EXTREMELY TOUGH OR TOUGH ENOUGH

Hello everyone here we are at another Tuesday and for the next few weeks Tuesday’s will be about extremely tough or tough enough creatures.

We kick off with the Green Sea Turtle, like all turtles they like to eat jellyfish, even box jellyfish one of the worlds deadliest animals. The venom of the box jellyfish doesn’t hurt the Green Sea Turtle so they can happily eat one for lunch. Sadly they can mistake a plastic bag for a jellyfish, when they swallow it can get sick and die.

The green turtle is the only sea turtle that is a strict herbivore, and its diet of seagrass and algae may contribute to the green fatty tissue. Similarly to other sea turtles, green turtles are known to travel incredibly long distances during their lifetimes.

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FACTS

Another Monday but at last I can see ok now, well it’s Monday so it is facts day and here they are.

The length of the finger dictates how fast ones fingernails grow, so the nail on the middle finger grows fastest….Not on my hands it is my thumbnail that grows fastest.

In September 1752 the “Julian” calendar was replaced with the “Gregorian” calendar in Great Britain and its American colonies.

The Julian calendar was 11 days behind so the 14^th September followed 2^nd September on the day of the change. The days between 3^rd and 13^th September 1752 never happened.

A mining hole in the mountains of Bohemia produced so much silver it became the official source of coinage for the entire Holly Roman Empire. The mine was in a valley called Joachimsthal and the coins became known as “Joachimstalers” which was shortened to “Talers” and over more time the American pronunciation of the word became “Dollars”

A fresh egg sinks in water and stale ones float.

WEEK 34 OF 2022

A good night but woke to see a bunch of messages written on the family chat by Tim and the girls mostly from Tim having s rant about how hard his life is and no one understands. I am worried about his mental health.

Had a talk to Tim about his mental health Tasha was here while it was all going on. He got angry and defensive. I don’t know if anything sunk in, only time will tell.

His mood improved during the day, he also managed to do the back yard.

Up at 6.05 this morning after a good nights sleep,Tasha in a good mood till she over heard something Kathy said about their dad. I had to explain that it wasn’t how Tim said it was, just how he is seeing things lately. Everything is negative in his eyes lately and no one cares about him.

Workmen arrived to look over the area the ramp will go in and also what needs to be done to the bathroom. They said the work should be started soonish.

Tash & Jess bought me some small packets of gummy type lollies which I like.

A new day and my eye is starting to feel more like it should, thus I am feeling more like I should.

At am the workmen arrived to start work on the tree damaged. They removed the sliding door and replaced it as well as doing shit load of other work.

They also removed part of the awning much to Tim’s annoyance. Whether or not it will be replaced I don’t know,only time will tell.

Another good night but much colder this morning.

Coughing a lot but my eye is much better.

Leo back at school after having a few days off due to his driver having Covid.

Sandy came over for a visit she was here for 1.5hrs and it was great seeing her. She left with a box of snacks for her girls.

Got a text about an appointment at Westmead Hospital with the movement disorder people, it is at 8.30am on the 14^th November.

Slept well till 2am till I needed to pee after that I was somewhat restless. Got up at 5.50am.

At 1.30pm bloke turned up to look at the bathroom, he will be back next Thursday to commence work on the renovations. They are supplying a porta loo and shower, that will be fun.

Up early today woke at 5.40am and felt awake so I got up. I also stunk so I had a shower, h ad to get Tasha to help me get my pants on but other than that I did ok on my own.

I have pathology coming to take blood from me. She turned up at 7.40am.

A coldish day with rain.

Tim rang around 3pm to tell me that 2 blokes got on his bus with a case of bourbon and when they started to drink it he had to tell them they couldn’t drink on the bus. That didn’t go well and the police were called, one of them showed Tim that he was carrying a long knife in his pants and said he would stick him. This is distressing for me, once being a bus driver was a safe job but not anymore. I think it is time for him to find a new job.

A decent night, up at 5.55am I have a bloody headache.

Kathy not coming today she is too busy.

Tim off today thankfully he needs the day off.

Had no help this morning but managed.

A POEM

Clancy Of The Overflow

I had written him a letter which I had, for want of better
Knowledge, sent to where I met him down the Lachlan, years ago,
He was shearing when I knew him, so I sent the letter to him,
Just `on spec’, addressed as follows, `Clancy, of The Overflow’.

And an answer came directed in a writing unexpected,
(And I think the same was written with a thumb-nail dipped in tar)
‘Twas his shearing mate who wrote it, and verbatim I will quote it:
`Clancy’s gone to Queensland droving, and we don’t know where he are.’

In my wild erratic fancy visions come to me of Clancy
Gone a-droving `down the Cooper’ where the Western drovers go;
As the stock are slowly stringing, Clancy rides behind them singing,
For the drover’s life has pleasures that the townsfolk never know.

And the bush hath friends to meet him, and their kindly voices greet him
In the murmur of the breezes and the river on its bars,
And he sees the vision splendid of the sunlit plains extended,
And at night the wond’rous glory of the everlasting stars.

I am sitting in my dingy little office, where a stingy
Ray of sunlight struggles feebly down between the houses tall,
And the foetid air and gritty of the dusty, dirty city
Through the open window floating, spreads its foulness over all

And in place of lowing cattle, I can hear the fiendish rattle
Of the tramways and the ‘buses making hurry down the street,
And the language uninviting of the gutter children fighting,
Comes fitfully and faintly through the ceaseless tramp of feet.

And the hurrying people daunt me, and their pallid faces haunt me
As they shoulder one another in their rush and nervous haste,
With their eager eyes and greedy, and their stunted forms and weedy,
For townsfolk have no time to grow, they have no time to waste.

And I somehow rather fancy that I’d like to change with Clancy,
Like to take a turn at droving where the seasons come and go,
While he faced the round eternal of the cash-book and the journal —
But I doubt he’d suit the office, Clancy, of `The Overflow’.

More Banjo Paterson poems recorded by Wallis and Matilda

In 1897, long after he had given up droving, the real Clancy of the Overflow- Thomas Gerald Clancy- penned a verse of his own. Read Clancy’s Reply…

CLEVER CREATURES

This weeks clever creature is the Raven a beautiful black bird they are one of the most intelligent creatures in the world. They belong to a family of birds called Corvids, who have been recorded doing very intelligent things.

They have been known to reel in fisherman’s lines to eat the fish, also they will use sticks as tools to get food. They even have been known to drop nuts on roads for cars to run over and crack the nuts open.

There are three species of raven in Australia, and three crows. Ravens are generally bigger than crows, but other differences – e.g. range, calls – are more reliable for identifying which species is which.

A group of Ravnens is called a unkindness.

FACTS

Hello Monday, hello people, more facts today,hope you like them.

The biggest island in the world is Greenland with 2.17 million square kilometres. The biggest island in Europe is Great Britain which is just ten times smaller with 216,777 square kilometres.

Once in the Mojave Desert in California sits a telephone box 50 miles from Interstate 15, in the middle of nowhere. It was put there years ago for the miners who worked nearby.

A mechanical engineer named Elijah McCoy invented a device in the 1870s to oil train wheels while the train kept running. It was called a lubricator. He made several others for various machines. Though other imitation lubricators followed none worked as well. The phrase was coined “the real McCoy” to specify Elijah’s original versions.

The last execution in the Tower of London was in 1941 on the 14 August it was Josef Jakobs a German spy he was shot by an eight man firing squad, however because he had broken his ankle when he parachuted into England, he had to be seated in an old Windsor chair.

Although identified with Scotland the bagpipes are actually a very ancient instrument,introduced to the British Isles by the Romans.

WEEK 33 OF 2022

Slept well, up at 5.30am, fending for myself. The other day I started listening to a book while working on the computer.

Kathy and her family called in for a visit, they stayed 45 mins, haven’t seen Micheal in ages.

Slept till 6am, at 2am I was feeling light headed so I got up and checked my BGL which was 5.1 so normal. I also took pain relief before returning to bed.

Managed over the day to write one letter, well start it anyway. Also managed to write tomorrows blog post.

Kathy came over and gave me a shower.

Had a decent nights sleep, up at 5.30 when I woke.

I managed to finish the letter and do two more.

Sue called in and gave me an early birthday gift, a bloody good lighter for people like me. I am so thrilled with it.

Slept in till 6am this morning went to ring Tasha from the bathroom but it came up not possible. I discovered that the loungeroom phone was on speaker and not on its base, on hanging it up and hitting the hangup button all was good.

Saw the podiatrist my feet are all nice and nails trimmed.

A very warm day.

Had another good night woke at 6am.

Went to the doctors about my eye, he wants me to see my optometrist to check it out. He also prescribed another lo of anti-viral medication.

Also got a referral to see someone about my knees as Tim is fed up waiting to see someone through the hospital.

Another good night waking at 11.40pm to pee and straight back to bed. I got up at 5.55am.

Received a text from some guy who

will be here on Monday to do something about the ramp at the front door.

Started the new medication for the tremor, also started second lot of anti-viral medication. See the optometrist on Saturday morning.

Another good night woke at 5.50am again, I could get used to this.

At 8.15 Tim got up this was a surprised, turned out he thought it was Saturday, discovering it is Friday he went back to bed.

Had a phone call from knee specialist he doesn’t see patients without private insurance but will look at referral and they will get back to me.

Tim spoke to Paige from the DoH about a letter we need for insurance claim, also we asked about work on the roof. She said it was decided that we can stay here while the work is being done. But no idea when the work will be done.

Slept in till 6am, woke coughing on and off during the night, will do a RAT test when someone can help me.

My eyes are good but I need dry eye drops for 6 weeks. Me and eye drops are not a good mix, but we will do the best we can.

Kathy came over and showered me, she was on her own.

LOVE IS……………

SHINGLES

As some of you will know on the 27 July I was diagnosed with shingles on my scalp and in my left eye. So I am doing a post about shingles. I am improving but still have a lot of bloody pain

and find my eye waters like a dripping tap when trying to watch TV or use the computer. So I am doing things for a short period of time giving my eye a break. I have to see my optometrist asap to check the eye according to my GP.

Most cases of shingles last three to five weeks. The first sign is often burning or tingling pain; sometimes it includes numbness or itching on one side of the body. Somewhere between one and five days after the tingling or burning feeling on the skin, a red rash will appear.

A reactivation of the chickenpox virus in the body, causing a painful rash.

Anyone who’s had chickenpox may develop shingles. It isn’t known what reactivates the virus.

Shingles causes a painful rash that may appear as a stripe of blisters on the torso. Pain can persist even after the rash is gone (this is called post-herpetic neuralgia).

Treatments include pain relief and antiviral medication such as aciclovir or valaciclovir. A chickenpox vaccine in childhood or a shingles vaccine as an adult can minimise the risk of developing shingles.

Generally shingles is not contagious, but a person with active shingles can spread the virus when the rash is in the blister phase. It’s important to keep the rash covered. Most cases of shingles last 3-5 weeks. Most people get shingles only one time, but, it is possible to have it more than once.

CLEVER CREATURES

Tuesday now so let’s look at this weeks cleaver creature and it is the Mistletoe bird, this bird is the only one known to wipe its bottom on a branch after it has pooped.

It only eats the berries of the mistletoe plant they grow on the branches of other trees, so by wiping its poop which contains seeds on branches it is planting if you like more mistletoe.

The mistletoe bird, also known as the mistletoe flower pecker, is a species of flower pecker native to most of Australia and also to the eastern Maluku Islands of Indonesia in the Arafura Sea between Australia and New Guinea.