Some of you will probably be very pleased to read that I have finally reached the end of my masses of photos of Dunedin and various other towns in southern NZ! This took WAY longer than I expected, since I’ve kind of been slotting these posts in on days when I didn’t have anything else to write about!

Anyway! I hope some people have found them interesting, and have added New Zealand to their Bucket List of countries to visit!

The last place we stopped off on the way home was Oamaru, which, I was surprised to discover, is apparently "The Steampunk Capital of NZ". Heh. Who’d have ever thought that NZ even HAD a steampunk capital!?

Before we visited the historic district, we stopped for a walk in the Chinese-themed part of the botanic gardens, which had a very cool entryway.

I spy with my little eye…the Flying Spaghetti Monster making an appearance in the top photo!!

I really liked the historic district, and would have loved to have spent a bit more time wandering around there. Have to go back, I suppose!

This was one of those places that had something cool to photograph around every corner! How awesome is that lady’s costume!?

We stumbled across what we concluded was some kind of theatre, filled with a few odd, and slightly creepy characters! I suspect I would have LOVED whatever super lucky theatre company has this as their space!

This couple didn’t say very much, but they didn’t mind posing for a photo either.

I am feeling rather pleased with myself at the moment.

This afternoon I succeeded in putting together this lovely shelf. Considering I have never built anything before in my whole life, I don’t think it turned out too badly. It has been up, and filled, for several hours now, and has not wobbled or fallen down yet!

It hadn’t been set up for even two minutes when a furry person came in and jumped right up into a space which was exactly the right size.

Unsurprising. :)

Hope your weekend was as productive as mine!

Today, I am looking very similar to this kitten.

Went back to the nephro clinic this morning for the first time after starting treatment. Although I always knew there probably wouldn’t be much news of note since I’m only a month into a year of treatment, things were really positive.

My creatinine has gone down from 215 to 193. Creatinine indicates how well your kidneys are functioning, and, basically, low = good.

My Prednisone dosage has also been reduced from 60mg to 40mg. That’s still pretty high, but anything lower than it was is fine by me!

Doesn’t look like anymore Rituximab infusions are in my future, at least not at this point.

So although it’s still too early to say for sure that this treatment is working, it definitely looks like it is!

Back to the clinic again in 6 weeks time, so watch this space to see what happens then!

Hope your Thursday is as smiley as mine!

In other news, Happy World Kidney Day!

I used to be one of those people who thought that serious illnesses only happen to other people, never to them.

In September 2010 I got sick. I assumed I had the flu, or had eaten something bad, but went to the doctor anyway, as I was student teaching at the time and needed a medical certificate since I’d been absent from school. Some day the full version of how I got to where I am today will be up HERE, but, long story short, I ended up being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease which causes kidney failure, and at the beginning of this year I started treatment to help me avoid dialysis/needing a transplant for as long as possible. So much for the flu!

If I had not been to my GP when I was sick, and had a kidney function test, it’s very likely I still wouldn’t know that I have this disease, which is an extremely scary thought!

So yes, click here for more information about why kidney function screening is important, and where you can go to be tested for CKD. Obviously my situation is rare and it’s extremely unlikely that anyone reading this has anything to worry about, but, if you’re anything like me, you’d rather know about something like this than not know, right?