Tidying up

Having finished the story, I'm doing some tidying up including 'hanging on the telephone' to the National Bowel Cancer Screening program who are obviously underfunded ('thank you for your patience': mine is running out). All I want to do is let them know I had my colonoscopy, but I'm sure many people would give up. I finally got on and all they wanted was to know was that they didn't need to send me any reminders. I became a serial pest again and complained to Minister Hunt about the poor phone service and why couldn't it be done online. We had leftover osso bucco on toast for lunch with gremolata. Naptime. P. is making tortilla for dinner while we watched the replay of the Tour de France which is better than staying up till the wee smalls. Normal Monday night teev but we might take a peek at the scenery in stage 3 of the Tour. .

Crossword plus not much else

We finished the crossword lickety-split this morning. The only error was one incorrect clue. I've finished off the short story, sent it to the translator and we're having some discussion about the queries. P. made yummy bacon and eggs for lunch after he'd changed my foot dressing which let me have a shower while the dressing was off. It felt good to have an unencumbered shower. Naptime! We're having the last of the Belotta delivery for dinner tonight (leftover pasta plus salad) so we got FOUR dinners out of it. Then settling in for good teev at last: Shetland, Vera and maybe a bit of Tour de France in the Hauts Alpes.

Story plus papers

The Saturday papers were full of goodies except the book pages (which is the main reason I get them) are getting thinner and thinner. I then got on with the short story which I hope to finish this weekend. I've nearly finished and will doublecheck it in the morning. P. made yummy curried-egg sangos for lunch. Naptime. We had prawn bisque for dinner followed by baby cheeses, and watched Father Brown (yawn), Halifax and Endeavour, then a bit of Tour de France which was a bit boring as it was just Nice to Nice, and Nice is pretty boring.

Normal shopping

We did usual shopping with Rupert Murdoch the Kia (I'll bet he's never been in one). After going to Noel's, who gave us a few errands, we went home for the usual salmon patties for lunch. Naptime! We had the pasta from the Bellota delivery which produced a monster amount of duck and pork pasta. Lots leftover for freezing and lunch, maybe another meal. Now for Friday night teev: Gardening, Greek Islands and the merciful finale of Marcella (a bit gruesome).

U3A plus short story

I started on the new short story this morning and quoted on a proofing job for October (I won't be sorry if I don't get it). Then P. took over the computer for zooming his post-colonial literature group (this time Arundhati Roy [sp.?]). We had cheesy tomato soup for lunch with leftover pasta, then P. went to the shops and the power went off, so it was compulsory naptime. We had the second meal from Belotto including delicious sausage rolls and fritatta, followed by baby cheeses. The finals of Salisbury and Ghosts were both very satisfying.

Dressing again

Feeling a little bit frail from yesterday's colonoscopy, I went with P. to the Health Centre where Virginia the nurse changed my dressing and showed P. how to do it. Home again to clean up computer stuff: shopping lists etc. We had minestrone for lunch, a delivery came from Cellarmasters, then one from Belotta (dinner) now naptime. We had instalment one of the Bellota 'meal' which will probably be three meals, so very good value. Tonight we had the vitello tonnato, the prawn mix with salad and part-one of the warm bread. The SBS teev offerings: Salisbury and Hungry Ghosts was very satisfying, especially as Ghosts is now coming together and beginning to make 'sense'. It reminds me a lot of that series where people emerged from old graves and whereas that one only had one major Chinese character, most of this cast are Vietnamese. About time.

Ground zero

I only got up twice in the night, which is pretty normal. Now for the next dose of laxative which resulted in instant action, still ongoing, but it's easing off so I might have a wash before going to the hospital at midday. Sally very kindly delivered me to the Royal Melbourne. Unfortunately, after checking in I had to wait till 3pm for the procedure, but the very good and competent staff made it effortless and painless. When I woke at 4.15, they told me I looked cancer-free but had polyps removed and had small haemorrhoids which were no worry. Just eat more roughage. Sal picked me up and I went home where we had pre-prepared for dinner and another dose of Salisbury and Ghosts which were quite satisfying. Ghosts is starting to come together.

Prep for colonoscopy

The prep began in earnest this morning with only white-bread toast and honey for breakfast, followed by a mid-morning snack of the same toast with vegemite. From noon, it's liquids only, so I've defrosted some chicken stock to keep me going. From six pm, I have to start taking opening medicine, then continue it in the morning and cease all intake at 11am. Meanwhile, I am finishing off my outstanding online events. The hospital rang this afternoon to confirm everything was okay for tomorrow. Tonight probably be punctuated by trips to the loo. We decided to take a punt on SBS's mammoth week of drama with Salisbury and Ghosts. There was a bit much of the supernatural in Ghosts but I'll persist with it to see whether it all comes together. Once I would have used the late Sasha Soldatow's term: oogie boogie, which I thought was a very useful term for superstitious beliefs. However, this week I read that a variant: ooga booga was/is used as a derogatory term for African cultures and languages by imperialists. So I suppose I'd better stop using it as really both terms are racist. Salisbury was unexpectedly gripping.

Still icy and lazy

It was so icy this morning, that after retrieving the Sunday Age from the veranda, I retreated to bed. It was so cosy that neither P. nor I emerged early so the Sunday crossword was rather late but error free. We had leftover French onion soup for lunch, P. went up to Smurf Street for some essential shopping. He said there were lots of homeless people in Smurf Street on this bitterly cold day. Naptime for those of us lucky enough to have a bed. I'm making a cheese souffle for dinner preparatory to tomorrow's starvation diet pre-colonoscopy. It rose well and was delicious. Thank you Marika Hanbury-Tennison, whose instructions I followed almost to the letter. At least tonight's teev is good: Shetland and Vera. Last drinks.

Very lazy Saturday

This morning the baby cheeses arrived from Milawa. There are four cheeses, three soft. One says to have it with gin and tonic so we will, especially as P. and I each bought artisanal gin, separately. The papers as usual perused, then I drove myself into action and made bacon and eggs for lunch, with bacon from the smoked meats. Now we've tried the turkey and the bacon, both very tasty. Only the chorizo to go. And now it's naptime, with very little done by me, though P. is making osso bucco for dinner which was yummy. It has turned very cold and rainy. ABC teev tonight was fairly lame.

Health centre bonanza

I went off early to the Health Centre where Virginia the nurse redressed my foot. Claire the Irish podiatrist inspected it and said it was going well. It's gone from four wounds to two which are healing well. Virginia made an appointment for next week when she'll show P. how to do it. I also picked up my pre-colostomy medications from the pharmacy, from whom I only ordered yesterday. Quick work, folks. Home again for French onion soup for lunch which I made from existing chicken stock, double strength. Now it's naptime. I made John Sligo's (RIP) pasta for dinner tonight, which was not bad, followed by more train journeys in Germany, then Marcella (hotting up).

Early delivery

I was woken early by a delivery driver phoning to check the address. He then delivered gin and smoked meats in two separate deliveries. The three smoked meats were quite small but came in a HUGE parcel. Neither the gin nor the meat is very good for breakfast. Chorizo anyone? So I'm going back to bed to catch up on sleep. After a short nap, I wrote a blurb as requested for the BIG autobiography and sent that off. We had leftover anchovy pasta for lunch with turkey from the smoked meats. While we were eating we missed a delivery. It might be a torturous process getting it re-delivered. We'll see. The driver didn't try very hard. But the pens arrived! Fancy that. More naptime. P. is cooking dinner, a very tasty spare ribs dish with a spicy sauce. Very good train journey tonight in Scandinavia, then a fairly lacklustre Captain Cook arrival show on NITV. I then watched the Australian String Quartet do a piece by Stanhope which was pretty thrilling.

Rainy day shopping

It's a really dull, rainy day to go shopping with Rupert Murdoch the Kia. Victoria Gardens was very quiet and we delivered Noel's shopping without incident. Home again to salmon patties for lunch as usual on shopping days. While we were out my shower leg was delivered. Yippee! I should be able to shower rather than wash. Now for a nap! For dinner: fish chowder and leftover pizza, then very normal Wednesday ABC teev rounded off with final of this series of Luther on SBS.

Another quiet one

Today, because I only had a bit of tidying up and organising to do, it was fairly quiet. I have lots of things on order for home deliveries, so am waiting for lots of things from smoked meats to a cover for my foot so I can have showers instead of washes in the trough. A rather boring item, copy paper arrived from Officeworks, as currently you can't shop in person. But part of my order, ballpoint pens, did not arrive. The driver advised that they would. A whole van for a packet of pens! We had cheesy tomato soup for lunch as when P. went shopping there were no sangos to be had in Abbotsford. This is really a crisis. Naptime! Tonight is takeaway night. We got Crust pizzas which were not bad and have some leftovers. We also watched a smorgansbord of virtual shows including the Brandenburgs, a talk on Wagner by Simone Young (from ANAM) and some ANAM students doing Beethoven and Mendelssohn.

Wound clinic

Sally S. very kindly picked me up this morning and took me to Royal Park RMH and the wound clinic. A marvellous podriatrist, Ellen from Scotland did a superb job, redressed me and gave me heaps of good advice. Unfortunately vascular operations are off during Covid lockdown but as soon as they are back I will need examination of my blocked leg arteries to decide on whether I need angioplasty or bypass surgery. I await with interest. Meanwhile, she said it was not urgent and the wounds are healing well. Home again for vegie soup for lunch. Naptime! I made anchovy, lemon and breadcrumb pasta for dinner which was not bad, then there was usual Monday night teev except we missed Four Corners (too much coronavirus) and watched Planet America on i-voo instead.

Quiet Sunday

Having finished all of my work, for the moment, I think I'll have a very lazy cold Sunday. We finished the Sunday crossword (lazily) then had leftover vera, meatballs and polenta on toast for lunch then a (lazy) nap. We had leftover chook from last night, plus leftover Bellota spuds with broad beans, for dinner (lazy, I should have made something new). Then Shetland and Vera for a good night of teev.

Biography back

The Saturday papers arrived in bulk. After sampling them, I went back to commenting on the biography, then sent it back to the author. It is really hotting up. We had leftover chili con beans on toast for lunch, which was delicious. Naptime! P. made oriental five-spice chicken from David Herbert which was very tasty, followed by very ordinary British teev (Father Brown, Last Tango) then a less than thrilling ending to Thirteen. Yawn!

Another biography

After a late start, I got on with reading the latest instalment of another biography which the author has been sending me new bits of for a while. It is now up to about 100 manuscript pages, and this time I might go right back to the start and go over it carefully. It is a very difficult subject: a combination of a vast sweep of history with a personal story of a cagey person. The author is doing a great job of a very hard task. We had canned lentil and vegie soup for lunch. Naptime! We had the leftover salumi etc. from Bellota for entree, followed by sefood bisque. Gardening Australia is back, followed by a video of Handel in Italy.

Another despatch plus shopping

Ths morning, I sent off the medium autobiography to the publisher. Then we picked up Rupert Murdoch the Kia and did the shopping. We delivered Noel's to him, had a quick chat, then came home. As often after shopping, we had salmon patties for lunch, then a nap. Tonight for dinner, the second instalment of the Bellota takeaway. It was a very tasty chicken soup, then confit duck legs with cabbage and potato. Chocolate truffles for dessert. Teev was pretty ordinary but we had a smorgasbord of virtual teev as well including jazz from 45downstairs, a Haydn quartet from the ASQ and some architecture from the Boyd Foundation.

Final checks

Today, I have spent most of my time finishing the checking and proofing of the medium-sized autobiography. Just as well I did as I found a few errors, none of which would have been hanging offences but it's good to have them fixed up. I've sent it all back to the co-author and will send it to the publisher tomorrow. I'm waiting for a food delivery but might risk a bit of a nap. The parcel arrived from Bellota in South Melbourne where we have eaten a couple of times. It will serve for two meals. Tonight we had sardines and antipasto for starters (huge), then polpette and polenta for mains. Then normal Wednesday night teev. Luther was especially gruesome. Lynda La Plante, eat your heart out!

Big fella goes west

This morning, I did a final (my final) check on the BIG autobiography and sent if off to the publisher. Then I started a final proofing of the medium-sized one and am about a quarter way through that. We had tinned minestrone for lunch; now for a nap. In the evening, P. defrosted the chilli con carne which has become even hotter in the meantime, then we watched a program on Vivaldi and violins with much wonderful scenery from Venice and northern Italy. Thanks Sally.

Telehealth plus dressing plus the BIG fella

This morning, I had my colonoscopy pre-op via telehealth. It worked well, though it took longer than I thought so I had to reschedule my appointment for re-dressing to later, after lunch. I spoke to an anaesthetist and a nurse who said my op. would be in the next three weeks. It was much better than waiting for hours at the Royal Melbourne, and I was able to get on with my final proofing of the BIG autobiography while waiting. We then had cheese and tomato soup for an early lunch. Then I went off to the Health Centre where Virginia redressed my foot. Naptime! I got to the end of proofing the BIG fella and the medium-sized one arrived back from the co-author. I'll look at it closely tomorrow. We had leftovers for dinner: pea-and-ham soup, fritatta and okonomiyaki. Very nice, followed by VERY normal Monday-night teev.

Sunday plus doco

The Sunday crossword was relatively easy and, for once, error free. After brekkie, we settled in to watch the film archive doco on Lionel Murphy. It was excellent, then, after lunch, polishing off the French onion soup, I watched the webinar, where some 40 people, many of them rabbits friends and relations, heard the director talk about the making of this film and his other docos on Jorn Utzon and Harry Seidler, among others. After a nap, I gathered some rosemary for the fritatta which turned out fine. P. made fresh strawbs and whipped cream for dessert. Yum! Shetland and Vera were reliable as always.

Papers and proofing

It's bizarre that I'm too busy to catch up on all the virtual goodies on offer. This morning the usual mountain of papers arrived and were perused. Now back to proofing the BIG fella. I made good progress then we had lentil etc. soup for lunch (tinned). Naptime! P. is making okonomiyaki for dinner which was delicious. The teev was fairly boring (Father Brown!) though the late night SBS movie, Don't Tell was very good with great performances. Thanks Carmel for the tip.

Medium and BIG autobiographies in the finishing lane

The medium autobiography was sent off to the co-author this morning. I hope it's the last version we pass between us before I send it to the publisher. He says he can't return it until next week. Then P. settled in for his zoom U3A American Literature (Catch-22) while I did some cooking (French onion soup). We had leftover anchovy pasta for lunch. I started some proofing on the now agreed text of the BIG autobiography, then a nap. We had steamed prawn dumplings and smoked oysters before our zoom meeting with NSW which went very well with Kit, David, Allie and guest appearances from Mark and Ben. Then we i-vooed Dame Elisabeth's garden, and later Marcella, very gruesome.

Shopping and yay

Several reasons to be cheerful. We took Rupert Murdoch the Kia and did our shopping and Noel's armed with our Covid 19 hotline reasons, but no one asked us what we were doing. Then we had salmon patties for lunch and I heard from WA that the BIG autobiog. author had okayed the changes so I can now proceed to wrap it up (proof it one more time) and I am close to the end with the smaller autobiography so I might finish both over the weekend. I deserve a nap. We then had a small snack, then watched ALGA's talk with Graham Willett on 19th century queer history which was rivetting. Then we had fish chowder which was not bad, if I say so myself. Then some indifferent teev, then a quick go on the corrections to the middle-sized bio.

Next moves

I went through the medium autobiography this morning and sent it back to the co-author with most things resolved. I also did a successful trial on telehealth with the Royal Melbourne which worked brilliantly. If it works on Monday for the real thing (my colonoscopy pre-admission) it sure beats going to the RMH and waiting for hours in a disease-ridden clinic. Not so successful was my call to outpatients to find out what has happened to my vascular appointment. After three-quarters of an hour on hold, I gave up. I'll have to try another tactic. Now for lunch: leftover leek-and-potato (it's finished now). Naptime! I was woken by a call from the co-author of the medium autobiog. and I have now spoken to the author and we are well on the way to having everything resolved apart from being legalled. We had leftover shepherd's pie for dinner followed by very normal ABC 'comedy', then Luther which was fairly gruesome but also compelling.

Dressing and corona advice

First up this morning, I went to CoHealth for Gill the nurse to do my dressing. They are trying to cut back on visits to protect the health of their clients, so my next appointment is next Monday unless there's an emergency. Gab from podiatry inspected the wounds and said they're improving. I had to cool more than my heels waiting over half an hour for a cab to come home. I then, on Gill's advice, rang the Covid hotline for advice on how to deal with Noel's (and our) shopping. A very nice young man spelled out the rules and the new one was that you can drive with members of your own household. He figures that if we shop separately, we'll be okay within the rules and under the carer rules we can deliver to Noel. Now for lunch (tinned tomato soup) on this freezing day when it was snowing in Daylesford, Ballarat, Sunbury and amazingly Lorne. Then I watched a splendid performance by the Australian String Quartet of Mendelssohn's Quartet in F, op. 80 at Ukaria. Just before napping, the middle-sized autobiography returned so I couldn't resist a quick look through. Everything looks okay, though there are still a few things to resolve which aren't, I think, difficult. Now for a late nap. P. made shepherd's pie for dinner which was delicious, then we revisited Vietnam with Michael Portillo, then the chilling Vlad Putin.

Normal Monday

It was a usual Monday morning with the Australian's Media Diary. Then the cleaners arrived for their fortnightly visit and charged through the place lickety-split. I'm not sure whether they are within the present Covid restrictions or not but they say they'll be back in a fortnight. Late news: Under stage 4, cleaners are not allowed, so goodbye cleaners for a few weeks. P. went on a shopping foray while I caught up on the computer. I've also spoken to the co-author of the middle-sized autobiography and he is checking through the corrections. We had leek-and-potato soup for lunch and there's still some left. Then a nap, and I'm making anchovy, bread and lemon pasta for dinner. Again, teev will be very normal Monday.

Lazy Sunday

We did the big Sunday crossword somewhat lazily this week, as it was fairly easy. Now back to the tax return so maybe I'm not so lazy. Kit B. announced on Facebook that she had done hers. Congratulations to both of us. Mine is now lodged and in a couple of weeks, money will be, with any luck, winging my way from the ATO. Now for leek-and-potato soup for lunch. After a nap, P. made roast lamb with vegies for dinner, delicious then we savoured Shetland and Vera on the teev, followed by a bit of lacklustre Agent Hamilton, over-hyped. Then excellent Blexley in San Francisco, underrated. New lockdown provisions will require a bit of rethinking, especially for Noel's shopping but also for our own. It is doable but will require some fleetness of foot which I haven't got at present.

End of month

This morning, as well as routine admin. tasks, I did the end-of-month financials. Boring but necessary and I get an odd pleasure out of them. Both current editing jobs are waiting for responses at the moment, one till Monday and the other until Thursday, so I have a weekend when I can do anything so I probably won't do anything much. I have started on my online tax return which is looking promising if I can only work out how to list business expenses. We had very hippy lentil and chickpea soup for lunch, and now for a nap. I'm making an old recipe, ham-and-spinach souffle for dinner after nearly finishing the Saturday Paper. Will it rise? Well, it didn't rise much but it was delicious, even if I say so... Then a scathing attack on the Ukraine and its trains, most unfair, then a Bach concert from Sydney with Bach Academie Australia. It was great. I'm getting in to this virtual concert-going. Do your worst, Dan the Dunnyman, we're prepared. Now back to the ABC.