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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Scary October........

 
Definitely autumn as we sit here eating stew and dumplings 

while watching this new series of Strictly Come Dancing

Our friendHB is going to her other house in the US very soon and will spend thanksgiving with her daughter over there and come back here next spring, so as a farewell she treated eight of us to our local carvery for Sunday lunch. Six of them are all related but I've been a very close friend for so many years Hubby and I are treated as family too. Really lovely all getting together, and would have been better if the beef hadn't been tough and chewy! 

***Warning rant coming....

You know how I've been complaining about my hospital info not being shared to the NHS app so the GP can't see it and neither can I without hassle, well 10:35am Tuesday we drove across town to Ravenswood for my monthly blood test, requested by the hospital. At 11:40am my appointment at the GP surgery was with a HCA for the Chronic Conditions checkup and she insisted on taking another blood test because she'd been told to and they can't see the results of any hospital ones! I was also asking about my blood pressure which I think is on the low side and I'd taken three days readings at home and printed out. She took my bp and it was perfect. I explained that I get "white coat syndrome" and the stress of two lots of bloods when I've reluctant veins would surely make it high not perfect, but there was nothing she could do and said I need to make a GP appointment as soon as it drops on my home monitor. That's never going to get an instant response is it! 

Sorry if I'm getting grumpier.

October is my scary month because it sneaks up all of a sudden, there's so much talk of Halloween and of course thoughts go to not leaving Christmas prep to the last minute as usual. As well as that my immediate concern is October is my heaviest month for birthdays and anniversaries, needing cards and gifts, to choose and buy, post in time or deliver! 

Today the plan is to clear the ironing heap....... maybe I'll make a start after another cuppa.

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Shalom.........

 
Early start Saturday as we were on Doggy Day Care and Hubby needed to take R to work first when he picked up the dog and was going to take O to R's work too so he could walk to the station very soon after, however it was raining quite hard and he was doing an overnight trip so carrying his bag and tent and his guitar. His train wasn't for another hour so Hubby brought him back here and then back to the station at a better time. Bonus for me as I got a good catchup chat and a bonus for him as he helped himself to breakfast. 

Tuesday was the first day of the Jewish New Year. With all the conflicts around the world at the moment we ALL need to wish each other good health, peace and 'a life as sweet as honey'.

I didn't use apples or honey but I did make a rhubarb cake. 

Yes we had eaten half before I took this pic hahaha. 

This little diamond ring was my mum's and I've been wearing it since she died 16 years ago. It's a bit big for my little finger but not big enough to be promoted so I wear it behind my puzzle ring to stop it falling off, but it annoyingly spins round and round. 

Over the years I've tried various things to tighten it that haven't worked and knew that one day I'd have to get round to walking into a jewelers. 

Meanwhile I had another idea when I remembered I had clear nylon stretchy bead threading cord so I did a bit of boy-scout lashing.

This close up photo shows I wasn't particularly neat, even though I was wearing two pairs of specs it wasn't easy to see where it was as it's clear. So far it's not uncomfortable and has reduced the spinning a lot. Hope it lasts a while. 

Daughter and Son have both needed their dad this week. Daughter asked to borrow the big hedge trimmer and really appreciated when Hubby arrived and stayed with it so it was done in half the time. Son's problem was his fish pond suddenly losing a lot of water quickly. He felt like he needed to top it up twice a day and all that tap water wouldn't be good for the fish. Adding to the problem is Son is part of an annual fundraiser and this year they have been walking individually all September and coming together on Saturday(today) to climb Snowden, so he will be away Friday morning to Sunday evening with nobody at home to watch the pond. Between Son and Hubby the plan was to transfer the fish, plants and pond water to a temporary paddling pool on Thursday afternoon and re-line the pond properly after this weekend. He definitely needed his dad to help as he was still working and had conference calls booked. As it happened when Hubby and the ordered paddling pool plus nets turned up it seemed to have stopped draining itself (like getting a doctors appointment and the pain has gone). They cleared a lot of the plants and watched for quite a while and decided to leave it as it is. 

The charity Son supports is called Elgon Empowerment, which is quite a small charity that really helps women and girls with a basic need they are deprived of that most of us take for granted. They need to fundraise to provide help and also to provide education and the means for the females to help themselves in the future. Please click on the link and read what it's all about and if you can add a little to the pot it will be put to very good use. 

A Very Worthy Cause!

Thanks for popping by this week and I'm looking forward to seeing you again next week.

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Nothing Unusual........

 
We had a quiet weekend, my foot was still healing and the weather was absolutely dreadful. What was beautiful sunshine was suddenly turning to a thunder and lightning storm, with rain coming down like "stair rods" as my mum would say. 

To brighten our lives, give us something to do and make the house smell yummy we made a cake together. Basic Victoria sponge sandwiched with the quince jelly mmmmmmm

Mid-September and the heating has been on a couple of times. Two days this week I've worn a roll neck. But by the end of the week it was warm again, Friday afternoon back up to 24°C.

As we were washing the covers for these two chairs (a rare event) Hubby wondered if we could improve the padding in the seats. 

Easiest solution was I cut some layers from a redundant thin duvet that we'd replaced and Hubby then had the really difficult job of forcing the really tight covers back on and ensuring it still attached to the velcro fixtures. 

So pleased it was him not me. 

Two bread puddings came out well. One for our cake tin and one in the freezer. 

You may remember July last year (2024) I went through Specsavers and got hearing-aids but then couldn't wear them once I'd started with these cancer drugs mid-August so took them back. Well I've decided to try the NHS Audiology route and a GP this week has put in the required referral. I've heard lots about their incredibly long waiting list so let's see how long it takes. 

I'm going to post this and dash now as we are booked for Doggy Day Care with an early start to get R to work and O to the station too. So while Hubby is chauffeur I need to dog proof the lounge with matting on the windowsill (her favourite viewing point) and blankets on the leather suite. 

TTFN

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