A Red Bull Moment

I rang Australia Post early this morning and lodged a complaint about the medication parcel being left in my mailbox and then I took Merv to his HD club this morning.  As arranged I took our new ipad.  I was pleased we were given some advice on which apps to download to assist in Merv's communication.  The one question I had was when should Merv start using the communication app?  The program allows the user to click on words and picture prompts.  There is another app which has a much better and easier program but at over $200 we will use the free one for now!  It was suggested we start using the program now.
Thirty minutes later I attended an information presentation at the local library on family history.  I have previously started a little history searching myself but I was thrilled when the presenter found my mother's father on the English 1911 census.  He was four years old at the time!  He lived to over one hundred years.
I thought all my frustrations and annoyance had come to the fore yesterday with the strange case of the parcel but there was more to come today.  I came home with a boot load of shopping and the phone rang.  It was the optician where Merv had his eyes tested on Monday.  We ordered new glasses which were a bargain, designer frames cut down from $350 to $199.  They have spring loaded arms which will stop them from falling down his nose all the time.  A good choice.  The phone call was to say the warehouse no longer have the frames in stock and Merv would have to come down and choose another frame.  Well, I thought I had suddenly landed in the bull ring in Spain.  Or was I the bull in the ring?  All I could see was the colour red!   I explained to the nice young lady I could not understand what she was saying.  She said, don't worry I will put on my supervisor.  The supervisor was in defensive robotic mode and went into her pre-planned spiel.  I cut her short explaining Merv has a disability and I could not bring him down to the store until Monday and he would not have his new glasses for his respite next Friday.  The line went quiet for a moment or two.  The robot lady told me she would email every store of the franchise and find someone who has the frame we had paid for.  She did and she rang me fifteen minutes later and told me all was in order.  Time to have a rest, it has been a busy day.

Postal Conspiracy

Today I am a detective.  Not a real one, not even a TV, play or movie star pretend one.  Today I am hell-bent on solving the mystery of today's parcel.
The door bell rang at 8:30am just as I was serving breakfast; creamy porridge and the wafting smell of sizzling eggs filled the kitchen.  My mind was imagining the person on the other side of the door.  Was it a floral delivery?  An inquisitive neighbour?  My Godmother telling me I had won Lotto? 
No, it was just the postal delivery bloke, the parcel only man, the one in the van.   He held a decent sized box and I simply said, 'Oh thanks, I have been waiting for this.'  I signed his electronic hand pad and left the box on the table.  It was Mum's herbal tea ordered last week from Victoria. The sticker on the box said, 'Signature required.'  No drama there.
Hours later I heard the roar and the hum of the postie's motorbike doing his regular round.  The letterbox held a few letters and a small parcel.  Strange I thought (the detective in me), this is a registered post item only.  It is a small padded bag with two of Merv's prescription medications.  The parcel is delivered every month, if we are home we sign for it or else we receive a, 'you have a parcel to collect' reminder card and trudge down to the local post office with ID to collect it.
The detective bit - the parcel always has a registered post sticker on it, which alerts the postman to deliver it personally and get a signature.  The sticker had been torn off with only a small part of the corner still adhered to the front of the envelope. 
The issue - if the parcel had been stolen the medication could make someone very ill or even cause death if a child got hold of it.  Fortunately we have a padlock on our mailbox.
The mystery - my mind once again runs riot, was the postie too busy to knock on the door  (postie also delivers small parcels to the door, unlike the parcel bloke this morning).  Is he a rogue postie giving Australia Post a bad name?  Is he just lazy and thought he could get away with it?
He obviously never reckoned he would be up against the Aussie suburban Miss Marple! 
I am going to ask Australia Post to explain this scenario and I expect an answer.  It is important to us to keep our community safe.

Adding the Dollars

It wasn't so long ago I could buy things I couldn't afford.  I saw it, I wanted it and I bought it.  I just waved my credit card in front of the cashier and bingo it was mine.  It really belonged to the bank, but it went home with me.  How I miss those days!
When I see something I have no money for,  I can close my eyes and  take a mental snapshot.  It works rather too well.  By the time I have saved the money I am already on a new quest and have decided I can live without what I had longed for. 
It's a game of decisions.  With less money the decisions are harder, the spending can only be considered thrifty and its a balance between what we think we  need and those things which we can live without.
So far, so good.  I should be a professional juggler as I am doing a good job of juggling so far.
We have a lot to be thankful for and the reality is we want for nothing.  Only the other day I said to Merv there are so many people who struggle to have one decent meal a day.  They aren't choosy about what they wear and have no money for movies and shows. 
The thought keeps me grounded and reminds me to keep donating to our favourite charities.

Avon Descent

Every year the Avon Descent is held on the first weekend of August.  It is the longest white water event in the world and competitors from all over the world endeavour the long arduous journey to be first at the finishing line.  The event is over 2 days:
Day 1 is a 57 kilometre stretch beginning from Northam, 100 kilometres east of Perth.  The event started 2 hours late due to low fog.  The half-way point and overnight stop is the Boral Campsite located at Cobbler Pool 20 kilometres west of Toodyay.
Day 2 is 76 kilometres long and sees competitors tackle the valley containing the major white water obstacles and challenges of the event including Supershoot, Emu Falls, Championship Rapids and Bells Rapids. The rush of the valley leaves competitors with the marathon 30 kilometre, flat water stretch to Bayswater.
It is a beautiful weekend in Perth, yesterday we went to Monga Lake for lunch and a walk, today we took a ten minute drive to Sandy Beach (not really a beach, it is an area of the Swan River) in Bassendean.  We spied an empty park bench and watched the speed boats and kayaks on the last leg of their cruelling race.  A group of not so young girls were perched on the small jetty, clapping and edging each participant to keep going to the end.  The finishing line along the river in Bayswater, the next suburb, but I don't know how long it would take by kayak.  Maybe twenty minutes.  The young and not so young men were eager to keep going and were cheered by many spectators clapping and cheering them on.  We heard many of them remark they were tired and the race had been a difficult one.
Helicopters flew overhead filming and reporting on the race below, a lone kookaburra, out of view laughed cheekily and children played near by. 
Unexpectedly a small group of people quickly walked onto the jetty in front of us with a kayak oar and swapped it with a competitor as he slowed just a fraction to do the swap.  I don't know why the swap happened but the people seemed pleased it happened smoothly and encouraged him forward. The wind cooled the air and we returned home knowing we had once again been part of this annual event which inspires many. 

New Skills

We have acquired an ipad 2 and like all new things it has quickly become our new toy.  I know there are numerous apps which are or will be helpful for Merv.  I had in mind to buy the ipad for sometime, but I was not so eager to part with our savings.  Dustin bought a new laptop with his tax return and mentioned he will be selling his ipad.  A done deal and we are now the owners. 
I searched for new apps and fiddled around before Merv had his first attempt this morning.  We read a Bible devotion before attempting  a word search puzzle together.  We followed with an exploration of the WWF app and a free drawing app.  He used his finger to write my name and add a love heart! 
This afternoon I added a keyboard app and a jigsaw puzzle app which we will have a go with tomorrow.
Merv has never been a 'techno' type person, he had a mobile phone early in the new millennium for a couple of months but later he just left it at home.  The ipad is just a new way to explore the world and have some fun.  Looking for suitable apps is a quest in itself.

Recharging My Batteries

A beautiful winter's day in Perth.  I had a pre-booked appointment with my accountant at 10am.  It is my last tax return until further notice.  I am now a full-time carer and we have no other income accept Centrelink.  I sought out my accountant over twelve years ago when I commenced my own shopping service in the local metropolitan area.  I stayed with him after I closed the business and through the many different jobs I was privileged to have. Today he gave me the good news of a sizable refund cheque, but it was overshadowed by the thought I may not see him again.  Over our twelve years together we have chatted about; a shared friend and his family,  our families and our quests, life in general and my financial situation which fortunately has improved vastly in the last few years.  I wish him and his family well.
After a very busy week with Merv and Mel I had until 3pm to myself and took the opportunity to visit Hillarys on the beach to enjoy some window shopping and a coffee at the Dome.  I celebrated with an extra large cuppa and a warm sticky date pudding smothered with warm runny custard.  Yum!  I have to have a naughty moment of indulgence sometime and this was it!
I enjoyed a brisk walk before visiting the local handyman store and returning home to relax before Merv arrived home from his day centre.  It was a nice way to end the week and enjoy some, 'me time.'

A Weighty Mindset

My idea of losing weight is to book a once in a lifetime overseas trip and lose a whole stack of weight allowing me to enjoy every cocktail, glass of wine and buffet while holidaying.  It usually works a treat; it gives me a goal and I usually have five or six kilos to lose.  Last year I was a hefty twelve kilos overweight and I had booked a cruelling 33km bush walking holiday in April 2013. 
I set myself a goal and worked out a weight loss plan.  In four months I had lost five kilos and felt really good about my loss.  Dustin had lost ten kilos in four months and I put his weight loss program to the test.  I was thrilled when I lost five more kilos over five months.  Christmas and Easter bringing my weight loss yo-yoing from smiles to frowns.  I had lost a whopping ten kilos at the time of the bush walk.  I was fitter, lighter and felt a million dollars.
Mel started Weight Watchers in March this year and I joined her to be her mentor and encourage her in her journey.  Since then I have lost a few more kilos; a total of thirteen kilos to date. I am now lighter than any other time in the last thirteen years.
This made me put on my thinking cap, I do have a, 'once in a lifetime overseas trip', coming up in October, but this is where the plot thickens.  After a little soul searching I realised my weight loss is my life insurance.  Keeping myself healthy is my assurance I will be able to care for Merv and Mel for many years to come.  By helping myself,  I am helping my family.  It is a good feeling.