Nice to see you!

Three major events occurred for me last year (2010), all in the space of about 2 weeks. I turned 50. The following day I got married. Two weeks later, my oldest daughter became pregnant with her first child and my first grandchild.

Most middle-aged people will tell you that in their minds, they still feel 20 something. It's the same for me.

Wasn't it only yesterday that I was planning a night out with guys from the surf club? That gorgeous new perm. Flaired, cuffed denims and the red t-shirt with the off-the-shoulder frill. Corked platform wedgies. **sigh**

Suddenly I'm looking in the mirror and wondering how 30 years can flash by so damned quickly!

So here I am in cyberspace, sharing my genuine shock and horror with anyone who'll listen and maybe I'll even meet some other over 50s who find themselves in the same predicament!

Welcome to my dilemna!!

Friday, October 28, 2016

Psychosomatic

Psychosomatic - adjective - relating to the interaction of mind and body.

After my appointment with the doctor yesterday, I woke up this morning with not a flutter to be felt. For the entire day, not a flutter to be felt!

I'm certain that it has been mind over matter. My mind needed to hear the diagnosis so that it knew which part of my body to focus the healing towards!

I'm feeling fantastic.

It's been an interesting day.

It's been a beautiful Spring day.

I saw the boys at the Seat of Knowledge before I bought my coffee this morning, which I took with me to The Motivator's house, where I sat enjoying it while she ate her delicious, healthy big breakfast.

We did some catching up for an hour or so and I left her house with a bag full of sand crabs, and for anyone who cares, this is the last weekend for sand crabs from this fishing family, until next year, so you'd best get in quick!

When I arrived home, I hopped online and ordered my new Apple Macbook Pro, which I expect to receive in two to three weeks. Apple launched the upgraded version overnight and it has some new features that I'm excited to check out.

I have to thank Vegan Chickie who stopped me from ordering a new laptop about six weeks ago, when she advised me of the impending launch. Now I'll have the new, you-beaut, top of the range machine that will be brilliant for my photo editing and website building and ebook writing and blogging and business building and anything else that I can think of!

It will be a long 2-3 week wait.

I spent some time in my workspace, then helped Adoring Husband make some lunch. At about 2pm I visited The Motivator again and returned home with just enough time to shower and make myself presentable for the club.

We were all lucky enough to be graced with the presence of AH at the club. He joins us so rarely, and everybody gets very excited and animated when he does. It's like having a movie star in our presence!

He must have brought some luck with him because just about everybody at our two tables won a prize tonight. Meat trays and free drinks and pokie wins and keno wins. It's been a long time since the luck stirred in our corner.

I cooked up some delicious duck breast for dinner, which was served with a big tangy salad.

After Adoring Husband retired to bed, I switched the TV channel over to the TCM (Turner Classic Movie) channel and for the first time in my life, watched 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' which stars Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor.

I was so certain that I'd watched it in my past, but was surprised to find that I'd never seen any of it. I quite enjoyed it too. The movie 'Casablanca' followed it, but I've definitely seen that one before .. a couple of times, so the TV is muted as I finish this post and head to bed before the clock strikes midnight.

I may actually get to work on my ebook tomorrow. My fluttering has made it a slow week for my website and ebook, so there is a bit to catch up on.

As I sign off, I'd like to wish Jolly Jack (the name that I have appropriately given Happy Harry's and Lady Lynn's daughter) a very happy birthday. It was a pleasure to have her smiling face at our table tonight and now that I think about it, it may have been Jolly Jack who brought the luck to our table!!

Nite all.



  

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Believe It Or Not

Yep. I did it.

I decided that after five days of fluttering, without any sign of it letting up, and feeling such discomfort that I couldn't even prepare dinner for two nights, that I needed to do something about it and find out what was really happening.

Firstly, I phoned a medical help line and spoke to a registered nurse, who was very thorough and asked me lots of questions about my medical history, both personal and family related. She had no idea what my diagnosis might be, but suggested that five days was too long to have symptoms that could possibly be heart related, so I should see a doctor within the next twelve hours.

Who here has ever been able to get an appointment with a GP inside twelve hours????

She wanted me to ask for an ECG and for blood tests to check my thyroid function.

The way I saw it, I had two choices. I could go to the local doctor surgery and see one of the doctors there - all of whom I have heard negative stories about and none of whom I have ever laid eyes upon - OR I could go to my old doctor, who I haven't seen since May 2009 and who I don't trust due to his poor management of Adoring Husband's health at certain times.

I chose the latter and made the call. The receptionist offered me an appointment for next Tuesday, so I explained that the medical line said it had to be inside twelve hours and without hesitation, she said "How about 2.30 this afternoon?"

"Perfect!" I replied.

I described my symptoms to Dr Dubious, who was much less thorough than the registered nurse who I'd spoken to earlier on the medical line. I told him it was suggested that I have an ECG and blood tests, so he confidently declared that he believed it was my thyroid that was giving me grief, but just to rule heart problems out, he wanted me to be fitted with a halter monitor to get a 24 hour record of my heart activity.

For the twenty four hours on the monitor, I have to do things that put stress on my heart. They said that I'm not allowed to use my electronic devices .. no iPhone, no iPad, no laptop, no PC .. THAT is going to put stress on my heart!!!

I have to wait til Tuesday to get this thing fitted, so I need to survive five sleeps and then after they take it off, a further six sleeps before the doctor receives the report. Let's hope I don't have a heart attack between now and then!

A lovely lady by the name of Lee, the most efficient vampire I've ever come across in my life, took quite a bit of the red stuff out of my vein, while being very friendly and welcoming. She made the experience surprisingly pleasant and I praised her and thanked her profusely.

They will be testing my blood for thyroid function, liver function, magnesium and potassium levels, vitamin D levels and other stuff that I can't think of right now.

So that was my day. As you know, I do not like, nor do I trust doctors, so for me to take this step is a big deal! Needless to say, the flutters have been fairly mild and infrequent all day today!

Oh and Dr Dubious told me to cut back on my coffee. "ARE YOU KIDDING???" I replied "I have the cleanest diet in the history of mankind and have removed everything that is bad. I only drink two coffees a day .. and NOW you want to take them away as well????"

So as Adoring Husband and I drove back into town, I said "We need to stop for coffee!"

We stopped for coffee, and for the third day in a row, drove to the beach and walked barefoot through the incoming tidal waters. I hope we make this a habit, because I absolutely love it!

Last, but not least, when Dr Dubious took my blood pressure, it was sky high!! 156 over something equally stupid. I said "Don't be ridiculous!! I have never had high blood pressure!! I've been monitoring it for 5 days and it hasn't been higher than 120/80 at any time!"

I actually had a slip of paper in my purse with the last ten blood pressure readings that I took, so that I could show him, but I didn't show him because he said "Let's put it down to 'White Coat Syndrome' and not worry about your blood pressure for now."

And that was that.

I found it pretty amazing that my Dr's appointment was for 2.30pm, after which, we drove to the pathology rooms where I booked my halter fitting and had my blood taken. From there we drove to Takura to pick up the FROG box and we came into town and drove past the pub at 4pm.

Very time efficient.

I think seven years and five months is a pretty good record to hold for avoiding doctor's visits. Let's hope when all this is over, I can break that record again.

Nite all.      

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Across the Water

We had a great day!

The weather was glorious as we travelled across the water on the Burrum River Quest to Woodgate Beach. The tide was too low for the boat to drop us at the boat ramp, so we were dropped at the beach  and had to hike quite a way to reach the bus that would take us to the Woodgate Pub.

It took quite a few boat trips and bus rides to get us all there, but it was definitely worth it. Even though the pub is looking a bit tired and in need of a facelift, the staff were very friendly and the food was great. There were lots of gluten free options and the pub had a nice atmosphere.

I was lucky enough to make it for the first boat ride and the first bus, and returned on the last bus and last boat trip.

My only complaint was my fluttering that hardly let up all day and got worse when I returned home, so I have been in bed since 5pm and am typing this in bed, on my iPad. It seems to have settled now (at 11pm), so I'm going to get some sleep and tomorrow I'll decide whether to see a doctor.

I'm looking forward to spending the day at my desk, so I hope my body behaves itself.

Nite all.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

Working On It

My flutters did not bother me all day, until approximately 3.45pm.

There was absolutely no trigger for them because I was sitting at my desk all afternoon working on my ebook. I was having a lovely time and being very productive with no interruptions. Then the flutters began.

Adoring Husband interrupted me at 4.15pm and said "Come on. We're going to get coffee and then go for a walk along the beach."

What's amazing about this particular moment, is that the chapter I was in the middle of writing, was about walking along the beach with bare feet and 'grounding'!

Very freaky.

I jumped at his idea because as I was typing, I was imagining splashing my feet through the beachy waves. I also wanted to prove that grounding had some real benefits! It was a beautiful day ...


So we bought our coffee and headed to the water. The tide was very high and there was not much beach left to walk along, but I climbed out of the car leaving my shoes behind and we went for a bare foot stroll along the shore line.

The water was incredibly warm, almost like a bathtub, and Adoring Husband found a friend!!


Before we'd left the beach, my fluttering had disappeared again. I was so relieved, but I breathed my sigh of relief way too soon, because within 45 minutes it was back!

It wasn't as bad as last night and I was at least able to prepare and eat dinner.

It's now almost 11pm and the flutters are still with me, so I'm off to bed to sleep them away and hope that they leave me alone for the lady's luncheon tomorrow.

Nite all

Monday, October 24, 2016

Over it!

Yes, you guessed it. I'm still fluttering.

I woke up with the fluttering, but it disappeared fairly quickly and I was fine until about 1pm when I began to prepare myself to attend a 'Scentsy' party. By the time I arrived at the party, the fluttering was building and increased steadily over the two hours that I was there.

I was the first to leave the party and as I rode home, the fluttering disappeared again, so I assumed that it might have something to do with anxiety. Unfortunately, after I arrived home, the fluttering returned and caused me considerable discomfort all evening .. bad enough that I didn't make dinner and for a period of about thirty minutes I strongly considered finding a doctor!

I know right?!

Five times over the duration of about an hour, when it was at it's worst, I checked my blood pressure and heart rate, and they were normal each time. On average 112/73 (within the normal range) and heart rate around 80 (normal is between 60-100).

As I sit here at almost 11pm, the fluttering is still annoying me, but is much much milder now. My blood pressure and heart rate are still normal.

Anyway, back to the Scentsy party.

I had never heard of Scentsy, but with hindsight, I think my sister may have gifted me a warmer with melts for Christmas one year. I used it once and decided they were a bit too toxic for me.

Scentsy is a party plan business that sells diffusers, warmers, scented wax melts, scented oils and a few essential oils as well as other cleaning products and perfumed wardrobe and car hangers. There are shaving lotions, face creams and hand moisturisers, among other things.

I think I sniffed every single scent available and only found two that smelled acceptable to my nose. In the end, even though I considered buying a diffuser, I left empty handed and without putting in an order.

When I arrived home, I did some research to discover more about them. The party operators were obviously well scripted and fluffed around some of the questions that were asked.

My most important question was "what are the ingredients?" The print on each item was so tiny, and with colour combinations that made them impossible to read. The only answer was "all natural" which immediately rings alarm bells because that usually means "far from natural".

Having scoured the website, I could not find any information about the ingredients of any of their products. Apparently they once declared that Scentsy used a secret combination of ingredients, but now there is nothing on the site (that I could find). At the party, it was stated that Scentsy use 100% natural fragrance.

That tells me that if they are not willing to disclose the ingredient list, then I don't trust that they are providing a safe product. And please explain how you put 100% natural 'By The Sea' in a melt, or 100% 'Clean Breeze' in an oil, or 100% 'Skinny Dippin' in a room spray ... please? That's just plucking a few from the list.

They must use chemical compounds to create the scents, as most fragrance oils do (pure essential oils SHOULD be closer to all natural) and they also usually contain ethers, amines, terpenes and many other toxic ingredients. Once those are heated, they release toxins, despite what the Scentsy people tell you.

Obviously, there are many customers and potential customers out there who trust that the Australian Government would never allow a company to sell us dangerous, toxic or fraudulent products. These people never think twice about the health risks and always believe that 100% natural means 100% natural. They might even get annoyed with people like me who ask the hard questions.

Those are the people who keep the money rolling in. Ignorance is bliss and all that jazz.

I, however, chose to let this one pass and after biting very hard on my tongue during a conversation about the fabulous the new boat ramp and after sitting in front of plates loaded with gluten and sugar, I was happy to be feeling unwell enough to leave early.

It must be time for me to go to bed and rest my body from the fluttering.

Nite all.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Still Fluttery

I'm still feeling a bit fluttery.

I attempted to ignore it by working on my website, but I just couldn't focus. Even though the fluttering is not as bad as yesterday, it's still annoying and I'm wondering if it's the caffeine!

There was no fluttering until I had my coffee this morning, so tomorrow, I will forego my coffee and see how I fare.

How lovely to wake up to rain this morning. It was fairly constant all day. Nice soaking rain that began to clear right on dusk to produce this ...


It seems that there were beautiful sunsets all over Queensland as people were posting photos from all along the coast.

I made a delicious salad to accompany our protein at lunch today. In the food processor, I tossed in

  • 3 florets of cauliflower
  • 1 carrot (chopped into chunks)
  • 1 large bunch of parsley
  • 1 red onion
  • half a fresh beetroot (peeled)
  • 1/4 cabbage
With the chopping blade, I processed until it was all chopped, not too finely, but about the size of KFC coleslaw, then I poured it into a bowl and added a dressing that I'd made for a salad on Thursday. I can't remember the measurements, but it had lemon juice, ACV, lime oil, honey, grated ginger and chopped coriander.

So we had lamb rack, the chopped salad, tomato wedges, avocado slices, some fermented sauerkraut and a sprinkle of persian feta cheese. Yum.

I had a big mug of chicken broth for dinner.

I hope that tomorrow, my fluttering will be gone and I can spend the entire day focussed on my website. I'm hungry to make some more good progress. I'd also like to make a start on my ebook.

It's just after 10.30pm and I am gone!!

Nite all.

Being an Activist

This morning I attended a meeting in our local hall about fracking.



There is a company called blueenergy.com.au that is currently exploring our region on behalf of shale gas fracking companies who want to mine in our area. By 'our area' I mean from Tiaro to Bundaberg and including Maryborough, Hervey Bay, Burrum Heads, Childers and many more small communties.



With the assistance of Lock The Gate Alliance, we can unite as a community, and like many other small communities throughout Australia, keep these huge international companies from destroying our environment, waterways, health, other industries like tourism and agriculture in the region, our property values and our air.

Living in the suburbs does not make us immune or safe because even suburbs in Sydney have coal seam gas wells currently in operation and fracking and drilling  occurs regularly.

Mining companies can, without your permission, enter your property to drill for gas - unless your gate displays a 'Lock The Gate' sign.

I will find out more about our local situation at the next meeting which is being held in the coming weeks, for people who want to get involved.

Adoring Husband did not accompany me to this meeting because he had SES commitments at the local Lions Park for the town's official opening of that horrible boat ramp that I told you about last week.


I'm not sure that he would have accompanied me even if he had been free to do so, but I like to think he would have supported me.

I attended another of Mrs Bucket's gatherings this afternoon but had to leave early because I wasn't feeling too well, experiencing flutters in my throat and above my chest and feeling a little breathless. It seems to have eased considerably, after I had a short nap this afternoon, but it's still there and I'm hoping that after a good night's sleep, it will disappear by morning.

It's already after midnight, so I should get to bed.

Nite all.