A little holiday project

Having declared no New Year resolutions, I have at least set a goal (which sounds more personal growth-ish I think) which is to do more blogging ... I know at least one or two of my friends read it occasionally which is enough to keep the muse alive and kicking and there's nothing more disheartening I know than logging on to something (like your personal emails) and finding zilch - not even a special offer on Viagra. Which needless to say is lost on me. Besides it's good intellectual exercise - believe it or not, the brain does make contact occasionally with what issues from the keyboard. So with this incentive to inspire me, and because I am quite chuffed to have actually achieved something productive during the Xmas/New Year holiday break, thought I would show what I've done.

As I live in a courtyard home I don't have much of an outdoor view from my loungeroom and kitchen windows, except for the dividing fence and the top of the next door neighbour's house - decidedly uninspiring. To brighten things up a bit, there is a trellis on the fence, a few struggling creepers and assorted pots with plants in various states of health - good, declining and fairly dodgy. At one end, overlooked by the loungeroom window, is what was once a rockery - all evidence of rocks having been submerged beneath a mountain of Wandering Jew - a hideous rubbery plant that grows anywhere - up your legs if you stand still long enough. So the project was to uproot the Wandering Jew, dig out all the rocks and pebbles and re-do the whole thing, if not with a Jamie Durie inspired water feature, at least with a bit more panache just in case anyone worthwhile ended up in the loungeroom and happened to glance out the window.

It's taken me ages but after much sweating, digging, tugging and Prometheus like lifting of rocks, I finally got the area cleared and have now artfully rearranged all the rocks, pebbles and pots of new plants so it looks really rather good - well when compared to the tip it was before. In the narrow window of opportunity before the dogs decide to do a bit of excavating - partial as they are to the taste of new potting soil - thought I'd take a couple of shots of the completed masterpiece - sort of a "before", with the wishful thought that against the enormous odds of dogs, drought, snails, wind, birds and general wear and tear, the plants will be allowed to grow, thrive and spread attractively over the rocks so that there can later on be an "after" - which even Jamie Durie would be proud to call his own!

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

Now's the time for getting well and truly into excessive consumption mode ( just in case we were at all restrained over Christmas), as we say farewell to the old year and face the new one with hopefully not misplaced optimism. For those of us who decide to party, as the clock strikes midnight, no doubt we'll be lifting our voices in song in yet another boozy rendition of Auld Lang Syne - a nice if somewhat archaic tradition which we can blame on old Robert Burns who obviously let sentiment get the better of him after a few whiskies - while we try not to fall victim to too many sloppy kisses, or kissers for that matter.

This New Year's Eve I've decided that instead of making a lot of ridiculous and unrealistic resolutions, it might behoove me better (Robert Burns again?) to think back over the departing year and figure out what I can maybe learn from it. A quick retrospective glance is initially rather depressing as there have been rather a litany of, if not disasters, things that could have gone better. I began the year resolving to find a brilliant new job and embark on a late midlife career challenge in some starring role, and of course to find true lurve - the lasting kind. On both counts I flunked out. I'm still in the same job and any lurve that came my way was of the fleeting and/or fantasy kind. Still and all, I don't despair. On the job front, I have a new and fantastic boss and we are already in the throes of establishing an excellent and productive working relationship, one that for me bodes very well for the future. On the lurve front, I remain optimistic, although I have of late tempered my optimism with perhaps more realism. My wish list has been amended somewhat and now weighs more heavily towards those human qualities I really value such as honesty, integrity, caring, compassion and family values, than it does towards physical, monetary, status and intellectual attributes - oh shallow me (that was)! I would really just like to find someone who I can genuinely care for and who can genuinely care for me and so long as we don't find each other mutually repellent, who cares about the odd flaw. God knows I have plenty, some of which you've already heard plenty about. The fragile fetlocks however are very much on the mend and I've finally reached the stage where I can fling off the dreaded surgical shoes and slip into something else - if not Manolo Blahniks, at least not velcroed clodhoppers.

I can't let this year go past without thanking those dear friends and family of mine who've propped me up, kept me sane, made me laugh and just been there in the good, bad and indifferent times. Some of these friends have been through particular hells of their own. Three of them are facing a new year still battling with cancer and all the pain, uncertainty and fear that sentence entails. As I wrote about in an earlier post, my brother has spent most of the year grappling with the loss of his wife and trying to fashion a life without her. By their calmness and courage these people I care about have shown me that often what I whinge and complain about is nothing and I should be grateful for the many blessings I have, especially good health.

Other people in my life have disappointed me in different ways and I've felt overwhelmed sometimes with confusion, anger and resentment at behaviours that I just don't understand. I'm trying to learn patience there too. That old chestnut about time being a great healer is actually a good one - a great example I read somewhere recently is if you're a woman who hates being whistled at by construction workers ... just give it time. It works with people too. If you're not sure about someone, just give it time ... true colours will out in the end. Or you'll die first, or they will.

Time of course is what New Year's Eve is all about - an arbitrary line in the sand. Whatever we do or don't do to acknowledge it, the line will be crossed regardless. The world at the end of this old year is a pretty messy troubled and hopeless one in many ways. Let's just hope that those who lead us can look back and learn their own lessons from the past, rather than blundering on into the new year making the same old mistakes.

Happy New Year and may it be a peaceful, healthy and happy one for you!

Footwear at the Cutting Edge

Well I was wrong - not green moon boots after all but these fetching numbers nattily fitted with velcro straps for ease of slipping on and off. The physio who fitted me helpfully advised that the section over the instep is detachable and can be quickly removed when weather permits for a charmingly summery effect! I fear however greater exposure would only reveal more of the increasingly tattered and frayed dressings which must remain until the unveiling in a few weeks.

The procedure was not too agonising am pleased to report. Major hassle of the whole thing is the bloody (well not literally) dressings as of course am forbidden to get them wet. Showering is therefore an interesting venture. After considerable experimentation now have it down to a fine art, with a strategically placed folding chair in the alcove for me to lower myself onto, while propping the pins up outside the shower on the laundry basket, the feet being encased in old shopping bags tied up with masking tape. At first almost drowned myself under the deluge of water pouring straight down onto my head until it dawned that a simple adjustment to the shower head would fix that. Slight problem with this solution in that the parts most in need of washing are somewhat hard to get at while in a seated position. Fortunately no intimate encounters are in the offing, so am not too fussed.

A major drama ensued last week, amusing in retrospect, highly alarming at the time. Shortly after my sister left to return to the bosom of her family after doing an absolutely sterling job looking after me, decided to launch myself into the shower. Quite efficiently managed the ablutions and towelling off and was feeling quite pleased with myself until on the verge of emerging in all my semi-clad splendour, discovered that I couldn't open the bathroom door. Has been a slight problem with the bathroom door knob which has been hanging loose (as it were) for quite some time awaiting a passing handyman (as have I but that's another story). On this occasion even though I have been successfully opening and closing the door despite the wonky knob, it had firmly latched itself shut and refused to be budged. A slight feeling of concern soon escalated into major panic as I wrestled and sweated over the blasted thing - the exhaust fan booming away all the while (as of course the switches are outside the door) and the dogs pawing at the door from the other side, obviously alerted by the expletives issuing forth. Eventually it became clear it was a futile exercise and visions of being discovered some time in the future as a putrefying corpse floated before my eyes. The only means of escape it transpired was the window. What luck there was a folding chair in the shower (everyone should have one) - as after clambering up on the toilet seat and shoving the fly screen off, I managed to get the folding chair through and position it on the other side for me to land on. Problem solved! Slight difficulty once I got onto the ledge though as with the metal window frame gouging into my buttocks I couldn't figure out what the hell to do with my legs - had of course neglected to get the plastic bags off my feet before launching into the escape which made them extremely unweildy and so ended up teetering on the brink for quite some time. Eventually managed to contort myself sufficiently to get one leg down and the other one through, trying not to think about what might happen if I fell, which miraculously I didn't.

Relief at having survived that ordeal has actually made the rest of my convalescence a breeze. Am sure there is a lesson in that adventure somewhere --- perhaps when things like doorknobs break, get them fixed?

Bunions Be Gone

( Pics are not of me obviously as I have yet to classify as "post-op"except in my fantasies plus mine are more wrinkly.)

On Tuesday I say goodbye to the dreaded bunions at long last and very good riddance to the little buggers I say. My right foot especially has turned into a very poor apology for a foot (despite the red toenail polish which, although the orthopaedic surgeon rather fancied it, stopped well short of transforming the flawed fetlock into anything remotely resembling sexy!).

The upside will be, eventually, normal looking human feet which can take a bit of pounding occasionally - in other words toe the line - as it were. The downside is that I will be somewhat of a crock afterwards, hopefully not too immobilised but initially perhaps forced into the indignity of a walking frame (I'll fit right into the demographic in the Mitcham Shopping Centre however). I will also be besporting charmingly green coloured surgical boots, for I understand six weeks. Although these will do nothing at all for my occasional attempts at stylishness, as the specialist suggested, rather than try and hide them (how could you anyway) I think I will "make a statement" and cleverly team them with … well everything. Perhaps it will start a trend. People will gasp as they see me and demand to know where I got those fabulous boots.

Anyway once I survive the ordeal I will let all my similarly afflicted (bunion-wise) friends know just what a breeze it all was, or alternatively what a hideously excruciatingly painful nightmare it was - perhaps the latter as it doesn't hurt to milk every opportunity for sympathy in these tough times. I will of course be a model patient for my dear sister who is doing her Florence Nightingale bit and coming to nurse me back to wholeness for a week after my surgical experience. Thank God she is, as the dogs are notoriously hopeless at breakfast in bed or shopping or washing or anything that doesn't instantly and directly benefit their own little selves. No doubt they will be bashing at the door for walkies as soon as I set boot inside the house again.

Well onward and upward, or onward and best foot forward in this case. I will be brave and focus on slipping into some smart sexy summer sandals in my new feet, without a gargoyle like protrusion ruining the effect. Of course once the feet are refurbished, the rest of the bodily premises may look a tad shabby by comparison and rather like house renovation, once you start, where the hell do you stop!

Everyone's going OS (except me!)

Just in the last few months there has been rather a constant stream of friends and workmates tripping off on overseas jaunts, and today my sister and her husband left for their long awaited trip. They have been furiously saving and planning for about two years so the level of excitement had about reached fever pitch by today. Here we are at the airport (my sister on far right, my two very tall and very blond nieces in the middle) and moi of course. Bro-in-law was given the job of taking the photo to calm him down as this being his first trip overseas, he was getting a bit jittery. I think they arrived at the airport about three hours before the flight was due to leave, just in case!! So I'm hoping they have a fabulous time and return home safely with lots of wonderful memories, photos and stories to tell. If only I could budget like my sister, maybe I could afford a trip myself! Hopefully I will become sufficiently inspired by the travellers' tales as I do think it's the most fantastic experience, and one that everyone should aspire to.

What to read???

Fellow bookaholics can probably relate to the nagging sense of anxiety that I feel every time my pile of books to be read starts to dwindle and the prospect of having nothing to read starts to keep me awake at night ... another definition of insanity perhaps, considering that if I actually sat down and read all the unread books I've bought still lying around, it would probably take me at least until Christmas (not sure which year)!!!

Nevertheless I do like to plan ahead to avert such a possible (if unlikely) catastrophe and as a result start thinking about books I might like to get out of the library well ahead of time. Like me, when it comes to fiction, you probably have favourite authors who can always be reliably depended upon to come up with something unputdownable, to the extent that opening the first page of one of their unread novels and plunging in could almost be likened to the buzz produced by indulging in other more physical addictions!

Sometimes when I'm casting around looking for another "fix" I've thought I should be more adventurous and try authors I haven't previously read, or find books similar in style or story line to the ones I typically go for. This can be a long laborious process if it involves trolling through the library shelves or a good way to while away a few hours if it involves browsing a real or virtual bookstore (which can of course be fun but life is short), So I was really pleased to discover a great website recently that offers the facility to conduct this process for you.

It's called "Fantastic Fiction" and claims to have bibliographies for over 15,000 authors and information on over 250,000 books (so some of your faves have got to be in there). Everything and more you always wanted to know about fiction authors and their books is there, e.g. new and forthcoming hard and paperbacks, all their novels, non-fiction works, awards, what books the author recommends, where you can buy new, used and on Ebay, and if you go to a particular book, you can find a list of similar books by other authors!!! Bliss for bookaholics! Happy reading!

My dear friend Ginny

I first met Ginny about 9 years ago when she was assigned as my "mentor" on my first day in my new job, and I couldn't have had a better one. She and I have subsequently become great friends and have shared some memorable times together. In one of these pictures we are at my 60th birthday party, with her gorgeous daughter Becky. She also came with me over to Geelong earlier this year when I finally graduated - she insisted on being present as she said she so admired my achievement in getting to the end of a gruelling few years of arduous study while working full time. It was a really special experience for me to have her there. Ginny is always the life of the party - could talk to a stone wall as someone once said, is bubbly, enthusiastic, happy and gregarious. She absolutely adores her two lovely children - Becky, who as I said is breathtakingly lovely and very smart too, and Matt - a tall, athletic and delightful young man - who is on his way to being a lawyer. Both kids are an absolute credit to Ginny, and they equally adore her.

Imagine the shock then when it was discovered in the last couple of weeks that Ginny has cancer. She is today in Sydney undergoing a very major operation, following which she will be subjected to extensive chemotherapy and radiation. Because of the location of the cancer, the surgery will be difficult, long and very invasive and she will need to undergo significant therapy and rehabilitation afterwards. The positive side is that she is still young, otherwise healthy, and has a wonderfully supportive family, a host of friends who love her and because she is a strong and courageous woman, has every chance of beating this.

It is still devastating though to think of this lovely, bubbly woman who has brought such laughter, fun and friendship into my life having to go through this ordeal. I am hoping and praying the surgery goes well and that she makes a successful recovery. Another reminder I suppose, as if we need any more, that life is precious and fragile and the health and vigour we take for granted today can be snatched from us at any moment.

Let's all make the absolute most of the benefits and gifts we have and always be on hand to lend our love, support and help to those of us who have heavy burdens to bear, like Ginny and her family do now.