A fright in the night.

 Apart from waking at night for no reason, altho its been suggested, its hormones. Hormones?? I thought I'd left them behind years ago,  but it seems that's what causes insomnia in post menopausal women; wouldn't you have guessed men are exempt!! But last night I woke at about about 4:25ish with a bladder spasm, which causes a feeling of wanting to wee even with a catheter in place. Its not just annoying but also distressing, because obviously there's no point going to the bathroom to the toilet.  But I've learnt if I get out of bed and stand up for a while, the feeling of wanting to wee goes. Dh was already awake, he didn't know why he woke.

I got back into bed and we were just lying there deciding should we have  a cuppa, when there was a banging on our front door!  It was quarter to five, Dh put on his dressing gown and I sat up, shouting  'BE CAREFUL'  He asked who was it and the answer was.... the police!! We are well lit up outside and have a hall lamp on all night as well. There were three of them, asking if Dh's name was Andrews... no one here of that name and they asked how long we'd been there, as someone named Andrews was listed here, as his last known address. We were able to give them details of the previous owner, but we did say he hadn't lived there, but there was lots of post still arriving for different people,  as the bungalow had been leased to numerous tenants. 

And off they went into a people type carrier vehicle, in fact there were two vehicles! Wow what a night! I wonder if any of our neighbours saw anything, perhaps they now think the two OAP who pass their houses are criminals in disguise! 

We did then have a cup of tea, but I went back into bed after half an hour and slept till gone nine. I must admit we were slightly afraid with the banging at first, as that time of the night it could have been yobs I thought,  but Dh thought it could have been a neighbour in distress, anyway it was not nice. But we have laughed about it since, because Dh had on his nose snoring strip, and one toe peeps through his right slipper, so might have caused the police a smile as they walked away.

Chrisxx

Post Christmas.

 Thank you everyone for your Happy Christmas wishes, hope you all had a wonderful time. We really enjoyed ourselves.. all sort of back to normal now, altho we leave our Christmas decorations up till 12th night.

We ate more than we should have, but today we're back on the slimming world food plan and its a start.  We've walked every day except Boxing day when it rained and apart from Boxing day, we've had wall to wall grey days! So dreary and it doesn't engender happy... ...lets go walking vibes! 

Yesterday as soon as we'd eaten our Sunday dinner we shot off, because the sun was shining and that would mean our town would be full and it was! Coney Beach was busy with  a 'Sausage Dog' charity walk across the beach! So this added to the other charity events, there was the swim on Christmas Morning, then there was the Boxing day Park Run,  except its not a Park Run, but along the prom; and at Rest Bay there was a Sand Snowman competition! There was also the usual Saturday Run. So many energetic people here in our town!

I quite like walking once I'm out, but I still worry about tripping so hang onto my wheels.. so yesterday was frightening. Along West Drive where I like to walk as its tarmac and not pavers, as I stepped away from our car I was nearly knocked over by a young girl on an E-Scooter! I screamed, it gave me such a fright.. she shouted 'sorry, sorry' but didn't stop as she whizzed off. Several people stopped to ask if I was alright, I was shaken up and a bit teary! But I got myself together and walked a bit further than I did the day before, no point wearing my watch,  as the jolting of my arm holding on to my wheels adds steps!

And wasn't this fantastic, I loved every minute and we probably will watch it again!

Chrisxx

Happy Christmas

 

Happy Christmas Everyone... hope you all have a Happy and Blessed Christmas... enjoy your day.

Thank you to all the comments and kind thoughts through out the year. I have enjoyed reading your blogs too.. Blog land is a wonderful place!

Chrisxx

Thank goodness for side streets!

We had a lovely morning in town yesterday, no rain, at last it had stopped and the wind had dropped. The main reason of going was to pick up our Christmas dinner, duck from the butchers..There was a young woman singing in the middle of the main street and she had the most beautiful voice.. she was collecting for women in East Asia, all official, as there are often people singing or playing instruments there, all always very talented. I stood and listen to her for ages.

 

Then ooops I had a bit of a problem, because suddenly one of the straps on the wee collection bag on my leg of this catheter, loosened and it slipped down  and we had to step into a side street, so Dh could tighten it up! All done very discreetly and quickly, so all ok. People were all too busy to notice anyway.

We had a lovely coffee and one of these, well it is Christmas!

Chrisxx

Christmas Sweet Bread

Saturday Dh and I spent the afternoon baking! And we loved it, working together, tasting as we went and we've realised how many food bits our dog Nell ate that dropped onto the floor, because the floor was a mess when we'd finished!

This is the fruit bread we've made it in the past, but the uncooked roll is cut length ways and both sides then rolled round to make this shape. It is delicious and very more-ish!

The recipe can be found here and how its made into this shape..watching this video is very calming!

We had such a lovely afternoon, we also made an Orange flavoured cake mix and of course Tiffin.. roll on Christmas.

Chrisxx

A super birthday day!

What an awful weather, the rain is streaming down the window panes, but its not cold as temps outside are 11C so comparatively warm, as long as you're wearing warm clothes. We keep our home on the warm side! 

I really enjoyed my day yesterday, with a slow start not showering till 10-ish.. yes we swerved SW, as I was sure I might have gained a pound or two in the week and who wants to be told they've gained weight on their birthday??

We hadn't really planned anything definite except to eat out for lunch but not where.. I said the garden centre which is about 5 miles from us and does have a decent café. 

Wow, they had extended it and now had a full menu! I still just had a sandwich, a big meal at lunch time doesn't suit me; so a prawn mayo sandwich was my choice. It was delicious, white bread, real butter and served with crisps and a salad. all went down very nicely with an Elderflower Presse. Dh had a Ham and Cheese Panini.. 

And then we went into the garden section. Although it was raining there was an overhead covering, which was just as well because the heavy rain was like someone going mad on drums!

And this is what I choose..a Winter Flowering Jasmine for the fence.

A white Hellibore for the front trough as one plant has died off in it.

And a Skimmia again for the front trough.

(These are photographs from the internet as too wet to go outside)

So a very pleasing visit and buys.. I ate 6 chocolates from the Dairy box Dh had bought me, the only chocs I eat and those yesterday will keep me happy for days. I'm not a big chocolate eater, ice cream is my happy eats!!

So I enjoyed my day, I have a thick fleece dressing gown to wear while I read my new book, and while I fill in my new address book and stuff myself full of chocs! And all were beautifully wrapped too with bows and ribbons.. Dh always goes the extra mile for my birthday as its so near Christmas. 

So I've made it to 82, it doesn't always feels that old, except on wet days, my aches and pains let me know I'm no longer a spring chicken!

Chrisxx

My Special Day... 82 years!!! 20/12/42

 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE 1% ERS:

99% of people born between 1930 and 1946 (GLOBALLY) are now dead.

If you were born in this time span, your ages range between 77 and 93 years old (a 16-year age span) and you are one of the rare surviving one-percenters.

You are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900's.

You are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war that rattled the structure of our daily lives for years.

You are the last to remember ration books for everything from tea to sugar to shoes. You saved tin foil and poured fried meat fat into cans.

You can remember milk being delivered to your house early in the morning and placed in the "milk box" at the front door. Discipline was enforced by parents and teachers. You are the last generation who spent childhood without television and instead, you “imagined” what you heard on the radio.

With no TV, you spent your childhood "playing outside". There was no city playground for kids. The lack of television in your early years meant that you had little real understanding of what the world was like.

We got “black-and-white” TV in the late 50s that had 3 stations and no remote.

Telephones (if you had one) were one to a house and hung on the wall in the kitchen (who cares about privacy). Computers were called calculators; they were hand-cranked. Typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon. INTERNET and GOOGLE were words that did not exist.

Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and your dad would give you the comic pages after he read the news. The news was broadcast on your radio in the evening. The radio network gradually expanded from 3 stations to thousands.

New highways would bring jobs and mobility. Most highways were 2 lanes and there were no Motorways. You went downtown to shop. You walked to school.

A favourite singer.

Alison Kraus is my favourite Country singer, her song, 'Now That I've found You.'  was played so often by my daughter, my grand daughter at 4 years old used to sing along with the CD and knew all the words.

I still like her although many people have never heard of her. In the last school I worked, a teacher there used to organise a music quiz every year for a local charity. I astounded my colleagues by naming her when he played her most popular song, which gave our team the winning point!

How could I not know it when my grand daughter used to sing it all the day long, and I still like it.

Chrisxx

A calming carol to put right my traumatic day!

I need this carol to calm me down; I was awake in the night for hours which means so was Dh! I did eventually get back to sleep and slept till 9.. at 9:15 I had a phone call from the district nurse to say she was coming at 10:30 ish!! Big rush to shower and dress and to make sure there was a clean towel in the bathroom because she has always washed her hands.. what a good thing that we cleaned yesterday and cleared away the stuff we leave about,.. she arrived with  a young man, who is training to be a district nurse..

I was waiting for the questions, how I was etc, when she said the whole point of her visit was to change the catheter!!Oh no, pain my mind said! But honestly it didn't hurt one bit! This is a 12 week catheter, so bringing it to March before it can come out! Altho' I should be contacted by a Urologist before then, to decide what happens next??? I wasn't expected that, I thought this was a short time temporary thing. So I am not happy.

I already had an appointment with the chiropodist, she was supposed to come on 9th Dec, I had written the date and time down when she was here after last time.. she absolutely denied she had made that appointment for me and so I said 'what ever;' I seethed inside, she is  a very 'I am right' sort of person with very black and white views. She did annoy me! She insisted it was 1:00pm Dec 18th which is not a time I usually agree to, because we eat at that time.

But on top of that we had a phone call from the library to say the Book Group time had been brought forward from 2:30 to 1:00 pm!! 

So Dh informed them we would be late! Why and how some people expect you to fall in with their times, when they give you such short notice I don't know!  Its a one off thing because its Christmas, we were told and it will be back to our usual time after it... didn't the person who organizes it know to tell us last month?

So all in all a traumatic start to my day.

The  book group book was 'Foxash,' by Kate Worsley, I wouldn't recommend it. It was a depressing dark, horror story set in the 1930s, post the Great Depression, and based on true historical fact when unemployed people were set up on 4 acres of land, to grow produce to sell and make a living.

 So I was very glad to pick up a book by Erica James last night to read at bedtime, a real comfort read!

What a day I was exhausted and it was only Wednesday, there's the rest of the week to get through now. I hope no other phone calls to upset plans already in place!

Chrisxx

Its Beginging to Look Like Christmas

We did manage to decorate the outside of our bungalow yesterday and  although Dh had promised he wouldn't do daft things on the steps,  like over stretching and falling off, to make sure,  I supervised!

So we have coloured lights round our brick posts which flick off and on, so maybe annoying to our neighbours, whose music is sometimes very, very loud! Although this year they do have lights outside round their Olive trees! 

And one of the very large extended houses, whose house front is a large glass frontage have firm to decorate their house, so it probably can be seen from space!

Our town does have lights but they're not wonderful and there have been numerous complaints from the towns people and a query as to where does our money go to? 

One of the main roundabouts last year, we haven't got this on the roundabout this year because the reindeer were stolen! Sad!

Chrisxx