My stubborn Diabetic Husband ...

Some of you could be aware that George has been off work and in hospital the last two weeks. His has had a huge scare and now promises never to complain about my cooking cause hospital food is crap he says. Now gone is the rich food, in with smaller portions, no more large pack of chips and litres of PepsiMax. Now he will be eating more correctly for a Type2 Diabetic.

What happened to change his mind ...
he messed coollant on his work shoe, which soaked through to his sock and onto his foot, and continued to wear the shoe and sock causing a huge burn/blister on the side of his foot by the little toe. (Well that was his theory anyway but it turned out to be a foot ulcer x 2) He never noticed it until the blister popped a few days later, by that time he was running a fever and the infection (Blood poisoning)was creeping up his foot and his leg.We carted him off to the emergency dept and he was admitted. To cut a long story short he was so lucky that the doctors managed to save his foot. The staff at the Public hospital were so nice and caring, we definitely don't have any complaints about them just the food.

George is doing better and it will take a while before the skin grows back, only he is not allowed to drive and has to stay off the foot. His Doctor is a woman, senior head lecturer at the uni and with more Certificates than I could count, so one very clever little Cookie. He has to see her again on Tuesday and till it foot is healed.
So you folk out there with Diabetic friends and family please look after them, even a blister can mean big trouble.

Until nexttime
Rina

It's sad to get old .... Con was once a young man.

I take my hat of to nursing staff at hospitals and old age facilities, they should all get a raise, the money they earn is not enough to pay for their care they give. My Old Man landed in Emergency last night with blood poisoning, chest pain and to top it off he is a diabetic, so we just got to be a bit more careful. But this is not about him, btw he seems to be doing better.It was way past our bedtime when the Blond One and Myself took him in, and now I can tell by my sore red eyes, and big yarns it time for bed.

Only I got to tell you about this little greek man, dressed in his pj's, his name was Con. Physically there seems nothing wrong with him only the old brain does not work to well. He had his own minder, an young irish nurse, first they chattered softly, he told her his life story. Then he started asking about his wife, who was also admitted to hospital, only she was already in a ward and sleeping. Staff told him she was upstairs and sleeping, only he got more determined to go to his wife, getting out of bed and carrying his bag around desperate to go find her. Staff told Con if he got back into bed they would call his wife and ask her to come down. No he said they better stop taking photo's (with the mobile phone?!)He stood next to another ladies bed staring at her before asking her if she was his wife. How sad is that

Nothing they said could make the little man get back in bed, he was on a mission to find his wife. Staff tried coaxing him into drinking a sleeping tablet, but he point blank refused. He is not allowed to take any tablets cause he was told not to cause he will die. Eventually reinforcements were called to help out. It was past 1.30 before it got a little quieter around emergency and we left to go home.

Just Some of The Beautiful People in My Life ....

It's going to be a little rough here, our lives are going to change for the worst and it's about a little 7 year old boy. Right now I am hovering at boiling point, and then come down with tears streaming down my face, but the fight is it really over? I wrote this sometime ago but just could not bring myself to post it. As a grandparent you only have privilages and no rights, you are at the will of parents. They decide what is right for them and sometimes you know it's not but you are unable to even be heard. Since I wrote this everything is on hold, my son started fighting for his child again maybe cause his scared of his mother like grandson says.Lol But I don't think he will ever take Daughter in Law back again. I know there is two sides to every story and pointing fingers at anyone is wrong cause 4 point back at you.And he did wrong too .....

I know those tears from long ago, just after my Dad past away, they used to come rolling at the sound of a song, a stray moment, sometimes while driving to work. A ache deep down in my heart, moments of regret that I never made the final trip back to lay a flower on his grave. Now there is no grave only the waves where his ashes floated away. Closure never really came ... maybe I should have followed my own heart and flown back home, not listened to family advice. We celebrate his life in September. I need to thank my beautiful friend Rosie for helping me let go and letting him across over.

At a recent family gathering we chatted about My Dad and Ex stepmother, who accepted me as one of her daughters, my kids as her grandchildren. But My uncle only saw the hurt in my father's eyes when they seperated.Dad was not prefect too ... My beautiful aunt also came to her defence for all the kindness shown to my grandmother. I will love her for that for ever. Hester has remarried and is now living in PE as far as I know. If only I could find her eldest daughter who is now living in Sydney somewhere ... maybe someday our paths will cross again.

Our family is so small and getting less by the day as Dad's brothers and sister are aging too. And now we sitting in Oz far away from our roots, happy to be here, so glad I have my kids and grandkids here too. But my heart will break if that little boy and his mother decide to go back.
Until nexttime
Rina

Fairies and mushrooms ....

Your fairy is called Thorn Goblinshimmer ... She is a bringer of riches and wealth.She lives in brambles and blackberry bushes.She is only seen when the first flowers begin to blossom. She wears purple and green like berries and leaves. She has gentle green wings like a butterfly. Emma Davies

Wonder where fairies live ... under mushrooms I bet.

(yumm The kitchen smells of freshly baked rusks, baked in a woodstove in the old kitchen. Feels like Nana's kitchen, smells of aniseed.)

Hmmmmm die beskuit ruik lekker. 'n Ou koolstoof in die kombuis sou nou vandag gewerk het! Dit voel soos my Ouma se kombuis, ek ruik net Anys. "My nooi is in 'n Nartjie, My ouma is in Kaneel, Daar is iemand in Anys. Daar 'n vrou in elke geur!"

borrowed from Nilo's FB.

Our little trip to Gippsland, was all about buying just such a woodstove, a rayburn not very big but boy it heavy. And on the way we stopped off at so many cute little spots you would not believe. Tilba Tilba is very much like PilgramsRus in South Africa, cute little shops where you can have tea and scones or what ever you like, look at antiques, a real lolly shop with rows of glass jars full of bright lollies. A cheese factory with way more than cheese inside. It's really the sort of place you would bring your girl friends to and make a day outing off it. Most men get dragged (by their hair)around by their wives while the kids suck on a huge flat spiral lolly getting their whole face full of sticky stuff, and grandma has to clean the mess.



Then there is the nursery!! and old wares shop and cafe, Now here I feel most comfy.Just a sneak view into the garden which promises to be a delight come spring, this alone is going to be worth a return visit. Here I am sure the fairies live, you just have to go quietly down the stepping stone path.



I invite you to come with us come springtime and visit.
Until nexttime
Rina

Oh Crap have you tried reading it in english ... (Below)

Cobi's first horse riding lesson.

Well I clicked on translate and nearly rolled off my seat laughing ... Somethings you just can't translate and the last post is one of them. One of my fellow bloggers from Holland Johanna leaves cute little comments on my other blog Our Slice of Heaven but it's does not always come out correctly either, but I still love her.

So I thought I would translate it as it should be

My wiele is so bietjie pap ...
Regtig, ek jok nie, miskien is dit te veel lees by al die mooi blogs en dan sukkel ek om aan die gaan te kom. Alles gaan agteruit, my venster kan jy amper nie meer deur sien nie, en die stryk goed hoop op. Ek was en vou so 'n bietjie op waar ek kan, maar soos huiswerk is daar geen einde nie. Man ek moet erken ek het nog nooit baie van huiswerk gehou nie. Doen dit maar net omdat hier geen Agnus is nie.

Hier is Googles toolbar translation :)

My wheels are a little soggy ...
Really , I lie , maybe it is too much to read all the fine blogs and then I struggle to go to come . Everything is backwards , my window you can almost no longer see, and put good hope . I was and fold a bit on where I can , but as homework , there is no end. Man I must admit I have never held a lot of homework not. Do this only because this is not no Agnus

So what you think Google is that how it should be?

Or ... My wheels are a little flat ...

Really I kid you not, could be from reading all those lovely blogs and then struggling to get going. Everything is neglected, my windows are so dirty you can hardly see through them, and the ironing is piling up. I wash and fold up where I can, but like housework it never stops. I must admit I have never liked housework. I do it cause I have to and there is no Agnus to help me.

Let me tell you about Agnus, she was a lovely african girl that work for me when I owned a takeaway in Pinetown. We started at 6am and finished at 6pm 5 days a week and half day on Saturdays. Then it's home time to do the housework, dinner and kids. Then Agnus got pregnant
to Petrus and they were expecting twin. At about 7 months I asked her if she would like to live at our house, going on light duties. Cleaning the kitchen, seeing to the dogs and giving the kids a sandwich after school. (Still getting her full pay )They decided it was a good deal and moved in.

One evening she knocked on the window to wake me up, It was time to go to the mission hospital run by nuns and have those babies. Nou let me tell you being the only white woman except for the nuns was very out of sorts, and the looks I got ... but the day I fetched Agnus carring her bags while she carried the babies was even funnier. After a few months Agnus wanted to be closer to her mum and resigned. We helped cart her cots and other goodies. Those days there were a lot of taxi union problems (25years ago)

You know there are still a few goed people out there, but things have changed so much back home, I felft like a stanger in my own country. We have so many good memoirs of Africa and will always have a little soft spot for her. I do worry about the people still left behind, esp when I look at videos on YouTube. This post just sort of happened like this and it's alright . Atm one of my grandsons are visiting us for the 2 week holiday. We have been feeding the sheep, chooks first thing in the morning, then remove the doggies PJ and give them a few cubes. Then it's breakfast time ... fresh eggs and toast. We having a really cold wet winters day, overcast and grey. Stoked the fire for a little warmth......

Greetings from Australia

Rina

My wiele is so bietjie pap ...

Regtig, ek jok nie, miskien is dit te veel lees by al die mooi blogs en dan sukkel ek om aan die gaan te kom. Alles gaan agteruit, my venster kan jy amper nie meer deur sien nie, en die stryk goed hoop op. Ek was en vou so 'n bietjie op waar ek kan, maar soos huiswerk is daar geen einde nie. Man ek moet erken ek het nog nooit baie van huiswerk gehou nie. Doen dit maar net omdat hier geen Agnus is nie.



Man dit was nou 'n oulikke ousie, sy het eers daar by my Takeaway gewerk en ek het haar sommer baie gelike. Ons werk van 6 uur vroeg tot6 uur laat dan is dit huistoe, kosmaak en kinders versorg. Toe raak sy mos preggies met Petrus se kinders, ja 'n tweeling. Maar sy werk nog tot ek eendag vir haar gese het"Agnus kom bly daar by my huis, dan kan jy dit mos maklikker wat en nie so te moet travel nie. En dis nou amper 7 maande jou pensie word darem lekker groot." Hulle geselse en besluit ja dis 'n plan, en toetrek sy ook sommer in. Al wat sy moet doen is skottlegoed was, kombuis skoenmaak en sien dat die honde kos en water het, en dan in die middag vir die kinders 'n broodjie maak as hulle van die skoolbus afkom.

Een aand klop sy aan die venster om my wakker te maak, en dis tyd dat ons hospital toegaan, daar trek ons twee na die mission hospital in Pinetown. Nou laat ek julle vertel, ek was nog nooit so snaaks aangekyk soos daardie dag,Nee ek jok, die dag dat Ek vir Agnus gaan haal het met die twee babies, toe mos jy sien, Wat maak die wit vrou hier?Ek dra haar tassie en sy dra babies. Na 'n paar maande besluit sy om eerder terug te trek en naby haar ma te gaan bly. Dis nog die tyd dat daar baie taxi probleme was.(so 25jaar gelede)

Weet julle daar is tog goed onder die mense, maar dinge het nou so verander daar, ek het laas gevoel ek hoort nie meer daar nie, 'n vreemdeling. Maar tog Afrika het diep spore getrap in ons harte, en wanneer ek so na YouTube kyk na wat daar aangaan, dan kry ek so 'n hartseer gevoel vir die wat agter gebly het.

Nou die post het sy eie gang geloop, glad nie soos ek vou nie, maar dis alraait so. My kleinseun kuier op die oomblik vir die 2 week skool vakansie. Ons het nou 'n routine eers moet die skape en hoenders kos kry, dan haal ons die honde se slaap jakkies af en gee hulle 'n bietjie droe kos. Dan maak ons ontbyt, vars eiers en roosterbrood. Dis net vrek koud hier, vandag het die son glad nie geskyn nie, 'n regte grys dag. Laat middag het ek vuur in die kaggel gemaak om die huis lekker warm te maak. Dan het ons nog die aftree plasie wat aandag soek .... more oggend vroeg opstaan vir werk.

Fluit fluit my storie is uit
Groete uit Australia
Rina