Birthday Boy

Indy, our youngest grandchild (so far????), turned 5 on Monday.
He had a riotous party in a park on Sunday, with family and friends.

It's kind of sad to think of him going to school next year. With a bit of luck, he will retain his imagination, thirst for knowledge, care for others and innocence for some time to come.
When I was a Prep teacher, I tried to foster these qualities. That was a long time ago. I am afraid that children these days might be blinded (or blind-sided) by modern science and technology.
Jemma goes to school next year too. I keep my fingers crossed that these two will get good, kind teachers, who believe in developing the whole child. I wish for old fashioned teachers who will give them a good solid grounding in the basics; teachers who accept that the child has a huge amount to teach them!!

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Cranky Rock With Marion and Yvonne

Last Friday the four of us went out to our favourite place, Cranky Rock.

As always, our first stop was at the toilets, on the way into town. Next, as usual, was Vinnies. Steve pointed out a silly, plastic beaker type object, with a penguin shaped head.

We had a wander around Warialda, ending up with a lovely lunch at the local Bakery. It intrigued us that salad rolls and sandwiches included boiled egg. This didn't thrill Steve!
We had first gone into the pub for lunch. The lady owner saw us and remarked, "Some lovely people coming in for lunch." After looking at the uninteresting and expensive menu, we walked out again. I would love to know what the owner said then!!!

As we drove around the small town, admiring its many interesting features, we came across a very large second hand shop, on the edge of town. This was the shop that we thought had closed down, when we saw that the previous buildings had been vacated. The new site is 10 times the size with a much larger range. Great!! It also had a penguin-head beaker! We have never seen one of these before, so two in one day was fascinating!!!!

The weather was perfect ---- 25C (77F), with a little breeze. We were very pleased that Marion and Yvonne enjoyed the bush, boulders and birds out there as much as we do.
We spent quite a while on the observation platform, listening, smelling, admiring and imagining. We spotted some striped clouds, which none of us had ever seen before. Yvonne thought that she had heard something about them on the radio. I've searched the internet but so far haven't found a name for them or seen any pictures.
A shout interrupted the stillness and it took quite a few seconds for us to locate a body for the voice. It was a farmer, standing on a little sandy beach at the bottom of the gorge. With some echoing yelling back and forth, we understood that he had a farm on the other side of the river and was looking for his cattle. All that we could see of cattle was their footprints on the sand.

Yvonne and I walked in amongst the undergrowth to have a closer look at a plant growing in a few places on a dead tree branch. The leaves were distinctive and a vivid green. They resembled the leaves of orchids, we thought. We took a few steps back onto open ground and found ourselves covered in lots of little brown seeds. These clung to our clothes and because they have a little hook on the end, they couldn't be brushed off. Everyone pitched in and the picking and the plucking commenced, taking quite some time to rid us of these pesky little buggers. Yvonne was able to identify them as her daughter has a patch in her back yard. She called them Cobblers Pegs. What a fabulous name!!!! I checked the Internet and found they were also known as Farmers Friend, Pitchforks and Sticky Beak. (Farmers Friend because they clung so closely.) They were referred to as a herb and there were claims for many medicinal uses.

After we came down from amongst the rocks, everyone had enough energy to go down the track to the river. There were big heaps of evidence of cattle! I love it down there. It reminds me of being a kid and playing by the Buffalo River. Wattles are coming out everywhere. The red calistemons that were blooming brightly when we were there last, have faded. It's so clever of Mother Nature to follow one bloom with another, especially in different colours.

We were on our way to the kiosk where I planned to ask about the many parrots that used to be there, when the lady locked it up and went to do some work around the area. The peacocks came out of her backyard and wandered around but unfortunately didn't display their tails.

I have put up a bunch of photos which can be viewed as a slideshow. Click on the link beneath the photo. (Cranky Rock with Marion and
Yvonne.) You can see the striped clouds, the farmer and sandy beach, plants growing on rocks and dead tree limbs, and more ........

Cranky Rock with Marion and Yvonne

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This and That

Marion (Cohuna) and Yvonne (Leitchville) are happily ensconced in a cute cabin, with a queen and a single bed and all conveniences. They are half way between us and the pool. They arrived one day early and their cabin wasn't available but this new one is even nicer.

The new 25 metre pool is full of water but they are waiting on the filters to come. This pool is going to be about 28C and the weather is not quite warm enough for a cool pool yet. I will use it as soon as it's ready and go back and forth from it to the hottest pool. I love the buzz I get when I plunge into the cold water!!
We're still having cold, cold nights and mornings, but lovely sunny days, ranging from 20 to 24C. It's beginning to feel like spring is in the air!

We went to the monthly market in the park last Sunday. There were two stalls selling rocks, fossils and old coins, so I bought a few for Christmas presents for the grandkids. Last year we gave six of them echinoids (sea urchins), about 10 million years old. Tatum received a beautiful fossilised leaf, about 40 million years, I think.

We now have a regular Monday appointment with the Diabetic Educator. She is knowledgeable and helpful but I think that she is getting impatient with me!! I don't eat and swim at the times she thinks I should. She was horrified when she discovered that I take an hour to eat most meals. That threw out her plans for post-meal blood testing. She made the statement that seeing that I take so long to eat my food, I must be eating all day long. Grrrr. I've always been a very slow eater; I'm famous for it. My family will serve up my food first and tell me to start; even then, I'm last to finish. She keeps increasing the insulin, which isn't going to go down well with my own doc, I fear. Who do I believe??!!
I've discovered one important thing ----- I can bring down a high blood sugar level with only a little exercise. If I eat all of my meals on my feet and do the housework at the same time, maybe then the woman will be satisfied!!!!

Vanity

Yesterday, I got the urge to fix up my previously pierced ear that was botched a year ago. When the lady looked at the situation, she said that the new earring was looking too shiny and sparkly beside the other 5 earrings. So, for the grand sum of $35, I got one piercing and 6 new earrings. A good deal, I think. Also, I was able to choose one purple set!!!!

The new earrings are standing out very well because I had my hair cut and the hairdresser cut it much shorter than usual. Marion will have a fit when she arrives on Monday ---- she likes my hair much longer. Oh well, it will grow.

Seeing as my hair is so short and the earrings so sparkly, I thought the hair needed to be made more obvious, so I coloured it. It's champagne blonde.

Let's see, what else can I do? Fingernails? Make-up? New clothes? Tattoos?? :-)

Speaking very softly because Steve is asleep!

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EPC Program via Medicare

When I saw the dental technician, he told me about a Medicare program that I had never heard of before. The rest of you Aussies might be interested in this information.
It's called the Enhanced Primary Care Program. Click on the Title of this blog to get more information.
From the web page:- Medicare dental items (Medicare items 85011-87777) are available for people with chronic conditions and complex care needs, on referral from a GP. Eligible patients can access up to $4,250 in Medicare benefits for dental services over two consecutive calendar years.
Wow! That amount would cover a lot of dental work!

After the dentist filled me in on this program, I went to the surgery and handed them the piece of paper with the name of the program on it. Yes, they knew all about it. They booked me in for a one hour appointment with the doctor and the nurse.

Last night, I was thinking that I had done the wrong thing and should have waited until I got home again, where all of my records could have been accessed. WRONG. When I went for the visit today, I found that having diabetes was sufficient to establish eligibility for the program.

The nurse weighed, measured, took BP and filled in a few gaps on the computer. The doctor then checked me over, asked a few questions and wrote me a referral to the dentist. And that's it. How simple could it be?! Medicare has kept this secret very well.

If you plan on taking up this opportunity for dental work of any sort, don't wait too long. This information comes from the Government page :-

"In line with its election commitment, the Government planned to close the Medicare chronic disease dental scheme to all patients by 1 July 2008, and to re-direct the savings to its new dental programs (Commonwealth Dental Health Program and Medicare Teen Dental Plan). However, on 19 June 2008, the Senate blocked the scheme’s closure. On 16 September 2008, the Senate blocked the Government’s second attempt to close the scheme ...........
It remains the Government's intention to close the scheme in order to make funding available for its new dental programs, and the Government will continue to negotiate with the Senate in an effort to achieve this."

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Fairly Boring

Not much happening lately but it's good to call lazing in the sun and the warm pools, "boring".

One front top tooth fell out and I tried to learn to whistle through the gap! Eventually, I saw a dental technician who visits from Inverell one day a week. After he had finished the job, he said that I would soon need new dentures and asked me if I knew about a Medicare scheme for free dental treatment. I had never heard of it and looked it up on the internet. Sure enough, it exists, by the skin of its teeth, if you'll pardon the pun. Rudd tried to stop it twice in 2008 but it was blocked by senate. I'll look into that scheme before it no longer exists.

The scabs on Steve's knees are beginning to come off. Goodness, they seem to have been there for a long long time!

I've been seeing the Diabetic Educator at the Community Health service up here. I was having a hypo every day after swimming but since she altered my medication slightly , they have stopped. Thank heavens! I was beginning to get paranoid about going to the pool. She also suggested some carbs before I went. With some experimentation, we found that it was the vigorous exercise that I do in the pool that was bringing the blood sugar drastically down.

The pools have been full of kids for the last few weeks, because of school holidays. They are staggered throughout the states but finish this week. Emily and Carissa have another week because they go to a private school. As I was getting into the pool one day, I heard a Mother with 3 children say, "Now calm down your play and no more splashing." I hastened to assure her that kids, water, play and splashing all belonged together and there was no need to change anything on my behalf. She was grateful and the kids were happy to continue their games. I really dislike the grumpy bums with the beehive hair do and make up, who complain about the kids. If they don't like their hair getting wet, they should keep away from water.

For those who know Jim Baxter --- He is in hospital in Bendigo, recovering from a massive infection. Dom, Rachel and Talitha all went up to see him and said that he was most unwell. His wife Jenny is keeping me up to date with his condition.

The weather forecast for this week is a little cooler than usual. Monday is meant to be only 18C but the end of the week should be back to 21C.

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View

This is the view from the kitchen window, the beginning of the hibiscus. The banksia rose has a couple of flowers but nothing else has emerged yet. Summer and autumn were very dry and I think that this has delayed the bulbs.
I took the photo through the glass ---- look closely and you will see where I haven't cleaned!!!

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