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Bad luck comes in threes

They say these things come in threes.

Well today they sure did!

I was diagnosed with Eustachian tube dysfunction by my GP today – that is causing my right ear to feel full and blocked and why I have a sore ear and neck and even the sore throat that I thought was the start of Covid earlier this week.

Being a mouth breather and wearing a mask is one of the things that cause it to become an issue apparently.

The solution is a new nightly regime of Nasonex, for up to three months.

Lucky me!

Anyway, number two was hearing that my Mum has Covid.

She’s doing OK, but as a ‘lonely only’ child I’m on call for any help she needs over the next week or so.

And number three? Officially a tie.

I received a call from a work colleague who is recovering from a brain aneurysm this afternoon.

He’s been told he’s lucky to be alive after having a seizure and collapsing at home, being put in an induced coma, suffering from constant headaches and apart from being very very tired he’s come out the other side relatively unscathed.

Then a call from my son, on his birthday, about his cat that needs emergency surgery for an abcess.

Distressing, and expensive.

What a day!

That’s it, I’m done.

#flashbackfriday Thirteen

I’ve just watched a movie on Disney Star, Thirteen.

I’ve seen it before, about ten years ago when my own daughter was in high school, and it scared the crap out of me how realistic and relatable it was.

Watching it made me flash back to the early 80s when I was thirteen years old and started pushing the boundaries and experimenting.

One particularly memorable night my ‘bestie’ and I snuck out of her house after her parents went to bed. She lived near a main road so we thought it’d be fun to stick our thumbs out and ‘pretend’ to hitch.

Two young girls, out alone at night … Wasn’t long before two guys pulled over and offered us a ride.

We thought it was a laugh, and lucky for us the guys didn’t take advantage of us in any way, and we were proud of ourselves for being so ‘naughty’.

I’ve been writing in a journal as long as I can remember, and it was reading my journal that Mum found out what we’d been up to and my friendship with my bestie was banned.

At the time I was angry at her for violating my privacy under the pretense of checking when my music lesson was scheduled. And of course devastated that my friendship with my bestie had to end.

What the movie shows is just how quickly things can go awry, and the games and lies teenagers play to manipulate and get their way.

Highly recommended viewing for anyone with pre-teens, even if only to get an insight into how peer pressure can potentially play out.

Two years after my naughty night out a friend of mine also hitched a ride and ended up being a victim of David and Catherine Birnie. For those not familiar with the story you can find out more online … Every Mother’s nightmare.

Who knows what other risks I may have taken if my friendship wasn’t banned and my boundary pushing and experimentation had been allowed to escalate.

Thankfully my own children didn’t end up pushing and experimenting too much and they’re still here and love to share their stories of what they got away with in their teens now they’re adults.

I can only imagine what the parents of my friend who wasn’t so lucky go through every time they think of her.

So in a way I guess I’m saying thanks Mum.

But I’ll still never forgive you for reading my journal.

30,000 kms in three years

Today is a public holiday in Western Australia, and right now there’s a lot of people heading home after a long weekend away.

We opted out of a road trip this weekend for a few reasons, but it feels appropriate to reflect on how far we have travelled since purchasing my ‘G.I. Jane’ Subaru Outback at the end of June in 2018.

Having just returned from an overseas holiday and with plans in place to celebrate a milestone birthday in 2020, the EOFY purchase was more about the trade-in value of my previous car and the fact I fell in love with the colour than anything else.

30,000 kms later we’ve hit the road more often and seen more of our state than we would ever have intended if Covid hadn’t put paid to our original plans.

The money we would have spent overseas has instead been invested in ‘pimping’ my car, purchasing camping supplies and sampling local bakeries from Coolgardie to the Porongorups.

Driving G.I. Jane on and off-road, along with seeing more of our state, we’ve had the opportunity to expand our circle of friends and realise how the small things mean so much along the way.

Fingers crossed Covid won’t impact our plan to see Karijini and Exmouth in a couple of months, and I’m envious of friends who recently sold everything and headed for the horizon with no set plan; one Powerball and we’ll meet them somewhere on the road.

In the meantime I’m so grateful to be able to see more of amazing WA as well as to appreciate how lucky we are to be here right now.

Who knows where the next 30,000 and three kms will take us?

The bubble has burst

I’m wearing a mask handmade by a family member that felt like overkill when it arrived, but now that I’m wearing it my anxiety has hit overdrive.

It’s here, the virus we’ve been reading and hearing about from the sanctuary of our ‘bubble’ has finally found a way in and I am quietly terrified.

It wasn’t until I left home this morning that reality hit.

Driving through the back streets on my way into work, the majority of the dog walkers and tradies I passed were wearing masks.

There were very few cars on the road, and a bus I passed was eerily empty.

I’ve already had a conversation with a work colleague who, after complaining that the mask made her feel dizzy, proceeded to tell me that it’s all a conspiracy and she’s very angry.

I’m angry too, because it’s people like her not taking it seriously that will be most likely to cause the virus to spread even more.

Beyond the current epicentre in Maylands, where my daughter lives. She and her housemates have been queueing since the crack of dawn for testing, because it’s the right thing to do.

Wearing a mask of course, and preparing to wait as long as it takes to get to the front of the line.

Because if you choose not to wear a mask because it feels uncomfortable, or fogs your glasses, or makes you feel dizzy or you think it looks silly then please stay home.

But please don’t go to the shopping centre and vent at the service assistant because you had to queue outside in the heat for hours and there’s no toilet paper left on the shelves.

Because that’s just wrong and you will look silly.

Not a ‘sickie’, just a cold

I’m not at work today, I’m sick.

Not a ‘sickie’, just a cold.

Probably still okay to be at work, just feels like a ‘normal’ cold but I did the ‘right thing’ and went to a respiratory clinic for a Covid test earlier today.

And yes it wasn’t pleasant.

I did the biggest loudest sneeze of my life after the nostril swab! And it’s true, your glasses fog up when you wear a mask.

And I’m annoyed I’m stuck at home until the test results are confirmed, because we’re heading away this weekend and I still need to sort out my outfit for the wedding, and was planning to catch up with the girls on my rostered day off tomorrow.

But that’s a small price to pay at the end of the day.

First World Problem as they say?

On a day I heard Doctors Without Borders are on their way to the US to help deal with the pandemic.

Because it’s people like me, who assumed it was ‘just a cold’ but actually had the virus, who helped spread it and we can all see how that is panning out overseas.

Because I heard on the radio that we need to think of the virus like the smell of cigarettes you breathe in even after the smoker has stopped smoking.

It’s in the air you breathe.

Yes we’re lucky here in Western Australia that we’ve not had any community transmission yet. But it feels like it’s only a matter of time.

Just look at how fast it’s spread in South Australia. From one person.

So maybe think about having Christmas outside this year, or a smaller family gathering than usual, or if you have to be inside have a fan circulating air.

And if you feel like you’ve ‘just got a cold’ go and get a Covid test.

It’s just the right thing to do.

Lessons learnt from camping

According to my phone the forecast minimum in Porongurup tonight is 6 degrees, and there is talk of snow on Bluff Knoll being possible.

I’ve never seen snow, but am thankful the temperature didn’t dip so low when we were down that way last weekend.

This time last week we were on our way there for our first camping experience, with the car packed to the brim and my mind full of fear of the unknown.

I am pleased to report that the experience was successful and enjoyable, but there were some lessons learnt that I’m sharing for myself more than anything.

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best so byo cooking, eating and washing up supplies because camp kitchen facilities vary.

We were pleasantly surprised to find a microwave oven as well as a fridge, toaster, kettle, stove and crockery in the camp kitchen but it can’t be assumed that these will be provided every time.

Don’t rely on technology.

Our CB Radio inexplicably randomly stopped working on the day we left, which would have made it difficult to stay in contact with the car club convoy en route to our destination.

Thankfully we had a spare set but have made a note to check and double check they are both working well before our next trip.

We also had issues with maintaining power for the portable fridge, which could have been managed with the solar panel we decided not to take.

Next trip the panel will be second on the list.

First on the list will be earplugs, which after our first mostly sleepless night we headed to Mount Barker to purchase due to the snore symphony being transmitted from most of the tents.

The self inflating mattress was worth the money as well as the space it took up in the car, but we need to invest in new sleeping bags because the ones we have simply wouldn’t cut it if the overnight temperature dipped as low as it is forecast to tonight.

The long drive home was borderline dangerous because we were both so tired, so anything we can do to improve our sleep quality will be worth the investment.

Tips from other campers I’ll be using include a stove top coffee percolator for that essential morning brew, a thermos for cuppas on the road, and lots of towels for wiping down the tent before it’s rolled up on pack down day.

The biggest lesson from our first camping experience is that the comforts of home and especially our bed have never been more appreciated since we have returned.

I have been sleeping better all week so we are already planning our next trip, but in the meantime I’m researching sleeping bags so any tips would be appreciated.

I’m looking forward to seeing news about snow on Bluff Knoll, but good luck to the campers down there this weekend.

Hopefully they’ve prepared for the worst!

Confessions of a closet hoarder

It’s bulk rubbish collection week in our suburb and the kerb crawlers are out in force.

I don’t have an issue with finding treasure in the trash, and the kerb crawlers are most welcome to help themselves to anything they like because (in theory) that helps reduce my contribution to landfill.

My issue is actually making the decision to let something go.

My contribution has started with the remnants of our life with cats, including a scratching post we invested a ridiculous amount of money in but neither cat was particularly interested in actually using.

It ended up outside in the cat run and the weather’s taken its toll, so off to the verge it must go.

We actually have a house full of stuff that needs to go, but making the decision to do that is something I find very hard to do.

Perhaps it’s the emotional attachment, or the fact that I grew up in a ‘make do and mend’ household?

Or that the stuff we have accumulated in our blended household tells the story of our journey over the past 18 years?

I’m okay with gifting unwanted clothes to Op Shops, but books and gifts and the bits and pieces that our kids have left behind are not so easy to give away.

I once worked with someone who told me their annual spring clean involves hiring a skip bin and walking through the house and finding stiff to fill it with and I was horrified!

What if you need something you have thrown out so impulsively? Or someone you know does?

What if it is still functional and valuable to someone, anyone?

I’ve joined my local buy nothing community page on Facebook and have gifted a few items, but have to admit to receiving more than I have gifted which isn’t really helping clear the clutter.

Maybe I need to get someone else in to  remove all the stuff and see what I miss?

I’m giving my cat collection until the end of the day until someone removes it from the verge.

In the meantime I’m off to look for something else to add to the pile.

If you need anything let me know, I’ve probably got it!

Carpentry cacophony

The Covid-19 ‘lockdown’ here in Western Australia is winding down, and I’m hopeful that some of the positives from the experience will remain.

The opportunity to get to know our neighbours has been just one of the silver linings of the experience for me, but not so for two of our immediate neighbours it would seem.

One is a retired carpenter who likes to tinker in his garage, building grandfather clocks from scratch.

Across the driveway the other neighbour, also retired, likes to entertain friends at home, and is obviously not happy with the noise that the carpentry emits.

A disagreement over the noise recently boiled over, with the neighbour not happy with the garage noise using a passive aggressive technique to counter it; playing the radio loudly on a portable stereo in the doorway of her home, directly facing the offending garage.

As you can imagine the combined noise is not pleasant, especially in the rear courtyard of our home where I normally enjoy pottering in the garden. Today the noise was enough to rouse Shadow from her Nanna nap to the front door to investigate.

We have had both neighbours at our doorstep complaining about the other, and to be honest they’re both starting to annoy the heck out of me.

But there is no way I’m picking a side, because I think they’re both being very selfish and childish. Who said with age comes wisdom?

Perhaps the situation will resolve itself once the social distance restrictions ease and the local men’s shed reopens?

But the noise is only part of the problem really, even if it stops they’re still ultimately going to need to learn to get along in my opinion.

Because life’s too short.

Shadow in The Good Room

There is a room in our house that over the years we have preferred to keep our kids and cats out of, ‘The Good Room’.

It’s where our nicest furniture, a wool rug and our DVD and vinyl collection are stored, and most recently the room I like to practice my guitar in.

Since we’ve been spending so much time at home we’ve relaxed the rules, and our furbaby Shadow has taken a liking to sleeping on the sofas in there.

And we’re okay with that.

I’ve not been able to practice my guitar or watch movies or listen to records because she’s not happy with loud noises.

But we’re okay with that.

You see today we found out the reason she’s been off her food the past few days is because she’s got Lymphoma, and we had to make a decision about her end of life.

At seventeen years of age she’s not going to handle surgery or chemotherapy, so the best we can offer is for her to be on medication that is likely to stimulate her appetite.

We’ve been assured she’s not in pain, and should be comfortable as long as she’s eating and drinking and not incontinent.

We’ve been told that best case scenario is a few more months of life, and for now she’s happy and comfortable in ‘The Good Room.’

There’s a bowl of water and her favourite rug, and she’s still mobile and seems happy to make her way to the laundry to use the kitty litter. She even headed out into the sunshine today, and rolled around in the dirt which ended up on the rug and sofa.

But after all the years of love and companionship we’ve been blessed with receiving from our furbaby, the least we can do is let her make herself comfortable in ‘The Good Room’.

The sounds of home

Today is Tuesday and I was woken just after sunrise by the sound of our bin being emptied. That sound would normally be around the same time as my workday alarm going off when I would jump straight in the shower to wash the sleep away. This morning I rolled over and went back to sleep for a few more hours instead.

Every morning a relative of an elderly Italian neighbour calls in. He drives an Audi R8, a car with a distinctive engine sound that announces his arrival, with a staccato double tap on the horn defining his departure every day. I am normally ready for a coffee around that time so it’s my signal to head into the kitchen to turn on the espresso machine.

The mail is delivered around midday by a postal delivery officer whose bike has squeaky brakes. Even if he doesn’t stop outside our block of units, the sound is a reminder to go outside and check the mailbox.

We live on the same street as the local Primary School, and since the start of term the day has been punctuated by the school siren.
Kind of reminds me of the time we stayed in the heart of Florence across the road from a church, with a bell that rang at 8am and 5pm every day.

The plan for the final leg of the big holiday we had organised for now was to settle into an Airbnb in Sorrento for a week, and it was the opportunity to experience the sights and sounds as a local that I was especially looking forward to.

The funny thing is that it wasn’t until I was forced to holiday at home that I came to really appreciate the comfort that the sounds of home already offer me.

I am so very grateful that Covid-19 has given me the opportunity to slow down, reflect on and reset my priorities, and the day there is no engine purr or staccato double tap is when I will knock on the neighbours door to check on her myself.

In the meantime I think it’s about time to put the kettle on.