"Happy Birthday, Your Majesty!"

It is a National Holiday here in Australia today for the Queen's Birthday, well everywhere except in Western Australia. They celebrate her birthday on September 29th. I suppose it would be a bit much because they had a day off last Monday to celebrate Western Australia Day.We don't even celebrate it in the UK but it is even stranger that it is celebrated here in a country that held a Referendum in 1999 to find out if the people wanted to ditch Her Majesty and become a Republic.54% of the population said no to a Republic and so they still have a Queen.The Royal Family are nearly always on the news...last week it was reported that the Queen is still riding horses at 88. I wasn't really bothered. What would have been more interesting would have been them showing us how she got on it in the first place.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very popular too and their recent tour here went down very well.Our next public holiday is in October...Labour Day...ironic since no one labours upon it. Here in Brisbane there is an extra one this year in November for the G20 Summit.They are already getting worked up about all the World Leaders arriving here...Security will be tight....they are even talking about closing motorways so that the leaders can travel from their accommodation unhindered by commoners.Marvellous!In the meantime, "Happy Birthday, Your Majesty for your June 9th birthday. I hope you have another lovely day on September 29 th in Western Australia."

Blackout.

So...putting Dulcie to bed we reminded her to put on the bathroom light if she got up in the night.We reminded her last night. She got up..."I thought about putting the light on...but I didn't...I don't know why," she said."We would like you to put the bathroom light on," we said."I will do," she promised.At 11.00 pm the power went out.We had not given ant thought to what would happen if there was no power.We sat in the dark of the man-cave thinking what to do. Will went upstairs.I remembered the solar bedside lights we had so took them up.We switched them on and put one in the bathroom and one illuminating the hallway outside her room.She would wake up and wonder why she could not switch on her light but at least she would have some light to be able to get to the bathroom safely.We went back downstairs and tried to find out how long the outage was expected to be.The Energex website said the next update would be at 4.30 pm....but it was already after 11.00 pm?"We will have to wake her up and tell her," I said."We will before we go to bed," said Will.Almost immediately as he said that the lights came back on. It was a big relief.I went back upstairs to retrieve the solar lights. Her bedroom light was on. I thought she was awake but when I peeped in she was fast asleep. She normally sleeps on her right side but was lying on her left side facing into the room and me, the bright ceiling light shining above her.She switches her light on by remote and after a power outage it must automatically come on.I crept in very carefully dreading her waking up and seeing me creeping towards her. I reached out and carefully switched off the light by pressing the remote on her bedside table a few inches from her face and crept carefully out again.Mission accomplished!

Back to the Mouse, I mean Man-Cave.

I escaped to Eight Mile Plains this morning to Dr Hew's Surgery to pick up some new prescriptions for Dulcie.Dr Hew has prescribed Ventolin and Spiriva to help Dulcie's breathing.I called at the Pharmacy on the way back to collect the new medication.I noticed they were selling "Bird's Nests". Top quality nests, I guessed they were probably swans or golden eagles, were selling for $295 while lesser quality nests, probably like a starlings or a sparrows, were selling for $185. I don't know what you did with them when you got them but they were a wonder cure apparently. The poster said that they made your skin glow healthily, improved digestion and cleared phlegm. I could see that last bit being true with all those twigs slowly passing down your gullet no wonder it cleared phlegm!The Pharmacist explained how to administer the Spiriva...it was quite complicated. As I was leaving an elderly man stopped me."Excuse me, is that Spiriva?"I nodded."I take that," he said," I have breathing problems because of asbestos. I just wanted to tell you that when you put the capsule in, put it in with the thickest end first, it spins better."I thanked him for his advice and left.Driving out of the shopping precinct car park I spotted Terry coming out of Eagle Boys Pizza....I wasn't surprised...he looks like he enjoys a pizza quite often.I have spent the afternoon under the house clearing out and sorting the garage to get some of the stuff we have had to store while the builders were in, out of the man-cave.We have been sleeping upstairs for the last few weeks but are ready to move back downstairs tonight. She has been managing to get up in the night without our help and has been remembering to put on the bathroom light. When she puts the bathroom light on and off we have a light that comes on and off down in the man-cave.As for the rodent resident down in the man-cave I forgot to mention that we gave up on the 'Ratsak' last week, as the mouse was just enjoying it too much, and set 3 traps baited with peanut butter. We caught the mouse a few hours later.There has been nothing since. 

Driving Miss 'Dulchy' VI

Dulcie had an outpatient appointment today to check up on her hip operation.At 1.45pm I drove us all to the QE II Hospital and dropped her and Will off at Out Patients and went and parked the car.Before I went to meet them I nipped up to Ward 4B to see if Lillian was still there. I was really hoping she was not.I scoured the board for her name and could not find it anywhere.Somehow she had escaped....whether she was let out or she walked out as she had threatened to do....I doubt we will ever know.Back in Out Patients I found Will wheeling Dulcie along the corridor on her walker....it had been a further walk than we had expected."I'll go and get the wheelchair," I said, so went back to the car to get it.If you remember our last Out Patient visit had been in the Green Suite.....I noted last time the wide variety of different suites and about that I wrote:I imagined the Green Suite to be for people like Dulcie just having a quick check up and then they go. The Red Suite was probably for people with blood disorders, the Blue Suite for people having difficulty breathing, the Purple Suite for bruising, the Yellow Suite for bladder disorders, I didn’t want to dwell on the Brown Suite and I doubt once you entered the Black Suite you ever came back.I found them sitting in.......the Brown Suite!It turns out the Brown Suite is not what I had thought it was...it is the Ortho Suite."Sharouf Swavaz" called a female doctor.There were a couple of 'rednecks' sat a few chairs away and one of them said "Ha! That's a name!"'Fancy laughing at people's names', I thought."Mike Wong" another Doctor called, a young guy stood up, "you need to go to the X-ray department. Do you know where it is?"He didn't. The Doctor pointed him in the right direction.There was a girl with bright pink hair who, as all young people appear to be these days, was glued to her mobile phone."Dulchy Rodgers" called a Doctor. "You need to go to the X-ray department. Do you know where it is?"Know where it is? We knew the hospital like the back of our hands.....well, actually we didn't know where it was but we didn't admit it and followed the signs.Another waiting room."Why are we here?" Asked Dulchy."They need to X-ray your hip to check on it."The girl with pink hair turned up. There was something wrong with her right hand...she needed it x-raying...luckily she could still text with her left hand."Is this where I am having my X-ray?" Asked Dulchy.We nodded."Rabbi Labbi Omar?" a woman called.Another woman slowly stood up."Hmmm, did I say that right? Is it Rabbi Labia? .......Rabbilia, perhaps?" The first woman went on.I thought 'Oh, just leave it...you are making it worse.'"Dulcie Rod-Gers?"Will wheeled her off.By the time someone called out "Swan Teeni?" I found I was laughing at peoples names...like a 'redneck'.I didn't have to wait alone for long and we were all soon back in the Brown Suite.I was just thinking that  it was not good that over half the nurses and doctors wandering about were overweight whenAngus Moxon, for it was he (titter) called for Dulchy. Will wheeled her off again."Is that your walker?" Said Angus."Nick, will look after it." said Will."Keep an eye on it or it will go missing," said Angus.I was alone again....except for the 'rednecks'. They really did look like extras from 'Deliverance.'I noticed a large guy wearing a hospital gown boxing (with his fists) a door down the end of a corridor. Was he a patient?He was fully clothed underneath the gown which was open at the back.He sauntered towards the Brown Suite and pulled out a pair of medical scissors from his pocket and started to swing them round his finger.It was now becoming less like ' Deliverance' and very much more like  'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest!'I was relieved when Will and Dulchy appeared and we were able to escape out into the warm winter's day."You are walking too fast with that," called Angus after me as I was pushing the walker out.Angus had said her X-ray looked good and she would not be called in again.Dulchy was discharged.

Radiation poisoning?

Trace and Jen left after lunch.We got ready to take Dulcie for her chest x-ray.We packed the wheel chair in Roxy just in case as this was the first time that Dulcie had been out of the house for nearly a fortnight.She managed the 13 steps down to the car very well and didn't want a rest at the bottom and got straight into the car.Luckily there was a parking space right outside Terry's X-ray shop.We went in and it was packed!The girl had told me yesterday there was no need to book an appointment but here we were in a queue.The receptionist looked a bit frazzled and Terry when, he popped his head out, looked particularly seedy. His shirt had far too many buttons unfastened for a professional man with a beer belly. He looked very sweaty and his hair glistened with extra grease. I pondered whether it was grease that he had misguidedly added or just the unavoidable consequence of working next door to a Chinese Takeaway!"Terry is passionate about meeting new people. He is a bubbly and colourful character." The poster about the proprietor reminded me from the wall."Stop breathing Graham....NOW!" Shouted Terry out of sight....sounding very unbubbly and uncolourful.Dulcie raised her eyebrows."Is this where I'm having my X-ray?" She asked."Stand up straight Graham! Right......stop breathing.......NOW!"An Asian couple were also waiting. Jane came out from the back and called a name and they got up. The woman was  either pregnant or had a large abdominal tumour....either way she walked as if she was wearing very uncomfortable  knickers.I was waiting for Dulcie to comment upon her 'arse'....but thankfully she didn't.A younger Asian couple came in."That's a lovely dress," said Dulcie.....it was.Graham limped out and sat to wait for his films.Terry popped into and out of view looking more seedy and sweaty at each appearance. He was wearing trainers.........TUT! I doubt he ever broke into a jog.I was aware that the furniture arrangement did not leave much room for Dulcie's walker to get past when she was finally called so surreptitiously pulled the small magazine laden table towards me a few inches."Dulcie!" Called Terry, "Let's take some pictures!" ........ugh!She got up and wheeled her walker past the magazine table......I had judged it right but she was thwarted by a large vase of assorted twigs that added nothing to the ambience of the place..."Let's just move this tube thing," said Terry, whisking it away and plonking it next to the receptionist behind the desk."Go with her," I hissed at Will......he did.I never heard Terry give any loud instructions to Dulcie like he had given them to Graham.She was about 10 minutes. Will said that she had to change into a gown and stand in front of the X-ray plate with her head up. Will said Terry had said that it would be ok for Will to stand next to her....but Terry left the room and  hid behind a lead curtain every time he took a 'picture'!Terry didn't look healthy.....and he was losing his hair....it was not a good sign!Will said that Terry was really nice with Dulcie........if that is not a sure sign that Will has radiation poisoning I don't know what is!I present further evidence to you now.......

I rest my case!