Priscilla's Week

has been a very busy one. On Tuesday she was injected with a radio-active dye for something called Nuclear Imaging. Her first scan was done on Wednesday morning and she was required to lie still for 1 hour while the scans were taken.

Thursday was a day you wouldn't read about! Up very early for the second scan and then off to the oral surgeon so that he could check the work done last week. He explained that he'd cut some fat from Priss's cheek to plug the cavity caused when one of the 4 teeth were extracted and he was very pleased with the healing.

Next port of call was the dentist to collect her partial bridge, it needs adjusting.

Last but far from least was the hospital for her bone marrow biopsy. Priscilla's white blood cells will be taking a hammering in the next 4 months and she will be required to give herself 10 injections of neupogan to boost her supply of them. This was a shock as she hadn't known she needed so many injections or that she would have to inject them herself. A nurse will come to the house to show her how to do this.

The day was saved by a visit to a clever hairdresser who cut Priscilla's hair and restyled it for her. This was so successful in making her look younger that she was asked for ID when she went to buy a lottery ticket lol See how cute she looks?

Chemo begins on Monday morning and continues on Tuesday and Wednesday. Priscilla had a long overdue cry last night with Will and Kyra holding her tight until she could stop. She's tough and will handle the coming weeks bravely...we know the treatment is rough but will work.

xoxox

A Priscilla Update.

Hi Every-one, thanks for your loving thoughts ..I am way behind in my updates, sorry.

Last week Priscilla learned that her dental bills will be covered by Canadian Childrens' Services so that is a huge relief, she has had 2 front teeth removed and 2 molars...one molar pulled away the bone that divides the jaw from sinus cavity so that had to be repaired and stitched up from the inside, she's on a diet of yogurt and soup and very sore and swollen! There are 4 stitches inside her mouth and btw she's loving the Bacon and Potato soup she has there!!

This week begins Tuesday with the injection of the radio-active dye, Wednesday morning the first MIBG scan, Thursday morning the second scan and then she sees the oral surgeon to make sure her mouth is healing. She collects her partial bridge from her dentist an hour after that and has her bone marrow biopsy 90 minutes later.

Priss has been presribed Prochlorperazine for the vomiting and nausea she's already experiencing. The Chemo starts on Feb 27 with sessions on the following 2 days and next 15(?)weeks, then the radiation and hopefully surgery to remove the vastly decreased tumour.

Thank you all for your messages of support,
Love from Sue
xxx

Lancaster

I've decided to stop pressuring myself to write every day....the content is becoming "forced" and uninteresting so I'll just post when there's something to say :D

Here's another post from Lancashire Life Magazine that may interest history buffs as well as Lancaster people. I have such wonderful memories of Lancaster Market, of the rich array of goods on the stalls, the butchers at the side, small gooseberry pies from the pie shop in the lane, of my great-aunts working on the biscuit stall. Today the stalls are quite sterile in that they sell lots of imported plastic goods, there's far fewer customers and little atmosphere. :(

and here is a nice tale of a local Lancaster business with lots of charm, doing very well for 175yrs in the coffee roasting business.

This is the entrance to the old markets, hundreds of years of history here...and a pic of an old pub in the city;

These are the almshouses known as Penny's Hospital, built almost 300yrs ago to house some of the poor citizens of Lancaster, I cannot fathom how they decided who would get to live in one but they were very, very fortunate indeed...

You may recognise the spire of this church from the first article linked above

Lancaster has a busy Saturday outdoor market with goods coming from as far away as France, it's high quality and colourful stalls make it a really pleasure to visit. It's in the square outside the museum.

Twitch is off being neutered today, it will really be the best thing for him and tends to make rabbits calmer and gentler pets. His need to mate was becoming very obvious and must have been as stressful for him as it was for us. The girls at the Vet's are going to give him a pedicure while he's dormant! Joe and I bear many marks of our tussles with him! We like this site and find it has many sensible ideas on how best to keep a pet rabbit.

Our dear landlord has raised our rent again from the beginning of May, it went up $40 a week last October and another $15 per week this year.

So that's all for now, 37C is forecast for today so we'll be taking it easy(as usual).

Have a lovely weekend wherever you are,
Love from Sue
xx

Hallo Wednesday!

A few pics of around the garden today. Dad and I spent 2 hours mowing and whipper-snippering on Monday evening and it looks so very neat and tidy for the first time in ages. Since Twitch's disappearing act 2 weeks ago I've been slowly pulling out all the overgrown grass and dead shrubs beside the shed(where he was hiding) and it's almost finished. Dad chopped the last bit with the lawn-mower ....we were both exhausted but it was worth it. There are several week's worth of dead grass to be binned, you can see it in the foreground. We can put all that in our big wheelie bin with regular household rubbish.

About 14mos ago my friend, Wendy and her family moved from Secret Harbour to Melbourne as her DH is in Da Navy. We cannot take plants, seeds, fruit or honey etc between states as part of the quarantine laws in Australia so Wendy gave me a huge selection of pot plants. Here's her marjoram, I think :0)

the tall guy at the back is Wendy's Elderberry Tree, he's growing like the proverbial weed! The 2 Parlour Palms are in there too, Wendy.

This ivy was grown from a sprig in Wendy's wedding bouquet and is also thriving...thank goodness!

These volunteer pumpkins are doing really well, just starting to flower,

I've also been doing lots of knitting and the One Day Cricket Series has just begun so that's one way to make me relax!

Priscilla has all sorts of mixed news today. Her tests won't be ready in time for chemo to begin on the 14th and she needs a fair bit of dental work first too. I've suggested that we open up her blog for general viewing as she may connect with fellow patients who have some sound advice for her as well as possibly helping others dealing with cancer.
I'll post the link here shortly.

So I wish you a wonderful Wednesday. 35C is forecast here today but most of my jobs are done already(10am) so that's good.
Love from Sue
xxx

PS I posted this on Facebook yesterday as Joe was a walking disaster but he took it all very well. He also really enjoyed the French Canadian Beer Tasting in Perth on Sunday...they'd cooked tourtiere (a traditional Quebec meat pie) as well as the poutine and a great array of cheeses.

some Mothers do 'ave 'em
Yesterday, Joe, while supposedly helping Dad in the garden, punched himself in the mouth trying to start the whipper-snipper. Later, while admiring the said fat lip, he cut the top of his head open on the bathroom cabinet. Much later, while doing goodness knows what at the kitchen sink, he broke his favourite Glen Morangie glass and then cut his thumb open with it. No photos to follow.

Frugal Ideas From The WW2 Era

1. http://lancashire.greatbritishlife.c...edium=facebook

    I do enjoy reading the excerpts from the Lancashire Life magazine that they post on Facebook. Sometimes it's beautiful Lakeland photographs, other times recipes and the one above is a great story of a hands-on method of teaching youngsters about life during WW2. They were shown the gas-masks they would have needed and also the amount of food they would have been rationed to each week.
   
   When I posted the link on the forum other members recalled their parents and grandparents' tales of eating Sheep's Head Broth, whale or horse meat and the general struggle to feed and clothe their families.
   
   Mum and I talked about the link on Saturday while Joe worked on her pc. She recalled that Sheep's Head Broth was delicious, her Mam would boil up the head with home grown carrots and onions.
   She'd pick off all the meat once it was tender and return it to the soup and also wrap the brain in muslin and add that for the last 10 minutes. It was then seasoned and mashed and spread on her home-made bread...much like pate. The tongue was skinned and thinly sliced to make sandwiches.
   
   They also had whale and horse-meat, their own chickens and rabbits and vegies despite living in a suburbanl house in the north of England, Lancaster. While Grandad was away fighting, Gran worked nights at a ammunitions factory and her teenage son cared for his much younger brother and sister. Lancaster was a long way from any bombing but they slept in the cupboard under the stairs just in case.
   
   Grandma also knit the children's socks and jumpers etc Mum remembers a pair of mittens made at home from the skin of a rabbit raised for meat. Despite Grandma's ingenuity Mum says she always felt just a little hungry, there was never anything to eat between meals but I think that was the case for much of the first 6 decades of the 20th century.
   
   Mum and Uncle Tom feeding chickens at 26 Cedar Rd, towards the end of WW2 I should imagine
   
   

   

   
   and Nana and Grandad Gardner outside 4, Condor Place when Grandad was home on leave,
   
   

   

   
   This post has kind of meandered off track but that's just how I am at the moment too :)
   
   Priscilla starts her chemo on St Valentine's Day, Tuesday of next week.
   
   Enjoy your week,
   Love from Sue
   xx
   
   

Chicken and Cashew Curry

I rarely use curry powder, preferring instead to use the blend of spices we like the most but Joe found some really good powder at Kakulas Bros....unfortunately he didn't remember the name!!!

This curry was so rich and delicious due to the ground cashews added near the end....

For 4 serves you will need

500gms of chicken, I use thickly sliced breast(for Joe) but any bony bits will work well too, cut them fairly small
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons of fresh ginger, chopped
2-3t curry powder
1/2t chili powder(optional)
2 large tomatoes, chopped(you could skin them, I don't bother)
1T chopped mint or coriander
1/2 cup peas

1/2 cup plain yoghurt
2T ground cashews

Gently fry the onions until they are soft, at least 10minutes as this gives you the most flavour
Add the garlic and ginger and stir for another 5 mins
Add the spices and stir them for 5 mins, add a little water if they begin to stick
Add the chopped tomatoes and herbs and a little water and cook to make a thick sauce(keep stirring)
Stir in your chicken and peas, mix well and cover tightly, stir occasionally to stop it sticking
The breast pieces were cooked in 10minutes, bony pieces will take longer
Add the cashews
 and the yoghurt, a spoonful at a time to stop it from curdling.

Add salt to taste and serve either with plain rice or an Indian bread such as chapattis

I also made a batch of soap yesterday so that is drying out on the table....I used Deb's deep wooden moulds for the first time. The soap is softer than usual but I know from other soapies that this hot, humid weather is affecting their batches too.

Do you have any plans for your weekend? Joe is meeting Patrick near Perth to go to a Quebec Beer and Food Afternoon, they will even be having "poutine" lol

Take care of yourselves.
Love from Sue
xxx

Those Baby Doves Again

I can't get enough of these sweet babies...they are so gentle and tame that I can walk within a yard of them and they don't move....here are today's photos, can you see both of them in the firstone, they are well camouflaged for our neighbourhood,

When they sit side by side on the grass they look like a heart from above.

We had very special visitors this afternoon, Elizabeth, Caleb and David dropped in after Caleb finished his first day in Pre-Primary. He looked very tired at first and mentioned a sleep after lunch lol He perked up after cooling down in the air-conditioning(his school is not air-conditioned "because it is too close to the sea and will benefit from the sea breezes"....at 4 yrs of age that really doesn't matter!) Nana's chest of  toy cars came out as did Great-Nan's Roses' chocolates and the day was saved. Twitch was fascinated with the children and they were amazed that we have a rabbit living in the house with us lol He jumped on the back of the settee while Caleb was playing with a car and scared him! Twitch has a new game that involves running around and around Joe's office chair....he's such a character

Enjoying the air-conditioner, my friend Wendy saw this photo and asked "Where is the zipper so that  you can put your jammies in there?" lol

Priscilla had the portacath installed yesterday and was home by lunchtime but in a lot of pain, she has meds for this ....yeah yeah yeah but sometimes they just don't work.


It's cooled down nicely and we've even had a shower or two. Joe's photography group starts again today so I'll need to go and make his lunch to take with him....he's very thrifty too...the others buy a cafe lunch complete with coffee but Joe never spends a cent...it must be hard for him as he loves his coffee but he never complains, he sees it as wasteful.


Hooroo for now,
Sue
xxx

Clayton's Quiche, The Quiche You Have When You're Not Having A Quiche!

A long funny title that stems from an advert for a lovely non-alcoholic drink made from herbs etc and called Clayton's Tonic....the drink you have when you're not having a drink! It was really lovely.

So then, my quiche is called a Clayton's Quiche because it doesn't have a pastry case, just 1/4 of flour forms a layer on the bottom and this method saves a lot of time and calories too ;)

You'll need

6 eggs
2 cups of milk/cream/yogurt/ricotta/cottage cheese, whatever you have is good
1/4 plain wholemeal flour
about 2 cups of quichie things such as chopped ham/bacon/tuna, finely chopped spring onion/capsicum/tomato/mushrooms, peas/corn, chopped fresh herbs are lovely too
1 cup of grated cheese

Beat the eggs and milks together
Stir in the flour and your meat and veggies and half the cheese and season well
Pour into a greased flan dish( mine is about 12inches/30cms in diameter)
Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake at 180C for 30-40 minutes, until the middle is set. If you leave it too long it will become rather rubbery (and that is not lubberly!)

We had a tasty simple salad of lettuce, tomato and capsicum with marinated feta and sundried tomatoes.

It must be Summer!

It fluffed up rather like a souffle but didn't have so far to fall...yummy!

38C is the weather forecast today, I think I'll nip to the shops as soon as they open as I need some olive oil to make Joe's special soap and Mum needs a cartridge for her printer too. I've just put Twitch in his outdoor 'playpen' and the baby doves are watching him with interest...he is NOT happy to be locked up!

Enjoy your day, where-ever you are,
Love from Sue
xxx