And wouldn't you know it, watching/listening to this video evoked a warm and fuzzy memory of another favourite "You're Never Alone" song written and sung by Rick Price, and so, after a quick YouTube search, there it was . . . or, thanks to the capacity to embed Youtube videos into Blogs, here it is LOL!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Never Alone
Now this is a record . . . two updates in the same day. But I just had to put this video up here after a "twitter" friend in the US shared that her son-in-law's new song was number 10 on Billboard. I'm still waiting to hear back after asking her if he simply penned the song, or plays in the band that sings it, Lady Antebellum, or both. She had sent me the link to a YouTube video of it, and yes, it really was a fabulous song called "I Need You Now", but after watching a few more of their videos, I found one that strummed even louder on my heart strings, called "Never Alone", and decided I just had to share it with you :)
And wouldn't you know it, watching/listening to this video evoked a warm and fuzzy memory of another favourite "You're Never Alone" song written and sung by Rick Price, and so, after a quick YouTube search, there it was . . . or, thanks to the capacity to embed Youtube videos into Blogs, here it is LOL!
And wouldn't you know it, watching/listening to this video evoked a warm and fuzzy memory of another favourite "You're Never Alone" song written and sung by Rick Price, and so, after a quick YouTube search, there it was . . . or, thanks to the capacity to embed Youtube videos into Blogs, here it is LOL!
Phil's Birthday
Yes, you are reading correctly, if you've noted that this update was submitted less than a week after the last LOL! I have a good reason though - we celebrated my brother Phil's 53rd birthday last Tuesday, and although I remembered a little late to grab a pic (the cake was already cut) there was still time to grab a few moments of that time onto video to share with you all.
A health report first, though. Since the last update, Mum has seen a heart specialist, spent a day and a night in hospital while being transfused with two bags of blood, and survived an Echocardiogram (Echo). And, after all that, she is definately feeling better than she did before it all, so it seems all worthwhile . . . though the specialist who did the Echo immediately made an appointment to see us on Monday to explore some avenues we can take to improve her health and quality of life. Thanks, as usual, to all of you who have been sending your love and support :)
OK, here's that video. A few moments in the life of Phil Ackland on his 53rd birthday. You will see Harley there (Phil's son) getting into the chocolate cake, and Mum looking pretty well and doing a few wheelies in her wheelchair. Phil is the main focus naturally, despite the knife waving at the end and the warning (blocked out by some Benny Hill music) not to put it on YouTube (LOL!), and I even managed to get a few seconds of Alison (Phil's mother in law), who usually avoids camera lenses like the plague :)
Incidentally, I took the video above on my new phone, a Nokia N97. My Telstra plan expired, so it was time to look for a new phone and a better plan than the one I had had with Telstra ($80/month for a phone & $80 worth of calls). After a couple of weeks of research on what was available with all the features I wanted on it, it came down to choosing between the Apple iPhone and the Nokia N97, and . . . after reading one comparison after another that indicated the N97 was superior in just about every way . . . and the fact that iPhone were behind in production and there would be a wait of a month or more . . . and the fact that Vodaphone (whose coverage has now reached 96% of the population) had the N97 free on a plan that included 1GB data, 100 free text messages and a cap of around $550 worth of calls - all for $80/month . . . the choice was very easy :) With it's 5MP camera sporting quality Carl Zeiss Tessar optics and twin LED flash, it will mean that I have a camera at the ready for decent pics far more often than I used to, when it meant lugging around a bulky camera bag to do so. (Anyone want to buy a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-18??? It's a fabulous camera LOL!) Anyway, here'a a pic of the N97 . . . ciao for now :)
A health report first, though. Since the last update, Mum has seen a heart specialist, spent a day and a night in hospital while being transfused with two bags of blood, and survived an Echocardiogram (Echo). And, after all that, she is definately feeling better than she did before it all, so it seems all worthwhile . . . though the specialist who did the Echo immediately made an appointment to see us on Monday to explore some avenues we can take to improve her health and quality of life. Thanks, as usual, to all of you who have been sending your love and support :)
OK, here's that video. A few moments in the life of Phil Ackland on his 53rd birthday. You will see Harley there (Phil's son) getting into the chocolate cake, and Mum looking pretty well and doing a few wheelies in her wheelchair. Phil is the main focus naturally, despite the knife waving at the end and the warning (blocked out by some Benny Hill music) not to put it on YouTube (LOL!), and I even managed to get a few seconds of Alison (Phil's mother in law), who usually avoids camera lenses like the plague :)
Incidentally, I took the video above on my new phone, a Nokia N97. My Telstra plan expired, so it was time to look for a new phone and a better plan than the one I had had with Telstra ($80/month for a phone & $80 worth of calls). After a couple of weeks of research on what was available with all the features I wanted on it, it came down to choosing between the Apple iPhone and the Nokia N97, and . . . after reading one comparison after another that indicated the N97 was superior in just about every way . . . and the fact that iPhone were behind in production and there would be a wait of a month or more . . . and the fact that Vodaphone (whose coverage has now reached 96% of the population) had the N97 free on a plan that included 1GB data, 100 free text messages and a cap of around $550 worth of calls - all for $80/month . . . the choice was very easy :) With it's 5MP camera sporting quality Carl Zeiss Tessar optics and twin LED flash, it will mean that I have a camera at the ready for decent pics far more often than I used to, when it meant lugging around a bulky camera bag to do so. (Anyone want to buy a Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ-18??? It's a fabulous camera LOL!) Anyway, here'a a pic of the N97 . . . ciao for now :)
Monday, October 5, 2009
Flying High
My main reason for submitting this update is to share with you my experience of taking (finally LOL!) my 50th birthday present hot air balloon flight (see this Blog entry, here), but before I get into that, a health report is in order. It appears that Mum's heart is still very fragile, and sometimes even the littlest thing, like going to the loo, or eating a meal, can tire her out and bring on the beginnings of an angina attack. On the positive side, she is still able to manage other activities that she really enjoys, like going and getting her hair washed at the hairdresser (which is pretty much a two hour round trip), or going out for lunch or afternoon tea at my brother Phil's place.
As usual, any and all positive thoughts and love sent her way are greatly appreciated :)
OK . . . on to my balloon flight. For those that don't know I did attempt it on my actual birthday last December, but the second flight of the two they always have was cancelled due to a wind change during the first. And, so, I've been waiting for the right time to attempt it again. As it happened a good friend that I have made up here, Saddhen, and his wife, Merrily, also wanted the hot air balloon flight experience, and we decided to share it on the 23rd September, which was the Winter Solstice, and therefore an auspicious time to do so. I took my camera, but decided to take only videos in an effort to share more of the experience with you than I thought I would be able to do with still photos. I then did some simple editing, converted the resulting .mov video to a YouTube compatible .flv video, and uploaded the finished product to YouTube, as well as including it here (below) in this Blog update. Hopefully, you will get a taste of the experience, but please don't expect a Hollywood epic LOL!.
As usual, any and all positive thoughts and love sent her way are greatly appreciated :)
OK . . . on to my balloon flight. For those that don't know I did attempt it on my actual birthday last December, but the second flight of the two they always have was cancelled due to a wind change during the first. And, so, I've been waiting for the right time to attempt it again. As it happened a good friend that I have made up here, Saddhen, and his wife, Merrily, also wanted the hot air balloon flight experience, and we decided to share it on the 23rd September, which was the Winter Solstice, and therefore an auspicious time to do so. I took my camera, but decided to take only videos in an effort to share more of the experience with you than I thought I would be able to do with still photos. I then did some simple editing, converted the resulting .mov video to a YouTube compatible .flv video, and uploaded the finished product to YouTube, as well as including it here (below) in this Blog update. Hopefully, you will get a taste of the experience, but please don't expect a Hollywood epic LOL!.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
A Tender Heart
As the title of this update suggests, Mum's heart has been a bit fragile of late, and so I wanted to let you know what was going on there with a health update. There have also been a few positive things happen up here that were worth reporting, and because they occurred a while ago now, but since the last update, I'll start with them.
In July, I had two dear friends of mine from Victoria come up for a holiday out of the cold . . . Beryl and Allen, and in order to catch up, they invited Mum & I to have lunch with them. We all (Mum included) had a delightful time over an absolutely delicious lunch at the Lake Barrine Tea Rooms, and even though I simply forgot to get a pic of the four of us at the time (hopefully, I won't forget next time), I did find someone else's pic of Lake Barrine on the net (LOL!), and so at least you can get a bit of an idea of how beautiful a place it is :)
The next thing I wanted to share was a "male bonding day", enjoyed by the four Ackland males in Far North Queensland. I had to take the Lancer for a decent run and get a few things in Cairns as well, and so on Tuesday 11th of August, I was joined by Harley (yeah - wagging school), Phil (on a day off), & Simon (just going with the flow), and we even caught a movie while we were down there. Naturally, for such a high testosterone group we had to watch a high action shoot-em-up as part of our secret male business, and G.I. Joe was the best one showing at the time. Not much of a plot, but a lot of fun :) Shellie took this pic before we left.
OK, now onto the health report. Mums heart has been gradually getting more fragile as time has unfolded since her birthday update where she was battling with a touch of the flu. It's meant that things she used to be able to do relatively easily, like go to the toilet, began to leave her breathless, with her arms feeling like lead. Even eating had this effect some times, and the symptoms often also included pain and a tightness accross her chest.
Anyway, on Sunday 23rd August, I got up in the morning to find her quite distressed after a pretty bad night (of what has been revealed as small attacks of angina), and immediately called the doctor who got me to take her straight to hospital. It wasn't an emergency sort of admission - more of a decision to put her in so they could fine tune the heart medication she was already on, because it didn't seem to be doing what it was supposed to do. That seemed to go OK, her heart medication was increased from one to one and a half tablets a day, and she was out the following Thursday (27th) feeling much better.
However, things didn't really end there, and after a week or so at home, I had to call the doctor for Mum again on the morning of Wednesday 9th September after she experienced another bad night. This seemed a little more serious, and the doctor got the ambulance to take her this time, and she is still in there as I write this update. She is now on two heart tablets a day, and the initial plan was for her to come home yesterday, but that didn't eventuate, as despite this increase in medication, she is still having angina attacks at night after even the slightest exertion (like having a pee).
There are positives and negatives here . . . the positives is that, due to the extra rest she is forced to take in hospital, a couple of budding ulcers on her toes have healed, and the second is that apart from the angine attacks, she is not in any major pain at all. It's pretty bizarre when I visit her, because she seems so well, and bright, and peaceful, and happy, and she is not putting on an act either. She is eating well, and chats with the other patients, and its hard to understand why she is in hospital at all.
The negatives . . . well, her heart needs to get stronger, but to do that she needs to do a bit of exercise, but if she does that, it seems to bring on an angina attack, so I just don't know where we go from there . . . other than making the most of what time she has left here in 3D, and endeavouring to ensure it includes as much joy as possible. So . . . as usual . . . any love and positive energy sent her way is very much appreciated :)
In July, I had two dear friends of mine from Victoria come up for a holiday out of the cold . . . Beryl and Allen, and in order to catch up, they invited Mum & I to have lunch with them. We all (Mum included) had a delightful time over an absolutely delicious lunch at the Lake Barrine Tea Rooms, and even though I simply forgot to get a pic of the four of us at the time (hopefully, I won't forget next time), I did find someone else's pic of Lake Barrine on the net (LOL!), and so at least you can get a bit of an idea of how beautiful a place it is :)
The next thing I wanted to share was a "male bonding day", enjoyed by the four Ackland males in Far North Queensland. I had to take the Lancer for a decent run and get a few things in Cairns as well, and so on Tuesday 11th of August, I was joined by Harley (yeah - wagging school), Phil (on a day off), & Simon (just going with the flow), and we even caught a movie while we were down there. Naturally, for such a high testosterone group we had to watch a high action shoot-em-up as part of our secret male business, and G.I. Joe was the best one showing at the time. Not much of a plot, but a lot of fun :) Shellie took this pic before we left.
OK, now onto the health report. Mums heart has been gradually getting more fragile as time has unfolded since her birthday update where she was battling with a touch of the flu. It's meant that things she used to be able to do relatively easily, like go to the toilet, began to leave her breathless, with her arms feeling like lead. Even eating had this effect some times, and the symptoms often also included pain and a tightness accross her chest.
Anyway, on Sunday 23rd August, I got up in the morning to find her quite distressed after a pretty bad night (of what has been revealed as small attacks of angina), and immediately called the doctor who got me to take her straight to hospital. It wasn't an emergency sort of admission - more of a decision to put her in so they could fine tune the heart medication she was already on, because it didn't seem to be doing what it was supposed to do. That seemed to go OK, her heart medication was increased from one to one and a half tablets a day, and she was out the following Thursday (27th) feeling much better.
However, things didn't really end there, and after a week or so at home, I had to call the doctor for Mum again on the morning of Wednesday 9th September after she experienced another bad night. This seemed a little more serious, and the doctor got the ambulance to take her this time, and she is still in there as I write this update. She is now on two heart tablets a day, and the initial plan was for her to come home yesterday, but that didn't eventuate, as despite this increase in medication, she is still having angina attacks at night after even the slightest exertion (like having a pee).
There are positives and negatives here . . . the positives is that, due to the extra rest she is forced to take in hospital, a couple of budding ulcers on her toes have healed, and the second is that apart from the angine attacks, she is not in any major pain at all. It's pretty bizarre when I visit her, because she seems so well, and bright, and peaceful, and happy, and she is not putting on an act either. She is eating well, and chats with the other patients, and its hard to understand why she is in hospital at all.
The negatives . . . well, her heart needs to get stronger, but to do that she needs to do a bit of exercise, but if she does that, it seems to bring on an angina attack, so I just don't know where we go from there . . . other than making the most of what time she has left here in 3D, and endeavouring to ensure it includes as much joy as possible. So . . . as usual . . . any love and positive energy sent her way is very much appreciated :)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Another 80th Birthday Celebration
Yes, its was Mum's birthday on Sunday (born 26/07/1929), and seeing as it was definately an occasion for a camera, I have a few pics to share. But let me give a bit of a health update first. Mum is going OK. Not great . . . but OK. She has been battling with "a touch of" (doctor's words) the flu for the past few weeks, and so has not been eating that well, has been feeling weak and achey, and has been using more oxygen than usual. Apart from that, she still managed to get to play bridge last Thursday morning, so it's not been a particularly debilitating back-slide.
But before we get to the birthday, one visit definately worth mentioning was from all the Adler (pre-marriage) sisters on their yearly get-together. They all came for morning tea last Friday (24/07) and filled the unit with their warm & uplifting energy . . . and matching bags (made especially for their get-together by Sue). Mum enjoyed the visit enormously :)
Then, of course, Sunday was Mum's birthday, and we had a lovely lunch at the International Club in Atherton to celebrate. Joining Mum & I were Phil, Shelly, Harley, Simon, Alison, and Alison's sister Doris, who was over for a few weeks from WA.
The food was great, the atmosphere pretty quiet & relaxing, and the cake was Mum's favourite . . . a black forest cake . . . but it was so big we gave a quarter of it to the kitchen staff before we left.
Something else worth sharing is that Mum actually bought herself a birthday present! Partly due to some unofficial advice from a Centrelink worker who pointed out that she was over some cut-off point but would get a full pension if she had a little less cash in the bank, and partly due to the fact that she had didn't really like the Barina (she says she always thought it was a bit "tinny", but I suspect that some of that attitude may be due to Dad buying it without consulting her). Whatever the reason, it was lovely for me to see her feeling deserving of a gift of this magnitude from herself, and I, too, feel blessed, because, as the chauffer, I was able to express a preference for, and get, the "5 on the floor" manual version of the latest Mitsubishi Lancer :)
But before we get to the birthday, one visit definately worth mentioning was from all the Adler (pre-marriage) sisters on their yearly get-together. They all came for morning tea last Friday (24/07) and filled the unit with their warm & uplifting energy . . . and matching bags (made especially for their get-together by Sue). Mum enjoyed the visit enormously :)
Then, of course, Sunday was Mum's birthday, and we had a lovely lunch at the International Club in Atherton to celebrate. Joining Mum & I were Phil, Shelly, Harley, Simon, Alison, and Alison's sister Doris, who was over for a few weeks from WA.
The food was great, the atmosphere pretty quiet & relaxing, and the cake was Mum's favourite . . . a black forest cake . . . but it was so big we gave a quarter of it to the kitchen staff before we left.
Something else worth sharing is that Mum actually bought herself a birthday present! Partly due to some unofficial advice from a Centrelink worker who pointed out that she was over some cut-off point but would get a full pension if she had a little less cash in the bank, and partly due to the fact that she had didn't really like the Barina (she says she always thought it was a bit "tinny", but I suspect that some of that attitude may be due to Dad buying it without consulting her). Whatever the reason, it was lovely for me to see her feeling deserving of a gift of this magnitude from herself, and I, too, feel blessed, because, as the chauffer, I was able to express a preference for, and get, the "5 on the floor" manual version of the latest Mitsubishi Lancer :)
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