What’s top of my mind: My parents.
No sooner has Jeffrey shuffled off this mortal coil than my parents start needing more help. First off, the day after I visited them on Saturday, they come down with Covid. This is the first time they’ve had it.
Dad hasn’t been well for a while. He’s been losing weight, he doesn’t feel like eating and he’s been fatigued. Turns out he has dehydrated kidneys and was hospitalised on Sunday night. This created a dilemma.
Normally, if Dad was going to be away for a while, I’d scoop Mum up and take her to my place to stay in the guest room. But she has Covid. So, with a degree of trepidation, my sister and I decided to leave her at her place. She was adamant that she could look after herself, so I went down on Monday, masked up (even though I might have already caught it from them) and sorted through what she needs, etc.
Meanwhile, Dad’s in the Alfred, which is 10 minutes walk away from where Tom32 works, so he’s been popping in at lunchtimes to check on him.
Where I’m going: Mum’s.
Scout is beginning to discover that there’s advantages to being an only dog, especially if you’re pint-sized. I took her with me on Saturday and Mum and Dad made a big fuss of her.
Ordinary household tasks are sometimes difficult for Mum, as she has rheumatoid arthritis. She mentioned last night that her kitchen bin is beginning to stink and she put the rubbish bag out on the back verandah. It’s going to be a warm day, so I’ll drive down and get rid of it for her.
Where I’ve been: Costco.
Going from 3 dogs down to 1 very small dog means that I probably won’t be buying a huge 20KG bag of dried food from Costco anymore. Scout has 30g of dried food a day! But I’ll still buy the raw meat patties for her.
What I’m reading:
I adore the ‘Thursday Murder Cliub’ novels and so when his new one came out, I placed a hold on it at the library as fast as I could type. Finally, my time has come!
Strange Sally Diamond – Nugent. I loved this novel! I spent a whole day reading it and I’ve sinve borrowed a couple more of her books from the library.
What I’m watching: The Umbrella Academy on Netflix.
I finished the finale last night. No spoilers – but I loved the way it ended up.
What I’m listening to: The wind chimes from Kangaroo Island.
These drive Georgia crazy, but I love them. They’re big, so when it’s TOO windy I put a rubber band around them for the sake of the neighbours. It’s on the cusp of being that windy today, but I’m enjoying listening to them before Georgia gets up.
What I’m eating: Chicken from Costco.
You can’t go past their $7 roast chooks. We’ve had chicken for dinner the last 2 nights and today I’m going to make a chicken soup from the carcas. Along with some home-made bread rolls, it’ll be delish!
What I’m planning: My next holiday.
The next trip is the Ligas’ Crazy Road Trip, from my place to Uluru. When I was away in Alice Springs, a woman from the School of the Air suggested that I extend my trip to cover more of the Northern Territory and Queensland, angling back down to the Snowy Mountains where I’ve booked a week at the end of November.
The complicating factor is Scout.
She has never been on her own since the moment she was born. She has always has a dog or a human with her. Now that she’s the only dog, she howls whenever I leave the house – even if Georgia is at home.
Obviously, we have to wean her off the Glory That Is Me. She’ll need to adjust be being by herself at times. Fortunately, Georgia ia home for most of the time, so from now until the Ligas get here, I’ll be popping out for longer intervals to get her acclimatised.
I’m not sure if I should go away for a full month or not. Two weeks, a few days home and then a week??? I haven’t decided yet.
Who deserves a ‘thumbs-up’: Mum.
She’s been alone in the house for two and a half days and has discovered that she can do much more for herself than we all thought. Apart from things like reaching the last toilet roll, (Dad put it on a shelf too high for her to reach, so I had to make a mercy dash with a couple of spare rolls) and the light near the bed being too high for her to reach,(she got up and found a torch to use instead when she needed the loo in the ‘wee’ hours), she’s managing remarkably well.
Dad should be home in the next day or two, and by then she’ll be getting over Covid and will be very glad to see him again. But she seems to be finding this time very empowering.
This shot is from Saturday, when I smuggled her a Turkish Delight. While Dad and I were doin something on the computer in the back roo, she was quietly enjoying.
What has made me smile: My garden.
I’ve stacked it full of flowers and they’re making the most of Spring.
Dad Joke of the Day:
Your Mum and Scout are kind of in the same boat – not used to being on their own! Maybe Scout will find it strangely liberating as well. I hope she adapts!
I’m Team Georgia on the question of windchimes. It’s good you have some kind of compromise.
Haha! I knew when I put them up that they were loud. I don’t want to have the whole neighbourhood hating me.
I come back to your blog to have my heart ripped out – oh, Jeff. Dear sweet little boy. I’m so sorry Frogdancer. Your tribute post to Jeff was lovely, though it did make me cry on public transport.
I hope your father and mother recover quickly – your mum really looks like she’s enjoying that Turkish Delight, bless her.
I still see his little face where he used to watch me from the couch. I’m sorry for the public transport thing… xx