Tuesday, July 27, 2010

When things go bump in the day.....

Just a quick one before I disappear off to do chores and things.
Today has been an upside down kind of day. Started out with great intentions which fell flat half way through.
Was walking over to my Mum's but had to do a U-turn and come back home about halfway there which was very frustrating.
I tend to shoulder these things though and get on with it. Not too much thought goes into disappointments because I realise nowadays its a wasted sentiment.
There's so much else to think about and procrastinate about (like paying bills), so I make all these further plans in my head and shelve the bits that would ordinarily get me upset.
Am off out to dinner tonight to say Bon Voyage to a dear workmate of whom I am very fond of.
Hopefully it'll be a good night and I wish him well on his journey to Europe.
Am back to work tomorrow for one shift then will traipse into the city for a 2 day conference fully sponsored by my union (ANF).
I decided to become job rep this year mainly to gain more understanding about our work conditions and rights. Our unit is going through monumental changes at the moment and I feel we need clarification on many things. This conference in an annual get together of all job reps. We listen to the wants of other nurses and midwives throughout the state and add ours in too if there is time.
Every workplace has its wants I am sure and we are not alone in presuming our workplace has some good and some appalling work conditions.
At least though I have a job with a reasonable income so I really do have no cause for complaint.
I will say this though that we nurses and midwives are severely underpaid when I know a 14 year old boy who umpires soccer gets an hourly rate greater than mine!
I have been hearing noises throughout the house in the last 24 hours, almost to the point of me getting up to check whats making the noises.
Murray and I were sitting down in the rumpus room yesterday evening and I could hear sounds emanating from the kitchen like I am hearing now but on inspection there is nothing to be seen.
Funnily enough I'm not frightened, more curious as to whats causing the noises....

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Another Day

Just finished work and I am knackered today. Work has been pretty busy of late with more and more women coming through our portal doors with complex issues for us to deal with. The place seems to be shrinking and this is a result of all the building works going on outside our doors.
Just last week we lost two of our two-bed rooms, a passageway, our staff toilet and a common-sense access to where most of our computers lie, not to mention our fax machine. We have gained the beds elsewhere, but at times they seem to be miles away, especially when you have to walk the full distance between the main area of our unit and where these beds are now located.
We will gain access once again at the main desk to our fax machine when it is relocated, but, one would think this could have been done before the area was boarded up wouldn't one!
Some of the staff are displaying symptoms of fed-uppiness and are bickering a bit which historically was not something we have had to deal with in the past.
Seems a shame that all of a sudden tempers are beginning to flare up as our resources are becoming more stretched and staff are becoming more and more stressed with the workloads.
I have always loved working in this unit and have felt a cohesiveness between everyone, but even I have felt like throwing the towel in in recent times.
I am only 56 and should be above all the issues and squabbles, but funnily enough I feel like this place is in a sense, home, so when the place is restless, like the natives, I too am restless and discontent.
One more shift to work then I am on two days off so I will get some rest and distraction away from the place which'll do me good.
Monday will see me start at a gym again for the umpteenth time.
I am sick of feeling fat and unco-ordinated and desperately need to do something about my increasing girth so gym it is and I'll be in the company of good friends so what have I to lose.
The irony though is that Tuesday I am having lunch with friends, then dinner with friends...so what I burn on Monday will be replaced on Tuesday...unless I have soup and salad twice in the one day!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Ada

Have just taken my Mum for yet another injection of 'Lucentis' into her left eye as she has macular degeneration.
This mother of mine has had 20 or so of these injections spanning the last three years and each time we go I am amazed by her courage and fortitude.

Every time just before, she always says, "I hope this is the last one".

She knows damn well it won't be though as the doctor has explained to her she must continue with them in order to retain any sight. Mum is blind now in her right eye so to remain independent (living alone) she must submit.

Given that she is now 86 I am proud of this strong loving woman with whom I share a wonderful friendship.

Monday, July 12, 2010

In recent times I have dabbled in a bit of holistic therapy for myself, such as meditation, massage and so forth.



One meditation group I went to was conducted by a woman who claimed to be a white witch. She was quite sweet and always interesting to talk to but had a habit of referring to the place where we meditated as haunted which always put the willies up me.



Sometimes when you take a perfectly clear photograph, you know theres no interference, yet, when you produce the pic elsewhere it has little orbs of light within? Well, my mediating white witch told me that those little orbs of light are extraterrestrial beings or spirits who have passed on...


A few years ago my husband and I went to a ball at Werribee Park and I took some photos both indoor and out.


Once such photo will give you an expample of what I mean about the orbs...as demonstrated here......






Not two minutes later, I took yet another photograph of the same spot. The night was clear, there was no smoke nor was there any haze. There was nothing in the surrounding atmosphere to cause what I saw when I produced this next photo on my computer.



I will always wonder about what it was that caused this shape. Was it an atmospheric condition.....was it an entity or even a spirit as was suggested by my meditator.

I would love opinions so please feel free to tell me what you think!

Friday, July 9, 2010

My best friend and I recently paid a visit to the Melbourne Zoo following cancerian birthdays we both had.
Here are just a few photographs of the day.


Looking a bit fed up and tired at the end of another long day

Fresh from the water

Birds of a feather...


Please don't eat the daisies

Are you lookin' at me?




A stand alone pelican


Follow the leader


Peering through a fence of steel


Beautiful colours, alas part of his wing was missing.


Passion through a guilded cage






















Sunday, July 4, 2010





















































The places to visit whilst up here are never-ending. There is no constant, each place is changed whenever we return. These particular photos portray the end of winter and a gentle re-emergence into spring. My Mum loved the wattle tree behind her and the cattle tromping down the pathway is a rarity indeed.





Saturday, July 3, 2010












Different times of the year display vastly different colours and hues up north.
Autumn is a significant time primarily because of the changing colours of tree foliage.
Some of these photos were taken not long after the devastating bushfires of Feb 2009.

Porepunkah






















This is where we go to get away from it all. A mere cabin up in the highlands of Victoria, far from the frantic pace of the city.