New shelf

Another work post.

I was exited to get a new shelf installed in the pacemaker room of Friday:

The defibrillator shelves were out of control. Too many binders for the space available, so when we tried to file things, the adjacent folders would slide out and land on our heads.

I've also ordered narrower binders which should help very significantly.

This weeks other major work project is revolutionising the paperwork involved in new implants. I sat down with Damien and had a big talk about work, making notes and brain-storming. Turns out that under the current system the implant information is manually recorded up to seven times in one form or another (different forms/logbooks/databases but essentially the same information) and then additional photocopies are also made. No wonder I'm feeling like it is complicated and time consuming. Recently the paper trail has been particularly complicated as the locum are doing the actual implants, and are not doing a good job of the related paper work.

I dropped my boss a line, and he came, looked at the logbook and forms we've been filling out, and directed me to amalgamate them. We should end up with one form and one database. Photocopying will be a lot simpler too. Hooray!

I say Hooray, but this is what kept me up till 1am on Friday, and I still haven't got it quite right. It has got to be good enough to "sell" to the surgeons and the senior pacemaker tech. when he returns in a few weeks time.

Sock Puppets

As part of my general "this house is out of control" tidy-up, I brought out all the toy buckets, lined them up in the loungeroom and had a big sort out.  The best thing about that is when little people make discoveries - like Hannah and the old, pulled-apart frog sock puppet below.  I put all the toys away again except the puppet bucket, which is still in the loungeroom inviting more play.

Grumpy Tuesday

Here is the dessert we did on Tuesday this week:   I was horribly behind on everything and spent quite a bit of the day feeling stressed out and overwhelmed, but the dessert went down well.

That day I took Hannah to music lessons with Miss Kahli and then did a bit of shopping at Eastlands.  Poor Hannah just about had her throat slashed by packaging in my arms in Kmart (she bled) and then dropped her lollipop (it smashed) and was virtually inconsolable, but I was able to buy the big girls some overlay quilts, and got some things for dinner and lunches this week.  Hannah asked for Lollies again and this time I succumbed.  That helped out with Dessert that night, but re-introduced the problem of little girls raiding the kitchen cupboard in the wee small hours of the morning.

I brought the big girls home after school and tried to do some tidying and sorting.  This never seems to work between school and dance lessons.  I ended up getting frustrated again, and it didn't help that I couldn't find  an item I'd promised to deliver to Mum, ran out of time and was late leaving again (it turned out that I'd already given it to her).

Fortunately I'd already made a curry for dinner (I made it on Sunday) because I really didn't do all that well at sorting out the house and was having enough trouble with state of the kitchen without having to deal with the cook up/clean up of yet another meal. 

Mind you, the girls aren't too fussy.  Hannah for example was perfectly happy with cheesy toast for lunch on Wednesday.

Damien's Birthday

I think we managed Damien's birthday reasonably well, despite my weekend being full of call-outs.

Leila loved giving him a handheld sound–effects machine that allows him to enter a room to a drum rolland do the whu whu whu whaaa sound whenever he wants to.  It does applause, screams, chk chk booms, wolf whistles, breaks glass and burps too (16 sounds in all).  I knew he'd like it, and I also knew his work colleagues would not impressed.   Tee hee.

We also gave Damien a merino top, some neck-warmers for when he is on his Bike, Dark Lindt chocolate balls in various flavours, A little torch (LED with a wind-up handle and no battery), and a game of Junior Pictionary.  We had dinner at Hogsbreath too.

I was pleased with the cakes (cake for home, cupcakes for work): The peppermint-choc finishings were really yummy: chocolate cake, peppermint icing and then a layer of melted chocolate poured on the top, with crushed flake sprinkles.

Yum!

growing fish

Wow!Our baby fish are growing!!!!There about an inch! Their going to be big fish in no time.Guess what?



Our fish are SSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO fast!!!!!!!



REALLY fast little fishies!


         

Hannah was sick

She's better now, but had a pretty nasty tummy bug last week. We walked around the Risdon Brook Dam together, and she got miserable. My gloves helped (see photo), but she didn't really want to play after the walk, and then (soon after arriving home) she lost her lunch, and it became obvious that we had a problem.

One of the things I love about Hannah is her temperament. Even when she is sick, she is still friendly and lovely to be around.

The big girls missed out on their music lessons because Hannah was too unwell to travel (I love my carpet cleaning machine) but they did actually do some practice and this week's lessons went really well.

Leila loves to play "London Bridge" and the three kids in her class pretty much taught themselves that one. Miss Kahli was most impressed! We often go for a swim after music, but I haven't been all that well either and so I was happy when they decided to go to an ice-cream cafe in North Hobart instead!

Food focus

My first ever chocolate fondue on Tuesday went down very well indeed. I had to hurry to get the photo taken before it disappeared completely!

I am working on planning the meals a little better. For example, I usually stock the fridge up with assorted compulsory vegetables, but don’t actually have a strategy in mind for using them. This means that I waste a lot of vegetables, or end up using them when they need rescuing, rather than when they are brilliantly fresh and yummy.

Some people have a routine: Monday is Chicken, Tuesday is Fish, Wednesday is pasta etcetera. I have been considering regularly having Dessert on Tuesdays so that we get to have supper together: Damien comes home late so he can collect Bethany from Dancing. By then the younger kids have already eaten, and are in the bath. It is nice to gather back up at the table for some yummy together time, but it won’t always be this decadent.

Part of my food focus has included a trial of internet grocery shopping. My 2 attempts so far have gone really well.

The long lost lounge

6 months ago we ordered a lounge and separate ottoman for our downstairs room.  We were told it would take about 10 - 12 weeks.  We dropped in again at the shop when it was due, and were told it would take a bit longer.  Waited, dropped in to the shop again, waited some more.  Then the shop CLOSED.  We found him again (selling off stock in the city) by contacting the landlord of the original shop.  The Couch Guy said that everything was going to be fine.  He even rings us to say that it has arrived in Launceston, and then arranges with Damien for a certain delivery time and date.  No one shows up that afternoon.  Then he closes his shop in the city and disappears.
I bump into his Missus at the local school, turns out she is actually his ex-missus, and yes, he has left the state.  She gives me the name and number of Couch guy's supplier.
So, today Mr Supplier rings me back with the news that he actually told Fabulous Mr Couch Guy 6 months ago that they couldn't actually supply the item according to our specifications, and so the order was never made.
Not happy.  Mr Couch has pocketed our $500 deposit, lied to us for 6 months, and then done a runner...  Worse still, we were looking forward to that couch!

Damien will shortly be paying a visit to the supplier in Launceston, who is hoping to deal with us directly and give us some better service (and a weighty discount).  Here's hoping we do better this next time around.