Blue Berries

The patch has been doubled in size by addition of the Herb Garden. We have Sage, Rosemary and Thyme but no Parsley what a Dill.  I have also eaten blueberries and warped carrot. It still tasted like ordinary carrot. We have opened up the netting to let in the bees, otherwise there will be no cross pollination.  I have endeavored to add one post per day for this entire year and at 391 posts, I have broken my previous yearly record.  These posts cover the ups and the downs but I did have something to record each day.

Herbie

1½ each

There's a bee in there

Beach Soother

I have managed to get into the water down below.  I went for a 1km walk two days back which was OK but I did end up with some red urine afterwards.  Today was also around 1 km but I waded into the water as well, to submerge the scars with a bit of salty stuff.  We were sitting on the deck just now and I was eavesdropping on a group who were inspecting the house for sale two doors up.  It seems the price is just under a mil. They are going to change this stucco bit and that other bit and getting all excited. I bet they don't buy it.  The house on our other side was sold for just over a mil two weeks back.  I had a good look at yesterday's stamp delivery. There are 2590 stamps in the 10 albums but they will have to wait a bit before I get to them.

Entry Wounds

Stamp Tub

I have been keeping out of trouble by working thru a few stamps.  The word has been getting around,as my mate Mick heard a lady on the radio who was selling a stamp collection. He thought that would keep me going while the recovery was happening so he bought the whole lot and gave it to me as a get well present. There are 10 albums in the pile so I will be busy for a while yet.  They all have hagner type pages so will be transferable to my albums, double bonus.

Nana Time

Nana has taken every opportunity to lend a hand in the baby business.  I have seen a lot of gear put together for adventure races, holidays and rogaines but that is minuscule compared to the truckload of stuff that is needed these days for baby.  When Asher is asleep there is always the veggie patch.

baby 1

baby 2

bottleo

Cwazy Carrots

Babies

That's the collective name for a group of small humans that cause trouble. But you wouldn't have it any other way.  This would be our biggest party crowd at this house so far. The bedrooms are full and our temporary fourth bedroom is in use as well.  Throw in a good beach day yesterday, with lots of food and a few more card games at the end to finish off a fun day.

balcony baby

Nana's presents

co-ordinated swimmers already

wide eyed munchkins

There's always someone else worse off

Bianca came with a story about her cousin who was diagnosed with an extremely aggressive prostate cancer. He was admitted for emergency radical robot prostatectomy on Dec 21. They took out considerably more than the prostate, like lymph glands and yet more as well.  He is in his mid forties with no previous indications of a problem but for one day the previous week where he could not pee. His catheter has to be in for three weeks!  Suddenly I do not have a problem.

Asher watching the Ashes?

New House First Xmas

We had five for a full on roast for the evening meal rather than lunch.  James has been regaling us with his Xmas tales like the Albanian Xmas party he went to where they danced with open bottles of Hennessy Whisky thereby spilling most of it on the floor. But that's OK as your hosts then get the $100 bills out, rub them in the alcohol on the floor and stick them to your forehead. Then they light the floor on fire to finish off the dance.  He went home with $300 stuck to his head. And just as well because he was looking for the best cat hotel he could find and found it over at Laverton where a double suite with TV and air conditioning cost him just as much as their own accommodation in Barwon Heads for all of next week.  I have to get back becuase the pud is about to be unveiled.

Xmas Lights

The Patch

Whose ever heard of a yellow zucchini?  The veggie patch should now be referred to as the veggie jungle and it has now expanded skyward.  It is dangerous in there, as I have seen the Constant Gardener disappear from view but so far has eventually reappeared some hours later.  The stakes have been raised to allow for more growing height under the mesh.  Last night a yellow zucchini was discovered so it went on the barbie.

High Stakes Gambol

Under the Net

Not Beaching just watching

I'm still cooped up here and will be for some weeks. On a 34° day I can only watch others getting down to the water.  Mind you the guy who just took off must be camping there for a week. His ute was bulging high with stuff.  He has a kayak with a wheeled trolley, so piled that with stuff. There were at least four chairs, two tents, numerous bags, eskys and a lot of paddle vests.  It wouldn't all fit so he unloaded a huge wheel barrow. Having unpacked and reloaded he left it all and drove home to get some more.  Don't these people realize they can end up on the internet.

Beaching is hard work

Nice Hat

Gateway

I have had a bit of time lately but even so my reading has been a bit slack. Gateway was the winner of the Hugo in 1978. This theme has been used before whereby an advanced race of space travellers decided to leave but left a lot of their stuff behind.  We humans found some of their space ships and started using them  to further our own explorations. Of course we never had any of the manuals so it was a trial and error method of learning to fly.  And a lot of the time they never came back.

Veggie Patch

The patch has been a bit neglected lately.  Some successes were discovered like cucumbers. There were two kinds in full development so we plucked them out before they spoiled. Unlike the snow peas which seem to have become some type of green bumpy knife blade. The carrots are a warped fusing of twisted bodies. I would describe them as having been carroted.  It's all a learning curve. At least there is a lot of growth with the lettuce and strawberries continuing to flourish as well as the celery and now we have cucumber sandwiches.

Nurse Debbie

During the catheter phase there was a lot of cleaning and manipulation of pee bags, various hoses and taps as well as the positioning of  straps and buckles on different parts of the body at different times of the day and during the night.  Nurse Debbie didn't get a lot of sleep either. For the first night out of the chair and back in the bed we did sleep better however  I sprung another leak. The daily clothes washing now has sheets added to the list, as I bled over them as well. So now Nurse Debbie is attending to the wounds, as we are tired of going out to hospitals and doctor surgeries.  In the mean time it is Christmas so someone has to go outside to do some shopping. She bought an inflatable bed  and set that up yesterday for the extra guests.  She also bought a fridge and installed that yesterday as well.  Where is that nurse Debbie, my arse needs wiping? I can see her out the window, she is mowing the lawns.

Inside the procedures room

Where does it hurt?

4th bedroom

Someone has to do it

Get that out

The nurse came at 9:00 am so the catheter tube was drawn out earlier rather than later in the day. Hooray! You know you have something alien in there and you just want it out but patience is still key. I sprung a leak (as in blood seeping out of the main wound) last night so had to take a trip back to the hospital for some more steristrips.   The next phase is dealing with the urine leakage, as my bladder has temporarily forgotten how to work.  If you have ever seen the cricket protectors shoved down their pants, I have two packets of a pouched version, that is supposed to hold urine. The things you have to do. No one can accuse me of never going to a doctor.

Keep Calm and Untangle Your Tubing

I have had six days or mostly nights to think about this post. It could have had other titles like Guide to walking bow legged or Penis Pal.  All of these will be mentioned.  The first two words are really the key, calmness of mind but also total relaxation of all muscles.  There can be no pressing, pushing, tightening,flexing or gripping of the stomach area,. That said medicos have heard it all before. They have a job to do.  The plumbing is more complicated at night. There is a second bag on a much longer hose with more taps to work it all. One nurse insisted on pulling all this out in a long straight line.  Back here, dealing with the nights is crucial. I have been corralled in a recliner chair for the last four nights (one to go) and a lot of the day.  Manoeuvres are required to get the contraption moved from one leg to the other and back again. Some of the dont's -

• getting your weight on top of the bag 
• entwining the hose around a leg
• letting the straps slip so the whole thing is held by your penis
• cough, sneeze, move suddenly
• forget to empty it
• stop drinking water

Penis pain results from all of the above however I have not mentioned my Penis Pal.  Cleanliness helps as you can still pee down the outside of the tube and that hurts.  There is a relief tool, a rather vicious looking syringe device. I have two of these, one upstairs and one downstairs. It is not an injector but more an applicator. It is filled with a Lignocaine Gel that both lubricates and numbs. It requires a second person to use properly, as does most of these tasks.  Some of the things that have helped are 

• wifely assistant 
• breaking the task into components  
• perfectly timed cricket match 
• lots of fruit
• stamp distractions
• taking a slow time for each task

I think this is the first time ever I have not missed a single ball of a 5 day test match.  Overall this problem can be managed but I wouldn't wish it on your worst enemy.

Penis Pal

Forester

For some reason Subarus have been surrounding us for years. I think it was via the Taylors that I first saw a Subaru and the 4WD in a car type of concept. Since then I have seen at least 5 new Subarus driven off the show room floor by various friends.  In my working days I got a new car every 3 or 4 years and I bought the last one of those for $15000 and it lasted 18 yar.  I am trading it in for the grand sum of $250.  The Lexus is in the deal as well for another $15000 off the price.  The Lexus has held its value well after seven years of use. The paperwork has come in and we have signed off on a Forester Premium AWD. This is the one without the Sun Roof and the leather seats. 
We had a sun roof in the Lexus and found it noisy and not that useful.  We lose nothing else of significance in the Forester by dropping to the lower model but we get another $3000 off the price.  There are not many around at the moment. The broker we used was trying to buy 5 of them all at the same time. In the end even his bargaining power could not beat the price we wrangled out of the Geelong dealership.  We have been allocated a production slot at the start of January and should take delivery some time in February.  I will be driving again by then. Not sure how one car is going to work on the Bellarine Peninsula.

We're getting the blue one

Nurse Time

I had a visit of the nurse from the Geelong hospital. There was a lot to do including removal of all dressings and then a wash of those spots before covering them again. The worst one has been given a covering of sea weed. I can get some of my own anytime.  I am told everything is looking ok except one of the straps is causing some tugging and pulling, as she is doing more tugging and pulling to make the adjustment. 

Nurse Ratchett

Street Party

I was supposed to go across the road just now for some Christmas drinks.  Debbie has taken some prawns over so those can be thrown on.  I am still celebrating here though as I have sent three separate loads to the Farm today.  Not sure if a load is actually routed to the Farm from Geelong perhaps on the busy days.  I have managed to get all the tape off my arms so now I can count there were eight separate holes in my arms. The anaesthetist was the first culprit who stuffed up one arm completely and had move over to the other one.

Caravel Av

The Home Stretch

This is an uncomfortable business. At best you would call it shuffling not walking so it's a slow time getting around. One of the most annoying things was called calf compression. There were already these tight stockings on but over the top of that were inflatable pads attached to a pump. Every 30 seconds one leg would inflate hold for 10 seconds then deflate and 30 seconds later move to the other calf. This went on all night long in the name of DVT prevention and clots not forming.

Prostate Update

The update is that I don't have one anymore. (prostate that is) I have about ten holes in me and they have just cleaned a few of them. The drainage tube has just been removed as that bag only had 100 ml of blood. The drip has also been removed as  I am drinking lots without it. The catheter bag is weird, as you drink it drains away without peeing. It took an hour for a shower but the bag was changed over to a more mobile knee attachment.  Whilst this has been going we have been negotiating with Subaru about the Forester.

Do you want a piece of me?

They do, they do want a piece of me. The Hospital has written a book titled "Radical Prostatectomy". I have always written something here about each book I have read but this one defies the normal.  It is very thorough which means you can be confident in their procedures. Skipping over the gory details and jumping to the end it says full recovery will be 6 weeks with no strenuous activity in that time but I will be aiming for the swim by mid January.

The word on all things Prostate

Pride and Prejudice

I have been to her tea rooms and I have been to her house in Bath, I have even posed in front of her floral clock but I had never read one of her books.  I was browsing through the book shelf here and I found a pristine condition paperback of Pride and Prejudice. I can't remember where it came from but I read it and it is a fairly boring book, about boring people who have nothing to do all day except mull over what the other person thinks.  This is the opening line "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." And it goes down hill from there.

Cruise Party

We decided to have a cruise party on our deck as the Seven Seas Mariner was cruising past. It was supposed to be a 6:00 o'clock departure but eventually it left around 7:00pm.  We can see the mooring site clearly through the spy scope so can tell as soon as its starts up. Also there is the Shipping App which tracks movement as well. Good thing we decided not wait, as a storm was brewing.  Everything was dead calm for around 2 hours and 32° and in that time we cooked our barbie and just finished eating before a huge gusty change came thru.  Nothing stops these ships, so we still had a good view of its passing.

Just Cruising

Misty Yu Yangs

Beach Crammer

Talk about trying to cram in as much as possible into my last day before the knife. We went over to the beach for 2 hours. We did a beach walk and a beach swim but were over run with dogs at around 5:00pm so headed back. We spent most of the day car hunting. We  have done a test drive and negotiated a price with two trade ins in mind.  There is a broker now chasing as many dealers as possible, so we should now be out of it. News Flash we can see the cruise ship turning so it may be heading out of Geelong

chased us into the water

Seven Seas Mariner

We have seen our first cruise ship in Geelong and this time it is carrying people not sheep.  I knew it was coming in today as part of a long round the world 66 nighter. It went past this morning in semi dark and docked at 7:00am.  We were out test driving new motor cars and spied it sitting off shore.  It seems there is not enough draught to get these ships right up to Cunningham Pier so they have to use tenders to disembark.  We don't like tenderin! (Hale & Pace)  It is an 11 hour stop in Geelong, long enough to get a bus down to the 12 Apostles and back.  It started in Miami, Florida on 10 Oct and finishes in Sydney on Dec 15th. 

Seven Seas Mariner

Beaching

I have been down the beach two days in a row now and it is quiet enough so far. There have been distant people and one dog walker passing through but mid week and mid afternoon is a good time for a swim.  I varied it a bit today by going around one of the groynes. There is a largish growth on the sea floor near here and I saw a school of fish in amongst it. I got a good shot of a pelican but could not see a thing in the reflections.

On the Wing

Pile Climber