Sorry to hear this, Mark...some are at their best when things are at their worst. Others? Oh well. Soldier on, soldier. My best to Shaunna and hope she shook the flu.

My deepest condolences to all of the family.    

May she R.I.P., my condolences,

My heartfelt sympathies got out to Shaunna and all of you. God be with ya.

Bereavement affects everyone differently...sometimes quite annoyingly/unsettlingly.

Pass on our thoughts to Shaunna.

Thanks everyone, your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated by us both.  Obviously it's not the best time, but we are making the best of a sad situation and trying to remain positive.  I'm just so glad that I came down, though. 

Despite the additional airfares and other costs, not to mention the various negative aspects since arriving, I wouldn't be anywhere else right now.  While Shaunna is holding up well, I think she'd be lost without me right now, given the way Bianca is going and showing absolutely no consideration whatsoever.

Anyway, enough of that.  We have a nice room at the pub and everything we need is close by and is withing walking distance.  However, it's not the same as being at home and I can't wait to get back into my own bed.

Deepest condolences to you and your family...

Sadly, bereavement had nothing to do with it.  All that negative stuff occurred in the 5 days prior to Janice's passing.  No, it more likely had more to do with excessive alcohol consumption and ice.  No, not the stuff you put in a long, tall glass of Beam 'n cola, but that stuff cooked up in backyard labs and ruining young lives and families everywhere.

She has now involved her 20-something boyfriend, who is threatening to break my legs because she's pissed at our leaving her place.  It's pathetic and childish to say the least, and anyone who threatens a person old enough to be his grandfather isn't much of a man or to be at all worried about.

Oh yeah, that time when Bianca supposedly had liver cancer.... total bullshit and sympathy seeking.  We just discovered this today and we're not impressed at all.  She spun the story in hope of stopping Shaunna going home to Queensland from her previous visit, and while she was sick the day she sprung it [and even called an ambulance] it was nothing more than a heavy hangover.

To put it bluntly, Shaunna and I are pretty much done with her after all the lies, the bad attitude and woeful behaviour.  She also told us that she handed over her last two children to Family Services because she stressed when they weren't gaining any weight, but we recently discovered that Child Protection took the kids due to concerns of neglect.

So yeah, Shaunna has had more to deal with this last couple of weeks than anyone should have to

So sorry to hear of your loss Mrs S....very hard to lose someone you're so close too....

re Bianca...glad to hear Child Protection involved...she shouldn't have ANY children in her care. No wonder you're at your wits end with her...sounds like she should be locked away in rehab for her and children's safety.... not the kind of stress you needed with dealing with your grief at this time... why churn out kids if you're not prepared to do your best for them... heart goes out to those children...    

Thanks syd, your thoughts are much appreciated.... and yeah, we agree that Bianca is unfit to have children in her care.  Sadly, as she gets older she gets worse rather than better, and after years of trying to help her just to have it thrown back in our faces, it's time we moved on and took care of ourselves and those who can/want to be helped.

Anyway, we had to jump through hoops with Jetstar to rebook our flights from tomorrow to Thursday so that we could attend Janice's funeral.  It took all day nearly, and still we got nowhere.  In the end, Shaunna was speaking with a Jetstar representative on Facebook messenger and we were able to change our flights for just the difference in cost, $26.00 each.  Earlier in the day it was going to cost us well over $600.00, which we simply couldn't afford after accommodation costs and other expenses.

All's well that ends well, though.  We can now attend the funeral and catch up with various family members we've not seen in a while... and get home just a day later.  I wanted to get home sooner rather than later because I need to get the results of some X-rays and scans, not to mention that I'm missing my little dog, Buddy, and my own bed.

My heart goes out to you Mark and Shaunna. You have my condolences. As for the other, I have no words.

Thanks mate, 'tis much appreciated

Yeah, such things can leave a person speechless.... dumbfounded as to why/how a mother could be so inconsiderate and selfish when it comes to her kids.

On a more positive note, the four eldest live with their father and are being well cared for.  They are always well dressed, polite and respectful.  They look to be well fed and appear to be happy and content, with smiles on their faces and twinkles in their eyes.  Thankfully, there are no issues between Mark [ yeah, the kids dad is also named Mark] and ourselves, so we have been able to see them almost every day since arriving here in Tassie.  That has been the shining light of this trip, seeing the grandkids and spending quality time with them.

I just want to thank Mark for doing this post on my behalf , also a HUGE thank you to one all for their kind words on the loss of my beautiful sister Janice her and I have always been close  and yes I was a proper pain in the rear end and often she would tell me so too but she always loved me and looked after me when my mom broke her leg Janice looked after me and got me to school . The memories are many and endless and I will share them as time goes on I also have a couple of pics of her a few days befor she died and left me😭. As they say time heals all wounds. So thank you everyone xxx hugs to you all 🤗 

And what we came home to is inexcusable.  Somebody who I thought we could trust, a so-called family member no less, has up and left owing a couple of grand and has shit on us.

Frankly, I'm done trying to help anybody else.  There's a few I can and do trust, but after that they can all go fech 'em selves.

Like things weren't bad enough, we were summoned by our property manager to respond to stuff Shaunna's niece had said..... which was complete bullshit.  No thanks to her, but our tenure here is on shaky ground because of her spite and lies.  She told the property manager that we kicked her out with no place to go.  We did no such thing.  All that was said to her was that she had to pay her fair share because she had been letting us down with her part of the rent and bills, etc.

Oh well!  Her dues are coming. Nobody shits on me without receiving a deserved measure of my wrath.  All the debt collectors she's been avoiding/hiding from will learn of her location.... bye bye car and other stuff she's indebted for. 

Yeah, I know, some will say it's petty, but I simply can't abide by people going out of their way to cause me trouble when I've done nothing but bend over backwards to help them. 

Hey Mark. Have some this.       

Not sure what you can with them though. 

Been there, done that.

Thanks, mate.  We certainly did not need her creating self-centred dramas after losing Janice just days before.  I've since been told that she really spat the dummy after my son rejected her advances while we were gone and wouldn't roll like thunder under the covers with her.  He has enough on his plate without taking on damaged goods..... and no, I don't mean her Parkinsons.  She still has all her faculties, mentally speaking, but lately she has become so mean, spiteful and selfish, stabbing anyone and everyone in the back, including Shaunna, her aunt, her father and three of her own sibings.  We met her father at the funeral and says that she owes them all money but refuses to pay up.

l know that she will regret leaving us here and will want to come back when that dawns on her, but too bad, she has burnt her bridges with us.  Not only could we never trust her again, she belongs in a nursing home because we found caring for her became increasingly difficult as time passed, and not just because of her disease.  Rather it was her obstinance, arrogance and frequent refusal to co-operate with us regarding her ongoing care.  At least in a nursing home they are trained and better able to deal with contrary patients.

Yup, given what we know now, we dodged a bullet with her leaving, but it's the way in which it was done that cuts like a knife.  We'll get back on top, but it will take a while.

I'm so sorry, Shaunna. My condolences to you, Mark, and your family.

Thank you sViz, it is much appreciated.  Shaunna is still trying to come to terms with everything that's happened and isn't up for commenting just now.  She reads everyones posts but isn't in the best head space to reply as yet.  I was a bit that way when my brother passed and some family members became argumentative and disruptive after his funeral.  The hurts eventually went away, though, as they will for Shaunna as time goes on.

My condolences to you and Shaunna , it's sad to loose a loved one, and then have someone add more pain to your situation, may peace, strength, and comfort be upon you and your Mrs.