I blinked.......

........and there it was, well into the second week of September.  So I suppose an update is called for.

The pancreatitis settled down, my op is scheduled for the end of November.  Up until yesterday I had had no problems, just a dull ache occassionally when I ate a little too much and nausea every morning. I've missed cheese so much, i searched and searched around the shops for a low fat one and ended up buying a packet of kraft low fat cheese slices to stick on my toast.  One of my comfort foods is cheese on toast - thin slices of tomato, topped with a slice of cheese and a liberal dash of HP sauce after its melted.  Yum. Occassionally I'll use mashed avocado instead of spread, mixed with vegemite and then the cheese.  I've cut down on bread, one loaf lasts me longer than a week, I use Shape No Fat milk and a litre lasts me over a week, I haven't had red meat since the first attack, chicken maybe twice and it didn't agree with me despite being careful and fish I now have twice a week, I'm consuming my 5 and 2 with ease.   I've been mainly eating no fat cottage cheese on rice cakes for lunch and snacks and I've discovered SunRice apple and cinnamon rice cakes with less than 1g of fat and low sugar and low calorie so I can get my 'sweet' fix every now and again. I make a weeks supply of pumpkin, sweet potato and carrot soup with added pasta and Borlotti beans - no fat and low cal and delicious. I weigh everything out and I have been surprised just how much food is in a 'serve'. I reckon I put back a third of what the packet says is an average serve and still have enough.   I've lost a total of 5kgs so far and with this latest attack  and continued no/low fat diet I should lose a bit more, I thinks the docs will be happy with another 7kgs at least and I would be over the moon if I could do it by the end of November.

I have noticed with eating less bread and dairy and meat and more veggies and fruit I have had extra energy, I've even been jogging out by the lake and have started jogging on my treadmill.  Though I think I am going to have to invest in a sports bra before I do anymore.  I take the dog for a long walk by the lake in the mornings or the early evenings and can walk further and further each time, I have been sleeping better and deeper despite having to get up three or four times a night to go to the loo.  I can mow the lawns in one hit rather than three or four, when I get restless i go out and rake leaves or weed.  I'm taking advantage of all this extra energy very opportunity I can.

Craft wise I discovered an  artist (Margaret Oomen) who covers river rocks with crochet and as I was so bored I decided to do a few, I'm happy how they turned out, all made up as I went along.  They don't really do anything for me and yes they are pretty but now I've done them I think that will be it. 

 I was so bored with the tele on tuesday night that I decided to recover my footstool (hassock, pouffe, whatever!). I set to crocheting and it was gone midnight when I looked up from my work, I finished it the next day, bunged a flower on top and there you have it. I also made half a dozen ducks/chooks/mutant birds in bright colours, I sold four of them in purples, yellows and blue. I won't make anymore unless asked.  I want to get back to my embroidery, I have half a dozen designs sitting in the craft room just waiting to be stitched up, they were for submission to the mags but I just couldn't be arsed.  So many crafts to do and the time is running away from me.  I won't be working again or looking for work this side of christmas and I have all this time to fill in but before you know it it will be next year and the stitcherys and dolls will still need making up.  I've decided to just go with the flow, to stand still and just BE, I'm not going to fight it, if I want to just spend a day doing nothing but staring into space then that is what I shall do, I have no one to answer to except myself, no one to please except myself.  I have let go of the need to be doing something or going somewhere. I enjoy my own company, my solitude but I also realise that sometimes friends need to be with me, they need an outlet for their thoughts, or just someone to listen to them, so I make time for them and hope that they in return respect my need for solitude every now and again.

Isn't my footstool bright and cheerful, it was so good to actually make something for myself. Just a circle made bigger by increasing 8 sts each row till it fitted the top and then just stripes of closed shells with no further increasing.  Once it was the right length I just decreased for a few rows, slipped it over the footstool and then made a large flower in the stripe colours and stitched it in place.  Two evenings work. The footstool did need filling a bit more and since I didn't have anymore of the filling beads I just used the fill from an old clean pillow. It should have a cord around the middle but I might just leave it as it is.  It would only take me a few minutes to whip one up if I decided to put one on.

Okay, I think thats everything brought up to date now, oh yes, I had a email from my late fathers oldest brothers daughters.  I'm now back on track in my search for my dads ancestors, they remembered me as a little girl but I don't remember them as they were a lot older than me.  It was so good to get in touch with them and we have shared photos and memories of our family.  So I am back time-travelling when I am not day dreaming or hooking.  If you need me I'll be in Yorkshire around the mid 1800's.

Uhru

Jan

Oh dear, there was me full of energy at last and nothing to do. I decided to take the car in early this morning and get new tyres. Okay so maybe the universe had other plans for me today.  I had a flat battery. Where was the battery charger.  The inside of the shed looks like a cyclone has gone through it (well one did a few months ago but I'm sure it was tidier after that). They (the sons) will put things above my eye level and they know if they put things on the high shelves I just ain't gonna see them. Phone call to a friend to tell her I wasn't going to meet her in town, phone call to son to ask where the charger was.

He directs me through the pile of stuff in the shed to the corner where the snake is always seen and there under two doors and a few picture frames, in the toolbox under a pile of tools is the charger. Now as i am getting the charger out an ocky strap fell down across my arm - it wasn't just the car that needed charging at that moment.  So I have the charger but no extention lead, only the short ones. That was another phone call to son, they are hanging up in the shed, I can't see them anywhere, nother phone call, look up they're hanging from a ceiling hook, get the ladder out. Okay now I am all ready to go. Grab new neighbour ask him how to I do it, he knows less about the inside of cars than me. Phone call to friend, she phones her partner he relays message to tell me which lead to stick on which terminal. Okay got all that, which is the pos and which is the neg, more calls, look for the pos sign, can't see it, look at the wires, find out neg is the black one with the yellow stripe down the wire casing, okay, neighbour escapes while he can. Everything sorted, switch on - nothing, needle doesn't move, more calls. Unplug everything, clean the terminals and leads and reconnect. YAY, we have lift-off.  It is now 12.30, I'm covered in oil and grease and sawdust and other stuff, theres a few spiders webs in my hair and probably a few spiders as well, the shed is even messier but I did learn to do something new, wasn't quite what I was expecting but least I can do it now.

I am going to sit down now and craft, my energy has disappeared. The picture has nothing to do with messy sheds or flat batteries, its just a pretty piccy of my crocheted daffs, it cheers me up. I think I will just chill out in the garden, have a read of the Better Homes and Gardens, catch up with a few blogs and then sit and sew or hook. 

I forgot to mention my birthday, I'd forgotten all about that, quiet day, trip to the garden centre with a friend, coffee with another friend, grandkids came over, lots of hugs, risked a piece of cake, so far so good, no adverse effects, early night cuddled up with the dog, a hot water bottle and a good book.

Perhaps next birthday I will make up for this quiet one.

I see the surgeon on Tuesday, I'm feeling really good so hopefully we can put off surgery for a while.  Okay, theres a seat with a comfy cushion in a patch of sun calling my name. Toodles.

J

washing frenzy

Having what seems like endless days of drizzle and grey skies, yesterday we got blue skies that lasted from sun up to sun down. Since the weather has been so unpredictable of late I worked myself up into a washing frenzy - off came the sheets and doona covers and into the wash, I scoured the house for things to clean. Five loads of washing blowing in the breeze, what a sight.  Now I am sitting staring at a humungous pile of clean washing requiring folding, ironing and putting away.  Funny, I don't seem to be as enthusiatic over washing as I did yesterday.

The washing machine has just finished the stray things from yesterday, I'm off to peg out again - I'll take my camera down with me again. The King Parrots are in the bananas and if I sneak up on them I might be able to get a shot in. Typical, I did all my camera settings before I went out of the house and not one parrot was there, there are a few bananas that they have left but the friar birds are finishing them off and they are not a very photogenic bird.

I seem to be in a bit of a slump with my crocheting - I sat down yesterday and tried to recreate a couple of small amigurumi's I had made off the top of my head a couple of years ago and as usual I hadn't written the pattern down, so using the photo as a guide I had 1 attempt that turned out quite cute but bigger than I wanted and two attempts that got frogged twice each.  Rather than push myself I'm going to put away the hooks for a few days, I think its just overload. I've lost track of how many flowers and hearts I have made recently, plus all the snowdolls and the curly top dolls for a shop in town.  I have enough stock now to be going on with, perhaps I will put all my yarn away and clear my work bench and work on making the little stitchery kits. 

I know her ears aren't right, looking at the photo of the others I think I did them in a circle for a couple of rows and then shaped them with decreases and increases.  But somebody will love her I'm sure and she can go in the basket of pigs.
While searching for the pattern I came across a basket full of body parts, heads, arms, legs but no bodies. They make up two of the long legs and curly top dolls. I might just get them finished cos I'm sure the bodies are somewhere and then they can go in the pig basket. 

Okay less talk and drivel, I'm off to get creative, the washing is out, the sun is shining, the painkillers have kicked in......oh yes, I forgot, doctors appointment - lots of gallstones, moderately acute pancreatitis and a fatty liver. Now waiting for an appointment coming through to see the surgeon. 

Jan

Rain...no, sunshine, no, Rain, no, sunshine........

I wish this weather would make its mind up. Blue skies one minute, grey and drizzly the next. I definately did not feel like sitting around a muddy car park where the markets are held.

Thanks for all your comments.  Thinking back over the years I think this problem has been going on for a while, even before the heart by-pass.  Certain foods have always creased me up and I have noticed the past couple of years I've had to tone down the curries and the spicy food. Pastry always makes me feel ill and I know when I get stressed my stomach goes haywire. Probably because I've been eating low fat food and always eat lots of veggies I've kept it at bay, but last weekends little pig-out obviously affected me. Now I have a problem which came first the heart problem, the diabetes or the gall bladder problem and of course don't forget the thyroid. Oh well, never mind, I'm still here and kicking, obviously I'm too hard to get rid of.  I saw a sign somewhere and it said somewhere along the lines of - too bad for heaven and the devil couldn't handle me, can't remember the first line of the last.  What sort of foods are best to eat apart from the obvious no.no's. I've have no appetite what so ever and I'm a bit wary to eat anything anyway, I'm managing a small bowl of porridge for brekky and I had a small bowl again for supper, nothing in between.

Sally, I was thinking of you the other day, I'm getting back into the family research and sorted out what I know, I've got all the families in a muddle so I'm sorting out my lot and the other lot into seperate files, I found the piccy of the couple with two little boys, I had sent it to my hubbys aunt but she never confirmed wether it was a reli or not, she's keeping all the information close to her chest and despite me helping her to remove a few bricks from the wall she's very reluctant to give me information that shes found that would help me.
 
The opening of the art exhibition was wonderful 4 young girls sang acappella (?sp), close your eyes are you were listening to angels. It was beautiful.  A wonderful spread of drinks and nibblies.......and a great big strawberry chocolate gateau. Life can be so unfair sometimes LOL.  I met up with people I hadn't seen for years, I'm all hugged out after catching up with everyone.  I've been invited to put something in next year, the theme will be migration, a few ideas floating around, knowing me, rather than actually try out a few of those ideas I will wait till the month before, get myself into a panic when nothing goes right and then chicken out.  Perhaps this will be the something new to try.
Now we have blue sky and rain. The verandah is full of wet washing and more needs doing, my dryer needs a new belt. I could fit it myself but when I took the back off there was no way to get to the belt, it seems that you have to take the drum out and thats above me, I could take it out but then it would be putting it all back together again.
I've got some paperwork to do (I've been putting it off all week), 2 hours should see it all cleared up and then I'm going to get settled into some serious crafting.  The crocheting seems to take up all of my time, I've found another outlet for the brooches so need to get a few made up and packaged nicely to show her.  I really, really want to get back to embroidery, I had all those stitcherys designed to submit to the mag and never got them done, so I am going to make up each one as a little wall hanging for display and then make kits. 
I'm gonna go read blogs for half an hour,  then get this damm paperwork done.

Jan

Bugger

Haven't I been saying I am enjoying my life, haven't I recently said I am happy with life, things are looking good............Okay, not so good news first thing this morning. Wednesday night and the early hours of thursday morning saw me practically on my hands and knees in pain,  just when I decided to ring the ambo's I threw up and what a relief that was, the pain went away. I managed to get a few hours sleep in. When I woke I could taste blood (something I have been doing for a few weeks) and I spat up a couple of little clots.I wasn't hungry so didn't have breakfast, I had a discomfort in my abdomen so I decided to phone the doctor and see if I could get in - I had to go in straight away, had a whole heap of tests and they booked me a ultra sound for this arvy.  Doc phoned me first thing this morning and said all the blood tests point to it being the gall bladder, the pain was probably coming from the pancreas which also showed up as something wrong.  The ultra sound will confirm what is going on.   If I get the pain that bad again over the weekend, its straight to hospital, do not pass go, do not collect $200.  I have had the pain in my shoulder blade for a while, my doc usually sticks me on the heart monitor and says every thing is fine  since I had no other symptoms, I've been on a good diet, no fatty foods, restricted my dairy for ages, I'm always careful what I eat because of the reflux. But sunday on our day out I had a steak sandwich loaded with fried onions and a passionfruit custard slice,, I felt a few niggles Monday but nothing out of the ordinary, I've been feeling sick after meals for a while but nothing that much that it would concern me. What really p's me off is that for the diabetes and this gallbladder thing weight loss is one of the symptoms - its the only symptom I haven't got. What concerns me is how everything is moving along quickly,  they don't seem to be wasting anytime, most people I talk to have waited ages to see doctors, have tests etc.
Oh well, as long as I've got my hooks and plenty of yarn it won't be too bad, I won't be feeling guilty about cro'ing all day then.

Jan

How does your garden grow.....

 

......mine is finally coming to life. Flowers on my zucchini and my eggplants - vegetables that I am not particularly fond of but I seem to grow very well, at least I can swap them for veggies I like later.

Bits of colour finally showing in an otherwise colourless garden.  My fault really, I haven't been too interested in getting the garden going, just half hearted attempts to fill pots up with bedders, but once that sunshine comes out its a mad rush to get everything in.  I had some seeds where the packets had got damp and had all stuck together, it was impossible to see what was in the packets so I have scattered them willy nilly all over the garden, it will be interesting to see what comes up. 

It might be hard to see these guys - red-browed finches. I was going to scrap this photo as I thought there was nothing on it, the king parrots I was originally intending to photo flew off, as I approached the bottom of the garden a cloud of finches rose up off the ground and took off after the parrots. These ones must have been brave and stayed behind to see what was going on.

Birthday parties and choo choo's

What a busy weekend I have had and two very contrasting days they were too.

Saturday, my beautiful grandgirls joint birthday party, was grey, windy and miserable - not that the kids noticed, they were too busy having fun, I wish I could bottle their energy. My son ended up lighting the big fire pit and all us sooky adults huddled around it while the kids ran themselves ragged.

Sunday was the Tumoulin stations 100th birthday.The day was warm bright and sunny from sun up to sun down. A friend and I played at tourists, ate steak sandwiches with heaps of fried onions, walked along the railway track, bought plants from a market stall and throroughly enjoyed ourselves. I noticed a pyrex dish (the oval ones with the seperator in the middle) - it was turquoise with a star design, two japanese girls grabbed it, turning it over and getting excited over it - the price was two dollars, I hung around in the hope they were going to put it down but no, they bought it. I think that was the only downspot of the day.

 

 Indiginous dancers preparing for a dance display.

 We watched how to boil a billy at the fettlers camp.

The track towards Ravenshoe,  now only used for the restored steam train as a tourist attraction. We've promised ourselves a ride one day.  Doesn't look bad for the middle of winter.  Wanting to make the most of this glorious day we headed off towards Ravenshoe for coffee and cake, despite being about 50 miles away from where we live the area is so different, dryer, more open. Ravenshoe is the highest town in Queensland and boasts the highest pub in queenland, I suppose since the towns second pub is only a couple of hundred metres down the hill from the first pub its the second highest pub in Q'land.  

                                                                                 The highest railway station in Queensland, nearly 3000 ft above sea level.  This is at the end of the railway track at Tumoulin. I love Ravenshoe, it has a reputation though of being a bit of a ferally town, it has a wide main street and lots of clues to its history of being an old timber town, it just has this wonderful  atmosphere, its like stepping back in time.  Its set right at the top of the Great Dividing Range.

I love this picture, a lot of americans were stationed here during WWII, I can just imagine them gathering here, waiting to catch the train, the young girls of the town in their pretty dresses all waiting to go to a dance in the next town, blushing and giggling. The old railway station is a museum now, the outside area littered with relics of the old days, its so pretty and we found a little second hand shop nestled away in one of the old carriage sheds, Barb bought a cute sundae dish from the 30's or 40's, it would be nice to think that one of the G.I.s and his 'girl' shared a sundae or a banana split before being shipped out 'up north'.

We weren't ready to go home just yet and still had plenty of energy left so we drove out of town and head towards the Millstream Falls - the widest (when in full flood) in Q'land, if not australia). A few years ago it was possible to walk down a track and walk across the top of it a short way (in the dry season) but now you walk down a winding bitumened path and have to view it from a special platform, despite being a fair way from the falls we could still feel the spray on our faces.  This used to be a popular swimming place as well. I seem to be obsessing about those american soldiers, can you see them diving off the rocks in the middle, giggling girls spying on them  from the bushes.  I was obviously born in the wrong era and the wrong place. This place seems to hold onto its past and occassionaly glimpses are caught of a bygone age.  Can you imagine living in this house overlooking the falls, on top of the world.

Well the scenic tour of my weekend is over. It will probably be a while before I get to have another day like this.  Its back to a normal week now, job hunting and cleaning and sorting out my life.  I feel rejuvanated though, ready to tackle anything that is thrown at me - wet kippers and bricks aside though LOL.

okay, thats it I've had it with Blogger

I've been trying to post comments, but it won't let me, I have to log back in everytime I come back to my blog, I am seriously thinking of moving somewhere else. Perhaps WordPress or Typepad. I am so sick of having to keep logging in to post anything. C'mon blogger get your act together.

Teased by the sunshine

It did it again, bright light shining through the bedroom window, a blue sky with little fluffy white clouds. By the time I had filled up the jug, made my coffee, put my porridge on and opened all the curtains and windows it was grey again with a smattering of rain.
Big family birthday party today for all the people with birthdays within a few weeks of each other. All us oldies will be huddled round the fire pit if the sun doesn't come out.  The kids won't be still enough to get cold.
Wild dreams again last night/early morning - being attacked by a wolf in a footy jumper (Cowboys). Now I think of it the wolf did look a bit like Jonathan Thurston (the only footy player I can name !), I was running along a busy highway the wrong way to what I wanted to go, falling out with a close friend over buying a victorian bungalow covered in graffiti which turned into a warehouse when I got inside, everybody wanting what I had and trying to take it off me, forgetting where I had put my car, forgetting my mobile (in the car I couldn't find),  trying to get to a dump to get rid of all my rubbish.  Just realised the front of the house was the front of the little school I used to go to back in the UK (something which is in my dreams quite a lot).  I lucid dream, I know I am dreaming and it would have been easy for me to let go and release, especially with the wolf attack, I knew I should submit and relax but I fought everything in the dream, i felt hopeless, angry, overwhelmed, intimidated,
I was running towards a town, everyone else was leaving, they were all waving at me telling me to go back the way I had come, I had to get to that town, I would be safe there.  Then I was in a room and the wolf was trying to get me, it was behind a door I was holding closed then the door turned to rubber and the wolf got in, I started to beat it as it circled close to me, I could feel its rough fur on my legs, it was getting smaller and smaller as it circled, then i got behind something and it couldn't get me. A woman came in and asked if I had seen her dog, she said it was a gentle dog and wouldn't hurt a fly, I felt guilty cos I had hurt the dog and I told her it had run off somewhere else. She offered me a lift which I refused.
No wonder I am always tired when I wake up.
Better go do my hair and get ready, yes I know its early but if I don't get my hair right at least there will be plenty of time to start again.

Okay who turned the sun off

I awoke from weird dreams to the sun streaming in the window, I snuggled down under the covers for 15 more minutes in dreamland and when I resurfaced it was dark, miserable, windy and drizzling with not one little itty bitty patch of blue to be seen anywhere. Oh dear thats means I won't be able to mow the lawn or clean windows (like I was going to do them anyway LOL).
Looks like I'll have to stay in the warm and crochet lots more lovely flowers, after yesterdays depressing mood and post I need to brighten up a bit. 

This is the bunting I made after I was inspired by the wonderful and talented Alice at Crochet with Raymond, this is definately top on my blogs to drool over list, she has a great way with colour.  The tie-backs on the drapes are my design, just a rose attached to a white crochet band with a button and loop at the back, I found some silk leaves and wove the stems around the stitches on the band at the back. The bunting doesn't live in my bedroom, its just that the light was better on that side of the house. I might put it up in the guest bedroom when I finally get it painted and new drapes put up.
But first before I can get back to creating I have to scan the jobs, I wish I could make some money at this crafting lark, I think I would have to hook and stitch my fingers to the bone though to make a living at it.  I thought of an etsy or madeit shop or even on facebook, Is it possible to actually make a living doing it that way.  I need at least $250 in my hand after tax a week to be able to continue the way I am. I have no mortgage to pay and the usual electric,gas, rates, petrol, food and other living expenses which I have pared down to a minimum.  I am cleared to work 14 to 20 hours a week, no heavy lifting. As soon as I mention the health problems prospective employers aren't that eager to take me on.  I can't lie about it and I am always upfront and honest.  So short of finding a rich man (or any man) or winning the lottery its up to me to get out there and find something.  My housekeeping job is coming to an end this week as the owners of the house I clean have decided to rent it out short  term out till the holiday season picks up, the mystery shoppy job  is only a few hours a month if that. 
I suppose rather than talking about it I better start looking and getting some resumes sent out.

Jan