BLOOMING BEAUTIFUL

Spring has been a pretty dull affair here in our suburb of Brisbane.

No decent rain for ages means lawns everywhere are brown unless devoted watering has taken place.

But as we move into November pops of purple appear all over Brisbane as the lovely Jacarandas burst into flower.

On Sunday the weather was great for an outing along the river to see some of these lovely trees around the city.

As usual we used the City Cat ferries to view the trees along the river.

There were plenty to see lining the river all the way into the city.

I'm so glad parks planners had the foresight to plant these lovely trees in all the parks.

The really good specimens have dropped all their leaves in the preceding weeks and are completely covered with flowers.

We moved from the ferry to walk along the riverside walkway under the trees?

We weren't the only ones out enjoying the day.

What a delightful place. When I win the lottery I might buy one of these units !

We found a lovely spot along our walk for lunch.

Breezes from the river kept the temperature pleasant and we could have sat there for quite a while but there were more trees to see on the other side of the river so we moved on...... 

And there were plenty there too.

People were out everywhere enjoying the weather.

Some doing some very odd activities !

Then it was time for a final coffee before setting out for home.

Another lovely day in our lovely city.

Cheers !

ANIMAL PHYSIOTHERAPY

Making the decision to study Animal Physiotherapy has been a huge one for Sally. 

She has worked hard to reach the high level of expertise she now possesses in human physiotherapy (her forte is cardio-thoracic and Intensive care physiotherapy ) and has willingly passed on her knowledge to many students and junior physios she has mentored.

Changing to Animal Physiotherapy involves enrolling in a Masters course at Liverpool University in England as Australia does not have a degree in Animal Physiotherapy at this time. Nor does New Zealand. This means that most of the course is done online with some compulsory time live-in in Liverpool too. A very expensive exercise !

Of course she needs to work to support herself and finance all of this too.

Luckily she has a friend who has an Animal Physiotherapy Practice who mentors her and provides her with practical training.

Recently Sally organised a workshop where a number of students were instructed in hands-on physio techniques. A large number of docile "patients"  were recruited from friends in the doggy world. 

Above and below you can see Scout taking a starring role with a rather aristocratic friend waiting her turn !

It seems that these days people tend to treat their animals with surgery and physio where one they would have been put to sleep or left to carry injuries dosed up on pain killers.

Massage and guided exercise seems to be very similar to the way humans are treated

And the animals don't seem to mind it a bit.

Acupuncture is also a valuable tool in dealing with pain issues and the animals often dose off when being treated.( look closely and you'll see the needles below )

Sally is now treating a few patients of her own ( under guidance of course ) and enjoying it all immensely.

The dog below had a stroke and was completely paralysed only a few weeks ago. His owners are delighted with his progress.

Finally it is all settling into place. 

Sally and Scout have moved from the Gold Coast to the Sunshine Coast to be close to the Animal Physiotherapy Practice where she now works part time. She also works at a hospital nearby and her life is very busy with work and study. Her aim is to divide her working time between dogs and humans.

Scout is happy. She has a new beach to explore.

As long as she has waves to catch,

cool water to swim

And Sally nearby she's happy !

Cheers.

DISAPPOINTMENT

Today, Tony and I should be wandering the streets of Paris, our favourite city in the world,

at the end of a five week trip to Austria.

Visiting places like these.

Unfortunately that holiday had to be postponed at the last minute on medical grounds.

Due to pre-cancerous changes in some cells, major surgery was called for and I am thanking my lucky stars that modern medicine has made the experience so trouble free and painless.

Now for the mine field of trying to recoup costs via credit card free travel insurance.
Our flights were able to be changed ( a precaution we took for the first time because of all of our Oldies ) but, as I book all our accommodation in apartments via the Internet, I am struggling to gather all the information required from several different apartment owners with different cancellation policies.
Luckily the end amount is not large - only around $2000 - and a small price to pay for continued health.
I consider myself very lucky to have dodged this bullet !!!

I'll let you know how the insurance claim goes.

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Recuperation time has been spent on making Scout some items for her trip to Sydney for the Flyball Nationals.

Her club colours are purple and yellow.

A rug to cover the mattress in her crate

and a pillow to rest her weary little head on were required.

 Looks like she is happy with both of them.

Now Sally wants a rug for herself so it is underway.

I'd better get busy, it'll soon be too hot to crochet.

Cheers.

PS. I have now rebooked our flights for late April next year and given us another week as a bonus!