7th February: An alternative Day on the Green

While most of Adelaide's music lovers rocked up to see Rob Thomas today, Simon and I spent a lazy afternoon at Red Poles listening to 'Baker Suite' a country/folk duo. The setting was exquisite: dinner in the garden under a shady umbrella, and just about the best food I have ever eaten. I have been scouting around for music venues that are accessible with the wheelchair (not many to be found, sadly).

Yesterday, I drove Simon around some of the wineries ending up at Shottesbrooke. Here we discovered that Robyn, the cellar door host, plays in a band called The Yearlings. Simon has four of their CDs. We are looking forward to catching up with their next concert in March.

Simon continues to make progress with his physio work and now regularly clocks up 10kms on the exercise bike. He did achieve 15kms in one session, but this was too much and knocked him out for most of the next day. There is movement returning in his right foot. This did happen before but the movement was involuntary and he was unaware of it. Now, he shouts 'hey hey' whenever his foot moves. This brings me dashing desperately to the rescue only to find him grinning and pointing at his foot!

I am managing to work and get most things done at home for the time being. Things will be easier once we have sold our old house at Brighton. Last week I had a nightmare with the pool cleaners. They phoned to say that they were topping the pool up with water and that I would need to turn the hose off in three hours (a 60km round-trip to turn a tap off). When I arrived, there was water running down the garden path. I found a pipe gushing everywhere, the shed three inches deep in water, and very little water in the pool. The pool cleaner had left the pump switched to 'waste' and it was rapidly emptying the contents of the pool into the shed and beyond. I was so furious that I had to wait and calm down for three hours before I could phone to complain. Fortunately, there was not much left in the shed but I know that there was a bag of cement on the floor - anyone got a jack-hammer?

Simon begins with some new therapists over the next couple of weeks. The BIRCH (Brain Injury Rehabilitation Team) come to meet us tomorrow for initial assessment. They offer therapy in the home. Later in the week we have an assessment by the Royal Institute for the Blind; they are planning some vision therapy for Simon which should help him to scan his field of vision more effectively. We continue to read together slowly. The backgammon is picking up speed (I am still winning - just).

Thanks to everyone for birthday cards and messages. Too old to count them from now on, let's just call them 'golden years'.

Love Marian xx