Getting Back Into Things... Slowly

Hi all, I haven't posted for way too long but life kind of got in the way there for a while!  With all the stress about my father-in-law's health, my son's 21st, other son graduating high school and then school formal, all of which was followed by our old dog Molly passing away, its just been too much to fit in quilting or blogging much!  However, I will endeavour to get things back on track now.

For those of you who kindly sent best wishes to my father-in-law he has now returned to a nursing home in his home town in the country (about 80kms from us), not without some concerns but he is now settling in. His dementia is worsening and his health isn't spectacular but he has a couple of goals, one of which he realised last weekend. That was to go home to his house for a visit and he did so on Sunday for a short while, although he wasn't feeling well but no way was he going to miss it! We had worried he might not want to go back to the home but he was happy to return, I think finally understanding the amount of care required to look after him now.  We hope he can come out for a short visit on Christmas Day too. There are limitations with taxi transport with there only being one taxi capable of carrying his chair in the town so it is booked for the day.

Our eldest son Kieran turned 21 on the 18th November and we had a party at home on the Saturday night before.  It was uncharacteristically chilly for November in Adelaide!

He had a great time and chose to match the purple colour scheme by dying his hair purple for the evening!

The party was a chance to get a photo of my family all in one place (my brother lives about 5 hours drive away!).  That's me on the left, my brother Kym (who shares a birthday with me - no we're not twins!), my half sister Maureen (the oldest, she turned 80 this year) and half brother John. I am the baby (also known as The Oops)!

 
Our younger son Simon graduated high school on Kieran's 21st birthday and won a Student of the Year award for his vocational studies in hospitality.  He was pretty happy with the $100 cheque that came with the award!

 

Simon then had his school formal two days later and with a couple of mates had a rather unique mode of transport to the event: an ex US military Humvee which saw action in Afghanistan. (His friend Jarrod's parents are in the Army and arranged this for the boys, along with some props!)

What a spunk he is in his fancy duds!

Sadly two days later our lovely old dog Molly had a serious turn and had to be put to sleep. She was 13 and was a wonderful dog and is sadly missed by us all. It was quite an emotional day for everyone and the house seems lacking in some essential spark now. It is the first time since 1986 we haven't had a furry pet in the house.  We will get another dog but we're not ready for one just yet.  This was the last photo taken of Molly helping Simon get ready for the formal.

I have been doing a bit of quilting in amongst this hectic week as I have to get my niece's quilt Pole Dancing finished so my brother can take it with him when he flies to the UK mid December for Christmas with Vanessa.  I am nearly there, just a bit more quilting to go, finish the label, put together a scrappy (I think) binding, hide the threads, wash and done.  Wait on, that doesn't sound like its nearly finished at all! Yikes!
 

Better get back to it, hope to be both blogging and quilting a bit more now, although Christmas has to fit in there somewhere too!  Sleep is over-rated!

Thanks for reading my blog today,

Update on George (My father-in-law)

I know I have been very absent from blogland over the last couple of months and as well as thanking all of you who sent lovely best wishes for my father-in-law's recovery I wanted to pop up a quick update.  He has left the Repat Hospital in Adelaide now and has returned to Murray Bridge to a high level care nursing home which is where he will see out his days now.  He will not make a good enough recovery to return home unfortunately but he is not far from home now and Mum is able to visit him every day. 

The stroke has caused some emotional and mental changes and has greatly affected his short term memory, along with his ability to swallow.  Fortunately however his speech is not too bad now and he has some movement in his left leg and arm but not enough to allow him stand or walk or use his arm much. Due to his existing dementia before the stroke his learning capacity is not so good to aid his recovery. 

He is glad to be back in Murray Bridge and has found that the nursing home is not the terrible place he had in his head. He has a lovely view out of his window over a garden with large gum trees and is enjoying being able to see out his window now.

Thankyou to all of you who sent their best wishes and also to all the nursing staff he has encountered on his long road back home, particularly at the Repat Hospital Stroke Ward.  It was an amazing facility and certainly the place to be if you've had a stroke. If anyone could get you back to where you were before they could there!

Thank you all,