Monday 24 May 2010

Sigh

Apologies for the length of absence, I've been so busy I haven't had time to think!

So poor Dad is still in hospital. It's getting close to 3 weeks now. The operation went well. They removed a large section of his bowel, but are happy they got everything.
However he has got a terrible infection.
He first got a UTI which went into his blood. He was also so anaemic that he had to get another 2 pints of blood in a transfusion.
Now his whole mouth is full of the most dreadful ulcers & his throat is so sore he can't swallow without terrible pain. As a result, he's not eating & is losing weight. Now my Dad is a very slim man anyway, so he can ill afford any weight loss.

The long & the short of it is that since Wednesday last week they've been telling him every day that he's going home "tomorrow" and when tomorrow comes, it's "tomorrow" again. I have to say I think it's cruel. He has his hopes up every day that he's going home only to have them dashed.

He's also very weak from the lack of moving around. He has been given a walking stick, but he can't go very far yet. Hopefully once he gets home he will strengthen up again.
In the meantime, my brother is still staying with my Mam. She doesn't want me there at all, is convinced I'm going to kill her & am a bully. I'm kind of over the hurt of hearing that now, I know it's her illness & that they always lash out at the person nearest to them.
What I'm afraid of is that Dad's gone so long from the house, that there may be difficulty when he comes home. For both of them. I wonder if he'll have the strength to care for her the way he used to. I suppose only time will tell.

So at this stage I'm exhausted tired from trying to go to work, visit Dad and Mam separately every day and pretend to have some kind of normality at home for my hubby & daughter. She's been brilliant, really good for me & full of "you mind yourself Mammy" hugs. She's the best.

As you can imagine, knitting progress has been very slow round here. This is the second of Dads Sailor Ribbing Socks. I'm about halfway down the foot.

Apologies for the really poor quality photo, I took this on my mobile phone at my desk this morning. (Spot the grumpy coffee mug? Suits me perfectly in the mornings!) But you get the idea. It's the same as the last one I suppose!
I also managed to get one more repeat of the Summit Shawl done too.

They say every cloud has a silver lining, and I suppose I have to agree.
Hubby & I had a very momentous day last Thursday. We paid off our mortgage. Our home is now all ours, no-one can ever take it away. I'm really proud of us. Through a LOT of sacrifice & hard work, we've managed to pay off a 25 year mortgage in 9 years. It couldn't have come at a better time too, with the way the economy is!
So I'm still 36 (only barely, less than a month to go) and mortgage free. How about that!

We decided to treat ourselves to a "No Mortgage Present". I think we deserve one!
Hubby settled on this:


A kitchen aid mixer. He has wanted one of these for the longest time. This is the colour he got, the 90th anniversary edition colour. It comes with a metal bowl, though, not this glass one.
I have to say it is gorgeous, but it was very expensive!

While we got this for Alice:


She LOVES Hello Kitty. And I think she's kinda cute too ;)

So that leaves me. And I've no clue what to get. Obviously it's going to be yarn related in some way, but what? I was thinking maybe a sock yarn of the month type of club? Or maybe next years Year of Lace if it runs.
Anyone any suggestions for a good yarn club (preferably sock I think) or a better yarny gift?

5 comments:

Nic said...

Glad to hear that the op went ok. (Relieved actually, was getting worried.) Best of luck with getting him home and dealing with it all. It's tough. Good that you have your hugs on tap at home.

Congratulations on the mortgage achievement, that's really something.

You can join the Year of Lace here. It looks good I must say....it's tempting....!

Sock Club. Pfffwpht! Not nearly special enough. Tho' you like socks, so what do I know?

kelgell said...

It's so sad when old people get to the stage when their bodies slow down. My grandparents are similar and my mum's been away a lot looking after her dad and all his surgery and such while her mum has alseimers in a nursing home. God bless you with strength and wisdom and some relaxing, normality too. I hope your dad gets to go home soon. That would be really nice for him. I hope when he does it all goes smoothly too.

Super well done on the mortgage!!! That's an awesome effort. Love your hubby's choice of a celebratory present. *drool* Hope you have a good week...and find a suitable present for yourself. :)

Alrischa said...

Yeah, Mum's been gone so long that now Byron thinks she lives in Hamilton "looking after Papa". Who knows what will happen with your parents, but you have certainly done your best! Glad to hear the bro is doing a share, too.

Alrischa said...

Make sure you spend at Least as much as your hubby did!! :D

Tara said...

So sorry it's taking such a long time for your Dad to get out of hospital. But yay for being mortgage free! I've been so for almost a year now, and isn't it the best? As for a sock club, if I were to splurge, I'd go for the Wool Girl club. It's pretty expensive, but they always seem to have a great selection of yarn.