25th November: One month til xmas

Only one month 'til xmas, don't panic! Actually, my family in Oz have come up with a great scheme whereby we buy one present, anonymously, for another family member whose name is drawn randomly. We are only allowed to spend fifty dollars maximum. For overseas presents I am relying on Amazon and finding them very good - they gift wrap and deliver, completely painless. Just as well since when I tried to get into the Marion shopping mall today I was beaten back by the weight of traffic in the carpark.

Gerry has been working at our new house and reports good progress. The plumber has also been in and got started. Meanwhile, at Brighton, I have finally ordered some wardrobe doors (after nearly two years). This will upset Skippy who likes to 'hide' in our open wardrobe.
Tried to get ahead with some teaching preparation today, I have an intensive course running in January, and need to get it all in press before the xmas break.
Simon's ward had an outdoor barbecue today. The courtyard was packed with wheelchairs, nobody could move, it was like fairground dodgems crossed with a chimpanzees' tea party. Some of the patients with less coordination were flinging sausages and salad all over the place. Simon does not like crowds and is averse to having coleslaw in his ears, so we retreated to his room to eat. They made a good effort with the barbecue grub. This evening I took him a shepherd's pie. His hospital menu was crazy again, and I have found that 30% of the time he is given completely the wrong meal. I know that this is not Simon's fault because I fill out his menus mostly, and never in my maddest moment would I order cream of parsnip soup for him! For those who think that cream of parsnip soup may sound nice - it isn't, I tasted it and it was evil. Tomorrow I cannot be there at lunchtime, so I will have to take something decent in the evening to cheer him up. Simon gets another swim tomorrow.

There was another misunderstanding today about Simon's wheelchair. Twice I was phoned by the hospital asking a) where is Simon? and b) where is his wheelchair? I must say I found both questions rather disturbing! It transpires that a technician was trying to repair the new manual wheelchair that has been issued to Simon. The fact that it is broken is the reason why he was not to be found sitting in it! Nevertheless, the technician proceeded to try to repair the chair that Simon was sitting in. We got there in the end, but on the other end of the phone it was like participating in one of those fiendish communication exercises.

Mel and Pen took delivery of their car today. It is a little bit better than a 'bomb' (you poms would say 'a banger'), and I think it will run for three or four years. Cars have less problems in Oz than in England where you used to hear cars wheezing and groaning to start in the damp weather, then a pile of expletives as it flooded with fuel and the poor owner tramped off to get the bus in the pouring rain. My transport of choice in England was a bicycle or Shanks' pony - always reliable.

Thanks to Malcolm for phoning and having a long chat with Simon. We are looking forward to seeing you and Jelina, and I think you will be blown away by the progress that Simon has made since you last met. If Moira (from UniSA) is reading, I am going to need some big strong guys to help with our removals. Simon believes that you know some chaps who would do a couple of days for us. If so, can you get in touch please?

Love Marian x

23rd November: Packing and Painting

Got Simon home again for the weekend. Unfortunately I forgot to pick up his shower chair so we had to improvise again. Thankfully all went well. Simon was quite exhausted on Saturday and snoozed most of the day while I pottered in the garden. We picked out lots of good tunes, my favourite this week was Shelby Lynne; she sings like an angel. Sunday we had some more rain and this kept us indoors for much of the day. Simon decided to start packing up his CDs and DVDs (there are many thousands). He has packed five boxes, so I can begin shifting those up to the new house. The sun came out finally, and I managed to get a coat of paint on the side of the shed. Simon wanted to help me but I couldn't squeeze his wheelchair past the pool fence. Next weekend we will have a go at painting the front gates, he can reach those easily. It was good to see Simon active, he also helped to prepare some dinner - he chops vegetables and lays the table. He also dictated some email replies, and is getting much better at using the mouse and keyboard.

Today's pic is of Simon by the pool with his beloved pot plants.

Love Marian x

20th November: Beautiful rain

On reflection, I realise that I am inconsistent in my views about Australian weather. One day I complain that it is 'raining cats and dogs', next describe a 43 degree day and drought, and tonight I welcome this refreshing shower of warm rain. OK, I am originally English, and so observing the weather is a national characteristic. I must learn to put this away and take an Ozzie attitude to weather - rain is good, sun is good in moderation, save all the water that you can get - that is all there is to it. Have left my car out in the open so that it gets a good wash. I learned this by observing the behaviour of my neighbours.
Picked Simon up from rehab before 9am and drove in the taxi to McLaren Vale. We were expecting a guy from Telstra to connect the TV service - big cock-up by Telstra and no show. When I phoned them later (one hour with the call-centre) they agreed that they could do all of the work that they promised by December 2nd. Very quick to take your money, not so quick to deliver. Some of you may be reminded of British Telecom in their monopoly days.
My sister, Margaret, was run ragged all day with our comings and goings, even picked up our lunch and delivered it. Gerry spent time with our occupational therapist to understand the modifications required. Gerry took the bathroom door off, and managed to fit the shower chair in. Our occupational therapist advised us on what modifications are needed urgently and we will get onto that straight away. I took another door off in the hallway (it was an unecessary door) and Simon now has a clear run from the front door into the kitchen, back room, and front room. Some more door widening to do, but it does not look onerous. If anyone is in the market for some spare doors, sing up.
Sorry there are no photos. Our occupational therapist took them on her camera and will email those later. We took up half of her day with our home visit and I think that she was very patient with us. I would also like to acknowledge the cooperation of our new neighbours, Margaret and Mike, who, within twenty minutes of meeting us, lent us their screwdrivers! Good on ya, guys.

Marian x

19th November: Melting

Over 40 degrees today in Adelaide, everyone is nearly melting including the cat (who now spends most of the day shade hugging in the garden). However, nice and cool at work in the aircon. Had a successful day interviewing for new staff (I hope), then dashed home to pick up a television and drove with it to McLaren Vale. I stuffed it in the back of the car with a couple of duvets and pillows and hoped for the best. Managed to get it there in one piece. I needed to do this because the Telstra people are coming in the morning, and I think they may be installing the Foxtel as well, so we needed a TV there to test the service. Quick cuppa with Margaret then dashed back to rehab making it with minutes to spare. We had toasted sandwiches for tea.
Simon had a good day. He was in a 'reading group' this morning and seemed very pleased with that. Swimming this afternoon, and a visit from Chris Stewart (thanks Chris also for the copy of Viz - haven't seen that in years).
We are taking Simon to McLaren Vale first thing tomorrow to walk through the new house with the Occupational Therapist. Another overnighter planned for Saturday and Sunday at Brighton. I checked the bank accounts and discovered that we only owe $650,000 - small change.... (gulp).
Margaret had the bright idea of putting in an above ground pool at the new house, level with the rear patio. If this is feasible, it will chop a lot off our renovation costs at the new house. I will ask our pool man to come up with some suggestions. Simon and I also talked about stripping down one of his bicycles to make an exercise machine that he can use sitting in the chair. They have one of these in the rehab unit and it is well used.
Home to the news that we are expecting two days of rain - much needed for our poor lawns.
Piccies tomorrow,
Love Marian x

18th November: New Home

We successfully completed on our new home in McLaren Vale yesterday, I went up to collect the keys in the afternoon and took a car-load of stuff to begin the moving process. All looks good, everything left clean and tidy, and no obvious problems. There is a bit of over-painting to do, there are some very bold colours in a couple of the rooms. My preference is for quiet, gentle colours. Gerry is going in to the house this morning to begin dismantling the shower screen. We will take Simon up on Friday with his occupational therapist, and we plan to do a walk through to work out what modifications are needed urgently. We will stop for lunch in the Vale.
I stayed over with Mel and Pen last night, their place is looking really good now. Drove Mel to work during the peak hour traffic - not nice, I plan to try to hit the roads at quieter times or take the slower road. The expressway takes about 15 minutes off the journey, but I fear that the stress may take years off my life.
Skippy is cross with me (showing me his dot) because I had to leave him outside last night (I left the shed slightly open and I know full well that he spent a comfortable night in there because there was a cat-shaped indentation in a sleeping bag and all of the food and biscuits had been eaten). However, Skippy prefers the comfort of a double bed, duvet and several pillows plus the option to wake me up in the middle of the night to attend to his every need. Why am I so soft with this cat? Will take some photos of the new house on Friday.
BTW I had some technical trouble with the blog. To fix it I had to set my internet privacy and security settings to medium. Perhaps the IT nerds out there would advise me about the implications of this, and can it be avoided?
All good,

Love Marian x

15th November: Long hot days, many spiders

Simon's rehab routine continues as normal. He is making good progress in physio and there is probably more improvement to come there. At home, he has been trying to use the computer. He can now type most of his username without assistance, and he dictates messages to send to people. Some of these are a bit odd, but I faithfully transcribe them, and the recipients seem to appreciate the effort.

I must confess that I got fed up with Facebook and deregistered. What on earth is this 'farming' business about? and how do they find the time to spend half the day on the internet with this garbage? Sorry guys, I just think this is wasteful and expensive and ruining. Forget Facebook and X-Factor, read a good book, go to live concerts, grow roses, make love, travel if you can; then write about it to your friends . Rant over. Facebook dead....

Mel and Pen popped in this afternoon. They had a good old chat with Simon made him laugh a lot. Mostly about fart jokes but they are always good value.

Love Marian x

12th November: Heatwave

We are in an official heatwave, several days over 35 degrees, and set to reach 40 by Sunday. Unlike Southern Europe, Australia doesn't slow down, just ploughs on at the same pace. Beautiful in the evenings however, and just perfect for walks along the beach. The pool was as warm as bath water this evening.

Took fish and chips for Simon this evening, his dinners have been messed up badly this week. Can't wait to get him home so that he can choose what to eat and when. All is looking good on the new house, the settlement date is in just five days if all goes to plan.

Love Marian x