i've started crocheting again

and it's not going as well as i thought it would. i'm trying to make a basket. there's a new thing called the magic circle/hoop. it's not as easy as it looks. i think i have it now but i'm not good at it. there are thousands of youtube videos on how to do it. i'm supposed to work with three or more stands of wool at the same time. this in itself isn't a problem but when you are crocheting into the dreaded magic cirlcle/loop things start to go wrong. i can never get the beginning right. i used to teach my mother how to crochet granny squares but that was forty years ago. never mind. i will persevere.

i'm spending the kids' inheritance

my dear cousin died recently in canberra. we were able to watch the service via the internet. i caught up with some cousins and we had a good farewell for her. we got up to lots of mischief when we were young. it affected me more than i thought it would. she was a year older than me. i am getting older and thought that the super is dwinding with fees etc so i went nuts and bought a new, much needed, fridge and washer. the fridge/freezer was tiny. i got sick of playing tetris when i brought home frozen food. the washer was broken. then i went out and got a new (second hand) car. i love it to bits. my old car was practically new but i'd never liked it. much too small for four g/children. i got a good price as a trade in. i am still finding out how to use all the mod cons in the new one. it's redder than red. i'd prefer white or silver but i'm getting used to it. we took it for a drive yesterday and it was lovely. it drives like a dream. i don't know whether to take out the rest of my super and put it in the bank or not. i'd get little or no interest but at least it wouldn't be affected by fees. who knows? i don't

i haven't posted in years

well it seems that way. so much has been happening i feel that i can't keep up. my daughter had her third aneurism removed. three. who gets three aneurisms? lots of people i suppose. my sister has one and my mother died of one. the first one was major and the second two were through the wrist. an overnight stay in hospital and a quick recovery. medical science is amazing. something to be very grateful for. i have a heart issue. thickening of the heart muscle and an irregular heartbeat. caused by stress (i have that in spades) and high blood pressure. something i didn't think i had. the doctor always says it's fine. i never take note of what it is and don't write it down. i am on medication and thankfully it's not serious. little grandson is autistic and although he's very clever with most things he doesn't cope with a lot of things either. noise, the masks we all have to wear of late and just a heap of things. his motor skills need improving. he knows more about planets than most adults. his latest obsession, and he has lots, is the titanic. he can list dozens of facts about it. it's amazing really. he's only 7. some days he's loving school and the next he refuses to go. thankfully the teachers are great with him. he's not the only autistic kid in the class. amazing

those poor horses and other warm blooded mammals

something bit me recently on the sole of my foot.  i woke up with a very sore foot and there is a hard and extremely painful lump beneath the ball of my foot about the size of a small marble.  the next night i was getting into bed when i noticed a march/horse fly on my bedside lamp.  i didn't know that they bite but it is the most plausible reason.  i sprayed the house liberally and went outside but haven't noticed the corpse anywhere so i hope it's dead.  my dil told me she is allergic to them.  i showed my foot to the doctor the other day when i went in for something else but she showed little interest in it so i rang the podiatrist.  he's going to look at it tomorrow for me.  maybe lance it if necessary.  apparently they have serrated jaws and can tear flesh.  it's not red or itchy which baffles me.  maybe it's something else entirely.  let's hope Paul can help. 

it's an alpaca

i thought it was a lama.  i don't know the difference so had to google.  this one was walking along the street with mum and dad.  mum had a black dog on a lead.  i had to go back and check it out as did most of the neighbours.  when asked why he had an alpaca on a lead he shrugged his shoulders and said 'why not?'  fair enough i suppose.  such a little cutie she was.  beautiful eyes.  we were chuffed.  there is an alpaca in a very nice garden centre on semaphore road called audrey.  she goes home to the adelaide hills each night.  she was on telly recently.  she's also gorgeous.  so there you are, the saying 'you never know what you'll see' is true.  lol.  

suspicious

i am getting a 'this site is suspicious' warning when i open my blog.  anyone else? 

the shed roof still leaks

and i am not happy

locks, doctors and rats

I went up to bed last night and left the front doors open and unlocked.  Thank goodness the gate is locked.  I’ve done it before but thankfully not often.  I just came back from the doctor where i waited for an hour.  I’ve waited longer.  I was about to be called in when i found the appointment card in my bag.  Oh dear.  The appointment was for Wednesday but i’d put it in my phone for today.  Same time, different day.  Why the receptionist said nothing is beyond me.  I’ve done that before too and the receptionist has pointed out my error.  Ok, i’ll come back.  No big deal.  Doctor must have felt sorry for me and seen me anyway.  Good news is that my cholesterol is down to five something without medication.  Yay.  Everything else was good.  Pneumonia gone.  Only had a slow resting heart rate which she wants to investigate.  I said wait a couple of months.  Ok.  Done.  On another note the rats are back.  Handy man laid pavers (very, very badly) in the shed.  He’s just finished putting on a new roof and i’m waiting for it to rain to see if it still leaks.  Let’s hope not.  Anyhow, the other day i went in there to get the lawn mower out and when i moved it a gecko ran across the floor.  Scared me a lot but it was only a cute little gecko.  Then i saw a pile of gravel.  Rats.  I threw some baits behind the shed last night but they’re still there.  Surely the little geckos wouldn’t burrow and cause such a pile of gravel etc.  It’s the rats.  I hate rats and mice. 

happy new year

respiratory syncytial virus

i returned from our cruise and days later was desperately ill in hospital with RSV.  i have never been so ill and i would not wish it on my worst enemy.  pnuemonia, bronchitis, sinusitis, low blood pressure, violent shaking, chills and fevers, migraines and my taste buds left the building.  i hardly ate for a week and a half but the appetite has returned and i'm eating normally now.  my son and daughter have been marvelous, cooking for me, helping me shower (daughter), shopping etc etc.  i am very lucky to have them.  two stays in hospital and the nurse visited me at home for a couple of days to administer the iv antibiotics and do my obs.  well, although i'm over the worst of it the recovery is extra slow.  Maz said that's because i'm old, which may actually have something to do with it.  i'm feeling heaps better but am still weak and wobbly.  to add to this we are experiencing a major heat wave and i am not good in the heat.  i am praying for rain as much of australia is going through dreadful drought at the moment and that along with fires in a lot of the country is making things difficult all over.  my daughter helped me send out some cards, shop for supplies for Christmas and buy a few presents for the kids so our Christmas will be low key but we won't starve.

cruising

I took my granddaughter on a cruise returning Sunday last.  My friend was supposed to go with me but she had an operation.  Then my son was going to take her place but my daughter in law went through a nasty health issue, which turned out to be ok, thank goodness.  So, I decided to take my granddaughter.    We had a lovely time except for the disappointment of not visiting kangaroo island to see where her grandfather, my late husband, was born and grew up. This was due to the weather conditions offshore.  She’d missed out on a trip to KI with her study group recently because of family issues so, of course, she was looking forward to it.  I was looking forward to looking around the places he’d told me about so many times and seeing the post office that my in laws had for many years.  But we went to bunnings and bought some timber etc etc.  Nothing to do but get over it. We had a 43 degree day the day before and very strong winds were forecast.   After sitting in port (Adelaide) all day and again next day we finally set sail for Port Lincoln.  The weather had turned cool and we had a lovely time looking around the city.  We returned to ship and set sail for Phillip Island.  We had to go over by tender which was much easier than I envisioned.  There were free shuttle busses to get us around.  We returned to the ship and later that night we set sail for Melbourne where we were to disembark.  It was so rough on board that night I thought I’d fall out of bed but didn’t and my granddaughter slept through it without a complaint.  We got transfers to the airport and flew home to Adelaide. It was lovely to see my granddaughter enjoy herself and relax.

greek chicken lemon and rice soup

Maz is greek and puts lemon on lots of things.  we even joke about lemon on toast.  yuk.  i love lemon, it gives chicken a flavour boost amongst other things.  today she made a comfort food her mum used to make.  click here for the recipe.  well, it was unusual that's for sure.  i'm not sure that i loved it but it was quite nice.  very lemony :)  she also made an eggless sultana cake which was delish.  i just had some with my coffee.  Maz loves cooking.  she's had major surgery on her foot/leg and is slowly recovering.  of course she's doing far too much walking around on it.  i saw the scar today.  it's huge, and, she needs a letter from the hospital at the airport because of all the metal in it now.  eight weeks non weight bearing but someone isn't good at listening to the doctor.  say no more

Margaret news

Margaret's time ran out at the nursing home so her daughter in America said she can return home.  Margaret has no one at home to care for her and except for Brian, her friend, she has to cope on her own.  her dementia is so advanced now that she is not capable of caring for herself.  Brian brought her home and she fell over on her way into the house.  i've been going down there some mornings to make her tea and toast. the other day i'd been out all day looking after Maz, that's another story, and went down there to see if she was ok.  i heard her but she sounded far away, she was calling out but i couldn't hear what she was saying.  i went to go around the back and she had moved a massive block of wood from in front of the gate.  she said she's been locked out and was laying on the ground for ages.  i took her inside and made her a cuppa and put her back to bed.  when i went down there that night she had no idea what had happened.  her daughter is coming in a week or so.  i hope she does and Margaret is looked after.  she would have been better off in the nursing home, at least she would have been safe in there. 

i have good news

i should label this post found found found.  yay.  i cannot believe it but i found my lost keys this morning.  in my jeans pocket.  i'd only worn them twice and hung them up in the wardrobe.  i was shocked because i didn't think i'd ever see them (the keys) again, although that didn't stop me from having a look every now and again.  my neighbours and i were going out for lunch today so i'm so lucky that i decided to wear those jeans.  my neighbour cancelled so i went off to meet Maz early.  we went to kmart.  oh dear.  so many bargains.  then we went back to Maz's place and had some lunch.  my son is coming over tomorrow to help me silicon a few holes on the shed roof.  it's leaking.  :) 

lost lost lost

i hate it when i lose things.  it happens much too much too and stresses me out a lot.  this time it's my spare house keys.  i've been cutting up old rosemary bushes down by the letterbox lately and i'm thinking i've dropped them there and perhaps someone has picked them up.  there was no ID on them.  i may have dropped them in the green bin.  that's a possibility.  the thing i hate most is that i stress and obsess about it.  it all happened when i (don't laugh) lost my spare car key.  i pulled everything out of the dresser and stuff was all over the place.  i found the (first) lost key.  yay.  but in the meantime i've lost the spare house keys which lived in the dresser with the car keys. i've replaced the three main ones but i can't remember what other keys were on the bunch.  bugga.  i've also searched the house high and low.  i'm hoping they dropped into the bin or they are hiding in the house somewhere.  never mind.  as my cousin said, noone has broken in so far.  lol 

i saw Margaret

she's been moved to a nursing home which is not too far away.  she's looking a bit more frail but generally is doing well.  she fixates on coming home which may not be possible.  i don't know.  when i got there she was in the community room playing a quiz game.  i helped her with the rest of the questions, well, not really help as we got some wrong answers.  it's a sad place.  lots of residents have dementia and were not doing well.  they'd just been served tea and coffee and spring rolls with sweet chilli sauce.  i proceeded to lean over the table to get Margaret's pen and dunked my sleeve in it.  yuk.  sticky mess.  she's worried about her garden but i explained that it's been raining a lot and her garden is fine. her daughter, who lives in america, has been in touch and Brian, her friend, visits every day.  he's a gem. 

pigeons and Margaret

we have a lot of pigeons around our unit block.  there's always dozens on the roof above my bedroom and i can hear them most mornings.  noisy as they are.  i thought about getting my grandson to throw a rubber snake up there to see if it will deter them but i probably won't.  Margaret, an old lady who lives on the corner, feeds them, as does another neighbour, and there are lots of young ones around.  i usually don't mind them too much.  an old work friend had terrible trouble with them on her fence as they pooped everywhere and her young daughter played in the back yard.  never mind.  talking about Margaret, she's 89, i was at the letterbox the other day when she got a visitor.  i actually hadn't seen her and her gates were shut so i assumed she was out with her friend who calls almost every day.  the visitor rang the doorbell three times and i called her home phone.  no answer.  later that day i noticed that the house was dark.  most unusual.  she wasn't there the next day and i got worried.  i didn't see her friend's car either.  i used to have his number but it didn't transfer to the new phone.  note to self, write these things down. anyway, i didn't see her all morning so called the police.  they came and said an old report mentioned her friend's family name so i looked in the white pages online and found an address that might have been him but when i rang no answer.  i gave the address to the police and they said they'd check.  luckily it turned out to be him and he rang me soon after to explain that Margaret had fallen in the garden again and broken her arm.  she's in the hospital and they are talking about respite after hospital.  she's got dementia and is getting so frail.  it's unusual to not see her in the garden when i go down there and there's always a light on at night.  so i rang her yesterday and will go and see her today after old people's exercise. 

nothing in particular

i've got nothing of much interest to report, just stuff.  i've been pottering around in the garden.  the handy man has mostly finished the shadecloth and it doesn't look bad.  he put a big blind up at one end to, hopefully, block out the summer sun.  it's horrible having a westerly facing back of the house. never mind.  he fixed my hose reel which broke again today when i turned on the water.  a build up of pressure i expect.  i've tried to fix it and he's coming back tomorrow to look at it.  he took my old washing machine out of the shed (rat house) and will fix up the floor.  my son came over the other day to help me put out some hard rubbish.  there wasn't much and i found the piece of hose with fittings on it i needed for the hose reel.  i thought i'd thrown it out.  it was buried under the bamboo litter.  no wonder i couldn't find it.  it's suppose to rain again over the weekend so the garden will be happy :)

a very fancy hose reel.  mine is nothing like this 

Happy Mother's Day

another not so good day

but i survived and let's face it most of the issues were first world problems and not important in the long run.  firstly, i went to quilting class and it did not go well.  i wanted to chuck the quilt in the bin and just go home and go to bed, everything that could go wrong did.  this tiny quilt has been frought with problems, all of them human error.  mine.  ahhhh. after all of that i got my corners done with the binding and packed up.  my sewing machine is extra heavy and hurts my back to carry it around.  i use the wheely thing sometimes but it's so hard to get in down the stairs and into the car and then into venue.  so the binding is machined on, i finished it last night, and i'm going to hand finish the back.  that should go smoothly.  i hope.  then after several other problems i started the dishes and my knife dropped to the floor.  i was amazed when i went to pick it up and it was broken in half.  my favourite knife Maz gave me years ago.  it never needed sharpening, it was nicely balanced and i don't think i'll be able to buy another.  oh well.  i do have another knife to use.  it's not the end of the world.  Kevin came and finished the shadecloth and the outside blind so that's good.  i made miss Lan two pillowcases today.  i'm afraid one might be a bit small.  i did french seams and that might have taken up more seam allowance that i allowed for.  they are not too bad.  and someone from my past smsed me to meet for coffee.  it didn't end well and i've been so undecided about going or not.  i will see.