it hurts

i've hurt my back and it's very painful.  i didn't want to go to the doctor because what can he do?  he said it's probably muscle damage and will take a while to heal.  i am taking an anti inflammatory and panadol because i can't take codeine.  it's doesn't feel quite as bad today.  i've wrapped presents for the last hour and a bit and have taken the turkey out of the freezer.  i'm about to go to the supermarket and get a few last minute things.  i am going to make a potato salad later. 

lost

i drove into my son's driveway last night and he asked me where my number plate was?  i didn't even know it was missing.  i went into a car wash last week and thought it may have come off then but i went back today and the man said no number plates have been found.  so i've had to order replacements online.  i tried to ring the police and the reg place today but no-one answered their phones.  i want to know where i stand legally without a front number plate.  speaking of the car wash you would not believe how disgustingly dirty my car is atm.  i park under some plum trees.  you know the ones with the hard small fruit on it?  i didn't think it was edible as we had some when i was a kid and mum always told me they are not for eating.  my friend Lan eats them so my grandson and i picked heaps the other day for her.  i also lost my medicare card recently and the replacement arrived today.  i went to my granddaughter's christmas breakup today and then to the podiatrist.  friends are coming for lunch tomorrow and it's Caiden's 4th birthday on saturday.  that's special.  christmas is such a busy time of year isn't it?  i was going to attach a pic of my car with all of the dried fruit on it but i just washed the car and forgot.  it was a mess

it's too much

i have netflix and my son has stan.  if i live to be 200 i'll never get time to watch all of the programs that i would like to.  and, while i'm sitting on the couch watching i'm not outside gardening or visiting the kids or  whatever else i could be doing.  i'm a couch potato.  my very early new year's resolution is to be more active.  lol.  i hope it is more successful than last year's resolution to take more time for me.  i crack myself up sometimes.  i am planning to prepare some christmas cards today.  i seem to send fewer each year.  i blame social media.  it's probably got little to do with social media but i'll blame it anyway.  i have so many buds on the agapanthus this year i'm chuffed.  usually they don't do very well.  enjoy your weekend.  

a small accident

my dear friends a & s went to cairns recently and brought me back a lovely present.  it's a grain of rice with my name on it encased in a cylinder and threaded onto a leather cord.  it is a different and an unusual gift.  i love it.  but ...  i was sitting down this morning to have my nice quiet cup of coffee before the kids and my cousin come for a visit and i picked up the wii controller on the coffee table and with it came my lovely necklace which dropped with quite a loud plop into my freshly made hot cup of coffee.  i had a glass of water on the table so quickly fished it out and put it in that and took it into the kitchen where it is draining.  i hope there will be no damage.  i hope it's waterproof.  it's similar to this. 

broccoli

i bet the frozen broccoli  i bought yesterday from aldi would have been very tasty if i'd brought it in from the car.  i found it in the boot this afternoon.  it was a really hot day today.  yuk 

it's been a while hasn't it?

it's been ages since i posted something.  nothing too exciting has happened to post about i suppose.  i am suffering from hay fever which i don't usually get.  i used to when my vincent was alive.  i didn't realise that i was allergic to cats (and lots of other things) until he passed.  i gradually got over the hayfever like symptoms and didn't realise it until my friend Lan and my son were suffering and i was not.  well, this year the symptoms are back with a vengeance.  i even went to the doctor thinking i had 'flu.  nope, just hayfever.  i bought a nose spray the other day on the suggestion of my friend and it has improved a little bit. 

his big bed

Caiden, aged 3, went into his big bed today.  he's so proud of it and we are getting him a bed rail tomorrow just to keep him safe.  i've been busy in the garden today and got a fair bit done.  i haven't seen the baby lizard the last few days which is unusual as it's been beautiful spring weather lately.

he'd love this 

am i getting old?

yes.  the alternative is death so thus far i'm ahead.  i just spent 15 minutes looking for a container of baked beans in my tiny, overcrowded and not really tidy fridge.  i opened the tin yesterday.  i was going to have them on my toasted english muffin.  i couldn't find them.  how frustrating.  i did eventually find them - in the freezer.  i don't recall putting them in the freezer.  so i had cheese on my muffin.  i was looking forward to the baked beans.  it's a perfect washing day today so i'm washing the bed linen and the towels. 

it works

i've been having computer problems.  who hasn't i hear you ask?  i've been in touch with acer who have been very helpful and i rang yesterday to get instructions of where to send it for repair etc. it was going to cost $100 to reinstall windows and clean it out which i didn't think was too bad.  the operator asked me to try something else and we reset it.  this has been tried before so i wasn't confident.  basically i had to have the external hdd inserted so that windows would work and a lot of the time i couldn't connect to the internet.  very inconvenient.  so we reset the computer and as you may or not know it takes hours.  so i had a nana nap and when i awoke the reset had finished.  but, it said it was unsuccessful and no changes had been made.  so i pressed ok and voila, it took me through the new set up process.  so it did work.  now i have a nice new computer, sort of.  i don't need the external hdd inserted.  yay.  it works nicely too, i haven't had any problems thus far.  nice

i'm back

from bali.  my son and dil enjoyed their holiday so much that they want to go back.  i went white water rafting and damaged my knees but i did enjoy it and they healed quickly.  i took them to tanah lot, the sea temple, the botanic gardens, bedugul and lots of other places.  they went on an elephant tour and enjoyed that.  we had lots of relaxing sunset drinks at the beach and released some turtles.  we also went to the turtle rescue place which was good.  the trip home was much shorter and very smooth but getting onto the plane is a chore as it takes forever. the two hotels we stayed at were very nice and all in all we had a great time.  

another move

i haven't blogged in forever and my excuse is that my daughter has moved house and i've been very busy but in reality i'm just lazy.  she has moved to the other side of adelaide so that instead of being near gawler in the north she is now near the marion shopping centre in the south.  it is slightly closer to me but takes much longer to get there as before i had a three lane road with an 80km speed limit and now i'm forced to take south road which is two lanes and a 60km limit applies.  there are numerous ways to get to the new house but they all seem to take the same time.  i try never to go in peak hours as it's horrendous.  anyway, she's all but moved in.  she has gone from a 4 bedroom large house to a smaller 3 bedroom house to an even smaller 3 bedroom unit.  it is my wish that she'll move closer to me before i die but who knows?  the travelling wears me out quite frankly and i've been babysitting a lot lately too which is lovely but also tiring.  it's been a difficult time for all involved but i'm sure it will even out soon.

pom pom mystery

coming home this afternoon i looked into the park next door and saw this -

pom poms, large, small and in lots of colours.  i don't know who put them there but they look lovely.

what a morning

i was woken at 2am with severe stomach pain.  i was sweating and felt like vomiting.  oh dear.  i took a buscopan which is a stomach spasm medication and after about an hour it started to ease slightly.  i was going to ring an ambulance but thought i'd wait and see if the medication helped.   this morning it is delicate but much better.  i'll go to the doctor later.  then i came downstairs to charge the mobile and the little adaptor was missing.  the g/kids were here last night.  i eventually found it and the phone is charging.  then i turned on the laptop.  no internet.  great.  it was working on the phone.  after half an hour of trying to fix it i restarted it and guess what?  it is working again.  i hate technology.

another eye post

a lot of people have dry eyes but i have the opposite.  tiny oil glands near the eyelashes produce oil to lubricate the eyes and mine produce too much. it's not really a problem at the moment.  some of the floaters i've been seeing are in fact tiny oil slicks.  i still have inflammation so the doctor prescribed more drops.  my eyesight is quite good and i have to put hot compresses on my eyes throughout the day.  it's the most beautiful autumn weather here at the moment it makes one feel glad to be alive.  my friend in perth went to the football the other day and it was 29 degrees which is amazing for may.  my daughter and the kids might come down today and i've got some painting to do.  good weather for it

cut it out

the doctor found a 'suspicious mole' when i had my skin check recently.  so made an appointment to have it removed.  after ringing the surgery to get the results as requested i had to wait 5 days for the doctor to ring me back and tell me it was a benign tumour.  yesterday i attended the same clinic to keep the appointment to have the stitches removed.  but the doctor said they are not ready to be removed so made me an appointment with the same doctor who did the procedure in the first place in two weeks.  yep.  two weeks.  that can't be right can it?  after waiting 1.5 hours to see the doctor, i had to wait again so that the nurse could redress the wound.  the doctor had to type out the report twice (he made a mistake with the first one) so that the nurse could do this.  he could have done it himself in 5 minutes.  i could have done it myself in 5 minutes.  i hate that clinic.

that's better

it's been a while since i last posted, lots has happened and i've been quite hectic with family and other things.  i had cataract surgery on my other eye which is settling down fairly well.  my eyesight is amazing except for needing reading glasses now.  nothing to complain about.  the surgery was completely different this time.  it took longer and the older doctor took over a few times.  their machine (i have no idea what it's called) was set up incorrectly so they fiddled with that too.  a very lovely nurse held my hand because i was extremely nervous, although, not as much as last time.  the nursing staff are wonderful and deserve kudos for their kindness and care.  

lunch at the temple

miss lan, graham and i had a lovely day out yesterday visiting the Nan Hai Pu Tuo Temple at Sellicks Beach which is a southern suburb of adelaide.  the statue of Quan Yin, the goddess of mercy, is breathtaking and a sight to behold as she looks out to the ocean and has the hills behind her.  the temple complex will be spectacular when it's completed in a few years.  it's a work in progress.  it's a long way from home and i haven't been down that way since my son and i purchased my beautiful grandcat benni.  it seems that a lot of cat breeders are down that way as when we purchased my beautiful vincent his breeder, Nancy, lived down there.  i digress.  we enjoyed lunch at the temple and went shopping/browsing at the noarlunga centre afterwards.  we were going to go out to dinner but were all too tired.  :)  next time.  here is a link to more information about the statue and the temple.

have you ever heard of tonsil stones?

me either.  they are a thing, really.  my grandson and my daughter have them.  my friend Barb does too.  they are hard calcified 'stones' embedded in the roof of the mouth near the back of the throat. they smell apparently.  even the nurse yesterday had never heard of them.  maybe they have another name.  i mention this because my daughter was in hospital yesterday having her tonsils removed.  they thought they'd have to take her adenoids too but that didn't happen. she's had tonsillitis since she was small but the doctor always said it wasn't necessary to remove them.  she is doing really well, she's in a little bit of pain and can't eat or drink anything warm or hot.  i ordered them pizza tonight and she'll put some in the fridge and have it later.  cold pizza is delish.  she was nauseous yesterday but that's better today.  i remember getting my tonsils out when i was about 4 or 5 at the adelaide children's hospital.  the lovely old bluestone building is still there.  they used ether for the anaesthetic and i can still remember the taste.  it made me sick.  they promised me ice-cream after the op and i was disappointed because it was yuck.  there were other kids in the ward with me and we were out of bed most of the time.  i probably stayed in hospital a week or more, it was so long ago it's scary.  we are having a heat wave atm and i'm over it.  it's going to be cooler tomorrow, only 36 degrees and they said on telly that march is going to be hot and dry.

goodbye tooth

i've had a black tooth, which i presume is dead, for many years which luckily doesn't show unless i smile widely.  about six months ago a big piece of it broke.  no problem as there was no pain and no sharp edges to cause discomfort.  last night i had a maxibon ice cream and one of the little nut pieces felt extremely hard.  it was huge as most of the tooth broke off and there is only one 'crown' left.  it still doesn't hurt or cause discomfort but i suppose it's time i went to the dentist.  i have a very good dentist but he has the most unpleasant receptionist ever.  she's really a nasty person which is unfortunate as i don't want to change dentists but because of her (or maybe i'm just using her as an excuse) i haven't been to see him for ages.  i badly need a clean and now with the broken tooth i think it's time.  i'm wondering if the piece that broke off is actually an old filling.  who knows

miss lan, my daughter and i went to the fringe parade last night.  we bussed it into the city.  i must admit we didn't see much of the parade because it was so crowded but we had a nice time.  then miss lan and i went to pick up her son on the other side of adelaide.  we didn't know exactly where to go and got a little bit lost but managed to find the place eventually.  i found the gps thingy on my phone afterwards :(  anyway, the last time i had my car serviced the mechanic said that my battery was on the way out.  it's been fine.  not hard to start so i kept thinking i'd ring him and arrange a replacement but of course just kept putting it off.  last night i started the car to come home and nothing except a horrible whining noise.  the lights all worked.  i rang the raa and they said because of the fringe and the guns and roses concert at the oval they were really busy.  so we waited.  and waited.  the raa showed up at 2am changed the battery and luckily invoiced me because i didn't have my credit card with me.  so after all of that i got home  at 3am.  so i slept in this morning, i hope miss lan got some sleep.

i am in a mess

i don't do much housework when it's very hot.  i took friends to the airport yesterday morning (the traffic was dreadful) and had to empty out the car to fit the luggage in.  to be fair, i do have the stroller and baby seat in there, and it's not a huge car.  so the hundreds of shopping bags, a huge bag of donations for the op shop, all of the grandson's stuff, half of my wardrobe, a few pair of shoes???, a fold up chair i bought and have never used and just general junk is in the laundry waiting to be sorted and disposed of.  i'm doing some washing which is long overdue as i haven't washed for over a week, probably two.  the only trouble is my motivation is lacking atm so it's a struggle.  at least i got some sleep last night because i wore earplugs.  nice soft ones.  they are necessary because a neighbour has acquired a rooster which wakes me up most mornings way too early.

that's a relief

adelaide's heatwave has gone elsewhere.  yay.  i am sitting here in my trackies.  it's wonderful.  one of my pleasures in life is opening up the windows upstairs and being greeted by a cool breeze after a very hot day.  i'm going up to see the kids today and taking them shopping and to lunch.

rats and other things

i was sitting here minding my own business the other day when a rat ran across the inside rail of the back fence.   i am terrified of rats and felt sick.  then later in the day i was on the phone and it ran back again.  ahhhh.  i got anthony to throw some baits into the shed and yesterday when i came down and opened the blind there it was.  on the veranda.  dead.  luckily my dil is ok with rat disposal so she came over while i was at the hospital and did the dirty deed.  i still feel sick if i think about it.  my eye check yesterday went well and the doctor was pleased with the result of the op even though i have new floaters which are very common and harmless.  she booked me in to have the other eye done and said i may be able to drive without glasses afterwards so that's a good thing.  my dr david has left and i now have dr katya.  she's very young and sweet.  despite the current heatwave all is well.  it should be cooler by sunday.  it was 36 degrees in my bedroom yesterday when i went upstairs.

getting there

i am doing well after the eye surgery.  i drove yesterday wearing my old perscription sunnies quite well but can't see properly distance wise with the old multis  i spoke to the surgeon yesterday because i have lots of tiny black spots (floaters).  he wasn't overly concerned about them and said to keep using the eye drops.  i'm seeing him again early next month.  i can't believe that january is almost over.  it's nearly lunar new year and miss lan took me to her hairdresser the other day for a much needed cut.  it looked fab when he finished with me but then i washed it and slept on it.  lol.  we did a little bit of shopping and had another massage.  very nice.  my daughter's air con was leaking the other day but was fixed yesterday thank goodness.  so, as you can see, i have not much to blog about.  i might go and see the grandkids tomorrow.  enjoy your weekend

well it's done and dusted, almost

i had my cataract surgery yesterday and as you know i was a nervous wreck and a huge sooky la la about it all.  i must say they lied to me about the procedure.  well, that's my side of the story although they deny it.  i'm sure they said i'd be asleep for the op but no, they said they need me awake.  really?  i wanted to say that i'm sorry but i must go home now but i didn't.  i was even more nervous after that but the wonderful and very understanding and patient staff talked to me and sort of calmed me down a bit.  i had an anaesthetic to have the anaesthetic for the eye if that makes sense.  they put me to sleep to inject the anaesthetic around the eye and then woke me up to have the op.  all i saw during the op were lights, sometimes bright, sometimes more subdued.  david, the surgeon and hero of the day, talked to me the entire time and was so gentle and kind. i could hear the machine but it wasn't loud.  it took about half an hour and i was all bandaged up and sitting in the recovery room soon after eating half a salad sandwich (it needed salt and pepper) and drinking a cup of coffee.  i've had a bit of a headache since and today went back for the examination.  all is well.   i can see through the eye although  everything isn't as clear as i would like but that will improve i think.  i am amazed by the brightness of everything and the clarity of the colours of things, it's startling.  it is literally like a dull curtain has been removed which i supposed it has really.  i need sunglasses outside and i'm allowed to watch tv today.  i'm still sorting out my normal glasses as i don't know how suitable they'll be. i'm not allowed to drive for 10 days.  my son has been staying here and looking after me but went home today and will return this evening for a while.  i should be fine on my own now  i can put the eyedrops in by myself.  i have an eye shield to wear at night.  i am going back in a month and i'l have the other eye done about six weeks after that.  hopefully i won't be as nervous (scared stiff) next time but i wouldn't bet on it.  everyone i've spoken to about the op raves about the difference and wishes they'd had it years before.  me too i think.  if only i wasn't such a scaredy cat about such things.  so it's all good

lunch, eventually

i haven't seen a and s for ages so i was pleased to get a text message yesterday to meet them for lunch.  a bit short notice but i wanted to see them so got ready and waited at the restaurant.  where were they?  it isn't like them to be late.  so i rang and as i hadn't read the text message properly i'd gotten the day wrong.  but, all was well because they were close by and could make it.  so, we had a long lunch and a good catch up.  so much has happened lately, a's mum is sick and in and out of hospital.  a has been staying there to help out.  everyone is so busy these days.  i'm glad we managed to catch up.

a night out

i'd rather stay at home on nye but miss lan talked me into going into the city to watch the fireworks at elder park.  we went by bus as the public transport was free from 5pm until dawn.  that's a great idea as parking in the city would be near impossible.  the bus was packed as expected and coming home we had to wait for a while but that's ok.  the fireworks were marvellous and we were sitting on the lawn very close to them.  so loud. they had a concert in the park and the cricket was on at the oval.  i felt like all of adelaide was there and as as you'd expect it was very crowded.  afterwards, we made our way to the casino to meet my son and dil.  i haven't been to the casino for many years and it doesn't look like it's changed much.  we watched my dil play blackjack and win for a while, had a drink and left.  i got home at 11.30pm.  the second lot of fireworks started at midnight and i was in bed not much after that.  i can see the fireworks from my bathroom and bedroom windows.  i slept like a log and was awakened, rudely i might add, by someone letting off a few very loud fireworks in the park at 5am.  i hope you had an enjoyable new year's eve.  i took lots of photos but they didn't turn out very well
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