Slumbering

I was asleep when the phone rang.  I knew it wasn't the middle of the night, therefore the prospect of an emergency wasn't feasible.  I stumbled out of bed and grabbed the offending phone before it went to message bank.  A formidable thought.  Mel asked me if I had read her texts.  I answered I had been asleep!  It is Sunday.  The weatherman promised a minimum of two degrees and I figured a sleep in was called for.  It is 8:40am and any thought of thirty minutes on the treadmill or a shower and hair wash are out of the question.  I stagger down to the kitchen and lounge and turn on every heater we possess.  I wake Merv up and apologise for sleeping in.  I begin the breakfast routine, one I know well and complete even without a shower or workout.
Yesterday the family met together at home to make home made pizzas and share the celebration of both my birthday on Friday and Grace's birthday on Thursday.  I had made home made pizza bases during the week and wedged them in the freezer until Friday night.  All the shopping had been completed on Friday and Mel helped before Dustin and Grace arrived.   Together we prepared, chopped and sliced mushrooms, red and green capsicums/peppers, tomatoes and pineapple.  Our Breville pizza oven was prepped and ready for service.  The table was set and the champagne chilled.  Our lunch was a great success.  I demonstrated how to flour and roll out the pizza base.  Complete with rolling pin while sporting a flowery apron!  We piled the pizza bases with the range of salad vegetables and chose between diced bacon and chicken strips.  Grated cheese completed the colourful scrumdidiliumpcious pizza.  The pizza was followed by multi-layered sugar free jelly in parfait dishes with pineapple (tinned) and strawberries between the three different coloured layers. We piped low fat cream on top and decorated with a chocolate finger, kiwi fruit and star fruit slice. 
Before the footy began hot coffee and birthday cake was served.  Dustin and Grace purchased a chocolate mega cheesecake topped with swirls of chocolate cream and cherries.  Poor Mel groaned at the calories and sampled a slither without the cream.  Grace and I enjoyed a slice each vowing not to think about the fat and sugar, only the sheer enjoyment of indulgence!  Mel took five slices of the cake home.  Not to eat but to give away to two support workers and three friends.  She is a giving person and much less cake for me to indulge in later!
After our very successful day yesterday
 a sleep in was most enjoyable.

Jelly delight

Mel cooked her own Pizza

Our Happy Birthday Cake Celebration

                                                               

   

 

Pamper Day

Every now and again a very good freebie comes my way.  ARAFMI (care group for mental health carers) rang last week and asked if I wanted to attend a pamper day at a local hall.  I jumped at the chance.  I know from talking to other carers pamper days fill quickly and the wait list is long.  This is my first pamper day.  The gifts kept coming because it was free, not even a donation was requested.  When asked I was told the federal government has provided funding for five years.  The hall was old and chilly but the heaters had been turned on full and we were each pampered with three out of four available treatments.  A young lady provided reflexology to my tired sore feet.  Heaven.  A man with great hands (can I say that?) gave me a long and gentle back, shoulder and neck massage.  I didn't know I was booked for a facial and I was thrilled to be indulged with creams, sprays and warm towels.  We helped ourselves to free coffee and a substantial amount of healthy sandwiches and rolls for lunch.  Some of the other carers also attend the monthly ARAFMI meetings I have recently attended and attended today.  It was good to just chat and get to know each other.  This isn't always possible at the structured meetings.  I can say I have been pampered today and enjoyed every moment!

Hibernating

I'm cold, its almost zero degrees when I wake this morning.  I hate the cold.  I should have been a snail
or a bear.  I could just hibernate until the weather improves.  Alas I'm not!  The sun shone, the grass glistened in the frost.  I don't have any grass, it's really the weeds which are glistening!  I bundle Merv into enough warm clothes to wrap a bear in and we head off to the Malaga Markets.  Morning tea is beckoning and I am looking forward to good coffee and I promise Merv yummy, gooey cheesecake to devour!  The markets are beginning to fill.  The soccer is playing out on the giant screen.   We delight in our morning tea and scour the local newspaper for anything of interest.   We purchase a few fruit and veggies, look at the cute puppies at the pet shop but give the rats a wide berth.  Soon we are back on the road, headed for home.  It's good to get out of the house and enjoy a little community.

EveryWoman

Every June I head off to the EveryWoman's Expo at the Convention Centre in Perth.  The last few years I have dragged Mel along. This year she happily accompanied me; no kicking and screaming!  The expo has something for everyone. Even a few blokes arrive and get in for no fee.  The ladies believe they are brave to mingle in a function room full of oestrogen powered, high heeled women who know what they want!

Mel enjoys the free tastings!  There is yoghurt, chocolate, cheese, herbal tea, condiments and the wine tasting.  Mel doesn't drink wine but I take the opportunity to sample a few.  We both enjoy a free massage and chat to a variety of stall holders.  We pick up information from the DiabetesWA booth. Mel has diabetes 2. A chat with the educators is always positive. The Kinesiology booth was offering free sessions but they are booked until late afternoon. They offer us both a free session by a student at their clinic.  Does it really work?  I just don't know, my internet research is inconclusive. We enter all the competitions knowing that next week we will have numerous calls; not to say we are winners but to sell whatever their product or service is.  We will be pleasant but chances are we will decline their offer.  After two hours on our feet we head for the dining area and treat ourselves to butter chicken curry and coffee.  The music belts out to the strutting of the models on the catwalk just ahead.  Fashion, food and everything girlie entices us.  We go home with free carry bags full of brochures, freebies, pens, hand cream, nail files and even a toothbrush and paste.  Mel has a block of cheese poking out of her bag!

Difficult to Swallow

It was the same as any other breakfast.  Warm sloppy porridge followed by medication and a cup of tea.  I'm always at the table when Merv is eating his porridge.  Weetbix in summer.  I leave to make his bed and clean my teeth while he takes his time over his morning cuppa.  That was a mistake.  As I was brushing my teeth and foaming pleasantly at the mouth I heard the dreaded sound.  Merv was choking.  I didn't take time to put down my brush or rinse.  I ran down to the kitchen as he was letting tea fly all over the table and himself.  He was gasping for breath.  I instructed him to cough but he  all I could hear for his gasping for air.  I thumped him on the back between the shoulder blades as I had been instructed.  The choking chart sitting idly on the fridge.  Merv suddenly pulled himself up from the chair and his breath returned.  It was a scary time.  We just sat and dealt with our shock before getting on with the day.  I contacted Merv's speech pathologist who was booked to visit today as she is teaching Merv the speech app on the iPad.  She reassessed him and instructed he uses a straw to drink both cold and hot drinks. Time to collect our thoughts and sigh thankfully that the episode is over and we have a plan in action. I know it won't solve the problem but it will help.

Take Me Away

Where has the time gone?  This time last week I was scratching my head getting my first short story ready to post. It's a national competition for a short story titled, 'Take Me Away.' After numerous false starts the keypad and my thoughts connected and the story was formed.  I had hoped to write something amazing.  It was amazing; I changed the names of my daughter, big sister and myself and created a mini masterpiece based on real life.  I embellished the story but most of it was based on fact.  It made me cry when I read it back.  I thought the writing and printing was the hard bit done but I was wrong.  While I was thumping away on my treadmill the following morning while at home I proof read it for the first time.  There right at the end of the very first paragraph was a missing word!  I could hardly believe I had missed it!  I pressed the pen where the omitted word should be. Unknown to me I was pressing the + button on my treadmill.  There I was hanging on with sheer fear while my feet were doing an impression of the road runner.  Finally I managed to get it under control, mental note made not to correct work while on the treadmill!  I read it, I re-read it and did it again.  It didn't matter how many times I read it there was another mistake or grammatical question staring back at me.  After the sixth time I had enough.  I shoved it together awaiting the post office envelope and hoped for the best.  Thinking the postal service was on my side I rushed off to Australia Post only to find they were out of stock of next day postal envelopes!  A trip to another post office ensured my amazing short story was on its way to Melbourne and success. Today I received an email from the magazine to say they had received my submission and they will get back to me in four weeks.  I wonder if it will be published?