A Jaunt-let.

So......today we went for a jaunt-let because the sun was out and as Dulcie said 'It's better than sitting on our arses."We drove to New Farm Park, walked along the river to Tenerife and caught the City Cat ferry back to New Farm. We had a bite to eat at End Of The Road Coffee and then came home. It was our first trip out in ages and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

........and relax!

Dad is home.I thank you.

Just a thought.......

Reading the Sunday Mail while having brunch this morning I read that there is a big feral cat problem here in Australia. It seems they were released to get help get rid of rabbits that had become a problem since they had been released into the wild. I am not too sure what the rabbit situation is at the moment but I was told recently, by someone very indignant, that Akubra hats normally made from 'Aussie' rabbit pelts were now being made with imported rabbit pelts from Europe! I tried to look shocked at this news but I didn't really care.Anyway, the feral cats are a problem as they are decimating the native wildlife population. There are estimated to be about 20 million feral cats killing 80 to 100 million native animals every night! I don't need to pretend to be shocked at that. It says 'bilbies, numbats and bandicoots are at risk of being wiped out.'What can be done?May I suggest a controlled release of American Dentists?..........we could perhaps make a bit of money too to help pay for the Parliamentary Speaker's helicopter trips by charging for the hunt.Just a thought.

For you, Bronwyn Bishop!

Hard Times.

So......while I have been 'slightly' preoccupied with events Up Over, things Down Under have not been easy either.Dulcie had a really bad night on Sunday and we all ended up with only about 2 hours sleep. She lies there loudly vocalising her thoughts or repeats phrases over and over again and we think it is stress related brought on by her breathing difficulties. She is aware of her ramblings but doesn't seem to be able to stop it. Will was up there with her a few times just stroking her back to try and calm her down.We have the bell fitted now beside her bed for her to call us. She has used it twice since we installed it but is still a bit reluctant to use it to wake us. Lying awake on Sunday night at about 3.00 am I heard her call out "Are you there Bill?" and he had to go up again as she had somehow switched her ceiling fan on and couldn't get it off.Will took Monday off as he couldn't face the day after so little rest but also we had some things to sort out.Firstly Will rang Dr Hew and made an appointment for him to come out later that day and secondly we needed to sort out what we were going to do re the ACAT assessment.If you have been paying attention, ACAT assessed Dulcie as needing Level 3 or 4 home care provision and last Friday Kathy from Blue Care came to discuss the package they could offer us.On this scheme Dulcie pays a percentage of her pension and according to the level you are on the Government also contributes.....ie a bigger contribution the higher the level.Kathy could only offer us a Level 2 at the moment as she said Level 3's and 4's were hard to come by. On the level 2 she said she could offer us 'personal care' (showers and dressing) five mornings a week and four hours respite on a Wednesday. It was more than we were getting now but when ACAT sent the report they also sent a list of other providers in the area so while we were waiting for Dr Hew Will rang around some of them to see what they had to offer.Most said they had nothing apart from Level 2 but put Dulcie's name down on their waiting lists in case a level 3 or 4 package became available.Kin Care could offer us a Level 3 package though, which meant we could get 7 mornings a week 'personal care' and our four hour respite on a Wednesday. Jo from Kin Care is coming on Thursday to discuss it with us.Dr Hew came in the early afternoon on Monday. He checked Dulcie over and told us that the X-ray she had had recently showed that her arthritis was bad in her shoulder. Will explained the difficult night we had just had and Dr Hew suggested more pain killers but Will said that her restlessness was not due to pain and seemed more stress related. He finally prescribed half a diazepam and since then she has had much more restful sleep and calmer nights.

Another Up Over Update.

So........Dad is out of Intensive Care.....he should have come out yesterday but there was no bed for him to go to so he got another night of one to one care. The consultant has been to see him and told him that the operation went very well.....so we are all starting to relax a little. Phew!Thanks for your thoughts everyone!