Fanny Adams

G4E, I'm so sorry to hear that your back is not getting any better and that your health system seems to be letting you down. I really don't understand why your health system has so many loopholes and barriers within it, that make it so difficult for ordinary people to get decent coverage and decent help when they need it. As an outsider, it really does seem to need a major overhaul.

*Fanny, I love the little Silvereye pic too. Was that an adult? He's so tiny! And he looked quite comfy sitting there! Yes, that was an adult. They are very tiny birds - only 10cm (4") from beak tip to the end of their tail and probably only stand about 1.5 - 2" high. Chris's parents feed all the birds regularly to encourage them to come, but they put the feed for the Silvereyes inside an ordinary budgie/canary cage. The tiny Silvereyes just slip in and out between the bars as though they weren't there. It works really well to keep the bigger birds out, so the little ones keep coming. I'm going to use that trick at my new house WHEN I eventually get there. I have big plans of planting lots of native flowering bushes too, to encourage the native birds. We have so many beautiful birds here, even in the city suburbs.

@luluc re "fanny, great pics - how close are you able to get to those birds?" Thank you! Those were in the courtyard right outside the kitchen window. I was outside, sitting quietly on a chair and they were probably less than 15 ft away. I have a really good zoom in my new camera though. *heartfire: Thank you, also! I do love my birds and love the scenery here, so it's hard to take a "bad" photo. I just love that one of the Silvereye in amongst the hibiscus leaves. He looks so fluffed up and cozy and sweet!

Hi again. I hope everyone in the US had a happy 4th of July weekend! It's not a holiday here, of course, but I was away for the weekend anyway. I went "down south", which in Western Australia means I went to the south west corner of our state. Chris and I had to go and visit his Father, so that Chris could fix his Dad's computer. His Dad lives in a little coastal town about 300km south of Perth, called Augusta. We didn't see much of the town coz Chris was working on the computer a lot, but they do have a lovely back garden with lots of birds, so naturally I took photos!! These are the two that came out the best but the link at the bottom leads to the slideshow of all of them (not many this time). Red-capped parrot (he was backlit from the evening sky, so the pic isn't great, but he's a beautiful bird anyway): Silvereye (this bird is tiny! Only about 10cm from beak to tail tip): Slideshow linky All up, I saw: Red-capped parrots Ring-necked parrots Pink & grey galahs Silvereyes White-browed scrub wrens Splendid fairy wrens (although it wasn't breeding season so they were only just starting to show their colours) Western Spinebill Red wattlebirds White-cheeked honeyeaters New Holland honeyeaters Willy wagtails

While I'd love to meet you all and I was previously planning a trip to the US, I have far too much on my plate with the new house and renovations to even think about it for the next couple of years. I also have to save like mad for my plastic surgery in December and that's gonna take a fair chunk of change. I'll just have to live vicariously through you all and wish you the best for the trip.

Awww *pouts* I'm gonna be soooo jealous when you guys all get together You'll have to make hourly reports with photos for those of us who can't make it!

Hang in there Charli - it will get better! In the meantime, while you are still on liquids, try to vary the Sustagen with things like chicken, vegetable or beef broth (while you are still on clear liquids) or any of the cream/smooth Soups out there when you move to thick liquids. There are dozens available - just make sure you read the labels and pick the low fat/low calorie choices, coz some of them can be deceiving. Other options include any of the low fat/fat free yogurts or sugar-free jellies. If you are using Optisludge (yuk), one way to make it palatable is to add a tablespoon of diet icecream topping (strawberry, chocolate, caramel, etc). If you try to change up the flavours as much as you can, it is much easier to deal with the boredom of liquids only. When you get to thick liquids, try half a banana blended with 250ml of zero fat milk and a teaspoon of honey. It's low in calories (175) and fat and is REALLY filling! I can't stand the zero fat milk on its own (generally go for Hi-Lo), but you honestly don't notice it in a banana smoothie.

That's me to a tee: eating + chatter = stuck every time :thumbup:.

I really do feel for the partners of people who've had WLS. It must feel like walking a minefield sometimes and no wonder they don't say or do the "right" thing from time to time. Even with the best of intentions, they can often put their foot in their mouths and they must get to the point of thinking "I should just shut up and not say anything - it can't be worse than saying the wrong thing!" As much as I love the man I'm with, he's said a couple of things from time to time that have really hurt. When I stop to examine them, however, I realise that it is my own insecurities that are causing the pain, not his intentions. His tendency is towards the "brutal honesty" end of the scale, rather than the "tactful euphemisms" but sometimes even when he is trying to compliment, I can hear a criticism that was not intended. We have to keep remembering that as human beings, we naturally filter every thing that we experience through the sum of our memories and that this will colour what we think we see and hear.

Sorry to hear about your pain, G4E. I really hope you find some relief soon! I don't know much about your system but if you have no other avenue to a doctor, maybe the ER is the way to go to get immediate treatment. You shouldn't have to be suffering like this without any help from anywhere!

It is wonderful, isn't it? And yeah, I know the music, just wondering who else recognised it - well done! And any woman who is an AckerDacker fan is okay in my book!! *headbangs*

Totally cool video You don't need language to understand the meaning behind these pictures. The girl is an amazing talent! Does anyone else recognise the music used in the last half of video (from about 6 mins onwards)?

Congrats, Charli! You're going to be sore for a while but it will get better. You might not feel like it but trust us, walking is the best thing you can do for yourself at the moment. It will relieve the pain and minimise the shoulder tip pain that comes from the gas buildup in your abdominal cavity. The more you walk, the more/faster that dissipates and the better you will feel.

PJTP: Teething problems ... it's just teething problems ... bite your tongue and it will get better ... *grits teeth and chants*

Snakes rock!! When (note: not IF!!) I sell my house and move to my new place, I'm going to get a Stimsons Python for a pet. I can't wait!

Well the first day of work went well, although it turns out that a lot of the system analysis and set up work that I thought I'd be doing has already been done, so I may just end up with the boring part of the grunt work, so I'm not as excited as I was yesterday. That, however, may just be because I am seriously BUMMED about the news that I got this afternoon at 4:15pm, to say that my house sale has fallen through for the SECOND time for the same reason!! What the hell is wrong with people??? Do they really think that banks will make loans of over a third of a million dollars without checking up on the applicant's credit history??? Do they really think they can get away with that crap? Or do they just not care how many others it mucks about for them to take a stupid chance? ARRRGGGHHHH!!! Back to Square One *cries*

PJTP: About to set off on my first day at the new job. It feels weird leaving only 15 minutes before I'm due to start but the job is literally 5 minutes drive away, so I'll still be 10 minutes early. Wish me luck, people!

Hehe - I should break out the Strine more often but I'm not sure that I want to remind someone of their grandmother!

Love the t-shirt quote!!! Reminds me of my father's leather jacket back in his young hoon days . He rode a bike (BSA) in the late fifties and had the prerequisite black leather jacket, with the letters N.R.N.R.H. printed on the back. They stood for No Root, No Ride Home! If you know any Aussie slang, you'll understand why our family LOVES to tease my mother about the fact that she used to ride on the back of that bike! :thumbup:

CONGRATS Glouc!!! How exciting!! I know how you feel about wanting something but being scared of it at the same time, but remember - if it feels right, just do it!!

PJTP: I love love love being home again...

Words of wisdom there, Kat...

8 hrs without a post - don't tell me you all found something more interesting to do on a Saturday afternoon/evening, than to entertain me?? Say it ain't so!!

I suspect that for the most part the "sneak attack" is the result of ignorance, not lack of consideration. If a guy doesn't know better, he could be getting his only knowledge of anal from porn movies, where they don't bother to show you all the preparation that the girl has done before the film starts rolliing - it just looks like it slides right in there on the first attempt. Now I'm pretty sure that even for the pornstar women, it takes a bit of preparation but for those of us who don't make a living taking a huge one up the kaiber on a daily basis, it takes more than just a little!

Yikes, yes that would hurt more than the waxing!