THINKING ALLOWED

Not been doing a lot of thinking....aloud or otherwise....'cos it's been bleedin' hot in Perth....36C yesterday and forecast 37C today.  It will cool down a little during the week but I'd hoped next Friday would be cool as it's Phil's birthday and we are taking the family to dinner to celebrate.  Hopefully the airconditioning will be working at Steel Trees.  I remember one very warm day last year when it had failed and we were fortunate to be sitting next to one of those 'on the wall' aircons.  The rest of the restaurant was very warm indeed.

Phil has been taking the Crestor (for his cholesterol) for a while now and I've not heard any complaints at all so obviously it suits him.  People do complain that cholesterol lowering drugs can cause muscle aches and pains and my doctor swapped me over the Crestor a few years back.  My only muscle problem is the one caused by the arthritis in my back and neck so hopefully Phil won't have any side effects.  I guess, as with most medications only time will tell.

The family has decided to do Secret Santa again this year but they've reduced the amount to $50 per person.  It is quite a good idea as you receive a list from one of the family members and then buy something of their choice to a total of $50.   You wrap them items up and supposedly the receiver is not supposed to know who bought the gift/s.   It does save a lot of thought about 'what shall I buy so and so?"   Last year we didn't do Secret Santa and just gave gifts to the 3 youngsters.   This year I thought maybe they'd decide to do that but no, Secret Santa it is going to be.  Trouble is Phil and I can't think of anything we want.  I guess at our age there's very little we need but I am hoping we can think of something as K needs the lists this weekend so she can email them out.

TUESDAY CHAT

Beginning with my choice of pretty flowers for the week.   Love the colour of these.

Not a lot to report at all.   Gee, it was cold yesterday!!!   As I sat at my desk I had a rug over my lap and ended up putting on a woolly jacket as well.   This up and down weather I am sure is not good for one.  Now our week is quickly warming up to the high 30s next weekend.   Wondering if it will go back down again or will this be the actual beginning of an early summer.   Hope not although we've been promised a hot one.

I think I've told you before about the son of a lifetime friend of mine.  He came home from New South Wales when his mum was ill with Parkinsons and then cancer and became her carer for several years.  He remained in WA but has a lady friend in NSW and they visit with each other every year or so.  He drove across months ago and I thought maybe he would stay but no, today he rang to say he is back in WA and continuing to clear out his possessions from a friend's garage.  Richard is now in his 50s and I begin to think perhaps he never will settle down completely.  It was great to hear from him and we'll meet up with him soon for a meal and a good chin wag.  Strange thing is that I only mentioned Richard to Phil about 20 minutes before he rang.  That has happened before with Richard ringing within a short time of me mentioning him.  It's not as though he telephones that often either.  Quite uncanny!!

Do most of you still have landline telephones?   I prefer ours to using the mobile and yet if we call local and STD number using our mobile the calls are free.  Phil often does that and he seems to be quite au fait with the little mobile Telstra donated to us free of charge.   I am wondering when people are connected to the NBN if they will still have their landline.  We keep hearing about how expensive it is and it's behind schedule etc but no actual information about how it will work if the facility runs past one's home.  Government are funny that way....lots of talk but little important information.  The NBN is so far away from our area I doubt we will ever have to worry about it anyway and I am quite happy with my internet provider at $30/month.  I find the internet quite quick and I seldom have a problem.  Should there be one the IT geeks have never let me down and my computer is usually up and running again within minutes.  NBN?  Who needs it, except perhaps people in country areas and for them I feel it is really important.

That's enough silly chat for now.   Hope your week is going the way you want it to go...quickly if you are looking forward to the weekend or something special.

P.S.  Can anyone enlighten me about this European thingie that keeps appearing when I open my blog?  Am I supposed to do something about it or with it?   No idea what it's all about so hopefully all will continue as is.




 

THINKING ALLOWED

Lots of mixed thoughts these past few days:

Thinking of daughter and her hubby visiting B K and K in New Jersey.  After hearing about the bombing in New York and New Jersey I was so pleased to know they arrived safely and they appear to be having a wonderful time.  I miss them but with pics of them appearing on Facebook it still keeps them close.  This is a picture K posted of where they had lunch at the Reading Terminal Market in Philly.   Their meals sounded delicious: crab cakes for Karen and scallops on quinoa for her hubby.  (one day I will find out what all these new 'wonder' foods are).

Yesterday was my son's 59th birthday.  I sent him a nice birthday card but whether or not he will even bother opening it I have no idea.   It's hard to believe that the last time I saw him he was only 44.  I am ever grateful to his wife for keeping in touch via email and recently sending me a photo of the four of them taken on her birthday in July.   Steve hasn't changed all that much over the years and still has his beard and moustache....they suit him.   I put in the card "One day....perhaps....ever hoping."  Who knows what goes on in that head of his.....certainly not me.  Will we ever find out his reason for cutting all contact with everyone except his immediate family?

Also yesterday Phil paid an early visit to the dental clinic.   A few days ago he discovered a small lump on his top gum.   It didn't ache but was a little sore when he pressed on it.  A couple of months back he had a part tooth removed in the same area and the remaining tooth sort of patched up...you know how they do that type of thing these days don't you?   Thursday night I got on to him to make a decision to do something about the lump and so I set the alarm for 7.30am so he could arrive at the clinic at 8.15am and join the queue.  They are good like that...if you need emergency dental treatment you arrive at 8.15am and as soon as a dentist in available then it's your turn.  Cost him $200 all told with $150 of it being subsidised by our state government and the other $50 will be covered by private health insurance so no cost at all to Phil.  This has been available in Western Australia for some years now and pensioners and others with health cards can take advantage of this service.

This time Phil had an older Chinese dentist attend to him who promptly decided to take out the patched up tooth as it had a crack in it.   Reading in his notes that Phil does suffer mild osteoporosis the dentist stitched the hole in the gum, where the tooth had been.  Apparently if you are inclined to osteoporosis the jawbone can become thin after a tooth is removed.  I applaud that dentist for being so up to date on how to care for people, particularly the elderly.  He also gave Phil a script for antibiotics which hopefully will cure 'the lump'.  Hopefully, in a few days, his gum will heal nicely and he will have no further problems.

It is still unseasonably cool in Perth (not one day this week has been above 20C (68F) andI am still enjoying it so much, although it is doubtful if the poor old joints are.   Problem is, once the hot weather arrives we will feel it so much more.  They say August was the hottest ever on record...worldwide that is...but it certainly wasn't hot in Perth so it must have been very hot somewhere and I don't envy them one little bit.

Some doctors really ARE good

Today my husband visited a new doctor. He is a consulting physician and an endocrinologist and struck us as being really caring and we didn't have the feeling we were rushed as one often does feel these days. He welcomed me being there as he said an extra pair of ears was always helpful as perhaps was an extra mouth as well!! Hubby often doesn't tell all as he is not one to talk about himself but you must be open when dealing with doctors or how are they going to know exactly what is going on. This doctor was very thorough dealing with the problems that have arisen (hypertension caused by tumour (non-malignant fortunately) on adrenal gland, etc) and explained all the pros and cons extensively. I feel my hubby is lucky to have been referred to this doctor and will hopefully soon be feeling much happier about himself. The next appoinment will be in three weeks time during which time B/P has to be taken twice a day and a record kept of it. The doctor increased the medication recently prescribed and is hoping that it in itself will do the trick without the need for surgery which is good news. He is not dealing with the diabetes and said he will leave that to the Professor whom we both see again in early June. Today our faith has been restored in the medical profession.

I am thoroughly enjoying the cooler weather we are experiencing in Perth this week and wonder if we have actually seen the end of those endless weeks with daytime temperatures above 30C which is a little wearing for everyone eventually. I am a cold weather person as a rule and often wonder will I feel the cold more as I age more. I certainly seem to notice the heat more than I did when younger.

Had a lovely email from Warwickshire, England from cousins of my husband. They are both in their eighties but seem to enjoy their lives which is wonderful. There is also another cousin there who turned 92 this month and our love and best wishes go to him. That man's sister is 96 so there is obviously longevity in the family so....here's hoping!!

Have not heard much from our family of late but I imagine they are busy as people usually seem to be these days. Although we would love to see or hear from them more than we do, one just must not make demands on busy people. It is easy for we who are retired to wonder why we don't hear, but then our time is our own to do with as we will and we have nobody to answer to but ourselves. I think at times the elderly make far too many demands on the young and, although it is often done because we love them, we must learn to be patient.

I think it is only a week or so before the end of daylight saving and I can't saw we will be sorry to see it end. I don't think the very hot summer we had helped at all and it certainly meant we had some very hot evenings. It will be interesting to see the result of the daylight saving referendum in May. Three times such a referendum has resulted in a NO vote but that could well change this time.