My three sisters and I
 September 2011

I have had a major hair style change since this was taken.
It is now cut quite short and more grey is showing.

Here is another one,

Mighty Max

 taken yesterday, showing off his Biceps.

My youngest son, Uncle Mike, a painter

getting into the act.

My new Grandson, Max James

He was born yesterday, 1st December.

 Weight 4.1kg. (9 pounds). 51cms (20") long.

Both mum and son doing well. 

His big sister Mila

wasn't happy to see her Grandma holding him. 

Wow! Its been a while.

A couple of weeks ago I had to have some trees removed from my yard.

 Two Cocos palms and a dead gum tree.

Man up a Gum tree.

I was sad to see this tree cut down as it was outside my second bedroom,

 it was lovely to see it swaying in the breeze.

Down went the Cocos Palm.

Thank heavens, these palms are gone, they would drop orange fruit which when dried out to the nut inside, was like mowing over shrapnel.

My sad news with my pets just keeps going on and on.

Yesterday, I came home from work to find my little female dog, Kahlua, dragging her leg as she tried to walk towards me, her sight in one eye had been deteriorating lately, but now she was having trouble walking. I stayed up all night with her but she was only getting worse and became distressed if I moved from her side.

This morning I took her along to the vet and the news was not good, old age, missing her companion Bailey, failing eyesight and leg injury (probably caused by trying to jump up on her favourite seat). The vet said I would be just delaying the inevitable by keeping her alive. So once again I had to return home alone.

I'm sitting here now without words. Lost.

I have been rather quiet of late because I have had to deal with some things that have given me a shake-up.

My brother, Bruce, was diagnosed with neck and head cancer 6 years ago which required a 10 hours operation to remove abscessed soft tissue from his neck and installation of a new voice box and removal of his bottom teeth. He had intensive radiography and also had to learn to speak again. Over the years he has had lumps removed from his head and neck. Last year in March he was told he would not be having any more operations done to remove any more lumps and no more radiography and was given a couple of months to live but they could give him palliative chemotheraphy to give him maybe an extra 12 months and now would be assigned to a palliative doctor.He finished his course of chemo last September, and was able to play golf again.

On 29 June my rescue cat, Darcy, went outside and hasn't been seen since. I had had him for 4 years. 

On 27 July Bruce had a stroke was hospitalized and entered rehab. Last week he returned home and is taking things slowly.  (My dad had a stroke when he was 54 which paralysed him down his left side and he died at 67 years.) For some reason the news my brother having a stroke knocked the stuffing out of me, up until then my travelling down to Sydney to take him to chemo and a palliative doctor appts I was able to cope. Grieving.

On 14 August I came home from work to find my 12yo dog, Bailey, laying down in the backyard, I knew as soon as I saw him he was gone.  I rang the Vet and he said to bring him down and they will look after him. More grieving.

I live on my own, (divorced empty nester), my pets are my little family. Now there is just my 12yo Maltese Terrier, Carly,  and I.  I had bought the two of them from a little old lady who had 7 dogs, council had told her she could only have 3 and to get rid of the others. My children were still living at home and my eldest son Nicholas and I fronted up to the house only expecting to take one home but the lady was worried if we took one it would be too lonely. So we ended up taking home Carly, and Bailey, a West Highland dog. She had brought them from two different dog breeders, they were 6 months old when they joined our family.

 Everyone keeps telling me to buy a new cat/dog but I think Carly is too old to have a young puppy/kitten running around her. We went on a 2km walk the other day which she loved but paid for it with being all achey the next day.

......................

More and more I have been trying to direct this blog into what it originally was supposed to be ... a life journal.

Fluffing around with a new design layout/template. 

To be continued.

On Friday, I started two weeks annual leave to de-clutter my house, paint some walls, finally get some cocos palms removed and new guttering installed. On Saturday I had gone down to Sydney to visit my daughter and grand-daughter and we had a lovely lunch together. 

I returned home later in the afternoon on Saturday to find a message waiting on my home phone from the sister Tricia to say my brother Bruce had taken a taxi the day before to the local hospital when he had noticed numbness in his left arm and leg. Bruce has head and throat cancer which he has been battling for the last 8 years.

Last year he underwent a course of palliative chemo to try to slow the cancer down which was successful until his last two x-rays showed that the cancer was active again. A decision whether to run with another course of chemo was going to be made in September, now with this stroke I am not sure if they will go ahead with the chemo but wait to see what long term effect the stroke has on his body.

As I was going to be on vacation I had made plans with Bruce to take him to a store as he had decided to buy an ipad, he finds a PC computer difficult to get his head around (not very computer literate) maybe the ipad would be more user-friendly for him 

... Now we wait to see how this #%F% stroke develops. 

... now I am just sitting here feeling like all the stuffing has been knocked out of me.

When my sisterTricia rang, she left me a number so I could call him direct in hospital, so I rang him and we had a chat, first thing he said was I haven't got a pen ... why do you need a pen ... I'm bored I would like to do my crossword ... that is if I had a paper so I could do my crossword ... and I have no book to read ... and I can't get to my mobile (cell) to phone its on the side of the bed I can't reach ... ok so can you reach the button to summon the nurse to get you a pen and paper ... and there's no TV and I pay top hospital care... I think you're having a bit of a whinge now ... (laughter) ... maybe, he said. 

We spoke for 1/2 an hour about the tests he had had on the Saturday and was going to be visited by the doctor Sunday morning. After the phone call I rang one of his friends to let him know about the stroke and he was going to give him a call on Sunday to see if he needed anything. A call to my sister today Monday and we are still waiting to see how he is going.

 I have a feeling that this stroke is connected to his cancer.

Update 3/9/12.

He is home now while he was in rehab, a team from home modifications went to his house and installed rails and a slight ramp over his stairs. He is walking with a small limp but otherwise he has lucky there was not more damaged done.

Darcy has been missing for 3 weeks now, 

he is microchip for identification,

 so hopefully he is with someone who in time will take him to a vet

 and be scanned and I will know his fate.

I am hopeful he will one day return home.

Had a big day planned today, went to bed early but sometime after 1am this morning I heard a screeching of tyres on the main road that I live on,
 you could hear the driver fighting to control the car, silence then Bang. Looked out and the car had crashed into the power pole outside, 
four youths got out of the car... then they ran off. No Power. Grabbed the mobile and called police who sent fire truck and informed the electric co.

 Police arrived sometime later. Met some neighbours. lol.

Uh Oh

Firemen checking for fuel leaks.

Emergency crew restoring power.

Mothers Day 2012

My youngest son, Michael was born 28 years ago on Mothers Day.

He remembers getting annoyed one year

 because he had to share one of his birthdays on Mothers Day.

Happy Birthday, Mila

Darling Grand-daughter

Anzac Day 2012

Lest We Forget

To all our veterans - Thank You.

This is a great video with a play on the place names of the 

Central Coast north of Sydney.

Kombi > WORD.

Today I went into Sydney to the Ultimo  television studios of the ABC

 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation).

To watch a recording of a new show called Randling

The audience is lining up to enter the studio.

Coke and Orange Juice provided as refreshment for waiting audience.

Wendy Harmer and Benjamin Law represented the Northern Thrusters

 and 

Dave O'Neill and Anthony Morgan represented the Fitzroy Fireballs.

 There are either Matinee or Evening Recordings until 1st May.

Audience Phone Number: Call 02 9217 2243

I left home at 9am to catch a train into Sydney to be there by 11.30am the recording started at 12.30pm, I was able to get a aisle seat as I get a little clautrosphobic if I feel closed in. The warmup guy was ok but just didn't connect comfortably with the audience (different guy does the night recording). The show is a word game two teams vying against each other for points. Andrew Denton (Big Gig, Glass House, Enough Rope) hosted the show and it was great to see someone (including Wendy Harmer)  I have be watching on TV for the last 20 years. I have been to a recording of previous shows over the years and I am surprised how different it is to watching a show on TV.

Me and my Girls.

Easter Sunday 2012

This is super fun.

http://soundcloud.com/lazyitis-1/super-morrissey-bros#play

A cover of "This Charming Man" by The Smiths done in the style of Super Mario Bros.

Thanks to Magneto Bold Too for the link.

My local council had a old paint tins and gas bottles drop off this morning.

Very well organised, plenty of staff on hand giving easy to follow directions on way into depot, didn't need to get out of the car as staff systematically went from car to car removing paint cans and tins, gas bottles, batteries and other items you can't put in your household bins.

A Sunday in my Life.

Up early today to give the dogs a bath.

Made myself a toasted banana sandwich for breakfast.

Washed my work clothes and my new doona cover.

Spent a hour getting my work roster up to date

 and entered in work diary.

Fluffing around with the layout and design of blog.

Wet - Avoca Beach.

This could take some time.

REFERENCE NSW School Holidays 2012
Term 1	Friday, 27 January 2012	-	Thursday, 05 April 2012
Autumn Holidays	Friday, 06 April 2012	-	Friday, 20 April 2012
Term 2	Monday, 23 April 2012	-	Friday, 29 June 2012
Winter Holidays	Monday, 02 July 2012	-	Friday, 13 July 2012
Term 3	Monday, 16 July 2012	-	Friday, 21 September 2012
Spring Holidays	Monday, 24 September 2012	-	Friday, 05 October 2012
Term 4	Monday, 08 October 2012	-	Friday, 21 December 2012
Summer Holidays	Monday, 24 December 2012	-	Monday, 28 January 2013

Having a good day today, considering I was awake half the night. Ended up getting up at 1am, wandering around the house, restless, walked into the 3rd bedroom which was a mess, wandered out to the kitchen grabbed the roll of garbage bags ... 2 hours later, 3 bags of old/unused clothing and general clutter accumulated. Photo albums returned to their plastic containers,  books returned to bookshelf in lounge, ironing board which I hadn't used for a couple of weeks folded up and returned to its place behind the door.

First thing in the morning was a trip to the post office to send off a belated Christmas present which had been left behind on Christmas day. Then round to the Salvos store to drop off the bags of clothing/clutter. Then to pick up my roster as I am returning to work tomorrow, new roster not in box so home again and on the phone to office to find out roster for tomorrow and have the rest of week's roster posted out to me. 

Tomorrow's roster included a client I had already put in 2 separate hazard forms concerning her dog - aggressive, and had lunged at me 3 times when I was last in the house.  I asked the roster co-ordinator to put me through to the manager so I could have a 'chat' about why the client was still on my roster. The manager, a lovely lady who I have had previous chats with over this dog, immediately removed client from my roster and will go out and see the client herself as I had expressed my fears that the dog might turn on the client, herself.

During the conversation with the manager I bought up the matter of extra hours which I had requested in writing, some 6 months ago. She informed me she will be going through the request for extra hours within the next two weeks and was just waiting till the new year's budget was decided. My request is now top of the pile with a big Urgent sticker on top, :-) we discussed how much work I could handle and settle on an extra 9 hours a week after I mentioned that my house needed new gutters but before they were replaced, trees to close to the house had to be removed. Before finishing the call the manager suggested I give her a ring in two weeks time as a reminder.

I am sitting here now thinking I should celebrate or something as I seem to have achieved more in the last 12 hours than I have in a long while. Maybe the 2 weeks break from work has energised me.

Bring on tomorrow.

Love the root system of this fig tree

 along the banks of the Parramatta River in Sydney.

On the second day of 2012 we are enjoying another
 hot, dry day after months of rain in 2011.