Looks like there are still a few friends who read this blog, so I guess I'll keep it going a bit longer. I was thinking of closing it down and just having the stitching and linens blog active, but that would actually be inconvenient to myself because I use this blog as a reminder of what to write about to my PENpal overseas who don't have email!
My friend Char has had an operation to insert a colostomy bag, and now has to face five weeks of radiation and chemotherapy to kill the tumour in her bowel. She says her surgeon is optimistic about her chances of recovery, so she is optimistic too. (She's that kind of person). She loved the shoulder bag I made for her Ipad. The first one was big enough for the Ipad on its own, but not with the hard case, so I made her a slightly bigger one, and that is a perfect fit. I took it into the hospital for her, as she had her Ipad there, and she was tickled pink! She said "Nobody's going to mistake this for anyone else's property. There wouldn't be any other Ipad bags with Elvis on!"
Ken has now had both eyes fixed - cataracts removed. He is so pleased with his new eyes - he keeps telling me what he can see that he missed before, like dirty marks and dust around the house. I told him he shouldn't have had the cataracts removed, if he was going to pick on my housework (or lack of)! He's been going to pulmonary rehab at the Austin Hospital, and they've been trying to impress on him the need for regular exercise. At first he didn't want to know about it - said he was always so tired he didn't have the energy to exercise. But the message has finally sunk in, and while we don't go for as many walks as the hospital staff have suggested, he makes up for it by walking around shopping centres non stop for 10 minutes if we are out shopping. Or if he goes on a bike ride with his mates, he will walk around for a while when they've stopped somewhere.
We've both got hearing aids too...oh shit, we are getting OLD :-( These were at the instigation of the Australian government
Hearing Services Program which provides free hearing tests, and if needed, hearing aids. I went in to have my hearing tested just out of curiosity, and they told me my hearing was mildly impaired, which is to be expected at my age...humph. I didn't want to pay for something that I didn't think was necessary, so they provided me with the free hearing aids (basic cheapies) which I have used once but not again, as the buzzing drove me nuts. Ken went for a test and they found he was nearly deaf in one ear, which he knew already, and he opted to pay $1000 for top of the range hearing aids, which he wears when he remembers to put them in!
On the renovations front, we've been having the exterior of our house painted. It hasn't been done since it was built in 1975, so it is long overdue, but we haven't had the money until now. It is costing over $6000, but as we watch what a difference it is making, we realise it will be worth every cent. Our house is brick veneer, with timber window frames and doors, and they were all "Mission Brown" - so retro, as people would tell us! But we liked it. It is now being painted a colour called "Pinjarra" which is a kind of terra cotta colour, and it has given the house a real lift. I've taken some photos, and will post them here soon.
The interior has to be painted too - only the ceilings, as the walls are mostly brick, cedar panelling or wall papered. I'd love to tear all the wall paper down, but that would be a hell of a job, and we'd have to move so much furniture to do it, so we are prepared to live with that. Whoever buys the house in future can deal with it!
I've been doing a few art and craft workshops, and will probably update that blog some time soon too if anyone is interested in that.
