Thankful Thursday

It's been an interesting week this time around. Here's what I am thankful for ..

• Brodie going to TAFE yesterday & school today even though he didn't want to go
• for the glorious weather we have been having. I think someone forgot to tell mother nature that we are in the middle of winter. (It's been t-shirt weather for the past few days)
• for my postie, he will be very busy over the next week or so :D (yes I have been buying online again)
• for Op Shops. I found quite a few bargains over the last couple of days
• for Angus doing the right thing (so far) this week and actually doing his homework!

What are you thankful for this week?

Wow

Mark sent me a link to this youtube video. It's so good that I just had to share it with you. It's a police officer riding a motorbike.  How is this for precision driving? He doesn't even put his feet on the ground.

All I could say at the end of this when I saw it was WOW!

What Would You Do?

What do you do when your 18yo Aspie kid decided he doesn't want to go to school? Do you tell them they have to go? Do you give in for the sake of keeping the peace? Do you remind them that it is their senior year? That completing Year 12 is important? That passing is the outcome they agreed to achieve? Do you also remind them that if Centrelink (Social Security for my overseas friends) contacts the school or vice-versa he may lose his Education Allowance due to not being at school often enough?

As you can probably guess Brodie didn't want to go to school today. I often think its so he can spend more time on Facebook talking to his friends but I would love to be wrong on that one. I have told him that if he is NOT sick and doesn't want to go to school I WILL NOT phone them and lie to them. If he wants to stay home he needs to phone them himself and explain why he isn't there.

Even though Brodie is 18 and officially an adult he still isn't mature enough to always be treated like one. He hates that but its true. His maturity is probably equivalent to a 15-16 year old and some kids that age are very immature. Having Aspergers is hard enough but to heap a lot of 'adult' responsibilities on to him as well. I don't think I can do that to him yet.

I often wonder if I do the right thing? There are times when I have to play peace-keeper. I just don't need the stress. Its the only way to remain sane (well, my happy pills help a little). There are enough arguments in this place without me creating another one. I jus thope that one day Brodie will realise that I am not always a mean person who makes him do things. I do it because it is in his best interest and I am just taking care of him & helping him to learn to be more independent.

Around The Neighbourhood

I went for a walk this morning *shock horror* all on my own too! In order to prove that I went for a walk I took photos (again) but at least this way you get to see a little bit more of my neighbourhood. Not that I needed to prove I went for a walk but hey it gives me a reason to take photos to share. Something other than what I have been knitting or crocheting.

You can tell spring is on the way. Look at those pretty blossoms!

I needed to get some scripts filled at the chemist so I decided that I could walk there. Wait for the scripts to be filled, that would give me time to rest my hip a bit, and then head home. Just in case you are wondering no I haven't hurt myself recently. My hip has been hurting on and off for a few years now. My anti-inflammatory that I take for my carpel tunnel seems to have helped my hip tremendously. Its only when I do a lot of walking that it flares up a little but resting it for a few minutes makes a huge difference.

Those houses in the distance are a recent thing. There were only a small handful when we first moved into town.

Yes another hill for me to climb up. Thank goodness I turn at the corner here and miss the need to climb back up that hill!! I walked up the Coles hill (I think I mentioned that last time I talked about going for a walk. You can see the photo of the hill in this post here). I don't know why I thought I would walk home that way. It is steep! Oh that's right it takes off an extra 5 minutes walking home that way. I do end up paying for it by being out of breath and it makes my legs find muscles that I had forgotten about.

An unusual plant.

I came across this unusual plant. It looks like it's growing really well. I have no idea what it's called. You don't happen to have any ideas do you? The plant looks kind of harsh but it isn't really.

Here's a close-up of the same plant. It looks like its getting ready to flower.

 I met some lovely people during my walk too. I don't know if its the fact we were all walking or its because we live in the country but they were very friendly. Maybe it was a bit of both.

I know that walking is good for me but I sure do get pooped afterwards. ALL of my healthcare workers want me to do at least 30 minutes exercise a day (I don't do that every day) but at least I am doing some :) I have lost about 5 kilos (around 10 lb) since being diagnosed with diabetes. I'm not sure if I will continue to lose weight. In fact I would be happy to maintain the weight I have and not gain any extra. I even tested my BGL after my walk today and its lower than it normally would be 2 hours after breakfast. So that's a really good thing right?

I'm going to put my feet up and crochet for a bit. I think I have earned that today.

There's a New Angel in Heaven

I had one of those phone calls this morning that you hope you never wish to receive.

My sister, Vicki, phoned me. I could hear that something was wrong in her voice. I had a horrible feeling that it was something bad. For a moment I thought she was going to say that something happened to Dad. It wasn't about him. It was about my beautiful niece, Lee-Anne, Vicki's granddaughter. In between sobs I was told about my beautiful niece, who is 5 months pregnant, has lost her baby. Her little girl.

I feel so bad for Lee-Anne & her partner. For her Mum, Kylie, & my sister. I know how it feels to have lost a baby. It's heart breaking. You feel consumed with grief. But you have to go on. You have another child at home who needs you.

I wish I was there to help my sister & nieces but I am 800km (500miles) away. I am sure that the know I would be there if I could. So for now I will just send good thoughts, my love and prayers their way. There isn't anything else I can do.

WIP

Last night I started making a cushion cover using my new crochet hooks.
I was not very good with the measurements though. It is far too small. I'll need to add a border & quite a large one at that.
At least I am using up some of my scraps. I'm loving how it looks so far.

Look What I Just Finished (My 1000th post)

Another cute baby cardigan. All I need to do is add some buttons.

I am feeling more confident reading crochet patterns now. The pattern (JC29NB) for this one is by Heather at Just Crochet. She has a lot of great baby patterns.

I am going to start hunting for patterns for my Tunisian crochet hooks. I'm thinking of making a cushion cover (or two) for some new inserts I have sitting in the cupboard.

Oh My Gosh. I just clicked that this is my 1000th post. I almost let this go by without mentioning it. Who would've thought that when I started my blog in February 2006 that I would still be posting almost 5 and a half years later. I kept my blog to myself for such a very long time and about 18 months ago I decided to share it. I was worried about who would even bother to read the dribble I share. I just want to say thank you to everyone who does spend some time reading about what I have to say. I enjoy reading and replying to your comments. I have met some wonderful people out there in blog-land. You often make my day! So thank you!