Five Things Friday/ Oh So Much Pain

Good afternoon all here we are at 1.45pm on Friday afternoon been a pretty good day after a not so good Thursday night so here is this weeks five things.

Crying please make the pain stop

Taking 10 minutes to get off the toilet

Walking to lounge room with knickers around my knees

Phone call to Jessica for help

Jessica coming and pulling up my knickers and then putting me to bed

These things happened to me last night around 6.15pm, I was in bed and asleep by around 7pm today I have been much better slept in till 6.45am this morning and the day has been pretty good.

Did you know

Today it is bloody cold here, Leo slept in this morning didn't get up till 7.55am and we left here at 8.10am to take him to school yesterday being the first day of the school term Leo was asking from the time he got here how soon could he go to school, when I asked him how his day was when I picked him up he said great.

Now for this weeks did you know.............................

The French eat more cheese than any other country in the world..................................

I can tell that I like my cheese, as does Tim my youngest daughter Jessica isn't a fan of cheese unless she is having a cheeseburger or cheese pizza the girl is strange.

School Down Under

Hello everyone, today is the first day of the second school term of the year, I had to go and get Leo this morning as Jessica has no fuel and no money for fuel till this afternoon, since I was up anyway it wasn't a bother to go get him.

Natasha rang while I was having breakfast and wanted to know if her dad was home, he was and as he was sitting next to me I passed the phone over, she had a flat tyre and needed him to go and change it, which he did because that is what fathers do.

Anyway since it is day one of term two I thought I will talk a little about school down under. Our school year runs from January to December and is broken up into 4 school terms, each term is roughly 10 weeks long. The school day is generally from 9am to 3pm but some schools have earlier starts at different times usually that happens with high schools.

Of course education is compulsory for all children aged between 5 & 17, our schools are broken up into generally speaking primary school and high school, students attend primary from kindergarten to year six and high school from year seven to year twelve.

A number of years back it was introduced that all students she attend school till the end of year 12, when I was at school and when my girls were at school you could leave after year 10 or when you turned 15. I left after year 10 as there was no way I was smart enough to go on to years 11 & 12, Tim left school halfway through year 8 when he got a job and both Kathy and Jessica left school as soon as they were old enough to leave. Natasha stayed till she was asked to leave which was half way through year 11.

Then there is tertiary education at universities or colleges or you can go to tafe if you wish and there is also vocational and training programmes.

We have public (government) schools and private schools with regulation and funding of education being the primary responsibility of the States and Territories but the Federal Government also plays a funding role as well.

Around 60% of all students attend public schools with the other 40% attending private or independent schools. All but one of Australia's 43 universities are public and the student fees are subsidised through a student loan program where the payment becomes due when graduates reach a certain level of income.

There are also many online tertiary options including doing tafe online, this is popular with people who work and study at night or on weekends, although there are many Tafe courses held at night as well. My youngest daughter attends Tafe three nights a week, which is why we have Leo three nights a week.

Even though school fees are voluntary if you attend a public school there is still a lot of out lay for parents with equipment or book packs stationary items and of course excursions and now there is the added cost of a laptop once your child hits year 5 they are expected to have a laptop to use this can be bought through the school or you can bought elsewhere but can't be just any laptop has to be a certain type with certain programmes and is generally kept at school.

When I was at school the government supplied everything as in books and pencils and rulers but not any more, also the back to school bonus which was around for many years is gone so really no bloody help from the government with the cost of school now days.

Lest We Forget

Hello everyone, some of you may have noticed I wasn't around yesterday, I had to go and help my mum with her shopping as Sandra was feeling sick and not up to helping so me and Dawson helped her. After I got home I just had no energy I sat watched some telly, had lunch then I had a nap after that I still had no energy so did nothing for the rest of the afternoon.

Today is of course Anzac Day here in Aus, the first Anzac Day was way back in 1916 over a hundred years ago and it is still a special day pretty much for all Aussies, many Aussies travel to Gallipoli for the dawn service.

In 1916 the first Anzac Day ceremonies were held on this date the 25^th April across the country and there was a march through London and there was a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt.

Now days Aussies consider the 25^th April as a day of national remembrance, there are commemorative services held at dawn all over the country and there are marches across the country as well. Many young children attend as well with their parents and grandparents, many schools also take pare in Anzac Day services.

Some people thought the threat of terror attacks would keep people away from services but nope not the case.

Now I am pretty sure every man and his dog know that the Gallipoli campaign was a failure but it was the actions of the Australian and New Zealand forces during the campaign that left a powerful legacy. What became know as the “Anzac legend” and became an important part of the identity of both countries.

In many pubs and RSL clubs the game of two-up is played, this game is only ever played on Anzac Day and in some parts of the country it is only legal to play it on Anzac Day.

Two-up is a traditional Aussie gambling game, it has a designated “spinner” throwing up two coins traditionally pennies into the air, players bet on whether the coins will fall with heads or tails up or with one of each which is knows as odds. Pennies are considered the right weight and size for the game, decimal coins are generally considered to be too small and light and they don't fly as well.

Most shops and businesses are closed on Anzac Day at least for the first half of the day some businesses and shops will open from 1pm.

Anzac Day is also as day many people will buy and eat damper, which for those who do not know is a traditional Australian soda bread, it consists of a wheat flour based bread, traditionally baked in the coals of a campfire or in a camp oven.

Just another Sunday

Good morning all here we are on Sunday morning, well it's Sunday morning here, I have been up since 4.30am as usual and done an hour and a half of exercises, Tim will be up soon he has to go to work today he had yesterday off.

Yesterday saw both of us go out after I hung the towels on the line to dry, oh yeah just remembered yesterday after I did my morning exercises I went out to Kmart to get a yoga mat which I did get only a cheap on it was all I could afford at the moment but it is a bit softer then laying just on the floor. I also bought my self another pedometer again only a cheap one I have had dearer ones in the past but they never last any longer then the $3 ones so why bother paying more.

Anyway this morning I was using the pedometer and what did this silly woman do she reset it accidentally it was at a 1,000 steps and then the next time I looked at it, it said 201 steps so I must have reset it so I am going to have to be more careful tomorrow I want a good idea how many steps my morning workout equals. I also want to wear it when on the cruise because you seem to do a lot of walking while on the cruise.

Today Kathy and Jessica are coming over for lunch and Jessica is going to be doing the cooking, she is doing savoury mince, I just invited Natasha as Tim will be at work they are at loggerheads again over money, longish story not going into it but since he is going to work I sent her a text inviting her to lunch I doubt she will show up though.

Tim just got up so I am going to change out of my shorts as my legs are cold, back again.

I am hoping that when they are here I can get Kathy to get my clothes off the line since doing so really hurts my back, I cannot stand for very long before the pain starts to set in. I am so over all the pain and not being able to move due to pain. Yesterday was a bad day pain wise but not as bad as Friday today so far I am ok only a small amount of pain. I even managed to do some of the bending exercises with very little pain.

Here medical people ask you to rate your pain out of 10 with 10 being the worst pain you can imagine, Friday I would have given the pain about a 8, yesterday was about a 6 and this morning so far only around 4-5. My mum usually rates her pain between 7-12 most days sitting around 8-9 she is in that much pain all the time.

On Friday mum had a visit from a nurse to see if she qualified for home care assistant, some one to come in and clean her house which is what she wants as she is unable to do it any-more and she doesn't like to ask Sandra who does all the shopping and often mows the lawns and such, dad vacuums most days but cleansing the bath and changing the sheets she has get either Sandra or Sue to do for her. Anyway she does qualify so when we get back from our cruse she is hoping to have heard from someone to get that up and running.

Many years ago after mum had her stroke she had someone come in each week to clean for a few months, that woman was Mrs Simpson, who as it turns out is the grandmother of my grandsons father small world or what.

Also when mum was working back in the 90's she also did cleaning for home-care clients and now again she is in need of home-care assistant, one day the way I am going I may need it too but for now most days I cope. Although I just had to ask Tim to but my socks on for me I can do it but it is difficult and takes a while if he does it, its done much quicker.

Ok that is all from me for this post I will be back tomorrow sometime with more ramblings.   

Five things Friday

Good morning, on this lovely somewhat cool Friday morning of course being Friday means it is Five things Friday, been thinking about what this weeks five things would be so after some thought I have decided, ok no thought really just listening to the tv and that is how I decided on this weeks five things.

Citizenship tests

Duel citizenship

Immigrants

Integrate

Try to learn the language of your new country

Everyone has an opinion on who should be allowed to immigrate to their country some and all for letting all the refuges in others not so much, most people don't have a problem with those who apply and go through all the right steps to move to a foreign country but most people also have a big problem with those who turn up in boats and who try to sneak into a country illegally. Also many have a problem with those who do not seem to at least try to learn to speak the language in my case that language is english, I know it's hard but at least try.

History Wednesday/American Civil War Uniforms

Let us talk a little about the American civil war, we all know that during the war the North wore blue uniforms and the South wore grey but did you know at the start of the war that wasn't necessary the case.

In fact many soldiers on both sides wore both blue or grey as they wore the uniform of the militia they were part of, as the men of the 5^th Virginia Militia who wore a blue uniform and they had to wear a white strip of cloth around their hats and were told if challenged to place their hand over their left breast and say “our homes”. Like that was going to happen in the middle of a battle or pretty much at any time.

Regular U S Army troops wore their traditional dark blue trousers, jackets and kepi caps, to distinguish the volunteers who comprised the vast bulk of the federal armies from the professionals of the regular army.

However, many Union soldiers also wore grey uniforms again because that was the uniform of the militia they were part of. Then there were the men who turned up to fight decked out in baggy trouser usually bright red or striped because their uniform was influenced by French Zouaves of North Africa. I will talk about the Zouaves in another post.

Confederate uniform volunteers were grey kepi jacket and trousers but as the war went on they would fad and took on a light brownish appearance, which gave rise to the nickname “Butternuts” for Southern soldiers.

On both sides artillerymen had red kepis, shell jackets with red trim and depending on rank a red stripe on their pants legs. Cavalry riders had a yellow stripe on their pants and yellow trim on jackets. Other special units had different uniforms the Hiram Berdan's Union sharpshooters wore green uniforms.

Of course many in command and in Washington thought the whole thing would be over after the first battle, never thinking it would last as long as it did or that so many would die during the war.

The first major battle of the war took place at Bull Run River, now try and picture it a battle fought my mostly untrained soldiers with both sides wearing both blue and grey uniforms and some wearing no uniform at all, it must have been crazy chaos and it was fought only 25-30 miles from Washington. The battle lasted around 12 hours, with between 3,600-4,600 dead or wounded and around 1,200 missing in action.

Question Tuesday

Ok all have a question for everyone comes from some questions I saw on Lauren's blog,which can be found here for all those who have not discovered her already: http://www.lotfortyeightblog.com

The question is: How often do you doodle?

My answer, pretty often,usually when I am on the phone, if I have a a magazine or note near me I like to colour in the circles in letters like O or the O in a P that type of thing, I also like to draw around the edges on envelopes and such, that is my type of doodling.

I think pretty much everyone likes to doodle when they are on the phone especially if you are on hold, so tell me your style of doodling.

Did you know Monday/Old Ships

Here we are on Easter Monday and since it's Monday that means it is do you know Monday. So did you know this.

All old wooden-hulled ships had to be kept watertight at the seams, since dry docks were not around a long time ago this had to be done while the boat was afloat. The lowest seam on the hull was called the “devil” and was particularly difficult to reach and was dangerous to work on,hence the expression “between the devil and the deep blue sea” was born.

As said it is Easter Monday here so another public holiday but that is ok I have no plans to go out and sometime today Leo will be here we have him tonight because he wants to have a sleep over not as far as I know not because his mum has any plans.

I am not in much pain which is good although I do feel pretty tired and have a slight headache and yes I did 80 minutes of exercise first thing this morning.

Easter Sunday

Good morning and Happy Easter Sunday to all my friends in blog land, I as usual have been up since 4.30am and have just finished this mornings exercises very little pain this morning. However,since I am doing homemade chicken nuggets for lunch was suppose to be chicken tenders but some silly woman picked up the wrong item got diced chicken instead of chicken tenderloins so it will be nuggets instead of tenders. I have no idea what I am going to have with them but I will think of something.

Yesterday was spent shopping as I couldn't go on Friday and for the most part my back was fine the pain I had was in the back of my right ankle/calf aka the Achilles tendon that was painful and walking was painful but of course I coped what else can one do.

After Tim gets up I will go and find the Easter gifts and chocolates for my grandchildren, Jessica asked me when did it become the thing to give gifts at Easter time instead of just chocolates. I told her I have no idea, I started to give gifts to the grandchildren when their mothers asked me not to give a lot of chocolate.

I can remember a time when you would find the stores having a lot of Easter Eggs left over and reduced on Easter Monday, not so much any more when I was shopping yesterday I notice a lot of stores had just about sold out of Easter Eggs.

We haven't had Leo sleep over since the school holidays started and I said to him yesterday something about him sleeping over on Monday night he tilted his head and said “we will see”. I think because we have him so much during the school term both him and his mum think it is right to give us a break over the holidays and I get that, I also think he likes spending so much time with his mum.

Ok that is it for today, I will be back tomorrow.

Five Thing Friday/Good Friday

Good morning all here we are at Friday again and it has started out being a really good Friday and of course it is Good Friday, so here is this weeks five things.

No Meat

Crucified

Pontius Pilate

Public Holiday

Jesus

Ok so it is Good Friday and for me that means no meat today, why we don't eat meat on Good Friday I have no idea, but it is one day a year so not a problem. It is how I was raised as was my mother and her mother and so forth.

I get annoyed with my own daughters because they do have meat because they are not religious which is ok I get that but as I said it is one day a year how hard is it to not eat meat on this one day.

Here in Australia Good Friday is a public holiday, and a true public holiday as in 90 odd percent of things are in fact closed, all supermarkets are closed are is pretty much all other stores, service stations are opened, buses and trains run and taxis operate, most take away shops are opened fish and chip shops do a roaring trade on this day. All shopping centres aka malls in some countries are closed.

The same goes for Easter Sunday.

Pain and Exercise & 21 Days till a break

Hello all, guess who is in pain, yeah me, guess who was only able to do 70 minutes of exercise this morning due to the pain, yeah me again. Yesterday morning at 6.30am my Wii remote started working again so after a couple of days of no exercising I am back doing it again.

Last night I was woken up a couple of times with spasms of pain in my back and this morning has been much the same.

I want to go to the supermarket today I need a few things but Tim took the car to work because it is pretty wet here, so I have sent Jessica a text to see if she will go for me, I know she will drive me there but with how I am pain wise I don't know how I would manage to get into her car as she has a 4b.

Tomorrow is Good Friday, so to me that means no eating meat, my daughters, however, do eat meat if they feel like it which slightly annoys me how hard is it to have no meat on one day of the year.

In 21 days Tim and I along with my parents leave on another cruise, it is a 15 day cruise around the South Pacific Islands and Papua New Guinea, 21 days damn it is getting close and I am so excited about the holiday, I really need a holiday.

I am somewhat annoyed with Tim because he bought an all inclusive drinks package but even though I asked him to buy it in my name so mum and I can share cocktails he bought it in his name, he got me a soft drink package. He knows I am annoyed but he doesn't get why he keeps going on about dad buying a drinks package and yeah I agree dad should but he hasn't and I doubt he will.

Last night Tim asked me how I really feel about weight loss surgery and do I really think it will work, I said yes I think it will work to some degree but I am not sure how much it will work, I am somewhat picky when it comes to food.

Well that is all for this post.

Nicknames

Hi all on Lauren's blog I came across this post:

http://www.lotfortyeightblog.com/2017/04/50-questions.html

I liked the questions and copied some of them which I will use as blog post, starting with this post on nicknames, if you don't already follow Lauren you should she is amazing but that is just my humble opinion. Go visit and decide for yourself.

So today's question is about nicknames, do you have one or had one in the past but no more, please tell me. I don't have a nickname and have never had a nickname.

According to freedictionary.com a nickname is:

1: A descriptive name added to or replacing the actual name of a person or place or thing.

2: A familiar or shortened form of a proper name

So using those definitions I guess you could say being called Jo instead of Jo-Anne is a nickname, I however, have always thought of a nickname as described in number 1 like when I was a child the man acrossed the road was called “Vic” because he was from Victoria. My daughter Natasha has the nickname “Tinkerbell” I don't know why she just does.

I can't think of any nickname had by Tim, although I just asked him and he said when he drove trucks he had the nickname “knuckles” because when he was driving down some roads doing 110klmp's he would grip the steering wheel so tight his knuckles would turn white, I never knew that.

My dad when he was working was called “the little general” because he was bossy and short tempered, my sister had the nickname “Franky” I don't know why but I do know it was our brother in-law Mick who gave her the nickname.

Did you know.........................7 Dwarfs

Good morning all and welcome to the first “did you know” post this will be a new Monday feature here at Jo-Anne's Ramblings, why well I will tell you Leo has this book called “1000 Facts” and I thought why not use it for blog posts so each Monday I will share something from the book with you all.

This week we have this little fact:

As you all properly know The Seven Dwarfs are Happy, Dopey, Grumpy,Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful and Doc, but Walt Disney had a list of over 50 names and characters to choose from for the movie. Among the dwarfs that didn't make the cut and end up in the movie were Hotsy, Nifty, Shifty, Blabby, Gaspy, Dirty and Awful.

In Pain Again or Just Life

Ok world guess who spent most of yesterday in so much bloody pain she felt like an old frail woman and she is only 54, if you guessed me you guessed right, Tim said it is because I am big he didn't use the word “fat” but that is what he meant. I said it was because I spent a lot of the day on my feet, have to say I was thankful for my walking stick. Tim said I didn't do much during the day yeah really Tim wake up and notice how much I do.

I did spend a lot of time standing and cooking and I pegged two loads of washing on the line and got it off again and of course I started the day doing 1hr 45 mins of exercises all of which is not good when one has a bad back.

Speaking of lunch I did honey soy chicken with fried rice and pasta, Tim complained that I put seeds and nuts in the rice and said the chicken was a little dry, Jessica complained she didn't like the pasta that much and Kathy said the chicken was a little dry but she really liked the fried rice but they all ate it which I guess is something.

Blain had two cheese pies as he said he didn't like honey soy chicken, Natasha wasn't here so she ate nothing which is about how much she would have eaten if she had been here.

Today I have been moving better managed to get dressed and put my own socks on my feet which is more then I did yesterday, I had to have Tim's help getting dressed yesterday morning I was in that much pain. Although I am expecting things to go down hill as Natasha dropped of washing for me to do another three loads of washing, so more time spent on my feet again today.

At the moment I have Blain while Natasha goes to get Jessica from Wallsend, she had to take the work van she used yesterday back and needed someone to pick her up, Blain is unwell so he is here in the lounge room watching cartoons while I am in Tim's office using the computer. I still do not have my laptop, although Tim has ordered a new hard drive for it.

Natasha is going to loan her car to Steve, so will need Jessica to drive her home and she wants her dad to take her washing over when it is done I bet he ends up wanting me to do it though.

Tim has taken Leo for a ride on the motorbike they are meeting Jessica out at Wallsend and Leo will come back with his mum and Natasha, Leo loves to go for a ride on the motorbike.

Well that is all from me for this post.

Five things Friday

Good morning here it is Friday again, I as usual will have a busy day been up since 4.30am done 1hr 50 mins of exercise now for a quick post before I get dressed to go shopping, Friday being the only day I generally go shopping of a week.

So without further ado here are this weeks five things.

Last day of the school term

Jessica working tomorrow

So we will have Leo all day and night as well as maybe tonight, depending on what time she starts

Struggle to get ones socks or knee high stockings on ones legs, needing Leo's help

Feeling happy as well as stiff and sore, life is good

Milk

Milk we all know what milk is the definition of milk is a pale liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals, such as cows, goats and humans to name just a few. When I was a girl there was only two types of milk regular milk and skim milk and then that changed and there was the in between milk known as light milk. There was also a choice between pasteurised and non-pasterrised milk.

It was usually delivered first thing of a morning by the milk man, in glass bottles you would put the milk bottles out the night before if you wanted three bottles you left three empty bottles out. If you wanted extra as in more bottles then you had you left a note in a bottle as you left a note if you wanted cream. Each week the milkman would leave you your bill and you paid in an envelope left with the empty bottles.

My nan would put the milk bottles out as a sign it was time for guests to leave as the family were going to bed.

When I was at school we would get a small bottle of milk each day this of course was free and often warm due to being left in the sun.

Now you go to the supermarket to get your milk generally speaking, yes you can still get milk delivered here but it is a lot more expensive. Also there is so many different types of milk to choose from now days, full cream, light, skim, calcium enriched, lactose free, buttermilk, A2 milk, all of these are milk you.

You can also chose between fresh milk or long life milk or powered milk, when my daughters where little I used to buy powered milk as it saved us a lot of money but when long life milk came out I switched to that and yes both powered and long life taste a bit different but I would use the milk to make milkshakes for the girls and they drank it without complaint.

Then one day Soy milk came out even though it is called soy milk it is not milk it is a plant based drink produced by soaking dried soy beans and grinding them in water. Soy Milk is a traditional staple in East Asian cuisine, it is a stable emulsion of oil, water and protein and is often used as a substitute for dairy milk, it can be produced at home using a soy milk machine.

Now you can also get Almond Milk which is also a plant drink made with almonds with a creamy texture and a nutty taste but not really milk.

Other non milk type “milks” are oat, rice and coconut now I know these drinks may be good for those who cannot drink real milk due to allergy but they are not milk, and there are some pretty stupid people in the world who may in fact think they are milk.

When I was a child you couldn't get flavoured milk either if you wanted chocolate or strawberry or banana milk you had to make it yourself with white milk and some flavouring such as NesQuik now of course you have Oak flavoured milk or Moove flavoured milk as well the supermarkets own brands.

Moove has been a New South Wales icon since 1978. With a delicious range of flavoured milk including Chocolate and Strawberry flavours. The brand is known for embodying summer fun and Australia’s beach culture.

Easter parades,a flat tyre and a new cane

Just a quick post today been busy as with going to two different Easter Parades today, first was Leo's then Blain's, Sydney's was cancelled and will now be on Friday.

On the way to Leo's school after I picked Jessica up the car felt strange and had a weird sound so I pulled over and got Jessica to get out in the rain and check the car and yeah I had a flat tyre. So I rang Tim and he said he couldn't come to change it and would ring the NRMA, then Jessica rang Natasha to see if she would be able to come get her and drop her at Leo's school while I waited for the NRMA. Natasha said she would come as she was nearby and she had Steve with her and he would change the tyre and to tell dad to cancel the NRMA which we did.

Oh yeah after I dropped Leo at school this morning Tim rings me to tell me that Leo didn't take his morning medication I said I would ring the school when I got home. However, when I got home Tim was already on the phone with the school, Leo was confused as I gave him a half of Ritalin at 6.30am because he was doing my head in but the office staff gave him a dose of medication so all was good.

Also this morning Steve and Natasha gave me a new cane it is a nice red one, I was only thinking yesterday that I could do with another cane to have here in the house I have one in the car but also could do with one in the house.

That is all I have to go and feed Leo 

Turning 18

Hello everyone, I had planed to write this post yesterday afternoon but I was somewhat tipsy when I got home and went to have a nap and then when I got up mum rang as she does every night and we talked for about 40 minutes, anyone would think we didn't spend 4 hours together chatting yesterday afternoon.

Anyway yesterday was my nephew Dawson's 18th birthday, here in Australia turning 18 is a big deal, so there was a BBQ lunch held at his father's place only family and while there I drank some of my brother's Wild Turkey with Pepsi Max and ended up a little tipsy.

Dawson was born at the John Hunter Hospital here in Newie at 7.21pm he was 49cms long or 19 inches, he weighed 7lb 3oz or 3208grams, for some strange reason here we talk about a babies weight in pounds and ounces and length in centimetres, I don't know why we just do.

Now he is about 5'10” I think, he is tall compared to most of the family, although his father (my brother) is also tall.

At the BBQ there was his dad and step-mother, her parents, his mum and her dad, my parents, my sister Sandra and myself and about 4 children. The weather was lovely and everyone had a good day.

Because it was his birthday and he can legally drink grog now his father gave him a can of Wild Turkey and Cola of which he drank less then half he said he didn't like the taste after he had cake but I said to mum he just may not have liked it and didn't want to say so. When I was his age I never drank and I just don't think Dawson is interested in grog at this stage of his life.