THE SUN SHINES ON THE RIGHTEOUS

I took this photo when I got up this morning. One benefit of being an early riser is that I get to see sights like this......this will be going on my OUR SKY blog at some point...when I catch up with it...still on September 2006 at the moment!
Mick did really well again with his dinner last night and his bowel movements are fairly regular at the moment. I was pleased to see that sitting in his wheelchair on our trip out yesterday hasn't has any detrimental effect on his bum. It's been a beautiful sunny morning though very chilly; I decided to sit Mick out in his armchair as the sun was shining in on that part of the room. I'm so glad I bought this chair; it was worth every penny......some things are worth so much more than monetary value.

I can't believe it's February tomorrow; Valentine's Day soon.......I've ordered Mick some more t-shirts as a present. They were in the Sale on one of the on-line catalogues. As I have to cut them down the sleeve and underarm so that I can get them on him it's good if I can find a bargain. One of them is a really bright ORANGE........guess that's why it was on sale......it won't matter too much though when we are sitting in the garden in the summer (fingers crossed) and when I think about it...it's the same colour as one of our lily varieties so Mick won't mind too much!!!!

SHORT BACK AND SIDES

Mick so enjoyed his hair cut and kitchenshower last night. Whilst Tracey was cutting his hair he managed to hold his head up a little on his own without me supporting it and had his eyes wide open!; then when Manda and I were washing him he tried really hard to lift his right arm up (and succeeded a little) so that I could wash underneath his armpit. After all that he had a relaxed sleep until almost 9pm and then ate a little chicken broth and banana and chocolate mousse....I always have to make sure I don't leave an S out of mousse in case Mousie reads it and thinks we're going to eat HER!......

He didn't eat much breakfast this morning but has managed to eat almost a whole one of the Cheesy Muffins I made this morning (See Me, My Life, My Garden)......for the last couple of months I've not been able to get him to eat bread without choking so I was really surprised that he managed the muffin!

I had a phone call a little while ago from the speech therapist...those of you who have been reading this blog for a while will no doubt remember my Tongue In Cheek post......(just click on the words tongue in cheek for a reminder) and so will not be surprised when I say I had to stifle my giggles when she was speaking to me. She rang to apologise for not having sent out the typed up Thick and Easy directions that she had promised and was really worried that I'd not been coping without them. I assured her that I had managed quite well (giggle giggle) as her hand written directions had been clear enough for me to follow...(hee hee). Even so she insisted that she would send me a typed copy in the post as it could be of help to the District Nurses when they called in........(HAAA HA....GIGGLE....SNORT.....HEAD FALLING OFF WITH LAUGHTER)..................I just said "thank you" and didn't bother to mention the fact that it's been at least 6 months since a District Nurse even PHONED to see how Mick is. Don't get me wrong....I'm pleased the Speech Therapist phoned..it's nice to see someone doing their job and following up on patients..........it's just the reminder of that visit of hers just make me laugh.

P.S. Anyone interested in knowing what the role of the District Nurse in England is may like to read the piece I copied from a source on the Internet..........click HERE

DAY TRIPPER

I was really pleased that today was so mild as I had made my mind up that Mick and I were going out. I was really excited as I got him breakfasted, washed and dressed. He is such a darling when I'm getting him into the wheelchair; he never grunts or groans. It's quite a palaver as when he is in the hoist and the wheelchair is beneath him I have to tip the wheelchair onto its back wheels, the back towards me and rest it with him in it against my leg so that my hands are free to unhook the hoist. It's a bit difficult to explain but luckily I've strong legs so it doesn't cause me too much of a problem as long as I balance the chair right. Of course it means Mick is tipped right back "wheelie" fashion but if I didn't do it that way the hoist would come down straight on top of Mick's head!! Considering that "in the beginning" the District Nurse said that it takes two people to use the hoist and so I probably wouldn't be able to manage it...we've coped well. I was reading Dirty Butter's latest post today. It reminded me only too well how difficult it was "transferring" Mick from his bed to his chair or sitting him up in bed in the "pre hoist" days. It was a case of having to actually lift him!!....it's incredible where the strength comes from..Mick was a good 14 stone then and was unable to bear any weight on his legs at all by the time July 2005 came round.
Well that was another case of "Ruth in digressing mode". ........
A quick harp back to my BLUE MONDAY post; another instance this morning...........I had "parked" Mick at the bottom of our front steps while I popped back indoors to get the prescriptions I needed to drop into the doctors surgery. One of our neighbours parked his car outside his garage and went to walk to his house which is a few doors up from ours. he spotted Mick and instead of walking along the pavement behind Mick which led straight to his house....HE DETOURED, went over to the other side of the square, walked right round and got to his house from the other side. I could see him doing it out of the window...I felt like shouting "IT'S NOT F...ING CATCHING!!!!!" It's unbelievable; especially when this neighbour is allegedly disabled himself due to difficulty waking; he gets a nice free car from the government because of it...it's funny really because quite a few other neighbours have commented to me how well HE manges digging his garden and walking around town etc without a stick...except when he's due for a disablement review (their words not mine) and then his stick suddenly appears again......................digressed again didn't I!!
Mick and I had a nice leisurely trip to the Drift. I know it sounds silly....no one LIKES spending money but I really miss having the feel of REAL money in my hands as I have to do so much On-line shopping. Funny the little things we take for granted in every day life that we miss when we can't do them.

It was warm enough that I didn't even need to put a hat on Mick; their was no wind at all to make it feel chilly. On our way back there was the sound of birdsong in the air. It was beautiful and I stopped to listen. Mick lifted his head slightly, opened his eyes and turned his head ever so sightly towards the sound. It was lovely to see that he could hear it; I peered up into the tree from where the sound was coming and it was a Robin....I couldn't zoom in clearly enough to get a closeup photo but if you look carefully he IS there.

We must have been there a full 5 minutes before the robin finally flew off and Mick kept his eyes open the whole time.

As we got nearer home I saw that some Forsythia coming into bud. Don't tell the council will you but I snapped off a couple of sprigs. These will come out into bloom in the warmth of the house and when they do ad Mick sees it he will know that Spring is on its way.

We had a little sit in the garden when we got home; I chatted to mick about all the things in the garden that were growing/ budding/blooming and then we came back indoors and I put him back on his bed. Except when he had a little lunch he has been peacefully sleeping since. We've a busy evening ahead...haircut then kitchenshower...............in fact looking at the time I'd better get a move on. I've the kitchen to clear to make room for the paddling pool; towels,, wash gear, fresh sheets etc to gather and then I've got to get Mick undressed and back into his wheelchair ready for Tracey to come.....................I do make sure he is suitable covered with his dressing gown (back to front) for the hair cut but have him naked and ready for his shower underneath it. If I didn't do this it would mean that once Mick had his hair cut I would then have to hoist him back onto his bed to undress him; then hoist him back out again to get him into the kitchen for his shower.............as after his shower we have to hoist him onto the bed wet, dry and dress him and then hoist him up again to make his bed it would just be a hoist too far.

No time for spell checks or a read through so hope all this has made sense!

A TRUMPET VOLUNTARY

Now I'm not one for boasting but one of the pressure areas on Mick's peach-like bum is healing really well. I had a horrible feeling that because he was constantly lying/sitting that I wouldn't be able to keep it under control but this morning one area has actually HEALED OVER!!!! He has got the sexiest of bums and I'd love to show you a photo but as he's ALL MINE; I'm sorry girls you'll have to use your imagination.
We haven't had any "sleepover" visitors this weekend but Manda & co popped in (it being Nicole's Birthday) and we all had some of the muffins I'd made (on both these subjects see Me, My Life, My Garden) and Sue (bless her) popped in with some milk I needed.
As I'd cooked Roast beef during the week we had fish for our Sunday dinner today. I must admit it was one of the frozen boil in the bag ones but the butter sauce that it's in is delicious and (touch wood) I've never found a single bone in it.....pieces of bone are something I really worry about Mick choking on...and my mincers aren't what they used to be when I'm checking for them myself. Mick ate every scrap and all of his banana and chocolate Complan mousse so I'm well chuffed.
Tomorrow Tracey, our home visit hairdresser, comes and then after that Manda and I will give Mick his kitchenshower. Like me Mick loves having his hair "fiddled" with so I know he'll enjoy that. I can't believe how quickly time seems to have passed since our last haircuts....I always phone Tracey to let her know all is ok and that we are BOTH needing our appointments.....it astounds her as well as the rest of us that she is still coming to see us BOTH.
Yup! all in all I'm feeling pretty good tonight...sorry if it sounds like I'm blowing my own trumpet but how else could I use this cute little gif I found!

If you were expecting another colourful title then you're out of luck. This author has decided it was a weekday experience only.....though I could well have decided to call it PURPLE Saturday after seeing the deepening colour of Mick's bruise on his elbow.

The problem is caused by a gap between the arm rest and the back of Mick's wheelchair;because Mick's arms are permanently clenched up his elbow falls right into this gap and no amount of padding (either on Mick or the chair)seems to help; and it is impossible to move his elbow forward enough for it to rest on the actual arm rest. It happened this time when we were giving him his kitchen/shower on Monday. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be causing him too much pain as he doesn't wince when I'm washing him

Mick's managed some savoury food the last couple of nights. The fact that I'd cooked roast beef probably helped! Naturally I minced his up small; you may think well if you're mincing it why not just cook minced beef!!!....well I'll tell you...it's just not the same flavour...even minced the cooked roast beef flavour comes through and tastes so much better.

I think it's also helped that in the back of the medicine drawer I found a strip of the Amphotericin Lozenges that Mick originally sucked to combat a sour mouth (caused by the steroids). Since they went off the market he has been prescribed Nystan oral suspension.He is supposed to hold this in his mouth and swill it round for a minute before swallowing but he can't manage to understand/comprehend how to do that so swallows it straight away. I'm sure having a sore mouth is why he isn't managing savoury food as well...savoury food usually being hot. The last couple of days when I've been giving him the lozenges (which he happily sucks) his eating has really improved.

While I'm talking about Mick's drugs I must show you the nifty little gadget that I use for Mick's medicine; it's especially useful when it is getting low in the bottle. Mick has 5mls of Dexamethasone a day which is one teaspoonful.

The little plastic stopper fits into the top of the bottle; then I put the syringe into the hole in the stopper, turn the bottle upside down and syringe out exactly the amount I need. It is so much easier than trying to pour it into a spoon and get the measurement right without spilling any. Also I can then just syringe a small amount into the spoon at a time ; when Mick slurps at it we don't loose so much of the dosage running down his chin or splashing out of the spoon.

It would have been nice to get out and about today. Although it's cold it's a nice sunny day but I want to keep Mick constantly on his ripple mattress for another day; I really want that pressure area to heal a little more before I sit him out of bed again for a long spell or bump him about in his wheelchair on our convoluted pavements. So if I type a rather ga-ga- loony post tomorrow you know that I'm going "STIR CRAZY"!!!!!!!!!

BROWN FRIDAY

I had been expecting a BROWN day all week and thanks to Mick's achievements of this morning...today's the day...............regular visitors will know what I mean when I say the "Log of Logs" has been updated...............Of course I took photos.....those of you with a delicate stomach please look away

NOW!

Calm down, calm down................it wasn't THAT funny!

WHITE THURSDAY

This morning I was pleased to see that I could truly call today's post "WHITE" Thursday. Although only a dusting of snow it really sparkled in the sun.

Mick's has done really well eating wise. I think the soreness of loosing that tooth has worn off as (if it's sweet rather than savoury) he is eating everything I give him. Last night he was eating rice pudding at midnight!!! and this morning the bowl of creamy WHITE porridge I gave him went down with no problems, so everything is alwight there...(excuse the Ross/Barrymore impersonation...got to get another WHITE in some how even if it's just phonetically!).

Talking of his tooth I have been wondering what to get with the £5 that the tooth fairy left him. I wanted something that would last; a memory of that day; I decided that what could be better than to get a WHITE Dog's TOOTH Violet.......I know there's one called WHITE Beauty so I'll be scouring all the online plant sites to see where I can get one.

I was supposed to have the plumber coming back in today; he had advised a new boiler or at least some maintenance of the old one when he came the other day; rather than take any chances of it breaking down I gave them a call. They were due to come yesterday afternoon but the chap gave me a ring and said he'd been held up; he was quite willing to still come out but wondered if considering the circumstances with Mick whether I'd prefer him to leave it till today rather than have the disruption during dinner time. I thought that a good idea but they have phoned and he is snowed in (alledgedly)so we will have to wait until tomorrow...

Poor Manda's still not well and looked very pale(white?) when she popped in last night (though not well she insisted on popping round for a little while to see Mick...she's never missed a day in the past 20 months)......she's also only ever had 8 days off from work (excluding holiday times) in the last 7 years and 4 of those were due to Mick being in hospital.....I don't think many people can say that...in this day and age people seem to have a sick day for the slightest thing.......(I wonder if the lightest in slightest counts as a WHITE?)

This is not the Procol Harum version but I think it's rather lovely; and she is wearing a WHITE dress!

PINK WEDNESDAY

I was all prepared that todays post would be WHITE WEDNESDAY thereby continuing the colourful week theme.The snow was forecast; relatives in Surrey and Kent had some, the news said Norfolk had some but so far we have had nothing here in our part of Suffolk. So out goes the "WHITE" and in comes the..........well I don't know what colour.........

• the skies were GREY this morning but grey suggest depression so that won't do


• the skies are blue now...but I did BLUE on Monday


• Manda's off work with a bad cold...RED nose? from blowing it?.....not actually seen her though so I'm clutching at straws there


• Mick's ok...no coughing or face going RED; eating well so no 'BLACK/GREY' problems there


• GREEN?...nothing specific about today of that colour; I did some mulching but that was BROWN....(I may need to save that colour......in case of log of logs update)


• INDIGO, VIOLET, YELLOW.....nothing's coming through....hmmmm

This is all your fault MileStones!....your comment yesterday put me in the frame of mind for a "COLOURFUL" week..................and I can't find a colour!!!!!

Well flash my knickers in Leicester Square.......what a silly billy I am..........I've just looked out of the window at the glorious sunset......................

It's got to be PINK........which is what I was going to originally call yesterday's post!!!!!!!

Got to sing now haven't I.............altogether now

We'll drink a drink a drink To Lily the pink the pink the pink

The savior of [the savior of] the human ra.a.a.a.ce.

She invented medicinal compound.

Most efficacious in every case.

ORANGE TUESDAY

I couldn't believe it when (after titling my yesterday's post Blue Monday) I heard last night on the news that yesterday was in fact BLUE MONDAY.

Psychologist Dr Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University has christened January 22 'Blue Monday', when post-Christmas fatigue kicks in, resolutions fall by the wayside and spring seems ages away.
What's more, the academic says the feeling will last all week as the lethal combination of miserable weather and astronomical credit card bills affects even the super-happy among us.
Dr Arnall has even come up with a formula - 1/8W+(D-d)3/8xTQMxNA.
It factors in the dreariness of the (W)eather, the arrival of Christmas bills or (D)ebt, minus monthly salary (d), (T)ime elapsed since Christmas and the failure to keep a New Year's resolution or to (Q)uit a bad habit, low (M)otivational levels and the need to take action (NA).
Jon Harry, Wales on Sunday

Well I'm pleased that's over and today I'm in the "pink"....actually I think that should be "orange" as I'm pleased to say the Marmalade Cake went down very well.

Ron and Brenda arrived just before lunch and it was nice to catch up with a bit of family gossip and to hear about Sarah's (their daughter) plans for her forthcoming wedding later this year. I put Ron to good use; one of the radiators in the front room badly needing bleeding and though I can do the job myself I remembered what happened last time I did it......the thread is very worn; the nut fell out and I had water pouring out while I tried to get it back in..... and let Ron take the chance;

and not a "brickies bum" in sight!

So far I seem to be keeping Mick's pressure areas under control; at least they're not worse which is about the best I can hope for.

We are all tucked up warm and cosy..............heard on the radio some areas have no gas!......the front doors locked and all is peaceful. Manda isn't coming round tonight......she popped in on her way home from work and really is quite poorly.......a stinker of a cold and feeling very achy...........it wouldn't surprise me if she is off work tomorrow...........she is inclined to just plod on regardless (can't think where she gets that from...LOL) but I think this time even she may have to give in.

BLUE MONDAY

Do you ever have those "things" that rankle away at you for days and months, even years, and you find they get to the stage when you can't stick them into the deepest recesses of your mind any longer. They have grown and festered and the time has come when you know that soon they will either erupt, or, so consume you in such a way that every moment of every day the "thing" is sitting there behind your eyes; the pressure so hard that you feel the constant pricking of tears. Such it is with me at the moment and my only outlet is to turn to my blog. I could just write it down on a scrap of paper and "get it out of my system"; I mean I'm not looking for sympathetic comments or anything like that; I just need to scream it out loud and have someone listen. From the comments that I do get I know the people who read this are not the sort of people who would make anyone feel the way I do at the moment....so by blogging I'm really preaching to the converted.............but just maybe you're sitting in your office, having a quick Blogaround during your lunch hour, maybe you know your work colleague across the desk from you is putting someone in the situation I am in; if so leave this page open for a while.....maybe they will be curious enough to read it....perhaps then they will DO something about it in relation to their own family.
I bet you're screaming at your computer screen now .....WELL WHAT'S THE PROBLEM!!!....SO HERE GOES.
We have some members of the family who are unable to cope with Mick's condition. The idea of seeing him "as he is" is totally abhorrent to them. There is no way they could walk through our front door and SEE him. I have no problem with that....none of us WANT to see him as he is.... Unfortunately these members of the family also seem to find that "picking up a phone" or "sending a conciliatory text" is also beyond them. Now I'm not talking about DISTANT family members; the ones I'm talking about are those, who in the family hierarchy, I would consider as deemed "CLOSE". We have one family member who has not phoned, text, sent a Christmas or Birthday card since October 2005; I think I may have mentioned him before. Other people have now gone a YEAR without even phoning to see how things are going........... I think this is appalling!!! I only have to hear someone has a cough or a cold and the first thing I do is see if I can help. There are days when if Manda didn't come round I would NEVER speak to another human being face to face who ANSWERED me. I speak to Mick endlessly of course but it's a one sided conversation. Lynn, Leanne and Ron text and phone all the time I know.....but sometimes it would be nice to hear about what is going on in the lives of other sectors of the family........to hear about what's going on with their children, how their gardens are doing (Mick and I were always their font of all knowledge in that department), to hear about their holidays, to just feel that we were not being completely ostracised as though suddenly we didn't exist, to not feel that their thoughts are "well Mick can't do our decorating now, Ruth can't come and do our gardens, they can't babysit for us now........LET'S JUST IGNORE THEM.......WHY SHOULD WE WASTE OUR TIME OFFERING SHOPPING HELP OR ANYTHING WHEN THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING IN RETURN............ I can assure you that Mick and I have "done our bit" for them beyond the call of duty in times past.
It hurts so much...................far more than the fact that the NHS don't give a damn about our situation. I am so glad that Mick doesn't realise how these people are acting...or should I say NOT acting. He would be devastated to think that he and I mean so little that even out of common decency some people NEVER contact me. Neither of us would ever want people to feel that they need to do anything as a "DUTY" but it's heartbreaking to think that these people would no doubt "rally round" if one of their neighbours broke an arm or something. We know that from firsthand experience of things they have done in the past for their "friends". We had always thought that we were "friends" as well as relatives. I've learnt different now.
I suppose the fact that I started Blogging has in it's own way made their actions seem so intolerable; some of you reading this take the time and trouble to drop by regularly to see how Mick is yet you've never even met him! Often there will be comments telling me to take care of myself and offering words of support, other times little snippets of your own lives will be left which help me to feel part of the outside world...yet you've never even met me either!
I'm sorry that you've had to read through all this rant and I appreciate you sticking with it..........the last few days I have felt those earlier mentioned tears pricking constantly...and writing this has helped me so much..........those tears managed to get to full flow mode as I typed...it's what I needed........so onwards and upwards............a new day beckons.

Back to events in our little world. Mick seemed to be chewing something yesterday. I couldn't work out what it was that I had given him that entailed so much chewing...........I had to risk loosing a few fingers but finally managed to get it out of his mouth..........it was a TOOTH.......my poor darling........he must have had a loose tooth for ages but couldn't tell me..........he had a very flushed face a couple of days ago................this explains why! I wish I could clean his teeth properly...........it's impossible though. I am just so glad that he hadn't swallowed it.........he could have choked so badly. I'm pleased to say the TOOTH FAIRY came and left him £5.............she must have thought it was a very special tooth...........I'm sure the going rate is usually only £1. I'll make sure he gets a little treat with the money. He hasn't wanted to eat and drink this morning...it could be that his mouth is very sore..............now I know his tooth was loose I'm so proud of the way he has been managing to eat for the past few days!
Today is Kitchenshower day and I now he'll enjoy that. He always sleeps so peacefully afterwards. Then tomorrow Ron and Brenda are coming to visit. I've made a Marmalade Cake this morning.............they always bring lunch with them so I like to make something in return. Really shouldn't have been moaning earlier should I?...........We have Manda & co, Lynn & co, Leanne & co, Ron & co and Sue..........................why do I let the rest get to me?????

I found this little video and having written about Mick and the tooth fairy thought you may like to see it.......................

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............isn't that sweet!

WEEKEND CATCHUP!

Well all the visitors have been and gone now so the house seems very quiet. Poor Leanne and co got delayed Friday night; the bus into Colchester took them 35 minutes which meant they missed their connection. There was another bus due which although "going round the houses" would get them here by 7; the bus driver was a "knight in shining armour" as when they got to the roundabout he asked which direction they would be walking in; when Leanne told them he said"Hop back on; the bus is empty I'll detour and drop you off "; so they were saved from having a long, cold walk and arrived just as dinner was being dished up! Nicole came round for dinner too; it gave her a chance to catch up with her cousins AND have one of Nanny's roast dinners. The grandchildren are growing up so quickly...it's quite scary really. Phil (15) now towers above me (and I'm 5foot 8inches) and his voice is so deep now; I sometimes wonder if Mick thinks there's another man in the house. Melissa (6) is becoming more and more like her older sister every day and Kirsty!!!!......................well this is Kirsty
she is 12....yes that's right...only 12...................as I said....they grow up sooooo quickly.
Lynn arrived Sunday morning so there was a chance for her and Leanne to catch up on some gossip before Leanne had to dash off back home as Mel had yet another birthday party to go to (I think she has one to go to almost every week!). Poor Steve was back in Surrey repairing the fence panels that got snapped in the high winds and trying to sort out what to do about their roof; some tiles had blown off and smashed through their garage roof!
Lynn had brought the dressed crabs with her (along with countless scrummy yoghurt desserts for Mick); it was funny really as they were CROMER crabs; so they had travelled from Cromer (Norfolk) to Surrey and then back here to Suffolk. They were delicious

as you can see by the empty shells; Mick really enjoyed it and the prawns (I'd made a cocktail sauce and pureed them for Mick so it was like a seafood mousse)...it was nice to see him enjoying some savoury food..........and he also enjoyed the trifle we had for dessert.

This morning it was beautifully sunny so Lynn and I wrapped Mick up warm and we went for a nice stroll down to the Drift. It was nice to get some fresh air; I think that Winter "proper" has got to get here soon so I really think we will have to make the most of getting outside when we can.

The weather has stayed sunny all afternoon but there's definitely a chill in the air. Thank goodness the central heating is working!!!

Mick's fast asleep now so I'm off to do a quick Blogaround before I start cooking dinner.

FROM MY HEART AND SOUL

As it's been a busy day (but lovely) day with visitors about I've not really the time to write a proper post for today. So I'll just say that "All is well" and leave you to read these words written by Richard Bach

"A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks.

When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be.

Each unveils the best part of the other.

No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise.

Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction.

When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person.

Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life."

To those of you who like me have found their soulmate I know these words will reflect how you feel; for those who haven't....your time is yet to come.......and it will!!!!

COULDN'T STAND NO HEAT SO I'VE A PLUMBER IN THE KITCHEN !

I am pleased to report that we have had no damage re; the really high winds of yesterday. Unlike some poor souls we even kept our electricity supply....I am so grateful for that..........no electric would mean Mick's bed and hoist would be out of action.
Of course life being the way it is.... what happens when I try to put the heating on this morning?..............the PUMP wouldn't start ..........so no central heating!!! This problem has been threatening for some time now.....on a few occasions I have had to give the pump a good hard whack to get it going but that wasn't helping this time. I think the powers that be must have thought...."Look Ruth we've left you with electricity and no fences down....but we've got to make you suffer a bit otherwise it wouldn't be fair!" Anyway, after countless phone calls to Heating Engineers I finally found one that wasn't just an "answerphone".....they certainly sounded efficient on the phone and promised someone would be out to see us within the hour..........then I had 2 phone calls from them keeping me updated as to when the engineer would arrive.

He's here now; as I suspected it was the pump..he is putting in a new one.; he reckons the job will only take a couple of hours but will cost quite a bit (for once credit cards are a blessing).

At least he hasn't tried to do a "cowboy" job on me; like saying that I need a whole new system or something. He has mentioned that at some point the boiler will need a good service but hasn't tried to push the extra expense on me at the moment; as long as this job is done efficiently I shall make sure this company gets that work too...it's very hard to find reputable workmen nowadays. In the past we would have always called on one of Mick's workmates to do the jobs that Mick couldn't but names and phone numbers are all tucked away in Mick's head so I've had to rely on Yellow Pages.

I'm hoping he will be finished before I need to get into the kitchen. Leanne and co are coming to stay tonight and I'm hoping to cook a roast dinner for them (if not it'll be a fish and chips takeaway). Tomorrow Lynn is coming to stay; she's bringing dressed crab and seafood platter with her; Mick has always loved crab and I'm hoping it will tempt his "savoury" taste buds. He managed a little beef broth last night and really tucked into his Complan/rice pudding mixture. He also ate all his breakfast again. He's looking a little flushed today but I think that could be because he wants his bowels open. I've tried to put a dressing over the pressure area on his bottom so that if he does manage to go the area will stay clean.

An immediate update here; the jobs finished!! ; he has also repaired the thermostat; this hadn't been working properly lately; it has been a case of heating on at full blast or off. He's given me a Customer Satisfaction Survey to fill in; I certainly will as he was polite, good natured and caring of our situation plus he got on with job quickly and hasn't left a mess.

Just a little PLUG (lol) for the plumbing company as so far all seems to be working well http://www.reactfast.co.uk/

HAPPY BATHDAY !

Last night after Mick had finished dinner and Manda and I had settled him for the evening I had a BATH!.....sure I know you probably have baths once a week...maybe once a day...or maybe you have showers..........so what's so special about this?...is Ruth telling us that she never bathes...does that explain the strange odour every time we visit her blog????
Let me explain....of course I do wash, have the odd shower and have the odd bath but I don't get a chance to languish in warm, bubble filled water...if I have a shower it has to be a quick in and out..no standing enjoying the gentle feeling of water sliding down my body...when I'm in the shower the sound of the water means I can't hear Mick even with the intercom turned up at full blast. Aha you say .....but a bath doesn't make as much noise...that's true enough...but I can't actually lie their in the warm water can I?... unless I'm sure someone is keeping an eye on Mick. Ok so we DO have regular visitors...but I hate to give them the total responsibility of watching Mick ....suppose he starts choking...it could take me a couple of minutes to race from the bath and get downstairs "naked!"........so long baths are something of a rarity in my life at the moment. Last night though, as Mick had had a nice peaceful non-choking day I thought I'd treat myself. I know Manda is more than capable of dealing with any problem that might suddenly arise and knew Mick was in the safest of hands.
I did enjoy that bath.....I had a good scrub and then laid back, closed my eyes and thoroughly enjoyed those few minutes of respite. However, I think the powers that be decreed that I had languished quite long enough as all of a sudden the corner unit that wedges between the bath and ceiling suddenly fell down.......a sure sign it was time to get out!!!

Now I know you can't wait to see the little video that Manda secretly took so here it is;

P.S. Another confession...actually I feel quite guilty having a bath as I know my poor darling CAN'T have one.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

I was out in the kitchen for a while last night sorting out the photos for my posts on Me, My Life and A Photo A Day. I naturally kept popping back into the front room to check on Mick and about 11pm I looked at him and thought "there's something different about him!"....I couldn't work out was it was straightaway...then it hit me...I was so astounded that I took these photos just so I could prove to myself that I wasn't dreaming.......I wonder if any of my regular visitors or those with the patience to scroll back through my countless previous posts will "Spot the difference" ?

The answer...........MICK IS NOT TIPPED TO HIS RIGHT HAND SIDE AND LEANING ON HIS RIGHT HAND !!!!..........now it may not seem much to you but I can't remember the last time that I saw Mick like this!!.........for probably over a year he has constantly had his head leaning down on his right shoulder........... He slept practically all night in this position...really peacefully...and happily we have had no coughing fits this morning and he ate every scrap of his porridge and a drank a WHOLE bottle of tea. Fingers crossed that the day will continue on this calm, peaceful note.

SLOW DOWN WORLD - I WANT TO GET BACK ON !

Well I made it through the rest of yesterday with no major disasters; I did have a little computer trouble (slow loading, mailbox playing up etc.) but I can't put that down to yesterday as there doesn't seem to be a day goes by when some little computer glitch doesn't happen or Blogger is playing up.
Manda and I gave Mick his kitchenshower; the crook of his right arm is getting really sore again so we slapped on plenty of Aloe Vera and hopefully it won't look so "angry" in a couple of days. After his shower he slept until 6pm and when he woke up wasn't the least bit interested in his dinner although his ears pricked up when I mentioned dessert. I've noticed that he is far more keen on sweet food as opposed to savoury, maybe the dehydration is affecting his taste buds and sweet foods seem more palatable to him...I suppose even the tumor itself could be affecting his sense of taste. I mixed up a sachet of Complan with milk and thickened it to a mousse consistency with Thick and Easy...then mixed that in with rice pudding......he ate the lot! I'm glad I didn't just "give up" on the idea of him eating as it proves he WAS hungry......... "A bit of what you fancy does you good !".

He had a really bad coughing and sneezing fit this morning; once it starts it just WON'T stop...not literally...but it did last a for over an hour. He was worn out after that and so after I got him washed and dressed I snuggled him back into bed under a cosy fleece.. (it's really wet, cold and miserable outside today)...and am going to leave him to sleep peacefully. I really wish I knew what causes the cough....i.e. certain foods, perfumes, the angle he's laying at....but I just can't pin it down to one specific thing. Mick used to suffer really badly from hayfever when we first met.........as we gradually became more and more interested in gardening his hay fever slowly disappeared....I guess he became desensitised to the pollen as the flower population in our garden grew; and after a couple of years he could poke his nose into the even the heaviest perfumed lillies and have a good sniff with no ill effects....except for the YELLOW nose afterwards from the pollen !!

STOP THE WORLD ...I WANT TO GET OFF !

Before you start reading this post ...A WARNING.....if you have small children, pets or fragile ornaments in your hands please find another blog to read...I am a walking disaster area at the moment.
It all started this morning...I didn't wake up until 7 o'clock!...Mick woke just seconds afterwards...the problem with this?......well if I don't make sure I get up before Mick wakes up it means ......I can't go to the toilet or wash until much later as Mick is No 1 priority. Well naturally this morning as I'd slept late I was BUSTING for the loo.(no. I and no. 2).....I won't leave Mick as soon as he wakes up (even for a short while) as I know he must wake up feeling very confused and disorientated....I like to have a 5 minute chat to him...making sure that he is completely at ease with his surroundings and the fact that we are sleeping in our living room. OK it may have only been 5 minutes but it felt like an hour of legs crossed, bum cheeks clenched AGONY as I sat there talking to him!!
While he was having his after breakfast sleep I made an Apple Bakewell Tart; now I'd need all your fingers and toes to count the number of times I've made a Bakewell Tart...never any problems...a fool proof recipe......UNTIL TODAY!! For some reason???????? the tart filling seemed to expand out of all proportion...flow over the top of the baking case and drip down onto the base of the cooker!!!!!!!







WHY!!!!!..............now I've an oven to clean...my least favourite job!

To add to that episode I then realised that I hadn't put the clip back on the bag of ground almonds I used....I didn't want to risk the bag falling over in the cupboard and strewing its contents all over the cupboard so I thought I'd better put it back on....I reached into the cupboard.....as I did the bag of ground almonds fell out ALL OVER THE KITCHEN FLOOR!!!!..............WHY!!!! Now I've got to vacuum the kitchen and add ground almonds to my shopping list!

When Mick woke up again before I got him dressed I thought I'd make him another cup of tea.....a teabag in the cup one...as I got the teabag out of the cup with the teabag squeezer...the teabag took on a life of it's own......it flew out of the squeezer, did 3 somersaults in the air before landing on my nice clean newly washed yesterday white dressing gown!!!!!...........WHY!.....

I started to wonder whether watching that Harry Potter film yesterday had caused the problem......maybe some evil spell had escaped from the TV set..........

Fortunately for Mick I managed to get him up and dressed with no accidents. We went over to the shops and the chemists (his dressings were in) and then had a nice sit in the garden............
Spell broken??????

After lunch I went to the cupboard to get the vacuum out...I still hadn't hoovered the kitchen floor.......the garden umbrella that has been in that cupboard for THREE MONTHS decided it fancied escaping and fell out of the cupboard STRAIGHT ONTO MY FOOT......ouch!!...SPELL NOT BROKEN!!!

I finally got around to opening the mornings post. There was a letter from Anglia Water threatening all sorts of nasty things as I had not kept up my instalments. But I have.....I checked my bank statement....I pay online. It all looked OK...I'd even been paying a week before I needed too! I rang them......naturally it was one of those "push this button and get put on hold forever" calls....as I waited and waited the thoughts kept going round my head.....If Anglian Water haven't received those payments but they have gone out of my bank...where are they??...have they gone to a wrong account???....will I be able to get the money back???...how will I pay Anglia Water???...what if they disconnect us?????................I was getting more and more het up the longer I waited.............FINALLY.....a woman came on the phone......."Anglian Water DEBT line..how can I help you"....I went through the story......"Oh yes" she said "We have been having problems with accounts that pay on line. It's our error...just ignore the letter"..............Well thanks very much...I've just wasted half an hour of precious time.....sent my blood pressure rocketing and gained a few more grey hairs and worry lines!!!

I must point out that it is not "that time of the month"...(yes ladies 54 and STILL having them) and I do not (as far as I know) have any other curse put upon me.....CAN IT BE TOMORROW SOON??? I've had enough of today.

At least I can console myself with the Gardening Catalogue that came in the post


Even this photo's come out blurred!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you tomorrow...I HOPE!!!

GONE TO POT !

After all the grey skies and strong winds of the last few days this morning we awoke to beautiful clear blue skies.

It was much cooler though than as of late but undeterred Mick and I went into the garden. The slight breeze made it seem really cold so I was glad I'd put Mick's long johns on under his trousers and put his really thick anorak on him. It's impossible to put his arms through the sleeves of his coats but I wrap it round him and zip it up and his hands stay nice and warm too.

We both had on our "wouldn't be seen dead in" hats on too...the ones that we would never allow ourselves to be seen in by the outside world.

Over the course of the last few months I've been emptying lots of the garden pots that only contained annuals. These had just been left where I dumped them so I collected them up' gave them a good brush down and stacked them tidily....all ready for the Spring. Mick was watching me as I pottered about; dozing off every now and then. It's such a shame our garden is so shady in the winter..it would have been nice if just a few rays of the glorious sunshine could have fallen on his face.
By the time we got back indoors and I got Mick back onto his bed it was mid afternoon and so while he was sleeping I got on with the Lancashire Hot Pot I was making for our dinner tonight. It wasn't an absolutely traditional Hotpot as I had no kidneys or oysters....I replaced them with mushrooms and prunes.....it was more a Suffolk-meets-Lancs Hotpot but I'm sure it will be tasty!
I'd started watching the Harry Potter film that was on TV last night but had video taped the end...so I snuggled up with Mick and watched the rest of that...I like to watch nice family film on a Sunday afternoon. It was the Prisoner Of Azkaban one and I hadn't actually read the book of it yet so didn't know the story. When that was finished I checked our Lottery numbers on Teletext...not one number so we didn't win pots of money there! I saw that there was some Snooker on so I put that on for Mick to listen to; he likes snooker and would often, in the past, pot a few balls with his mates down the pub.
Well it's nearly dinner time now...the Hotpot is smelling lovely and I can see Mick's nose twitching so I'd better go and dish up. I'm really hungry (all that fresh air earlier has given me an appetite) so I may be dishing myself up an extra large portion....I'm not worrying about calories....my figure went to pot a long time ago!!!!!!!!!!

Click on the picture for a traditional Lancashire Hotpot Recipe

UNDER PRESSURE!

Mick did well yesterday. Not only did he manage all his breakfast but ate lunch, dinner and dessert. He wasn't coughing as much either.....and the "log of logs" has been regularly updated so good news all round. Yesterday evening he was really alert; he had his eyes wide open and they seemed clearer than usual....very often even when he's awake his eyes are either shut or only half open. When Manda was putting a cushion under his right elbow you could see him try to lift it and when I said "I'm going to roll you onto your right hand side now" he lifted his left shoulder slightly as though to try and turn over himself. I am really fighting hard at the moment re; pressure areas. A very small area is starting to open on his bottom.......I wish I could leave him laying on his side for a while but with his arms so clenched up it's too uncomfortable for him, and he's unable to "wriggle" and get himself into a comfortable position. Although the upper part of his body still looks quite muscular his legs are very thin now; mind you he's never had fat legs......you know how some families have the "Smith nose" or the "Jones ears" well in Mick's family they have a certain type of legs.

A sort of gangly, round knees type...hard to explain...the family knows what I mean. It seems to show up more in the males than the females..........and is always commented on at family gatherings in the warmer weather when the guys start wearing shorts.

We've no visitors this weekend so Mick and I have done some gardening; indoors not outdoors.. I've made a start on getting some of the fruit stones planted up for the Great Pip Challenge. I got Mick out of bed and into his wheelchair and brought him out into the kitchen. I reckoned that as I was going to be throwing compost about it would be better to do it out there. He's back in the living/bed room now, sitting in his armchair as I'm typing this. He looks very interested in what I'm doing. I had to snap this photo as he has his eyes wide open watching me.

YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE

Mick really seems to enjoy watching our twinkling optic light and the lava lamp; I've tried to place them so that he can see at least one of them depending on which direction his head is turned. My friend Sue knows this and yesterday brought over a fibre optic lamp that she never uses and wondered if I'd like it as another "point of interest" for Mick to focus on. Yet another thoughtful gesture from her!
It's a lovely lamp but unfortunately has no switch on it which would mean that in order to turn it on and off I'd have to keep moving the TV to get to the plug points behind it. Not very practical!!! Luckily I had a spare switch in our "may come in useful" cupboard so decided to put it on the lamp.
I manage quite well with basic DIY tasks. Mick and I have never been ones for "this is my job...that is yours". Even though Mick is a painter and decorator I would still help him when he was decorating at home even if it was only in the guise of "gopher" (go for this or go for that). A couple of times I've even been to work with him when he has been short of labour. I know how to do a painting job "properly" including all the preparation work which makes such a difference to the finished article. The filling and rubbing down, the caulking round doorways and too many other little things to mention. Often with "jobs" at home Mick would hand it over to me if the job needed my smaller hands or it was so fiddly that he would loose patience with it...(me being a...I'll get this done if it takes me all night..sort of person). So I'm able to do some basic electrics, plumbing, painting, wallpapering and carpentry; I can put up a shelf without it falling down and I'm a whizz at flat pack furniture!



All that said......I put on the switch

and very pretty the light looks too, as with most fibre optics it changes colour and now Mick has something to look at whether he is looking to right, left or straight on.




And the light OUTSIDE; well it's trying........................

EVERYBODY LOVES GOOD NEIGHBOURS

Mick didn't say/sing anything else yesterday but that special moment will keep me going for months! I had a text come in at 1am in the morning....always worrying to get a late night text...I always think "Oh dear what's happened!".............it was my dear neighbour Sue. She was having a restless night and had noticed my kitchen light was on.......not realising that I am often up and about in the wee small hours she had text to ask if everything was alright and did I need any help...........what a lovely, kind thing to do. I text her back to let her know all was well and went to bed myself a little while after. Today she has taken a prescription for some dressings down to the surgery for me; the weather is awful, rain and gale force winds......poor Manda was going to have to walk down for me and I'm really grateful to Sue (she has a car) for thinking to pop over and ask me if we needed anything taken to the surgery as she was going there herself. She really is a kind soul and never goes to Tescos without asking if I need a bit of shopping done.

I had to put Mick's fresh patch on last night they seem to last three and a half days on average which is good; for a little while they only seemed to work for two days. He seems to have an extra long lie in when he has a new one, the effect of the drug in it I guess, but once again he managed to eat all his breakfast; albeit a late one.

He is now snuggled up and fast asleep as the wind howls outside with his special feather pillow and Winnie the Pooh pillowcase. I'm hoping that when he wakes up I can get a Complan drink down him as with having a late breakfast he has slept through lunch.

Unbelievable in the short while I've been writing this the skies have cleared and the sun has come out. I think I'll just pop out into the garden and check for wind damage.

THE MAN FROM GREAT CORNARD SAY..........

What a fabulous morning it has been. Mick woke up and seemed very alert; it was not my imagination as Manda commented on it when she popped in on her way to work. Mick drank all his tea and ate all his porridge; first time for quite a while. As I was so thrilled I started singing one of his little ditties to him, "Your a Star, Your a Star.." and MICK SANG "GREAT BIG TITS AND A SEE THROUGH BRA"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I honestly thought I was dreaming; I literally pinched myself as I choked back my tears of happiness. The last time this happened was back in November last year....and strangely enough it was when I sang exactly the same song! I have been "all over the place" since then; I really don't know if I'm "coming or going" such is the state of euphoria I am in. I did somehow manage to text the girls and tell them the exciting news...they are so THRILLED. Although I'm always happy to hear Mick say ANYTHING the fact that he SANG and sang something FUNNY makes it all the more special because it tells me that HE IS HAPPY!!!!!

Now on a more serious note; I always try and keep away from the subjects of religion, politics and general world news on my posts unless it specifically pertains to our situation; today, however, I'm going to break that rule and share with you a story that is in the news in England at the moment.

Dying woman begged for food, inquest told· NHS staff dispute claim 91-year-old was starved· Inquest hears she was not fed for 4 days in hospital

Lee Glendinning

Tuesday January 9, 2007 The Guardian

A 91-year-old grandmother left in hospital for four days without food or fluids had begged to be given a beetroot sandwich, some macaroni cheese and a cup of tea shortly before she died, an inquest heard yesterday.
The family of Olive Nockels, a former school matron from Holt, Norfolk, say she had asked them if she could have something to eat and drink, although this is disputed by doctors and nurses at the Norfolk and Norwich University hospital.
Mrs Nockels had been receiving fluids containing dextrose after being admitted to the hospital on September 14 2003 following a stroke, the inquest in Norwich heard. But doctors decided to stop when she developed an oedema - a build-up of excess fluid in her body - and became "waterlogged", leaking fluid from her arms, trunk and legs.
Two attempts were made to fit Mrs Nockels with a tube to feed her through her nose , but she became distressed and the efforts were abandoned.
Between October 2 and October 6, 2003, she went without any food or fluids, the inquest heard.
Her grandson, Chris West, obtained a high court injunction ordering the treatment to be reinstated, but it was overturned the next day when a hospital consultant expressed concern to the judge.
In a statement to the court, Mr West said: "It was around this time that they said my grandmother's quality of life was so poor, that they shouldn't intervene, and [should] let her die. They said there was nothing they could do for her.
"I was not willing to accept that. You do not let someone die just because [you] think it's best for them."
Mrs Nockels died four days after the high court ruling on October 10.
Mr West said that he had a conversation with a doctor in which he said: "How my grandmother is being treated - not getting any fluids or food - I would not treat my dog like that." The doctor allegedly replied: "Vets have got more power than doctors." The doctor has denied this.
A consultant geriatrician, Brian Payne, hd examined Mrs Nockels. He told the inquest that he was not aware of her having asked for food. She seemed confused when he asked simple questions, and when he broached the possibility of a feeding tube, she did not respond - apart from telling him to go away. "When I asked her whether she realised she would die, or whether she wished to die, or was ready to die, she made no response," he said. "I felt I was looking at a 91-year-old lady who was exceptionally frail with multiple disabilities, and I thought she was dying."
In a statement previously handed to the coroner, Mrs Nockels' daughter, Ivy West, said that when the hospital stopped feeding her mother through tubes, her mother had made an impassioned plea. "She said 'Help, help me, help me please.' They weren't feeding her or giving her any drink. I think she knew what was going on." The inquest continues.

Now I know this poor lady was bound to die. I am in a similar situation with Mick. He has terminal brain cancer with no possibility of recovery....I have no choice but to accept that fact. He may well meantime contract pneumonia or some other illness in the meantime and die..................I have no choice but to accept that fact. However, as long as I have breath in my body he WILL NOT DIE OF STARVATION OR DEHYDRATION! My heart goes out to the family of Mrs Nockels' and I hope they can find some peace. In this day and age no one should have to die in pain and suffering and I fully support anyone's "RIGHT TO DIE"; but they die in PEACE AND CONTENTMENT. It makes me wonder whether this attitude of the NHS is why it took 6 months for anyone to tell me about "Thick and Easy" and a further 3 months before I was told that the Hyoscine Patches existed when Mick was having so much trouble swallowing.

That said I shall now go and put back on my all singing, all dancing hat and enjoy the rest of this very special and memorable day.

I'M NOT COMPLAINING...I'M COMPLANING

At last!!!!! IE has been playing me up and I haven't been able to get on the Internet all morning. Not that I'd intended to do a blogging; the weather though windy has been too mild to stay indoors; I just like to at least get into my mailbox first thing in the morning just in case Camelot are trying to let us know that we've won the lottery! LOL

As I've just said, this morning was really mild...(sign of old age repeating myself)....and I wanted to get over to the chemists to see if they had any Complan. I want to try Mick on it. Although at times he can eat very well, because of the time it takes (meaning he often falls asleep before he's finished) I want to try and boost his protein and mineral intake. Mick likes strawberry milkshake so I that was the flavour I bought. From the blurb on the box I reckon I should try some myself;

"designed to help keep your body and mind firing on all cylinders. Remember how young you really are, and feel as youthful on the outside as you do on the inside. "

and the box has pictures of people doing break dancing, golfing, driving dumper trucks and roller skating on it. Wow! what with this and Tena Lady I could feel 21 again. LOL

One of Mick's little quotes here.." I felt like a 21 year old yesterday...but she slapped my face!"

Mick had slept very well last night,....Manda and I gave him his kitchenshower yesterday afternoon and we could feel that he felt more comfortable after it; so as it was so pleasant out instead of coming straight back indoors, and putting Mick onto his bed, we stayed in the garden for about 2 hours; me pottering about, telling Mick all about my ideas for the garden during the coming year and Mick listening and taking the occasional peek at what I was doing. I think it did him good getting a long spell of fresh air because when lunchtime came round he managed to eat a whole bowl of rice pudding; whereas lately he's not been interested in eating lunch at all.

There's some darts on the TV this afternoon and with Mick being an ex darts player and me being a darts fan I'm going to go and put it on and we can have a nice snuggle up.

Nearly forgot......Analia please take two teaspoons of this so that you will feel better soon.

I HAD A DREAM

That dream still keeps going round in my head; I can remember it so clearly despite it being a few nights ago. I have done a bit of Google searching, Manda has looked in a book that she had at home and between us we have found the meaning of most of the pertinent points. We couldn't find any specific reference to buttons; though I see Analia had managed to fine some; Thanks Analia!...so please take her comments into consideration should you decide to read the post I've done about my dream. I've typed it and the meanings on my Read Me blog that I use for bits and pieces that may not be of interest to everybody. So if you fancy a look; click on the cloud;

IT'S 5 IN THE MORNING AND SOMEHOW THE SURFING HAS BROUGHT OUT THE DANCING IN ME

I am out of bed really early this morning. Mick woke with a bad coughing fit at 3am and has only just settled (5am). I am now too awake to go back to sleep; will catch up maybe this afternoon with a little siesta. I don't want to do anything noisy for fear of waking Mick and/or the neighbours so thought I'd do a little blog surf. I popped over to Uruguay to visit Analia and she had posted some videos, I put my headphones on so I could put the volume up on my computer; her videos made me laugh and made me want to dance. One of them is a version of HOT CHOCOLATE'S "I believe in miracles" those who have read that particular old post of mine will know that Mick would always sing "I believe in miracles, Where's your BRA you sexy thing!".........happy days!!!....just what I needed to cheer me up on a cold, dark, rainy January morning. That will set me up for the day.

I've managed to look up a few key words on the some of the dream interpretaion sites; quite interesting. I'll see how time is later and may write the dream up with some of the explanations.......couldn't find out what "buttons" stood for.........of course that means nothing to you does it as you don't know the dream yet.

I'm popping back to Analia's now to do some more dancing! Then being in a musical mood I must do a music quiz on Love A Cosy Unit.

SATURDAY....NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING

Yesterday in depth:

Yesterday morning I got up at about 6am (Mick was still fast asleep) and waited for Lynn to arrive (she leaves home at 5am to "beat" the traffic). It was still dark outside and I sat in the kitchen with just the small "under counter" light on. About twenty to seven I heard a car pull into the road and looking out of the hall window saw that Lynn had arrived and was parking up outside the garage. I quickly went back into the kitchen and put the kettle on ready to make her a cuppa and waited for her to come in. About 5 minutes passed and she had still not come through the front door. I looked out of the window again; maybe I was mistaken and it wasn't Lynn's car......no it was definitely hers!......maybe she was phoning Steve before she came in to let him know she had arrived safely........I went back into the kitchen and started the tea brewing. ANOTHER 5 minutes passed....still no entrance from Lynn!!!! I started to worry a little....perhaps she was so tired she had fallen asleep at the wheel once she'd parked? I popped my dressing gown on, stepped outside and walked over to the car. Lynn was sitting there in the driver's seat; seeing me she opened the door. " I was getting worried " I said "when you didn't come in!"...........it seems that as I only had such a small light on in the kitchen it didn't show from outside the house and she had thought I was still asleep and hadn't wanted to wake me by coming inside! She had even phoned Steve in hushed tones to say that she'd arrived but was sitting outside waiting until I woke up!!! The whole episode meant we started the day with a good laugh...especially about the fact that despite being INSIDE her car, outside our garage some 20 metres away from the house......she still WHISPERED when she phoned Steve so as not to wake me up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even funnier...Steve had whispered BACK to her!!!!!!
The day continued in "happy, smiling" mode and as well as Lynn coming to stay, Leanne popped over for a few hours and it gave us a chance to catch up with all the Christmas, Birthday and New Year chat. As Leanne had left Phil, Kirsty and Mel at home...no way after a full TWO days back at school were they going to leave their beds!!!!....she could only stay a few hours but we had a nice lunch, a couple of drinks and a good natter. The weather had been particularly dismal; the sky didn't brighten all day and by early evening Lynn and I went into "pyjama party" mode.

Lynn caught unawares in her pyjamas

Mick, Lynn and I tucked heartily into Lynn's Beef and Guinness Stew.....it was (as usual) absolutely fantastic...heaven on the taste buds. We served it with a creamy mash and sweetheart cabbage. It certainly did the trick for Mick...a very impressive addition to the "Log of Logs" this morning!!!!!
You will not believe the trouble I've had since Lynn left a little while ago trying to get a photo of my new hair colour. I've had both my mobile phone and digital camera behind my head, to the side of my head, over my head.....trying to get the light right so that I could find a print that honestly showed that new honey colour. This is the best one of a VERY bad bunch.

A cropped photo from a few weeks ago

Hair colour now

Well I'm off to do a quick Google hunt now; I had a REALLY weird dream last night; although I don't remember feeling frightened in my dream I woke up in a state of sheer fright, crying, heart thumping........it was VERY strange. It's said that dreams have meanings and as it was SO unusual I'm going to see if there are any "the meaning of dreams" sites I can have a look at. If I don't have any success I may "blog" it and see if any of you have any ideas!

A (POST) CHRISTMAS CAROL

For all my non gardening/ non British TV watching visitors...This is Carol Klein who I made mention of yesterday....a female gardening presenter who is not afraid to get dirt beneath her nails. See BBC Gardening for more information.

All is well here;
Mick and I really enjoyed Lynn's Beef and Guinness stew washed down with a glass or two of Wolf Blass ( no Devil's Pigeonhole at the moment).
The weather??............grey, wet, totally yukky!!!
My heart???....full of laughter and sunshine.
I do not have time for a proper post today so will catch up with you all tomorrow. May even get that photo of my new hair colour!!!
Now is that a THREAT or a PROMISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!