Tuesday 22 February 2022

Update 22nd Feb

Today is our 30th Wedding Anniversary.  And I had to call an ambulance for Alan.  Won’t go into to gory details and fortunately they decided it was safe to leave him under my supervision but not the start to the day I had expected and have to admit I am feeling a bit drained now

I have now started on the precautionary antibiotics, with the longest list of scary side effects I have ever seen, none of which seem to be manifesting themselves so far.  Otherwise I have been feeling fine apart from last Wednesday when I crashed out in the afternoon and then slept for 12 hours that night. I had been for a walk in the morning and struggled towards the end so am restricting myself to being like a teddy bear (round and round the garden) for the time being.



Tuesday 15 February 2022

15/2 Quick update

 Everything went swimming well on Friday.  No after effects that I could discern and slept through the night inspite of steroids.  Full of beans on Saturday, probably overdid it as went for a walk and did two miles and my aches and pains didn’t trouble me at all (steroids again).  Have slept well every night and wake before alarm (admittedly set for 9) and have been pacing myself a bit more.  Steroids now finished and five days of injections started.  Appetite good. Back a bit dodgy but gentle walk should help if the weather obliges 

Friday 11 February 2022

Chemo #1

 My day started with a high stress incident! Home Instead rang about 10 minutes before I was due to leave to say the carer was off sick.  Did I want them to find someone else? Well yes I did.  I decided I couldn’t do anything about it so left it to them as I know they will, as a last resort, send someone from the office who has previously been a carer. The chemo was fine. One little wobbly, I suddenly got a pain in my chest and went very red, but it’s likely that was the steroids as it didn’t happen again. I read some, watched a film on Netflix, ate my lunch and had a snooze and was home by 3.30. This evening I feel fine and i have eaten a substantial meal which tasted as it should, but we shall see what happens over the next few days. By the way, I don't know why this looks like this but I'm too tired now to work it out

Sunday 6 February 2022

A positive view

 As so many people have been kind enough to ask me how I am getting on, I thought it might be a good idea to return to this blog and then I won’t have to keep repeating myself!  Noticing the original title I will try to keep as positive as possible although I know you will forgive me if I have a bit of a wobble now and then

So, this Friday I embark upon the road that so many others have travelled before me, that of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.  The chemo will be once every third Friday for either 4 or 6 cycles, then I have a four week gap and then 5 weeks Monday to Friday radio therapy plus two or three different ones, possibly, it depends. It was a bit of a shock, as originally the surgeon had said he thought the cancer was contained, but after the hysterectomy he found there were already some nasties in the lymph nodes they took for biopsy

I feel very calm at the moment,  lots of people are praying for me, which most of you will know means a great deal to me.  Alan needs your prayers too, that he will stay calm about it and that I will be able to look after him properly.  We have had a carer coming in for four hours on a Friday afternoon for some time, which allowed me to go out and not be clock watching.  I also had someone come in to give him his shower while my hysterectomy healed.  That’s being extended now so I will have someone here for an hour on a Tuesday and a Thursday morning.  My cleaner comes for two hours on a Monday morning and I have friends who will come and sit with Alan on the chemo mornings until the carer arrives.

Not much else to say yet, I will report back once I find out how the first treatment affects me. 

Love to all xx

Sunday 8 July 2018

My lovely birthday weekend

Having struggled to get back into blogger I can now tell you all about what a great energy filled weekend I have had..
On Friday I went and got my new glasses and then, out of the blue, I had an invitation to lunch from my lovely friend Isabel. We went to The Pavilion in Woodbridge and sat and chatted about stuff and had a fab sandwich each which was just stuffed with stuff and had side salad, dressing and crisps, and then we had three scoops of ice cream and a little walk.
On Saturday I was full of beans and did a huge clean and tidy in the kitchen following the nightmare invasion of ants the day before. I also dyed a pair of trousers and a top. I had a siesta and then did quite a lot in the garden after tea (smoked salmon and Russian salad followed by stewed apricots with home grown black currants)
Sunday.My birthday. Church after getting Alan’s newspaper. Spent quite a long time with a visitor who was very distressed. Home, coffee. Toasted Camembert and red currant jelly sandwich. Siesta. Took up two pairs of trousers, more tidying in the kitchen. Read my book (At Risk by Stella Remington)
Dinner. Maple glazed gammon, croquettes,  cabbage and leek, followed by lemon cheese cake with home grown raspberries. Did some watering. Oh and there was a bottle of Chardonnay and a huge box of chocolates from my beloved. Watered the pots and the remaining black currants and raspberries, and strawed  the strawberries.
I have not been on much pain, lots of peeps said happy birthday and I feel lovely and loved and happy. Going to finish the wine now and read some more and give the hubby a big cuddle before I go to bed

Monday 7 May 2018


It is a very long time since I blogged but I thought that, for those who are interested, you might like to hear about my pretend holiday.  If you haven't visited my blog before then please feel free to have a wander but bear in mind that a lot of the stuff on here is very old now!

I arrived at the hotel late on Monday afternoon. The journey was very easy, in fact it seemed like it took no time at all.
My room is pleasant and tastefully decorated with lots of interesting objects d’art to amuse me.  There is a private bathroom and sitting room for my exclusive use as well as the communal lounge, although the place seems very quiet at the moment, the only other guest that I have met so far is a very pleasant old gentleman who spends most of his time sitting in the most comfortable chair in the lounge, dozing or reading a book
For my evening meal I chose the “jambon froid avec une melange des legumes frites”, followed by “casserole des pommes” which had been flavoured with the dried flower buds of an Indonesian tree. It lived up to expectations. I noticed that the elderly gentleman chose the same.
In the evening I went to the local cinema and saw a film called Red Planet which was pretty good. On my return I went to my room and read. At the moment I am reading Babylon Berlin by Volker Kutscher, not the most restful tale to end the day but I am keen to know what happens next!
TUESDAY
I woke early, feeling well rested and to bright sunshine, a big change from yesterday. I had toast for breakfast but this was no ordinary toast! The bread was a sour cherry and chocolate bread and seriously delicious.
In the morning I visited a local town. There were some very interesting  shops, including a real old fashioned hardware store. Looking above the shop fronts to the first and second stories was very rewarding.
There is a river front walk and several inviting places to eat but as I had noticed that scampi with chips and salad were on this evenings menu I restrained myself and settled for a ploughman’s lunch back at the hotel.  Even this had a surprise, in that the pickled onions were flavoured with cardamom and star anise and very good they were too!
My ramblings did make me feel quite tired so, after a post prandial snooze, I read for much of the afternoon (this hotel has a substantial library) and enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine with my evening meal. No dessert, too many chips!
But I did indulge in some more wine and nibbles in the bar later after attending a very interesting lecture about the cathedrals at Salisbury and Durham.  Slight upset at the hotel, housekeeping had not made my bed.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday was a bit of a wash out. Had a fibromyalgia flare and back spasm so my plans had to be put on hold. Lovely dinner, avocado and bacon salad. The old gentleman had the kedgeree. I spent some time in the lounge with him and he told me his name is George.
THURSDAY
The groundswoman was working in the spacious and lovely garden so I chatted to her for a while.  She is planting up some bushes in a corner and clearing turf in a couple of other places.  I would have liked to have given her a hand but didn’t dare upset my back so I arranged a cup of tea for her.
I had avocado toast for lunch. I think the kitchen had some left over from last night
In the afternoon I visited a local RSPCA sanctuary and, as I am a qualified cat whisperer, I was able to spend some time in the feline department. A cat called Rosie jumped on my back as soon as I entered her apartment. She was so excited to see me that she nearly knocked my glasses off!
For my evening meal I had a potato and onion tortilla with a big salad followed by strawberries and cream. George was delighted that one of his favourites was on the menu - quiche and greens.
We discovered that there was a programme on the television that we both wanted to watch so we sat in the lounge together. He is a very nice old gentleman.
FRIDAY
Unfortunately I had to return home to attend to grass cutting and other household chores that could not be left. It was a pleasant day however and I was back at the hotel by dinner time.  Sushi. Yum. More strawberries and cream. Yum yum.
SATURDAY
Spent some time reading, strolling in the extensive and beautiful gardens and browsing the catalogue of the local auction house. Hoisin duck wrap for lunch, salmon with preserved lemon, croquettes and broccoli for dinner. 
George and I watched television in the lounge in the evening. I’m rather taken with George.
SUNDAY
I went out early to get George a newspaper and then had coffee with him before going to a particular interesting church service where a young couple who work in Rwanda at a hospital talked about their work. If you would like to know more click here
On the way back to the hotel I passed a procession of vintage and veteran motor vehicles. Lots and lots of people were standing or sitting by the road watching them pass.
After a very pleasant ploughman’s lunch I finished the book I was reading.
After dinner ( chicken in white wine sauce, rice and greens, followed by salted caramel profiteroles) I spent some time on the Babylon 5 space station courtesy of the DVD plyer in my room.
MONDAY
Up with the lark to visit a strange traditional gathering known as a Carbutsell. The locals gather in a field with their cars and sell stuff they don’t want to people who don’t need it. I suspect that at the next gathering the same stuff changes hands again. I did join in, just to placate the natives, by buying some beads and a jewellery box.
Lunch was venison sausage sandwiches.  The weather was very hot so I read quite a bit in the afternoon. Unfortunately I never did manage to visit the various art and craft workshops that I had intended.  Maybe I will come here again and do that another time. The "holiday" was a qualified success. George came home with me.
The "holiday" was a qualified success. George came home with me.

Thursday 2 February 2017

Cat Whispering

For those of you interested enough to come and read this, thank you.
The induction consisted of some health and safety stuff and a tour of the premises, except the dogs. I am a little uneasy around dogs I don't know and as they are good at picking up peoples emotions I am not considered, nor do I want, to be involved with the canines. I saw the ferrets, mice, bunnies, a turkey and a canary and hen all the lovely cats. You will have already seen the bit about red amber and green I think. For the first few weeks I can only go in with the green ones.  I was given some instructions about procedures and then had about an hour to spend. The socialisers spend about ten minutes or so with each cat in its own space. They have an area with a scratching post, bed and toys which you get into through the front door. The doors at each end of the access corridor must be closed before you do this, as illustrated by the second cat I went in with who shot past me in a bid for freedom. He let me pick him up and put him back easily tho'. He is a stray who was very nervous but is improving. He meows all the time but goes quiet once someone is in with him. However, after a bit of playing he decided to be scared of my feet so he was fine playing until I moved and then he shot into his private quarters and peered at me through the cat flap that accesses them. They can get away from people, go into a darker environment and there is a lovely cosy bed up on a shelf.
The first cat let me stroke him for a bit but then told me he didn't want it anymore, not by biting or scratching but just with a look and a turning around.
The third one was a gorgeous little girl, long haired beige and brown and a real love bug. She didn't want me to stop stroking her, and head butted a lot and ended up with her back legs on the tower and her front legs on my shoulder.
I also talked to two ladies who are regulars, doing the same thing. They were in with the amber cats as well and I couldn't find any other greens. I also got a bit more gbackground and procedure before I went from another member of staff.  Obviously not all the cats want to be petted all the time but just getting used to people being in with them does them good. Although they are kept separate hey have lots of space and the corridor and doors all let in lots of light.
I am allowed to take photos for myself but mustn't share on social media unless they are ready to be rehomed so will post some next week if I get the chance.
It was a lovely experience, very calming and I dint think about anything else while I was there. It's going to be my 90 minute meditation!