flashman181

So, finally got in to see orthopod 1 – lets call him Dr Kneedy – a month ago and general concensus was yeah its on the way out but if not too painful 24/7 suck it up Princess and these helpful words only cost $220. Bargain. As he was so approachable I asked about my ankle. Ok, that needs to be fixed. Whew. When can we do that ? Ah no I dont do ankles you need Orthopod 2 next door – lets call him Dr Wankle. And I guess that will be another $220 ? He just smiled and wrote out a referral for a visit and a new xray.

Saw Dr Wankle last week and maybe should have been on alert when I walked in and saw

Ok have looked at xrays and that looks painful. No shit Sherlock. There are 3 things we can usually do

1. Nothing – how did that work out for ya the last 40 years ?
2. Replace joint – not possible in your case – too far gone (not first time have heard that)
3. Final offer – fuse the ankle

So basically, crawl back out or accept final offer ? Yep. Oh so what does a fusion entail? Pain and a lot of rest afterwards but will be able to walk much easier because your wallet will be a lot lighter. Gotta love orthopod humour. “I call it Grind n Bind for short. Have you ever seen a carpenter fix a wonky leg on a coffee table? Basically some chiseling , some grinding, some smoothing and then a shitload of screws and a plate”

“Will I still be able to pass through Airport security?”

“Well, not quickly” Fucking orthopod humour.

“How about golf?”

“Well your short game will still be good, it will just include your tee shots now” He was on a roll, so gave up

Basically 6 weeks in plaster and then 4 weeks at least in a moon boot. I rang Elon Musk (well at least tweeted him) to book my space flight but he suggested I may need to boost my hospital cover to be

Discussed with CLP as she will be Nursey Mercy and she seemed overjoyed with the prospect of me living there for 6-10 weeks. At least I think they were tears of joy

So we have a trip to Melbourne next month for 10 days and then we line up on June 2nd for the slice and dice. Seemed best to do in winter when cooler and wont be so frustrated looking at pool and not being able to swim. Means cancelling short solo trip to Sydney but the way Qantas operate these days that was always a 50/50 chance anyway eh. Does mean for Xmas in July at YabbaDabbaDo I will be waited on hand and foot like a Roman Emperor so not all bad …..

Speaking of Offers, Paramount have released a 10 episode limited series on the troubled making of The Godfather called ….. wait for it…… The Offer. I knew of many of the problems with local “family” and casting but this seems a tad embellished even with Ruddy involved. The casting is spot on though so well worth a watch

10 episodes, 10 weeks ……. spooky eh.

And a new Festivus was born. No Poles seen but a few Italians were lurking with intent. As is the tradition each year the Della clan descend on The Poderosa @ Flashman Inc for varied periods over Easter but always full attendance at Saturday lunch. The weather forecast was promising so I ducked down a day early to make sure

Satisfied it would be suitable for any and all campers then did a quick mow of the property while CLP set about cooking to plan. Eskies were packed with alcohol and ice and mints left on pillows for the woosy boys taking the indoor option .

First arrivals then were RJER with their new Caravan in tow. An impressive looking home away from home indeed. Then BC2 and Quinn rolled up while T&B followed shortly after with their camper van just in time for lunch

The weather was holding beautifully if a tad on the cool side . I could see some Flannos in my near future

Not a lot of swimming was done that day despite a it being a glorious looking day . Basking in the sun was ok but getting out of the pool was brisk . Guess we could sit around and have a drink ? That’s the arvo taken care off so let’s just gaze at the full moon as it rises so we can go to bed and start again tomorrow

Another glorious day dawned and time to set up for the midday feast before the horde descends. We are old hands , and even older bodies, at this caper now and soon the table was set while CLP worked up a lather in the kitchen . I was on coffee duty so was full of beans as usual

We sat down for a wonderful meal with all attendees present . There was plenty to drink, eat and drink and frivolity ensued. The deconstructed Pav was a particular treat

I had cleverly set up the table in close proximity to the 3 Vintec Wine fridges and the sense in this soon became apparent when the two bottles Ant bought were quickly consumed and it was still daylight . Rick was put in charge of choosing after Ant took at least 2 minutes to choose the first Amaranta. Wisely Rick just decided to work his way down from the top left shelf. Simplicity is always my first principle too. Somehow we then had to make it out to the relaxing chairs outside so …….. you know we could have a relaxing drink. It was only going to be leftovers for dinner so not a lot of planning required. Then Rick bought out the special Rums and the rest of the night was a blur. I did make it to bed but to be fair was only one screen door to deal with

This morning then of course was a special day especially for the girls . It was still dark when we heard the first noises so CLP quickly ducked out of bed. Not a smart move in hindsight

There was a knock on the door and there were the Munchkins ready to hunt

Suitably pleased with their haul the rest of us settled in for a lovely hot cooked breakfast by Ant . There were a few spots of rain as the campers prepared to pack up and leave. As always it was a lovely couple of days with too much eating and drinking but we only do it once a year. Deasterella that is …. The eating and drinking will resume next gathering at ADJG next month for Claude’s 92nd birthday . This just left the cleaning up to do. It wasn’t that hard

It’s been a busy few weeks with a couple more ahead. Back down to Brisvegas for a few days as CLP is house sitting in Wilston so thought would try bar stool sitting just down the road for a few.

A day or two first twisting by the pool . And by twisting I mean as in beer bottle tops. Simply glorious day but the doom and gloom merchants were getting their crayons ready for Easter forecasts.

Next day then off to Brisvegas and check in first on Family Matriach at Carseldine. Back in the Aged Care home now and mostly peaceful I guess but still sad to see the deterioration. Then onto our lodgings for next few days . We have some family affairs to attend on weekend but first up let’s roll down the hill and jam with Fritzen again. I hear it’s happy hour . It was . You can tell by my smile eh

Across the road Frogger style after a few sherbets ( and 50c wings!)for some din din at Mings Mings and some great Vietnamese tucker highlighted by some Wasabi prawns. I am putting this out there too fans, Pork Belly is overrated . You heard it here first .

Thursday dawned a little cloudy as predicted . Todays plan then was to head on down to Redcliffe for the morning and catch-up with some Bee Gees and maybe a large seafood platter hopefully in that order because those boys can eat. Well at least the living one. This involved some trains and buses and maybe some hobbling at the end. The ankle is struggling at present and maybe because of all the driving. Or maybe because it is fucked 🤔 You be the judge – assuming of course you are a Radiologist and have great eyesight and a magnifying glass.

It was a surprisingly long train short on people for a long trip. An hour later we arrived at Kippa Ring and sauntered to bus stop and then off we went in search of some coastline. This only left one question then …

Yes we are. It was windy and the sea was a tad riled but a pleasant walk followed by a surprisingly good coffee filled in an hour nicely . You know, between buses

Then it was onto bustling Redcliffe and down Abba Avenue , across Beatles Boulevard and into Bee Gees Way. it started to rain but only a few Spicks and Specks so no Tragedy even if on Holiday before First of May. This is why they say I am More than a Woman deserves….

Then it was down to the waterfront and take a short walk on a long pier. I may be a bit confused there 🤔 The weather was still behaving itself and while I wouldn’t be jumping in the water anytime soon it is a lovely esplanade

This only left one task to complete our odyssey and that was to point some wood at a jetty . Another bus ride then and we were ready to tuck into some lunch by now. The Belvedere is renowned for their Seafood Hamper for two so quickly sent CLP to the jetty while I hooked in. Sadly she came back so had to share the meagre portions 🤠

Certainly worth a crack but while ample in size it lacked a certain quality – something I have never heard luckily . We steered clear of the oysters in particular and tried most of the rest and certainly kept stomach from growling. At least until later tonight maybe 🤞

We still had another 90 mins of public transport with the luckily sparse GU so will sign off now . A relatively quiet day tomorrow before Toowoomba on Saturday

In the meantime has anyone heard if Tiger is playing in The Masters ? It’s impossible to find any news about it……