So, how was your day?

[Doolhof]

I've had a busy kind of day that went very well. I have managed to work, go for a swim, had lunch in a park, enjoyed a coffee and biscuits with a client and looked at the second hand tent we have just bought ourselves.

I went down to the chook house to check on my "ladies" and had a chat with them while they clucked away waiting for me to feed them. I also had a look to see where we can set the tent up in the garden this weekend to try it out. I'm already thinking of places nearby where we can go camping. I will also ask my sister and nieces if they would like to join me sometime.

Please feel free to contribute and share how you have spent your day.

Cheers for now from Mrs. Dools

[Doolhof]

Dear Indra,

Hi. It would be lovely to be able to catch up in person and meet your boys, but that is not how things work here at Beyond Blue and fair enough. So you will just have to tell me more about them here through our posts!

We know a family with 4 children aged 6 to about 16 and like spending time with them. Their two boys both have autism, not too badly though. I used to work in Vacation Care where we had a few children with various needs. One boy with autism could hardly talk at all, about all he could say was his name.

My husband and I still go tot he kids movies by our selves sometimes. It is more fun with children though!

My sister in law...yes I think she is very controlling, as is her Father and my husband unfortunately and my Mother in Law too. They are all certainly tarred with the same brush!

Do you have some friends you can catch up with Indra? People who make you feel happy when you are with them?

I'm going to call a couple of ladies I know and see if they want to join me Wednesday morning in a quaint country café in an old Church. I'm not working that morning so it will be an opportunity to do something different.

Thinking of you and hoping you have some nice things planned for the day.

Hugs of care and hope for your future, cheers from Lauren

[Indra]

Hi Lauren,

I do understand BB policy and the anonymity of it all, what I had said was more a figure of speech.  Apologies if I offended.

More turmoil here at the moment - more family related - they all tend to lean on me during a crisis - never the other way around.

Take care of yourself,

Indra 

[Doolhof]

Hi Indra,

Oh dear! You have not offended me at all! I certainly understand your figure of speech. It would be wonderful if we as people in general could catch up and support each other in person.

It would be excellent if friendships could be fostered outside of the site and be just as true and meaningful in "real life".

Sometimes we find that we really connect with someone and appreciate their contact and friendship.

I was just acknowledging the way this site runs. I have never been on a different forum so don't know what their general rules are.

Sometimes it is so very easy for the written word to be misconstrued as well!

Sorry to read you have found yourself involved in more family troubles. I do so hope you are able to help out, and also find the strength you need for yourself and your boys!

Cheers for now, from Lauren

[Indra]

Hi Lauren,

I hope you have been well and that you have been successful with what has been going on for you.

Sorry for the delay in response - it has been a little chaotic here. My mum ended up in hospital again and my little one and I just got back today. My mum is on the mend but finds it hard to sit still! I felt like the parent. I cooked tea for my parents and helped out around the house. My little one had a ball playing with his 6 year old cousin. My niece and miniman are very close and played, made a lot of noise and held hands for most of the visit! The only hassle was where the live in the country, the internet reception isn't very good!

Previous to that - I thought I had internet problems over the weekend - it turned out that my ex had hacked my account and had locked me out!!  I got it fixed and is now all secure - the IT guy at the service provider was very helpful and I gave him a laugh anyway. I also found out in the last few days that my ex had been cheating on me prior to leaving the relationship. That was a little hurtful - but he has gone and I am now moving on. This has been the first positive for me in quite awhile!

I can't wait for Friday - my eldest son will be home again - we have missed him dearly! It will be a bit of a rough night getting him re-settled but it will be worth it.

Did you end creating something with your shells last weekend? Hope it went well if you did - I am very craft challenged - so far me I would have to buy the craft or get my mum to make it lol

Wishing you well, and it is nice to actually smile for a change,

Cheers,

Indra

[Doolhof]

Hi Indra,

Lovely to hear from you again. Sounds like you have had a bit of a busy time there! Hope your Mum and Dad are okay now.

I'm sorry to read about your ex and the things he was up to. I don't want to worry you at all, but are there other things he could have interfered with before he left? I suppose if there were any more problems with anything, they would have surfaced by now.

My week has not been all that pleasant emotion wise. I am trying to secure an appointment with a mental health professional but it is not proving easy to do so.

After many phone calls I now have an appointment with a person in the city...an hour's drive away from us. There just is no one available in our region. This appointment is for the end of the month so hopefully I can keep balanced until then. Ha. Ha.

I'm trying to use the skills I have learnt over the years and try to make the most of each day.

When I can't manage something, then oh dear, I will try and achieve that thing tomorrow or next week.

My craft project with the shells is a little like that. I have now managed to paint them all and I hope to varnish them tomorrow.

Yesterday I took myself out to lunch. One of the local hotels has a salad and vegetable selection that is less than $10.00 so I had a very healthy lunch. Felt a little weird sitting there by myself, but it didn't matter. I didn't have a lot of time between clients anyway.

After work today I took a book down to the garden and sat there reading for a while as I kept a bit of an eye on the chooks while they roamed around. The darn things really don't like going back to their house when I am ready for them to do so! Ha. Ha.

You mentioned you are craft challenged, that is okay. We all have things we are good at and then those things that we just don't do quite as well. Singing is one of those things for me. Ha. Ha.

Even when I was running a playgroup, one of the kids asked me to stop singing as I was hurting her ears. Ha. Ha. I thought that was hilarious!

I hope the reunion on Friday goes well with your older son and that he soon settles again.

Hope you have some nice things planned for the weekend.

Cheers for now, from Lauren

[thisaquarian]

Good morning and Happy Friday to all! 🙂 I'm very glad that it's almost the weekend...I just have to get through a big day at work today... Looking forward to going on a walk with some new friends tomorrow morning at a nearby park. It has big hills etc and I'm quite unfit... will be a good challenge for me.  

Indra: I hope that your mum is doing okay again. I'm sure your mum really appreciated everything that you did for her - I think there's something really special in being able to care for your parents.  

Mrs Dools: (I love that name!) I hope that you can keep balanced until your appointment - we can all help you here.  Well done on taking yourself out for lunch 🙂 You deserve it. I sometimes take myself out for lunch or coffee, and I enjoy sitting there by myself, either reading or people watching, or eating mindfully. I hope that you enjoyed it.  I have done other things by myself too such as going to the movies.  Instead of thinking of it as lonely (my partner was working away at the time) I thought of it as a date with myself... I enjoyed it... I just saved up my commentry from the previews before the movie, to a phone call later. 🙂

Hope everyone else has a lovely Friday! 🙂

[Indra]

Hi Lauren,

Hope you survived the wild and wooly weather of the weekend! It certainly was cold! I think the boys and I are beginning to get cabin fever being cooped up for several days. Dvds and toys only get you so far! Even the cat hasn't ventured outside too much and normally I can't get him in at night lol

I have had some good days - but yesterday I took a gigantic nosedive. It is very draining and I feel bad, as I was a little snappy at the boys. I took a minute outside - and tried to get calm again. They can sense when I am not too happy, they seem to want to cuddle me more.

My parents are on the mend - just need to relax a bit more - I think my Dad isn't enjoying retirement too much!

As for my ex, I had made sure that I had changed other things over (financial, passwords etc), I hadn't thought of the internet side before then - he used to do all of it - I think it was more of a retaliation. He chose to go! I have heard he is interstate now - his Aunt messaged me. Whether he is or isn't, I feel now that chapter is closing in my life.

Big hug for you Lauren - I am sorry your week has had some emotional upheaval. Getting appointments is very frustrating in the public health system. Not to mention if you are rural as well. I am glad that you are trying to stay positive though - sometimes tomorrow can't come quick enough!!

Lovely to hear that your shell project is coming along - do you have a design in mind of what you would like to create?

What a bargain with the counter meal and why not treat yourself!! I agree with you on sitting by yourself in a restaurant/pub for a meal does feel a little weird. You'll need to bring a book or magazine next time lol They way technology is today, I would have been doing something on my phone to pass the time lol

That sounds lovely that you have a spot in your yard where you can sit and read - my yard is a little small for that and if it was daytime - I would get interrupted every 2 minutes by my miniman! Yes, chooks certainly have a mind of their own - most animals get stubborn like that, including us humans haha

The boys and myself are traveling back to my parent's on Wednesday, just for a day visit this time, so my eldest can spend some time with the grandparents. Both boys like looking at my mother's pond - an old bathtub in the second backyard that has goldfish - but when I mean goldfish - they are huge! She has had them for years and all of the grandkids enjoy feeding them. My parents are right on the water, so they get a god view of the native waterbirds around. The pelicans are reasonably friendly - I think because they get fed from time to time.

Must go and start the day - just enjoying the quiet, before the two sleeping beauties arise!

Hope this week is a better one for you Lauren - hang in there, the end of the month isn't too far away!

Cheers,

Indra

[Indra]

Hi ThisAquarian,

Thank you for the well wishes. My mum is on the mend a little - she has a lot of ongoing issues - but is stable at the moment.

My parents did enjoy the dinner that I made - it was just a matter of keeping them out of the kitchen! I guess I am the one the seem to rely on - I do have siblings.

Hope your walk went well at the park - I can get back in to the gym/walking once school holidays have finished!

Thank you for saying hi!

Cheers,

Indra

[Doolhof]

Hi This Aquarian,

Thanks for your encouragement. I am usually a much more upbeat person than I am at present! I've recently needed to come of some antidepressant medication because the side effects for me were horrendous.

The worst being falling asleep quite suddenly while driving! I actually had a couple of mini lapses of consciousness where I woke up as the car was driving into the dirt on the other side of the road! Not a good idea at all. That and the intense muscle and joint pains were ridiculous.

I'm now waiting for an appointment with a psychiatrist for ideas on a new medication. One I tried before made me really agro. I managed to get a lot of house cleaning and gardening done while on that medication thanks to all the energy. Ha. Ha.

I made an emergency mental health appointment at the Drs today and the lady Dr I saw wanted to put me into hospital. Part of me knows that is the best place for more right now.

Problem is I am the one working in our marriage and if I don't work I don't get paid.

I feel like I am stuck between a rock and  hard place. The Dr today gave me some pills to help me chill out until I can see my own Dr. next week so I will see what happens between now and then.

I still looked for the positives to day. I had a nice time in the pool this morning. My client in the morning was very happy to see and gave me a hug when I left. The Dr was nice after she had given me a lecture about needing to go to the hospital.

We had some much needed rain and the sun shining through the clouds was gorgeous. I smiled to myself at the antics of some lambs I saw in a paddock on my way home. Then enjoyed watching The Voice with my husband and had a phone call from a girlfriend who really cares for me.

I too often go places by myself and make the most of it.

Hope you had a good weekend.

By the way, Doolhof is a Dutch word meaning maze or puzzle, that is what life seems like at times for me. Sometimes I just need to find the right direction to travel to find my way to the exit, where I can then burst out into the world again and experience something new!

Cheers form Mrs. Dools

[Doolhof]

Hi Indra,

Thanks for all your news. Yes, the weather sure has been cold and a little bleak. Usually winter is my favourite time of year, but with the blues inside of me, the blues on the outside are a little too dark right now.

Trying to secure an appointment is being a little tedious. I was proactive over the weekend and pointed out q a few mental health questionaries so people really get how I am feeling as I am not always good at expressing how bad things really are.

I took copies of the information in for my GP today and posted some off to the intended psychiatrist I am hoping to see...when he eventually receives one of the three referrals my Dr has sent to him.

Mean time I have been making some healthy soup, have plans now to draw designs on the painted shells and will then varnish them. I was going to start that tonight then my friend phoned and we had a chat for about an hour.

My fine line painting skills are rather lousy, so a black texta is a good alternative! Ha. Ha.

I borrow a couple of books today from the library on stress, depression and anxiety. One looks very interesting and has a one page description of how people from around the world find a sense of calm. I hope to start reading it tomorrow.

Some of the ideas mentioned are "horse keeping" not sure about that one. The last horse I rode tried to throw me off. Ha. Ha.

Growing Bonsai or a herbal garden, having a bath with hot rocks tipped in along with herbal leaves and bark...apparently a specialty in Bhutan! Drumming is also mentioned, as is Chinese water Calligraphy, chanting, worry dolls and doing the tango to name a few.

Certainly sounds like a few interesting choices there!

I really do need to make the time to do some things that make me feel better about myself and life in general. I'm usually up at 5.30 a.m. anyway. I don't think I want to get up at 5.00! It isn't light until 7.00 anyway!

We are very lucky, we have lots of spots to sit in the garden. Problem is the traffic noise is bad 24 hours a day and the neighbours dog barks now even when I open the back door.

Hope you have a good day at your parent's on Wednesday and the boys enjoy themselves too.

One of my older friends told me her grandson caught all of her goldfish one day and lay them out to dry in the sun because they were wet! Oh dear!

Thanks for keeping in touch and for the encouragement!

Cheers from Lauren