Time Flies

Wow. Can you believe that tomorrow is the last day of May? I can't. Gosh the time is flying. I know that everybody says that sort of thing all the time but seriously at the rate that I feel time is passing at the moment I think I will celebrate my 79th birthday next week!

Well this week has been a massive week here in my world. Just so much has happened. Some stuff good and some really bad. I will start off with the worst part and hopefully finish this post on a high note.

My Darling Mother was this week diagnosed with breast cancer. That really sucks. However, she is being really positive about it and just sees it and something to deal with and move on. Next Tuesday she is going in for a lumpectomy to remove the lump and then find out what the state of the cancer is. Whether it has spread to lymph nodes etc. This information will determine what course of treatment she will have. At the moment, at the very least she will be having radiation treatment 5 days per week for six weeks. That is something she is not thrilled about. If it has spread to lymph nodes then she will probably need chemotherapy. Anyway, fingers crossed next Tuesday will go really well and radiation will be all she needs. I am not too worried about it for the simple fact that she isn't. If she becomes worried then I fully expect that I will have a meltdown! Mum gave up smoking at the age of 60 (she is 66 now) after having smoked since she was 14. She said to me the other day on the phone when she was telling me about the cancer that she "could really go a smoke right now". I said to her "Once you are diagnosed as having a terminal condition you can have a smoke and NOT before then". She laughed her head off! She told me later that she put that quote in an email that she sent to some friends. She's a character my Mum.

Work has been absolutely flat out this week. I think I attended more meetings this week than I have ever attended in any other week in my working life. I hate meetings so much. Especially the meetings that I have to attend not because I will get something out of it (or think I can contribute something) but because someone else thinks I should be there. It is always those meetings that seem to go longest and there is always somebody that seems to always want to talk talk talk when you can sense that everyone in the room just wants to get out of there! I had to deal with someone this week whom I find very very intimidating. I had to tell this person that they had to do something that they did not want to do. As predicted they did not take it well but thankfully I had the person's boss there to keep them in line. If he wasn't there then it might have been very ugly. Generally speaking I love my job but there are some people that I have to deal with that give it a sometimes unpleasant dimension.

Ninky and Roo are doing well. They seem really happy at the moment. They seem to be coping well with their beloved Daddy's absence. They had their first private swimming lesson with Scott this week. That man is with out a doubt the best swimming teacher I have ever come across. He dishes out praise left right and centre and shows infinite patience with the children. I watched him not just with Ninky and Roo but also with the class of kids before my children's lesson. Anyway, I was so proud of Ninky and Roo. They really listened to Scott and gave a big effort. The lesson is only half and hour and the improvement from the start of the lesson to the end was staggering. They came away from that lesson all pumped up and full of confidence. In the car on the way home they kept talking about how they want to be Olympic swimmers. I told them if they want to get into swimming seriously then I will support them 100%. I am glad they are enjoying it. They need an interest. I don't think either of them are particularly interested in team sports. So it looks like swimming will be "their thing".

All the animals are well. Driving me nuts - but other than that they are OK. Barry and Ginge (Mumma's two little boy kittens) went of to be neutered, microchipped and vaccinated this week. Ginge whinged all the way to the vet and climbed around the cage but Barry just sat there looking pretty. When we arrived at the vet Ginge cotinued whinging and climbing but Barry was shaking like a leaf. I felt so sad looking at him! Poor little boy. Anyway, they both went well with their little operation and although they were a bit drowsy in the car on the way home, once they were home they raced around like nothing was wrong with them. Mumma and Tink are going off in about two weeks to be desexed but I think it is a bigger operation for females so I don't think that they will come home racing around.

My indoor cat fence finally arrived yesterday. It is a simple set up with nodes that I put where I don't want the cats to go and the cats that I want to keep out wear a collar. When they go near a node they get a mild tingle from the collar to deter them. I am only putting it on Mumma and the kittens so that I can keep them out of the bedrooms. They have a nasty habit of peeing on the carpet and I am sick of it. Purr, Dory and Tinker don't do it so they are fine to go in to the bedrooms. Also, it will enable those three to get away from the kittens. They aren't too keen on the kittens at the moment. I don't blame them. Barry and Ginge can be very annoying!

Well, Swine Flu panic has well and truly set in this week in this quiet little part of the world. I drove past the health centre at work yesterday and the scene was just surreal. They have set up a flu triage area in the garage at the end of the centre. I could see the medics in white sperm suits (head to toes white paper suits) and masks, gloves and goggles tending to the line of people. Honestly, it sent a shiver down my spine. It looked like a scene out of one of those doomsday movies like "Ebola" or "Out Break". Poor Ninky and Roo came home from school the other day scared to death that they are going to die of Swine Flu. Between the "good hygiene" talk they were given at assembly and all the playground whispers, they had come to the conclusion that they would contract Swine Flu any tick of the clock and die. It took me nearly an hour to explain to them what the real story is. They seem to have got a handle on it now. It is scary though. I have been to a number of different health authority websites and the disease appears to be spreading fairly quickly despite the Governments attempts at containment. I told my staff yesterday that if they feel that they have flu like symptoms they are to go straight to the triage centre and not come to work. That is the thing that will help this disease spread most quickly. All the "martyrs" who will "drag" themselves into work and infect others.

Well, it is dark and rainy day here today. It rained most of yesterday and bucketed down overnight too. We are going to have a very quiet day at home today. Ninky and Roo have put in some very specific request for some lunch box treats for next week (choc cupcakes, choc chip biscuits and coconut biscuits) so I will probably make those today. I also need to spend some time standing over Roo to get him to do something about the state of his room. I know that I said that I am not worrying about them anymore but I can't get in there to even put clothes away now because the floor is absolutely hidden under a pile of stuff!

Hoo Roo