The only blessing about getting old

 

It's Tuesday morning here. I have our cleaning lady coming at ten. Before she gets here, I want to tidy the house and get a load of washing done. 

She usually vacuums and mops the floors and cleans the bathroom for me. As an aged pensioner, the government has certain home care packages for the aged and I have been approved for one. I do pay a fee for her services, but it is subsidised through the government Aged Care Plan. 

I consider myself blessed beyond measure. Those jobs are ones I can no longer do and as Chris is quite unwell himself, I don't even ask him to attempt to do them. 

Having home help is not a matter of being lazy- with fibromyalgia, heart and spinal issues and arthritis, there are a lot of tasks I just cannot do anymore. 

As I have written before, I am grateful for all my labour saving devices and the Home Package Care Plan I qualified for.

I think it's the only blessing about getting old...

My bed's calling my name!

 

It's raining cats and dogs here and the temperature is cold. It's supposed to be summer here in Australia, but it feels like a winter's day.

After having the cooler on yesterday, in stark contrast, we have the heater on. I am so glad that I don't have to go out today.

This changeable weather is causing havoc with my fibromyalgia. It's predictable that it would. So today I have just a few tasks planned.

• Clean my kitchen
• Make our bed 
• Cook curried beef with vegetables

My fingers are throbbing with pain today, as is my coccyx. With it being broken, it is also to be expected. I may apply some heat to it later on as the cold seems to make it ache more.

I think my bones may be brittle after years of prednisolone for my polymyalgia rheumatica. Hence the break of the coccyx. Yet I can't take extra calcium because I am a chronic kidney stone maker (over 50 bilateral) My stones are calcium oxylate bathed in uric acid. I am on Zyloprim to reduce the acid.

It's a predictable start to the New Year. I have been feeling a little reprieve from fibromyalgia pain and then- boom! inclement weather has blown me away again!

So I best get off my computer and start on the dishes. I can see a nana nap in my future and that's not a bad thing given the circumstances!  I can hear my bed calling my name!

While the lights were off

 Yesterday the power company interrupted our area's power supply to do some works. It was a beautiful day so we decided to just go for a drive.

We ended up in a lovely seaside town called Paynesville. It was a long drive, and I had fallen asleep on the long stretch of freeway as my fibromyalgia was flaring badly. 

The sun was warm on my sore muscles but still too warm to sit out under it, so we parked under the shade of a tree and ate some fish and chips.

The water was quite blue with frothy white capped waves and some black swans floated by, buoyed up repeatedly in them as they searched for their own lunch. It was easy to see how they caught their meal under the water, plunging their long necks under the sea.

The water was maybe only a few feet from our car and it was very soothing to hear the rhythmic pounding against the brick sea break...

The sun shone warmly, our tummies were full and there was a long drive home, so we cranked back our seats and soon were carried to the arms of Morpheus, which wasn't an unwelcome experience, especially as Chris was tired from the long drive and still not feeling the best- and me with my fibro pain and fatigue.

We woke after about a half hour as a dog barked excitedly on his seaside walk. We lingered a bit longer, enjoying the sea and watching a sail boat tacking and slipping into the marina.

Before going home, I walked to the toilet block to be greeted by three black swans and a grey cygnet  drinking from a fresh water spigot and bowl. They were unconcerned as I walked past them and just continued drinking. When I came back out, they were waddling back towards the sea, their barrelled bodies and long necks looking too heavy for their spindly webbed legs...

Continuing on home, taking it slowly, I received a text from our electricity service provider telling us the power had been restored to our homes. We knew it would be back on by the time we got home. That was the plan! 

The house was hot when we got back in the evening, so we opened it up, made a cup of tea,  and fell asleep together on the couch in front of the TV.

The day had been very pleasant, far more so than if we had just stayed home, trying to cope with fibro pain and Chris's shoulder pain. We were glad we had a diversion from our ills and decided to take our little trip to the seaside while the lights were off.

A restful reward

 

With the weather warming up, the fabulous bird life has returned from their migration up north. Every day there's a wide variety of minors, parrots, cockatoos, mudlarks, magpies, rosellas and corellas and kookaburras. And of course, there's crows and their cousins, pied corrowongs.

We keep the bird feeder stacked with seed and we also throw our scraps to them and they literally wait for us. In fact, no sooner is that back sliding door opened, than the magpies alight to snatch away the bread we've thrown. They are almost tame and even knock on the door for us to feed them.

This is so restful and when my fibromyalgia is flaring, I often lay on the couch and watch them. 

Lately, my fibromyalgia has been bad and even though I need to rest during the day, I don't necessarily need or want to be in bed, so I have found bird watching to be something I look forward to. Obviously, if I fall asleep, it doesn't matter. But feeding and watching the birds has a calming effect on me and I love it.

Today my to do list consists of washing a couple of loads of clothes and doing the dishes. I didn't get them done last night and they haven't miraculously disappeared. No, they are waiting patiently for my attention. 

With muscles cramping and spoons all used- obviously part of those waiting to be washed- I am meting out my limited energy with a zeal reserved only for survival these days.

I best get it done, even if it is in short bursts of energy. Eventually they will disappear and I have the birds to watch and amuse me as a reward afterwards.

I haven't bothered to do it.

 

These last few days since my last post have been difficult to say the least. With Spring here in Australia, the weather has been at its' most changeable. 

In Melbourne where we live, it is possible to experience all seasons in one day and the joke of the day is to wear a bikini under your raincoat. It plays havoc with Fibromites.

We Fibromites know that inclement or changing weather patterns causes a fibromyalgia flare and for me it has run true to form.

I have been unable to think clearly let alone blog, and the depression that has enveloped me in its' dreariness has made it impossible to rise above the constant background of muscle pain.

By the time I have made our bed and tidied our home in preparation for the nurse from Hospital in the Home to come to change Chris's post op dressing, I am in so much pain that I just want to crawl back into that newly made bed. Sometimes I do.

Still on lockdown with Covid 19, we only go to the chemist or face to face doctors appointments when a phone consultation isn't suitable. And the way I have been feeling, it is more than enough.

It is not uncommon for us to prepare ourselves for a few hours out of the home as if we were planning a vacation. When I say "prepare ourselves" I mean emotionally.

We have to give ourselves a pep talk and conjure up motivation and spoons to leave home. Physically, there's not much to do.

We may or may not shower, depending on how recently we have had one. We get dressed and we rest. Avid clock watchers, we usually leave our departure until the absolute last minute, so loathe are we to venture outside these days. By the time we are no longer in lockdown, I think I will be preferring to stay home.

Close to the hour to depart, I will usually check my hair has been combed and on a really, really good day, I will pull all stops out and put on some lipstick. With mandatory masks, no one is even going to see that these days, so lately I haven't bothered to do it.

Buying it by the bucket

I have a very red, itchy face because I suffer with psoriasis. My face flakes like dandruff and is very dry.

This Australian company manufactures organic, totally natural skin care products and I bought a trial pack.

I have applied it twice and it felt really soothing and nice. This morning I have no scabs where I would scratch my face overnight in my sleep.  

With Chris being in hospital and now home, and needing  me to drive him around for daily packing of his wound, I am totally out of spoons.

By the time we get ready, get seen to and drive home, my muscles are begging for mercy and I can't stay awake.

Until Chris is finished with daily dressings, I don't think this fibromyalgia flare will abate.

With fibro, one usually tries to rest to overcome a flare, but for the moment, I just have to push on.

At least with this calming face cream, an itchy face is one less problem I have to deal with. I am not being paid to advertise, but when one finds a great product, it is only fair that one shares it with one's friends.

I will be ordering the large size container soon- and if they make it in bucket size, I will buy a bucket of it and apply it with a paint roller! 

Spring has sprung

I let Xena out this morning and was greeted by a lovely warm day with cherry blossoms on the tree in our neighbour's back yard.

Xena ran to the plastic box of rainwater we leave for the birds to drink and bathe in. She loves fresh rainwater.

The birds started calling immediately they saw me, expecting something to eat. They usually gather en masse and call together, which frightens our timid cat away.

So as soon as she finished drinking, she ran off to the side of the house where she could get some sun in peace.

We have some lovely sunny days forecast for this week and it does the soul good. As does seeing all the trees in bud, blooming white or pink blossoms all along the 20 km drive to the closest town.

I love fresh air, and it has been a joy to throw our windows open and let the breeze and sunshine in. With being home 90% of the week, I can think of no nicer place to be than here when spring has sprung.

Rona has found us!

We live in a little town in country Victoria Australia. We are in the perfect spot to shelter from Covid 19 or Rona as we call it.

We have under 500 people in total, a pub, a small police station, a small post office and a country shop. And a couple of quaint old churches.

Our town is so tiny that we don't have the postman call on us: we have PO boxes. So very little chance of Rona coming up here.

So you can imagine our shock and horror when we have found out that Rona is rearing her ugly head in our little shire! It's the one downfall of this pretty little town.

She is so pretty that people come here for a Sunday drive, and yes- even those who have tested positive for Rona! And they bring it from the large towns to us.

So bad is the new infection rate in Melbourne that it has been put under stage 4 lockdown. We are following with stage 3 on Wednesday, and mandatory wearing of masks starting midnight tonight for us regional Victorians. 

We are more than over this but it is what it is. Chris and I are going to stay home, except for chemist and doctor if face to face contact is necessary. Although we have no children, we will be living along these lines. 

It's sad that it's come to this for Victoria, but it's necessary. We are the lucky ones living up here, but even so, Rona has found us! 

Watch, pray and wash your hands.

So this Corona Virus is getting serious here Down Under. In our home state, Victoria, people have been dropping like flies after a whiff from the can of Mortein. 

Melbourne and metropolitan towns have been told to stay at home and even  we in the rural areas have been asked to limit our business outside the home.

Masks are becoming mandatory after midnight Wednesday for those in lockdown and we here have been requested to comply. 

We had  a telephone consult about our three monthly blood tests and although Chris's sugars at 9.2 have come down, there's room for improvement. He has to double his Januvia tablets.

My sugars were 8 which our doctor has said was good but could be better. I do have a high GTT on my liver report. Just another thing to worry about, I suppose. Kidney function is good. Cholesterol is fine too.

I don't get much sun as I am inside mainly so not surprisingly, my vitamin  D is low. I am to take 2 Vit D tablets from now on to give it a boost.

Due to comorbidities, Chris and I have been told to wear a mask when shopping etc. I accordingly bought some on ebay today because it is cheaper than the chemist.

I am experiencing some itchy hands from the constant hand sanitisers when we leave the house. I know they are important, and I do use them, but I use soap and water at home.

It's just another cross to bear with fibromyalgia vying for top place in the itching field. My hands usually only itch after I clap my hands. 

But all in all, we have to stay vigilant to stay safe, so I will do as I am told. We have faith in God, but have to have a teachable heart with matters like Corona.

So we keep social distancing, and we watch and pray, and wash our hands. 

Rattling those pots and pans

So I had a few spoons today and decided to follow my favourite recipe for no knead bread.  You may recall I bought these appliances with my economic booster courtesy of the Australian government. 

The bread recipe calls for a Dutch Oven and I don't have one, so I used the casserole dish and it did the job beautifully. The bread turned out to be so yummy and we will eat it with a minestrone soup for dinner tonight.

I also have made  icecream using Monkfruit sweetener. It is in the freezer as I type, getting ready to be tonight's no sugar low carb dessert!

I have been preparing our guest room because tomorrow we will be blessed with our little granddaughter's company for a few days. Boy, have I missed her! Our postcodes are not under lockdown with the Corona restrictions, but it's anyone's guess when or if we will be back to lockdown as well. So we are getting her now before it happens.

Housework-wise, I am following each day's work on Sylvia's Lists. I still have bad fibromyalgia, but we are getting there slowly and I am at last ratting those new pots and pans. 

My heart is here

So we have seen total lockdown of a few suburbs in North Western Melbourne because of people testing positive and still visiting family and friends. 

Fortunately we aren't in lockdown yet but I am thinking I better get a bit extra in groceries as lockdowns in Victoria are still a possibility.  Our Premiere has said it may have to be implemented.

We are getting fed up with being home, but we have devised little things to do to make the most of it.

Our little cat Xena has been a lot of fun as we sit and watch her. The birds know she's outside, watching them from a safe distance, but they don't bother with her. They know she's a bit of a coward. If she gets too close they gang up on her and chirp in unison and she feels intimidated and runs off.  We laugh..

Yesterday I baked some bread... it was nice when it was hot but was rather hard when it was cold. It didn't bother our birds who got the left overs.

My last day has come today with the home help lady and I am now on my own for twelve months, until I get the government placing in the Aged Care package. I will be following Sylvia's Lists from tomorrow onwards..

I have polymyalgia rheumatica as well as fibromyalgia at the moment and feel so sore around the neck and shoulders. I am upping my pain killers to paracetamol slow release plus two paracetamol at night. 

Ideally, I would be on prednisolone again, but my sugars are high, I have thinning bones and I really don't want to feel ravenously hungry all the time. Besides, my doctor won't let me have them anymore. 

Not for the first time, I have asked myself why something that actually helps my pain is not suitable? You would think doctors could come up with some pain relief that actually works for all the arthritic and fibro maladies...

I have put the electric blankets on, drawn the drapes and lit the lamps. It's already fresh outside- the hairs in my nostrils just about froze when I opened the door to let Xena back in.

The two heaters are full on so it's not too chilly.  I still love our little home and feel most grateful for it.

Looking at the fire and lamps, our living area has a lovely ambience and it shows me what I feel about living here- the house nurtures us. We both feel that.

If we have to be home in lockdown or because of my fibromyalgia etc, it's such a blessing to have this home to do it in.  

Home is where the heart is, and my heart is here...

Spitting chips!

     spit chips: 

slang To be loudly or vehemently angry. Primarily heard in Australia.Everyone's spitting chips over the recent tax law now, but in a month's time, no one will even remember that it happened.

Although I did get out of bed today, I haven't achieved much. I have managed to sort my dishes out from last night and they are soaking in hot soapy water in the sink.

The washing is still in the hampers, glaring at me when I pass them by, ignoring them as I go to the loo. They will keep! 

I have some minced steak thawing on the kitchen bench and I have no idea what I am going to do with it tonight for dinner. Pot luck! 

How I feel is pretty much the same in the graphic here. I am whacked and in pain that makes it hard to sit and talk to you. My neck and shoulders are killing me.

The rain is really heavy and the temperature is cold. Totally to be expected as it's winter here in Australia. And where we are, it even snows! 

My sister and daughter are Fibromites and are suffering as well, so maybe it's the weather changes..

My plans for baking and icecream making went out the window yesterday and certainly aren't in today's plans. Instead, I am here mentally shaking my fist at fibromyalgia and, sad that I can't do the few things I planned for today, I am sitting here, spitting chips! 

Strine's a language all its own.

They say English is the hardest language to learn, but I think good old Aussie slang called Strine, is harder still.

We Australians have a unique language which causes problems to even English speakers who aren't in the know.

It is funny to speak Strine amongst ourselves and we delight in shortening words, names and places.

For example, when speaking of the Corona Virus we call it Rona. The town of Mordialloc is Mordy, Broadmeadows is Broady, and Dandenong is Dandy.

I am having a lot of fun teaching my English husband how to speak Strine. He's been naturalised and has almost lost his English accent and has lived in Australia longer than England now. But every now and then, a new Strine word will come up and he asks me for the interpretation.

"Got a bingle (crash) out in Broady (Broadmeadows)... towies (towtrucks) on site but as a result it's chockers (bumper to bumper or full) in that direction"  There now,can't be any clearer can it? lol

Today I am catching up on dishes and washing. I will be serving chicken parmigana with mashed potato and greens for dinner.

I am so glad that the Bible comes in easy to read language: something that can speak to all of us and not just a select few. I just can't see a Bible written in Strine as something that would minister to all men because as I said, Strines' a language all its own.

Help in a hurry

So we needed an ambulance Monday morning. Within 20 minutes not one, but two ambulances were at our house, tending to Chris. They were wonderful and stabilised him and got us to our local hospital in about 20 minutes..

This is something that was important to us as older people with many health issues. Living in the country, we weren't quite sure how long help would be if we needed it. We were very impressed and comforted.

The last few days have been difficult with looking after Chris as he becomes accustomed to injecting Insulin, and trying to overcome my resulting flare of fibromyalgia.

It was inevitable with having to drive to the hospital for a couple of days and not being able to sleep well... 

As a result I was so overcome with fatigue and muscle pain that my dear daughter-in-law pulled on some gloves and washed my dishes for me while her husband visited Chris. I am most grateful to her.

I have ordered my groceries online and am expecting them in a few hours. I think I have just enough spoons left to drag them in and put them away. So most likely I will serve a frozen dinner for tea tonight. I am so tired today that even breathing is too hard.

Anyway, I am pleased with country living in emergencies, even if the hospital care leaves a lot to be desired.... as I posted about here.  But at least we now know that it's only 20 minutes away if we need help in a hurry.

Kissing my phone screen!

Today I have woken up with a little less pain from my fibromyalgia and costochrondia than what I have had the last few weeks. I have a distinct lack of spoons, but I will take less pain over spoons any day!

I have dishes to catch up on and washing and cleaning to do, but I am letting it go one more day. Today the Victorian Government has lifted the lockdown a bit and allowed us to go see family,  as long as there are no more than 5 people at the one time.

So we are getting ready to go to see my youngest child, Dianne who I wrote about in my other blog yesterday.  She lives an hour's drive from us. No doubt I will fall asleep en route to her place. That's totally normal for me and Chris is used to seeing me nearly being garrotted with the seatbelt on long drives...

Schools in Victoria are gradually returning in a few weeks. I never thought I would say this, but I miss the mums taking their children to school and even the school buses! 

Life  is gradually returning to some semblance of normal and I am very happy about it. Online classes and visits with family are OK, but nothing compared to face to face! 

Mind you, we are still going to be careful. Lots of hand washing still and today, lots of theatrical kisses without actually kissing. A big Mwah each side of the cheeks at a respectful distance will have to suffice. But hey, it's better than kissing my phone screen on FaceTime! 

Old, fat but wiser

So I got on the scales today and now I wish I hadn't. It flashed "One at a time, please!" just prior to giving me a heart attack.

I am at my heaviest ever this morning. It's like everything is conspiring to make and keep me fat. Every single medication has a warning on it about effecting concentration but none say they will make you fat- but they do.

So with so much going on with Rona, my physical limitations and all the medicines I need to take daily, I haven't got much hope of losing any weight.

I am making wiser food choices and upped my water intake, but that's about it for me. No way am I ever going to take appetite suppressants. 

About 30 years ago I lost 84lbs. I was on Duromine tablets and they made me extremely tense and testy. I remember slamming the fridge door so hard the bottles inside clinked together violently.

I thought who needs this? So I stopped them and gradually gained back the weight. Topped off with my reading this morning, it was a shock to my system.

Anyway, I am nearly seventy now, so that makes me old as well as fat. But I do believe as well as that, that I am wiser. 

I am finally going to accept that I am probably too old and sick to safely lose the 100+ pounds that I need to lose in order to look great on a BMI Chart.  

Apart from a few steps like upping my water and reducing my plates of food, I have a brilliant plan...

I understand Miller's and Best and Less are selling clothes up to size 26... it will be nice to feel a loose waisted skirt again and I have Afterpay to help.

See, I am old and fat, but definitely wiser. 

My list of to do's are:

1. Fold and put away today's load of laundry
2. Cook potatoes, pumpkin, onion and peas to serve with the left over lamb from last night.
3. Check out the plus size clothes online
4. Finally chuck out those lying, treacherous scales.... :)

Flat out like a lizard drinking

Our little white cat, Xena has found the perfect spot for a daytime sleep. We have her little bed in front of the back sliding door and she loves sleeping in it. The sun comes round after 11am and shines right in on her. Until it gets too hot, she sleeps happily in it.

We have been enjoying the autumn or fall afternoon sunshine as well as the days are cold but the sun coming through our door is delightful. Plus, it gives me Vitamin D which I am low on.

I am taking my afternoon nana naps on the couch now. With the door open a crack, we can hear the stream running behind the property, and of course the birds are chirping. It's hard to keep awake with the heat and birdsong. So I give into it.

Later on today I am going to purchase some magnesium tablets in an attempt to relieve myself of the muscle pains and calf cramps. I think maybe it's not just my fibromyalgia so I think it won't hurt to give the magnesium tablets a go.  My last blood test did say I was low in it. I am just so over being in pain.

I think more than being in pain all the time,  my sometimes being snappy with Chris hurts me more. I am so very glad he says he understands and doesn't hold it against me.

On my to list today is to do the tea dishes- (yes I left them last night) and to do some rissoles with mashed potato and veggies for tea.

Apart from that you will find me on the couch taking in the sunshine, flat out like a lizard drinking!

Surprise!

Recently our landlord came to cut the grass and when he was mowing down near the shed at the bottom of the garden, he found a large bush of cherry tomatoes growing there.

Chris went down later on and picked them for me. I gave them a good wash and put them in the fruit basket. There were heaps more than this, but we have been picking at them as we go to put the nearby kettle on. Which is pretty often in our house! 

I have been down and out for the count the last few days with a really tough bout of fibromyalgia. As I age, I find my fibro flares are more often and more painful.

So I have been doing the absolute minimum in the house (mainly meals) and sleeping. Although I am a little better today, I will be doing more of the same later on.

All I plan for today is:

1. Sweep my kitchen floor.
2. Cook chicken chow mein for dinner. I will use the slow cooker for this.
3. Nap as often as I can

I will ask Chris to get the last of the tomatoes in today before the birds eat them all. To us, they were a surprise, but the birds knew they were there all along! 

Playing with my toys

  

The Australian government gave us pensioners $750 to hopefully help the economy with the Corona Virus. 

I wanted to do my bit, so I spent it on things for my kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. It wasn't entirely frivolous because you may recall I gave away or sold most of our things when we downscaled into the fifth wheeler to become grey nomads.

When it all went pear shaped with me tearing my meniscus and becoming housebound, we found we were lacking quite a few things for our new rented house. I decided to spend the money on fixing that.

So the last few days I have been happily playing with my new toys.

It is so nice to have enough saucepans and frypans now. I made a lovely cinnamon and sultana cake for Chris. Later I made zucchini spaghetti and garlic with my spiraliser and last night I fried some salmon portions in the new air fryer.

After that I enjoyed my bath cushion followed by a nice sleep in my new sheets set. 

Today's to do list is to:

1. Make zucchini spaghetti again with salmon for dinner.
2. Fold and put away a load of washing
3. Take a nana nap to overcome my fatigue from fibromyalgia.

The really crappy thing about fibromyalgia is that even good stress like this still uses your spoons. Hopefully, I will have enough spoons left to cook that dinner as I play with my toys.

Horace wants more!

So earlier today we heard our almost tame magpie, Horace pecking at our back garden door. He is getting very cheeky and comes right up onto the porch.

When he has finished whatever we give him, he often calls us to give him more. We find him irresistable.

My fibromyalgia was a little better today and I actually had some spoons, so I was able to get a few things done. Not a lot by normal standards, but a fibromite, it is quite the feat. 

On my to do list today were:

1. Change our sheets
2. Make the scones that Chris loves
3. Cook sausages, eggs, baked beans and mashed potatoes for dinner

The scones turned out nice and I served them with butter and strawberry jam. I also ordered repeat prescriptions from the chemist and will pick them up tomorrow. 

It is such a joy to be living where we are: we are grateful to God for not only the house, but for a little magpie who always wants more!