Playing with my new toy.

G'day. Well, I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that it was a safe and happy one for you. I worked ( oh well, someone has to keep the world turning! !) But, I finished at 2.00 pm, then came home and hubby and I and our beautiful dog "Lucky" made the 2 hour drive to my son's home for Christmas tea. Needless to say I ate too much, because I had already had a small Christmas lunch at work, but what the heck, it was Christmas Day.

While I was at work hubby had the job of baking the ham. A baked ham is obligatory for me. It has always been something that I have done for Christmas. I try different glazes each year. This year it was a honey and clove glaze. Very yum I might add, though hubby, bless his heart, did toddle out to the garage for a wee bit and to his horror when he came in to check the ham, it had burnt. When I came home from work, he was very apologetic, saying that he had one task only and he stuffed it up. He needn't have worried, it was still delicious and enjoyed by all who were at my son's.

My Christmas present is a Samsung Galaxy tablet. I am using it to type this post. Trouble is I can't upload a photo onto this page. It says it is uploading, but nothing happens. I think I will have to contact the support people. Other than that, I just love it. What fun I am having with it. Hubby just wanted some new overalls for work, so that is what he got. My daughter bought me a subscription to a Patchwork and Quilting magazine. My son gave me two beautiful French cushions.

Yes, we had a great Christmas Day, but for hubby and I it was somewhat sad. Two days prior a good friend from our car club died of a massive heart attack. He was just 56 years old. He leaves a wife and family. They were very much in our thoughts. I also rang a friend on Christmas morning to wish her a good day and she burst into tears during my well wishes. She told me that her neighbor directly across the road from her, committed suicide Christmas Eve. She had been good friends with him for many years. He was in his 70's and was terminally ill with cancer. He was divorced with grown children.

My New Year will start with getting this somewhat naughty gallbladder out. I am just waiting to hear from the hospital as to a date. Other than that, I hope there will be nothing but good news to report.

I wish you all a Happy New Year. I do hope it is a safe and happy one.

Take care.
Liz...

Bring on 2014. It's got to be better, doesn't it?

G'day. I don't feel very much in the Christmas spirit at the moment and if it hasn't hit me by now, then I think it's fair to say that it won't before the big day !!! 

I have put out a few decorations. I am not that mean. This Santa is one that I made many, many moons ago, when I was doing ceramics. He's a little over 2 foot high and he always brings a smile to my face when I see him.



Now, I really must show you the beautiful shabby chic cupboard that was given to me recently. A friend bought this for herself, got it home, didn't like it and promptly turned up my doorstep with it. When she realised that she didn't have anywhere for it, her first thought was "Liz will love this" So around she came bearing this lovely gift. Despite the very best effort on my part, she wouldn't accept any money for it and I am sure it wasn't cheap. I, of course just adore it.

Christmas will be a quiet affair for us this year. I am working Christmas Day and then after I finish we will be going to my son's home for tea. I have missed a bit of time off work again recently. I had a severe gallbladder attack last Monday. I was so bad that they thought they might have to send me to Melbourne by ambulance, to one of the bigger hospitals to operate. Luckily, that didn't happen. After a decent dose of morphine, things settled down. The ultrasound showed I have an enlarged and infected gallbladder that will need to come out at some stage soon. I see the surgeon again this Wednesday. When I saw him last week, he was reluctant to do anything just yet, mainly because of all the cancer treatment I have had and am still having. But, my guess is he will want to take it out early in the New Year. 

My cancer treatments continue every three weeks. This will go through till April/May next year. Other than that all is just peachy here.

Our summer seems to be upon us. In my part of this beautiful country, we are expecting 40 degrees this coming Thursday. I am hoping that Christmas Day won't be a scorcher.

In case I don't post between now and the big day. I would like to wish everyone 
 a very Merry Christmas and may 2014 be a safe and happy one for you all. 

Take care.
Liz...

A perfect spring day here.

G'day. Here in the beautiful land of Australia, spring is well and truly upon us. Though in some parts of the country they are already having heatwaves and bushfire's and it's only October, way too early for that sort of thing. There were in fact many fires raging last month as well. But, here in my little patch of heaven all is well, the sun is shining, garden is looking lovely. I have the Eagles singing on a CD in the background. All in all, a great day.

My radiation appointment was early this morning, so that allowed me to get the train home and still have the rest of the afternoon to do a few things. I have been very busy around here lately. The garden is totally weed free (though the pesky blighters are probably popping up as I write this). The old kitchen dresser that I bought on eBay a couple of years ago for a song is currently under restoration, only in as much as a new paint job. I think I mentioned in a post when I bought this dresser that the woman who I purchased it off complained about the lack of interest and how disappointed she was that she didn't get as much money for it as she had hoped and had the cheek to ask me would I like to offer her more. I didn't.... It's had a few coats of different coloured paint on it over the years before I saved it. It is currently a strange purple colour with white trim. When I am finished with it, the cupboards will be pink, French Pink to be exact, the white trim will stay. The old girl will have a new lease on life. Already two cupboards have been sanded back and repainted. Hubby will take a few more doors off for me this afternoon so that tomorrow when I return from Melbourne I can get stuck into them. I am also recovering the chair I am sitting on at the moment. I don't know where this burst of energy is coming from, but I am not going to fight it. The radiation is suppose to cause fatigue!!! On days when I was at my sickest during chemotherapy I would be stripping the bed putting all fresh linen on, vacuuming the entire house, mopping floors, all the usual household chores. Then for a few days after that I wouldn't be able to get out of bed. Strange how the mind works and the silly things we do. Maybe it was my way of fighting the sickness, who knows.

The photo shows my lovely Calibrachoa "Million Bells" It is a total mass of vibrant colour and looks fabulous in the blue pot.

It's hubby's 62nd birthday today. I am taking him out for tea tonight at one of the local pubs, we will wine and dine on some fine fare no doubt.

As always. thank you to all who comment on my posts. It is much appreciated that you take the time to do so.

Take care. Liz...

I'm still here and all's well.

G'day. Well, as the title says "I'm still here". Though I haven't been on the computer or looked at the blogs for some time, probably since my last post, which was way back when....

A quick update on what is happening with me, is that I am still undergoing radiation therapy. I am three weeks into a six week course at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, here in our lovely city of Melbourne. This involves me going into the city everyday by train. An hour and a half each way. On Fridays, hubby drives me in. I still go to the Royal Melbourne Hospital every third Friday for my infusion of the cancer drug Herceptin. Tomorrow is that day. Tomorrow I also have my three monthly heart function test. The Herceptin decreases the capacity of the heart function and so this test is vital to see how my poor old heart is coping with it all.. Other than that, all is just peachy here. My hair is now about 3/4 of an inch long and for the first time probably since I was a kid, I haven't had to worry about doing it. I just love it and am tempted to keep it this short. The colour is probably the best thing about it, it's dark throughout with so much grey it looks striking, I have been told. I have had strangers tell me how lovely my hair colour is. My daughter took the day of work today and met me in the city and we travelled together for my treatment. She hasn't seen me for a month or so and even she commented on how unusual the colour is.

I have also taken to wearing bright red lipstick. I have never been game enough in the past, but those days are gone now. I am sorry that I have waited until reaching the age of 61 to wear red lippy. What a waste of all those years, but I am making up for it now. Anyway, that's enough boring stuff about me.

I may have mentioned in an earlier blog that hubby bought me home the above love seat from the tip at the property where he works. The lady of the house had thrown it out, as it had been left out in the weather and rusted badly. Knowing that I would just love it, he asked could he rescue it for me. It has taken a fair bit of work to get it looking good. Part of the lower frame and two legs were gone, so hubby made a whole new frame and legs. Many hours spent sanding as much rust off as he could and a few coats of rust guard, followed by a couple of coats of paint and it looks just fabulous. It usually sits under our undercover outdoor area to protect it from the rain, but on sunny days, I sometimes put it on the lawn and it looks a treat. The design work on it is so delicate and lovely. It was an excellent thing that hubby knew I would want it. He's a good bloke, this hubby of mine.

Take care.
Liz...

Our first daffodill and other things...

G'day. Well, it's been a while (again) since I last wrote something. So much has been happening.

Our very first daffy bloomed some weeks ago and it is always a welcome sight. I really must plant more bulbs next year. I have been saying this for some time and am yet to do it....

My son recently turned 40 and two weeks before that event he moved into his beautiful new home. His birthday was on a Wednesday, so on the Saturday before, he had about 40 friends and family gather to help him celebrate and to oh and ah at the fancy new digs.


 

My hubby on left and daughters significant other on right.

Beautiful daughter and wonderful Stuart

Son and I


 

I am doing ok. Hair is slowly growing back. I start radiation in the next few weeks. 6 weeks @ 5 days a week. I will commute to the city by train everyday, this is an hour and a half each way. It will be no joy doing this, but, hey, it could be worse.

My contribution to the party. I made 60 of these mini quiches and they were yum, even if I do say so myself...


Take care. Liz...




It's been a while.

G'day. Well, it's been a while hasn't it? I think it's been over a month or more since my last post. But, I am still here and doing ok. This gorgeous boy on the glass mosaic ball is our newest addition to the garden, it no doubt will be the last statue we get as we are running out of room. This one originally belonged to my son and his partner, but a few months ago they sold their home and purchased another one with a smaller back yard and said that they would most likely leave this behind, hoping that the new owners would like it.

They also didn't want to take it because of the weight
of it. It is solid concrete and massively
heavy. I said I would give it a good home, much to hubby's disgust. "Where will it go, we have nowhere for it, we have too much now" was the first thing I heard. Not to be out done, I said I would find somewhere in the yard. On the day my son and partner moved, hubby and I were there bright and early (a 2hr drive) so that the furniture removal guys could help with the shifting of this beauty. The boy went on the back seat and the base went in the boot. That was well and good, there were no extra guys at our home to help get it out of the car and then to set it up, were there, just poor hubby and I. But as you can see, it's found it's spot. Mind you there was much swearing, cursing, dirty looks (at me) blood, sweat and nearly tears in the long and very hard process. I am thinking of planting a very small garden of a few roses and some lavender around it, but haven't told hubby this yet, so maybe I will give it a bit of thought for a while, don't want to give dear sweet hubby a coronary.

My first daffodil is out in bloom. Always a pleasure to see these beautiful flowers. I must plant a lot more for next year.

My last chemo is this Friday. Yippee !!! Will still be on another cancer drug every 3 weeks till April next year and also a cancer tablet every day for 5 years. I look forward to having some hair again soon...

I was fiddling with this computer some weeks ago and this nice little box came up on the screen recommending I refresh the computer, telling me that nothing would be lost and all would be good. Ha, what a load of crock. Wish I hadn't done it. My anti virus disappeared and McAfee took it's place, but guess what, that runs out next week, was only a trial one. My blogger page has totally gone and I had to go through the main Google page to get to this one. Can't read any blogs, it's all disappeared along with a lot of other things. Have tried reloading my antivirus disk, won't work. What a jolly nuisance and that's putting it mildly..... I will keep trying to retrieve my blog, so that I can read your wonderful stories.

Take care. Liz...

Still here and doing ok.

G'day. It's been some time since I have written a post and also since I have checked any of the great blogs that I follow. I have been very remiss.

This photo is of myself and my beautiful daughter, take some weeks ago. I am still undergoing chemo and there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

 I did spend 6 days in the local hospital here in my country town with a bad case of pneumonia. I had a very high temperature (quite serious they told me) and a lung infection. My hospital was really good and managed to get all the antibiotics that I needed sent up by courier. This made things so much easier for hubby and myself. I did have a serious setback one day and it looked like an ambulance trip to the big city hospital where I have all my treatments, but it settled down before the ambulance was called.

My workmates have been just wonderful. One of them made me a gorgeous patchwork bag and it was filled with goodies and all the staff signed the inside of it with waterproof pen. I will show photo's at a later date. The small quilting club that I sometimes ( I use that word loosely) attend of a Wednesday night all got together and did a block each of a quilt for me. That too will be a photo for another time.

It's an ongoing battle, but I am still of the opinion of "Suck it up Princess"

Sadly I haven't done any sewing or used my beautiful embroidery machine for some time. I just don't feel like it at this stage. I have been trying to continue with my working career on my good days, but on the bad ones, I sit in my lovely red leather recliner, usually with our gorgeous little dog on my lap, watching DVD"s or reading. I do make sure the house work is done first and hubby has been just the best. I don't know how I would have got this far without him. Friends have made us some of the most tastiest soup and casseroles. A good friend got up early this morning and made us two large containers of pea and ham soup and also a delicious chow mien. This was all done before her and her hubby had to catch a train to Melbourne then a bus to the airport and a flight to Brisbane. She was on my doorstep at 9.30 am. How lucky are we to have friends like this?

Take care.
Liz...

More holiday snaps.

G'day. On our recent getaway, we stopped at a little country town called Trentham. It's only a small town, but the tourists just love it. It does have a nice mix of different shops, hotels and bakeries, but I have never quite understood the popularity of this place. It could be that you go through Trentham to reach other larger towns, but who knows. I am sure the shop owners here aren't interested in my opinion anyway. Now in saying all of that, we did stop here.

My son had seen something about this store on the web and he wanted me to have a look at an Egyptian statue they have for sale. All the statues are made of fibreglass and some of them do look really good. Inside the store were life size figures of Elvis, the Blues Brothers, large dinosaurs and flying reptiles, just to name a few. The Egyptian statue that I had come to see was 8' tall and extremely expensive, needless to say my son has gone off the idea of owning it.

The only thing I liked was the two fat Wombats on the roof and a Gnome that stood about 4' high and was really quite lovely. He too was not cheap, but I did say to hubby that he would look just wonderful in our garden. Hubby was not overly impressed.

Not too sure about the large brown bear with a doll in between it's teeth. I think they could have done without that.

Next stop was to have a refreshing drink at a The Little Hard Hills Hotel. So named by the Chinese who lived and mined for gold in this area way back when. They walked into the nearest town about once a month for their groceries. This was a few hours walk and the hills were steep, but little, hence the name Little Hard Hills.

More photos next time.

Once again I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who leaves a comment and wishes me well on my chemotherapy journey. I really do appreciate it. Yesterday was the first time accessing the Infusaport that I had put in. I was a bit nervous about it, but it worked well. I had to have a blood test done before the chemo, just to check how the red and white cells are going and the good news was they have held up pretty good this time. That may change as the treatment progresses, but we will worry about that if and when it happens. Most likely by next Tuesday, the affects of this cycle will hit me and that will last a few days, not pleasant days, but hey, as I say "Suck it up Princess". All will be just peachy. It was a long day yesterday, almost 9 hours, but that included the blood test and waiting for the results of that before the drugs can be individually made up for me. I am on three different drugs that are given separately. It all takes time. Hubby goes through this journey with me. He watches them accessing the port and hooking up the drugs. It's important that he knows what is happening. We are on this journey together and I am ever so grateful for that. He had been a Godsend. He sits there patiently and reads, as do I. We bring our own lunch and snacks etc. The hospital also have a volunteer that comes around a few times and serves sandwiches, juice, tea and coffee. Yesterday they even has chicken noodle soup and it was yummy.

Take care. Liz...

Hairs gone, but hey, all's just peachy...

G'day. Last Thursday my hair started falling out, we knew it was coming, but it is confronting nonetheless when it happens. I guess in some ways it brings home the reality of what's really happening, not that we didn't know this already!! That morning, hubby and I decided to go away for a few days, a short break for both of us. We headed down toward the Great Ocean Road, a six or so hour drive, a favourite spot we both love.

On our travels we saw a lot of cars parked on the side of the road and people looking up into the gum trees, of course, there were Koala's in the trees and that was what everyone was looking at. Mainly a lot of tourists from overseas, but even this good Aussie girl and guy love looking at our native animals. They are so cute and furry, but don't be fooled, they can bite and scratch and wouldn't hesitate to do so if needed.

After spending a night at Apollo Bay, we headed to Port Campbell. One of my very favourite towns. I have always loved it here. Can't stop here without having fish and chips for lunch, but sadly, the fish was the worst I have ever had. I asked for it to be grilled and it was like a bit of old leather, so disappointed. Maybe new owners from the last time we were here perhaps !!! Oh well, it wasn't the end of the world.

We had a great time, always nice to escape the house and garden for a while. I will show more pics of our adventures another time.

Next chemo cycle for me tomorrow. I have been reasonably well, only really had three or four super bad days. Had an appointment on Tuesday just gone at the hospital to ask how I was and they couldn't believe how good I looked. Almost made me feel bad for looking so well. Most people I have seen, including friends and family comment on how well I look. That's got to be good, doesn't it?

I am not bothered at all by the lack of hair, the head will be totally bald in a day or so, just a bit of stubble left. Hubby even shaved his head to join me, though I did notice last night that already he has a good growth happening again. I am amazed at the contours on my scalp, the dents and ridges that I never knew I had. I do have lots of fabulous hats to wear and that's a bonus as we are coming into our winter here in beautiful Australia and already a few of the days have been cool.
Time to go, I have a date cake cooking because a friend is coming for afternoon tea. I am going out for morning tea shortly with a good friend from work. I have turned into a real social butterfly... Good on me..


Until next time. Take care. Liz...

The seasons are changing.

G'day. I can truthfully say I love the winter. I am not a summer girl by any stretch of the imagination. Today, where I live, in my beautiful part of Australia, the day has been cool. Sun has been out, but there was no warmth in it. Wind was chilly and I was delighted. Our seasons are changing and about jolly time too, as far as I am concerned. We have had one extremely hot and very long summer and it's time for it to take a hike.

Our garden is coming along nicely. The photo shows a small portion of the backyard. The old "gate" is actually an old single bedhead. Hubby rescued it from being thrown down the tip on the farm where he works. He has attached it to the arch and it looks fabulous. Clever and thoughtful man this hubby of mine. He knows something good when he sees it.

Once again I would like to thank those who have left lovely messages on my blog about my breast cancer. I have now started my chemotherapy and the first dose is over and done with. It hasn't been a walk in the park. I have had a few very bad days, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and we will get there. I went out for lunch today with some very good friends and that has been just what I needed. The next two weeks should be ok for me, before the next cycle starts.

My son's partner is back in hospital. All was looking so good, the operation to remove the brain tumour went very well. No real side affects and no complications and that was a relief. But, this morning there was extremely bad weeping from the wound and after a visit to the ER this morning, it's back into surgery as I write this. There is a hole that shouldn't be there and 4 of the staples holding the wound together were doing nothing whatsoever. Clearly something was not right. My son will ring me when he knows more. Hopefully it will be something they can rectify quickly. But it does look like a stay in hospital for a few days will be on the cards.

Take care.
Liz...

Hello again.

G'day. It's been some time since my last post and I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone who has sent me wonderful messages of encouragement. I do appreciate it.

I did spend a week in hospital recently, due to more fluid build up in the breast and having a serious infection, not to mention a very high temperature. This fluid then needed a drain inserted to get rid of it, but not one drain mind you. I had two drains put in over the course of the week. It's fair to say that I am rather tired of the hospital by now.

The port that was suppose to be in, was cancelled. Can't put a port in where there is any chance of it getting infected and also they won't do it with a high temperature. Bottom line is that now, on Friday the 12th of April, I get the port put in that morning and then in the afternoon, the first dose of chemo starts. A double whammy so to speak. Oh well, my theory is, lets get it started, get on with it and get it over with. In other words, "Suck it up Princess"

I have now had my waist length hair cut very short (on advice from a number of people) and I must add that I will be rather annoyed (putting it nicely) if my hair doesn't fall out, now that I've had it all chopped off. I will try to laugh about that, if it happens (or doesn't!!), but I was quite partial to my hair. A trivial point, I know, but nevertheless, hair is hair.

My son's partner has the brain tumour removed tomorrow. I will be spending a few days down there with him. An  anxious time, a very worrying time, but the neurosurgeon assures us that they do these operations all the time.

The beautiful sunflowers were a gift from one of the nurses at work, she is also a very best friend. These are from her gorgeous cottage garden.

Take care.
Liz...

Surgery X 2

G'day. Last Wednesday I had a partial mastectomy. All was well until 2 hours after the operation. Then, the breast decided it was going to rebel. I had a bleed and it looked like I had had an implant inserted. Surgeon was called and he said to put pressure bandages and keep ice packs on the breast to reduce the swelling. Didn't work. I was in hospital 4 days.

I came home last Sunday  with assurances the swelling would subside, but ha, it had other ideas and the swelling got worse. It looked like I had a basketball breast, not a pretty sight and to add to that, the breast was black with massive bruising. My post op check up was Tuesday just gone. I would also learn the results on this day. Surgeon took one look at the basketball, after removing the swathe of bandages and said that I would need to go back into surgery the next day. This basketball breast was not good. The fluid etc needed to be removed. So, yesterday, one week after the initial op, I was put under again and the fluid drained.

Let's go back to the initial op for a minute. It took 6 goes to try to get the cannula into a vein. Unfortunately I have very thin veins and they tend to collapse when they see a sharp pointy needle approaching. By this stage I was in a state myself and was on the verge of having a panic attack at the thought of more needles. Hooray for the surgeon, he was called and suggested that they would put the gas mask on, get me to sleep and then they would find a suitable vein. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Same thing yesterday. I told the young doctor about my iffy veins, but she just had to try, didn't she? After the second attempt, I was in a right royal fit and suggested they do what they had done the previous week. God bless that surgeon, he agreed again.

Anyway to cut a long story short (it will still be long) swelling is mostly gone, but not quite. Basketball has been reduced to a smaller version. I have a six inch incision under the breast and this is where they went in again yesterday. So as you can imagine I am not a happy camper. Also the report didn't come back as good as we had hoped. One good thing is the lymph nodes are clear, but in the surgeons words, the cancer was a very nasty type and they fear some of it may have broken away and travelled to who know's where. Chemotherapy is recommended. Tomorrow I travel back into the city of Melbourne, to the hospital and have a CT scan and a bone scan. Next Tuesday I have a heart test and also talk to the oncologist about the chemo etc. Hubby has been simply the best, son and daughter have been remarkable, friends and work colleagues make me realise how blessed I am to know them.  It's now time to get some rest. I will continue this saga next week, when I know more. Once again, thank you to everyone who has wished me well. I do appreciate it.
Take care. Liz...

A Valentines present for hubby.

G'day. Hubby often admires the Easter Island statues/busts that we have seen in some of the garden centres. I have told him to buy one and we will find somewhere to put it, but this has not happened. He usually just says that they would not suit our garden.

Some weeks ago I was at a nursery in a little country town not that far from us and I happened to see "Fern Head". Straight away I knew this would be my gift to hubby for Valentines Day.  The head has been carved from a tree fern trunk, the fern itself having previously died. I love it because they planted a little plant in the top of it and this will come out in tiny white flowers at some stage. It just looks like green hair. The roses have nothing to do with the present, I was just too lazy to move them before taking the photo.

Fern Head is still resting where he was when this photo was taken, we still haven't found just the right place for him yet, but he does look rather nice leaning up against the garage wall. He is rather impressive at just on four feet tall. Funny thing is, I don't think hubby has actually commented on if he likes this unusual gift or not. I think he was too stunned when he first saw him. Maybe not quite an Easter Island head, but not far from it. Anyway he has taken my fancy and I admire him every time I look at him. I will find somewhere nice for him to live in our garden.

I just want to say a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who left their best wishes on my upcoming surgery. I truly do appreciate your thought and prayers.  The surgery has been brought forward and will be this coming Wednesday, the 27th. Surprisingly I am not worried. I will take it as it comes. My favourite saying is "Suck it up Princess" and that's exactly what I am doing. Practise what I preach, in other words.

Take care. Liz...

Down in the dumps, but, only for a short while.

G'day. Yes, it's me that is down in the dumps. Though in truth, the dumps have passed a little bit and my old optimistic self is returning. Fourteen months ago I had a pre cancerous calcium deposit removed from my left breast. All was well following that. Three weeks ago I had another mammogram and last Wednesday received a phone call asking me to attend the Breast screen clinic here in Melbourne, the next day. Hubby took me in and after a three hour wait I had a biopsy done, this time on the right breast. Had to go back yesterday for the results. Doctor thought at the worst it would be another pre cancerous calcium deposit, or that the results would come back "normal"


So, with this in mind I decided to get the train in and then walk the short distance to the clinic. Now to be fair to hubby, he did offer to take me, but I assured him that it would be no different than 14 months ago and all would be well. I like the train and it was a lovely (hot) day.

From all the women that were at the clinic last Thursday, the last three, including me, were the ones that needed to have a biopsy done. Not bad really when you have 25 women in a waiting room and only three need more tests. The other two ladies were in the waiting room when I arrived yesterday and they in turn were called in before me. Because we had kind of formed a bond, they both came out in turn after seeing the doctor to tell me their biopsy test were clear. I had to wait another 45 minutes before I was called and by this stage I had the strangest feeling that something was wrong.

I was shown into the doctors room and two nurses followed me in and we all took our seats waiting for the doctor. Now I knew something was wrong. First question was "Are you on your own today?" I replied that I was and that I had caught the train in. Anxiety on my part was rising. Doctor arrived and without further ado told me the biopsy result was not good and that yes, I have cancer, but hopefully it has been detected early. I will be in hospital within the next two weeks. A large area will be removed and one or two lymph nodes as well, just to see if it has spread. If it has, I face a whole different ballgame. If it hasn't, all should be well. We won't know until further tests are taken on what the surgeon removes.

 Then it was more waiting to have the carbon injected, so the surgeon can see where he has to cut. Then finally I was allowed to leave. Rang hubby as soon as I was out and on way to train, he was beside himself to say the least. Daughter couldn't stop crying and son, who is going through so much with his partner having a brain tumour and waiting on surgery, couldn't quite believe it. Anyway, I got home safe and sound and the train trip did give me time to read all the information sheets and books on cancer that I was supplied with. I have also just had a call from the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne and my pre admission day is next Monday. Surgery date will be given to me then.

This is not a "pity party" post, but a reminder to all women just how important a mammogram is. If I had put off this mammogram for any reason, which in truth could easily have happened, I would have a cancer spreading that no one would have known about, until it was too late and that's a scary thought.

Take care. Liz...

It was worth the wait.

G'day. I first saw this table some months ago. It was in the window of a shop here in the country town where I live. It had a little tag with a price on it, but, it also had a sticker saying it was not for sale. I bravely went in and asked about it and was told that they had forgotten to remove the price and no, it wasn't for sale. It belonged to one of the owners and was only there to display some of their other wares. The lady told me that they could have sold it many times over, they had had a lot of interest in it. Needless to say, I was very disappointed as it was just what I had been looking for.

They must had gotten tired of people asking about it, because it disappeared from the window not long after that. Now as I said, this was some months ago. Today, early this morning I received a phone call from the lady who is the leader of our Weight Watchers meeting, asking me if I would like to have lunch with her in one of the little cafe's in town. Carol and I have become good friends, so of course the answer was yes. This cafe is also owned by the same people who run the gift shop where said table was displayed. They sell some beautiful items in this cafe and the food is pretty jolly good too. After sitting talking for a good two hours, we decided it was time to get going, we both had things to do. Just as we were getting up from the table, one of the guys who works there, put this table just off to the side of us. I couldn't believe it and told Carol the tale of trying to buy it. She said to hurry and ask if it was for sale. "Yes" said the woman and told me the price, which was less than half of what was on the original little tag. "I'll buy it" said I, full of excitement, before they could change their minds. When I took the money out of my wallet, she said you can have it a bit cheaper still, because a couple of screws for the legs were missing and it had a few scratches on it.

Well, I couldn't get it out of the door quick enough and race home with it. The top is just bare wood and the legs have been painted off white and lightly sanded back in shabby chic style. I don't intend to do a darn thing to it. It's perfect as is.

This will become the table for my embroidery machine, then I can reclaim back the larger table for my sewing machine. I have the laptop on this new treasure at the moment and it looks pretty good, but my plans for it are firm. My sewing room is only small, the old kitchen dresser that is home to most of my sewing things is rather large. I have needed to make the most of available space. 

 I threw an old lace tablecloth over the table and it looks good, but I will at some stage (probably be awhile, so don't hold your breath)  make a pretty patchwork top for it, just to protect it and the bottom of the embroidery machine. My sewing room will also get an overhaul. The lovely green velvet drapes will go in favour of something pretty and floral. A delicate lace curtain, that can be drawn back will also be added. We have made a lovely garden area looking out from the window and I want to be able to enjoy it.

I yearned for this table, knew it was what I wanted right from first seeing it. Was saddened when I couldn't have it, but thought, Oh well, there will be something else. I never forgot the table and would look in the shop from time to time to see if it reappeared. And now it's mine. Oh what joy.

Thank you to everyone who left a message about my last post. I appreciate it. My son's partner has the operation on April 3rd. This was the earliest it could be scheduled. The operation takes between 6-8 hours. It will be a difficult wait.

Take care.
Liz...

A trip to remember.



G'day. Son and I returned from Paris last week. A fabulous time was had by the both of us. Yes, it was cold, one or two days it didn't get above -2 and on one chilly day it was -4. We were hoping to see snow at the Eiffel Tower and it didn't disappoint us. I think it snowed for 3-4 days. A truly wonderful sight to see all this fluffy white stuff. We were concerned that our flight home may have been cancelled. Not that it would have been too hard to have to remain in Paris for an extra day or so, but it would have thrown other plans into chaos.

I was also lucky to meet my blog friend Penny. She had travelled by train from her home in the country side to visit her son for a few days and it was on one of these days that we were able to meet for the first time. Thank you Penny. It was lovely to meet you. I will post the picture of us on my next blog.

Only drama for me was that I got a bout of food poisoning. This was from eating a hamburger patty that wasn't cooked properly. I was in bed for 2 days, with mad dashes for the toilet to vomit and had the worst diarrhea that I can remember. But, not to be outdone, we two intrepid Aussie, made the most of our time in this beautiful city and we saw as much of it as we possibly could. I would not hesitate to go back again at this time of the year. I know not everyone would like the cold, but we just loved it. Reports from back home here in Australia were of 39-40 degree days. We didn't miss that, believe me.

Had some bad news when we returned. My son's partner has a brain tumour. This result from an MRI scan came through the day after we left for Paris and not wanting to ruin our holiday and knowing that we would turn around and get the next flight back home, we were not told. The family were sworn to secrecy.  The MRI was to find out why a severely  tender nose was giving problems, so tender in fact that even a hair falling on it would cause terrible shooting pains up into the head. The neurosurgeon thinks that the tumour has been growing for a number of years and the good news is, he doesn't think it's malignant. They can tell this by the colour of the tumour on the scan. So lets hope he is right. Hearing will be completely lost in the left ear, but that is a small price to pay. We are waiting now to hear on the surgery date, this depends when the neurosurgeon and the ear, nose and throat surgeon can  organize their roster, as the two of them will work together on removing this nasty growth.

I have been having some trouble with this, you beaut, relativity new laptop of mine. I have somehow managed to get a lot of plugins and other nasties that I don't want. I wrote this blog earlier today, but when I previewed it, there were all sorts of links added and I had no clue whatsoever as of how to get rid of them. So, I have spent the last few hours, yes hours, going through the computer in hope of finding what the problem was. Finally went to the control panel  (again) and had a real good look through that and found the problem hiding there. Voila, at the click of a button, problem has disappeared. I hope !!! All my best laid plans for my last day at home (I go back to work tomorrow) have gone out the window, so to speak. It's now 2.32 pm and I am off to the supermarket for some green vegies for tea tonight. Something that I had planned to do this morning. Oh well, if that's all I have to worry about, I have it pretty lucky, don't I?


Take care. Liz...

One more sleep.

G'day. Tomorrow my son and I leave for France. Hard to believe that it has at last come around. This trip has been planned for many, many months and we are one sleep away from this much awaited holiday.

The weather has been very hot in my part of North Central Victoria where we live and we will be going to very cold conditions, it will be interesting.

Fires throughout Australia have been extremely bad this summer so far. I can't remember ever hearing of so many bushfires happening at once. The temperatures here have reached into the middle 40's on numerous days. One day it reached 45, it was a scorcher, the north wind was fearsome. The loss of homes have been enormous and sadly there has now been one fatality. A fire fighter has lost his life fighting a fire in Tasmania. It's one of the terrible prices we pay for living in this beautiful sunburnt country.

I look forward to posting pictures on this blog of our adventures in Paris, when we return. Hubby is staying home to keep the house and garden in order. I know it is in good hands.

Take care.
Liz...