Cate's Diary

Hi, Petal. Bandicoots are cool. I just love them. We came up with our kids to see each of them being released by our vet friend & I like to think that some of the ones up here are offspring.
Hi, Em. I'll take that as a compliment :D I sometimes wish I wasn't like it, but I can't change much now.

I'm just reporting in quickly to say we were woken early by a flock of Yellow-tailed, Black Cockatoos, who actually paid us a visit, rather than just flying over. What a racket! They were in the house garden which is mostly natives. It was fun to see them. They were getting stuck into our lemon banksia. This video doesn't really convey how noisy they are.
I only have time to do my diary today as we're heading off soon to play golf.
 
Hi Cate,

Wow - you live in a pretty exotic location to get those kinds of visitors.

Nice that your son gets PTO. I almost took the day off myself, but that's real money.

Good job on the cleaning. It's always great to get rid of stuff you don't need. I have a bunch of old clothes and computer parts I could do that with.
 
Hi Cate I love those birds . We are surrounded by crows magpies swallows pigeons . I would love to hear about your house garden you always talk about the bush . Is it a bit wild and untamed ?
Our garden is pure green with lots of flowering bushes and some fruit trees . All my flowers I grow in tubs.
 
Hi, Jack. I don't think of where we live as being exotic, but we do live amongst nature & have lots of space around us. Maybe I wouldn't have appreciated it so much if I had always lived here. I was brought up in a country town & then moved to a large city in my teens. Moving to Tasmania was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I belong here. The hospitality industry here is mostly casual but our son has himself a very secure & well-supported job in the industry & has paid sick leave & annual leave. Actually both our sons do. The other son works for parks and wildlife.
Hi, Petal. The black cockies are like a flock of very noisy, naughty children & I love them. We have Forest ravens, rather than crows. I love magpies & we have them at the golf course, but not up here. The swallows are starting to arrive now, They are cute. We see the occasional pidgeon on our driveway. I think just appreciating what you have is a joy. You can't beat nature. Our garden is not terribly structured. Our flowers are mostly flowering native shrubs. I go for greenery too & we have some fruit trees, but have to share them with the wildlife. I have lots of indoor plants too.

G & I had such a lovely day today. Our team of 4 came 3rd. I wasn't one bit dizzy, so my body has obviously adjusted to the new low-dose medication. It is too far for me to drive there regularly, but I felt really comfortable. I hit some beautiful shots. It felt so good.
 
Cate said:
& I had such a lovely day today. Our team of 4 came 3rd. I wasn't one bit dizzy, so my body has obviously adjusted to the new low-dose medication. It is too far for me to drive there regularly, but I felt really comfortable. I hit some beautiful shots. It felt so good.
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That´s great to hear!
I just looked up magpies because I was surprised you liked them and it turns out your ones are different from ours. Ours steal every egg and kill every baby bird they´re not directly related to so most bird lovers don´t appreciate their pretty plumage too much.
 
Thanks, LaMa. It was really good. Our Tasmanian Magpies are fairly peaceful birds, that have the most beautiful song. I love hearing their warbling while we play golf. They also don't steal our golf balls as the Forest Ravens do. When I was a kid, growing up in country Victoria I was scared of them as they used to swoop us on our way to school.
 
Glad you had a wonderful day . Yeah our crows are noisy , magpies seem to be getting bigger every year too. We do have lots of little birds like robins and chaffinch too . Right time I got on with the day . See you later
 
Cate said:
Our Tasmanian Magpies are fairly peaceful birds, that have the most beautiful song.
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I should have remembered that. There was a "Flying doctors" episode where a kid with memory loss was reunited with their family because they painted the wrong kind of magpie for the area.
 
Hi, Petal & LaMa & anyone else reading my diary :)
Happy Spring to me, happy Spring to me :D
I have started tracking on MFP again today. I am going to attempt to set up an eating & exercise plan that I can sustain for the rest of my life. It eliminates nothing. This morning I ate what I felt like, but rarely have-toast. I only had 2 small thin slices of GF seedy toast, one with nut butter & the other with low-fat quark & some marmalade. Cals 423. Once I would have always had a 3rd slice (2 savoury, 1 sweet). I'm going to make my own nut butter when this one has finished & I'm going to add hemp seeds & maybe some pumpkin & sunflower seeds. I might make a couple of variations.
It's very overcast today. More rain coming. I'm a little bit stiff from golf yesterday, but not too bad. I fell asleep in my chair last night & then couldn't sleep for ages. I think we'll have a bit of a lazy day today, but I'll go for a walk some time.
My September plan is very flexible-build up my exercise, go for a walk each day, meditation in the bush, try to play a game of golf every week, count calories & whatever else I think of as I go.
 
Thanks, Petal. I think I'll have to keep an emoji page saved so I can add the ones I like-
Maybe I'll do some more homework later :D
Goodnight, Petal xo
 
Thanks, Rob. I always read yours too. I'm a bit envious of those fresh peaches :)
My day has been a strange one. I have sensed that R is down & was hoping that it didn't signal that his relationship with C is back on the rocks. I fear it might be so. He video called me today & I could see by his eyes that he is feeling really down. He thinks she is trying to distance herself from him & trying to break up again. I hate seeing him so hurt & lost. He is doing everything he can, including being prepared to only see her once a week if that's all she can spare with her crazy, busy life & then not even that if she can't. My heart is hurting for him. I can't change anything & I don't think he can do anything more. He is also on his own at home, unable to do much with his badly injured thumb. He was lucky not to lose it.
I really wish he lived closer to us.
The bird we call the "hello R...." bird just landed on the birdbath. It sounds like he actually says that sometimes, which is why we call him that. He's a grey, shrike thrush.
I'm trying to distract myself & not feel sad. It is helping. I think I'll go outside as it's just stopped raining & clean the birdbath!
 
So nice to hear you had a happy golf day and a happy Spring filled with birdsong! We love the bird call video you just posted, including my cat who got big eyes when she heard it! We have a lot of crows and bluejays here. The jays alert everyone if a big bird of prey comes along, and are noisy and happy. There are a lot of humming birds, too, and they sometimes greet us. I love spring with all the baby birds learning to fly!

It sounds like R and his girlfriend are really struggling. I hope you can not take on R's stress too much! Maybe try Tru's deep belly breathing? It is working for me, anyway!
 
I like the sound of your food... non-plan? Working on similar things here. What I find helps when my brain starts to focus on a topic I know I shouldn´t focus on too much (usually because it´s something I can´t influence) is look off into the distance. Maybe it´s because I´m a bit near-sighted but my brain can only focus on things closely when my eyes are closely focused as well.
 
alligatorob said:
I always read your diary, don't always respond, but i always read it.
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Me too :)

Cate I felt sad reading your post about R . My kids are younger than yours although technically adults (even though 1 still in school) and the worry now is tenfold .
Does he need to be at home at the moment ? If he has no work to attend because of this thumb could he not come visit with you for a while ? Otherwise keep communicating the company is nice by video for him and let's hope it's just nothing much .

Your home is really a birdwatchers paradise . Now there is an idea for your gypsy van park . Rent it out for a bit of income as a bird watching area. i went for a cliff walk during the summer and met a man who drove an hour once a week who was following eagles nesting on the cliff . He didn't always get to spot them and photo them but he happily punched in a day looking and then drove home another hour :driving:.
 
Your September plan sounds good to me. I always have great intentions for September also. I'm going to stick to the calorie-counting, but try to make sure it's healthy calories and not crap I'm taking in.
 
Thanks, Marsia, LaMa, Petal, Em & TM.
I did take on a lot of R's angst yesterday & felt so very sad. I was very tired from the day before I think, which didn't help. I know I can't change anything. I did distract myself with a really interesting book- "A short history of Richard Kline" by Amanda Lohrey. I picked it at random in the library the other day.
TM- tears were trying to jump out yesterday in the afternoon, I'm afraid. I tried replying to my diary posts & just couldn't.
It's very hard as a parent not taking on the worries of your "children" whatever age they are. I am so close to our younger son that I know when he's suffering. I really try not to. He can't just come up to see us Petal, unfortunately. There are quite a few reasons. Life is so complicated. Hopefully her visit after her work today is not to break up yet again, but if it is I think he has to give up on her, although he will be heart-broken (again). He has been unable to do anything with his badly cut right thumb, so has been doubly frustrated.
After a really good night's sleep, I feel a lot better & better able to cope.
I just sent him a message. He has an appointment with his doctor this morning. I have one today too after having had my bloods done. I never did hear back about needing a second urine test.
It is a beautiful Spring day today.
 
:grouphug:s and more :grouphug:s! I can't imagine. It's bad enough worrying about your kid when they are physically hurt. Glad you were able to get a good sleep and some psychological distance. Anyway, good luck to both of you at your doctors appointments and I hope things work out ok.
 
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