Monday 24 September 2012

Feeling the love!

Isn't it lovely when you receive positive messages from folk?  Given my recent hospital stay, and my birthday, I am feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the good wishes I have recently received.

But, let me start from the beginning.

As you know, I had to go into hospital for an iron infusion last week.  For whatever reason, I was required to stay overnight.  Don't know why, it's a 3 hour procedure...  But, anyway, stay I did.

My wonderful friend Marg came to my aid again and dropped me off at Ashford hospital.  I bought her a birthday gift and left it in her car.  She is a mad tiger freak so I bought her a resin one, about 30cm long.  She phoned me the next day to tell me she loved it, and had named it, well, Fluffy's real name!  Sweet!

Anyway, I digress.  So, I got to the hospital, and was delighted after a phone call to find I didn't have to pay the $250 admission (my health fund declared I only have to pay it once a calendar year, and i had already paid it this year).  Nice.  I had not long sat down (after a loo visit) and was called through.  They have a couple of elderly ladies who volunteer their time, to assist patients to their rooms.  A lovely use of people, I feel.  I might look at this when I get a bit older.

The poor lady, though, dropped me off in a crowded room with people waiting for day procedures, then just as I got squished into a corner, came back to get me to take me up to the ward.  She had misread my paperwork.

Up we go, and I share a lift with an elderly lady in a wheel chair being pushed by a lady my age, and followed by an elderly gent.  We proceed down a hall and I glance into rooms which I think look rather nice.

Around the corner we pass the nurses station, and head for the room directly across the hall from their desk, the same room as the other occupants of the elevator are headed to.  Oh.  So much for a private room.  oh well.

I go sit on the bed, and eventually a nurse comes and checks I am who I should be, says she'll be back soon.  Ok.  I sit and twiddle my thumbs.  The room is  minuscule.  And drab.  And in need of some sprucing up.  Sigh.  the lady next door has a recliner beside her bed.  Nothing will fit beside my bed.  The bedside table is all.  A chair like the doctor's surgery waiting room type chairs, with wooden arms, is sitting at the end of my bed, but in direct view of the door.  So I sit, rather uncomfortably on the side of the bed.  I am not sure what I am supposed to do with anything, and there is no table across my bed i can pull up to read either.  So I just sit and wait.

Lunch arrives.  I had ordered fish, chips, pears and custard.  I got it.  The fish was dry and the chips soggy but I was hungry so I ate all the fish.  It would have been rather lovely were it not so dry.  Dessert was left (the dry fish was sticking around my band so I couldn't eat any  more).  The nurse later put it in the fridge for me.



Eventually someone comes along and takes my blood pressure.  It's high.  It always is in hospitals.  A lovely irish nurse comes to find a vein to insert the catheter for the IV.  Despite me drinking heaps of water before arriving, she can't find one.  She has a go in one elbow but is unsuccessful.  She goes off to find help.

More waiting.  I sit in the chair.  Put myself on view.  Get out my ipad and start reading.  Another nurse comes along and finds a vein in my right hand.  It'll hurt, says she, but it's the best we can do.  It doesn't really hurt.  But because they tape it up, I can't do much with that hand.  And I'm right handed.  Great.  I head to the loo and use one hand to pull the dacks down etc.  Lucky I wore jeans that are loose and stretchy... hmmm.

Back to the bed and wait a bit.  Eventually they come to get me started.  I ask if they can pull the table across my bed so I can read or do something.  I lift the head of the bed and try to get comfy.  I pull out the ipad and my crime book and settle in.

But they don't pull cross my table so I prop the ipad up in my lap.  The blood pressure cuff is put on one arm (bloody hell those things hurt) and the oxygen monitor clipped to my finger, and the IV is hooked up to my other hand.



I'm left helpless in the bed for 3 hours, without the table, with my ipad propped awkwardly in my lap.  Sigh.  Oh well, I settle in to watch Megamind.

That keeps me occupied.  I have to keep taking out an ear piece so they can take my temperature.  My blood pressure is still high, as is my temp.  No surprises there.  When the movie finishes I take out my crime magazine and try to read some of that.  And go of Facebook, and chat to SOL.  But it's hard to do anything without the use of my right hand.  So I lay back.

Eventually I need to pee. So I ask the nurse to give me a hand.  She has to take the IV machine off the bed pole and hook it up to a wheeled unit.  Takes a bit of untangling and stuff but we manage.  Off I go to the loo.  When I come back, the nurse brings me my pears and custard for afternoon tea.

Did I mention the old lady has a walking frame and is somewhat mobility limited.  Going to the loo for me means removing her commode seat and putting down the toilet set.  Great with one hand.  But I manage.

Back to bed I trundle.  Eventually the machine starts beeping.  And beeping.  And beeping.  After a few minutes one of the aids follows the beeping and rescues me.  It's stopped so she unplugs it and unhooks it from my catheter.  Free!  But my fingers are still taped up somewhat.  Not too bad though.  But the tape across the top holding the end of the catheter still is wrapped around my hand.  One of the side effects of the infusion seemed to be, cold clammy hands and feet.  Or maybe it was just me.  Anyway, that meant the tape came unstuck.  But because it was stuck to the clear tape patch they put over the needle site, I can't take it off.  The ends flap annoyingly.  Sigh.

Well, now what do I do?  It's four thirty.  Boring.  Once I have finished my treatment, I am left alone.  The lady next door's visitors leave, and she falls asleep so it's deathly quiet.  I read.  I sit back in my chair for a while just to move about.

Later it's dinner time.  The lady's daughter comes back up to visit.  The neighbour gets her dinner.  She's scottish I think.  The daughter is Australian.  I am sitting back on the bed, and they are watching TV.  The daughter asks a question I know the answer to, so I poke my head around and tell her.  She invites me to sit with them for a bit, so I pull my chair over.  We have a chat for a bit.  My dinner arrives.  We giggle - I ordered caesar salad.  I also ordered some mashed potato.  A small serve I say.  Well, I got a small serve alright.



Now, I don't know about  you, but I thought caesar salad was lettuce, egg, chicken and bacon... with dressing.  The white at the top left of the plate is potato salad.  The grey on the top right is chicken thigh meat, full of gristle, with a few shreds of bacon through it.  There is cucumber, carrot, and a wedge of tomato.  A square or two of dried bread for croutons.  With a dollop of warm mashed potato on top.  Served on a small bread and butter plate.  That was dinner.  I was a good girl and at it, except for the chicken.  The fruit salad was nice, and it came with a chocolate milk.  And a little tub of ice-cream, like the old Dixie Cups we used to get as kids.  That was the nicest part.

After dinner I decide to go put my jammies on.  Didn't bother with a shower, I didn't have a towel and her shower chair was taking up all the tiny cubicle so I just didn't bother.  Felt better to be in my jammies.  The daughter left and the old lady settled back into bed to watch some TV.  I sat on my bed.  And read some more.  My how time goes slow when you're flat out.  I found the only draw back to wasting the day as such, is my heel spur seized up.  Well, the tendon area puffed up because I just wasn't using it at all.  Very painful it became.

Later, after waiting till about 8pm, I decided to watch Mulan.  Just to kill time.  I settled in.  The domestic came in and offered me tea.  Heck yeah!  with two  little shortbread biscuits.  Yummy.

Eventually I turned off the ipad and put the magazine away.  Just before ten I thought I may as well go to sleep.  But my pillow was uncomfortable.  And my back was aching.  And the nurses were talking outside at the station.  But I dozed off.

Ten minutes later the old girl got out of bed, and wandered around to my bed.  She was confused.  She didn't know who I was and was quite surprised to find a stranger in her room.  I told her gently she should go back to bed.  She did.

Then, for the rest of the night, just as I dozed off she's start yelling for someone to come and tell her what's going on.  Why weren't they going down to get her husband from downstairs?  He'll be wanting his supper.  Someone should come help her get his supper.  Several times a night nurse had to put her back to bed.  Or bring her a bedpan (because they raised the rails on her bed, which really miffed her because she couldn't get out of bed).  She didn't use the buzzer, she didn't have to.  They heard her.  And I heard her.  When it wasn't her it was the nurses laughing at the desk.  Sigh.  At around 3 someone actually stuck their head around the curtain and saw I was awake so took my blood pressure.  But other than that they never once came to check on or look in on me.  From when they took the IV off me, that was it.  Their job with me was done.  I was so stiff in the neck and had a headache.  But I found that if I elevated the head of the bed just a fraction it helped.  Dunno why I didn't think of that in the first place.  Du-uh!

I gave up trying to sleep around 5.  The nurse noticed I was awake and asked me if I had slept.  Don't be silly said I.  She said sorry, but even when I said half the problem was the nurses at the desk she didn't seem to grasp I was saying THEY were as bad as the old girl.  I couldn't blame her, she wasn't herself, so she can't be aware she was keeping everyone awake.  But the nurses should have had more respect.  Anyway, I had a headache and felt like death warmed over.  But what could I do?  I just sat and read.

The old lady woke up, and they tended to her.  Breakfast eventually came around 7.30 or something.  By then I was sitting in the chair on public view.  I was sick of lying in bed reading.   So I was sitting in the chair reading.  Resting my poor head.  The old girl came and sat in the chair next to me.  She was saying she wanted a longer gown to wear.  The hospital one was open at the back and left her butt exposed.  She was wearing a pair of Depends, and the lining was hanging out.  Poor love, I felt so bad for her.  So I got her long dressing gown for her, and she was very happy with that.  I tried to look after her as much as I could.  I even got her to drink some water - she was very stubborn in that nature!

My breakfast was porridge, yoghurt, warm like, sugar, and tea.  I really did enjoy that.

While sitting there, I  noticed this sign at the end of the bed.  Rather made me laugh.  I can't imagine why anyone would be UNDER the bed... but obviously someone was at some time!



I go get changed and brush my hair and teeth.  Feels so much better.  Eventually they come to take out the catheter.  That's a relief.  Just a bruise around the knuckle to show for my effort.

I sit around and wait some more.  The young aide comes in about 9.40 and says whenever you're ready I'll take you down.  I laugh and say I was ready two hours ago.  Oh, she says, well lets go then.  As we are walking to the door Fluffy comes around the corner (flirting as he always does with the nurses.  Gosh he's a giggle).  He comes back down with the nurse and I and I am free.  He has dog hair on his shirt.  He says the dog we are babysitting, Ruby, had done a runner that morning and he had to chase her all down the street and through people's hards.  So glad I missed that.  Dobby had a friend over the the house was a pigsty.  She had not done the things Fluffy had asked.  Aah, don't you love coming home to such a situation?  I just wanted to go back!

Anyway, I got passed it.  The friend eventually left and I ducked out.  I went and bought crickets for my girls, and stopped in to find something to wear out to dinner for my birthday.  I found a rather nice little black dress, all pleats and hanging straight, and on special for $47.  I also found a silver and black long chunky necklace, $20, black earrings with diamonds, $10, and a silver small bag with a chain handle, reduced to $10.  Thank you I'll have that.  I also bought Dobby a lovely clutch for her new outfit.  I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself.

I spent the rest of the day tidying up and stuff.  I also made potato bake ready for a BBQ.  We went up to the other side of town and had a lovely evening with friends.   Great food, my potato bake was a hit, and we chilled out till around 10.30.  Fluffy had had a few drinks so I drove us home.  A pain killer (for my back and ankle and headache for me) and straight to bed.

Sunday I did some house work.  Dobby had been invited by friends to go to the movies.  I was going to drop her off.  But then she said one of them was at Castle Plaze (near home) so could she go now?  She walked down and I didn't have to go anywhere.  Suits me.  I told her to be home by 4 as we were going out.  At 3.40 she sent me a text - what time should she be home again?  Good grief.  I told her 4.  She said uh okay.  But she'd be a bit late.  Hmmm.  Eventually, just before 5 I asked her where she was.  Apparently they had missed the bus and walked!  It's over an hour's walk!  I told them I'd come pick her up but the others had to keep walking.  She apologised so I wasn't too hard on her.

We all got dressed to go out, and Dobby took a couple of photos of me and I of her.  I don't have them yet, they're still on the camera.  I'll put them up next time.

During the day the weather changed.  An awful icy breeze blew up.  I forgot we weren't going to be able to park close to the restaurant (which is beside the beach) and was so totally under dressed.  Luckily I had a black sequinned jacket, 3/4 sleeve, but it was still so cold I actually got chills.

Dinner was lovely.  The restaurant had a house special from a set menu, $36 for 4 courses.  Fluffy and I had that.  Dobby had an asian inspired beef (or was it lamb) salad.  The food was lovely and we shared with Dobby so we all had plenty to eat.  Even dessert.  It only cost us $128 including drinks.  We staggered back to the car (I did find out that those shoes I bought, while comfy, are not conducive to walking any distance, for me anyway.  Very painful on the balls of my feet).  But it was such a nice night.


So today, my birthday, I have been very spoiled.  Because I had already bought myself stuff, plus dinner, we didn't worry about something for me from the family.  But Mother sent me the Amy Winehouse biography and money.  Sister Tanya gave me money.  Wally gave me a lovely little coin holder money box shaped like a frog.  And some gold coins to get me started.  Then, at work, I was given a gift voucher from David Jones by my boss (he had hidden it behind my computer screen - if he hadn't told me it was there it could have been there years! lol!).  The new bosses in Sydney sent me flowers.



And my Facebook page has been inundated with messages.  It's so nice to have such wonderful messages sent to me.  Some made me feel very special indeed.  At work it was very quiet, and now I'm about to go home and cook some lamb chops.  Dobby doesn't have to go to guitar so I can kick back and do nothing.  My favourite!

Hope this wasn't too long and boring for you, or that I didn't sound like I was whinging too much.  That wasn't my intention, just trying to relay my experience.

Have a great week, folks.  Catch you next week. xx

Monday 17 September 2012

Just a short note

this time, cause I ain't got much to say.

Last week has been busy at work.  Boss was away in Sydney, but Thursday and Friday I had RV over from the accountant's office (the new one in Sydney).  He is indian (Hindu) and very shy.  An amusing chappie and we work well together.  But come Friday afternoon, the work and done and I am caught up.  Even with all my sick leave.

Speaking of which, I have to have another next Friday.  I saw the doctor last Friday and he has booked me in for an iron infusion, but the hospital has changed the rules and it's now an overnight stay.  Yay for health insurance.  It would be nice if I could actually use the time to relax.  Wonder if I can sneak my laptop in??

Actually it's going to be a busy weekend next weekend.  I am going into hospital on Friday, the Jack Russell Ruby from over the back is coming to stay Friday, Saturday Fluffy is taking us out to dinner for my birthday, and Sunday I plan to do as little as possible.

This last weekend my back has been giving me so much trouble.  I took Dobby shopping to the Supre outlet.  Mistake.  She went wild.  They have a lot of cheap clothes and she bought lots.  But then she topped it off with some dearer articles and it ended up costing a bit more than I anticipated.  However, her summer wardrobe is set now.  NO MORE!

I think I also felt bad for her.  She just split up with Lurch.  But, being the trooper that she is, she did it with dignity.  She showed me the text message he sent her.  She sent him a long one back, asking if he couldn't have done it face to face.  His answer - "how, I never see you".  Well, anyway, she wasn't upset or anything.  She just shrugged it off and went about her business.  I am so proud of my self-proclaimed "tough bitch".  She handled herself very well.

So, anyway, not much else to prattle on about.  My work mac is lying dead on the conference table at the moment.  Apparently while I was on sick leave Boss told Geek that there was a huge problem with that machine.  I didn't notice... so he arranged a new hard drive for it.

But when Geek went to install it, the thing wouldn't work.  So he has had to go see if he can swap it for another.  Lucky I have the laptop....

Sunday 9 September 2012

Brrrr

It's been cold and wet this winter here in Adelaide.  I'm really kinda over it.  We managed to have a few days in the low twenties last week, which would have been nice, had I not been inside the entire bloody day!  It was cool again by the time I left work so I didn't get to enjoy it at all.

This weekend looked like it was going to be lovely, and indeed here in Adelaide it was.  Pity we were in Nuriootpa!  The newly named Family and Friends Caravan and Camping Club had our first rally up there, and it was lovely and warm when Dobby and I left Saturday morning for the drive, but periodically overcast with light misty rain thrown in for good measure, all weekend up there (an hour's drive away).  Here I am sitting in the office at home, and it's bloody cold.

Anyway I'm getting ahead of myself.

So I've been quite this last few weeks.  Really, nothing at all has been happening.  Until last week.  I have been having health issues.  As you 3 who read this know.  One of the tests I had to do, as an elimination thing really, was an endoscopy and a colonoscopy.  For those who don't know, that's a camera up each end... I seriously hope they washed the blasted thing!

The preparation is very hard on the body.  When you're tired and vauge at the best of times, being food deprived does absolutely nothing to help that!  I started by stopping my usual medications on Monday evening.  Tuesday I could only eat bland white meats (microwaved or grilled chicken or fish - I cooked up some chicken breast Monday night and salted and peppered it), as well as a plain boiled potato or very well cooked pumpkin, white bread (plain or lightly toasted), plain biscuits, cottage cheese.  That's all.  I also had to drink plenty of clear fluids, such as apple juice, coke (Chris, you'd be happy there), water, lemonade, yellow jelly. tea or coffee (no milk) or, oddly enough, beer.

I drank plenty of apple juice and Zero on Tuesday, plus a slice of toast with cottage cheese for breakfast, and some thinly sliced chicken for lunch.  Dinner was more of the chicken.

Wednesday I could eat breakfast (two slices of plain toast, no butter or toppings) with black tea, and that was all.  I had to drink plenty of fluids, then I finished work at 12.  After running a few last minute errands I headed home.  At one I had to drink a preparation drink that tasted something like the Staminade we used to have a skids.  It was fizzy but not too unpleasant.  Than drink a litre of water or juice.  Then at two I had to take another concoction that tasted like Salvital.  Not so nice, (even prepared and refrigerated earlier).  I had to drink it one cup at a time, followed by other fluid in between, over the course of an hour.

It was a wonderful laxative.  Hence coming home from work early.  Then I had to drink another two litres of fluid through the afternoon.  My poor little botty was raw.  I also started to develop a headache.  By the time Fluffy came home from his meeting Wednesday evening and I could go to bed, I felt terrible.  And I couldn't take any medication.

Thursday Dobby was going for a sleepover, and then to the Show the next day, so she packed a bag Wed night.  Thursday morning I had to wake her then take some more of the Staminade-like preparation.  This time, because I was physically so hungry and probably dehytrated, my headache was making me feel physically sick.  I ended up having to ask Dobby's friend, who I usually took to school, to ask if her dad would mind taking the girls today.  He is so lovely and agreed.

Eventually I felt well enough to venture out to buy some last minute necessities for the others before my friend Marg came to pick me up for my hospital visit.  I still felt so terribly, with the headache and nausea, but a little better.

At the hospital I was way early but they didn't mind.  I didn't have to wait long until they brought me in to undress and don one of those wonderful backless gowns.  This place gives you a blanket to wrap around yourself for modesty sake.  As there were several doctors doing the procedures in-house there were a few of us waiting.  I made friends with another lass from the country.  We chatted a bit to waste some time.

She was called and not long after I was also summonsed.  I had to lose the knicker then, and got to make myself comfortable (as much as I could with my stinky headache) on the trolley with the blanket over me.  I met my anaesthetist.  A very lovely chap named Andrew.  Quite dishy he was.  Oh to be 40kg lighter and 25 years younger!  They ended up wheeling me into the room the wrong way and as they were turning my bed I quipped "Ooh, procedure and a circus ride".  Heh.  So, they lay me on my side, put the drip in my arm, and next thing I was out to it.

I woke up before they had finished and my first vision was Andrew.  Aah.  He let the doc know I was awake and he finished up (thankfully).  I had been spun around again while asleep so I know they started with my throat (thank goodness! lol!).

In recovery I still had my headache but i lay there for a few minutes.  Probably about fifteen.  Then they walked me over to a lovely recliner and fed me a cup of tea and an egg and lettuce sandwich.  Although the headache lingered I felt much better.  They phoned Fluffy to get him to pick me up but it was an hour before he came - he had missed the call and didn't get the message.

Anyway, on the way home we had to stop and buy him dinner and I was still hungry.  So I also bought myself a piece of battered fish.  Yummy.  Later we had cheesecake.  Geez, I'm not doing a very good job of taking it easy and eating healthy am I!

After sitting watching TV for a while I took a headache tablet and we went to bed.  As Dobby was at her friends it was lovely and quiet and I got quite a good rest.

Friday, Fluffy went to work till lunch time and I pottered about.  I was eating normally although being careful just in case.  I managed to pop out to do some grocery shopping and get some last minute things done in the caravan.

Fluffy came home at lunch time, hooked up the van, and headed up to Nuri.  I checked the Show website and found out that the fireworks Dobby and her friends were checking out weren't going to be on until 9pm.  That gave me the whole afternoon and evening to relax.  I did just that.  I didn't get up off the couch except to top up my drink and nibbles or go to the loo, as well as soak in the bath.  Total bliss!

She got home about 9.30 and the friend's father had bought them Hungry Jacks for dinner.  That man is so good to the girls. She then proceeded to open all her showbags and put the stuff out on the couch for me to admire.

After a while I insisted she clean up and head off to bed.  She did.  Saturday morning we got up early and were on the road by 7.45 am.  We stopped for fuel and got to Nuri at 9.00 pretty much on the nose.  We found the rest of the group, and wandered around to see who was there.  Fluffy was happy to see us, and Dobby was happy to see him (as, of course, was I!).

We had morning tea with the group, then Club Game.  After that we were sitting around our van magging when one of the other members asked if I would like to go for a drive with them.  I figured they were going to the lookout and wanted to know did I want to take photos so I grabbed my camera and left Dobby and Fluffy to hang out together (Dobby had just been complaining that she didn't spend any time with her dad so that was the perfect opportunity).

We drove up to the looking and I took some pics.  It was so bloody cold and overcast, but still interesting.  The looking is a park area with chunks of lovely marble and other rock carved into interesting shapes.

After we left there, we travelled to Kaiser Stuhl conservation park for a short walk.  We got to see a family of kangaroos beside the road.  One of the other folks (there were about 4 or 5 cars in our group) had a japanese student with her as well as her kids.  She was very happy (the student) to see the roos.

After another member got dumped in a small creek (her boyfriend had picked her up to step over the creek and overbalanced!) we all headed back to camp.  It was a lovely afternoon.  Kids Club followed and the kids had a blast.  The lass with the japanese student did Kids Club and she always has plenty of physical activities to keep them amused.

The club put on a sausage dinner (those cheese kranskies are to die for!) and we all chipped in with salad.  Some of the more adventurous made theirs, the rest of us bought ours from the supermarket.

At dinner Fluffy said he wasn't feeling well, and indeed went to the bathroom.  He had a bad pain in the belly and went to bed.  The teens Dobby had been hanging with went home (just visiting for the day) and she came inside too.  The three of us were just sitting inside.  Fluffy went to sleep and Dobby was asleep b 7.30 too.  Boy, talk about boring.  And the party was right outside our van, around the fire too.  I watched a bit of telly, then went up and put my jammies on.  Eventually I decided it was too early to go to bed so I joined the fireside again for a bit.  I checked on Fluffy again, and he was awake. Whatever it was, had passed and he felt better.  The fellow who, with his wife, took me for the drive, popped in to see Fluffy and eventually they both joined us at the fireside.

Rather later we all went to bed, early by club standards though.

This morning we all packed up (nothing for us to pack up, just roll up the awning and wash some cups up!) and Dobby and I left about 11.15.  We were home by 12.30.  Fluffy stopped at the office to talk to the park owners about hosting the 2022 National Rally there.  It's a huge event, with a budget of $8m.  He got home around one.  The van was tucked away back in the yard, and we were all veging out bu 2.  I've uploaded some photos to Facebook and done this.  it's now 4pm and I'm buggered.  Oh crap.  Just remembered I totally forgot to hang out the washing, and the weather was lovely here this afternoon!  Sigh...


Fluffy mucking around on the kids ride on the camp kitchen



Because the park fire pit was behind our van, Fluffy was Firestarter this time.  No one was allowed to touch his fire except while he was in bed convalescing.


This tree was behind one of the vans in our row.  Rather interesting it was, all hollowed out and showing signs of having been burned.


The view from Menglers Hill Lookout Sculpture Park.  Note some of the sculptures adorning the grounds.


Wattles always remind me of my mother, because she once told me one of the few happy memories she has of her childhood was stopping to eat her lunch under the huge wattle trees.


I rather liked this huge eagle.


Max through the eyes of the eagle.  Rather clever I thought.


Wildflowers on the hill.


Some of us milling about in the cold, waiting for the boys to plan where we were stopping next.


I'll take a picture of you taking a picture of me!


This is at the back of the parking lot on Menglers Hill lookout.  I didn't have time to read it, as we left just after I snapped this shot.


A little creek flowing across the path at Kaiser Stuhl conservation park.


I found this bit if fungus growing on a tree rather interesting.


This bloke and his family were sitting quietly beside the road.  They didn't seem to mind us stopping for a look.


Oh, for the record, my tests were all negative.  So, next week I make a time with the doc for a 3 hour intravenous treatment and then take supplements.  They made some money from our health insurance for nothing!