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Just like that…
And nine months have passed this year. Wow! It already seems like an age ago I returned from my US trip.
Things are going okay in this part of the world. It’s supposed to be spring but after about a week of really lovely weather, the temperatures dropped and it’s been rather chilly most days. Today there was a chance of rain but I don’t think any fell around here. Now it’s just cool and windy and feels more like winter. The tell-tell sign of spring is the massive amount of pollen flying about. A week ago, the Scientist suffered terribly after he got out with the line trimmer to cut some of the long grass in the backyard. I was trying to follow along and do the mowing after him. Between the two of us, we got a lot accomplished. But he was in misery by that evening and suffered for a day or two afterwards. We still have a lot of work to do out there but it’s enough to be able to sit in that corner of the yard and enjoy the sun in the late afternoon.
In nine days it will be Game Fanatic’s birthday. He is 28 this year which seems so old. But then it really has been that long since he was born. I’ve been in Australia that many years now and even that seems a long time ago. It used to be I felt like everything before I came here was a lifetime ago. Now I guess it’s more like two lifetimes ago? :D
I’ve been in a period of difficulty with my exercise. I’d been in a regular habit for a few weeks and it was all going well. But then something stops things working and now I am trying to regain a habit. I am still exercising but not getting to the gym as often. I’ve spent more time walking the dogs and a little bit trying to run short distances. It’s more a challenge than anything and I doubt I will ever do more than run for a couple of minutes at a time. But it’s an interesting shift in activity. I also haven’t gone to a pilates class in a while. I still have clinical pilates with the physiotherapist every second week. But I haven’t attended the class through my fitness center at all recently. This is one of those habits that broke, mostly because I found it really difficult to do the pilates on Thursday night and follow with clinical pilates the following morning.
Relating to the dog walks, we had to take one to the vet recently and when she was weighed, she had lost at least 1kg since her last visit. So the short walks we do with her are helping with the weight, which should also help with her arthritis.
I got a new iPhone when they were released last month. My old one was three years old so it was time. Or maybe it’s more like I was fed up with a couple of issues on it that I hoped would be better now. The issues haven’t been resolved the way I hoped but I think there was no chance of getting the resolution I wanted. So far I am really liking the new phone. The case is one thing that I’m getting used it. It’s a clear case to show off the lovely dark purple of the phone. But the material it’s made of doesn’t feel quite right in my hands. I will be getting a different case to use when I’m cycling and I feel sure that will feel more comfortable because I have already had a case like it for the older phone. The camera on this has major improvements but I must admit I haven’t used it all that much yet. I suspect I find it a bit overwhelming as it’s far more powerful. I remember the first phone I got that had a camera and it was supposed to be really good. But it wasn’t any good at all. This one is quite wonderful and I could even get super high resolution if I wanted. I have plans to upgrade the watch sometime soon too.
I had an MRI done on my liver a few weeks ago. I have continued to have deranged liver function tests and nothing has been determined to be a reasonable cause. The numbers aren’t that terrible but there are three that have been out of range the last several tests. I had a CT scan early this year that said my liver looked just fine and there was no mention of the fatty liver that showed on earlier ultrasound scans. Of course, my liver function tests looked really good too at the time. The MRI is supposed to check into that but I haven’t got my results yet. By the time the test was done and the results came through, my doctor was away on leave. I have an appointment next week to discuss the results. I’m not really that worried about it but I am curious if anything shows up.
Our deranged smart light continues to cause trouble. The Scientist got rid of something that might have been causing a conflict but it continues to occur. This past night it was the worst ever. Normally after a number of times turning it off, it will remain off. I woke up several times in the night and every time the light was back on. It even continued into the morning, which I don’t think has happened before. We actually have two different types of smart lighting so our next effort will likely mean we remove the current bulb and use one from the other type. That has a couple of downsides but it would be doable.
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I’m back!!!
I had fully intended to post many times over the past several months but I never managed to fulfil the intention.
I went to the US at the end of March and was there for seven weeks before returning to normal life. I hope to post more about my trip at some point and not just the flying parts.
I’ve been home for about three months now so it now seems like my travel was in the distant past. Overall, it was a good visit and I got in some quality time with my parents and other family and friends.
I got back into workouts at the gym after I got home and I am in a nice and regular pattern of exercise. I am doing a strength workout about two times a week and cardio a couple of times. Then I do tai chi once a week and pilates on other days. I do clinical pilates every second Friday which involves the equipment and then I take part in general classes as part of my gym membership when I feel like it.
My work has been a bit scattered since I got home. I was doing relief work for the other support workers for a while but I am mostly back to my usual schedule.
We are nearing the end of winter here in Western Australia. Earlier it was dryer than usual and now it’s been quite wet for a few weeks. Also, the temperatures haven’t been as cool overall as usual. Our yard is in desperate need of mowing and I’m hoping to get on to that after a few days of dry weather now.
I discovered my iron levels are still good after a blood test last week. Several of my liver enzymes were elevated though, and I just did a follow-up blood test to investigate further. I think they took 8 or 9 vials this time. Phew! I’m having results emailed to me so I may get those before I speak to my doctor again.
I had my fourth COVID vaccine in July so I guess I now wait for the fifth one. Of all the jabs, this one caused me the most trouble. My arm was throbbing a few days afterwards for this one and was sore for well over a week. All is good now, though, and to my knowledge, I haven’t had it as yet. Mask mandates stopped ages ago but I am still wearing one when I go out to most places. The exception is the gym while exercising. For the most part there usually aren’t large numbers there anyway, but I do still try to keep some distance.
I guess that wraps up my summary of things since my last post. I plan to do a couple of in-depth posts about my travel and some other posts about random things.
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Much better
I made the second banana bread last night and it was a huge success. It didn’t sink when finished and the texture is lovely. Not to mention the addition of the chocolate chips. The recipe I used is the same one I almost always use, from the Woman’s Day Cookery Encyclopedia. It’s a multiple volume set and our family had one while I was growing up. Our set was missing the last volume. I found a set decades ago in a secondhand shop and bought it and it’s still sitting on the shelves. I have to admit I don’t use it all that much but there’s such nostalgia connected with it that I don’t want to let it go just yet either.
Anyway, the recipe for banana bread has been a favorite for many years. My only difference is that I don’t add nuts because I don’t like nuts in my bread. I have done this recipe so many times I don’t have to look it up. But yesterday I decided to mix the ingredients in a different order than usual. I added the baking powder and soda, salt, and vanilla earlier so they could be mixed more thoroughly. It seemed to work really well for me so I might just follow this variation in the future.
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Weekend
The boys had their boosters today so we are a fully triple vaxed family now. :)
COVID-19 is now a major thing around here. Over 1000 cases the past two days and I assume it’s going to move to a much higher number soon. I feel like I am going to get it every time I go out now. I’d like to limit shopping but it’s hard to do that when so much is still missing. There have been some alternate shops that have supplies but now everybody realised it and now there are bigger crowds there and longer lines. And lower supplies.
Today we got a mesh system for our wi-fi. We’ve had some problem spots in the house from way back and this is a means to support our internet use, I guess. Several of my devices have gotten much faster now. The main problem is my laptop, which sometimes is fine and other times is not. It’s not so different than it was before the mesh.
News of current events is hard to watch right now. Tonight the Scientist and I started to watch the “series” Get Back about the Beatles making the Let it Be album and it was fascinating to watch. Each episode runs well over two hours and we saw about half an hour so. I look forward to seeing more.
Here in Australia autumn begins on the first day of March. Our temperatures are staying reasonably hot until Monday. From Tuesday they will be dropping considerably, as though that’s the end of the hot weather. Of course, I know there’s more heat to come but it’s kind of funny the way the forecast is set out.
I had a couple of bunches of bananas that were getting really ripe and finally made a banana bread tonight. It came out rather nice except that it didn’t rise. Or I should say it rose and then fell once it was out of the oven. I’m doing the recipe from memory so maybe I need to adjust the baking powder or soda amount…I’m making another one tomorrow but a request has come to add chocolate chips and we don’t have any. I hope to find some to add and I might make them muffins instead.
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This and that
COVID numbers are rising here but still not quite exploding. We had 31 cases a couple of days ago but have been hanging in the 20s each day otherwise. But thanks to these higher numbers, there have been some changes to requirements for isolation with and without symptoms here. Also, the isolation upon returning to the state is now down to seven days, which is a good thing.
In my work situation as a support worker, there are two other people I work with to support one client. Recently one of them had travelled to an eastern state and is back but having to quarantine. The other one got a promotion and started training this week. So I had been left to cover for both this week and next. It’s quite disruptive for the client and also a burden for me as the only support worker available. The changes on isolation mean I should be unburdened with most of the hours by Sunday, assuming no COVID symptoms come up. A new worker is going to be introduced soon and we are hopeful for a good fit with the client. That makes this week a bit easier to get through.
My travel plans are feeling more and more solid with the upcoming changes. I won’t be too surprised if we are properly open by the time I return in May. I just have to avoid getting the virus throughout.
I got into the pool for the first time in months a few days ago and it went really well. The only issue was limited time as the pool and gym close at 5 pm on weekend days. I had gone to the gym for half an hour and then the pool but had a few hiccups along the way. First of all, I couldn’t open the locker (it’s digital and I might have mistyped the code I wanted). It took ages to find someone to help me with that. Then upon getting my items, the lockers in the pool area mostly wouldn’t lock even though they haven’t been there are long as those in the gym area. The actual swimming was good and I managed to get in 22 laps in the limited time. I was shifting between freestyle, backstroke, and breaststroke and felt pretty comfortable throughout.
We are in the middle of a brief chill in the midst of summer heat. A couple of days ago it was super hot but yesterday and today have been significantly cooler, especially with the strong breeze. From tomorrow it should be shifting closer to normal for a while.
I’ve recently begun listening to audiobooks instead of music while at the gym. This helps me finish listening much faster than before. I currently have two books out from the library, one of which is in high demand. It only became available last night but I began listening today so I can finish it in the two weeks that it’s available. I had already started the other one but it’s not in such demand and I may be able to just renew it once it is due. I will just keep watch to make sure nobody requests it in the meantime. I can easily return to it once the other book is finished.
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Isolation
The current COVID outbreak hasn’t turned monstrous as yet. We’re still getting new cases each day but the numbers are staying in the tens and twenties so far. I am honestly surprised but I’m not complaining. Most of the new cases have already been isolating so I guess people by and large are doing the right thing.
As with many other places, the COVID outbreaks have affected supply chains on a lot of essential items. This has been ongoing for weeks now. But now there’s an added problem with the worst flooding in South Australia in 200 years which is preventing trains from getting through with goods. It brought to mind a trail derailment many years ago which prevented a shipment of a pre-ordered game from reaching us in time. Except this is more about essential items. I’m not too sure what the flooding situation is at the moment but I hope the situation improves soon.
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Ill-fated bicycle ride
After having a good bike ride recently I decided I’d try for another one yesterday instead of going to the gym. It wasn’t extreme heat yesterday but it was hot and I left home just after 4:30 pm with hopes it would be cooling off soon. The first thing I noticed was the ride wasn’t as easy as the last time. But I pushed on and lowered gears to make things easier. Things were going okay for a while but then the heat started to get to me and instead of continuing to my usual turnaround place, I took a short break to drink some water and stopped once more along the way. I was mostly feeling okay but as I approached the ramp onto the overpass, I realised it was going to be a huge struggle to reach the top. It just happens the path has an offshoot that goes under the bridge so I headed that way to find a stopping place in the shade. One thing I didn’t know is part of that path now shows a sign not to enter as though moving onto a one-way street. Except this was the pathway. I continued anyway because I was desperate to get out of the sun for a while. I did find a small shady area and stopped. I finished my first bottle of water and sat on the path where there were fewer ants around. When my heart rate finally returned to some normality, I started off again.
This is where things got rather tricky. I didn’t have the energy to ride very fast so I kept to as slow a pace as possible. But then I noticed my back tire wasn’t feeling right and it soon became clear the air I’d pumped it up with had gone out and I was riding on the rim of the wheel. I pumped it up and it was wobbly for a while before deflating again. This was a terrible place to be stranded as there was no access to the path for several kilometers. I got off and walked the bike for a long while and then called the Scientist. It took a while for me to communicate where I was. It was noisy from the highway next to me and my pronunciation may not have been clear to him. We finally connected and it was clearer where I was headed. There is one street that crosses with the highway and intersects with the bike pathway so that was my target for us both. I carried on walking my bike and got there about ten minutes later. Part of the pathway was shaded there so I got off and waited. I was nearly finished with my second water bottle at this point.
I knew my bike wasn’t going to fit in the car so my plan had been to lock up my bike near my location with intentions of returning the next day. The Scientist, however, was too concerned it would be stolen and decided he would walk the bike home. I was about 4.5 km from home via the bike path at this point. I took the car and returned home where I showered and rehydrated with V8 juice I had in the fridge. I wasn’t quite sure how well that would work but figured it was better than just water. It seems to have been fine and I started to feel better after a little while.
Meanwhile, the Scientist opted to walk the bike along the road he’d travelled to reach me instead of along the pathway I’d been on. It was quieter there and there was some shade for part of that way (although I’m not sure that was his consideration). He ran into issues closer to home that required a lengthy detour. In the end, he’d walked 8+ kilometers and was about to drop once home. Also, his leg was battered from the bike pedal hitting it regularly along the way. He’d already done his own exercise not much earlier so I can’t imagine his exhaustion.
I guess it might be a while until I ride again. I can get another tube easily but I’m concerned about the wheel being damaged from riding on a flat tire. That said, I will have to replace the tube in order to get it to the shop.
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Assorted
The premier of our state just did his daily update and there were nine cases of covid. It seems all were related to previous clusters. So far the numbers haven’t exploded but it still seems likely to happen at some point. While I haven’t been avoiding going out, I haven’t been spending as much time in more crowded locations. The press conference also outlined the plan to deal with high case numbers when we reach that point. That is still a long way off but obviously could change at any time. I also noticed that rapid antigen tests are now available locally and must be in demand because my pharmacy has a sign saying they don’t have any. The Scientist ordered some tests a couple of weeks ago but they haven’t arrived yet.
I’ve been attending a pilates class at a local leisure center for the past few weeks and I feel like it’s really helping with core muscles. Meanwhile, in the gym, I’ve been avoiding those exercises and doing more cardio and more weight machines. Still, my muscle mass hasn’t changed from several months ago even though I can feel changes in arms and glutes, etc.
One of the support workers who share support for my client has been promoted to a coordinator position. This opens up several more hours per week with him and I’ve taken on Tuesday hours. I chose this day in order to provide an opportunity to attend a special exercise class on a regular basis. The changes in support workers are going to be disruptive for a while but I hope he is able to settle in for the longer term. This does create another day where he may be unsupported while I’m away though. The extra hours will nice after losing so many hours from my other client. I don’t want to take on too many with this client, though, because he’s a family friend and I want to keep a decent balance between work and personal life.
We had several days with milder weather but that has now ended and we’re back to another heatwave. We haven’t had any rain so far this year but that is pretty typical for this time of year.
I got out onto my bike almost two weeks ago and it went quite well. The last time I went out I had quite a struggle to go very far. This time I didn’t struggle at all and managed what might have been a normal ride back in the time I was riding regularly. This was a nice surprise. I will admit to being tempted to go farther than planned because I was feeling well enough. Common sense did prevail and I stuck to a normal distance in the end.
I got a message from my doctor’s office that I needed to come in to discuss some results. I was only there on Monday so I assume some of the tests took longer to be processed. There were two tests from earlier that had been repeated so I suspect this might have been one or both of them. I got an appointment with yet another gp that I’ve never seen since she has the earlier available time on Tuesday.
Yesterday I stopped at a local park to eat a sandwich I’d gotten from the nearby bakery. While there, a black swan approached the side of the pond/small lake where I was sitting and seemed quite interesting in making contact. I took several photos, even approaching the swan and taking an overhead shot. I’ve been to this park before but never had any of the creatures approach me. It was pretty neat.
I started playing the Wordle game that has taken the internet by storm lately and I’m enjoying my daily dose. What I like about it is it’s just a single game that takes a couple to a few minutes and won’t be a major time sucker. It works much like the old Mastermind game but it’s for five-letter words. You get six tries and I’ve been able to solve each puzzle so far. I do it really curious how so many people need to share their results each day. And it’s weird how so many people get so annoyed by that. I personally don’t do it but I have no concerns about others. I just find it strange they need to share so much.
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Cool change
After six days of temperatures above 40C (that’s 104F), we have had a cool change to the lower 30s. We get to enjoy that until the weekend when we start into another heatwave. I think we may have set a record for most continuous days of 40+ temperatures here.
This reminds me that the Scientist and I went to see a friend play music at a cafe about 1.5 hours drive from here. She plays at this cafe about once a month so we take a trip down and enjoy the atmosphere which is lovely. There’s an indoor and outdoor area at this cafe and the artists usually play outside. But it was so terribly hot our friend was looking rather drained after playing for three hours (with breaks). We moved right inside to the air conditioning when she was done. On a good day, we might have stopped at one of the parks on the way home but it was just too hot for any outdoor activity.
On Sunday we went to Fremantle with Lego Lover to visit the Maritime Museum for a Lego shipwreck display. It was pretty cool to see and there were Lego models of some famous shipwrecks and some that are mostly known locally. Afterward, we went to a favorite cafe to have lunch. Unfortunately, the food wasn’t so good this time. I had ordered chips (thick-cut fries) with my sandwich and the chips were really terrible, enough that I left most behind. Also, the menu had changed so that some foods we like are no longer available. It seems we may have to find a new place to eat. We did have ideas of visiting the Fremantle Markets but were wary of crowded places with covid around.
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Changes already and other things
Yesterday I received an email from Japan Airlines that my stopover in Sydney is now five hours instead of three. This means I’ll be in Tokyo for fifteen hours. This doesn’t affect my travel time in any way so I accepted the changes. I recall when I made travel arrangements two years ago that there was a change in that plan too. Of course, that trip never happened in the end.
Originally I wasn’t bothered about spending the better part of the day in Tokyo. But I have learned I won’t be able to use the capsule hotel as I am not a Japanese resident, due to COVID issues. So I now don’t know how I will spend so much time. The one hotel is expensive and is not an option unless they lower the rates when I get there. In any case, the capsule hotel is also in a different terminal and I’m not sure how much hassle going to a different terminal might be. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem but there might be limitations.
In other news, even though we have low numbers of COVID cases here in WA, the supermarkets have started placing limits on some items due to shortages. In a lot of cases, it’s hard to source the items at the moment. I suspect in others it’s just some forward planning. I was surprised to find toilet paper shelves empty last night and today while shopping. This is not an issue for us since we have been having it delivered every few months since last year. But it must be quite a problem for others.
I had ordered a few new masks a week ago or so and they hadn’t yet arrived. I wasn’t worried as there have been delays with the postal deliveries. But I got a notice from the post office that another package had arrived today. This was for some melatonin for Lego Lover that I ordered a while back. It’s been sitting in limbo at some place here in Perth for a while. But today it was delivered to a parcel locker. While checking the postal service app I noticed the other package should have been picked up from a parcel locker and was being moved to the post office. I never got a notice to pick it up and most certainly would have done so in a timely manner. Hopefully, it will be available tomorrow and I can pick it up.
I have a follow-up appointment (from the colonoscopy/endoscopy) with the gastro doctor tomorrow. I’m not quite sure what to expect as this will be the first time I see her in an appointment setting. I haven’t had my iron levels checked since my infusion so I don’t know if the levels are dropping still. Like the previous infusion, I haven’t noticed any marked improvement in energy although I am pretty sure I am doing somewhat better.