2 APRIL 2015

Made it to and back from the Sunshine Coast with no problems.
Luckily my appointment wasn't for Wednesday... they had horrendous storms and roads were flooded.

Specialist has got me a new drug... God I hate that word....
I checked it out on the internet and I'm not happy with what I saw as far as side effects...
http://www.drugs.com/cimzia.html
Don't think I'll be taking it... I'd rather put up with any pain!!!
With the luck I have I'd be sure to get one of the "fatal" symptoms!!

Have been really tired after getting up 2 mornings at 4am...
Did shoppng when we got home on Tuesday at one supermarket.
Then went to wounds clinic on Wednesday and did second supermarket shopping afterwards... so haven't done much else.

Going to check with my GP before taking this new drug.
My inside is healthy right now and I don't want to screw that up.

16 APRIL 2015

Jamie's week... anyone want it???? LOL!

Can't remember which morning this happened but I went through to the kitchen to get a coffee
and there were what seemed like a zillion ants all over the benches and sink!!!
Dirty dishes in the sink with food still stuck to them and they were black with ants!
Of course I lost it!!!!

I spent the morning spraying, washing and cleaning up AFTER I got the culprits to see why I don't want dishes left overnight!!! I could have got one of them to clean up the mess but I wouldn't be happy with their effort.

Now the dishes are done at night... a win for Jamie!!

Did grocery shopping yesterday after rearranging the freezer on Tuesday so I knew what was in stock.
Another morning wasted... well.. maybe not because it saved me $$$$
Did my shopping list and cut out snacks... if they want snacks they can buy them!!
There's always plenty fillings for sandwiches...
I saved $100 at Aldi from what I spent the last time!!!
So yesterday was a write off.... no computer time.. too pooped.

I try hard to save some money from my pension for emergencies and it's been hard since Hayden came to stay... he never stops eating... even has a snack before dinner!! I'm sick of it.

I'm not seeing any difference in his demeanour either, though Jason assures me he's changing.
If he's getting off drugs (he hasn't been taking any since he's been here, that I know of) why does he need Diazepam at night to get to sleep??? OK it's a legitimate prescription drug but isn't this missing the point??
I don't understand this because I've never had to cope with it before.

He walks around with earphones (playing music... I think) ALL DAY and is never off his phone or the internet. He has to do Community service because of the court case so that gets him out of here 2 days a week. I just don't see anything improving... maybe I'm missing something. Bloody frustrating!

Temperatures are cooler.. no need for air conditioner... YIPPEE!

23 APRIL 2015

Jamie's week... I'm not going to whine this week... I could, but I won't *S*

Sydney and areas north have had an horrendous week with the cyclonic like low pressure system that has lasted for days. So much damage has been caused... 5 people have drowned... some homes floated away. Thousands of people have lost everything.
So, I consider myself lucky and have no reason to complain.
My "problems" are petty in comparison.

When a cyclone hits here in Queensland it's over in a day.
New South Wales have had cyclonic weather day after day.

Weather here where I live is cooler, which for me is great!
I don't even want to imagine what it would be like if I still lived in Sydney... don't think I would cope.

The worst thing that happened to me is the council removed 2 of my 32 year old trees
from the front of my home because they are going to widen the road. GRRR!!
We'll have roadworks for ages once they get started because they're going to have to redo drains as well.

Weeks of fun coming up!! *S* NOT

7 MAY 2015

I need a few days off.... My mind isn't on the job at hand...
Proven this week by the errors in my tutorials which I thought I had corrected.
I think a break would work wonders for me.

I have things here at home that need my attention... they've been ignored for months and are totally out of hand.
I can't complain about the untidiness of the men in my life when I don't set a good example myself.

I need to finish the "clean up" I started months ago.
It's a slow job because of my arthritis but I would feel so much better if it was done.

I'll check my mail each night before going to bed..
If I check it when I get up I'll never get off the computer. *S*

14 MAY 2015

Today I had a doctor's appointment at 9:45am...I think I got to see her by 10:45am.
She's off to the great USA tomorrow for 2 weeks... half her luck... wish it was me!!!
I took pain killers before I saw her... ankle was painful. So by the time I had the scripts filled, got home, had a coffee, I fell asleep on the sofa... the pain killlers do that to me!!!

21 MAY 2015

Been catching up on my backlog of emails... creating more tuts....
and getting ticked off with my continued, spasmodic internet disconnection over the last few days.
Jason changed over the contraption (I think it's a WIFI thingy) connected to my computer
yesterday afternoon and so far (fingers crossed) seems to be OK.

Jason went pig hunting (bow & arrow) Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the only
pigs he caught were on film!!! LOL!!!
He has a camera set up that records whenever there's movement.
Saw lots of pigs... all at different times each day... no pattern to their foraging.
So he came home empty handed... lucky pigs!! *S*

Just heard on the radio news that our local hospital has Legionnaire's Disease!!!
Thank God I haven't been near the place in weeks.
One person has died.... :-(

28 MAY 2015

Wasn't around yesterday... grocery shopping.. UGH!!
Fell asleep before dinner and after scanning and putting away the shopping.

Then.. after dinner had to watch the 'State Of Origin' Footy (Rugby League).. Queensland V New South Wales.
League never used to interest me but with being out voted here I've had no option.
However I've learned the rules... yell at the TV... and act like a "Footy Tragic" much to everyones' amusement. I managed to stay awake through the entire match (played in Sydney) and WE (Queensland) WON!!!! Yippee!!

In 2 weeks the 2nd match will be played in Melbourne (neutral ground). Hope we win again and it'll be a "done deal". 2 weeks later the final match will be played in Brisbane.

Remember last month I told you the Council was going to widen the road here in May??
They sent along council workers to remove 2 of my beautiful trees at the beginning of this month. It's almost the end of the month and they haven't even started on the damned road!!!
I almost cry now every time we leave or come back in the car seeing the gaping hole left by the 2 missing 30+ year old trees.

I'm off to tidy up the kitchen/family area....
we have a "solar panel" salesman coming at 9am to give us the lowdown.
We've had solar hot water for 30 years but our power bills keep growing and growing so, we'll listen to this chap and take time to consider the pros and cons, especialy regarding the cost.

5 JUN 2015

My computer started playing up last Saturday and ended up with a mind of its own on Sunday!
Kept turning itself off and on no matter what I did to try to control it.
Jason was up a Gum tree (physically) armed with a chain saw reducing the height of the branches in preparation for solar panels. I don't know how he did it... but we have so much light in the back end of the house now it's incredible. Needless to say he was pooped by the time he finished so I didn't have the heart to ask him to check my computer on Sunday.

He checked it out on Monday, couldn't fix it, so it was taken to the shop.
Got it back yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.. late.
Working fine now... apparently only needed to reinstall Windows... he could have done that...
No matter...

So.... have spent the last few hours updating archives and going through what emails managed to fill both my Google and Optus accounts... around 500 all up!

THEN.....
There's the Council workers with their jack hammers, digging machines and concrete cutters...
been here all week from 6:30 in the morning until 3pm each day.
We have GInormous holes out front... machinery and other crap all over what was a lawn and with the first rain will be mud. They removed another tree (Sob!!!) (That's crying... not cussing... *S*)
Not going to complain since they are going to concrete part of our driveway when they finish up. Also they've been exceptionally helpful when we've been needing to get in and out in the car. They have a job to do... don't need me to make it difficult for them.

I'm pooped... been sitting here for 8 hours so am taking the rest of the afternoon off.
Need some nourishment and coffee.

11 JUN 2015

I learned a lesson on Monday.... "Practice what you preach!!"
I keep saying SAVE YOUR WORK regularly as you create... I didn't!!
So when my computer decided to shut down AGAIN
I lost all the instructions to a tutorial I was creating.
I was furious because this problem was supposed to be fixed.
It was too late in the night to get Jason to check it out so I went to bed...

Had to wait for ages on Tuesday for Jason to fit in time to fix the problem.
Had something to do with Google Chrome... Baah!!
By the time he fixed it I had lost interest, so did nothing... sorry....

Yesterday was shopping day... another day wasted... need I say more?? *S*
HOWEVER....
I went to the chemist (pharmacy) while I was out, to see if the chemist could supply me Condys Crystals and Paraffin Oil and a formula similar to that used when I was in hospital in Brisbane. I explained that I wanted to soak my ankle (ulcer) since this had worked on my other ulcer. He was an angel !!! Supplied me with the formula and products!!
Will be trying it over the weekend... keeping my fingers crossed (mentally).

The council are still working on the road outside... noisy as hell sometimes. No sleeping in these days.
Got Jason to take some photos over the weekend while no-one was around.

http://www.artistrypsp.com/Jemima/EverythingPSP/Journals/2015/JUNE2015.htm

I just had a look out my bedroom window and we have a huge pile of soil over what was lawn...
I hope they are going to supply us with new grass!!!!!
Jason is going to redo our driveway so cars can turn around before exiting since there's not enough area going to be left for him to back out the way we have for years.
PLUS
We found out that it is illegal to park on the council strip... all Jared's friends do that...
so they will be able to park in the widened drive.

Solar panels to be installed next Wednesday... more banging around. *S*
I must say Jason has done a great job of trimming the trees at the back of the house which faces north. Will help considerably during Winter. Am already amazed how much light is in the rear rooms of our home now.

18 JUN 2015

Had my computer back in the shop for a day to see if it would turn off by itself again...
it didn't of course!
Told the guys I couldn't afford the time to have it gone for more than a day so it's back.

It has turned itself off once this week... has lasted around 8 hours before happening.
I've been creating and saving after every instruction and every change to my creations for you.

Jason has checked it... nothing loose and not over heating... not dusty.... so until it starts turning off too often... I'll put up with it.

Got the solar panels installed yesterday!
The guy who did it connected us to our energy company... said it could take them a couple of months to get their act together. Jason checked the meter this morning... IT'S GOING BACKWARDS!!!
Yippee!!

The council are still working on the road BUT they ARE going to lay new turf and topsoil on our front lawn once they're finished. We're also getting extra gravel for our driveway from them for free so we can redo our driveway.

Jason has been chatting with the supervisor during the whole operation and yesterday he noticed they had missed installing a new end pipe for one of our drains that leads from our house to the gutter.
Fortunately the concrete was still wet and they corrected their mistake.
Would have been harder if the concrete had set, so they were appreciative.

The supervisor also got info from Jason re the solar panels... who to contact..
We should ask for commission if he decides to use this company... LOL!!!!

Oh.. before I forget.... I tried the Condys Crystals and Paraffin oil on my foot on Saturday.... hmmmm....
The Chemist said to use 2 crystals and a capful of oil in the warm water...
Opened the crystals container... it was a powder, not crystals..
Put a tiny bit in the water with the oil, gave it a stir, stuck my foot in it for 20 minutes..
result... purple foot and toenails!!!!
Haven't tried it since!! LOL!!!

That's my week... a reasonably happy one for a change!! *S*

24 JUN 2015

I have been AWOL for a couple of days trying to organise Rehab for my 2nd grandson among other things.
I'm beginning to wonder if it's going to be a total waste of time... since he's disappeared again.
He comes home for a couple of days... then takes off for a week.

I organised detox and we're waiting for the appointment. He needs to do this before being accepted in Rehab.
I hope he's here when the confirmation comes through. If not... well... that's going to be his problem.
He's very aggressive and I've had enough. If he doesn't accept the help he can find somewhere else to live.

25 JUN 2015

Didn't get on computer yesterday... still have to check my mail.. I'm sure there's heaps.
Did shopping for 3 instead of 4 and saved myself $$$$
Couldn't see the point in shopping for 4 when Hayden disappears a week at a time.
He was here long enough on Tuesday (I think) for me to explain the inquiries I had made re his Rehab.
He was in a foul mood.. I stayed calm... and eventually got him to phone re the DETOX.
THEN he made the excuse he had misplaced his wallet and went off to a 'friend's' place to find it... hasn't surfaced since. :-(

He phoned yesterday and sounded unusually normal, to get his Dad to check his room to see if his wallet was there.

Nope... it wasn't. Have heard nothing else from him.
I'm guessing his keycard is in his missing wallet so he doesn't have access to his money... so he can't buy drugs.
Tough!!!!

I got a call from the Royal Brisbane Hospital re my coming to the top of the list to have my toes straightened. I've only been waiting 15 months .... could be another 3 months...
A "pre-op" appointment for me to see the doctors is on the cards but I told the caller that I now had an ulcer on my ankle and I doubt if they would operate. She agreed. So who knows what's going to happen. I don't know if it can be deferred.

I'm not interested in going to Brisbane for nothing. I hate the drive... too many accidents on that road. I know what the result will be... and they can tell me that over the phone.

Roadworks still happening but things are looking better.
Yesterday morning I was woken before daylight with the rumbling from a concrete truck.
Couldn't believe it!!!
But I had to get ready to go shopping so at least I didn't sleep in. *S*

Found out that the Council are actually going to put in a footpath!!!
Couldn't believe it... we've been here 33 years come September and never had a footpath.
Told Jason I could get a scooter if that happens and I wouldn't be reliant on him driving me around!! LOL!!!
I was kidding.... I have nowhere to keep a scooter.
He and Jared thought it would be funny to get one and upgrade it with more powerful batteries so I could fly down the road!!! LOL!
They're a couple of comedians!!!