The Sun Has Got Its Hat On......

 
Sunday was Mother's Day and both Daughter and Son messaged me early. Son and fiancé came here early afternoon with flowers and a card and a chocolate bar with my favourite marzipan filling. They also brought hot cross buns. Just as we were on our second cuppa Daughter arrived with R and the dog. She bought me a new rose for my rose bed. We all had tea and buttered buns yummy. Much later we debated on choices and phoned in a very large Chinese Takeaway order and when it arrived Son paid for it all. Yummy and spoilt what more could a loved mummy want. 

After the happy and busy Sunday, Monday was a really tired day so after coffee morning with nothing else planned that's what I did, nothing! 

I'm not sleeping all the way through at the moment, normally I would go back to sleep after every toilet visit but things aren't normal yet. Surgery, medication changes and lots of thoughts running through my head it's not surprising Tuesday caught up with me and I  was having a bit of a feeling down day. I know it's all temporary so no extra care needed.... well maybe some extra chocolate would help. 

Hubby is on the patio maintenance project again, a little harder as he's ignored it for a few years. We get a lot of white spot lichens which had really built up and needs treating but all has to be swept and cleaned first. 

This paving goes round three sides of our house, one side is just path between house and garage, it's where we keep our wheelie bins plus the giant water butt and a compost bin and leads to the back gate. The side in this photo is path and wall the full length of the back of our house and the other side is our main patio surrounded by the wall. So a big job, especially when the original colour of the slabs pressure washed on the left are nearly all as dark as the ones Hubby is pressure washing now. 

I'd had two bunches of "get well" flowers that were mostly tulips and some were starting to droop over although their heads still looked pretty, so pinched off and floating and still looking pretty. 

There were a few roses amongst them that still looked happy so they went in with my mother's day flowers Son and fiancé bought me. 

With the anti-lichen treatment all over the patio that Hubby didn't want to keep walking over and he'd also done the anti-moss treatment all over the grass which Hubby didn't want to keep walking over, but the sun still shining and Hubby definitely wanted to be outside he suggested we took a trip out. We chose Alton Waters

That's not a good picture but best of the bunch hahaha. 

The views all around us on a lovely mostly flat walk are beautiful. 

Son and Daughter are both serious walkers, as you know, and told me all around the reservoir is eight miles but I was proud of my two and a quarter, as my life is basically quite sedentary these days and expecially through the cold wet months. 

   

I sent them my screenshot and they replied with suitably impressed comments. 

We had earned lunch in the on site tea rooms.

I really ached at the very end of our walk and stiffened up having sat in the cafe, struggled to get into the car and then to get out of the car once we were home. We got home quite early afternoon and knowing how easy it is to stay sitting till bed time I made myself have a walk around the house as often as possible. Pleased to report my step counter went over 6,000 before bed. 

Hope you've managed to enjoy the sunshine.

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Op Week.......

 
Time to get rid of bladder cancer for the seventh time! 

The operation was booked for this Tuesday as a day patient, however I doubted that as not arriving until noon and from previous experience I'd needed to stay in at least one night and sometimes more. 

This time we arrived and went through the whole thorough and repetitive admissions process with various members of staff including the surgeon and anaesthetist, during which I sent Hubby home. Next was to struggle into those awful compression socks and gown. 

I'm guessing it must have been around 2pm ish when I was walked to Theatre a few doors down. 

Prepped and sedated by a full team of lovely, chatty, calming staff with one thing I've never had before which was a strip attached across my forehead which was to monitor brain activity while I was under (clever eh?). 

Then I was being woken and told all went well. Bit of a problem as I couldn't breathe or speak but thankfully they resolved that quickly. Another problem is always my blood pressure which will rise just because I'm in hospital. Plus I've extra medication adjustment issues which I'm explaining to each person. Eventually they decided I was stable enough to be wheeled to Lavenham Ward. I've no idea how long I was in recovery or even in surgery.

On the ward and reunited with my stuff so turned my phone on and let Hubby, Daughter, Son and then others know that I was out the other side. Told those others that "I will chat more but not tonight", I was still sleepy of course. Think there were four different nurses that came to take my obs and panic over my high blood pressure and listen to my probable reasons why. I'd asked a few times for tea (I'd been nil-by-mouth for hours) each time promised but not arriving. When I had a little moan on WhatsApp to my children Daughter immediately said she was coming with her full up travel mug. While we were still chatting the tea trolly man arrived miraculously! Daughter came anyway, turned up about the same time as Hubby, think that was just after 6pm ish. I couldn't eat the sandwich, crisps and yoghurt I'd been brought as my mouth was making everything taste awful, I was brought more tea and drunk three jugs of water and went to the loo twice so they said I could go home. WOW

I still hadn't had any surgery feedback in person or on the MyChart online record system but I eagerly got dressed and Hubby brought me home. 

Wednesday I woke from a good night in my own bed and only feeling minor discomforts. So grateful I hadn't needed a catheter as I had every time before. 

My phone was pinging nearly all the time. Flowers came up from neighbourCM with a card and she brought a card from my nails lady too as we both use the same one. Flowers also came up from neighbourLW

And Son came to visit and brought his own vegetarian sausages to take the place of our ham and we all had the eggs, croquettes and beetroot and sat down for dinner together. 

It took until Thursday before I discovered one of the stickers they wire their monitors up to, stuck to me pre-op and missed at post-op removal. 

By Thursday night I couldn't put up with those painful compression socks any longer so I got Hubby to pull them off before bed. Awwww bliss! 

Friday NeighbourAB messaged to see if I was ready for a visitor. I was ready for a change of scenery so invited myself to her house as it's only two doors down. Lovely tea and chat. While there Daughter messaged to say she was coming over with the dog and we arranged a delay as I was already out. Also friendNH phoned and we decided what time I should call her back. I'm feeling so loved and so lucky. 

When Daughter came, R came too and it was lunch time. R made tea and I made the sandwiches. I would never have been capable of being this active after previous surgery's... am I super woman or a complete forgery hahaha. 

I'll leave you now, if you don't mind, as I'm still busy counting my blessings.

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Through Rose Coloured Glasses?.......

 
Last weekend Hubby noted it was a very full laundry box, so feeling very blasé I confessed that I'd spilled food down my thick jumpers three days running. One of those days we'd had fried egg sandwich for lunch and I hadn't noticed at all that I'd been wearing an uninvited bright yellow broach all afternoon. 

This week started with a lovely family day. Because I'd had a break from the evil pills that ruin my appetite and I was eating almost normally Son gathered the flock and booked a table at The Ship Inn for eight of us:  2 parents(us) + our 2 children + their 2 partners + our 2 grandchildren = my family

Our third grandchild E couldn't make it to the pub but Daughter picked her and the dog up on their way back to ours and Hubby and I were in Son's car so very nearly a full list when I called the register but M didn't come back with them. We'd gone for a late lunch at 2:15pm and they all stayed till late evening. Lovely! 

Busy Monday with coffee morning and still quite a few missing with coughs and colds. They left and we had a quick lunch then across town to have my nails done which always makes me feel good. After we got home I had an unexpected phone call from my lovely friendNH and it was a proper catchup long chat. She is also a cancer patient and has taken on an effort for her, physical fundraising challenge of walking a mile every day in March so of course I'd sponsored her as I do most people I know raising money for cancer research and Macmillan Nursing. 

Another special friend and I used to do so much together but our daily lives and family commitments went in different directions and our get togethers got mainly to a couple of theatre trips a year. Thursday friendKK and I planned a day together and the sun shone all day. She came here to pick me up, (she drives a convertible and the top was down) and Daughter had actually just walked over with the dog and KK and Daughter had a good chat before we left. First stop was back to her house so I could inspect her new kitchen (I'd heard about all the disputes she'd had with the kitchen fitters) and see all the redesign and hard work she'd done in her garden. Next stop was to Milsoms Hotel Restaurant for lunch which she paid for as she'd been given a voucher. Oooooow ladies that lunch hahaha! As the sun was still very much shining we did a lovely drive through our beautiful villages before she brought me home. She very kindly swapped me at home for the large amount of charity stuff I had waiting to take and filled her boot as she had a heap of her own for it to join and it would get there sooner than if it stayed here. 

So much of this week has been medical too with test results coming through and phone calls and my appointment for surgery being confirmed for next Tuesday!!! Of course a worry so all distractions gratefully taken on board, hence the rose coloured glasses, and pics of my beautiful flowers to keep my mood 'in the pink'.....

Indoors the Orchids

Outside the Camellia

Hyacinths all coming up suddenly

And the top patio bordered with the bright blooms of the bergenia 

I wish you all good health xxx

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