My Heart - It Pays to Maintain Your Health

After the wedding on Monday 28th March, 2011, I went to my regular yearly appointment with my Cardiologist to check a problem with a leaky valve in my heart. I was referred to a Cardiologist by my GP two years ago after finding an irregular heart beat. I went to my GP and mentioned that I was tired more than normal and that my heart felt heavy and had some slight pain. I was monitoring any irregularities with my heart because my Mother had died from heart disease and both of my brothers had heart attacks. My oldest brother recently had quadruple bypass surgery. I wanted to make sure to avoid heart surgery by maintaining a healthy heart and to keep regular check ups. This wasn't to be. On the Monday after my echo-cardiogram my cardiologist advised it was time to operate. To get the process started he booked me in for two tests, a transoesophageal echo and an angiogram on Thursday 31st March. The first revealed how severe the leak was in my heart and the amount of damage to the mitral valve. The second test revealed my arteries were clear (no blockages). The next step, a surgeon visited and chatted to me about the details of my problem, the types of surgery and setting a date. The surgeon advised my mitral valve could be repaired and that I was eligible for keyhole heart surgery which is slightly a higher risk than open heart surgery. I have chosen this option and am due to have my operation towards the end of May. I am so thankful for medical advances, dedicated nurses, doctors and surgeons that give us a better quality of life. My mother may have been alive today as I think she may have had a similar condition. When she was in her fifties, I remember her mentioning that a doctor had noted to her after an x-ray, that she had a spot on her heart. She didn't investigate it further. If there is known heart disease in your family I would recommend to have heart health checks regularly. To all, stay safe, keep healthy and love life...God Bless.

My Son's Wedding to Ana Marquez

On the 26th March 2011, my one and only son married a beautiful Filipino lady named Ana. It was a beautiful wedding. Her uncles, aunts, cousins, sisters and friends made it an occasion that my husband and I will remember the rest of our lives. They worked hard and contributed to the wedding in their own special way. My son announced by SMS on the 19th February, 2011 while we were holiday in Perth that he and Ana had set a date for their wedding. It was not too much of a surprise for Ana's family or us as Dale mentioned in January that he was planning to get married. In just over four weeks, family and friends organised the Church, reception, flowers, cake, decorations, DJ and photographer. It was amazing and done on a low budget. The key element in the wedding plans for Dale and Ana was their love and closeness they have as a family. Thank you all, Gordon and I are truly grateful. 

Reception - tables and chairs decorated by Ana's family

A Tribute to Annie Matilda Wegner (My Grandmother)

I had coffee with my dear sister, Trissie. I was telling her about researching our genealogy. She shared with me about how she meet with our grandmother, Annie Matilda Wegner, when she lived near her at Fordsdale, Qld; and how she loved listening to her stories about her beginnings and history on the farm. I don't remember much about my grandmother. My grandmother died age 83. My brief memory when I visited her as a child, is that she worked hard managing a dairy farm. My grandfather died in 1952. I remember all the lovely cakes she would bake on her wood stove for the big morning teas on the dairy farm. She had nine children and lost the first in child birth as there were not many doctors in those days. I recall Mum telling the story often how it was a painful experience for her. On our birthdays, until she died, she would buy something for our glory box. I do not know what it is called today. It was something practical like tea towels, hand towels that she crotched and doilies. Even though they were unusual gifts for a child, I looked forward to receiving them as I felt the love, care and time she took in adding a special hand-made touch. They were always pretty colours too.

I asked my sister to share some of the stories my grandmother told her with me so I could write them down and add them to my genealogy history. She said she couldn't remember. At the right moment, I am sure she would remember just like I remembered the little snippets I have shared in my blog.

I would encourage others to share their family memories to keep your family and their spirits alive. They make a difference.

Special Events Golden Wedding

A keepsake of a Golden Wedding Event 23rd January 1998.
Read about my Mum's experience seeing a  UFO...extract below

Unusual Experiences

From early in life Joan seems to have had to come to grips with life’s realities in practical ways to cope and survive through good times and hard times.  In this same manner she has also accepted some unusual experiences which have occurred at times in her life.  One of these occurred at quite a young age.

When she was about 8 years old Joan was sent off to bring in the cows handy to the yard.  Walking around the creek to a higher position from which to get a better view, she then saw an unusual object in the shape of a vacuum cleaner.  It had flashing lights of red and green.  Joan ran across the cultivated land in terror.  After that she didn’t remember anything for awhile and when she came to it was nearly dark so she hurried home.  Her mother met her with a hurricane lantern and wanted to know where she had been.  Joan told her what she had seen and they went back to where the object had been.  All that was left was a burnt patch in the grass.

Gold Wed

Living in 21st Century

On a daily basis I am thankful that I have the opportunity to experience the technology that is available today. This morning I got up and used by Nintendo WII to measure my BMI (body, mass, index) and weight. I also  exercised using my WII fit Plus program. Later this morning, I will load my Fisher & Paykel dishwasher. Right now I am using my computer to write my blog. I own a TV that connects directly to UTube videos where you can educate yourself on just about anything. I have Foxtel and watch it on a 62" rear projection TV. I enjoy watching the old black and white movies which are fun to watch as they are crystal clear due to special software that upscales them to 1080p.

Back Row: Michael, Ross, Patrice (Trissie); 

Front Row: Jan (Jenny), Kaye, Bernie

When I was nine, we lived at Gatton, Australia. I remember getting up on a cold morning and sitting close to a wood stove to keep warm. My Mum used it daily to cook all our meals. She used a copper boiler to wash our clothes. She washed the dishes by hand. The house didn't have a hot water system so we boiled water to have a warm bath. We walked about 1km daily to school. We didn't watch much TV. I was one of six kids. We enjoyed ourselves playing in the yard. Dad made sure that we had a big yard to play in as he thought we were noisy inside. There wasn't a choice of toys. I remember it was fun back then too. Photo: Taken with one of the first Kodak instamatic camera-Kodak 100 instamatic
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instamatic
To add to the bottom of this time period, torn up newspaper was toilet paper and our toilet was an outhouse in the back yard. This meant sometimes walking a few metres in the dark of night for relief.

Introduction

I have decided to start a blog because it is a way of communicating with the world about my life in the 21st century. I am 54 years of age. Only God knows how long I will live to enjoy the rest of my life so I want to make the most of it and share my beliefs, experiences, ideas, journeys with you. I hope some people find it interesting or get something out of it to deposit into their bank of life. What gave me the idea to do it now...I went to my mother-in-law's funeral on Monday 08 November 2010. She was a lovely lady and kept a record of her journeys in life from 1935 to 2007. I would say she would have some interesting stories in her journey of life. Perhaps I will share some that you may find interesting with you.