WE'RE BACK ! Part 1

 

Hi All! !!

After many months of first high activity and then a long enforced inactivity, and (to me) insurmountable technical problems (which a young computer-shop chap just sorted in under 10 minutes !),I’m back at the blog. We have just published the one I started in March, so bear with me.

It’s so long since I wrote, it’s hard to get started…- As usual it seems, we were running ragged just before we left for Canada. We got some problem tenants out and spruced up our final property for sale; we keep thinking we’re finished cleaning, painting and all that nonsense , but we keep finding more --for our sins ! The other biggie before we left was deciding and planning our latest project,- a granny flat and plunge pool at our home in Yunderup. The planning and paperwork continued long into our Canada trip by email, and it’s now good to go,- we think. In fact the site works will start the day after we get home on Sept 4th !! We had a lovely farewell/leaving for Canada this year, with Hansons and Berrys coming for lunch for pretend birthdays/Mothers Day; really a wonderfully enjoyable Just as we were getting ready to leave for Canada, Cristina was in an horrendous car accident, with multiple breaks to arm and legs and  a serious burn as well. Over the summer, she’s been in hospitals, had surgeries and intensive therapy  and has made remarkable progress! When we left Canada, she was walking quite well on two/often one cane already, still attending therapies, but home and  making rapid progress.!’

This year I was absolutely determined not to get my usual ‘airplane cold’ as I so often do after the Aus.– Canada trip, so I started taking every health remedy remotely reputed to boost the immune system. Something worked/changed?? because I didn’t get my usual cold/bronchitis; instead I got an ear infection-in my good ear! A perforated eardrum led to Meningitis and I ended up critically ill in an Ottawa hospital for over two weeks. It then took me a month or so sitting on the boat after discharge to fully recover, but I’m back to my usual ‘perfection’ now, except for a small residual further hearing loss, which may yet restore itself. However, my illness made big changes to our summer plans, and to some others’ plans as well. Kris had fortunately planned on coming anyway, but changed her plans  to come early when I was so sick. She got to spend time with Tanya and family, with the extended family mob, and with us on the boat, which was wonderful; but not travelling, which was a disappointment. We had planned on a circuit with the houseboat to Montreal,   Ottawa and down the Rideau system  back to our start in the 1000 Islands. But as Alison and Grahame will testify, I was in no shape and quite incompetent to handle the boat. They came over for a planned houseboat cruise and ended being Carers Inc. while we simply sat in the houseboat in the marina where the boat had been wintered, twiddling our thumbs ! Anne, Alison and Graham got some local touring in, but I wasn’t up to much. We tried one fairly disastrous outing on the boat,- just enough to scare my crew and convince me I wasn’t ready. They finally went off to Toronto and New York to salvage something of their trip before they went back to Aus. When I was finally ready, Anne’s cousin Les came with us for a couple of days as backup to take over if necessary, which fortunately wasn’t needed, but lovely of him and such good company.
We finally started proper summer early in July, celebrating Canada Day at a family picnic, then travellingg up the Rideau on a much reduced, but still most  enjoyable trip. Our friend Judy from Perth and her sisters joined us for a few days, then we spent a week or so in Westport moored next to friends and experienced personal rescue crew, Lori and Vicki. They managed to tow us in about four times this year I think, an ‘improvement’ on the only one time last year !



Anyway, having technical problems again, and am going to do this one in two parts. So that's it for this first half. Wish me luck.
Kathie