Weekly Round Up

 I was doing ok - until the death certificate arrived last Friday. I picked it up from under the front door when I got back from work, mid-evening.

It wasn't the death certificate itself which was a problem. It was that the facility's doctor (who I have never met) had put the cause of death as Alzheimer's Dementia, but had said that it commenced 10 years ago.

In 2013 we were still in England, Jim was still working, he was driving and operating totally independently. Absolutely no signs of dementia. Not only that, he had had an immigration health assessment in Australia in 2019. If he had had signs of dementia then they would certainly have noticed it (and almost certainly wouldn't have approved his permanent residency). He was first diagnosed in 2021 with probable early Alzheimer's.

None of this would really matter, apart from disturbing my innate desire for accuracy in these things. Except that we bought a house and made new wills in 2020. My immediate thought was that a 10 year diagnosis would probably make probate problematic. Not that I absolutely know this but at that time on a Friday night, following 12 months of battling Centrelink to get the fees for the care home sorted out - it was just all too much. When does it all end, I asked myself. When can I stop?

I had no idea that you can challenge a death certificate, but apparently you can. I have drafted a letter to send to the facility's doctor. But before I send it, I have made an appointment to see my solicitor. I need to see him anyway. I need a few things done and decided I would run all this past him to see what he thinks. Probate is his thing. He should know much better than I do what needs to be done.

So on Saturday Lindsey and I went to the Bridge Mall market, which has moved to a different end of Bridge Street and was rather lovely. We did a bit of shopping. We hit the mushroom farm and the supermarket. We started laying in tempting morsels for Jim's party. On Sunday Julia and Not So Baby Henry came round and took away all the things I had lying on the spare bed. I had been intending to sort through them for things for the Op Shops, things for the recycling bins, things for the bin. But Julia just loaded it all into her car and took it all away. She did leave behind the spare bed's bedding 😂

I have met friend Chris for brunch in Websters, visited Stella, finally got around to slashing the grass in the backyard (need to do that again), weeded part of the patio (need to do more) and randomly bought a small electric saucepan. If you were a university student in Australia in the 1970s and 80s you would recognise it as being very like a Birko. Except it's got a cute picture on it. I thought it would do for small portions of rice or other things.

21st century rendition of a 1970s Birko

I have a Japanese lesson in 20 minutes. I should get ready. I had a lesson on Tuesday morning and put a jumper over my pyjamas. Can't do a Japanese lesson in my dressing gown! It was quite chilly so I put a snuggle blanket over my knees. As the lesson progressed I realised that Brandy was pulling the blanket off my knees and onto my feet. Then he lay down on it. Whiskey joined him. So I now had a blanket and two cats on my feet, which were getting too hot, and no blanket on my knees, which were getting cold. He's not stupid, is that little cat!

Fortunately, a magpie came to bathe in the bird bath outside the front window and they went off to watch it - and I could reclaim my snuggle blanket for my knees,

Brandy has form in these things.
Here he is lying on the clean bedding
I had put out for my bed.