Well here we go again, a big, bigger & even bigger Merry Christmas to one & all!
Dec: The trip to Fraser Island was a magical weekend for us as a family as we hadn’t seen much of Jodi with being away most of the year down south, what an eye opener it was to see so much of the island that one can only see on tours. Wendy was on the mend again until she fell arse over you know what, scun knee & a few bruises, but we were lucky we had our own personal physician with us, fixed her up in short order. My Christmas present of lung cancer wasn’t all that friendly, stuffed up me Santa thing that I normally do each year as had I had to slip in to Brisbane to get a few tests done, who said bugger?
Jan: Still made it up to Standown for the New Year festivities. Jodi got it off to, so joined us there, then we had to go help with the packing as she is off to Tamworth to be a GP. Wendy is getting back on track after her run in with old jack the dancer as well. Now it’s my turn for the old sympathy thing again? 16th down to Coffs Harbour to spend a week with our old mate Chrissy who was over from England checking up on her grandson, what a lovely week we had catching up. Then it was back to Brisbane for a biopsy & to see the oncologist, lung cancer, secondary to the kidney cancer of 2011.
Feb: Up to Yeppoon for a few days to catch up with friends, yep we do have some scattered around the country!
Mar: Managed to get the job as secretary of the bowls club, poor buggers. Friends from Tasmania come to see how the poor people live & decided it wasn’t so bad, so they started looking for a block up here to do the same thing & they did, glory be to Ranbuild sheds.
Apr: Looks like we are in remission what a lovely word that is! Sounds bloody good to me. anyway. 14th, Heading down to Narrabri to catch up with the Anzac Day lads for a week or two. Slipped over to Tamworth as you would expect to have a long weekend with the Doc, also did a quick trip down to Gosford for a couple days with the young sister & her tribe. Back to Narrabri then Jodi drove over for Anzac Day & stay for a week with us doing the tourist thing, the sister & her old man caught up with us too. Mt Kapute, when we got to the top on to the lookout you would have thought you were on top of the world! Some very interesting rock formations etc around here.
May: Well there couldn’t have been much going on this month, if there was I didn’t think it important enough to put it in the diary.
Jun: Up to Standown Park for the dedication of the memorial, what a great achievement that is for Rod & Pam, a terrific day, a terrific place with a lot of beaut people. Great couple of weeks had to go home & mow the weeds though. Bought and installed a bloody great wood fire in the corner as we look like spending most of the winter here & it gets a bit chilli.
Jul: Results of the latest scans referring to my association with this old Jack Dancer (Cancer) for the uninitiated. Nothing has changed since there appearance these nasty little shits in December last year, yep, plenty of the little mongrels but like me quiet and in active. I’m better looking though, I’m not being smug “I’ve seen the pictures!” So we do all the scans etc again in October. So there could be a few more of these newsy letters in me yet? We caught up with Chas & Jan for a week at Standown before heading down to the Birthday girl in Tamworth & the reunion in Coffs Harbour.
Aug: Picked up new ears 8th Aug in Toowoomba on our way through. Sent em back 4 days later!
Jodi’s Birthday for the weekend in Tamworth was great, then on to Coffs Harbour for the old army unit reunion, marvellous to catch up with the lads again over a few quiet ales. On to Standown Park as the boss had a meeting to go to with the ladies, they tell us they had a good weekend and so did we young fellas?
Sept: Then it was back home to Jandowae for the eye ball man, cataract gone in one eye. Picked up my new ears again, sent em back 5 days later!
Oct: We are just starting to warm up (summer Temperatures), in the mid 20s & 30s (Celsius). Wendy is thinking of taking the second blanket off the bed, I’m already down to just the sheet, in other words bloody lovely weather. She who thinks she should be obeyed & friends have taken up Thai Chi (Kung Fu in slow motion), seem to be enjoying themselves. Mark & I went out to Western Queensland to check out Quilpie & Thargomindah, last week. Had to check the place for the annual get together for Anzac Day next year, the temperature was closer to 40c out there. Thargomindah, is a little govt. town of about 200 people, mostly employed by the local govt/council. A pub, a general store, a caravan park, museum with coffee shop, a dawn service and a march, so what’s the use of anymore?
Made friends with Surly Shirley the publican and the lovely young lass in the coffee shop, so I’m set, they can both pour a mean glass of cold water with a dash of lemon (no alcohol to speak of these days) without laughing which is more than I can say about you bloody lot right now!
Nov: Well folks the results of the latest tests (scans) are not as nice as they could have been but, I am doing just a tad better than our illustrious cricket team (at that time they had just been flogged by South Africa)! They the little buggers have grown a little bit in the last 3 months. The only symptom so far appears to be a shitty little cough and a lack of wind afterwards, which is something different for me, or so the old girl reckons? But I still get my 18-20 k up on the bike most mornings. So things could be a lot worse. Mind you I’m still a long way from that bloody warm place yet, well I bloody hope so anyway. Well another set of scans to be done next January?? Well that’s enough about my little problem…
Would you believe it’s nearly time for the old red suit again so Wendy & I wish you all good health & happiness for 2015 & have a very Merry Christmas and the best of everything for the 2015.