There's a party going on right here.....

Good Morning on a Monday, People!

If this post is confusing, & gives you a sense of dejavu, don't worry, you're not losing it: Blogger posted my text before the pics uploaded..... soooo slow..... then I re-published it......

There will be no deep & meaningfuls here today, mainly because I just couldn't be bothered. There never are any really, are there? Maybe I'm too shallow..... or insular...... or just plain lazy.

The latter, I think.

It started out a biggish weekend. SBoy, Yana & JackF (his bosses) arrived home on Thursday night while I was at work.

Sboy turned 18 on Friday........

Many drinkies for Sboy & various peoples over the course of the day, starting at lunchtime, both at home & at the local pubs. More drinkies at the pub later with family & friends. Then more drinkies at home with the patrons of the pub back at ours..... copious amounts of party pies, sausage rolls, garlic bread & potato wedges soaked up some of the alcohol..... Sboy slept through a lot of the latter proceedings...... We finally cut his birthday cake (sans "Happy Birthday" song) on Sunday for afternoon tea.
And the most dangerous bushfires are not in Victoria or Tassie, they're right here in Wattle Grove: They're concocted of white rum & tabasco sauce, I believe.

There were times when it wasn't pretty: not a family show at all.

I love being 18.....


still loving it, but... going.....


going..........

GOOOOONNNNNEEEEE................

All things considered, there were no hassles on the day/afternoon/night/early morning. Except that I never slept AT ALL.... backing up after 3 hours the night before & a full week of evening shifts...... *yawn* X 50 squillion.......

My 18 year old son is now my hero. You may be familiar with the scene in the movie, "Zoolander", where the 2 models, Derek Zoolander (Ben Stiller) & Hansel (Owen Wilson) have a "walk-off" on the runway & Hansel's coup-des-gras to win the competition is to remove his underwear by pulling them off & out of his pants from the waist........ well that was performed on Sboy by his "best mate", and without a stunt double...... Hopefully, he will still be able to provide me with some grandbabies.......

Please ignore those fingers that seem to have developed tetanus....

They were a rather expensive pair of bonds "very comfy undies" that I bought him for Xmas..... and as you can see, he wore his best clothes for the occassion.....

As you can see we're a party waiting to happen in our family.......

I DID NOT give Vboy that beer....... maybe he's holding it for his brother... brotherly love..

And I take absolutely NO responsibility for the behaviour of the young adults that I gave birth to....... those genes must have come from Beloved....... even though he says that I had them last.....

Saturday was necessarily quiet. Tea at the pub, then the younguns went to lovely Amy's 18th birthday party.

On Sunday (the day of the week, not the fashionably individual name chosen by our Nicole & Keith for their little darling), we purchased a new/old car for GG. A very functional and relatively attractive 2000 model Ford Festiva Trio.... Happy 21st birthday for 2010, baby....... She's happy...... And loving her new domestic arrangements at no 25 as well. She will be actively looking for work in Newie as she is desperate to "get out of this s'hole town..." Wickham is def better baybybee......

On a brighter note, I have solved my work dilemma in regard to the lack of surgical experiences on my surgical rotation, so that's a weight off all of our shoulders, isn't it????????

Vboy's happy back at school, with only one request at the moment: "more pimple wipes please Mum, cos my skin's gone off!" It could certainly be worse. Oh that's right: I forgot. He wants a $150 pair of skate shoes to wear to school "cos they're black leather like I'm supposed to wear". The black Dunlop volleys that he's previously favoured are certainly more economical........... damn those OH&S regulations......


Better go.

Cya ;0)

We are young, but getting old before our time....get into the car & drive....

It's been a funny couple of weeks. Lots of time spent on the road. And it's been hot. So hot. But a southerly has come through in the last hour. Every door & window is now open to let out the stuffy air & encourage the coolness in.

Sboy flew back up to the Gold Coast last Sunday & will be riding at a show at Penrith on Australia Day. Then maybe he will be home on Tuesday (hopefully) for a week or so in preparation for his 18th birthday on the 30th. There is a job in Sydney Feb 7 & 8, so hopefully he'll stay at home with us in between. Then he leaves us again, probably until after Easter.

On Wednesday, GG was accepted back into Newcastle Uni to study for her BA in (I think) in Anthropology, Social Science & Drama. She will be attending part-time, but will remain working up here until at least April, whilst looking for work in Newcastle after that. She's very excited at the prospect, but her world is blissfully revolving around her part-time move into a house at Wickham with friends that she is VERY keen to make full-time. So keen is she, that she is going to pay them a weekly rent to secure her room full time even though she will only be in residence 2 to 3 nights a week until she moves down there...... I suppose it's only fair: she has virtually lived on their floor off & on over the last 18 months rent-free..... Her hair is no longer vibrant fuschia: it's white-blonde with pale silver-mauve streaking....... So tomorrow is spent moving GG & some gear down to No 25, as well as picking up stuff from Pop's to take there too. The house is a semi-detatched terrace, & she has the top rear bedroom. God I hate stairs.... & moving up furniture up stairs...... At least she will be there for a while.

And tomorrow, we will look at a car for GG at Medowie on the way down. Sboy will need his back at some point, & GG needs one that is comfortable & reliable with all the travelling that she will be doing. And easy on the fuel. Hopefully, this one will fit the bill. Vboy will probably need a new car before the year is out, too. Hopefully, he has heeded our warnings about saving his money to contribute to the purchase ........... It's hard when they are so young & living away.... you really have no idea about what is going on in their lives: only what they choose for you to know.

Vboy has had probably the best school holidays ever, but I think that he forgets that he is only 14 sometimes, & just expects to be able to do whatever he wants to do. Here in our little village, he & his mates can pretty much ride their bikes anywhere & everywhere, swim in the river & hang around without getting into too much trouble. It's much the same in Muswellbrook (in the daylight anyway). He is expecting us to let him catch a train to Newie with his mates on Australia Day (of course they're all allowed to go....). He just doesn't get that the city is a different ball-game, & not necessarily safe. These kids have little or no street-smarts.... He's cranky with us at the moment, & revolting at the prospect of coming to Newie tomorrow.....

Poor Beloved went to an old friend's funeral last Tuesday........ There's been too many of these .... And I see way too many young people (that's under 70yrs, folks) struggling to stay alive in my line of work. But I never fail to be amazed by the sheer tenacity of the human spirit.......

I've been a bit out-of-sorts. My shifts have been all over the place; 4 days on last week starting Sunday, then a day off with Beloved to attend a skin clinic appointment, worked the next day, then Sat, Sun & Mon off. I turned up for work this Tuesday in the morning, only to realise that I was on an evening...... I ingratiated myself with my workmates by doing a morning tea run to Maccas & spent most of the morning helping out..... which was just as well as I was mixed up on Thursday. I thought that I worked in the evening, but I was phoned at 7.10am to find out where I was.... lounging in bed of course, after working the previous 2 evenings..... Friday was Mum's birthday, so Friday was never going to be full of promise..... but it was ok in the end. I wasn't even late for work. And the money came through to buy GG a car......

I go back to work on Monday evening (1.30pm). People at work have checked to roster with me a few times (with a sly smirk, but more often, a wide smile.. ;0) ). It's my last week up on Afloor at Muswellbrook, then it's downstairs into the Aged Care Facility. I just don't think that I've learned enough, nor am I good enough for the assessments that need to be done. I think that I will need to organise some of my own time for more practise & assessments. *sigh*.

April 21, the end-date for my contract is so close. And my assessment book has to be completed & in by mid-March.....

I'm off to shower & bed. Tomorrow will be busy. Oh: I forgot about the load of washing to hang
out ....

Enjoy what's left of your weekend!

And I wonder why?

Morning.

It's just after 8am, & I am hot already.

I'm glad that I don't have to go to Charlestown Square (AKA "The Faecal Palace: the largest choice of numbers 2's in town..."). If you think I've lots my marbles here, then you need to check out Renata's blog. Or maybe you shouldn't. I think she's still getting over her experience.

Everyone is in bed.

The teenagers in this house think that it's ok to be on the computer on MSN all night. Obviously a lot of other teenagers think the same thing. Then a tired teenager sleeps until midday, and repeats the process.

They also keep their mobile phones on their pillow, & other teenagers send them messages in the small hours of the morning when everyone who is normal or not at work should be asleep. For parents who haven't yet encountered this phenomoenon or have children too young to have their own phones, it would be a good idea to set a curfew on phone calls, and "put phones to bed" at night.

I wish that I had done this: actually, I DID set a curfew, but it has been ignored. Remember the good old days when it was bad manners to phone someone after 9pm? People had down time, & didn't have to be available 24/7.... I mentioned to my kids that the number of sms & constant demand provided them with validation, & they laughed at me, but I believe it's true. They can't wait to continally check their MySpace & facebook pages to see if someone has "commented" them. It's often a fight to see who can get to the computer & the request of "lurk me, then" is frequent when someone else is on first. When they DO finally struggle out of bed near lunchtime, the computer is the 1st place they sit (food & drink come later... at the computer, of course ...excuse me, but NO food or drink at the computer!!!!), & the computer is the 1st point of call everytime they walk in from outside the house. School bags live next to the computer: they rarely make it into the bedroom: are books ever taken out for homework? I really don't think so. Sometimes. it's difficult for them to take 2 steps away from the computer to sit at the table for tea, & then it's bolted down fast so that they can return to the computer.

Yet, with all this communication at their fingertips, they rarely talk to anybody on their phones, & have a vast circle of "friends" that they have never met. Does this compromise their social skills? I think it does. They have trouble organising activities as they wait for "OllieB to comment them back.." . Actually talking on the phone, which allows quick transfer of information, is just not done. And hopelessly inadequate to me in this "right here, right now" world that we live in. Mind you, I have to say that my kids are improving in this, largely because I have insisted upon using the phone as ... OMG... a communication device....... After all, it costs me a fortune for them to make a gazillion sms to a gazillion different people for them to say;

"sup?"

"ntmch. U?"

"same"

"lol"

"Seen (enter name here) l8ly?"

"nah. you?"

"nah. She probs hang wif (enter name here)"

"kk. She was on msn last night. gtg. cya."

"k. bye"

Fabulous command of the English language....... I wonder how much of this nightmare gibberish is making its way into their school books. I have heard it creeping into their conversation. My pet hate? Saying "lol" instead of actually laughing......

They are very adept at multi-tasking though: They can cruise the web, hold about 20 MSN conversations, check out MySpace & place useless bulletins, all the while whilst answering SMS on their phones........ They have endurance, as well: they can do this for hours......

They just can't seem to manage to put the milk/cereal away, empty/fill the dishwasher, put their clothes in the washing basket, or hang up their wet towels, though..... "lol". Even one job at a time.

And they ALWAYS leave their empty glasses, packets and plates next to the computer..... NO FOOD & DRINKS AT THE COMPUTER, GUYS!!!!!!!!

Ho hum.... They'll never read this anyway.

Remember when the telephone was THE desired method of communication? The desperation of waiting for "someone" to call? It used to be fun. And you generally had a person's undivided attention when you were talking.... I'm so old, that for years, we were only only house in about 4 in our street to have a phone, & we were the message centre for the neighbourhood.

The telephone has been an important & formative part of our culture: songs have been written with the phone as it's focus. Take Blondie's "Hanging on the Telephone" as an example:

I'm in the phone booth, it's the one across the hall
If you don't answer, I'll just ring it off the wall
I know he's there but I just had to call

Don't leave me hanging on the telephone
Don't leave me hanging on the telephone

I heard your mother now she's going out the door
Did she go to work or just go to the store?
All those things she said I told you to ignore

Oh why can't we talk again?
Oh why can't we talk again?
Oh why can't we talk again?

Don't leave me hanging on the telephone
Don't leave me hanging on the telephone

It's good to hear your voice, you know it's been so long
If I don't get your calls then everything goes wrong
I want to tell you something you've known all along

Don't leave me hanging on the telephone

I had to interrupt and stop this conversation
Your voice across the line gives me a strange sensation
I'd like to talk when I can show you my affection

Oh I can't control myself
Oh I can't control myself
Oh I can't control myself

Don't leave me hanging on the telephone
Don't leave me hanging on the telephone

Hang up and run to me
Whoah, hang up and run to me
Whoah, hang up and run to me
Whoah, hang up and run to me
Whoah oh oh oh run to me...............

Well, that's probably enough of my rambling.... Is that the phone I can hear????? WHY WON'T IT LET ME TURN OFF THE ITALICS???????

k. bye.

Have a good day!

This ain't a scene; it's a goddam arms race (lyrics that are in Sboy's head right now....)

WOO HOO!

SBOY IS HOME!!!!

Beloved & kids went to Sydney to pick him up yesterday. He is a happy, but thinner little camper. Unbelievably, he has stripped 6kg off his already lean frame: he's now 59kg! He bought back gifts for us all. I have a lovely Balinese dragon. He remains un-named thus far. Poor Sboy was concerned as he managed to break 2 of the wooden dragon's toes in transit. As Beloved pointed out, he just matches my other rather battle-scarred ones.......

This morning I take SBoy back to Sydney so that he can be picked up to go to Mulwala (near the NSW/Vic border) to ride at the show this weekend. Then he's going up straight up to the Gold Coast until the end of the month, he thinks.

I have Saturday off, then back to work on Sunday.

*sigh*

As the sand flows through the hourglass, these are the days of my life......

Smiley........

Good Morning Bloggers!

Sunday morning @ 8.09am and here I am.

Not too much earlier, Beloved had risen for work, & before I had even opened my eyes, there was a familiar thud, stab, twist, thud at the back of my head. I should have gotten up & taken some pills then, but I thought no, no, I'll just lie here in bed, & it will go away.

Wrong response. (Can't you just hear that buzzer from "Sale of the Century"; noll-noll...)

As I pondered my approach to the day in that half-awake, half asleep state, with a good bit of painful indecision inside my head, the phone started to ring..... at the farthest point away from me in the house. In my haste to answer it, I caught my dressing gown on the pedestal fan and it would not let go. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, it let go so I could run to the phone, with my gown flapping about me (not a pretty picture to paint, so I'll leave out the details...) I picked it up just after "the man" had informed the caller with his nasal, annoyingly whiny twang that; "No-one is available to take your call at the moment. Please leave...".. well yes they are, they are just trying to avoid answering the phone infragrant delecto...... bloody phone, telling me who I can & can't talk to... organising my life.......
A surprised "Hello Bub: I was just going to leave you a message....." greeted me on the other end of the line. Dad. "Happy Birthday"....... Thanks Dad. Small talk ensued while I filled up & turned on the kettle.... "God I need a cup of tea.." Very small talk, really, as I had only spoken to him yesterday afternoon. He enquired after GG, asked what shifts I was on this week, I asked him how he was going to spend his day..... he's not too well in the tummy & has a cough, & can't sleep lying down (this may be related to his medication, I feel). Neither are new complaints, but both wear him down. He is very tired. If he's not on the move, he falls asleep in the chair.......
He asked how I was going to spend my day. Well, Beloved's octagenarian aunty, who is very pleasantly demented, is having a surprise birthday party at Bolwarra: Surprise: the kids & I are going down for it...... At 40kilos, Aunty Del is diminishing, & may well disappear on us before another birthday comes around. She has always been the size of as wren, but has lost the strong edge about her of late. Her frailty was more apparent at Beloved's dying father's bedside & funeral. She loves to tell stories, as is typical of someone with her generalised dementia. She couldn't tell anyone what she ate for breakfast, but the newsreels of her life from over 60yrs ago in her mind are fresh & bright.

The conversation wound up as I made my cup of tea & decided that a celebratory bowl of "Rice Pops" was in order. I had to coat my stomach with something before I assaulted it with ibuprofen, codiene & pantoprazole (no brand names here; I refuse to advertise or use product placement).
I then fired up the computer in anticipation of this tome, sat down, and my mother-in-law phoned; "Did she tell me Melbourne or Westbourne Street last night....". A short converstion later, I managed to actually ingest the afore-mentioned drugs...... Hurry up & work already!!! Nanny Val is slowly re-building her life without Poppy Don. She has a big day today. She & PoppyD moved into an over 55's community a couple of years ago. Actually, they are all way over 55 & most of them are widows, so she's got plenty of company, & they've all flocked around her. This morning, they're all getting together in the community centre for breakfast, then NannyV is driving herself up to Bolwarra. I'm pretty sure that it is her first trip outside the city. She hasn't driven anywhere much at all over the past few years as PoppyD was usually the driver when they were together, & they really didn't go anywhere separately often. Just turning up on her own at a family function is a new thing for her. That's why we're going. I plan to be there before she is so that she doesn't have to walk through the door on her own.

It's now 9.30. There's been more phone calls, another cup of tea. I rarely sit down & compose a post un-interrupted or in its entirety. I will have to get VBoy out of bed soon if we are to leave on time.

But before I go..........

Happiness.

Lovely Lisa brought the topic up the other day. How we search & search, & try so hard to be happy. I think I saw a definition or version of happiness the other day. It certainly put a smile on my face.
On my drive to work, I pass through a lot of rural landscapes. A number of things make me smile on this drive, even at 6am or on the way home (it's not just the fact that work is over for the day...) The sunrise, the mist, birds, foals, lambs, calves all cavorting in the paddocks, the moonlight over the landscape: they all make me smile & go "oohh". The big one this week was a cattle dog who had obviously finished his work for the day. The farmer had an irrigator going in a paddock by the roadside, one of the big ones that puts out a continous stream of water, that has a repetitive break in the stream so that it goes "Ch, ch, ch," very rhythmically & the stream of water is broken & goes further. It wasn't turned on very fast, and here was this cattle dog, having the time of his life jumping up 6 feet in the air and biting the stream of water & getting wet & cool in the process, over & over again. I laughed out loud in the airconditioned confines of my car at the sight of this happy dog. The next afternoon, the irrigator had been moved to a different spot in the paddock, and was turned up full pelt.
And there was the dog, doing the same thing, except this time, in order to reach the spray, he had to run, jump up onto the legs, then arm of the irrigator & launch himself into the stream, performing a 180 degree turn before hitting the ground running to do it all over again. He must have been reaching over 12 feet in the air........

He was definitely working for his happiness.
But what he did to get it was simple, & his goals attainable. When the goalpost was shifted, he changed his approach & the way he achieved it.
And he kept on trying.
And when he got his reward, he enjoyed it.
And repeated it & took time to really enjoy it, unlike we humans who tend to think that we can't remain happy for long & have to look for something else.

I was laughing out loud again at the simplistic fun that the dog was having. And amazed at his actions as well.

A ramble, yes?

We should all be able to feel the incredible lightness of being that happiness brings.

Unfortunately, we are way to complex to find it in a sprinkler. Mind you, we did as children.......

Dogs are good at being happy, aren't they? Clover takes herself off for a run around & around (& around) the house like a real loon sometimes, with real purpose, and when she's finished, she pounces onto the verandah with a triumphant air of accomplishment, absolutely brimming with viviacity, with a smile that starts above her ears....

The incredible lightness of happiness.

Bring it on.

Only problem is .......where is there a sprinkler.......?

Have a good day, everyone.

With love from the Blogmuggle ;0)

Celebrate good times... c'mon......

Welcome to 2009, young & old.

I had been planning to write a reflective post about my year in '08, followed by my hopes & aspirations for '09, but I'm not going to. I'm over it now. I've been a bit too busy to put reflective, hopeful fingers to keyboard. Instead, I'm just going to get on with living '09, & we'll see how it pans out, shall we?

I finish my "Medical" rotation at Scone tomorrow. It hasn't been any different to the other rotations that I've spent there, but it's been busy for me, and I've reinforced the skills that I already have. I won't be back there until April as my traineeship starts to come to a head. I'm at Muswellbrook Hospital for the month of January to attend my "Surgical" rotation, which is handy: the operating theatres are closed until Feb 5, with only emergency cases being considered. Oh well; I'm sure something will turn up.... I like working at Muswellbrook. The staff are friendly (not that Scone staff aren't), the set-up is different to Scone, & it's closer to home.
I think that I've just about driven the RN's mad with my "Would you please sign this off in my book?" requests....... but it HAS to be done.....

I should tell you, I suppose, that Christmas was celebrated well, and quietly, which is just what the doctor ordered. It was certainly different. The kids are all growing up: GG worked both Christmas & Boxing Day, & Sboy celebrated Christmas Night in a restaurant in Dufan with JackF & Yana after they finished their shows for the day. We didn't have Christmas lunch: I baked an evening meal instead. My Dad was with us, which was good. He's not all that comfortable out of his own environment: he never has been. He is so used to just going off & doing his own thing, so at someone else's house, he's at a bit of a loose end.

Ewwww. I just went to the bathroom & discovered the back end of a mouse on the floor, which leaves me to ponder: where is the front end? Hopefully, it has been ingested by the gifter, Lulu.....

I want to try to put some recent photos of the kids on here: lets see if it works........

2 of GG 'cos her hair warrants the attention. Yes, it's real... her own hair. Happy 21st birthday, Prince Rhyslet...

GG: the girl with the pink hair & party attitude to match.....

A reflective (and nutty) Vboy.... that's Bryson's hand holding the chip....

A Christmas Sboy....

A festive Sboy... he captioned this one "sorry mum". I hate to think.......


Ah good times, good times.

Oh, that's sad. I seem to be living my life vicariously through my children....

That's all for now folks.

I hope the new year holds many good times for you all.

Love,

Blogmuggle xoxoxoxo

Joy to the world..... all the boys and girls....... Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea: Joy to you & me...................

• We have had THE BEST EVER CHRISTMAS PRESENT arrive: at 3.30 this morning baby Riley entered the world, as requested by his grandad, who is going on holidays this afternoon, & wanted to meet his new grandchild before he went! Yes, Dan & Twisty's lovely little man is here, and WE ARE THRILLED! Beloved wants to go meet his grand-nephew this afternoon..... but I can't go as I will be at work ;0(. I might have to sneak in a quick look on the way......... We are definitely going to see him tomorrow. I don't have any physical details...yet.... Hopefully, I can post a piccy tomorrow.

• I am ready for The Other Big Event.... Bring it on! I think I will bake a dinner: we probably won't eat until 2 in the afternoon. I'm not even sure what my Dad is doing yet, as he is working until about 3 or 4 this afternoon. He hasn't been up here for over 18 months: can he even find our house? He will certainly struggle if it is dark.......... I worry about him travelling on unfamiliar roads. He has been lost more than once........
  

• We are breaking new ground. This will be the first ever Christmas without Santa Sacks for the Jolly Red Man to fill....... My brother & his family are calling in for our Christmas this morning on their way to Mudgee for celebrations with his in-laws, so there will be lots of fun & excitement here this morning..... "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...." Friends may call in on their way home to Woolomin after visiting Dad as well.

• I have just eaten the THE best breakfast: Pan-fried bruschetta topped with chunky exotic Thai dip.... mmmmmmm.... very luxurious... and festive.... and my stomach, which has been rather objectionable of late, is already objecting...... Too bad, I say! I enjoy the tastes & pleasure of eating, so I'm not going to let my stomach dictate what goes into it. If I did, I would never eat anything. I would be a lot thinner though, I suppose. But crankier, too.

Oh My folks..... It's Christmas Eve already!

Ho, Ho, Ho............

Santa came to say....ho, ho, ho........

Good evening.

It was Christmas today in our little part of the world.

Beloved's mother, 2 sisters (1 from Canberra, the other from Newcastle)& 1 partner, & brother & his partner, nephew & very pregnant partner, neice & her son (from Kurri Kurri) all travelled to our home today for a 1st time look-see at our house & Christmas lunch as none of us will be able to get together on the big day. We had a lovely lunch, & lots of relaxed conversation. It's the first time we've all been together since the day of Beloved's Dad's funeral. The Beloved's Mum, lovely Val, dissolved into happy/sad tears before she left...... Tomorrow she's going to Canberra for Christmas & the Newie sister is going there as well. It was way better on an emotional level than we envisaged. And the food was lovely, including the $75 roll of seasoned pork (*choke...swallow....gag*) that I had bought to cook. I also made a killer icecream cake that received major kudos! It was a very simple affair, with everyone contributing something yummy.

I'm not working over Christmas now. In fact, I have 4 days straight off. I was rostered on, but the boss asked me if Iwould mind taking annual leave, but I could still keep the shift penalties..... well, yes, that would be ok...... I work morning shift Monday & Tuesday, then evening on Christmas Eve. So Lisa, we will be at the Aunties on Boxing Day, hopefully....

Nephew's very pregnant wife really is about ready to pop, GG reckons. Our Twist isn't due until the 28th, but she's a tiny wee little thing, with a very tight & now-teardrop-shaped belly.... She's very beautiful, but has no idea how beautiful she is. It will be good to have a new baby in our family. We are all looking forward to the arrival very, very much.

Watched "A Very Speccy Christmas" & "Joyeux Noel" tonight..... One funny, the other tragic, yet happy. It's hard to believe that these poor soldiers were basically all punished for behaving in a human, humane way.... stupid, stupid fat-cat "leaders"......

I have buckled under the pressure, & published a Christmas letter & cards......

I have finally successfully de-fleaed the dog....... she looks much happier..... "Frontera" is cheaper than "Frontline". I wonder how long it will work for? I will try some of your tips, too, Anchell.

I have almost finished the Christmas present catchnkill..... shopping is no big deal at this end of the world. We have a new Aldi that I'm going to shop at this week, too. Yessirree, we've come up in the world way up here in the count-ree.............

And having visitors come to inspect your house for the 1st time means that it actually has to be clean & tidy for once. And it is. And I like it. If only the pixies & fairies could keep the gremlins at bay, then it might stay that way...... Our yard is nicely mown & tidy, & I've re-potted plants and they now line up across the back verandah. Nice, yes.

And now it's time for bed.

Goodnight. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Schools out for ever......

Here are Sboy's Higher School Certificate results:

2008 HSC Results

Units	Courses Entered	Examination Mark	Assessment Mark	HSC Mark	Performance Band
Board Developed Courses
2	Drama	1 79/100	79/100	79	4
2	English (Advanced)	1 75/100	75/100	75	4
2	General Mathematics	80/100	77/100	79	4
2	Modern History	1 60/100	60/100	60	3
2	Retail Operations	Refer to Vocational documentation
	Retail Operations Examination	84/100	N/A	84	5

ELIGIBLE FOR HIGHER SCHOOL CERTIFICATE

Not too bad for someone who really didn't put in too much work, hey?

He's enjoying Jakarta. Not missing us too much at all.....

Monday I've got Friday on my mind......

How changeable is this weather??????

After 2 days of abysmal wind & rain, today is just divine: Mildly crisp with miles & miles of blue sky. It will probably be quite warm later.
The Hunter River is very high again (in flood really, but because of the levee banks, it's contained) for the 2nd time in 3 weeks.

My weekend was pretty good.

Work requested that I take an Accrued Day Off on Saturday as I had too many accrued: I said "no problems".... I had the roster in my hand when I went into the NUM's office on Friday to request an Annual Leave Day, so I wanted the day off anyway! Yeehah! .... *snort*.... no problems....

I was driving home verrrry slowly in the pouring rain at 11pm on Friday night, when I passed a police car around the corner from my house. I turned into my street, & could see the Christmas lights flashung from the Van Village across the road, when there was a flash of red & blue lights of the not-so-Christmas kind coming up behind me...... I was breathalysed 100m from my driveway! It was teeming rain... I'm not sure why it took me so long to find my driver's licence.......

All the rain meant that Beloved wasn't working either, so we headed down the valley to Maitland to pick up some Christmas gifts from the "Big Shops". Christmas shopping is just about done....
VB went to his gig at Panthers with his mates at 3pm.... and had to be picked up at 1.30am in Muswellbrook.... *yawn*.... He had a sick time though!
My friend, Angel & her youngest, Marcus, arrived at about 5pm, just as GG was leaving to go to Newcastle for a friend's 21st birthday. It's a talk-feast when Angel & I get together: bed is such an inconvenience at times like these! She had to leave at 9am on Sunday... ;0(

The weather was less rainy but still windy on Sunday, so of course, the washing machine was fired into action. VB spent his day recovering, I washed & cleaned, while Beloved did some much-needed landscaping in our back yard. Now his mother will be able to access and exit the house without re-breaking her leg....... You had to walk the plank to get onto our back verandah.. literally..... I watched "25yrs of School Spectacular" yesterday afternoon... amazing...... I also cleaned our oven for the first time since we installed it... and cut 2 fingers in the process.... (I knew it would be a dangerous process.....). I also single-handedly de-homed a whole continent of fleas that had taken up residence on what I had assumed was our dog, Clover. I now realise that she was a flea-continent masquerading as a dog..... I have never seen so many fleas in one place..... the shampoo & water ran red...... It's time for her annual check-up today.....

I did manage to wrap some presents as planned, and get them under the tree. A few more to go.......

One truly dreadful thing occurred at the weekend.
I found out that a much-loved & trusted family member has been behaving with some very young and innocent family members in a very un-loving and trust-betraying manner. This has rocked our family, filling us full of disbelief, confusion & revulsion. As you know, it happens all too often, and is life/world-shattering......... I hope this person realises that he can have no contact with any of us ....... but at the same time, I worry about him........ it's in the hands of the police........ so we'll just all take a step back & support each other.....

I'd better ring the vets & check the time of Clover's appointment.....


Have a good day..... & don't let the Christmas turkeys get you down!

Love, Blogmuggle ;0)

This is the week that was.......

The week in review:

• Saturday, Sunday: worked. Can't remember what else...... Oh that's right. Beloved's work Christmas show on Saturday night, then he went to Sydney to the final Oran Park car fest on Sunday... I played taxi (as usual..). Complained bitterly that a houseful of adults (young & old) do nothing around the house..... particularly the young..... it's hard for the old ones as they are always at work, supporting the young ones.... who spent most of their time on MSN, messenger or out having fun......
  
• Monday: Cleaned house, did some painting. Drove to brother's house to celebrate father's birthday with father. Discussed Xmas..... bah humbug
  
• Tuesday: Drove into Newcastle to buy Camera charger for Sboy to take overseas. Perused bikes at Hadley Cyles at Lambton for VB for Xmas. Drove to Sydney. Collected passport & visa from Indonesian Consulate in Maroubra. Sat on Maroubra beach for a millisecond. Very pretty. Not a "Bra Boy" in sight. Managed to safely navigate back across the harbour bridge because the boys didn't want to go through the tunnel again. That reminds me: I need to pay the tunnel toll... now it's too late & I will incur an extra fee... Dropped Sboy off at Texas Productions so that Paul could drive him to the airport to fly out on Wednesday. Drove home with Vboy for company. Sydney drivers would appear to have better manners & tolerance of "tourists" than their reputation suggests.
  
• Wednesday: worked. Met Beloved at his appointment with his surgeon to have the lesion removed from his leg. It is a day pocedure under sedation that may require a graft. Had a nice dinner with Beloved at Muswellbrook Worker's club. Drove up to St Joseph's high school Xmas pageant at Aberdeen, which is an annual social event (hidden within the guise of religious fanfare) for the under 18's & their indulgent parents. Between the time I dressed at 5am and the pageant at 6pm, a southerly had arrived, and I was freezing in my work clothes..... Sboy arrived safely in Jakarta.
  
• Thursday: worked. Met GG at the surgeon's office (the same one) for review. She's doing well & can now have 2nd daily dressings rather than daily, which is more convenient. I was doing one day & the community nurses the next, wherever GG could find a time & common location for the procedure. Drove to Muswellbrook Hospital to book Beloved in for his lesion op....... on Feb 5 2009 because the local theatres are closed from next week until then.... WHAT THE??????? Don't get a potentially fatal condition that needs surgery up here in Wattle Grove until then, folks...... Beloved is rather concerned, with good reason, that the lesion on his leg may be a skin cancer. I refused an appointment at a Newcastle clinic next weekend upon the strength of the local GP's advice that it would be looked after ASAP...... It's a scabby, festy area the size if a 20cent piece that will require either a graft or skin flap closure, performed after excision under local & twighlight sedation. We have private health cover.... what is going on here???????? GG & I then bought Christmas presents for the nieces & nephew. It's finally starting to feel a little like Christmas...... But I did manage to pick up the wrong size in one thing, so back it goes today.. Hopefully, I can exchange it. Helped GG to dye her dyed-white-blonde hair a very festive, vibrant & eye-catching shade of pink. She's not blending in at all..... I hope her employer likes it as much as she does.....
  
• Friday: VBoy left early for an excursion to Luna Park in Sydney. GG is working. I have an evening shift. Beloved is working, & will attend the annual Christmas party at the Van Village across the road. I have to organise another appointment for him somewhere else sooner than Feb for his leg. I have been organising VB's very exciting trip to Newcastle tomorrow with 2 mates to see the band, "Parkway Drive" at Panthers League Club. I don't know the boys, or their parents, so it is a bit of a leap of faith....... "Gibbos" mum seems quite nice, and was somewhat relieved that another parent actually rang her to arrange the trip. The poor woman needs some reassurance since she's taking 3 or 4 teenage boys out for the afternoon/evening..... & is locked in a car with them for 4 - 6 hours of it.... I have to clean the house & am in the process of stripping beds in case Angel & her family turns up from Brisbane tomorrow evening. They were hoping to attend a baby naming ceremony in Muswellbrook on Sunday, but I haven't had confirmation of this.......
• Saturday..... working... again..... Beloved, GG, me...... VB's big day out. Pick him up from Muswellbrook at about 12.30pm - 1am on Sunday morning...... GG goes to Newcastle for a friend's 21st birthday.
  
• Sunday.... ahh... nothing major planned, but I'm sure something will come up... Hopefully, I'll have finished my Xmas shopping & wrapped aforementioned gifts & placed them under the tree..............................

Well, now that I've told you about my life, I'd best go live it!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Ahem...... MeMeMe

1. 5 names you go by
Cynthia
Cyndy
Sninfia
Mrs K
Kavnuts and of course........
Mum

2.Three Things you are wearing right now
Work Shirt, trousers & Shoes

3.Two things you want very badly at the moment
Time.... and a wee break in between life's foibles

4. people that will probably fill this out
quite a few by now; I'm late as usual

5. 2 Things you did last night
Waited at the hospital to see a doc with Beloved
Ate a Thai yellow vegetable curry & then wished ever since 2am that I didn't

6. 2 Things you ate today
Vegemite on toast
Mini Timeout Chocolate bar

7.Two people you last talked to on the phone
Glen
Valda

8.Two things you are going to do tomorrow
Work
Eat

9.Two of the longest car drives you have had
South Australia
All around Tassie

10.Two of your favorite beverages
Coke Zero
Skinny Vanilla Chai latte

11.Two sports you watch on TV
ice skating
swimming


12.Three people you have on Speed Dial
dont use it


13.Five items in your wardrobe you never wear
Wedding dress
Bridesmaids dress
Some shirts of my mothers
Old, near dead favourites that I can't part with even though they are almost rags
Corsellettes/bustiers

14. The last 3 books you read
Haven't finished any

15. Three weird OCD tendencies you have
Switching off power points that have nothing plugged into them
Tucking in other people's clothing labels at the back
using specific pegs when hanging out the washing

16. Five presents you got from Santa as a kid
Nina doll
Mandy Doll
Walking Angelina
Thumbelina
Watch


17. Three most visited bookmarks
blogs
email
facebook

18. Two items on your wishlist for Christmas
Some earrings; but I haven't asked for them
Some good genie to come & finish our house

19. Five Things you can see right now
computer
camera
festive bush
phone
mess

20. 5 things on your fridge
Photo that GG had taken with a message saying "there are only two laasting bequests we can hope to give our children; One is roots & the other is wings...",
"mums are the best" hanging
petrol dockets
bills
rail timetable

21. Two items you own more than 10 of
opened tins of housepaint
pieces of Royal Doulton "old country Roses" china

Is this Christmas, my dear?

Well, after viewing Tania & Helen's delightfully festive bushes, I am almost too embarrassed to print these here. But anyway, my sparsely, but tastefully decorated purple-baubled tree is most likely a reflection of me as I am this year anyway........ you know, making the effort, but not really getting into all the festivities too much........ I can't even make the shots bigger, and I've wasted waaaay to much time even doing them........


Anyway, in an attempt the alleviate the boringly staid mood somewhat, here are the slightly dark & ascerbic lyrics to the "Wombats'" Christmas song that I mentioned in my last post........

The Wombats Lyrics - Is This Christmas Song Words

Artist / Band : The Wombats
Song Lyrics Title : Is This Christmas
Available on Album : -
Released : 15 December 2008
Music Genre : Christmas song, Indie

(Song Data Information from : Wikipedia)

Twas the night before Christmas
and all through the house
not a creature was stirring
except for
a Wombats?

I can hear the sleigh bells coming around the bend
here comes the darkest end Christmas is here

It’s about nights extend into the overdraft
To scrape out what is left at the end of the year

(It’s Christmas)

Turn back to the future off I’ve seen it before
maybe every year and more it’s great but not again

What’s that burning! what’s that burning, my mum shrieks down
While she’s touching up her brow for when the family arrive

And the red wine plummets down and we should all be in out beds
but it’s right wing versus left til the wings fall off out heads

And is this Christmas?
Is this Christmas?
Is this Christmas, my dear?

Is this Christmas?
Is this Christmas?
whatever happened to that festive cheer?

Can you hear the sleigh bells coming around the bend
here comes our darkest end
Christmas is here

And the ice burns up the hill until we all lose our feet
Though it never really snows it’s more like horizontal sleet

And is this Christmas?
Is this Christmas?
Is this Christmas, my dear?

Is this Christmas? (oh no it’s Christmas)
Is this Christmas? (oh no it’s Christmas)
whatever happened (oh no it’s Christmas) to that festive cheer?

Don’t you just love Christmas (oh no it’s Christmas) (5x)
Everybody loves Christmas (oh no it’s Christmas)
Everybody loves Christmas (oh no it’s Christmas)
Everybody loves, everybody loves
Everyone it’s christmas!

just call me the BahHumbug Blogmuggle...........

Everybody loves Christmas... (Oh No it's Christmas....)

Hellooo!

Just a quickie:

• Sboy will be home today sometime today, but will be gone again in 6 days
• GG's car died, so now we are pondering whether or not the time is right for her to borrow money to buy another one. Living out of town means that a car is a necessity, not a luxury. Uni will have to go on the back burner (maybe). Hard call: she doesn't want to stay here & wants to be back in Newcastle, but the fiscal benefits of staying are evident.... She will also need to get more work.... Resonsibility weighs heavily......
• My Christmas tree is up & decorated & there is a tasteful selection of ornaments around the house (read that as can't be bothered to work out where the rest can go....) I have photographed it, but can't find the cable to upload it.......
  
• There are pretend gifts under the tree as I haven't any to put there yet.......
  
• Have bought my first Christmas presents. Luckily, there aren't too many to buy. Well, lay-byed them, anyway
  
• I'm not doing the Xmas card & letter thing this year...... it's usually a huge thing for me..... not this year. I'll just answer the ones that I receive.
  
• I have only 2 pays to finance Christmas. Usually, my shopping is mostly done by October... help......
• I have one weekend off. Beloved's family are all coming here for a "Christmas" day on the 21st.... help....
• My wonderful friend from Brisbane, Angel, is coming to visit on the 13th. I hope she's staying the night as I'm working...... she wants to see how good her door looks installed in our house..... I hope she's not disappointed.
• GG is still having daily wound packing. She's over it, but (butt...*snicker*) she's healing well. The community nurses have been going out of their way to look after her. She is going to Homebake in Sydney this weekend, and will be staying in Carrington, so the community nurse has organised for a community nurse from Newcastle to visit her there to pack & re-dress her wound on Sunday.
• I am working back at Scone from tomorrow. I like the hospital, but it adds nearly 2 hours travel to my day... & soooo much of my wage disappears in fuel costs........*sigh*
• Beloved has an appointment today at the GP's to have his oils & waters checked. He has a lesion on his leg that needs attention, too.
• My nephew has had surgery this week, so lots of healing energies need to be sent out for him & quite a few others this week, please.
• I really like the "Wombats" Christmas song....... and "Bones"...... David Boreanaz is just so.... HOT!!!!!! And Mark Harmon is a grey hottie as well........... So easy on the eyes.....
  

I'd better get on with it. I've got painting to do.

And it's getting quite warm......

Bye ;0)

Everybody's workin' on the weekend.....

Well, not everybody, just GG & me in this household..........

Good Sat'dy Morning.

Beloved & Vboy have just left to go off on an end-of-footy-season waterskiing trip. Sboy is at Port Macquarie doing some serious stress-reduction with his Yr 12 friends. I'm not sure what exactly has caused him stress, but whatever...... GG worked last night, partied, will work again tonight, party, then work again tomorrow...... I worked last night, again tonight (and all the other nights this week), then a day tomorrow.... and then....days off..... YAY!

GG is on the mend. She had a favourable report from the surgeon, but he wants her to continue daily dressing changes until she sees him next in 2 weeks. The procedure gives her a lot less discomfort now, but the logisitics of having it attended to on a daily basis are difficult. I'm not sure what will happen next weekend when she goes to Sydney for Homebake...... Just to keep life interesting, Sboy has a pilonidal sinus as well. After his sister's experience, he asked me to look at an area of concern in his butt crack as well, & sure enough, there they are: three little holes that look like very deep black heads, except that the dark areas are deeply embedded flakes of hair, skin & sebum. His haven't inflamed yet, but I am concerned that with the heat & humidity in Indonesia together with the amount of time that he will be spending riding his bike, that they may. For some inexplicable reason, a foreign country is not the place where I would like my son to be having invasive surgery..... A quick trip to the docs & some antibiotics are in order I think......

Nothing much has been happening around here otherwise. Not that I have my finger on the pulse here, mind you. Things just happen whether I'm in the game or not. I am considering the position of my Festive Bush. There are a couple of options..... and I am home on December 1, so that might be the day, I think. Hopefully, GG will get enthused with me.

It's so hot & steamy here: I live inland, you know, where it's dry heat. As Professor Julius Sumner-Miller would say: "Why is it so?". There you go... now you all know how old I really am........ I hate the humidity. I have no desire to visit Bali, or holiday in the tropics. It's dry heat or plain old cold for me, I'm afraid. I was worried that I would slip off one of my patients last night, it was so hot, or that I would knock them out with my sweaty smell..... What's wrong with airconditioning, that's what I want to know....... More hot, sweaty rain to come, too..........

Has anybody tried to get a passport lately? Evidently, the marriage certificate that Beloved & I payed for 21yrs ago from the Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages is not legal proof of my change of surname. I need to apply to The Registry for a newly issued one, certified with new stamps & dates, that says the same thing, at a cost 0f at least $40+, mind you... bah humbug..... Evidently, the old ones may be fraudulent..... I said that if I had to have a new marriage certificate, then perhaps I should have a new spouse as well....... This was for Sboy's passport, not mine. I've never been overseas.... double bah humbug....

Anyway, I'm probably boring the pants off you. I'm off. I still have that damnable assignment to finish...... yep, the one that I've mentioned over that last few weeks, except now it's due in on Monday. Now people might understand when I say that I'm not a good candidate for a nursing degree by distance education... no ficus (I'm leaving that there, no focus either hahaha), that's me...... no photos either. How boring am I!!!!!

Have good weekend!

Jack, get back, C'mon before we crack.... lose your blues...

Morning All!

Yegods it was freezing yesterday! This weather has been so inconsistent & weird lately. I usually pack away all my winter clothes, but this year....... Today, there is miles & miles of blue sky, & the day is full of promise.

Great weather for washing!

Well, last week ended up being another of those weeks in the Blogmuggle household. Poor GG's abscess turned out to be a pilonidal sinus, which is basically a deep infection of a hair follicle in the natal cleft (aka the butt crack). These can be really nasty little suckers, that can reveal, of all things, a collection of hair & teeth deep within them. Yep, you read that right: teeth & hair deep within the recesses of one's butt crack.......

Anyway, after being unwell & in loads of pain on Sunday, the emergency doc "fixed" her up with some antibiotics on Monday & some advice that surgical drainage is often the only way that these things resolve, so be sure to come back in a few days... no advice on pain relief, though.

By Tuesday, GG spent the day nauseated & vomiting, spiked a mild temp & had stomach cramps as well. Poor chicken. Despite the antibiotics, the infection had spread, and was tracking an angry red further across her cheeks.

We attended the ED early Wednesday morning, the nurse in charge gave GG a shot of stemetil & sent us to wait see the emergency doc at the docs surgery, and said that she would probably see us again later when GG would be admitted for theatre on Thursday. You have to go & sit & wait to see the doc: there is none on duty at the hospital at any time, & they are called in when needed. So back to the surgery we went. We waited nearly 2 hrs to see the doc, who then referred us to the surgeon, so we waited another 2hrs to see him. Then we waited for paperwork, & headed back up to the hospital for GG to be admitted. Thank heavens that I had taken GG for the stemetil shot earlier.... The only position that she has been comnfortable in has been lying down, so she was laying on the floor in the docs until they cleared a bed for ther in the sisters' procedure area.

She was scheduled for theatre to incise & drain the feral butt crack sometime on Thursday. She went well, especially considering that it has been her 1st ever hospital experience, & that the last time anyone saw her butt was when she about 5.......... She came home late Friday afternoon after the horrendous experience of having her wound unpacked, washed then re-packed...... this is excrutiating for her, and it has to be done daily at the moment. On Friday, they had to give her a type of morphine tablet so that she didn't have to be scraped off the ceiling. Evidently, is very hard to access the natal cleft when the patient is all the way up there.
For Saturday's re-pack, she was sucking on nitrous oxide gas, which only just managed to take the edge off it the pain. Sunday it was done at the local hospital with just panadol....... hopefully, the community nurse can come and do it at home from today. Poor GG cries before they even touch her in anticipation of what's to come. She's always had pretty good pain tolerance: this had just rocked her. She knows that she needs to (Literally) get her head out of her arse, & find a happy place while it's being done, but is struggling with this. And one can't have clenched cheeks at a time like this........

Poor love. She remembers her manners though: she always thanks the nurse for putting her through the worst pain on her 19yrs....

She knows that this may go on for quite a while........ often, pilonidal sinus can take months to heal competely. She is very concerned about her "Homebake" concert on December 6.

Today, we'll plug some of her favourite music in her ears while it's being done............

At least I've got today off. I'm absolutely shagged after last week. With GG's going on & work, I feel as if I lived at Muswellbrook hospital last week. I had yesterday off too, but was too tired to do much else other than washing. Poor Beloved was tidying, moving stuff & sorting in the yard, & all I could do was watch...... Put me in a position less than 45 degrees from upright, & I start to drop off to sleep.....

Today will be better. I have plans.

Did anybody watch the Adam Hills special on ABC last week? Adam said that when we are happy, we tend to swagger a bit & drum our tummy. And in Egypt, the traffic is so bad, that when the frustation builds & becomes too much, people get out & dance on the roof of their cars to some Arabic-style "Footloose" music to release their tension.

Well, that sounds good to me.

I'm choosing to drum my tummy, and stand on the metaphorical roof of my car & dance my frustrations away.........

before I work for my last 6 days at Muswellbrook hospital before I return to Scone hospital.......

Have a good day everyone. Remember to tummy-drum & dance, even if it's only on the inside!

Cheers ;0)

In a world of my own....

Morning All! I'm getting on the "point form" bandwagon:

Life is good. All the usual stuff (hiccups/dramas) in the Blogmuggle life.

• Beloved is working too hard. He had a good day with his Mum on Sunday (his only day off) cleaning her ceiling fans & light fittings. He's going with his brother on a "blokes weekend" to Oran park in December, though. He wants us to finish the hallway & hang all the photos so that it's nice when his Mum & sister come up the Sunday before Christmas. I'm not sure we'll have time....
  

• GG has been working at the petrol station, & spending as much time away from home as possible. This has been compromised at the present time as she is struggling with an abscess in an area that some may have experience with. She is very excited that she now has tickets to both Homebake and Soundwave.

• SBoy had his Yr 12 formal on Thursday night. He looked very shmick in his suit, as did all the other young men & the girls all looked lovely, as usual. I can't find any photos of the formal.... nobody seems to have put any up on Myspace. Maybe these kids have a life or something .... I wish that more attention would be paid to appropriate underwear... quite a few frocks looked less "dressy" due to a lack of attention to suitable underwear! He was only in attendance long enough to be awarded his portfolio & commemorative glass, then he hopped into his car & drove to Sydney so that he could fly out to Perth early Friday morning. He's been riding in a Freestyle trials exhibition at a "burnout/car/rev-head" fest at Narrogin. He probably won't be home for Christmas as the team will probably head off to Jakarta for 3 weeks or so of exhibition work at a theme park.... I guess there's no chance of him ever making a crust & having fun on his motobike is there???? ... *snort* The owner covers all his expenses, and pays Sboy as well.....
  

My Dad says that Sboy should get his head down & get a trade first, then do "all this riding stuff..." . The way I see it, Sboy is only 17, really doesn't have too much interest in a trade at this point (& vice versa), and will have an aging body that won't allow him to do this sort of riding for any real length of time. You only live once. He's learning some valuable life lessons along the way as well. And as for the political unrest in Asia? Well, there's not too much I can do about that. We let our kids out loose on the roads in their cars & hang on the streets & and that's pretty dangerous too.

• Vboy has become very mature. Actually, he's spent way to much time amusing himself of late. Beloved & I went to a works Dinner on Saturday night, & we had to leave Vboy at home with a mate. The pair of them ended up at another mate's place watching the "Scary Movie" series. He's the original latch-key kid these days. He gets himself up & readies himself for school, including making his own lunch. He's usually the first one home of an afternoon as well. I often feel a bit superfluous around here these days, but then I look at the mounds of washing, the messy house & the empty fridge & pantry, & I am reassured that I have a place in this family....... Vboy still loves to cuddle his mum, as well. And he always needs money for something.

• Me???? I love my job. I am a little concerned that I have to look for a new contract come May next year, but there's going to be plenty to occupy me between now & then. I believe that this traineeship was given to me for a reason, & that nursing is where I am meant to be. My back has improved, but it will take a while to resolve the inflammation that is present. I'll probably always have problems with it, so my work practices will have to reflect this. Maybe I'll need to come & work with Twist with the little tiny patients.....
  

I spent Sunday with my Dad & an old family friend going through loads of old photos. "Aunty Dawdley" is such a character! She's one's one of life's real survivors; it's been a hard existence for her for sure, but she has a robust sense of humour & a remarkable outlook . She even discussed her funeral plans, which to me is incredibly important. I wish people were less afraid to discuss this sort of stuff: every other celebration in life is planned to the tiniest detail, but this greatest celebration of all is often left in the hands of grief-stricken & sorrowful people who are often unable to think straight. And it is really hard to think straight, believe me. Another old aunt decided to share her "after-passing" plans with me recently. I asked had she told any of her 5 (adult) children, one of whom was in the room with us. She said "no, she was telling me, so that it was done right..." I hope that I am around to honour her wishes. I asked to her write it all down, put it somewhere safe, and tell a few of the kids where she'd put it. I also asked her son (the poor man had buried his wife 6 weeks earlier) whether or not he had been listening, & he assured me that he had... thank goodness.....

Over last year, I have had a lot of exposure to the experience of death & dying, on both a work & personal level. I have developed a great respect for it all. It is an eventual reality for us all, isn't it. It is a hell of a lot less traumatic when the person is old, but still sad. I am quite comfotable with caring for the dying these days, & think that it is a priviledge to care for someone who is approaching the end of their days. Once the family/carers have accepted the fact that their loved one is dying, the most common comment seems to be; "we wouldn't put our pets through this....", or something along the lines of "this shouldn't take so long..... it's too hard ..."
It's a hard thing: when does:" intervention" stop? What is "comfortable"?..... What is "Dying with dignity"?????..

Ah well. That's a discussion for another day. I've blogmuggled my own post......

The washing machine is calling my name.....

Enjoy your day!

He's so fine......

Hi guys!

No deep & meaningfuls from me today.

My back is on the mend, but by the time I finish my last shift on Saturday, it might be a bit rough. I need to get some Bowen therapy done to sort it out, I think.

I have to go over the road to sew Sboy's suit pants for his formal on Thursday night, this morning. I bought him a "Cheap" suit at Lowes, as the Lowes account is the only spare money at the moment: he picked the most expensive on e in the shop! I promised him that I would run in the legs to make it look a bit more "edgy"....... WHY DID I DO THIS?????? My sewing machine is dead, so need to use Gay's to do this. At least I get to spend an hour or so in the company of this lovely lady ;0)
He's not really that fussed about his formal, & had to be talked into going as he has to drive down to Sydney afterwards. He's going to cut his evening short, as on Friday morning he flies out to Perth to perform freestyle trials at a SummerNat-style weekend, then flies home again on Tuesday. Then next week, he & his mates have a schoolies week at Port Macquarie. What a life he has! There is also talk of him going to Indonesia over the Christmas-New Year period to perform at shows over there. Beloved & I have some reservations about this as a result of the unrest over there. We will see how things pan out.

I'm sure GG thinks that she has missed out, all because she can't ride a motorbike, & I'm wondering if Vboy thinks that all this sets the benchmark for him. All I know is that Sboy seems to have all the pieces fall into place for him. He even has had the local electrician ring him over the last few weeks to ask whether SBoy would like to come & give him a hand....
At least SBoy will get to wear his suit again Thurday week, as he has been invited to an awards night dinner as he has been nominated for Year 12 Retail Student of the Year by Hunter Youth Express! I hope that it doesn't clash with schoolies..... He was a bit excited when he told me yesterday!

Anyway, I'm going to load up the washing machine, & put on the recording of "Supernatural " from last night.

Have a good day!

Blue skies smiling at me................

It's a beautiful Sunday up here in Wattle Grove.

Miles of blue sky & sunshine.

Beloved has been called in to work.

GG has had a sleepover, & will then go to work.

SB will be going to work.

Vboy has had a friend here since Friday evening, & is busy trying to get in some last minute PS3 skateboard action before SB takes his mate (and the game) back home to Muswellbrook.

I have miles of washing to do. And an essay to write.

All of this is difficult as I have "acute backpain", as diagnosed by Dr Tony on Friday afternoon. It started on Tuesday afternoon, I rested it all day Wednesday, then worked (I use this term very loosely: I am in deep gratitiude to my patients who were quite helpful in doing things for themselves to save my sore back) Thursday & Friday. I have been quoffing 6hrly nurofen plus, with little effect. The doc suggested that I continue this, but take paracetamol as well, rest, don't sit, walk for 5 mins every hour or so, and perform some wee stretches while laying flat on a hard surface............. Well, stuff me if it doesn't feel any better at all. And all the household crap still needs to be done, and I have 6 days straight at work this week....................... At least he bulk-billed me, gave me some free Somac so that the nurofen plus doesn't burn a huge hole in my gut & suggested that I could come back if it doesn't improve.

And it that it may last 3 days to three weeks.

Cool.

Only 16 days to go.

I think I'll need more Somac.

Got to go, guys. I can't sit here. It's too uncomfortable.

Have a lovely Sunday!

What a wonderful world........ oh yeah.......

Louis Armstrong crooned this in the funeral chapel on Monday towards the completion of PoppyDon's funeral service.

It pretty much summed up PoppyDon's approach to life.

His was a lovely service, with "no bullshit", as was PoppyDon's request. Overseeing the celebration of a life well lived was Annie Laurie. Annie is a retired nun(?), grief counsellor & representative of the "Make Today Count" organisation, which helps people with life-limiting & terminal illness. She is a genuinely caring, compassionate & honest woman, without the sleek oiliness that can sometimes be apparent in people who choose to stand out the front in church. She officiated at a funeral that PoppyDon had attended: he requested her presence for his own. He's always been a good judge of character.

It was a sad, yet positive occassion.

The first song that was played was for PoppyDon & NannyVal. Nat King Cole crooned "When I fall in Love"; it was a beautiful start, and the lyrics are true. When Don fell in love with 14yrold Valmai, he had to wait until her parents decided she was old enough to marry at 19. He really did mean that "it would be completely.... and forever" . And she was certainly worth the wait.

My Beloved delivered a heartfelt eulogy about his dad: I am so proud of him. <3, <3, <3.
10 grandchildren all stood up the front supporting each other as 3 grandsons & 1 granddaughter shared their thoughts about their Pop.

The grandsons then all walked their Pop out to the waiting hearse. It was good planning to have 6 grandsons, wasn't it? Actually, in 1992, 18yrold grandson, Michael, died in tragic circumstances, and PoppyDon told me that "he didn't like having an odd number of grandchildren, & could I please provide him with another grandson, please?" Of course, I was happy to oblige: Vboy is the result.

Over 200 people attended. A measure of the man indeed.

His favourite toast was "Happy Days". I can't recall him ever saying another.

Some other excerpts:

“Some people walk in and out of our lives
without making an impression…
Others stay a while and make the time
to leave footprints on our hearts…
and we are never the same again.”

SONIA BROWN © 2003

Donald John Kavanagh
Born: 18 July 1927 in Adamstown, NSW
Died: 28 October 2008
Aged 81 Years

• Don was the fourth born child to Jack & Molly Kavanagh and brother to
Patty, Veronica (Bubby), Del, Nola & John.
• Well Known as ‘Kav’ to his mates, Don was raised in Adamstown where
he completed school and served his apprenticeship as a motor mechanic.
• On the 13th January 1951, Don married Valmai and fathered four
children Owen, Kristine, Susan & Darren. He became grandfather to
Michelle, Michael, Justin, Keith, Daniel, Abby, Joshua, Sophie, Eloise,
Jack & Reece and great grandfather to Micha, Amelia & Mackenzie.

• After working as an NRMA Road Service Patrolman for most of his
career, Don semi‐retired and continued his passion of restoring motor
cars. Winning a number of awards for his efforts, Don was recognised as
a superior tradesman by car restoration clubs.

• Some of Don’s favourite expressions were; tops, beaut, immaculate and
“get your hands off my car”. The best of all expressions made by him
was “Happy Days”.
• Don was a keen sports enthusiast, with a particular interest for all sports
involving motor cars and motor bikes.

• Known for his optimism Don always saw the glass half‐full and was
happy to help his family, relatives and friends when in need. Don was
dignified, proud, loyal, fair, fun, a larrikin, positive, hard working and
happy.

• Always a gentleman and loving husband to Val, Don will be sadly
missed by his family and friends.

The programme won't let me copy the great photo of PoppyDon that is on the order of service, and believe it or not, there are no pictures on this computer. I've even been looking through my old posts as I know I blogged some after Pop's 80th birthday, but do you think I can find them: no way. I have written a lot of stuff, though........

Oh well, I'll find one later........

To quote a great man:

Happy Days!