Thursday 27th December 2007

Today was another busy day. Celebrating Mum's 94th birthday was a happy event. All the family that were available to come joined us at Tarragal House for lunch in the BBQ area. It turned out to be a lovely day and Mum enjoyed everyone's company.

Graham and Anne, Nicholas, Carla and Eloise, Matthew, Heather and Matthew and Lachlan came in from Copacabana where they are spending their family holiday.

After lunch we went to the Gosford Races for the afternoon. We did not excel in picking the winners however had a lovely afternoon with some of the members of Anne's family.

Tonight we were on "Cat feeding" duties at Sam & Shane's place. We found "Gilly" the cat sunning himself on the neighbours step. (image attached.


Images attached: Mum's cake; Mum blowing out the candles; with great granddaughter Eloise; the family in the BBQ area; birthday flowers in Mum's room; dried arrangements of Australian flowers from Lyn & Richard; flowers from Stuart and his family in America

Christmas Day 2007

Christmas Day 2007 was a very busy event. The weather was thankfully cool with some early rain which made it very pleasant for the traditional hot baked dinner that I had planned.

We enjoyed the company of Shane and Sam; Rod and Anne; Rae and Ron Jay (Anne's parents); Graham and Anne; Nicholas, Carla and Eloise; Matthew; Heather and Lachlan.
Later in the evening our next door neighbours Shirley and Cyril joined us for a glass of cheer.

We had a really good casual day. Far too much to eat and drink which is to be expected on Christmas Day.

Shane played Santa Clause (his traditional role) and handed out all the presents on the day.

Shane & Sam left early in the afternoon so they could catch up with all their family prior to leaving tomorrow for their holiday in Darwin.

I saw Mum at Tarragal House early in the morning and Graham & his family called in to spend some time with her in the afternoon. Mum looked really well and enjoyed all her visitors.


After inspection by all the IT experts in our family it was concluded that my main computer is in a terminal state from the "worm" so it will need a rebuild before I can continue any projects. Meantime I will be on the laptop. I will not be on the computer long enough to use the skype, but I will be able to access my normal emails.


Christmas day was a twenty hour marathon for me so I am looking forward to a R & R day tomorrow.


Images attached: Rod & Anne, Shane & Sam at the Christmas tree; Table setting; Shane handing out the presents; All of us at lunch; Shirley & cyril.

Sunday 23rd December 2007

Today was a perfect day for golf. Just enough breeze to keep it pleasant although the sun was quite hot. We had great company on the course today playing with Robin & Rob Brann. None of us broke any course records however it was a very enjoyable day just being out there. We had dinner at the club and as usual enjoyed the 19th hole best of all.

Saturday 22nd December 2007

Today was a busy day dedicated to preparing the house for Christmas Day. It has all worked out and all is in order for the big day.

That allowed for some relaxation time and to catch up with some friends that we had been promising a dinner with for quite a long time. We had a night out at Aree's Thai Restaurant at Wyoming with Margaret and Paul Ingham. Margaret and Paul are old work Colleagues of mine that I have known and worked with for many years. We have kept in touch both professionally and as friends since I have retired.

We had long talks about the good old days at work and golf which Margaret & Paul are interested in taking up as a relaxation sport while they are still working in view of it being a serious/fun sport upon eventual retirement.

We have arranged for some social golf over the holidays and probably a lunch in the new year to catch up with a few others of the staff we worked with in the past.

Images attached: With Margaret and Paul at Aree's.

Friday 21st December 2007

I have been experiencing some computer problems with my main computer (one of those horrible worms that can cause all kinds of damage to computer memories). The problem is not yet resolved so I am working from my laptop and will need to keep my entries brief as I work on wireless system.

It reached 31 degrees today and was far to hot for a walk around the garden at Tarragal House. Mum settled for a quick walk around the inside of the complex and out on the front verandah for a while. The aromatherapist left me some cream so Mum could enjoy a foot massage which I did for her after helping her with lunch. Mum was again tired today and a little confused with her dates.She could not work out how far it was until Christmas Day.

I left her to have an afternoon sleep and she seemed quite settled.

Christmas is coming quickly so it was more last minute shopping today.

There will probably be some breaks in my blog until I get my main computer back to work. Christmas cheer to everyone.

Wednesday 19th December 2007

Today I was motivated to do something positive about Christmas preparations. (Probably the effect of seeing the Swarovski Crystal tree yesterday).

As my day was to be at Erina visiting Mum I thought I should take advantage and complete my Christmas shopping while I am so close the Erina Fair Shopping Centre.

I spent lunchtime with Mum. Today she seemed very tired and was not eating all that well. I read her mail to her which was mainly Christmas cards from family & friends which she seemed happy to talk about & then after lunch I left her to rest for the afternoon. I have decided that it will be best for us to visit Mum on Christmas day rather than try to bring her home. As she is reasonably settled it will be best not to disrupt her routine & disorientate her. She seemed happy about that when I discussed it with her. I don't belive that Mum is feeling well enough to be moved.

At Erina Fair I was lucky and fluked a park close to the centre entrance door which pleased me.

Between walking from the carpark and entering the shops I decided that my colour theme for Christmas Day would be red, gold & white. This decision helped immensely as I was not able to be confused when I got to the "You Beaut" christmas decorations department where there are far too many choices. This decision was backed up when I was able to get a red and gold Christmas table cloth in the right size - another fluke.

I spent the afternoon shopping for gifts and got home in time to decorate the tree before dinner.

Tomorrow I will wrap all gifts & place them in their rightful place under the tree, work out my dinner menu for 13 people, buy the neccessary food, buy whatever else I forgot today & I should then be able to relax.

Christmas Day - bring it on!

Image attached - The newly decorated tree.

Tuesday 18th December 2007

Today I had to sacrifice my golf for a Christmas shopping trip to Sydney as I am nowhere near close to being prepared for Christmas Day. This year has got away on me so I have to do a quick catch up. So far... the tree is up, no presents wrapped, however I can now say I have made a start on the present buying.

I visit Sydney to get my QVB fix that I like to do whenever I get the chance. I especially like to visit at this time of the year to see the exceptional Christmas decorations that the centre instals for the festive season.

This year they have excelled themselves with the huge tree being decorated with 15,000 swarovski crystals, 40,000 lights & 6,000 baubles among other things. It is worth the visit just to see the tree.

I had a nice day wandering the city centre. It was not too busy & the trains all ran on time.

Monday 17th December 2007

Today was a really mixed bag with the weather. We started off with an overcast day that threatend to be wet and cool, turned to hot and sunny, turned to humid with threatend rain, the odd drop of rain then back to sunny & hot and then back to threatend rain with the odd drop. The forcast tomorrow - no rain but let's wait and see.

When I got to Tarragal House today about 11 o'clock it was hot and sunny. By the time I got Mum into the wheelchair is was sunny with gusty wind. We managed to find a sheltered spot in the rose garden for a while.(Images attached) Mum enjoyed sitting in the warmth of the sun & dozed off quite easily. I helped her with her lunch in the BBQ area which was not to bad when the wind eased. We had a nice couple of hours together & Mum managed to take about eight paces with the help of two of the nurses today which is a marked improvement.

Tonight we had our good friends George & Tosca for dinner at our home.(Image attached).

We enjoyed talking about our trips that we had in Europe together & what future trips we would like to be doing. There are so many places to go and so many things to see.

Fishing trips were a focus point for the boys where Paris predominated the girls focus. Many people that know us well would not find that strange.


Images attached: The rose garden at Tarragal House; Mum having a doze in the Rose Garden; George and Tosca at dinner.

Golf - Sunday 16th December 2007

Today was yet another wet day on the village green. The course is so lush with all the recent rain it is getting to be quite a challenge to plough through it all.

I hate playing golf in the rain and today was no exception. I was happy to reach the 19th hole today and my only highlight was playing golf with my partner Bev Way (pictured). By the end of the day the course was in deluge, and even then there was social players still out there determined to finish their game. (Image attached).

Saturday 15th December 2007

Today we had a re-union of the China travel group. Dawn & Rod Tromp were our hosts at a BBQ at their home. We exchanged photos of the trip and viewed hard copies and DVD images of CD copies. We also had a lot of laughs viewing the videos of us practising our singing on the 'Blue Whale' cruise ship and climbing 'The Great Wall of China'. We all had a very enjoyable afternoon.

Friday 14th December 2007

This morning I spent a few hours at Tarragal House with Mum. It was a lovely day so I took a hat out for Mum so that I could walk her around the gardens for a while & get out into the sunshine.

It was beautiful in all the gardens so we sat for a while in a couple of them & did the rounds of the nursing home so that Mum did not feel confined in one spot.

The gardens and grounds of the nursing home are kept beautifully maintained and are very welcoming. My favourite garden is the French Provincial (image attached).
Mum had her lunch out in the BBQ area with me and we chatted there for a while.
Mum may be deaf but there is nothing wrong with her sight. She spotted a mountain parrot in a tree where we were sitting.(Image attached)


This afternoon I have spent a few hours in my own garden which has been looking sadly neglected after all the rain. I trimmed the hedge and I swear it was growing more leaves as I was cutting. The inclement weather has bought on a spurt of garden growth and the weeds have loved it.

Images attached: Mum in her room, happy to have her hat so that she can go outside and enjoy the warm sunshine; Mum in the French Provincial garden; grape vines in the French Provincial garden; The lunchroom where Mum would normally have her lunch; the BBQ area that I have booked for Mum's birthday lunch; the mountain parrot.

Thursday 13th December 2007

There was even more rain today - enough to cancel our traditional nine holes with Shane.

It gave me a bit of opportunity to do some Christmas shopping so not all was lost.

Today my Queensland cousin Terry gave me his skype address so I have another opportunity of communication through modern technology.

Tonight we had a catch up with some long time friends, Ken & Marg Gardiner. It was a long overdue dinner at our home and we had a lot of catching up to do.

We had a lot of fun talking about old times, new times, future plans, Children, grandchildren........and the list goes on. Unfortunately Ken has to work in Sydney through the week and we could not extend into the wee hours which we may have done years ago. It was a lovely night and great to catch up. I also had the opportunity of talking with my god-daughter Carolyn on the telephone (Ken & Marg's daughter) which is always a highlight for me.


Images attached: Ken & Marg at dinner, with Ken & Marg; Ken not liking his dessert very much.

Wednesday 12th December 2007

This morning I checked my emails and found one from my cousin Stuart in America.
I had previously sent him my blog addresses so he can keep up to date with what was happening in my world. He asked me if I would like to install skype so we can talk over the internet. I was happy to send him an email to say that I was already registered on skype. Within minutes we were connected and chatting away. He then put through a conference call with my other cousin Tony and his wife Marie in Moree. The wonders of modern technology!


Today was the Christmas Party Day at Tarragal House Nursing Home. When I arrived Mum was in her wheelchair in the "party room" where the staff were presenting a concert all dressed up in Christmas costumes. Mum was having a doze in her chair when we arrived but woke up when "Santa Clause" was handing out the presents.

It was late afternoon when the concert finished so while Mum was in her wheelchair we went for a walk around the Nursing Home & I showed her all the different gardens and lounges that we could walk through and sit in when ever we wanted. We stopped in the French Provincial garden for a while. All the plants & flowers there were predominately blue and white, lovely wooden seats & walkways between the plants. It was a very pleasant place to be.

We also had a walk through to the BBQ area & decided that it would be a good place to have a family lunch on Mum's birthday. Mum will be turning 94 on the 27th December & I am hoping that she will be well enough on the day to enjoy it. I have booked the area for the midday for whoever can come - so hopefully we will have some good weather.

Mum was very tired after a long day out of her bed so when it was time for dinner I left her in the safe hands of the staff who assured me that they would put Mum to bed straight after dinner. The staff there are lovely caring people and I feel secure in leaving Mum in their care.

I unfortunately did not bring my camera with me today, but the staff took a photo of Mum with "Santa Claus" so I will add it later if I can get a copy.

Golf - Tuesday 11th December 2007

Another day on the village green, and what a wet village green it was. My playing partners today were Doon Jansen, Fay Bailey & Robin Incoll. We were lucky enough not to get wet although there were a couple of very light showers and a bit of gusty wind. It was very wet underfoot from all the recent rain & gumboots would have been appropriate. We had no highlights to report other than Doon coming in second with a score of 33 which tells you how tough it was out on the course today.

Golf - Sunday 9th December 2007

Today we played an Irish Multiplier & Single stableford which is a bit of a worry if one partner is playing well and the other is not. As it turned out neither of us did anything too wonderful so the score did not matter. I did manage to win a ball which was the highlight of my day.

The weather was hot & sticky and built up to a huge thunderstorm late in the afternoon thankfully after we finished our match.

I had a phone call from Graham & Anne who had the weekend at their farm. They called in to see Mum at the nursing home and were hurrying home to beat the storm. They reported that Mum was looking good & feeling much stronger.

Dawn & John called in & saw her yesterday and had the same report so it looks like Mum is settling in nicely to nursing home life and is comfortable there.

Images attached: Me with my highlight of the day; the course in deluge after we finished the match; with our playing partners today Graham & Rae Brown.