Cate's Diary

Hi Cate :grouphug: I'm so sorry to hear about your mum. That's always worrisome when things are going on in the personal family, especially dealing with health.

I really will extend my prayers out to you guys. I hope you feel better, take care of yourself love. Think positive and you can get through this tough time with a deep lesson learned. I wish for you more patience and strength to deal with your worries. Stay in the present moment love.....it is much easier than thinking about the "what if's"....xoxoxo Love ya!!.....Keep drinking that tea!
 
Georgina-
Hi sweets! My cold is getting better thanks. I love hot lemon drinks! They help you sleep better too. I really appreciate the effort you are making for me & your friendship, xoxo Cate.

Alta-
I do love you! You are such a special person. It's so funny because you often say what I have been thinking or have already decided to do(I have my herbal tea next to me) & it just strengthens my resolve. My Tai Chi friends did the same for me today. I am feeling much better this afternoon both physically & mentally. Nothing is resolved but I think I am the one that will have to deal with my mother's illness & I can do it. This will mean a trip to Victoria, travelling by ship overnight, so that I can take the car. My mum lives a further 3.5 hrs by car from Melbourne. I can't see an easier solution but will need to sit with her & have a talk about it all. I will try to ring her doctor tomorrow as she has an appointment next Monday. I would like to be there for that but my LH is working over the w/e so it won't be possible. Now that I have decided that it is up to me to do something about it then I will step up & do it.

Today-
I started off my day in such a tizz. It started with a quick visit (again) from my DIL & the 2 younger GK's. I woke up stressed about my mum & my DIL's stress fed on that. Then my MIL rang to nag me about coming in there & then when I wasn't going in to town for another 2 hours (I thought.) I sucked that up & went in 1.5 hrs early. She embarrassed the living daylights out of me in the bank & I even sucked that up, took her home, raced around the supermarket & got to Tai Chi just on time.
Tai Chi was lovely. We went to lunch after & they gave me such lovely support & love & helped me think through what I'm going to do about my mum. I came home feeling so much better & feeling confident that I can find a solution. I rang my sister & told her about mum's fall but not to worry & that I realise that I will need to deal with it & will try. She sounded very relieved about that.
Then as soon as my LH got home from work we went out to dinner in Devonport & then went to an 8-ball meeting. We proposed a couple of things at the meeting & were happy with the outcome.

Attitude-
Is what counts. If you think you can, you can. Nothing much has changed today, except my attitude.

Alta-
Thinking in the moment is the go. You are so right. Sending you lots and lots of love my sweet & funny friend, xoxo Cate
'Night folks!
 
Thanks dietgrrl. I have found the phone number of my mother's doctor & rung them & discussed her with the receptionist who said she would pass the conversation on to the doctor. I just got a call back from the doctor & have had a good talk to her. I feel much relieved that she is now aware of the situation & will do some tests. I told her I will be up there in the next few weeks & she suggested that I can come see her with my mother. She thanked me for the call. I so much appreciated her ringing me. I feel a little better.
My week has been chaotic & it still is. I will tell you all about it when I get a chance. Our OS has just arrived, with our Grand-son. I have the GD with me. I have to go. It's bedlam in this place!
Bye for now, Cate
 
Yesterday-
1st thing-
We rang Centrelink & had phone interviews. Because my LH's hours have been cut down to almost nothing we now both have to register for work to get some payment to live on. I found it really stressful & was trembling. The woman was really nice. It took about an hour & I needed to get outside & move some rocks about to get it out of my system.
Then-One of my Tai Chi friends came around to look at my stone work. She had asked me the day before if it was ok & I was chuffed. She's lovely. She arrived & we wandered around the garden & she was inspired to start doing something similar at her place. Then I showed her around the house & she fell in love with it. She said that she just found her dream home! She's very sweet & I get on very well with her. She would probably be about 30 I guess.
Then-2 more cars arrived. My LH was going to be cutting up wood in the afternoon with 2 of his work-mates, but instead they arrived mid morning!
Then our son arrived in his ute & our DIL in her car & we had a traffic jam! I had to move my LH's car, my TC friend had to move hers & I had to ask my LH's friends to move their utes out of our drive so that my DIL could turn hers around & park. Crazy!

This week-
I have had my DIL & the 2 younger GK's for most of the day 5 days in a row! Utterly exhausting. I never know what's happening- whether they are staying all day, what time they're coming etc, whether they're coming at all..... I have hardly had a minute's peace all week. Last night was our OGS's night to stay as well & I was a bundle of nerves by the time he got here. I explained to him on the way to Taekwondo that if I had 2 littlies every day of the week then I would not be the calm grandma that I usually am with him. It probably helps explain how parents get so short tempered with him when he does next to nothing wrong. They can be very hard on him. I try to explain this to him but this week I probably got the message across better by bad example. I was aware that I was different.

My mum-
It felt bad going behind her back to talk to her doctor but it is a start at least. I hope she doesn't find out that I did. I do need to get up there in the next few weeks. My LH said he'd come with me. It's going to be very hard trying to tell her that I think she has dementia. I hope her doctor rings me again to let me know what she thinks. They are so busy always. She did suggest that I go see her with mum when I come up.

Today-
I have not done any exercise this week as I have been tied to these kids. Thank heaven for Tai Chi! Today I will do my weights. I like to exercise in the afternoon but I may try to do them this morning, hopefully before anyone turns up, if they are going to.

I had better scoot & do something now. Cheers, cate
PS My dogs are barking & there is a car driving in as I type. Sigh!!!!!!!
 
and you too Alta :beating: :D

& they came, showered & have left &
my day is a blank canvas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 
Today is always a brand new day. :)

Ooooo i am imagining your house.. it's a cottage, with vines surrounded by flowers and organic vegetables and a rabbit peeping out of the cabbage patch! :D
 
dietgrrl-You are really sweet, I hope you know :grouphug: xoxoCate
Our home is fairly big & an unusual shape ( a vague C shape,) is made of stone but is solar passive & is more like a mountain lodge. It has cathedral ceilings & high windows & trees holding up the ceiling in our living room. Only one room has carpet. There is not one square room in the whole house. It's chunky & quite unusual & we absolutely love it. I am grounded here.
The rabbits(introduced feral species from England) or wallabies can't get into the vegie garden as we have it well fenced. The rest of our garden is more like the Australian native bush & attracts native birds & animals. We don't have a mower. The native animals do most of the trimming. I don't have any strongly perfumed flowers as I'm allergic to most perfumes, including natural ones. I think I have some photos of our place on my profile.
Today-
Was blissful!!!
I pottered about & read half a book, did some rock work, rode my exercise bike & did just one set of weights, followed by a little Tai Chi to warm down.
I had Pho Bo for lunch & some yoghurt, West African chicken for dinner. Yum!

Bliss, bliss, bliss. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
xoxo Cate
 
hey cate, just wanted to wish you a pleasant weekend..i'm trying to imagine your house...it sounds warm and wonderful to me... :p
 
Thanks Geo, You too. Lets all have a great week-end! xoxo Cate

Spam-Usually really annoys me but that cracked me up! Surely you would target your spam! How very silly these people must be. I reported it as usual. If you spot it folks click on the exclamation mark in the little triangle at the top right of the post & report it as spam. It's simple & the mods here are so efficient it disappears really quickly.

My mum-
We're booked already to go see her(28/4-1/5). I spent some time yesterday & worked out it's much cheaper(about $200) to fly & hire a car than it is to wait until May to get 1/2 price fares on the ship & take our car. It also saves 2 whole nights. We can also squeeze in a Saints match in Melb. I think it's not going to work trying to go with her to the doctor. I need to just try to talk to her about it all. I feel much better now that I have spoken to her doc & now that we are going up to see her.

My MIL-
Rang 15 mins ago & has asked me to come in to clean up as she lost control of her bowels last night in her kitchen. She has tried to clean it up but cannot see much at all with her Macular Degeneration. She said that I'm the only one she can ask or the others will panic. I'll take this as a compliment. I'm not good with smells though. I hope I don't throw up. She doesn't know that.

Today-
Initially I was going to go in & take her for a walk but then my LH told me that someone was coming to go for a walk with her. I had then decided to get into my work gear & do a day of rock work. I'll stay in them I think as I'll be down on my knees scrubbing. Then I'll come home & get outside for most of the day.

My weight is still stable which is excellent as I have been eating carb vegies & even an occasional ice-cream with the grand-kids (small in a cone.) I feel good & not so anxious. I really needed that day to myself yesterday!
Bye for now, Cate. Wish me luck! (that I don't vomit)
 
Holy moley Cate!!! I never knew you had an album (duh!) - you look amazing! From your posts, you sound like a happy, serene person (even when bad stuff hits) and it certainly reflects in your photos - even your before photos. :)

Loving your photos taken from your house - and your description??? Gave me goosebumps because that's how I imagine my dream house to be. :) I love cathedral ceilings, and high windows... And you have trees holding up your ceiling in your living room??? Could you pretty please take more photos? :D
 
Dietgrrl- You are sweet & funny. I love the "Holy Moley!" I will take more photos soon. I had some more of inside the house but deleted them only a couple of weeks ago. I am a happy person & would love to be serene. Ahhh. Nice thought. Thanks for your lovely compliments, :D xoxo Cate

Yesterday-
Was a great day. I went into my MIL's & cleaned up & had no problems doing so. She was very grateful & I think I was able to make her feel ok about it. I mentioned all the times she has helped us out & that it was my turn to repay her a little. It must have been really bad diarrhoea. I stayed just as long as it took to do the cleaning up & drink a tea, asked her if there was anything she wanted me to do & then I came home.
I pottered about my house, read the paper, had a tuna salad for lunch & then got out into the garden & continued on with my rock garden for about 2 hours. I came inside, had a shower & propped myself in my chair with my book, a pot of herbal tea & a mini platter of fruit. Last night we had a small meal of West African Chicken, rice & vegetables. I had another good night's sleep. I am back in my usual sleeping pattern.

One of my S'sIL rang last night & my LH told her about their mum. I spoke briefly to her & suggested that I ring the hospital first thing Monday to let them know about the diarrhoea so that they can factor that in to her treatment. At first she snapped & said that's why she was going to meet her mum at the hospital when she had her treatment but then she realised what I meant. They may not treat her Monday at all if they know about it. She then apologised for snapping & asked if I wanted her to ring but I said she could if she wanted to but I was ok to. She thanked me again & I said I would message her to let her know what they say.
She is always tired & touchy and she works late most nights.
MIL-
I rang 15 mins ago & she has spent half the night on the toilet & is exhausted. I said to her that I think I should ring the hospital first thing tomorrow & let them know & she agreed after I told her that it will give them a few hours to think about it before she gets there in the afternoon.

My mum-
Does not know that we are coming up yet. She usually rings me Sunday morning about 9.30. I'll wait for her to call as it seems to throw her out a bit if I ring her instead. :) I wish my sister & brother could feel the same way about her. My poor smart, intelligent mum. It must be frustrating for her.

Today-
I'm in my gardening gear again. I think that I will cart some more rocks as I want to continue the retainer wall all the way along to the steps, even though it is then sloped, rather than terraced. I want it to flow. It has an earthy, fluid feel to it. I feel so grounded in my garden & our home. I created a rock garden bed yesterday the other side of the steps & am thinking I might fill it with herbs. It would be fun for the grand-kids to be able to pick them.

Tai Chi friend-
It was quite uncanny. When she looked at my kitchen dresser she admired my favourite thing on it- a pewter salt salver, with a matching scoop. When we walked around the garden she remarked "You know, I can just picture..." & I finished "A gazebo or something that you could sit in & look at the view or do Tai Chi or meditate in" & that was what she'd pictured. We stood there & both imagined it. I would love something that looked like a Balinese hut ideally. *Sigh* It's a wonderful space.

I had better get my a... into gear & get moving or I will feel like a lazy bones. Hope everyone is having a great w/e, xoxo Cate


 
Today (cont) :)
I rang my mum & told her that we are coming up on the 28th & she was really excited! I told her it's only a very quick trip (2 nights) but she was happy with that.
I did rock work for 1.5 hrs & stopped for lunch (tuna salad.)
I rang my sister & told her about the trip & she was happy!
My MIL rang & told me that she had spent most of the night on the toilet & had awful pains with her diarrhoea. I told her that I will ring the hospital in the morning & let her know what they say. She didn't want me to come in & said she was ok.
I spent most of the afternoon doing more rock work & I just came in, had a shower & my DIL just arrived to have a quick shower. Our GD is here. My LH just arrived home from work. I had better go!
I have had a wonderful day!
Cheers, Cate
 
Yesterday (cont)
My DIL only stayed to have a shower & was gone again. My LH & I shared a bottle of bubbly (just because) and had a nice, relaxing dinner & evening. I woke a few times during the night because I had made sure that I was well hydrated yesterday doing all the rock work.
Today-
Is another beautiful Autumn day in Tasmania. My LH is not working until Sat. We are going to get some wood today as it is cut up & ready to be loaded. I was very stiff when I woke up but did some Tai Chi & I'm right now. I won't do any stone work today to give my muscles a chance to recuperate. I feel leaner these days & fitter. The exercise has done wonders for my mood (as usual!)
I just rang the cancer clinic to let them know that my MIL has had diarrhoea & they said for her to come in anyway & she can have a talk to the nurses.
I will head I think & do some housework.
Cheers, cate

 
Today-
Well I did housework & then we went & got 3 loads of firewood, had lunch, did some gardening & then went to the races for a short time(80 km return drive). Unsurprisingly we have both had a nap in our chairs this evening. My bed beckons.
My MIL has been advised to eat plainer food apparently. I'll find out more when I call in tomorrow. I have quite a full day planned tomorrow, including a hair cut. Yay!! I'm going to Tai Chi (different class) as I will probably miss my Wed class.
Oh, I'm too tired to post any more. 'Night folks, xoxo Cate
 
Georgina- Thanks sweets, xo Cate
Been too busy to post folks- all's well but I'm just so tired & have hardly been home at all for 2 days. I'm off again tomorrow but will try to pop in after lunch. I hope so anyway! xoxo Cate.
 
Tuesday-
Spent the whole day in town-
Quick visit to MIL, dropped LH off at golf, op-shop shopping, library, op shop fashion parade, :)smilielol5:)hair-cut, more op shop shopping, whole food shopping, picked up the LH from golf, another visit to the MIL & then home to find my DIL & the 2 littlies. Then our OS arrived & then they went home & then we had to fill out forms for about 2 hours. Exhausted!

My op-shop purchases-
A brand-new (still with tags) black velvet jacket with fringed & braided cuffs from Vietnam; a black merino cardigan; a black camisole; a black jumper with a red & grey border around the bottom; a heavy & very warm, zippered, black cardigan/jacket; a purple & tan reversible crepe-type material top that needs a brooch to secure it & is very unusual but beautiful & I think that's it.

Yesterday-
Up at 6.15am for an 8.30 ap't in Launceston. My LH has only got 5 days work in the next 3 fortnightly rosters so we are applying for income assistance. It was a bit of a rush as we did not realise they had moved. We had not been there before. It was not too traumatic but I was really stressed about it beforehand & had a shocking night's sleep. The young woman that interviewed us was very nice. After 1.5 hours we headed off & completed a great big list of things to do, including picking up a pair of black travel pants that I had paid for a couple of weeks ago. I had tried on a pair of women's ones in beige that fitted me perfectly & they rang their Sydney store to see if they had them in black & they did. One of the Tassie staff was up there at the time & she brought them home with her. Nice. The ones I tried on had zippered, removable legs, which I don't like but when I picked them up yesterday these ones don't. I didn't try them on in the store as we were in a hurry & exhausted. I can take them back if they don't fit. I love the look of them.

We met one of my LH's sisters for lunch at the hospital caf (actually has really nice food) & then went to the cancer clinic to meet their mother for her treatment & the doctor's ap't. The doctor was about 1.5 hrs late & we left her with my SIL & did all the things we had to do (dropping off trophies & stuff for the golf club) & didn't get home until 4.45. At 5.30 our OS arrived on foot, needing a lift home. He drops their cars off for servicing at our mechanic neighbours' place, walks up here & I drop him home.
At last I got to sit in my chair, after getting away from the grand-kids. Our GD now says good-bye a squillion times & lots of "I love you Nan." Sweet.

I was so exhausted last night & sneeked into my PJ's at 6.30!

Last night-
I could not sleep. I was awake for hours & woke up this morning at 6am, unable to get back to sleep. That's why I'm in here at this ungodly hour.
2 reasons-
1. 3 cups of coffee in town. That is the last time I have more than 2 caffeine drinks in one day.
2. Stress from yesterday-
I am being sent off to see a Centrelink doctor as the woman thought that my allergies might make it almost impossible for me to work. I need to get a certificate from my doctor of my medical history. It was her idea entirely. My allergies have been getting much worse the last few years. I had asthma while I was there & was really shaky. I don't talk about it much but it does make my life fairly difficult anywhere but at home. Even then I still have people come to my home who don't know about it. I don't use anything in my home with fragrance- dish-washing liquid, washing liquid, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, soap, hand-wash etc. I use vinegar in the toilets. I'm not allergic to every fragrance but I often don't know what it is that is causing my reaction as there is such a big cocktail of smells out there. Our home is my haven. Our interviewer wore perfume, as most women do. I had not reacted to her perfume & I told her that I had sucked on a Strepsil for Dry Cough just before the interview to help & explained why. My sister is the president of an allergy group & after hearing that these Strepsils can reduce the reaction to fragrance they tested it for themselves & found that they do reduce reactions. I now have them in my bag all the time.
I also told her that I try not to let my allergies limit my life & that I love life.

Today
I have an ap't in Dev. at 9.30am to see a podiatrist. I have a hammer toe & it limits what shoes I can wear. My feet are big(42 or a size 10-11) & I have enough trouble buying shoes without having a toe that is curling up. I didn't know what it was called but someone else commented on it one day when I had sandals on & said it can be fixed fairly easily. I have a referral through a Medicare scheme as part of my care plan.
I also have to pick up 2 drums from another whole food shop. A friend owns it & I buy 10 litre drums of unscented dish-washing liquid & a multi-purpose liquid that I use for washing dishes, floors, toilets etc.(Back To Basics brand)
I think I'll get home then & have a break before our GS gets off the bus at 3.25pm.

I had better go now. My LH is up & just cooked himself an omelette & I have sweet talked him into making me one. xoxoxo Cate
 
Too tired to say much folks. I got back from doing my shopping, including supermarket shopping and my ap't & our OS, DIL & the 2 littlies were here with my LH. They left half an hour ago. Their bathroom should be finished tomorrow. *sigh* I have 45 mins until our OGS gets off the school bus & then I take him to Taekwondo. *sigh* again. I must have an early night tonight!
xo Cate
 
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