Community

Neil has been in hospital for almost 2 weeks now. It feels like a lot longer!

He doesn't have a specific discharge plan as yet, but there is just over a week until our scheduled holiday with my family. The girls and I are going, and hopefully Neil will be out in time to come with us. Otherwise I'm sure he'll be discharged by the time we get back.

The first four or five days were particularly hard. Partly from a practical point of view, but predominantly emotionally. I was concerned about Neil (he has depression), upset myself about some of the circumstances, and dealing with the girl's reactions. They were very clingy, panicked if I was out of eyesight even briefly, and much more difficult in behaviour.

Thankfully, things have improved since then. I can sometimes even go to the toilet or have a shower on my own (hooray for the TV and DVD player)! We have all settled into a bit of a routine, and although it is very tiring and hard work, I'm feeling quite confident that we can manage.

A lot of that confidence comes from the support I have received from a whole range of different people:

• The cleaning lady has stayed an extra half an hour each week without charge, and helped with the laundry. Today she even disposed of a dead rat in the drive!
• A couple of people from church have given me food, and another dropped in to visit. 
• My friend Nicole has come each Sunday afternoon bearing a delicious dinner, to play with the girls, help me take the rubbish out and do other jobs, and just generally be here. 
• My friends Lydia and her husband Wayne have looked after the girls twice - once while I took Neil to the hospital, and another night so I could visit him on my own.
• Two mums from the street introduced themselves and invited me to bring the girls to a play date last Friday afternoon.
• A number of my work colleagues have been cooking dishes and bringing them in for me. I haven't really had to cook much at all!

It is quite humbling and comforting to realise I am a part of several different groups in the community, and to feel them reaching out and supporting me. I'm not on my own. Hopefully one day I can return the favour to someone else who needs it.

Awesome Yackandandah

How cool is Yackandandah?

I had never been to this historic little town before, but we visited on Sunday to browse the shops and have some lunch, and I was really impressed. A cute historic streetscape, fascinating antique and vintage shops, and a great community feel.

Neil and Charlotte taking a walk down the main street.

Obviously there are at least a few locals who are into crafting, too!

Someone had taken the time to crochet colourful woollen covers for a few of the guard rails/bike racks along the main street:

Grace posing in front of one of the covers.

Detail from another cover.

Several shops were decorated with bunting, either made from colourful fabric, or (what I thought was a great idea to copy) ladies hankies:

Bunting made from hankies (I have quite a collection of those!).

More colourful decoration.

At one shop Grace made friends with the owner's little girl, Charlie, and the two of them sat at a table drawing and talking for a long time. When we finally dragged her away, Grace had a picture to take home and lots of happy memories. Meanwhile I enjoyed browsing the vintage and retro items, many of which I recognised from my childhood, or my mother-in-law's home!

My favourite window display.

I really enjoyed the hour or two we spent in Yackandandah, and would definitely recommend a visit.

A Bright Weekend

We spent the last few days having a long weekend in Bright (north-eastern Victoria). It obviously wasn't the best time to go (we had to drive through water on the road to get in), but despite some fears we actually only had one really rainy day, and didn't end up trapped by floodwaters.

The girls watching the ducks in Bright.

The swollen Ovens River.

The autumn colours were just starting to appear.

We stayed in a cabin at a caravan park in Porepunkah, and took day trips to Bright, Beechworth, Yackandandah and other local places.

One of the most enjoyable things we did was visit a deer and emu farm, which had beautiful views across a valley. We all enjoyed looking at the animals (from the car!), but didn't attempt to feed them as apparently the deer are aggressive at this time of year. And when are emus not?

Some of the animals at the farm.

The view across the valley.

There was plenty of water lying around everywhere we looked.

One of the red deer at the farm.

Curious young emus.

Come any closer and I'll peck you!

I didn't end up taking as many photos as I thought I might, but here is a lovely shot of the girls playing together on the deck of the cabin.

It's been a long time since we had a trip away, and although the girls got a little bit sick of the car travel at times, it did us all good. Only three more weeks until our next holiday - hooray!