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.