No golf today

It's been raining and it looks like it will start again so I'm walking the dog which means I take her to the park and sit on the swing while she sniffs everything. She is awful to walk properly. 

I played golf so badly yesterday felt off maybe getting a cold. Don't feel so achy today. 

Made nice bread last night. Watched a cooking show called my little French kitchen which is really good and she went to look at ther local bakery in Paris oh so lovely bread. We have Coles importing bread from Ireland and subway importing bread from NZ I would like to import a French baker and have a great bread made here. People say they don't eat much bread but I know why it's rubbish. Mine is not great I tend to underbake it but still miles in front of commercial. 

Spring is coming in

I'll just put up some nice photos of our trip. This is Haworth the Bronte parsonage  which was wonderful. I'm reading a great biography of the family. It is a wonderful book and really brings them to life. I'm knitting short socks for summer, I used to make them but not wear them so often as they are woollen and I thought they'd be too hot in summer but I wear them all the time even to golf and they are better than cotton socks. The middle ones are in beautiful noro sock wool which I have just started using. I don't know how they will wash yet but they are so pretty to knit! 

Feeling spring

Warmer today I am sitting on the swing in the park while the doggy has a sniff about. She is terrible to walk with as she likes to smell everything and it's more a drag than a walk. So I just let her loose  in the park when kids are not about. She loves a good roll in the grass. 

I planted some pansies on the weekend I hope the possum doesn't like them will see if they survive. Everything looks washed and fresh after all the rain. We are going to the King and I tonight at the opera house. 

Where am I

Well home and my intention to write up the holiday hasn't happened yet. Maybe I'll do bits and pieces from time to time. I've got involved with Facebook as the relations from Yorkshire are on it so that's been taking up time.

"Work" well I'm on the casual pool but haven't taken any shifts as holiday, tiredness after holiday and then the flu. Also I just don't want to go back there any more. They changed the way the casual pool worked, before you could be booked ahead but now it's mostly short notice and they say things like "hospital in crisis" which is not an incentive to go. They are ringing today but I've played two days of golf and still have a cough from the flu. I'm really enjoying not working and de-stressing and its a lovely sunny day. They say that they bump you off the casual pool if you don't do a shift in 3 months so I guess whichever comes first, they bump me off or I feel the urge to work a shift. 

Also haunted by the plane shot down over Ukraine we flew that route two weeks before like lots of people so you think about other families grief and how it could have been your family. Such a pointless waste of lives for the jumped little Putin's ambitions. One thing I read said he has a fatal disease so won't be around for long I hope they are right, whatever he is terminally stupid. Russia just seems to be a permanent train wreak of an economy.

I better not get into the mad monk (our PM) and his crazy crew, I never thought anyone could make John Howard look like a reasonable person but Ton has. Every one has got so polarised lately no middle ground.

 Here's a nice picture of York minister at the start of the Tour de France. We finally finished watching our recording of it a week after it finished and it was wonderful. Vincenzo Niboli was "imperial" as they say. A wonderful win and a wonderful team. I hope there are no drugs involved now. If it proves that they haven't cleaned it up (and it always comes out eventually) I will give up watching it. That'll rock the organisers haha. 

Remembering

T

We are back home and I hardly posted anything about our trip. We spent 2 days in Singapore and 6 weeks in Great Britain  so I'm going to post a picture or two of some of that. I really wanted to try Ramen soup as I love the Japanese movie Tampopo and also had watched The Ramen Girl with Brittany Murphy ( who we all loved from Clueless, who can forget her singing the toothpaste jingle). 

Sadly I think tiredness airplane food and the quite long walk to the restuarant took its toll. The soup was good but I was in a vegemite toast mood. It was interesting to walk around all the area by the river. I haven't been in Singapore for over 30 years and only went to buy an Atari game machine which were just new then. 

Dublin again

Actually managed to get published thank you costa coffee. This is some snaps as our guide calls them amazing gold woven and embroidered church robes from Waterford medieval museum which was fantastic. Also a bridge over the wiffy Liffey 

Dublin again again

We are having lunch in the gallery after a lovely look at the beautiful and interesting paintings. The building is very nice too sitting inthe lunch space under the sky withe fronts or backs? Of two old buildings. I don't think we were supposed to take pictures of the paintings so I will buy some post cards through people were taking pictures. It is not to crowded and we are pacing ourselves because of my cold. Lunch is very nice too and some lovely earl grey tea at last. 

Dublin

Well here we are in Dublin. Want to see the book of Kells but big queue so we will try the museum first after morning coffee. I have a cold from the bus quite a few people have it and the smell of smoking in the hotel rooms are worrying me. 

Waiting at the airport

We are going to Singapore for a couple of days and then to London what can you say about airports. I bought a book to read and a journal. This is the moon we got up so early and the book I bought also one of the frost river bags we bought to take with us they are sooo nice

The pink air

This is a lovely sunset and moon rise sometimes the evenings look purple but this one is pink

My nice breakfast and pink air

My friend is away who I do aquaroebics and have a nice breakfast at our local cafe so I had to make my own version it was pretty nice ricotta pancakes.

Procrastinating

I am about to go to town and pick up the clothes we've had taken up. We have gone a bit mad buying clothes for the trip but we worked out the last time my husband bought some clothes was about 10 years ago so. He wears a uniform and I bring home some casual golf shirts so he subsists on those but he has lost wt so needs some new things. I'm not writing the word any more as I get deluged with crappy w l secrets. I bought a few new clothes quite a few and then realised I need some new jeans. They are really my go to piece of clothing which is sad at my age but old hippies love their jeans. So they need taking up too. I arranged the transport to the airport today and my husband has seen that on our free weekend in London the gated gardens are open and there is a trooping of the colour. Are they unknowingly welcoming him back home!!! Also we applied to go in a draw to see the garden at no 10 Downing st which would be amazing. I'm going to read a book by Winston Churchill after reading The Churchills. 

Wrote this ages ago but that's about all I've been up to apart from the usual golf and knitting stuff I think I will take on the trip but probably won't. Now it's only a week away I'm a bit nervous but I think it will be ok. I'm more homesick at home or in theory. When you're away your too busy. I hope. 

I might have worked my last day at work. See how I feel when I come back. I like looking after the mothers and babies but all the paperwork rule changes and some of the crazies (nurses doctors and patients) are difficult to deal with. I was cranky too, I don't know why which is annoying, I thought maybe there was a full moon or something. 

This is something cheerful the bower bird is back and building his bower in the backyard collecting his blue treasures. 

Forgot

The funny story, there was a prn medication order written which means give as necessary. I couldn't read it and didn't have a clue what it was so I asked everyone on and one of the doctors did they know what it was but no one knew and we didn't know who had written couldn't read the name lucky it was prn and not an order to give as I would have had to try harder to find out what it was. The doc showed us this on her phone.

Just a mull

Over stuff.  We are going to the threatre today via ikea. Which I love of course does Swedish ever grow old nooo. Might get some dining chairs. Looks like the rain is returning. It just goes for a morning and comes back, getting cold as well.

I watched a TV show called Coast and the went to the isle of Skye it looked awfully cold, we are going there, so yesterday went and bought some warmer clothes for travelling. Also got some trousers for husband who is difficult to get to shop they all fitted and a nice jumper thrilled! It isn't long till our trip it's amazing to be able to afford to go such a long way. I'm reading The Churchills still which is taking ages because of Wikipedia etc, looking up all the events and people in the book. Yesterday was scarpa flow and Sarah Churchill, so I read half a page then pages on the Internet it's very good through, very gossipy but then it's what people are interested in people. They are a strange lot through English aristos. Speaking of Our mad monk the PM has introduced titles, even my friend who fancies herself Lady cafoops sometimes thought it stupid. I said I can't believe recent Governor General (a governess) who is a republican accepted it but my friend thinks he pushed her into it because she has never commented on it, he is a bully boy. A liberal club boy from uni they were all like him now he is finally into his mad agenda circa 1970's reactionary. They are not looking like stayers this lot. They keep taking pictures of him in his little speedos disgusting. He thinks he looks good haha. 

Oh I can't write looking at the uck. 

This a new sign that appeared at work it should be called the white ant approach it's really addressed to the patients and means report your nurse to the charge sister if you think their aseptic technique isn't good enough. Only thing is they put it up in the treatment room where patients not allowed, so they are hiding this valuable info from patients or, more likely no one read the thing closely in the tsunami  of mandates and dictates we receive from the desk jockeys of life. One day they will decend from their ivory tower to find some barely qualified person shoving them through the sea of paperwork called healthcare and I will be mulching the garden and laughing that long eternal laugh the universe reserves for human madness. 

Finally notice the buttons are on my lovely cardigan and its cold enough to wear it. 

Rainy day

Do people write more on rainy days, on sunny days you are at the beach, or golf as I would be today. I couldn't face 41/2 hrs of drizzle. It is not very heavy but miserable to play in. Then I think I should play so I get better in the rain for my international tournaments haha. I miss it but I feel so worn out when I play in rain. 

A friend came to stay so I'm just getting over that. Maybe people staying is not my thing. I used to like the idea of visitors but now I kind of get sick of them. Another friend rarely has people to stay she says that's what she likes. This friend is pretty easy going but we stir up a lot of family issues together her difficult mother and mine etc. I feel this uneasiness with her like she is always nervous about being rejected which she has had a lot of in her life. But maybe that makes people reject you if you are always uneasy it makes them feel uncomfortable. Does anyone sail through life with easy relationships?  Maybe not. Shouldn't worry about it the only clear view is the view ahead, turn yourself to face the oncoming time says Don Juan. Like all change easy to say hard to do. 

The lorrekets are having a lovely time in the camellias this one was outside the kitchern window a very cheery sight in the morning.

We went to the open air opera in Sydney on Tuesday. Madam butterfly, lovely lovely. Cho cho San my mother had the camilla cho cho San its flowers were goblet shaped half opened, aptly named like madam butterfly's life. This is a crummy picture but you get the scale of the staging. It was a beautiful night so lucky as we have had so much rain. The harbour and the city looked beautiful.

The hungry ghosts

I went to my friends fathers funeral yesterday. A sweet man loved by his family. Many tears. A long life so no went too young. But you learn that makes no difference to the grief. All the ghosts gather around at funerals all the people you have lost. It was a religious service as he was religious but I don't believe much of that. 

I was reading a story about Japan  after the tsunami how people would see the dead and even talk to them. There are ceremonies to free the hungry ghosts. I guess that's what our funerals are for, to say to the spirit you are free. To say to the still living this person has gone and to acknowledge that. There's been years through where I've lived with the dead, when my mother and father died. I look in the mirror   and see my mothers face, it's disturbing. But I guess if you are going to get through ageing with some joy and happiness you do have to farewell the dead as they are mounting up and look ahead and concern yourself with the living. A lesson I find difficult. My friend would say about her father he would have a friend they'd die and he would go and make another friend. I'll miss him. Now I'm teary again. Here's his cheeky smile, big kid at heart. 

 

It's always a good day

If I have a surf. The water is still warm and very clear, some big waves through. Iced coffee after. 

I'm feeling a bit funny about work, haven't been offered any shifts but then I'm glad too. 

Can you see the shark drawn on the kiosk wall it says stop the shark cull. I agree probably wouldn't in the jaws but it's their world too. A bodyboarder got hit by a dolphin at Bawley Point ripped his wet suit and he got internal injuries I suppose we should kill all the dolphins . 

Silly thing is a cull won't stop a shark attack anyway. 

St Patricks day

We saw a play at the drama theatre at the opera house. It was a farce Noises Off and it was very funny. It was a beautiful night very clear Sydney is such a lovely city.

Where are we

Two days at work

I'm not working so often now. The girls were all sounding very fed up as it had been so busy. I was busy but not too bad. My feet were a bit better. The hospital is so grotty looking when you have been off for a while, then the car park lift was broken so I had to walk 6 floors down. Everything's dirty looking. They are building new theatres and new wards but the other wards are so awful. 

The thing I hate most about nurses now is nobody cares about their fellow workers or helps the next shift, for example last night we got a patient admitted from A&E, then 5 mins later theatres ring for her to go to surgery, she could have gone direct from A&E but no double the work for everyone. 

Then I'm looking for a drug they had given in the morning but there was none left, pharmacy is open in the day, its easy to send the chart up and get the drugs but it wasn't done, next next evening the same thing none of the drugs were there so instead of a five minute job it's ringing different wards to get them to send the drugs and then work for them. 

All the little things like sending a lady back from recovery with an IV almost finished or antibiotics due. The ICU liaison nurse came round, she was very nice as they are but she asked if we do the respirations on people, I said our patients are mostly breathing. She said we would get into trouble if we didn't do it. I said oh we have all been threatened with being removed from the casual pool if we didn't get all our education up to date, in fact I should be sacked already. Unit people just don't get what the wards are like especially the ward I work on. 

My ladies were really nice so that was good even the semi dead one. She is ten years younger than me but a ruin of smoke and drink, sad. 

The cutest thing was the baby suit with the tutu on it. Tutus are a huge fashion for little girls now. I remember one of the girls I work with telling me about her daughter sitting under the clothes line waiting for her tutu to dry.

This is what I'm knitting at the moment from vogue knitting book 2, they are really good books . I think I should make up patterns but I have so many I can always find one. I'm making it in mohair which I don't like a lot but is very light good for travel so if you see this cardi in London say hello it might be me!

Beach afternoon

It's 4pm some lightening and a few drops of rain so just a short surf and a long coffee and reading The Cuckoos Calling which is JK Rowling under a pseudonym. I like her writing and her characters,which she deals with kindly even ones who are not so nice. We played golf this morning and had lunch at the sushi train. It was hot and steamy after all the rain but is nice now. 

11 weeks till we go on our trip to England  we are like one of the lady's at golf she was very excited, we are not like people who are going on big trips all the time this is our one big trip. We are kind of like that but it depends our our money goes in retirement and the markets. So we are thinking of this as our one big trip.