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. 

In the park

Lazy dog walking I sit on the play equipment and she wanders around sniffing. Busy day putting the ikea lanterns together for the table decorations at daughters wedding and buy underwear always stressful and a pretty new purse.