Charlie's Bird
living the dream with Charlie and Thandi and chirping all the way back to the nest.Archive for September, 2009
Wicked wednesday
Sjoe! there was a lot of baby making 40 ish weeks ago! 3 on monday, 1 yesterday, 2 so far today, and another under construction… Today, as always was my theatre day, sang happy birthday twice, whipped out a uterus, and checked out a few girls’ insides, to the strains of Amy, Goldfish, Grey’s anatomy soundtrack (3) and a compilation album. Good morniong in theatre. Now I am just praying that my patient delivers before 3pm, when I am supposed to be getting my hair done…
Last night, Charlie and I had an unexpected date night, it really was great… We stopped in at the organic eatery again, and once again were not disappointed. My tum is not yet fully recovered, so I didn’t have a starter, he had pesto stuffed mushrooms on a nbed of greens, avo and peppers. Main was a seafood platter for me (kingklip – my best fish to eat; 2 prawns, 3 scallops, 2 mussels on a bed of stirfry veggies and rice) which was outstanding, and Charlie had the camambert fillet, which having tasted I can say was possibly the best fillet I have had out in years. For pud, Charlie had a slice of carrot cake, which he said was nearly as good as mine! And to drink, we tucked into a bottle of Raka Quinary, divine. And what a nice date we had, thimngs have been so busy, we sometimes forget to connect, so it was nice to just slow things down, catch up, and remember how much we love each other. You’re the best, my magnificent man!
Bangles Monday
“Just another manic monday, wish it were sunday…”
That’s what I am having, 2 babies so far, another on the way, and generalised chaos in the rooms… Argh… anyway, at least the day has gone quickly! And can you believe it, I am starting to see patients who are due in May next year – oh my shrieking nerves – time is moving so very fast! 3 new pregnancies were diagnosed today ,and when the computer said they were due in May, I did a double take, almost doubted it, and then realised that May is just 32 weeks away (more or less). That’s terrifying!
I had a good weekend, despite being on call. I sang “Happy Birthday” to 2 babes, a boy and a girl. I always hope that one day 2 of my babies will hook up, and their parents will tell the story about how they met in hospital, lying in neighbouring beds… silly I know. Aside from babies, I have finally finished my wedding scrapbook (!), really chuffed to have done that; did a bit of baking, it was Charlie’s Dad’s birthday on sunday, so I made him a carrot cake, personally I think my carrot cake beats most of the ones I’ve had out on the town, its moist, tasty, has a few ingredients that elevate it to a new level, and the icing is magnificent (if I say so myself), hope father-in-law enjoyed it! Shame, he’s had a rough year, and I think tends to feel a little neglected, so its nice to do something special for him.
Later yesterday I got to have coffee with my aunt. She is my last remaining aunt, on either side; I used to have such a special relationship with her when I was a little tot, unfortunately family politics got in the way, and we were estranged for many years, and its only been the last 2 years that her and my dad have reconciled, and we are slowly getting to know one another again, I’m so pleased about that, and it was great to see her again. She’s in town for the week, so I’m hoping to see her again before she goes back to Mthatha.
4 more sleeps before I am off for a couple of days. I have a conference in CT, and Charlie and I are going to make a stop in the Baviaanskloof on the way. We went there on honeymoon, and it was so magnificent, I have been dying to go again, the best part of it, is there is no cell phone reception, so you will have to wait for an update when we get into CT. I am really looking forward to catching up with all my CT mates, there’s been lots of plotting and planning over what we will get up to, its going to be amazing! Yay!
Friday fussiness
FrIday always seems like such a let down when I am on call for the weekend, it means I don’t really get very excited about it… and today is one of those days… Not much excitement in the rooms, no in patients, so just another day.
Charlie and I managed to sneak out for lunch at this cool little organic eatery, it was all a bit disasterous, they misplaced our order, and by the time I needed to be back in the office we were still waiting, but I appreciated that they agreed to package it as a take away, and didn’t charge us! So Charlie waited and brought my ultradelish grilled chicken burger to me. It was on a divine ciabatta roll, with this cool tomato salsa stuff all over it, seriously heavenly. And its all good for me, organic, free-range, who’s your aunty kinda thing.
Given the on callness, nothing has been planned for the weekend, just a quiet one, with some scrapbooking, and maybe some gardening.
Updating
On the tummy front, the surgeon says I either have a severe gastritis or a small peptic ulcer, and since the treatmnt is the same, he didn’t feel the need to stick a camera down my throat. So I got some new meds, and lets see how that goes. I still feel pretty shocking, but not as rough as last week.
On the social side, we had some friends over today, Charlie put some lamb chops (marinated in garlic, lemon and rosemary) and steak (beer and paprika marinade) on the braai, and our house overflowed with the laughter and noise of 9 adults and 9 kids. The one couple have triplets, so that’s where all the kids come from. But what a fun day we had. I was a lazy cook today, and had everyone bring and share something.There was a potato salad (that I made), a green salad with peppers, mushrooms and blue cheese, stuffed peppers, cuban corn on the cob (corn doused in melted butter, then sprinkled with parmesan and herbs – yum), fresh bread and cheese. Pavlova was for afters, too delish! There was copious amounts of wine, can’t remember the names, but an interesting mix. So I now have a very full tummy… And a broken bird bath and P lost a salad bowl. Good day!
Last night I couldn’t sleep (no idea why) and I got stuck into and finished a bookclub book, Paths of Glory by Jeffery Archer. I couldn’t put it down, its all about George Mallory who made the first & second attempt on Everest, it so very interesting, and such a sad story, with a touch of hope to it too. Definitely recommended.
The body revolteth
I’m not even sure that’s a word, but my body has revolted, and left me feeling revolting, off to the tummy specialist tomorrow, hopefully he can make me better. Sorry chaps, hopefully I’ll soon be chirpy again.
Reclaiming myself
Finally, my body has begun to recover from all that has beset it in the last few days, my nose is still painful, and my tummy still a bit sensitive, but it’s definitely recovering. And what a relief that is, I was getting a bit desperate for a decent night’s sleep uninterrupted by pain and cramps, and last night it arrived. I felt like I could positively walk on air when I woke up this morning; and what a magnificent morning it was. There wasn’t a breathe of wind, some gorgeous sunshine, chirping birds (ok, cawing bloody hadeda’s) and fresh coffee. Beautiful!
We’ve had a very quiet weekend, I wanted to recover, as mentioned. I did some scrapbooking on saturday, that wedding album might be finished in time for our first anniversary (today is in fact 9 months since we got married – smooches to Charlie, he’s the best!), had a quiet saturday afternoon and evening, and today, lunch at C&A’s (on the menu, Nelson’s fillet, roasted veggies and chocolate mousse – delish; wine was the Barista’s Pinotage – very nice!) a visit to Charlie’s parents and a collapse on the couch, with a DVD and some smarties. Have you also noticed these new, no artificial colour smarties? They’re just not the real thing, it’s quite sad, the “soet doppie” isn’t as crunchy and it just feels like they’re missing something. Sad, isn’t it?
The move seems to be getting exciting, Taken, starring Liam Neeson, better focus.
Better day
Well, today is a better day, at least. A bit of sleep helps, and at least the pain in my tummy is a bit better. Not gone, so one of my pleasures is a bit diminished, eating…
Cooking club last night was a fish evening, it was lovely. Starters they did grilled salmon with an avocado salsa; Mains was a Bouillabaisse (fish soup) which was spicy and delicious, Pud was a rather spectacular frozen cheesecake, yummy! Wine was a varied selection, too many to mention, conversation was interesting, cramps were persistent, so all in all, not a bad evening.
This weekend, got some relaxing, some scrapbooking, some chillin’ planned. Feeling very much like hibernation, too stretched to entertain, and I really had planned to, so sorry, all of you waiting for dinner invites, coming soon, I hope!
Spare a thought for J, a scared little boy awaiting a biopsy result, we’re praying for good news! on monday he was found to have a lump in his tummy, and they’re not sure what has caused it, so we await the results of a biopsy done yesterday. Hang in there, RT, we’re thinking of you too.
Sleep
So, my grumps didn’t improve, given my deteriorating gastritis, so my nurse sent me home for the afternoon, for that she gets the hero status of the day! I crashed on the couch, and have just woken up, feeling decidedly more human. Charlie has brought me a cup of tea, and the world seems a better place.
Sleep really is an elusive thing for me, I have begun to dread the nights now. Most commonly I fall asleep ok, but then I wake up and the demons are there, the brain goes into overdrive, and thoughts whorl around, and sleep is a memory. Sometimes when I do manage to sleep, I dream that I am awake, trying to sleep, so when I wake up, I am shattered from the exerience of ‘trying to sleep’ all night. Argh, this is what private OBGYN has done, ruined the one brain escape. When I was specialising, we did calls from the hospital, and when we were on call, it was a nightmare, because you ran most of the night, but when you got home, your bed was your refuge, and sleep was restorative, no calls, no bother. Now, I am available to my patients 24 days a month, give or take, and the phone rings anytime, it doesn’t matter if you had a bad night the night before, you’re still on call, and the phone will ring again.
Last night with L, we ate at the barking bistro, totally delicious and divine. We shared some of God’s ambrosia, Diemersfontein pinotage, and each had the beef fillet, with caramalised onion, on a bed of mash. Pudding for both of us was the churrio’s (spanish donuts) – heavenly! We had a good catch up, I must say, we haven’t in a while, so spilled all the beans on our families and trials of daily living. Good therapy.
Tonight is cooking club. I’m interested to see what we’re eating, it’s sure to be good.
Grumps
They’re like the mumps, but easier to treat, can be tickled away….
Gosh, I am grumpy at the moment, poor Charlie and my nurse, they are on the receiving end of it all, while I hang on by fingernails in front of the patients. My nose hurts, burnt my lip on supper the other night, and now have gastritis developing from the anti-inflammatories I need to get through the day…
Anyway, I won’t subject my readers to the grumps, or at least try not to. Last night had some Chinese take out for dinner, we got distracted, and didn’t get organised, so sweet&sour chicken and shang hai steak with noodles it was, not my best take out, but it’ll do. No wine yesterday… Tonight, I’m having a girl’s night out with a PE friend, L, not sure what we will get up to yet, but will let you hear all about it tomorrow! And hopefully the grumps will be better, or maybe Charlie will manage to cure them for me! Love that man!
Slow day
Do you have those, days that seem to move so slowly, it feels like you’re swimming in syrup, ala Mythbusters experiments this weekend? Well today is one of those, I know I took my vitamins last night, it just doesn’t feel like I did. The patients are also misbehaving today, and there have been a few that haven’t pitched, making it go all the more slow.
Charlie and I had a great evening yesterday, I had a bit much wine, (Scarborough Red, since you ask) and relaxed properly, so there was a good amount of hilarity and laughter. We watched some good TV, there is a great show on SABC2, Shorelines, that has a group of peeps, including a marine biologist, historian, eco dude, Max du Preez and a cool presenter and his dog, travelling along southern africa’s coast, they started in Namibia, and this week were in the Eastern Cape, very cool local content, lots of history, myths and facts. Its the kinda thing I’ll make my imaginary children watch one day. And then plan the holiday to show them the spots too.
Supper last night was my variation on my mom’s fish pie, a first attempt for me, and it was yummy, even if I say so myself, again, the whole homefood comfort thing, always good. Tonight, I think it’ll be pasta, but we’ll see what Charlie and I feel like when tonight rolls around.
Charlie's Bird 