May & June 2017

Ok here we are at the end of June and I am just realising that I didn't do a post about May so you get a double post here May and June

May saw Tim and myself along with mum & dad going on a cruise to PNG and it was bloody awesome, loved it had a wonderful time, think mum & dad had a good time as well, I am hoping that at the end of next year we can all do a cruise to New Zealand. Tim said if I can lost 20-30 kilos we can do another cruise.

So I am still working out each morning for between 60-90 minutes I get up at 4.30am and work out but as yet I am to lose any weight I have however, not put on any weight, didn't even put weight on while on the cruise.

On the day we left I was in a lot of pain and could barely move but by the Saturday I was getting around pretty much like normal, this was because from the evening of our first night I was pushing mum android on her walker. This helped mum and me as mum wasn't able to walk very far and it took a lot out of her, so I decided to push her around while she sat on the walker a number of times mum said she should have taken her wheelchair.

We all had a great time on the cruise, even though it was difficult mum managed to get off the ship although I still had to push her around on the walker. The first time she got off I pushed and Tim pulled the walker as the ground was gravel and not easy to push her over but she was glad she got off as she enjoyed looking around. The second time it was harder to get off the ship as the gangway was step and she can't walk so two staff members had to push/pull the walker down and up the gangway. However, once off the ship it was easy to push her as it was all cement.

Mum spent a lot of money on gifts and stuff mostly for my youngest sister and brother, I think she spends too much on them but of course she doesn't.

Mum and dad bought me a souvenir of the ship as a thank you for all I did for mum, I was the one who went and got mums meals for her most of the time as there was no way she could go and get her meals, at times dad would get her something but mostly it was me and I didn't mind doing it all.

We of course spent Mother's Day on the ship, although on the day we were docked somewhere but right now I can't remember where, what I do remember is that Tim went ashore on his own and while ashore he did some shopping buying me a lovely necklace and mum a mirror compact which she really likes. We also ordered mum some flowers for Mother's Day which was a surprise for mum and which she really liked they were red Roses which are mums favourite flower.

The Friday we got home we picked Leo up from school and he was so excited to see us giving us both really pick hugs and asking as never to go away again. He really hated having to stay with his Aunty Tasha and even got suspended from school for two days for fighting, another student hit him and he hit the kid back. Anyway when he was suspended Jessica had to ring around trying to find someone to watch him as Natasha said she was too busy to watch him and Jessica was in tears about it all.

So we ended up having Leo from the Friday till the following Thursday after school as Jessica had to work that weekend and he really wanted to stay the Friday night and of course we said he could.

Kathy has started a new job at a day care she works at either Glendale, New Lambton or some other day care wherever she is needed, at the moment it is only between 1 & 3 days a week as she is only casual. Michael has some temporary work as a sander, meaning he is sanding wood at some place no idea how long the job will last but at least they have some money coming into the household.

A few weeks back while waiting at a round about Jessica was rear ended, thankfully no one was hurt and there was no damage to her car as the woman ran into her tow bar. However, there was a fair bit of damage done to the other car, she took photos and got the woman's info and was told that it was the third accident the other woman had in the last week.

Mum/Nanna is really in a lot of pain she cannot really stand or walk more than a couple of steps, even Andrew (Dr Keyworth) has said it is cruel that she has to wait so long for surgery to replace her hip. Although it is not just the hip that needs replacing it is the knees and a shoulder that also need replacing, she is really falling apart and it does at times get her down and as who know mum know she doesn't get depressed or down as a rule but the level of pain she is in 24/7 is taking its toll on her. For those who do not know the wait is about another 8 months and she is so over dad saying how much long will she be like she is or will she ever get better.

The next people to go on a cruise will be Dave & Leigh they leave on the 3^rd July and return on the 12^th July, it is Dave, Leigh and their girls going on the cruise. Dawson didn't want to go and Landon will be staying with his mum while they are gone. Some people may feel that they excluding Landon but if Landon went they would have to get a second cabin and that means more money and

he is only just shy of 5 and how much he would enjoy it I don't know. Anyway they decided to not take him, and I understand why, as I don't think really young children would enjoy it but I may be wrong.

Speaking of Landon since he is turning 5 in August you would think he would be toilet trained by now but no he isn't he goes to the toilet for his wee's but will not do a poo in the toilet he has done but more often than not he will poo his pants. He knows when he wants to go but chooses not to use the toilet, this is very frustrating for all involved in raising him. If he doesn't start using the toilet every time he will not be able to go to school next year as a child has to be toilet trained before they can start school.

The last couple of months his mum (Michelle) has been having him 3 or 4 nights a week she would like to regain custody of him and is taking steps to do just that. She is clean and sober and doing much better she is working again and they (her and her dad) are moving from Belmont to Gateshead next month this will mean they will be closer to mum & dad and this will make things much better for them, well it will mean they don't go through as much fuel and shouldn't take as long for Michelle to get to and from work.

I could tell you about Natasha's life but have no idea about her life she tells me nothing and usually we only see her when she wants something, like her washing done although now she has a washing machine won't even see her for that unless it is wet and she needs to use the dryer. Her amazing sister Kathy upgraded her washing machine and gave Natasha her old washing machine.

Jessica is getting a lot more weekend work lately which is good and she is still going to tafe 3 nights a week although at the moment she is on holidays till after school holidays so we have not had Leo but will have him this weekend on either Friday or Saturday night or both nights if needed while she is working again.

Kirsty is only weeks away from having her second child, how exciting for her and Jacob and of course Kelsi who is going to be a big sister, next month I will be able to tell you about the new baby.

In 2009 we had three members of the family pregnant with three girls born in January 2010 now in 2017 we have three family members pregnant again with Kirsty, Samantha and Brianna all expecting. Brianna is my nephew Tom's girlfriend.

I have had a lot of pain and trouble walking with my right ankle/ achilles tendon area, I am wearing a ankle guard every day which does help and I try to rest the ankle as much as possible, after being nagged by Tim I went to the doctor about the ankle and he told me to rest the ankle and it will just take time to heal, this I knew but of course Tim and the girls thought I didn't know what I was talking about.

Dad's health is up and down, he has days when he is coughing all bloody day and night and he has trouble with his breathing but he will not use the nebuliser because a few years ago some stupid nurse said they were out of date and not used any more, as Sandra says if we knew who this nurse was she would go find her and bitch slap the stupid woman.

On Friday just gone the 23^rd I backed my car into the box trailer which is on the front lawn and of course Tim made me feel awful over it, he says I cannot reverse the car straight and always go over to the left, I think he doesn't know what he is talking about. He went on about his financial stress and how I was costing him so much money, it wasn't like I did it on purpose and the only damage was a broken tail light.

Well that is all the family news I can think of so until next month take care, be happy and enjoy life.

April

April is over for another year, the month saw a few birthdays starting with Dawson's who turned 18 there was a party for Dawson on the day at his father's place around lunch time and yes I attended as did his Aunty Sandy and of course his nan & pop who are in many ways like his parents being that he lives with them and has done more or less since he was born.

Also in attendance was his mum and poppy Roberts, and Liz & Rob who are Leigh's parents, Leigh is my sister in-law she is married to my brother Dave who is of course Dawson's dad, all in all it was a good day. Tim didn't go with me as he had to work that day so I got a lift with mum & dad.

Also in the month were the birthdays of my niece Samantha and nephew Tyler who are brother and sister, their birthdays are a week apart. Sam is the eldest of my sisters children and Tyler is the youngest.

April also saw us celebrate Easter and later Anzac Day and of course there was two weeks of school holidays marking the end of term one of school.

Now we all pretty much know that in April I started to suffer from pain in my right hip, pain so bad that on two different occasions I had to ring a daughter to come and help me get to bed where I laid and cried to the pain subsided. I had an X-ray but don't the results till the 22^nd when we return from our cruise but I can tell you all that at the time of writing this I am in a lot better place pain wise.

Mum has been put on a waiting list for a hip replacement, the wait is around 10 months and at the moment she is in so much pain she is unable to stand or walk.

With the amount of pain I ended up in by the end of the month I had a new sense of admiration for my mum as I reckon she is in twice as much pain as I was and still she rarely complains, although dad at times feels she complains a lot.

Speaking of mum & dad, there are times dad wonders if mum will ever get better and be able to get around again and be able to do stuff as he is fed up and tired of waiting on her hand and foot every single day. Now don't get me wrong over all dad is great but like any normal person it gets to him at times and he sees how mum is at the moment just getting worse and worse and he wonders will she ever get better. Now mum also must at times wonder if she will ever get better and she can see she is getting worse and going downhill and at times it must get her down but she tries not to show it.

Michael has returned from Queensland and at this stage they have no plans to move there as they had problems with Sydney-May's father not wanting them to take his daughter to another state. Kathy has tried to work it out with him she has gone to a communication course, he didn't bother to show up they tried to contact him via phone call and email and snail mail and he didn't respond to anything. So that is a strike against him.

They are talking about finding a cheaper place to live, only time will tell if that happens as they are both unemployed at this stage and that makes it hard to find a rental place.

Michelle has been having Landon a lot more and has taken steps to get custody back of him, although she finds after 3 days he is doing her head in and she needs as break and he goes either back to Dave & Leigh or to mum & dad.

Mum has stressed to her that this time around things will be different as now Landon is part of our family and we want to continue to have him part of the family we want to see him and have him attend family functions and he loves being part of the family. Denni is his best friend and we refer to them as cousins now and mum & dad consider him their grandchild and of course he is now my nephew and I do not want to see that change.

Jessica is still working for the same company and has even been getting more weekend work which means Tim and I have Leo sometimes over a weekend while she is working which is ok with us we don't mind helping out when we can.

Heather and Paul moved again after years of living in Jewels they are now living in Belmont again somewhere near the high school I think.

Kelli and Jonathon are still living in Cessnock and Daemon for the most part I believe likes school, they have Blain each weekend from Friday to Sunday or Monday, at times Blain complains that he doesn't want to go to his dads place but generally I think once he is there he is ok. I told Natasha that many children are like that complaining they don't want to go but usually once there they are ok so not to read to much into his complaining and sometimes a child has to do things they don't want to do, that is just part of life.

March

Well here we are at the start of another month so that means the end of one month that month being March so what happened during March well mum has been well pretty much she did go see the specialist about her hip replacement and is now on the waiting list for that the wait will be around 9-12 months and she is still in a great deal of pain with the hip being bone on bone.

Tim talked me into going and asking about weight loss surgery I got a referral to a specialist in Gosford but when Tim rang up to see how much the appointment would cost he was told the first appointment is bulked bill but the operation would cost about $20,000 if we are not in a health fund.

So Tim has joined Bupa and we will have to wait 12 months to have the operation because he works for Comfort Delgrov he gets a discount on the health insurance and he has only covered me not himself and it still costs about $50 a week but he really wants me to have weight loss surgery and thinks it will be worthwhile.

I have increased my daily workout till an hour and half each day mostly of a morning before the day starts but have done an extra 10 minutes around lunch time as well, I am pleased with how much I am doing but have no idea how Tim feels as all he does is tell me I am fat and eat too much which really doesn't help.

Tim ordered and paid for our drinks packages for the cruise but even though I asked a couple of times to make sure the all inclusive package was in my name he still got it in his own name and he knows I am not happy about it. He got a soft drink package in my name.

My laptop packed it in at the start of the month it wouldn't boot up much to my annoyance, Kathy took it home for Michael to look at it but he hasn't done so, so I said if he can't or doesn't have the time or want to look at it fine just let me know so we can think about getting me a new computer. I have been using Tim's computer but miss having my own.

February

Well February is over for another year and what a month it was and not in a good way, mum was in hospital again this time with a number of serious infections, in her bowels, bladder and blood, she also had another issue with delirium again on the day she went back into hospital.

She had to have antibiotics via a drip she was in hospital from the Monday to the following Wednesday so just over a week. She is home now and doing much better, on the day she was admitted she wasn't good she had delirium again, I called in that morning after dropping Leo off at school to get a form to hand into the RTA and Sandra met me in the driveway and told me mum wasn't good but the district nurse was on the way but she thought mum may have to go to hospital again.

Well I walk in to see her and she says hi Jo, I said do you know why I am here mum she said she did then she told me her urine was on the cupboard and I had to take it to the office at Dawson's school. Yeah that cracked me up and when I said I didn't think Dawson's school wanted her urine she also laughed. When the nurse was talking to her she asked mum something and mum's reply was I don't know where the cow went but it should come back it needs milking.

The nurse turned up tested mums urine said she had an infection and arranged for an ambulance to take her to hospital it was at the hospital they discovered she had infections not only in the bladder but also the blood and bowel. They also told mum she was lucky they caught the infections when they did as they could have killed her, they were that serious.

Now I know this may sound strange to some but one night when mum was really sick she felt someone rubbing her head and telling her softly that she was going to be ok, she wasn't going to die and when mum opened her eyes it was her mum and her dad was sitting in the chair near the bed, it made mum feel more relaxed and less stressed and worried. Do I believe nan was there next to mum, yes I do.

Mum has seen a specialist about her knees and hips and has been told that she needs to have a hip replacement asap and she should hear from the surgeon by the middle of March and if she doesn't she is to ring the hospital and find out what is happening. He said her hip needs to be done first then she will need her knees done.

Between the 9-12^th February while we had 40 plus temps Tim and I went to Port Macquarie in the caravan and I can tell you I didn't cope well as we still do not have air conditioning in the van and I don't know if we are going to get it as it would cost around $2,000 and we can't afford that.

I did on our last day there get into the swimming pool and it was lovely hadn't been in a pool in years and have to say I did enjoy it. I even said I might look into buy a swim suit for next summer.

Kathy is having issues with Sydney-May's father he is causing Kathy a lot of stress lately. Before her and Michael started to make plans to move interstate they had a chat with Chad and he was fine with them moving had no problem at all. However, now of course he has a problem the problem arose when Michael moved I think that was when he realised it was going to happen.

Kathy has tried to talk to him and said she would like them to go to mediation through the family law court to sort things out but he is just avoiding her and doesn't want to discuss it, in short he is being an asshole. In my opinion it is more his mum then him but not being prepared to discuss it isn't helping.

Since Sydney-May was born he has only seen her because Kathy pushed for it, it was Kathy who agreed and arranged with Chad's mother to go over to her place each Wednesday night for the first twelve months. It was Kathy who suggested to Chad that he have Sydney over night when she was about 18 months old and when she started school it was Kathy who suggested he pick Sydney-May up from school and have her each weekend. Kathy has said they could make arrangements to bring Sydney-May down to stay with her dad every few weeks for the weekend if that was what he wanted but he just said no I don't want you to move to Queensland.

We now have Leo three nights a week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights while Jessica is at Tafe, her Tafe course doesn't get out till around 9pm then she has to get here from Belmont and by then it would easily be 9.30pm by that time Leo is already in bed asleep, so Tim and I decided to have him those nights but not Friday nights except for the last Friday night of the month when Tim agreed to have him as well so she could have a break, now one took my girls so I could have a break.

Now I know some people would say that Jessica is a single mother and they have it hard doing the raising on their own but I feel yes Jessica is single there is no man in her life but she is not raising Leo along she has

me and her dad and we help out a lot.

Even Natasha who is also single isn't raising Blain alone his father has him every weekend and she knows if it is needed I will take Blain to school and of an afternoon he often walks back to my house and then goes to his friends place till his mum gets here to get him.

Recently my niece Kirsty and her husband Jacob came to Newie for a visit with their daughter Kelsi they stayed mostly with Kelli or Heather, they went for a visit to see nanna and pop which made them happy they don't get to see them very often since they live in Queensland. I cannot remember the last time I saw any of them.

Hello 2017/ Jan 2017

Well here we are at the end of another month at the start of another year, so hello 2017 and here's hoping you are a good one but although you have just started you have treated my mum terrible with her health problems and here's hoping as the year progress she will improve.

I have started to use my Wii Fit each morning, getting up at 5.20am and doing on average a 40 minute workout before the day starts. I do like getting up early each day and getting things done before the day starts.

Leo is in year 4 this year, he said he has a female teacher and is in the same class as in a special Ed class for children with problems, it is no secret that Leo has ADHD and has to take medication that settles him and makes it easier for him to concentrate on stuff. The down side is the medication zaps his appetite and thus he doesn't eat while at school, I try to get him to have breakfast but all I have managed to get him to eat the last couple of mornings is some fruit which I guess is ok, better then nothing.

Monday the 30^th was my mum's 77^th birthday, she had a good day got some lovely messages wishing her a happy birthday., I dropped in her birthday present on the Tuesday and I think she liked what I gave her a bracelet with the letter “M” on it and a note book set.

Speaking of mum she has started using a motorised scooter when she goes to Charlestown Square, it makes it easy for her to get about and help with the shopping without having to try to walk leaning on a trolley. Her knees are not good and neither is her hip,can't at the moment remember which hip but one of them is causing a lot of problems.

Mum spent a few days in the John Hunter Hospital after she fell out of bed at 2am on a Monday morning a few weeks back. She was in a lot of pain so stayed in bed and when my sister went to check on her at lunch time she was confused and not with it mum said when Dave and Sandy woke her she was wondering why it was midday she kept asking what time it was. So Sandra rang the ambos who took her to hospital, that was three weeks ago.

Also when the doctors and hospital staff asked her what year it was she couldn't remember and couldn't count back from 20, she would get to 11 and go forward again but as I said when I spoke to her earlier she was sounding more with it.

My sister Sandra and brother Dave stayed with her at the hospital for a long time, she had ct scans done as they thought she may have had a mini stroke, thankfully she didn't the ct scan of the brain showed no bleed or anything nasty. While at the hospital she was unable to have anything to drink and what they ended up saying was that they thought she was a bit dry as in dehydrated and gave her a drip and after a while she started to improve.

They also gave her a ct scan of her hip as they thought she had possibly broken her hip but that was clear but did show a lot of arthritis in her hip the orthopaedic surgeon was shocked at how much arthritis there was.

Then the weekend after she went home from hospital she was out of it again and unable to walk, her legs would not support her at all and she was wheeled around on her walker, it took both Sandra and my sister in-law Leigh to get mum to the toilet and after she managed to have a small bit to eat they took her back to bed to rest for the rest of the day.

I felt like crying when I saw mum, I also felt useless as with my bad knees and bad back and shaking hands there is little I can do. I sent messages to all my girls as well as Kelli and Kirsty to let them know how their nanna was and I received this message from Kelli that made me feel a bit better.

“I'm sure if you were as young as Sandra is and not going through

your own pain and suffering you'd be there too. I know you would

want to be there for nan and do more, but your tremors and bad

knees won't help. And Nana knows that loves you, you are not

useless, just cause someone else can do more doesn't make you

chop liver”

I am praying for mum every day, along with praying for Natasha who is going through her own stuff now, stuff I cannot talk about because she doesn't want me to, stuff I would love to be able to talk to mum about but have not been able to do so.

Mum hasn't been right since Nanna died and all the family are worried about her, I know my sister will ring me later and tell me what Andrew had to say about mum. It was suggested when she was in hospital that she goes into Belmont hospital for 7 to 14 days for assessment and for a plan to be drawn up and put in place to help her recover but mum didn't want that and I understand that but since less then a week after returning home she was not with it again shows it wasn't a once of and she has to do something more. We are going on a cruise in May and mum needs her health to improve before then.

A few weeks ago on a Wednesday before last I had a strange phone call my father in-law he rang and asked when we were going to visit him as he can't get down here any more, what the hell, we have not spoken to him in 15-20 years the last time we saw him he told Tim to F........off and he wasn't his son and he did want to see him again and so he hasn't. Tim had a terrible childhood he says he doesn't have any good memories of his childhood, his father treated him like shit unless he was ignoring him. I get so upset when I think how he was treated by his family.

Since hearing from his father Tim has returned his phone call and sent him a couple of emails and has agreed to go and see him either late in February or early in March, I expected he would want me to go with him but nope he said he would ride the motorbike out to see him and will stay over night at the pub, I would have gone with him if he had wanted me to. I told Tim that since his father is now around 80 years old he may not remember what he said and how he treated Tim, this Tim will be able to judge when he sees him.

Sunday the 8^th was Leo's 9^th birthday we ended up going to Hunter Valley Gardens we had wanted to go to the aquarium but couldn't afford it. Although Leo had a great time at Hunter Valley Gardens it was a great day out, I took a walking cane with me which meant I was able to get around pretty good although after nearly 3 hours of walking around I was in pain and we stopped for lunch after which I was feeling unwell and only went for a train ride around the gardens. Leo saw a few things on the train ride he wanted to show papa so he went off with papa to show him things while me and Jessica sat in the shade and waited for them to return.

Sunday afternoon we had a birthday tea here for Leo just a BBQ chicken with hot chips and gravy and Leo opened all his presents and liked them all which was good.

Speaking of Leo even though it has been stinking bloody hot Leo will not wear shorts at all prefers long pants, if asked if he is hot he says no, he is fine thank you. He is a very polite little boy.

I made Tim go over with Michael to install Jessica's air conditioning unit in her lounge-room window as I said it was doing no good sitting in the boot of her car. She is really happy with it and she doesn't have to come here to spend time out of the heat.

My granddaughter Sydney-May's turned 7 a couple of weeks back,they had a small party for her on the afternoon at Speers Point Park, which is a large park about 10 minutes from me, Tim had taken the car to work so I had to asked Jessica if she would pick me up and drive me out there, which she did.

Daemon has started school this year,as far as I know he likes it but had to have Friday off as he was a sick little boy throwing up and running a fever. His brother has been sick also Blain has tonsillitis and was off school on Thursday and Friday. Blain spent most of Thursday here with me and all of Friday afternoon from around 11am not sure what his mother was doing.

I can tell you on Wednesday afternoon while sitting at the school waiting for Leo to get out I sent my sweetheart aka Kelli a text asking if they had thought about what will be happening with Blain on Friday afternoons, this is because last year Kelli was picking Blain up on Fridays but now that Daemon is at school she can't be there to get Blain. I thought nothing about the text but when Natasha arrived to get Blain (he walks home from school to my house) she stormed in and wanted to know why the hell had I rung Jonathon about Blain. I told her haven't rung Jonathon she went on about he rang her wanting to know stuff about Blain. I calmly told her I didn't ring I sent a text and not to Jonathon but to Kelli and explained that I had been sitting at the school the thought popped into my head I sent a text.

Now I do not need to ask permission to send my niece a text and if I want to know stuff I will, take a breathe Natasha and calm the hell down.

Back to Michael for a minute he is moving to Queensland next week for a job, he will be going up and staying with his aunt and will look for a home for himself and his family when he is settled and all Kathy and the girls will join him, I hope the move and the job is all that him and Kathy want it to be. Yes I will miss my precious daughter heaps and heaps but I know at 31 she has to do what is right for her and her family.

I know my sister Sue will know what it feels like to have a child and granddaughter/s in a different state as Kirsty lives in Queensland as well.

Before I end this I will tell all that 2017 will see the birth of two more babies into the family my niece Kirsty is expecting as well as my niece Samantha so two babies coming this year.

Well I guess that is all for this newsletter until the end of this month stay happy, stay safe and be kind to each other, think before you speak and try to avoid having foot in mouth disease. 

December 2016

December is drawing to a close so that means a post here about the month that was.

This month saw us have to have a chat with Leo about the dangers of cutting electrical cords with knifes when said cord is plugged in and when its not plugged in as well.

Hell yeah what a yeah 2016 has been, good, not so good, somewhat scary at times but also bloody awesome at times all we can do is take each day as it happens, look for the good in people (somewhat hard with some people)try to be good people ourselves learn to forgive ourselves and remember tomorrow is a new day.

I have been getting up early lately 6am or earlier if I am awake earlier getting my emails read and some housework done and have to say I am liking getting up earlier. I get so much done before I have to leave to take Leo to school.

This months saw “My Blain” turn 11 and it only seems like yesterday that he was nanna's little boy who loved his nanna so much. At times I wonder if he still loves his nanna, ok I know he does but at times I do wonder as he isn't great at showing it lately.

I had to handwrite letters and Christmas cards and have to say that with all the shaking and aching in my right arm at times it is difficult to do but I keep on trying.

Has anyone had to deal with a child who thought it would be funny to stick their head in the toilet and drink the toilet water, talk about gross and funny not laughing when explaining why it is gross could be a problem,why do some children do such gross things.

On the Sunday before Christmas mum had a fall in her kitchen, her knees gave out on her and she fell onto her bum and was unable to get up. Dad and Dawson tried but couldn't get her up, she sat and cried and said she wanted Sandy, dad eventually rang Sandy who dropped everything and rushed up to mum and with Dawson's help she managed to get mum up off the ground.

The following day she went to have an X-ray and ultrasound done of her leg and hip and had a cortisone injection into the thigh but was told that there was a lot of arthritis in the hip and she may need another injection into the hip.

When we went back to physio, well at first we got the day wrong and turned up a day early, then when we went back the next day he said there was nothing he could do to help mum and she needs to have surgery on her knees.

Also the Wednesday before Christmas mum and I went to the cemetery to visit nan and pop and took some artificial flowers for the grave.

Mum admitted on the 23^rd that she hasn't been in the Christmas spirit this year, and that she thinks it is because her mum died, der mum of course it is. I have not been as much in the Christmas spirit as I usually am too.

Christmas was a good one, although my parents were not well, dad in fact didn't get up till midday and after everyone left he went back to bed and so did mum. Mum rang me Christmas morning nearly in tears and wanted to know how soon I could get there, since we had already packed up Jessica's car and had breakfast I was able to go straight over.

I cooked up the spuds and cut up the chicken, turkey and pork and put the fried rice in the oven to warm up.

All in all Christmas Day was a good day I got some awesome presents from my parents and siblings as per usual and Kathy gave me a lovely top, Jessica is going with me to Harvey Norman to help me pick out a tablet or netbook and will be chipping in for the cost of that.

So that is all for this month I will be back next month with more dribble aka family news.

Ants

Natural Ways to get rid of ANTS

Odorous House Ants

This type of ant is attracted to sweets, and are commonly found in the kitchen. Odorous house ants will leave a chemical pheromone trail wherever they travel. I did not know this. I thought Odorous House Ants, were like Stink Ants. You know, that they smelled and left an odor. They do, just only for other ants. If you kill them, other ants will follow the odorous trail and show up in the same places. This means, the entire colony must be killed. When you see the first few ants, you can sponge them (and the surrounding area) with soapy water to eliminate the pheromone trail. Immediately work to figure out where they’re getting into your house, and begin placing homemade ant bait at the entry points.

Homemade bait for house ants

Borax will kill odorous house ants, and powdered sugar will attract them. Make a homemade bait by thoroughly mixing one part borax with 3 parts powdered sugar. Fill tiny containers (such as bottle caps) with this home-made bait and place them as close to the place where you suspect ants are entering your house. If you see trails of ants, place small containers of the mixture directly in their path. This prevents most of them from travelling all around your house if they have easy access to this sugary treat.

Have pets or kids who might get into this powdery mixture? Try this instead: mix one cup warm water with ½ cup sugar and 3 tablespoons borax. Soak it up with cotton balls and place them in shallow dishes near ant trails.) Resist the urge to kill all the ants you see. They will carry the bait back to the nest, unable to differentiate between the borax and sugar, and the borax particles will eventually kill the entire colony. The more ants that are allowed to find the bait and carry it back, the faster the colony will die off.

More tips for house ants

• Spray vinegar near baseboards, in any cracks, and on counter tops where they may be travelling. You can allow vinegar to dry on surfaces or wipe with a clean cloth – this eliminates their chemical trail and will deter some of the stragglers. Repeat several times a day.
• Practising good sanitation practises is one of the best ways to make your home less attractive to ants. Keep spills, crumbs, and garbage cleaned up in the kitchen.
• Make sure all food – especially anything sweet – is stored in tightly sealed containers or zip-top bags. They will get into things like jars of honey that have drips on the side or around the lid, so sealing the jar in a zip-top bag will protect it.
• Even if you’re using a natural ant bait, if there is a more desirable snack, like spilled soda or cookie crumbs, they will choose that over bait.

Carpenter Ants Carpenter ants are commonly found around homes in wooded areas. They don’t carry bait back to their nests, so you have to kill them at the source. This means you have to do a little detective work to find the nest(s). Don’t bother using the borax/sugar bait – they’ll just feed on it like little piggies at a trough.

They will typically live outdoors very close to the house, and eventually enter your house in search of food and water. How to find the nest Carpenter ants live in wood and tunnel through it. The best clue to look for is small piles of very fine sawdust – the remains of the wood they have chewed through. You will typically find carpenter ant nests in moist wood in foundations, decks, wood piles near your house, trees, gaps between boards, etc. If you take some time to figure out where ants are entering the house, you can usually track them back to a nest. It’s easiest if you kill all the ants in sight, then watch for new ants to appear to determine their general entry point. This may give clues to holes that need to be sealed up, rotting foundation where they’re living, or cracks under doors they’re travelling under.

Natural carpenter ant remedy The best natural remedy we have found for eradicating carpenter ants is Diatomaceous Earth (DE). DE is completely natural and organic. It is made from tiny skeletal remains of algae-like plants. DE is a lethal dust for insects. Its microscopic razor sharp edges will cut through the body of insects, drying them out and killing them. If ingested by carpenter ants, it will shred their insides. There are different types of DE, so keep in mind you must get food grade DE for pest control. (You do not want the DE that is sold for swimming pools – it has a different make-up.)

Food grade DE is completely safe to be used around kids and pets and can be sprinkled around the home and yard without posing a threat. Find food grade Diatomaceous Earth here. In order to get rid of a colony of carpenter ants, DE must be injected directly into the nest. We used a medicine dropper to squirt dry DE into cracks where we found them nesting. You can also use a gadget like this to spray it into cracks or holes. DE must be reapplied after it rains. The best advice I can give to get the most out of your DE treatments is to stay on top of it! This pesky ant species may relocate their nests and find new ways into your house. If you see a resurgence, put your detective hat back on and find that nest.

More Tips for Getting Rid of Ants

• Some ants like protein and grease. Mix a spoonful of peanut butter with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of borax. Using a plastic straw, tap the end into the mixture repeatedly until the straw is full of the mixture. Cut the straw into ½ inch pieces and place them next to ant trails.
• Put a few drops of peppermint essential oil on a cotton ball and place in areas ants are crawling around. (find 100% pure essential oils here) 
• Sprinkle cinnamon (being careful not to get it on things that will stain) near entry points. 
• Some ants dislike baby powder. Sprinkle around perimeter of house or indoors where ants are entering your house. 
• Rub a little Vaseline near the areas they are entering the house.