SatNavSaysStraightOn (Site Owner)

Morning Glory

Obsessive cook
Staff member
Joined
19 Apr 2015
Local time
11:40 AM
Messages
46,855
Location
Maidstone, Kent, UK
Just a message to let everyone know that SatNavSaysStraightOn, owner of CookingBites is OK. You may have noticed she hasn't been around for a while. She has long term health issues as some of you will know, but currently her husband is convalescing from an operation and as yet, not really mobile, so she is busy supporting him. Its likely to take a while before he is mobile again. As well as this, her parents who are visiting Australia from the UK are unable to get back and she is helping them survive, too. So she is simply very busy indeed, especially given the current restrictions due to the virus.

I'm sure we all wish her well.
 
Hi

Thanks everyone for the support.

I'm really needing it right now.

I'm finely getting things sorted, just the little things like making sure my Landcruiser stays on the road for another year (it did try giving me heart failure and failing it's checks but the garage were fab and resolved the braking issues there and then (95%/5% front/rear braking load rather than the required 75%/25% ratio) ),
then getting the hire car back to Sydney (grrr....) long day driving both ways. I didn't want to let my nearly 78 yrs old stepfather take public transport back because he's disabled and immunocompromised and it would have put all 4 of us at unnecessary risk with all 4 of us being immunocompromised and 2 of us falling into the disabled category as well.

Then our main vehicle has gone to them today leaving me pretty much unable to use my wheelchair at all because i can't lift it into the back of my Landcruiser with it being so very high off the ground.

I'm also just getting over a chest infection (nothing major just the normal routine chest infection and associated asthma issues hence me still being up gone midnight because of yet another asthma attack).

Plus I've had to get both parents registered with my doctor so that they can get their routine medication. They both now have less than 10 days left.

Next on the list to sort is hubby. His consultant cancelled the appointment last Friday (we were 20 minutes away when we got the message having been on the road for nearly an hour at that point, not all of it having mobile reception). So it's now this Thursday and isn't something that can be done via telephone consult though his doctors appointment that day is now a telephone consultation. He's not yet mobile, not yet weight bearing on that leg which is causing problems with the other side. Then we have his physio and recovery to deal with, another hurdle for another day right now.

And I have to get a mobile hotspot purchased for hubby to bill back to work so he can work from home without losing internet connection to work everyone someone rings him.

And I need to get his office stuff including his desk collected and brought to the house.

Finally I need to get my parents visas extended...

I'm sure there is plenty more on my list but you get the idea (some shopping, routine meds etc are falling to my parents to collect and bring to us, it counts as an essential journey and allows my mum in particular chance to get out of their AirBnB and sit on our veranda or the sitting room as the days get cooler.)

Gardening is also high on the list (I've masses of self seeded wild rocket that has taken over about ¼ of the veg plot right now. The tatties are looking like they'll soon need digging up but we're due heavy rain for the next 3 days so I'll let it help them swell a touch first, plus once the soil dries again, they can keep in the ground until I need them, but the sweet potatoes will soon harvesting and the lawn will need another cut before the season is out. Last time took me 3 entire mornings and covered me in bruises! But I did manage to start the petrol driven lawnmower myself which is a major achievement I can tell you.
I've also got 400 bulbs to plant. Something i purchased well before any of this kicked off. And the winter veg which really ought to have been planted by now but I haven't got the ground dig or weeded yet.

Then I'll need to do a tip run every other week or so...

I am still cooking and baking, not to mention housework and everything else including wood collection... that's murder, but thankfully the battery operated chainsaw isn't too heavy... it's just hard backbreaking work... And I'm not that mobile, so its a few logs at a time job until i stray too far from home, then I'll need to change the adapter on my Landcruiser over to the modern rectangular electrics adaptor so i can legally tow the trailer with lights!

But it is all leaving me physically and mentally exhausted and just keeping my parents from being depressed is exhausting me without the extra stuff. The reality for them is hitting hard now. This coming weekend was their original home date. It was brought forward to last weekend, then brought forward again and then finally they were told there was no way to get them home (but we knew that by then) and repatriation flights aren't going to work for either of them because of them needing business class flights because of the length of the journey and my stepfather's dodgy hip (his tricanter is not attached to his femur after a botched NHS operation several treats ago). It's going to be a difficult autumn and an even harder winter. Both were expecting and dressed for an Aussie summer. Now with clothing stores closing (one is currently staying open for the moment), I need to get them clothed for a cold winter (down to -10°C or 2F routinely). The rest of the family may think they are better off here, and they are, but all of their age group, their friends and most of their family are in the UK and 11hrs behind (as of next weekend) so it is all falling to me now that social things have stopped (knitting at the local library, the autumn festivals and museums they would have taken themselves to and so on...)

I am going to have so many knitted woolen blankets my the time this winter is through! My mother is knitting for comfort and stress relief though my supply of wool is already failing and most shops are either closed or have bare shelves and charity shops (op shops as they are here) are closed being none essential... I've already placed 2 online orders for yarn... We're not in lockdown but stores are choosing to close/have closed, restaurants/pubs/hotels/cafes are closed and people are advised not to make non essential journeys, public gatherings of more than 2 people are prohibited by law and so on. Luckily my parents are registered to our address not the AirBnB so we can still see each other regularly (were counting them as living under the same roof as us), hardly an issue given that they are rural and we are even more so. Luckily rural Aussie homes are not small...

Right, it's nearly 1am now, shop I'm going to say goodnight to you all and thank you. Once things find a routine and are stable again I'll come back and pester you all. I so wish I could find time to try an olive recipe... Not that I have any olives mind you, the 5 or 6 on my olive tree have yet to ripen!
 
Hi

Thanks everyone for the support.

I'm really needing it right now.

I'm finely getting things sorted, just the little things like making sure my Landcruiser stays on the road for another year (it did try giving me heart failure and failing it's checks but the garage were fab and resolved the braking issues there and then (95%/5% front/rear braking load rather than the required 75%/25% ratio) ),
then getting the hire car back to Sydney (grrr....) long day driving both ways. I didn't want to let my nearly 78 yrs old stepfather take public transport back because he's disabled and immunocompromised and it would have put all 4 of us at unnecessary risk with all 4 of us being immunocompromised and 2 of us falling into the disabled category as well.

Then our main vehicle has gone to them today leaving me pretty much unable to use my wheelchair at all because i can't lift it into the back of my Landcruiser with it being so very high off the ground.

I'm also just getting over a chest infection (nothing major just the normal routine chest infection and associated asthma issues hence me still being up gone midnight because of yet another asthma attack).

Plus I've had to get both parents registered with my doctor so that they can get their routine medication. They both now have less than 10 days left.

Next on the list to sort is hubby. His consultant cancelled the appointment last Friday (we were 20 minutes away when we got the message having been on the road for nearly an hour at that point, not all of it having mobile reception). So it's now this Thursday and isn't something that can be done via telephone consult though his doctors appointment that day is now a telephone consultation. He's not yet mobile, not yet weight bearing on that leg which is causing problems with the other side. Then we have his physio and recovery to deal with, another hurdle for another day right now.

And I have to get a mobile hotspot purchased for hubby to bill back to work so he can work from home without losing internet connection to work everyone someone rings him.

And I need to get his office stuff including his desk collected and brought to the house.

Finally I need to get my parents visas extended...

I'm sure there is plenty more on my list but you get the idea (some shopping, routine meds etc are falling to my parents to collect and bring to us, it counts as an essential journey and allows my mum in particular chance to get out of their AirBnB and sit on our veranda or the sitting room as the days get cooler.)

Gardening is also high on the list (I've masses of self seeded wild rocket that has taken over about ¼ of the veg plot right now. The tatties are looking like they'll soon need digging up but we're due heavy rain for the next 3 days so I'll let it help them swell a touch first, plus once the soil dries again, they can keep in the ground until I need them, but the sweet potatoes will soon harvesting and the lawn will need another cut before the season is out. Last time took me 3 entire mornings and covered me in bruises! But I did manage to start the petrol driven lawnmower myself which is a major achievement I can tell you.
I've also got 400 bulbs to plant. Something i purchased well before any of this kicked off. And the winter veg which really ought to have been planted by now but I haven't got the ground dig or weeded yet.

Then I'll need to do a tip run every other week or so...

I am still cooking and baking, not to mention housework and everything else including wood collection... that's murder, but thankfully the battery operated chainsaw isn't too heavy... it's just hard backbreaking work... And I'm not that mobile, so its a few logs at a time job until i stray too far from home, then I'll need to change the adapter on my Landcruiser over to the modern rectangular electrics adaptor so i can legally tow the trailer with lights!

But it is all leaving me physically and mentally exhausted and just keeping my parents from being depressed is exhausting me without the extra stuff. The reality for them is hitting hard now. This coming weekend was their original home date. It was brought forward to last weekend, then brought forward again and then finally they were told there was no way to get them home (but we knew that by then) and repatriation flights aren't going to work for either of them because of them needing business class flights because of the length of the journey and my stepfather's dodgy hip (his tricanter is not attached to his femur after a botched NHS operation several treats ago). It's going to be a difficult autumn and an even harder winter. Both were expecting and dressed for an Aussie summer. Now with clothing stores closing (one is currently staying open for the moment), I need to get them clothed for a cold winter (down to -10°C or 2F routinely). The rest of the family may think they are better off here, and they are, but all of their age group, their friends and most of their family are in the UK and 11hrs behind (as of next weekend) so it is all falling to me now that social things have stopped (knitting at the local library, the autumn festivals and museums they would have taken themselves to and so on...)

I am going to have so many knitted woolen blankets my the time this winter is through! My mother is knitting for comfort and stress relief though my supply of wool is already failing and most shops are either closed or have bare shelves and charity shops (op shops as they are here) are closed being none essential... I've already placed 2 online orders for yarn... We're not in lockdown but stores are choosing to close/have closed, restaurants/pubs/hotels/cafes are closed and people are advised not to make non essential journeys, public gatherings of more than 2 people are prohibited by law and so on. Luckily my parents are registered to our address not the AirBnB so we can still see each other regularly (were counting them as living under the same roof as us), hardly an issue given that they are rural and we are even more so. Luckily rural Aussie homes are not small...

Right, it's nearly 1am now, shop I'm going to say goodnight to you all and thank you. Once things find a routine and are stable again I'll come back and pester you all. I so wish I could find time to try an olive recipe... Not that I have any olives mind you, the 5 or 6 on my olive tree have yet to ripen!
Ciao,
I no think I speak with you even so I wish you well soon, I pray for you.

Sarana x
 
Wow, SatNavSaysStraightOn , that's exhausting just to read. I can't imagine living that. You're made of strong stuff, that's for sure.

It's hard to do little else but offer verbal comfort over the internet, but I can at least do that. Take care, give yourself a break when you can. Every time I log in to check the site, I think about you there (and a couple of other regulars who've gone silent lately).

Be safe!
 
We're lucky in some ways because this isn't the first time this year we have been 'locked in'. First time round was 7 weeks at the start of the year (and over Christmas) where even opening a window wasn't an option (due to the smoke from the bush fires). At least this time round I can even walk to the post box once a day and sit out when it's warm enough. So this time is actually easier and less restrictive than before.
 
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