All prepared - then let down!

Yesterday dawned quite a nice mild day. Put on my favourite pink & blue floral shirt with pink scarf, ordered a taxi, and headed off to the hospital for blood test and following chemo treatment.


As they took my blood, I felt a strange and rather painful pulling in my shoulder, so they packed my off down to Xray to inject a tracer fluid to see whether the access port, which had been inserted into my arm under the skin back in September had moved.  It hadn't, so off I went back up tp Day Oncology to have my treatment.


The kind girls gave me a nice lunch, after which my results of the blood test had come back. I was told that they couldn't carry on today with my chemo because my white cell count was far too low for my body to safely accept it.  Very frustrating - 4 hours spent at the hospital for naught....


Thing is I feel ok - just a bit tired. So I got in a taxi and came home.  Harriet was pleased I was home earlier than usual, but I was grumpy, thinking that the week's postponement meant that the last treatment and all the followup scans etc would also be later, so even longer away from work.


So I sat, ate chocolate, and put on my favourite "virtual walk" dvds - England, of course! Cheered me up, and I found myself planning my next trip over there....now have Cotswolds to add to my list of "must do's"......

The gorgeous photos are used with the kind permission of Wayne and Kathi from Vita Digital Productions.

My Australia Day adventure

Yesterday I ventured towards the "big smoke" (Melbourne) by train (2) to visit with my son, his partner and her gorgeous baby (not my son's), Charlotte, to celebrate her first birthday.  The train trip from my home town was great, reminding me of when I used to catch this train twice a day, back and forth to Melbourne to my daily employ, before I finally landed a great job in my home town. Some photos as I went along:

..some Australian countryside..

Flowers for my hostess

Arrived at the busy Melbourne city station, waited a bit, and found  Adelle and we caught the next train together. Collected baby Charlotte from the day care centre, and headed home.  Found my son Dan, handsome in his work uniform (almost forgot how good he looks in shirt & tie!)

Preparations for today's first birthday party were well under way. Here she is with Adelle checking out all the changes..

Despite a busy day at work, and Charlotte being a bit overtired, Adelle & Dan stayed up wrapping presents and making a gorgeous butterfly cake!

Next day dawned, Charlotte had a good sleep, but wasn't having any of a late morning nap, and soon all the little friends and mummies turned up. It was a great day, causing me to think back when Dan was tiny....seems like only yesterday (except he is actually 27!) The table looks gorgeous, and a great time was had by all.

Opening her presents was delightful to watch....

..getting there..


























..oh, there's something at the bottom...

O, so that's what you do with it!...

..Need to devour this cupcake-even though I am moving round...

just look at my pretty cake! and they're all singing...

It was a wonderful day, and made my fifth chemo treatment tomorrow back at home seem an age away. Here are Dan, Adelle and me after a very tired little Australia Day baby was put to bed. I am very happy for Dan, after his failed engagement with his former partner last year - it seems we have both grown so much.

So off I went home again, tired but very content. Took a few more snaps on the way home...I do so love train travel...time to think, listen to music etc.

Back to busy Southern Cross station

My train - or perhaps it's going to the zoo...

Leaving the city - can't believe I used to live here in a similar apartment building!

Musicians Who Do Lunch...

What a great day! Had two people tell me I look good, despite the chemo - which is encouraging. I like to do bright, as you can see by the photo.  Really enjoying the mix and match thing with bright happy scarves.  Never thought I could do the wig thing - this is much more trendy...

What a clever fellow musician this lady is - she plays keyboard, flute AND saxophone ( not all at once, of course!) and has groups employing all these instruments. And she travels just about all the time. From the middle of Australia, to Victoria and back to South Australia - driving all the way...couldn't do that myself....

Anyway, a great time was had by both of us, and she loves my harpsichord. Says I should have a name for it...can anyone suggest anything? I always envy someone who can sit down at a new instrument, and rattle off a Bach Prelude quite easily......

Now I might miss blogging again tomorrow (like I did yesterday) - off to the big smoke to spend a night with my son, his partner and daughter, who is going to be one on Australia Day (Wed).

Procrastination....

Well, unfortunately didn't get into the garden to plant out a new baby a frend has grown me in a pot. But I did take a couple of progress pictures. I only have a very small place, and although the covering pea straw looks a bit ugly, here in Australia we need our mulch in the summer to keep the moisture in.

Have had a couple of gorgeous blooms off my Ambride Rose....

Yes, there are fairies! One can just see her wings "above" the bloom. And the little marguerite daisy is coming on...

Don't you just love blue and purple lobelia?  You can see I don't have much room, noting proximity of wall, pipes and path......

Cleaning day tomorrow, but won't take a lot to plant the baby jasmine..must do it...

Did get one rather exquisite Elizabeth magonlia on my young bush - looking forward to next spring!

Great elation today, too, my first follower! Thank you so much! This is such a wonderful medium, and I discover something wonderful every day......

Nature & Poetry

I realised that yesterday, with all the fancy little poetic bits next to the photos of the botanic gardens, that I neglected to acknowledge the source.

I love to fossick in antiquarian bookshops, and this is one I obtained 10 or 12 years ago. It details the romantic works of various eastern writers. It is richlt illuminated and has several exquisite colour plates.  Here are some photos of the book, written by Louisa Stuart Costello. It was published in 1845, and you can see the inscription on the first page! I am fairly certain it was a bargain for me at the time....

The illuminations and illustrations are just stunning

..and these coloured plates are gorgeous - very Victorian..





Family Treasures

I feel fortunate to have these items from my family history - they are very precious, and I trust that they will remain in the family, when I pass them down.

The first, and the oldest, probably dating from the late 1870s, is a tin wind-up music box, with a little porcelain handle that belonged to my Great-Grandmother when she was a child....how gorgeous!

The next is a New Testament dating from the beginning of the Great War, given to my Great Uncle by his  sister, my Grandmother, when she was but an adolescent .  Families of the Victorian & Edwardian eras had close but publicly reserved devotion to one another. I am lucky in that I have several of his letters home when he was serving in France.  Sadly he was killed in 1917. This New Testament was returned to the family.

The next is my Great aunt's (another younger sister) study bible. She and most of the family were very pious Methodists, and she studied theology for mission work in her late teens and early twenties. She did a lot for her local church for years, and I remember being taken by her to Sunday School there when I was a small child.

I am also reminded that either this year or last year was the anniversary of the King James Edition of the Bible, and this is one of those.

Here is another precious thing which is still in working order - not sure of the date (too afraid to take it to the jewellers) - a Victorian ladies' fob watch with albert chain, also tiny key for winding..... 

The last for now is my mother's Bible - another King James. The cover was hand made by the woman who made her wedding gown, and is of the same material as her gown with a hand embroidered cross. My mother is remains with us, in an aged care facility, glad that I am nurturing these items to remain in the family.

All very precious items - more later, perhaps from my garden. Need to check in on the merciless devourer of one of my Young magnolias......

I did it! I'm an HTML geek!

Oh, I'm that clever!  Bit of tweaking - don't need to bother busy son now!  And I thought the "error" might just be down to my chemo brain! Even had a little sojourn away from blogger temporarily whilst I checked out my favourite Daily Telegraph column (no - not telling - it's a secret!)

So pleased that I'll now add a couple of pics from today I neglected to include.....got through the Prokofiev - moved onto Brahms violin sonatas.....

 stunning fuschias over the little pond in the gardens today, and....

interesting hollow tree near the lake.  And for the piece de resistance:

 quite an impressive number of butterflies around the lilac.......

Happy now, can go to bed. What a great day!

IT stuff, perhaps?

Well now, better keep this "normal" - I did so much work today on this blog, only to have it say "cannot accept HTML opening tag does not have matching closing tag" or some such like that....HEAPS of photos uploaded from gorgeous day in botanic gardens and at lake - can't get it to post.  Sitting in draft...most frustrating!  Will contact bright IT - oriented son for solution.........

Prokofiev, Botanical Gardens, the lake, contemplation....

Beautiful day in Ballarat today - I ventured out for a walk in our Botanical Gardens, and stopped by the lake, which is now lapping at the wallking tracks, after 10 years of drought!  Our council had begun filling it with grey water so that water sports of the schools and others could resume, but since we've had so much rain quite recently, (not flooding as much as other areas of Australia), it has really filled up. Couldn't snap any black swans today, but obtained a cute shot of a coot on her nest.

I decided to go all "arty" and post the pictures with D&Ms.....(deep & meaningfuls).  Have Romeo & Juliet suite on the stereo - don't think I'll watch the news tonight - having fun with this!

Like clustering Pleiads, glimmer through the shade

O behold the fair! - again; for their glances can explain secrets hid from all beside...

where the small seed springs from earth, leaves & bark & fruit have birth....



Here be wonderful treasures: sights & smells, presented to the gardens by our local Zonta Club - supporting those touched by breast cancer......

 

all we see; above around-is but built on faery ground...

 Fresh leaves & blossoms seem around to spring...

still may they in eternal splendour grow, & be like Paradise, as they are now!

where fragrant gardens, filled with bloom cast forth their breath of soft perfume...(can't believe the monarch stayed still!)

Sat down 'ere...and -

...thought.....

Hail to the city, from whose bowers-the glowing paradise of flowers!

where she in shade may calmly dwell







life's rich colours, gleaming bright....

nothing in the world of ours, flows as we would have it flow

then she retires to muse once more, when day's rays are dim...

while lotus flowers, just opened, there: look with bright eyes t'ward heaven in prayer

and to the sound, in wild amaze, on the water the dancing light does play-

This is SO much fun!  Really getting into this bloggin thing now.....signing off whilst I eat.....more later.......

Back now - ate AND talked on the phone!   Still listening to R&J - second disc now.  Bit of tension between sisters tonight - hope a break from endless texting and phone conversations  will bring repose.  Anyway, this medium is very healing, I find, in so many ways.....and I have made two new friends..already! Very inspiring and uplifting.

So, we got up to the little fish pond - so on we go through today........

virtue was my belov'd, & th

ou: hadst vitues impressed on thy brow..

flowers whose petals never close

 Avoid the paths that lead to vice: and win thy way to paradise

a mighty work-for ages to remain



these are Australian rosella parrots

 night dwells amidst thy spicy groves

thy violets have tales of eyes as fair...

for help, for rest-here I can fly!

Like some delicious tree that throws its shade, inviting to repose:

this was interesting: a gift to Ballarat from USA! Everytime I visit our gardens, I find something new.....

I moved on to the city's famous lake next: we've had so much rain of late, all these little lagoons are forming just near the larger lake.....

don't often see the level of the water quite so close to this little bridge....

lake with various boatsheds...water level almost lapping at the walking/cycling path...

So that was my day - very pleasant...got some sun, so my cancer care nurse will be happy.  Returned home to find.........

Herself, the feline person, keeping said dressing gown company in my absence!

"but mum, I'm so cute...you know you'll let me stay here..."

Time for bed now...might check in on a few of my newly  discovered bloggers first........night all (or morning if you're in the northern hemisphere.........