19th June: Hello again

It has been a long time since I found my way to this blog, sorry guys. Have been very busy juggling work, home, and Simon's therapies. Today finds me up at an early hour having watched the England match at 4am.

Simon continues with rehab therapy. He travels twice a week to Fullarton for physio, and has speech therapy at home. We are still waiting for a powered wheelchair, although there is some hope that this might happen soon. I was unable to buy this independently. We have had many ups and downs: a couple of falls, pressure sores, and the inevitable depression. On the upside, Simon's speech is really improved, and he has recently made good progress in physio. This week he walked 6 lengths of the parallel bars in the gym (around 60 metres in total). He has also been cooking 2-3 times per week using a slow cooker and lots of chili!

Simon has rediscovered E-bay and has successfully bid on around a dozen CDs. He has also worked out how to download music again. Music has been a lifebelt for us. We managed to go to a concert two weeks ago. A local band, the Yearlings, were playing in McLaren Vale in an old converted church. It was a bring your own grub arrangement. Simon and I turned up with fish and chips in newspaper - everyone else had delicate platters and canapes!

We have had plenty of rain which is good for our veggies. My spuds are up, and the greens are nearly ready. We have grown some wicked, blow-your-socks-off radishes and some rather pathetic beans. I have a constant battle with pests and insects and can often be found hunting caterpillars by moonlight. I found a tip in an old gardening book which advised placing fake plastic butterflies amongst the brassicas to deter the cabbage white butterfly. I spent several hours manufacturing plastic butterflies from old margarine tubs only to discover that they attract the blighters!

Simon's speech therapist is helping him to learn to use his mobile phone. We are planning to go to Noarlunga next week to buy a phone with a full keyboard so that he can text more easily. If you receive odd messages, you might expect them to be from Simon. Apologies to Aidan who regularly gets phoned by accident being first in the address book. By the way, congrats to Aidan on qualifying for his bus pass.

Skippy is as canny as ever. He has our care assistants wrapped around his little paw persuading them that he hasn't been fed for a week and desperately needs an ear rub. It has been cold here and he is a master at finding the warmest places to sleep; we could patent him as an organic heat seeking device. To his credit, the mice have disappeared (there may have been some RatSak involved).

My sister, Margaret, has been having a battle with skin cancer on her face. She has been very stoic about it, but it is a rotten thing. Last night the two of us went out to dinner together for the first time in years. It was really nice. Inevitably we ended up reminiscing about our complicated upbringing . There are only two people in this world that I have truly hated. The other one was Margaret Thatcher.

Thanks to everyone who has kept in touch through the blog and on email. Again, my apologies for being such a slug with the blog. I know that my family in England have been through some difficult times with the passing of our dear Aunt Jean. We have been thinking of you all.

I pick Greece to win the World Cup - who will bet me a dollar? Am even prepared to double it up on West Ham winning an away fixture next season....

Love Marian x