thoughts of John Bertram (and other stuff)

Last night we were trying to work out when Australia won the America's Cup (as you do). We could have got off our arses and gone and looked it up.

We didn't.

We spent about a quarter of an hour working it out. First we tried to remember where we were living at the time (NSW wheatbelt). Then we worked out how many kids we had (3) and how old they were (4, 2 and a wee babe). We knew where we lived because we listened to the final race in bed in the front room of that house and we knew we didn't have the fourth because the girls moved into that room before the youngest was born. And the second daughter was still in the cot in our room so she was still having night feeds.

So, it had to be the second half of 1983.

Then we tried to narrow it down even more.

Hmmm

Max could remember that the racing was all over before his annual shutdown in the first week in October (it was the main topic of conversation in the cribroom during breaks) and I could remember having the telly on during dinner on my birhday (telly during dinner is an absolute no-no in our house so it was kind of significant) to listen to the weather for NY.

We ended up with a date of 25th September, 1983.

We were out by one day.

Then I began to wonder. Do other people work out dates that way? The whole "where were you when you heard about Kennedy?" theory.

Our first calculations are always based on where we were living followed by how many kids and how old. It is a pretty accurate method for the early years of our marriage. It gets less reliable as we get closer to present time. We have to rely more on where the kids were living and who their partners were. Much fuzzier dates in our mental calendars.

Are we alone in this obscure method?

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And, now, a brief update.

I haven't killed my Mum yet. Tempting but I've been brave and strong (although, I have wondered if the flare up in my eye problems has got less to do with my crappy body and more to do with the fact that I spend a lot of time rolling my eyes behind her back).

She's a pushy old thing and VERY set in her ways. When she decides she wants something, she wants it NOW and she wants it HER WAY. They are usually small things and not worth making a fuss about but they niggle.

The main thing I miss is alone time. She is (mostly) not too intrusive. She is just there. All the time. It's a bit like that single blowfly that just hangs around and annoys you but not enough to get up and find the swat.

It isn't a huge problem and will (I hope) become less with time.

My beautiful granddaughter has left us for warmer climes. Her dad took a job in Brisbane and they all moved over there a month ago. I have missed her first time sitting up, her first crawl and her first word (all in the same week at just 5 months). I miss her like all hell. I can see the frequent fliers building up rapidly.

There will be more than one reason for those points accumulating. We have the first ultrasound of the new grandchild and a due date of June 4th. Hopefully, the babe will wait until after the wedding on May 30 so I can fly up to Townsville and be there for the birth. If not, bugger! I can't be in two places at once but I wish I could.

Family-wise, there isn't much other news. Bron and Jads are in the final stages of packing up for their move to WA. They are driving across (with the Harley on a trailer because the boy doesn't trust the Army to move it carefully enough). They are coming via Brizzy to meet the Alice and should get here a week before Christmas. I'm busting.

Health-wise, I'm in a flare-up stage of my eye problems. I got some quite significant side effects from the steroids (post menopausal bleeding and raging hypertension) so they had to be stopped. I am waiting on some enzyme level results so a decision can be made about the next course of treatment. It looks like either radiation or immuno-suppressants or a combination of both. Max is doing all the research and I'm just letting fate (and MDs) set the course.

And that (as they say) is that. I shall sign off with some grandchild pics (because she is, after all, the most photogenic grandbaby ever).

Didn't I tell you she was gorgeous!!