Monday:
Things are changing fast here in Australia. The federal government has closed all non-essential places that people might get together and break the social distancing guidelines; like restaurants and gyms. Our Prime Minister was very cranky that people were still going to the beach on the weekend, and closed Bondi. And although he still says that he wants schools to stay open so that parents in essential jobs (like health) can work, the state Premiers both here and in a couple of other states have decided to partially defy that. Schools are still open for children who need supervision, but we have been asked to keep children home from tomorrow if possible. They will be doing their learning online - even the ones sitting in classrooms (as far apart as possible).
I have not yet heard whether my TAFE (adult education) will also close but I am guessing it will now or soon. Some subjects had already changed to online. I only had two weeks left anyway, and I doubt they'll need me in the library again until this is all over so I'll stay home with the kids. There are suggestions that it will be for 6 months but no one really knows. I'm home sick today with sore throat and headache although overall I feel better than on the weekend. No way I'd go to work with flu-like symptoms! My husband is a government lawyer and might be considered essential - he can't work from home due to the potentially sensitive information he handles. At least the trains are getting less crowded as other people stay home.
My concern in regard to my own health is not for Covid-19, but that I was supposed to have a colonoscopy soon to check for bowel cancer. I am still seeing blood. I don't know if the test will be postponed due to resources being needed elsewhere. And even if I do get tested, if I have cancer this would be a terrible time to have an impaired immune system.
The supermarkets all suspended their home delivery services because the shortages made it too difficult, but they are going to have to ramp it up a lot if we are all supposed to stay inside. Apparently freezers are sold out everywhere as people stock up. I have two fridge/freezers, one mainly used at Christmas, but neither are very large. We probably have food for two weeks if we get inventive. We'll run out of fresh fruit and vegetables in a few days though, so hopefully it won't come to complete isolation.
At least we are well provisioned in the computer/TV/games/books areas. And we have a backyard we can get fresh air in without being near anyone else.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Saturday, March 21, 2020
Tim’s birthday
Sunday:
I’ve been having problems with this blog for months, where I can’t respond to people’s comments. So if it looks like I don’t read them or don’t care, not true! It a bit frustrating, i really do appreciate comments.
I guess we’re a bit isolated in Australia, and also “social distancing” is pretty much the norm here - we like a lot of personal space and don’t generally stand close. So Corvid19 hasn’t really taken hold (yet). But i do see that the news from the rest of the world is worrying.
Shopping here has gone in a few weeks from it being difficult to get toilet paper/tissues/paper towels, then add rice and pasta to that list, then I went shopping yesterday and most of the shelves were empty or nearly so. Still plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - I suppose because they are perishable none hoards them - but meat and lots of other things were gone. I was able to get food for the week, but not necessarily things I would usually buy, and not the things Tim had requested for his birthday dinner. Supermarkets have now restricted purchases to one or two of each thing, which hopefully will stop people being so selfish when stocks do come in.
We didn’t have a family get-together this weekend despite two birthdays. Tim and I are both a bit unwell, most likely not Corvid19 but we don’t want to pass any type of illness on! But the person we want most to protect, Tim’s father who is over 70 and has prostate cancer, wanted to come over and is still going out to restaurants and stuff so he’s certainly not self-isolating. We wouldn’t let anyone come over, and I probably won’t go to work tomorrow.
I gave Tim a really elaborate board game called Gloomhaven, it weighs about 10 kg was over $200. We’ve started that and it seems pretty good. Each session is supposed to take about 2 hours (we’ve taken 5 and haven’t finished, but we’re still working out all the rules) but there is a big storyline and all future sessions will link together so it could take years! Good one for if we’re all in isolation.
Hope your all staying well.
I’ve been having problems with this blog for months, where I can’t respond to people’s comments. So if it looks like I don’t read them or don’t care, not true! It a bit frustrating, i really do appreciate comments.
I guess we’re a bit isolated in Australia, and also “social distancing” is pretty much the norm here - we like a lot of personal space and don’t generally stand close. So Corvid19 hasn’t really taken hold (yet). But i do see that the news from the rest of the world is worrying.
Shopping here has gone in a few weeks from it being difficult to get toilet paper/tissues/paper towels, then add rice and pasta to that list, then I went shopping yesterday and most of the shelves were empty or nearly so. Still plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables - I suppose because they are perishable none hoards them - but meat and lots of other things were gone. I was able to get food for the week, but not necessarily things I would usually buy, and not the things Tim had requested for his birthday dinner. Supermarkets have now restricted purchases to one or two of each thing, which hopefully will stop people being so selfish when stocks do come in.
We didn’t have a family get-together this weekend despite two birthdays. Tim and I are both a bit unwell, most likely not Corvid19 but we don’t want to pass any type of illness on! But the person we want most to protect, Tim’s father who is over 70 and has prostate cancer, wanted to come over and is still going out to restaurants and stuff so he’s certainly not self-isolating. We wouldn’t let anyone come over, and I probably won’t go to work tomorrow.
I gave Tim a really elaborate board game called Gloomhaven, it weighs about 10 kg was over $200. We’ve started that and it seems pretty good. Each session is supposed to take about 2 hours (we’ve taken 5 and haven’t finished, but we’re still working out all the rules) but there is a big storyline and all future sessions will link together so it could take years! Good one for if we’re all in isolation.
Hope your all staying well.
Thursday, March 19, 2020
Not scared
Thursday:
So, this is all crazy, right? I haven’t been taking it very seriously, so it’s weird to me how people are panicking and hoarding toilet paper and all that. I did recently get a week or so’s extra groceries; long-lasting frozen, tinned and packaged stuff, more to protect myself from other people’s hoarding than because I think I’ll be trapped at home. Tim and I are still at work (I work in a library so I see lots of people, and Tim catches a crowded train to work), the kids are still at school. All the kid’s sport is still going. The most it has affected me is wondering if my favourite TV dance show is going to be cancelled because one contestant’s father caught it from Tom Hanks wife. But I suppose this Covid-19 thing isn’t going away in a hurry. Today I discovered I’m 4 degrees of separation away from a confirmed case (workmate’s son’s workmate’s sister).
Despite my lack of panic, I will be careful not to pass on any germs to vulnerable people, like my father-in-law who is over 70 and has prostate cancer. I wash my hands and use sanitiser at work - although we’re rapidly running out with no restocks available. I’ve only got two more weeks of work, then no more lined up for the immediate future, and Tim is thinking of putting his hand up for a VR at work (nothing to do with corona) so we might both end up being at home for a while!
I do think people are over-reacting, and are extremely selfish if they are hoarding. To me, it seems the same as the flu. Unpleasant for most, deadly for the old and sick, so AS USUAL we should all follow good hygiene practices and avoid infecting others when we are sick.
What I am worried about is the economic fallout. Restaurants in Chinatown (Sydney) have been empty for two months now, how many of those owners are /will be bankrupt? Staff out of work for the foreseeable figure? And that is just the start. I think a lot more people will be affected by the coming recession than will be seriously ill.
So, this is all crazy, right? I haven’t been taking it very seriously, so it’s weird to me how people are panicking and hoarding toilet paper and all that. I did recently get a week or so’s extra groceries; long-lasting frozen, tinned and packaged stuff, more to protect myself from other people’s hoarding than because I think I’ll be trapped at home. Tim and I are still at work (I work in a library so I see lots of people, and Tim catches a crowded train to work), the kids are still at school. All the kid’s sport is still going. The most it has affected me is wondering if my favourite TV dance show is going to be cancelled because one contestant’s father caught it from Tom Hanks wife. But I suppose this Covid-19 thing isn’t going away in a hurry. Today I discovered I’m 4 degrees of separation away from a confirmed case (workmate’s son’s workmate’s sister).
Despite my lack of panic, I will be careful not to pass on any germs to vulnerable people, like my father-in-law who is over 70 and has prostate cancer. I wash my hands and use sanitiser at work - although we’re rapidly running out with no restocks available. I’ve only got two more weeks of work, then no more lined up for the immediate future, and Tim is thinking of putting his hand up for a VR at work (nothing to do with corona) so we might both end up being at home for a while!
I do think people are over-reacting, and are extremely selfish if they are hoarding. To me, it seems the same as the flu. Unpleasant for most, deadly for the old and sick, so AS USUAL we should all follow good hygiene practices and avoid infecting others when we are sick.
What I am worried about is the economic fallout. Restaurants in Chinatown (Sydney) have been empty for two months now, how many of those owners are /will be bankrupt? Staff out of work for the foreseeable figure? And that is just the start. I think a lot more people will be affected by the coming recession than will be seriously ill.
Thursday, February 20, 2020
Doctors
Thursday:
Wow, isn't time just flying by!
We've had some cool rainy weeks, great for the garden and putting out bushfires but it doesn't seem like summer. I'm back at work so I'm not seeing the sun much.
I had a few days off this week and ran around trying to get everything done, as you do. One thing was going to the doctor to follow up on some issues. I've put on a bit more weight and my sleep apnoea has come back, leaving me snoring and waking frequently when I stop breathing (when I was first diagnosed it was 15 times an hour - every 4 minutes - but losing weight seemed to fix the problem). I was exhausted all the time. But once I realised what was causing my tiredness, I still felt very resistant to using my CPAP machine again. Even the relatively quiet and comfortable version I have is still noisy and intrusive. There is a huge heavy tube hanging off my face! And warm moist air blowing up my nose. But sleep apnoea is dangerous - I literally stop breathing and have to wake myself up to breathe again. So instead I am back on Duromine. I am feeling very determined to get my weight back down, and it's so much easier with the Duromine. It just shuts off the switch that makes me crave food all the time, even when I'm not hungry. Yet I really enjoy the food I do eat! I'm satisfied with a small amount of deliciousness. Hopefully a few weeks of losing weight will get the fatty weight off my neck and let me breathe better when asleep.
I had an itchy mole that we have taken a photo of to check for changes. And (TMI warning!) another serious issue is that I've noticed some blood after wiping on the toilet. My GP sent me to a specialist, and his examination found haemorrhoids but they didn't seem to be bleeding so he put me on the waiting list for a colonoscopy so they can make sure nothing sinister is going on. It will probably be a couple of months wait. I'm not actually worried, but it's important to get these things checked. We have a lot of cancer history in my family.
My GP also sent me to get some blood tests done, we discussed so many things that now I'm not even sure what they were for!
So, that is my life at the moment. How is yours?
Wow, isn't time just flying by!
We've had some cool rainy weeks, great for the garden and putting out bushfires but it doesn't seem like summer. I'm back at work so I'm not seeing the sun much.
I had a few days off this week and ran around trying to get everything done, as you do. One thing was going to the doctor to follow up on some issues. I've put on a bit more weight and my sleep apnoea has come back, leaving me snoring and waking frequently when I stop breathing (when I was first diagnosed it was 15 times an hour - every 4 minutes - but losing weight seemed to fix the problem). I was exhausted all the time. But once I realised what was causing my tiredness, I still felt very resistant to using my CPAP machine again. Even the relatively quiet and comfortable version I have is still noisy and intrusive. There is a huge heavy tube hanging off my face! And warm moist air blowing up my nose. But sleep apnoea is dangerous - I literally stop breathing and have to wake myself up to breathe again. So instead I am back on Duromine. I am feeling very determined to get my weight back down, and it's so much easier with the Duromine. It just shuts off the switch that makes me crave food all the time, even when I'm not hungry. Yet I really enjoy the food I do eat! I'm satisfied with a small amount of deliciousness. Hopefully a few weeks of losing weight will get the fatty weight off my neck and let me breathe better when asleep.
I had an itchy mole that we have taken a photo of to check for changes. And (TMI warning!) another serious issue is that I've noticed some blood after wiping on the toilet. My GP sent me to a specialist, and his examination found haemorrhoids but they didn't seem to be bleeding so he put me on the waiting list for a colonoscopy so they can make sure nothing sinister is going on. It will probably be a couple of months wait. I'm not actually worried, but it's important to get these things checked. We have a lot of cancer history in my family.
My GP also sent me to get some blood tests done, we discussed so many things that now I'm not even sure what they were for!
So, that is my life at the moment. How is yours?
Monday, January 27, 2020
Too young to be old
Tuesday:
I hadn't really expected to hear from my workplace until the start of school term (it's a library at a TAFE, adult learners, so they only have a few permanent staff during the quiet holiday period), but I was getting a bit worried regardless that I wouldn't get much work (I'm a casual) and I'd have to start applying for jobs again -- further away from home, new systems, less congenial. But they contacted me to offer a couple of weeks, then today updated that to 8 weeks of this 10 week term... so I can relax knowing I will still be getting plenty of work, they still like me, I still seem to be top of their list.
Jasmine returns to school tomorrow (Year 11!) and Aiden the day after (Year 8). Jasmine turns 16 on Thursday!! I can't believe I have a nearly-adult daughter. I'm too young to be this old. She claims to be taller than me too, but I always deny it. She could learn to drive now! She's not that keen though. I think she'll wait until a convenient holiday break and we'll get her professional lessons. Tim would love to teach her but I think she'd be more nervous with daddy watching.
We didn't do much these holidays. We have at least got a bit more use out of the pool with a few hot days when the air wasn't full of bushfire smoke. Today is warm enough, but the sky is a nasty brownish orange.
I hadn't really expected to hear from my workplace until the start of school term (it's a library at a TAFE, adult learners, so they only have a few permanent staff during the quiet holiday period), but I was getting a bit worried regardless that I wouldn't get much work (I'm a casual) and I'd have to start applying for jobs again -- further away from home, new systems, less congenial. But they contacted me to offer a couple of weeks, then today updated that to 8 weeks of this 10 week term... so I can relax knowing I will still be getting plenty of work, they still like me, I still seem to be top of their list.
Jasmine returns to school tomorrow (Year 11!) and Aiden the day after (Year 8). Jasmine turns 16 on Thursday!! I can't believe I have a nearly-adult daughter. I'm too young to be this old. She claims to be taller than me too, but I always deny it. She could learn to drive now! She's not that keen though. I think she'll wait until a convenient holiday break and we'll get her professional lessons. Tim would love to teach her but I think she'd be more nervous with daddy watching.
We didn't do much these holidays. We have at least got a bit more use out of the pool with a few hot days when the air wasn't full of bushfire smoke. Today is warm enough, but the sky is a nasty brownish orange.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
South Coast
Sunday:
We decided to go to the South Coast on a little holiday after all, the weather was cool and rainy so we didn't feel in danger from the bushfires which are everywhere - but actually they are closer to our home (8 kilometres away) than where we went in Kiama. We hesitated a lot about going - it seemed frivolous somehow - but decided that as long as we weren't being a nuisance to firefighters then our holiday dollars would be helping a town that relies a lot on tourist trade. And we would leave at the first sign of danger.
We walked around the town a lot, the coast and the lighthouse next to the famous blowhole (not blowing much while we were there). A lot of the eateries were closed because it was Monday/Tuesday, or because of the bushfires. It was incredibly humid despite being mostly cool, so it was kind of unpleasant to be moving around. On the third morning the air quality was so bad from bushfire smoke that we couldn't go outside at all - so we decided to drive home. Oh well, we had a couple of nice meals and got a lot more exercise than I am used to.
I haven't heard anything from work yet about this year. I'm hoping I get enough casual work that I don't have to look elsewhere. I don't really feel motivated to do more study yet.
We decided to go to the South Coast on a little holiday after all, the weather was cool and rainy so we didn't feel in danger from the bushfires which are everywhere - but actually they are closer to our home (8 kilometres away) than where we went in Kiama. We hesitated a lot about going - it seemed frivolous somehow - but decided that as long as we weren't being a nuisance to firefighters then our holiday dollars would be helping a town that relies a lot on tourist trade. And we would leave at the first sign of danger.
We walked around the town a lot, the coast and the lighthouse next to the famous blowhole (not blowing much while we were there). A lot of the eateries were closed because it was Monday/Tuesday, or because of the bushfires. It was incredibly humid despite being mostly cool, so it was kind of unpleasant to be moving around. On the third morning the air quality was so bad from bushfire smoke that we couldn't go outside at all - so we decided to drive home. Oh well, we had a couple of nice meals and got a lot more exercise than I am used to.
I haven't heard anything from work yet about this year. I'm hoping I get enough casual work that I don't have to look elsewhere. I don't really feel motivated to do more study yet.
Wednesday, January 1, 2020
No-junk January
New Year’s Day:
Happy 2020 everyone. 2020? Seriously? I can remember when 2000 was still years away - from the other direction!
I had a mostly nice Christmas, we hosted dinner as usual plus BBQ and leftovers on Boxing Day. Unfortunately I was not at peak health, just a cold but that was enough to make cleaning and cooking for 18 even more exhausting than usual. I stayed home the day after, when everyone else went to Star Wars, and that helped my recovery. I’m fine now. We hosted a NYE party last night (I say party... we played board games. Wild!) Sadly, I didn’t get to see Poppa and my side of the family a few days before Christmas, I was at my sickest then and didn’t want to infect a 101-year-old. I’ll have to organise another trip over there.
I ate in a very unrestrained way over the past month or so, and haven’t exercised for months, and my weight reflects that. 76kg on the first day of 2020. So I’m making this ‘no junk January’ (chocolate isn’t junk!). I turn 50 this year! I know keeping control of my weight is going to be an ongoing job, but a very important one. I still have another 50 years to live in this body!
The bushfires continue all over my state, the sky is orangy-brown more often than blue. Several people have died and many homes destroyed. I’m lucky to have had only the relatively minor inconveniences of staying inside on the worst air pollution days, being unable to put washing outside, and being unsure if we’ll be able to get to our beach holiday as the roads have been closed a couple of times and it might be safer to just stay home.
Both children will be learning Spanish at school next year, so Jasmine and I have started practicing on DuoLingo. And I’ve started playing World of Warcraft again. Aside from that, some intensive resting.
Happy 2020 everyone. 2020? Seriously? I can remember when 2000 was still years away - from the other direction!
I had a mostly nice Christmas, we hosted dinner as usual plus BBQ and leftovers on Boxing Day. Unfortunately I was not at peak health, just a cold but that was enough to make cleaning and cooking for 18 even more exhausting than usual. I stayed home the day after, when everyone else went to Star Wars, and that helped my recovery. I’m fine now. We hosted a NYE party last night (I say party... we played board games. Wild!) Sadly, I didn’t get to see Poppa and my side of the family a few days before Christmas, I was at my sickest then and didn’t want to infect a 101-year-old. I’ll have to organise another trip over there.
I ate in a very unrestrained way over the past month or so, and haven’t exercised for months, and my weight reflects that. 76kg on the first day of 2020. So I’m making this ‘no junk January’ (chocolate isn’t junk!). I turn 50 this year! I know keeping control of my weight is going to be an ongoing job, but a very important one. I still have another 50 years to live in this body!
The bushfires continue all over my state, the sky is orangy-brown more often than blue. Several people have died and many homes destroyed. I’m lucky to have had only the relatively minor inconveniences of staying inside on the worst air pollution days, being unable to put washing outside, and being unsure if we’ll be able to get to our beach holiday as the roads have been closed a couple of times and it might be safer to just stay home.
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