EXPLAINING MY ABSENCE

I am having to type with one hand as on Wednesday night I took a nasty tumble ending up in hospital suffering from a dislocated shoulder...fortunately the left one. Some wonderful medical staff put it back in place but I now have to wear a sling for two weeks and not use the arm at all.

Having been a typist since I was 15 I can touch type quite quickly still but with just the one hand I don't do very well and it is just sooooooo slow.

I'll still be checking out others blogs but I hope you will understand if I don't comment for a while.

Full story of how the fall happened when I return. Until then au revoir. Keep well; keep happy.

OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS ARE BACK AGAIN

I wonder if any of you remember me writing about first twenty eight parrots and then pink and grey galahs nesting in a large tree near our local post office.

We stopped to collect our mail on the way home this morning and lo and behold there was a 28 parrot on that same tree. I didn't have time to take a proper look but it would seem they are nesting there again although I thought it perhaps a little early in the year for that. Maybe the 28s want to make sure of their territory before the galahs arrive.

Next time we go to the post office I must remember to have my camera with me to see if I can perhaps get a photo of the bird/s.

It is just so lovely to see them persevering with living in such close proximity to we humans.

ANOTHER WEDNESDAY IN OUR LIFE

Exercise group this morning and we worked hard but had fun at the same time which is so important as laughter really is good medicine.

After that I went and saw my very nice podiatrist who looks after my feet so well. I have no choice as I just can't reach my toes any more and John also checks all is well with my feet as they are one part of our body that can be badly affected by diabetes.

I am getting on well with injecting the insulin myself now and it doesn't hurt a bit and I am so pleased to report that my blood glucose readings are actually going down...at last. On 24th June my highest morning reading was 9.9 (shock horror) but this week I've now had a 5.2 and this morning 6.5. I am seeing a diabetes educator tomorrow morning and will discuss with her if I should keep my injection at 22 units as it now is. It is often difficult with something like using insulin for the first time to know just how far to go without going too far.

We got some laundry done with me helping MOH hang it on the line and bring it in and with the temperature at 20C today with a slight breeze we got it all dry. More rain due at week's end so it's great not to have to rely on getting out the clothes horse to hang damp clothing on.

MOH and I both go to our hairdresser to have hair cuts tomorrow. She's a lovely lass who works from home and we get to see her three gorgeous little girls while we are there. Oh, I must remember to buy some Freddos or something so I have something to give them when I see them.

THAT WAS THE REST OF THE WEEK THAT WAS

I just didn't get back here as the downward spiral continued when we found that a branch of our bank had made a stupid error on MOH's credit card. Fortunately I do use internet banking and on paying a couple of bills on Thursday I discovered his Visa balance was much higher than it should have been. We both pay our credit cards in full every month 'cos it's the only way to keep our heads above water on our age pensions.

Anyway as was his usual habit MOH went to a nearby bank after he had made claims at HBF and Medicare to cadge all he could from them and he then pays the balance owing from his savings a/c using his Access card. When I found the wrong total on his Visa I checked and found no payment was made from him during July!!! Panic stations! We checked his bank dockets only to find that the teller had taken money out of his Access a/c and promptly redeposited it into his Access a/c and not into his Visa a/c. It is all fixed now (and interest charged will be refunded) after we made a visit to the bank on Friday but........

I rang that bank on Thursday morning and got "we are either closed or busy with customers....please leave your name and number and we will get back to you". We'd heard nothing by mid-afternoon (I did mention the matter was rather urgent when I left my message) so I had MOH call them and once again there was the message to leave name and number etc. The really annoying thing about all this is that here we are at 5.38pm on Monday and they have still not returned our calls. If I was on my own and had to rely on taxis or private transport to get around I would need to have telephone communication with the bank. I have actually complained to the powers that be that this is not good enough but whether anything will be done about it I don't know. This by the way is not the only time we've received that message and from another branch as well. Otherwise I can't fault our bank thank goodness.

So now you may realise why I sort of stopped in my tracks. MOH lost his wallet so rush to contact banks etc., re putting a stop on cards being used; then waiting for cards to arrive in the mail; then setting new PINs and periodic payments having to be set up again and firms receiving those payments need also to be notified about new card numbers etc. Mainly insurance and a couple of charities MOH sends small amounts to each month.

Phew!! Now hopefully I can get back to trying to get my diabetes into some semblance of order and think about the upcoming cataract ops in August and September My eyes are to be measured for new lenses next Monday so another little medical appointment. Oh the joys of old age but when one thinks of the alternative one puts up with these little inconveniences with a smile.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO WEDNESDAY?

Wednesday came and went quite quickly as for us it was a busy day.

MOH and I went to our physio exercise group in the morning and worked well with sit down and stand up exercises and using weights. I decided to go back to 2kg (one in each hand) to see how I'd go and managed OK so may try and gradually work back to 3kg which I used to use last year. A lot depends on how painful my hands and wrists are on any given day.

Midday the young man that does work in our garden arrived and I had him pop a few more plants out in the front garden, do some weeding there and also some weeding round plants in the back garden. Boy in a week the rain came along and so did the weeds, thousands of them. Mainly wild oats and winter grass so MOH will have to be out with the whipper snipper soon before any seeds appear. We did that last year so where did this year's weeds come from????

MOH tells me that his dad (back in the UK) would always say that if you could sell weeds they just wouldn't grow! Perhaps we need to find a market for weeds???

Mid afternoon our lovely cleaning lady arrived and vacuumed our living areas and washed all the floors for us so the house is looking neat and tidy (well not sure about the tidy) again.

It may not sound like very much but at our ages it's amazing that even having people come to do jobs entails quite a bit of work on our part as well and we just get a little weary.

So that was Wednesday and I was too tired last night to even open my blog let alone post anything.

TUNEFUL TUESDAY

While I am sitting here pondering what I could write about today I am listening to one of my Roger Whittaker CDs.

His is a voice I really love and although he is now 75 he is still a very good singer. I first heard Roger Whittaker sing when he was the first to record "Wind Beneath My Wings" way back in 1982. I loved that song when I first heard and still do but back then I was far too busy to take much notice of music that was on the wireless.

In the early 1990s I bought a double CD with a variety of artists and two of the songs were sung by Roger Whittaker..."I Don't Believe In If Any More" and "The Last Farewell" and loved both songs and kept replaying them and still do.

When I got a computer and became used to using the internet and could order things online I began looking for CDs featuring Roger Whittaker and I now have a collection of about a dozen of them. He sings a lot of his songs in German (in fact he is very popular in that country) but I prefer songs sung in French if they are to be in a foreign language.

I am 79 and Roger is 75 so I guess we are contemporaries at least in age if not in talent. I like songs that tell a story and also a singer that sings so I can understand the words he is singing.

One of my very favourite songs he sings is Albany which he collaborated in writing with someone with the surname of Munro (don't know who that would be).

Enough about that. MOH cooked chilli con carne for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Enough for tomorrow so that is another day I won't have to cook.

We are off to our exercise group tomorrow. Not sure how I will go as I am quite stiff and sore lately but I will go because I know it will do me good. I like Pennye but will be very glad when our usual physio comes back to take the group. I know Jenny began back at work on Monday just doing three half days a week for a while and not taking the exercise group. I think I may have mentioned she has been recuperating after a very specialised knee operation and she has to be careful for a time not to undo the good that has hopefully been done.

Cold here tonight (2C) so electric blanket set on 1 all night methinks and I am sure Precious will approve of that as well as she snuggles up on my bed or perhaps it will her turn on MOHs bed tonight. She has been on mind for a couple of weeks now so must be his turn soon

Goodnight everyone...hope all is going well for all of you and catch you later.

MOTIONLESS MONDAY

That's about all it was too....apart from stripping the beds and cooking a nice steak with vegies for midday meal I did very little. It has been very cold and although I do enjoy winter I am wondering if that is why I seemed sore everywhere today?

I am not getting a cold or anything like that but don't have the energy to do anything of consequence and I hurt. Oh well, days like that come along to try us from time to time and MOH has been rather quiet today as well. Perhaps we are hibernating!!!

Tomorrow I must get on and take advantage of the fine weather this week to get some laundry done. I must. I must. I must.

Haven't even decided what is for dinner tomorrow which shows how slack I've been.

Hope everyone has had a good day and will have a good week as well. Goodnight.

SATISFYING SUNDAY

I think before I attempt to go any further I'd best go and get my specs. They may not be wonderful but although I can see this without them I sort of get a pain in the muscles in my head if I don't wear glasses. Something to do with the muscle strain in my eye or something like that.

Ah! that is better. Not that I can see much better but my head doesn't hurt so that's an improvement thank goodness.

The reason I said it is a satisfying Sunday is for several reasons: My lovely daughter rang me this afternoon and had we a lovely long chat about this, that and the other and I always enjoying having a chin wag with her. I don't speak to many other people (apart from MOH) so it always a joy when she rings me. I left her do the telephoning because she is a busy person with many demands and she is the one who knows when she has the time to spare.

Over the past months I have been a really terrible non-doer. O.K I spend lots of time on this computer and love doing so. I have a Facebook page and may have mentioned I play dozens of games of Scrabble with a dear friend in New Zealand. We are pretty equal when it comes to games won which makes it very interesting. I also play a game called Farm Town which is time consuming and quite a challenge as well (if you let it get that way).

Today I plugged my Elna sewing machine in for probably the first time in about two years. One drop of oil is all that is needed to get it running well and yes, it sewed beautifully which is more than it was doing previously. It is well over 30 years old and really does need an overhaul so must ring Elna and get a quote. Elna machines are (or were) more or less guaranteed for the life of the machine but wear and tear of course is not covered in that guarantee. It's like my body I guess...wear and tear happens!!!

I have some large sheets which are in perfect condition which I need to cut down to fit our twin beds and some fitted sheets where the elastic has gone kaput. Mum used to say buttons were sewn on with a hot needle and burnt thread and I think the elastic they use on fitted sheets is a little like that. Almost worn out before you begin using the sheets. Whether they use better elastic on very expensive sheets I don't now as I can't afford to buy them.

Anyway what I intend to do is to sew some tape for 40-50 cms each side of a corner (in one continuous piece) and run elastic through it so the fitted sheet will once again stay put on the corners of the bed. It will take a bit of playing about with i.e. how much elastic of course (MOH will give me a hand tomorrow...he promised he would) but if I can get it to work I will then have enough fitted (and top) sheets in my linen cupboard to last for years.

I began sewing when very young and started making my own clothes when I was about 15 and have always loved doing it. I made nearly all my daughter's clothes when she was young (plus her wedding dresses) and quite a few for my son when he was little. Have also made shirts for my first husband and also MOH. Unfortunately my hands are so arthritic now I can't cut out patterns etc., nor am I very good at using a hand sewing needle but the machine I can still use.

These are two quite tiny satisfactions to many people but to me they are tremendous as I feel I am once again becoming a little useful.

MOH made some delicious vegetable soup in the slow cooker and we had two helpings today (lunch and tea) along with ham and tomato sandwiches. Simple meals on a Sunday made it a satisfactory day as well. Tomorrow ... we have splashed out and are having t-bone steak with lots of vegies. The pork cutlets were delicious last night and I'm hoping the steaks will be just as tender.

The weekend has been quite a good one overall and I am looking forward with confidence to the coming week. Hope everyone is keeping well and enjoying their lives.

SATURDAY NIGHT ...QUITE LATE

Not a lot to report today....mostly about our Aussie Rules football. Our local AFL team Fremantle had a good win, the top team on the ladder got beaten which is always a good thing (unless it's your team) and the team I follow in Adelaide had a good win in dreadful weather conditions.

I am trying to do the right thing and fill in the daily sheet of what I eat and do BG tests two hours after breakfast, lunch and dinner but tonight we had a very late main meal so not sure how that will go for testing before bed.

The dietician asked me to complete the daily resumes and bring them when I see her in 4 weeks times. I guess it will give her an idea of how food I eat is affecting my diabetes. As I increase the insulin dosage every few days I will have to be careful to eat sufficient without eating too much. It is so difficult when you are overweight but you know you have to eat. My morning BG readings are improving so I hope that it won't be too long before I know the number of units of insulin I need to use each night.

I am sorry but this must be boring for most but it is good for me to set it down here so I can sort of discuss it with myself (if that makes sense).

There have still been some showers here today but next week is promising to be fine but VERY cold which many people I know won't enjoy but then they had months of hot weather in summer so now it is the turn of we winter lovers to enjoy the cooler days (and nights). It's nice to be able to rug up whereas in hot weather there is only so much you can take off in the way of clothing.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend and, wherever you are, that you are enjoying yourself and keeping well and happy. May all your troubles be little ones. Goodnight.

FRUITFUL FRIDAY

This afternoon I had an appointment with a diabetic dietician which I felt was necessary now I am injecting insulin nightly at bedtime. As my glucose hopefully goes lower I am going to be at the risk of having "lows". I needed advice about what to eat and when to eat and yet keep the quantities down to try and stop my weight increasing again. Unfortunately insulin tends to put weight on and it is always a battle to keep my weight levels OK at the best of times. I am lots overweight anyway mainly because of inability to do much exercise so do NOT need to carry any more weight as it also causes more arthritic problems.

Cheryl was really helpful and I now have to test my BG 4 times a day, write down what I eat (I hate having to do that because of the measuring etc) for four weeks and then see her again. I know I must do all of this in order to to endeavour to bring things under control.

One thing that amused me was that Cheryl said severe pain can increase blood glucose. I had mentioned this to my two doctors both of whom sort of brushed the idea away so am now wondering who is correct. I feel it is worth pursuing this idea and could be interesting to see if there is any empirical evidence one way or the other. Back in a few minutes......Yes, I found a few websites that definitely confirm that pain DOES increase blood glucose levels. OK so we are fighting on two fronts here but somehow we will win in the long term. Hopefully.

Cool here today with more rain on its way and quite a cold weekend forecast with quite cold nights of between 3-4C. July and August are always our coldest months so nothing new about that. If it keeps raining for the next few months we will be very fortunate indeed.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable weekend. Keep happy and healthy if you can. Life is good.....even with the aches and pains.