No news is ...

Mum is still in Elsternwick Private Hospital; we're not sure how much longer she'll be there and whether she'll be going home directly from there or not. I've spent much of my time running down to Elsternwick to see her in between rehearsals and work.

I've also come down with a chest cold, which fortunately hasn't caused me too much discomfort yet, apart from a a slight tickly cough.

I had a very tasty meal at B&P's on Tuesday (tasty soup, venison bourgignon, ice-cream) and again last night (more of the soup, delicious salad from the Karen Martini book, rhubarb). They came to my place for dinner on Wednesday when I made the gulyas from Jill Dupleix's Old food which wasn't bad, followed by baked quinces, which could have been better.

Last night it started raining and I understand (thanks to this) that it has rained all day. It was certainly raining this morning, but as I'm currently at work I didn't know if it still was.

More on Mum

Mum was moved from Cabrini on Wednesday to the Elsternwick Private Hospital where she is receiving physiotherapy for rehabilitation. She's expected to be there for about a fortnight after which she may, if approved, finally go back to her cosy little home.

I visited her this afternoon with my sis and bro-in-law; she is so much better than she was a couple of weeks ago when she went to Cabrini. She greeted us with a lovely smile and seemed quite upbeat about everything - she'd been for a couple of walks already today and was sitting in her chair ready for her afternoon tea.

Other than Mum, everything is going well. Monday's rehearsal went off very well - the choir's second run through of Howell's Take him earth for cherishing went surprisingly well and the rest of the program was well covered, too.

This morning was a Children's Farm market after which, as usual, we visited Vic Gardens before adjourning to B&P's for a tasty lunch of yummy quiches from the market. This afternoon, inspired by Maggie B, I made a loaf of oat and walnut bread - it's delicious, and I suspect not long for this world.

Peg improves

I've visited Mum over the last few days and each time I see her she's noticeably brighter. I think the morphine she was given on Wednesday had an adverse affect on her as she was away with the fairies a bit on Thursday. She's been sitting on a chair beside the bed for a bit as a change from sitting in bed, but she's certainly still got a long way to go.

Things are up in the air at the moment (it's hard to find the right people to talk to) but she'll be assessed tomorrow and most likely moved to a rehabilitation place before spending some time in respite care. What happens after that still remains to be seen.

She's much brighter and more alert now and seemed glad to see us all yesterday, though she's looking forward to leaving hospital.

Yesterday P&B and I shopped in Fitzroy for a change after which I headed over to Cabrini. From there I took the Wattletree Road tram into the Arts Centre where I met up with DG at EQ. We had a delicious meal before heading off to the State Theatre to see Opera Australia's production of Strauss' Arabella. It was a very enjoyable night with Cheryl Barker in the title role and her husband, Peter Coleman-Wright, as Mandryka. The production was intelligent and the whole night very satisfying - I don't understand why this was the first production in Australia.