This has not been the best month for our Canberra based family. There's been some things happening health wise that are causing us some angst .......but this blog is about the positives in my life - so that's what I'll focus on..... a bit of a catch up on the last month or so.
It's been 5 weeks now since our gorgeous Ella ran her best in the ACT finals of the Schools X Country Carnival at Stromlo Forest. It's no surprise to any of us that she's one of the fittest and fastest 11 year old girls in the Territory!
A few days later a dear friend of mine (Irene) who is getting near the end of her chemo treatment was well enough to enjoy a celebratory breakfast with us "girls" at the Arboretum ..... it was a freezing but clear and sunny June morning, and we all felt happy that things are returning to"normal" for Irene.
BUT then a week later disaster struck for me ... I fell over on the edge the road and fractured (and displaced) my distal radius (wrist bone). I ended up needing surgery (involving a 3 day wait and an overnight stay at Canberra Hospital) to have a plate fixed. It's my dominant hand too - so I've been fairly useless ever since!
Everyone has been lovely about this, and so supportive. Maxie and Rod and Josh and Jody have been wonderful, cooking us beautiful meals and keeping our spirits up. We've even had one of our lovely new neighbours at Saint Germain make us up some pots of soup.
And a week ago I had my plaster removed and replaced with this steel and velcro brace - which has given me a lot more flexibility (and wardrobe choices). I have to wear this for four weeks.
A week ago we started the journey north to Brisbane: starting with a night at Coogee to catch up on the annual apartment (EC) business ..... then a night with Ros and Pete at Sandy Beach ....and a chance to catch up with their dramatic plans to relocate to Geelong!!!
We made it to Brisbane by last Thursday afternoon and straight away made our way to see Rob's Mum Bobbie at her new "home" at Cazna Gardens. She looks bright and chirpy as ever, but increasingly frail - time to move out of her independent living unit and into a higher level of care (as of two weeks ago).
As well as having some time with Bobbie we had a few days of packing, sorting and cleaning to do to clear her unit (after Rob's brother and his wife had done the bulk the work). In the process we saw a fair bit of Brisbane we don't normally see - like the local tip (Resource Recovery Centre). I thought this place was amazing!!!
But we managed to enjoy some downtime in Brisbane too - checking out the wonderful food scene in the diverse suburbs surrounding Cazna Gardens (Taiwanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese)..........
Two trips with Bobbie to beautiful Manly on Moreton Bay ......
(loved the sight of these nesting Lorikeets in the mangroves on the edge of the Bay).........
And admiring the lush gardens and picturesque architecture of the older suburbs of Brisbane ....
It's our last day in Brisbane today and we enjoyed another lovely seafood lunch together at Manly. We have finished the clear out of Bobbie's unit and she is settled into the new situation at Cazna. It's a stressful transition ...... we hope it works out for the best and she stays strong enough so we can share many more lunches like this with her in the future
It's been 5 weeks now since our gorgeous Ella ran her best in the ACT finals of the Schools X Country Carnival at Stromlo Forest. It's no surprise to any of us that she's one of the fittest and fastest 11 year old girls in the Territory!
And a week ago I had my plaster removed and replaced with this steel and velcro brace - which has given me a lot more flexibility (and wardrobe choices). I have to wear this for four weeks.
