Wk 18 of ’23

 

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An update of the week that was.
Week 18 of 2023

Monday

– A public holiday (Labour Day) so my Love was home for most of the day but worked for a while in the morning so that we had been able to have all day Sunday together for a change.

I did the majority of the paddock mowing, (even managing to get bogged once!) and my Love finished up the planting out of the #1 monument bed that she rebuilt last week, as I had topped up the soil in the bed before I mowed.

It’s looking really pretty, and I’m looking forward to the second one being filled up later in the week, so it can be planted out too.
It’s going to be a lovely visual welcome as you come down the driveway, and will give us a smile on the daily.

Tuesday

– we had to go down to the City as I had follow-up appointments with my Dietician and Surgeon.

I am tracking well with my weightloss as far as the Dietician is concerned, and I won’t be having another appointment with her – unless I feel the need – for another six months, as I feel that I am going well for the time being and the money that I am spending with her I feel could be better used elsewhere.
I’ll go back if I feel like I need it – but for the time being – I’m doing well.

Had the followup with my Surgeon and we went through the results of the ultrasound and CT that I had a couple of weeks ago.
It turns out I have a gallbladder full of stones, and a ‘well-developed’ hiatus hernia.

He will do the removal and repair of both at the same time, through the public system, so that it won’t cost me a fortune and also because he understands that I don’t want to go back to the same private hospital that I had my last surgery at, as I really was very uncomfortable with the total lack of care that I felt was practiced in that facility.

While we were down the hill, our Garden Guy came and filled our #2 monument bed, ready for us to plant into on the weekend, and did some other cleanup work around the Farm.

Wednesday

– I went into town to the local Showgrounds where the mobile Mammogram Clinic is currently in residence until the end of the month, for my annual mammogram.

I spent the rest of the day reorganising where our linen chest is going to go, as we have realised that when we moved it away from the end of the bed last week during a big cleanup under the bed, we liked the extra visual space that was there when the linen chest wasn’t!

The area that I am moving it to is also the place in our home where the internet cables come in and go out through the wall, and the broadband box and router ‘hang’, so I also had to move and reroute the boxes and associated wires, to get them out of the way of the linen chest.

We needed to get some extra pavers to put the linen chest on, as that corner of our home has been known to flood in serious rain deluges, and whilst that hasn’t happened in the last three plus years; we still like to keep things off the ground on that side of the house, just to be in the ‘better safe than sorry’ category!

Thursday

– I grocery shopped early as my Friend L was coming around lunchtime for a cuppa and catchup.
She is SO excited about the upcoming Coronation of King Charles that she is almost beside herself!

My Love dropped off and picked up our two older dogs, as they went to the salon for their last haircut until winter is done with, and to have their toenails clipped.

The rest of the day I spent finishing off the furniture moving and cleaning up from the previous day.

Friday

– I spent the morning working in the vegie garden – weeded, watered and planted.

In the afternoon I was a ‘hair model’ for an apprentice, which wasn’t something I had ever done before, and to be honest – I would not recommend!

Being the guinea-pig for a third year hair-dressing apprentice, and I feel like my hair got yanked a lot!

She had to wash, massage, and blow-dry my hair; and she was also required to put big curls in my hair.
The wash and massage was ok, but when she tried to brush my wet hair once that bit was done, that was when I first voiced my concern.

I have very long hair – as in ‘past-my-bum long’, and a brush on long wet hair is anything but ideal!
I requested she use a wide-toothed comb, and it threw her for a bit of a loop – which was a bit of a concern.

We made it through though, and an hour or so later it was eventually blow-dried, curled and sprayed to within an inch of its life, and I was free to go.

Unfortunately though, by the time I made it home – which was less than nine minutes from the time I got up from the salon chair to walking in the door of our home – the curls had entirely fallen out, so there is no photographic proof of the afternoons events.

I never did get asked for feedback!
Weird…

Saturday

– My Love and I made an early trip down the hill to the City before she had to go to work, as we’d been notified by the mechanic that our bus Noah was ‘fixed’ and would be taken around to their affiliate car-yard so we could pick it up from there, as the workshop isn’t open on Saturdays.

I took a 400ml protein shake and a bottle of prepped cordial with me, and I managed to drink all of the shake by the time we got to the car yard, and had a few slugs from the cordial bottle on the way home.

The bus drove like a dream on the way home, which made for me being a very happy girl.

Sunday

– We did some chores around the Farm during the morning which included my Love setting out some plants in the new monument garden (still in their pots) to see how they all looked.
Having perused the handiwork, we decided that we wanted to get a few extra pops of colour, so we went to the nursery on our way to the Lake, but they have increased their prices ridiculously exponentially, so we purchased nothing.

After the disappointing nursery visit, we then headed to the lake with our pre-packed lunch, which we enjoyed lake-side whilst sitting sheltered from the wind by the bus.
After lunch, we read for a bit whilst lying in the bus bed, and my Love ended up having a nap.

It was so lovely to just enjoy actually being able to be in it and going somewhere, and to enjoy being beside the lake as well.
The breeze was cool enough that both needed to get a blankie!

We dropped into Bunnings on the way home, and in a stroke of good luck they had a couple of cheap pots of colour, so we grabbed them and took them home.
they’ll be planted in the #2 monument bed later in the week.

Weight-loss to date: 19.9kg
So that’s it for this week!

Wk 17 of ’23

 

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An update of the week that was.
Week 17 of 2023

Monday – I blogged and spent most of the morning doing up a timeline for our busted bus Noah.
Planted some broccoli and red cabbage, and netted the entire garden that I put them in.

Noah (the bus) was collected by the tow truck late afternoon, and I then had a shower and washed my hair once that was done.

Prepaid $35 on the electricity account.
This is something that I do every fortnight, and it has resulted in some lovely surprises of occasionally not having anything to pay when the bill arrives, or only needing to pay a minimal amount.

I started doing this after I got a horrendous bill-shock when we first had the air-conditioner installed.
I knew it as going to be extra, but I was soooo excited to not be sweating bullets 24hours a day that I used it far more than was actually necessary.
Lesson learnt!

Tuesday – Anzac Day and my Love was home from work as it’s one of the days that she can’t legally work.
Did a trip to the grocery store to get some bread as she was hankering for cheese on toast for lunch.
I had rice crackers with tomato and cheese.
Fertilised the vegie gardens, and sold 3 books on Marketplace.

Wednesday – I delivered my car to the mechanic and my Love dropped me back home whilst it was being looked at.
I spent the morning pruning some trees, and doing weeding in the vegetable garden
After lunch I started cleaning up inside, as I wanted to do a deep-clean on the bedroom and lounge room area of our little home.
Mid-afternoon my car was ready to be collected, but hadn’t been fixed as it needs a new part which the mechanic has to order.
He has assured us though that it is fine to drive until the part turns up, and he’ll call us as soon as it does. 😬
Pleaseeee don’t let him be wrong!

Thursday – I did more of the bedroom and lounge room deep-clean.
I also did a click & collect grocery order and went and picked it up.

Our garden guy came and snipped the eastern fence line, and ended up doing the whole Farm, before it again started to rain quite heavily, so he headed off home with his son who had had the day off school, pleading illness.

I got the house yard and about ¼ of the paddock mowed in the afternoon.
We went out for Dinner at the International Club with our friend CW and had some nice fish.

Friday – early run to replace the mop-head as we bought the wrong one last night.
Another full day of laundry, housework and podcasts.
Also changed the sheets and put on some snuggly lovely new flannel ones, as the nights are starting to cool down.
They’re so soft!!

Saturday – My love came home for lunch and bought fish and chips with her.
I had four chips, and a small bit off the end of her piece of fish, which I peeled all the batter off as it makes me feel icky these days.

In the afternoon after my Love came home from her after-lunch appointments, we filled the last of the new monument garden bed alongside the driveway, and put a pile of mixed flowers into it, and a tibouchina in an old rusty bottomless fire pit that we sat upon the end of the bed.

Sunday – the day went quite quickly with my Love and I spending a big part of it in the garden.
Apart from a couple of hours in the very warm middle of the day after we had lunch, we watched a bit of tele and precooked a satay for dinner.
After we had done more yard work, I had a shower and washed my hair.

I’ve started back on eating a kiwi-fruit a day again, as I had become quite constipated when I slacked off and stopped eating them.
The results within 24 hours were gratifyingly ‘easy’ – for those who’d like to know. lol

Tomorrow is a public holiday and then the next day I have to go to cairns for follow-up appointments with the Dietician and Surgeon.
Its going to be a busy week!

little weeny grasshopper. its hard to be cranky at them when they’re this cute!
mower with trolley attached, to cart soil and plants
a little lunch of ‘fish pie’. a bit like cottage pie but with fish!
the most beautiful dog in the world!

Wk 16 of ’23

 

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An update of the week that was.
Week 16 of 2023

Monday – we had breakfast at Petes again before packing up and getting the car sorted for the drive home.
I had a bit of a vomit after we got back to the room from breakfast, after eating a small portion of bacon and egg.
I’m now pretty sure it’s the heavy bread that’s doing it!
Had to retake my multivitamin, and I’m sure the vomit would have screwed with my fluid intake for the day!

We went to Bunnings to get some flower and veg seedlings as a treat, before heading back up the hill to home from our two nights away.
On the way home we collected the dogs from the kennels, who were very happy to see us.
It was a nice break, albeit far too short to really relax much at all.

Tuesday – I went into town to have an ultrasound scan in the morning for my liver lesions.
After a couple of questions from me, the sonographer admitted that I also had a lot of gallstones.
I’m still annoyed that my gallbladder wasn’t removed during my surgery – but more annoyed at myself that I didn’t ask for it to be done!
The rest of the day was a Housework catchup day.

Our garden guy came for 2 hours before the rain started, and he managed to get the new ‘monument’ bed cardboarded and half-filled with organic waste before using the last of the trailer soil to top it off.
Its not quite full though, so we will need to get another load of soil from the landscape place up the road.

Wednesday – I spent most of the the morning working in the garden, pruning and pulling up the rampant comfrey and getting the hoop-covered bed ready for planting some brassicas in the coming weeks.

I had a small tin of tuna with some crackers for lunch as a good quick protein hit, and then did a run to the dump in Noah (bus) to the dump to empty the recycles.
I got the ‘foamies’ after dinner – but managed to stave off the vomit.

Thursday – I had to drive down to the city for my CT scan which is to investigate the pain im having in my upper left quadrant.
I felt pretty icky when the contrast was first injected, but was ok again once I sat back up.
It ended up being a fairly ‘quick’ 4½ round trip, and whilst I called into BCF and Anaconda, it was mostly just to waste time until it was time for my scan.

On the way back home, I stopped at the top of the hill to get a mini sausage roll.
It ended up making me sick and I had to pull over twice on the way home to be able to throw up.
Maybe it was too oily, I don’t know – because I sure chewed each of the bites (all two of them!) til they were mush.
But then again – this baby belly doesn’t seem to like mush too much…


Friday – I had to go into town early to collect groceries and garden stuff, so that I would be back in time for the electrician to come and fix our oven which has been out of action since November.

I mowed for most of the afternoon, however took an hour or so break to go back into town as I had a Physio appointment for my knee.
I feel like its slowly getting better.
I actually managed to get the whole of the house yard and paddock mown, except for the short bit along the eastern fence line where its still too boggy to be able to get the mower to.

On the way home from grocery pickup, the engine light came on in the Mazda.
Seriously – cars will just not give us a break at the moment!

I took the bus to go to the Physio, as we can’t get it into the mechanic to get looked at until Wednesday of next week, so I’ll be driving the bus to go any place I need to go for the next however long.

Saturday – started with me taking the bus into town to get some medications from the pharmacy, whilst my Love took the trailer and went and got a fresh load of soil from the landscapers.

I had been going to get some work done in the garden, but it ended up being a quiet day of reading, writing, YouTubing as it was very windy along with squalls of rain.

Sunday – went into town early to get some paint to coat the timbers that need replacing in the vegie garden, and also some black paint to revamp our Farm signage as it’s starting to get a bit ratty looking and needs a touch up.
Couldn’t do the touch up though as it ended up raining.

Went to go out in the bus for a drive to the lake after packing up a picnic, only to get dpf error come up on the instrument panel, so we need to work out how to clear that as it looks rather convoluted in the manual, and we’re assuming that once again it will need to go back to the mechanic down the hill.
Distressing and exhausting
I now have no car to drive!


Breakfast Time

Wk 15 of ’23

 

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Monday was another public holiday – Easter Monday, so it was a quiet day spent together with my Wife.

Tuesday – uneventful. Did exciting things like laundry and housework, and I collected our online order for groceries.
My knee is really hurting today.

Andrew the irrigation guy came and worked today and has installed the irrigation for the big veggie garden.
It’s going to make getting the watering done down there a lot easier.

Wednesday I emailed the Surgeons receptionist again, as I have now been waiting about two weeks to get some forms from the Surgeon, to investigate some pain I’ve been having since surgery.
I have at least got the ultrasound forms now, to check out the liver lesions that were discovered when I had my recent laparoscopic surgery.

I’ve booked my liver scan for 18/4 in our local town, which is the earliest I could get in.
My knee is agony today and I’ve only slept a couple of hours overnight due to pain from both my belly and my knee, plus restless legs.
In not in a particularly good mood to be honest…

Thursday – we went out to dinner last night and as usual I had a little bit off my Wifes plate.
Four chips and a small slice of chicken.
I ended up having a small vomit in the pub loo as the chicken didn’t sit too happily in my belly.

My knee was probably the worst it’s been when I woke this morning.
Physio visit was thankfully already booked for today.
I just don’t feel a lot of confidence in this new physio though…

However – I did get the second referral emailed to me from my surgeons receptionist finally!!
Yaaay.
I’ve booked an appointment for 20/04

Friday – had to go into town twice, because I took the bus for a drive and my scripts which I had gone in to get filled, were in the other car
Got ½ price chobani.
Mowed the house-yard.
Fell over and landed on both knees.

Saturday – we headed down to Palm Cove for a couple of days break.
We’ve been looking forward to it.
Lunch at the top pub and for dinner we shared some fish and chips.

Sunday we had breakfast at Petes – the local cafe on the corner.
We shared a big breakfast, and it was pretty yummy.
Tomorrow we head back home, and we’ll collect the dogs from the kennels on the way.

The rain has come back in, but I haven’t checked how long its expected to last this time, yet.
At least the plants got watered while we were away 🙂

 

 

Wk 14 of ’23

 

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The week that was – also known as ‘What Happened in My World Last Week“!
Week 14 of 2023.

Might do a weekly update – or more often – post.
Might also fail miserably at it!

I guess we’ll all stroll along having a slow wander – and see what happens.

This week we’ve had 17mm of rain.

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Monday
My Sister left on her journey to the BVI to be with her Son whilst he is having surgery, and to help out with looking after their Children.

I had a Telehealth appointment with my Dietician to see how I am tracking with my eating and weightless.
She is happy with how I am going and has suggested that we catch up again in a month, as I seem to be on the right path for my body, and am doing well.

I emailed my Surgeons Receptionist to get the forms I need to have the tests required to investigate my ongoing pain issues under my left ribs.
Initially she only sent through the ultrasound scan to have a look a the liver lesions that the Surgeon saw during my recent surgery, so I replied and asked for the extra forms required to investigate the actual pain (?spleen pain?).
Dinner: fish stir-fry

Tuesday
We had to go down the hill to the City to do a few errands, as well as having lunch with a friend who was in the City for work from down south.
We also had to pick up my new glasses that I ordered a couple of weeks ago, plus the two tubs of Formulite from the Dieticians office.
In a big bit of excitement – we also got a call that our Bus was ready to be picked up from the mechanic!
Sadly, once again we got part of the way home and the battery light came on, and the Bus will again need to go back for more repairs.

This has been such on ongoing ordeal for the last two years that in all honestly we are almost at breaking point with knowing what to do…
We have again contacted the Company – and await what their next plan of action will be.
Luckily – we managed to at least make it back home.
Dinner: leftovers of fish stir-fry

Wednesday
I had to go in and do a collection at the bank after making a cash deposit last week that apparently didn’t go through to the account I had wanted it to be deposited into.
When I got back to the car after collecting it, I opened the envelope to put the cash in my purse, only to find they had issued a cheque!
This just recreated the depositing issue, so I had to go back into the bank and request that they accept the cheque back, and reissue cash, which they thankfully finally did.

I combined the town trip it with dropping off a book I had sold, getting some more soluble fibre and some kiwifruit (apparently this is the best solution to my clunky bowels according to the Dietician) and also went to the post office and collected the mail and a parcel.
The parcel was my biennial purchase of moisturiser, which I buy in huge bulk tubs.

Still nothing back from the Surgeon, so I have emailed the Receptionist – again!
Dinner: mash and gravy

Thursday
I did a small pre-long-weekend grocery shop, and I had to get a gas fitting as one of our old ones seems to have disappeared.

We’ve got a glut of eggs at the moment as I’m not eating or using as many as I used to, so I 
cooked up a dozen eggs for the animals dinners over the coming few days and I also cooked a weeks worth of chook food.

My friend L came for a visit and we chatted and had coffee for a lovely hour.
Dinner: butter chicken

Friday
a public holiday – Good Friday.
My Love was home from work for the day and helped out in the garden making a new garden bed out of some old ones.

Our garden guy MG came (his wife came too for some reason!) and did some weeding, cardboarding and mulching of our driveway garden.
Its looking so fresh and lovely now!

Not long after lunch a huge storm came through with lots of thunder, lightening and a short sharp bursting downpour.
We watched the latest Downton Abbey movie whilst it went over, and it was lovely.
Dinner: beef nachos

Saturday
my Love worked in the morning, and I spent time reading, writing and making animal food.
Side is still sore and I rang to make an appointment at the Clinic this moring thinking it would be open for emergencies – it wasn’t.
Not sure whether to go to ER or not as yet..
Feeling a bit like a ‘fraud’ because I’m not in screaming agony, but I would rather not reach that point, and I’m scared that that might happen…

When my Love went back out for another appointment in the afternoon, I mowed the house-yard and some of the paddock.
It’s still very boggy down the paddock though, so there is a limit to where I can mow.

Sunday
We went out for breakfast to a cafe at the top of the range.
It was nice, and we shared a ‘big breakfast’.
The rest of our day was spent quietly together.

Next weekend we’re going away for two nights, so we’re both really looking forward to that…

 

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