Hot off the Press

I don’t even know why I bother. Please God, why must I deal with so very many incompetent people in my life? I mean, big shout out to my wonderful administrator Noelle for all her great work on Hellonwheels/Lifeonehanded and the snort-laughing meme’s. They truly make my day! Why can’t everyone I deal with be so competent?

Monday! The goal for today has been find a carer I can spend 2-3 hours in the kitchen with me and smash out several dishes so food I have paid good money on doesn’t go to waste. Is it that hard to do?

My goal is to make three things a veggie curry, a veggie bake with a béchamel sauce. (That’s a very simple white sauce, for those who don’t know.) and lastly a bread and butter pudding. It’s proving challenging to get anybody. I don’t need to handhold in the kitchen, or teach, or who listens if all I have to have them do is suggest they read the recipe. I actually can do all of these things, singlehanded! But not all at once and not without complete exhaustion and probably a migraine.
To be continued………………….

Tuesday! Another day to test how well service providers (who provide my carers) can manage to stress me out and prove incompetent? I’m often sent carers where language can be a barrier. My first carer was from Japan, but has been here 15 years. I think she’s going to be one of my regulars.
The lovely Caroline arrived and I had a massage, if there is one good-thing it’s a massage.

My first agency to get my NDIS funding after my council (provider of HACC services) outsource my request for assistance for food prep. You know when they tell you Fred is coming and when they arrive they introduce themselves as Barney? (don’t know where this Flintstones reference came from, so it’s not intentional) Barney is from Greece and has been here maybe 10 years or less, I forget. Cannot explain the frustration of talking someone through how to put the compost into the worm farm! I shouldn’t need to micromanage that task to get it done……… Although success! By the end of the 2.5-hour session, the veggie curry was complete, the veggie bake with the béchamel sauce, done and my bread and butter pudding, while slap-dash is marinating overnight in the fridge before I bake it tomorrow night.

It’s always a challenge when carers who aren’t familiar with me or my home and I have to give directions to where they will find things it’s often easier for me to get things myself. Then of course, in the effort of getting things achieved in a time limit I often miss out on the actual ‘doing’. This is why it’s standard I spend some serious time in the kitchen before setting up and an equally serious amount of time cleaning up afterwards. Today I only managed to sit and have lunch 11 minutes before Barney arrived, but even after 9pm, I’m yet to have a hot cup of tea today as every time I try it goes cold as I multitask.

If all goes well, some of each of the savoury dishes will be collected before midnight and I won’t need to make much of an effort in the kitchen for the next few evenings. Definitely a night for the bench top dishwasher to go on twice. Winning!

Wednesday, standard Punchy/shabby day. Complete with foodie good mental health day.

Even got to get out on Hellonwheels and on the way home dropped in to visit Matt who has been building 9 brand spanking new apartments (that I cannot live in or afford to rent, but let’s move on!) There are occasionally days I’m wondering how weird the world is and why I meet ‘certain’ people? So, there was a guy chatting to Matt with his arm in a cuff and collar (which he was wearing incorrectly) and before he could ask me I got to ask him. “What’s wrong with your arm?” I was told I “had no idea” and the F*Bomb was mentioned. Not at me but in general…….let’s move on. I confess to say; my eyes went rather large and I gave Matt a bit of an eye roll as I wondered if he had not noticed my cuff and collar? I had also needed to manage my position on my scooter to cater to having both of them standing on my right so I could see them, without them staring into the late afternoon sun. (Aren’t I thoughtful) Now, I did not know this other guy from a bar of soap and I asked who he was? (A name would have been fine don’t be ridiculous.) He told me he was the bald guy in the Underbelly series at the end who is killed. Like I was supposed to remember who that was?

FYI. In the 90’s and early 2000 the Melbourne Mafia was doing a pretty good job at killing each other off. All with the goal of running the drug trade and gambling and ‘what-not’ (I wasn’t there, all I can say) I don’t have those relatives or contacts however, I know people who did and do however not with any illegal intent. (Yes! Very diplomatic and safe!) Nailed it!

So this guy….. let’s call him that man who has bullet shrapnel in his back and just about everywhere, by the sound of it and it impacts his spine and the doctors can’t even do an MRI. You don’t generally let Doctors do exploratory surgery around your spine without an MRI, so I’m perfectly fine with my AVM………Thanks for playing.

I meet some weird people, right?

Arrived home decided to use my reach-grabby-thingy to collect the rubbish that was mulched by the lawnmower 2 weeks ago. Went to use my front hose, that has not been used since last summer, and some BASTARD (presumably the landlord) cut it! I mean, seriously CUT my garden hose! My landlords have fruit trees in the front yard and waits until I’d been here several years before telling me I was not allowed to use the tap. They informed me it’s on a separate meter. I attempted to bucket out water for a few weeks and it caused a flare-up of my old and repaired disc-bulge. I don’t water my outdoor plants over winter. It rains, right?

Ggggrrrrrrrr, Matt dropped down on his way home and fixed the hose. I had a spare fitting and now I have to move the hose back to my scooter shed and only get it out when I use it.
I baked the pudding……

Finally caught up on my admin and it’s after midnight. Next!

Thursday, it has come to my attention I might be making my existence sound way more exciting and adventurist than it actually is? I might dispel that now…… Lazy day at home today, washing on the line, visit from Bolton Clark (formerly known as RDN) They needed to check their key safe at my front door. Tammy the lovely nurse left me with a joke she had been told by a 95-year-old woman. I might write it up as a seperate post and spent some time updating the software on all my “I’s” (My iPhone, iPad and Laptop) FYI, I’m not rich I just used my one-off funding wisely about 3 years ago and going forward the NDIS will not be funding computers in the future. They believe every Australian household has a computer. I shouldn’t need to mention I wouldn’t have any of these “I” if I hadn’t been given that funding. Next!

Friday! There was a miracle because I made it to bed ‘early’ (both the definition of early and miracle are still in question) as it was 1am, when I crawled into bed, slept until 8am, (another miracle!) Don’t make me repeat myself……… Friday, such a long day, but fun times with my young carer while out shopping.

Rife social chat with Pat the Butcher, Aiden the young veggie produce guy (sounds cheesy but seriously) and the lovely checkout chick. (It’s weird when I watch the same TV shows as people half my age……like Glow) I got to explain Alison Brahe won the Dolly model of the year competition in the 80’s when I was a teenager before she married a Daddo! (Cameron Daddo) which is like Australian Royalty.

Smashed out another veggie bake tonight. Tuesday’s went so well, but as I gave away more than I ate and I didn’t keep any for leftovers, I did heaps of prep work while my carer was doing her chores, cleaning and vacuuming. Then I spent more time in the kitchen after she left. Finally got to sit at 8pm for my coffee and custard scroll. My Friday symbol of the week is finally over! Feeling like a zombie!

Not sure I’ll even make it to 1am tonight. Otherwise, a beautiful spring day in Melbourne reaching 25………otherwise, a great quiet weekend. Lots of laundry and a rude awakening from I presume my nosy landlady at 8am Sunday morning. I presume that’s when one weeds their tenants front garden? Gggggrrrrrrr….. another week dawns! Let’s go!
Let’s see if I head from the NDIA gets back to me about my need for medically approved extra-depth shoes? My chiropractor? Or how about my shrink? No, probably not! I’m not holding my breath obviously.

Here’s some pictures of things I’ve encountered or made in the last week, see if you can pick which is which?

Cheers,
H