A Tough Old Bird

My 89 year old Mum is proving to be "a tough old bird" in more ways than one! The last few weeks, as I mentioned in my previous post, have been hectic to say the least, indeed, traumatic would probably be a more accurate description of recent events.

Some of you may recall that mum had a bowel cancer operation shortly before last Christmas. She was in hospital for 5 days, came home and in spite of a very severe cold, recovered very well and very quickly. In April the hospital said all was well and they didn't need to see her again. However mum didn't seem to continue to regain her strength and was spending longer and longer periods of time in bed, not like her at all. I was going in to see her each day, 2 or 3 times on some days, preparing her meals and doing whatever was necessary. She also kept having falls but each time, thankfully, it was only her pride that was hurt. On the days that I only went in once she was not averse to telephoning me to summon me to help her, once waking me at 7 in the morning.

I eventually called her GP and he said that she should be admitted to the local hospital in order for them to assess her to try to find out what was wrong. So she had 2 weeks complete rest, even though she hadn't been doing very much in the lead up to being in hospital. However, blood tests showed she was again anaemic, even though she was supposed to have been taking iron tablets. All further tests and scans proved that there were no other problems. The OT department thoroughly monitored her mobility and when she was discharged from hospital she had some extra aids to take home with her. Still very lethargic and seemingly unable to do anything very much for herself, I was back to my twice daily visits.

Husband and I had a holiday booked and it was quite worrying to know what to do. I felt I couldn't leave her alone as she seemed unable to cope with day to day tasks so I tentatively suggested to her that she have some respite care in a local retirement home whilst we were away and to my surprise she readily agreed. So all was arranged, we took her to the home 3 days before we went away. The plan was that the staff would assess her needs and mum would try life there with a view to it being a possible permanent situation. When my daughter and I visited the day before my holiday mum declared that this was just what she needed and felt that she would like to stay permanently! Early days I thought!

However husband and I had our holiday (more of which another time) and I was able to thoroughly relax. We returned home last Friday and on Saturday, full of trepidation, I called at the Home to visit mum, anxious to know how her week had been. "Not for me" she declared. "I don't want to live the rest of my life here". Fair enough. She has to like it enough to stay permanently otherwise we will both be unhappy. So this week I have been trying to set up a care package for her which will mean that someone will call in a couple of times each day to make sure she is OK and do whatever needs to be done at that particular time. I will still do things for her (bed changing, washing, ironing and making meals for her freezer) but will not go in every single day and certainly only once in any day. It will mean I can get my life back and not be constantly at mum's beck and call.

Today she told me that she hopes she can cope on her own once she is back at home as she dislikes the thought of someone going in to do things for her!

Busy Summer Days

I can hardly believe that Summer is almost over. The longed for days, when we were knee deep in snow, are now making way for Autumn and then we'll be into Winter again! I have had a busy time lately and when I got to wondering what exactly have I been doing over the past 6 to 8 weeks I realised just how much I have achieved.

I have not been much into blogging it is true and have just about managed to "keep in touch" with most of you, only posting for ABC Wednesday for weeks now.

At the moment I am suffering with a gum infection and have been in quite a lot of pain. I thought at first it must be an abscess but my dentist assured me, after taking an X-ray, that my teeth are in fine shape and that it is a "just" an infection. I have now been on antibiotics for nearly 2 weeks. No pain as such now, but still a fairly sizeable swelling on the roof of my mouth. So first thing on Monday I shall have to contact the dentist again for further advice!

My mother, who is now 88, has been complaining of numbness in the right side of her head and was referred to a specialist in care for the elderly - a lovely man, who was most kind, considerate and thorough. He gave her a really good examination, covering all aspects, taking X-rays, blood tests, an ECG and sending her for two CT Scans. We get the results of all these tests tomorrow. I feel that there is nothing seriously wrong with her and that it is old age taking its toll. He did say to us that he feels that the numb feeling in her head could be due to a trapped nerve in her neck. He also said that she is in very good shape for 88. On Monday we will know for sure.

Our 6 year old grand-daughter came to stay with us for a few days, the first time she had been away from Mummy and Daddy (her parents are divorced so she is used to being apart from one or the other but had never been away from both of them). She was as good as gold, even on the day when she was definitely unwell and could hardly wait to get to bed. We all enjoyed it and when I mentioned to daughter that if she would like us to have her at half-term it would be OK, she replied that Imogen had already asked when she could come again. The only problem we had was that the weather was cloudy and cold and we only made it to the beach once (we live less than 50 yards away).

Fruit and vegetables have done well this year and everyone seems to have a surplus of everything. I took advantage of this last week and managed to make a batch of sweet piccalilli and also chutney. No strawberry jam though!










A very sprightly family friend celebrated her 90th birthday in August and decided to throw a party for her family, a few friends and neighbours. Asking us what we thought about the idea, we wholeheartedly agreed it was a great plan and I volunteered to make her birthday cake. So that was another task to be accomplished.



On top of all of that, I decided I wanted to redecorate our bedroom. Now I am not one to change for change's sake but I had never been happy with the decor since we moved in last October. Husband agreed to help with repainting the walls and I undertook to do the wallpapering. We kept the same colour (eau de nil) and we are both very pleased with the result. Strangely though, it makes the room look bigger!



Next week I shall be going to spend a few days with my daughter in Stratford upon Avon, returning next Monday and then the following Thursday husband and I are off to spend a week with friends in Spain. It's all go!

Back - but not for long!

So, we are back from Spain. On the day we left we got to the airport in good time and were checked in within 20 minutes. Flight was delayed 2 hours! We telephoned our friend meeting us to break the news and then wandered off to get a drink and kill the time! It went quickly really and finally we were on our way. A good flight over, I sat by the window and was very impressed by the cloud formations I saw. Some of them looked like huge meringues - beautiful! Guess who didn't have her camera with her! We arrived at around 10 pm - very warm! Our friend met us and we drove directly to the local village for something to eat.

We had a lovely relaxing holiday. The weather was hot, very hot, relentlessly hot, day and night! So we sat in the shade and dozed or read or chatted. We cooled off by having a swim. Our friendly duck is still in situ - it is actually a thermometer and the water temperature was around 30 degrees most of the time we were there.

We ate out most days, catching up with acquaintances made last time we were there and making new ones. One evening we (about 16 of us) went to a local cafe for supper where there was a live band playing for a couple of hours - mostly tributes to The Beatles, Van Morrison and a Country & Western singer I can't remember! Later there was dancing. It was a great night and we walked back home at around 1 am.

That was pretty much all we did. I only took about 3 photographs. It was wonderful to just - well I can't say "chill out" - but to RELAX! I read "The Good Earth" by Pearl S Buck which I thoroughly enjoyed, a wonderful book. It was first published in 1931 and in 1937 it was made into a film. In 1935 Pearl S Buck was awarded the Nobel prize for literature. You can read more about her here.

I also read "The Conjuror's Bird" by Martin Davies. I thought it was a good, pacy read. I am a little confused about the reference to "the conjuror" but think I know what was meant. If any of you have read it I would be interested to know your thoughts. I also got well into "The Return" by Victoria Hislop. Having read her previous book "The Island", I guessed I would enjoy this story.

Our flight back was uneventful and on time. When we left Spain it was 39 degrees. We landed at 10.10 pm and were back indoors by 11 pm. Temperature here was 16 degrees!

I have been trying to catch up with fellow bloggers this week because on Tuesday I'm off again. This time to Stratford on Avon to look after our 5 year old grand-daughter for a few days, to help out for the first week of the school holidays. I won't have my camera with me this time though, as OH wants to borrow it whilst I am away.

Looking into Blogworld I found I had an award from Hadriana. She has designed this award herself and awarded it to fellow bloggers who have kept visiting and supporting her in spite of her being a little out of touch lately due to family commitments/work pressures. Thank you Hadriana - I do appreciate it.

I also found that I have been tagged by Karen at The Rubbish Diet. I will be doing this once I am back from my grandparenting duties in Stratford on Avon. Hope you don't mind Karen.

One task I must tackle before I go off on my travels is to make a birthday cake for my lovely daughter, who will be 40 at the end of August. It will give the cake time to settle and mature and I will be back in good time to ice and decorate it.

Birthdays and Holidays

The past week and a half since I returned from Australia have been fairly busy, almost hectic some days. Phew!

Before I went away I had promised my cousins that I would make a birthday cake for their respective mothers (twins) who will be 80 on 5 November. There is to be a surprise celebration for them on that day, so a cake is almost compulsory. So as Bob and I are going to be away from Monday until 3 November I had to get on with it. Baked the cake before I went to Australia and on my return began making the sugar flowers for the decoration. As time will be of the essence when we return from our holiday I had asked a friend if she would ice the cake for me. So yesterday I took all the necessary to her and will collect the finished creation on our return. I should add here that my friend is 75 years old! She is also one of a twin.

Have also baked another birthday cake in readiness for decoration on my return. This time for a joint party for 3 sons of friends. Another set of twins, plus a sibling.

A friend telephoned on Tuesday to ask if we, together with another couple would like to go and have a meal with her and her husband on Wednesday evening. We haven't seen much of them recently because he has been undergoing chemotherapy in an attempt to get him into remission. But he is having a break from it for a while to give him a chance to build up again. They both felt that they would like a social evening and we were only to pleased to go. We had a lovely evening, just the six of us, good food,lots of laughs and our friends both said that it had done them a power of good. We wish there was more we could do but they do know that they only have to pick up the telephone and ask, should they need anything at all.

My darling girl also telephoned mid week, to ask if it would be OK if she and her little one visited at the weekend! Of course! Only a flying visit, overnight, but would like to see us before we jet off. So that was arranged and they duly arrived on Friday evening, leaving us exhausted 24 hours later. We invited my mum round to lunch on Saturday too.

And, as if all of this was not enough, the estate agent rang - could Mr and Mrs W view the house on Saturday morning please. This would be the 6th set of prospective buyers since we put the house on the "market" in early March. We have never taken so long to sell a house before, just shows how slow things are. However they duly arrived and had a good look around and left again. Are they interested? Who knows! I remarked at lunch that each viewing we have had had been on a sunny day, so just shows how few there have been!

So, today, I shall be packing for our holiday. Me and Bob. We are both really looking forward to it and will be away for 2 weeks.

Holiday (ii) - A walk in Kuitpo Forest

When my son and his family were emigrating to Australia they made the decision that their dog should go with them. He was then about 8 years old and they had chosen him from a rescue centre when he was about a year old. He was part of the family and they wouldn't leave him behind. In fact Moss was actually the first of them to arrive in Australia, having travelled on a separate flight, direct to Melbourne where he was to be quarantined for 30 days. On release from quarantine he was in wonderful condition but with no bark, obviously having to keep up with the other dogs in the kennels, but that soon returned once he was back with the family.




Whenever I visit them I usually go for some walks with my son and his dog and sometimes we go to Kuitpo Forest which is not too far from where they live.

We did just such a walk one evening while I was there this time. Moss likes to run on a little way ahead, soon catching us up if our route should take a different direction from the one he is moving in. Sometimes we see nothing on our walks, sometimes rabbits, maybe a kangaroo or two. That evening as we rounded into another path, a little way ahead of us were 7 or 8 kangaroos, right in the middle of the path. We slowed our pace and called to Moss to come to heel, which he eventually did and my son slipped the lead onto him. He doesn't usually chase after them now, but S wasn't taking any chances. Anyhow the kangaroos had spotted us and soon jumped out of our sight into the trees. A little further on we saw another but it soon disappeared also. In all the times I have been in that forest I have never seen so many together and so close. A little later on the walk S thought he heard something moving and we stopped still to listen. I heard nothing but S spotted an echidna, trundling its merry way through the undergrowth, oblivious of our presence. We left him to it.

I always feel privileged when I see animals in their natural habitat and was thrilled, though slightly irritated with myself as it was one of the few occasions that I hadn't bothered to carry my camera!

So, for anyone who is not sure what an echidna looks like, here is a photograph of one I took at Cleland Park.



Apparently their young are called "puggles" - how sweet!

And here a photo of kangaroos taken on a walk through the same forest but on a previous holiday. Apologies for the quality of the image.



I really enjoy having these walks with my son, I think we both look forward to them - Moss definitely does!



Below is a photograph I took on one of our first walks in the forest.



It is one of my favourites although I have very mixed feelings whenever I look at it.

Anne

Holiday (i) - Where do I begin

I said in my previous post that I would give edited highlights of the holiday - but where to start? I suppose that it should be with my beautiful grandchildren. So first of all a photo.



Matthew James, born on 2 September weighing 3.34 kilos, managed to lose half a kilo of his birth weight which, naturally, gave some cause for concern. He looked so frail when we first met him, his skin too big and his dear little arms and legs so skinny. But during our time there he began to regain his weight and started filling out. He now weighs 3.56 kilos, so is doing well and no longer needs to be monitored. Giving lots of smiles now too, though I wasn't able to catch one on camera.













The older children are very taken with him, have remarked that they don't get the attention they are used to, but they understand and in their way try to help and are affectionate towards him.



I took them out a few times, to the cinema, the park, shops etc and it was lovely to be able to spend quality time with them. They are very loving children and, of course, lovable. We had some fun.

Before the family left for Australia in 2004 I had been used to looking after Jacob, then aged three and a half, for at least one day each week, since he was about 4 months old. He was my first 'blood' grandchild and until recently the only grandson. He will always have a special place in my heart. Willow was only ten months old, and was very much a 'Mummy's girl', inasmuch that she would rarely have anything to do with anyone else. I am pleased to say that during each of my visits since their departure she and I have got to know one another and each time have become closer.

And here we are together.



Can you imagine how hard it it to say goodbye!


Anne

Home Again

Well here I am, back again after my holiday.

Obviously the three week trip, with my 86 year old, partially disabled mother to visit family in Australia and meet my new grandson gives me plenty to write/blog about but I will just give edited highlights as and when they come to mind over the next few days. I may even throw in a photo or two.

We arrived back into Heathrow on Wednesday afternoon and dear old Bob was there to meet us. Because of mum's disability, (she can walk with a stick but only for very short distances) we have wheelchair assistance at the airports and this is such a boon. Once checked in we are helped every step of the way (so to speak)! Being first onto the plane and waiting until last to get off again makes life so much easier - no mad scrambles. We landed at 3.10 pm and were actually driving out of the car park at 3.50 pm and that included a comfort break for mum. Pretty good going I'd say. Bob was amazed to see us come through so quickly.

The weather was beautiful and by the time we arrived back home there was a stunning sunset. A wonderful welcome home.

So, Australian holiday over I now have to concentrate over the next 10 days on my twin aunts' surprise birthday cake (for the party on 5 November) and repacking my suitcase and Bob's for our trip to India on 20 October.

And I have missed being in touch with fellow bloggers so will catch up with your most recent missives as soon as I can.

Anne

Holidays and Birthdays

Blogworld seems a little quiet lately. I know I was away for several days but on my return it appears that quite a few have packed their bags and are taking, probably well-earned, vacations.

I am about to do the same. I shall finish this post and then go and pack. I always fall into the same trap when my holiday comes around and have been known (on more than one occasion) to shriek "I'm never going on holiday again". To say I dislike packing to go away is an understatement. And somehow it's worse when I'm bound for Australia to visit the family. I always have to take a little something for each of the grandchildren and this time, of course, there is a new baby to buy for. And small though he may be and totally unaware of my impending visit, he probably has more parcels than the other two put together, various members of the family having asked if I would mind taking gifts. So those things will go in first and whatever room there is left and bearing in mind the weight limit, I shall cram whatever I can into my suitcase and hope for the best. Later today I will go to see my mother and pack for her also. We set off on Wednesday.

My long list of 'things to do' is getting shorter, thank goodness, although I carry a pad around with me at all times to jot down yet another task that must be done, as soon as it comes to mind.

On Sunday I finished the birthday cake I promised friends and will be delivering that later today. Hope they like it. I was pleased with it anyway.



In the meantime my cousin has telephoned to mention that she and another cousin are planning a surprise 80th birthday tea party for their respective mothers, who are twins. Would we be able to make the party and would I please make a cake. So I set to and baked the necessary and will think about the decoration when I return from my holiday.

Speaking of birthdays - it will be Bob's 67th on Wednesday, the day I'm jetting off. We did talk it through before the flights were booked and because we are on a bit of a tight time schedule vis-a-vis holidays, decided it was OK to go ahead. We will have a celebratory evening with friends when we visit them in October.

The day after we arrive in Australia it will be eldest grandson's 8th birthday - need I say more. Bob always says, with a wry smile that he knows exactly where he comes in the pecking order. And I know too! Where would I be without him!

So this is it for a short while - I may try to post something while I am away but if not I will see you in just over three weeks. Y'all take care now.

A x

Time Out

Well, I'm back in the saddle (so to speak) for a few days and then I'm off again.

Had a great time last weekend with two of our grand-daughters, and all went well with the sleepover! Drove up to Stratford upon Avon last Sunday morning to stay until Friday, the main purpose being to meet youngest grand-daughter from school each day. It was her second week and she is doing part time only for three weeks. Last week it was mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. She looked so tiny in her uniform, even beside her classmates (she was 4 at the end of April). She has been used to going to nursery, now absolutely loves school and can't wait for next week (week 3) when she will be staying for school dinners!! After that she will be full time and we joke that she will probably be running the school by Christmas.

I drove home on Friday night in torrential rain, the journey took me about an hour longer than usual due to (a) flooded road in Stratford and (b) traffic jams near Bristol. I do not like motorway driving at the best of times so was glad to get back indoors.

And now I have a busy few days ahead preparing for my forthcoming trip to Australia on 17 September, accompanied by my 86 year old mother. This is my first post since last weekend and I may get one more in before I go. Have quite a long list of 'must do' jobs to get through. Not only do I have to sort out the home front but I will have to do quite a lot for mum to get her ready in time.

And when I 'blogged in' this morning I found an award awaiting me from Denise at http://anenglishgirlrambles.blogspot.com/

Thank you so much Denise, it was a lovely surprise and I really appreciate it.

Retirement

All through 2007, for the first time ever I believe, I kept a diary and missed very few days. It was mostly just a memo of the humdrum routines - work, home and bed interspersed with occasional details of "out with friends" or "off to visit daughter" and appointments etc. I also made an almost daily note of the weather although that did tail off a bit during the summer when it was mostly "rain again today"! The garden got almost daily mentions too noting what was coming into bud, leaf, flower etc.

When I finally made the decision in October to retire at Christmas, my walks to work were filled with thoughts of what might in future fill my days. One of those thoughts was that instead of writing a diary I would begin "blogging". So here I am in mid July writing my first "blog".

A bit late in the year maybe but I have been so busy I really don't know how I found the time to go to work! How many thousands of time has that been said? But it is a fact.

I retired on 20 December and of course Christmas was looming. As soon as New Year festivities were out of the way (thank goodness - love Christmas like a child but dislike new year) - I had plans to visit son and family in South Australia. My husband was already committed to various activities (although he is supposed to be retired also) so the plan was that I would fly to Adelaide mid January and return to UK a few days after son's 40th birthday in early March and be home in time for my mother's 86th birthday. That accomplished, once I had recovered from jetlag I had a wedding cake to ice and decorate for early May. As promised back inthe autumn I then visited daughter in Stratford upon Avon for a few days to help with some decorating.

As well as all of this we have decided to sell our house and "downsize" - but things are definitely very quiet as far as that goes!.

So here I am in mid July, with another trip to Australia planned - this time with my mother for three weeks. You see the good news at New Year was that son and his wife are expecting their third child - due in early September. OH and I are planning a trip together to stay with friends who are in India for a year and have asked us to visit before they have to return home in November. So I will be home from Australia just long enough to unpack, launder and repack clothes. And it will be lovely to have a holiday together.

So here I have covered the first part of 2008. Will attempt to keep writing, although not on a daily basis. At some point I will disclose why "Strawberry Jam Anne" which, I think, is quite a funny story.

Today the weather is warm and sunny, with a slight breeze. And in our garden wildlife pond I discovered a dragonfly, newly emerged from its larval case, which I was delighted to see.