The first two weeks of November were quite uneventful. I was still jogging and swimming most mornings with lovely weather intermingled with rain and sunshine ranging from 20-30 degrees, such glorious spring weather. We are so blessed at this time of the year. Most of the time my sleep was good but then on occasions I woke around 3:30am and decided it wasn’t worth trying to get back to sleep so I stayed up. The next night was another restless night so I took half a product of a new tablet I’d been trying, (L-Theanine) to help me remain asleep. I eventually slept around 11:30pm tossing and turning all night with nightmares, waking feeling terrible. The following day I woke again at 3:30am but by 11am I decided to go back to bed, waking after an hour feeling much better although very restless and found myself constantly wanting to eat which made me feel bloated and uncomfortable. That night I went to sleep easily but woke at 2:30am and took a quarter of a proper sleeping tablet determined to knock myself out. Although I woke several more times, sometimes from neighbour’s noises, I eventually dragged myself out of bed at 9am. I didn’t feel at all hungry all day which was an ideal opportunity to eat as little as possible, limiting myself to liquids. My gut certainly did appreciate the break. I was not so gassy or bloated and felt a lot better. The following day I was back to normal having slept from 8pm – 4am. It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for you.
Then the night waking started again. I woke at 2:30am but this time I didn’t bother taking anything as I was hoping I’d go back to sleep normally. Well it didn’t happen. Every time I was about to fall asleep, which was around 4am, I kept being woken by noises outside my window. If I was any other person who was able to fall asleep easily it wouldn’t have bothered me but being such a light sleeper it did! But what could I do? I was too tired to get up and go jogging so I stayed in bed knowing by 6am I needed to get up to get things done before I headed off to the community garden to help with the busy bee. There was lots to do including cleaning out garden beds and renewing the soil before planting with new seedlings; some beds only needed old spent plants to be replaced. Some were seasonal plants; others like rhubarb which are perennials had their own raised garden beds. You’d think after all this manual work I’d sleep well but I didn’t and woke at midnight. I’d had enough so once again took sleeping pills which after an hour started to work. Again I was feeling lethargic when I woke up so missed out on another morning jog. Saturday night I took some more L Theanine (only half the dose as a full dose gives me a headache). I slept well waking refreshed and ready for my jog, exercise and swim before church. Sunday I followed the same routine and Monday as I needed to make sure I slept well. I took a sleeping tablet which gave me plenty of time for my morning routine before walking to church by 8:45am ready to join the barista team serving coffees to the primary school teachers before 9am.
I tried going without sleep assistance but due to the noise outside, which I later realised were rats running along the top of my fence, I kept waking till midnight. I then took ¼ of a sleeping tablet to help me stay asleep although it takes over an hour to start working. Once I realised the noise, which was constantly waking me up, was caused by rats, I put out baits and immediately saw that they were being eaten. I had also turned on my electronic rodent deterrent hoping that would keep them off the pear tree and grape vines which were forming fruit.
This month I had more challenging IT sagas. This time I was unable to login into my blog site to upload the last blog. My malware program kept blocking me. I found a way around it by disarming the malware programme till my last blog adventures was uploaded. Then I contacted the malware company to ask for their help. They eventually said it was the webhost. I contacted them, they looked into a few things then said they were able to login to my site without any problems. I tried again but still couldn’t and was directed back to the malware company. They informed me it was the webhost who was hosting too many other sites on the same IP address and that their report came back showing it may signify that the server is infected or experiencing unauthorized access by a bad actor. I then contacted the host again who scanned the website for malware and came back to say there was no infestation but I should buy their malware program for my website. As I already had a programme I decided against it. I then followed the malware company’s advice on how to add the IP address to their system so that it wouldn’t pick it up the problem and lock me out of my blog administration. I’m also praying that there is no problem with the host website so that I can avoid any further problems and that my website is kept safe from any unauthorised access.
I also run the community garden website, write and post their bi-monthly newsletters. Having worked on the newsletter which was due out on the 1st December, I tried logging into our community garden email account and found I was logged out and needed to log back in. This is usually a simple task of just logging back in as I’m usually permanently logged in. It didn’t work so I called Mim who also has access to this email account. She was already logged in so I asked her to assist me with the password. Because she is automatically logged in she couldn’t remember the password and the one I’d been trying wasn’t working so I went through the whole verification code which was linked to her phone number but still we had problems. It must have taken us over an hour for both of us to have access. IT is such a blessing until it’s not! I then thought maybe all the other problems with the malware programme may have stuffed up my logins.
As the weather warms, the sea water has also warmed up. It’s such a wonderful way to start the day with an icy dip in the ocean. So refreshing. This time of the year also brings the itchy eyes due to the air being thick with pollen from all the flowering natives and garden flowers. By the end of the month the flies had also started, so wearing my netting while jogging and down the beach was a must. I know I look eccentric but who cares at least I’m not breathing in flies!
The grape vines needed tying onto the pergolas, and as the sun moves across the yard towards the summer solstice, many of my shade loving pots need moving back into a sheltered spot. Unfortunately my passionfruit vine has died off from severe winds but another surprise has risen out of the earth having died back over three years ago, my purple wisteria! I was so pleasantly surprised and delighted that it has tried again and may even grow to replace the passionfruit vine which I’m not going to replace as it struggles with the prevailing winter winds. I’ve cut another tall branch off the papaya and will continue to do so to all the branches that are too high for me to harvest the fruits even with an extended ladder. I know I shouldn’t be climbing ladders but usually, not all the time, I have my neighbour standing guard just in case.
The last week of November, my friend, Yvonne came to visit during her time home on furlough. She had visited churches in Kelmscott then out to Kalgoorlie before visiting me, then was off to Carnarvon and down to Albany where she has family. It was lovely to have her stay, we had much to catch up on. I also helped her with some of the IT challenges between taking her to some of my favourite eateries. During her time with me we visited Koorong book shop where there was a sale on. I was blessed to buy a book I have been looking for with a 45% discount. Yvonne tried to use her new bank card but it was declined as she had forgotten to verify it online. So en route home we stopped for her to buy a new iPhone as hers was an old iPhone 6S and she was unable to download some of the apps she was needing including her Duolingo app for her to learn Zulu. I suggested I pay for her phone so we could get it that morning and she could pay me back later. After our purchase we stopped at a branch of her bank (many branches have now closed including the one we had planned to go to). A very helpful girl assisted with the verification of her card and made sure it was working before we headed back to my place. Later that day we went online, added my account details to her bank, received a verification code and tried to pay back my loan. Immediately she received a fraud alert and my payment was blocked as well as access to her online banking and card!!! She rang her bank to explain what had happened but was told she needed to go into the bank to unlock everything. I was furious! I understand that banks need to be vigilant but if you have relieved a verification code surely the transaction should go through! Yvonne was having the same problems when overseas, she was unable to use her card and she was unsure how to transfer funds from her account. I suggested she use a WISE account which I set up for her, where she could transfer funds from one of her banks (obviously not this one) to her card so that she could change her Australian money into local currency of the country she is in. 
As it was too late to go back to the bank that day we went the following day, and which was the day she was heading south so I drove her in the car she had borrowed as I knew the way. After dropping her off at the door and parking the car I joined her in the bank. The helpful girl we met the day before, came to Yvonne’s rescue again. She unblocked the card and her account while Yvonne spoke to the fraud department who eventually released my money. With all sorted I drove her back to church where I explained how she was to get back to Kelmscott and punched the directions into her Google maps to guide her along the way. I was exhausted but still had things to do including a dental appointment that afternoon which I walked to. Raymond, who I think owns the clinic, and I have become friends. I visited his parents when I was in Malaysia they asked me to try and encourage him back into church fellowship. I gave him a Community Christmas Carols flyer which I had been distributing from the church. My original dentist had moved on, opening a clinic south of the river so I had a new dentist, Genevieve who is also a Christian.
Then the last Saturday of November I was asked to help make coffees for a group meeting at church. Mia and I had offered our services but Glenda also stepped in to help out as there were around 40 coffees to make. I was back on duty that Sunday too.
Although exhausted after a busy week and weekend I wanted to have a flute lesson. My lovely neighbour, Lena, very kindly comes around for about an hour to listen and make suggestions on how to improve my playing. The rest of the week I try to practice at least one a day. It’s a bit of a push some days but I’m still enjoying it and I have improved some. This week she was all dressed up as if she was going somewhere special, at first I thought it was for me but no, she had a special outing to go to and had kindly come to me first so I didn’t miss my lesson. I truly have been blessed.
Photos: 1. Coralgem – Parrot or Pelican’s beak 2. Yvonne and I at the Reabold Hill Lookout 3. Yum Cha with Jan and Yvonne 4. Banh Mi and egg coffee
Prayer & Praise Points:
Praise the Lord for our lovely weather it’s such a beautiful time of the year.
Please pray for Yvonne that she will raise the support needed for her to continue her ministry to the indigenous people through the clinic and outreach clinics she is involved in.
Please continue to keep Gayle in your prayers for renewed strength, wisdom for the church and for good health. Pray also for her son Joshua who is still waiting for Indonesian citizenship.
Please pray for my sister Kat, who is moving from Cairns to start a new life on her own, south of Brisbane. She is feeling down due to all the moving and leaving friends behind.
Continue to pray for world peace and countries dealing with major disasters, wars and the unbelievable hardships they cause. Pray for all those caught up in the suffering these events have caused. Pray that God’s peace may be known by all people especially for those who live with despair, that they will find hope in Christ Jesus.
Please keep my sisters, Tricia, Jen and Kat, in your prayers. Pray that they will come to know the love of Jesus.
Love the parrot vine.
You certainly have trouble sleeping and having issues with IT.