This pain in the neck……Almost killed me!
Ian is in the plumbing industry, I’ve known him for a few years but only recently spent some time with him. Life changing experiences make you do that. Stop and smell those roses.
Everyone is very busy today, all of our time saving devices seem to take up way too much of our time.
This is Ian’s story…
At 59 yrs old and not been near a doctor for over 30yrs …. Non smoker ( Gave it up in primary school ) … very moderate drinker … pretty active. (Plumber)
I considered myself a healthy, if slightly overweight, sort of fellow.
Here is the wake up call:
One Tuesday morning while shaving I felt a small lump in my neck. It was about the size of a piece of corn or green pea.
Curious, I did the “squeeze, poke, prod ” method of diagnosis….. NO PAIN. Can’t be much, don’t worry about it !
Wednesday: Pesky little lump still there. “Squeeze, poke, prod” ….. NO PAIN. Forget it !
Thursday: Darn lump! “squeeze, poke, prod” … NO PAIN, Can’t be much don’t worry !
BY lunch time Thursday this lump went to the size of a GOLF BALL ! Still NO PAIN !!!!
Forget the NO PAIN thing and get this thing checked !
Within the next 3 weeks I had been diagnosed with an aggressive lymphatic cancer and was lining up for Chemo and Radiation therapy.
My oncologist said that due to the fact they had got this this so very early a good result was the likely out come. She said. ” This is a winnable fight but it will not be pretty.” She was right ! It was a fairly ugly fight with some very black days. ( Shoot me now… I’m good to go ) However a good result has been achieved… Remission.
The Lesson:
Forget the “Squeeze, poke, prod” method and GET IT CHECKED !! As it turned out, had I left that thing another 4- 6 weeks this article would most likely be an obituary.
So there it is people, all the stories shared with you are real.
We all know someone with a similiar tale.
If we learn anything from these simple posts and have you take a good look at your body, then high 5s all around.
Please do it!
And love those around you.
You must be starting to think about your own health by now and what you are eating is a very big part of it.
Check out Sheli The Gorgeous Vegetarian who has generously supplied all of our Delicious Mens Health Recipes. Well I tried this one during the week and the team absolutely loved it.
Zucchini, Tomato and Dill Quiche… So simple and so tasty…
Oregano is also great in this if you don’t like Dill.
Who would have thought all these muscle men would be eating a Quiche. I served it with a garden salad.
Not much conversation over dinner though.
Just more food!
Pre heat oven to 180 deg.
thaw out 2 sheets puff pastry.
3 medium zucchinis sliced finely
1 tsp butter or/ olive oil
3 Roma tomatoes sliced finely
1 handful chopped Dill
3 large eggs or 6 small eggs (free range)
300ml cream
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
90g cheddar cheese grated
Pre heat oven to 180 deg
*grease quiche dish or/flat round pie dish and line with puff pastry.
*line with baking paper, fill with dried beans or/ baking stones, and blind bake for about 10 minutes
*Cook zucchinis in butter till semi cooked.
*add salt and pepper
*place into pastry case
*layer with sliced tomatoes
*sprinkle with chopped Dill (save a little for serving)
*layer with grated cheese.
*beat eggs and cream together and pour over prepared quiche.
*add a few more slices of tomato, and a final sprinkle of Dill
*Bake in the oven 35-40 minutes or until set and slightly browned… you’ll have to keep an eye on it.
Serve with salad of your choice …
How are you enjoying the cooking. I loved the Lasagne.
It was pretty easy to cook but importantly my carnivorous sons ate it up and came back for more. So did their girlfriends.. Yeh Dad!
The gorgeous Sheli from The Gorgeous Vegetarian says Spinach and Ricotta Pie… A winner recipe! This will be the first of many times you cook this… So easy and Sooo good!
This is for a small pie… say for 4 people, but its great the next day, so just double everything to make a larger pie, then you’ll have enough for tomorrow night as well.
Traditionally, this pie is made with filo, but…. I find filo to fussy, and time consuming, so I use puff (still great)
Also, you can use any type of spinach, and more or less of any of the ingredients, if cooking for kids you might want to use less spinach for example.
1/4 onion finely chopped
1 tsp butter
1 bunch english spinach washed and torn
500g Ricotta (either full or no fat)
250g fetta (any is fine… I like aussie or danish)
About 3 sheets puff pastry.
Cook onion in butter till translucent and add wet spinach.
Turn heat to low, and put on lid, cook another 5 mins.
Let it cool for about 5 mins then add the ricotta and break up the fetta with hands into mixture.
Mix altogether with wooden spoon well, and spoon into pastry case.
Top with sheet of pastry and pinch around the sides.
Whack into hot oven and cook at 200 degC for about an hour or golden brown on top.
Leaking toilets are the most common cause of excess water bills!
Most people are more likely to repair leaking taps because the drips are visible, whereas leaking toilets go unnoticed most of the time.
Whilst toilet leaks are often difficult to detect, some of these symptoms may help.
You have to jiggle the flush buttons to stop the water running
You hear sounds from the toilet when it’s not being used
Holding the flush button down
Water constantly running through the overflow and down into the bowl
Water stains at the back of the bowl
Water re-filling sounds during the night even when no-one has used the loo
Water runs into the bowl after the filling sounds have stopped
These are signs of a leaking toilet and I’m very sure you could save on your water bill by fixing this leak!
Overnight, we watched Sally Pearson win Gold in the 100 metres hurdles at the London Olympics 2012.
Pearson exploded onto the world track scene at the Beijing Olympics 2008 winning the silver medal in what was to become HER event.
It has taken Sally 17 years to become an overnight sensation.
This season, Pearson has been unbeatable except for a lead up race to London 3 weeks ago, where she ran second to Kellie Wells.
In a nail biting finish Sally got home in 12.35 rain soaked seconds.
Second was Dawn Harper, Third was Kellie Wells both from the USA. Well done girls!
Dawn Harper, gracious in defeat, clapped the Australian champion in the True Olympic Spirit.
So what’s the plumbing connection?
If you stay on track with some simple practice, maintenance and guidance from a team of experts you can overcome most plumbing hurdles.
Don’t hesitate to ask our team if you have any plumbing hurdles.
Go Sally!
Tonight London time, sees the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games.
This great sporting event rolls around every 4 years, athletes will deliver their personal best.
To compete is a wonderful achievement.
To achieve a podium finish is a dream.
To WIN GOLD is beyond their wildest dreams.
We all have our favourite Olympic sporting memories, the ones that make our hair stand on end, years after.
This is one of mine.
Kieran Perkins is swimming royalty. He is inspiration! He is a living example of how hard work, fine tuning, technique analysis, great mentoring and self belief, knowing that he must swim his own race to achieve glory.
Just watch this! “The heart of a champion can never be discounted”
To all the athletes competing in London 2012 Play to Win!!!
Aussie Aussie Aussie… Oi Oi Oi
During the next 16 days if you have a plumbing emergency during the Olympic Games 2012, we will be here to deliver gold medal service.
CAll us on 02 9664 4990.
But when the plumbing repairs are done, you can rest assured all the guys on our team will want to talk sport.
Well Winter finally made it and it’s raining, cold and just plain miserable!
So do what I do after a long day outside.
Run a nice hot bath and just soak in it!
What…. no hot water.
If your water heater is letting you down this winter, call our team to find out why it’s happening.
The answer is usually a simple one.
If your water heater is under performing, we can help you to improve the efficiency of your existing heater or even upgrade the heater you have now for the latest in hot water technology!
Just ask!
The first of June is the first of winter and we all need lots of hot water.
32% of Australian home owners don’t know where their water heater is located or what powers it.
Is it gas, electric or solar?
Find out where your water heater is located, they can be inside or out, wall mounted or in storage rooms and cupboards, even in the ceiling space or under the floor.
In a hot water plumbing emergency you should know where your water heater is and how to turn it off.
I want you to practice turning OFF the hot water control valve.
Then, go to your nearest hot tap and turn it ON. The water should slow to a dribble, then stop!
If not, the control valve needs to be replaced. Imagine if you had a ruptured hot tap washer late at night. Now you can turn off the water heater until help arrives and still have cold water supply to the rest of the house.
Knowledge is power!
If you need help finding your water heater or an emergency plumber, contact us on 02 9664 4990.
There is nothing worse than a smelly drain in your home.
Depending on the cause, sometimes it can be a large project to repair a smelly drain, but….
Sometimes it can be exceptionally easy
Ensure all S and P traps have water in them. If the water seal in unused floor drains like a seldom used guest bathroom dries up, you may get a rotten egg smell from sewer gases coming up the pipes and into your house.
A simple fix is to run the bath shower or basin taps that have been unused and get some water into the trap.
Some laundry drains or floorwaste are not charged by plumbing fixtures so, get a jug or bucket with some warm soapy water or disinfectant and simply tip the liquid into your floor waste drains.
When the water seal is missing it allows the sewer pipes to vent through the dried out trap.
Open the windos an let some air through the room.
If the smell persists call your friendly plumber!
How to test, clean and maintain your roof gutters and downpipes
Roof gutter maintenance is one of the most important house maintenance tasks to perform on the exterior of your home. Neglecting gutter maintenance can result in damage and costly repairs of the soffit, fascia, house wall (exterior and interior), roof decking surfaces, and other structures surrounding your property.
Roof gutters need to be cleaned more often if there are trees surrounding your house or if there are trees in the near neighborhood. During the autumn, when all those trees start shedding their leaves, you may need to have the gutters cleaned several times.The safest way to find out how your gutters are performing is to go outside during the rain and check your downpipes.
If there’s very little or no water discharging from them, or water is overflowing from the gutter edges, you may have a few problems:
The gutter or downpipe itself is blocked.
The drainage at the base of the downpipe is blocked with leaf debris or tree roots or both.
The gutter has backfall and needs to be removed and re-fitted with the correct amount of fall.
Decomposing roof tiles, tree leaves and branches, tennis balls and even dead birds will block the roof water flow.
Please if you take on these seemingly simple tasks, make sure you take every possible safety precaution!
Life changing experiences make you do that. Stop and smell those roses.
