#2359 Thursday 27th February

 Naomi is away in Karratha for 2 days .... this is a regular FIFO arrangement.  Kaylia copes really well with Naomi's absence .... the vital strategy is to stick to Kaylia's routines ..... tea at the same time, bed-time routine the same.

No information about my kidney biopsy yet ... the next specialist appointment is on the 11th of March.

His view that"... You can't reason yourself back into cheerfulness ...." is true but it's only part of the picture.  Depression can be managed by a few strategies .... the first step is accepting the depression .... then analyzing the beginnings of the depression .... Once the beginning/cause is accepted then a way can be found to manage the depression.

This is my understanding of the way that Buddhist concepts can help me.

#2358 Tuesday 25th February

 Kaylia has speech therapy sessions on Tuesdays.  She enjoys the time.  It's largely aimed at training her to use full sentences.

This might be a simple home for kaylia in her future. 

#2357 Wednesday 19th February

I had the biopsy yesterday.... it was sort of a non-event.... the procedure took about 20mins and then I was told to lie still for 6 hours! There was no pain involved.  I'm looking forward to finding out the result.  My vote will be to remove the kidney regardless.... so that there's no possibility of cancer. 

The funeral for Maxine is tomorrow. 

. —-------------—--------------

A bit of humor to lighten the mood..... 

"My husband and I went through the McDonald's driveway window and I gave the cashier a $5 bill.

Our total was $4.25, so I also handed her 25c.

She said, 'you gave me too much money.'

I said, 'Yes I know, but this way you can just give me a dollar back.'

She sighed and went to get the manager who asked me to repeat my request.

I did so, and he handed me back the 25c, and said 'We're sorry but we don’t do that kind of thing.'

The cashier then proceeded to give me back 75 cents in change.

Do not confuse the people at MacD's.

We had to have the garage door repaired.

The repairman told us that one of our problems was that we did not have a 'large' enough motor on the opener.

I thought for a minute, and said that we had the largest one made at that time, a 1/2 horsepower.

He shook his head and said, 'You need a 1/4 horsepower.'

I responded that 1/2 was larger than 1/4 and he said, 'NOOO, it's not. Four is larger than two.'

We haven't used that repairman since...

I live in a semi rural area.

We recently had a new neighbor call the local city council office to request the removal of the DEER CROSSING sign on our road.

The reason: 'Too many deers are being hit by cars out here! I don't think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.'

IDIOT SIGHTING IN FOOD SERVICE.

My daughter went to a Mexican fast food and ordered a taco.

She asked the person behind the counter for 'minimal lettuce.'

He said he was sorry, but they only had iceberg lettuce.

I was at the airport, checking in at the gate when an airport employee asked, 'Has anyone put anything in your baggage without your knowledge?' To which I replied, 'If it was without my knowledge, how would I know?'

He smiled knowingly and nodded, 'That's why we ask.'

The pedestrian light on the corner beeps when it's safe to cross the street. I was crossing with an 'intellectually challenged' co-worker of mine. She asked if I knew what the beeper was for.

I explained that it signals blind people when the light is red.

Appalled, she responded, 'what on earth are blind people doing driving?!'

She is a government employee.....

When my wife and I arrived at a car dealership to pick up our car after a service, we were told the keys had been locked in it. We went to the service department and found a mechanic working feverishly to unlock the driver’s side door. As I watched from the passenger side, I instinctively tried the door handle and discovered that it was unlocked.

‘Hey,' I announced to the technician, 'its open!'

His reply, 'I know. I already did that side.'

STAY ALERT!

They walk among us, they breed…...."

#2356 Monday 17th February

I went to visit Pete in joondalup hospital today..... via his house to pick up some items for him.  On the way Bob decided to misbehave again.... overheating.  It seems to be losing coolant but I can't see why.  I'll spend some time on the problem on Wednesday. (Tomorrow is my day in hospital for a biopsy.)

The current political situation in the US is disgusting..... I'm so glad that we live in Australia. 

#2355 Thursday 13th February

 It's Kaylia's "Curve Style" day ..... Lee is here guiding Kaylia through the process of preparing the clothes before the items are listed for sale online.  Kaylia handles this well but she needs supervision.  She will lose interest if she's left alone.

My health report .... the lesion on my kidney had been biopsied in 2019 but it now seems that the biopsy was not accurate enough and I'm booked in for another biopsy next Tuesday 18th.  This will give a clearer idea of whether it is cancer or benign.  If it looks sinister, the next step will be to remove the kidney.

#2354 Saturday 8th February

 The funeral for Maxine will be held on Thursday 20th Feb at 2pm.

I've been pondering on the way Kaylia perceives her world.  She often remembers past people or places .... and if we re-visit the person or place, she has no interest.  It's as though she just wants to confirm that this part of her world is still there.... that her world is constant.  How does this idea accommodate important people and things?  It's as though people/things transfer into a fixed part of her world and are regularly confirmed automatically. 

#2353 Tuesday 4th February

Kaylia is bubbling over with happiness today... this is quite normal and very welcome.  I often wonder what she'd be like without her medication...... will there come a time that we can gradually reduce the dose and see what effect it has.

Today I went to see the urologist about my kidney.  The conclusion is that the original biopsy 5 years ago is not clear either way.  It may be cancer but it may not!  So I need another biopsy..... with the advance of technology since the last time, it may give a clearer result.

This afternoon I tackled the task of welding the broken parts of the vintage shears.  (see #2347) This is a more difficult job than usual as the parts are made of cast iron..... this means that the parts have to be heated (preferably red hot) before welding and then cooled slowly after the welding is completed.