Week 13 of 2024

 

Well, it is Sunday, and I had another good night, woke at 1am to pee then when the alarm went at 5am. It is 21 degrees, and I am in shorts as I got hot in the longer pants.

Talk about getting headache, I don’t know what I did but a weeks’ worth of written blog posts including diary entries got somehow stuffed up and wouldn’t open took a while, but I got it sorted out.

Tasha came down just to say hi and give me a hug, she also said she was buying a dryer and will need her dad t pick it up for her. She decided to see if she can find a second-hand dryer.

By 10am it was 23 degrees but not too hot, at 1pm it was 27 degrees.

Here we are at Monday again, another cool start at 17 degrees. I had cereal for breakfast for time in a long time I have had cereal. Along with my egg flip which I added some yogurt that I asked Tasha to buy me only to find out I didn’t like it, so adding it to a milkshake saves me wasting it.

I was surprised when Sam walked in at 7am.

It is another hot day with a temp of 28 degrees at midday, by 1pm it was 30 degrees so turned the air con on.

A really good night didn’t wake at all till the alarm went at 5am, it is a cool morning at 18 degrees. Which of course it dropped to 16 degrees by 7am.

Pizza and garlic bread for breakfast that Jess brought over last night only one slice of the pizza. Also, no eggs for my egg-flip, so just a milkshake this morning.

By 11.30am it was 25 degrees, and I was frenched in sweat and by 1pm it was 27 degrees, but I didn’t put the air con on.

Tim asked me how do I not get bored or get cabin fever (not his words), answer I just don’t I have become use to being home pretty much all the time. Yes, I miss being able to jump in the car and go to the shops but since it isn’t something I can do I have adjusted.

A new day has arrived after another good night’s sleep, not as cool this morning with a temp of 19 degrees.

Spoke to Kathy she things I should start riding the scooter down to the shops, she does have a point.

It felt quite cool when I went up with Sam, the feel of rain is in the air.

The cleaners turned up as I expected, I didn’t say anything to them. Temp has increased to 25 degrees.

I feel so sad and I do not know why, being so drenched in sweat doesn’t help I am wet from the sweat I felt like I was going to slide off the toilet.

Another good night, up with the alarm, washed and dressed had banana and custard for breakie, have both front and back doors open for a bit. Temp at 5am was 18 degrees.

Sandy called in to drop off my baby book, as in the book mum filled in about my first year of life. She had Denni with her who was off sick.

Then Kelli, Jono and Thea turned up to see us, while in the area they were here about an hour.

Then Tim had issues with his monitor not coming on, turned out the power cord wasn’t plugged in fully.

Then I went with Tim to cash in bottles and cans. On the way home we stopped at a bakery, and I was able to get a caramel tart and a lamington, as well as a cheese & bacon pie. The pie was ok but a bit too spicy for me, I ate about half of it.

At around 5.25pm Tasha rang that she needed a new car battery and wanted her dad to sort that out she was still working and couldn’t, at first, he didn’t seem to want to help but I said he would find out if Supercheap was still open. It was and he did end up buying her a new battery and she will pay him back later. 

I slept well I remember waking at 9.30pm to pee and hearing Tasha’s voice she came to get the battery so she could install it but of course it was her dad who went up with a torch to install the damn battery. I don’t know how that went as I went back to bed and back to sleep damn quick.

The next thing I knew was I that I had to pee and when I got up to do that realised it was 4.50am so decided to stay up, I am not one to go back to bed for 10 minutes.

The temp this morning in 19 degrees at 5.30am. By 9.30am it was only 20 degrees.

I discovered when I got up that someone likely Tim ate half my lamington, I am not happy about that.

Around 7.15am it started to rain so I am glad there is no school and I don’t have to leave the house.

Kathy rang around 8.30am for a short chat like she does every Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.

I walked up to Tasha taking the walker and laundry basket with me on the walker. She met me halfway and carried the basket the rest of the way.

Tim asked me around 4pm if I wanted Hungry Jacks, I said no I had a toasted sandwich around 1.30pm and I wasn’t hungry.

I had another good night in fact one of the best nights I have had in ages I woke with the alarm, got up and had my morning wash, got dressed had banana and custard for breakie again.

Now to start my day doing nothing much other than blogging, answering a letter, vacuuming, and cleaning up the kitchen.

The temp is 17 degrees, suppose to get to 26 degrees. By 9am it was still only 19 degrees but by 9.30am it was 20 degrees. By midday it was 26 degrees.

At midday I decided to go and toss out any clothes that no longer fit, ended up tossing out 3 skirts, 2 pairs long pants, and long top.

Tim bought Hungry Jacks for lunch it was ok, not something I would want very often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit about Easter

 

Well, here we are at Good Friday which most people know is the day Jesus was crucified. It is also referred to as Holly Friday, Great Friday, Great and Holy Friday and Black Friday which I did not know till researching this post.

Ok I am writing this on Good Friday but I will post it tomorrow but that will still be good Friday somewhere in the world.

Here down under Easter is a four-day long weekend, starting on Good Friday and ending on Easter Monday. We celebrate in different ways but for most an Easter egg hunt is involved when you have young children. Also, we like our Hot Cross Buns with or without fruit and sometimes they are chocolate or have choc chips in them.

As we all know Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon following 21 March. It was the Catholic Church that created a fixed date to define it and is known as the ecclesiastical equinox.

Why is it determined by the moon well, because according to the Bible, Jesus’s death and resurrection occurred at the time of the Jewish Passover, which is celebrated on the first full moon following the vernal equinox. This soon led to Christians celebrating Easter on different dates.

 

Parkinson's Disease Pt 11

 

Here we are at another Friday which means it is time for more about Parkinson’s this week we are looking at depression.

Depression is very common with Parkinson’s suffers; I have suffered from depression long before I had Parkinson’s but will admit it has gotten worse over the last few years.

Many feel in the year stages of this disease a vague feeling of nervous irritability as if things are just not right. In some serve depression will set in with feelings of guilt, weepiness, lack of energy and even suicidal thoughts. I have experienced all these symptoms in the days before I had medication and, in the days, before I was told I had it. According to this book this reaction is not caused by the horror of being told you have Parkinson’s but is in fact part of the disease.

In fact, even though the physical response to treat is good, the mental condition often horrible and can get worse once treatment starts.

Patients need to let their doctor know what is going on with their mental health, so they can recommend suitable measures to deal with it. Many people don’t like to admit there is a problem with how they are feeling and will just think to themselves that they need to get a grip and pull themselves together which isn’t going to happen. In fact, the symptoms described nearly always have a medical cause which can be treated.

Those with Parkinson’s need to remember that the disease has

messed with our brains, electrics no longer work as freely as

they should, our wiring has been interfered with.

 

Things may be better if one gets up dressed eat breakfast and

have some kind if plan for the day. Mixing with other people

is good as isolation isn’t good. 

 

More to come next week.

Working Life in the 1890's Australia

Ok this week we are looking at farming in the 1890’s Australia with the invention of milking machines dairy farmers were encouraged to use these machines although common sense tells me that not all would have been keen on trusting some machine to milk their beloved cows. Wheat farmers had the new McKay Sunshine Harvesters.

Also, by this time an export trade in meat was developing, this resulted in both New South Wales & Queensland increasing acreages being devoted to cattle and sheep grazing for meat production. The great pastoral companies which were big business knew that their fat lambs and prime beef would be frozen and exported in the new refrigerated ships that ran between Australia and the British Isles.

However, there were still many farmers on small selections that still struggled with fighting the land and seasons. Most were lucky to own more then one horse and most of the work was done by the family members. It wasn’t uncommon for these settlers to find once they cleared the land it wasn’t any good for agriculture.

There were many years of drought which didn’t help and from 1880 to 1886 many areas suffered from drought, in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Then again between 1895 and 1903 most of Australia experienced drought it was the worst drought in recorded history at that time.

This saw the sheep population cut in half and cattle numbers down around 40 per cent. Of course, wheat yields were also affected dropping from around 8 bushels per acre to only 2.4 bushels per acre in 1902. 

New Post at Random Things

 New Post over at Radom Things.

https://jamfn.blogspot.com/2024/03/i-love-you.html 

Australian Deputy Prime Ministers

 

Hi everyone, last week I wrote about our Prime Ministers which made me realise I have no idea who our Deputy Prime Minister is, I had to Google it and it is some guy named Richard Marles I know nothing about him. He is pictured above.

Our only female Deputy Prime Minister was Julia Gillard. Since 1968 only three Deputy Prime Ministers have gone on to be Prime Minister, Paul Keating, Julia Gillard and Anthony Albansese.

The office of Deputy Prime Minister was officially created in 1968 although the term was used unofficially for years before that. The Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor-General on advice from the Prime Minister.

If the Labor Party is in office, then the deputy will be a member of that party but if the Coalition is in office, then the leader of the Liberal Party is Prime Minister and the leader of the National Party is deputy.

During 20172018 there was a parliamentary eligibility crisis when the position was made vacant for the first time since its official creation. This was because Barnaby Joyce was ruled ineligible to be a member of parliament by the High Court of Australia as he held New Zealand citizenship at the time of his election which went against section 44 of the Constitution of Australia.

However, he regained the position on the 6 December 2017 after he won the by-election for the seat of New England.

Creature Day/ Narwhal

 

Here we are at another Tuesday and of course that means it is creature day and this week’s creature is the Narwhal, heard of it, me neither.

They are the unicorns of the sea according to the book I am using; they have a sword-like spiral protruding from their head.

This ivory tusk is a long tooth which grows much longer in males then females up to 3 meters long about half their body length. Scientists believed it is used in mating rituals to impress females and to fight their rivals.

Others say the tusk is used as a tool for sensing changes in the environment, like differences in the water temperature or salt level. They also use it to rub against each other for cleaning.

It is related to bottlenose dolphins, beluga whales and orcas, they travel in pods of up to 20, but have been seen in groups of thousands in the Artic waters of Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia.

Narwhal comes from the old Norse word Nar meaning corpse, they are thought to have been named this because the resemble the bodies of dead sailors.

They have been eaten by people in Artic villages in both Canada and Greenland for thousands of years. In Greenland most of it is eaten including the meat, the blubber, the skin and organs.

 

Earth Fact-Water

 

Hello Monday, hello fact day, hello whoever is reading this this week’s Earth facts concern water.

Around 71% of the Earth is covered in water, I am sure many of you would know this fact, I did. This water makes up five oceans and many smaller seas.

The worlds oceans not only important for the vast numbers of creatures that live in them, but they also influence our weather and climate conditions.

Around 70% of the oxygen we breath is produced by the oceans.

The water absorbs heat from the Sun particularly in tropical regions and carries it over the Earth is surface currents which affect the top 350 metres of the ocean.

Very cold water from the North and South Poles sinks beneath the warmer surface currents and drifts towards the equator, where it is warmed by the Sun, and becomes a surface current itself. It then changes direction drifting back towards the poles where it becomes a colder deep current again.

 

 

Week 12 of 2024

 

A bit of an early start today as I woke at 4.45am really needing to pee. I also woke to the sound of rain. It was 21 degrees when I got up and 19 degrees an hour later. I am feeling so very tired this morning.

 

The temp got as high as 23 degrees also raining on and off all day.

 

I have started to set up the laptop Tim bought a few months back, so I can use it. Spent a few hours doing so.

 

What a morning, I have been trying to connect the printer to this laptop, but it keeps telling me it doesn't recognise the USB device and yes, I have plugged it straight into the laptop.

Tim has gone to Sydney for the appointment with the specialist arranged by his solicitor he caught the train down, Tasha drove him to the station.

It is another hot day but no air con just the fan with doors opens including the screen.

Sandy brought over another cable to connect the computer to the printer but still isn't working I will work on it more tomorrow.

 

Well, this morning I got the printer installed and it still isn’t working also having trouble with my word program, it isn’t always saving so I am going to try using Microsoft word and see how that goes.

 

Tim took some cans over to earn & return and cashed them on for Natasha.

 

It is a warm sticky day, and I am frustrated that I cannot get the printer to word.

 

Dawson turned up and attempted to get the printer to work without any luck and in the end him & Tim went and bought me a similar printer and Dawson is setting that up. Dawson was here over 3hrs working on it.

 

I am feeling much less stressed this morning, I am wearing long pants the temp is 19 degrees and Sam has today off school again he was off sick yesterday as well. Turns out Jessica thought I was going with Tim to his afternoon appointment. I had thought about going but don’t think I will.

 

I change from long pant into shorts only to feel cold, so I changed into longer shorts and found myself cold again so back into long pants.

 

Tim was at the appointment longer than he thought would be, when I asked how it went as per usual, I got little information other than it went well they liked how prepared he was. He also said it was a good thing I didn’t go with him as the stairs to the office were steep and he didn’t think I would be able to manage them.

 

Another cool morning here both doors are open, and I am wearing longish pants, and it is raining. It was 17 degrees when I got up.

I walked Sam up the front using the walker due to light rain by the time I got back I was exhausted.

 

I did, however, manage to get most of my computer stuff done by 7.45am having a faster computer helps.

 

It is a sticky day and I do not like it. The temp is only 21 degrees.

 

By 4pm I was so tired, but I stuck it out till 5pm.

 

Had a good night woke at 4am to pee and straight back to sleep till the alarm went at 5am, it was only 16 degrees when I got up.

Had a message from Tasha asking me to make sure she is awake by 9am, which I will do.

 

By 7am the temp had dropped to 15 degrees, and by 7.30am all emails had been checked and blogs read damn it feels good to have things going well. I am even not shaking that much that typing has been easier.

 

Tim is changing the oil in the car; Tasha is using the dryer which has pissed Tim off, but she needs her work clothes dried before she goes to work this afternoon.

 

 

 

Parkinson's Disease Pt 10

 

Here we are at another Friday so that means it is time for some Parkinson’s Disease information. This week we are looking at sleep, we all need a good night’s sleep but when someone has Parkinson’s it is considered very important to get a good eight-hour sleep.

It isn’t uncommon for someone with Parkinson’s to need an after-lunch nap, there are those who say the suffer shouldn’t nod off in their chair during the day but there are others who recommend just closing your eyes for 10-20 minutes if feeling very tired during the day. I prefer to do that close my eyes for up to 20 minutes when the tiredness gets too much.

There are several things that can cause someone with Parkinson’s to not sleep well, such as involuntary movements, pain, needing to pee, vivid dreams or hallucinations. I have nights when my legs move so much it feels like I am trying to swim in bed. I have that some suffers even scream while sleeping.

 

Some people have so much trouble sleeping they are prescribed sleeping pills which may help but are not good long term in my opinion.

I have read that sometimes the suffers other half who shares their bed may want to have single beds as they find the tossing and thrashing about makes it hard for them too.

 That’s all for this week.

                                      

Working Life in 90s Australia

 

Hello everyone, here we are at another Thursday and this week we have the second part about shearing in the 1890's.

 

It was a difficult job back then which could cause muscle soreness from bending and picking up the sheep.

 

A blade shearer might take up to four years to master the skill in the 1880's something called the Wolseley machine started being used this machine made it easier for unskilled workers to take up shearing. They could learn adequate skills within weeks.

The work was undertaken in huge woolsheds which might be divided into as many as 90 boards which are sections where individual sheep were shorn.

During the “off” season shearers did other itinerant work such as fencing, clearing land, rabbiting, and mining. Occupations associated with shearing included that of shearer's cook and that of tar-boy. A tar-boy was employed to cauterise any wound the sheep may receive.

 

The “white-collar” wool-classer would usually stay in the manager's house and was paid anything from one pound to 25 shillings 100 fleeces for his skill.

Australian Prime Miniters

 Good morning all I thought I would share something about our Prime Ministers, first up what annoys me is that many can tell you who was America's first president was but not who our first Prime minster was but moving on here is a little info about Aussie P M's

Australia has had 31 Prime Ministers since 1901 with Edmund Barton being our first and Anthony Albanese our current Prime Minister, Julia Gillard was our only female Prime Minister.

Our federal elections are held every 3yrs, however, our Prime Minister can call an early election, there is no fixed term for Prime Ministers.

Our longest serving Prime Minister was Sir Robert Menzies who served for a total of 18yrs & 163 days. His first tenure was between 1939-1941 but his second tenure was from 1949-1966.

Our shortest serving Prime Minister was Frank Forde who only held office for 7 days in 1945. He became Prime Minister immediately after the death of John Curtin on 5 July 1945, his term ended when Ben Chifley was elected on the 12 July 1945. Frank Forde was our 15^th Prime Minister.

There are three main or major political parties in Australia The Australian Labor Party, The Liberal Party and the Nationals, these are the parties that have held office at one time or another since 1910.

North American Porcupines

 

It is Tuesday all day long and half the night and Tuesday as we all know is creature day this week we have the North American Porcupine.

It has a coat of prickly quills over its body a nice pointy warning that it's not going to be easy prey, the needle like spines lay flat until it feels threatened when they pop up on command.

It is considered the largest of its species at a length of 1 metre which is 3.3feet and has more than 30,000 barbed quills. All naturally have a sharp tip which is difficult to remove once in the skin of a predator or silly human. All quills lost are soon replaced with a new one.

They are great climbers and spend a lot of time in trees, they use their front teeth to devour wood, bark and stems and have even been known to chew on canoe paddles.

Earth FActs

 

Well it is Monday and that means it is facts day with some how the hell do they know that facts from The Great Book of Knowledge that I am using for these posts. This is another book of Sam's that they no longer want and was passed on to nana to use.

The very first plant-like organisms appeared in the Earth's oceans around 3,500 million years ago. They used light from the Sun to make food from water and carbon dioxide, releasing oxygen into the air as a by-product. This process is called photosynthesis and was repeated over millions of years until there was enough oxygen in the atmosphere to support other forms of life.

Photosynthesis is it appears bloody important as the survival of pretty much everything depends on it, who knew, not me. This is because it plays an important role in maintaining oxygen levels but it keeps the plants we need for food healthy, didn't know that either.

Now we all should know that all living things adapt to their environment including plants just look at those plants that survive in the desert like cacti they store large amounts of water in their broad stems and have widespread root systems that are able to collect water from a distance. Making them able to survive in those areas with very little rainfall.

At the other end of things we have plants like the arctic poppies which grow very well in cold climates, on mountains and in dry river beds. You can find them amongst stones which absorb heat from the Sun and provide shelter for their roots, I didn't know that nor did I know that their flowers continually turn to face the Sun as it makes its way across the sky.

That will do for this week next week we will look at how there is water everywhere.

Go see random things

 There is a new post over at my other blog which can be found here: http://jamfn.blogspot.com/2024/03/passwords.html

Week 11 of 2024

 

Slept well woke with the alarm in fact the alarm had been going for a bit before I realised what it was. Temp of 19 degrees this morning.

No issues doing the shopping which is good, I even manged to go back in and add Tim's coffee.

Dawson came over to of a photo album that was mum & dads, he was here for about 45 minutes.

At midday it was 26 degrees at midday and by 2pm it was 28 degrees.

Tim took me down to the chemist.

Another good night, I am getting use to these good nights ope I haven't jinxed myself by saying that.

At 5am it was 23 degrees according to my phone and at 5.30am it had dropped to 19 degrees. Is it any wonder that of a morning I can go from shorts to three quarter length pants then back to shorts when it warms up again.

I am feeling restless today and can't be bothered trying to find something for lunch.

It 27 degrees and I am drenched in sweat. However, I didn't ask for the air con just stuck it out.

Jess got called into work, stuff this 40hr week she often does more like 60hrs per week. At least she is earning good money.

Talk about jinxing oneself last night I tossed and turned for a good hour or more but when I did settle I slept well, waking only once to pee.

It was 19 degrees at 5am and 17 degrees at 5.30am, we are in for another bloody hot day.

When the shopping came I couldn't help but notice that the paper bags it was packed in are half the size they use to be.

By 11am it was 27 degrees, when it hit 30 degrees I turned the air con on. Also after Tasha went off because it wasn't on and I was drenched in sweat.

Had another pretty good night, banana and custard for breakie. It is 19 degrees here 5.30am down form the 21 degrees it was at 5am and by 8am it was back at 21 degrees.

The cleaners came, Tim had the security camera set up in his office and we caught one of the cleaners sitting in his office looking around then she moved the camera with the feather duster so we couldn't see what she was doing. Tim sent an email to his case worker at Youi to complain and he is following it up, I do not want them back here.

KELLI'S BIRTHDAY SHE IS NOW 30

Another good night, only 17 degrees when I got up at 5am. I have spent 45 minutes getting the laptop to work it did an automatic update during the night and I had to shut down and reboot before anything would work, so frustrating. Another hot day with a temp of 33 degrees, yes I have the air con on and yes I am drenched in sweat.

Had a pretty good night took a little bit to fully settle last night but once I did I was right and slept through to 3.15 when I needed to pee, then back to bed and in a blink the alarm was going off.

Temp of only 17 degrees at 5am and not suppose to get much hotter by 5.45am it was 21 degrees. Didn't get any hotter.

Tasha sent Blain down with a basket of her cleaning cloths to be dried in the dryer as it is raining.

Jess just rang to tell me she got called into work and will not be home till around 6.30pm.

It has been raining on and off all day.

When I got up this morning I opened the house up like I do every morning but by 5.45am I had to close the doors due to being cold. Temp was 19 degrees but felt colder.

Tasha asked me to wake her at 9am which I will do. I walked up to Tasha's to wake her up due to it raining.

The internet stopped working at 6am I just have to wait for it to come good again.

Most of the day has been fine with a temp of 23 degrees.

Parkinston's Disease Pt 9

 

Ok everyone I have spoken about the more major symptoms of Parkinson's Disease but there is what can seem like a endless list of minor symptoms. Listed here are just a few and I will explain more over the next couple of weeks.

These include such things as tiredness which I suffer from with many days needing to close my eyes for a 20-30 minute nap, depression which I also suffer from and have done for years but there are times when things start to get to me and causes me to feel like crying. Another symptom is dribbling or drooling which I have a problem with some nights.

Thankfully I don't have constipation or mental confusion, although my memory can be shit at times I write a lot of small notes for myself which may or may-not be connected to Parkinson's.

It can be difficult to know whether something is or isn't connected to the Parkinson's.

Let's look first tiredness, most people do not know what real tiredness is, it is however, common with Parkinson's and it is difficult to understand and describe if you don't have the disease.

Patients with Parkinson's often feel that doing things take a great effort compared to a normal person many tasks exhaust the suffer and even having a rest doesn't relieve the feeling of exhaustion, as you would expect it to.

The tiredness isn't just a physical thing but also a mental thing we feel lethargic and have no real interest in doing stuff but doing simple exercises and if possible going for a walk will help in the long run. I don't go for a walk but I do do some simple exercises during the day, to keep body flexible.

Next week we will talk about sleep issues.

Working ife in the 1890's Australia

 

Damn it is Thursday already, this week we are looking at shearing in the 1890's. Shearing underwent many tribulations and changes during this period, as well as the exhausting work and the strikes and in 1894 new machinery was introduced.

Shearers were an itinerant group of men depending on seasonal work, a popular song at the time sums up the life of a shearer.

The springtime it brings on the shearing

And it's the you will see them in droves

To the west country stations all steering

A seeking a job of the coves

The shearing season varied between states, an expert shearer could earn money during most of shearing season by travelling and the different colonies, including Tassie and New Zealand. It was not unheard of for shearers to boast that they could shear all year round. This they could do as the shearing started in Queensland in January running to March, then in NSW, Victoria, South Australia between August to November. Also in Queensland the period from July to September was favoured because it was a time when the fleece was at its thickest and grass seeds didn't affect the quality.

How much they made depended on how many sheep they sheared, the rate was so much per 100 sheep and included rations and the cook's wages. In South Aus the effects of the strikes and the depression are reflected in the fluctuations of pay, In 18 90 it was on average eighteen shillings a sixpence by 1899 it had fallen to thirteen shillings.

More to come next week

Aussie Sang

 

Hello everyone this maybe my last Aussie Slang post as I am at the end of my list but this what I have for today.

Yewy: To do a U turn in your car

Yobbo: Some who lacks good manners or grace

Wog: The flue or a trival illness

Accadacca:The band ACDC

Nuddy: Naked

Flanno: A flannelette shirt

Soenodon

Well hello Tuesday, how many have heard of the Solenodon I hadn't till now. They are a venomous, nocturnal, burrowing insectivorous mammals belonging to the Solenodontidae family. That help any, nope didn't help me know what they are either.

They have elongated snout which is flexible which means it can twist and turn its snout to probe tiny nooks and crannies for food. They are generally omnivores that prefer animal material and prey primarily on invertebrates but also scavenge on vertebrate remains. They will also eat insects, worms, small reptiles, roots,fruits and leaves.

Native to Cuba and Hispaniola the 30cm or around 12 inches they are one of the very few venomous mammals around. Similar to snakes it injects its poison through teeth that have special groves to carry the venom.

The female has two nipples for feeding her young at the rear of her stomach.

When threatened they grunt like a pig or make birds cries.

Earth Facts

Good morning all, here we are at another Monday and that means some facts taken from my Great Book Of Knowledge, yes that is the name of the book I am using for these posts. This week we are looking at plants.

Some plants have evolved leaves, stings or poisons to protect themselves from being eaten by animals.

There are around 300,000 plant species in the world.

Everything we eat comes from plants either directly when we eat plants or indirectly when we eat animals that feed on plants.

All plants can be divided into two groups flowering plants which include roses, sunflowers and most trees, and non-flowering plants such as mosses and ferns.

Some plants eat insects and other tiny animals these are called carnivorous plants and grow in area where the soil is thin and lacking nutrients.

Week 10 of 2024

 

Much cooler this morning only 23 degrees this morning, no breeze which is better then a hot breeze I guess. By 7am it had dropped to 19 degrees and by 8.30am it has gone up again to 21 degrees.

Having internet issues this morning so bloody frustrating. I rebooted the computer and it came good. So I was able to do the food shopping.

I am trying to stay up till 5pm each day, managed it yesterday and again today.

Another good night, at 5am when I got up it was only 21 degrees but by 6am it was 22 degrees. Had an egg-flip for breakie as I am out of chocolate milk. There is a nice cool breeze coming through the house, I am in longish pants as I have no clean shorts that fit me.

Tasha came down to see me not for any reason other then to say Hi and give me a hug let me know she misses seeing me but she has been pretty busy with work and stuff.

Tim's physio came and that went well, he only has 2 more appointments with her, this afternoon he went to find a denture repair place as his plate is damaged.

This morning I woke to Tim giving me a pat as I hadn't heard the alarm go off. It was 17 degrees when I got up so I am wearing long light-weight pants again.

The laptop is giving me a headache this morning.

Tim, Jessica and myself went out for lunch at Tim's favourite all you can eat place the Eastern Tiger.

Tomorrow Jessica and Tasha maybe going out for lunch and Jess said I could go with them.

Another cool morning with a temp of 18 degrees, slept well. I put on shorts when I got dressed but had to go and change into longer pants, at least until it starts to warm up. That is what Autumn is like long pants in the morning shorts from mid morning onwards till we need warmer clothes in the evening.

I do not feel well this morning my whole head aches and feels too heavy for my body.

After Sam went to school I put my feet up and closed my eyes for 45 minutes.

I went out for lunch with Jess and Tasha that was nice, I enjoyed myself.

Tim had someone into clean the carpet it does look better.

After another good night I am up dressed and started my day the temp is 19 degrees.

Tim has an appointments this morning with his counselor and before he left he turned the air con on this was a surprise for me as he usually doesn't want it on. He told me when he got home that it was his last appointments with him, he felt it was a waste of time seeing the guy.

I tidy up Sam's room just folded up his clothes and moved his art books onto a cupboard and not the floor.

It got to 28 degrees by 11am.

I found a message from Jess telling me Sam isn't going to school, he needs a day off.

It is 21 degrees this morning but not hot with the front and back doors open.

At 1pm Tim decided to walk to Service NSW when he left I turned the air con on. It was 28 degrees when I turned it on.

Tim was annoyed when as he found out what he went to Service NSW about has to be done online.

Tim went and dug out some documents from storage in shed to use for his resume, it exhausted him and he also spent about 45 minutes shredding documents.

I woke with the alarm after sleeping straight through the night, the temp was 20 degrees at 5am but by 5.45 it was had dropped to 19 degrees. It went back up to 20 degrees by 8am.

Had a phone call from Kathy she said her and the girls will be over this afternoon for a visit. They turned up around 1.30pm and stared an hour & half.

By 2pm it was 28 degrees.

Parkinston's Disease

 

Here we are at another Friday so here is a little more about Parkinson's this week we are talking about balance or the trouble we have with it.

Slowness of movement has an important part with they symptom of dizziness and balance which is common with Parkinson's. A suffer may notice difficulty when getting out of a low chair due to a fear of falling forwards, this is something I have experienced.

We can also have issues when walking around the house or even just standing. One issue is that we may at times feel like our feet are stuck to the floor, when we try to make our feet move we

Also when turning around we may move our feet wrong causing us to lose our balance, another problem can be at the threshold of a door where for some unknown reason our feet don't want to move and our balance is lost and we fall unless we think to take hold of the door frame.

We can also have a problem when faced with downward incline our legs feel like they are going to run away with us and in some cases may do just that. This is why many will choose to have some form of support when walking downhill and if on level ground they have good balance, which I don't always have now days.

Many will find it difficult to get on and off a bus or train and maybe even in and out of some cars.

Walking in a crowd can be unsettling as if we get bumped it may cause us to lose our balance and fall, it is our slowness in movement that can cause such problems.

There are some particular movements that are affected by Parkinson's such as turning over in bed, thankfully I don't have a problem with that. Getting in and out of a bath is a problem which is why I now shower using a shower chair as standing causes me balance problems with the hot water and steam.

It is this fear of falling that increasingly limits our ability to do things. This is why exercise is important we need to keep our bodies moving and not allow our fear of falling to stop us doing stuff, or we may end up sitting in a chair wasting away. This naturally will affect our mental health leading to a state of depression it can be hard to find a way out of.

Life in the 1890's

 

Time for a bit more of working life in the 1890's back then it was well known saying that there was a pub on every corner in the cities and towns of Australia at the time.

These businesses employed the usual domestic staff tend to the kitchen work and make sure the accommodation for travellers. Of course there were barman and barmaids to serve the liquor and of course the barman were paid more then the barmaids. Men got around 20-30 shillings a week and women 15-2o shillings. These workers often had the advantage of free board and lodgings.

Turning the page in the book sees us at a section about work in the country. There were many numerous occupations including labouring jobs, carters, blacksmiths and stockriders.

There was also all the Aboriginal workers from the 1860's Aborigines of both genders were employed and knew how to handle horses and cattle with great skill.

Aboriginal women from mission stations ere especially educated to be servants , what is so wrong is that many station proprietors neglected to pay these workers.

Next week we will look at shearing.