It’s a MONSOON!
Well, thank goodness we FINALLY got the phone line in the street replaced! When the Big Telco man arrived and hauled it out of the ground, he was amazed by how ancient it was. He showed me ant chew marks which let water into the line (everybody sing: everyone knows an ant CAN’T move a rubber tree plant but he’s got HIIIIGH hopes…) – apparently those rotten little beasties can gnaw right through the old stuff. The NEW cable comes covered with a more ant-proof outer, apparently. Anyway, so far the phone line is holding up under fairly wild conditions:
As I’m writing this, it hasn’t stopped raining for 48 hours. We’re getting wind gusts up to 87 kilometres per hour (that’s NINE on the Beaufort Scale – or, to be more accurate and modern, 24 metres per second.)
The rain by itself isn’t a huge problem – even though we had 157 mm of rain in February, and therefore the ground is wet, and most of the rain is running straight off into water catchments. No, the problem is that our house (and I suspect a lot of other houses in southern Queensland) isn’t designed to cope with rain that arrives HORIZONTALLY. And at 24 metres per second. Blowing right under the ridge cap and running down the frame inside.
Consequently, the roof is leaking. Again, that’s not toooooo bad – the ceiling that’s under the worst leak is pretty high on our list of Things To Do If We Ever Have The Money. It’s plywood and was eaten by termites (well, the corner opposite the wet patch was eaten by termites) and overdue for replacement. (It’s just part of the larger puzzle that involves new gutters, insulation, roof repairs, etc etc etc…)
The sheets of tin lifting in the wind (and pulling the affixing nails out with them) over the laundry/toilet extension of the house (different roof line to the main house) – well, there’s a hand’s width of daylight (such as it is in this gloom!) already. Eeeek! That’s quite worrying.
One lane of the big highway down the Range has been closed due to a mud and rockslide.
Its’ very, VERY wet.
In other news, I’ve been out of action with stomach/abdomen problems again – fortunately, tonight is prep for the procedures tomorrow. (icky drink! Then never more than 2 metres from the loo…) I’m having a gastroscopy and colonoscopy, or as Dad says, an up periscope and a down periscope. Part of me wants the doctors to find something and tell me why I’m so crook; the other part of me doesn’t want them to find anything wrong. Arrgh! In any case, I can’t go on feeling so sick all the damn time.
No pics today: camera is in house and I am down here – and I’m not braving the rain again until I have no choice!
And it’s baa-aack!
I have done something to my back ARRGH! I can hardly move. The worst part is that it’s in a totally new place, one where I haven’t had severe pain before. DAGNABBIT! Off to the chiro tomorrow (I missed my usual Monday appointment because I was too sick to go.)
In happier news: remember all the hassles we had getting our solar panels and solar hot water installed? Well, they’re starting to pay off. For the same time last year our electricity bill was around $350. This year? FORTY EIGHT DOLLARS. Holey moley shoot the pony, what a difference! Mostly down to getting rid of the old electric hot water heater (which we now know would have made heating water by burning currency look cheap); but the almost $80 rebate from power our solar panels put back into the grid was lovely too.
And the gas bottle saga continues: When Origin came and filled the bottle, they discovered that it was too close to the solar panel inverter box. *sigh* (Why the various officials who signed off on the solar didn’t know this I don’t know, but I am MAD AT THEM!) So we have to pay for a plumber to cut the gas line and move the (now filled) bottle to comply with the regulations, and reconnect the gas. Good news: we picked a plumber and phoned them on Friday- they offered to come round and do a quote – and they did! And he called before he arrived! And he’s coming back tomorrow to do the job! So if it turns out well, I’ll let you know who it is, in case any Toowoomba readers need a plumber… the rest of you can just grit your teeth and weep in envy.
Art tomorrow.
Inspired…
There is much HaPpY dAnCiNg at the house of Caitymakes today: the new issue of Somerset’s Art Journaling arrived! WHEEEEE!
It’s so exciting to see stuff from bloggers I read all the time as well as people who are completely new to me. I didn’t get much past the first flick through before I had to dive into my art supplies… don’t you just love it when that happens?
Also VERY high on the hApPy DaNcInG list today: Mum and Dad bought me THIS (well, they gifted the money, which I chose to use for this, *mwah* thanks!)
[clicky to go to the Art Journal Caravan blog]
As soon as I can work out how to get the blinkie working, you” see a link over on my sidebar there. I’m super happy about this because it’s designed to combine digital and physical stuff, (or can just be one or the other) and Tangie is an AWESOME designer! Starts January 1, but you can join anytime, and it’s 52 weeks worth – oh bliss!
If I can sit up today I’m, hoping to start work on a cover for my expedition journal.
The “if” is because – dagnabbit – the PAIN IS BACK. Yep, the exact same endometriosis type pain, lower abdominal, radiating down to my knees and through my lower back – in other words, the same sort of pain I had every bloody month until the relief of the TAHBSO (job lot clearance of all the girly internal bits) op.
Went to the doc yesterday, who agreed that yes, the eating fatty foods then doubling over in pain an hour or so later is very likely gall bladder related, but easily solved: don’t eat fatty foods. Duh. The possible return of the endo (coming soon to a theatre near you: Gutwars Part II: The Endo Strikes Back) (ewww!) will have to wait for the Feb appt with the very nice gyno doc.
I haven’t yet decided what format the journal will take – at this stage I’m leaning towards a box full of separate, differently sized pages which will eventually (when I have *sob, please, I want one sooooooo much* one of these – and to continue this dreadfully parenthetic entry, I *could* theoretically go buy one in the next fortnight, but I am trying to carefully carefully carefully shepherd the wonderful parental gift $ Just In Case … (Miss Constance needs to go to the vet again, or Something Else Dire happens.) where was I? Oh yeah – loose pages, varying sizes, eventually bound together. Yep.
Only problem I can see with that is the possibility probability that I will lose pages, or be tempted to chuck the ones I’m not 100% happy with. Both of which would be Bad and Not At All In The Spirit Of The Thing.
Right, I’m off to see if Mr Beloved will make me some lunch (whiiiiiine!) and refill the Sacred Hot Water Bottle of Happiness. These things are important.
Whew!
Today I slept all day. And I mean ALL DAY – went to bed at around 11pm last night, woke up at 7:30 pm this evening. Mr Beloved had to do all the errands scheduled for today. He made me lunch and I fell asleep eating it! *sigh* So much for my theory that I could get away with keep on going after a chiropractic treatment – I did that yesterday, and paid the price today.
But my lower back is slowly improving, so yay!
Went to lunch with friends on Sunday – none of us remembered to take a photo, how slack! It was lovely to see everyone… somehow we don’t seem to all be able to get together terribly often, I think the last time was in MAY! Where did the year go?
Other than that… been pottering around doing stuff:
Tomorrow I have to work on a digital scrap booking page for the Digidares – I want that freebie, LOL!
So, that’s about it from me for today…
What I’ve been doing…
So, I’ve been doing a collage class with the WONDERFULLY talented Nancy B (aka CROWABOUT) and it’s been huge fun! The kitchen table is a mess and the floors are covered with teeny scraps of cut paper but I’ve been enjoying working with actual physical paper again.
[clicky for bad scan, bigger]
Today was pretty hot – around 37.4 at the computers before we shut them down. And Summer’s not even “officially” here yet! I slept through most of the hottest part of the day: I’m finding that on the days I have chiropractic treatment, I just CRASH OUT. Apparently that’s normal – but gosh it’s disconcerting! I’m not complaining, mind you, since it’s the best sleep I get all week.
(again, clicky for biggy, and apologies for the bad scan – this book is so distended that it’s about to BURST!)
This page isn’t finished yet.. needs a lot more pen work/ doodles. It’s a true story though – I won’t name the very senior person in the Uniting Church (at the time) involved in the conversation, but it was the start of the end of my belief.
In other news:
Constance J Woodle continues to improve BUT is still pretty much refusing her Special Food. We figure she’s got a pretty big hump to live on (as do we all, oops!) and so the reduced intake isn’t too much of an issue. (The Vet agrees.)
I have *sob* officially quit the gym. What with swine flu and the thyroid thang, it hasn’t been a good 6 months for exercise, and I have to allocate the gym money to paying off the debt from Connie’s treatment. Gotta do a lot more walking!
Oh, and I am DEFINITELY on thyroid replacement pills for the rest of my life. The thyroid is BUNG. But good news – the dosage is right. Bad news? Any memory loss now is NOT due to thryoid dumbing-down-ness…
Reading:
Oh, I have been awful about not updating my Shelfari list! In fact, haven’t even got it up here yet, have I?! I am reading library books mostly, since I’ve already read everything we own (duh!)
I Blame Duchamp by Edmund Capon: reading this in bed just won’t do – there are too many images referred to that I am unfamilar with, and so I have to read this with an internet connection open and google ready to go. The pictures that ARE in the book are beautifully produced, as is the quality of this book overall. *sigh* I’d own this one if I could! Great writing, opinionated and learned – just the way I like it.
Last night (in sheer desperation at having Nothing To Read) I started to re-read The Hill by Ray Rigby (I didn’t know til I went to look for a link that it had been made into a movie starring Sean Connery – wow!). Brutal, but great writing. Probably not the best thing to be reading on a stinking hot night, though, since it’s set in a punishment camp in the desert (Egypt in the book, Libya in the film) and the mentions of thirst are tormenting.
The Magicians by Lev Grossman: Undecided how to review this one: in some ways it’s a grown up (well, only slightly so, college age) version of Harry Potter – a magical school, yada yada… but could be considered allegorical. Hmmm.
Chalcot Crescent by Fay Weldon: A favourite author. This is near future dystopia at its most imaginable… all too plausible.
There have been numerous others, of course, but – meh. Mostly forgettable.
Ok, I’m off to see if the house has cooled down enough to let us sleep…
Bwaa haaa haaaa!
Mr Beloved sent me the link to this – I laughed SO HARD!
Expect some RIVETING photos from me soon…
Miss Constance J Woodle is continuing to recover, thank you for all your good wishes. Cost us another $100 today – the vet (who is a real character, we adore him!) says it’s all part of his Health Plan For The Nation. He figures vet fees come out of disposable income that would otherwise be spent on beer, pizzas, and cigarettes, and that he is actually providing a community service by removing that money.
Hmmm.
Not such a good theory when you have so little disposable income as we do!
Never mind, we’ll get through.
Back to bed for me – my hip is KILLING me!
SHE’S HOME!
We got our baby girl back yesterday arvo!!
She’s still not completely well, and because she’s now had such an acute case of pancreatitis she has to be monitored carefully. Back to the vet for more blood work next week; and a very special diet ($3.20 per can OUCH!) which has to be low fat. She can still have broccoli and carrot (which she loves!) but no more corn 
and she gets to eat boiled chicken and rice (not sure we cna afford to ALL eat that well, LOL!
BUT she’s much brighter and back to her smiley self today. (And so is her Daddy – we worked out he’s NEVER been separated from her before for more than about 6 hours at a time – I’ve been away for various trips but he’s stayed here, so he was really lost without his girl.)
It’s been a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG week… and The Austerity Drive has begun. Nearly $1000 of vet bills later, we will be doing without a lot of “luxuries” like biscuits and soft drinks and magazines and going out for coffees for a long time yet.
But she’s worth every penny.
Update on Constance J. Woodle
You know we don’t have human kids, right, and that Connie is our baby girl? We’re both finding having her in hospital quite traumatic! So I suspect it was more for our benefit than hers that the vet suggested we pop in to visit her this arvo (What? it was only the 2nd time I’d phoned to check on her today, I thought I’d been remarkably restrained.)
She’s hooked up to an IV pump, and has a sign saying ” I BITE!!” in big red letters on her door. She nipped the junior vet nurse today (Dr Bob was less than sympathetic, the girl obviously needs to learn to read!) but didn’t draw blood. I reckon the poor pup is only about as grumpy as I was last time in hospital …
Anyway, she was very glad to see us, and even happier when she got to be cuddled on Daddy’s shoulder – her favourite place in the whole world. Put her little head down and snuggled. Lots of kisses for us both.
She hasn’t vomited or had diarrhoea all day today – very good signs. She’s been given long acting antibiotics and regular pain medication. Still refusing to eat her special food (but hey, she does that at home sometimes too – she’ll eat when no one’s watching and she’s hungry enough.) Oh, and she’s spent most of the day glaring RESENTFULLY at everyone in the room.
So she’s doing a lot better but still not out of the woods yet. At least another coupla days in hospital.
Guess who’s going to be selling off whatever spare sewing machines she can? Anyone want a Sinnger model 221 featherweight (one still on American voltage, one for Australian) an Elna SU, or a Pfaff Expression 2034? Make me an offer… I wonder if I should put an ad in the sewing guild newsletter?
It’s been very hot here today – around 36 degrees. No computer use during that sort of heat – the computers can’t cope and it’s just not pleasant to be working on them. So I had a big sleep (catching up from night of worry) and cut out lots of bits and pieces for collage. Found I was being too literal in what I was cutting out until I remembered the trick of turning the magazines upside down so your eye sees colour and pattern, rather than assigning objects to what you see. Neat, huh?
OK I think it’s cooled down enough to go eat tea…
Pancreatitis
Little Connie Dog is VERY Unwell. Fingers crossed, we’re waiting to see how she is in teh morning after a night in hospital… vet confirmed it is pancreatitis. Cause? Being a poodle who is middleaged, overweight, and female. Just like in humans. Possibly she’ll stay in hospital for 2 or 3 days; then hoperfully she’ll be ok on a carefully managed diet.
Of course Mr Beloved and I are worried and miss our baby… there will be about a YEAR of austerity after this, but she’s worth it. Please send good thoughts…
Worried..
Poor little Constance is at the vets. We are waiting to hear the results of her blood tests, but the vet suspects she either has pancreatitis or haemorrhagic gastroenteritis. All I know is that when I saw her with very bloody diarrhoea, I just about fainted and had to be put in a chair with my head between my legs… thank goodness Mr Beloved was the strong one today and was able to hold Connie while the vet got her prepped…
Constance is hooked up to an IV. I am hooked up to the phone, nervously waiting to hear…
