Hi Lindsay   Very sad to hear about you Dad's condition. If Wagga doesn't kill him, their hospital surely will.   Just don't tell anyone you are from out of town. They are likely to get a mob of torch burning, pitch fork wielding bigots to run you out of town. They don't take kindly to strangers around dem dere parts. Well... not since my last visit.   Make sure you wear a wedding ring. Single mother capital of Australia. I should know. My x is there.   Seriously though, there is a reason why it frequently rains from a lonely black cloud that hangs over Wagga. Whenever they get an influx of tourist, their frequent yawning lowers the air pressure, causing rain clouds to form over the town centre. If you don't a good bottle of wine along to amuse yourself, your boredom will probably contribute to this strange weather phenomena.   And if you a looking for a namesake drink, you Need a port. Keis Bastardo from Barossa. And a fun fact, the guy who named Barossa misspelled it with double "S".   And don't forget the cheese. @Lehiatus Hey Claire, don't you be forgettin' no cheese too. 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀   take care   Portly Phil     ... View more

Hi   I moved in to a flat with a music therapist after my marriage fell apart, about 20 years ago. Needless to say, I faced a lot of depression and tough times and my flat mate thought she could help me by using music therapy, by teaching me how to use my guitar to help express my emotions through music. She was quite disgusted to find out there was nothing she could teach me.  It came naturally.   What was interesting, she had travelled to Bosnia to help children traumatized by war and she work a lot with autistic children. She explained how children who were emotionally shut down, could be reached through music. It has an amazing power on our minds. I would be lost without music in my life.   When I visit my Mum, she has Alzheimer's, I put on the Andrew Sisters for her and she loves it.    I can't say how music would help someone at the end of life, but as for life in general, it is essential. And it's not enough to just listen to it. I need to play, sing, compose and live it   My 2 cents...   cheers   Portly Phil ... View more

Hi Mary   I feel your pain. I no longer drink Carlton Dry. just doesn't taste the same. 🥴   My tastes were mostly returned after chemo ended. The flavours that worked well during chemo were sweet and strong savoury. Post chemo, those flavours are still quite the main flavours. Hence, I call myself Portly Phil now, as the weight has been on the increase since.   My biggest complaint is numb fingers and toes. The oncologist says if I still have it in 6 months, it will be permanent. Now, 3 months away from my 6 month mark, I've given up on hope.    I do have a recommendation. It may make things fun. Eat stuff you hate. Probably won't taste as bad as normal. If you find it palatable, but it get's worse, then it will show your tastes are getting better.   I must admit,  I didn't experience a chemo taste, as such.  Most things just went to cardboard flavour... and texture. That's gone. just some things aren't the same as they used to be. Like my beer 😞   I hope you will find things improving soon.   Cheers   Portly Phil   ... View more

Hi Shane,   Good luck with your next round of treatment. I finished my chemo in October too. So far no signs of anything suspicious, but missing blood tests and phone appointment with my surgeon make it difficult to boost my confidence. I'm not worried, hopefully no gnews is good gnews.   I hope all goes well. Keep up the positive attitude.  Take care.   Cheers   Portly Phil ... View more

Hi Lindsay   Guess what? I had my surgeon's appointment. Over the phone. it was not much more than touching base. Recommendations for exercise and diet.    I'm a little worried about hernia issues, but Dr say he'll deal with it if necessary. in the meantime, apart from blood tests, further checkups will be delayed thanks to Coronavirus. Although, my blood tests disappeared. Had them a week earlier. The collection area doesn't keep records and they didn't arrive in the central lab. Needless to say, the Dr can't tell me if they look bad.   Unfortunately, I don't have any Grange that you can drink. I do have a HSV Grange but it's in the shop getting hail repair. Hopefully Coronavirus doesn't shutdown the panel beating industry as well. I might not see it until next year. However I do have a recommendation in the way of a Pepperjack Cab Sav.   And another recommendation. Have it with cheese. 🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀   Cheers    Portly Phil            ... View more

Kate   need a Thursday song for tomorrow    And don't forget to wear purple. ... View more

Hi Sean   Yes. I was scared. Scared me good. I think it was because of that guy bitching about how chemo sucks balls. Scary guy!   I would choose to still work in the city. The lack of traffic, ample parking (funny... they just sang "ample parking" on the start of South Park), no queues for the takeaway coffee and less people at to work distract you.   I've been reading on occasion but not taking the time to answer. This thread seemed to stop, which was a little sad, but I felt we had broken the record.   I hope you are well.   Cheers   Phil ... View more

Ginger!   Did you see the white rabbit down there? I seen the mad hatter while I've been away. In the bathroom mirror of course. You know... Lunatics... Asylum... taking over... etc.   So I too have no excuse. Just trying to get on with that life I went through all that crap to preserve. My rabbit hole involved some serious re-evaluation of life priorities and dealing with some unexpected and shocking recovery hurdles. After it all settled down, I was consumed by my new job. Hasn't been all bad though. I got to see Jimmy Barnes in concert, then Ian Moss and then Cold Chisel over a few months.   I'm the one with the stupid star struck grin.   Just to top that off, Elton John in Feb.   And just to top that off, I'm sitting here enjoying ash brie and bikkies for dessert.  🧀🧀🧀🧀🧀   Also been learning to play some new songs, mostly ballads. She by Elvis Costello, If you could read my mind by Gordon Lightfoot, Promises by Eric Clapton, Wearing the inside out by Pink Floyd, and Life on Mars by David Bowie. Best part is I have my singing voice back after in was totally wrecked by chemo and trying to sing along with Jimmy Barnes.   In the meantime, I too have been working on becoming Portly Phil. Since Pepper is no longer with me, Portly Phil may be my new profile name. Speaking of which, my profile picture needs an update.   I also discovered something new about myself. I watched the movie Bucket List (on Netflix) a couple of nights ago. I watched it before and thought it was a seriously funny movie. This time, cried most of the way through it. I think cancer has f!@#$%d me up somehow, in a way I didn't expect. Watch this space. I think I have issues.   I have a quote from the movie re the fleeting passing of time. "Like smoke through a keyhole". Woooo! Deep.   I think the crap my wife and I faced last yeah was enough to just make us not give a toss about the virus. At this point, more concerned about job security. It makes life a little more interesting, seeing the empty streets and closed shops. Reminds me of when I was a kid and all the shops were shut on Sundays. More nostalgic than end of days.   And to answer your question... No, not too early. Jokes should have started as soon as "Scotty from marketing" started using the virus for his next election campaign.    How is the Cherry tree?   Cheers    Portly Phil    ... View more

Hi Kate   Things are... swell. You know what they say? laugh and the world laughs with you. Complain and the world laughs at you. Well... at least if you're George Costanza.   I was working from home for a while while I was finishing my chemo and my final surgery. it was a well timed short stint contract role. Then 2 months ago I started working in the city again. Now they are sending me to work from home. The luxury of being an IT nerd. This may be good for the nation, demonstrating how large numbers of people can work remotely, saving on floor space, transport and parking for inner city professionals.   I don't feel I need to be working from home, nor many others, but it will be a great social experiment.   Cheers   Phil   ... View more