A new era for DH!

A few years ago DH scared everyone, including himself, by collapsing on the golf course. (his second home!) A similar incident had occurred a year or two before this,  but on the latter occasion while being taken to hospital his heart stopped twice!! Originally these passing out incidents were written off as 'sugar problems' as an angiogram showed no blockages, narrowing or damaged valves etc in the heart. But with the data collected by the paramedics in that ambulance it was soon ascertained that the 'electrics' of DH's heart were a bit bodgy to say the least. Suddenly all the fainting episodes over many years made sense. So now DH has a pacemaker and hasn't looked back healthwise since.

But the legacy of that day was that he became anxious about walking the 18 hole course, as he had done for the 40 or so years that he has played golf. He started hiring a golf cart for the 3-4 days of each week that he played but started making plans to buy his own. He had already put his name down for a spot in the big sheds at the course where people can rent a place for their cart to be stored. Actually buying the cart would wait until that spot in the shed was his! A few months ago DH's name came to the top of that list so immediately the search was on for a good quality refurbished cart for DH to buy.

Within 10 days, delivery day came.

The cart was driven to the golf course on a trailer of course. We watched as it was driven off the trailer...

 

DH was invited to drive his cart into the shed and I went along for the ride...I tell you what...that thing could really move and I found myself clinging on as we drove around a few corners, into the shed and then backed it into its spot!

 

The man from Yamaha took DH through all the basic things he needed to know, including checking the batteries regularly etc, and of course plugging it in to the power supply while it's in the shed to keep it charged up.

 

DH had asked me to take photos that he could send to all his friends and family. But I also took photos of the old buildings near the cart shed that were the remnants of the old farm on which the golf club was built...I love history!

 

It took a few weeks after delivery of his new buggy for DH to actually use his new toy. You see, our part of Queensland had days of heavy rain which turned the course into a quagmire...and electric/petrol etc buggies are banned in those circumstances until the ground dries out. But he's had plenty of use since then.

Back on course...

Yesterday, DH played his first game of golf in 5 1/2 weeks; the time which has elapsed since he collapsed on the final hole of that same golf course, early in December.
This was his chest a day or so after the pacemaker was implanted...still a bit swollen then of course. 

The plastic adhesive over the wound meant he could continue to shower as normal. The dressings were taken off a week after the operation and over the weeks the swelling and soreness had completely disappeared. Golfing was off the agenda for a while as the electrodes which had been attached by tiny screws into heart tissue could be ripped out by the action of the golf swing and the  follow through. After 4 weeks the electrodes would be anchored firmly by tissue growing around them.
Yesterday's game went well with him being placed 18th in a field of well over 100 players. So he came home feeling rather pleased.

But one day last year in July he was even more pleased with his game. After 40 plus years playing golf, he finally achieved that 'hole in one!' And in November we both attended the club's presentation night so that DH could receive his trophy.

The table all loaded up with the various trophies...

The main guest speaker for the night was another member of the club, who happened to be an Australian tennis champion from the 1950s to the early 1970s, Mal Anderson. My mum had been a really big fan of Mal and I remember how chuffed she was when her granddaughters had tennis lessons with him at their school. Mal was a very entertaining speaker having embraced golf after his 'tennis days'.  

 

 

After speeches, it was time for the trophies to be distributed...DH receiving his...

 

 

A close-up; it is the actual ball that he used that day. The club takes it and sends it off to the trophy maker to be incorporated into the piece. There were a few 'holes in one' winners last year; not all on the same hole as DH. His achievement was on the 16th.

 

 

So it's good to report that DH is now back golfing and possibly hoping to replicate last year's achievement; the hole in one that is...not the collapse or 'dispsy doodle' as he described it! lol

Party time :-)

There are still lovely people arriving at this blog for the Grow Your Own Blog Party; welcome! and you will find that post here.

I have a Giveaway which is drawn on February 15 and you can enter the draw here.

On the weekend, DH and I went to an 80th birthday party. The 'birthday boy' Bruce, is a golfing friend of DH; they have played golf regularly together for a number of years. I've noticed when people get to milestone birthdays in the 'upper decades', that lunch time celebrations are usually the order of the day rather than evening 'raves' lasting late into the evening.  Another thing I've noticed is that people celebrating 'higher' milestone birthdays usually request 'no gifts! 

When the invitation had arrived a few weeks back, DH decided that we would buy a birthday card. 

I remembered a photo that I had put on the collection of photos on a USB that we used in a digital frame at DH's milestone birthday celebrations, the year he retired. The photo was one of 2 taken at the golf club and featured DH and Bruce at one of the 18 holes. This photo appeared in a local newspaper along with an article about a shed at the golf club catching fire and destroying a lot of golf buggies. I had found that even though many years had past since the photo had been published in the paper, I could still buy a copy through the paper's website. Because I had no golfing photos of DH to include in the slideshow of his 60 years and I felt that golf was such a big part of his life that such a photo should be included, I paid an 'arm and a leg' (a ridiculous amount of money) to buy the 2 photos from the newspaper. DH had loved and appreciated the gesture.

That photo!

And now I had a chance to get some more use out of the photo. I suggested to DH that he might like to get a birthday card printed with that photo to make a very personal card. There are so many places now where you can get 'photo gifts and cards' printed for very reasonable prices (about $5.95). I sent DH a website where he could organise a card using the photo...but after looking through the site, DH ordered a stubby cooler/holder which would have the photo printed on it.
I forgot to take a photo before we gave it to B but just in case some readers have no idea what a stubby is, let alone what a stubby cooler/holder is, I've borrowed some photos from the internet.

A small bottle of beer  is a stubby

 And the holders/coolers were invented to hold a stubby...and most of them are printed . They are popular souvenirs to bring back from holidays. The pictured ones are meant to be handed out at wedding as a keepsake??? lol

Bruce loved his stubby holder and was rapt that it should have a photo of him and DH on it.
Now it will probably not be a surprise that the golfing theme continued to the choice of cake design for this new octogenarian...

Before the candles could be lit on the cake, B's old friend John who had travelled from Sydney especially for this celebration, asked to say a few words. John's speech had everyone laughing...

Notice the trees being blown around...

Well that wind made lighting the candles rather problematic! lol

 Bruce was urged to quickly blow out the candles before the wind did!

So just a little bit different from the card and 'scratchies' that DH and I usually give in a 'no presents' situation. (scratchies are instant lottery tickets we have here; I'm renowned for buying ones that win nothing! lol)

Our stay in Monterey...

It had been raining heavily when we arrived in Monterey but luckily on the next day the weather was much better with sunshine for most of the day and just a few showers. We started the day by going down to the Fisherman’s Wharf area and having a look around and taking photos. Before it started to rain, we had seen some seals ‘near the wharf and when they became aware of human presence, they started up a cacophony of ‘barking’, but they got no fish treats from us as we raced back to shelter!

These beautiful echiums at Fisherman's Wharf

We then drove to the Cannery Row district and because of the rain, got our wet weather gear out and I togged up with a rain poncho. Would you believe that within 5 minutes of all that effort, the rain stopped! So in perfect conditions we explored the Cannery Row area. Monterey Bay had always been a fishing community but during the depression canning sardines became ‘big business’ as it was a cheap nutritional food. The canning factories are gone but the buildings have been re-purposed into a variety of businesses and it is a charming area to stroll through. I found the gardens there delightful as well as the restored buildings and the wooden boardwalks.

A view of a number of -re-purposed buildings

Little workers cottages

The back of some of the buildings; the first building is a hotel

A statue/bust of John Steinbeck the author

A view of Cannery Row, not far from the carpark

The view out to sea from the boardwalk

The author, John Steinbeck was a resident of this area and where he got a lot of inspiration for his characters and plots. He is immortalised in this area, including in plaques, statues and building names. DH and I had lunch in an old building which is now called the ‘Brewhouse’. I decided to have cider with my lunch, but it soon became obvious that it was alcoholic cider...I had quite ‘heavy legs’ and a tired feeling for the rest of the afternoon. Lol

After that DH and I drove to the nearby town of Pacific Grove which is also full of gracious homes and public buildings. If you glanced down the side streets you caught a glimpse of the bay...just beautiful!

One of the beautiful buildings in Pacific Grove

A glimpse of the sea at Pacific Grove

We then embarked on the ’17 mile Coast drive’, which takes you along the coast and also at times, through forest. This area of the coast is home to 8 golf courses including the famous Pebble Beach Resort course which has hosted the US Open...Nirvana to DH! We saw some pretty wild seas on the coast that day. Then, on the same drive, we went past a Veterans’ Cemetery and saw a group of small deer grazing on the grass in the lawns! We stopped and took photos of that!

In this area are also some very impressive homes and I can imagine they would have impressive selling prices too!

Part of the coastline on the 17 mile drive which shows the wild seas of that day

Hard to see...but there is a row of golf buggies parked while the golfers take their shots. The course is so large that buggies are a necessity

We finished that outing with DH going into ‘The Lodge’ Resort Hotel and then going out to the links where his hero Tiger Woods ( L )had won a US Open and several tournaments as well. DH also bought a shirt and some presents for some of his golfing mates at the shops there.

The next day we went to Carmel, but alas it was raining quite heavily there that day. We walked around but only saw a very small part of the pretty little town. Still there is a good side to that...I didn’t spend very much money at all! I did hope to run into the former Mayor, Clint Eastwood’ but it wasn’t to be apparently! We warmed our chilled bodies at a lovely little coffee shop which was down a little alley and very popular. Unfortunately, because of the heavy rain, most of my photos weren't very good but I have a few.

A mosaic in a shop at Carmel

A beautiful sculpture at Carmel; she is holding a heart so maybe it's a valentine!

Outside the cafe where we had coffee, 2 dogs in raincoats waited patiently!

One of the beautiful homes of Carmel

Another view of outside the coffee shop!

DH and retirement...

DH retired in 2009 when he turned 60. He really took to the new lifestyle, no early morning treks to the railway station, no long long days at the office and up to 5 days per week playing golf. Less than a year after he retired his former boss started offering contracts. At least one he wasn't able to take as we had a Norfolk Is holiday planned. But it wasn't long before he had an offer he didn't think he could refuse. So for a number of months he ran a government office in Ipswich, commuting from Brisbane each day on the train.  As the organisation wanted him to run the federal election for the seat of Blair, DH negotiated that when the election was called he would have accommodation in Ipswich for the duration of the election. Remember all the drama last year when 'Kevie' was deposed by Julia? Despite the denials of an impending election, the election was suddenly announced and DH worked 'flat out'!  Eventually, a month after the election his contract finished and he was back home with us again. Then...

Last November the former boss rings him to congratulate him on a job well done and to offer another contract...this time to organise an 'Out of country' referendum for southern Sudanese to secede from the rest of Sudan. So a rushed trip to Canberra almost straight away and then training Sudanese staff, organising a venue for both training and voting and getting ready for the 3 stages of the voting process; registration, verification and voting. Everything done at each of the centres in Australia had to mirror what was happening in the Sudan. My husband was looking forward to the completion of the tasks when flooding hit Brisbane and the Southbank venue was flooded. Eventually some alternatives were sorted out and the polls closed on Tuesday and the papers were sent to Canberra on Wednesday morning. DH's contract was finished and another job well done. Of course he was then ready for lots of golf...unfortunately the rains and flooding means that conditions on city golf courses are not very pleasant at the moment. Never mind...there's always next week!

DH on the left. Photo was in one of the local papers to illustrate a news item about the shed at the course which caught fire destroying a number of golf-buggies stored inside. Obviously the sub editor thought these 2 fellows were a better photo than the burnt out shed!!!