I am not sure if I mentioned it already, but a couple of weeks ago Oldest Niece held her engagement party come housewarming party. We attended. It was perfectly organised. The weather was cold but there was adequate indoor and outdoor heating and a marquee. Lots of finger food followed by an adequate buffet meal. Drinks of everything supplied, except for light beer (frowning face emoticon as I could only have two glasses of wine because R hates to drive at night and someone had made him a very strong cocktail) She takes after her mother, Ex Sis in Law. She gets parties right and doesn't spare the expense. We stayed from about 5.30 to 8.30 and of course the party really kicked on after we left. Nephew and his wife left about the same time, we chatting to her as she waited for Nephew. You know you guys are my favourite uncles, said she. I didn't say, but, Well, love, you only have one other, ABI Brother. Tradie Brother is your father in law. We gave Oldest Niece an engagement present of a few $00. We've bailed her brother and sister when they were overseas and travelling and left it as a gift. Just because she is a bit more responsible and has her act together, why should she miss out? Two weeks later, we are are still waiting for a text, call, note, card or some kind of thank you for the substantial gift.
Not too long after, Hippie niece with the twin daughters who has left her partner and is living at home, against chemist advice, bought some cold medication. She had a psychotic episode and was ignoring the twin babies at early in the morning while she slept on. She ended up in the local hospital psyche ward.
R was called on to help. One day he set off from home at 4am to look after the twins for a couple of hours, and another day, at 6am. Hippie's Niece's mother and step are juggling their lives and the same, Ex Sis in Law comes pretty close to be being the twin's main carer. Pretty hard for a grandma to take on semi permanent caring role for granddaughters. Of course I feel awful, as I have to work and cannot help, but then what use am I with children. R is the go to person for competent childcare, but he will be 70 next year. He is not a young man.
Since our friend died, we rarely go out for dinner but we did catch up with several people we know one night, including our dead friend's partner at The Dick pub a few weeks ago. It was nice.
Our dead friend used to always host a large afternoon tea at home on Queen's Birthday holiday, and his widower continued the tradition. It was, Ladies, please bring a plate*, and the tradition of scones,
ham jam and cream did not happen. Apparently Fijian Indians are not expert in scone making. Who would have thought! While I wasn't there as I had to work, R went and enjoyed himself.
Mother has been in a private hospital for three weeks. She did not exactly go home last Saturday. She has gone back to to ABI Brother's place. Her target was to get off Panadeine Forte. She has, but the end result is not clear yet. At one point her blood pressure was over 200. At another point, it dropped below 100. One night in hospital, her temperature rose to 39 degrees, resulting in bells and whistles at the hospital. Her temperature was quickly lowered with your basic Panadol. She was a difficult patient at the hospital, but the staff were generally pretty good especially, as she said, the overseas born staff. One Anglo Aussie left her room with the advice, You'd better cheer up love. Mother has many old age problems and they can't be cured by doctors or drugs but while frail, she otherwise quite well. ABI Brother has just been brilliant with her, ignoring anything she moans about and just gets on with looking after her. Mother thought the foreign born nurses were much more caring and kind. That would be, Mother, because they are more tolerant of your nonsense.
But to give you some context, Mother was just brilliant after Acquired Brain Injury Brother rode his bicycle out into lanes of highway traffic in an apparent suicide attempt. Maybe a suicide attempt. He can't remember and we don't know. She was so dedicated to his recovery, so he does owe her. Mother was just as brilliant when her partner died, Step Father, who himself were great to my brothers and sister in their growing years.
How did my once smart and vivacious Mother end up being a moaning and whining old woman at the age of 84. Often enough we hear, Sometime I think I'd be better off dead.
Moving on. Last Saturday night we caught up at the Elsternwick Hotel with our dead friend's partner, his rather luscious and stylish young Indian student boarder, our dead friend's brother and his wife, our Hairdresser Friend and our acquaintance from Beacon Cove and his Indonesian born partner. It was an absolutely lovely night, and we took no notice of France defeating Australia in the footyball on the big screen.
Last week R was so stressed by a visit by a plumbing firm. I'll save that for another post.
On this day, the 17th of June, the rain fell hard, the wind whipped around us so strongly. Fronts of rain beat upon us. What to do on such a day? Turn up the aircon by 1 degree, or even 2 degrees and stay at home? We went to town to see a movie. Movie review coming up soon. (the movie review came up first)
Next Sunday it a visit to The Bellarine to see Little Jo perform in her theatre group's annual concert and the Sunday after Oldest Niece is cooking us dinner in her new home to celebrate her 30th birthday.
* For you foreign types, 'Ladies bring a plate' is a long held tradition in Australia where, unlike in some European countries where the host of a gathering supplies everything, including alcohol and cigarettes, guests bring food and perhaps a bottle of wine along to a gathering, rather than the party host supply everything. Of course the joke is that new Australians take the phrase literally and bring along an empty china plate.