The Wanderer Returns

I am here again – just.

Having to think in list form at the moment.

Thoughts were entering my mind and leaving so quickly I found I was forgetting even the most usual of daily tasks. I seem to have written countless lists this past week or two.

The house has been cleaned and the tree is up along with other decorations. No pre – Christmas family gathering for us this year which is a shame, I really look forward to having them all here together on that one day. Eldest DD flew out yesterday to spend a few weeks in England visiting friends and in laws. Her DD is the only Grandchild on the partners side so its only fair they get a lend of her now and again lol

Others have had such busy time there was no day we could all arrange a time so its going to be seperate visits now over the Christmas festival.

All the pressies and other gifts are wrapped and under the tree waiting to given with love.

I had to go to a shopping centre today and couldn’t get away fast enough. What is it that makes people act crazy at this time of the year? Couldn’t blame it on the weather, as it wasn’t even hot but cool and wet. Yeah for wet rain lol.

We had a torrential storm the other Monday, reminded me of our days in Singapore and Penang when it was the monsoon season. I was driving to the station to pick up DH and down it came, roads flooded in an instant. I had to laugh tho’ as a couple of days later I got an email from a cousin in Nova Scotia asking if we were ok – it had made the news over there. The ground is as dry as a bone again so hopefully today’s little drop will be a help.

Nearly all my break up lunches are over now, just one on Tuesday to go. Had a great time with my Red Hat Ladies at the Club Kilsyth, which won’t be the same after our visit there last week. Lots of groups lunching that day so we had lots of enquiries from ladies of a certain age as well as younger ones asking what all the fun was about. Some Mums going to be directed our way I think.

My aunt is still incapacitated with her broken arm, and most of my time over the past few weeks has been looking after her needs After spending a couple of weeks in hospital the medical staff said she was too frail and shook up to go home so as beds are at a premium in public hospitals she has now been in special accommodation trying to build up her strength.

She’s been there for 2 weeks now and is so bored she doesn’t know what to do with herself.

One good thing about this place is that I have been able to take her dog to visit, couldn’t do that at the hospital unless she stood out in the street so this has calmed her down a bit – she was becoming quite frantic in the hospital thinking her dog had been given away.

Then we had to deal with her thinking we’d sold her house and put her into a nursing home – this respite establishment is actually part of a retirement village complex that has a hostel and nursing home so all she saw were old people some of whom had dementia that was far more advanced than hers. . In the beginning she just would not accept that it was the Drs who said she had to stay there and not us.

One of my Granddaughters sings with Choir Victoria and I was able to take the Aunt to their carol service last weekend at the Police Academy Chapel. She could only be out for 3 hours, which was just long enough for her and gave her the chance to feel normal.

I was so worried about her that in the end I asked if she was allowed to go out for most of a day and this past week I collected her one morning, drove up the hills to the kennels so she could to actually pick up the dog herself, drove back down to her little unit and spent some time there.

After a cup of tea she seemed a lot better and more herself. So then we left the dog asleep in the courtyard and went out to lunch. Couldn’t have the drink I fancied, ‘cose I had to drive back up the hills to the kennels and then take her home and then take my self home. Lots of Booze buses out and about with lots of nice policemen manning them but I didn’t want to take any chances :((

She was able to take him up to his run and see where he’d been for the past few weeks and meet all the other dogs there, which really pleased her and meant I didn’t drive home feeling so bad. Mind you it was about a 120km/ 75.5 miles journey round trip from my house and back but she was happy and that’s all that mattered.

She’s coming home on Monday, and will be benefiting from a government aged care package designed to keep older people in the community, which somehow has miraculously appeared even tho we had asked for help before and were denied as she had relatives who could do all those things for her.

Rant over – new day tomorrow. Hopefully it will rain again and I’ll have more green beans and tomatoes on my plants.