Picture Perfect ~ The Sound Of Music

Welcome

to

Picture Perfect

The theme this week is

The Sound of Music

Gary is our Host

and

The Rules of the Game are HERE

(anyone can jump in and join!)

Kennedy ~ 2008, Pismo Beach

Flying in a V

The weather that cooled down so beautifully has warmed up dramatically today, warm air blows through my bedroom doors billowing my sheer curtains just a little as I sit here and write. A full moon glows through the banksia-rose which cascades over the pergola, two dogs snoring softly at my feet both so similar in the near darkness its difficult to tell them apart.

There seems to be a never ending list of garden and house chores and other things which need to get done before I leave, bills to pay, dogs vaccinated and groomed..on it goes..I tick them off a long list one by one and breathe a sigh of relief as I do. So much that needs to be done is at the last minute it seems. I have finished all my Christmas shopping bar one or two, and the vast amount of birthday presents too, which is good!

Great news..Nic and Jenn have jiggled their vacation dates around to that a week of theirs coincides with ours!! For the first time in 6yrs I will have all my children under one roof for my birthday...well for anything actually! Living all over the world can suck at times, but it has made my kids independent and our times together momentous and special and I'm so grateful for that.

Hotels and game park visits are booked now too, I have to say it was difficult choosing where to take someone on such a short visit, I've been torn between half a dozen places and an excitement which wants to fit everything in has had to be curbed with common sense and rational planning. K has been so accommodating (oh I love this man!) and just let me plan and change my mind twenty times a day, and then manages to sound excited each time I call and come up with a new idea. I must sound seriously bi-polar right now, but he never says so..not out loud.

Bella is looking forward to Kennedy's musical talents I know, and I'm sure she is busy writing a plethora of musicals as I speak, which will keep us all entertained. Josh will have him out walking and fishing, and Liv will be taking pictures!

Both my daughter and son-in-law are teachers, Alan is the maths head at Michaelhouse, a boys high school, and has now got the English teacher interested in K teaching a class or two..I'm not sure anyone will understand him, but they're well mannered kids and I'm sure they'll smile and nod in all the right places!

Come to think of it..accents and understanding them is going to take on a whole new meaning for us, what with Jenn with her US accent and K's Canadian one..and our SA accents which really become quite thick and difficult to make head or tail of when we are all together! We tend to throw Afrikaans and Zulu words in at random too..which is bound to confuse!!

Work is as busy as ever. A number or resignations and a few girls on maternity leave has left us really short staffed. Our unit nursing director resigned in the middle of it all, found the stress too much and she felt there was a lack of support from management too. There have been days/nights when I have truly wondered how long we could cope at this pace. I work with the most amazing people though, we truly are a fabulous team!

We desperately need a separate working triage! The turnover of labor checks is too high for them to be Incorporated into the labor/delivery mix, the job is stressful enough without spending time with inane questions from a constant stream of patients who refuse to educate themselves! I honestly get asked the same questions here, daily, that I was asked 25yrs ago back in South Africa. It always surprises me, this is America with unlimited internet access, education is at every-ones fingertips here, but, unless you're willing to reach out and grasp it I guess it shall always remain elusive.

Bakersfield is primarily a blue collar town with a high rate of unemployment and subsequent poverty, add drug usage and gang activity to that and it makes the health system an absolute nightmare to work in. I have never done so much drug screening of my patients.. ever, I have never had such a long 'Hot List' from CPS to work through so that each patient is screened and checked off the list at delivery. 80-90% of my patients are on medi-cal and have never been employed, I swear the most affluent people in town must be the tattoo artists because I don't think I've ever had a patient here without at least one (usually a dozen) tattoo's. A far cry from my previous place of employment, a mere 2hrs drive from Santa Barbara, with all the cultural, political and economic differences ..it could well be in another country.

My sister and her hubby leave soon for the next leg of their world cruise. She is feeling so much better, some slight headaches but 100% better than what she was. They are up in Denver spending this week with Neville's son, Nev will then drive down with two friends in The Big Truck to take all their supplies down to Mexico and their waiting boat! Maggie will fly down on the 6th Oct and help with the packing and tidy up and then they will slowly make their way down the Baja coastline on to Costa Rica, and over to the Galapagos Islands they have had to plan their trip with hurricanes and other weather systems in mind obviously. Their crossing over to The French Polynesian Islands will depend on the prevailing currents too and that should take about 2 weeks. A huge adventure!

Maggie turns 50 on the 12th Oct and Neville turns 60 on the 6th November, they plan to celebrate both events quietly tucked away in a cove on the Baja coast.

..and the song that reminds me of them always

This is the way we wash our hands...

...in Africa

Three Things..and a Frown

I always think of Tess's Three Things..but never seem to get the time to actually post a pic or three. So am posting this tonight so it will be ready by tomorrow. And really they are things which have made me smile during the whole week and not just one day..

oops..

there's a lizard in here..somewhere...

..and then yesterday I had a Frown...

Little Abby next door got mauled by a dog up the road, (a Lab/Retriever cross.. of all things) she is the dearest little thing. Tony brought her over for me to have a look at yesterday morning and I felt she needed a few sutures pronto. She was as good as gold! First some lidocaine and three sutures later she was bouncing around as good as new. She will go to the local vet on Monday morn for an antibiotic.

such a sweet girl!

Life Relief

Its amazing how life can be jam packed during a few days.

My sister has been truly ill the part few days, with an encephalitis type virus it seems. Mind blowing headaches and a roaring fever has left her feeling a little worse for wear. They are rapidly approaching their next departure date for the next leg of their trip, and leave for Mexico where they will re-board Blue in less than 3 weeks. They will make their way down to Costa Rico and then across to The Galapagos islands, the South Pacific and French Polynesian islands and then down to NZ and Australia, and eventually over to South Africa. She has finally joined multiply so will let you have her new blog-site as soon as its up and running smoothly. Of course her Captains Log aboard Blue will continue in their original spot, she writes well and the life aboard a boat is certainly interesting and worth following. What an adventure..I'm not sure my heart can stand it!!

My little granddaughter Bella's friend has died after a long long brave fight with cancer. Only 8 yrs old. Bella who feels and cares deeply for others has been devastated by it all. She spent many hours with Kelli while she was sick, dancing and singing for her and her loss is tangibly felt in some poetry she wrote. Its being published in her school magazine and will be read at Kelli's memorial later next week. It moved me to tears, how young to feel the pain of loss...here is a portion:

'I miss you, I miss your smile

I wish I could see you once in a while. because even when I'm so very sad

I'm glad I can see your face in the clouds...

Each of those three little ones of ours have lost a close friend this past year, due to either illness or tragic accident. Harsh.

Nic and Jenn are going to SA in Dec/Jan he hasn't been back since he arrived here in the US, and Jenn has never been so that will be an exciting time for them all.

Work is work, busy, exhausting, exhilarating at times, but I am so looking forward to a holiday! I love the people I work with, they truly make the craziness of the place worthwhile, but they can do without me for a bit..and me them!! Laughs!

With our tickets booked, its now down to some final planning of the trip. Which game parks to visit, car hires and which people we will have time to visit. I'm excited about taking K to places I grew up, where I lived and worked etc, it was fun doing that together in Toronto, and now its my turn, it kinda makes the relationship whole and rounded, gives one firmer grounding or something. Anyhow we are excited. When we get back it will be time for his new grandchild to be born, and Christmas ..whew...

Life keeps moving right along doesn't it!?

Picture Perfect Week 6 ~ Topsy Turvy

Welcome to

Picture Perfect

and the final week of our comptetition

the theme this week

is

Topsy Turvy

(my unofficial entry)

Upside down side right side up

which way does a jelly fish truly belong?

Where were you on 9/11?

All of us remember where we were during dramatic historic events. We always remember what we were doing on that particular, shocking day. There's little doubt that anyone who was awake and alive on September 11th probably remembers very specifically what they were doing, where they were, who they were with that awful day. A day which changed history, altered thinking and evoked more emotion on a global level than ever before, and which was brought about amidst loss and blood-shed. With much more to come.

Where were you on 9/11?

Caught in the Act

We are going to Africa!

K and I have a trip planned for the whole month of November, ignoring the fact (according to Bella) that Im too old to have a boyfriend! A month of home, hearing the rainstorms pound in across the hills, sharing our time with family and the busy-ness of their lives and of course visiting some of South Africa's amazing wild life reserves. Sharing it with Kennedy, who has never been to SA will be especially special, something we have talked about for years..finally coming true.

Getting us in the mood for the thrill of wildlife, NatGeo has had an amazing series on TV this month called Caught in the Act, footage from visitors who have visited the parks of Africa over the years and filmed their own amazing sightings and experiences. I managed to find a couple on You Tube...but if you are interested try and see the series, there are many repeats its one of the most incredible series on wildlife that I have ever seen.

Here is a link: National Geographic

Giraffe Bulls Fighting

The next one is a lion kill, not always pretty, but it does leave one in awe..and then at the end there's the sound of thunder, an impending African rainstorm...

Picture Perfect ~ Competition #5 ~ Sayings

Welcome to

Picture Perfect

week 5 of our comptetition

and the theme is

Sayings

(my unofficial entry)

'The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it'

Lou Holtz