Again, it’s been a while

Good-bye Dad

and the above photo is why.

My dear dear grandfather passed away on June 15. He was 91 years and a bit. In my direct family lines now, all I and my brothers have now is our mother. It’s been hard.

There is so much I could write and maybe at one time I will. Now though this is what I’m saying.

I helped plan another funeral, I made another slide show, I scanned bucket loads of photos and ephemera, I wrote the better part of another eulogy and then read part of said eulogy. We cleaned up a house and started sorting through a house full of belongings. My aunts and a few of my cousins made the trips over for the funeral and house sorting. There were laughs, tears and all that goes in between as tapestries came down off the walls, china came out of cupboards, wood items were stacked and everything was sorted.

Mum and I packed up everything else and took it all home to sort into something like 7 different stacks under the house. I’m taking a suitcase or two to the Suitcase Rummage this coming Sunday with some items.

I’m still studying – no real uni break for me. I had to defer my exams as it is a bit hard to have an exam on the same day as a funeral.

This was my grandfather. My Grandad.

a year ago

A year ago today, my father died. He didn’t in my words “pass away”, that’s what you do if you die in your sleep or your slip away in a hospital/palliative care etc setting after typically a long battle in which you may be quite medicated.

My father didn’t do that. In the morning he was alive, he called the ambulance because he wasn’t feeling good, he walked to the ambulance and then maybe an hour later he was dead.

This is what I wrote a year ago minus 12 days – 12 days ago.

It’s been a period of adjustment at varying levels for all of us over the past year and it will continue to be for the rest of our lives. As there are all those things that you just imagined Pabbi would be there to see, things like more grand-kids, weddings, graduations, Christmases and of course more volcano eruptions.

Yesterday Mum and I went to the Service of Thanksgiving which is an annual event “in recognition of organ and tissue donors and their families who make transplantation possible”. We went because we donated Pabbi’s eye tissue. It was a good event to go and it was nice to hear the stories of transplant recipients as well as stories of other donor families.

Below is who my father was. This is the slideshow that we played at the reception we had after the funeral.

Three pictures, three parts of today.

Doing laps.
Walking
Spent some time with Grandad today – we did laps round the ward, practised his exercises and of course read the paper. Hopefully he won’t be at the hospital too much longer and respite care can be found which will make it a little easier in some ways.

Spring Flowers in waiting.
Spring Flowers in waiting
A sizeable number of Primulas have been planted in the front garden beds so there will be Spring flowers again (I said to Mum just after moving back in that I wished she would put plants in the front bed again – her answer to me of course was something along the lines of “you’re old enough to plant the bed yourself” so I did).

And then there is study.

Best done with a Kit-Kat of course. The flavour pictured is Shinshu Apple. It’s a sweet slightly fake apple taste.

Excuse me while I kiss the sky

Excuse me while I kiss the sky

That’s right, Excuse me while I kiss the sky, I certainly don’t say it like Jimi said it oh it sounds good. Oh the sky has been glorious the last few days. That lovely blue, mostly clear with just whispers of clouds around and so crisp. Love it.

There’s been quite a few going-ons in my life recently hence the radio silence.
1) I moved back in with my mother a few days ago. I loved the location in Spring Hill but I had a few issues with one of my flat mates over what joint tenancy means … I gave a few options over Easter and my last option was that I would move out when she found a replacement.

2) Grandad is still in the hospital, he is now in the rehab unit but it doesn’t look like he will be going home to his home at the end of his stay. Mum is in the process of looking at aged care options. It’s sad. It’s also quite consuming visiting him.

3) Uni, ahh Uni. I handed in my Cost Accounting assignment on Monday night – so glad to have that finished.

4) Work, we’ve had our staffing levels reduced significantly the last few weeks with one girl resigning, one girl on leave and another two going on leave for a week each as well … It’s been non-stop at work.

Tomorrow though I’m going down the coast to pick up a very special purchase. You’ll have to wait and see what it is but I’m nearly over the moon in excitement at picking it up.

Study, Shopping and life

I’m settling into life here in Spring Hill – I’m tucked away in a nice street up near the windmill on Wickham Tce which means I’m enjoying walking/running up and down Jacob’s Ladder when ever I go anywhere in the city which isn’t work. That plus living in a terrace house is making a difference to my legs for sure!

At the moment though, I’m pretty much “head in textbooks” or “fingers on calculator”, I’ve got a exam tomorrow and I want to get the best mark I can possibly get.

My study set up doesn’t so much look like this any more (I do miss my balcony and all that light) but is a corner of my room. Will have to take some photos of my room shortly.
Doing a lot of this

Still study is study and it must be done.

Study of course makes you hungry. I won’t however be eating the below pictured. I may be a big supporter of adding a spoonful of Milo to corn flakes/any breakfast cereal but pre-packaged porridge sachets with the Milo already in it? sigh.
Because it is that hard to put a spoonful of Milo on your porridge?

Went to do some grocery shopping with one of my flatmates and snapped this picture on the walk back up Edward St.

Walking home

Now it’s time to finish off some practice questions and get ready for bed.

The Wedding

Well I’m back in Brisbane for about 24hrs before jetting off to Japan tomorrow morning. The wedding was fantastic on the weekend. It was a wedding that very much fitted the bride and groom (my cousin Erica and her now husband Ash). The wedding weekend was at Coles Bay in the Freycinet National Park area of Tasmania. It was where Erica and Ash decided to get engaged a couple of months ago and a place where they’ve spent a lot of time.

3 pictures for now because everything else will have to wait till I get back from Japan.

Saying hello to Grandad after the ceremony
Erica and Ash

This photo just about sums up the wedding 100%. The beach, playing in the water, having a picnic and a wedding as well.
Erica and Ash

and the cake, mmmm flourless chocolate cake and a very very good one at that. With the mountains of Freycinet in the background
Erica and Ash