Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Art of Blogging

I can't believe there are American magazines on the blogging.  What's more, I can't believe I buy them!!!  "Artful Blogging" is my favourite but is as dear as poison to have delivered in Australia.  In the days of "Borders" you could pick them up for a mere $40 an issue.  Even though I was pumping as much money as I could into Borders they still went bust! Maybe I didn't buy enough copies of "Artful Blogging"!!!

Its funny cos I don't read a lot of blogs.  I find it hard to find a really good blog I keep going back to.  Searching for something is a bit of a mystery to me, but word of mouth is the best way for me to hunt up a good read.  I have my absolute faves and I have some I visit from time to time, but I do enjoy knocking up a post and sending it out into the ether.  Strangely my fave blogs fall into just two categories....photography and home gardening.  Go figure!!!

One of my fave blogs is by a rough and tumble West Aussie bloke called Dodgee Bruce.  His blog is called  "Dodgey Dealings"   and you can find it here  http://dodgeydealings.blogspot.com.au/    Its all things cars and photography and a really good read.   I "met"  Dodgee Bruce online.  He's a top tog and an all round good bloke.

Another is called Everyday Miracles http://theeverydaymiracles.blogspot.com.au/ . It's a photo blog too and I think I might have met this chick at a flickr meet once, but really I know her more from the blog.  She takes the most DIVINE images, often florally bases and writes so well about her life in old cold Tassie.  Her images have a super soft quality and I look at her stuff and go..... man, wish I had taken that!

There is another 'tog blog' I rate and that is Just Stunning Photography.  Now the blog is currently undergoing a bit of an upgrade, so if you don't get straight thru, go back in a few days.  http://www.juststunning.com.au/blog/.  I think you will be surprised to learn I met this dude at a car show. Go figure... in real life!!!   He shoots cars and glamour and tends to use super expensive artifical light sources.  He is actually a techo wizz and I rely on him to explain stuff I should already know. I think he thinks I am a dinosaur!!

On the home garden blogfront there are a few they I really enjoy reading.  Rebecca Hamby has just had a tree change moving from a suburban coastal block in NSW to 5 acres in mid Victoria.  In the coldest part of mid Victoria I might add!!!  Farmer Hamby now has chooks! Chooks and foxes and the biggest chook fortress you will ever see!   The farm already had productive fig and fruit trees and Rebecca has become a dab hand at preserves and jams!  Having personally enjoyed her Caramelised Onion Confit i can recommend reading Hamby Home(in)stead. Clicking on this link will take you there http://hambyhomeinstead.blogspot.com.au/.  She is a great writer, top photographer and a wizz in the kitchen!  There is a funny story about how we met, but I won't go into that here!  Suffice to say EVEN THOUGH she is a Nikon user, I rate her as a friend!

Another home grown foodie is Mrs Homespun.  She writes Homespun Field and this link will take you there http://homespunfield.blogspot.com.au/.  She too has chookies and veggies on an average Suburban block.  I've seen her patch and she grows an amazing amount of produce from her yard.  She also does the Esty thing and is pretty talented in all handiworks.

Five blogs hardly seem enough.  If you know a great blog the send me an email or a link.  I need more! Books are so 2012 to me!

Now a photo.... what shall it be.....







Monday, April 15, 2013

The 'C' word....... Cured?

Massive week in my world.  Last thursday was the one year anniversary of finding Mr Lumpy Bump.  Wednesday this week is the one year anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer, later known to be a Papillary Carcinoma, although Mr Lumpy Bump is a nicer name!!! 3 operations, 6 admissions to hospital and 4 days in isolation glowing in the dark after Radioactive Ablation has lead me to today.  And today entailed heading off to the John Hunter Hospital again today to see the man of small stature with the enormous brain, my Endocrinologist.  He has a non descript ascent and hand made suits and all the answers I needed. Unusually he was LATE today. He is normally right on time if not early, a real rarity in the public health system.

He had all the answers today. The last 5 sets of blood tests, the 3 CT scans,  the 2 Gamma Camera scans and the geiger counter results held the answer. But the answers fell short of the "C" word.  Cured. What he did say was I had "no distant metastasis" which means the radioactive ablation worked  where it was meant to and from that he knows that at this stage there is no spread of cancer.  The Radioactive Iodine did burn thru three places in my brain and it was only supposed to be one, but Doc thinks it is all still ok up there!  He still says cancer will return, but it could be YEARS not months away.

So now I have ongoing testing (blood tests and ultrasounds and scans) on a quarterly basis for the next 3 decades or longer, depending on MY useby date!

My plans to resign and get my hands on my superannuation are out the window.  No buying an Avan and racing off around Australia for me!   Plan B is work on for another few years and retire happy and healthy.  So that's where I am at.  Blood and organ donation are still a big fat no, so if you are fit and healthy and aren't registered then give it some thought and consider signing up.  Organ donation really is the last thing you will ever do and it is a good thing ........  give it some thought!

So now it is time to celebrate.  I think a shandy is called for ...... oh yeah I really live it up!

Just a simple pic as a thank you for reading this far.