Hello everyone, been absent the last few days been one thing or another, like yesterday after taking Leo to school I went to the doctors to get the results of my CT scan that was done on my lower back turns out I have multi-level spondylotic disease which is relatively more marked at the L4L5 which is causing moderate central canal stenosis.

What that means I have no idea I have Googled it and printed out some information about it which I am yet to read, however, what I do know is that these problems are from bulging discs and posterior element degeneration. This means my back pain will just over time get more and more and I am going to end up like my mother who has serious back pain that is getting more and more server over time.

Then when I got home I spent time reading blogs and did a couple loads of washing and hang it out to dry, then I had to go and get Leo from school and when I got home at 3.30pm I had to get the clothes off the line and then just didn’t feel like doing anything so I didn’t.

Also yesterday we had the ceiling fan in the bedroom replaced as it was tripping the circuit breaker for the lights, we have ceiling fans in each of the bedrooms as ell as in the lounge room. The fan cost $60 to buy and $80 to have installed which is pretty good.

This morning when I woke up at 6am to go to the loo my head felt so heavy on my shoulders and I couldn’t keep my eyes open, so I went back to bed till Leo got here and came in to wake me up, this morning I was busy reading blogs and ironing. I have to iron sitting down now as I am unable to stand for more then maybe 5 minutes without pain.

Also when I got up this morning I found Natasha busy washing my kitchen cupboards she cleaned out all the top cupboards and washed them and was 99% done when she gets a phone call and had to rush in to have a shower and then leave for work. So I ended up finishing off the bench and washing the filter from the range hood over the stove.

Also Kathy-Lee and Summer came over for a while and while here she asked Tim and changing the oil in her car and she mentioned that the oil light had been coming on the last couple of days so we asked her when she lasted checked the oil and she didn’t remember so Tim went out and checked it and the dipstick was clean no oil showed up on it, so Tim went and found some oil and put it in her car for her, I told her she was lucky she hadn’t seize the motor.

Blain should be home sometime this afternoon, in fact I just said to Tim that I thought Natasha said he would be home around 11.30 this morning but it is now 1.40pm and he still isn’t home, I will be leaving in 20 minutes to go get Leo. Yes I leave early to get him but I enjoy sitting in the car and reading while I wait for him, in fact if I leave later I often find it difficult to get a parking spot although it is easier to find somewhere to park at Leo’s school compared to Blain’s school.

That’s all my news for now, I should be back tomorrow with some kind of other post, until then my friends stay happy and safe.

Hello everyone, I am coming to you from another place not home, why because I am dog sitting for my brother who has gone to our nieces wedding in Queensland, Kirsty is marrying her partner Jacob this afternoon.

My brother is attending in place of our parents as my dad has been really sick a lot recently add to that mum isn’t really comfortable driving such a long distance. Even though Tim and I not attending I did send a present up with my niece Kelli and Jonathon, since Kelli and Jonathon naturally went this meant my grandson Blain has had a holiday in Queensland this last week and this I am very happy about as it would be his first family holiday well the first one that I know about.

I am the only person that my brother and sister in-law are comfortable with staying here to watch the dogs, the only thing I don’t like that much is the bed it is not that comfortable but it is only a few nights and I can cope with that.

This morning I went to the local plaza and did a bit of shopping then I had to go home to pick up my phone charger so while I was home I had a bath and did Tim’s medication up for the next week so I don’t have to go home tomorrow. Tim said he wanted me to go home and get him tomorrow to take him over to Kathy’s place but I really don’t want to and will suggest that he rides his motor bike here and e then go from here to Kathy’s. David only lives 5 minutes from Kathy so I would rather do what I said but we will see.

Yeah last night when I got here I discovered that I had left my phone charger at home so before I went to bed last night I turned my phone off, I rarely turn my phone off but since I was going to bed it was ok and this morning I tried charging it in the car with the car charger but it is stuffed and not working, I am going to suggest to Tim that we get another one as I do use it a lot more then I thought I would.

The reason I had a bath at home this morning is because my bath is a larger bath then the one here, it is deeper and longer and wider so a better size for this larger woman. Why is it I wonder why baths now days are generally smaller then they were 30 years or so ago, my bath is the same one we had when we moved into the place 28years ago. I also remember the bath that was in this house when it was Aunty Joyce’s house it was a large bath like mine but it was in a terrible state and when my brother did some renovations to the house they put in a new bathroom and that meant getting a new smaller bath.

Well that is enough dribble for this post.

Hello all, I am much better today, thankfully I was in bed bloody early last night and by bloody early I mean 7.15pm I couldn’t see the point in staying up when I felt like shit.

Today is the 20^th anniversary of the Port Arthur Massacre, Port Arthur is in Tasmania it is a former prison colony and a popular tourist site, 35 people were killed and 23 wounded when a mad man because let’s be honest do sane people go around killing innocent people me thinks not although some are pretty sane but this fella wasn’t one of them.

The killer was a 28 year old from Hobart his name was Martin Bryant, he was found guilty and given 35 life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Moving on I had an appointment this morning at Leo’s school with his principal nothing bad though she just wanted to touch base with me as Leo will be going to Creative Times it is run by the Samaritans and is an after school group for 8-12 year olds, although I think Jessica said he might be going during school hours, the hope is that he will learn how to interact with other as at times he as a problem with interacting. I also found out that last term Leo’s whole class did different activates at Creative Times so he knows a little about the place already.

The principal said Leo is a charming boy and very popular with the staff and has a lot of friends as well but at times he has problems understanding non verbal signs like if another child is finding Leo a bit full on unless the child says something Leo can’t tell that he is annoying the other child.

Ok that is all I have for today, I am in pain with my back and arm so I am going to sit back put my feet up and watch The Chase

Ok let us talk about my education, this could be a short post, since I have bugga all education……lol

Ok I started school when I was 5, I went to Gateshead primary school, then onto Gateshead high school, I left at the end of year 10. When I was at school you could leave any time after turning 14yrs & 9mths, however, now days you are expected to go through to the end of year 12 which I think is stupid as I can tell you there was no way I could have done years 11 & 12 I just wasn’t smart enough.

When I was in high school I was in a C class, in fact I was in & 7C2 and was in the C2 class all way through high school this was the class above the “dummies” class which was 7D1 which was also known as the OA class which had those student who had some kind of intellectual disability but this class still in my days had around 20-30 students in it.

Now days there are generally two levels of classes for students with some kind of intellectual disability the first level is what is called an IM class, then there is the IO class, the IM class is for students with a mild intellectual disability or what is usually called a learning disability, the IO class is for students with a moderate intellectual disability.

So this said I think if I was in school today I would be in an IM class as the IO class is what we called the OA class. Tim was in an OA class when he was at school and he left half way through year 8 as soon as he was able to do so but this isn’t a post about him it is about me.

As I said I left school at the end of year 10, now I can tell you when I sat the year 10 school certificate exams I failed the english exam getting only 48% the other exams science and maths I did better on getting around 60-70%.

When I left school I had no idea what I was going to do and had no intention of doing any more studying but as it turned out I did a secretarial course at Tafe (Technical and Further Education) only because my best friend at the time wanted to do one but as it turned out I got into the course and she didn’t.

Did I like school?

No I did not but I went every bloody day because it was just what was expected, it never occurred to me not to attend each day. Yeah many students skip school but not me in a year I would have only 1 or 2 days off school because I was sick.

Hello all today is Anzac Day here in Australia, it is one of the nations most important days, it marks the anniversary of the first major military action undertook by Australian and New Zealand forces during the first world way.

The 25^th April was the day that the Anzac’s landed at Gallipoli and even though the whole Gallipoli campaign was a failure it was at Gallipoli that for many the Anzac legend was born becoming an important part of the identity of both countries, shaping the way in which they were viewed both in the past in years to come.

The first Anzac Day commemorations were held on the 25^th April 1916 a year after the Gallipoli disaster. That day was marked by ceremonies and services across the country in Sydney march convoys of cars carried the soldiers wounded at Gallipoli. There was a march in London with around 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marching, a London newspaper used the headline “the knights of Gallipoli” there was as well and sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt.

For those who don’t know when the First World War broke out Australia had only been a federated nation for 13 years, thus the government at the time was eager to establish a reputation among other nations of the world.

By the end of the Gallipoli campaign more the 8,000 Australian soldiers had died, Gallipoli had a profound impact on those back home in Australia and the 25^th April soon became the day which Australians would remember the sacrifice of those who died in the war, later on it would be come the nations day to remember all those who died in all wars.

It was in 1927 that for the first time all states observed some form of public holiday on Anzac Day by the mid 1930’s all the rituals which are now associated with the Anzac Day were firmly established as part of the Anzac Day culture.

These rituals are the dawn service which was the time of the original landing at Gallipoli, later in the day ex-servicemen and women take part in marches through the major cities and in some smaller towns as well. There are more formal commemorative services held at the war memorials around the country.

A typical Anzac Day ceremony may include the following features: an introduction, hymn, prayer, an address, laying of wreaths, a recitation, the Last Post, a period of silence, either the Rouse or the Reveille, and the national anthem. After the Memorial’s ceremony, families often place red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour, as they also do after Remembrance Day services.

Now for a little about the Anzac biscuit, during the First World War friends and families of soldiers would send food to those fighting because of the time delay getting the food from here to there and the need for the items to not need refrigeration many would send biscuits.

Anzac biscuits are made with rolled oats, sugar, plain flour, coconut, butter,golden syrup, bi-carbonate and boiling water. Of course these biscuits where first known as the Soldiers’ Biscuit, the name Anzac Biscuit came about due to our desire to recognise the Anzac traditional and the part the biscuit played in the diet of Gallipoli.

The Anzac biscuit is one of the few commodities that are able to be legally marketed in Australia using the word ‘Anzac’, which is protected by Federal Legislation.