September 2012

The first day of spring and it 's actually a pleasant sunny day - but definitely not hot! News involving loved ones is a bit mixed - Michael McCutcheon (Leonie's partner and our first friend when we moved into Palmerston Rd 22 years ago) has throat cancer and underwent a huge operation about 10 days ago to remove half his palate and some of his pharynx. He has a tracheostomy, can't speak or eat and is still looking most unwell, but the surgeons are happy with his progress so far. Once the surgery has healed he will need a course of radiotherapy. When we have visited him in the RAH he seems pleased to see us but is easily tired and our visits have been short.
Our daughter in law, Jen is 11 weeks pregnant ( egg donation and Joshua's sperm) and although she is happy to have morning sickness, I can't rejoice yet. Anything could happen! It has been an emotional and dramatic 3 years for them, trying IVF and even an egg donation from Jen's biological sister - all unsuccessful, and of course, I am hoping that this time there will be a happy outcome with a term baby, healthy and normal.
On the home front, Eion has already booked and planned a holiday for us next March - a week in Hong Kong using up some free miles awarded to us by Singapore Airlines. And my medical school year is holding our 40th anniversary reunion in April. As my two big sisters who have previously been our house and animal sitters while we went away have indicated that they can no longer do this, we are asking the 23 year old daughter of a friend to do the baby sitting. She has a degree in animal sciences and just loves our dogs and the cat - she has met them on several occasions already. Still there'll be a lot of water under the bridge before either of these events occurs.

August 2012

Winter is with us and we are very much looking forward to Spring and warming up. Eion and I had a truly marvellous tour of Northern Europe in June - the cruise around Norway was spectacular and the cruise on the Baltic Sea included the magnificence of St Petersburg.Our ship was luxury from stem to stern and our cabin with its balcony was a comfortable and spacious "home base" for the land excursions. Our dining companions for the second part of the journey were lovely - Jim and Susan from Seattle, USA and Braha and Moshe from Haifa, Israel. We thoroughly enjoyed our precruise stay in Amsterdam - gorgeous city - and our post cruise stay in Copenhagen although the weather there was rather depressing. 6 days in Singapore on the way home was a relaxing way to wind down - what a fantastic city it is, always something new and exciting to see. From the trip overall, Eion has over 2000 photos but I have made hard copy albums of about 600. Memories forever.
No trips planned for the next year or so - really, there are only a couple of places in Asia that we want to visit.
The next expenditure is a new car - Eion has ordered a Mazda CX5 and it should arrive in about a month.

He is doing very well with regards to his prostate cancer - no sign of recurrence or spread and the side effects are well under control. However, Leonie's partner  Michael has oral cancer and is facing invasive surgery and radiotherapy - needless to say they are both terrified and we are all feeling helpless - can only offer moral support and all our love. The next 6-8 weeks will reveal whether the treatment achieves anything.

Another Fringe over.

March is nearly finished and the "mad" part of it is over for us. We saw some great shows at The Fringe but the highlight was "Soap" - a circus performance in, on, around and above bath tubs. Spectacular acrobatics, aerial work, juggling, modern dance and comedy with an amazing opera inspired musical background. Also thoroughly enjoyed the comedians, Hannah Gadsby and Peter Berner, an excellent Bob Dylan tribute concert from Aussie Bob and the E-Type Jazz concert was toe-tapping dynamic stuff.
Eion has been busy planning and booking our next big overseas trip. In late May we leave for Amsterdam and then take a cruise through the Norwegian fjords and around the Baltic Sea before another stop in Copenhagen and a week in Singapore on the way home.
Before then we have a long weekend in Sydney for Joshua's 40th birthday. Fancy my baby boy being 40! We have bought him a beautiful set of hard back books - The Complete Calvin and Hobbes - he will always be my special Calvin.
The dogs are fairly healthy at present - Frog's heart condition is responding well to medication and her arthritis has also improved with daily anti-inflammatories. Mind you, her pills cost the earth! Dizzy continues to be our inscrutable cat but she is getting slower and more inclined to affection as she ages.
Bridge Club twice a week is still a major entertainement for me but my partner (Betty) and I struggle to match it with the better players. And Latin continues to bring me joy and intellectual challenges.
PS: My intention to stop smoking has not been entirely successful!