I found something written at the end of yesterday’s diary entry this morning and it made me feel so happy. I thought Tim wrote it, but I was wrong, it was Natasha.

I had a good night slept straight through. Waking with the alarm at 5am the temp is 12 degrees and my BGL is 4.8.

Had the next door neigbour (Bear)come and ask if we have power, we do, Tim told him to ring maintenance. Bear said he thought he would be kicked out when he turns 75, that doesn’t sound right.

I did only 1,157 steps.

At 1am this morning we lost power till Cpap machine I noticed when the power went out and was awake till it came back on.

A cold morning temp was 6 degrees and my BGL was 5.5.

Sue came over for a visit, which made me happy.

The temp at midday was 14 degrees

Sam’s early day and Joel was driving a different van a white minibus which was a surprise. If he is driving it in the morning, I will not be able to pick him out when he turns into the street.

Just after I emptied the recycle bins it pissed down rain.

I also decided to hem my new pants so I can wear them.

I did 2,799 steps.

Had another shocking night very restless and up and down ever 30 minutes or so to pee and not just a dribble, how could a body produce so much urine in only 30 minutes.

I ended up getting out of bed at 4.50am and having a shower the house was darker than usual this morning, so I turned the ceiling light on for a while and had the heater going for a couple of hours.

The temp this morning says 8 degrees but feels colder. My BGL was 4.1

It is raining so Jess had to take Sam to wait for transport. I also have had the heater on most of the morning.

Ass Jess had to go work and Tash was busy I walked up to meet Sam and Tash saw me and got upset that I was out in the rain.

I did 1,818 steps

Had a good night slept straight through, woke at 4.55am to pee so I stayed up. It is still raining, and it is 10 degrees and my BGL was 3.6.

By mid-morning the rain had stopped, and it wasn’t as cold.

I used the powerfit twice today.

I rang Sue as she hadn’t replied to my message this morning and I wanted to make sure she was ok, she is.

Had Jess come over to raid my freezer looking for whatever she could find leaving with broccoli and ice cream as well as 2 min noodles and chocolate biscuits.

Steps 2,395

Finding it a bit difficult to get moving this morning, I slept all night waking when the alarm went off.

It is 8 degrees and my BGL is 5.5 the first reading said 6.1 so I washed my hands under running water tried again came down to 5.8, gave them another wash, and it was 5.5 so that will do.

I am super tired this morning.

Had appointment with Dr Babu via phone but for some reason my camera wasn’t working. I will see her face to face in January.

Kathy rang she is unwell, and my camera still wasn’t working so I restarted the phone, and it’s working now.

Had another good night woke with the alarm, it’s 10 degrees and dry, my BGL 4.7. I have a headache and feel sluggish.

Last day of term 2 today.

After a slow start to the day, I picked up managed to do the usual housework.

Sandy came over to pick up so forms I printed for her she looks so thin but otherwise ok.

I did 2,399 steps

Had a good night, was a tad restless around midnight, got up and wandered around the house before going back to bed and settling straight down and back to sleep.

It is 9 degrees and my BGL is 3.9

Tim and I went shopping I have decided that Saturday is my go out and stuff day.

Kathy & Summer came over to drop off banana bread and a book for Sue.

Sam mentioned yesterday that Jess had bought them both tights to wear under their pants to help stay warm, so this morning I decided to get a pair of pantyhose out and wear them under my long pants, makes a big difference.

Tim is working tonight and tomorrow night. Steps 1,897

Hello everyone, I have a headache seem to be getting a few of them recently, oh well. This week let’s look a bit at speech problems and Parkinson’s Disease.

Those with PD may find their speech becoming weak and soft, Tim often says I am speaking so soft he has trouble hearing me, of course I do not notice any difference in my speech volume.

Also, some people thankfully not me may find themselves talking to fast so that their words tumble out on top of each other, or they may repeat a word involuntarily a number of times this is known as palilalia. Dribbling also makes speech difficult.

In order to help improve these issues the PD suffer must be fully aware of what is going on and maybe should use a recorder to record their voice and listen to it.

They can read aloud trying to increase the volume of their speech, singing along to a favourite song can be fun way of using your voice and increasing volume.

If speech problems become severe, they may want to see a speech therapist.

There are devices that can help a person speak like a speech amplifier to increase the volume. It is possible for someone with severe PD to lose the ability to speak all together this would suck and these people have to write things down.

Hello everyone and welcome this week I am sharing just four other physical ways people with BPD may be affected.

In times of intense stress, the body increases production of stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. According to The National Eczema Organization, when the body over-produces cortisol, it can suppress the immune system and cause an inflammatory skin response like eczema or other kind of rash.

Sensory overload is a symptom many folks with PTSD can experience. Though PTSD and BPD are different conditions, one study found that 53 percent of people who met the criteria for BPD also met the criteria for lifetime PTSD. Because of this, it makes sense that many folks with BPD experience this physical symptom.

Fatigue is a common symptom of depression, a mood disorder 71 to 83 percent of people with BPD have. Though folks with BPD will have emotional extremes lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few days, the periods of depression can be emotionally and physically taxing.

Hypervigilance is a heightened state of arousal that puts someone (usually someone who has lived through trauma) on high alert, even in times of safety. Studies have shown most patients with BPD have lived through trauma, especially in childhood.

Another cold morning here let’s continue with some more about the Battle of the Coral Sea.

Almost immediately after the first attack against Admiral Crace and second one took place, this time with more accurate patterned bombing from high altitude. Such bombing caused giant columns of water which threatened to sink the Australia thankfully the ships although soaked with sea water managed to evade the bombs.

As often happens there may have been some friendly fire incidents, however, a less excusable incident happened when three planes flew over just missing the Farragut and Perkins. They were US Army Air Force B17 bombers.

The Japanese thought they had sunk one battleship and damaged a few more, when in fact Crace’ squadron was mostly undamaged and at nightfall cruised away to await further events and orders. Due to radio silence, he really had no idea what was happening with the Allied flotilla.

Back in the main area of battle allied pilots were returning to the Yorktown but they were joined by 18 Japanese bombers who mistakenly thought the Yorktown was their own ship. It was when an American pilot noticed and opened fire on them that realising their boo boo flew off as they had no bombs, they were unable to attack the carrier.

It was at the end of the battle during fierce fighting that Lieutenant J.J. Powers an American pilot inflicted heavy damage on the Japanese carrier Shokaku by waiting till the last minute to drop his bomb on the flight deck. He was of course killed and received the Congressional Medal of Honour posthumous. During the blaze on the Shokaku 150 men were killed or wounded.  

During all the fighting the USS Lexington suffered several direct hits causing it to be ablaze from stem to stern and resulting in it being abandoned. It was sunk by the USS Phelps to prevent the Japanese from trying to salvage it.

By the end of this round of fighting neither side could say they had a victory with scores of losses on both sides, however the Japanese objective of taking Port Moresby had taken a beating and this was a moral boost to the Allies.

I will finish this next week.  

Hello everyone since it is Tuesday it is freaky creature day and today’s creature is the Surinam Toad.

The common Surinam toad or star-fingered toad is a purely aquatic species of frog in the family Pipidae with a widespread distribution in South America.

It looks like a leaf or flat rock; it is also known as a star-fingered toad due to the tiny star on the tip of each four fingers on its front legs.

It will lay flat on the riverbed with its arms outstretched and uses them to find food, if something brushes up against the stars it sucks it up.

The species is known for incubating its eggs in honeycombed chambers in the skin of the mother’s back, releasing fully formed froglets after a period of 4–5 months. Once fully formed they pop free and head for the water’s surface to breathe. The mum then sheds its skin ready for the next breeding season.

This was the last creature in my freaky creature book, so I will have to see what else I can find I do have one on dangerous spiders but I’m not sure about that.

Good morning bloggers or is it good afternoon or good evening whatever time you are reading this doesn’t matter, what does matter is how blessed I am to have some wonderful followers, just saying.

This week we are looking at Spain, which is in Western Europe, it has a population of 47 million, the capital is Madrid. It dominates most of the Lberian Peninsula in southwest Europe.

It’s official name is the Kingdom of Spain and was originally called Hispania.

They have a Parliamentary Monarchy with King Felipe VI as the head of state.

The national flag of Spain, as it is defined in the Constitution of 1978, consists of three horizontal stripes: red, yellow and red, the yellow stripe being twice the height of each red stripe. Traditionally, the middle stripe was defined by the more archaic term of gualda, and hence the popular name la Rojigualda.

It is a country famous for its culture, which includes flamenco dancing and bullfighting, it also has some beautiful beaches.

The country’s official language is Spanish or Castilian Spanish, which is spoken by everyone. However, certain Autonomous Communities have their own official language in addition to Spanish. Catalan is spoken in Catalonia, Galician in Galicia, and Basque in the Basque Country and part of Navarre.

Of course, we can’t talk about Spain and not mention bullfighting. Spanish-style bullfighting is a type of bullfighting that is practiced in several Spanish-speaking countries: Spain, Mexico, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, as well as in parts of southern France and Portugal.

Although it is still legal in Spain there are some Spanish cities that outlawed it and there are only a few countries throughout the world where it still goes on.

Had a good night, woke once I think, in for another cold and wet day the temp now is 10 degrees or 50 degrees if you’re in the USA. My BGL is 4.3.

I did a load of washing and hung it on the clothes hoists.

Tim had to go and put fuel in the car, I stayed home. It has rained on and off all day.

Around 4.30pm Tim put the heater on and after half an hour I started to feel hot and had to go and take my long sleeve jacket off.

Had another good night, I slept through the night waking with the alarm, it is 6 degrees and my BGL is 5.2.

It has reached a top of 17 degrees.

Have answered 3 letters today.

At the start of the year Tim bought himself a pedometer to count his steps during the day but said he couldn’t get it to work. I have decided to wear it and I have no problem with it working. Of a morning, I press reset and attach it to my pants that’s it. I have no idea what Tim was trying to do with it.

I have also borrowed Tasha’s power fit machine and managed to use it for 4 minutes today which was with me standing on it.

I walked 1,514 steps today

Damn these cold mornings suck and to add to annoyance this morning I have no bread for toast, no fruit, no custard and no milk for cereal and it is only 4 degrees. My BGL is 4.1

Had a phone call from Lake Mac Council about the bulk waste collection we have to pay $120 for it as our landlord which is the NSW government do not pay something that covers it and so it is up to each tenant to arrange and pay for their own collection.

So, I told Tim and Tasha about the phone call and they both went off their heads, ringing the Doh and saying they were lying to us when they said they didn’t know what going on. I ended up with a headache from it all.

Jessica came and set the chemist app on my phone for me, took her a while to figure it out but looks ok now.

Both Jess and I went to meet Sam and Tash saw us walking up and joined us, Sam was surprised to see us all there.

It is 19 degrees and not cold, just nice at the moment. I walked 1,240 steps today.

It doesn’t feel as cold this morning even though it is only 7 degrees.  I slept well waking with the alarm. My BGL is 5.1

Tim took a bunch of the bananas to work to just sit on the table for whoever wants one, someone did the same with apples and they got eaten.

I did a bit this morning in the way of housework, and it felt good. I have borrowed Tasha’s powerfit and have started using it for 10 minutes each day. I do most of it while sitting but manage a few minutes standing.

I had banana and custard for breakie and a banana sandwich for lunch.

The temp has risen to 20 degrees, and I am starting to feel warm.

Tim said when he returned to the depo after his morning school run the bananas were gone.

I did 1,822 steps today.

Another cold morning but I felt warm for a bit of it had to open the front door a crack for about 20 minutes.

My BGL is 4.8 and the temp is 6 degrees. By midday it was 17 degrees.

I made myself some hot chips for lunch which I had on a sandwich with cheese.

I decided to ask and seed if someone can drive me to Glendale tomorrow so I can take the bananas to Kathy so she can make me some banana bread. I don’t think I can go over and drop off the bananas as Kathy said not to go at 1.45pm. and that is a bit late, I don’t expect to find someone to drive me.

I did 1,870 steps

Had a not so good night, I was restless and kept waking to pee like every couple of hours and it was a cold night. I ended up getting up at 4.45am as even though I was in a nice warm bed I felt like I was shivering, which is what my internal tremor feels like. It is 3 degrees and my BGL is 4.3

It warmed up to 17 degrees.

While I was using the powerfit Michael arrived to pick up the bananas. I am doing better with the powerfit, I can now stand on it for up to 4 minutes before needing to sit for a bit.

I did 1,801 steps today.

Another rough night, I spent hours tossing and turning before I settled, and I also had to get up 4 times to pee.

It is 7 degrees and my BGL was 3.0 a bit low this morning, which is I suspect part of the reason I am shaking so much.

I have now had breakie and I hope that helps settle the tremor.

When Tim got up, we went to the shops while there Kathy rang, I answered and told her I would ring her back when I got home. Which I did.

Tim is working this afternoon/night.

I did1,648 steps.

REMEMBER I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH AND YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME. I am so very proud of you and how far you have come over the last few months

Hello everyone on this cold Friday morning, here is a little more about Parkinson’s this week I want to talk about exercise something many will thing is too difficult for someone with PD to do but also something those with PD need to partake in.

It is understandable that when someone is having trouble standing and other mobility issues to shy away from exercise and at times well-meaning family and friends trying to be supportive end up making things worse as the person with PD ends up sitting around on their ass all day doing bugga all. Yes, I am referring to myself here, that is what happened with me.

In some cases, once someone is told they have PD they are given the impression by the medical people that it is up to the drugs to help fix things.

However, exercise and physiotherapy play an important role and this I was not told by any doctor.

I found things changed a lot in me when at Natasha’s insistence I started doing some simple and easy exercises while either sitting or holding onto furniture or a wall. They consisted of leg lifts and twisting my body and walking on the spot all of which can be done while seated if needed. I went from not being able to get in and out of our car to back to getting in and out without a problem.

When you have PD, you must keep your body moving which sounds strange as our bodies rarely stop moving but we need structed movement like lifting our legs and twisting and turning our bodies.

I found one place to get instructions about how and what to do from YouTube where there are countless clips showing you the right way to do things.

I have now started using Natasha’s powerfit which for those who do not know is a balance board that vibrates standing on it isn’t something I could have done a year ago, and now I can only manage to stand for 3 minutes before needing to sit. The vibrations last for 10 minutes and I go from standing to sitting to standing to sitting again.

What is most important is to start doing some kind of exercise each day and our bodies will not become stiff and sore due to PD sooner than need be.

Another Thursday means another post about BPD, I want to point out that not everyone with BPD will have all the symptoms I have already mentioned but in order for a diagnosis of BPD they must have at least five of the traits I have already wrote about. Generally, they will include fear of abandonment, intense and unstable relationships and problems with regulating emotions.

Because it is a mental illness that affects emotional regulation people focus on the mental and emotional symptoms. However, there are also physical symptoms which over the next few weeks I will tell you about them.

One is to do with sensory block during dissociation, when this occurs it can distort perception and cause memory loss. During dissociation it is common to feel like your spirit has left your body and you are just staring into space, if tis happens when the person is alone it can take ages to snap out of it.  A person can also find themselves sweating profusely and their pulse increasing, they can have ringing in the ears and tunnel vision.

Ok everyone here is part two of the Battle of the Coral Sea which occurred in May 1942.

Australia’s part in the battle consisted of the heavy cruiser HMAS Australia and the light cruiser HMAS Hobart and aircraft flown from bases in Queensland by both Aussie and American crews. The Australians were under the command of Rear-Admiral Grace.

This was the first engagement in a sea battle where none of the opposing ships were within gunfire range. All the damage done was inflected by aircraft, of course some planes were shot down.

Both sides had a difficult time finding and identifying the enemy. Early on the 7 May the American oiler Neosho was sunk by Japanese planes, who had mistaken it for an aircraft carrier. This was due to its unorthodox superstructure.

Around noon on the same day the Americans sighted and attacked the Japanese vessel Shoho and its escorting light cruiser sinking both.

While this was going on Grace’s squadron away from the main scene was ordered to cruise the Jomard Passage near the Louisiade Islands. This sea route was the one the Japanese would have to go through in order to reach Port Morsby. Grace’s ships had no air cover, so he adopted an anti-aircraft diamond formation for his ships.

In the late morning a Japanese reconnaissance plane spotted them and reported their position to Rabaul.

This resulted in them being attacked by eleven Japanese torpedo bombers with bombs, torpedos and intense strafing. We returned fire with a strong barrage and more then five Japanese bombers failed to return to base.

                    HMAS Australia in WW11

Skilful steering by the Australia’s commander helped the ship to escape being hit, this first attack was over in five minutes.

Amazingly none of the ships were damaged this was in part due to the lousy shooting by the Japanese. The Aussies suffered six casualties and the US three with two of them being mortally wounded.

More next week.