Monday, January 31, 2011

Post Op Update #3

Saw hubby today. He's looking very well and walking with the help of a single crutch only.

The doctors and physiotherapists are very happy with his progress - so much so that they're thinking of evicting him either tomorrow afternoon / Wednesday morning.

Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.

His mate is going okayish. They're talking about transferring him to the local hospital - which would be more convenient for his family. Please keep the prayers coming for him in this regard and his recovery.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Post Op Update #2 with a twist

Took the girls in to see hubby today after Miss 7's gymkhana (will post photos later).

He was just on his way to have an x-ray when we rocked up. This was the x-ray that he was supposed to have when I turned up last night. Apparently they don't start any physio until after an x-ray.

The girls were happy to see their dad and he was, of course, happy to see them. Miss 9 commented afterwards on how well he was looking.

They took his morphine pump away as he hadn't used it enough in the 24hrs after surgery. He is back on oxycontin, but I'm not sure of the dosage.

He hadn't seen the surgeon. He had been told that he was on his way earlier that morning, then he was told that he had been called into surgery.

However, things must be okay because I had a call from him a little while ago and the physio had had him up standing and taking a few steps!!!

THEN I got a call from him about 10mins ago to tell me that a friend of ours, who was going to visit him this evening had had a fall and was in the same ward! Apparently, he had been to see a movie with his wife before going to visit hubby and had tripped and broken his leg.

He had rung hubby from the ED and hubby had spoken to the nurses and managed to get him into the same room. So at least they'll get some time to catch up. I do, however, feel sorry for his wife!

So thoughts and prayers for both of these guys please. Especially for an infection free speedy recovery!

Girls Movie Update #2

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS

Paint Your Wagon - 20 Jan 2011: Watched it with the girls. Might be best to avoid with young kids unless you want a discussion on prostitution :). Oh and a woman being married to two men can also raise questions. The girls however enjoyed it
The Black Hole (12+?)
Oklahoma
The Shootist
Silent Running
The Final Countdown
Hawk The Slayer
Original Star Wars Trilogy
Tron (original)
Quigley Down Under
Flight of the Navigator - 29 Jan 2011: Watched it with Miss 9. Miss 7 occassionally took notice of it but preferred playing with her sister's DS. Miss 9 enjoyed it.
White Fang
The Princess Bride
The Never Ending Story
War Games
Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan
Willow
The Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
Back to the Future
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Hallelujah Trail
Pete's Dragon
The Ugly Dachshund
The Boatniks
They call me Trinity - 9th Jan 2011: Girls laughed a lot
Trinity is Still My Name
Snowball Express
Midnight Madness
Scavenger Hunt
Condorman
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Swiss Family Robinson
No Deposit, No Return
Candleshoe
Dragonslayer
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Journey of Natty Gann
The Man From Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
The Cowboys
McClintock
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Big Jake
Fortress(?)
The Watcher in the Woods(?)
My Name is Nobody
Short Circuit - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it
Short Circuit 2 - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it

I guess it's in the job description ...

Heard in the car today

Me: "Please play by yourselves for a few minutes."

Miss 7: "Why?"

Me: "Because I'm too tired to listen to whining and fighting."

Miss 9: "Are you too tired to be a mother?"

Friday, January 28, 2011

Post Op Update #1

Thanks for all your thoughts, prayers, comments, emails and messages.

I went to see hubby this evening. He was a bit pale but other than that he was looking very good. He reckons that the pain from the hip is less than it was before the operation, so that is great.

The doctor wasn't there to talk to, but as hubby isn't on antibiotics I'm assuming they didn't find any hidden / residual infection (which was one of our fears).

I will go again tomorrow afternoon with the girls.

Please keep up the thoughts and prayers as there's still a long way to go - but so far, so good.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Thoughts and prayers please

Hubby goes into hospital at 6.30am (did I mention that it's an hours drive from home) for his hip replacement.

Would appreciate all positive thoughts and prayers for a smooth operation and a speedy, non-complicated recovery.

Will update you all after the surgery.

Thanks.

[UPDATE 28 Jan 3:00pm] Thanks for your comments, thoughts and prayers everyone.

I rang the hospital about 1/2hr ago, he's out of surgery and in the recovery room. He'll be moved to the ward later on. I will go and see him this evening and post an update when I can.

I'm really, really hoping that all went well and that he will recover quickly. It's been a long haul![/UPDATE]

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

January Road Trip

Just got back from a couple of days away “up north”.

Travellers: Shooting Buddy, Miss 9, Miss 7 and myself
Primary Destination: Dongara, beautiful and huge house owned by Shooting Buddy’s friends
Primary Purpose: To get away and give the girls a good time before they start back at school

Day 1: Friday Jan 21st
Departed approximately 12.30pm (had to go to work in the morning)
Primary destination: Dongara
Challenges: Packing everything into my little Toyota Corolla
Highlights:
**Cuppa at Isobella’s CafĂ©, Lancelin
**People at Dongara
**Dinner at Dongara
**Nice comfortable bed at Dongara
Weather: Hotter and more humid further north we went





Day 2: Saturday Jan 22nd
Primary destination: Beach

Challenges: Miss 7 getting stung by a Portuguese man-of-war.

I had asked the locals about stingers and they assured me there were never any at that beach. Unfortunately when she got stung none of us realised that the recommended treatment for these are different to most jellyfish stings so we did all the wrong things – fresh water and vinegar. She really wasn’t a happy camper for the next couple of days. She is now, however, fully recovered.

Highlights: Dinner (roast pork) cooked by Shooting Buddy and Miss 9
Weather: HUMID, windy


Day 3: Sunday Jan 23rd
Primary destination: Arino
Weather: Humid, hot – hotter as we headed inland
Highlights:
**Coalsteam Park

**Horses at property near Three Springs

**Scooping out the Arino property for future shooting trips
Challenges:
**Shooting Buddy’s navigational skills – which resulted in some interesting side-trips
**Everything being shut, as it was Sunday

Summary:
We decided to go and check out a property that our friends own near Three Springs. We left mid-morning and was planning to have a bit of a look around on the way. Shooting buddy wants to move up to this area so we’re doing some preliminary house hunting. We were also hoping to find somewhere for a nice lunch and get to the property late afternoon to see if we could find some rabbits for the girls to shoot at.

After leaving Mingenew we passed a turn-off for Coalseam Park. Shooting buddy had never been out there, nor had the rest of us - so we travelled the 30kms (or so) and got to this WONDERFUL area. You could tell that the place would be spectacular in wildflower season so we’ve pencilled in a return trip in September. We did get out of the car to look over the edge of a cliff but it was HOT so we decided that further exploration would have to wait.

On the return journey we came to a T-junction (we had entered from the left originally). I mentioned this to the driver, but he was convinced we needed to go right … so we did. It wasn’t until we ended up in Mullewa that he questioned why we were there. Nice town though – and the service station does a good serve of chips :) … Nothing else was open being a Sunday.

We then headed for Morawa (our original destination) where we had planned a good cup of tea at the bakery – only to discover that it had closed down :( Oh well, off to Three Springs.

When we got there we discovered that everything – including the service station – was shut :( … we did look around at a few houses and then took a drive out to one of the properties where they had horses. Miss 7 is horse mad. After seeing the horses we had a break from the car on this family’s back porch (they weren’t there, but shooting buddy is “known”). The temp gauge there said 39.9C .. and that was in the shade.

We then decided to head back to the service station as it was due to open soon and we were getting low on fuel. The driver, rather than returning the same route, decided to take a short-cut – um, right - we eventually got back on the right road and made it to the service station in time :)

After a refreshing cuppa (and ice-cream) we headed out to the farm to see if we could see some rabbits. We’ve been given directions to this property and mud maps in the past but have never been able to actually find it. This time, however, we were lucky. Even though it was now after 5pm it was still hot so we didn’t think there would be much wildlife around.

However, we saw two kangaroos before we got the guns out! We took a drive around the property and spotted another kangaroo, but that was it. There were lots of diggings and it look liked a lizard of some sort had dug out most of the rabbit holes. There were a number of fox and other tracks around so it would be a good property to do some spot lighting on.

However, while we were trying to decide whether to stay until after dark we got a call from our friends in Dongara. They were off to Perth the next day and were wondering when we were planning to be back as they wanted to catch us before they left.

So we decided that we’ld have to leave the property for another time and headed back to Dongara.


Day 4. Monday Jan 24th
Primary destination: Geraldton
Weather: Humid
Highlights:
**Lunch at Topolini's Caffe
**Bent tree

**For the girls – playing at the play ground

Summary:
Shooting buddy suggested that we head up to Geraldton on the Monday. We were told about a lovely winery just outside of Geraldton so had pencilled that in for lunch.

We drove up to Geraldton, had a cuppa and the girls played on the playground for a while. We then took a walk around and did some shopping (Miss 7 needed new bathers). We found the Tourist Information centre to check where the winery was, but were told that it was closed on Mondays, so we then looked around for somewhere else for lunch. I was hoping for something overlooking the ocean, but everything was shut. Eventually we ended up at a place that Shooting buddy recommended – Topolinio’s – which was a good choice as the food was stunning!

After a nice leisurely lunch, we headed back to the playground – as there was a small water park that the girls wanted to play in. It was drizzling by this time (the weather had been very humid the whole time we were there), but that didn’t put them off. So they played, while Shooting Buddy and I sat in the car and rested :)

We then headed back down the coast. There was a lot more we could have done and seen in Geraldton, but again, hot and humid isn’t my favourite weather for doing much in!


Day 5: Tuesday Jan 25th
Primary destination: Perth
Weather: Nice
Highlights:
**Pinnacles




**Stromatolites


All in all a very good and much needed break. Looking forward to hubby being well enough to join us on our next trip.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Girls Movie Update

Thought I would update the list with comments and the girls' opinion on each of the films as we watch them.

MOVIE RECOMMENDATIONS

Paint Your Wagon - 20 Jan 2011: Watched it with the girls. Might be best to avoid with young kids unless you want a discussion on prostitution :). Oh and a woman being married to two men can also raise questions. The girls however enjoyed it
The Black Hole (12+?)
Oklahoma
The Shootist
Silent Running
The Final Countdown
Hawk The Slayer
Original Star Wars Trilogy
Tron (original)
Quigley Down Under
Flight of the Navigator
White Fang
The Princess Bride
The Never Ending Story
War Games
Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan
Willow
The Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
Back to the Future
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Hallelujah Trail
Pete's Dragon
The Ugly Dachshund
The Boatniks
They call me Trinity - 9th Jan 2011: Girls laughed a lot
Trinity is Still My Name
Snowball Express
Midnight Madness
Scavenger Hunt
Condorman
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Swiss Family Robinson
No Deposit, No Return
Candleshoe
Dragonslayer
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Journey of Natty Gann
The Man From Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
The Cowboys
McClintock
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Big Jake
Fortress(?)
The Watcher in the Woods(?)
My Name is Nobody
Short Circuit - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it
Short Circuit 2 - Jan 2011: Girls enjoyed it

---------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Carnarvon Pistol Association

Received this email earlier today:

Hello fellow shooters and shooting supporters!

For those of you that aren't aware, Carnarvon (a small country town ten hours drive north of Perth, the capital of Western Australia) was hit by severe flooding on the 19th of December 2010. Luckily the floods did not affect the majority of the town site but the waters flowed right through some of the outlying areas, including our pistol club.

As you can see by the attached photos, our club is all but ruined. We are a strong local club with 60 active members and we compete (IPSC) every Saturday for eleven months of the year. However it is unlikely we will be able to compete now for some time. We had five ranges, now none are safe to use. We had a great clubhouse with kitchen and seating area for up to 70 people, now this has been covered in water (initially flowing, but later just stagnant) up to mid-thigh.

Not only did the water come through quickly and with force, it also pooled in our ranges like it has never done before and is still there presently. The water as it recedes leaves behind a thick coating of mud and debris. Carnarvon is a horticultural town and some of its main industry is growing fruit and vegetables and also raising livestock on the outlying areas. As the river was so large and unexpected it swept through many homes, sheds and paddocks in outer areas resulting in the flood water becoming contaminated with chemicals, petrol and dead animals.

It is going to take many hands on deck, machinery and funding to move forward with the massive, unpleasant clean-up operation, reconstruction of ranges, stripping of the clubhouse, regrading of the road and reconstruction of shade and safety areas.

The recovery part of this operation must now begin!

Part of this is getting the message out there to all of you, please feel free to distribute this message as you see fit.

If you can provide us any assistance, (and any and all is welcome!) - please contact us [redacted].

Description of attached photos:
IMG_0725 - A range that normally is large enough to run three separate competitions, almost 2m deep in water. We have a train that runs along tracks down an incline to serve as one of our shooting props, you can just make out the top of the green train.


IMG_0694 - The safety area of one range, the dividing range wall and shaded area for spectators


IMG_ 0641 - The road to Carnarvon Pistol Association - the gate is next to the large tree you can see in the middle of the photo


IMG_699 - Drums filled with sand to form the dividing wall of our 100m range


IMG_ 682 - A member wading out to survey the damage, note the sign welcoming you to Carnarvon Pistol Association


IMG_727 - One of our storage containers - it has floated to a new position and targets and range construction materials inside are ruined.


Kind regards,

Jesie [Redacted]
CPA Secretary
[Redacted]


If anyone can help in any way and want contact details, please leave me a note in comments or email me - see profile.

Thanks

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Let's take a vote - "Was alcohol involved?"

From today's news:

Fox shoots and injures hunter with own gun before escaping in Belarus


A FOX has turned the table on a hunter in Belarus, shooting him with his own gun before making his escape.

The animal pulled the trigger of the man's gun with its paw, wounding him in the leg.

The unnamed 40-year-old hunter was trying to kill the fox with the butt of his gun after first shooting it from a distance.

Friends took the man to hospital while the [fox] escaped and hasn't been seen since.

"The animal fiercely resisted and in the struggle pulled the trigger with its paw," said a police officer from the Grodno region of Belarus.

Fox hunting is popular in the region and foxes are not protected because they transmit rabies.

"I have never heard of anything like this before," an official said.

"The hunter couldn't believe it either. He was in shock."

Media reports indicate police are still investigating the incident.


Source: http://www.news.com.au/weird-true-freaky/fox-shoots-and-injures-hunter-escapes/story-e6frflri-1225990166308#ixzz1BM6s3oEF

Monday, January 17, 2011

Must See for Kids - Consolidated

I've gone through the comments on my "What movies do you recommend for my girls?" post from the other day and have enough to keep them and me busy for awhile.

Movie Recommendations

Paint Your Wagon
The Black Hole (12+?)
Oklahoma
The Shootist
Silent Running
The Final Countdown
Hawk The Slayer
Original Star Wars Trilogy
Tron (original)
Quigley Down Under
Flight of the Navigator
White Fang
The Princess Bride
The Never Ending Story
War Games
Greystoke: The Legend Of Tarzan
Willow
The Labyrinth
The Dark Crystal
Back to the Future
The Gods Must Be Crazy
Hallelujah Trail
Pete's Dragon
The Ugly Dachshund
The Boatniks
Trinity is Still My Name
Snowball Express
Midnight Madness
Scavenger Hunt
Condorman
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Swiss Family Robinson
No Deposit, No Return
Candleshoe
Dragonslayer
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Journey of Natty Gann
The Man From Snowy River
Return to Snowy River
The Cowboys
McClintock
Rio Bravo
El Dorado
Big Jake
Fortress(?)
The Watcher in the Woods(?)
My Name is Nobody

Let me know in comments if I missed any.

I got "The Never Ending Story" and "Paint your Wagon" out of the DVD library for them yesterday so it will be interesting to see what they think of them.

I also got one called "Artic Life" ("OMG-all-the-polar-bears-are-going-to-die" type). It had some lovely shots of polar bears and other artic critters in it. The girls seemed to enjoy it. (We watched this first as it was a short movie and it was nearly their bedtime).

Saturday, January 15, 2011

More Floods and Animals

Had to blog this picture:



Apparently the house's owner doesn't know who owns the cow. Not sure how they're going to get it down either.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

The floods ...

I think images of the flood, by now, have been seen around the world. Some of the most fascinating ones I've seen are the ones of animals.

Here is a collection of "Animals in the Floods" that I have come across over the last couple of days. (Sorry I've not kept source / attribute information):












This one isn't an animal pic - but really shows the "Australian Spirit" ...

The Price of Freedom

was summed up by the father of the 9y.o. girl tragically killed by the shooter in Arizona last Saturday.

This shouldn't happen in this country, or anywhere else, but in a free society we're going to be subject to people like this. I prefer this to the alternative.
- John Green, father of 9 year old Christina Green

Full clip and story here.

Worth remembering and repeating.

(H/t Smallest Minority)

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Floods in QLD and NSW

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those affecting by the rain and flooding on the East Coast.

Toowoomba was devastated yesterday by a flash flood:



(More pictures at http://www.news.com.au/pictures/gallery-e6frflv9-1225985209684)

Today, Brisbane is being affected by the floods, with the Brisbane River breaking its banks. The river is not expected to peak until Thursday.

The last time Brisbane suffered such a devastating flood was in 1974, after which the Wivenhoe dam was built to protect the city. However, the dam (according the news last night) is already 40% over capacity so they are releasing water from it which is then flowing downstream to Brisbane.

Further north, Cairns is on flash flood alert as a severe thunderstorm is moving through the area.

The company I work for has a number of manufacturing plants and distribution centres in Queensland. These have all been closed due to the floods. Thankfully all staff are safe.

Please keep those in the flood areas in your prayers.

[UPDATE] 75% of Queensland has been declared a disaster zone
(http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/disaster-zone-now-spans-75pc-of-state/story-fn7ik2te-1225985785232).
[/UPDATE]


(Updates on the floods can be found here http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/floodrelief/flood-info-centre-updates-reports-warnings-advice-and-how-you-can-help/story-fn7ik2te-1225985436806)

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Must see for kids ...

My girls have just finished watching "They Call Me Trinity". They both enjoyed it and laughed a lot.

I got them this movie as I decided to broaden their movie watching horizons from the animated movies which seem to make up the majority of films these days.

A couple of days ago they watched "Short Circuit" which they also enjoyed.

So, what are your recommendations for other "classic" movies I should let them see?

(Avoid explicit sex please).

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Google Image Search

I LIKE.

Often I am hunting through my blog to find a specific picture, which, of course, I can't remember when I posted it or what section I put it in.

However, I have just learnt that you can use Google Image search to return all pictures on a site:

1. http://www.google.com/imghp (or just go to the normal google search page and choose Images)

2. type in site:andwebaddress e.g.




3. Press enter and there you are:



(h/t to tjic)

Friday, January 7, 2011

Breakfast

As I had the day off work today, the girls and I decided to take hubby out for breakfast. One of our favourite places, that we don't get to that often unfortunately is the Rose Heritage Cafe.

I forgot to take a camera along, so I apologise in advance for the shocking quality of these which were taken on my phone:

Breakfast - Hubby's



Mine



Miss 9's



Miss 7's



After breakfast, we went for a walk in the garden:











Where the girls fed the fish:





Yes, the FISH:

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Woo hoo - RAIN

Yes, I know it's the middle of summer, and yes, I know I was complaining about the heat the other day ... but I'm not complaining now (well, except for the humidity). IT'S RAINING !!!!!! WOO HOO.



Hoping we get some decent falls from this front. (Not as much as Queensland though, please).

Monday, January 3, 2011

Weapons aren't the problem

Just having a look at causes of death and crime rates in Australia. The latest figures I can find are from 2009.

Here are the ones for weapon use.

Apparently:

In 2009, a weapon was used in 77% of attempted murders, 66% of murders and 43% of robberies (Table 2.6).

A knife was the most common type of weapon used in committing these offences: 37% of attempted murder victims; 36% of murder victims; and 19% of robbery victims were subjected to an offence involving a knife.

A firearm was involved in 18% of attempted murders, 12% of murders and 7% of robbery offences.

A high proportion of sexual assault offences (98%), kidnapping/abduction offences (83%) and over half of robbery offences (57%) committed did not involve the use of a weapon.


(Emphasis mine)

---------------------------------

So even if we did get rid of all weapons - including knives and guns - crime rates won't change much.

So if it's not the weapon, it's ???

Sunday, January 2, 2011

The Hurt Locker

Just finished watching this on DVD.

All I can say is "Thank you" to those that have and do serve in the armed forces.

One review of it, that I read afterwards, asked the question "What is the point of the film?". For me, the film really reminded me that there are REAL people serving - with families, lives and feelings. The guys out there aren't robots - war affects the people who fight in it.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

TTKS - EO Edition

Miss 7 is sitting in the lounge watching the television, an ad for a knife shop comes on:

Ad: "The [redacted] knife store - toys for boys!"

Miss 7: "Hey, that's not good. They said knives are toys for boys - what about girls?"