Err, hello, I'm Shel and I'll be your blog host today...

I apologise for my lack of update; things around here have been beyond ridiculous.

Dad: has been in and out of hospital since my last post. They are talking dialysis (cleaning out the toxins in the blood by pulling it out, cleaning it and putting it back again) if this keeps on going. We have ditched the first specialist and now have a new Liver specialist and a gastroenterologist. Things aren't looking up or down; they are just looking. So, whilst they are just that, so will I be.

House; is almost ready for market. The photographer will be here Monday week, so it's been very much 'sorting, moving, packing and prettying'. I do have some photos of each room 'before' and very soon I will take some of 'after'. The painter has finished inside (except for whatever I write on my list between now and Thursday) and only has a little bit of the outside to do (because Grant will not have time to finish). It's come up well; hell, if I wasn't selling it, I'd buy it!!

Kids; gosh, considering what has been going on around here of late, the kids have been awesome. House full of wet doors? No problem. Mum stressed over one thing or another? Eeasy. They are both good kids at the end of the day - Riley is getting another award at school on Monday. I will be unable to attend, but it worked beautifully that G will be able to.

Today we take some stuff to mum and dads (only for storage, we're minimising the pictures/trinkets etc), drop into work to pick up a few bits and pieces and then we're home to clean out the shed, polish the floors and continue prettying/cleaning.

Our final home run will include cleaning up outside, getting some pretty little plants to brighten up the place and the RE comes over Sunday to pick up keys.

We haven't even started looking; I refuse to start that until I finish this. So, one more week.

There's been a bit of an 'incident' with G's family. There are 4 families (plus G's parents) and in total there are 12 children. Each year, we have been buying Christmas presents for all of them; and as more came, it was starting to get ridiculous. So, at Christmas, the 3 girls and 1 husband (because the 4th wife didn't come up that time) discussed the idea of Kris Kringle for the children. That way, they would all get something more substantial (durable!!) and not 18 things that are made in China and break in 3 days. All good; what a good idea etc etc.

This week, I put forward who had who for the KK. 4th wifes husband hasn't told her, and she feels 'it's more personal to give all the kids presents and I'm still upset we don't do it for the adults'. Because, you know, what you need is more shit you don't need. Then I receive another email from 4th wife telling me that '3rd wife didn't realise it was for the children, she thought it was for the adults and she doesn't want to do it either'. Which is a complete load of rot, because we all discussed it in depth. But, hey, if she wants to lie, who am I to judge?

So, we say 'whatever, I think it's stupid, but whatever'. 1st family (we can be the 2nd family) also say it's stupid and an utter waste of time and money, as do G's parents. I now an am uber bitch in 4th wifes eyes (because *I* organised it without telling anyone, or at least, have not been clear enough; 4th wifes husband has wisely shut up and played dumb, and with the 3rd wifes lies, is the only conclusion she can reach) and have sensibly not heard from 3rd wife.

Considering neither 3rd or 4th wife remember anyones birthdays, all this 'happy families and Christmas is important' rubbish is running rather shallow. It looks more and more like a present grab, whereby families 1, 2 & 3 pay less attention to 'spending limits' and more to what the particular child will like; family 4 spend not a cent more than the limit and mostly buys things that do not fit, work or appropriate.

I am very dirty on that. But, what do you do?

So, I shall continue on. I'm certainly NOT looking after myself; I'm either not eating at all for 2 days, or eating rot after I've not eaten for 2 days. My face looks like I'm 16 again and whilst my weight hasn't gone one way or another; I feel very routund and tired. The better I deal with dad, the better I will deal with life. And it's not going to get better, or easier, or managed. There are too many variables, however slight, that cause a relapse. So, we just wait out the 5 days until we go back again and on the 5th day, he rests and gets dripped and managed in a controlled environment. Even outside temperature is a variable for him. How much he walks, whether he has too little water when it's 2 degrees higher than what it was the day before are variables.

It sucks. I'm getting a tree full of lemons. I'm making lemonade out of it; but it has a very bitter taste.