Intimidated

So tomorrow Sara the physio is meeting me and SmallPaul by the swimming pool and she is gonna teach me some new tricks while Timmy stands by the pool with the iPad videoing the whole experience so I can have no memory issues....

The Doctor

Gosh we watched a Dr Who tonight and it was as excellent as an excellent thing...

Saturday Nights Dinner

And because we had summat else last night tonight we had my usual Saturday night dinner of roasted veg etc and by gord it was as beautiful as ever, or more so

Improvement

And as I walked round to the recycling point today we noticed that even tho I didn't have any FES device fitted that my right foot has learned by itself to keep itself straight. I still need the FES sometimes but just wow being able to walk without it and 2 flat feet.....

AND I made some progress on walking later too....

Keen

And SmallPaul came into work 5 minutes early today as he is so keen....

Curry For Tea

And as Ed is here and I bought some extra ingredients yesterday (and last week) I was able to say "Do you want Linda McCartney and roast veg for dinner or curry?". So guess which I am preparing tonight

And it was actually rather nice. It said "Extra hot Vindaloo" on it and I could actually taste summat. It didn't taste extra hot but it was nice anyway...

Baldy

And Hair Cutter Ed is working today (I haven't seen him for ages) and my hair is cut once more

Pepper Grinder

So earlier that SmallPaul chap got stuck into trying to fix the pepper grinder on my table. First of all he replaced the batteries with non rechargeable (even tho they were freshly charged in there) this made it work a lot better then he discovered a screw under the top that had come loose and it is as fixed as a fixed thing now

Then Ed tried it again with rechargeable batteries and it works now SHRUG

Farm Foods

And we nipped out to Farm Foods for more oven chips, baking tatties etc. we were able to buy nearly half the shopping with the free card they sent me last week.

AND out of interest I was just about to purchase some packs of 2 baking tatties at £1.50 a packet but SmallPaul pointed out that the bigger packets of the same product were £2 for 4 as in £1 for 2 not £1.50, so I bought them instead

Gym Gym Jeroo

Then we headed to gym, which he hasn't been to for a couple of weeks. He really noticed how much better I am. As did Sam when, at Paul's request I got down on my hands and knees, leaning on a chair, and from there got all the way down and rolled over on my back {link fixed now}. (This she has never seen before [perhaps I was not able to do it])

From there the most difficult part of the operation was getting back up but again I managed that by myself

'Varking

So me and SmallP went off to Aardvark s'morning. We had to park up the street a bit so it is just as well that we had brought my 'chair, but we left it outside the shop. We walked in, walked up and down the stairs and all around the shop, to spend loads on myself

Getting Rid Of Him

So s'morning TinyTimmy is up and has moved his car early as SmallPaul is coming to take over at 9 then TT is going to return my device to t'hospital

He txted me later, they have been in contact and said "Still bad, keep an eye on him" so.....

Not Iechyd Da-ing

So today I was merely given a piece of equipment to wear tonight and instructions how to fit it but I still decided not to go to Iechyd Da as I didn't really nap s'afternoon as I was out getting my device

Inconvenient Time

And we have an appointment at the hospital in Llanelli at 3pm today, that's mid bath and nap time, dunno how to handle it.....

And Timmy came in, discussed the hospital later and decided that I shouldn't go to gym first. So when I stopped crying.....

Right, we went to the Cardio-respiratory(1) department. And they gave me a device to fit tonight when I am going to bed that notes how I am breathing and my pulse

(1) Not that I wanted to say "My heart was beating faster and I was breathing faster when I saw you" but I didn't have a chance

Walkies

So we went out tonight to have a couple of pints in the pub up the street, 'cos we wanted to see if they were open Christmas eve too, so we drove up and walked from the car into the pub

Walking

And we have booked a Christmas Eve Dinner with my kids....

Farter

So that's twice in two days now that I have thought “Extra pooh now“ gone to the loo, sat down then did the most enormous farts then not needed a pooh after all

Fixed

And after looking at the Interweb after I went to bed last night I must say that my new device is so much quicker that my mini-laptop which was there before

Drowning

And yes, we have drowning on my timetable s'morning...

And we went, I didn't drown, I was able to stand on just my right foot for 30 seconds (just once but I did it), I was able to do some hopping on my right foot that I havent managed for a number of years etc. But when we got out there was somebody in the big disabled changing room and the drain in the smaller one was broken so it was full of mucky water from next door.

But we managed, had an effective exercise session

But today, swimming on my back it feels much better/easier kicking with my right foot/leg

Strange (But busy [and productive]) Morning

Well, so s'morning TerribleTimmy took on board his role as a techno-geek. First of all we took down the broken telly and put it in my bedroom, where the iPad was. Then we nipped into the office and got my old PC and combined the two together

Then we drove to that SHHHH... Tesco's place and bought a new telly for my living room (cost only a hundred quid, I think it's not too dear, and it plays DVD's too) and some speakers so I can actually put music on my bedroom PC

Then we nipped to gym and did some exercises, then came home for lunch.

But we had to put the new telly in place and the

speakers in t'other room before I could stop and eat

Once More

Yes, it's white with frost again

Reading

And I have got right into reading my Kindle again, summat I haven't dun for a couple of weeks and while I am really enjoying the story every 3 or 4 minutes I need to think "Enuf" and turn it off for 5 minutes or so.

I can't just read it.....

'Wimming

Then when we came back from there we went off swimming. Afterwards I was thinking that..... SHH..... it wasn't as unpleasant as usual. We had a different routine with the towels this time and it meant I could get more properly dried etc. and we got the big changing room which makes "it" much easier

More Reason's To Shop At.....

And we had to do a sneaky extra trip to Morrison's s'morning to fetch a (few) new light bulb, the lamp by my bed blew last night and we couldn't find a replacement. I think there was one that was nearly the same size so someone must have bought it by mistake, the prongs were about 1mm longer than the one that fitted

Frosty

And it was well frosty s'morning (although the heating did work) I took this picture after I had got up, eaten breakfast etc, it still looked frosty half an hour (or more) later

Samwise

And it was nice to see him, he talked about the past and the future and how he expects me to call him Doctor after he gets his PHD next year etc

Another Busy Sunday

Tra la la, so "we" will nip to Morrison's (noisy link) later and buy bread rolls etc, then Alex can make my bed then..... then....

And that Sam chap is coming over at lunchtime which will be good

Interesting Fact:

In France 'Builder's Bum' is referred to as 'Plumber's Crack'

The weather

So today the weather has been sunshine, heavy rain half an hour later and it is now sunny again. And as it is November I have had to take off my jacket, just wearing a t shirt now

Now it's almost cloudless blue sky, 4 hours after the rain storm....

How Sick Am I

Sorry for being a bit depressing but......

So I had my accident 11½ years ago and in the last couple of years I have got so much better that now I am living here (out of an institution) with 24 hour a day carers, never to be left alone. 

So how sick must I have been 11½ years ago when I have no memory of events

It's OK, I am feeling a bit more cheerful s'evening, I am not thinking about that quite so much

Head down - eating

And I was happily munching away at my breakfast when it occured to me that I had to learn certain rules for holding my head in a certain position for swallowing etc, but I don't even need to think about them now, it has just become a habit

Rainy

And we were supposed to go out tonight to The Parrot in Carmarthen for it's reopening night but the weather doesn't seem very good so p'raps not tonight

Pizza With No Chips

So I am making pizza for tea tonight but as we had curry and chips a few nights ago I will have to have it with sweet potato oven chips instead

And no garlic tonight, I forgot, but it was still delicious

Gyming

And later we went to my weekly gym class. The weather had kept many participants off but I went. It was as good as ever, I can really see how much better I am getting when I am there

Shopping

So we did the usual buying organic goods s'morning, it went well, they had some shorter date stuff but upon looking behind this it was all buyable with long enuf dates. I took my 'chair to the shop with me but left it in the car as we parked 15 yds away.

When we came back I said "Bring it in" but didn't use it, just put all the various kinds of shopping away on my own two feet

Unexpected

And he phoned me from his Mum's (he's down helping her move) but I am meeting that Toby chap later today

VBG

And we saw him s'morning, he looks better than he has for ages etc, but he wasn't sure yet if he will be able to come here for Christmas, he won't know 'til next week when "work" tell 'em

But as I walked into the restaurant at lunchtime and sat on a proper chair,
my wheelchair stayed in the boot, I didn't have to go to gym.
But I have a proper class on a Friday, tomorrow

They are not supposed to....

What Fun

And, oh what fun, today me and GrottyGareth went swimming at the pool. As usual swimming was fine, really did well at the balancing exercises etc. And swam 4 lengths. Afterwards we did get a bigger changing room and as ever ran out of towels

Aargh

Then after my nap I said "The light isn't working again, so it must be the battery in the remote control" so we nipped into Wilko to get a replacement. The light still didn't work so I changed the bulb. It still didn't work so I shouted "Help". Alex came in and eventually found that he had knocked the plug slightly out of it's socket s'morning when fitting the new lead for my iPad. So testing it again with the old bulb and battery so we now have bought a spare battery too

Right

So s'morning the postman brought the new USB connector to attach my iPad to the Interweb. Lickily it was Alex working today who knows about stuff like this  etc, so I gave it to him. First of all we nipped to Charlies Store looking for a pressure washer and some hammer in clips for the wire. So I stood up in the car park and walked all the way to the back of the store looking but we were only able to buy hammer in clips. So then we drove to the middle of Carmarthen, parked in Wilko's car park and again I walked into Argos. On foot in there I bought a pressure washer, and walked back to the car. Then we came back and had lunch.

Alex said "No need to go to the gym today as I  have walked so far" which is good, better rehabilitating me by being in town than in gym

Then after lunch Alex started hammering in cable grips etc and he is half way through connecting it. I said "Start this side, hammer 'til you are under the bed then go to the other end and start there, then and spare can just be piled up under the bed"

WTF?

So I woke up for a pee about half past six s'morning. I reached over, pressed the switch for my lamp, it didn't come on. Tried a few more times, no it must have blown, ask Timmy when we get up properly. Found my way in the dark as far as my proper light switch, went for a pee. And because this one just worked I knew we hadn't had a power cut etc

So when I got up properly at 8am I decided to just try it one last time before calling TinyTimmy.

It just worked this time,

Fredumpkins

And as I txted Freya earlier to say "Christmas?" she replied "Wanna see me tonight" so me and TinyTimmy took her out for dinner. And it was nice

Early To Bed

So last couple of weeks I have been having my nap later and later but today Denyse and Sian Evans, my social worker, are coming at 2.30pm and I agreed to "sleep" before they come

And they came, they talked about how my care needs are changing, and how to get the authorities to pay for more than they do already.

But they were here for hours

Connector

Then we had to go back to Wilko again and get a piece for the hose, then we could pressure wash all the outside

Shop-i-doodly-eh

Then s'morning me and TeenyWeenyPaul went to Morrisons and to Wilko and picked up the weeks shopping(1) and some other bits to clean the loo etc and some tape to, hopefully, make my TV more watchable

(1) We were able to get a fresh Na'an bread with 9 days date on it instead of the utterly chemical long life ones we have been getting usually

Right

And I poured the top-up milk on my cereal s'morning using my right hand

Rugger

And everything has gone a bit behind schedule today cos I watched Wales win the rugby match against Fiji s'afternoon

So by the time I had cooked dinner we were too late to go to the local theatre show which had been planned

And then in the evening I made an image map on that picture, summat I am not familiar with but now wave your mouse.....

Dispose

So at a guess I'd better start disposing of coffee grounds properly instead of just running them down the sink...

Ed said no need so.... I will look in Morrison's to see if they sell a narrower wooden spoon and go from there

Gym

And we nipped to my once weekly gym class today. And doing one of the exercises again I bent my right knee in such a fashion that I couldn't manage last week

And again today I walked up the stairs to class. Lift down but walked up

And today I managed that "get down on't floor" exercise by myself (again for the first time in...) without Sam saying " Move this..."

Aardvarking

Then we nipped out to Aardvark and did the most of my weeks shopping. Organic or locally produced...

Teeth

And once more I did that "brush every tooth carefully" thingy which I can bear, unlike the full brush which I didn't do

The Doctor

And I have just watched the last Dr Who episodes that were stored, and just....... I HAD to watch the second after the first cut off and..... and..... just
WOW

Strange Exercises At Gym

So we didn't go to gym earlier as TerribleTimmy was busy trying to do the staff rota for the next year, but we did go late in the afternoon. When we were walking in I said "Timmy, why don't I walk upstairs instead of exercising?" He didn't agree but said "5 minutes less on the bike if you walk up and down" So being lazy I said yes and went for a walk

Windy

And it was a bit windy today (noisy link)

TinyT

"Someone" has been busy in't office all morning so we will go to gym later.....

Teeth

And I did the "brush every tooth but not for two minutes" quick brush again s'morning so my dentist should be pleased.

And have less work to do next time I see her......

Quorn Burgers

And we had Quorn Burgers for tea (which I had to cook in a miniscule amount of oil in a frying pan) and they were actually quite tasty but my main point is again I cut the baps (large) with my right hand

Oh What Fun We Had

And we are going f***ing swimming today, in a bit....

Oh what fun... (noisy link)

And what fun we had, various exercises, hopping on just my right foot for the first time in years, getting my right heel down when standing....

"In The Forest"

And I have just watched another few weeks old Dr Who, excellent it was. Lets hear it for that BBC iPlayer thingy.....

Dinner

And for dinner tonight we had veggie burgers etc. The burgers were in buns that I was able to cut with my right hand, well I tried it and it worked very well. I am rather pleased

House

So in a bit we are (me and Alex) are going to go and have first look at a house I have just received an email about. Dunno, it is a touch pricey but may not need many adaptions

Mmmmm, dunno, we have emailed TinyTimmy and asked him to make appointment for viewing

Then after that we went to gym and did 4 exercises before cycling for 20 minutes. It was as much fun as ever

Gym

So after much argument we nipped to the gym, I left my wheelchair @ home and just went out. It is good but feels a bit strange. We had a good session, again in the pulling sideways machine etc

Phew

So there was thunder and lightening when I went to bed last night but the electricity didn't switch itself off

See To My Teeth

And I have got an appointment with the dentist today, just after lunchtime... So I think I may try it on my own two feet again, ISTR that we managed that last time I was there so...

And I thought "No swimming, I can't same day as dentist" etc, GGtGG argued loads but I had so many excuses, so "he" decided to nip to gym for an exercise session s'morning instead......

Grumble Grumble

So after lunch I went and brushed and flossed and I hope she will be pleased with my teeth generally. Afterwards I had 20 minutes on my PC then it's time to go see 'em

And she did tell me again how important it is to brush your teeth in morning, but she did tell me that you don't need to do the whole "brush for 2 minutes" ritual so I might get involved with just cleaning them a bit in t'morning

Walks

At dinnertime tonight Alex picked up and looked at the leaflet that "we" had brought back t'other day. I had to say pass it to me 'cos I hadn't looked yet, but I think it is good and worthwhile. It is publicising walks of about 0.75 miles to 1.5 miles about Carmarthen - "Six Urban Walks" it is called.

And it gives publication to "Walk and Talk - Carmarthen" too which is a bit worthwhile too

More Reasons To Shop At...

So s'afternoon I went and spent loads more in Morrisons (noisy link) than I usually do, not only salad and booze etc this week but Washing Up Liquid and Greaseproof Paper too.....

Apple To Eat

And today I had an apple to eat after lunch and I used my right hand to cut it up

Pumpkin For Dinner

And tonight we ate up the pumpkin which has been ripening on my window sill for ages. It tasted a bit odd, when you set it on your tongue it tastes sweet but almost immediately that goes and leaves a weak flavour. It was at it's nicest roasted at least so it was an experiment

Getting the seeds out was easy but separating it from the skin proved much too difficult for me, Alex had to get stuck in with a knife... but when he was ⅔ of the way through he told me that a peeler wouldn't work but I tried one with that posh peeler that Denyse bought for me and that worked. He said he is gonna have to buy one for himself for next years...

Pe**ng

And today I watched a whole rugger match (80 mins plus half time) without needing a pee. A while ago I would have needed the loo every 15 minutes

Watching Rugger

And we are watching the rugby union match on BBC 1 s'afternoon

Aargh, Wales scored 2.5 minutes into match then they scored bang on half time, 21 all at half time

Double aargh, Wales in the lead, 12 minutes to go

Sh*t, Australia now 7 mins to go

Double shit

New Loo

So I was thinking about when/if I buy this house I will get a plumber to replace the toilet with one a few inches taller and get rid of the frame but paranoia overcame me, I looked on the Interweb and found a possible solution when I replace my loo

And on and on

Gosh, half an hour ago the sun was shining, 25 minutes later it was raining heavily now I can see blue sky partly..... On and on....

Spicy

And we had naan bread pizza and chips for tea, but as I now add garlic to pizzas I make.....

Gym Class

So I had my weekly gym class today, it went well. Sam at one point was saying how she saw me walking into gym yesterday and she could tell that this slight bending of my right knee was happening then too.

Were Off

And me and GGtGG have to go to Aardvark in a bit and do the shopping, this week it includes a walk up the stairs and back down session to get some bog roll etc etc

Yes, we did it and it went well, they had no bog roll but we did buy summat else upstairs so it wasn't a wasted trip up stairs

Still Wet

And it is still raining, forecast for another 24 hours or more

And it is now, at about 2pm, sunny, hardly a cloud in the sky. I wonder how long this will last...

And by half past 2 there was still almost no cloud but there must have been some above us as it was raining

Wet

Much rain tonight, heavy, and it is forecast to last 'til Sunday

Out'n'about

Then later we headed into Wilko to pick up 4 or 5 Listerine mouthwashes, I had a look for summat else but couldn't find it

Bath

And in my bath today the hot water stayed hot 'til the end, like it's supposed to, unlike what happened t'other day. No explanation, nothing needed resetting just a cold(ish) bath

Gymming

So today I/we went to gym, it was a bit busier but we found summat to do. At Sam's suggestion I tried the 'one arm, then the other' exercise machine which went well, different weights on both arms

PDFing

So I was having a think s'morning, this is a universal able to read format, whatever your PC is, eg Apple or Mac etc. So I explored and found immediately a PDF reader on my PC but not a PDF writer. Explored some more and eg Word, can save in .doc format but also can save in .pdf format. So if I am ever sending a document to loads of recipients (as likely as that sounds) I now know how to format it for everybody

Managed

And I figured out (again?) how to do "Hashtag" links to the middle of my page. But middle of someone elses page?

Lifes A Bitch

Life's a bitch...

then you marry one

then you die

I experienced all three......

Struggling On

So sat here having breakfast, thinking "Oh good, struggle on s'morning" but otherwise what?

'Yes, life is hard but you are learning how to make it easier...'

Sara-ing

And that Sara the physio came to see me, watched me walk up and down the kitchen without a walking stick and took me out for a long walk, without my wheelchair, just me walking

AND no FES, no boots (just my sandals), relearning-r-us, big style

Autumn/Winter

So the weather is so wintry today that currently, looking out of my kitchen window, I can't see any clouds. It is 100% blue sky, from one horizon to another

Walkies

So today I was walking about the kitchen without my 'stick and with no holding on. It is really slow but I can do it

Wed

So it's Wednesday Morning now.... (noisy link)

Gymming

And we got it right today, me and GGtGG went to gym at about 12 midday today and it was nearly empty, no one in the way etc. And I am just getting so much stronger, 4 machines then 20 mins on the bike and I comfortably passed 4km, 4.38 I think it said today, no rests until I had passed the 4km mark

Swimming

And we went and had as much fun as usual in't pool but it is just generally getting easier as I get better in so many ways.

And today I went into the poolroom in my wheelchair, steered it to the place 'they' usually push it to after I have got out by the pool, stood up and walked the dozen paces to the pool with no walking stick. And no socking, no footwear and no FES

It was scary, I wouldn't try it again until I am more better but I did it!!!

Rainless

And the sun is shining now. It is a bit colder than recently but 30% blue sky up there!!

Thick and scary clouds now (a few hours later), no rain yet but.....

First few drops as I turned away from my PC 5 minutes later.....

Thunderbolt and lightning

Is happening around here tonight.....

Walkies

And SmallPaul commented on how much better I am at just walking, no "I can't walk that far" etc now, I just got out of the car and did it. We walked into the hall of Morrisons where the recycle batteries tool is, I had got confused I didn't think the bulb recycling was round the back but it was, Paul expressed surprise that I just set off to walk that quarter of a mile and back

Learning Again

My right foot/right leg is relearning so much about how to walk, even I am so impressed

Reassuring

Well as it is now much colder my central heating passed the thermostat point and switched itself on last night. Which I do find comforting, it still works etc

Sun In My Eyes

And sitting here in my kitchen s'morning the sun is getting in my eyes terribly. It's the first of November, there aren't s'posed to be blue skies for a few months

Crisis

And GGtGG told me s'morning that HairCutterEd had txted him late last night and cried off working today but GGtGG said he will do it and swap next Sunday with HCE instead

And he did do my hair, I think it looks OK