Friday Daily

[dinky]

Good morning ladies. Friday evening here, 6:45pm and it's been raining on and off all day. Still no flooding inside but outside it's very wet. Sorry i haven't been on the forum for a while. I've been struggling ever since Willow's anniversary on the 18th. i was planning to go to Akaroa for the day but the shuttle bus that goes out to the peninsula was fully booked, so I just stayed home and got more and more down as the day went on. Eventually I went for a walk down to the river which wasn't helpful, as I used to walk Willow there. By evening, I was crying and wouldn't answer the phone when my sister rang up. I managed to shake off my black mood the next day and was a lot better, but for that one day, everything was very dark. I'm going to mention it to my doctor when I see him again .I seem to get periods when everything seems horrible and I worry about everything and everyone I have lost and i find it hard to get back on track. Anyway, I'm OK again now., so I guess it's just part of my personality.

Mr Scruffy- Feathers, my funny wee starling, sadly passed away on our back lawn three days ago. He'd been coming every day, but never looked well. Finally he just fell over on the grass. Janna and i stayed with him and he just passed away. We didn't pick him up as we thought that might make everything worse . He was a wild bird and would have been terrified. I miss seeing him outside. Today, another starling was having a bite of the bird feeder out on the back lawn and somehow managed to get his bottom beak caught in the mesh that surrounds it. Luckily Janna saw him flapping and trying to break free and we went outside to help. janna had to pick him up while i cut the mesh and then he flew away. Poor wee thing must have been terrified. I am now going to cut the mesh off the feeders before I give them to the birds.

Janna has now gone to work - started at 5:30pm tonight and working until 2am. I'm on my own and hate it. She's doing the same shift tomorrow night as well. I've got all the lights on in the house, but i have no drapes in the lounge. They were taken down when the lounge flooded. I'm going to get my brother in law to come down tomorrow and help me put them up. I think that will make me feel a bit more secure. This house was badly damaged during the quakes and I don't have very sturdy locks on some of the doors, so I'm going to have them replaced ASAP and may look to get a new security system. My last one was damaged by the big quakes. and was removed.

Gosh, I really am moaning tonight and I'm sorry to dump all this on you. I don't mean to. It's my cousin's birthday on Sunday, but i don't think she's coming round at all. i might try and go to her and drop off her presents. Brenna is coming round tomorrow afternoon to help Janna set up an IRD account online., so I'll get her to drop me round at my cousin's then. I think she'll drop Janna at work as well. Janna is getting a tax refund of nearly $400, so she's thrilled. That's a lot of money to her, so I hope she spends it wisely and saves some of it.


I just had some egg and bacon pie for tea tonight .Janna has a subway waiting for her when she gets home, although she'll be able to get something at work. There's a big medical conference on at Te Pae tonight and tomorrow, so Janna should find that interesting.

Just heard on the TV that there's a heavy rain warning for Christchurch tomorrow afternoon, so may not re-hang the lounge drapes tomorrow after all. I don't want them to get soaking wet again. It's just that they do give you privacy and no one can see in to your house. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

PAMELA, I'm so pleased that your Birmingham trip went well, and your reservation problem got sorted out. It must have been a bit of a worry for you though. No wonder you didn't sleep well that first night. Last weekend must have been a busy one for you, Pamela, with your MIL's birthday. I hope she had a good one. What did you give her for her birthday? I'm glad you were able to spend time with your dad on Sunday. How is he doing now ? i do hope he is feeling a lot better and is still under the care of that new doctor. Congratulations to Robyn on doing her first urban trail and acing it. You must have been so proud. AND I'm thrilled that Mia has now had a turn at mantrailing as well. How did she get on last night, Pamela ? I'm sure she loved having some one on one time with you as well. I wonder if Mia will be a natural at trailing just like Robyn is. Hope you are OK and not working too hard. Try and relax a bit this weekend, Pamela and lets hope you get some nice weather.

SHELLEY, I do hope that your chest infection has cleared up for you now and you don't need any more antibiotics. I suppose you have returned to work now, and i hope you're not working too hard. Have you found new premises yet ? I'm sure everything will go without a hitch, Shelley. It's just the thought of packing up everything that seems so daunting,but I'm sure it will all go smoothly. Your wee wild birds must be hungry as well as mine. I love feeding them and watching them eat. Mine love a big plate of wild bird seed and the starlings adore the bird feeders I buy from the mall, but I did get a fright when that starling got caught in the mesh. That goodness we were there to cut him free. At least it taught me a valuable lesson to always remove the mesh before feeding it to the birds. Actually, the mesh holds the whole feeder together and is meant to be left on, but I'll never do it again. it's easy enough just to cut off anyway, and the whole feeder doesn't seem to collapse - at least my one didn't. What a shame you are selling all your doll and bear books., but I guess if you never look at them, it\s time to pass them on to others who will get a lot of pleasure from them. I hope your flooding problem has now been rectified and that new upstairs dolls room is starting to take shape.

Well ladies, I must say I'm feeling a lot more cheerful now that I've talked to you both. I'll go and make a chamomile tea now and sneak a chocolate biscuit out of the tin and go and watch something light on TV until Janna comes home. I could never go to bed, but might do a cryptic crossword on the lounge chair.

Have a good Friday Pamela and Shelley and a fantastic weekend to follow. Hope you get some decent sunshine.