Bad timing...

Couldn't have a shower this morning...the hot water service gave up the ghost after 17 hard years. Many baby baths & teenage showers have been enjoyed. Loads of loads of dishes, dog washes & some laundry have been completed until now.

A much bigger & more efficient hot water service was installed during the day & we look forward to many more years of steaming up.

Too bad the old one passed on just 4 weeks before Christmas, but I suppose there never is an ideal time to replace an essential appliance is there?

A fun filled day...

...Saturday...

I saw the local production of 'The Mikado' & thoroughly enjoyed their modern twist on this classic. They did a really good job, especially the woodwind section!!!!

Then I went off to our Christmas party at a local cafe. It was a fun filled night with lots of laughter, a bit of drinking & some dancing. Who knew I could dance to Beyonce like that? When I showed the kids at home what a good dancer I am they were mortified but it was good to let our hair down (so to speak) & celebrate a good but hard year in the unit.

Most of the Dialysis girls turned up, along with a few very patient husbands.

This is our Day Medical Unit 100% represented!



Erica in the middle there became an Aunty to twin girls on Friday - Imogen & Aisha, all doing well.

Now I'm going to get out of my PJ's & put up a Christmas tree.

Hot & sweaty...

with a long way to go!

This is our nephew Alistair doing his stint.





Keep pedalling mate we are behind you all the way!

Some fun for you...

Make a cuppa...

I've got a lot to tell you.

Firstly an update on the skin graft.
Not so good.

The donor site has healed up nicely but my nose has been extremely slow to heal & one part of it has not taken but instead will need to heal from the bottom up, so I'm hoping the result will still be good.
I asked 3 of my nursing colleagues to take a look to see what they thought of my wound on Tuesday, each of them pulled a face & said 'it doesn't look good'. So I raced in to Carlton for the plastic surgeons reaction & she said 'it doesn't look too bad' & she is still confident of a good result...in time.

Next, after the 45 mls of rain we had dumped onto us on Sunday part of the front yard collapsed. We had seen a small subsidence but after the rain a large pit emerged. I was a bit disappointed as the front yard was looking so good.
After a phone call to Western Water they came & fixed it as good as new, filling in the hole with 1/2 a metre of soil, pine bark & tuscan pebbles. I could barely see the repair & was very impressed with how prompt & helpful they had been. Seems paying your bills on time is good karma.

I notched up 10 years service at the hospital & was recognised with several others at the AGM, receiving a 10 year pin & 2 champagne glasses...worth sitting through the boring speeches for! Bring on the long service leave!

In other news, my nephew escaped his mother's grasp & flew to Darwin to pedal home on a long & arduous journey. Follow their journey on their blog.

I've other news about Erin's transition to secondary school but I'll leave that for another post. You probably need another cuppa now! I would've liked to add some photos but someone has knocked off the camera - I didn't even get a chance to take pics of the front yard before it was fixed.

Stitches out...

Today the dressing came off & stitches came out.

After only one week I was expecting a miracle & while the surgeon is very happy with how it looks I have to be patient while more healing occurs.

At least I can go out in public with a bit more confidence.

Hey Anita...

Hey Anita & Sandie & anyone else who has started & maybe even finished their handmade Christmas cards for this year...I've started on a few!
This year I am going to make several of the designs I really like instead of many different ones that I did last year.

Here's to a few more while my stuff is spread from one end to the other.

Happy...

Two happy girls on McHappy day.

A bit of fun on a hot day

Amazing how much fun a silly straw in a frozen drink can be.

Today...

This is what I looked like yesterday at 6:45 am.








And this is what I look like today after my excision of BCC & full thickness skin graft.



I'll be staying hidden for a few days.


And because I won't be showing my face in public without a burka I slipped in to the back of junior school assembly this morning to see Erin get her school colours. A big deal for her & a proud moment for me. I normally would be at work on a Wednesday morning so in the scheme of things a stitched on dressing, not being allowed to wet my face or wash my hair allowed me to see her achievement.

And its Remembrance Day, a day to pause & reflect on how lucky we are today because of events of the past.

Today I remember & am thankful. Lest we forget.

Tie dye...

Erin has wanted a tie dye T-shirt for ages & I haven't been able to find one. So today we got a white T, some rubber bands & torquoise dye & made our own.

We were very pleased with the results of our first effort.

Then we whipped up some chocolate chip cookies.

And now the house has been invaded by 3 big boys. They seem to take up a lot of space around the computer as they record the vocals onto the tracks Cal has recorded. Not my choice of music but they are happy with the way it is coming together.

One of their songs will be called 'Pulmonary oedema' !!!! Not sure if they even know what that is, maybe its better that way.

Hats...

I promised you a giggle.

A fond look at the past, when our father took pictures with his SLR camera & had the images preserved on slides. I remember slide shows of the many family holidays we had, mostly of scenery, but now & again a few gems like these.








And I can bet you that each of these hats adorning our heads would have been made with love & care by our mothers' own hands.

I told you it was a giggle.

The garage sale...

I popped in on a friend after work yesterday & she was showing me the bits & pieces she has collected together for her upcoming garage sale.

'Have a look through' she says 'to see if there is anything you want before I put it out'

Have a look I did & found about 6 school books she had 'borrowed' off me!!!

A quiet Sunday...

We've had some really sultry weather the past couple of days. Warm days with high humidity then a thunder storm rolls in with lots of thunder & lightning & a pelting of rain.

I tried to capture that great lightning shot but with the point & shoot this was the best I could do.



Hayley tried as well, it was very difficult to get the timing right, we wanted that perfect fork of lighting.
We might get another opportunity tonight, we're going to look on the internet for some photography tips.