July has been a really big month.

My True Love was discharged from hospital. Some weird shit went down but he’s alive so that is the main thing. Did you know that many elderly people who probably should be cared for in nursing homes are parked in Australia’s public hospital wards, occupying scarce beds? (Note that WP’s AI assistant advises me that the word “probably” is a weasel word. I like the way it thinks. Note too that aged care is the responsibility of the Australian national government while public hospitals are the responsibility of Australian state governments.) Anyway, there were a lot of dementia patients on the ward where my TL was admitted. He wasn’t one of them. Anyway, anyway, the whole family was so happy when our dear one was discharged despite still not knowing what caused the weirdness.

I must have known that my TL was going to have a medical episode. (Have you noticed that the phrase “medical episode” is the latest fad to describe a serious life threatening medical emergency?) I digress. What were the subtle signs of impending illness? Well, I started to dig up my front yard. Long term readers may recall that another medical episode coincided with my last effort to start a verge garden. Anyway, this time I plan to establish a native grassland in my front yard, hopefully before the dirt is blown away in some summer dust storm or something else happens.

Also in July, my son finally moved into his new house. My heartfelt thanks go to my friends who between them supplied my son with enough secondhand furniture and bits and bobs to almost completely set up his house. The universe also provided him with a few freebies dumped or left out in the street for people to take. My son picked up some roadside coat hangers (!!!), some aluminum outdoor chairs in good nick and this practically new recliner (!!!!).

Who dumps a new recliner in a conservation area? My theory is that someone died in that chair so the grieving parties decided to offload the chair with minimum fuss by dumping it in our conservation area. My son found the same type of chair selling online for $600. Anyway, I rang the government to report it and the person I spoke to said they would add it to the next bulk waste run. Suffering succotash, by the time that happened, the chair would be ruined rain pending! So we took it home. It’s very comfortable and doesn’t smell.

Ama had her own weird medical episode. She’s not a young dog. But she survived. Fynn got another year older. Here he is on his birthday. It was a very cold, rainy day.

Fynn had special icecream as a birthday treat. He thanked us by weeing in the hallway. Fynn doesn’t like rain.

Plus other stuff happened, but these were the highlights.

I hope your July was a good one. Take care, everyone.
All the best.

Tracy.

50 thoughts on “July – We Made It Through!”

  1. Oh my Tracy, you’ve had quite the July! Glad to hear that everyone is recovering from their medical episodes. Larry was one for always rescuing other people’s cast offs. He came home once with a red velvet love seat someone had chucked in the alley, thankfully not a conservation area. Perhaps the people who dumped the recliner wanted people to slow down, take a seat and enjoy the area??? Regardless, I ended up loving that little couch. Buying new is overrated.

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  2. Hi, Tracy. Glad to hear that things are getting back to being on a level keel again. “medical episodes” of the unkown sort are never nice.
    I’d like to encourage you with the front yard project. My front yard meadow came out in full bloom this July, and was spectacular – only a few invasives. Late august I’ll weed whack it down so the neighbors will stop mumbling about it. but it needs little work – just bit of weeding on the invasives.

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    1. Thanks, Lou. Your front sounds enchanting. Soon you will have neighbours beating a path to your door to find out how they can transform their yards too.
      I can’t wait for spring. The area I’m restoring has always been rather desiccated, loveless and full of crappy weedy grasses. I think it will love the new arrangements.

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  3. Oh, Tracy…you need to include this in your Christmas cards. Do they do that in Australia? Send out a chatty little newsletter tucked inside their Christmas card and tell all about how the kids were accepted into the college of their choice, the husband got a raise at work, the wife had something fabulous happen to her and by this time next month, they will embark on a world cruise. No? How lucky for you.😆🤣

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  4. Wow, Tracy! What a month. I am glad that things are on the up and I hope they remain that way. No one wants to spend any time in hospital if possible. It’s the same here regarding bed blocking, but for some reason I expected Australia to do better on these issues. Talking to my son who lives in Brisbane it seems that Australia is just a much warmer UK as far as social and political affairs are run.

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    1. My apologies for the belated reply, Jude. Yes it is pretty much the same here. As for bed block, what I didn’t fully comprehend was even when you get admitted to hospital, there is still a lot of queuing so people are staying in hospital longer because they have to wait for tests. Still these life experiences provide a lot of material for writers, for example, having to drink out of specimen cups because the ward had run out of regular cardboard cups.

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  5. What a month Tracy and so glad your TL is home again and Ama survived her own medical episode. Belated happy birthday to sweet Fynn too 🐾❤🐾 xxx

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  6. Wow. What a month you’ve had. I can’t say I remember July in any distinct way and that’s fine with me. The shitshow in American politics is not worth remembering, but the dog walks were nice. I’m very happy your TL escaped the dementia ward. Bear is now 9 which is unbelievable, but there it is. Fynn, you’re entitled, so don’t worry about it, OK??? Lois is right about the Christmas cards.

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  7. Yep, you made it through OK thankfully. The second hand living as a young person brings memories although most of mine were in share houses.
    Great that all medicals are gone and things can get back on track.
    Hope the native grassland will be established by this time next year.
    Happy birthday as well

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  8. It was good to see a new post from you, Tracy! You’ve had quite a month. I’m glad to hear your TL is at home and on the mend. Hopefully, there won’t be anymore medical episodes in your household. I don’t think I’ve seen “medical episode” used before.

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  9. Thank goodness TL is home, but what a horrible experience. In my experience in recent years, public hospitals are understaffed and as one nurse told me last month (while I was in hospital), they spend half their time working on the computer, not (necessarily) nursing, which is what they trained for. Some young doctors are very intelligent and proactive, others seem can’t seem to think beyond their training and have no compassion at all. There are others, like one head of Cardiology who saw me in a public hospital, who just laughed in my face (literally) and wasn’t interested in my 2 cents worth of experience and being in tune with my own body. Turned out I was 100% correct after I saw my own HCM cardiologist in a later private appointment.

    Even in my local E.R. department it’s almost impossible to get a pillow for my bad neck and spine.

    I’m sorry to hear they didn’t solve the medical mystery. Some things just happen, but if your TL (and yourself) are like me, we want a diagosis and prognosis. Well, at least a diagnosis, even if we’ve got to go down the path towards wellness under our own steam power.

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  10. Oh dear what a month, so pleased to hear TL is back home and on the mend. On going doctors visits and checkups can be so time consuming, especially as an appointment can stretch to two to three hours or more of waiting. Sending an annual catch up in xmas cards used to be the thing to do. But now very few people even send cards now 🙁

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  11. Oh, my goodness. What a month you’ve had. So glad that TL is doing well after what sounds a scary and unpleasant time. But free furniture for your son! It’s not all bad then. Onwards and upwards?

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  12. What a July you’ve had! I’m glad your partner came through that ‘episode’ and is out of hospital. We have the same problem in the UK with so many (mostly) older people stuck in hospital because there’s no room for them in a suitable care home or a delay in putting together a package of care for them to be safe at home. Over here it’s the other way around – the NHS is as the name suggests a national service (although run by regional health trusts), while social care is the responsibility of local councils who just don’t get the funding they need to be able to offer an even half-decent service (I’ve done consultancy work in that sector so I know what I’m talking about!)

    Anyway, I digress. It’s great news too that your son’s move went well, and I’m looking forward to seeing your grassland planting in due course – it sounds a lovely idea!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks for your comment and encouragement, Sarah. If there was a simple solution to all of the problems requiring money, trained professionals and caring people to fix them, I guess many nations wouldn’t be facing the same issues. We keep going.
      Hopefully I will have more garden photos later this year.

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  13. More power to your resilience, Tracy, in the face of all these upsetting family ‘episodes’. But good to hear TL has recovered from whatever it was. As Churchill used to say – KBO!

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  14. It sounds as if you’ve had a horrible July! I’m glad everyone seems to be okay now (getting discharged from the hospital is always a good sign), and I sincerely hope that your August is much, much better.

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  15. Wow Tracy, your July was not dull. I’m so glad your TL is doing okay in spite of his hospital visit and that your son found some good and free furniture. It sounds like you’ve survived also. I hope August is a little more mundane for you and your family. Take dare!

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  16. You sure had an eventful July! I am so glad, Tracy, that TL is well and that Ama is fine too.
    It’s good to know your son’s moving into new home was smooth. Ironically, it is difficult to come by secondhand stuff here. Maybe it is because we use stuff till it is no longer usable! 🙃
    Happy birthday to Fynn. And goodluck with your grassland project.

    I won’t apologize for being late because being late has become a habit. I don’t login everyday and miss out on posts that appear when I am absent. But I do hunt down my favourites eventually. 😉
    Take care, Tracy. ❤️

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  17. Oh my goodness! What a month your July has been. I am so glad to hear TL is home and you both have survived this medical ordeal!

    I love the capture of the recliner in the wild – it is fabulous pictorial of the strangeness you must have encountered.

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    1. Thank you for dropping by, Ju-Lyn. If I knew how to link to your July update on this tablet. I would have but I am sure you will understand that getting the words down is an achievement in itself. It has certainly been a strange month but ultimately a good one. I hope you and your family are well and happy. Take care.

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  18. You really had a horrible month – that ended well, thank goodness! Your TL is safe now? I had never heard of “a medical episode” before. It sounds cold and without feeling. I prefer the old phrases. Anyway, I am happy you came out OK from this!

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