Liniment

I have been full of cancer for over a year now but have been suffering no pain from it. That happy state came to an end on August 5 this year when a stabbing pain in my chest emerged. Since then, pains in my hip, knee and shoulder have emerged. I am falling apart in my old age.

I can as a result no longer walk unaided. I use crutches and thus avoid the pain associated with walking. That makes me a complete invalid as Jenny and Joe are needed to help me do many things. Joe has moved back into the apartment adjoining mine to give quick help with falls etc. I had radiotherapy to help with the pain and I take various medications but the shoulder pain in particular is persistent and bothers me a lot. Anti-inflammatories and analgesics don't help much.

I was therefore much surprised when Jenny rubbed a liniment into my sore shoulder and it worked. I became pain free for the rest of the day

Liniment is of course an old idea and there many fomulations of it. The one Jenny uses is called "Pain Away" and contains a blizzard of plant oils etc. No prescription needed.

A lady I like

Fortunately, she likes me too

A breakfast development

Anne has for some time been uncomfortable driving so has driven only to my place at breakfast time to see me. George normally drives her anywhere else she wants to go. He likes driving her cars. But that has now come to something of a head. She has decided to keep up her usual visits but will come to my place by bus. That does entail a fair bit of walking at either end of the journey so I am very appreciative of that effort

Today she came by bus but arranged for George to pick her up at the end of the visit. He ended up running rather late but I enjoyed the extra time with her

In bed with a long-haired blonde

Every man's dream, I think. And when it is preceded by a bottle of Grange it is even better

During her big trip around Australia, Anne did not cut her hair. And when she came away from the hairdresser after she got back from her trip she arrived at my place with hair that was long and straight and blonde, which pleased me. It is quite rare for ladies in their latter years to wear their hair long but Anne knows I greatly like it that way. And when we are together our custom is to lie down in bed together and listen to classical music. Our relationsip is only Platonic these days but we find it most comfortable to listen to music abed.

And last night was very special. I got in a bottle of Grange to celebrate her returning safe and sound from her trip. She did go through some rather hairy places during the trip. I sent the demon shopper (Jenny) to Sedimentary wines a few days ago to pick up the Grange and, true to form, she did buy well. She got the 2010 vintage for $999 -- a vintage that has got 100 points out of 100 from many of the critics

So we had a dinner at my place last night with Jenny cooking Scotch fillet for us and a crystal goblet of Grange for each of the 3 of us to wash it down. We also had 8 very fresh Sydney rock oysters each as an appetizer -- and they were exceptionally tasty too.



And there is nothing quite like the taste of Grange. It is a smooth taste all of its own and very pleasing.



For dessert we each had some roulade -- a sort of Pavlova. Unlike the original Pavlova, the meringue is spread out on a tray, baked, then layered with cream and berries, rolled up and served as a roulade



Anne helped Jenny clean up after the dinner and then came into my room for us to spend the rest of the evening in bed together. She stayed until 10pm and after that spent the rest of the night in my guest room. She sleeps very easily but I am very restless in bed so that arrangement suits us. Jenny slept in Joe's bed in his adjoining apartment. Joe slept on his futon.

Jenny was in an exceptionally good mood all night. She got to drink a lot of Grange on special occasions when we were married so she was delighted by a return to that custom