WTF?

So what's going on these days?

A program on my PC tells me how far away the delivery is, it started off about 4 hours and now........ just lordy

Obsession

I am not obsessed. Even watching "sport" on my proper telly, not my Ipad device that I usually watch

(More in focus pic now)

Another Busy Saturday

Well another busy day. Doing all the usual weekend stuff.... erm.... nothing?

Dinner

And we had "the usual" na'an bread pizza and chips for dinner and it was as lovely as a lovely thing, as usual.

Before I did the washing up I went out to a) my trug to water it and b) the greenhouse to water the beetroot and chilli peppers which are there and c) the washing line to bring back in the stuff that I only put there a couple of hours ago to put it on the airer to dry indoors now

But it's just no longer an issue walking across the small stones to the greenhouse, it is just easy nowadays. A repeat

Off Strokewards

And in a bit we are off to my only gym class of the week.

The one I am in now is called a "Stroke" class for those of us recovering......

Well I did it. It was as exhausting as a very exhausting thing but I did it all. And at the end I took my walking stick held sideways off the ground in my right hand and walked out of the classroom, across the other room, down stairs, across the hall, out of the door and the 50 steps to the car without using my walking stick. I think I will start using it again now as I am so tired etc but just wow too

Not A Very Good Recording

But they were being noisy.....

(Renewed now.....)

New Talent

Then tonight at Caffi Iechyd Da I poured a bottle of beer with my right hand.

The first time I have poured owt with my right hand in nearly 15 years

Off To Play

And we are heading to Caffi Iechyd Da for their monthly folk club in a bit......

Busy Thursday

So first of all me & Timmy headed down King St and actually got into the parking space nearest to the lane leading to Iechyd Da where we got my veg and said "See you tonight" as we are heading to the monthly folk night there tonight.

Then we headed round Morrisons where as usual I bought most of the rest of my weeks food.

Then just about at lunchtime we headed gymwards where I did 5 minutes on the walking upstairs machine (11 flights apparently) and got on the rowing machine and did 1500m quicker than last time etc

Frosty

Well I think it was frosty, this was the temperature about 10 to 8 s'morning. Apparently it won't be frosty tonight so I have brought my pink heart plant out

My Bum Is Not Numb

So a day after taking the only cushion that was on a dining room seat off the seat I can say it's been fine, no problem, my bum isn't numb or crying or owt. So again some part of my life is getting better.

It had the only cushion because I had to get one a while back but again summat is better

Right

Right. So me and GarethTheGardener looked at the seeds etc this afternoon, discussed stuff and popped to B&Q to buy MORE compost. Then we opened the cover on the Trug Type Device, watered it loads then planted lettuce, carrots and parsley, watered it again etc then got some new pots together, filled them with a mix of soil and compost and read the packets and put them away until tomorrow morning when we will plant a tub full of beetroot and another tub full of chilli peppers, their home will be in the greenhouse next to the Trug. So loads of watering chores which I can just about manage so feel obliged to do it myself.

BUT it is really strange walking round to my Trug and the greenhouse. Last autumn I was really struggling with the small stones underfoot whereas today I can just walk on them, no problem. So my balance and footwork have both improved loads and loads in the intervening months

Drying Weather

So I got changed about 9AM s'morning as we are going swimming. I washed and hung it out. It was dry before lunchtime!!

Aerobics

And after having a fortnight off for the school holidays we are back in Aqua Aerobics after an early lunch today.

Ho hum, tra la la la.....

And wasn't it fun. Although this week I discovered that I can now stand on my right leg and lift my left to do exercises which I couldn't manage last week

Frosty Morning

So "they" said "Don't plant out your pink heart plants until the frost has gone" and there was frost s'morning so luckily it was in the greenhouse

Doctor Whatchamacallit

And I watched the second episode of Dr Who today and I enjoyed it *so* much

Faster Then Ever

<sigh> So we headed to gym s'morning and I got stuck into the exercise bike machine. The first km took ages but after that I got it together and did the whole 10km in I think the quickest time I have ever managed. </s>

So yes, I am sweaty, smelly and exhausted now but it is done

Thinner?

So s'morning I had to do up one of the extra "tighten up" buttons on the top of my trousers, the ones that I have never had to do up before, but now the trousers aren't falling down when I am standing/walking

Streaming

So when I went to bed last night instead of sticking on sum music I searched the Interweb for "streaming folk music" and the very first result that came up I clicked listen and fell asleep a while later b4 the auto shut down shut down the PC.

I am a bit of a fan, I will have to explore further.....

Monday

So Monday again...... so today first of all we need to pop to Savers on Merlin's Walk to fetch some litre sized mouthwash and loo cleaner then after an early lunch we are off to Headway in Swansea for a.... meeting

Well we did the first part fine, needed to park in a paying loads space as all the free spaces were full but we did it, in plenty of time etc. Now it's an early lunch then take ourselves off....

Then we travelled miles to the Headway Swansea meeting which actually wasn't so mind bogglingly bad. So we played a game with the japanese woman who I have played with before and she is obsessively good at it and there was a new chap who was iller than me and his carer playing

CRISIS

So when I was running my bath I opened the window, turned my back and "Splash". I turned round to see what caused it and the old loo cleaning stuff, that I had just set a new version next to, had blown off the window sill into the loo. No harm done, we needed to throw the box away but the contents are still in the container

New Flowers

So after I was in my neighbours back garden admiring her gardening she knocked at the door yesterday and handed me a new flower that she had bought for me as I was so praising it in her garden yesterday. The pink heart shaped flowers which I have gotta keep in the greenhouse until frost has gone then we will plant it out in the new big pot, which we bought yesterday afternoon, and put it by my bench by the front door

Kwikfitting?

So RoyGBiv said "Wanna do owt today?", I said "Erm...." so then he suggested that we were warned a while ago that one of the tyres on the car is almost treadless so needs changing soon. Like today?

Walkies

And it is making my head wanna cry just simply because I am so much better at walking nowadays after being in a wheelchair for so long.

But I can't do it outside as walk on flat pavement for 2 miles then suddenly there is an uneven up and down nearly broken bit which I need my stick for

Haven't Seen Her For Ages

So s'afternoon I am heading to a class with that Sam. Who was off for easter last week, so if feels like ages since I have seen her

Well, that went. I am still getting better and better every week.

That's Where My Bookmarks Are

And I was marginally disgruntled with the interweb on my new phone as all the bookmarks had disappeared. I said "Timmy...." and he said "You used a different browser..." which I loaded and lo and behold all my bookmarks were back

Clanking Bell

Then at dinner time me and Timmy got together over my PC and booked 3 flights to Belfast in June. No, I can't do summat that exciting, just no.

                    But we did

So.....

So first of all me and Timmy headed into Caffi Iechyd Da to pick up my veg. First time down King St there was no parking place so we headed around the block and this time we found one of the furthest away spaces. That is no longer an issue tho, I can and do just walk and walk nowadays

That done we headed to Morrison's and got the rest of the weeks shopping, and 6 tubs of hot&spicy pickled onions as they were still on offer

After we brought that back here and put it away etc we headed to gym. Today Timmy suggested a 20 minute cycle where every 5 minutes I was going flat out to get my heart beating

Mega Stickless

So I popped out with the small green bin to put it out tonight. I just carried my walking stick held sideways, not touching the ground. I reached outside the garden, put the bin down and walked back uphill with still no stick. It probably wasn't the longest walk without my stick but it was the first time I have even stepped one step outside unaided for some years

Strange Days Indeed

So first of all we popped into town to the mobile phone shop, showed them my 2 phones and said "Help". So he connected them together and said "Right, that's gonna take about an hour, go for a brew" so instead we set off for an enormous walk around town. Then we headed back to the shop and he handed over my new mobile phone. Aargh, what a difference and I am struggling to get it set up again, but it's nearly half done by now. So every minute since then has been spent setting up my phone

And then it wouldn't connect to Wifi, the internet. So MM had to phone about 3 folk and eventually one of them said "Oh yes....." and sorted it out. But then the staff laptop wouldn't connect, my iPad wouldn't connect etc but since then MM has seemed fairly competent making stuff work again

Early Lunch

Then we had an early lunch as we are off to Pil to see Sara in a bit while she does stuff to improve me in so many ways.

I don't think she is trying to fix my lust but I just glance at her and it feels better already

Well wasn't that hard work. So I walked on the treadometer machine for 1 mile (or was it a km?), mostly forwards, some sideways and a bigger amount backwards. I can just do it all now.   And for about a quarter of the distance she had me me walking uphill, up to 11% at the end which made her make strange noises, last time we tried it I simply couldn't walk uphill at all whereas today I was managing a steep hillside. Knackering but I did it

PO

So first thing we headed to the PO sorting center to pick up a parcel that they hadn't delivered t'other day as I was out and it required a signature. So it was my new mobile phone which neither I nor Roy can work so it is in the pile until MM comes in tomorrow, he is a P/T phone fixer so he will know what to do

It's Working Again

And phew, s'morning I had breakfast, a pooh then sat down at my PC. And there are some emails from Ixion again, it hasn't sent/recieved (as in worked) since 9pm on Friday and it became obvious to me how much it means to me, I was sitting, looking at my monitor, bored all weekend. What else should one do with their time?

Walkies

So as there is no exercise to be had today we headed into town and went for a walk. We parked half way along King St, walked to the end, downhill by the old courthouse, turned at the end and came back uphill by Cafe Iechyd Da to King St again. It was an up&downhill walk which was just so much easier today than it was even last week

AND when we were getting out of the car to start the walk I noticed my FES device saying "Short of battery" but we just carried on, thinking we would finish the walk before it ran out. But about a third of the way through the walk it stopped working but this wasn't an issue as I am so much better at keeping my right foot level these days

Solid

And much to my relief I woke up s'morning, had my brekky and then went for my morning pooh.

Much relief that it is solid again, much relief

Walking

So, as I said a while ago, while I struggle with being barefoot ATM, today when I wanted to just wear my pants to the washing machine, I put on my sandals with no socks or shit like that and I found it much easier. So obviously the issue wasn't walking with no socks/sockings on but actually bare foot on the floor that I had the issue with

Sh*ts Gone Away

So after my disease yesterday I got up about half past five and went to the loo, just had a pee, went to the loo again when I got up about half past eight and again just did a pee. No diarrhoea

And no, I had to squeeze out a proper thick p*oh s'morning, back to normal 

Knickers

So tonight about 6 pm as arranged with us to be timed just as we were finishing dinner Aerwen from across the road knocked on the door and gave me 2 Knickerbocker Glories which she had just made. Just WOW etc, weren't they delicious. Lots of different kinds of fruit in there amongst the jelly, ice cream and a flake on top.

I think next time she see's me and says "How are you?" that I will reply "All the better for seeing you" more sincerely

Sh*ts

And suddenly s'afternoon I have got a serious Diarrhoea. No warning, nowt unusual to eat just a bad case

Well I haven't been to the loo for a couple of hours now

And I have just done a fart loud enough that GGtGG commented on it, without fear of backsplash

Mended It

So yesterday the mended bit on the oven door came off. Me and MM thought "Oh dear" and bought some more glue, it will be delivered in a few days. Today GGtGG said to me "I am sure you bought a replacement", I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. He came back and went and looked in the cupboard with the tool box in it and found the replacement. We had to unscrew the holding bit then replace it. Simple and fixed for good now

Gardening

And me and GGtGG are busy today. We will pass the tip and tip my old washing line, stop and fetch 4 bags of composted rubbish, one bag of proper soil then start thinking about filling the Trug back up.

Then we need to dig some holes and plant the plants Mum bought for me and plant the "for bees" flowers in the gap we have left for them

Then we needed to go back and buy more soil, I sold 2 bags of compost to GGtGG, we had the amounts all wrong

Voting

So I emailed the county council and said "Can I cancel my postal vote after next weeks election?" expecting them to say "Yes, contact...." but they just said "Yes" so apparently it is sorted

Cooking

And today I cooked the veg that has been roasted for some weeks into a pan with tomato&herbs, a bo*loc* knees effectively. I was stirring it when MM said "Oh, I like that with baked potatoes" which was news with me, I was thinking of boiling some pasta but we have extra roastable spuds as my folks were here so we ate out loads last weekend, so yep, I switched the oven on.....

(Sigh)

So I said to MagicMark that it is a bank holiday today so no-one is doing owt but he said "No Neil, to the gym" so we headed over did some machines then 10 minutes on the bike (not 10km like I do some days when I am not doing other exercises) and finished all my other stretches and exercises

Strange Conversation

And we were nearly home in the car earlier when someone phoned me. It was a rep from O2 and she talked on. We arrived home and she talked while I sat in the car listening. Eventually I agreed to buy a new phone and it is actually slightly cheaper then the one I already have. Then I could get out of the car and let us in

So just waiting, it should appear in a couple of days, I will transfer my SIM across and it will just work. Apparently

Friday Night Treat on a Thursday

So we had Friday Night Treat for tea tonight, I bought the ingredients today as usual but it is usually Timmy working on a Thursday and he won't eat any of my food. But Roy has taken the shift so we had early Friday Night Treat

Back To Normal Day

So I am back to my normal routine today. Iechyd Da to pick up veg, then Morrison's then gym. Then lunch and relax

No, I can't relax, we need to nip out and buy some staff bogroll as Roy just announced. "Why couldn't we do this when we were out earlier?" I said. Oh no, because he couldn't suggest anything on top of what we were already doing.  Neil is not very pleased at this

B&Qing

Then later we popped to B&Q to fetch some paint for the outside fence that Mark can do when he is here for the weekend in a couple of weeks.

We also got some concrete to put around the base of the washing line to make it more upright

Gyming

And as it is Easter holidays we will just go to gym to do various machine exercises today, there is no Aqua Aerobics class this week or next

<Pant pant pant>Well I did it, various lifting up and pulling down machines, a few minutes on the move it with your feet machine then some cycle motion with your hands</P p p>

Tweet Tweet

On my neighbours roof. Taken pic thru glass too

Clothes Peg Crisis

So after we put the washing line together I thought "Ah, clothes pegs, I am sure I used to have some" and looked all over the kitchen and the utility room. Timmy said "Somewhere in the garage" so I went and looked, couldn't find any, called him, and about 2 minutes later he found them under some foot rest device, obviously.

So we now have a bag of clothes pegs hanging from the washing line, waiting for the first load s'afternoon

Out With Freya

And then tonight at short notice we are taking Freya out for dinner. I think we shall go to Pizza Express tonight, then come back here for some birthday cake. THEN she is heading back to MCR in a couple of days

No, we didn't come back for birthday cake as we had an pudding after tea

Busy Morning

A very busy morning. First of all me&Timmy headed over to the Chemist by the Drs to get my sockings, the ones we tried to get last week and they said "Come back later". Then we popped to B&Q and bought a spade and shovel for digging the garden with and a new laundry hanger out device and a stand for it. THEN we went to the gym and I did that cycling for 10km exercise. Before lunch Timmy put the washing line together as I am now capable of walking across the stones to reach it. We took apart the old washing line a couple of years ago as I wasn't fit to walk there then

No Neil, DO IT YOURSELF

So I was sat outside and a passer by passed by and his dog had a bit of a dig in the corner of the garden and made a mess. I thought "HELP" but before I shouted I thought "No Neil, try it yourself, it's not that hard". So I set down my Kindle device, walked over, bent down and was able to brush it all off by hand. So actually it was easy

I am so much more capable week after week

Out For Dinner

Then later my folks came over here, dropped the car and we gave them a lift to The Tavern Tanerdy where, as usual, we had a delicious dinner. No pudding was had as we came back here and got stuck into my birthday cake which was as lovely as a lovely thing. We forgot to open the champagne until after they had left but I did enjoy it on their behalf

Dressed

And now I am dressed in underpants and T shirt that I owned before and everything else, socks, trousers, jacket are new

On The Skive

But I just didn't feel comfortable taking my parents along to a Headway meeting so I just didn't go to this fortnight's meeting

Morning Out With Parents

So we headed into town, parked up in Lammas St then I demonstrated to my folks how much better my walking is these days as first of all we walked to M&S and I had to pop up on the escalator until we found somewhere to change the pressie that Gareth had sent over with them (to the right size) and then we walked to The Calon Cafe to have a sandwich for lunch.

After lunch they said "Tara" and we are picking them up in a bit to take them to The Tafarn Tanerdy to make them buy me dinner, but not pudding as me and my mum have a third of a bottle of champagne in the fridge and we all have a birthday cake sitting out ready to munch on

Hippy Bath-Day

As Julia greeted me in a txt message s'morning

With Freya

Then Freya did her seeing granny duties well. We all went back to the hotel, sat there chatting for an hour and a half before they would serve us and I managed to have summat different tonight, so yum yum. I felt the need to tell Freya about how poorly her granny has been but they spoke to each other on the phone today and mum had already done the duty, luckily AFAIC.

We had a lovely meal and they did tell me about plans for tomorrow night too. It will be the last time I see them too, this visit

More Better

And after my BoTox wearing off my right thumb is more well again, just being able to grip stuff once more

Out For Lunch

So we had them visiting my house for a couple of hours then we popped into town, to The Caffè Nero, for lunch.

Then I have come home for my nap, then me and Timmy are going to fetch Freya and we will head into their hotel where are all going for dinner

Oooow

And my Mum and Dad are on their way here as we speak........

Hopefully it is all clean and tidy enuf.....

Well they have been delayed by meeting up with Denyse but they are on their way now. I am gonna go and meet then at the hotel in a bit

Well. What a night. We have had a delicious dinner and a very pleasant glass of wine but my mother was talking. About why she hasn't been to see me for ages. FARK. Bit of a shock to the system knowing she has had that wrong with her but she seems to beaten it off so she will be here a lot more often nowadays. Hopefully

And she didn't tell me over the phone because..... just one can't hear certain things like that

Improving

And as my right hand wasn't working very well after the last BoTox injection and "they" said "Don't worry, it will come back eventually", and over the last few days I have really noticed that action is coming back into my finger and thumb combo, I can undo the buckle on my belt with my right hand once more

To A Class

Then after an early lunch we headed to Sam's class at the gym. Which was hectic but again I can do more than last week

Pick 'Em Up

Then we had to pop over to the Drs and fetch my many prescriptions which we did. They won't have the sockings in stock til Monday or Tuesday so will go and pay for more parking then

Dinner

And for dinner I had a veggie burger thingy which Timmy bought 2 of in the supermarket today and half a packet of roast-able bits of potato that Timmy also bought for himself earlier

Next

Then later, just about lunchtime we headed out to gym (Surprise, surprise) I did 3 upper arm exercises on some machines that I haven't been on for ages then 1.5 km on the pedal a bike machine. I think today was a bit faster than last week but kept it in control, I was able to finish my target today

First Things First

Then s'morning me and Timmy headed into town first thing (OK, third thing after he had done the handover then come and put my FES on) and we headed down King St looking for a parking space. No, so we went round the block and then found 2 spaces on the closest parking bit to Caffi Iechyd Da. Walked down and got the veg and had a bit of a flirt with the MOS

Then we headed to Morrisons and did the rest of my shopping for the week and came back, put it away, paid for my Organic Veg via my PC (which is too modern and crazy for me, but it works) and caught my breath

Swimming

Then we popped into the last swimming class for 3 weeks, there is none the next two weeks as it is school holidays etc so we won't be in the pool for ages.

Hygenist

So popped in to see the oral hygenist s'morning. It was uncomfortable but she didn't say 'Oh you had better come in and see the dentist because...' which was nice.

She recommended that I get a 'brush your tongue' device but they had none in stock there

Walkies

Then s'afternoon me and RoyGBiv headed into town, parked half way along King Street and walked to the end, onto the terrace above the old town hall, then walked back along the other said of the road right the way to the very end then crossed over and walked all the way back to the car. So effectively we went from one end of King St to the other and back

Cycling

So we popped to gym s'morning and got on a bike. I stayed slightly slower today and was therefore able to finish my 10km "get fit" cycle

But phew, it's over now

Popped Out

Then we nipped to Farmfoods to buy more cheesey stick things (which I was rather impressed with t'other night) and a few more choc ices. It was a bit pointless driving all the way into town to just buy a bit but I see it as therapeutic too

Drowning

And I think we need to go swimming at lunchtime today. So I have put tomorrows clothes and my swimming trunx on my bed, I will change into them before we leave.....

Well that's done. I got in the pool and straight away did my 8 lengths then did various stretches and exercises then got out. "Oh what fun we had...." (noisy link)

We're Going Out

And me and MM have decided to have an early lunch then just head out into town and see what we can find as it is a beautiful warm sunny day

So we popped into town, parked halfway along Lammas St and walked up the big hill past the old court house to King St and back. We found a charity shop that was open on a Sunday but didn't buy owt in there. As always I was looking at the wall and a half filled with cheap books bring jealous 

Terry Pratchett

And the book that I am reading got too exciting. I can only read it in 3 or 4 minute bursts ATM