A day trip and a catch up

 Another month has passed so time for a catch up...

 

Hopefully, I will do better than one post a month but it's a start to getting back to my blog on a regular basis. 

 

Covid news - It looks like masks are here to stay for quite a while yet but I don't mind. If they help even a little, I'm happy to wear them despite Brad and I being asthmatics. That said, it's always a relief to get back to the car and remove the masks.

 

Queensland continues to do well as far as Covid stats go. We haven't had a serious outbreak since the Delta variant hit and daily cases are less that 5, mostly 1 or 0. I hope it remains that way. My heart goes out to New South Wales and Victoria which aren't doing so well but, hopefully, they will get it under control soon.

 

Bradley (son) is now fully vaccinated and I get my second Astra-Zeneca early October. My other sons are also part-vaccinated and due to get their second jabs in a month or so. Some employers are already adding 'Covid Vaccination Required' on their job criteria. The vaccinated are also going to be given extra privileges that unvaccinated won't have. Only this past week, a couple of top Cardiologists in one of our southern states had to go into 2 weeks isolation because an unvaccinated theatre nurse was diagnosed with Covid. Some heart patients were awaiting critical surgeries that had to be postponed. I really feel for them. One of the reasons why vaccination is so important. Covid has brought about a new way of life which will be here to stay for a while yet. 

Speaking of heart surgeries, my youngest brother Wayne had open heart surgery a couple of weeks back and is now at home recovering. The first 48 hours after surgery were horrible for him...immense pain. He is doing well now although had an erratic pulse a couple of times that needed medical attention. Apparently this can be expected after heart surgery. It will take 12 weeks for him to be fully recovered.

 

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I was very saddened recently to hear that a long-time art friend, Tracey Fletcher King, lost her 8 year battle with breast cancer on August 21st.  Tracey lived at the bay-side and, although we never did get around to meeting in person, we followed each other via our blog posts, Instagram, and occasional emails. She had a great sense of humour and never failed to make me laugh. I loved her art too. She will be dearly missed and my heart goes out to her family. xx

 

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Kya is not a fan of me sitting at my art/work desk. Here she is sitting on top of my bullet journal as if to try and stop me from focusing on things other than her. lol I don't know how this will work when I get serious about painting again. 

 

In the older photo below she is not asking for a belly scratch but more daring me to try. Cunning little Miss.

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A couple of weeks back, we had another family outing. 

This time to Wellington Point at the bay-side. 

I love the bay-side!

It was a glorious day! 

And I got to see pelicans....which I LOVE!     

We found a lovely spot with dappled shade

Part of the view from our spot. 

Ibis came to visit.

I really love the play of lights and darks in this pic.

Bradley (eldest son)

Aaron (youngest son) with his doggies

I must remember to get a group selfie next time. 

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I recently watched a Netflix documentary on Bob Ross. Have you seen it? I know Bob Ross was huge in the art world over in the States but I have to say that I'd barely heard of him here in Australia. I knew of him mostly through American art magazines. Those Kowalskis seem like a nasty piece of work, don't they?!  Yes, they helped Bob Ross to become famous in the art world but they pretty much controlled him, even pushing him to work when he was sick and dying of cancer. They then bullied people into signing over the Bob Ross name to them after he died...not what he wanted at all. They pretty much stole all rights away from Bob Ross' son when it was clear that Bob wanted his son to have his name, rights, and money. Such a sad story of greed and betrayal.  

 

On a happier note, the Plovers are nesting and, this year, I hope their babies survive. Ever hopeful. 

The warmer weather is here to stay now. Not looking forward to the summer heat and humidity. 

Stay tuned for another post soon...

Love, Light and Peace

A day trip to Redcliffe to see The Bee Gees Way

This week is flying by!

Most weeks, we usually have a cards night at my sister and brother-in-law's place and, at the last one, we planned to go see The Bee Gees Way on Sunday. Bradley, being a major music buff, was particularly excited about seeing the tribute monument and all the memorabilia dedicated to the Bee Gees. 

The Bee Gees first arrived in Australia from England in the late 50's and Redcliffe became their home. It was approximately an hours drive to Redcliffe and, when we arrived at the entrance, it was walled off and we were greeted with this sign (see below). It was a disappointment to see The Bee Gees Way was closed for renovations but we chose not to let it spoil the day.

After a stroll through the busy Redcliffe Markets, Bradley treated us all to lunch at the Sandgate Post Office Hotel. This beautiful old building was a Post Office from 1887 right up until 2009 so quite a lot of history behind it.

The hotel has a lovely old world charm with a few pieces of memorabilia from yester-year like this Wurlitzer jukebox. I don't think it's operational — more for display.

An old fireplace — not sure if it is still a working one. 

The modern TV on the wall above seemed quite out of place.

We felt so relaxed at the hotel — or perhaps that was more due to the Espresso Martinis we had with lunch which were super delicious!

The staff were very friendly and it was such great service. For lunch, Brad and I had the Vegan Parmigiana which is Crumbed eggplant with napoli sauce, sliced tomatoes and vegan cheese served with hot chips and salad. It was so delicious! Forgot to take a photo unfortunately. Next time. Thanks for the treat, Brad. xo

After lunch, we went for a walk along the Sandgate/Shorncliffe foreshore — Lovers Walk is the esplanade we chose as it was right along the waters edge and took us down to the Shorncliffe Pier from Sandgate. Next time, we plan to take the other route where it is promised we will see lots of turtles.

As you can see from my hair, it was a very windy day. lol
I gave up trying to keep it in order. 

Photo collage above is courtesy of my sister, Angela.

All other photos, unless otherwise stated, are taken by me.

View of the beach

There were a lot of kite-surfers on the water that day. 

The strong winds made ideal conditions for them.

The tide was out but coming back in

Shorncliffe Pier

A few of the signs along the Pier 

Brad taking photos with his iPhone

At the end of the Pier - My sister, Angela, and brother-in-law, Peter, with Brad

And a couple with me in it

Photo below is courtesy of Bradley

On the way back to the car I took the photo below of an old church. 

It is classified as Gothic Architecture and was built in 1887.

Sandgate Baptist Church

Not long after, an unfortunate accident happened — I had started using my walking stick because my hip was hurting from the long walk. However, the walking stick jarred on a bit of uneven concrete, which sent me off balance, and I fell, face-planting onto the concrete. 

Thankfully, my bag protected my hip, but my big toe and chin copped a nasty hit. I also had minor grazes on my thighs, hands, and top of my feet. My toe was bleeding all over the place as I was wearing thongs. My chin was badly grazed, spotting blood, and already bruising. Pete raced off to Woollies to buy Band-Aids, Betadine antiseptic cream, and some Panadol.  Thanks, Pete.

Not the best way to end such a lovely day out but we all agreed that the injuries from my fall could have been a lot worse. It's three days later and the body aches from the fall are easing but my chin is still very tender. 

We are already looking forward to our next outing. 

Love, Light and Peace to all. 

Ordeal at sea

On Sunday afternoon/evening, September 20th, my younger 60 year old brother Billy was fighting a battle for his life. 

Billy was with his wife's brother-in-law, Charlie, and they were heading back to shore crossing over one of Australia's most dangerous bars. They were 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) from land — in rough seas. The boat was large enough where it wasn't legally required to wear lifejackets but, in hindsight, they sure wish they had been wearing them. Billy is an experienced boatie but, everything happened so fast, they didn't have time to grab the lifejackets or manually activate the emergency beacon. 

They were riding the top of a swell when it seemed to suddenly drop out from under them. This sent the boat precariously downwards under a huge cresting wave. The boat rolled and they were both thrown out into rough seas. The boat righted itself after the roll so the emergency beacon didn't automatically activate either. They couldn't get to the boat because the waves were immense and kept forcing them back. Their only chance of survival was to swim for shore. 

It took them about 30 minutes to get past the huge, crashing waves to what was still very rough sea though the waves weren't quite as high. It was getting dark and there were still miles ahead until they reached calmer waters. They knew their wives would alert the authorities when they didn't return at the designated time of 6pm for dinner but that was hours away. Darkness started to set in as they headed towards the lights on land. 

The next four hours were a battle to survive in a well known region for sharks — Charlie trying to stay afloat on his back with water constantly rolling over his face and then paddling slowly to conserve energy. Billy side-paddling so he could keep a check on Charlie and offering lots of encouragement to keep going. 

They thought they were done for but determination won out.

Four gruelling hours later, Charlie heard my brother's excited voice yelling, "Charlie! I can touch the bottom!". After being in the water for so long, working their muscles, it was even harder on their bodies trying to walk out of the water. They hugged each other finding it hard to believe they had actually made it. The first camp they stumbled into was a group of 18 year old boys who quickly gave them assistance — seats by the campfire, water, towels, and also called for the ambulance.

My brother's phone was at the bottom of the sea but the young men gave them mobile phones to call their wives who were frantic. Their wives had notified the authorities and 'search and rescue' were getting ready to go look for them. Thankfully, they rescued themselves so no need.

They weren't out of the woods yet though. Both were taken to hospital. Charlie's kidneys had taken a beating from trying to filter all the sea water he'd swallowed. On top of that, his Creatine Kinase levels were through the roof. A normal healthy male would read between 30 and 200 — his levels were 42,000! Creatine Kinase is an enzyme that the muscles release when suffering extreme stress or injury. CK can actually cause permanent damage to the kidneys usually ten days after the injury that caused it to release. Billy's levels were much better on the initial checks so he was allowed home the next day. He had a huge lump on his shin from where the boat hit him as well as bad bruising all around his torso. Both men were very sore all over after their ordeal.

Billy's CK levels started to rise again a couple of days ago so he was taken back into hospital and put on a drip to flush the kidney. My brother has only one kidney after having one removed due to cancer some years back so it's crucial that his only kidney remains healthy. His injured leg is now swelling up too so an ultrasound will be needed.

Charlie feels that if anything else had gone wrong during their ordeal, he wouldn't be here. He hails my brother as a hero for keeping him focused and encouraging him constantly with, "you're good, you can make it, just keep going, head toward the blue light, head for Inskip". My brother admitted to me that he nearly gave up the fight three times during the ordeal but Charlie kept him going so, in my view, they are both heroes. They are so very lucky!  

 

The boat was found and towed back by a trawler the next morning with everything still on board and the GPS still running. I don't like to think about how much worse it could have been for them. My brother and Charlie are alive and I am so grateful for that.

I will be more relieved when they are both fully recovered. 

Me with Billy at our Mum's 80th birthday celebration in 2015

Stay safe and well, everyone!

Goodbye to our precious boy, Jack

This year has been a tough one in more ways than one. I lost my fur-kid and best-friend, Cody, in February after a battle with Cushing's Disease. Then my LARS hip tendon surgery was in early May of which I'm now halfway through the recovery period of ten months. This was followed by Bradley's wisdom teeth removal surgery in June. I then came down with a severe chest infection that was very painful and debilitating which took two months to recover from. We then learned that my sister-in-law (ex-husband's sister) passed away on August 27th which came as quite a shock. Colleen was only a year younger than me. I still can't get my head around it. Cancer sucks!

Then on October 2nd, we said a very sad and tearful goodbye to our last little doggy, Jack. He was around 14 years old, 90% blind, had bad teeth and arthritis among other things, and he was suffering. We knew it was time but it was still a hard decision to make nonetheless.

Jack found his way to our door on my Dad's birthday back in September of 2010. I had been preparing for my daughter's upcoming wedding on October 2nd which turned out to be the date on which Jack passed away 9 years later. Jack was severely malnourished and riddled with fleas and ticks. I also felt Jack had suffered abuse to some degree because he became very fearful whenever voices were raised. He was also favouring his rump area which was very stiff. I remember wondering if he'd been kicked hard and/or injured. The vet felt the same. Jack had no microchip which made it near impossible to find his owner. We asked around, notified local vets and visited pet shops, leaving our details just in case but it was all to no avail. In the end, we figured we would keep him as the vet had advised. We didn't want him ending up at the high kill shelter because they give them only three days to be collected before they put them to sleep.

So Jack was then micro-chipped and officially became a much loved member of our family. The vet estimated his age to be between 4 and 6 years old which meant he was around 14 years old when he passed. He bonded quite well with Cody too.

Jack had clearly been an outdoor dog in his previous home as he was not house-trained. He learned quickly thanks mostly to watching Cody. I remember that Jack loved to play tug 'o war in his younger years. He would pick up a toy and continually nudge it into someone's leg until they played with him. He was also known as the 'squeak destroyer' because he would destroy every squeaker toy within seconds of getting it. Poor Cody loved his squeaker toys too and we did try to keep Jack away from Cody's favourite ones but we usually lost the battle.

Jack was clearly a Jack Russell terrier/Shih-Tzu mix, hence his name, and like the breed in general, he was very territorial. In his eyes, no other dogs, or people for that matter, were allowed to walk past our house even if they were on the opposite side of the road. He would bark and carry on like they were a threat to his home and family. Cody soon followed suit and we then had two barking maniacs whenever they spotted other dogs or people, and even cars parking, in view of our house.

Jack tended to be an all round family dog until the last five years of his life when he started to follow my eldest son, Bradley, around. He would even sleep in Bradley's room every night. He became Bradley's shadow as Cody had been mine. Jack definitely classified himself as Bradley's best friend and vice versa. He would even stand outside Brad's door waiting patiently to go in. He will be greatly missed, that's for sure.

Dearest Jack,
Thank you for all the many special moments you gave us. We were blessed to have you in our lives. No doubt, you are now running free of pain with your 'brother', Cody. We love you both so much and know that neither of you will ever be forgotten. Our hearts are forever stamped with your names. I hope to see you again some day. xo

Jack Lewis 

19/9/2005 approx. to 2/10/2019

Forever in our hearts

“A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water logged stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?” — John Grogan

Recovery update after surgery

I know, I know....I did say I'd be back with a post on Wednesday but time clean got away from me and it's now Sunday already...

Since I last posted, Bradley, my eldest son had surgery to remove all his wisdom teeth plus a molar that was damaged by one of the wisdom teeth. He is now on Day 12 of recovery and doing really well. I think he will be glad to get off the soft food diet come Tuesday though. Soups, mashed veg, porridge, vegan yoghurt, vegan ice-creams, apple sauce, mashed banana etc. are all yummy but he will be happy when he can munch down a vegan burger or his regular granola cereal.

Pre-surgery

I can tell you that he didn't look this happy after the surgery.

About five days prior to Brad's surgery, I made the mistake of doing too much walking at a shopping centre, using only one crutch, and I ended up with strained oblique muscles on the left side of my back. I was laid up in bed for three days and every step was agonising, even with two crutches. Lesson learned not to overdo things. The muscle strain did recover enough where I was able to be at the hospital for Brad's surgery day. Angela, my sister, drove us there and stayed for the duration. She helped Bradley at the hospital where I was unable to. We would have been lost without her over the past couple of months and we are so very grateful for all her help.

I'm now managing to get around at home using a walking stick but I still use one elbow crutch when I go out because it gives me more support and stability.  My surgeon said to keep using the crutch if I felt I needed it. All in all, I'm happy with how I'm progressing with recovery. Still a long way to go with only 2 months done of a 10 month recovery but I'm glad the worst pain is over with.

I can also drive again which feels great! It's a little difficult getting in and out of the car because my operated hip gets crushed and pulled a bit, plus the steering wheel gets in the way, BUT I'm managing okay. I'm loving the freedom of being back behind the wheel again.

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The cat, Kya, is still hanging out here. It feels weird having a neighbour's cat practically living here but her not belonging to us. She is a sweetie though and seems to be getting quite attached to me.

She sleeps a lot! 

And likes high places

Eyes OFF, Missie!

Since my previous post about Kya, I had a visit from the owner for a second time —  nearly three weeks back — and the mystery of why Kya started showing up here just over two months ago is solved now. While here the second time, the owner told me that they bought a new kitten which Kya apparently hates and won't accept. Oh, and the owner remembered that Kya is actually 10 years old, not 7 or 8, as she bought Kya when her daughter was born. She also said that she feels we may end up with Kya as she seems to have chosen us anyway. Hmmmmm... I guess we will see what happens...

So, that's it for now....

I hope you have a great weekend! We've had rain on and off this past week but it's a fine day today (Sunday).

It's been a while

...but I'm still standing.  Well, on crutches, that is.

I had LARS gluteal medius tendon surgery on May 2nd and after four weeks being on two crutches — partial weight-bearing —I've now progressed to using one crutch — partial weight-bearing. Then I may need a walking stick for a while as there is still a long recovery ahead. My surgeon said my medius and minimus tendons were pretty beat up and the medius tendon had torn all the way through. He said to allow ten months for full recovery which takes me through to March 2020.

The first couple of weeks were real tough as it involved fairly intense pain whenever I moved.  I needed a lot of assistance, even with lifting my operated leg into bed. I'm told the first three months cover the most difficult part of recovery. I can drive again at 6 to 8 weeks pending the surgeon's approval...still in the non-driving stage. I will require physiotherapy at some point too. If you aren't squeamish and interested in seeing the type of surgery I actually had done, click LARS gluteal tendon repair surgery. I now have permanent internal stitches, a synthetic ligament, and a titanium screw in my hip. Suffice to say, my hip feels kinda weird but, I'm looking forward to a future of no pain or limping.

Bradley, my eldest son, has been a huge help during my recovery. Carrying my paraphernalia from room to room as well as carrying meals to the lounge-room TV tables. Basically being an extra pair of hands when I'm unable to do something. Hopefully, I will be able to return the favour when he has his wisdom teeth surgery later this month. I've been getting groceries delivered which has been great and I may even keep that going. My sister has been a blessing in so many ways — taking me to and from the hospital and my post-op appointment at two weeks, as well as helping out when needed. 

Over the past week I've had issues with severe back pain., particularly after bending over. I haven't been allowed to lie on my operated side since surgery and lying on my other side causes pulling, discomfort, and pain in my operated hip. So I've had to lie on my back which seems to have flared up my back. As you may remember, I had a back injury back in 2003 from a bad fall but I also have age-related wear and tear going on also — spinal stenosis, protruding L5 disc, and spondylosis. Lots of rest and heat packs required.

OH that reminds me — I had my 60th birthday during my blog absence! My sister organised a family get-together in my honour and my nephew even organised a Vegan Key Lime pie for my birthday cake.  Beau, my son, also made a delicious vegan cheesecake especially for me. I got some wonderful gifts too and it was lovely to see everyone. I had a great time and felt totally spoiled! 

I'm still missing my sweet Cody every day, some days are worse than others. Jack has adjusted now although I'm not sure how much longer this sweet boy will be with us. He has health issues of his own too — age-related.

Here Jack is fast asleep in his bed. 

About a week prior to my surgery, this uninvited guest showed up one rainy night seeking shelter under our front entrance. I felt sorry for her and made the 'mistake' of putting out some warm milk and dog biscuits and she has barely left.  We have since bought cat biscuits. We thought she was a stray at first but later discovered that her owners live in the street opposite us. I've met the owners and they don't seem to mind that she is hanging out here.  I'm concerned with local council law stating that cat owners must keep their cats within their own boundary lines during the day and must be kept indoors at night. There has been a problem with roaming cats killing wildlife and messing in people's gardens for years now. You may remember that we had a huge problem with roaming cats in our street going back a few years. Anyway, Kya is 8 years old and so sweet. She visits nearly all the time now. Maybe we've made her too comfortable? I just hope she doesn't end up in a council cat trap and taken to the council pound where a grim fate could await her. It's just really odd to me that her owners have been in the street for nearly a year and she has only just recently showed up. Maybe Cody sent her?

I haven't sketched since January which sounds terrible, doesn't it? I've just not been in the right head space after losing Cody and so much has been going on in my life the past few months.

I have been feeling the pull of my sketchbooks again though so stay tuned...