swilkinson

Nice assortment of vegetables. Are the cucumbers the latest to ripen? I like the assorted tomatoes too. The bottled sauce is a great idea. I used to bottle fruit and vegetables when we lived in the country when the kids were young. Seems like a lifetime ago now.

Why are you still on Strokenet my friends ask me. Why are you still talking about stroke nearly eight years after Ray died? Why haven't you moved on with your life? Well I have moved on but moving on does not mean you have to move away from those things that have been valuable to you in the past. . And to me Strokenet has been of huge value in my life and the lives of Ray and my family. Discovering Strokenet made a big difference to the way I lived my life, dealt with Ray's strokes and came out the other side as a whole and wholly changed person. Without Strokenet I am not sure I would be here at all. As always I am grateful for this site which I found when Ray's health problems were starting to overwhelm me and it helped me in caring for him as stroke after stroke happened. It was five years on in my care for him when I found this site. The women and men I met on here really gave me the strength to go on. All the stroke survivors seemed so brave despite the mighty blows that were struck against them and the stroke caregivers showed such courage in the face of ever changing circumstances that somehow they gave me the courage to go on. That gave me the will to do what I had to do and somehow, despite the great changes in our lives, to carry on. What a wonderful example they were to me and I am really thankful to all I met here. A lot are gone from this site now as regular contributors but a few are still friends on my Facebook page so our relationship continues. We helped each other to understand what we're going through in our seperate and sometimes quite different lives. Through our posts on the forums we learned so many different aspects of coping with strokes. At first I was timid about joining chat but when I did I was amazed by what I learned from that. We were all so different but also had so much in common. Principally the changes that stroke bring into the lives of all the family members and how to cope with that without going mad. Among other things I learned from my early days in chat was to listen to people and try to understand where they were coming from. Among other things being with the survivors gave me a look into Ray's way of seeing life, something he was unable to articulate. I think the survivors taught the caregivers to slow down on demanding progress and their need for things to return to normal and the caregivers taught the survivors to understand the fatigue that comes with doing so many different jobs we were unaccustomed to doing and the strain that brings. Maybe that gave us the strength to go on. I know for me taking over the outside jobs on top of all the nursing and house wifely tasks was really wearing me down back then. My first chat hosting started about a year after I came on here and I did a general chat so met countless survivors and a handful of caregivers, caregivers often being too busy to come onto chat. The time difference means that I was talking to people in the early evening from my early morning the following day which sometimes led to a strange situation as I discussed winter happening while you, my northern friends, were in the middle of summer. As time went by caregivers asked for their own chat and in changing over to host Caregiver Chat I began my relationship with some really inspiring men and women, some of whom became lifelong friends despite our being such a great distance apart. I became Blog Moderator when Asha stepped down from that job. That is why I am still here almost eight years since Ray's passing. I feel I can still make a contribution to the site. Through the blogs I have learned to see life through other people's eyes. To follow their journeys through their ups and downs, through life to death in some cases with the caregivers and from devastation to a new way of living with the survivors. It has been a great privilege to have accompanied people on their journey in this way. Of course people I have become fond of have left the site, that is inevitable as they progress and maybe can no longer relate to the newbies or no longer need the support provided here. It is sad to lose touch with people I had grown to love and respect but that too is part of life. I am here not because I am a big contributor, not because I am a person who needs the support myself now as I did when I came here so long ago but because of one person, Steve Mallory the founder of this site. Steve is an inspiration, badly stroke effected himself he dreamed a concept of helping others way beyond his field of influence. While chatting, blogging or just reading on this site we sometime forget that he designed the site and still funds it. We reap the benefits of his foresight, his determination to improve the lives of other stroke survivors and their caregivers. Steve is the forgotten man sometimes but without him none of us would be here. So THANK YOU Steve from the bottom of my heart.

One of the nursing homes I used to visit had converted a child's cot into a raised garden bed using a black plastic lining, filling it with soil and the plants. It could be wheeled onto the concrete outside the back door for the residents to weed or pick the produce and then back out into the sun. It was watered out on the lawn so any drippings from the punched holes in the plastic watered the grass. I thought it was a fantastic idea.

Janelle, I hope you can see your brother soon. I am frustrated by our border issues, I was to go to Queensland to see Ray's older brother this year as he turns 80 in October but that can't happen now. I haven't seen him and his family for eight years, the last time was at Ray's funeral so this was going to be a bit of a reunion. Covid has taken do much away from us all.

Tracy I am glad you posted this at last. Sometimes there is someone who really needs to read it that would not have read it at the time of writing. That was a really beneficial conversation for both of you. It is also the reason we are all here, to get the feeling that we are not alone, that others are feeling alone too, that together we can feel better, reach further. From what I read here you are doing a great job hosting chat. The benefits of chat are evident too, you are really helping people to connect. You are doing something very worthwhile there.(((Hugs)))

One new case of Covid on our part of the Cosst, one of the thousands of people who commute to Sydney each day. No panic, just one case right? Spring just around the corner so spending more time outside, gardening mostly. Lovely end of winter sunshine lightened my mood the past few days. So this may end my winter blues and I may start feeling better about life now.

Mask wearing and humidity is going to be a problem here in summer too. Not sure how I am going to cope with that. Some people go back to their car and sit for a while, so that might be a solution. I already have a problem with my waist to toe pressure stockings in summer. I guess these are just challenges we have to face to do what we need to do.

I love those summer greens, I grow rocket, baby spinach and two kinds of parsley for salad, so am envious of people who grow stronger lettuces. You are doing really well with your return to normal program. Good for you.

We have to make hard decisions at times. Giving away such an amusing little kitten will be a hard one but as you say she needed a high energy family to keep up with her. You will be fine, you will have lots of other things to keep you busy and keep you interested in life. That is what's my motivation, keeping interested in other happenings and my mind off the things I cannot fix.

I haven't seen my grandchildren from Adelaide for seven months and won't see them probably till January due to Covid and that we have closed borders between our states to help stop transmission. I wear a mask to church, for medical appointments and a few other places. It is not ideal but it is doable. None of us know when this will end and it is sad families are being kept apart because of it. Keep safe and one day this will be over.

I wish I lived in your neighborhood, your produce looks so wonderful, particularly the tomatoes and onions. When we first came to this house in the late 60s we had a garden and so did the neighbours. We swapped spinach for cabbage or cucumbers for tomatoes. A neighbour grew flat yellow onions that were so sweet we all loved them in salads. Now I just grow my herbs and neighbors either side don't grow vegetables at all. A pity really as the swaps were fun and we often exchanged seeds or cuttings as well.

Sue, great news that you feel ready to drive again. The lessons and assessment process is a great idea. Something positive for a goal starting year three! And it will be so satisfying to be able to do those little drives by yourself.

Mark, no beating yourself up, we have a new start every day so use tomorrow to get back on track. I've had a few don't want to get out of bed days in the past couple of months. With my routine gone I feel my life is boring, with winter here life is dull, so I tell myself but it is up to me to make my own day go well, not to waste the day. Give yourself a pep talk. Works for me most of the time.

ASHA, frustration is a feature of our Covid life, we are surrounded by situations we don't usually encounter and so are on edge. So we become both angry and disorientated. Go easy on yourself and on hubby, you are both doing your best. Do something nice for him to say sorry for your outburst and ask him if he can help you move on from there. The earring will be found. Life will go on. As long as we learn the lesson we can overcome our lack of courtesy and move forward. My experience anyway.

Kev, a lot of what you talk about seems like routine but those small improvements all add up. Walking without having to consciously think about it is a blessing. And running back - great. I rescued a neighbour today who slipped on wet grass and finished up in the drain, we both had a cup of tea afterwards to calm our nerves! His partner was out at the times so just as well I saw him go down.

Happy Birthday Janelle! Our weather is just cold wet and miserable. No Covid on the Central Coast, a few cases in Sydney and a couple in Newcastle. We are urged to wear masks when out and some of my older friends are only leaving home to shop. This seems to add more dullness to winter than usual. Roll on Spring!

Thanks Janelle, this wait and see game is not easy for any of us. Hope everything is okay in your family. Just wondering if this will be over by Christmas.

Grandkids from Adelaide not coming now. I will have to wait for January to see them. They could come but on their return they would have to quarantine for fourteen days and Steve and Alison as well. Feeling sad, Pam told me today when she brought me the masks she had made for me. She is so kind.

Got a newsletter from the church last week to say we had to wear face masks this week. I duly bought some, probably made in China, put one on to go to church and immediately one of the straps broke! Happily I have plenty of elastic so without touching the front of the mask I fixed it up. I got to church only to find less than half of the congregation wearing a mask. There must have been a letter telling us that due to poor availability it had been decided to postpone mask wearing to next week. I guess you could call what I did a trial run!

Several of my friends have put on a lot of of weight, not good for their health but understandable during this period when we are all supposed to stay home and food of the wrong kind is so temptingly close at hand. Early in the shut down period I saw a lot of people walking dogs but the cold wet days have put a lid on that. All we can do is be sensible about what we eat and try to find some way of exercising. Bah humbug!

Like Mark I am envious of your crop but mate you have earned it. You are working t hose muscles that will improve your movement and reap the benefits later. Enjoy the fruits of your labour.

I know here in Australia the news seems always about the virus, the risks, the restrictions and little else so we are all worried. But alongside of that we still need to take care of the everyday chores in our lives and somehow keep cheerful and hopeful. Some days I am great at this and some days I am blah!!! So how are you today?

My granddaughter Alice used to see her cousin Christopher on her iPad, so when she saw him lifesize for the first time she looked up and up and up. She was a six year old and he at 19 was 6'5" tall. He knows to sit down to talk to her now.

Heather stay safe! I know there will be a lot more deprivation for older Victorians through this crisis. I know we haven't seen some of our church congregation members in the past five weeks since we have been back, although there Is no know cases in our area. I put it down to fear that being outside their homes apart from essential shopping is too dangerous. Maybe the outbreaks in Melbourne and other places are adding to that here too. As this is ongoing we have to somehow find ways to keep connected with the people in our various groups.

It must be lonely for you too. I hope he is home soon.