While Not Working

Just like that, our time with D1&2 came to an end. We spent a day making the house and yard ship shape and squeaky clean and then off we went for cat intermission between dog sits. We didn't even get to have a final dog walk because the weather was miserable, so the D's family  had to cope with all that pent-up small dog energy when they dragged their jetlagged selves in the door on Thursday morning. Final farewell, dogs not appreciating the moment. With BD back in her own place and no dogs to walk, we finally got the chance to do some really important tasks like planning our next Melbourne adventures, buying a mop (how do people clean their houses without a mop?), and going for a bike ride. Well, I did anyway. Roger, still taking care with his back, preferred to walk. Along the way I passed the house where beanie babies go to die. And discovered the little-known and less-appreciated delights of Spoonville. The Elster trail started at Allnut Park near our house and finished

Hospital having put the kibosh on our lofty plans of cultural enlightenment and museum visiting, BD undertook to introduce us to the Marvel universe via the Avenger movies.  Even unplanned hospital stays didn't stop us: we watched our afternoon Marvel movie on her tiny tablet screen with subtitles on and the sound down low to avoid annoying whoever was in the bed on the other side of her paper curtain. BD carefully guided us through the nuances of the Marvel universe, answering complex questions like 'Is he a bad guy?' and 'How come they've got all this technology and it still boils down to just thumping each other?'  Roger despaired at the movies' wanton disregard of basic physics and use of scientific terms such as 'superfloomp'. BD, albeit closely monitored, stayed out of hospital and even moved back to her place, sleeping in her own bed with her own cat while we visited daily to lift things and do everything she's not allowed to do

The front entrance of the Royal Melbourne opened directly to the street and the footpath was clogged with smokers getting their fix and patients who had escaped for a bit of fresh air which wasn't so fresh on account of the smokers.   The front entrance of the Royal Melbourne was also quite entertaining what with the standards of dress and undress (hospital gowns being considered adequate street and smoke-break attire by some) on display; the odd sovereign citizen throwing a hissy fit at being asked to wear a mask in a hospital of all places; and periodic displays of road rage and pecking-order-violations related to queue-jumping in the taxi rank. Not to mention people like me traipsing back and forth to the 7-11 for our $3 hot chocolates, and the inevitable construction workers making lots of noise. It's bad form to take photos of crazy  other people, so you get me instead. The weather was beautiful.  Unfortunately we didn't get out to enjoy it seeing as BD was still in h

Back in the limbo days when we didn't know BD's surgery date and we assumed that both of us would be robustly able-bodied at all times, we accepted a house sit which overlapped our current one to the tune of 10 or so days.  The idea was that we would share the sits between the two of us and all would be sunshine and roses.   Then Roger hurt his back on the day the second sit started. On the same weekend BD's room mates all went away and she became temporary kitty-litter-cleaner for two cats, with the small complication that she couldn't yet meet the physical requirements of kitty-litter-cleaning.  Which left me in charge of three cats, two dogs, and two incapacitated humans across three households and three lots of kitty litter. Unfortunately none of the cats for whom I had temporary kitty-litter responsibilities had completed the Human Toilet Training Course For Cats (yes, they were both enrolled!) so I was stuck with old-fashioned kitty-litter-cleaning duties.   Serve

Trials and tribulations are not confined to the world of humans.  Let me tell you a story... Once upon a time two little dogs (Ds 1&2) lived in a house in Melbourne, where they spent considerable time training their family so that they could live a comfortable doggie life with all the things that dogs need like treats, walks, and being able to sneak into the bedroom and sleep on the bed. One sad day the Ds' family walked out the door very early in the morning.  "No!" they said, and shut the door very firmly when the Ds tried to come with them. Two hours later some total strangers walked in and started acting as if they were allowed to live there.  The Ds were insulted, but not too insulted because the strangers seemed to know where the treats were kept and how to hand them out. They found the treats!   It immediately became obvious that the strangers were not at all house-trained. The Ds immediately started a training regime and the strangers demonstrated themselves t

On Thursday BD was set free to continue the watching brief at home.  "Right!" Said the proxy cat. "Let's get this show on the road!" Over the next couple of days we explored a bit more of Melbourne under the guise of finding a pathology place that met BD's exacting bloodletting requirements. Along the way we found a donut shop which was an unexpected bonus even if we had nowhere to stop at the time and therefore couldn't actually get any donuts which was very sad.  Having lived the high life at the Epworth, and the diverse life at the Royal, it was time to explore the  public health facilities a little closer to home. Roger very kindly volunteered for this cause, developing a small back issue which rapidly rendered him bed bound with back spasms. After a night of groaning and misery with his usual drugs being ineffective and no way of getting him in the car, we called the ambulance and off he went to Sandringham hospital. Smile?  Maybe not... He wasn'

BD bounced. She bounced straight back into hospital via the Emergency Department of the Royal Melbourne, which was nowhere near as dramatic as it sounds: more tedious, tiring, and annoying because she'd been going so well.  Mind you, she  also bounced straight from triage to back of house, sparing us the necessity of sitting in the waiting area of ED with the drunk, drugged, and injured of Melbourne on a Saturday night. Instead we sat in an ED cubicle listening to the drunk, drugged, and injured on a Saturday night and greatly appreciating the calm patience of the staff who periodically popped in through our blue curtain and provided care as if they had all the time in the world. Royal Melbourne: from the inside looking out. This was not her window view. From her window she saw a wall. It was far too exciting for me to photograph. The Royal Melbourne, being part of the public health system, dispensed with the polish of privilege which we had enjoyed at Epworth. There were no carpet