Halloween our way....

This year organised and cooked and decorated by Daughter and the grandchildren.

Theatre: The Opinion Makers.....

I haven't been to the theatre for ages and was really looking forward to it. This was booked a long time ago with neighbour Trish and her friends and about an hour before we were leaving Trish phoned to say one friend couldn't go and did I know anyone who would like to use the ticket. When I rang Daughter she eagerly jumped at the chance of a night out for a change.

This is the website description...

A Mercury Theatre Made in Colchester and Derby Theatre Co-Production

When the utterly incompetent team at Fernsby Market Research find themselves facing the stiffest challenge of their professional lives – to report what the British Public really think of world famous ‘Doctor Campbell’s Lotion’ in readiness for a re-launch – there’s only one thing for it; make it all up! After all, that’s what market research companies do, isn’t it?

Critically-acclaimed writing duo Brian Mitchell and Joseph Nixon have assembled a wonderful cast of characters for this brand new musical comedy, including: the hapless Fernsby and his useless sidekicks; a beatnik Advertising phoney and his jazz flute playing muse; a Scottish Laird with a dark secret and a glamorous American gold-digger wife; and an insane Home Secretary-in-waiting.

What’s more, they’ve written a raft of great new songs that’ll transport you back to the world of ‘swinging sixties’ London for this hilarious, off-beat musical take on the birth of the political pollster – think Mad Men meets Carry On!

Billed as a musical comedy, but it was neither and the four of us cringed and I think two would have left at the interval and not gone back. Daughter googled it during the break and found some dire reviews which we all agreed with. But I don't give in "it may get better in the second half" I said with a grin, but it didn't.

This is what Daughter put on facebook....
 Really dodgy musical with Bake Off's Mel Wotsit. It was a spoof musical with references to various other musicals particularly in the really poorly arranged music. it was lacking pace, the script was shit and the acting of half the cast was lacklustre at best.

So a night out to talk about for all the wrong reasons hahaha.
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One month after....

Hard to believe surgery was a month ago!

Things are getting back to a bit more like our normal routine, I'm going out in the evenings with my friends to art group, the truck stop (though I'm not dancing yet), pub meals etc. Saturday night Hubby and I joined our neighbours/friendsP&A on their quiz team (and we were winning till the last couple of rounds). Tonight I'm off to the theatre.

I'm doing more around the house, ironing for short spells, I made a cake last week and made a dinner, but I'm being careful not to do too much partly because it starts to hurt but mainly so Hubby isn't left with nothing to do ;-)  He's been such a domestic goddess these past few weeks that I don't want to deprive him!

With the hospital not wanting to see me again till January and although I'm still sore a lot of the time I'm not sore enough to need regular pain relief, so I'm considering this subject now closed before it gets boring and try to blog about more interesting things.

SO -we are sitting here watching the wind build into the major storm they have been forcasting and as I'm typing this post I keep doing a copy to clipboard as the power keeps going off and I may not be able to save it. There are a couple of big rubber playmats flying across our garden and we know they are from under the swings next door. Unfortunately our very pretty tulip tree has been split in two with half of it now lying on the hedge.

We're back....Power went off for a while so we went next door for a mug of tea or two as they have a gas cooker (we've only just changed ours to electric of course, buggar). Seems the storm has now passed us and thankfully we can report no damage.
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Yaay, ouch and boo.....

I've now had a letter from the hospital to advise that the histology report has confirmed that the entire tumour has been removed and they don't want to see me again until my outpatient appointment in January and another CT scan next April. :-)

Unfortunately now I'm doing a bit more the main scar area and my back are hurting a bit more. Swings and roundabouts eh?

Had a lovely couple of hours with R and O (while daughter took E to her percussion lesson). We made a few more Halloween paper and card decorations to add to the collection. Later when daughter came back it all morphed into screen time as usual, with three children having to share our two laptops and sofa space so the third could watch the two screens when it wasn't their turn!

Lovely evening at the truck stop, dinner there for us three ladies (mmmm bbq ribs) while our men went bowling. Then into the bar to be entertained by "Hatman" and later joined by our bowlers and other special friends to help celebrate FriendM's birthday with cake complete with sparkly candles.
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Looking through ruby glasses.....

20 October 1973 and I'd spent the night on a mattress on the lounge floor of friends Jackie and Nick (lost touch with them many many years ago). It was our wedding day and I couldn't leave from home on my dad's arm as my dad wasn't talking to me and wouldn't be there. My future husband wasn't Jewish and although we were definitely not a religious family my dad felt he couldn't give his blessing or approval and it must have been hard for him and as much as I hated his Victorian attitude I also had to admire his courage to stick by his decision and see it through. Well if it was hard for dad it was so much harder for my mum, torn between her husband and her daughter for months and standing her ground too and coming to our wedding. Dad and I did make up a few years later.

So, what can I remember about that special day, forty years ago?

The sun shone on the golden autumn leaves. It was warm and dry.

We were the last couple to be married in the old Hammersmith Registry Office, a lovely old brick building with a beautiful area at the front for photo taking.

Friend Nick wore a chauffeur's hat and put a fur rug in his cream coloured Fiat to drive me to the Registry Office.

My dress was made of crimpoline and a halter neck style so backless. For outside I had a lace shawl and big floppy hat which I think were my borrowed but I've forgotten now who from. The dress I remember had cost me £5 which should have been dearer but they knocked a little off because it had a dirty mark which actually washed out really easily. I wore the most enormous platform shoes and insisted Hubby wore flats (men wore platforms too in 1973) so I didn't look so much shorter than him.

SisterS and SisterP didn't make it to the service as they were laying out the food at the reception, the food that SisterM and I had made weeks before and put in her freezer.

Baby NieceL, just 5 days before her first birthday, blew raspberries throughout the service (loved it).

My mum and Hubby's dad were our witnesses.

Our reception was in a brand new nightclub, The Nashville Rooms in Fulham, West London, we hired the hall for just £10 but had to be out by 6pm so they could open in time for the evening.

Our best man made his speach from the DJ box, think he was a bit embarrassed.

The dance floor lit up which 3 year old NieceS loved.

We moved onto Hubby's parent's house to continue celebrating but my new Hubby and I were the first to leave and head to our little rented bed-sit on the other side of London, as the epic Sparticus was being shown on tv for the first time and we had bought our first 12inch black and white tv specially!

Of course there have been highs, lows and lots of just jogging along, however we are both very proud to be celebrating our ruby wedding and remembering our special day forty years ago! 

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Updating, do not unplug.....

Just as I get the hang of one bit of technology they go and change it, and now it's iGoogle shutting down where I had my blog reading collection.

But, you know what, I've been forced to change and moved my collection to the blogger version and it works even better than what I had before.

Too old for this malarky? Nah not me and not yet :-)
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Measuring....

Healing - skin still sore but trousers comfortably done up now.

Medication - pain killers not needed every day but no more than twice on the days I do.

Blood pressure - keeping a bit of a bp diary as my normally high bp now seems to generally low. Maybe one kidney is more efficient than two!

Mobility - mostly moving about as and when I please. Even drove my car yesterday.

In bed - gone is the pillow pile and can even roll from side to side. Not managing to sleep right through yet though.

Flowers - I've received so many beautiful flowers, at one point they filled nine vases a planted arrangement and a special card with flowers in.

Cards - fill the hearth and coffee table and are still arriving from people that have only just heard.

Presents -. A lovely cross stitch of my initial from a friend that had popped into a charity shop and said it called to her. A neighbour brought a huge tin of chocolates.

Visitors - my children have been around all the time, plus so many friends and neighbours wanting to pop in and wish me well. One neighbour knowing that hubby was going out came specially to make me tea. My ex-boss came too and a cousin is coming to visit on Monday.

Checking up on me - by phone calls, text messages, emails and facebook comments are far too many to even attempt counting up.

Blessings - counting them daily but immeasurable!!!

Progress - I'm out tonight at a friends for dinner and tomorrow back to my art group yaay!
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Loving the ordinary....

Yesterday was so lovely and ordinary.  Daughter came over with the three children, two of which showing off new cat onsies, and brought flowers for me, french sticks towards lunch and a huge apple crumble to cook here and share.  We chatted about who they'd seen and what they'd done, the children did some screen time each, there was Halloween art, daughter made lunch, hubby made lots of drinks, there was some bickering, some stomping, aeroplane/airplane making and debate about who calls it what and why, a grandson sitting close on the sofa playing on my screen and chatting, there was R and O left behind while E was taken for her percussion lesson, O helping granddad to strip our bed, there was a struggle to get them all out at home time, there was hubby texting after they left to say she had forgotten the half a crumble, there was the flying in later by Daughter to collect the crumble and steal a pie out of the freezer as she'd gone to Asda but forgotten her purse! And there was the contented relaxing evening after an ordinary day!
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Take-em-out and take-away....

Definite steps yesterday to getting nearer to normal (whatever my normal is).

In the afternoon I left the house for the first time on the great adventure to our town centre surgery (local nurse fully booked) to have the staples removed. I know I am an over sensitive baby where pain is involved and a few people with their horror stories had made me even more anxious, which didn't help, but they really did hurt coming out and three of the 15 took some extra tugging, ouch ouch ouch! I was amazed they can't come up with a bit of a spray numbing idea first, or an oil softening idea that would help soften and lubricate or at least a soothing wet flannel to take the sting away after, but there was nothing, not even distraction conversion from the nurse! So glad that's over with and so looking forward to being able to do my trousers up again.

Tuesday nights is usually girl's night and even though we used to be five or six of us now it's just three of us that meet for a meal out most Tuesdays. Well they checked with me if I was up for a meal out with one of them driving instead of me, however mainly due to me not being able to do my trousers up, we decided on them coming here and having Chinese delivered.  It was yummy and conversion was totally shared between my medical updates and their news, lovely that it wasn't visitors to the sick it was me nearly normal!
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One week after....

It's now 5:30pm and this is about the time last Saturday I came out of recovery and onto the ward, so it's one week after the op!

So much to be grateful for,
especially that the tumour was discovered at all,
I'm the other side of a successful operation,
it remained a keyhole procedure when the surgeon had warned me the odds had risen to 50/50 that it may end up an open procedure,
grateful too that I didn't suffer the dreadful shoulder pain I'd been warned about that's caused by the gasses they fill you with during surgery,
nor did I suffer the constipation that often is a problem from taking all the post-op pain relief.
What a lucky lucky girl I am!!!

So now it's up to me, trying to stay totally positive, trying to move about in short slow bursts and resting lots too…....but ok I'm bloody human AND IT'S REALLY REALLY SORE!
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A billow of pillows.....

Had a good night's sleep last night, mainly due to getting the pillows just right. There are so many pillows it's like a Sheik's bedouin tent. There are five behind me in the classic hospital armchair formation, so that I can almost be sitting up, but this can sometimes give me lower back twinges so two pillows under my knees ensured total comfort.

This isn't how I would normally sleep of course and after getting up for an early bathroom visit I was sleepily keen to get comfy on my side, so a bit of tugging moved the back down and the knee pillows got fidgeted into one under my top knee and the other rammed into my back. Zonked till gone 7:30am!!!

So getting more sleep has also meant I've eaten better, enjoyed visitors, and enjoying these...

A bit less of me to collect......

Just waiting now for hubby to come and take me home. Operation all went according to plan thank goodness. Wounds are healing well, the pain is manageable and I'm moving about without help, so declared fit to go :-)

I have been really well looked after in Ipswich Hospital and no complaints about the food either. The beds are so comfortable and clever how they totally adjust every which way and they constantly give a gentle massage while you're sleeping!

I'd worn my favourite old pajamas so felt comfortable and brought in a dressing gown that used to be my mum's so I could have a cuddle from her too. The best look ever with these surgical stockings. Hubby and my children visited both evenings and friendK came yesterday too. There has been a constant stream of good wishes on text and facebook and promises of help whenever we need it. I'm soooo lucky eh?

I'm dressed and packed and now had my hospital lunch so there was nothing else to do but blog lol.
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