Blue skies, sunshine, a cough and an appointment!

 

It was a beautiful morning yesterday and if I hadn't developed this awful cough and cold, I would have walked to look at the sea.. but the blue skies were so lovely and because I was feeling hot, I thought a walk around the bungalow was just what I needed. Its 178 or 200 steps all the way round on the path.. One way round is easier because there are 3 individual shallow steps to go up and then round the north side there are 2 deeper steps to go down and Dh has fixed some grab bars there, so I feel safe. I walked round twice and then because it was so pleasant I sat out on the patio and listened to the birds, no other sounds and the sky was blue and the sun was shining, it was very pleasant. 

I'd also had a phone call for the appointment with the urologist the week after next, so well pleased.. Its for 8:30 am, so we'll have to leave home before 8 to get there on time!

Dh went to the Book Group Meeting by himself, as I was coughing so much.. Afterwards he went to Boots to get some more cough medicine and I asked could he get some Dequindine throat tabs, but they have been removed from sale, as they found that they contained anti-biotics, no wonder they were so good!

So cough, cough, cough! Hope Dh doesn't get it, we've stopped kissing! 

Anyone got this awful cough? I think I caught it in SW, as that new member was talking right in front of me. I doubt I'll have lost any weight, as the medicine has sugar and the throat lozenges, but I'm keeping to the food plan, arrgg I can't win!

Chrisxx

Gardening.

 These are the  snowdrops I bought in the green last year and this is last years photo! Where are they? We look every day and so far none are showing!

But I'm not giving up, because they are in front of the hedge, so a north aspect, so I expect they are still there in the soil, all 100 of them! And when they do I'll be posting pics everywhere!

We did some tidying up out there on Sunday, there was no wind so although it was only 5.7C it didn't feel too cold. I was wearing my old fleece and a scarf.. we planted the white daffodils we bought from Homebase, all reduced because its closing down. I like them in the garden where I can see them from the French doors when they come up. There are a lot of daffodils already showing, we have planted 100s here as there was only tumpy grass when we came here, so I love to see them all flowering.

We pruned the clematis out the front, which was looking a bit scraggy and cut back the dried up stems of the perennial plants. We have a  lot of self seeded aquilegias which I might reduce this spring and thin out the grape hyacinths which have spread. So it looks a lot tidier and there were two grapes left on the grape vine which were really sweet. When I'm out in the garden, I forget the catheter and I'm happy altho' Dh did the lions share of the work. We've left a garden chair out on the patio, so I can sit out with a coffee if I feel like it. I've always sat out in the garden as long as it was dry, and I'm hoping to sit outside a lot more this summer.

I am waiting now and planning for the garden, I will be sowing lupin, antirrhinums and sweet peas next month. Although we don't have a green house we have south and west facing window sills, and I bought some seed starting covered trays a few years ago, so super for growing seeds seeds. 

The last few evenings its been light at 5 o'clock so spring is on the way. Are you wanting to get started too?

Chrisxx

Clinic Appointment??

This so joyful and uplifting I had to post it. Thank you for your commiserations re:- this new laptop, I shouldn't complain many people are not in the position to be able to buy a new one, but its so frustrating. I am still struggling and can't find an easy way to save pics, unlike my old laptop.

And pleased you liked the poem, by Gaby Compres, I loved it.

I'm still struggling with this catheter and was offered an Urologist Appointment to have it removed, then checks to see if I could pass urine, but I already had something booked for that day and so said I couldn't attend. They are supposed to be sending me a new appointment, but of course they haven't although I have phoned their clinic twice and left messages, to no avail. I cannot see the point of a phone that is only able to take messages and no one answers and then no response!

So I'm just carrying on but very unhappy and still uncomfortable at night, but at least I slept 7 hours the night before last, but then last night I couldn't get to sleep, so read till 1:30 am.. What was the book you could put down Jan? (Jabblog) reading to the early hours, please share.

At this moment in time I am ready to start screaming at Drs and the lack of understanding, that we the patients are at their mercy.. they hold all the cards and although we are willing to go with their rules and restrictions, we are suffering. Well I am, the tubes from the catheter rub and I am sore and find walking agony. Its like I have barbed wire between my legs.. TMI? Sorry but that's what its like.. the straps holding the collection bag on my leg are making my lower leg and foot swell, so that's worrying me too.  Can't have the straps too loose as then the bag ends up by my ankle!

So I'm going to phone the clinic every day!! I have always said. 'Its the squeaky wheel that gets oiled!' WTS

Chrisxx

New Laptop difficulties

 I've had to  buy a new laptop  and while it works perfectly well, it has given me a lot of stress! At one point I wanted to send it back. I know all these passwords and 'one time passwords' are to keep us safe from fraud and thieves, but really how many do we need. I thought I had them all written down and I do/did, but it seems I've changed them over time, more or less all of them!! And then forgotten them and with no cookies, this new laptop doesn't know the different sites I've visited. So its been a trial of nerves and stress.

 I've screamed and had tears because with some sites it was as though I was caught in an loop, going round and round and getting no where. How can you retrieve a site if the requirement is a OTP that is being sent to another site, which you can't get on to, because you don't have the password!!! Scream, scream, scream! Dh always keeps calm and it very tech savy, but even he was flummoxed at some. We were hours setting up different email accounts, what a faff!

He wanted to help and he did except he managed to wipe my saved Words Docs, but clever new laptop sent the whole lot to my gmail account? So I was able to restore the ones I wanted, I had saved a lot of dross over the years... anyway I'm gradually getting used to it and will be really getting back into blogging and visiting blogs, but at the moment I'm struggling. 

Chrisxx

The Words I want you to Know by Gaby Compés

a list of things my soul forgot

i am still brave

i am free

i am beautiful

i have hope

i am redeemed

I am alive

and my story is still being written

i am worth more than the words i write

and i have worth even when i can not write

and i am worth even more than the sun

and the moon

and the stars

i can dream

i am not perfect and its ok to struggle

because even though i don't deserve grace

it is mine

i am lovely

and i am loved

and even if i forget the truth

that doesn't change that

it is still true.

Gaby Comprés

 Chrisxx

Disturbed night again.

 Another very bad night awake for hours, although I was comfortable and warm, I was wide awake. Its so annoying and today I'll be tired and not want to do anything, It's so hard to go walking if you feel tired, I'm wobbly at the best of times so tired as well is a recipe for disaster!

When I met my old school friend yesterday she was complaining of insomnia too and the night time loo visits. She was telling me about her ex-husband as she saw him just before Christmas. He'd not been well with a horrible cold, man flu? And had phoned her to get him some cold treatment stuff from Boots, as where he lives there isn't one. She said he did look rough, and declined going in, because she didn't want to catch it as well. He was saying how tired he was, what with this cold and having to get up at night for the toilet.. She said he was absolutely amazed when she said so did she, because he didn't know women had that too! We both laughed out loud, didn't think women had that too, we're the most getting up to the toilet at night time breed that you could have!

All my friends my age get up at least once if not more. Although I've found this catheter uncomfortable, it has meant that most nights I've slept for 7 hours! But next week I have an appointment to see the Urologist and have the catheter out. I don't know if I'll be glad or what I've got used to having a cup of tea after 7:00 pm and also not have to worry if I need the toilet when we're out. But I expect I'll cope I have done in the past, so we'll see how things go.

                      Chrisxx

Oh dear!

It was a lovely sunny day yesterday albeit chilly, pleasant for walking. We had arranged to meet a friend for a coffee in town and we needed to top up our fruit and I needed my hair cut.  Our usual coffee shop had that lovely atmosphere we love and the coffee is good.

It was nice chatting to my hair dresser too, who'd been to Morocco with all her family for the Christmas week, sixteen altogether! Temps were 20 C so very pleasant she said. I needed a good cut, so now I have very short hair! Ah well, it will grow I hope!

And for some unknown reason I decided I wanted to look in B&M, why? Because we don't buy anything in there, but I just wanted to look round. I wish I hadn't... I got lost in there. Like a lot of stores who want to optimize their shelving they make loops of them so you have to walk all the way round. There were dead ends, rows that doubled back and no exit signs. I was beginning to feel claustrophobic, when I saw Dh, with a store basket with just 2 pkts of paracetamol! And we made our escape.

I was so relieved to get out, but by this time my wee collection bag needed emptying, fortunately we were passing the town toilets on the way back to the car park and I have a radar key for the disable loo.. when we got to it, I was horrified to see it had a metal bar and it was padlocked. We had to use one of the other toilets which are no way big enough for two people, as Dh helps, we just left the door open! 

I've since discovered it is now deemed out of order because it has been vandalized and also some homeless people are sleeping there!!! We did see a supermarket trolley there in the main entrance, piled high with sleeping bags, how sad..some one suggested to complain to the town council, would anything get down if we all did? I expect their reasoning would be lack of funding.. Karl Marx was right.. 'The root of everything is money.'

Chrisxx

Arggg why did I do it?

 Although I decided to eat sensibly over Christmas and folIow the Slimming World plan, I did and I didn't!

Obviously Christmas day with Duck, as our main meal that didn't follow the SW plan, but we knew that and neither did the Christmas Pudding with fresh cream. 

( A typical SW meal. spiced mince, boiled rice and peppers)

We did buy a few extras but Christmas only comes once a year and before Christmas on the 20th it was my birthday, but we didn't go mad and have a Chinese take away. To be honest I really would have loved that! We'd been to the Garden Centre lunch time so that was nice and that was all. (I did have ice cream!)

But then Christmas was difficult both my step daughters gave me tasty treats, Chocolates, Turkish Delight and tins of biscuits. Dh bought the Cadbury's Dairy Milk, so a lot of  high calorie foods.

I can resist chocolates, but Ice cream is my biggest failure so now its all gone, we won't buy anymore. 

We're really good at cooking SW meals, the one pictured here is 

Easy Chicken Supreme, the creamy look is quark, a fat free sort of cheese.. It can have a sour taste and that's perhaps why a lot of SW recipes have a lot of herbs and spices. We have a lot of SW cookery books and do sit down  and plan our meals. When we're good, we're very good and once we're in the 'mode' we stick to the plan.

So that's what I have to do, because I have gained quite a bit, well truth be told quite a lot.. so why did I do it?

In past Christmases I haven't gained much, but the combination of this catheter, broken nights sleep and not getting out walking= weight gain!

So here I am, my clothes feel just a bit uncomfortable so a big intensive to keep to the plan.. can I? I hope I can, I'm already in a size bigger than a few years ago and I am not buying new!

All the Christmas stuff is away so not visible.. back to normal this week, started yesterday. We're meeting a friend in town for coffee but no Tiffin or Currant Bun, we'll take a SW Hi-fi bar with us! What about you, was there a weight gain?

Chrisxx

Dog love.

My heart was weeping when I read this yesterday.. a beautiful cockerpoo dog had been ill for a while, so her owners had to make the awful decision to let her go.

I knew how they were feeling, we were at the place 18 months ago.. but we like them couldn't bear to see our dog suffer.  They'd arranged to have the vet to their house and before she started the procedure they asked her to wait. 

They wanted to let their dog have some Chocolate Buttons so she'd know what all the fuss about chocolate was,  and she enjoyed everyone!

Such love, fly little one over Rainbow Ridge.. unless you've had a dog you can not know the awful hole they leave in your heart.

Chrisxx

❄️A Simple Life?

When I should be doing hundreds of things, I sometimes give in and sit down and watch this woman, so relaxing and such a simple life.

When did life get so complicated. Don't get me wrong I don't want to go back to the forties, fifties, which was when I grew up.....pre-central heating? No thank you.. But I can remember being taken to the Dr,  where we all sat in an outer room, no receptionist, no phones and in silence. Every now and then the Dr would pop his head out of a door way, shout next and some one went into his room. Every body knew who's turn it was and might even had known what the problem was too!!

Today there is a long pre-amble to get to see a Dr,  although our surgery has got a new phone system, where you get through more or less straight away and appointments are that day!

Do I want to make Peach juice out in the open with the sound of chickens and the old man's wheel barrow going round the garden doing the odd jobs??  He always knows when to stop to help when needed to lift the heavy pan, does she shout for him?  I wonder, did she always have those big pans, bowls and flat cooking trays, or were they bought for the videos, who is filming it all.. so is it a professional job? 

Thinking that spoils it for me. I want it to be just the old woman and old man going about their lives simply. There are other videos of her cooking other foods and then they sit together at a little table, usually covered by a check patterned cloth and eat together.     

Chrisxx