It seems tidy that 30 Jun is Friday. I am pleased with myself today, for two reasons that immediately come to mind.
1. Our family business has survived another year. No mean feat.
2. Since I started walking early each morning at the beginning of January I have missed only two days. That adds to 179 times 4km = 716km, about Melbourne to Goulburn NSW I reckon.
It was an unusual week, and still has most of today to run. I don't have time to say much because I have a long list of things to do before an optometrist appointment at 1pm at Fountain Gate. More later.
Guess what happened. I got stuck behind a slow truck, got lost in a new estate with lots of roundabouts and circular roads (and lots of bollards preventing anything but going round in circles, talk about 'gone loopy') then parked at the wrong end of the mall and took ages to find the optometrist. I was 15 minutes late for my appointment so they wouldn't do me, saying there was not enough time before their next appt. at 1.30pm.
With disgust I bolted out of Fountain Gate shopping centre quickly, vowing never to step foot there again, and drove to the small mall at Endeavour Hills where I knew I could get a good feed of Turkish food at 'Ali Baba', and where I wanted to buy new socks and underwear for me and the boys at the 'Best and Less'. I go there once a year. (The optometrist used to be there). 'Ali Baba' had closed down and was boarded up with a big sign pronouncing 'watch this space'. So I bought some curried chicken from the Chinee next door which was lukewarm utter crap that made me feel sick two minutes after eating it. On the way out after my shopping I bought a Tattslotto ticket thinking there had to some reason for all this.
Back in Emerald I found the new optometrist and made an appt. for an eye test next week, which I should have done in the first place and ignored the letter from the one at Fountain Gate offering 50% off new glasses. When I arrived at the farm my mum seemed a little upset and began to tell me about it. Thankfully she put the kettle on and we had a cup of tea which I needed desperately.
About ten minutes before my arrival an ambulance had left taking my father Lyle to hospital. He had been crook for weeks, kidneys struggling, and had endured some horrible medication directed by a specialist to overcome excruciating pain in his hands. The pain went but he was feeling terrible, and had no appetite or energy and was basically lying down all day wasting away. Very hard on everybody, especially Elvie (Mum) and my sister Meredith who had been caring for him. They felt he was no longer well enough to go to the doctor so they arranged for the doctor to do a home visit on Thursday. Doctor was busy and couldn't make it and was then coming Friday, but after lunch Elvie rang the ambulance to have him taken to hospital so they could get to the bottom of it. He takes a large amount of prescribed medication and she felt something was wrong and it needed adjustment or the poor bugger would die of starvation or depression in a matter of days.
I had some end of financial year stuff to do (including having to buy the new version of book keeping software fom my accountant, at a cost of $250, so that what I give him at the end of next year can be read on his computer - we are up to version 6 since GST started in 2001). I was leaving at 6pm. when the phone rang. It was Dandenong hospital. The doctor was ringing to say that it seemed Lyle had had a heart attack some days ago which explained his debilitation. This doctor at the hospital knew dad because a very similar thing happened late last year but that time there was chest pain and the whole thing a little more straight forward.
At least he's in the right place now. The time will be out on this post, as I saved the early entry and came back to it. I'll have to work that out better.
