New Year

And we nipped to the pub up the road tonight and stayed there 'til after midnight

Stu-ing

And we are nipping into town to meet Stuart at The Tangled Parrot for lunch

And it was good to see him, eat some Bagel and asked him(1) again where he lives

(1) And this evening I struggled with being able to link to the second part of a webpage but I managed it here, this link is to the second photo on a page

Drovers Arms

So as we were bored tonight we nipped into town to the Drovers Arms and watched darts on telly. I was out for ages, 3 double whiskeys, and didn't need a piss until after we had been indoors for about 15 minutes

Small Dinner

And for dinner tonight we just had 1/4 pound burgers in buns, which was very nice but it felt like we had too much bun, dunno what to do, toast it?

Christmas Videos

And into our Google Plus account "someone" has added loads of Xmas videos of me and my parents eating etc. Oh what fun we had

Saladless Lunch

And for lunch today I didn't have salad or toast. Shock horror. Because on the side in my kitchen is sitting a big box of unsweetened biscuits so I had 3 of these for lunch with a piece of cheese. OK, with loads of little bits of cut up cheese. It looks like this will be my lunch for the next week or two

(sent from my phone)

Newspaper

And reading summat in The Guardian today and I was so impressed, even tho the world is turning on it's head financially that some people are being wise with what and on what they spend

Out And About

So we nipped into town to buy more plastic gloves and files for them, off my petty cash account and we nipped to Tesco's to buy some organic blueberries and then as we were leaving I looked at my shopping list and said we might as well nip to Morrison's and get the rest of my weeks shopping.

Which we would have been well capable of doing in Tesco's but we had already left there before I looked at my shopping list

Aardvarking

And we had a strange day in Aardvark, their supplier had supplied short date milk and another supplier had supplied no mushrooms, there were some of last weeks left all shrunk and dried out but we did have some to put on the pizza tonight

No Mince

And Timmy who has just left said that he didn't like any cheese or mince pies last night

And Ed who is here today said "No" to a mince pie after his dinner too

Interesting pooh today

So todays pooh is interestingly poohed but you had told me to not talk about it so....

(sent from my phone)

Social Media

Dunno, crimes are up but I can't get my head round "social media", dunno, Ixion is enuf for me

Well

Well, so it seems really different now, so I am in charge of cooking now etc.

So me and Timmy nipped to Tesco's, got a couple more light weight eating plates, drove to the bottle bank, I got out alone and walked the eight foot to the bank, put bottles in and walked back to the car

No Neil

No Neil, you can't get drunk just after lunchtime just because your parents and bruv have gone home, you will be sick and asleep by about 7 if you do

Gone Now

Well my parents have gone home now, peace perfect peace etc etc

And my Xmas deccys have been taken down too so the living room seems a lot bigger and more sensible now

Home

And my parents wanna leave tomorrow at such a time as they arrive in Cardiff and go to their hotel when it is still daylight, so at a guess they are leaving here after lunch tomorrow

Dinner

Then after sleep we ate loadsa food here then went out with my parents

Boxing

So we went out and had a boxing day lunch which was very nice until I started the omelette and saw pieces of ham within. She came and apologised(1) and gave me that and the portion of chips I had to cheer me up for free and the rest of the parties lunches for half price

(1) And said that she was telling off the chef who hadn't read the order properly

Cold Water

And after we nipped out and I paid for a Xmas lunch for all of us I tried to have a bath before siesta-ing. No hot water. At all, after I called Paul and told him to press buttons, no hot water. So he boiled a kettle and poured it into the sink. Now, after my nap the hot water seems to be working again

Dunno

And it seems to be working properly now

Such Fun

And we are going out to have Xmas Dinner with Toby in a bit, then we are picking up the rest of the kids and drinking Champagne

Ho Ho Ho

Happy Christmas

One Ronnie

And we are watching a program about Ronnie Barker on telly ATM and it is excellent

They Are Here

Good lord, my parents and my bruv have arrived, so can't say much for a few days. But they did complain.

And I cooked dinner for them all, we had 5 naan bread I made them all into pizzas and managed to make an extra but pot of oven chips. It was yum yum tho I say it myself

And my mum complimented me on cooking food that she could digest

Gaviscon

And then me and BigEd had to nip out to buy my Mum some Gaviscon to help her eat out etc. She had a bottle but had to leave it with Nora, my sister in law, as she was poorly

Girls Names

So today my 2 members of staff are known as Ed-weena and Paul-een

Drovering

And we nipped back to the pub that used to be my next door neighbours

Lunch Out

So we nipped out shopping just before lunchtime and went into Morrison's Cafe and had an omelette and chips which was very nice but leaves me just needing toast for tea or summat

But it was so busy in town, isn't Sunday supposed to be a day of rest?

Change It

So I changed the bed a day earlier than on my timetable in order not to have the tumble drier on when my parents get here tomorrow, I want to seem relaxed and effortless

Oops

Oh dear. So we were in't supermarket tonight Paul said "Want some crumpet?", I said "Yes, please, her" and then felt the need to go and tell the woman what we had said. She looked amused

Surprise Visitor

And today, as a surprise, there was a knock on the door, I walked to open it, and it was Brian, Julia's Dad. They were down visiting Julia and he decided an extra visit would be in order, it was good to see him and he commented how much better I look in the 6 months since I saw him last

And he bought me a bottle of Stones Ginger Wine as a present, mmmm, but I can't drink anything until Monday

Lie In

And I was awake most of the night but in the end I fell asleep and didn't wake up 'til 8.30!! A lie in!

Black Friday

So we nipped into the pub up the road for Black Friday, the busiest drinking day in UK, apparently. It was busier than usual but still 2/3 empty

Big Shop

So going into town s'afternoon, with my old glasses to leave in at a charity shop, instructions to buy a new oven shelf and a shopping list for Aardvark

And we finally found the opticians (who said "We would have put new lenses in for you!), couldn't find an oven shelf anywhere (Sheffield House is closed down now) and got an enormous Aardvark shop

Physioing

So I am sitting on the front of my seat waiting excitedly for the Physio lady to come here. I want to ask her if I should try walking without my splint in these big boots and practice walking with a bent knee that doesn't hurt

Well we talked about it and decided that splinting=the future, for now

And she suggested I take my walky stick with me when I go outside so with stick I walked slightly more than half way up the street and back. (5)

I could have gone further but I was most anxious about my knee hurting on the way back down the hill, but as I remembered to bend it slightly it didn't hurt at all.

So she has suggested that every nice day I repeat the walk

(5) I could have walked further today but I was nervous about coming back downhill hurting me but as I have learned to walk without my knee hurting I could have gone further

Afterwards

Then after we dropped Freya at home we nipped to the Drovers Arms in Carmarthen which used to be my next door neighbours pub in town, a long time ago, but it was nice to go there and I gathered extra evidence on how much better my peeing is as we had 3 drinks there and came home before I went to't loo

Fredumpkins

Then later we went to meet Freya from school and she came here and commented on how I was sitting in an armchair while she sat at my PC eg.

Walking

And I have finally sussed it that when I am walking if my right foot hits the floor under a 2 or 3 degrees bent knee rather than a rigid, straight, one it hardly hurts at all, unlike my other walking pattern with a straight leg which made me wanna cry and stop walking it hurt so much.

Now I have sussed it walking is a lot easier

Christmas Crisis

Then s'morning when Paul phoned my Mum and said "Going here for Christmas, and here for Boxing day dinners" Mum said "Oh no, The Harvester that you have booked for boxing day, last time we ate there I was sick" so he had to phone several places and luckily Frankie&Benny's has accepted us

Poohing

So s'mornings pooh.... "No Neil, just shhhh"

(sent from my phone)

Snoozed

So this morning, when my "pocket clever thing" went off I woke up I thought "What's that other button on the RHS?" put on my specs, ah, it said "Snooze" so I tried it. 9 minutes later my alarm went off again and I got up.

Radical and old fashioned but now I know

Slackbladder

And I have tried watching Blackadder as it was writen about as one of the funniest things and yes, it is very funny

The Good Life

And I am watching a rather excellent documentary about The Good Life and it is even funnier than I remember it from 20 years ago.

They said that "They" became famous about when Mrs Thatcher won the election for the first time, so Margo played a scary woman character

Milking

And I poured my milk with dinner with my right hand again. I didn't spill any tonight and poured a full glass. With my right hand

Hurting

So most of the time when I walk my right knee hurts loads. Sometimes when I concentrate and bend my knee more or summat it doesn't hurt at all. It feels like I am walking less well but my knee disagrees. Dunno how to ensure that it doesn't hurt, practice I s'pose

Jim

Good lord, I was working very hard at gym and another couple of women said that they can see I'm loosing weight.

But that is the last Gym class until 2nd Jan, Wednesday week

Site Gone

And my website has been suspended as it hasn't been paid or summat and I can't get logged in to pay myself

Crisis, crisis, crisis

after many phone calls etc it is working again, so I had to pay it myself but phew, it works now

Rubbish From My Fridge

So tonight we had a clean out of my fridge door, I said I was a bit puzzled, the 7 items there had been there for ages, and yes, Timmy checked 7 or 8 jars and they were all well beyond the BBE dates and were thrown away. So my fridge door looks a bit naked now, nakeder than it ever has since I moved here

With My Right Hand

So I was about to pour a glass of milk to drink with my dinner. Suddenly I stopped, thought "RIGHT HAND" and used that to pick up the bottle and pour. Lordy, it's the first time in ages that I used my right hand for this. It was almost perfect, only 1 or 2 ml escaped. ANOTHER thing to practice

(sent from my phone)

It Hurts

So walking my right knee hurts loads. When I am really trying I remember to bend my right knee when I step. Then it doesn't hurt AT ALL.

Practice makes perfect, I s'pose.

I am struggling to make new pathwats in my brain, as the old pathways were so badly damaged by my crash

OK, now I can't tell if my pathways were damages by bleeding in the brain or by relearning when I was just starting to sit up in bed etc afterwards

Tobyless

So I txted Ybot this morning and said "Are you about tonight?" and he replied "No, sorry I forgot to tell u, I am in Wolverhampton 'til the weekend"

SaraH Jones

So SaraH Jones the Occupational Therapist came round and came to Morrison's with me and Timmy. Without my wheelchair, we left my wheelchair here in the hall, walked to the car, drove to supermarket, walked to get a trolley and pushed it around the shop on my feet.

I am flipping exhausted now but I managed!!

Poohing

Most mornings I wake up, get up, have breakfast THEN have a pooh. But today, for whatever reason I felt the need to get up, have a pooh AND THEN have breakfast

(sent from my phone)

Dinner

And for dinner tonight we had a veggie burger (yes, I know) with some couscous thingy and yes, it was delicious. And easy to make, pour on a jug of boiling water, wait 5 minutes, stir and yum yum

Parcels

And when we came back from gym there was a note in't hall saying you have got 2 parcels but they were too big to post. So we nipped into town and they were both Xmas presies wrapped up for me

Gym jiminy jim jim jaroo (1)

Well so we nipped to gym. Good lord we were working extra hard etc. A number of other members of the group said how much better & stronger I look etc

(1) Jim jiminy.... (noisy)

Remote Control

And tonight I was complaining that my TV remote control won't work from my comfy chair and Dicky suggested new batteries. And YES it does work rather than having to walk 8-10 steps from my chair to make it work

(sent from my phone)

Slimming

And tonight we had summat else for dinner, less fattening then oven chips, apparently, that I bought when we were looking for the couscous t'other day

Weather

So today when we were going into town the car was drowned in hail stones, like really heavy. We sat for 5 minutes then it stopped so we got out. 5 mins later and the sun was shining

(sent from my phone)

Unexpected Shopping

So we nipped into Morrison's to buy 1 pkt blueberries (as my shopping is moved back a day this week), many pkts of couscous (when we eventually found it after being up and down 5 aisles) and summat else which I don't wanna buy in front of Sara(h) who is coming to see how well I walk in't supermarket on Tuesday. So it is just as well we found couscous today, I don't think I could have coped with so much walking up and down

Muesli

I remembered to soak my muesli last night. Later 'someone' came and said "Soak it", I replied "Already dun it" so there we are

(sent from my phone)

Resting

And today we had a restful day, nowt on, no car journeys but they fixed my new glasses s'morning

Takes Me Back

So I had a phone call from the Optician s'morning saying "Ready" so we nipped into town and picked them up. Just WOW, I hadn't realised how bad my distance vision had got. And when I am at my PC I can hang them around my neck.

And the white stuff that's over the lens on my right eye is effective, I can just about wear them with no eyepatch on, sometimes shutting my eye but most of the time it's open

And what I said on Ixion today

Muesli-ing

Sheet, so I was too busy (or I forgot randomly) to soak my muesli last night so s'morning I am trying plan B, soak it then go and check your emails and type BLOGwards then try eating say a 1/2 hour later

(sent from my phone)

Aardvarking

Then later we went to Aardvark for shopping where again I parked my 'chair and walked around the shop. We were a bit confused looking at the Tofu pieces etc 'cos Paul was with my and he has less of a clue than me. Possible we will be back tomorrow, me and Dicky, if he has more of a clue

Sianny

So Sian my social worker came around today for a meeting. After she had been hear for about ½ an hour Denyse phoned and said "Sorry, I forgot to cancel her" but I think the meeting went well, she was so impressed with how well I am getting on, walking etc

Breakfast

So I forgot to soak muesli last night but I seem to be eating it properly, no choking involved. So one can only assume that some of the DO THISes have sunk into my brain and become habitual

(sent from my phone)

Warm Rain

So it is raining this morning but it is about 10 degrees hotter than it has been for a few weeks

(sent from my phone)

Fredumpkins

So that Freya girly came round, it went OK, she was impressed with my walking AND she was impressed with having www access, her phone has broken

Opti-tricks

Then I went down to the optician today for all kinds of tests etc. He said "No can do" when I asked for some 70's style NHS frames "But these...." so I chose a set. They will paint over the right hand lens and today my skull and crossbones sticker arrived

Robin

And Ed was sat in his room with the window open and a robin flew in to join him

Witch and Wardrobe

So I have just been watching on BBC3 The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, gosh it was gripping but I had to turn off before I cried

No hot water in bathroom

So they had to refill the gas big bottle thingy s'afternoon which made my cooker work and the radiators work again. Ed was doing the washing up in hot water but when I tried to run a bath, no cold. There was summat obscure to do with buttons on the boiler but can't remember. So HELP if you have a clue

Sarah Jones OT

Came round and talked about loadsa stuff I need to be thinking about now I am at this stage of getting better

And Sarah said she stopped her car to see who kept phoning her and it was a copper telling her that someone had got the details of her debit card and was using it in the states at present. They know it's not her and will give her the cash back but they needed to stop the card and will send her another

Cold

So there was no hot water s'morning, so Ed's shower and my washing up were a bit trickier. I said "Panic" to Ed as all the lights were lit on the boiler. Then a few minutes ago 2 chaps knocked the door and said "Your gas is empty, we are coming down the street filling them up, stay in" so Ed had to phone the gym and we no longer need to panic

Now having to be patient....

And at last the heating works once more

OOOOOOOOHHHHH

So I have just stood up and walked to the loo for the first time since Ed put my cream in. He said "What do you want, splint....?" I said "No, just boots with no splint" and I have just been to the loo for the first time. I stood up and walked there carrying my 'stick in my right hand. My 'stick didn't touch the floor, I walked properly with no splint. Will I be able to do without my splint in a bit as my boots support my enough?

Walking

Good lord, I have been so exhausted that I stopped walking about 10 minutes ago, but good lord. It was easier today then yesterday which was easier than the day before etc. Today I was walking everywhere without my 'stick and I can feel the difference, more upright etc.

Just good lord, or even feck. Last week I saw myself as a not walking cripple, hah, by now my wheelchair is in use a minimum of time

Not Melting

And the house across the way that still had ice on the roof after lunchtime, has now got more shade and still has loadsa ice on it

Tobyless

And I just phoned Toby to see if we should pick him up and he is in England where he went to work and is well poorly. So no visitors tonight

Contrasting Day

So yesterday was go go go from start to finish whereas today is empty until we pick up Toby later for dinner

Dinner seems different, I was cooking more and more but since I started walking everywhere I am back to using ready meals - cooking is too difficult

Muesli

Well I remembered to soak it last night and I haven't choked since I started soaking

(sent from my phone)

Telly

And I was enjoying telly tonight, while sitting in my wheelchair so I could adjust all sorts of stuff I watched, on BBC1, Have I..., then later I was able to watch on my 'puter Never Mind...

Optician

And we made another appointment to see my optician in Carmarthen again, last time I saw him he said "We could improve your watching telly", I said "Never watch it" but I really noticed when I was trying to watch the snooker from my armchair last week

Headway

Then we went to Headway in Carmarthen, again I parked my wheelchair in the hall and walked in, to much avail. But we had forgotten that they serve food at meetings and left almost immediately, after we had got the date of the next meeting

More Shopping

So later today we nipped to Wilkinson's in Carmarthen to buy some stuff for the staff, files, bog roll etc

On My Own Two Feet

So we went to gym s'morning. We were a couple of minutes early so while we were waiting outside Smallpaul changed my boots to the lighter ones I am wearing in class. So when we opened the door I stood up, left my wheelchair outside and walked in unaided. So I did loads of hard work including 5 minutes on a bike with my resistance up to 10.

Afterwards we went shopping .Then we came back here I unpackked my shopping

Then we went back to the shop to get the salad that I had forgotten

Muesli-fying

And after staying up late to watch the snooker I headed for bed and just remembered at the last minute to "do" some muesli with milk to soak and put it in't fridge for tomorrow

Walk 2

Still walking, not on my wheelchair tonight

Dinner

And dinner tonight turned out to not be lasagne which I thought was there but some veg pies which were actually rather nice

Two Pounds

So I have lost two pounds this week, wait and see next weeks as I am so much more active now

Walking

So I am walking again today. It is easy. But I don't think that, I have to remind myself 24 hours a day, I can do it!!

Mouse Crisis

So my cordless mouse.... the one that arrived last week, that I had to contact the seller and say "No USB connector", which they had to send me another one of..... So last night me and Edwina plugged in the new USB connector, then Ed-case opened the mouse to fit batteries and in the battery section was a small USB connector.

Whoops

(Sigh) Up Again (/S)

Again with a different pic so u know it's different

Ease

I was a bit gob-smacked by how easy and straightforward walking on my own 2 feet was. I think I have forgotten.... I CAN manage, it's no big deal, I just do it

12 Hours

So I had 12 hours on my own 2 feet today, ignoring a temptation

Going blind

I think, according to Denyse, last time I saw an optician I said "Everything I need to see is within 3ft" but I was trying to watch telly from my chair last night and was really not focussing. Paul took me last time so I will ask him to arrange another visit when I see him on Monday

Bye bye again 'chair

So s'morning I wheelchaired into the kitchen, made my breakfast etc, then a little later Ed creamed my feet, fitted my splint so then I could walk again so he then took my wheelchair back out to the boot of the car and left me walking

I think this arrangement works if I can't walk 'til my splint is fitted so last thing I will take to my 'chair, go to sleep, get up 'chairwise then soon after give it back

Sitting Down

And as I am knackered after walking today when we came back from bingo we brought my 'chair back in with us, I will use it tonight and to make breakfast in't morning then Dicky will put my crème and splint on then we will bring it back to the boot of the car

Bingo

Then we went to a Bingo do up the road, it was OK, I didn't win but just made my face known about town. I had to tell Dicky how to play bingo, dunno which of us was saddest, him not knowing or me knowing

And I think now I know where it is etc next time I will be able to walk in

And two of the people at Bingo said they had seen my pink Xmas Tree and liked it

Cooking

And I walked in and cooked tonight

(sent from my phone)

More Walkies

So I got in my 'chair to go to Aardvark, walked part of the way there then came home and walked indoors. And I managed to walk round and round the kitchen putting food away

(sent from my phone)

Walky Bath

That was scary, but I managed. Walking out of the bathroom carrying the towels was very scary but I did it

(sent from my phone)

Walking At Lunchtime

Lordy, so at lunchtime I stood up, held my lightweight stick in one hand and walked to the kitchen. I walked up and down, bother forget milk, again etc until my lunch was prepared when I walked to my proper seat to eat it.

Then I walked out of the kitchen

What A Session

So this morning Sara Davis the physio phoned me and said "I am a bit too busy" but I needed to speak to her re: splints so I said "Just come on down late" So she did. Good lord what a session, first of all we discussed my sore arm from lifting a saucepan full of water and she said "OK, acupuncture for that" and stuck needles into my arm to make it better, then we concentrated on my walking, got the light stick back out and I walked from one end to t'other. She said "Neil, you can walk so well, you don't need your wheelchair any more", we discussed it and in the end we walked outside, put my wheelchair in the boot of the car and walked back in

So yes, what a session

And in bed s'afternoon and I thought "Oh, my wrist hurts" which was really strange as the dominant pain in my arm had gone so now I was able to notice the other pains which I had had but had been overwhelmed for ages

Muesli

So I remembered to soak the muesli in milk last night and I think it has won the deliciousness and easy to eat competitions but it is too flipping cold to be comfortable going into my gob. So it can't be much colder than usual muesli from the cupboard with milk from the fridge but it is just cold enough

(sent from my phone)

So as I got to the end of my muesli bowl it became more comfortable in my gob, so is it that the milk has got 1 or 2 degrees hotter or has my mouth just woken up enough to bear it?

Freya-ing

And she came round tonight and it was nice. But I am kind of thinking "What should we do together?"

And no photo's again as it upsets her

Rain

Well it's pouring with rain ATM but at least it's not snow

(sent from my phone)

Cleaning Windows

So I got the chap to scrub the kitchen windows again today, someone has already done it twice and they haven't been able to clean the big stain that cries out to me when I am eating breakfast. He wasn't able to do it today and when I complained and pointed he took a cloth to the INSIDE of the window and it is perfactly clean now

(sent from my phone)

Muesli

Whoops, I forgot to put my muesli out to soak last night

(sent from my phone)

And I have put out tomorrows already

Quizing

So we came in't pub tonight to enquire about Boxing Day meals and we got tied into a quiz

(sent from my phone)

And we didn't win tonight, but I did decide to not go there on Boxing Day

Gymming

So today for the first time I took my new softer boots to gym and changed into then there. It felt really different, I didn't have the confidence to walk a long way on Monday (which seems to have improved slightly now, in my older boots) but I found with my new boots on I would just walk

And just generally people just make a point of saying how well I am getting on...

Yboting

And Toby txted me s'morning and said "I left my CV's at yours last night" so on t'way to gym we will drop them off at his

Which we did

Juicy Muesli

And as recommended by the therapist I tried soaking my muesli in apple juice last night. This morning it was a lot bigger and easier to eat but I think juicy muesli is a bit disgusting so I will try it with milk tonight.

Paul(ine) had his breakfast with me and said that it looks really different, much easier to swallow. So hopefully muesli soaked in milk is a bit nicer.....

Yboting

Then that Toby chap came round for his tea. He cooked for us all and it was delicious, hot but delicious curry

Dietician

Then we went to see the dietician and basically she said "Get thinner" and nowt else

Shopping

So I went boot shopping s'morning and bought a pair of lighter boots, basically so I can cycle at gym wearing them. I think I will wear 'em to gym twice a week and wear my heavy boots the rest of the time.

New gym, new boots

So I wore my new boots to gym today. I think I was more nervous than I needed to be, I didn't walk the whole way across the room but I think it was just fear, I probably would have found it easy.

Then afterwards we nipped to Morrison's to buy some salad etc and got hung up on the "pay yourself" machines, someone had to come and help me

After lunch we went looking at lighter boots. For some reason, we couldn't find any, phoned Paul and said "WTF?" and had to leave it until he is working tomorrow so we can look together. I don't see the point in lighter boots as my big heavy ones keep my right foot straight etc.....

Snooker

And after the comedy on BBC2 tonight some snooker came on telly, it is many years since I have watched it but I half enjoyed it

Decorated

So I had the pink laces put especially on my old boots and it won't fit on my new boots, it takes too long a lace, but there is a decorative yellow with bits lace in there anyway

Newbie

And today I am wearing my new boots for the first time. Gosh they feel heavy and solid but there is still some movement in my ankle. Money (a lot of it) well spent

And I can walk down the hall to the loo without feeling as if my right leg is trying to send me leftwards each step

But gym tomorrow..... wait and see...

Less Expensive Morning Out

So we are nipping to the superdoopermarket s'morning to get a couple of bits I need although I will have to go tomorrow and get salad etc too

Expensive Morning Out

And me and Timmy went shopping, bought a duvet/cover etc for Gareths spare bed at Xmas, some swimming goggles for my staff when they are in't pool with me. Then we went and bought a pair of climbing/walking boots that will protect my ankles which were very expensive but feel better on my feet than my old ones.

I think I wasn't as confident walking in the slightly worn out boots so I had to buy another bigger pair

...Across The Universe

Later I went to Aardvark and bought more organic food for the week. When I was there I bumped into Anne who was the owner/boss of it when I worked there which was nice. I did some shopping from my wheelchair and walked up and down aisles for the rest

'Wimming

Then we went off to the swimming pool where apparently I was doing better than good. I jumped in with no float around me and was able to cope well with that. I think that took it out of me, it was too much of an event but I managed.

McPhysio

First thing today Sara the physio came and got me doing all kinds of walking up & down, in my new splint. She said the old splint had worn out already and she can tell the difference in my walking. She said "Sorry, doing this again but you will learn in the end, it becomes automatic" and generally did stuff to piss me off with a good excuse

Out Tonight

And in a bit we are picking up Freya and heading to Iechyd Da for their monthly do

And it was good if a bit few musicians but good lord, I couldn't cut my quiche or the spuds with my knife held "properly" but I mentioned this to Timmy and he said "Try holding it like this", just wow, what a difference that makes

Team Meeting

So "we" have a team meeting s'morning so everyone including Denyse should be here by half past 10

One of my members of staff was here early as his car has died and he had a lift from his wife and another MOS isn't here at all as his car is dead too

Parroting

And I am going out to The Blue Parrot, in Carmarthen, to one of their "sing a song" nights

And nobody but Clive sang a song, there was only about 6 in the audience, hooray

Gyming

Another hard session in the Mobility Gym, but Sam commented on how far I am progressing, so I suppose I should be positive. Yes, I am getting better so fast but I have got such a long way to go before I am seen as normal

But a new chap came in half way through, using 2 crutches, he really couldn't walk, having come this far he was falling over etc. Ed had to ask my permission then push him back out in my wheelchair. Dunno how he transported but he really was f*cked. The NHS say he's well enough to cope and he can't even walk

Yboting

That Toby chap, who is just back in Wales, came round for tea. I think he is talking more sense than before, I think he now knows how he needs to find work and stop dreaming.

I think

Fixed Bird Feeder

Today me and Dicky nipped to B&Q and bought a spike and some cable ties to mend the "falling over" bird feeder. It all seems OK, standing upright etc

Pair

And I had for pudding the pear that I bought 2 of last week, so it was the first pear I have eaten in at least 9.5 years and it was delicious

Buying

So I was looking for summat else on Amazon and came across some of these which I felt the need to, I had to buy some

More Reasons To Shop At....

Then we went to Morrison's (noisy link) and did our weeks shopping, then we came back home for some lunch

Gymming

Went to gym today and as usual worked really hard and spoke really hard too.

One of the other students said she hadn't been there for 3 weeks and she could really see the difference, in how much better I was

A "complete stranger" telling me she could see how much progress I had made and how quickly

Unrested

But it didn't feel like Monday today, I had had no quiet days over he weekend.

But tra la lah I got up and ½ changed my bed s'morning and put it on to wash before I had my breakfast

Freyaing

And we had the second half of our Freya visit today. She slept as only teenagers can, then made lunch for me and her, then we took her back to her Mums.

All in all, I think it went very well

And when we went back to Julia's to leave her back we picked my old woodburner from about 15 or 16 years ago when I lived in a bender in the woods

M&F

And I think it has gone well with Freya today. When we first met her we were busy at cinema etc, then we went and had dinner together then we came back here. I was catching up on my BLOG and reading Ixion for an hour or so while she got stuck into a Harry Potter novel off the shelf because she had forgotten to bring her book with her. She has gone to bed now with the novel and a lamp.

We will take her home about 2 or 3 tomorrow, after lunch, so we will possible be able to pick up my wood burner too

F&B

Then we nipped to F&Bs and had a delicious veggie burger and Freya had the same

Gosh What A Day

So then we went and picked up Freya and took her to see Nativity 2 which was actually rather good, all 3 of us sniggered the whole way through.

Even tho I had a climb up 10 stairs to get to our seat and down them to get back to my 'chair

Tum ti tum

Oh I feel nervous and useless etc. Because in a couple of hours we are going to get Freya and bring her out in Carmarthen, then back here where she is gonna spend the night. It's the first time she has ever done that so......

And she has just been telling her new little brother that she is going to stay with Daddy tonight, apparently...

Next Week

And I received some bumph about a night out next week which I think I will go to

Aardvarking

Then we nipped to Aardvark and bought loads of organic food

Pictures

Then we nipped into the cinema and bought 3 tickets for tomorrow, for me, Ed and Freya who is coming to stay with me tomorrow night for the first time ever. 9¾ years ago we lived together but ever since then she has gone home to Mummies, but not tomorrow

Little Old Lady

So Sarah Bailey (noisy link) came to see me today to discuss A)speaking more fluently and B)choking. She listened to me singing/talking/eating etc and in the end said "I will write a huge report with various exercises but first just bend your head forward when you swallow" which makes me say HOORAY etc as it seems to be the secret to me not choking, if I lean forward b4 swallowing it opens a tube while closing another or summat.

Re speaking she basically said "You know what to do, it's remembering it is the issue" and will write a report with loadsa exercises for me and the chaps to do every day

I can walk

And yesterday I was walking not very far, about 10 or 20m, but I was really nervous as I wasn't in a "Hold on (Or just 'Touch it...') with your left hand" position next to summat, but I could actually do it quite well. So I think my confidence is not sufficient.

Sarah OT is coming to see me to work on stuff like this next week

Mum&Dad

And my Mum (and Dad but mainly her) were on't phone to Paul for about 1½ hours discussing their Xmas visit and arrangements.

I wasn't ignoring Freya on purpose but stuck on't phone

Freyadumpkins

Then later on we had to go and get Freya from her school. She seemed really nice tonight, I can't quite put my finger on it but she just seemed more fun than usual

AND she is coming back to stay here on Saturday night for the first time since my accident

Shopping

And we went shopping today and bought loadsa Christmas hat's including one for me

21

So I was 21 in 1990 and I have just tried the 90's radio station that someone recommended on Ixion last week and all I can say is WOW

Gym

And I went back to gym again s'morning and it was evident how much better and stronger I am, how I was not knackered after 5 minutes like I was a couple of weeks ago.

And Sam, the teacher, said that, how much better I was and how quickly I am getting there

But I find it very difficult if folk say how much faster I am getting better, but it was nearly 10 years ago when I was injured, how ill was I back then

Rude-nosity

When we nipped into Morrison's today there were 2 women selling stuff in the foyer. They said "So in your house wadda u need, windows, doors" etc, Paul looked at them and said "2 Asian women in thigh-high leather boots...", one of the women said "What do you need Asian for when we are here"....

Well

So today Julia came to see me to say stuff about Freya being trusted grown up, and about Toby being a grown up etc

And she said some stuff about how ill I was when I was first in hospital, how the first time she came to see me that she was appalled by the number of beeping machines plugged into my body that she had to immediately leave the room, gather herself then try again

And we have no reply from the Grasslands Trust either

Right 1

OK. So at 11.15 we headed off to gym, which again was fast and I was walking about loads etc, just hectic and good

Right 2

Then we had a lunch, charged to the petty cash, at gym as we were in a hurry to leave there and head to Westward Ho! to go cycling. When we got there it was too busy with kids, so we sat in the car for half an hour, tried again and left without cycling

Right 3

Then we went to Morrison's supermarket in Westward Ho! to pick up my weeks shopping and apparently I dealt with Anxiety Management quite well, although I couldn't look at aisles they don't have in Carmarthen, too much

Right 4

THEN we nipped home for a bit, I had a nap then got up and noticed in my diary that it sed "Pick up cream script from Doctors" which we managed

Monday Morning....

So I have got up, taken the sheets etc off my bed, had breakfast now I am waiting to go to gym then off cycling then lunch, then go and pick up a repeat 'script from the Doctors then nap, and then if there is time go shopping

Full Again Freezer

Well, so s'morning we nipped out to Morrison's where I replaced all the goods from my little freezer so it is now FULL FOR BEING SNOWED IN again.

We got a couple of extras but I will still need to go there on Monday afternoon or Tuesday

Ugh, small freezer

And I went to the small extra freezer that's in the utility room next to the big fridge/freezer looking for some snacks as treats. And I discovered that it has been switched off for a number of weeks and the emergency winter food had defrosted and rotted.

Luckily I don't live alone so I shouted "HELP" and Dicky came to see what was the issue and had to clean it all up for me.

Posh Text files to Txt

I have been looking for a way of reading the txt messages from my phone that I have stored on my PC. I could only read one at a time and needed to click the mouse between each, no clicking next button. I have been trying for 48 hours to no avail, but tonight in the downloads folder I spotted the file I have been trying to download for 2 days now

I changed them all to txt files but they had no name, not from "Freya" or Dad" etc. I had another look under "properties" and found a keep full document name

Dull

And as we were bored s'morning we nipped to town, bought 3 boxes of gloves and £60 worth of petrol

Aardvarking

Then today at about 3.30 we went shopping in Aardvark. Gosh it was even better than last week, I got veg and fruit etc, in all I spent about £40 on my weeks shopping, apart from the few I will spend in More Reasons on Monday^h^h^h^h^h^hTuesday

But I want all their extras but way too much sugar there

Sharpening Scissors

So after lunch I opened a parcel with scissors. They were really blunt and not cutting well. I thought "Add a new pair to my shopping list" but then I thought "No, I am well too tight fisted for this, I wonder, can I sharpen?"

Then that master Google was asked and on the first result it said "Cut some tin foil" and a few other tips, so I tried it. I thought cutting summat as thick and hardpressed as foil would make them blunter, but I followed the instructions and then tried them on a piece of cardboard.

Just WOW, it is like a new pair of scissors

Quiet Day

Nowt to do, nowt on until I go shopping about half three

Fredumpkins

And that Freya came here and talked "stuff" today. She is soooooo much older than she was before. But quality.

Second Things Second

Then after he was finished fixing my 'chair Sara - the physio lady arrived. Good lord but she worked me. I was exhausted from the exercises we had done and it was lunchtime by the time she had gone

First Things First

So first of all s'morning the wheelchair fixer man came and fixed the issue with my 'chair

When he had left and I was putting the footrest in the boot of the car Dicky, today's carer, arrived

It's Broken

So Tim realised that the footrest off my wheelchair were broken late yesterday and asked Ed to replace it today. Ed phoned the makers to get their advice and they said that no-one must do any fixing type jobs as it's too risky for us users so sometime between 9 AM and 1 PM tomorrow an engineer is gonna come out and fix my 'chair

And by 10.30 in't morning it was fixed!!

Aargh

And I had no phone for a couple of hours s'afternoon.

Panic, panic, panic

But Ed knew how to plug in my mobile dongle and get a slow connection but it is properly fixed now

And by now it seems fixed more. For a couple of hours it was running at Not Very Fast Broadband speeds but it seems much better tonight. Phew

New Gym Is Old Now

So I think to myself that I need to go to my New Gym Class in a bit but I am wondering when it just becomes run of the mill Gym without additions describing how old it is to me?

I Had Forgotten

And me and Paul had a conversation about changing my shopping day to tuesday. I was protesting and he said "No, if you can only go there on a Monday after gym they need you to be doing more and more stuff to apply for more funding from your claim, so it looks like I will need to get my head round shopping on a tuesday instead

Out&About

So then me and Paul, my emergency coverer, nipped out. We went to a pub near Carmarthen where I had 2 Imminent Diabetes Whiskey and Water's

Poorliness

So I cooked dinner for Tim today, ate it up, he ate about 75% of his then threw up. A phone call later Paul is coming in to replace him

Anxiety Management

So yesterday Denyse said that I need to work on my Anxiety Management with the team. I thought "Pardon?" but Google did mention how large a subject this is, I mentioned this to Denyse and she said "Calm down, don't try and read all of this, concentrate on this" so... dunno.... will do

Lie In

So s'morning as I had no important stuff on I switched my alarm clock off last night. Lying in bed, dozing.... I didn't wake up until 9.03!!!

(sent from my phone)

Tobyless

And I txted Toby and said "What time shall I pick u up tomorrow?" and he replied "No, I am in Wolverhampton ATM" so....

Too Much Booze

Then tonight I tried pouring a whiskey thru my new measurer. It poured, kept pouring, kept pouring more until I turned in wrong way up to stop it. At a guess I am having a triple and ½ whiskey

Right, 2nd drink I called Dicky and showed him the paraphernalia sitting on the table, he nodded and tried to pour one. He held the bottle properly upside down and it poured a single and was filling itself up again when he stopped. So the measurer works fully upside down, not on 45° like I was holding it

Right, I didn't need another drink but I wanted one while the useful chap was here so.... I went into kitchen alone, held the bottle, looked at it then eventually turned it upside down. One whisk(e)y came out (Gosh, a single is really small)

Shopping

Then immediately after gym we nipped to More Reason's To Shop At.... and got loadsa stuff. So this week I bought some Diabetic No Sugar Sloe Gin and while looking for organic jam I found this too, no added sugar

So today after shopping I tried to fit the measurer to my whiskey, the one that arrived on Saturday. I tried, tried again, couldn't, it wouldn't fit. So I was looking on Amazon again for a replacement when I thought "Hang on", called Dicky and said "Help". He put one hand on the top, pressed down and it fits now

Up & At 'Em

So s'morning.... So I changed the bed before I had breakfast, well didn't change it, I took off my old bedding and washed that, then I am being a smidge nervous as I am going back to my new gym class s'morning

And it went well, I seem to be fitting into my new class and working much harder than I used to

More Rugger

And I am watching another game of rugby today. Scotland look OK, but well not as good as The All Blacks

Sigh

In the end the Scots scored 22 points, which would have been enuf to win many games of Rugby, but The All Blacks scored 51 for themselves

Can't Cook, Won't Cook!

Aargh, Ireland are in a rugby match against SA in about 8 minutes and I am supposed to cook summat.

We can have a really late dinner or.....

So Ireland were winning IIRC 12:3 so I thought "OK" and went cooking and eating. When I next saw a telly they were loosing 12:13. In the end they lost 12:16

(Sigh)

Shopper

Then we nipped to town and got candles and matches in case the power goes off. Looked all over town and couldn't find a gas heater anywhere, looked online and found several.

I also bought some more coasters for the table, the ones we had were worn out

Late Sleeper

And today I was awake loads in the night but slept in s'morning, I wasn't awake enuf to look at my clock until quarter to ten!!!!

Aardvarking

And then tonight we nipped into the new Aardvark shop, they have moved, instead of Waverley storing. And just good lord, it was late when we went there but they sell everything that I had put on my list for Morrison's on Monday and also wrote under "Organic Aardvark" to chance it. Everything.

It is well under new management since I worked there years ago but this new management seem obsessed with "Organic", like me

Whoops

And I have been getting my "How much did I drink" measurements wrong for a number of months. Cut in half the amounts of Sloe Gin I said I had

Scary Meeting

And I am having a scary meeting with Denyse and Janet, a care expert from my team s'morning

And it was a bit intimidating but went really well AFAICS. Apart from....

Narrow Leg

As usual I have had my left leg width measured every day and for the last 2 days it has been as narrow as my right leg, 6 inches or so narrower than last week

Sugarless Booze

And I had to get some sugarless booze tonight so I am currently drinking Scotch which apparently contains no sugar

Quiet Morning then...

Then that Freya girly came round, ate my hot dogs, complained there was no onion with them then spent ages redoing some photos in order to make it look as if she was somewhere groovy with a number 13 in it, she needs it for summat

The apple with number 13 on it was my idea BTW

Heating/Water

Strange, strange, strange.

So my central heating and hot water boiler aren't working properly. If I put the thermostat to usual levels the hot water works sometimes. If I put the thermostat right up so it's breathtakingly hot in here the hot water works fine. So until it's fixed I will need to put the heating full up in order to have a hot bath

We hadn't figured this out today so I had to boil a kettle and wash myself in the sink

Quiet Noon-er-aft

Not much on s'afternoon, I will nip shopwards again after my nap to fetch one item

Aargh, I couldn't find any long handled teaspoons (for eating my 3 days in the same packet yoghurt) but when we came back I bought some on Amazon (They are called Sundae Spoons too, apparently)

That hadn't worked so I nipped to Morrison's and bought more food

Still new gym

So I am going off to the new gym class again today

And good lord but it was hard work, less people there than Monday but still loads more than the stroke class. I was cycling today and I managed to put my bike up to 10 difficulty for the first 6 minutes, then I was knackered so I put it back down to 7.

Well, if they are trying their best to knacker me I might as well help them

Super Faster Broadband

On the same connections?

Ybot

Then that Toby chap came round for his tea. Being well surprised at my news from the doctor and then going off to clean his house before his lift to the Midlands arrives, but he did cook for us all

Diabetes

So I nipped to see the Dr this morning to talk about the results of my blood test. So I have got the early stages of diabetes - IFG apparently. It's not full on yet but I need to change my eating and drinking habits to reduce sugar intake. No more sloe gin then

Weight

And I was weighed yesterday and I lost 2lbs again, so my weight it coming down. Slowly but downwards

Really Shopping

So after finishing our hot chocolates we went proper shopping. Bought sink and drain cleaner as well as our normal shopping. It's all done until I Aardvark (and possibly Waverley) on Friday, possibly needing more Morrison's later in the week

Nearly Shopping

And as we nipped to Morrison's I was a bit saying "Can we?", we did and it was well worth it

New gym today

And s'morning, for the first time, I am attending my new gym class. "Mobility" this one is called as opposed to "Stroke sufferers". When I looked last week it seems a lot busier, like 30 or 40 attendees as opposed to the 6 we got on a good week at stroking.

It seems to be a lot more hectic but with a range of issues so if u r too tired stop doing it for a bit

And I went along, it went well but a bit exhaustingly. I refused to do the cycling thing but she said it will be less busy and more do-able on Wednesday.

But I still did stuff for the whole of the hour, I think it went well

Watching S4C

So I was looking at "What's on telly" but I thought "The only program that seems interesting is the rugby but it will be in Welsh, it's on S4C". Timmy said "Wait until it is fully loaded now press the red button" and an English commentary came on. Apparently it's only for sports but it is there

Weather

So at half six s'morning there was thunder and lightning, about an hour ago there was bare blue sky from one side to t'other, now it's raining heavily

Second Morning In A Row

And today is the second morning in a row when I haven't needed an Andrex Washlette to wipe my bum. For the first time in 9.5 years I have dun it two mornings in a row

Another quiet day

Then we had a Sunday, not much is happening, a restful day again

Aardvark

So I used to work in a Health Food Shop called Aardvark (out of date link) about 15 years ago. Since my accident I have found it not wheelchair accessible so I started shopping at an opposition store around the corner, but they have just moved to a bigger more wheelchair accessible shop, so I may have to go back to shopping there

Sandwiches

And today I was thinking about my lunch. Peanut butter and marmite on toast tastes a but odd, like I used to really like and it's just wrong now, dunno, then it occurred to me, sandwiches, that's what I used to like. I tried it and it's still delicious

Pink Hair

So I had to take my lapdog into the kitchen, switch it on and wait for Claire, Claire, She's Got Pink Hair to Skype me and reassess the conversation we had last week about me making a will, answering the same questions etc.

And I passed, she is gonna contact a solicitor for me who will help my write a will

Aunty Virus

And my antivirus software kept crashing about every 15 minutes to half an hour all day so I looked online, got a well recommended free antivirus downloaded, uninstalled the wrong-un and installed that in it's place. In it's initial scan it only found one piece of AdWear so hopefully the old one wasn't crashing as it had been corrupted

Waverley

And we went shopping in Waverley stores but didn't have as much to buy as last week

Not Swimming

Oops, no swimming today as it is half term, so loadsa kids go for free swims. Way too busy for me

Not In My Eyes

And I notice today that the sun isn't coming around the edge of the window frame to get in my eye. Apparently it has moved which I didn't know/expect

Camera Borked

So last night, when I was asleep, I dreamt that my camera was broken, the flash on it wouldn't fire.

So I woke up s'morning thinking I'd better take Paul to an expensive shop and spend a few hundred quid.

Then as I woke up more I thought "Test it", took my camera out, the bits on the bottom hadn't broken off and taking a test shot the flash flashed.

So I don't need one, it was all a bad dream

Fredumpkins

And after nap we went miles away to pick up that Freya girly (because it's half term - she was at home). We brought her back here where I was scarily trying to make Garlic Mushrooms on baps as a starter and pasta and stuff for main course. I think it worked quite well in the end but I'm glad I didn't have to do that much washing up.

Afterwards we tried both the games I bought to play with my parents at christmas and I actually rather liked them both, apart from loosing wildly

Farewell Gym

And I went back to Gym for the last session in the "Stroke" class, from next week I will be attending "Mobility" at a different time/day.

Shopping

Then we went out to (That Evil) Tesco's (Place) to pick up some "Happy Christmas" stick on labels and some bread making flour. I don't need the flour yet but I may try and make some baps tomorrow while I still have bread as an emergency route

THEN we answered a call from Toby as he was hungover (half term) and crying out KFC so we took him and I told him off big style

24 minutes past

So I got a txt s'morning saying "Your order will be delivered between 9.24 and 10.24 on" this day. So I understand why they can't be more precise, traffic etc but 24 minutes past?

And he came at 8 minutes past 9, I told him he was too early but...

Mouse

And my right hand is getting so much better that I want to start using the mouse in my right hand (which I have for this whole post so far) but it is way too difficult.

And as I have been using it with my right hand my typing has been totally and completely left handed

But a whole post with my right handed mouse

Trick or Treat

So as tonight is Halloween we bought a bag of sweets for any Trick or Treat callers.

Except we haven't had a single caller tonight

Splintless

So today I parked my 'chair, stood up and walked down the hall and into the office bedroom, spoke to Ed and walked back out. I was half way back out when I thought, again, that "My right foot is turning over under itself" then the second part of that thought joined in, "Hang on, I am not wearing my splint, and I haven't fallen over or owt!!!"

Pissing

It still amazes me with how much bigger my bladder is nowadays, there's none of this pissing every quarter of an hour. It still amazes me how long it can come out when I just piss.... and piss... and piss... and piss some more

Shopping

So then s'afternoon we had to meet up with that Toby chap and give him back some of the spare cash he gave me yesterday.

Then we nipped to More Reason's To Shop In... and topped up food for the rest of the week

Patience

So the landlord said he would phone me back s'morning to discuss when the fixer chap could come.

Still waiting and it is afternoon now...

And I have just had a phonecall from Denyse, and I thought "Wadda ya want?", saying that the landlord is out of his house at the minute and he has my phone numbers in his mobile but the landlady wanted to phone me but could only find Denyse's number so she had phoned her to say "The gasman will be here about 2.45 to fix it"

PHEW

And we have been able to switch off the heaters and run a hot tap again.The knowledge that the fixer had, he carried out simple tasks one after another, all of which I would have managed but knowing what to do and when to do it must be worth a few quid

Phew, it's fixed now

No Swimming

And as I am a bit upset still waiting for the landlord to get back to me about fixing my heating/hot water I can't possibly go swimming today. But Paul said "No prob, we can go swimming on Friday

Toenail Cutter

And Linda the Chiro....((*)) came and charged me a great deal for trimming my toenails and creaming etc. She did say how much better my feet look now than when she first got involved

((*)) Chiropodist or Chiropractor I am not sure what her proper title is

Visitor

And we had to go and pick up that Toby chap and give him Bubble and Squeak for tea. He seemed in good form and was reasonably positive about college.

Right Hand

After lunch I got myself an apple (as I need to eat more fruit) and a knife to cut it into bite sized chunx. And I used my right hand to hold the knife in and cut it all up

Last But 1

And I went to my nearly last session at the stroke gym, I told her that I liked the mobility class and would be trssnsfering next week

Blood Test

Oh dear. We phoned the Doctor to get my result from my blood test last week and apparently my IFG is too high

Heating Bust

So the central heating and water heating in my house has broken. So we will phone the landlord.

He came out, tried to do his magic, no avail, tried again etc. No, still broken.

So tomorrow a mender is gonna come and mend it, apparently

Radical Bum Cleaning

So, as usual, I went and had a pooh s'morning. Seemed same as normal but for some reason cleaning it seemed to work better than usual so I didn't need any extra wipes today

Mobile Phone Temperamental

And all night I have been trying to get my mobile phone to connect to any website so I could do some "getting ready" work but it refused to connect. An hour later I finally noticed that the picture of the phone had disappeared too, it wasn't connecting to that either I fiddled for a few minutes, nowt, so I switched it off, waited a minute then switched it back on. Now it had the picture of a phone back and was able to connect to a website again

Calci-yummy

And I had a third of a big Rachel's Dairy Organic calcium rich Yogurt which tasted really good

James Car

I have just turned on my telly and caught the last few minutes of a prog about James Bond cars and as it was the end the presenter drove down a slipway then into the water with a Lotus Esprit. He appeared to be having a lot of fun

Start and End

And I discovered. YouTube has a built in facility for starting a video at a certain time but nowt to set the end time. I looked and looked, it seemed that you had to do scary stuff etc but then, 3rd or 4th time of looking I discovered a program called TubeChop which lets you set the start and finish. So I was able to cut my vid but I haven't found a play automatically function. But yet

Looking At New Class

Then we are going to look at the Mobility class to see if it is fit for me as I think I am beyond the stroke class that I have been attending for ages

Then, in the same trip out, we need to go to the supermarket and do sum shopping

And because we had to go to Wilkinson's to pick up more gloves for the staff we ran out of time, if I had drunk my coffee with my lunch too fast we would have only had half an hour left there so we didn't actually go. Just phoning to apologise

I am a Dag

Unfashionable

Busy Beaver Paul

So today, Paul, apart from singing random ditties, has been well busy and making my cupboard well better with new extra bits

How Did She Know?

We were coming back from town today in my car when I suddenly thought "Oh, the clocks have changed", checked her and the clock was still right. She must have checked through some wireless server or summat

Then I thought "Bedroom clocks" there are two. And they had changed time by themselves too

... & About

So we are going out in a bit to look at digital SLR camera's and see if there are any I can manage. While we are out we will also have a look at Bread Makers, dunno whether I want/need one or not, we will have a look

And no, digital SLR's seemed a bit too big for me to handle until my right hand is even better. And breadmakers were just no

Buns

And I bought myself a packet of buns today, but good lord they are nice, and only 43 calories each apparently

Mending

Then we nipped to Wilkinson's shop in Carmarthen and picked up strange tape to tape my hall matt to the linoleum floor and some bits to fix my feed bird device which broke t'other week, which kept Paul busy for a bit

Claire Pink Hair

So this morning my phone said "Message from Claire pink hair" she said "On my way".

When she got here she basically asked me various questions about getting my will ready etc. She has to prove that my brain is well enuf to get involved. I don't think I will be writing a will until get more cash but it is in the process now

Alarm Clocking

So recently I discovered that you can set my alarm clock for tomorrow, every day OR "working days". So I tried it this week, my alarm clock has gone off Monday to Friday but it didn't go off s'morning as it is now a resting weekend day

And after exploring on the web I now know that I can set my working days as whichever I want/need

(sent from my phone)

Bread Maker

So I started considering one of these tonight. I thought you could pick up a well reviewed one for about £50. Then I thought 'Oh no, slicing it' but I found various options from £4 to £100. But then I thought I eat so little bread. I buy a loaf, pop it in the freezer and only take about 6 slices per week out of the freezer, so bread maker loaves would be unsliceable when frozen.

Change my mind if you can think of a way round this but I can't

Right Handedness

So I was making 2 naan bread pizzas for dinner. First of all I took out 1 red onion and 3 mushrooms. Then I started to cut them, for the first time in 9.5 years, with my right hand. I started, continued and finished cutting them with my right hand.

Then as I was eating the pizza, I usually pick up a complete naan pizza and bite chunks off it, but as today was going so well I cut that, piece by piece, with my right hand too

Phew

Awwwww, a quiet afternoon now. Good lord

But I am a smidge bored....

Physioing

Gosh, that was hard work, the physio work with Sara, but it is making stuff easier

Iechyd Da-ing

And I am off to meet Freya at the club tonight

And it was good, not that many musicians but we made it anyway

Busy

So the first part of busyness was gym, then we bought Toby some toothpaste as he asked for that but no cash or food etc. Then after some blarging about the place I am back here, bath, nap, then get ready to go out tonight

Quiet Morning

And I am having the first restful day for some time, well restful morning, I will be busy later.

Turnoff

It seems again that Turnoff Master is actually taking control of my machines and turning them off. Can't recall which options I am hitting but both machines are turning off after I go to bed now

Swimming

After my crisis s'morning I was at the swimming pool again. For the second week I jumped in, but this week I closed my mouth and held my nose. So this week there was no drama. So, perish the thought, I might actually have to say I enjoyed it this week

Blood Testing

So I am up s'morning don't eat or drink anything until they have taken your diabetes blood test, 'cos the last one u had wasn't clear

No breakfast and no coffee s'morning when I had to go there

Tickling

So someone mentioned on Ixion a "Thigh Tickler". I was puzzled, thought "Does that mean moustache?" asked Google and I was right

SLR

And Paul brought in a digital SLR for me to try. Gosh it was way more complex than my point'n'shoot but I was able to take a few decent pics with it

Ybot

After all this we went to pick up that Toby and then had to take him food shopping as Paul said he would bring loadsa veg and make summat special for the 3 of us but his wife cooked all the veg for dinner last night

Dietician

After Gym I came home, had lunch and quickly went napping as we then needed to go see the Dietician at the surgery. We had loadsa stuff to show her as they are noting everything I eat/drink towards my claim so we were better prepared than most of her customers. She looked thru everything and said generally it was well good. She did suggest that I cut out one of my glasses of fruit juice as it's well calorific and replace it with a glass of milk to keep my calcium intake up. She also suggested adding some Cashew Nuts to my stir fry to just top up my protein intake.

She was saying "Drink less" but on the whole she wasn't even too negative about my booze habits

Gymming

And I went to gym today and did as well as ever. Afterwards I spoke to Sam and asked her about other classes. She said "Yes", she thinks it is probably time I left the Fitness After Stroke class I have been attending for a couple of years and move to the Mobility group which has a variety of clients

(sent from my phone)

Dinner

And at dinner time I tried my new "weight reduced" beans which tasted a bit strange but with scrambled egg and toast were enough to make me smile(1)

(1) Or "grin like an idiot"

Psychling

And we went cycling again today. The reclining cycle proved beyond me and required 2 assistants to get me out but then we had a 2 people tandem cycle then a pedal with your hands to improve my right shoulder.

Morrisoning

Then we nipped to Morrison's where I bought a fair amount of food then extra oven chips and veggie burgers to go in the other gfreezer as "snowed in" food in emergency in winter

Change

Well as it is now on my weekly timetable I changed the bed s'morning. Well I took off sheets etc and washed them, Timmy put clean ones on

A Beautiful Visitor

Then that Ruth came to see me, we talked about loadsa stuff etc and she made me feel a lot better

And we talked about a day long Introduction To Digital Photography course at NBGW on 1st Dec

It Is Easier

And on walking today I can say that it is still much too difficult to do without 107% concentration but it is easier than it was yesterday.

And that was easier than the day before.

And that was easier than the day before that.

etc etc

StandyUp

So I was sitting on my up/down seat watching telly today. I put it back up until the moment when it is just in a proper seat position, stopped up/downing, moved slightly forward and stood up. All by myself, I couldn't manage that a few weeks ago, last time I tried.

(shout)I AM GETTING BETTER(/s)

Batteries

So on my toothbrush charger a new light lit up. On reflection it meant the battery is dying, which upon replacing proved correct. I am puzzled tho, I thought it was a plug in device to charge my toothbrush but apparently not, one set of batteries to charge another, how small must the toothbrush batteries be if they can be recharged by a battery for so many months before *that* battery runs out of power

(sent from my phone)

ARGH, no, on reflection it is plug in powered, the battery light just meant that the battery in the timer/display unit on my bathroom wall was low

'Chairless

And it seems to becoming a pattern, I walked to my bedroom for my nap. I don't walk there at night as in the morning I have no splint on so start the day in my wheelchair

And I think Paul was right t'other day when I complained about how difficult it was to walk, he said "Keep practicing, it will get easier", it is still hard but it may be easier than yesterday

Sort Of Standing/Walking

So at lunchtime I got back into my wheelychair, went into the kitchen, went back and forward 17 times, or so, getting stuff out and making a brew, than at last I had to prepare some food, so I stopped, put the brakes on on my 'chair and walked forward half a dozen steps and stood there until my lunch was made

(sent from my phone)

And yes, it worked like this at dinner time too...

Edingtom

And Ed is coming in tomorrow to store loadsa what they have written about me on a DVD and to post it to my representative legal boffin.

Cooking

And I took out the stir fry I was gonna cook for dinner, opened the spuds hat need to go in't oven first and put the stir fry away. Gosh, I thought the spuds would be a top up, not as massive as a massive thing, so we will eat them with veggie burger and make a stir fry tomorrow

Sitting Down To Cook

But as I am so exhausted by seeing Sara then jumping in the swimming pool I am cooking from a sitting down wheelchair position

And it was a strange dinner, the spuds were strange but not that unpleasant. Linda McCartney veggie sausages really impressed Paul. He wasn't impressed by how they looked but how they tasted

Walking napwards

And as I am doing struggleworthy efforts to make myself get better I walked on my own two feet to bedroom to have a nap this afternoon

(sent from my phone)

'Wimming

Then we nipped off to the swimming pool. I walked to the edge of the pool, looked and laughed at the hoist which I had to use last week and jumped in. Gosh it was mad, I took in loads of water up my nose, opened my eyes, could see that I was underwater, didn't panic, came above the surface blew out water and breathed air. Hoo-flippin-ray. It was scary but I did it. So every week at the pool I won't have to ask them to fit the hoist now

Sara

Then Sara the physio came and did some balance work etc, she wore me out going "1, 2, 3" but it worked, I do feel better for seeing her

Afterwards she said "We will have to look at minor Botox in your right hand, the shoulder etc are all well but your fingers are still bent over"

Splintless Walking

This morning I thought to myself, "Leave your wheelchair and walk to your 'puter chair" but as I had no splint on I wouldn't do it until Paul was hovering next to me. It was as easy as pie, more difficult than walking with splint but still possible. I walked the whole way across my living room with no splint on

Burgers

So then I set out to make veggie cheese burgers, chips and beans for me, Freya and Dicky. It was OK, the making burgers bit (just put them in the oven) but a> I made cheese burgers and b> I had to slice open the burger buns and I used my right hand for that.

It wasn't the poshest food I have prepared but it was difficult and delicious

And after a whole day of walking everywhere I gave up and wheely-chaired to cook, as I had to do so much back and forwarding and nip to the Popty-ping etc (noisy link - not WS)

Nag

And I had a big conversation with Denyse. Effectively she said "You agreed to get better thusly, but you haven't for ages". Yes, she was right so today my wheelchair is parked across the room, waiting until I go out and I am walking everywhere in the house. Which I can do, I got p*ssed off with having to concentrate on walking so much but I can do it.

Much as it makes me want to cry, she was right!!!

Reminders

First Timmy reminded me of summat I hadn't thought of for a number of years, then next morning Paul reminded me of another of their songs that again I hadn't thought of for a number of years but could remember all the words to

Weirdy Marmite

Then I thought at lunchtime to take out some bread, some peanut butter and some Marmite. Weirdness, I was looking forward to eating sum Marmite again but was a bit nervous about spreading it. But Marmite no longer comes as a black sludge in a pot, it comes in a 'squeeze me out' container and seems slightly more ductile than I remember it in the past

Woe Is Me

And because they are doing some important work assessing a newbie MOS no-one will be free to take me to the gym.

Bitter tears

Team Meeting

So "they" are all having a conference in my kitchen while I sit out in my living room. My "Team Meeting" is going on

And Denyse nagged me a bit more about walking about the house, not wheelchairing. Glum but she might be right

Walking

And I just went in to see Ed to ask him summat, I parked my wheelchair near the door to this room and walked down the hall and into The Office. It is still "have to concentrate" difficult but way more doable than last year

Drinking

And s'afternoon when my mouth was still feeling "dentistified" I tried to take a drink from a bottle of Evian water. Fark it was difficult, I could only feel half the bottle top with my lips.

And blowing my nose was weirdness personified too...

(sent from my phone)

Dentistry

And now my mouth feels all strange, with numb lips top and bottom after the dentist struggled to fit in 2 fillings as the holes were awkwardly placed, sideways etc, but she managed.

Morrison's-ing

So me & Ed nipped to Morrison's, to buy summat to feed Freya tomorrow, to feed me & my staff for the rest of the week, and, more to the point, to buy some Blueberries which they had none of, and Tesco's had none of when we nipped there to check, on Monday

Betterer

And my left leg looks much betterer after 1 dose of Steroid Cream, it is not red, not hot just healing the bit that was my wound

Toby

And then s'afternoon that Toby chap came to visit me. It was cool, we ate loadsa food then Toby and Timmy took on a game of pool. Then I took on a game which was really hurting my right hand but it worked

So there is proof, how much better is my right hand now than last year

Sh*t Doctors

Well we nipped out there and sat in the waiting room for ages etc. Then we saw a Doc, showed him pics of various stages of my infection etc and he prescribed Mometasone Furoate Cream instead of antibiotics this time. It is a soothing cream. So wait and see

Sh*t Doctors

And I can't go to Gym today (Hooray) as I have to go back to the Doctors (Sh*t). I have got another infected looking scab on my leg, right on top of last weeks infection. No more antibiotics, I am sick of them and must be resistant by now, I have had sooo many...

(sent from my phone)

Sloe Ginning

And tonight I carried my glasses of Sloe Gin into the living room instead of necking them in the kitchen. And I have drunk far less - just sipping. Usually by now I would have had about 4 drinks, now I am only half way thru my second. I still enjoy it etc but it takes much less

Strange Eggs

And so I was microwaving scrambled eggs for dinner. So I did them for 30 sec at a time so I could see when they were done. After a couple of minutes it was nearly done and Paul said "Stir it, then heat the beans, let it finish by itself", so I stirred the nearly cooked eggs, set them aside and carried on with microwaving the beans. By the time the beans were ready (1 min) the eggs had cooked themselves by themselves and were ready too.

So tonight we had weird scrambled eggs and beans on toast for tea and it was delicious

Games

And then we tried to buy an original set of Trivial Pursuit which me and my parents will play when they are here over Christmas which will hopefully stop us being too bored

Then later we went back to ThatEvilTesco and bought "What Is This?" and "Zoo Am I?" more board games which between the 3 of them should stop us being too bored

Two Shopping

Good lord. So first of all we nipped to Morrison's and got most of our shopping. All except they didn't have, even in the back room according to the chap we asked, they had no blueberries

So then we nipped to ThatEvilTesco place to get some and while we were there we thought "Organic Muesli, may as well buy some here as it went wrong in the HFS this week, coat hangers, extra strong mints etc. AND they didn't have any blueberries either. So trying black this week.

So in total I spent £23ish on my packet of Blueberries

Christmas Dinner

And before we went to the shops today we nipped to the Ivy Bush Hotel and said "Can we eat here Christmas day?". They said "Ooh, we are nearly full but as it's you I will take you as a last tableful over Xmas

Choking

And s'morning I ate my cereal then 5 minutes later I started choking an a rebel crumb that was stuck in my throat. Cough, cough, cough. No still stuck. Wriggle my tongue a bit. Cough, cough-oh it's gone now. No more coughing or choking

(sent from my phone)

Telly

And as recommended a MOS I watched all of Have I Got News For You tonight and rather enjoyed it

Stretches

And as I have nowt on Timmy approached me to do some upper arm stretches. Ow. But it did me some good. Apparently

Scary

And Tim just came in and said "It has just shown on the news a scarily high sky dive, high enough if his suit had a leak his skin would explode" as he is going for an even higher jump later today

And we eventually found a link to live coverage, in a few minutes it starts, apparently

Out To Play

And I was half thinking about going to The Sex Pistols tribute band concert tonight but looking it suddenly said "Selling loadsa tickets, nearly sold out buy 'em online here", so I paid an extra £1.summat and bought 2 tickets for tonight there

Sex Pistols Experience   Shamones

And what good fun that was

Although I seem to be deaf in both ears now....

And next morning I am still 50% deaf..... but it was excellent

Vegtrugging

Well I have just gone out the front and what did I see?

On my Vegtrug was growing a small tomato which was looking ripe so I picked it and ate it and it was excellent. The first edible tomato I have picked.

VBG

(sent from my phone)

Watching Comedy

Then s'morning I asked Timmy about what I should watch on telly, he said "Do you remember.....", I said "No, don't recall", but when we watched it a)I remembered watching it before my accident, and b)it was well funny

Purse

So in my dream I imagined that I had lost my Bumbag, my bank cards etc, so when I woke up I had to turn the light on and check that it was sitting where I had placed it last night

(sent from my phone)

Dinner

And for cooking tonight I left my wheelchair out of the kitchen and...... stood up 'til I had finished cooking.

I did not use my lean-on-me chair thingy

Anti

And tonight I took the last of my batch of antibiotics which seem to have worked, both my legs are betterer

Kindle-ing

And then I bought the Kindle edition of a book that made me think a bit about what was going on when I was a much smaller child

What Fun

And we are off in a bit to the swimming pool, hoo-flippin'-ray, what fun we have, he said sarcastically

Oh and wasn't it fun.

As this was the first week back after my infection we took it easy and swam a bit and walked a bit further etc etc

Not Scrambled Eggs

Then for dinner tonight I made toast, fried eggs and beans. It was delicious but fried eggs use way too much oil, I think scrambled or poached are better 4 u

Right, I got a bit paranoid talking about poached eggs but in the end bought a pair of Poachpods and a
Pod Lifter so hopefully next week we can eat delicious not so fattening eggs which haven't been too hard to prepare

Gym

And I was well enuf after my blood test to go to the Gym after lunch. My left leg seems much much better and I put on my shin pads and went cycling, at number 8 which I have never used before for 5 minutes.

I assume that as it all went so well today that next week it will be back to normal

Blood Test

And in half an hour I am going to the doctor's to be blood tested for diabetes for no apparent reason

And that wasn't as scary as I was scared. I said to her afterwards "Gosh, you must have a steady hand" and she commented on how many she had done.

ISTR another blood test 4-5 years ago and they couldn't get enuf out but there were no issues today

Walk To The Loo, My Darling

And s'morning as I was walking to the loo I remembered how relatively recent that is, being able to do so. Last year it was Wheelchairing To The Loo

(sent from my phone)

Leaner

And s'morning Denyse was able to measure me up etc for my new device that had been delivered yesterday, a special "lean on me to see the cooker" device which I haven't used yet but on testing it seems OK

Bye Parents

And they have gone away again at last. After taking me shopping s'morning and having a big conference with Denyse and Anthony

Off Out

And in a bit we are going to pick up Freya, then a few mins later we are picking up Toby then we are going out with my parents for tea

And it actually was excellent, I mostly kept quiet while the kids got on with their Granny&Granpa and Uncle Ian.

And Ian said goodbye to us all tonight, said tara as he is heading back to Scotland tomorrow but before he left he paid for the dinner me and my 2 kids and parents had just had

Betterer

Gosh, after 2 or 3 days of plaster etc my leg looks completely better

(sent from my phone)

Gym

And me and Paul went to gym with my parents watching. They commented on what a difference it has made to my upright posture, my shoulders. Apparently it was even worse a while ago

Deliverer

And a chap came s'morning with some bumph for me, a new unbroken push with your food on, a new better loo seat and a sort of half standing prop to lean on while I am cooking

And I sat on it and had a pooh, just WOW, it is so much better than before

Paypal

So at the start of the night I had to ask "How do I pay you?" then a couple of hours later I had remembered how to use Paypal and it had actually worked

Visitors

Well my parents and Ian, my BIL, came here for a visit, for tea. Now Ian has headed off to his hotel and my Mum is showering in the staff room, before going to bed here

Tra lah lah

Oh, I can't settle and do anything today, too nervous about my visitors later today

More Shopping

So s'morning we nipped out first of all to drop a letter at the doctors, then we nipped to ThatEvilTesco's shop to pick up some blueberries and a bigger saucepan. The biggest I had was just too medium sized and as I am cooking for 6 tonight it felt too small

Visitors

And tomorrow my parents are coming to visit and my sisters husband Ian is coming too although he is not staying here, as my parents are on Monday night

Busy

And for most of the rest of the day Paul cleaned up the garden. His fingers look f**ked now

Shopping

Then today we nipped to Morrison's to get the weeks shopping to make it more relaxed tomorrow. We got some peanut butter and marmite to try as a new lunch in stead of salad too, and a smaller salad that has gotta last a shorter time as hopefully we will be shopping on Wednesday with my Mum&Dad

Right Handed

And s'morning I tried writing with my right hand. Now it is too sore for me to do it all the time but I think it was as legible as writing before my accident.

So practice

S'morning

Erm... hello

(sent from my phone)

Night night

And last night I switched it on on both 'puters, Turnoff Master. So I went to bed with one PC in the bedroom playing music that's stored on the PC in't living room. A few hours later I was asleep and Turnoff Master followed instructions and switched off both 'puters

Veggieburger

So we stopped at McD's on the way home as I am too knackered/hungry to cook, they were fairly buzy so they were able to just hand Paul his burger. But veggieburgers are a bit more unpopular, so we sat down until she brought it over as it finished cooking

(sent from my phone)

2 antibiotics

So all went well today until 'bout 4pm when Paul went to put sum creme on my leg like he had dun s'morning and he said "Lord, it's well swollen now, to A&E" so now I have 2 tablets of antibiotics to take for a week

(sent from my phone)

Mega Shopping

So we nipped out to proper shops and bought me some ankle weights, my staff some anti-b handwash, some gloves etc etc

P**hing

And Paul said "Don't write to your BLOG and say 'Im having a p**h' when u r in the loo s'morning" so I won't

Erm...

"Hello there"

(sent from my phone)

Choking

And last night I ate a snack bar (Yes, dieting!!!) and obviously didn't chew one piece up properly, it stuck in my throat, and I coughed (made enough choking sounds to make Dicky come running) for about 20 minutes. This wouldn't have occurred before my accident but as I couldn't breathe then and they operated on my throat(1) obviously summat isn't right. Don't think it can get any better, just be careful with each and every mouthful for the rest of my days

(1) I think the ambulance man

(sent from my phone)

Dinner

And we had Neil's naan bread pizza's for dinner and I think I am becoming obsessed with them, I now think they are nicer than "proper" pizza

Infections

And now I am prone to getting infections in my f**king leg, the one that was swelling up before, apparently I need to be really careful, a slight cut on there=infection, most of the time

And I went to the Drs. today, he gave me new anti-whetever cream to put on it and no antibiotics because I said "It is better than yesterday so I don't want/need any"

So gord knows.

Well after my bath we put some "normal" creme over most of my leg and new cream over the wounded area

Sara

Then Sara the physio came in s'morning and did loads of exercises walking properly not to one side and catching etc