Val’s Comments (group member since Aug 28, 2019)

Val’s comments from the Beyond Zon group.

Glad you at least have got some sort of result P. And fingers crossed that the glasses work fine too.

I hope you receive good news Isabella. Always worrying.

Oh P, just what you don't need! I trust you're keeping a record of the frequency and length of your nose bleeds. Maybe the doctor will have to schedule a face-to-face appointment once he/she has heard of your recent trials.

Great to hear from you Duke and to know that the chemo is having the desired effect. Long may it continue! That's a bugger about the laptop. You should be able to get your money back - especially if you paid by PayPal. I've had no trouble getting refunds if you do it within the cut-off period (8 weeks, I think??)

I've always subscribed to the leaning forward method when experiencing a nosebleed. You don't want the blood to run backwards and possibly down the esophagus. I had a lot of nosebleeds as a child and it was put down to a vitamin K deficiency.

That unfortunately sounds like the experience worldwide of emergency departments. I'm glad the paramedics were able to attend and to stop the bleeding. Things like that may seem innocuous but can be very frightening - and serious!

It was a glorious day here in Melbourne today - 28 degrees and sunny. My older daughter always hosts an Easter get-together for family and friends and we all had a lovely time. The same is forecast for tomorrow and then the rest of the week is cooler. I'm hoping to get my bulbs and sweet peas in over the next two days. I ordered the same yellow ranunculas and blue anemones that were so spectacular last year. Also some tete-a-tete miniature daffodils. And I lifted some of last year's hyacinths but I don't know how viable they're likely to be. I hope you're all enjoying your Easter.

That sounds painful P. I hope the antibiotics do the trick. It's bad enough feeling crook without having to go all around the houses to get treatment. We all know that getting to something early can prevent the ongoing need for attention. Fingers crossed.

Traffic was very quiet on the roads today but the hospital was busy. The radiographer said there were three staff away - probably just a runny nose, she said, but hospital protocol says they can't work. Finished up there and did a quick supermarket shop, home for lunch, and then the GP at 3.00. Amazingly he already had the results and said everything was normal. Last week's blood tests showed the "unusual" liver function test had come down considerably. So I've to have another blood test next Tuesday and see him the following week. He thinks I've got a virus. I'll bow to his superior knowledge but I can't think why it's causing sore, swollen joints in my right hand and foot, plus pain in my shoulders - getting dressed and undressed is no fun. He always cautions me against using anti-inflammatories so I'm relying on paracetamol. I asked him if the blood tests ruled anything out and he assures me I don't have gout. Be grateful for small mercies!

P.S. The wrist is heaps better thanks, Duke. It's now the strong joint as it's my right side that's having the trouble. Some days I can't lift a cup of tea. Some virus!

Chicken and vegetable ravioli in a mushroom sauce.

We've got a bit of rain outside at the moment and a forecast overnight low of 14. The rest of the week looks okay (at this stage anyway) getting up to 26 on Saturday - if the Met Bureau gets it right.

I'm back on the medical roundabout tomorrow with a stomach ultrasound in the morning and the GP in the afternoon. Happy days!

Our clocks went back last night so I'd better get an early night ahead of tomorrow's excitement.

Turning a bit cooler down here. We fired up the central heating tonight and it's definitely taken the chill out the air indoors. Days have been quite nice - I'm still in shorts or 3/4 pants but maybe pack a cardigan if going out. And it's not hot water bottle weather yet.

Saturday night is (nearly) always home made pizza with a can of Pepsi Max.

Great to hear from you Duke and glad that it's mostly good news. The only way is up!

I do hope Raffe picks up. It's always a worry when they're not doing as they usually do.

I had a busy day yesterday. Saw a play (with my younger daughter) at 2.00. A very sharp look at quotas/diversity in an upmarket private school (American). The protagonist is doing all she can to redress inequality. Until her son doesn't get into Yale and then she feels her family have been caught on the other side of the coin. Very funny and pertinent. After that I caught the train out to meet up with friends and we went to our first gig since March 2020. (I checked my diary and we saw Patty Griffin on March 3; by March 10 I had cancelled the tickets I had for a play on that day). This time around it was N.S.W. singer/songwriter Melody Pool who I've seen twice before. This gig had been rescheduled 5 times(!!!) over the last two years. She's a stunner with an amazing talent. 11.00pm is now a late night for me but I got a taxi right away and was home in 30 mins for a cost of £28. Worth every cent!!

Copying a post that Duke added to my Aussie Rules tipping thread:

I,m still here folks, but going thru the chemo grind at the moment. Surgery was successful, tumour is no more and the surgeon managed to plumb everything back in the right way round too! That was a few weeks ago, now about half way thru the chemo treatment. All the regular tests have been positive, so with any luck I,ll have the all clear soon enough.

Currently still using this crappy tablet ATM, but looking around for a half decent pappy, as this tablet is playing up now! In the last 12 months, Chez Duke,s has seen 4 PCs/laptops go bandit, 1 not so old TV lose its picture last Xmas, 3 of my vaping mods died as well, and just 2 weeks ago the oven quite literally blew out, taking out the master switch and damaging the hob in the process. There,s definitely something in the air here presently, and it ain,t love! I hate anything electrical stuff as a result! New oven switch and hob installed and more of the folding stuff spent. Add to that the latest lot of utility bills that have come in arrrrggghhh........ how much???!!! Our monthly leccy bill is now twice as much now....yikes!

The woes seen of the last two years haven,t finished with us ,apes, yet.....it s be another tough year. Still can,t be anywhere near as bad as what,s going on it in Ukraine.

Anyhoo..just bobbing in with a wee update, hope to be back soon folks. Could someone pass this on to the other group for me please, I still haven,t got C&P function yet, ta.

Copying a post that Duke added to my Aussie Rules tipping thread:

I,m still here folks, but going thru the chemo grind at the moment. Surgery was successful, tumour is no more and the surgeon managed to plumb everything back in the right way round too! That was a few weeks ago, now about half way thru the chemo treatment. All the regular tests have been positive, so with any luck I,ll have the all clear soon enough.

Currently still using this crappy tablet ATM, but looking around for a half decent pappy, as this tablet is playing up now! In the last 12 months, Chez Duke,s has seen 4 PCs/laptops go bandit, 1 not so old TV lose its picture last Xmas, 3 of my vaping mods died as well, and just 2 weeks ago the oven quite literally blew out, taking out the master switch and damaging the hob in the process. There,s definitely something in the air here presently, and it ain,t love! I hate anything electrical stuff as a result! New oven switch and hob installed and more of the folding stuff spent. Add to that the latest lot of utility bills that have come in arrrrggghhh........ how much???!!! Our monthly leccy bill is now twice as much now....yikes!

The woes seen of the last two years haven,t finished with us ,apes, yet.....it s be another tough year. Still can,t be anywhere near as bad as what,s going on it in Ukraine.

Anyhoo..just bobbing in with a wee update, hope to be back soon folks. Could someone pass this on to the other group for me please, I still haven,t got C&P function yet, ta.

Snap - we had a lovely sunny day too. I did a bit in the garden even though I never seem to be doing the right things in the right season. I planted out a lilac that I grew from a cutting (snipped a few streets away - but it was hanging over the fence). Hope it gets sufficient sun in the south-facing spot. And I planted three more "appropriated" cuttings, don't know the name but it's a trailing plant with a small blue flower. If they take I hope to use one in an old watering can that Mr H has drilled some drainage holes into. And I'm soaking some thunbergia seeds (black-eyed Susan) overnight and will see if they take - as I say, probably a few months too late but hey ho, nothing ventured..... Our older daughter, partner and two children are coming over tomorrow to spend the night - public holiday on Monday - Labour Day (8 Hour Day) but everyone calls it Moomba after the big parade in the city and lots of activities around town including the Birdman Rally where competitors attempt to "fly" (or flop) off a platform into the River Yarra.

The play I was supposed to be seeing today was cancelled (no reason) and re-scheduled for next week but as I have another play on next Saturday arvo (followed by my first gig of the year on Saturday night) I requested a refund and that came through quickly. I did get to see a play last Saturday - "Stay Woke" - not too bad but not great either and on Monday I saw Kenneth Branagh's film "Belfast". I went into it thinking I'm going to love this and I'm going to be crying buckets. Ten minutes in and I thought, oh no, I'm hating this. The cinematography was all over the place. Luckily it settled down and I did end up enjoying it and even though it was emotional, it wasn't a tear-jerker at all. Kenneth Branagh is a very lucky man to have grown up in such a loving family. It was really nice to be back in a cinema again. I only wish that the sort of films I enjoy stayed around for a bit longer in the cinemas. I'm not into the blockbusters or sci-fi or anything from the Marvel/D.C. worlds.

Remember, spring is here for you. It can only get better! Another warm day here. I did water all my pots and cuttings and planted out a couple of impatiens into a bed where not a lot was happening. About 40 years ago, a work colleague of Mr H, handed him a margarine tub filled with sand and an impatiens cutting in it. Since then we have kept sticking cuttings from that original plant into pots and the ground and they are such rewarding plants. A beautiful frilly, double pink flower that covers the plant and seems to be in flower all year round.

It's still very warm and humid here. Not super hot but hot enough (30 degrees). There was a light shower last night but this weather is supposed to last until the weekend when hopefully it might cool down a bit. There is no incentive to do any work in the garden - or the house either for that matter!

Isabella wrote: "I must confess, Val, that I haven't looked at the news for three years, feeling that I can no longer cope with the misery of it all. I know about Ukraine, of course, and other things that somehow manage to slide their way past but for the most part, I don't seek it out. It's not that I don't sympathise but I no longer have the stamina for major world events that I can't influence. ..."

I can totally understand Isabella. I read the headlines on my tablet but rarely seek to go any further. Likewise with the TV news, I can just about take the first 15 minutes and then it's switch off.

P wrote: "Hope it does the trick Val...Mrs P has been prescribed Statins which can get a very bad press so she may have to follow your lead...."

I take a statin every day (Crestor) and have never had any problems so I hope Mrs P thrives on them.

The script I've ceased is Fossamax (designed to turn my bones to concrete). Apparently it is a standard procedure to prescribe it to anyone who is deemed to have osteopenia and sustained a bone break (as I did with my wrist). What I'm feeling like is more of a chest infection. We shall see,