Household tip:
If you set a timer on your mobile phone to remind you to turn the chicken you are frying make sure the volume isn't on mute.
Unless you like black chicken.
Wednesday, 12 July 2017
Time for tennis
It's Wimbledon time!
I've been watching lots and lots and lots of tennis.
Of course I support Andy but I also really like Nadal, Federer and Djokovic so I had rather mixed feelings at the start but now it's all sorted though in a sad sort of way.
Go Roger!
And can Johanna beat Venus? I really hope so.
I've been watching lots and lots and lots of tennis.
Of course I support Andy but I also really like Nadal, Federer and Djokovic so I had rather mixed feelings at the start but now it's all sorted though in a sad sort of way.
Go Roger!
And can Johanna beat Venus? I really hope so.
Friday, 30 June 2017
Bit of an update
So what's happening in my life?
Health-wise I am doing well - have been managing to do a bit more and even done a little bit of driving!
J is back home for the summer - yay!
P has been really busy with work and various other activities - too busy really.
My older niece has just finished uni with an excellent degree. She and my brother visited the other night and it was great to see them.
Church going well.
Mavis came home from hospital but she hasn't been quite the same since, in fact things have been quite difficult with Mavis, at times very difficult really.
That's all for now.
Health-wise I am doing well - have been managing to do a bit more and even done a little bit of driving!
J is back home for the summer - yay!
P has been really busy with work and various other activities - too busy really.
My older niece has just finished uni with an excellent degree. She and my brother visited the other night and it was great to see them.
Church going well.
Mavis came home from hospital but she hasn't been quite the same since, in fact things have been quite difficult with Mavis, at times very difficult really.
That's all for now.
Back again
Sorry, I have been absent for a while. Sometimes it just sort of happens - I get out of the blogging habit.
So three months have gone by and it is really hard to believe all that's happened in our nation in that time: Westminster Bridge, Manchester, London Bridge, Finsbury Park, Grenfell Tower... So many times I have watched or read the news and wept. It all just seems so senseless.
But I am aware that there are countries where these sort of things are a daily occurrence which is a really sobering thought.
And last time I blogged we had what seemed to be a stable government but now...
So three months have gone by and it is really hard to believe all that's happened in our nation in that time: Westminster Bridge, Manchester, London Bridge, Finsbury Park, Grenfell Tower... So many times I have watched or read the news and wept. It all just seems so senseless.
But I am aware that there are countries where these sort of things are a daily occurrence which is a really sobering thought.
And last time I blogged we had what seemed to be a stable government but now...
Wednesday, 8 March 2017
Out for lunch
Today was a bit rainy at times. Went out to lunch with friend from previous church - Welsh Rarebit and Lemon Cake - yum (and no dinner) and a nice long chat.
And pretty flowers.
And pretty flowers.
Tuesday, 7 March 2017
A hint of spring
Back a lot better, cough almost gone and today it has felt like spring is in the air. In fact it was so sunny I suggested to P that we went for a walk (use the term loosely) by a river. Had a lovely time. Saw an egret, a cormorant, oyster catchers, black headed gulls, a lesser black backed gull, greenshanks, a dunlin and a sanderling. Plus lots of swans. I am always a bit nervous of swans cos my dad used to tell me they could break my arm but these ones seemed tame enough. A woman was feeding them biscuits and shouting out to her friend that they liked them. Don't think I would feed a swan biscuits. I'd eat them myself. (Just joking).
Talking of which I have a new app on my phone which helps you give up things. It tells you how long since you had whatever it is and plots a graph showing how long you manage between each time you fail. This does actually work to some extent for me - several times I have had a desperate sugar/chocolate urge then thought how close I was to chalking up another day on my graph and managed to keep going. Yay.
As well as the birds we met several interesting dogs and their owners and a man on the beach picking up litter. Wheelchair a bit muddy and a shame we didn't find a coffee shop but it was nice to get out today.
Talking of which I have a new app on my phone which helps you give up things. It tells you how long since you had whatever it is and plots a graph showing how long you manage between each time you fail. This does actually work to some extent for me - several times I have had a desperate sugar/chocolate urge then thought how close I was to chalking up another day on my graph and managed to keep going. Yay.
As well as the birds we met several interesting dogs and their owners and a man on the beach picking up litter. Wheelchair a bit muddy and a shame we didn't find a coffee shop but it was nice to get out today.
Tuesday, 28 February 2017
Mavis unwell
The other thing that happened last week was that Mavis's day centre phoned on Monday (Mavis being elderly friend from previous church, we sort of help her out a bit). Anyway P answered and this woman who worked there said:
"Mavis is complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains what should we do?"
What should they do? What should they do? Phone an ambulance is what they should do.
P had to phone the GP and then phone the day centre and say the doctor said to call an ambulance before they would actually do so. An ambulance turned up and whisked her to hospital with blue lights flashing. At least they were taking it seriously.
Anyway she was in hospital a few days and I felt frustrated cos with my cold I couldn't visit and P had to keep popping down to feed Cyril the cat then she came home and they still hadn't decided exactly what was wrong - an unexplained 'episode' they said. She seems to be ok now although in general she seems to be slowly declining somehow.
"Mavis is complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains what should we do?"
What should they do? What should they do? Phone an ambulance is what they should do.
P had to phone the GP and then phone the day centre and say the doctor said to call an ambulance before they would actually do so. An ambulance turned up and whisked her to hospital with blue lights flashing. At least they were taking it seriously.
Anyway she was in hospital a few days and I felt frustrated cos with my cold I couldn't visit and P had to keep popping down to feed Cyril the cat then she came home and they still hadn't decided exactly what was wrong - an unexplained 'episode' they said. She seems to be ok now although in general she seems to be slowly declining somehow.
23 years is too long
Carried on feeling ill for a couple of days but was well enough to go and visit J at the weekend. Had a lovely time with him. On Saturday we went out to a Mediterranean restaurant and discovered a second hand bookshop which had a sale on. Bliss. I bought a book called 'Marley and Me' by John Grogan because when I was sorting out some paperwork I came across an extract from this book which J had studied at GCSE and it made me laugh aloud and I thought I must get that book sometime.
On Sunday we went to his church which we really liked. There was a real 'God moment' during the worship and the people were really friendly. It was nice to see him so settled there.
Then I began to feel qute ill again and by the time we got home was quite unwell and stayed in bed all yesterday morning. Sigh.
This morning I was bending over to swish the water round the bath and ouch my back went. Mega ouch. Shouldn't have bent and twisted like that, I know.
Today is also 'illness anniversary day' as in 23 years since the day I consider to be the start of me getting M.E. It had been gradually building up for some time but that was the day my foot decided it was no longer going to walk properly and heralded the start of the viral infection which really kicked things off.
On 'illness anniversary day' I cry. I just do.
And why not?
23 years is too long to be ill.
On Sunday we went to his church which we really liked. There was a real 'God moment' during the worship and the people were really friendly. It was nice to see him so settled there.
Then I began to feel qute ill again and by the time we got home was quite unwell and stayed in bed all yesterday morning. Sigh.
This morning I was bending over to swish the water round the bath and ouch my back went. Mega ouch. Shouldn't have bent and twisted like that, I know.
Today is also 'illness anniversary day' as in 23 years since the day I consider to be the start of me getting M.E. It had been gradually building up for some time but that was the day my foot decided it was no longer going to walk properly and heralded the start of the viral infection which really kicked things off.
On 'illness anniversary day' I cry. I just do.
And why not?
23 years is too long to be ill.
Monday, 20 February 2017
Still ill
Ok this isn't just a cold this is the lurgy and is much worse than just a cold. Having had it since Thursday I thought I was on the mend yesterday but last night after blogging I began to feel terrible - temperature went up again and ached all over especially my face which is still painful today. Thankfully due to my knee escapades I have a drawer full of strong painkillers.
Going to rest now.
Going to rest now.
Sunday, 19 February 2017
Cheesy Leek and Potato Pie
The other day I came across a recipe for 'Cheesy Leek and Potato Pie' (just google it and you'll find a recipe). I thought it looked tasty and P cooked it for me - just like that. Finished it off today. Yum.
Being appy
Sooo I'm trying to think what else has been happening:
The knee is doing very well. Still a bit stiff and sore but the doctor said it would take about a year for the operation wound to heal. We bought a secondhand exercise bike so I could try and keep the joint mobile. I only manage two minutes a day (and tell it I'm 75 so it will give me an easy ride) but it's definitely helping. P meanwhile is going great guns on it - currently about 10 km a day but has plans to go further.
P and I have joined a beginners' German class and I'm really enjoying it. In fact I'm beginning to think I have a bit of an aptitude for languages. Sooo why did none of my school teachers ever tell me that? Why did they let me go through most of my life not studying languages?
Actually one thing that's good about our adult education is that they bend over backwards to help disabled people. When P couldn't come one week and droppd me off with my scooter I felt quite nervous but everyone was so helpful.
I must say though that there comes a time in learning German when it becomes a bit complicated like when they start talking about how the word order in sentences changes under different circumstances. J assures me that it's going to get a lot more complicated than this. Thanks J.
I have been doing a bit more decluttering and the results are beginning to show though I am beginning to accept that we will always have lots of books.
Church is going well, I have rejoined the welcome team and have become a 'prayer link' person i.e. connecting with other churches in our network to exchange prayer requests. Because these days this sort of thing involves WhatsApp I finally had to give in and get a smartphone and I have spent the last few weeks trying to work out how to use it. Think I'm beginning to get the hang of it and am discovering the wonderful world of apps. This morning I loaded the whole of Dickens for free and listened to an audio version of 'A Tale of Two Cities' read with an American accent. I also have an app to track my chocolate consumption (not sure the word 'fail' is all that encouraging). Also have several Bible apps, a GPS, First Aid app, Duolingo, Evernote and a shopping list app. There may be more.
The knee is doing very well. Still a bit stiff and sore but the doctor said it would take about a year for the operation wound to heal. We bought a secondhand exercise bike so I could try and keep the joint mobile. I only manage two minutes a day (and tell it I'm 75 so it will give me an easy ride) but it's definitely helping. P meanwhile is going great guns on it - currently about 10 km a day but has plans to go further.
P and I have joined a beginners' German class and I'm really enjoying it. In fact I'm beginning to think I have a bit of an aptitude for languages. Sooo why did none of my school teachers ever tell me that? Why did they let me go through most of my life not studying languages?
Actually one thing that's good about our adult education is that they bend over backwards to help disabled people. When P couldn't come one week and droppd me off with my scooter I felt quite nervous but everyone was so helpful.
I must say though that there comes a time in learning German when it becomes a bit complicated like when they start talking about how the word order in sentences changes under different circumstances. J assures me that it's going to get a lot more complicated than this. Thanks J.
I have been doing a bit more decluttering and the results are beginning to show though I am beginning to accept that we will always have lots of books.
Church is going well, I have rejoined the welcome team and have become a 'prayer link' person i.e. connecting with other churches in our network to exchange prayer requests. Because these days this sort of thing involves WhatsApp I finally had to give in and get a smartphone and I have spent the last few weeks trying to work out how to use it. Think I'm beginning to get the hang of it and am discovering the wonderful world of apps. This morning I loaded the whole of Dickens for free and listened to an audio version of 'A Tale of Two Cities' read with an American accent. I also have an app to track my chocolate consumption (not sure the word 'fail' is all that encouraging). Also have several Bible apps, a GPS, First Aid app, Duolingo, Evernote and a shopping list app. There may be more.
Hello again
Been a long time since blogged. In fact have thought about giving up blogging cos have I really got very much to say? Or should I start a totally new blog? But today here I am lounging on the sofa with a dripping nose (cold probably caught when visiting J last weekend - tip - if someone's coughing and sneezing don't hug them) & have been reading my Anne Tyler novel but need a rest from that and thought I'd pop over here.
So since I last posted we had Christmas. It was so lovely to have J home again, felt like he'd never been away but felt a bit on the awful side when we took him back again. And ok I cried, just sat in the car and cried.
In many ways he's getting on well at uni but the first half of term had a very demanding lecture schedule and he has been ill with one cold or another the whole time. He now has less lectures so things should get easier. Like I said we visited him last weekend but he was coughing and sneezing almost continuously. If he felt like I feel now he did amazingly well to not miss any lectures.
We also had Mavis over on Christmas Day, she is doing well but getting very tired these days - she does have a bit of heart failure. We also had a couple of parties (one a bit more enjoyable than the other tbh) and a few Christmas meals out. I missed going to Wales to see my family but my brother and my niece called in on the way back from her uni and it was lovely to see them and exchange presents. Went to 'old church' with J on Christmas morning. All in all a bit of a quietish low key but very enjoyable Christmas.
So since I last posted we had Christmas. It was so lovely to have J home again, felt like he'd never been away but felt a bit on the awful side when we took him back again. And ok I cried, just sat in the car and cried.
In many ways he's getting on well at uni but the first half of term had a very demanding lecture schedule and he has been ill with one cold or another the whole time. He now has less lectures so things should get easier. Like I said we visited him last weekend but he was coughing and sneezing almost continuously. If he felt like I feel now he did amazingly well to not miss any lectures.
We also had Mavis over on Christmas Day, she is doing well but getting very tired these days - she does have a bit of heart failure. We also had a couple of parties (one a bit more enjoyable than the other tbh) and a few Christmas meals out. I missed going to Wales to see my family but my brother and my niece called in on the way back from her uni and it was lovely to see them and exchange presents. Went to 'old church' with J on Christmas morning. All in all a bit of a quietish low key but very enjoyable Christmas.
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