Queen Milly

 
Milly was almost 14 and had some arthritis but was generally happy. Last weekend she took a downturn and by Monday she had stopped eating and refused to be touched. It was obvious it was not arthritis, most likely it was the osteosarcoma that afflicts a huge number of greyhounds.

At 11am I called for a home euthanasia. It was scheduled for 4-6pm. Over those few hours of waiting it became unbearable to watch and I called the vet twice to try to get them here quicker.

In the space of six weeks I have buried my father, lost my job and started another, got my mother into aged care and  made the call to farewell my dog.

Sometime recently I read that life is loss and I thought the writer was overstating it a little bit but I'm rethinking that.

Milly was a sweet, sweet old girl who knew her own mind. She loved an ice cream or a plate of human food much more than the best kibble and sardines. She would employ the "paw of more" in a quest for unending pats.

She was beautiful and dignified and I miss her. 

Kiss Cam

 

This topic has been done to death and there's a bunch of great comedy revolving around this event. 

I just have two things to say:

People are saying they would have got away with it if they hadn't acted so guilty but honestly, in a crowd of 80 000, even if they had brazened it out, there would have been someone who saw the screen and recognised them.

How come nobody thinks it's weird that he's holding her boobs in public? It doesn't matter if the couple is legitimate or not, I just think that grabbing her boobs in public is quite odd.

Pete's Post

Well my longed for break didn't happen the way I had hoped but maybe the latest development in the story of my life will be a break done different.

I managed to transition from my job in the uniform shop to an admin position in aged care. I am working full time this week to try to learn as much as I can then it's down to two days a week.

The young woman who is in the role now wanted to reduce hours so she will stop working tuesdays and thursdays and I will take those hours. Hello long weekends, I say!

So far there's just a mind blowing amount to learn and it's a bit overwhelming but I can do it.

This week a resident came to the office to speak to my colleague. I noticed the chaplain placed himself between the old man and the young woman. Interesting.

The old man asked if the administrator could call his son. 

The reply was sweet and almost charming, a perfectly nice "I called but he didn't pick up"

There was a little grumbling about the miserable son and my colleague showed some steel when she said "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree"

There was a bit more chatter and then the old man pulled an envelope from his bag and handed it over "can you post this?"

It was addressed 

NSW ART GALLERY

There were no other details and no stamp. I thought it was a very nice service for residents but wondered how much work was put into correcting addresses.

The old man said thanks and goodbye then wandered off.

My colleague opened a drawer full of similar envelopes and added the newest one to the pile.  

Our letter writer has some dementia and writes strange notes, then adds the business card of the centre manager, who has taken a number of calls from confused or offended members of the public. So, no more posting things for *Pete.

*Name changed for the purpose of privacy and alliteration