Keeping in Touch

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Hiya. Just a newsy post keeping in touch, from me to you. How are things feeling in your world? (Pours himself a nice warm white Earl Grey tea and sips contentedly... what an old fart lol).

 

While we've got no Covid lockdown here, everyone is wearing masks etc, and downtown feels almost deserted. I was due my vaccs, but the Govt. thought it would be a good idea to cancel them on me (not!)..then, a few days later, they changed their mind again - argh! They were going to redistribute our vaccs to Sydney for the High School kids sitting their final exams etc, but... what about us? Pah! Lockdown doesn’t really affect me anyway, as I stay at home normally as it is, wearing masks downtown... plus all my groceries etc are home-delivered, so there's no real need to go out. "Me happy".

It's been a bloody cold mid-Winter here for us here in the Central West of NSW... we had a -5.5c/22f here the other morning, complete with almost-all-day fog (very Bathurst!). Thankfully, it's nice’n’toasty-warm inside. We had some good snowfalls on the hills around town back in June (just a light dusting here in town), but not much else since... lots of good much-needed rainfall, tho. It's been crazy talking with my Northern Hemisphere friends, who have been baking... but we had our turn the other summer, with our endless bushfires and smoke etc, so we can wholly empathise with each other!

I’m not missing all the crap on Facebook, to be honest. I miss the people – of course! (I still have access to ‘Messenger’, phew... just have to remember to use it... D'oh). I’ve been having a great time on Twitter, tho... I meet almost-daily with a like-minded group of MS-people from all over the globe, where we can share/discuss/support/be silly/cry etc etc, because we all “Get It”... MS is one of those weird random diseases that attacks everyone differently. So it’s great for me to be able to have a group of people like that I can connect with, as I don’t get out too much anymore. But that’s quite fine... I’ve always been a homebody.

Life online is lovely for me...  my Tax and even this years Census have all been completed online... let’s hope they can do this online stuff for the Elections, too – makes bloody common sense to me.

My sons are going great, thankfully. I caught-up with Alex (my youngest) and his g/f Sophie the other month, plus Josh (my eldest, right) turned 28 last week... they keep growing up too fast! Josh and his beautiful wife Sam live about 200kms/125 miles west of here (on a rural property), and they've been experiencing a crazy mouse plague out there, which has dropped-off significantly with the colder temps, thank gawd. He said even their cat "Tigger" was bored of chasing/catching them after a while!

My own 57th birthday was in late-July (I can't believe I made it this far! lulz). I bought myself some prezzies: a new Android phone and leather cover; a Bluetooth keyboard; a kneeling assistant; and some books... “Together Alone - The Story Of The Finn Brothers” by Jeff Apter (2010) (the story of Tim and Neil Finn [Split Enz, Crowded House etc]), and “Crowded House: Something So Strong” by Chris Bourke (2014). Little victories along the way to be celebrated too: I had ordered a book via eBay, but it never arrived; got a refund no dramas... then it arrived, albeit 3 months late! *NOICE*!

I got myself a new phone, one of those Android touch phone things, that works with my old SIM Card [pre-paid for calls {as it always has been, and same number etc}, and I just use my home wifi etc]. I got this phone (at a really cheap price!) because I can connect my new Bluetooth keyboard to it, and type SMS messages much more easily that way... I was having real troubles doing it with the small keys on my old [read: ‘ancient’!] phone... MS ‘Dizzy Fingers’ problems! I find using an actual keyboard great. I’m catching up from the technological dark ages of the 2000’s now... android phone, tablet, and Windows Laptop! I've set-up my phone the way I like/need it - it's all good. (Laffs at the irony... I have some Chuck Berry from the 50’s coming out of my music player as we speak... irony much? hahahah!)

I am such... behind the times or what? I just figured out how to automatically save all the Bookmarks on my Browser, and export the list and save them somewhere else! D'oh! Silly moi. [laffs at self]

I've been updating my mp3 music playlist on my radio HD's lately... I've been adding new songs to my '1963-1966' singles list, like 'Top 40' kinda stuff... one of my favourite eras of music. 21 hours-worth on this list alone so far... all good fun.

Random Thought: You learn something new every day! I only just discovered that this song ("Just One Look") was originally written and performed by Doris Troy in 1963... I thought it was a Hollies' song, that Linda Ronstadt covered! lol. Silly me!

Stupid MS... sometimes I *forget*! I was vacuuming, leant forward to move something, and I almost fell! Luckily I caught something and all's OK. Phew. I still have the occasional random passing "MS moment", "just to 'keep the bastard honest" [laffs]... a little 'foot drop' moment, hanging out the washing! No fall tho, thankfully. "Just to remind you I'm still here" - MS can be a right bastard somedays, others are relatively 'normal' - go figure! It's so random... I slept 9 hours then an extra 3 hours in like 24 hours the other week... I don’t know why or what-for, but if I knew, I’d write it down!

"I’m not lazy, I have MS." How can I explain this to people?

A little thing... with MS and shaky legs and numb hands, even climbing a step-ladder to change a light bulb can be 'an adventure'!

I still have the occasional random depressive moments... not very often, thankfully. A recent example was turned-around quickly, thanks to some enjoyable local community radio listening... I can't really explain why, but some very rare 60's music they were playing twas like 'flicking a switch' for that particular episode (which appeared randomly, with no apparent 'trigger', dagnammit), and I could physically feel the blanket 'lift'... enough for me to begin to function again! Phew! I contacted the radio presenter to thank him, and he beamed - we know each other, and both appreciate depression... made his day, for sure! Twas just music, tho... it's definitely my 'therapy'! Thanks, Greg.

Every Thursday I've also been listening to an online radio show, hosted by a fellow MSer, Patrick, on Tring Radio in UK.

I don't watch much TV at all, and tennis even less so (normally), but I did enjoy watching Ash Barty win her Wimbledon at ridiculous-am (for me)... twas the first game watched in years. I've happily enjoyed watching the Olympic Rowing, which I used to do at school, 24,946 years ago (great positive memories)... Olympic Surfing and Skateboarding are an awesome concept – bring it on!

I'm still so thankful for the gift of my walker, and loving walks around my town, when the fog isn't an all-dayer. One local house has a collection of Teddy Bears in their front window (squee!), and another has a gorgeous hand-made little house as their letterbox, complete with a tiny push-swing.

I've been watching a lot of movies/dvd's lately (as has everybody with lockdowns etc)... one I'd recommend is “The Fall” (2006) - a visual spectacle!!!

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I would LOVE to hear from you - please keep in touch!

Homepage: https://team-gherkin.blogspot.com

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Twitter: @lancelotspram 

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Well, that's me lately. Thanks for listening.

How have things been feeling for you in your world?

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Peas be with ewe 
Mal

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