Quite Calm.....

 
Two festive lunches this week, Monday was with the coffee morning neighbours

And Tuesday was with my xBT work team. 

I actually enjoyed them both, managing to eat a small turkey meal each time. I'm being a rebel and not taking the evil pills at the moment, sometimes I need a break. 

E is spending a few days at her mums so Hubby and I popped over for tea and chat Wednesday afternoon. 

I've got the gifts wrapped and under the tree, I've also done all the money gift transfers scheduled to move on the 24th so I'm feeling a lot more organised. Need to think about food next. 

Hubby got totally engrossed in the latest jigsaw a neighbour brought up. This one has very irregular shaped pieces so more of a challenge and it helped that snooker was on the TV at the same time. 

Friday morning we had a meeting with the agent from the will shop to finalise the paperwork for the updated legal stuff which of course includes handing over lots of money. Shouldn't have to give that a thought again. 

And today is a full day Doggy Day Care day so the best reason to relax. 

Enjoy your weekend.

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Going Nowhere.......

 
We all expect subscriptions to cost more each renewal and around inflation level is acceptable, however Flickr Pro has definitely out-priced itself this year. Daughter mentioned it a couple of weeks ago and when my email hit the inbox I totally agreed.  

Hubby has done a great job of transferring the hundreds of folders containing the thousands of photos collected over so many years and downloading them onto the home computer. Not as convenient, not auto saved, but so much cheaper! 

And now it's December! 

Cards all done and a pack ready for the scouts to deliver locally for us, which is a great fund raiser for them. One air mail stamp for the US. Second class stamps for the largest heap, two of which are birthday cards and a few left for hand delivery.

R and O were here Sunday and this

became this

although Hubby and I had to finish it as a lot of the time they were like this

A lot of the time before that had been a busy full house. Son arrived first, later Daughter messaged us she was arriving a bit later than planned as R had a hangover. O arrived straight to ours with his girlfriend and her parent who had driven from Norwich to save him getting the train, they all stayed for tea (by which time Son was on his third). Daughter and M arrived bringing R and the dog, Daughter and M stayed long enough to make polite conversation with everyone. O's girlfriend and parent went home then Daughter and M left as they had planned a trip into Woodbridge. Son and Hubby had to take the dog out for a walk to calm her down a bit, then Son went home. Eventually just the four of us here for lunch followed by quite a lethargic pace for the remainder of the day. Daughter came back later, had tea and took them home eventually. 

Friends LA and SG finally managed to meet up for tea and cake, however friendLA works at The Academy and said because there was a lot of covid and flu viruses there she suggested we meet up here at my house and they brought the cakes. A lovely long chatty afternoon. 

Everything else has been delayed as I've had a migraine which is hopefully going away now. 

See you next week.

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Everyone Wants To Eat.......

 
....... except me! 

I started this week collecting in the menu choices for the Christmas meal of my ex-work team, I'm gathering them together on the 9th.  The Maybush Inn has a really good two or three course festive menu. The medication I'm on has severely disrupted my appetite and thankfully when I sent in the list I asked if I could have just one course and to make it a small portion and they were happy to do that. 

Monday we had our usual coffee morning and this week NeighbourA has a birthday so he brought in a large birthday cake and asked me to cut it and share it out. I cut myself a really thin slice and ate a small nibble to join the celebration but then removed the rest for later, which actually Hubby got to eat. After all the neighbours left my friendM picked me up and we drove round to The Belstead Brook Hotel for us to finally have our lunch together as my treat left from her late September birthday promise (better late than never eh?). I just had a small smoked salmon salad starter and left a lot of the greenery. I enjoyed it but then couldn't eat anything else for the rest of the day. 

This restaurant is also where we are having a Christmas lunch for the coffee morning neighbours on the 8th and neighboursT&S are organising it and they have been to great lengths to meet staff and ensure I can have a suitable menu choice even if it's not on the two or three course options. I really appreciate the effort they are making for my benefit but I don't enjoy the public fuss.

Wednesday night our usual group of six and this week we ate at The Dooley Inn, Felixstowe. Really good pub grub and they actually do a small plate menu as well as saying anything on their specials board can be a small plate portion too. I had lasagne and their small plate was still twice the size of what I could eat and Hubby helped with some of what I left. 

You may remember a couple of weeks ago we cancelled a meal with friends at the last minute because I was having a migraine well they have sent a few dates to try again and the only one we could do was this Friday. The Fox and Raven one of the Vintage Inns. Always lovely to catch up with friendsL&K. 

And I'm sure you'll be pleased to see something not food related at all. 

Our first Christmas card arrived, from my lovely friendAC. She always sends her own hand made cards and this year it's lino print.

I'll say cheerio for now as Hubby needs me to finish the list of food needed for the weekend so he can nip to the shop! 

Oh and happy thanksgiving to anyone that celebrated.

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Domestic Stuff.......

 
Hubby took this woodpecker photo from the kitchen window, amazed it didn't blurr more being so far away! 

This is also feeding time. We finally found a date most of us could do to celebrate Son's early October birthday. The Chinese takeaway had just arrived hence the concentration on their faces. 

Sunday morning the washing machine decided to have a little problem and refused to finish the cycle. Hubby forced it to spin out and all looked clean enough to hang upstairs. Monday afternoon he ran it again and it did the same again!

It's often much cheaper to buy a new machine than to have them repaired and this one was about 15 years old. Not our preferred ethics but being sensible. Hubby went onto the Curry's Website and ordered one. 

Wednesday we nipped out for a quick gift shop mooch, just popping into Halfords and The Range briefly. We came home with a Faraday box for our keys and Hubby bought me an electric overblanket/throw as I'm always cold sitting in the lounge. 

I decided the creamy white one looked so luxurious. WHAT WAS I THINKING? It felt cosy and so soft but as I'm sitting there I'm thinking how I  eat off my lap and wondering what it will look like after Doggy Day Care days! 

So we very carefully folded it back into it's original packaging and Hubby returned it, swapping it for a far more suitable sage green. 

Well done hubby. 

We are not making much progress with the Christmas gift shopping list though! 

Friday afternoon the new washing machine was delivered and they removed the old one for us (for a fee). Hubby did the installation and put it on for its first test wash. 

Predictably it had some noisy balance issues which he'll no doubt sort easily (cos he always does).

Have a good weekend and stay warm.

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Saving My Energy........

 
Thankfully when the sparrowhawk arrived all the little finches flew off in time. 

We also had a woodpecker visit twice this week, but it flew off before either of us could get a photo. 

O has planned to host friends for a dinner party later today which has clashed with other members of their household so Daughter has arranged for us to have the dog all day Saturday. She also came over Thursday to borrow a fold up table and a couple more chairs plus a ceramic dish for O to make his dessert in. They popped in Friday evening too for some extra cutlery. Love how he takes on these challenges. 

Another phone call from the GP this week who still needs me to monitor my BP for another week. I also asked for help with feeling sick/acid reflux a lot of the time which is making eating so difficult. She has made some more adjustments. These cancer pills have so many side effects that are random and totally unpredictable, it's a constant balancing act. 

Hard to make anything else sound interesting or fun as I'm doing hardly anything. It's turning so much colder this weekend and wetter. Seems more sensible to stay inside and get the Christmas cards written. Sorry if it's boring but I quite like it quiet. 

Enjoy your weekend.

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Stay Cosy........

 
A photograph is never as golden as the tree looks in real life and yes it's been windy so these leaves may not stay on the tree for much longer. 

Two visitors on Tuesday, first was a pheasant early morning just came for a stroll up the drive and stood on next door's fence enjoying the view for ages. We don't remember ever seeing a pheasant up here before. 

Daughter and dog came after lunch. There had been a very brief request the day before for dog sitting then almost straight after making the arrangement another message to say her rehearsal had been cancelled, so she stayed home in the morning doing her own music practice (not enough apparently) and we put the kettle on afterwards.

Only just into November and I've managed to make a a start with the Christmas cards, then hopefully I can go as slow as I like. I'm sending less this year, although probably not too many less but definitely leaving out the annual report from now on, not really my place to report on my adult family any more is it?

What I will very gladly report on is the call I got from Oncology  to tell me last week's CT Scan was really good with no new disease or growth yaaaaaay!!! Such a relief. 

And the rest of the time is mostly staying in and under a blanket and enjoying the final episodes of Bake Off and Traitors and Strictly etc. Easy life eh? 

Enjoy your week whatever you do.

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Sorry........

 
Apologies this is not a fun read as I've had a week of feeling unwell or involved in medical stuff but that's how things go sometimes. Last weekend was almost constant migraine headaches which I blamed on the GP adjusting my blood pressure pills, unfortunately Son and fiancé called in on Saturday and left here quite worried about me, which I hated.  thankfully the migraines eased up and the flashing lights stopped but there was still a horrid pain in my head that's when I wondered if it could be toothache. I have an unreasonable dread of the dentist so it took everything I had to make that call on Tuesday but they didn't have any emergency appointments free so I'll try again Wednesday morning at 8:30am with no hesitation. 

Monday morning I had an appointment with the Oncology consultant for 9:45am telephone call,  however he didn't ring until midafternoon, annoying just waiting! 

I know it sounds crazy but Wednesday morning I didn't ring the dentist as I'd had no headaches migraines toothache or whatever the pain was, it had completely vanished, not a twinge since early afternoon Tuesday! 

Tuesday morning was my monthly blood test, thankfully they managed to get the blood out successfully even though the new online system proved tricky. 

Hubby was also dealing with a mouth problem, the dentist told him it was a nasty infection and he is now using a strong mouthwash every couple of hours which seems to be working. Neither of us have any enthusiasm for meals at the moment. Hubby did make a yummy rice pudding though. 

Wednesday I had a CT Scan, the appointment starts with a clinician inserting a cannula as they need to use a contrast dye, however after three members of staff didn't manage it I then told them to stop trying and asked the radiographer to scan without the dye. Keeping everything crossed they got a clear enough image. 

Nothing medical on Thursday yaay, it was a dog sitting day. A very calming dog. 

A really nice thing to report on is the fact that last week I told you we cancelled a dinner date because I wasn't well enough, well friendLW has checked on me every day since and she also told friendLL who has also been checking on me, so caring.

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Pictured......

 
One of my biggest pleasures this time of year is to open the curtains each morning and watch our beautiful tulip tree gradually changing to autumn gold. This photo is just the start. 

Monday was our 52nd wedding anniversary. Not a public event but we had decided on Chinese takeaway. Unfortunately my stomach had other plans so almost all of my order ended up in the freezer so not eaten but not wasted and Hubby enjoyed his. 

This beautiful decanter was my Mother-of-the-bride gift and I'd filled it with water and some blue food colour. Having sat on the windowsill for 25 years the blue had almost faded completely. No longer having any food coloring here I tested the paints I had and they would have given me an opaque blue which wasn't good, so I messaged Daughter. She remembered R had some water based inks and brought them over straight away and swapped a few drops for a cuppa and chat. 

Looks good again doesn't it. 

Two long video catchup chats this week. One was with my very old friendHG, not that's she's very old but we've been old friends since school days. We play online scrabble (WWF) with each other all the time but only manage a proper chat a couple of times a year. 

I also called Granddaughter E as Daughter had told me E had been quite unwell for a while. We did find a few things to make us laugh.

My lovely friendM has just had a holiday in Thailand and brought me these coconut bowls as my holiday gift, two hand painted and the small one is soap. Beautiful. 

We should have gone out for a meal with friendsL&K Friday evening, meeting an hour away but as the day progressed so did a migraine headache and a very unhappy stomach so very sadly we cancelled. I hope we can rearrange another date soon. Meanwhile the GP is still adjusting my BP prescriptions so that my be the cause of feeling unwell. 

Don't forget the clocks go back an hour this weekend, so enjoy a little extra lie in on Sunday morning. 

And I'm keeping everything crossed for an uneventful health week ahead eh?

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Ducks In A Row.......

 
......I heard that saying means getting organised and it seems to have been that sort of week here. 

Jabs done, very early Saturday, then a little bit of shopping as Asda is next door to our surgery, then home for breakfast. Both flu and covid for us both.

Thankfully no more than achy arms for us. One of the main topics discussed at coffee morning was who has had their jabs and appears most of us have as just a couple at the table aren't old enough and one is a constant abstainer. I also got a message from Son who was heading out to get his jabs. 

It's been quite a few years since we had our Wills reviewed, a service we pay for anyway and of course laws and rules get changed, so we called them in. In fact one important change was needed as the Power of Attorney we had needed changing from Enduring to Lasting so we've arranged that. 

Loud praise as it's definitely due....

About three weeks ago I asked the GP about my poor hearing and she did a referral to Audiology. I expected a very long wait as warned by so many people. Tuesday I got a call for an appointment the next day. So Wednesday morning at the ENT clinic in Ipswich Hospital and within one hour a lovely audiologist called Laura took all my details, did the booth test, compared it to the Specsaver's printout I'd taken and it was virtually identical. Then she programmed my new aids, explained everything in detail, gave me cases, tools and lots of spare batteries and I left all done! So far so good. Brilliant eh?  

Hubby noticed that in one of the gardens that backs onto ours their shed roofing wasn't secure so he walked round to let them know. Hubby has done fence repairs with the chap in the past and they get on well. Sadly the chap's Daughter said he had died just two months before and she was living there with her mum now, using the shed as her office. Hubby told her he would sort the shed roof which he could reach over our fence. She was very grateful of course. 

I also managed to catch up with my Oncology care nurse, as we hadn't spoken for a while, and made sure she was updated on everything. 

So achieved plenty although apologies for no baked goods, family news or pretty photos.  Quack quack.

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The Fixers.........

 
Son's leaking pond needed rebuilding so leaving here at 8am Hubby and Daughter went over to do it with him. 

I've been getting photos of the family at work.  Emptying

Drying and cleaning after safely moving the fish

And cheeky frogs

Wrestling with the new liner in very windy weather. 

4pm Son sent a finished pic and said his helpers were on their way home. 

I also had a video of the noisiest and most ferocious wind blowing all day. Guess it was caused by Storm Amy which was mainly up north but affected us all. 

I know it wasn't my constant complaining about the disjointed medical record retrieval system, but it was obviously a very recognised problem as they seem to have actually done something towards making it better. 

Hubby and I have both downloaded this new app and registered but so far there's hardly any data in it. 

About a month ago my seat broke and it's taken this long for Hubby to get them to come and fix it. 

Thankfully now fixed. 

There's been a bit of back and forth with phone calls from the surgery this week and a GP has made a little tweek to my meds which I'm hoping will be the fix my low BP needs. Fingers crossed and I'll monitor my readings daily until the GP calls again on the 21st.

Quite a while ago Son recommended I have protein powder added while my appetite is low but I'm not a smoothy lover so haven't used any, now I've tried these oat bars that have the powder baked into them. They are OK but not great. Hubby doesn't eat oats so I made a rhubarb sponge too. 

Sorry to rush off but now I have to post this and go as Hubby and I have both the flu and covid jabs, booked for 8:35am...... yawn I'm barely awake!

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