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The Update

Sep 9th 2014

By: Kerry

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The Update

Last week a Community Nurse arrived and removed the staples in my suture line. She was very happy with healing and then festooned the suture line with steri strips, sticky strips of medical paper, and advised me to rub the suture line with oil when the strips fall off. About half have fallen off now and I’ve been rubbing the suture line with emu oil. She was less than impressed with the changed designed of the disposal staple remover but nevertheless managed to remove all staples with a minimum of fuss. Oddly enough the remover had been manufactured in the Dominican Republic, an odd location I’d have thought but guess it makes a change from the usual source of all things manufactured.

My “post hospital” cleaner arrived last week. She was organised, focused and got on with the job with minimal need for instruction or supervision. The house was significantly cleaner when she left. Pity she’s not here this week but have to wait for fortnightly visits.

Had a bit of a restless night last night with restless critters and me not settling into a deep sleep. Have become rather fond of the long deep sleeps I’ve been having and not sure why I didn’t last night especially as I’d consumed my last long acting analgesic with the expectation of a good sleep. I thought I’d reasoned out the cat’s behavior and beaten it but was disproved last night. I’d allowed the dogs back inside overnight a few nights before and all has gone well apart from last night; not a major problem but unwelcome. At some stage I threw the dogs out and returned to sleep for a late arousal.

I renewed my membership to a genealogical website and have been fiddling around the edges of ancestry research over the last week or so. Yesterday I found family trees seemingly containing the ancestors of one of the ancestors who came to Australia. Previously I’d been unable to make any headway with that section of the family so was pretty happy to find the tree especially as it came with a “cast of thousands” involving siblings ++ and multiple older generations. I started look for indexes to the original records and by the time I reached the second sibling the penny had dropped and I realized I had a problem. The parents had produced and baptized at least three kids, including my relative, before marrying. In those days the parish records recorded if a baby was born illegitimate and there was no sense of that. I wrote to the owner of the tree to see if he had an explanation. About a dozen other people had also included that marriage and kids as part of their trees. About another half dozen had recorded the kids and parents but without the marriage and only naming the mother as “Mary” without a surname. I have a copy of the original parish records for my ancestor’s birth so will need to return to it and see if I can make headway without the benefit of other people’s trees.

Camellia bushes at front of house

This afternoon I received a phone call from Big Brother who offered to fund my genealogical research. That generous offer will allow me to pay for the current database, chase up some needed certificates, access other required pay data bases and should keep me occupied for a long time. So THANK YOU, KIND PATRON.

Pruned rose bushes and spring flowers in back garden

This afternoon I walked out to the letter box without any aids. I then returned inside for my long handled picker upper and collected the fallen camellia blossoms. I then took a couple of photos and proceeded, still unaided, down the back stairs to the back lawn where I can now walk since Son Number 3 mowed the lawn on Sunday. Some of the flowers are pretty and the rose bushes are thriving and growing new buds since a Kind Friend pruned them ten days ago. After feeding Floyd and taking a few photos it was time to return inside. It had been drizzling so was not a good time to walk the street. Yesterday I saw a beautiful bush in blossom down in a small section of public land. It needs a photo in the right climatic and light conditions and today is not the day.

More spring flowers and "ornamental" soccer ball

Some 'happy" flowers

Animals, Australia, Family History
The Carpentry and the Return

Aug 31st 2014

By: Kerry

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The Carpentry and the Return

I was lucky enough to be required at the hospital at a reasonable time, long after the crack of dawn, to have a good friend to take me and to check I surfaced from the anaesthetic in a reasonable way before heading to her own home. Unlike the first two staff I’d encountered, staff in the theatre suite, irrespective of position was a refreshing group of people, who were smiley and appeared happy to be at work. Ensuing days produced more characters of both ilk among staff and patients including one, who after being moved into my room during the night then thought it perfectly OK to turn on her own TV on at 5.30am and jolted me awake. The registered nurse who was present hadn’t considered it necessary to stop her at any stage. It came to the patient’s notice that her neighbour was not happy about the noise so there was high drama with tears and repeated moving of bed and lockers. A day or so later she was replaced by a delightful, chirpy, elderly woman who lent me her magazines to read which I did between my regular “nanna naps”. If only I could remember I would know all the latest doings of today’s celebrities. I was lucky enough to be well away from occasional prolonged drawn out wailings which were no more than a distant backdrop to the normal hum of a ward.

My discharge date was a movable feast which was OK by me. The hospital appeared keen to receive feedback with someone running around with some kind of machine to record it. The person responsible wasn’t around prior to my departure and by that time I couldn’t be bothered. Nearly a lifetime of working in areas of nursing and rights creates a certain mindset which sees issues and room for improvement where others see nothing amiss. What Son Number 3 calls my negativity. On the whole it was a satisfactory experience and in many ways superior to days of old but with room for numerous areas of improvement. The ward resident was a competent, kindly soul for whom I have great expectations.

Jessie’s alimentary tract didn’t cope with long incarnations in the house during my hospitalization and she was soon ejected to an outside existence. Fortunately the weather had improved and the dogs coped with the slightly warmer nights. They continue to live outside at night as I don’t have the energy to be up and down to them nor the ability to clean up accidents. However, Phantom was sick yesterday and I had to find a way of cleaning it without, hopefully damaging my hip.

Son Number 2 visited yesterday as part of his “Checking on Mother” and “Playing with the Dogs” exercise. Since I am frightened of going down the back steps onto a hard surface I asked him to feed Floyd. It should have been a simple exercise of sticking an arm in the aviary and tipping the seed into the bowl. When I looked out the door he was on his haunches outside the aviary with Floyd on his back. Floyd had attacked and bitten his ear. Fortunately Floyd decided to fly back into the aviary rather than off into the wide blue yonder. I’d been told Floyd didn’t like him but never seen it in action before.

Today a couple of friends visited. We had a lovely picnic in the sun and then they did a few jobs, including the walking of Kerry and Phantom. Poor Phantom hadn’t walked far enough to relinquish the lead from his mouth before I’d had enough and returned home. He has a cute way of walking with his lead in his mouth until we get a fair distance and then he’s prepared to release it and put everything into investigating the aromas along his journey. It will be a long time before I am steady enough to walk him; need to concentrate on walking myself which is pretty boring.

Other people have helped me in various ways over the last weeks. Many thanks to everyone who has contributed to making my life and that of the critters less difficult.

Animals, Australia

Health
Two onto One does Go

Aug 9th 2014

By: Kerry

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It was a sunny winter’s afternoon and Indie was indulging in her Cat Given Right to sunbake on the dog’s cot mattress while Jessie with aged and aching joints really needing the support of the mattress was lying on the bare floor boards.

I am a gorgeous cat with the right to be anywhere

Life is tough for an Old lady but I still have some fun

Moments after I took Indie’s photo Phantom placed himself onto the mattress being careful not to lie on her. She was so surprised by this unprecedented invasion of “her” territory that after an initial scowl she resumed lying, although without the previous abandon.

There's room for Two

I went inside soon afterwards and Phantom had to go where he thought life might be more interesting leaving Indie with sole tenancy.

Animals, Australia
“It was a Cold and Windy Night

Aug 2nd 2014

By: Kerry

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and we were resting prior to our next job as “Possum Police”. I think you will agree we were diligent and extremely competent at resting. Unfortunately, we had little opportunity to demonstrate our prowess as Possum Police before being called inside to continue the resting part of our job.

Resting Possum Policemen

Meanwhile, that furry creature who lives with us was out seeking mice to inform them of their future should the old and infirm run into her claws. She is sooooooo up herself.”

Guest Bloggers- The Possum Police AKA Phantom and Jessie

Animals, Australia
On Critters and Genealogical Musings

Jul 30th 2014

By: Kerry

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This morning I awoke to the sound of chirping and caroling. The local birds were keen to be heard, long after the dawn chorus, a pleasant, relaxing start to the day. However, it didn’t give me the energy to deal with my bed mate. I awoke practically nose to nose with the cat. She’d cried briefly during the night followed by her appearance very close to the book I was reading. I believe in picking my battles and I wasn’t ready to exert myself to battle with the cat and deal with her subsequent attitude. I ignored my better judgment and allowed her to remain. That had happened once before and before too long she’d retreated to her normal position further down the bed. I need to develop my ability to be covertly objectionable so that she moves on her own accord. She held her ground last night and was still there when I left the house about 1pm.

Recently Big Sister and I were talking about community norms. I told her of an odd one I’d read about in a genealogical dictionary. It was about a husband’s ability to dispose of his wife by placing a halter over her head, parading her in a market and selling her to the highest bidder. It was such an odd piece of information that I returned to the book to see what I’d forgotten reading. It was reported that the practice was considered a simple means of ceasing a marriage for poor people and that the woman was usually bought by her lover. I was left wondering how often it occurred against the woman’s will, what
happened if she wanted out of the relationship but had no lover and what happened to the children of the marriage and any produced during the new union. The recorders in parish registers had the habit of stating that a child was born illegitimate, “in fornication” or “base born”. Fathers of illegitimate children were pursued by parish officials to ensure that they supported the children instead of them becoming a claim on the parish. I was so fascinated by a subject that I’d never head of previously that I consulted the internet. Wiki has an extensive discussion of it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wife_selling_(English_custom) It also mentions that prior to the 1753 Marriage Act, marriage was unregistered, not requiring a formal ceremony and implied by the consent of both parties; the age of consent being 14 and 16. Seems we are lucky in having access to some very early marriage etc records which were not mandatory. That was also mentioned in the genealogical dictionary which contains snippets of all kinds of odd information. A Scrabble player would benefit from reading it as it contains vast quantities of odd words still in use in specialized corners of English usage.

Odd laws, known as the Sumptuary Laws restricted clothing people could wear and were effective for between and one and two hundred years. They were designed to restrict certain kinds of clothing to the nobility. The Oxford Dictionary of Local and Family History mentions one method whereby laws were enforced. It writes of a period during the reign of Queen Elizabeth First,

In 1566 four “four sad and discreet persons” were stationed at the gates of the City of London to watch for people who might be wearing prohibited styles of hose.

It didn’t mention what happened if people were found wearing prohibited styles of stockings. They would have fun trying to enforce similar dress codes today. However, there are always constant expectations about clothing for people in certain circumstances. There are numerous articles about appropriate work wear etc. When I was at boarding school our dress for the end of year balls for senior students was always critically evaluated; modesty being the key concern, while the length of our uniform was always under scrutiny during the revolutionary mini skirt period. Hat and gloves were mandatory when leaving the school premises. Now sounds like the Dark Ages. A little more recently, yet still long ago, when employed as a nurse educator my boss was perturbed that my quality brown leather handbag was not the regulation navy model. Nothing was said about my teaching ability for which I was employed for 40 hours a week, but criticism was made of something I slung over my shoulder at the beginning and end of the day.

I have done a little more research into the family of one of my English great grandfathers. He appears in the 1841 census with a variety of family members, including father, woman I’ve now identified as stepmother (wife number 3), half siblings and two unknown children with the same family name. Not sure I will identify the 2 unknown kids unless I trawl though the families of his father’s numerous siblings. My great grandfather appears in the following census with his stepmother as the only family member. He was reported as a steward and maltser, ie someone who processes grain to become available for the production of alcoholic drinks. A few years later he is in Melbourne selling land and doing land surveys, some of which can be seen online. He was identified as a surveyor during his lifetime in Melbourne. His father had died a few years before the 1851 census. The two half siblings appear living together in another part of England along with one of the unknowns who was 17 at the time. I haven’t been able to find the other one. The half siblings are recorded as “dealers in Berlin wool”, a kind of embroidery although I’m not clear if they were selling the thread or embroidering articles for sale. The eldest male half sibling, living separately in 1841, took up his father’s occupation of land steward. He appears living in a county far away complete with large family, and in one census with retinue of staff which wouldn’t have shamed Downtown Abbey. In the census prior to his death he is 75 years old and living in a smaller house with 3 unmarried children and 1 servant.

Animals, Australia, Family History, Melbourne
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