Mostly Weather Talk.......

 
Great start to the week when I found the recipe for this

Easy vegan rhubarb cake

As Hubby said there was a lot ready that needed pulling before it goes woody. So I sent him out to pull it, made these two cakes (because I couldn't be bothered to do the maths and halve all the ingredients). As you can see there was a full bag clean and chopped to go into the freezer too. Now I really must use up what's still in the freezer from last year. 

All three of us gave it the thumbs up and I will make it again. 

We have the dog as our guest all this week, being dropped off by M early and picked up late so Monday she was already here for coffee morning and very well behaved. Especially proud of her as NeighbourAB had treated us all to cornetto ice-creams and calipo lollies. The dog just kept circling the table hoping someone would drop something. She was out of luck.  

At the end of last week Hubby finally got fed up of his phone charger falling out of his phone and as it's still under guarantee contacted John Lewis who booked it in for repair and said it will be collected on Tuesday.  So Monday afternoon after Hubby took it all apart, removed all sensitive information and finally the SIM card he boxed it ready, but waiting in all day they didn't come. When he contacted the help number they had no means to track and just said "it may be tomorrow?" As he is out Wednesday so can't be here for a collection and can't be without a phone he bought a wireless charger on click and collect from argos, ate his dinner that we were already dishing up then went to collect it. 

At home while his phone was on charge he cancelled John Lewis. 

Wednesday while Hubby was out of course and the weather had reached 32°C me, E and the dog had almost shut down, slumped in front of fans with doors and windows open for any passing breeze. The dog had been beside me looking fast asleep when she spotted something outside and shot out of the patio doors and tackled something behind the water feature and bushes, there was a lot of loud barking and growling and all I could do was run out shouting her name and asking her to come in. Suddenly she chased her opponent out and right across the garden which turned out to be a muntjac. A very rare visitor to these gardens. The muntjac managed to leap the fence and escape. Thankfully neither of them looked injured. 

The dog came in and quickly calmed down back in her favourite place in front of the fan. 

Thursday and another very hot day. M dropped the dog off and after her usual tour of the garden then in for a long drink she had trouble trying to settle and tested all her options then finally on the carpet like she had on Wednesday but kept looking around and looking at me. She turned around then stared at me and I knew, I then put the fan on and she lay content for ages.

NeighbourJM came up wanting Hubby's help. She was only getting a boiling hot shower as the thermostat had gone wrong and and the company that was coming to repair or replace had asked for a picture of the circuit board but she didn't know what that was, as usual she came up for advice and left here with Hubby. Unfortunately the cover on the circuit board was held tight by very rusted in screws so she just got a photo of the diagram not the actual bits. Fingers crossed eh. 

And of course the main subject is this record breaking heatwave! Friday reached 37°C !!!

Open doors and windows if there's any chance of a breeze. 

Close doors and window and curtains if outside becomes warmer than inside. 

Drink lots and then some more. 

Frozen ice block under the dogs bowl so her water stays cool. 

I keep a damp flannel beside me to cool my face and neck often. 

Fans on.... we have three rooms with fans but the mini air-con unit in the lounge is the most effective, and they are out of stock now so we can't buy more yet.

Not forgetting a good variety of ice-creams and lollies in the freezer for cooling our inside. 

I hope it's not caused you problems and you've found your own ways to stay comfortable.

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All Helping Each Other......

 
When Son came over on Saturday he brought a gift fiancé had got me when I'd told them Specsavers had diagnosed dry eye. 

It's very quick to use, just 30 seconds in the microwave and five minutes on my eyes. I've also got eye drops and eye spray but this warming mask seems to give the best result so far. 

Son came over to help Hubby put a new roof on the shed. 

With the boards too large for one person to manoeuvre easily and roof too high to not be up and down steps and ladders, plus the shed having limited access because of plants in front, garage behind and another shed up against one side I'm glad Son was available. They work so well together that it was finished in one day even with a lunch break and a couple of tea breaks too. 

I've said before that the worst side effect of these evil cancer pills is it's unpredictability. On Sunday I really suffered with sciatic pain right down my left leg from bum to little toe,  which meant agony so bad I very nearly phoned my emergency helpline. I delayed then didn't as it just as suddenly stopped! Overall less than three hours of sciatic pain, then gone. I knew it was the evil pills as I don't remember ever having sciatica before and I hadn't physically done anything as I'd only just got up.  Very odd!

Tuesday Hubby and I changed E's day bed while she was still upstairs, it was all washed, line dried and put away before we went out at 1pm. We were picking up friendDP who lives in Felixstowe (where hubby and I were the evening before) but he doesn't drive and the three of us were booked into the Ship at Levington (where I ate with the girls the week before). As it was late lunch I just went for a starter and the week before we had wondered what gyozas are so I ordered the duck filled ones, they were ok but the dipping sauce they called Hoy-sin wasn't nice at all. Lots to chat about which was lovely. 

Wednesday Daughter walked over with the dog, she arrived at the perfect time to help me change E's sleeping bed. It took till Friday but now washed, line dried, folded and put away. We did two loads again Friday so always pleased to have the solar panels and free electricity on these sunny days. Our bed will be changed very soon. As it got hotter during the day Hubby drove them both home as the pavements would be too hot for the dog. 

Wednesday evening Felixstowe again and dinner in our usual pub with our usual Wednesday friends. With the World Cup on and it was England's first game, so it was noisy as they have big TVs in all the rooms and the garden. This game they played Croatia and won 4-2. We actually left at half time, but while we were there friendV showed up in the pub, who I haven't seen for a very long time, in fact I met his girlfriend for the first time and they've been together five years. So that was nice. 

Thursday hubby finished restoring the guttering on the re-roofed shed. 

It was problematic mathematically and getting the slope right, securing the brackets to blocks when there wasn't enough room for even the stubby screw driver and Hubby's hand. I stayed out of his way and of course he succeeded. 

Hubby then had Specsavers in town to collect his remade specs. 

He was home in time to have lunch then take E to Specsavers for her eye test, she had booked Warren Heath so she could be dropped at the door and less to walk. That Specsavers is inside Sainsbury so Hubby did shopping while she had her appointment. She passed with perfect vision and no other problems. 

Friday E received received a parcel. 

She had ordered a matt and pillow on strong recommendation from her friend. You lay on it for short periods daily. If you can zoom that pic you will see it's like lying on a bed of nails arrrghhh. Hopefully it will act like acupressure which claims to have lots of benefits. Brave girl.  

It was a eally hot day, up to 31°C and very little breeze, too hot for me to be outside for long, just helped with pegging some washing out.  E took her lunch outside but stayed in the shade. Hubby of course is in and out regardless of weather and needed to go over to Daughter's house to help her fit new hydrolic bars that hold the boot lid up. Our two loads of washing dried quickly.  Everything was a lot slower for me as the pollen count was very high so I suffered with hay-fever even though I haven't for quite a few years. Global warming do you think? 

If you like the heat you've a good weekend ahead and if you don't I hope you've a cool shady place to enjoy your ice-cream.

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Old to New Can Be Frustrating.......

 
We started our week with a Doggy Day Care day. She was pleased to see E here who got a big hello after ours then she was quite quiet and undemanding as usual (that's the dog as well as E). 

A lot of our Close are very long time residents (we moved in 43 years ago)  and so many are retired and living with medical problems, loneliness and/or just old age. This is the main reason I started coffee morning 14 years ago to keep an eye on each other. One of our neighbours has had serious bank scamming issues and he's forgetful so always comes in for Hubby to help and told us his children were all helping too. We know his family very well so Hubby went for a coffee and chat with one of neighbour's sons so we are all working as a team. 

Hubby and I both got new prescriptions in our specs and I got drops for dry eye. 

I'm getting used to mine and my blurred vision is improved though not cured. Hubby found his were fine if he always had his head slightly to the right so he went back. They are having them remade as the lenses weren't set right and he'll get them next week. 

Tuesday evening I was out with friendM and friendHM to celebrate HM's recent birthday. Lovely catching up as us three only seem to meet for birthdays now and that used to be five of us so now just three times a year instead of five! 

Talking about getting used to new specs I'm also struggling with this new tablet. Each small function we do sort and I can use I'm really pleased with. 

The camera gives a lovely clear image. 

However without a case it's heavy, very slippery and hates standing up portrait against my lap beanbag and I don't like using many of the apps in landscape so I half ordered a case...... but it wouldn't let me complete the payment and I thought if I cancelled and started again I would end up paying for two. Hubby ordered it. 

When it arrived it didn't quite fit. As you can see a snug fit in any two corners but not in the opposite two, even with Hubby's brute force. He contacted the seller but got no luck as in his haste to order (and save himself from more of my grumbling about hating new gadgets) he'd ordered as a guest and not signed into his account and it all got complicated. It was cheap enough not to worry about. 

On our usual Wednesday night our friendTF decided she wanted to take up making necklaces and bracelets even though she's never been into any crafts or hobbies before. Her sister and friendM ordered her some really pretty ceramic ones that will arrive next day. I told them I had some at home and Thursday I made a bead box gift for friendTF 

From the big box I made my granddaughters when they were young I sorted out anything not suitable or that I wanted to keep but added in some cord for necklaces and some stretchy thinner cord for bracelets and empty little zip lock bags in case she wanted to sort her colours or wood from plastic etc. Gluing felt onto the top of the lid gives a working surface where the beads wouldn't roll off. Labelled the front and I'd done! 

Thought I'd finished then found out the lid no longer fits tight but I didn't have an alternative so two large elastic bands will have to do. 

FriendM took TF to a shop local to her in Felixstowe called The Wool Baa which is a haberdashery, wool shop that also serves tea and coffee and best of all has tables you can work at. It was great I was sent photos. 

One of Hubby's pills has been changed and we were both surprised that this new blood pressure medication is lozenge shaped and blue so looks like viagra. Any more surprises I'll let you know, but no photos! 

E joined us for Thursday's quiz again this week and as a team we did really well especially as she got to answer on her two favourite subjects, which are board games and chocolates. 

Friday hubby joined the guys for some daytime snooker. On the way to Felixstowe he had to make a couple of stops, to Wicks for the bits needed when re-roofing the shed this weekend and also for a few bits in Sainsbury. E had ordered a shower seat from Argos and her ready to collect notification arrived which she forwarded to Hubby asking if he could collect it but no rush. Argos is inside our Sainsbury, Hubby had just arrived there and messaged E back "collected" she was amazed. 

O had asked Hubby if he could help with some voice recording for him to add to the film he is making. Hubby told him roughly what time he would be home and he was actually a little earlier. About the same time Daughter arrived with O and the dog. The voice recording bit was really quick so they had plenty of time for lots of tea, putting together the new shower seat and discovering one of the bolts missing and also E,O and Daughter having a board game which I sat and watched but couldn't understand. E also contacted Argos and they are posting another bolt.

By total luck it fits neatly between the shower and the bath and though nice and sturdy is light enough for her to move into the shower or use in front of the sink. 

I've still plenty to sort out with this new tablet and worried that my phone will die before it's replaced in August! Don't care about being without for a while but worried I'll lose important info on documents struggling with software changes. 

I hope nothing is frustrating you.

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Make Buy and Repair.......

 
Daughter has copied someone's wooden music stand that would look OK when playing for historic periods then came over to paint it knowing both E and I have acrylic paints.

The master on the right and her unfinished new one on the left. 

Firstly Hubby had to plane some of it off so it opened and closed better. After that sadly neither of us had suitable colour paint for her to pinch so she ordered one. R and O came with her and they stayed for lunch and numerous mugs of tea. 

I'm bragging now about my cooking experiment that worked. In my freezer I had some little pots of concentrated vegetable soup which I add to casserole and things to add nutrition. So I thawed one pot and added a whole can of baked beans for protein, some oats and breadcrumbs, garlic and oregano and mixed to a good burger consistency, divided into four and added nutritional yeast on top and baked them. 

I made a roast chicken dinner for the three of us substituting the chicken with one vegan bean burger for E. She declared it very good so the other three went in the freezer. 

Monday and the 1st of June!!!

It was still warm enough to have coffee morning outside but it was a bit breezy, then it was wet overnight which was really needed. 

That afternoon Hubby drove me across town for my nails appointment but technicianM was really amazed to see me as something had happened last week and she'd lost all the details on her phone and ipad diary. I was lucky she was in. 

Tuesday was more very welcome rain most of the day. Some of it turned to heavy storms though and when there were storms with huge hailstones so big they put holes in the shed's perspex roof Hubby went into action covering it with tarpaulin to temporarily stop more rain getting in, then measuring up and ordering wood and felt for a permanent fix. 

We've been back to Specsavers for collection and fitting of our new glasses. First impression was good for us both. 

E joined us for the Thursday night quiz this week. This was lovely as she hasn't done it since we all did it together at the start of Covid lockdown six years ago, so a little nostalgic trip for her. We scored a very respectable 43/50.

Hubby popped back into town Friday morning as something wasn't right with his new specs. He said the traffic was slow and town was packed with people. We later found out Ed Sheeran was doing an impromptu free performance irony of Ipswich Uni by the Waterfront.

While Hubby was out the wood for his shed roof arrived and I didn't know where he wanted so told the guy he could put it in the space Hubby had just left by taking my car out of the garage (we still call it my car but I don't drive any more). Warned Hubby so he didn't drive straight in. 

When he got home Hubby had bought me a present. 

A new tablet, here it is doing the transfer from the old one. It was probably more a gift to himself so he didn't have to listen to me moaning about my tech cos for some time they have both been showing signs of not being able to cope and getting slower and mostly objecting to when I play Words with Friends (the Facebook version of scrabble). I hate new gadgets and spent most of the day coping with setting up changes, updates and passwords etc. Hate the hassle but very very pleased with the gift and his thoughtfulness. 

Hubby said phone next as it's on my birthday list. 

Friday afternoon Daughter and O came over to have board game time with E which was lovely and while they were happy I used the opportunity to catch up on a couple of phone calls to friendHG and then to friendVS and these are always long calls. 

My weekend will hopefully clear a bit more space for E, but first I need to prepare for having the dog all day as M will be dropping her off within the hour. 

Hope you achieve whatever you plan. Don't work too hard. 

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Feeling Hot Hot Hot......

 
Saturday was the day we met Son&fiancé's dog for the first time.
She has been with them a few months now but had a planned operation on her leg which has needed very slow healing. Initial barking as expected but very soon it gave way to curiosity and wanting to explore the house garden and us.

She certainly molts a lot of white fur everywhere and on everyone! 

Sunday was 25°C at 8am and quickly got a lot hotter. 

E and R had their birthday, and we had invited them here for a birthday dinner with M and their dog too. 

O was away at Kentwell being his 1970s self and

Daughter was working with The New Cambridge Waits parading the streets in wool clothing in this heat phew! 

We had afternoon birthday cake and an evening meal followed by cornettos, more favourable than a hot dessert.  

When M was ready to take R and the dog home E stayed and we called it her moving in day. 

Monday our coffee morning was outside for the first time this year. As you no doubt experienced yourself this was such a hot Bank Holiday weekend but thankfully we survived and so did the chocolate goodies people brought when I put them in a cool bag with ice packs and were enjoyed quickly, (would have been rude to let them melt). 

E had decided upstairs would be her bedroom and she would use downstairs as her day room to relax in. She reported that being upstairs "the old people being noisy in the garden" didn't disturb her. 

Tuesday was busy as I had my monthly blood test booked for 10:30am. Just over a week before neighbourJM announced it was her husband's funeral at 10:45am! That morning we discovered there were serious traffic issues on the Orwell Bridge causing chaos throughout town. The heat was actually making the road break up.  We left home earlier than we would normally hoping to get in a bit earlier but the heavy traffic meant we got there exactly on time. Thankfully the very heavy traffic also delayed things at the crematorium. Hubby did a great job of zigzagging the roads and we parked and walked up the cemetery path behind the hearse which had just arrived. It was a lovely service and there were quite a few of us neighbours there showing our support. 

Afterwards most of us headed to the wake at The Swan Inn. Unfortunately the room there was very warm and with a low ceiling it was really loud and just after some food came out I got the start of a migraine, so a quick bite cos Hubby had already got a plateful,  and we made our apologies and came home. 

Daughter popped over in the afternoon mainly to swap her car for mine when Hubby reminded her her's was booked for an MOT.

That evening E came in the lounge to discuss registering with our GP. Things have changed such a lot in recent years and E managed to actually register online. She then reluctantly set an alarm for 8am so she could phone first thing and amazingly got a face to face appointment with a doctor at 10am for a consultation who then made her a second appointment at 4pm for extra tests. She's done all this before living in Dorchester and again in Norwich so please all keep everything crossed some progress can be made this time 🤞🤞🤞

Wednesday Daughter's car failed, got repaired, then passed its MOT and of course was expensive. 

Thursday Hubby's old school friendG came over, a social visit and also had a few things for Hubby to fix. Hubby fixed his phone but declared his car sat-nav way past fixing. Unfortunately he didn't bring his laptop and wants Hubby to go to his house to do it (an hour's drive away).

FriendM had been away in Spain until very late Wednesday so we switched our night out to Thursday. The pub must have been very busy feeding people this bank holiday and school holiday as we had a very limited menu to choose from. 

Friday and E tried to get ahead of some admin like changing her address online and phone calls. It's quite a tiring brain activity that she managed really well. 

So much more stuff for Hubby and I to move and possibly remove so E has space to unpack into and it's a useful job to sort some of our old clutter BUT why oh why does it all look such a mess before it improves? 

Enjoy your weekend.

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Making Changes Is Tiring......

 
Apologies for what will be a boring read for you but was actually quite a busy week for us. Tomorrow R and E have their birthday and as Daughter is working away and O is reenacting as his 1970s self we invited the girls with M and the dog here for a birthday dinner. You'll have to wait till next week to see how that went. E had decided to stay here afterwards as her moving in day. All her stuff has been heaped on top of all the bedroom full of the boxes they brought from their flat in Dorset a couple of years ago. She will be sleeping in two rooms here, the guest room upstairs will be ideal for a Sunday night then she won't get woken on Monday when the neighbours are sitting right outside for coffee morning, the rest of the week Hubby's office will become E's bedroom as it's more sociable down beside the dining room and garden if she doesn't have the energy to get out of bed, although it might be a little noisy at times, we'll have to try a few things to see what works best, and upstairs will make a good dressing room. Fingers crossed she's comfortable and feels at home. 

Little rant from me...

I use the Optrex Dry Eye Spray very sparingly and it lasts for ages, however I have been using it more recently and when I need it nothing else will work. 

As you can see it's tiny, just 10ml (half the cap is empty and a little liquid gets left behind because the tube isn't fully submerged into a corner).

Hubby kindly went into our local chemist and bought me another one

£16!!!   £16!!!   £16!!!

We both had Specsavers this week, Hubby for his two year check and I requested a one year check as I'm getting really blurred vision. My optician did lots of investigating and discovered that the blurred vision is caused by the evil pills which has yet another side effect of severely drying my eyes so she prescribed eye drops which coat the eye and remain longer than the spray. When I came out Hubby had been waiting quite a while for me and we both went to choose frames as he needs a new prescription too. We go back to collect in a couple of weeks time. 

Remember a couple of weeks ago friendKK asked Hubby to transfer old home videos onto DVDs well she wanted to pay him which of course he wouldn't take and he laughed and said he would accept a lemon drizzle cake and this week she turned up with a box full yummy, half went in the freezer too save temptation. 

And the rest of the week has been emptying cupboards in both of E's rooms so that she can do some unpacking and have clothes to wear. I made a start and hung clothes up and found a few of her frogs to put on display and make her feel at home. Going to have to pace myself as I've an achy back now and my craft room looks a tip as that was the "don't know where to put it yet" place and more will need to go to the dump! 

For now I'm going to enjoy this bank holiday weekend as we have guests every day and be very grateful for the really good weather forecast. Enjoy yours too.

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Changes At Home........

 

Way back in September 2024 I decided to paint these two large boxes in an arty crafty way as they live in my craft room, I was really enthusiastic and pleased with each layer, then lots of things got in the way, that room often gets too hot to comfortably work in, or the weather is wet meaning the clothes horse needs the space to get laundry dry, or the ironing board needs the space. However I'm so pleased to report that this week I've now finally finished them and the acrylic paints and paraphernalia that I was using,  which has been out on the desk ready for two and a half years  has now been put away. 

We were surprised to hear that E is moving back to Ipswich, sadly she is suffering with the long term illness of M.E. Daughter's house isn't ideal for the help and care she may need from day to day with O at college and Daughter, M and R all working long hours so we are planning on the probability E will move in here as we are mostly at home. 

Monday I needed to chase my overdue meds delivery and discovered that Oncology Pharmacy wouldn't issue them as my last blood test had one result missing, so my Oncology Nurse urgently booked me in just to have the missed FBCs done at the hospital and issue the prescription as soon as they see the results, although I asked if I could pick them up as I'm there to save them urgently delivering them. The nurse managed to get them to agree to that. 

Not easy crossing town mid afternoon to get to the hospital as there are so many road works and temporary traffic lights and it was getting towards school pickup time. When we arrived all the car parks were quite full so we had to park furthest away which left a long walk and of course an even longer walk to get to Oncology Pharmacy after the blood test, in fact my phone recorded just my hospital walk as a total of 2,562 steps!

And when we got there the pharmacist had to tell us they were out of the pills I need. They were on order and will be delivered. Actually I got a call on Tuesday confirming I'd be in and delivered Wednesday. 

Thursday Daughter picked up E from Norwich and also all her belongings. We already have one bedroom filled with all her belongings from moving back from Dorchester and now more stuff has joined it. Even though we still haven't made a decision about which room she will want to settle into and where her most needed stuff needs to be Hubby and I keep sorting spaces which is as good a motive as any to get rid of things we no longer need. 

Another thought we both had was if she chose to sleep in the downstairs room it has glass in half of the door and I remembered having a spare curtain that matched the others in that room. Measured and cut was the easy bit but for some reason a quick machine line got more and more complicated. I was using orange top thread and yellow in the bobbin then managed to sew the hem upside down so the unintentionally wavy yellow line was annoyingly in full view right across the front. 

Hubby could see it was making me grumpy so offered to do the unpicking for me. That's love eh? 

No curtail rail just fixed with drawing pins so when light is needed the bottom can just be flicked over the books. 

Meanwhile there's no rush as E is staying at her mum's for a week or two and there will always be flexibility and we can make adjustments as and when needed. This weekend nothing planned. Enjoy yours. 

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Life In Threes.......

 

Wasn't the best start to this week, I've now been back on the evil pills for six weeks and the side effects are kicking in. Mainly achy limbs and joints and painful headaches stopping me from sleeping. 

Talking to my two Sister's on our WhatsApp chat Sunday morning it turned out neither of them slept Saturday night either. If we'd known all three of us were lying awake we could have kept each other company online. 

Tuesday first thing I got a phone call from neighbourJM saying she had popped down to the pumps to put some fuel in her car but then her car completely died. Hubby instantly left home to rescue her. He came home once to bring her shopping home so it wasn't sitting in her boot getting warm, he changed the battery in her car key and also took neighbourRW to help him push J's car out of the way. Turned out RW had the right sort of battery pack to give the car enough to make it home. 

After lunch I had a nails appointment. For the most observant worried that I'd said Tuesday when I always have nails on the first Monday, this week Monday was another Bank Holiday. While chatting my nails lady said she didn't like her new car as she didn't understand the dashboard and steering column controls so when Hubby came to pick me up he gave her a full hands on tutorial taking about 20mins.

And for Hubby's third good deed in the same day NeighbourAM came in wanting help with his phone and saving and printing info. 

Between being needed Hubby finished another jigsaw

There wasn't another one waiting to start which was good as Daughter wanted him to change her wiper blades on Wednesday morning as she was feeling a little poorly having had three teeth extracted and Thursday Daughter had a skip delivered and of course Hubby is helping her dismantle a large shed that's falling apart and fill the skip with the walls, roof and all it's contents. 

To confuse my week even more we went out Thursday evening instead of our usual Wednesday, caused by the bank holiday weekend too. We had thought our friendHM was going to join us this week but last minute her work got in the way and she had to cancel and I still went even though paracetamol hadn't got rid of my headache. 

Hubby finished copying the VHS tapes onto DVDs and I wrote on all the boxes and discs (my writing is so much clearer than his) and FriendKK came Friday to collect them. She said a few are now destined to go to her son who can copy from DVD to memory stick so KK can share them. 

Hubby and I rounded the week off by playing our Thursday Jay's Online Quiz on Friday evening. I finished sewing my metal free bra and I gave the two I'd bought that were completely the wrong shape for me to neighbourT and she was thrilled as they fit her perfectly. Now I keep looking at the large laundry boxes I'd painted in my craft room determined to get them finished very soon. 

Enjoy your weekend, my forecast app is saying warm again Saturday but a bit chillier Sunday, and dry so enjoy.

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Everything's Coming Up Roses.....

 
Not many people still have video recorders or DVD players but we do and one machine that can do both at the same time,  FriendKK knows we do so asked Hubby for a favour. Could he please transfer her last remaining box of precious home videos onto DVDs? 

She brought over her box and Hubby found his blanks, all new and still in their cellophane plus a stack of empty cases to put them into afterwards.

Then as transferring each one is done in real time Hubby decided to take our equipment into the office and run it through that TV so it wouldn't spoil our lounge viewing. This meant taking the TV off the wall to get to the place it needed to be plugged into. Plugging in was my job and handing Hubby the tools while he was up on the desk doing the risky bit. 

Of course then he had to get used to using all this tech again that he hasn't used since the olden days. 

NephewE and his wifeN came to visit, in fact they invited themselves which they have been promising to do for the last three years or so but we could never synchronise with dates and we usually only see them on our big family day at Christmas. Lovely to have just us time for a change. 

They came with these beautiful flowers. I'd done a full roast for dinner and hoped to save my aches by doing a lot of the prep on Saturday, although there's still a lot to do with the cooking and entertaining. I sent them home with the Panda toy I'd repaired for his sister that she'd not come to collect and last Christmas I'd forgotten to take to our family day. 

Monday I woke very achy. Although his telephone appointment was booked for 11:30am the consultant called at 9:30am, annoying in some ways but actually as it was Monday it didn't encroach on coffee morning, he told me the recent scan result showed the cancer as stable with small shrinkage, so all going in the right direction! 

For scans I don't need to change into a gown providing I'm not wearing any metal. It was time to replace the bra I had made years ago and treated myself to bought ones but they didn't fit well at all and would need me to almost remake them to give me any support, plus I hate the climbing into and out of ones that don't undo. Then I found a plastic clip in one of my saved hoards of haberdashery, so found my oldest bra to attack with scissors. 

I'll let you know if I'm successful when I've finished all the sewing. 

We both went to a local pharmacy to have the next covid jab. It's a walk-in so no appointments needed. Neither of us are old enough but I qualify as vulnerable and Hubby usually gets jabbed too as my carer but the guidelines have changed and he's no longer allowed. The lovely pharmacist read all the guidelines thoroughly and asked me lots of questions about Hubby's health now and past but couldn't find a loophole as we were both cross and agreed it was a totally false economy! 

Thankfully no achy arm this time, just felt a little bruised when touched but I could still sleep on it. The next day though I started shivering after lunch and couldn't warm up at all, gotta be the jab, and I even needed my blanket plugged in which didn't do enough. An extra blanket over me on the bed did the trick and I slept it off. 

We've had the new wheely bins delivered that the council are issuing and leaflets and instructions on what goes in where and when they will be collected, although not in use till June. So pleased we have the space to store our five out of the way when so many neighbours will have to leave theirs in front of their house. 

Didn't realise how filthy that blue bin is until I took this photo. 

I'll finish this week with roses, with apologies I can't include their scent...

These were a thank you from NeighbourAB as she'd borrowed a handbag of mine while she was looking for the right one to replace it with. 

And the new blooms and lots of buds in our rose bed always make me smile. 

Now it's May! And warm enough to sit by the pond with a choc-ice (well it has been twice). Enjoy the long bank holiday weekend.

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Day By Day.......

 

Saturday was a Doggy Day Care day so O didn't have to look after her while he while he entertained his friends as it was his birthday. Wow he's 17, doesn't time just fly by? 

Sunday Hubby went over to help Son with his garden clearance and two tip runs.  He got to meet their new-to-them dog (think they said she's about four years old) and they got on really well. 

I stayed home and made this. 

As a medication side effect my hair has got thinner and thinner, falling onto my clothes, not holding a style, making me want to wear it in an up style more often. My pony tail looks more like a rat's tail and I definitely prefer the wispy ends hidden but the slide I have that's tight enough to not slip out is quite narrow so I've made a detachable rosette, that's in denim as I'm mostly in jeans anyway, and flat enough to comfortably lean back onto. 

Having repaired friendK's computer Hubby needed to return it, so Monday we met them for another late lunch in a pub between us (although a bit nearer to us this time) . Late lunch as we had coffee morning of course and friendK goes to his art group in the morning. 

Rhubarb season for us started on Tuesday with a first bag full for the freezer and a rhubarb cake we can eat three days running. 

Back on medical news now, I'm still waiting for the results of my last CT Scan, but I'm now reporting on Hubby's medical stuff. His mouth problems started last October and when the dentist and three courses of antibiotics didn't cure it he was referred to the hospital and told there was a long waiting list. Last week Hubby got our surgery to chase and she made it urgent. Hubby was given an assessment appointment this Wednesday morning. I didn't go with as it was another day for having Daughter's dog. 

When Hubby got home and was telling me everything he said the hospital had said they didn't think it was anything sinister but will do a biopsy to make sure. That appointment will probably be in about two weeks. 

He hadn't been home an hour when his phone rang and they offered him someone's cancelled appointment for the very next day. 

Daughter arrived wearing one of her many Tudor outfits and said her work day went well. She stayed for tea and cake but delayed coming into the lounge as I was on the phone, it was the call back following my complaint to PALS as they had passed it to Oncology to respond to. Basically she made all the right noises of sympathy and understanding while I ranted on but there's nothing they can do about it, the system will settle down and the staff could do with more training! 

Daughter left with the dog when it was time to get O from the station and soon after that Hubby and I got ready and went out as usual on a Wednesday for the evening. It was open mic night at the pub which in an odd way was a half empty audience meaning the music finished early but there was also a big celebration crowd in another part of the pub so the kitchen was really busy and our food took a very long time to arrive. 

Thursday afternoon Hubby had the biopsy and this time I could go with him for support (he always supports me). It was surprisingly quick and Hubby felt fine. He said it was no worse than having a tooth out and just a little sore when the numbness wore off. 

Friday and Hubby reported he slept well and his mouth doesn't hurt at all. 

Now we are both waiting for test results. Isn't waiting possibly the worst bit? Maybe one of us will have news by this time next week.

Bye for now. 

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