Don Sr

Well it happened just like I thought.

We wanted to go and bring him 'home' on Labour day but no he
wanted to see what treatment was available in Ipswich, so of
course he stayed and guess what? there was no treatment,
namely bacause he only weights 50 kg now, and the drugs would
kill him quicker than the cancer.

So we said come at Easter and he said he didn't have enough
time to pack up but would try but he was taken to hospital
with a suspected heart attack on Thursday, March 27th, 2008.

Turns out it was just panic because he couln't breathe. But
he has been in hospital since and I doubt he'll be leaving it.

Well Meg rang me in tears as Shirley had just rang her in
tears. He has put a 'do not resuscitate' order on himself.

So Meg booked Don and her on the first available flight.
That was a Virgin Blue plane that left at 4 p.m.

The tickets cost me $220 and some small change ONE WAY,
because it was Friday and last minute. Of course they will
pay me back in a couple of months.

But worse was to come, as Kath was at Paynesville there was
no way she could get back to fly out then.

So I rang Kim and asked her and she agreed to go and say
'goodbye' to her father which I felt was a very good thing
as she needed the closure.

But half an hour before they were due to drive off she
changed her mind and Sarah went instead. I think Kim will
regret that eventually. Her reasoning was she did not want
to see him all wasted away but remember him healthy.
(Bullshit!)

I felt she really needed to get all the anger she feels
towards him out so that he has a chance to tell her he did
love her all along.

But it is done.

Of course I had to ring the airline for the third time and
this time change the ticket thankfully it did not add to
the cost.

When I went to book those tickets for the 7.p.m. flight
they were $440 and some change ONE WAY. (EACH!)

So the people that are working got the cheaper flight and
the two on government assistance got the dearest tickets.
Which will take forever to pay off. (August and Kath has
paid (she is not working) but Sarah who is working part
time has not paid a cent!!!)

The thing being I HAVE TO PAY IT ALL OFF IN A MONTH or be
charged interest, on my credit card!!!

I had to ring Kath's doctor and then check with the airline
as she is due in early July if it was OK for her to fly,
she has another month to go before she can't fly.

Of course Kath was really upset. Then Talhia and Jasmine
caught her anxiety and were upset when she left. Kirsten
is older and knows what is happening. So I rang up and got
Angela, who took my car and drove Sarah and Kath to the
airport, to go and pick Kirsten, when Angela was driving
back home. So Kirsten wouldn't have to put up with Talhia
and Nathan over the weekend.

I rang Don Jr at 9 p.m. to see how they were, as I had tried
Meg's phone twice and it had gone to voice mail and he said
he was on his way to the airport to pick up his sisters. I
told him that Kim changed her mind and sent Sarah instead.

He said that Dad would be disappointed as he reckoned that
the old man was just hanging out to see the other two of his
kids ( as he has not got on with Tracey for awhile.

Don rang at 9.30 p.m. to see where the 'girls' where? as he
was at the airport and couln't find them.

Angela had told me when I rang her at 7 p.m. that Kath and
Sarah got the plane (they arrived at 6.45 p.m.!!) but I had
warned the airplane that they would be running late.

So when Angela arrive here at 10 p.m. I asked her for Sarah's
number as Kath had her phone off.

Angela said that Kath had no money on her card and that
Sarah's phone had money but was not working so they put
Sarah's SIM card into Kath's phone. So I rang Donald to
give him the number but he said the plane ran half an hour
late and it had only just disembarked the passangers and he
had just received a call from Kath and HELLO there they were.
So I let him get on with it.

Meg rang at 1.15 a.m. Saturday morning, to say that only
one person could stay overnight at the hospital and Shirley
was staying so they had all come back to Dad's house and were
settling in for the 'night.'

She said he is on pain killers and constant oxgyen but seems
to be resting comfortably. He is a little stoned but wanting
to talk about THE PAST. (Which I guessed would happen.)

She said that when she arrived they had a tube in his lung to
drain the fluid and it was hard for him to breathe but once
they removed that, just prior to Kath's arrival he looked a
lot better.

More later.

Easter

Well I didn't expect much from Easter. That was exactly what I got.

I had wanted to spend the time with Cliff mostly in bed cuddling etc.
I had planned to go over Thursday and stay till Tuesday morning.

Friday, Sat, Sun and Monday Off.

Well the first disappointment was that on Thursday night Carlton was
playing and I certainly don't rate higher than Cliff's football team.
So I stayed home and went over just after lunch on Friday afternoon.
But I was not in a cuddling mood, I think I was swallowing my anger.
I munched on biscuits and dip and drank iced coffee milk.

I thought at least we won't be going out on Friday night.

But again I was wrong, Ross's band House Rules was playing at the
Narracan caravan park and Cliff said we were going along to see them.

So to make a bad thing better, after the caravan park, I draged
Cliff up to the Rossmore Hotel in Yallourn North and we had a drink
with Meg and her friends and then dropped in on Kath.

I was feeling a bit blue, as the day was my dad's birthday. If he
was alive he would have been 100. I mentioned this to Cliff and
he said Glenda was always doing that and those people are dead.
I ended up in tears.

Saturday was also a bust as Cliff said it was a good day to open the
shop and so he took me to Morwell and I helped him with the garage
sales and the shop. He said we should be able to get away early...
right it was 1.15 p.m. and he usually shuts at 1 p.m.

As usual I wanted to go for an afternoon nap at 2.30 p.m. but he
wanted to watch the races. Again I don't rate more than the races.
Of course he wanted to come to bed at 6 p.m. and cudle when it was
time to get up.

Sunday Cliff DID GO AND DO THE SUNDAY MARKET. So I spend the day
at Kim's helping Jess with her latest story and stopped in at
Beryl's to give Alisha and her their Easter eggs, on the way back
to Cliff's.

Finally a day off. Monday and he wasn't going to work!! But
Ross's friends turned up at 9.30 a.m. and woke us up.

Cliff wanted to go to Mossvale Park, but I wanted to stay home.
(Still hoping!!)

But after we dropped of the stamping stuff at Beryl's he
remembered "heaps of paperwork he had to do for the Co-op." So
I spend an hour photo copying it for him.

I wanted to go to bed for the afternoon but no he had to write
letters for the Co-Op and Ross and his friends had the music so
loud that the bed was shaking, so after 45 minutes of asking them
to turn the music down and banging on the wall.

I got up had a shower and went home.

On the way out Cliff asked what was wrong and I told him. His
remark. "But I'm making a roast, don't you want some." I just
said "NO" Actually I was too upset to eat and was not hungry.
I didn't even eat tea at home, but I was so upset that I couldn't
sleep either.

I did go to cards and bombed out with lousy hands and ended up
with my lowest score ever and the lowest of the night 72 points.
Cliff didn't come. I figured he was still doing his "heaps of
paperwork."

Last weekend when Ross wanted to go to bed early he came into the
lounge while I was watching T.V. and didn't ask me to turn it down
but walked up and turned the set down! If I tried that with him
he'd break my arm. He is just a rude, inconsiderate moran. But
of course Cliff won't say a word to him.

Once again I don't rate.

To My Grandson

Happy Sixth Birthday Sammuel!!

NOW I AM SIX

When I was ONE, I was just begun.
When I was TWO, I was hardly new.
When I was THREE, I was barely me.
When I was FOUR, I was not much more.
When I was FIVE, I was just alive.
Now I am SIX!
I'm as clever as clever can be.
I want to be SIX forever and ever!
(By A.A. Milne)

Cricket Grand Final

Two weeks ago Don Jr's team Ex Students were in the 3rd grade
grand final against Traralgon, played at Traralgon. I went
along to watch the game, on the Saturday. His team batted
first and scorded 174 which I though was pretty good.

I offered to mind the kids for a few hours on Saturday night
while he had a beer or two to celebrate.

As it turned out they lost. The other team won by one run
and three overs.

So it was to commiserate that he went out drinking. He left
the kids at 6 p.m. and said "I'll only be a few hours."

By ten I put the kids to bed and left the lounge door
unlocked and the light on. Connor did not want to sleep at
Cliff's, he said that he wanted to go home. I said I was
not driving all the way to Morwell and spending the night
at Don Jr's (in case he didn't come home.)

Every time I went to the toilet during the night I checked
the kids and the bed I had made up on the couch for Don Jr.
The kids were okay and Don wasn't home at 6 a.m. which was
the last time I woke up before 9 a.m. when he was home.

I took the kids to Subway to buy them breakfest. The night
before we had pizza ($31) and breakfest cost $8. They wanted
drinks but I was hard and said water. I was running out of
money and Don had not given me any. He still hasn't given
me any!!!

We had just finished and were about to go look at Officeworks,
when my mobile rang. It was 11 a.m. and Don wanted to know
where we were.

I went and picked him up (from Cliff's) and he said that he
had left his car keys at the Traralgon Club. So I drove him
there but they were not opened and as there was no time on
the front of the door, so it was hard to say exactly when
they would be open.

So rather than wait around with the kids I said I would take
them to Beryl's and he could pick the up from there.

They loved Beryl's.

Maddy loved the pet rat that Beryl had bought Alisha (just
that morning!) she played with it and Alisha in Alisha's room.

Andrew was there and was quite pleasant.

Connor loved the games on the computer and on his first try
nearly beat Beryl's best score! and certainly outshone
Alisha, though she is 6 to his 7 and a 1/2.

Sam ran around the garden trying to find the frog he could
hear but Beryl said it is in the roof.

They all thought the birds were beautiful. Sam chased the
dogs. They seemed to love it. Maddy and Alisha patted the
cats when they got tired of the rat.

We had pizza for lunch and Beryl gave flavoured milk to the
kids.

At about 2.30 p.m. Don rang up and said he was coming to get
the kids.

He showed up with Meg in the car. He gone to Morwell to pick
her up as she had arrived home in the early hours of the
morning to find that she had left her house keys in her car!!
in Traralgon.

The dangers of drinking are varied!!!

The kids didn't want to go but frankly by then I was exhausted.

I went home and slept for a solid three hours!! and resolved
NOT to have the three kids again. Too much!! over too long a
period.

Stephen King

Over the last three weeks I have read the last two of King's
books. "Lisey's Story" and "Duma Key." I liked them but
unlike a lot of his previous books these were not 'can't put
them down till I finish.'

These were tomes and I for one thought they could have been
cut short and still made the point. They hammered the point
home over and over again, so much so I was forced to stop
reading.

I have noticed a trend, in his books, since his near death
from that car hitting him, that he looks at death differently.
There is now an element of after life, other life or next
life in his books and both these books dealt with DEATH.

"Lisey's Story" was about a widow of a famous writer coping
with her husband's death even two yeras after the event.
(Thoughts of what might have been?)

"Duma Key" is about a man who is almost killed in an accident
and is mentally and physically changed as a result.

In both books there is a thin veil between this world and the
next and we see how our main characters cope when that veil
parts and reveals the other world to them.

As I said I enjoyed them but I think he is still trying to
work through what happened to him.

Well isn't that what writers do with their writing use it to
ease their lives and make them better, ...excise our demons
onto the pages?

A Malicious Software Virus

I turned my computer on at 8.45 a.m. Friday morning and found
out the reason why the computer was working so slow on Thursday
was that I had a 'malicious software virus' according to Spyware
Doctor, though not a peek out of my 360 Norton Security!!

It took one hour and forty five minutes to do a full scan and
reported that nearly 3,000 files were infected.

It partically removed the virus and said to complete the
process I had to close down the computer and reboot. I did so,
but when I rebooted everything was frozen.

I continued to shut down and reboot all day but couldn't open a
thing.

Meg came along on Sunday evening and of course it worked first
time for her, but when I went to use it on Monday I had the
same problem of everything being frozen.

Meg came tonight (Tuesday) and fixed it for me after 45 minutes
but the Norton 360 is failing to scan and do its job.

So am not up to date with my Blog.

Having a Whinge

If this is high speed broadband then I'm a monkey's aunt!! I turned
my computer on at 4.50 p.m. and finally got to write this blog at
5.36 p.m. that is 46 minutes of WAITING for connections, nothing
high speed about that!

The phantom thief struck again this weekend. I came home on Monday
to find the room freshner that Cliff gave me, gone. It was the first
thing I noticed as I walked in the door I took a sniff and thought
that's strange it's not stinking up the house as it usually does when
I come home and the house reeks of sweet smelling flowers, because
the thing goes off every 36 minutes and the house is locked up so I
looked up at it and it was GONE!!

I thought as I had gone to the expense of replacing my front door
lock ($60) that would keep whoever it was OUT, but my son said he
came around and just 'pushed' the door and it opened. Yes it
appears locked and it takes a solid thump but it does just spring
open! so then I went out yesterday and bought a drill (as on one of
the previous visits the thief took my new drill) and I am going to
put two bolts on the door and bolt it shut this side and go out the
back way at the weekends.

So the cost of stopping this thief has cost me $125 not including
the other stuff he or she has taken.

One of My Oldest Friend (and Lost Friends)

When you say that, most people think of some decrepit doddering
person. In actual fact Anne Arneman is about nine months
younger than I am. She turns 58 on the 12th March this year.

We met in first grade at St. Declan's Primary school in Penshurst
N.S.W. it was 1956 so we have been friens for 52 years (That's
were the oldest part comes into it~!)

I have not known her the longest but we have stayed in contact
throughout all those years. Though it has been over 16 years
since I last saw her.

My oldest friend would be Dorothy Tedro she was just a baby in a
pram when I met her in 1953-54. But I have had no contact with
her since the mid 1990's, which is not my fault as I still live
at the same address. It is she who has moved (she was last in
Sydney, as her husband was some T.V. executive) and has not
contacted me again.

It is sad really when we lose our childhood friends.

Kathy O'Hara was one of my best friends form Marist Sister's
College, boarding school, at Woolwich, N.S.W. She had been a
day pupil but became a boarder in 1966 and again in 1967 and we
were in contact till she and her husband built their new house
in Queensland. And like Dot I haven't moved, my address is
still the same, yet after Kathy's move she hasn't written to me
again. The last Christmas card I sent her, came back.

If they GOOGLE themselves then maybe that will connect with
this blog and they can write to me at gloriathorn@yahoo.com.au.
(A pity in some cases, there is very little snail mail, but the
world moves on and we are dragged along with it.) Please girls
if you read this write! It will only take a few minutes out of
your day.

Cliff and the Big C

Cliff went to the Dr on Wednesday 5th March to have his forehead
checked after the removal of the lesion last Friday. The Dr
originally said to come back in ten days to have the stitches
removed, but Cliff insisted he come in earlier as he heals too
quickly.

The nurse and Mr. Arthur were amazed, even though it was only 6
days he had healed, in fact three stiches (out of the 30) were
overgrown already. Just imagine how many more would have been
overgrown if he had of waited till Monday like Mr. Arthur first
wanted.

But because of the nervous tic of his eye and the swelling and
brusing around his eye, Mr. Atthur is giving Cliff "a month off."

Cliff is not going to have the lesion from his nose removed this
Friday as planned but will go back to the Dr in a month and if
the forehead is OK he will have it done within a week of that
appointment.

There were no cancer cells in the material removed from the
forehead!! which was of course what we were hoping for.