Ciao, bello! It’s Me and Mister C…

We say Ciao, bello (hello) from the wonderous city of Turin, in Italy this week. We celebrate all things Italian; as many of you may have known, Turin hosted ‘Eurovision’, the renown European song contest this year (so fab!). According to Google, ‘Turin is the capital city of Piedmont in northern Italy, known for its refined architecture and cuisine.’ (https://offbeatescapades.com/is-turin-worth-visiting-italy-hidden-gem/). I love all things ‘Eurovision’ and I love watching the vibrant show each year, of which aired on ‘SBS’ TV last week (or so). In the past, family, friends and work colleagues have commented that they either love or dislike ‘Eurovision’; the show is not for everyone, but for those who do love the craziness of the whole event, this year’s artists and events certainly did not disappoint. Our Aussie entrant didn’t make the top ten like last year (better luck next time), but all the acts worked hard and presented some wonderful and zany songs and outfits. Mister C came into the lounge room, while I was watching one of the acts and began dancing around the room; I jumped up and began dancing with him too- it was fun and such a breath of fresh air! Thanks, Eurovision for taking us to a magical and sometimes zany place of fun and laughter; Mister C particularly enjoyed the wolf and banana song (me too- so much fun!). I have to add, I would love to attend (watch live) one of the contests in the coming years, as a part of my ‘bucket list’; I wonder if Husband would join me?!

It was a pleasure to acknowledge and celebrate International nurse’s day last Thursday 12th May. I am always very honoured to be a part of these events and can also proudly write, next year (later in the year) I will be celebrating my thirtieth year working as a nurse, either as a carer, assistant in nursing, enrolled nurse and currently working as a registered nurse (is a long time?). Husband recalls the lovely Uncle Bill in Texas asking me, “Are you qualified?” When we were there in early 2008, and a few years later I certainly was! As the years go by and as we sometimes change work places, there is often little time to reflect on our careers as a whole; I feel very fortunate that I have never been without employment in this profession (nurses are always needed!). I acknowledge all of the workplaces I have had the pleasure of working in, while sharing many ups and downs and memories together. It brought a tear to my eye last Thursday (12th May), when our dear residents and staff at my current workplace held a lovely afternoon tea for all of the nurses (thanks so much!) to acknowledge this year’s International Nurse’s Day. One of our dear resident’s read out a beautiful poem dedicated to nurses (thank-you). All I can say, is that I am and will always be proud to continue to care and support my wonderful community and town; no matter how busy my other world of writing, illustrating and publishing our children’s books becomes, there will always be a place and time for my nursing. I would like to dedicate this blog to all of my nursing friends and colleagues around Australia and beyond- THANKYOU!

Sadly, we had to goodbye to our older doggie ‘Niki’ mid last week. Unfortunately, ‘Nik’ had been showing signs of dementia (for dogs) with snarling and trying to bite the kids and Husband (luckily not at me), while had been also been incontinent (bowel and urine) several times and more often in Mister C’s room (oh no!). Being an older dog and the type of breed he was, our vet (and us) believed ‘Niki’ was suffering mentally with severe anxiety and perhaps chronic pain to his joints and lower legs (stiff and limping ever since we got him). It was heart-breaking to watch ‘Niki’ try and stumble up and down stairs, while also struggle to go outside in the colder weather (hated the rain too). I rang Husband (always my rock) who suggested I call the animal shelter or our vet to see what could be done. The shelter refused to take ‘Niki’ due to his biting and aggression to both adults and children (understandably), he couldn’t be rehomed in this state. I tried calling the rescue organisation, where we had purchased ‘Niki’ from, who never returned my calls (how convenient?). The girls and Mister C became quite fearful of ‘Niki’ and what state of mind he was in; I had no choice but to arrange a review with our kind vet, who advised that ‘Niki’ was suffering and needed a release from his situation; it was best for him to go up to doggie heaven. After administering a
gentle sedative, the vet and I stayed with ‘Niki’ until his peaceful end; the staff were wonderfully caring and I couldn’t thank them enough (through my tears) for their prompt care, compassion and support. Rest in peace our dear ‘Niki’ boy…

On a much less sombre note, somewhere in between Mother’s Day and Flossy’s birthday, I was purchasing some more chook feed from our local stock feed store and spotted a whole array of adorable young chook girls (pullets). I squealed with delight and opened the car door, calling out to Flossy and Mister C to come see the new sweet chooks. We chose one each and then three more to make up the numbers, not forgetting one for Widy and Husband of course. The girls were all in wonderful condition and we have since named them all… So, introducing ‘Lucille’ (white chook girl), in memory of our dear ‘Lucy’ girl, ‘Fudge (brown chook girl) for Husband, ‘Raquelle’ (black chook girl) for Flossy, ‘Milo’, (brown chook girl) for Widy, ‘Silver’ (white spotty girl) for Mister C and last but not least, ‘Teressa’ (black girl) in memory of ‘Betty Spaghetti’ girl, who we lost a few weeks back now. I am pleased to write, our other three sweet girls, including ‘Ginger’, with her healing broken leg, are very pleased to meet our new girls and they have all gelled exceptionally well! Lots of work, but too much fun our new girls are; my heart is once more warmed again…

A Word from Mister C…

Mister C was eating his breakfast, he sighed and then said, “I wish the Maker created a long weekend of weekends every week and two days to go to school. It would be more fun to stay home for most of the week; I could even help Dad with his sore surgery knee (last year), I could be his ‘leg boy’ helper too!” Looking over at Mister C, I replied smiling, “Yes, maybe, my son. But you do need to go to school, so you can learn lots and then your brain will grow even bigger!” Mister C giggled, “Yes, my brain is already quite big. It may grow SO big; the top of my head will have to open up and my wobbling brain will have to sit up out of my head!” We both laughed and then groaned “Ooh!” …  🧠

Stay tuned…

For many more zany words and blogs from Mister C and Me…

Just a little housekeeping, I wanted to let all know that from this weeks blog, I will be reducing the amount of writing (paragraphs) for each blog. I had some feedback from family and friends, who all agreed the blogs can get a little bit too long (sorry!). So, as a result, I will endeavour to write about four paragraphs only (I will try); however, as the family know, when I get writing it’s really hard to stop! I will continue to write a blog each week (as that is what most want), but I also have a backlog of many words from Mister C and will need to publish these stories. I will endeavour to publish these stories in the blog (site) every fortnight; so, that will mean I will write a blog each fortnight, give or take a few extra depending on timeframes and our next book.

If you have any other feedback to share, please use the comments section below on the site. Me and Mister C would love to see more subscribers join our happy Mister C readers- why don’t you try typing your email address in the subscription widget section below and then confirm your email address via the link we then provide (it will have Me and Mister C and our logo on the top of the page)- we’d love to have you read our blogs regularly! Hugs Mister C… 😊