Month: September 2021

I sort of suspected that!!!

We had the family here for dinner for the first time in two weeks – that’s the three boys and Rachel.

So who is Rachel, well she is Andrew’s new love. Andrew and Connor’s mother split up about 17 months ago. In the intervening time Andrew met Rachel. She has been here with him and Connor several times and she is a lovely  young  woman. She is very nice, very down to earth and I can talk to her a lot easier than I was able to talk to Patrica  (Trish) I like her and I would like to see this relationship progress.

One would think that after all the years I have been doing this that I should be able to write a church service and an address without too much difficulty, yet today I was a mess. I made so many mistakes and lost the plot a couple of times. I did not have a good morning! Only a few people have been turning up to service.  The reasons for this is that the Government Rules are that we must wear masks, we must have a 1’4 metre distance

and we cannot remove masks to sing. Because of this a number of people with health issues related to mask wearing will not come to church and a number of people who don’t want to sit in church for the length of time  the service takes and have to wear a mask, also wont come. So, until such time as the government removes the mask issue, our numbers will decline.

A good number of years ago I was in Adelaide. I lived in Adelaide for over three years. Yes I was able to go home  fairly frequently, but it’s not the same. During my time there I was in and around Elizabeth and was active in the church there. Elizabeth church became my second home. So, it was quite a shock to me to be told on Thursday that my dear friend, Agnes, had died. Agnes was the Session Clerk of the church for many years and was not only a great help to me, but was also a good friend. The Elizabeth people were very good and helped to look after me during my stay there.  Being told that she had died, hurt me very much in that I didn’t even know what she had been so ill.

Some years ago, before Annabell became ill, I had to spend the weekend in Adelaide. On the Sunday people asked Annabell where in Adelaide I was staying and were told that      ” John is in North Adelaide’  “Oh so he will be going to North Adelaide Church then?”         ” No”, said Annabell , ” If I know John, he will be in Elizabeth Church”  And she was right – that is where I was.   So yes it was a shock to me to be told About Agnes and my heart wept for all my friends in Elizabeth.  I really wish I could be there with them tomorrow for the funeral,  but it means two days away and  my job is here – to look after Annabell. As it turns out, Annabell is not the best today.

There is no report from the hospital in Adelaide so we do not know what the results of the tests are. I should like to think we will have some information sometime this coming week. I  should also like to think that whatever the results are, we should be ok until the  visit in December. We have advised the medical people in Adelaide that if the units need to be replaced,  the scripts, should be faxed to the pharmacy  here and we will have them filled out and bring them down with us.

Today, (Monday) I went back down to the Wetlands for the morning walk with Benji. An unfortunate decision as Annabell was unwell and didn’t call me because she knew where I was. I was quite annoyed and she should have called me and  I would have come home. For the time being I will  stay in the area with Benji where I can be home in minutes rather than a quarter of an hour away- longer if she calls and I happen to be on the ‘wrong side’ of the ponds.

The drive home was uneventful. A stop for fuel and food at Port Wakefield, which, with all the  roadworks, took us two hours to get to from Kent Town – and it’s only about 125 klms. Still, it was good to be going home again.  I drove through from Wakefield to Port Augusta (285 klms.) where we  stopped again for fuel. I also went into the local store and I don’t know how it happened, but two new toys somehow  got into my shopping basket. It’s a mystery to me !!  The last lap from Port Augusta to home (77klms) was the best lap of all – of course it always is..

Where we stay in Adelaide is at the Flinders Lodge. This was once a regular hotel but it is now owned by the South Australian Cancer Council, along with a second lodge in another part of the city.    They are used as accommodation for cancer patients and their carers/ partners. I am allowed to stay there because I am with Annabell, but I would not be allowed to stay there if, for example, I were in Adelaide for a Conference. However, if Annabell were in hospital and I came down to visit, I would be allowed to stay there.  Flinders Hospital and Medical Centre is a fair way out of the city and the train from Central to Flinders takes about 30 minutes, so if you think about that, all the running around I had to do last Thursday because of the pharmacy, took up a fair chunk of time.

Everything seems to be going well and we should not be back in Adelaide again until sometime in December. Oh I meant to say that our first day in the Lodge I got really excited when I saw a lady guest with her dog, but on talking to her I found out it was a “Service” dog,  and that is allowed. Oh, also, on the subject of “allowed” Feeding the birds is not allowed. I did not know that, so I fed them. I was told  by the staff – very nicely – that they are wild not tame birds and if they cause any injury ( the have big beaks) the Council takes no responsibility. There is a notice in Reception to this effect, but I didn’t see it.

To say Benji was glad to see us, is an understatement. Once the initial greetings were over, he did not leave my side for much of the day. I had difficulty trying to unload the car  :o)

It was good to be home again and I really missed him. Once we were settled and the car was unloaded, I put the harness on him and we went out for a walk. John didn’t have the time to take him out so this was his first walk in nearly a week. He spent a fair bit of time catching up on, and replying to,  his mail  :o) Everything is fairly well back to normal, or as normal as it can be :o)

When I was in Adelaide I managed to get to a garden shop and bought three African Daisy seedlings. I have planted them and looking forward to seeing how they develop. I did water them yesterday and last night it rained. Spring!! You just don’t know what it has in store.  Still not happy with this version of “Classic”  The old version let me know how much I had written – this one does not. Ah Ha – I have found it.

Neither Annabell nor I have had our Covid19 vaccine injections yet.  Annabell was told to wait until after the day surgery and I decided to do likewise so that we both go together. Now that we are home until at least December, we will organise to have this done. Thus ends a most interesting  seven days.

Hmmm. It says ” Classic” but it’s not the classic I remember. Oh well, we will persevere. Today is Monday 13th Sept.  and  tomorrow we head to Adelaide. John will be looking after Benji while we are away. Things have been fairly set out and provided they don’t change anything I have everything organised. Tuesday is a free day – apart from driving. Wednesday we have the clinic; Thursday Tests: Friday day surgery: Saturday a rest day to recover from the Surgery, and then set out for home Sunday morning. All-in-all, a fairly busy week.  This will be the longest time we have left Benji. Generally it has always been just for a few days, but six days is along time  for him to be without His Peeple. Still, I’ll make it up to him  and you never know, a couple of new toys might just slip into the case. Still on about Benji – I can see from the window as I am typing this that he is outside on his new chair getting some rays on his bones…

I missed the cut-off day for the City Council Calendar so I wont have any photographs in the 2022 Edition.  I didn’t do too badly in the four  photographs I put in  to the Photograph Exhibition and my points were, 8,7,6,6. with some reasonably write-up by the judges. I am quite pleased with it all and I’ll see what I can do for the next time.

We have now been in Adelaide for three days with three more to go. We have been for consultations and tests and tomorrow at 6:45am we have to be at the hospital and she is first on the surgery list. Of course, we were last time but it’s still after lunch before we get away. We will stay here on Saturday and head home early Sunday morning. We will be glad to get home. This has not been a great trip and we had quite a run-around from the hospital pharmacy and the doctor had to cancel the the scripts – re-issue me with new ones and I  had to go into the city the following morning to have them filled at any outside city pharmacy. I am not impressed with the hospital pharmacy and neither was the surgeon since these units were necessary for the operation. Thursday was supposed to be a sort of ‘Free Day” but I spent most of it travelling back and forward to the hospital collecting the new scripts, then taking them into town, getting them filled out, at a city pharmacy, then back to the clinic.

I will be glad to get home and I am missing Benji. John has been looking after him and sending me information on how he is.  Annabell will be glad to get back home and into her own bed. The beds here are very comfortable but for Annabell a bit too low.

I did have one exciting time. The hotel is close to the major parklands and across from the hotel is the gathering place of Sulphur Crested Cockatoos. On the Thursday evening, after all the running about, I heard a noise outside the door and went to investigate. To my amazement there were not one, but two Cockatoos on the balcony. I grabbed a couple of plain biscuits (cookies), went outside and hand fed them. As I was doing so, a third one arrived, so I was hand feeding all three.  I thought this was very exciting to be up close and personal with wild Cockatoos. Not the greatest of photographs but I didn’t have the time to stuff about with settings. I felt they would take off and I would miss the opportunity. Perhaps later on I’ll put if on Lightroom and brighten the photographs up somewhat. The photograph of Benji is one that John took and sent to me in Adelaide.