A BIG CELEBRATION

It is almost a year since I blogged so it's a fair chance nobody will see this but just in case:

On Monday 2nd December Phil celebrated his 90th birthday.  He was a little wary leading up to the big day but once it arrived he lifted his spirits and all was well again.

The family gave him a lovely day at granddaughter Aimee's new home with lots of food and good cheer.  Christie took this picture of the two of us with 3 of our great-granddaughters...Caitlyn who is now 23, Imogen who is 11 and Ava who is 7.

Karen collected us and Aimee drove us home which enabled Phil to have a couple of drinks.  Actually he and I shared 2 cans of Kilkenny ale which is the only beer type drink I like.  I think Phil would have been OK to drive but it was nice for him not to have to drive the distance.  All 3 families live at least a 45 minute drive from us.  There are so many new suburbs opening south of the Swan River that what were once quick journeys are now quite slow with lots more traffic and, of course, traffic lights.

Not sure I have any news as we seldom do anything apart from family birthdays etc and lots of medical appointments of one type or another.  Our doctor of many years closed his one man practice last December as he said under the Medicare scheme it was no longer viable for him to operate on his own.  He has joined a practice some 30 or more minutes drive from our place so yours truly set about finding a new doctor on the internet.  It took me a while but I finally found a gentleman that sounded just right for us.  My choice was excellent and one of his interested is geriatrics and he certainly does his best to look after us.  It is only about 10-15 minutes to drive to the surgery which suits us fine.

Those that know about these things have forecast Perth to have a long and hot summer this year and so far they have been very right.  We've already had a couple of centuries and more heat is forecast for this coming week culminating in 41C (105F) next Saturday.  I am not a lover of summer but I guess we have to grin and bear it while not baring too much.  I often wonder how we managed prior to having air-conditioning in our cars and homes.  Maybe we were made of sterner stuff back in the day!

I hope all my blogging mates are doing OK and I guess are busy making plans for the coming festive season.

Will I be back?  Not sure but just had to tell you about Phil and his big day.  Bye for now.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

To anyone who happens to wander into my blog I would like to wish them a very, very happy new year.

If last year was not so good I hope 2019 will treat you kindly.    If 2018 was good then may 2019 be even better.


                                HAPPY       NEW       YEAR         TO          EVERYONE    

Tomorrow is my 87th birthday and after that I just may say bye-bye to blogland as I am not sure I have the ability to keep it going any longer.   I enjoyed it so much over the past years but as I do so little now I never have any news (other than medical these days) and as I don't go out I can't show new pics etc.  To my steadfast followers I say many thanks for being there.  You will never know how much I have appreciated your friendship.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

As Christmas Day falls on a Tuesday I am combining season's greetings with Tuneful Tuesday.  I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas with friends and loved ones.  We will miss our #1 granddaughter CB, her hubby and their two little girls on Christmas Day but will be thinking of them enjoying a snowy Christmas in New Jersey with C's sister (our #3 granddaughter) and family.

Phil and I will be spending Christmas with our daughter and son-in-law at #2 granddaughter's home with her daughter and our #1 grandson.  It is going to be a hot 35C (95F) so a cold meal with all the trimmings and hopefully an airconditioner that will keep us all cool while we enjoy being together.

Thinking of a good old Christmas favourite and came up with Bing Crosby's version sung in 1942.  I doubt any Christmas goes by when people are not playing this one.  I was 10 when this record was made.

My daughter and I always say we would love to have a white Christmas, which is of course impossible in Perth, but at least Karen spent an early Christmas in the snow when they were with their daughter in New Jersey in November.

TUNEFUL TUESDAY

This is a song I've always really enjoyed and after celebrating Phil's birthday earlier this month we seem to have been thinking back over the years.....so many wonderful memories for us.  

I hope you will enjoy listening to Barbra Streisand singing this lovely song.

TUNEFUL TUESDAY

I have always enjoyed this song and I really like this rendition of it.  Hope you do too.

TRYING TO KEEP UP

Well Phil's cataract op went exceedingly well, so well in fact that he now wishes he had had the same surgeon and was in the same hospital with his first cataract op which was somewhat of a disaster.

We began all those drops I mentioned 3 days before the op and have to continue with one of them for another week and the other 2 until Phil sees his surgeon on 17th January.

Phil had been told to have the right lens of his multi-focal glasses removed and he did that today and is seeing remarkably well with just the lens on the left.  Makes us wonder if the first cataract op was perhaps not as good as it could have been although his left eye has always been worse than the right one.  He may even be fortunate not to have to wear glasses all the time although I think his driver's licence shows him having to wear glasses when driving.

What with these drops 4 times a day plus a drop in each eye once a day for his glaucoma and 3 meals a day and trying to just be up and about I haven't really had time to give to blogging and must apologise for not visiting the blogs I really enjoy.  Just not feeling mentally strong enough to take everything in as I should and give them justice.

Leaves are finally growing well on my frangipanis and there are buds aplenty too but they are so slow compared to Karen's who are already flowering.  Maybe it's cos we are only a couple of miles from the coast whereas Karen lives about 20 miles or more inland.  My lovely chameleon roses are still flowering and the one I thought had died does have leaves but not sure if they would off the root stock.   Time alone will tell and with all the business going on of late I've not had the heart to ask Phil to pop out and buy me a couple more roses.  

It is only 14 days till Christmas and for some reason I can't feel at all Christmassy.  Of course C and M and the two little girls will be in America for Christmas and I think it is the children that make Christmas more exciting.   We have decided to still do Secret Santa and Phil and I both are putting on our thinking caps as Karen needs our lists by tonight.  Phil I know wants a book voucher so that will take care of half his list and I may ask for a Bunnings voucher and a few little things to complete the list.  When one gets to our age one doesn't really need anything new and yet it's great having a couple of little parcels to open on the day itself.

Our summer has arrived and although today is only forecast to be about 25C (77F) Friday is heading up to 38C (100.4F) with several days in the low 30s to follow.   None of this is yours truly looking forward to one little bit but when you reach my age one should not be wishing one's life away longing for winter.

Hopefully when Christmas and New Year are long gone and the drops are back to one in each eye at night for Phil I will come back down to earth and be able to think more clearly.  Cheers for now and will try and think up more pretty tunes for Tuesdays just to keep in the loop.

TUNEFUL TUESDAY

Now for another golden oldies dating back to 1957.   Pat Boone was not always one of my favourites but I do like his rendition of "Love Letters in the Sand".   I hope you do too.   Enjoy.

Today we begin putting a series of eye drops in Phil's eyes 4 times a day that plus those he has every night for his glaucoma.   Then after his cataract op on 7th December we continue with multiple drops for another 3 weeks.   Phew!!  Thank goodness I didn't have to do this when I had my cataracts done a few years back.