There’s a riot of colour in Rita’s world. From the turquoise feathers of her constant companion, Cheeky the Quaker parrot, to crocheted rugs draped across chairs and lounges, her Sydney home is filled with colour and creativity.
“My house looks like the crochet house,” Rita laughs.
“There’s a big square one on the back of where I’m sitting. I’ve got one on the lounge… and another one there in the Penrith colours. I’ve been told I’ve got a good thing for colour.”
She’s just finished a rug for her friend Margaret’s 80th birthday and there’s a smaller, family focused project coming up: after a lifetime surrounded by boys—three sons with her late husband Ray and four grandsons—Rita’s looking forward to meeting her first great grandchild, a baby girl. (There’ll be a crochet creation for her, too.)
Watched over by a parrot
While Rita works, Cheeky is rarely far away. The South American parrot sits on her shoulder while she crochets, follows her from room to room and watches everything she does.
“He’s developed this thing that I can’t crochet with him out (of the cage),” Rita says. “He attacks the crochet hook. Anything I pick up, I’m taking the attention off him.
“He’s got the attitude of a two-year-old!”
And he’s chatty—but only with Rita—offering a vocabulary including hello, I love you and I’m a good boy.
Cheeky came into Rita’s life after a neighbour found the bird and asked if she had a spare cage. They couldn’t find his owner.
“Somebody had broken their heart over this bird. Now he’s my world.”
Support to stay at home
Also in Rita’s world is her Care Connect team.
Her path to Care Connect began after she broke her foot a few years ago and ended up in hospital. An aged care nurse recognised she could use some extra support at home—she lived on her own and her children weren’t close by.
A visiting occupational therapist helped her access a Commonwealth support program for indoor help. She then moved across to a Home Care Package that gives her both house cleaning and gardening services.
Rose, who comes regularly to help with cleaning, has become part of her routine.
“She’s absolutely lovely, just a dream,” Rita says. “Nothing’s a problem.”
Support with gardening has made a big difference. “The first time it was done, it was out of control,” she says. “That man pulled every weed out by hand. It looked lovely.”
Rita says her care manager, Donna, has been a great help with practical matters, including arranging taxi vouchers for medical appointments. And she finds the whole team helpful and friendly: “You ring the girls in the office, and you feel as though they want to help you,” she says.
“Even when I ring to pay my contribution, the accountant says, ‘Hello Rita, how are you?’ It’s really nice to hear his voice too.”
With Cheeky’s chatter and crochet projects filling her days, Rita says being able to stay at home with support has been essential to her wellbeing.