The road to recovery

has been a journey like any others with it's up & downs. All is going along nicely and then you hit a little bump which sets you back a bit. Having said that I am almost at the end of this journey and should be back at work next week.

It is now 5 weeks since my unexpected adventures overseas and for the most part life has returned to normal again. I was a little apprehensive when leaving to come home as not only was l leaving all the nurses who were just a bell away but I was also leaving the Dr. Usually you see them again for a 6 week check before you are cast adrift. So the reality was my security blanket was well and truly pulled out from under me.

Once home, apart from feeling a little tired, life went on with Tammy & Paul arriving for Cup Week. I had a couple of days rest prior to their arrival and so was able to enjoy their company. Needless to say this year we did not make Cup Week. And it appears that someone was looking out for us. You will have all seen by now that the weather was appalling for the whole week. Derby Day was a washout and while Cup Day was a little better it was still cold, wet & windy. We did not miss out on the excitement though. Tammy & Paul organised our own Cup Day party and with drinks, nibbles, lunch & online betting we were able to watch and play almost like we were there. One big difference, we were warm & dry. And no, we didn't do any better in the winning stakes than last year. Tammy & Paul did go to Oaks Day on Thursday when the weather had improved a bit and they did have a win then.

On the previous Sunday we had all gone up to Yarra Glen to join Astrid & Hans for lunch at a different vineyard they had tried a few weeks earlier. Balgownie Estate was just lovely and we all enjoyed a wonderful shared platter and a bottle of bubbly. Bill had taken the Monday off as well so we had another road trip, this time to the Peninsula. We started the morning with breakfast at Madame Sou Sou's in Brunswick then drove over to Port Melbourne where we followed the coast road down to Frankston. It is a lovely drive and a really nice way to see Port Phillip Bay. We had lunch in a beach side cafe in Sorrento before driving back to Dromana and going inland to Arthur's Seat where you get a great view of the bay from above. From there we found Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm, a little trip down memory lane for Bill & I as in a previous life this had been Uncle David's farm. (farm being a term of endearment as it was an unkempt bush block of 5 acres, still we all loved it and had some good times there with him.) Now it is the most wonderful strawberry farm with the best strawberries around. They also sell a range of all things strawberry and the sparkling and the liqueur are both to be recommended. After 2 big days I was quite grateful to be staying home on Cup Day.

My visits to the Dr here were met with good news as he was happy with how I was progressing. With my blood count still a bit low I was given iron tablets and it is amazing just how quickly you get back your zing. I did have a much quieter week after my big weekend. Once Tammy & Paul returned home, this time it was Paul who had the excess luggage, I had a couple of very quiet days as I gathered my thoughts and looked at how I would move forward. There had been a few bumps along the way & I was worried I would never be 'normal' again. Once I took stock, I realised that I had actually tried to do too much too soon, especially in the food & drink department, and after talking to the Dr he advised starting again with a much simpler diet and a quieter lifestyle. All has gone well and I am now pretty much back to that 'normal' I was missing. Kaye & Trevor came to lunch on Thursday, coming up from Frankston to see me. It was so good to see them both and hear all their news.

Last week I started to venture further afield and on Tuesday caught the train down to Edithvale to meet Mum for lunch. We had a lovely day having lunch at home and then we went out to a garden cafe for afternoon tea before she dropped me at the station for my trip home. And then on Friday we were off again, this time for the weekend. Our long awaited trip to Jamieson was finally taking place. We had booked our cottage and were going to go the weekend after we got back from Bali but of course you know the rest. From Singapore Bill was able to email them and changed the date until this weekend. It was just what the Dr ordered. Perfectly peaceful, quite and as usual beautiful.
With all the rain we have had the whole area was just a picture. So green and with Lake Eildon now at almost 70% we have seen lakeside communities with water at their doorsteps where for many years there has been none. Howqua, Mac's Cove & Gough's Bay all have water now as the lake has filled. We spent Saturday morning looking around and seeing how different all these places have become with water. We lunched at Kinloch winery where we shared a platter and a drink in the sunshine and just whiled away a couple of hours watching the vines grow. After lunch we met Astrid & Hans at Gough's Bay and joined them in their boat for a couple of hours out on the water. It was a wonderful day and we thoroughly enjoyed all of it. They had motored around to us from Jerusalem Creek, somewhere they have not been able to launch a boat for years. We finished the night with dinner at the pub and it was 2 weary but relaxed people that hit the sack that night.

We both found it a little hard to get out of bed on Sunday morning. Even the birds couldn't tempt Bill to get up too early. We finally crawled out and had a leisurely breakfast before leaving to wind our way home again. We came home across the Eildon-Jamieson Rd, and could see from various vantage points just how the lake was filling. Once in Eildon we visited the weir and the spillway. From a lookout here you can really appreciate just how much the water has risen. One can only hope that it will continue and not drop to such drastic levels again. It certainly is a huge expanse of water. From Eildon we came home through the Cathedral Ranges. Having been through here last January we were saddened by the devastation caused by the black Saturday fires 12 months earlier. Now only 10 months later the whole area looks so different. Obviously the rain has played a big part in this as so many of the trees are now sporting new growth from top to bottom. While it will takes years to recover it just brings joy to your heart to see that nature never gives up and the cycle continues. Even the birds are back. In January it was such an eerie landscape and no sound whatsoever.

It's not only me that's on the road to recovery, it's all around us with the rivers, lakes, mountains and communities. It really does make you happy to be alive. Life is for living, make the most of it.

Until next time..............