The Last Post

It's my anniversary today.  I haven't been looking forward to it. I had hoped it would pass me by, but here it is.  It is exactly twelve months today since my first post on Big Bad Harry.  I had no idea what I was doing, where I was going or how it would end.  Hindsight. I love it.  Only weeks ago I realised a year was enough time to make a change of plan. I am not yet a published writer or poet, but I have written stories and penned verse at various times in my life.  My story or stories of others I have recounted have been published in various community magazines. 

I have decided this is the ultimate time to put my head down, take up my pen (iPad) and let my imagination run wild! 
Since 28 May 2013, my blog to date has had 7856 hits.  Most of them are from Australia and the United States but I am amazed when I see my post is read in Afghanistan, Moldova, China, Germany, France and so many other countries I had not expected. I am amazed that anyone wants to read about my weird and usually boring life (I did go to Mauritius and South Africa last October - definitely amazing)

I will  continue to write spasmodically about life as a carer to Merv and Mel on Big Bad Harry but no longer every day.  The road ahead will be full of challenges and we will deal with each one as they come our way.  In the mean time we will enjoy life and make everyday count. 
I will be starting a new weekly blog in the next week.  A link will be posted to the new blog on Big Bad Harry.  Thank you for sharing our journey with us.

Cooking Up A Storm

It doesn't seem so long ago I was cooking amazing dinners, baking cakes and biscuits and creating delicious desserts.  Today I thought I may try and recreate these happy memories.  Firstly I went shopping and bought some very tasty looking Sara Lee apple pies!  I already have custard in a carton in the fridge.  Dustin is calling in after work.  He has to travel in peak hour across the city, I know he will be hungry.  I don't have the time or inspiration to make dessert but dinner is another matter! I put Merv to work cutting up carrots which I have already peeled, topped and tailed.  Then we get stuck into six potatoes.  Once again I am peeling and Merv is slicing.  Today I am making everyone's favourite; Shepherd's Pie, also known as Cottage Pie.  It is a mixture of mince, vegetables and gravy topped with mashed potato and cooked lovingly in the oven.  I dice onions, pick fresh thyme from Merv's hanging basket and measure; stock, Worcestershire and soy sauce to create the gravy in which it will cook.  I stir while watching it with my eagle eye.  I don't want it to become dry or burn in the pan before it finishes off in the oven.  I whisk the potato until it shines and looks like silk.  My amazing mince is topped with my silky potato in a casserole dish and placed in the oven.  Dustin arrives and I am chopping pumpkin, brussel sprouts and cabbage.  The apple pies are thrust into the oven to take the chill off them after I have browned the potato under the grill. The Shepherd's Pie is the star of the kitchen.  I serve and we all enjoy my home cooked delight.  No one complains about the apple pies.  It's taken hours to prepare, cook, serve dinner plus the clean up today.  I am pleased I cooked but tomorrow it will be canned soup (again)!

Community Colleagues

Community services in Perth is a place where you often bump into people you work with, people you have previously worked with and others you will probably work with next time either you or they change jobs!  This morning Merv was booked for his annual community services review.  The young  (younger than us) man who knocked on the door was a previous colleague of mine!  Not only did he join my last workplace after I was well settled, we had both worked at a different organisation before that!  I began in the first workplace we shared in 2004. He was in the IT department and his help was often called upon.  I left in 2009 and he joined my new workplace a couple of years later.  He came not as an IT person but a gardener, a team member providing safe gardens for persons of need in the local community.  It was a job, more of a break from IT than a permanent change. An opportunity as an assessor came his way a year later. Today the assessment lasted ninety minutes, we completed Merv's  assessment as we recounted stories, laughed at our memories and delighted in a little harmless gossip. 

Autumn Cleaning

The rain pounds upon the roof and saturates the garden.  The weeds are no longer dieting but are growing fat and leafy on every bucket load of rain. My back paving is full of wild grass.  It will have to wait, I'm busy cleaning, scrubbing, sorting and defrosting.  I am a woman possessed, only stopping for an occasional coffee and lunch with Merv.  A quick and easy sandwich. Merv has happily retreated to the lounge to spend this wet and weary day watching footy.  I am happy he is not demanding my attention.  After lunch we played a few games of dominoes and the Quirkle game. Finally the house has had a much needed a 'spring clean'  in the last week of autumn!

Wainwright Walk

The Wainwright Walk

In the Lake District UK

I'm buzzing.  I am excited.  Big sister and I have been planning the Wainwright Walk for several months.  Our walk is planned for 2015. There has been numerous considerations  to discuss concerning a month away from home.  Some of them being:  Melanie's welfare, Mum,  my sister's family and of course Merv.  The Wainwright Walk is a west to east 190miles (304kms) walk across England from St Bees to Robin Hood Bay.  A guided walk takes 13 days and encompasses a variety of hilly climbs and rocky outcrops to conquer.  It can be tough going.  We have decided to complete the walk in the early part of the English summer next year. We have watched numerous DVDs and checked websites on the Wainwright Walk before finally making a decision to just do it!  Big sister suggested we use the walk to raise funds for the WA Huntington's Association.  What a great idea.  Now the ideas of how to raise awareness of our walk and encourage donations from friends, family and the wider public is now ready for a little brainstorming.  Everyone has new ideas and we are more than happy to hear them!

Unexpected Response

Today I attended a mental health carer's group.  Mel has lived with mental health issues for over twenty years and I thought I had a good understanding of her issues and responses.  What I thought was only applicable to Mel I found out today it can also apply to others.  I am always surprised when Mel doesn't respond emotionally to a situation which I would respond to.  I always thought it was just 'her'.  Today I heard another person's testimony where their loved one did exactly the same.  I was floored.  It was something that is so obvious but had kept me in the dark for so long.  It's a coping strategy.  Where something unexpected happens it is so outside the boundaries of the person, their reaction is stilted. The unexpected response often includes a  time lapse; sometimes hours later or in severe cases months or years.  Just by listening to this person's story, Mel's responses became clearer to me. Bless her.

Time to Stop

Packaged but fresh and tasty lunch

I rushed out the door as the support worker arrived.  I rushed off to my HD carer's support meeting.  I breathed deeply and there I was; cool, collective and serene in my mind.  I probably looked; stressed, frazzled and wind blown!  The meeting as usual was full of interesting discussion and even included a cheque donation and presentation from a swimming club who has donated to HD for a number of years.  We behaved nicely and smiled for the camera.  Instead of our usual get together lunch afterwards everyone went  their own way and I was left standing.  My immediate thought was to take off and take Mel to her routine heart test.  The test is necessary due to her ongoing mental health medication.  I sat in my car calming the thoughts running rampant in my mind.  A SW from the villas was booked to take Mel to her appointment, I didn't need to upset the plans already in motion.  I drove the car to Kings Park, just down the road and enjoyed a healthy sandwich and coffee while overlooking the city.  I checked my emails, took photos and jotted down ideas for my story writing.  I browsed through the Kings Park amazing and very expensive gift shop and enjoyed a little time just for myself.  Just what the doctor ordered!

 

View of Perth City from Kings Park