[flaggies]

G'day everyone,

Matilda is asleep and just a quick chance to start a new thread.

There has been a lot of devastation with the cyclone that hit the northern Queensland coast. No lives have been lost but most people have some damage to their properties. I guess the difference with this one and KAtrina is that the towns hit were above sea level and whilst there is flooding nothing like what Katrina inflicted on New Orleans.
There is another cyclone brewing off the Queensland coast expected to hit in a few days.

It is my birthday today and dh and I will just go out to dinner tonight, nothing too exciting, we had enough last Saturday celebrating dh 60th.

Hope the tests of your dh came back good Slavika.

We haven't seen Karen for a while, hope everything is OK with her, also Trudy has been missing for a while, I hope you are OK, I know you haven't been too well with your stomach complaint.

Hi to eveyone else.....

Cheers
Maria

[nanacas]

Maria: HAPPY BIRTHDAY Congratulations and I hope you and DH have a great night out.

Slavika: Good wishes have gone out to DH for his tests!

My girl friend on the Cape...the one we visit every 4th of July...had a small stroke 3 weeks ago. She has been in rehab since then and has improved enough to be going home today. She has some slurring of speach and weakness on the right side but has had therapy and exercises and is doing much better. She is 84 and her husband is 86 and he has Parkinson's and shakes quite a bit. They have a bedroom and bath on the first floor and he has installed a grab bar in the bedroom on the wall near her side of the bed and they already have a grab bar in the bathroom. They have moved some furniture around to make it easier for her movement with the walker that she now needs. I am concerned because he is so shaky that if any thing were to happen he could not handle her. Their house is very large and she always was on top of the cleaning etc. Maybe they will have to downsize and move into a 1 floor place but I don't know if he will really ever leave the homestead which is right across from the ocean. He loves it there.

I am very happy that we went to see her yesterday before she went home. I will give then some time to come to some kind of normal living before we visit again but I do call her every week.

I am here between loads of laundry and I can hear the dryer bell so.....off to other chores.

Hope you all have a good day.

Gloria

[LilyG]

Maria: Hope you had a great BD! And I hope you enjoyed your night out



Gloria: Sorry to hear about your friend. I will keep her in my thoughts and Prayers. Sounds like they will need to downsize.

[flaggies]

G'day all,

Thank you for the birthday wishes, I had a nice day and we had a nice quite dinner together.

Gloria your homes sound so big to me, with cellars and multiple stories
The majority of homes here are all on the same level. My house before this was quite large but all on the same level and my current house (they can carry me out in a box in this one!) is average size but again all on the same level.
It does seem to become a little more fashionable to build a double story house now but ds and d-i-l lived in one until recently and ds says he would never have a double story house again.
I cannot imagine what it would be like for your friends to maintain such a large house but how sad to have to leave a home you love with such glorious views. I hope they find a suitable solution.

I had thought we would have heard of Slavika by nowin regards to the tests of her dh. Hope everything went well.

Finally finished the one website for the engineering company but now I have 3 more customers who want websites done. It is good but I find websites so challenging and rather mess about with my photos...in fact as I am writing this I have decided to give Matilda a new website before I tackle the next one for a plastic extrusion company.

Have a great day all,

Cheers
Maria

[Lizziepie]

Good Morning everyone:

A little time between chores. And I was very angry at myself, as I had an appointment for a massage this a.m., didn't put it on the calendar, and missed it. They called to see where I was. I felt like suck a DORK. And they had left a reminder call on our answering machine yesterday, and of course when I got home yesterday didn't check for messages. And DH was here all day but didn't answer the telephone. I have to tell myself that 2 wrongs never make a right. Thanks for listening to me vent a little.

Maria: Happy birthday a bit late. I sort of like the quiet evenings rather than the big parties. I love the pictures of Matilda. How she has grown. I am sure it is even more amazing when you compare the photos of today to the ones soon after she was born. I'm sorry about the devastation in Queensland. The weather is so fickle. Hope the next storm brewing won't be so bad. We are sure praying that when our hurricane season comes around that it will miss Florida this year. Is there a basic difference between a cyclone and a hurricane? or just terminology from one side of the world to another. You sound very busy with your work, and I hope you will give us the link for Matildas own web page.

Slavika: Hope all is well with you and yours. I know if all runs according to the usual pattern, your DH could have his tests and then have to wait for the results.

Trudy: Hope you are feeling better.

Karen: Is your Mom still with you?

Gloria: So sorry to hear about your friend. That will sure make life more difficult for them. Do they have children that can come in and help? We no longer wanted a 2 story house, and that is why we have the home that we do now. Ours is not big. I knew that I didn't want to have to clean a big house. I suppose one positive about a big house might be that you could have a single room or two to put all the junk that collects: and that your DH just can't bear to throw away. Hopefully they can work out something so that they can use just the 1st floor.

Hope Glenda is haaving a very nice and restful time.

Hi Lily. Hope all is well with you.

Time now to go back to work. Ann

[flaggies]

G'day all.

Ann how disappointing about missing out on your massage, I would be a bit annoyed too if my dh was home and did not answer the phone

I had a bit of bad news yesterday.....One of my teeth is disintregating and yesterday I lost another bit so I thought I MUST go to my dentist.
There had been a cancellation and they were able to get me in straight away.
One of my teeth is so far gone that it has to be extracted and then an implant and many of my other fillings are old and cracked (sounds like me all over) and need to be replaced or crowned.
Just as we decided that we could afford to buy a new lens for my camera
The implant alone is $5000 and you get little back from health insurance. The other treatments I need are also expensive but I do get a bit more of a rebate on that.
I guess I am lucky that I have no tooth ache, the dentist was amazed.
I now have to get the worst done before we go away on May 1 and then for the next year or so get the rest fixed.
Camera lens will have to wait for a while....
Receiving Slavika's email with her news this morning, makes my teeth problem quite insignificant and no camera lens...well I guess you cannot eat an apple with a lens but you can with a good set of teeth.

This March has been the hottest for 20 years. Today it is 34 degrees again but a cool change is now on the way.

Take care everyone.....

Cheers
Maria

[slavika]

Hi Everybody Maria I am so sorry that I didn't come around to the board sooner to wish you a very Happy Birthday but it sounds like you had a nice day. Big Hugs Do you have to get the kind of implant that I had done to my teeth a few years ago? Your little Matilda is just such a sweetheart and I know she must bring you so much joy. DH is going to the hockey game tonight with son/dil/grandson and the Princess. Someone gave him the tickets and two of the seats are separate from the other 3 so the Princess said she would sit with her Papa and look after him. She phoned me this morning to tell me that. DH says his heart is fine, but then he didn't know it was in fibrillation on Tuesday. He seems himself today so I won't bug him about his health. Gloria, I am sorry to hear about the stroke your friend had. That's one of that things that can happen when someone's heart goes into fib. so that is a worry of mine too.
Talk to you all soon. Bye for now.

[painter5]

I must have had a blonde moment this morning. I posted this on the old thread. I was wondering why no one had posted in a few days. So here it is.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Morning all,

Going to be another yucky day today. We had spring weather in the winter and now are having winter weather in spring. Even the schools were closed for a snow day Tuesday. My poor spring flowers are drooping-I hope the buds don't freeze.

I had canasta at my house the other night. I did some spring cleaning and sprucing up. I am trying to declutter and take things to the local thrift store. I washed some curtains and was hoping they wouldn't fall apart in the wash. You never know about things sometimes.

I have a skin cancer on my forehead and had a little surgery on it twice-that is why the stitches. Now he has got it all but said the skin around it is precancer so I have to have it frozen in a few weeks. Who knew so many years ago that sun damage would pop up 40 years later.

Maria glad that your party went so well. I bet they all had a good time. Matilda is a little cutie pie. She has such expressive eyes and face.

Trudy I hope your dh is doing better.

Slavika-also you and your dh.

Ann take care of your eye. Glad it isn't macular degeneration. My mil has that. You always are doing such fun things. You are a busy little bee.

Karen have you been doing any painting lately?

Lily I haven't tried a toe ring yet. That is something to explore.

Glenda how is Brooke doing?

Got to run. Saturday morning at Panera with friends.
__________________

[painter5]

Gloria I am sad to hear about your friend. It is no fun to get old as my sister says. It is good that they have good friends in you.

Maria Happy Belated Birthday. I am sorry that I missed it. Sorry to hear about your tooth. Dentists are soooo expensive. I miss the dental insurance we had when dh worked.

[flaggies]

G'day all,

Thanks to Slavika and Peggy for the birthday wishes.

We had some bad news last night, dh's 93 year old father passed away. At 93 one cannot say it was unexpected but we only saw him the day before and he was quite well. He never complained much, when dh called around they would have a few games of cards (crib) he would still win and cheat
He has been living in a type of hostel accommodation and spent most of his days and nights watching sport on cable TV. The staff of the facility found him having died in his favourite chair watching the cricket, Australia playing South Africa. He had had his dinner with some of the other residents earlier in the evening so for him it was a good way to go.
Thank goodness we are home and can take care of things, dh is the youngest, his sister has her own problems and his brother has Parkinsons and is in a pretty bad way. DH is the executor of his estate.
I will be glad when this week is over.

With all these happenings my teeth are not so bad after all. I think it is the same as what you had Slavika, the new tooth is screwed into the gum.
I remember you having this done and I have never heard you say that you were dissatified with them, any tips you may have for me would be greatly appreciated! Of course I am having only one done, I remember you had all or most of your teeth done
I have to have xrays done this week and then the tooth pulled under twilight sedation. I will then see my dentist again and discuss my options but he has already told me an inplant would be the best way to go, we'll see.

We revisited our budget again and I have bought my million dollar lens after all. I bought it over the internet and saved $1200 on the recommended retail price, you gotta be happy with that!
It is an amazing lens and I have read heaps about it and seen examples of some of the photos taken with this lens.
Whilst doing the research on this lens I came across this site http://www.michaelfurtman.com./photos.htm, this fellow has the most fantastic wildlife/nature shots, all taken with the lens I am getting. I am not suggesting that I am going to be that good but.......
It is becoming a bit of an expensive hobby but what the heck.

Stay happy and well everyone,
Cheers
Maria

[Lizziepie]

Maria: Sorry about the teeth. And you are right dentists are very expensive. I know DH had 7 teeth extracted and then a partial plate and a full plate made and we didn't have anything left out of $5000. Hope you will be satisfied with the implant.

Your new lense sounds good. That web page has some wonderful nature photos. I loved the one of the white owl. I think photos of living creatures must be hard to do ,since you can't predict what they are going to do.

Sorry to hear about your father-in-law, but that is such a wonderful and peaceful way to go. I'm sure you will be happy to have the week over.

Slavika: It is good that your DH is getting into normal activites, and how wonderful to have your Princess there to take of her Papa.

Peggy: My DH also has had a skin cancer removed from his forehead. The Dr. says that she got it all, but he will go back in 6 months to be sure. He has had a lot on his face. He spent so much time in the sun, when he sailed in the tropics, and out on the bridge of the ship or on the deck. Now I am glad that I was never a big sun-worshipper. I have had to have a few places zapped with the liquid nitrogen, but nothing like DH. Hope you are a nicely healed.

Today had weigh-in and have stayed the same. I get so frustrated sometimes. Hope everyone is having a nice weekend. Ann

[Karen L]

Maria so sorry to hear of the passing of DH Father. Ann is right it was a good way to go full tummy and doing something he lIked. This week will be hard but it is good that you'll beable help with all the arrangments. Sorry about your teeth problems but hurray on the new camera lens.

I have been coming here and reading but not posting. My heart is just not in it. I have been sick again and so has DH and my Mom. We are getting better. Mom leaves Tuesday April 4. My brothers son is flying in on April 2 to be her traveling companion. She wanted to go by train. It will take 3 days and none of us wanted her to be out of our reach for that long. This way we know she will be ok.

Peggy I have been painting. Doing a sewing basket for SIL. Then I will be working on A Blue Fairy wall plate. I'll let you see it when I am done.

Have to run Company is on the way.

[slavika]

Hi Everybody............Karen, sorry that you are not feeling so great. You have had a lot on your plate the last while and I hope that soon things will settle down, that you will feel better, and everything is "normal" again. Of course I am not sure anymore what normal is, but I am thinking about you. With the passing of Karen's Dad and now Maria father in law I just wanted to pass something along to all of you.
When in Maui you see many of the HUGE cruise ships come to the island and let the passengers off to look around and to shop and then they leave again for another island. Often I would watch one of these HUGE cruise ships leave, until I couldn't see it anymore. The other day I was reading the obt's in the newspaper (now that I am "older" I do that) and there was this poem that I read and clipped out of the paper. I hope this brings comfort to all of us who have lost people we love.

What is Dying
A SHIP sails and I stand
Watching 'til she fades on the horizon
And someone at my side says,
'She is gone.' Gone where?
Gone from my sight, that is all.
She is just as large as when I saw her
The diminished size and total
Loss of sight is in me, not in her,
And just at the moment when
Someone at my side says
'She is gone' There are others
who are watching her coming,
and other voices take up a glad shout,
"There she comes!"
and that is dying
.........

Bishop Brent

[nanacas]

Slavika, That poem is beautiful and does say a lot!

My daughter, when she had the DVD made for the 10th Anniversary of her husband's death had a poem printed on the back cover and it too says a lot.

"When you are sorrowful look
again in your heart,
and you shall see that in Truth
you are weeping for that
which has been your delight.

The Prophet, Khalil Gibran

It is hard to lose those you love but your memories will remain and thus they will be with you always.

Gloria

[painter5]

Maria I am sorry to hear the death of your fil. What a peaceful way to go. I can only hope that I will have the same. Can't wait to see what you do with your new lens. You do take the most beautiful nature shots and I love the ones of Matilda.

Karen I hope that you are feeling better soon. Take care of yourself. Can't wait to see your painting. Wish you were closer so I could share my many painting books with you.

Slavika and Gloria those poems are beautiful.

Dreary day today after a nice spring one yesterday. All this rain is getting boring. Went shopping for a baby shower gift this morning. That was confusing. Couldn't find what I wanted. Went to BabieRUs. You got to wonder if they will use all the stuff the register for.