Well . . . here we are in 2014 already. I know, I know . . . I am very slack for not even getting an update in by Christmas of 2013 to wish you all a Merry Christmas, but I was on the verge of getting some potentially big news and was holding off so I could share it with everyone in the update. Sadly, the news took longer to come that I had hoped, and so the update is only happening now. So . . . I sure hope you HAD a very wonderful Christmas, and I really hope that this year, 2014, is going to be the most wonderful year imaginable for you . . . I know, now that I finally have the news I was waiting for to share with you, that it has the potential to be just that for me. :) If you are not in the "reading mood", feel free to scroll down and look at the pics at least . . . they are a lot of fun. :)
But . . . before I get into my news I just want to just say a bit about all these pics first. I have shared with lots of people since I moved up here about the unique family Christmas Day tradition we have at Phil & Shellie's place . . . a great big water fight (big as in with buckets and not water pistols LOL!), but, because I am always in the thick of it, I never got to take any photos of the mayhem myself, and its really hard to describe just what its like in words alone. Now, part of what makes this water fight such a beauty, is the fact that Phil & Shellie have friends Jack & Jenny who run a backpackers hostel a few minutes down the road from them, and this water fight has also become a tradition for their backpackers on Christmas Day as well . . . this year there was about 30 of them that came to join in, and, thanks to Jenny, who took the photos, I am able to give you a glimpse of the fun it always is. We had these three huge tubs (below) filled with water before we started, but with 30 - 40 kids (in big bodies) and a good supply of buckets, it did not take long to empty them LOL!
I have quite a few pics to share with you, so what I am going to do is share a bit of news and info in between them, so you don't have a whole stack of words to read in one go, OK. Here, below, we see my nephew Harley (tall skinny guy with the tatts on the right) on a mission . . . probably to get a new bucket . . . those cheap plastic things are not really made for this kind of action and the place was literally littered with bucket handles and pieces when it was all over LOL!
OK, my news . . . hmmm, perhaps I should go back and have a quick run through from where I left off in my last update. I had quite recently completed my Certificate III In Aged Care, and was working at Carinya Home For The Aged. Well . . . I actually did not work there for very long. Despite it being absolutely perfect, position-wise, there were a few things about working there that I did not enjoy and when I thought about what I really wanted to be doing for the rest of my life, then Carinya was just not it. I mean . . . the residents were beautiful people, and I know I made a positive difference to the lives of some of them, and most of my co-workers were great to work with . . . and the whole experience of doing the training and working in the role was invaluable . . . but engaging in it for more than I had already done was just not for me. So, it was back to the challenging task of looking for work again for me. Here (below) we see me quick to get into the action and unleashing some serious water into the backpacker throng after arriving a few minutes after the fun had started.
As I had discovered before doing the Certificate III In Aged Care, work was scarce in the little country town of Atherton, and so I wondered several times, as my cash flow started going backwards again, if I had made the right decision in terminating my employment at Carinya, but each time I was able to remember I had followed my heart, and that the Universe would always support that, and so I had to just hand over and trust in the unfolding. In June, a door opened, and I did a Drumbeat Facilitator Training and in July, another door opened and I found myself enrolled in a Diploma Of Youth Work course with Community Training Australia (CTA) at their Malanda Campus. Why Youth Work? I'm not sure really. Maybe I just wanted to go in a completely different direction to Aged Care LOL! Here (below) we see some serious backpacker retaliation LOL!
Well, I loved pretty well everything about doing the Diploma of Youth Work. The venue was awesome, the lecturer was great, the time schedule was brilliant for me (one week full-time going through two modules on Campus then 4 or 5 weeks to complete the related assignments . . . and going through that process four times all up), and the group of people doing it with me were awesome fun (we laughed so much during our full-time on-campus weeks). The assignments were not that much fun though, especially towards the end, but the one thing I simply had no love for was my negative cash flow. It was not this course in particular, as any full time study would have resulted in it, but to counter this, another door opened in October when a friend of mine with the trolley collection contract for the local Big W store in Atherton lost a worker and needed someone to take his place.
I have to admit, I never really expected to find myself working as a trolley boy, but after swallowing my pride and "just doing it" I really loved the work. The money is almost as good as what I was getting as an AIN at Carinya, and it was perfect time-wise, because it was only 3 days a week, which meant it did not disrupt my full-time study (assignments) too much, and the one on-campus week that clashed was easily worked around. It was outdoors (even though it was very busy and hot over Christmas), I lost about 4 kgs, my fitness improved dramatically (its physically a lot harder than it looks), I was my own boss pretty well, so could take breaks when I wanted, and I was able to catch up with lots of people each day because practically the whole town shops there. Here (below) we see Shellie's demise. Harley (behind his mate Callum) holds her firmly while another mate of his, Daniel, unloads a bucket all over her.
Anyway, it was about this time that I also began the process of applying for a job with Queensland Correctional Services (QCS) . . . as one of the 20 odd new Correctional Officers at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre (LGCC). I say process, because that's exactly what it was, as the recruitment was handled by a recruitment agency from Victoria that was particularly thorough. This process included an online IQ test, then an online psyche test, the customary police checks, a full medical examination, an emergency response physical test, and an assessment day in Cairns that included an interview, group problem solving (with observation), and a computer aptitude test. It also included interviews with two referees, and although that proved to be a little challenging to organise, it worked out in the end. Oh, by the way, I did complete all my assessments for the Diploma Of Youth Work (below), and received my certificate in the mail earlier this month (February 2014). I am not sure if there is going to be a graduation ceremony or not.
I think the fact that I was doing this Diploma, had done the Drumbeat Facilitation, had worked for 5 years in Mental Health in Victoria, and had a Diploma of Teaching . . . all played a part in the success of my application, because at 55, I think I might well have been the oldest applicant . . . that was successful. Yes, I found out in January when I was offered one of the positions, and this was the news I was waiting for before I did this update. Basically I was going to share with you either that I was happily working as a trolley boy at Big W, or that I was about to start a 10 week training as a Correctional Officer with QCS at the LGCC, and I am really happy that I can share the latter of the two, even though, as I said, I did love my trolley boy work. Here (below) we see me getting backpacker water from all directions, but I have to say I did Queensland proud on the day LOL!
The Correctional Officer position feels perfect for me right now. It means a dramatic and considerable reversal of my cash flow (which is such a weight off my shoulders), and I am sure it won't be too long before I am in the black again. The initial 10 week training is 8 hours a day I think, five days a week, but once that is finished, I will be working 12 hour shifts, 3 days on, 3 days off, which I expect to be much more enjoyable than 9 to 5, five days a week, with a two day weekend. Now . . . there's a few people I want to thank. The referee checks were crucial to this recruitment agency, and so without my referees, I simply would not have been offered this position, so thank you to Edith, my old Community Residential Support Team (CREST) boss for being one of them, and thank you to Bruce, my parent's doctor, who agreed to be the other. Also, thanks to Lisa, an old CREST team leader who was so helpful in helping me to track down Edith. Neither of these women worked for CREST any more, but Lisa worked for another agency under the Eastern Access Community Health (EACH) umbrella while Edith had actually left EACH altogether. Here (below) we see some sneaky tactics by yours truly . . . all captured on film LOL! With the tubs of water empty over near the house, we had to resort to getting our water straight out of the irrigation channel. A nice friendly backpacker offers to help . . . I don't need it but thank him, we chat, and he drinks his beer . . . then when he's not expecting it, I empty my bucket on him LOL!
So . . . we are almost up to date. I completed all the paperwork that I was sent regarding QCS employment, and two weeks ago I attended an orientation day at Lotus Glen where we were fitted for uniforms ,etc., and taken on a tour of the facility. I am writing this on Sunday 16th February . . . the day before my 10 week training begins, so I will be up early tomorrow and raring to go. :) Here (below), due to the water running out in the tubs, and the pump that pumped the water out of the channel to fill them being unable to provide the volume of water necessary for such a water fight, the water fight moved . . . to . . . and into . . . the irrigation channel LOL!
Well . . . that's it guys! I finally got this update done. I finished working as trolley boy two weeks ago, and have had a "to do" list of considerable length that I have been working through. Now I have one more item to cross off the list. Woooooo Hoooooo! Yeah, I know it's been over 12 months since the last update, but better late then never I reckon, and I do intend, at this point in time, to improve on that with the next one. Here (below) we see the water fight crew when it was all over . . . some of us had even dried off and got dressed LOL! I hope you enjoyed these pics and that they enabled you to get a real sense of our Christmas Day water fight . . . so . . . until next time, blessings and InLak'ech to you and all your loved ones . . .
Well the first thing I'd like to do is wish you (whoever you are that happens to be reading this) and all your loved ones a very . . .
. . . and may 2013 turn out to be more wonderful and miraculous than you ever could have imagined it to be for you as well!! Yes . . . I know this update is well overdue . . . but I think 10 months is better than 12 (the last update), so perhaps I am improving LOL!
I do have things to share . . . it has been almost a year after all . . . so I will get on to do that in a little while . . . I just had to start off by sharing another cute JibJab video I made, starring my awesome children, Nick and Sarah, and myself of course . . . this time in a sled race LOL!
And . . . for those of you who enjoyed the Jackie Evancho videos in my last update, I have included a few more of her to help spread the Christmas Spirit. This first one is "Silent Night", and she performs it with the Canadian Tenors . . . wowww . . . what beautiful harmonies they come up with! :)
This next one is "I'll Be Home For Christmas", and they created a really beautiful video clip to go with the beautiful song and the beautiful voice LOL!
Ok . . . now for the boring bits like what I have been doing this year for those who are really interested . . . so if you are not one of those, then once again, I wish you and all your loved ones a joyful, loving, and peaceful Christmas, and set you free to go look at something else *smiles*. Ok . . now . . . for those who really want to know . . . where do I start???
Hmmmm . . . well . . . all the legal stuff was finally sorted after Mum's passing and her funeral, and after my Centrelink income switched (and decreased considerably) from a Carer's Pension to Newstart allowance, my focus switched accordingly to looking for work so I could eat and pay bills, etc. I really was not having much luck when my sister-in-law Shellie suggested I explore a Certificate III in Aged Care course she saw in the local paper. Well, I did just that, taking a step in the general direction . . . and before i knew it, I was in it. LOL!
I entered a few weeks into the course, and had some catching up to do, but with my head down and tail up, I managed to catch up to the rest of the class and keep everything up to date for the rest of the course, graduating as an AN (Assistant in Nursing) on 7th December.
A considerable component of the course was placement in an actual Nursing Home, and I was fortunate to do my time in Carinya Home For The Aged, which is a short stroll accross a park from where I live, and which therefore would make it the "dream job" when it comes to travel time and cost, if that was where I happened to get work when the course was completed.
Well it seems I did good *smiles*, and it was not long before I was being given shifts there, even before graduating, but after all the course modules were completed and handed in for assessment. The hardest thing was getting back into a "normal" (for want of a far better word) working life and spending a third of most of my days working to get enough money to provide comfortable shelter and food for myself. The whole thing is crazy, but I find myself falling into the ratrace once again . . . and wishing that the end of the Mayan Calendar meant a whole lot more than the end of one cycle and the beginning of another, and something that would shatter this crazy world as we know it and set humanity back to grass roots of living and sharing together . . . harmoniously . . . in community as we were designed to. Oh well . . . Iit dont hurt to dream LOL!
Now . . . what was I saying . . . oh yeah . . . I am working at Carinya now, and despite my dislike of the social system I find myself in, I am also able to step back and see, from the bigger picture perspective . . . just how incredibly blessed and fortunate I am to be living where I am, and doing what I am doing. Anyway, what else has happened this year? I will briefly run through a few things that spring to mind before I wind this update up and submit it into the Blog ethers. Oh yeah, one highlight was going down to Cairns and being part of the Cairns Ukulele Ensemble that attempted (sadly unsuccessfully) to break the world record for the most Ukulele players playing the same song. We were only a couple of hundred short, but it was a lot of fun LOL!
I had one of my friends from Melbourne, Caz, and her guy David come up and visit for a day during their week long vacation up in the tropics, and I had my daughter Sarah come up for a week so she/we could experience the Solar Eclipse we were blessed to have fall right on us up here in the far north. It really was an awesome thing to experience, and although I did not video it myself or anything like that, this video I found of the eclipse on YouTube gives you a good idea of what it was like . . . though no video is going to give you the true experience of actually being there in it.
Another highlight was my brother Pete coming up for a visit . . . and to pack up the piano (that was left to his daughter Bec), all the china (that was left to his wife, Barb), and most of the paintings (that were left to him), and organize to get them all transported down to Victoria. Thankfully, everything fell into place easily and efficiently, and not long after he had returned to Victoria, the transport company arrived and began their trip to their new homes. Hmmm . . . what else . . . well there might have been a few more things, but that will have to do so I can get this update completed, and some Christmas emails sent out as well today.
Oh . . . I just remembered . . . I have one more video . . . for all those people able to see the spiritual significance of the amazing time we are in right now, and the unparallelled shift of consciousness we are going through as a result, here is a meditation designed to assist us make the transition from from the vibration we have considered normal till now . . . into one that better reflects the truth of who we are and opens more doors into All That Is than we have imagined. Enjoy . . . and hugs and blessings to you all . . .
Hey Everyone . . . just had to share a couple of things . . . had a real fun day yesterday, and helped put Cairns on the map by being one of the 3000+ people to set a new world record for a Zumba class size, with a resulting entry (if there are no hiccups in the process) into the Guiness Book Of World Records. Woooooooooooo Hooooooooooooo!!! Here is the only Youtube video I have found on it, though I am sure there will be a few more, once the people who made their own version on the day get them uploaded.
Cool Huh!!! LOL! Okie . . . but . . . as the title suggests, I have more to share than just this giant zumba class . . . and so . . . on a different note (pardon the pun LOL!) . . . I would like to introduce you to . . .
JACKIE EVANCHO
My God, this young lady (10 years old . . . maybe 11 now) is TOTALLY AWESOME!!! . . . well, her VOICE is, anyway . . . truly brings tears to my eyes . . . OFTEN!!! . . . and seriously, folks . . . you just HAVE to take a few minutes and listen to at least ONE of her current Youtube videos . . . and I have put some of my favourites here for those of you who are as enthralled with her as I was the first time I heard her sing, and want to hear more . . . and you have more than a few minutes of spare time, too I guess LOL! The first one "I Believe" is the first video of her I ever saw after a friend sent me the link, and its then followed by "Pie Jesu", then "O Mio Babbino Caro", then "Nessun Dorma", and finally (and it might seem a little back to front), her FIRST appearance on America's Got Talant, where she blew the audience AND the judges away . . . in one angelic swoop LOL! Anyway . . . enjoy . . . may she touch your heart like she has touched mine . . . and seeya next time :)
Well . . . somehow I have actually been able to get all my cards sent out as well as all the thank yous to people who sent cards and/or flowers when Mum left her body behind for the last time . . . but in case I happened to miss out on somebody . . . and you happen to have found your way here . . . then this "Merry Christmas" and "Thank You" is for you as well as everyone else. As you can see in the video (below), thanks to my wonderful friends Vic & Elizabeth who put me on to it, I have discovered the Jib Jab website, where you can create some pretty cool greeting card videos using faces from photos you upload to the website. This one still makes me smile and chuckle every time I watch it.
Yep thats us (Nick & Sarah, my two amazing children, and me) in that there video singing & playing "Rockin 'Round The Christmas Tree" LOL! This is our Chrissy card for you . . . and we hope it brings as big a smile to your face as it does to ours :) . . . and once again . . . Merry Christmas to you, and all your loved ones . . . and my 2012 be the year in which all your dreams come true!
Hey guess what . . . I just turned 53, and to celebrate, my wonderful friend Sheryl invited me to share a "Breakfast With The Beasts" at the Cairns Wildlife Safari Reserve with her and her friend Helen. It was a fantastic way to spend several hours, even though it was pretty hot there . . . we started with a hearty breakfast and then proceeded to move around the reserve to where different animals were being fed every half hour or so, and the extremely knowledgeable staff at each feeding location generously shared a wealth of information about the animals as they fed them.
We noticed this rather angry lioness (above) just after breakfast, and could not work out why she was growing at us all so fearcely . . . until we saw a piece of meat our side of the electric fence just out of her reach reach LOL! She sure didn't want us to get that meat! Fortunately for her (and maybe us too LOL!), a very kind young guy eventually pushed it over to her under the electric fence with a stick, and she was one happy tabby after that :)
The video above was made during the lions feeding time. You will notice a few of them get too close to the electric fence at times and get a bit of a wake up call zap. It was amazing to be so close to them as they ate. Here we are (below, Sheryl in the centre) taking a break till it was time for the brown bears to eat.
In the video below, Sheryl gets up close and personal with the ginormous, but extremely gentle giant of the Reserve . . . the White Rhinocerous . . . all two and a half tons of him. It was pointed out to us that the wire barriers would not keep him in if he really want to escape (did you see Jurasic Park?? LOL!) . . . so we were strongly encouraged to move slowly and not make any loud noises while we all took turns to say hello to this guy as he was eating. Wowwwwww . . . what a great birthday pressy . . . thanks so much Sheryl! :)
Someone sent me the link to this video, and although it seems almost sacrilegious to do this to crop circles, I found the beginning, at least, really catchy, and wanted to share it with you . . . enjoy :)
Well, with almost 12 months having raced by since my last update, it sure is time for one now . . . and its looking like this is going to be the last one for a while . . . because . . . as you have probably worked out from this update's title, this one is to let you know that Mum left her body, and is now free from any sort of suffering, and happily reunited with all of her discarnate loved ones, including her beloved husband Max.
But before I get to that, I really do need to take a few minutes to fill in the gap a little since the last Blog submission . . . both to honour the friends that have helped make Mum's life as wonderful as it could be, and to thank those people for the love and energy they always gave her so willingly. There were many more than those I happened to take pics of, so if you are in that category, please know that your love and support was no less appreciated than those that are not.
The pic above was from when Mum had a suprise visit from Deanna Stagger, Patsy Hannam, and Lorraine Sheehan on the 10th of April.
Mum was thrilled when a couple of old friends, Shirley & John Poole (above) called in on the 12th of June whilst taking part in an inter-city lawn bowls tournament at the local Atherton Bowling Club.
Mum had several dear friends who visited her regularly, and because of that I usually did not think to take pics of them, but on the 24th June, we had two of them visit at the same time . . . on the left (above) is Delphi, and on the right is Meg. Thank you ladies . . . your friendship and presence in Mum's life made an unbelievable difference.
On 26th July, Mum celebrated her 82nd birthday, and as usual, (above) there were candles to blow out and a cake to cut after our Birthday Dinner at the International Club.
The 26th August saw the return of the Adler Sisters, and this (above) is the third pic (or maybe even the fourth) of this Annual event that Mum loved and looked forward to with great enthusiasm. This great group of siblings usually wore something matching (take note of the decorated tops), but sadly, Janet let the team down this year, and probably has still not heard the end of it LOL!
This pic (above) was taken on the 17th of October when the Steinmanns (Heinze, Miva, & Heidi) brought their latest addition to the family, little son and brother Liam, along to meet Mum for the first time. Mum thoroughly enjoyed the visit.
Five days after this, on the 22nd of October, Mum took her final ambulance ride to the hospital after waking up to an Angina attack, and being unable to alleviate the pain and distress of it via the usual methods of the under-the-tongue nitrate spray and oxygen. She then spent a week in hospital going in and out of the High Dependancy unit, but the combination of her heart simply running out of steam, and the increasing need for pain relief to keep her comfortable, meant that she finally left her body behind for good around 11:00 pm on Saturday 29th October, 2011.
Clicking on the "Celebration Of Life" service program front page (above) will enable you to open or download the full program to your computer.
Like Dad's, Mum's "Celebration Of Life" service was held at the Atherton Uniting Church and conducted by the Church Minister, Reverend Leo Newell. Everyone that I spoke to about it afterwards commented on how positive and uplifting it was.
Also like Dad's, Mum's coffin (above) was white with gold trim . . . but hers was topped with a beautiful spray of mostly pink roses . . . just as she had requested.
One special part of Mum's "Celebration Of Life" Service was a 10 minute video presentation created by my brother Phil, with dozens of snippits of footage of Mum over the last 20 or so years . . . set to one of her favourite pieces of music . . . Strauss's The Blue Danube . . . and now that it has been uploaded to YouTube (above), you are invited to share in these these memories as well.
When the service was over, I was joined (above) by my brother Peter to my right, my brother Phil behind me, Phils son Harley to his right, our Uncle Kel behind Phil, and our Uncle Geoff to his right, to carry Mums coffin out to the hearse which was to take her, once all rituals were finished were said, to be cremated.
This (above) was a special moment with my daughter Sarah, who had been able to make the funeral. My son, Nick, had been in the middle of exams and simply unable to be there with us. Still, he had been able to make Dad's whereas Sarah hadn't, so it all works out in the end. :)
Phil, Shellie, Sarah & I (above) wait for friends and family to join us outside the church for the final rituals.
With the service over, it was a time for everyone to share in a sumptuous afternoon tea and for old friends and family to catch up and reminisce about special times spent with Valmae. Here (above) we see Phil, Roberta, Pete, and Patsy & Chris.
One of the best speakers (I thought) was my Uncle Kel, and here he is (above) with his daughter (my cousin) Susie. They came up from Tully for the day.
The following day . . . with the Celebration over . . . meant some relaxing time for family . . . and some time with my other Uncle who was able to make it, Geoff, and his wife Daphne. Here they are, with Sarah, Phil, Pete, & I (above).
One thing our family is really good at is acting the fool . . . and it can be pretty funny at times . . . and so posing for this shot (above) meant some light relief to the seriousness of the past few days.
And finally (yep, I know, this was a long post with lots of pics) . . . I just had to include one of Pete's wife Barb, who took on the role of photographer for the few days that they were up here from Melbourne, and basically provided me with most of the pics taken of the funeral. Here she is (above) in a great shot with Auntie Daph.
First of all . . . M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S E V E R Y O N E ! ! !
Wowwww, this update is really overdue, but I didn't realize just how badly it was till just now (I haven't really wanted to look either LOL!). It's Christmas Day already!!! So although this is a Christmas day update, it will only have things that have happened UP until Christmas. I will do another update soon that will have a report on Christmas Day itself, OK (LOL!)
So . . . in terms of Mum's health, it has been a case of no news being good news, and that is a good thing. Yep, I am happy to report that she continues to cruise along quite able to deal with the pain that does seem to appear now and then in her right (amputated) leg without painkillers of any sort, by throwing it over the side of the bed and letting it hang there. Not totally sure why (though I think it might connected to her kidneys like the doctor does, and this action could open and stretch her abdomen, and allow any gravel there to pass more easily), but it works. :)
She occasionally cancels her weekly trip to the hairdresser due to lack of energy, but those times are quite rare, and she still won't have a TV in her bedroom where she spends most of the time, because she prefers listening to either ABC classical FM or the local ABC talkback radio, or reading. Crosswords seem to have passed by the wayside due to the collection of dictionaries she uses being too heavy to lift and open, and the need to use the internet more and more to find the answers to the clues because the dictionaries dont seem to have them any more, and her aversion to computers LOL! One of the highlights of her day is the board game we play each night. We have a few we can choose from, but we usually play Yatzee. I have to admit, she does have fun and is a better loser than me, but I am working on that. :)
Ok, thats the health report done . . . so now to share some of the more interesting things that have unfolded in my world in the last few months. Ok, it was my brother Phil's birthday on the 6th October, and we celebrated with a BBQ out at the farm. Shellie even went all out and got a professional cake made for the occasion . . . its not hard to guess what one of his favourite past times is . . .
Then, a little over a month later, we had another birthday cake for Alison's 81st birthday.
We celebrated that with her with a birthday dinner at the Tolga Hotel.
Ok, moving ahead in time, we come to a visit definately worth mentioning. Mum really does like people visiting, and every year, one of Mum's close friends, Patsy Hannam gets together with her four sisters (Adler, pre-marriage), and they always come and visit Mum as part of their activities.
And finally, I had to include a pic of a beautiful Golden Orb we have living on our downstairs verandah. She lost a leg sometime in her journey, but she is a real beauty. :)
Ok, thats is for this post. I didn't quite finish it before we headed out this morning for Christmas lunch at the farm (followed by the traditional waterfight with the backpackers from down Channel Road), and so I have had to do it after we returned from out fun-filled Christmas Day . . . but all that we got up to will be included in the next update, and I will do that when I get back from my two week holiday in Victoria. I fly down tomorrow (26th) and return on the 10th of January. Woooooo Hoooooo!!! Ciao for now . . .
Greetings from torpical North Queensland :). Yes, an update is definately overdue, but I am happy to report that once again, in addition to my slackness, it has also been a case of no news being reasonably good news, when it comes to Mum's health. I say reasonably, 'cause generally, it (her health) has not been as good as it was in the last update. Her right (amputated) leg has been giving her more grief than the occasional annoyance, and has resulted in doctor's visits for the pain on a couple of occasions. He (her doctor) thinks the pain is being referred from her already weak kidneys, and the idea of grit/particles being eliminated from time to time causing the pain does seem to fit with the unpredictability and inconsistancy of the problem.
Sadly, it seems, in her case, that pretty well all medications with serious enough pain reducing capabilities to take the pain in her leg away, also muck (block) up her digestive system, and some, like the liquid morphine variety, result in her throwing up on and off for the whole next day after taking it, so she is often quite reluctant to take anything at all, which results in some nights of very little sleep as she sits up, dangles her leg over the bed, massages it, and does pretty well anything she can think of to ease the pain so she can get to sleep. Occasionally she gets me up in the early hours to heat up a wheat bag which seems to help at times.
But look, I don't what to give you the impressions that life is living hell for her, as it is far from it. The problem really is irregular, and seems to pop up out of nowhere, and no matter how many times Mum thinks she has worked out the problem and how to best deal with it, the next time it occurs always proves her wrong. If you spoke to her right now as I write, she would tell you she is great, because she has just had a pretty good week, and a wonderful 81st birthday (yesterday, 26th), and I am very pleased to be able to share a few pics that highlight this.
I took the pic above on the first time since 2006 that Mum visited Babinda, the town where she and Dad lived for many years, and where my brothers and I grew up. It was also the first time she had been back there since losing her leg, and that fact did evoke some hesitation in her. But the occasion was an extremely positive and uplifting one, and any fear she may have been feeling was quickly melted away by the very nature of the visit.
You see, she had been invited by Dad's ex pharmacist business partner Fred Lizzio, who still runs the Munro Theatre in Babinda to watch (on Sunday 18th July) Andre Rieu (who always makes her feel wonderful) in a live-streamed concert from Maastricht in the Netherlands. Since being badly damaged in cyclone Larry, insurance payouts and government grants enabled the theatre to be repaired/upgraded with all the latest digital projection equipment, and it is now able to show movies in full 3D AND host live streaming events like this concert, via a satellite link.
On top of that, several friends new she was coming and came down to the theatre to see her before the show as well. From left, in the pic above, you can see her friend from Atherton, Meg, who had come with us at Mum's invitation, and then her Babinda friends May Jago to her left, Patsy and Chris Hannam behind her, and Betty and Wes Richardson to her right. Yep, I've written so much about the theatre, you'll probably have to scroll back up to see them . . . LOL! :)
One Sunday later, on the 25th July (the day before her birthday) we took Mum to the International Club in Atherton for a birthday lunch. From the left, in the pic above, we see Phil, Simon, Doris, Alison, Shellie, Harley, who were all there to celebrate Mum's 81st birthday, and the birthday girl, herself. Yep, I'm not in it 'cause I took the photo LOL! Naturally, there was a birthday cake . . .
The following day was a really wonderful day for Mum, as she was inundated with flower deliveries, cards arriving in the mail, a visit from a past Babinda neighbour, Pam Schultz, who shared lunch with us (forgot to get a pic), and a seemingly endless number of phone calls, resulting in her only complaint for the day . . . her hand going numb from holding the phone for so much of it LOL! She wanted a pic of all the flowers and cards so I gathered them all together, and took this one . . .
Well, that's it for this update. Did I forget anthing? Probably, but, you got the best of all that has unfolded up here at the Atherton Ackland's place since the last update, and so . . . until the next one . . . ciao :)
Morning rainbows are a great way to start the day . . . but more on them later, 'cause I want to begin with the usual health update. Mum is reasonably stable and relatively free from any sort of consistent suffering, though she is quite fragile, needs oxygen every now and then, and has had a few angina attacks recently after waking from scary dreams in which she is being chased. Her right leg (the amputated one) was very painful for some reason last Sunday night (30th May), so she had a dose of Ordine (liquid morphine) to ease it (and so had a great sleep as well), but then the next day (Monday 31st) she vomited several times throughout the day as her body attempted to get rid of the morphine.
The same thing used to happen for the first few days of going on, or increasing, her pain patches, as the body is simply not used to it, and so like a lot of the drugs she takes, it always seems to always be a case of weighing up the pros and cons (side effects) of each of them. I put an anti-itch lotion (Animine lotion, with 1% menthol added by the chemist – an old recipe that Dad used to have made up for himself) on her back every night to ease an itchiness which we presume is a side effect of one of the drugs. It always gets worse whenever she goes onto a course of antibiotics for bladder infections, or the like, which happens from time to time.
Still, her suffering is a lot less than when I first came up here, when she had painful ulcers on her remaining foot and was on pain patches to deal with that, and she still has plenty to live for with an abundance of love of friends and family in her world, and lots of interesting conversations/topics on the ABC radio. She does need to rest for a lot of the time, but refuses to have a TV in her bedroom, and she still enjoys getting her hair washed and set at her hairdressers most Wednesday mornings.
Whenever I take her to the doctors for a warfarin level blood test, she also enjoys going for a coffee at the local coffee shop after it, and then to check out if Millers (a dress shop next door to the coffee shop) have any new items of clothing she might like. She even buys some occasionally. Ok, now on to some of the interesting things in our world since the last update. One was a visit by one of Mum's old (yes, old as in age, but also in terms of length of time they have been friends LOL!) friends, Pauline Gilbey (below, with Mum) the Saturday before last (22nd May).
On the afternoon of the same day, we went out to the farm (for a few hours anyway) for a "Boob's Off" party. My brother Phil's wife Shellie goes into hospital tomorrow (2nd June) for an operation to have her second breast removed after the first was removed last year due to breast cancer, and this party was one of the ways she is dealing with the loss . . . sort of looking it square in the eye, not hiding the problem away somewhere, and making as light of the situation as possible. As you can see (below) she had a little help with this . . .
There was even a beautifully made & iced cake made for the occasion . . .
The following day (Sunday 23rd), I took Mum out to the 80th birthday party of another of her friends Lorna Jackson, who is the wife of an old (as in from a long time ago) boyfriend of hers, George. Mum is the one in the wheelchair on the right in the pic below, and you can just see George over to the left reading out the tribute he had written for Lorna to celebrate her birthday . . .
Speaking of birthdays, Shellie had hers last Friday (28th May) and Mum and I took her, and her mum Alison, and her friend Paula, and her son Harley, and DJ, Harley's friend, to a birthday lunch at the International Club the following day. Phil was working and couldn't make it, but everyone seemed to enjoy the food and the company.
And now finally . . . I get to the morning rainbows. Mum's room gets sunlight in the morning, so I have hung my faceted crystal ball in there near the dooray to catch the sunlight as it streams in in the morning and do what it does best - refract it into the room and create little rainbows all over the walls and ceiling. I took a quick video of them one morning, and here it is . . .
And one last thing . . . for those who did not see the winner of the European Song Contest, it's Lena, representing Germany, with "Satellite". It's a bit of a crazy/quirky love song, but this 19 year old German girl sings in English and has the weirdest accent. It's kinda cute, and probably was that "X" factor that resulted in her winning the competition. Enjoy . . . and blessings to all . . .
Yep, I sure am . . . but more on that in a minute LOL! I just noticed it's almost been two months since the last update, and I can hardly believe it. Time seems to be moving soooooo quickly these days, but I'm also happy to say that it has been a case of "no news being good news", particularly in terms of Mum's health. She is cruising along really well, with very little discomfort in her world at all, despite still feeling pretty weak generally and still needing oxygen at times after she exerts herself a little. So all's good there :)
"Ok, ok, who is it that I'm in love with", I bet you've been wondering LOL! Well . . . let me tell you about her . . . she's beeeaautifullll!!!! . . . she's absolutely exquisite . . . she's just about as deep as they come . . . with a thirst-quenching cool clarity that sort of evokes inner peace and tranquility just being in her presence. She is truly a perfect example of the archetypal femminine . . . and she's a little bluey-green in colour too :) No . . . she's not Naytiri out of the movie Avatar, but rather . . . she's a lake . . . Lake Eacham, to be precise LOL! Had you going there, didn't I :)
It's funny, you know, she's been there, just 15 minutes away from Atherton, for all the two years I have lived here, but I never really saw her, nor appreciated how extraordinary she is. That was until a friend, Lesa, took me out there one day for a walk around her (3 km) followed by a very refreshing swim in her crystal clear waters. I remember thinking as I walked "Wow this track is so beautiful that I can even imagine jogging around it every now and then without finding the exercise boring", and later as we relaxed in the soothing water I knew there could be no better way to cool off after a run than to bathe in this water. It was literally only days later that I began to see this wonderful lady as regularly as possible, and begin to find myself "in love" with her :) Thankfully, getting away for a couple of hours in the afternoon works fine with Mum, so it's a win/win for everyone :)
Anyway, I went there one morning, and using my phone, I made a few videos of her to share with you. The first one (above) begins at the top (the right side looking at the lake) of the main swimming area at one end, and heads a little way up the circuit track that I jog on. The second one (below) begins at the left side looking at the lake above the main swimming area and moves down the boat ramp a little way before heading over to one of the entry points (into the water) of the main swimming area.
The third one, below, heads down a track to the left of the boat ramp to the pontoon, and you get to look back at the swimming area from there. One of my favourite things to do is to paddle a couple of hundred metres out into the middle of the lake on a noodle (one of those brightly coloured foam plastic flotation devices that look like a giant straw and work brilliantly in keeping my head above water without any effort on my part LOL!) and just take her all in. It's a very meditative, and relaxing, and calming, experience, and it fills me to overflowing with gratitude for just being right there, right then, in such a fabulously beautiful place.
So . . . if you have one of those "100 things to do before I die" lists, make sure you add a swim in Lake Eacham to it . . . 'cause it's definately something I'd love to share with YOU . . . sometime in our future :)
Well, an update is definately due, but there is not a huge amount to share, due to things cruising along pretty smoothly all round. But firstly, 'cause I have not done it yet, I want to wish each and every one of you the most fabulous Twenty Ten imaginable. May you be filled to overflowing with unconditional love for yourself & others, and may you be blessed with everything you would like to experience here in 3D . . . and more :)
I know we (North Queensland) have been in the news a bit with two cyclones dancing around each other, then with each other, then around each other once more before transforming into rain depressions pouring copious quantities of H2O onto the land, and keeping the weather forcasters on their toes, but honestly, Atherton has not really felt much of them at all, and it has felt no different to any other wet season to me. On the positive side, EVERYTHING IS GREEN AGAIN! Woooooo hoooooo LOL!
Healthwise, Mum is fairly stable, and her complaints (headaches every now and then, and her amputated leg playing up from time to time), have been well outweighed by her enjoyment of life here in 3D. The 12th of January (the anniversary of Dad leaving his body) did bring up memories and provided an opportunity to grieve his passing a bit more, and at Mum's request we submitted an "In Memoriam" classified into the Cairns post, which I have included here . . .
One highlight since the last update was the Hannam's & Moore's visit. Here they are with Mum below, and Mum got to meet Maximo Moore for the first time. Maximo is the one biting furiously on her Mum Rosie's finger (teething no doubt). Peeking around between Rosie & Rosie's husband, Tom (Moore) is Rosie's Mum, Patsy, with her husband Chris (Hannam) looming happily (he does enjoy being a grandfather) above. Now was that confusing, or what LOL! Hopefully not too much so :)
And thats about it for this update. Thanks for reading . . . you make submitting updates worthwhile LOL! And thanks for being you, cause this world would simply not be the same without you in it :)
For those of you who have not heard me speak of this before, we (all of humanity) are about to experience an unprecedented shift in consciousness. Despite the passion, enthusiasm, and gratitude with which I usually celebrate and share the news of this shift, few are able to express the enormity of it as eloquently as David Wilcock, and when I recently found this video of him sharing just a little of what it will entail, it was immediately a "must share" for me . . . so here it is.
OK, I have lots of pics (and a video) to share in this update, but I'll start with a quick health report. I say quick, 'cause Mum is going pretty well and there is not much to say really. Her leg seems to be gradually improving, and its hard to know if its due to the new medication she is on to help improve leg circulation, or the Tiger Balm massage I give it each night . . . or maybe even the growls and other non-verbal utterances I encourage her to make as I gradually massage a little deeper as well. If the underlying cause of the problem (as many new age thinkers believe) was too many years of stuffing feelings down into her legs, then she is definitely un-stuffing quite well LOL!
OK, where do I start . . . how about with the video. It will mean that the rest will not be in chronological order, but I'm sure that will not be too confusing for anyone :) OK, this video is a minute or so of Christmas lunch out at Phil & Shellie's (my brother & sister-in-law) place. They had invited several families to join the party, and had somehow managed to fit us all in happily seated around a long table winding from their kitchen into their lounge room. Shellie's home made bon-bons (custom made for each of us) were a hit, and, despite the heat, it was a very enjoyable occasion.
And seeing as I am on Christmas day, I may as well share the pics from then as well. I mentioned Shellie's custom made bon-bons . . . well here's what Mum found in hers . . . a massive diamond ring! I found a little rainbow slinky in mine, so much gratitude to you Phil & Shellie . . .
Also worth a pic and a mention was Alison's (Shellie's mum) trifle. Now doesn't that look delicious . . . mmmmmmmmmmm . . . much gratitude to you, Alison . . .
Still on the Christmas theme, and here are some of Mum's Christmas Cards. I had strung up two strands of cord from one side of her room to the other to hang them all on, but it simply wasn't enough to handle them all, and we ended up with pretty well two layers of cards on the top cord LOL! She finds the writing and sending them all a bit tiring, but receiving, opening, reading, and sharing a little in the lives of all those who send them to her makes it all worthwhile :) Much gratitude to all who bless Mums life with your cards . . .
OK, I want to jump back in time a little, to when I went and stayed overnight at some friends of mine outside of Ravenshoe, Bob & Cheryl Matthews. It was while my brother Peter came up to help out when I had injured my shoulder. I know it was only one night away, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and Bob did take me down to their creek before heading for home the next day. Now this creek is important, because Bob has been dropping off water for Mum & I for about a year now, and this is where it comes from. It comes out of the mountains untouched by sprays and stuff like that, and we are very grateful to have such water to drink every day.
Without going into the whole story, I began to "put out" for a source of really good living water after watching the DVD "Water The Great Mystery" and becoming more aware of the difference between H2O and H2O, where despite both being H2O, water also has a memory and a structure, and water that is treated and chlorinated and fluridated, etc, to death and pumped out through kilometers of metal pipes into our homes, is actually VERY different to water that dances and bubbles over rocks down a mountain stream and is simply alive and energizing . . . and it's not rocket science to work out which is the best water for us LOL! And so, after a conversation about the DVD and the nature of water with Bob one day, it turned out he was happy to bring containers of it with him whenever he came into Atherton and drop them off right at our door.
How blessed are we!!! I took this pic of Bob at the creek. Despite it being the lowest it has been for many years due to a bit of a drought up here on the Tablelands, it was still great to see where it comes from, and appreciate the gift that it is in our lives :) Much gratitude to you, Bob & Cheryl . . .
Here's a pretty amazing story, and as it has a touch of the miraculous, I thought it was worth sharing. I was working in the kitchen on lunch one morning quite recently, and when I opened the fridge door to get something, out flew this little dragon fly! LOL! I have no idea how he got in there, but I think it took him a little while to warm up (or maybe he just liked me), as I was easily able to coax him onto my land when he landed and take him outside, where he sat there for ages before he flew off. Long enough to pull out my phone and take this pic. He was sooooooo beautiful, and made that morning extra special for me. Much gratitude to you, my little dragonfly friend . . .
Almost done :) I did want to share these pics of Sonia's farewell. Sonia is one of the first friends I made up here, and if you have been following this Blog from the beginning might remember me mentioning her way back in one of the first updates, as she was the manager of Mystic Body Mind Soul, the local "new age" shop, that hosted a fortnightly DVD night, and played such a big part in me connecting with most of the like-mined people living in this neck of the woods. Anyway, Sonia had an on-going battle with depression, and took her own life just before Christmas. On Sunday (3rd January), family and friends gathered at Lake Tinaroo, a place she loved to spend time at, to say our goodbyes. The top half of the pic is where friends and family laughed and cried and shared memories of Sonia, and the bottom is of the lake shore where we walked to see her ashes scattered into the water she loved so much, and throw flowers for her into the water. Much gratitude to you Sonia, and for the irreplaceable role you played in my unfolding . . .
Later that same day, I got a call from an old friend Loren who was driving through Atherton and hoping to catch up, so I went and spent some time with her and her family in a local park. I took the extra fruity fruitcake I had bought for Christmas (but that Mum didn't like), hoping they would take it with them (or at least eat some of it), but sadly, I missed out on both counts, and it's still sitting on the bench downstairs waiting for someone to take it home. Anyway, here's a pic of Loren and her family (and I hope the names are spelled right) . . . Matthew and Stephen from the left at the top, then Tracy-Lynne, Loren, and her husband Michael from the left at the bottom. Much gratitude to all the MacKellar family for sharing your picnic blanket, great stories, and wonderful smiles with me . . .
That's it . . . we made it to the end, and as it seems like this turned into a bit of a gratitude thing, then I reckon it's fitting to say "Much gratitude to YOU too, my friends", for being YOU so perfectly in my world, and for all the love and positive energy you send our way. Blessings, and In Lak'ech to you and everyone and everything in your world . . .
