Dear Gloria,

Hopefully the problem with your knee will be a Baker's cyst and while painful, the fix is not too difficult.  Just hope there is no underlying reason for it to have appeared.  Walking and light exercise actually help it too.  I know easier said that done.  You won't know yourself once you get your blonde back.

Take care. Love Sue xxx

Hi Gloria and Sue, poor you having to cope with all this. Some mornings I could quite happily stay in bed but he who lives here demands a cup of tea and without me we would die of thirst!! I remember my Dad buying my Mum a teasmaid,  in the sixties, it was hilarious, every night she would set a tray up, jug of water, milk jug, sugar, tea bags, carry it up to bed, fill the container in the teasmaid, with water, plug it in, switch it on in the morning, Luke warm tea, then stagger down with the tray to do it all again that night!! So. Gloria you snuggle until you want to. Take a flask of tea up with you and relax.  Norman struggled with stamina at least a year after chemo, but the more he exercised the better he felt.  Our dance class caters for all, some just move gently to keep them moving would something like that help, you would also make friends.  My daughter is in Wales in the freezing cold but they are all out door people so will make the most of it.  Faye is home with her two but coming home next Monday, really looking forward to seeing her.  Very little planned this week but I'm sure something will come up, I'm going to see if the new Rudolph Nureyev movie is on yet, then a meal out and viewing that would be great, next week will be given over to the family.  I hope your hair goes well, that should helpake you feel more like your old self.  Still on both feet today, honestly the small amount of banana on the floor was mj ute, glad it wasn't the whole skin!!  Love to you all xx Carol 

My bruise has spread, I look like my arm has taken a beating of its own!  But I brave zumba, Dorothy has a new friend, so waited outside, she arrives and is introduced to us all as Kimberly, hi Kmberly we all say in unison. She looks bemused, my name is actually Pauline she says,  Dorothy has forgotten again, she tried to tell Pauline my name, er I've forgotten your name she says despite years of knowing each other, nights out and many a cinema visit she's a blank, yet she's been discharged from the memory clinic.  Fortunately we all laugh and the embarrassing moment passes. Back home hubby looks well and is munching on toast, I try to ignore the multitude of crumbs and marmalade he's left and go for a shower.  It's really cold today but deceiving as the sun is shining, he's just come home after some fresh air and is freezing and talking about getting pneumonia, can you wait untl they've all gone home I joke.  Things are so much better when he feels like himself, I pray he keeps the infections at bay and stays stable.  See you tomorrow. X

Dear Carol,

Is the bruise from the iodine injection?  Deana also has some wonderful bruises from attempts at getting a cannula into her arm, and blood tests.  Where they actually managed to get the cannula in is just a spot but no sign of a bruise. Yesterday Deana and I went to Melbourne so she could buy flowers for the shop and then I had Eli in the afternoon, poor little mite has another cold.  Then Rotary last night.  Today I finally managed to get that nice quiet day,  Bliss, have done very little apart from aqua balance this evening.  Heated a lasagna for tea, so warming on this really cold night.  Have enjoyed Cookie sitting my lap, so warm.  She wasn't too happy with me when I got on here to type, I stopped patting.  She let me know she'd been enjoying it.  She is such a funny puss. 
It was funny reading about Dorothy forgetting names.  There has to still be something amiss, despite her being discharged from the clinic.  Is it possible that she is in very early stage.  I know with both my Mum and Neil's Mum they are fine most of the time and just had short periods of forgetfulness.  Unfortunately though if it's Alzheimer's or Dementia it will worsen over time.  It's good to hear Norman is looking well and hopefully he does not get anything and stays stable.

It's freezing here tonight, so I'm going to bed to read my book.  A strange book but I'm hooked.

Take care and love to all.  Sue xxx

Dear Carol,

I'm not looking forward to winter if this how cold it is in Autumn.  Today has been another cool day but tonight was bitter.  Do have warmer days coming next week but nights still cool although not like the last couple.  Cookie loves a cuddle and will crawl onto my lap nearly everytime I sit.  Eli caught his cold from daycare we think.  He is in daycare 3 days each week, lots of children, so very each to pass anything on.  Deana uses heating, as do I when its cold.
If Dorothy is happy and funny and everyone accepts her as she is, it's good.  And if you can all have a laugh over her forgetfulness, even better.  Hopefully you will hear something soon re the parking ticket.
Well, I hope Nick can take the filter out of my vacuum, apparently that coulkd be what's wrong with it.  vaccing today and it's blowing out dust, I can see it, it's supposed to pick it up not blow it out.  So packed it up before I finished as I couldn't get what I thiknk is the filter out.  Something else for me to learn.  Very frustrating.  So I still have my loungeroom and study that need a good vacuum,.  with 2 white cats and brown carpet, it's not a good look/
Put of going to the supermarket today as it was cold, but will have to go tomorrow regardless of weather.  Hopefully it will be better than today.

Take care and love to all.  Sue xx

Today is glorious and I am dyeing my hair to match!  Yesterday when I got home hubby had arranged for our lady gardener to come and do the laburnum and centre tree which is a big job, I ring and cancel as I'm doing my hair and veeting my legs now they will no longer be hidden by socks and boots.  She's very good but her son Isiah will be doing the bulk and she has a three month old grandson that comes with her, it's all too much when family will be here in a few days.. So this morning I slap the dye on, strip down and cover myself in hair removal cream and his lordship shouts, oh can you come and put me a plaster on, I walk on my heels to the bathroom and he nearly has a fit, I don't normally let him see me like that, he decides to slap the plaster on himself!!  Off To M &. S to collect underwear.  I buy Easter eggs for Ella and Faye, shop in Next, pretty bunny rabbit T shirt and cardigan for Ella, a game console patterned T shirt for Alfie and some odds and ends for tea.  Back to the car, half way home I suddenly realised I had not picked up what I had gone for in the first place, a senior moment, but I drive round the roundabout re park and collect them, think I may have to start writing lists!  I forgot to mention what Lynne said to me last Friday when we spotted each other at the Wake, how's Norman doing she asked, he's got lung cancer I say, she looked me up and down and said "well, you look really good on it". What on earth do people think of when you tell them the worst thing possibly to happen to you, I nearly said, oh good perhaps I'll look even better when he's dead, but I'm too polite, bit my tongue and kept my calm demeanor.  Busy afternoon but a glass of wine in the sunny conservatory made up for it.  Lawn mowing day tomorrow.  Take care Sue, wrap up warm and get that hoover fixed, I've had that where you end up with more dust than you started off with, hilarious it is not. XxCarol

Dear Carol,
Sun was out today but it's another cold night.  Tomorrow is supposed to be 17 so won't be too bad.  I'm out to lunch tomorrow, a girlfriend rang me this evening, she is coming to Colac tomorrow and we are going to the RSL for lunch.  Then I'm going out to tea at one of the hotels with another girlfriend.  Glad Deana didn't ring me back to ask me to go with her in the morning to get flowers.  Being Saturday Nick will be home with Eli, so I wasn't need to watch him just for company on the drive.  So a busy day tomorrow.  I was planning on cooking tomorrow afternoon to replenish my freezer.  Only have 3 meals ready to heat.  Maybe Sunday I'll get that done.

I do things like that also Carol... I write a list then forget the list, and always come home without something.  Very odd thing to say after you telling her Norman has lung cancer.  I don't know what some people are thinking.  Fortunately I haven't had any comments quite like that.

I'm hoping Deana and Nick will come over on Sunday and show me how to get the filter out to clean, and then hoping that solves the problem with the vacuum cleaner.  Don't want to have to buy another.  I would like to get the 2 front rooms vacced.

Best head to bed as I've got to be up earlier than usual.

Take care and love to all.  Sue xx

Dear Sue, I have been so busy with the gardening I forgot to post!  Still it looks lovely and even the table and chairs are out, you never know.  I hope lunch went well, so nice to see good friends, I've just booked six of us to attend the next Jazz night, really looking forward to it.  Norman took me to Darlington Station today as I am now going down to see Lisa and Harry on the 18th May, apparently we're going to the Dinosaur museum, Harry's favourite place.  Back the same day so he is not left alone, a good price with my OAP rail card of fifty pounds.  I even upgraded to first class for the Mary Quant exhibition the following week so travelling in style, as the L'Oréal adverts state, I'm  worth it!  I truly would love to go to the house but if Norman stays well it may happen. Annie has gone missing again so assume her computer is not up and running, Gloria was getting her hair coloured this week so a step in the right direction for her, she's had a tough time.  My friend Chris hasn't contacted me for a while, she is really struggling with the death of her husband.  We're having spagh bol for tea, look out my clean kitchen floor hubby is very sloppy.  So one more day before Faye and Ella arrive, if the we stays warm we may do Seaton Carew again and hut the arcades.  En joy your tea, lunch and tea, how good is that?  Take care, Carol xx

Dear Carol,

You must have enjoyed the Jazz night to have booked again, you may have said but I've forgotten if you did.  Bree's boys are mad on dinosaurs and would love something like the dinosaur museum.  Didn't Annie say she was going to have a look at some more bungalows.  Getting her hair coloured will be great for Gloria, might make her feel a little more like her old self,  I hope so anyway, a little bit of spoiling does us all the world of good.  Hopefully sloppy or not, the spag bol won't end up on your nice clean floor.  Will he lovely to have Faye and Ella visit for a bit.  Hoping the weather stays warm so you can go to the beach again.  Hope Chris is doing ok.  It is hard losing a partner.  Hope she has close family and friends.

Had a lovely day, Eve and Michael came and we had a lovely lunch at the RSL, got home at 5, then left again at 6.00 to meet Tracey, had a lovely meal (calamari and prawns with salad) at the Austral, We were about to leave to come home at abt 9.00 and as we walked through they had a couple playing guitar and singing, so we sat there for a couple of hours and listened, they were really good.  So didn't end up getting home till 11.00, it was a really good day, great catching up with friends.  Had a laugh when I got home Mr Higgins must have missed me, he usually doesn't but he jumped on my knee and sat for a couple of mins.  He never does that. 

Maybe tomorrow I'll get some cooking done, and hopefully Deana and Nick will come and have a look at the vaccum and now my email as I can't get into it.  Always something.

After my busy day I'm exhausted so heading to bed.

Take care and love to all.  Sue xx