oh no, not the dreaded 'lurgy'...

i've had one of those 'ear, eye, nose & throat' things happening since i woke up yesterday... amazing how one day you're fine and then without warning 'bang' - you've got a fever and you feel like crap - bloody people and their germs!!! and being sick wasn't part of the plan for this weekend... the best laid plans and all that, hey...

luckily the animals are happy to just laze around with me... they've gotten used to the lounge being our 'bedsit-cum-sanctuary' with the brother still being here... don't know how long i can cope with it though!!! although we would still sleep on the couch because the bed is way too high for me old girl these days (and she's always slept with me) - it's much easier to have cushions placed strategically for her to use as steps' to climb onto the couch... she is amazing to watch getting around without sight and sound to guide her - such perseverance without complaint - animals are certainly superior to humans where adapting to their situation is concerned (doesn't mean that some aren't sooks though, hey loudie-dude!!!)...

it is a bit of crush on the couch though - it's not a bed couch, it's just a couch couch... and it seems the warmer the weather to greater the need for the gang to either be sprawled out across me, or tucked up tight and leaning right into me!! oh to be able to stretch out!!! but we are close to the courtyard - and without fail the boy is hassling at 5am to get out... which is a good time to wake the girl up and take her outside too - it 'circumvents' the bed wetting - but it does take her a while to get it together - she's very disoriented and very wonky and feeble - you do have to stay with her and let her know where you are and that everything's okay... what is this thing called sleep i've heard people allude to???

the medication i was put onto by a friend seems to be helping with the incontinence luckily - bio-organics' "bladder care" - a pumpkin seed and soy bean extract - it does get a tad expensive over time considering how much she has - then there's the garlic caps and the soy milk (but don't bother to offer that to the boy - that's where he draws the line... the look on his face says it all - 'what the fuck is this crap??!!' - a bit like the look he gives you when he sees you approach with the camera!!!)... at the moment the girls eyes are all 'gungy' too so they need to be bathed with chamomile... and you still have to 'be alert' because she still heads off in the wrong direction when she wants to go outside sometimes (well, a lot of the time actually!!!)... ahh, the trials and tribulations of caring for the infirm elderly - she is such a tolerant, easy going babe considering all the 'poking and prodding' she has to endure...

hopefully the rest of my day will be spent absorbed in my book... that's so long as the puffy eyes, sore throat and earache allow me to concentrate...

i've had to put aside "Cooee" for the moment - i just can't get into it (but it's not highly reserved so i can maybe 'revisit' it sometime)... i'm currently 'immersed' in Anne Summers' memoir "The lost mother: a story of art and love" described as "..a gripping narrative that is part art history, part detective story and part meditation on the relations between mothers and daughters." i am thoroughly enjoying this one...

 

i've admired Anne Summers ever since i read "damned whores and god's police" in the 70s - it's about the role of women in Australian society and was considered a landmark publication at the time (and still is!!)

i do hope i'm over this 'bug' by new year's eve... my brother's going to be around to look after the boy and girl and i'm heading off to my niece rebbecca's 'gathering' in kyneton, then it's on to malmsbury to spend the night with my loudie-dude, irene and the rest of the gang... i'll be back on friday though 'cause i 'drew the short straw' and have to work on saturday morning - bummer - but overnight is better than nothing i guess - and any longer than that and i'd just be worried about allie...