Mind and body

Wednesday:

TAFE has started this week, yay! I've completed work for week one in the two subjects I have access to so far. I have two more online subjects that I'm waiting for access to, and also two face-to-face classes coming up. I was only going to do one, but Tim has organised to go in to work late one day a week (staying home to get the kids off to school) so I can get to a morning class. Isn't that lovely! Unfortunately he can't do it this week, and there is also other stuff going on with the kids that day, so in week one I'll be very late to one of my classes (1.5 hour late in a 2.5 hour class) and then have to leave early from the other! I was a bit stressed about that at about 5am this morning, tossing and turning, but I'm sure it won't be a big deal really. If it was any other week (than week one) I wouldn't be bothered at all, but I'm going to miss the introduction to my morning class and being told what the assessments are and all that, and also possibly make a bad first impression on the teacher (I don't know who it is or if they've taught me before).

That aside, I'm really happy to be back into study. I feel full of purpose again.

Yesterday the pool people finally turned up and did the first bit of the final step with more-or-less promises that it will be finished this week. That would be exciting but I won't be holding my breath. Monday was the one year anniversary of when we signed the contracts and were told it would be done by Christmas! 12 months...

It's three weeks since the tiler finished and said he would come back to clean up - main problem is a lot of white stains (concrete?) on our stonework - and I've decided I WILL hassle him about coming back. Why should he get away with it? My expectations had got so low that I was happy the job was done, but it's not really finished while the area is a mess. So I've started that process, and got a 'call u 2morw'.

I've been persisting with wearing my CPAP at night but without much luck. I still have a lot of trouble getting to sleep and wake up again (and take it off) after only a couple of hours. I'm restless anyway, even without it. I've never liked meditation but I've been doing some beginner Tai Chi which I'm enjoying so maybe meditation in motion? Less boring. Maybe it will help to calm my mind.

I was thinking the other night (lying awake) about how much I separate mind and body. ME is my mind, my body is just the vehicle. If I was given a body transplant (no such thing as a head transplant in my view, the head stays the same the body is changed) or my consciousness was downloaded into a robot or magically transferred into a cat, I would still be ME. Yet this completely discounts the interaction between mind and body. Each affects and shapes the other. In reality I am both. They are one. I need to take more ownership of my body. It's just as much ME as my thoughts are. What do you think?

Box of the day

Friday:

Life continues in much the same round. Little activities with the kids. Tim has managed to get next week off after all so that will be lovely.

Today's box of the day (unpacking) was framed photos and various other memory items. Some are now on display, some back in a nicer official 'memory box'. Quite an emotional mix, from cute baby photos to newspaper clippings from when my eldest brother Craig died in a train accident when he was ten. Also my mother's ashes! Not sure what you do with an urn. My original idea was to have it buried at the crematorium with a memorial rose bush, they do that a lot. Until I found out the cost. Thousands of dollars a year for upkeep of a single rosebush. Mum wouldn't have approved of the waste, so I don't feel guilty not doing it. Now we're settled in a new home I could bury it here, I suppose. Aiden thought it was weird having grandma's ashes in a box, but I grew up with Craig's ashes at home so it seems normal to me.

Yesterday's box of the day was also interesting, it was all the things we shoved in the last box at the last minute when we moved out. Quite a few cleaning items (boring) but also all the things that were lost behind furniture until the removalists came. All the lost bits and pieces. I'm rather enjoying this unpacking a box every day process. When we moved we did most of it but ran out of enthusiasm before the end.

In the latest pool news, I managed to contact the tiler and he is finished except for the clean up. I won't hold my breath. Just happy it's done. We'll do a big clean up ourselves when the whole thing is finished. And the pool people say they will be finishing over the next two weeks! Looks like they will be done before 24 July, the one year anniversary of when we signed the contracts. Maybe. Not holding my breath for that either!!

We watched the first three episodes of 'The Librarians' series that I was given for my birthday. I'd say it's more like Dr Who than anything else I could compare it to. A group of miscellaneous genius's in a pan-dimensional library saving the world (which has more magic than most people know about) from various villains. We enjoyed it.

The other day we visited the smallest library in the region. It's actually a school library, in a little town in the national park next to the ocean, open to the public only a couple of afternoons a week. It was a longer drive than I'd expected, 40 minutes. I think it is extremely unlikely I'd be asked to work there, only one staff. Tiny. We tried to borrow a couple of books but couldn't because we'd taken them from the school-only end of the shelves not the public end. Luckily the drive through the national park (forest) was nice. And got us out of the house. It's very cold here (by Sydney Australia standards - so still well above freezing even at night but we're not used to the cold) so we spend more time in than out.

Despicable

Tuesday:

Today the kids and I saw Despicable Me 3. Fun movie. All that series have been good. Possibly too many fart/bottom jokes for my sensibilities. I loved the music, which was all 80s.

Our tiler, who rarely keeps his promises to come and do some work, actually turned up this morning before we were even out of bed. Two guys were here for a couple of hours then left without comment. It looks... finished. It looked kind of wet and sticky for hours, parts in the shade took all day to dry, I assume that is the sealant? I am cautiously excited that the paving is finally done, after more than eight weeks of being stuffed around. It looks really good, I don't know why it always looks slightly dirty in photographs.

But... if it is fully completed would he just go without saying anything? Wouldn't he want to let me know? Maybe he didn't want to be held to his promise of cleaning up after himself! Honestly I don't care much, as long as the paving is done. He left the gate open, too, I thought maybe he was coming back soon... of course no. I will contact him tomorrow to find out what is going on.

The kids and I have a holiday project of sorting the boxes in the garage. There were a dozen or so, things we didn't unpack right away when we moved a year and a half ago. Obviously nothing vital! They were originally stacked neatly to the side but as months passed we rummaged through some of them to find things and gradually got more and more disordered and in the way of parking the car. We've stacked them neatly again and sorted through four boxes of toys and 'dress-up' clothes. Keeping one box-worth, the rest to younger family members, charity, or a lot straight to the bin. Our plan is a box a day over the holidays which should get it done. Actually we already know quite a few boxes will stay sealed and out there so we won't be sorting those for now. It feels good to be getting that done when it's been an eyesore for over a year.

Neighbours

Monday:

Dramas with the unfinished pool continue. We're waiting for the team who do the interior surface to recover from illness and catch up on their backlog, no idea how long that will take. That was supposed be the last thing directly related to the pool itself (not the landscaping) but...

Today I got an official letter saying there had been a complaint from a neighbour about the pool's heat pump, saying it might be a noise nuisance and do we have approval for it.  !!  First of all, the f*cking thing has never been turned on so how can they complain about the noise already? It supposed to be the quietest available, a brand new model, but to be honest I have no idea how noisy it will be. But neither do they. The neighbour was not named, but I assume it is the one the heat pump is nearest - also the only neighbour we actually know. It is not near their house, it is up the back of the property. On the other side of the fence is their pool. Over the back fence is also a pool, if it was those neighbours. I mean, WTF?

Oh, and if it was either of those neighbours (and who else could it be) there are a few things we could complain about if we were the type. But I have no intention of getting into escalating neighbour wars.

And secondly, what "approval"? I have spoken to the pool company, who are following it up for me, and they said they have never had to get approval or had any problems before. I can't find anything on the internet with a quick search about having to get approval for it. But there is probably a local council rule somewhere. Oh boy. What fun.

Of course the tiled area next to the pool is still "almost finished" as it has been for weeks. Every week the tiler promises "by the end of the week". I swear I didn't have this much trouble with tradesmen in Canberra. I think our tiler got behind due to illness and is now juggling a lot of jobs and we are just low on his list of priorities. It's all very disappointing.

In hopefully good news, I got my job application in for that part-time library assistant job. Applications don't close for another week so I won't know for a while if I got an interview.  Who wouldn't want me, right? But I haven't done a job application for a long time, I'm a bit out of practice. Both the people I asked were happy to be my referees.

I'm more used to my change in hairstyle, it's ok. Very pale blonde though so my dark blonde roots are going to be very obvious! And my sister-in-law was here for dinner and said something about my hair getting so long when I'd just had a dramatic (I thought) amount cut off! But usually I have it pulled back and now it's out around my face.

I have sleep apnoea, diagnosed three years ago, and I was compliant with my CPAP at first but really dislike it so haven't used it consistently for ages. It's important because it keeps me breathing at night, but I just can't sleep with it on. Today I had a consultation with a specialist dentist about getting a mouthguard made that holds my jaw forward which is supposed to help keep the airway open. I don't know though, it cost about $1200 and no guarantee it works. Like most of my other health issues, my sleep apnoea would probably be resolved by me losing weight. Wish that was as easy as it is to say.

My hips have been bothering me a lot, on and off. I'm seeing an exercise physiologist tomorrow. I wonder if she'll tell me to lose weight too. Good advice, really.

To end on a happy note, next weekend I'll be taking my daughter on a visit back to Canberra to a friend's party. Tim has taken her a couple of times but I didn't go, I haven't been back since we moved. This time I'm taking her and have lined up a few favourite people and places. Should be fun. But very cold! It's nearly mid-winter here and Canberra in the mountains is much colder than Sydney on the coast.

Fifteen years

Friday:

Today is my/our fifteen year wedding anniversary. Fifteen years!! Just over a third of my life, married to my lovely Tim. We're going out to dinner tonight. Last weekend a family member looked up that 15 years meant crystal was the traditional present, and Tim mentioned that he wandered into the Swarovski store this week but not if he bought anything! I won't reveal my present to him as I haven't given it to him yet, but it's not crystal.

The replacement oven was delivered yesterday and works fine so yay for that. I've cooked a few things already but the real test will be big Mother's Day dinner on Sunday.

Our tiler was making good progress on the paved area outside, but Friday lunchtime last week he said he needed to pick up more tiles and left with his two assistants. And didn't come back. On Tuesday I sent a slightly cranky text asking what was going on. Turns out he had been hospitalised on the weekend and was still on bed rest with a ventilator four times a day! Asthma exacerbated by allergies I think. He had been very wheezy carrying tiles around - I thought he was just unfit! I feel bad for him and hope he feels better soon for his own sake, but there were three of them working you'd think one of them could have called to tell me what was going on. Anyway, no sign of their return so far. I just try to suspend all expectations of when the pool will be finished, nothing has gone as planned. More than nine months now.

Eurovision starts tonight, or at least the Australian coverage of it does (actually I think both semi's have already finished). If we wanted to watch it live from the Ukraine it would be 5am, so we wait for primetime viewing. We'll have people over Sunday night (also Mother's Day) to watch the final. Love the Eurovision Song Contest!

Oven

Thursday:

It's been a day of ups and downs.

Firstly the tilers were here all day and got a good portion of the tiling done and it looks great.

Actually it looks darker and dirtier in the pictures than in reality, maybe because I took the photo when the day's light was failing. The tiles are actually a very pale blonde.

Then the oven was delivered. Not great news about whether it would fit in the space, the previous (old) wall oven was an odd size that we couldn't find an exact replacement for. This one is close, but a little too tall and too narrow. So we might need a carpenter to do a little cabinetry, at present there is a gap down the sides and the doors of the cupboard above had to be taken off. But I was very excited about having an oven again. Until he turned it on and there was a loud pop and the element blew or something. They have another one in the warehouse and at first said they will deliver that tomorrow. So I did the grocery shopping and took a chance on hoping I would have an oven from tomorrow! Bought ingredients for roast chicken and BBQ pork ribs. ... and then they called in the evening to say they couldn't deliver until next week. Which, with my schedule, means next Thursday. I can use the top part of this one, I wasn't going to if it was just one day but I will since otherwise I won't have an oven at all for another week.

Finally in up/down news, I got the final cheque from mum's solicitor, the last payment from her  estate that he had been hanging on to until he got the tax returns done. It's been more than two years and I had to get the executor to give the solicitor a nudge. Anyway, it came in the mail today so I was feeling that finally I didn't have to deal with that side of her death any more, everything was finalised. And also we need the money for the pool, which is like a cash-sucking vampire. But when I was at the shops today I was surrounded by Mother's Day cards and flowers and present ideas - it's only a week away. And I realised that mum's death will never be "finalised". Well, I'm still glad the money side is done with.

Reluctant

Tuesday:

Well my mouth continued to be sore for four days after the dentist appointment, up to today when I'm finally able to chew (carefully) on both sides. Apparently this was normal after what I had done, they gave me a leaflet on how to deal with the discomfort. I've been feeling a bit miserable the past few days because I don't like pain (who does?), much better today. I'm not looking forward to the follow-up.

Last week my favourite person at TAFE, Cathy who looks like a young librarian already, said the library where she'd been doing some work with children (she's a music teacher) offered her some temporary work and she was trying to decide whether to take it or continue her studies or both... well she hasn't been in class this week and someone else said she took the job and has switched to online study. I've very glad for her to have this work experience but I'll miss her. I think the job is only for three months while someone else is on leave, so she might be back next term, but you never know. She seems like an ideal employee to me, one of the top students and very nice as well, they'd be mad to let her go.

I don't really want to look for work yet, I want to get my degree first. I couldn't juggle both.

We had lots of family gatherings on the weekend. Lunch after a christening (we didn't get to the service due to sport commitments), a birthday party dinner that night, and another family dinner the next night. I didn't have to cook all weekend! We have chosen a new oven to replace the broken one and it should be delivered on Thursday.

The pool tiler continues to show up occasionally, erratically, and do I don't know what. Preparing the surface. No actual tiles yet! I thought it would all be done last week, silly me. You'd think I'd have enough experience with tradesmen by now. He wants an interim payment but I'm feeling a bit reluctant.

Bunnies on the beach

Wednesday:

Our pool site foreman came this morning and we discussed various things, then we (we the family, not including Angelo the foreman) went off to chose the coping tiles. These are the tiles that are laid around the top of the pool edge. Not included in the contract price of course (although the laying is). We were sent to one particular company, I for one was happy to just go with their suggestion rather than visiting every tile showroom in Sydney. We picked some nice tiles, decided we'd be able to fit them in the car boot (trunk), got directions to the warehouse, missed the turn-off and got lost, found it with the help of the GPS. The tiles did indeed fit in the boot but the car certainly felt the weight! Scraped on the gutter on the way into our driveway later, never done that before. A workman has been here the past two days preparing the pool for the coping so hopefully they and the decorative rock bit can be done soon.

Then we went to the beach to have fish and chips with Tim's cousin and family. It was a cool cloudy day (lovely!), not one for swimming. The popular Cronulla beach was being set up for Australia Day celebrations tomorrow with a huge stage for live music, and rather oddly a cluster of giant inflatable white rabbits.

We had a very short walk before lunch, I was feeling extremely car sick for some reason and just wanted to sit and breathe the fresh sea air. I felt better after a while, especially after some fizzy soft drink which was always my mother's cure for nausea. Maybe because it makes you burp? We had lunch and a chat then we headed to a big shopping centre on the way home, Jasmine and I sat and had a cup of tea/iced chocolate while Tim and Aiden looked for birthday presents for Jasmine who unbelievably turns 13 next Monday. I can't have a teenage child! I'm too young!

I've been avidly watching 20/20 cricket for the past couple of months. Traditional cricket takes five whole days of play, but in the 1970s "one day" cricket (50 overs a side) became popular. A few years ago they brought in an even more restricted version of the game, 20 overs a side so it takes about three hours in total. It is much faster-paced and very exciting. There is an Australian competition called Big Bash, city vs city in a round robin that has been on almost every night, and my team is in tonight's semi-final. Hopefully they will make it through to the grand final on Saturday night! Go Sydney Sixers! (A six is hitting the ball over the fence for a score of six runs.) My women's team had their semi-final this afternoon and made it through to their final so who knows, maybe we'll get both trophies!