Possum Galore
A life ‘Down Under’!
Catch up.
So.....the illusive electrician arrived on Friday afternoon. He was here about three hours and managed to get the bathroom and downstairs plug sockets working but is coming back next week to tackle the kitchen sockets. It would appear that there is a 'short' on the circuit but he has been unable to find the related junction box and suspects it is in the roof space. We used to have a loft access opening...in the old bathroom...but then we had the bathroom revamped for Dulcie and the builders put the ceiling back without a new loft access..........Oh Joy!On Saturday we had an outing to Redcliffe where Will and Dulcie used to live.This is what Wikipedia says of Redcliffe:"Redcliffe holds the distinction of being the first European settlement in Queensland, first visited by Matthew Flinders on 17 July 1799. Explorer John Oxley recommended "Red Cliff Point" – named after the red-coloured cliffs visible from Moreton Bay – to the Governor Thomas Brisbane for the new colony, reporting that ships could land at any tide and easily get close to the shore."The settlement was abandoned after a year as the settlers moved near to where Brisbane is today as there was a better water supply.We found where Will and his family used to live and then had a fish and chip feast at the Seafood Lovers Cafe at Margate.One of the other customers looked very familiar and I kept on staring at them trying to work out where I had seen them before. Eventually it came to me......it was the tall dietician that Dulcie had seen when she was at the QE II Hospital.....and here she was tucking into fish and chips!After lunch we had a stroll along the prom and back and got home just before the first heavy rain shower in weeks dropped 10mm of much needed rain upon the parched earth.Today we all went to Ikea.We needed some blinds for the Man-Cave as the ones that are up at the moment are a little too transparent.It was very busy at Ikea and it seemed that practically the whole of Brisbane had blinds that were a little too transparent too.With the wheel chair we had to use the lifts. It was interesting to see Ikea from  the disabled point of view.There was a huge squashed spider on one of the lift doors and as the door slid open 6 legs went right and 2 legs went left. I wonder if that was what put Dulcie off the meatballs.
Busy Morning, Busy Afternoon.
After my Victor Meldrew moment I rang the illusive electrician. We have heard nothing from him since he came to look on Monday.I suspected he had returned to Korea bemoaning the Australian electrical system.......but he answered and is coming on Friday.I hope he can fix it.....we are managing with extension cables, but Dulcie's fear of fire, means she keeps switching off the socket the fridge is now plugged into.We had made an emergency batch a'biscuits by 9.30 am."Two eggs," she said, mixing at the table........I fetched them."Two cups of self raising flour"........I brought it and sieved it in.I rolled them, she added the jam and coconut.Yesterday we had Janina, today we had Janine.....Is there a theme developing here?Janine came to help with Dulcie's shower.We told her we had had a busy morning baking biscuits."Would you like one?"  I asked.Of course she did. Janine looked like she ate a lot of biscuits.She chose a chocolate chip cookie."Do you know what my dad used to call jam drops?" She asked.We didn't."Cat's bums!" She laughed........"Sorry for being rude," she added."Thanks," I said, " I will try not to think of that next time I pop one in my mouth."In the afternoon Matt the Physio arrived.Dulcie had to do various exercises, show him how her balance was and we went for a walk down the road. She walked all the way to the bottom of the road and nearly all the way back again before she had to sit for a rest.When she got her breath back we made it the rest of the way back to the house. Dulcie was all for getting back up the steps but he wanted to see her walk over uneven ground so she sat down again for a rest.Lots of little ants were milling around on the floor at the foot of the steps as we stood waiting for Dulcie to get her breath back.Matt stepped forward and put his foot on them and pressed down. Matt was in the health profession but that obviously did not apply to the health of ants.When Dulcie was up again we set off round the back and had a walk around the garden too before heading to the back steps."Do you want to have a rest" I said "before you go up?"She didn't and walked straight up. It was the most exercise I have seen her do for ages.Matt was really pleased.He listened to her breathing, took her blood pressure and measured the oxygen in her blood. He said her COPD was mild and she was in good shape for her age."You should be proud of how far you have come since your fall," he said, "I don't see many ninety year olds who have recovered as well as you. You are stoic."(Medical Definition  - Stoic, meaning 'tough old bird'.)When he had gone we rushed to sit down......'The Virginian' had been on for 20 minutes!!!!!
Becoming Victor Meldrew?
I have to inform Centrelink that Will is earning more than normal as he is covering in the other Kindy group until they can find a replacement classroom assistant. Centrelink will undoubtedly dock my pay......SIGH!Having asked, the other day, when the best time to ring was....I was told first thing in the morning. The line opens at 8.00 am and so this morning I rang straight away. Unbelievably I got through immediately!"I need to inform you of my Partner's earnings" I told the man on the other end."Oh, I'm sorry," he said,"we had some computer updates on Monday and were expecting problems then but they have only surfaced this morning. We currently cannot get on our computers. I would advise you to call back later."I DON'T BELIEEEEEEEEEVE IT!