It’s a big HELLO from Me and Mister C…

Hello, fabulous you! I sit here in my cosy studio/office trying to type, but my bung wrists are sadly causing me much grief today. I am having trouble (again) trying to press and type the keys on the keyboard. I keep pressing the wrong letters (sorry if there are any spelling mistakes), my hands just won’t work properly, even though I know how to spell! It is quite frustrating and quite debilitating the bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) I am currently experiencing. I am pleased however, to now have a booked admission date (approximately two weeks) to have the right wrist CTS decompression conducted in the ACT (Canberra), with my Orthopaedic surgeon (who is, I have to write, quite marvellous). I am to have both wrist decompressions conducted over the coming months, to assist with my ongoing nerve and injury issues. I am hopeful that the procedures will correct the ongoing numbness, swelling and discomfort I am experiencing every day (fingers crossed!).

As my dear dad often said and wrote to me (always remembered and greatly missed), while I was studying in Sydney back in the early nineties, “Life was never meant to be easy, Ingy (my childhood nickname). It is how we tackle the bad days that guides us into the good ones.” When I am having a particularly bad day with severe pain throughout my body, I remind myself this; however, most of the time, I admit, I will shed a little tear in the shower and this will often help to recentre myself. I keep telling myself things will get better, my situation will not always be like this and I try to distract my mind, to think of what positive things I may be doing in twelve months’ time. Not working in my senior nursing role since October last year, has been tough, I feel that I have lost a sense of purpose and direction. I have always been a nurse; later in September will have been thirty consecutive years working in various EN and then RN nursing roles. I am super proud of my career and achievements, but now I think, where to from here?…

Now into the second week of the (dreary) Winter school holidays (always the hardest ones I think), what are you all doing this week, to distract yourselves from the freezing, blah weather and the boredom that may be setting in? The girls have thankfully been occupying themselves well. Widy applied and went for new job at a local gym in town (did two training and orientation sessions), approximately four weeks ago. She was thrilled to hear back the end of last week, she got the casual position! We are super proud of her efforts and know she will be a great asset to this new team. Husband was able to help move some furniture around between Flossy and Mister C’s rooms; the girls repainted over the grey feature wall (with my supervision) in Flossy’s room, to freshen up the area and match it back to the main cream wall colour (hog’s bristle). Flossy was pleased and said, “Gee, Mum, my room is all neutral and matching, just the way I like it!” It was difficult and tiring for me (I can’t do very much at present, without having intense pain to my lower back, right hip and shoulder), but I was pleased Flossy was able to clean up her room and throw out some old things, to now be comfortable her room space again. Mister C was able to also clean up his room (well done!) and throw out some broken toys; he is thrilled to have a bigger desk, a funky, clear plastic chair and tall, white cabinet, to put all of his treasured things and ‘Lego’ creations on!

I just ‘Googled’ what ‘national day’ is on in the world today (for fun- gee I must be bored!) and I saw that it was, ‘Don’t step on a bee day today in the U.K!’ According to https://nationaltoday.com/dont-step-on-a-bee-day/, ‘Don’t Step On A Bee Day is observed every year on July 10 in the United Kingdom. Bees have been around for centuries and are closely related to wasps. They are mostly found in every part of the world that has insect-pollinated flowering plants. Bees are essential to our survival and play a big role in balancing our ecosystem. They are great pollinators, produce honey, and give us food. This day marks the importance of the existence of these insects and the work that they do.’ We love bees at our place and I would love to possibly have a small beehive with the ‘non-stinging’ kind of bush bee. A close friend of mine (one of our biggest book fans too) recently purchased a bee-hive with these non-stinging bees, and put the hive in her beautiful backyard (hiya and love you L.S); my dear friend reported she loves the bees and it was a wonderful investment (go the bees!).

Let’s try to see something wonderful that sparks us joy today. It could be something as simple as seeing a sweet smile on one of our children’s or cute furry pet friend’s faces, or a happy text from a dear friend, writing to let us know they are thinking of us today…

Here’s another Word from Mister C, he always cheers me up and he may just do that for you too…

Dad had cooked tea and was about to serve up the plates. Mister C jumped into the kitchen and said, “What’s for tea, Dad?” Giving Dad a pat on the arm, Dad turned around and replied, “It’s your favourite, my son, chicken burgers and vegies!” Mister C nodded and replied, “Yay, I love chicken burgers, but NOT vegies. I’ll give those a miss, thanks.” Dad smiled and said, “Well, you’ll have to try some of the veggies on your plate, please.” Dad served up the yum tea and called the girls to come to the table. All sitting at the dining table eating together, I thanked Husband for cooking, and the kids chorused, “Thanks, Dad!” Mister C picked up the whole (hot) chicken burger patty, sniffed it and went to pat it against his cheek. He then said, “Yum, I love these burgers,” and proceeded to take a bite into the burger, still holding it in his left hand. “Be careful,” I said, watching Mister C; “It’s just come out of the oven, it’s gonna be hot!” Mister C shrugged his shoulders and replied, “It’s okay. I love this and from now on will call it a meat cookie. I don’t need to use my gold fork this time; it’s good to hold and eat just like a cookie, but made from meat.” All laughed… 🍪

A Word from Mister C…

Dad walked upstairs in the morning and saw Mister C sitting on the floor near the gas heater, “Hi, my son. Did you have any dreams last night?” Mister C looked up and smiled, “Hi, Dad. Well, I did. I had this crazy dream, I was fighting off a horrid scruffy, wild dog! I had to try and run away from the scary dog, so I didn’t get bitten or even hurt. Did you dream last night, Dad?” Dad frowned, “Oh, that doesn’t sound like a good dream at all! No, I didn’t dream last night, that I can remember, anyway. Why are you getting all of the dreams now, my son and I’m not?” Mister C shrugged his shoulders and replied, “Anyway, I have to remember not to judge a dog by its fur, some dogs are scruffy and not so nice on the outside, but then they are cute and cuddly on the inside!” Dad laughed and gave Mister C a big morning hug. Mister C grinned and then said, “Also, Dad, remember too, don’t judge a book by its cover, you never know what you may read. It may blow your mind after all!” Both laughed…😜

Stay tuned…

With my upcoming booked procedures over the next few weeks (even months) and ongoing physio and rehabilitation, I will endeavour to continue to write the bog each fortnight. I may get Husband (my rock) to do some more scribing for me, depending on his work schedule (sounds fun?). Thanks for your patience over this difficult time. We appreciate you all and thanks for continuing to read and be involved in our blog and our books. Stay warm and happy… Hugs Me and Mister C 💕

Mister C and I live in a rural town in NSW Australia, with Mister C's Dad and his two big sisters. We have an acreage with an old homestead, that we have been renovating over the past five years (a lot of work!). I am a registered nurse working in private nursing in NSW. I enjoy caring for people in our community, it is a very unique area to live. Mister C is now nine years old now, and is in year four at primary school. He loves super-heroes, building bricks ('Lego'), jumping really high on our trampoline at home and playing with our sweet pets. He has a big imagination and dreams a lot about interesting and funny stuff. We have two sweet doggies named 'Rhetti' and 'Niki', many chickens (lots of names there), three beautiful painted finches, named 'Red', 'Robin' & 'Ruby'. We have many wild animals that like to visit on a regular basis, like 'Bluey' the blue tongue lizard, 'Baby Poss', our resident brush tail possum, our family of king parrots, named 'George', 'Mildred' and 'Gilbert', 'Freddy' our resident green frog and family of noisy magpies, named 'Monte', Maggie', 'Carlo and the new twins. Pastimes for me include painting (anything), reading, illustrating, playing board games with Mister C and the girls, and of course writing (lots of writing!). Without children the world would be a quiet place!...