Well, that's a blog...... a few weeks worth, at least.

Am I off the hook now?

:0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) ;0) :0) ;0) ;0)