New Tyres

Then after Timmy phoned and asked permission we had to take the car into Kwikfit and have 2 new tryes fitted to the front. They said "That size we only have expensive tyres, we will have to phone and ask permission to fit them" and did.

They said it would take an hour so we nipped next door and had a cuppa and a lovely bun

Little Old Lady

So s'morning Sarah Bailey, the speech and language therapist came to see me. She listened to my throat as I was drinking a cuppa etc. She did say that the doctor hasn't got back to us about the appointment to have my swallowing assessed so she will have to phone him again!

Habits of a lifetime

So after my bath today I was getting dresses. Talk about changing the habits of a lifetime? Today I...... I didn't put my pants on first. Radical, habits of a lifetime etc

(sent from my phone)

Jim-jim-jeroo

And I had a good session at the gym today. Paul who hasn't been there for a few weeks took me today and he was commenting on how straight up my back is, not leaning over so much.

I think todays lesson was don't drink quite so much the night before a gym session, I had loads last night

The Sea

So as the rest of the day was empty me and Dicky went out exploring, looking for the sea. We ended up at Burryport, and I was pushed along the harbour, it was well cool

Poorly Kids

And the member of staff who was supposed to be coming to see me today, Sarah the OT, emailed me first thing and said "My kid is poorly, can I come next week instead?"

Out&About

So we went out to a pub in Carmarthen tonight. It was nice if a bit quiet. We went to The Drovers Arms in Carmarthen

Jiminy

Sigh. So I am back off to gym in a bit

And it fills me with such joy every time I go but I got stuck in again. More "other clients" were commenting on how much better I seem, which was nice, and today again I parked my 'chair at one side and walked to everywhere else in't gym

Cabbage and Potatoes

Well today, for the first time in nearly 10 years I used my couple of day old grill pan to make some Cheese On Toast for lunch and it was delicious

Shopping

So today, after my cheese on toast for lunch we are nipping to More Reasons To Shop... (noisy) to get my weeks shopping

Then we are coming back for my too early haircut as Ed is Going Away To Start His Training for 4 weeks next week and he won't be commuting here just to cut my hair in a couple of weeks

Dullness

I have had such an exciting Saturday......

Mistletoe and Wine

And for dinner tonight we had the now usual Friday dinner of naan-bread pizza's.

And it was yum

Aardvarking

Then we nipped out to Aardvark to do the weeks shopping, I was a bit more stuck in my wheelchair as I felt so exhausted after s'morning but I did walk some

Clarkin' Bell

This afternoon SmallPaul told me that his neice had sold her story to the BBC and was a)in their TOTP mag and was b) gonna be in a TV program about her. Basically she is 14 now and 7 years ago caught from god knows where a swelling of the brain and while she has pretty much got better she now suffers from "face blindness" so she can't recognise people, even her Mum, it's only when she speaks that she knows who she is. She is working with some charity, perhaps this one, and the payment from the BBC will go to them, helping sufferers

Teatowel

So we went up and down the aisles in Tesco looking to no avail. So we went to the desk and said "My right hand doesn't work so I take a pot out of the oven, try to lift the goods with my left hand, but I need some way of keeping the pan still". She said "Ah, follow me" went out to where we had been looking but couldn't find 'it' whatever she had been looking for. She saw another member of staff and said "Where is the...". The other member of staff said "Put on the side a tea towel COVERED IN WATER and your pot won't move". I thanked her for saving money and knowing that

(sent from my phone)

Physio-ing

So Sara with no H, the physio came to see me. First of all she booked an appointment for me to have my Bioness appointment which hopefully will be the day they fit me with extra electrical stimulation so that hopefully I will eventually be able to ditch my wheelchair. Hopefully.

Then she acupunctured me in my now nearly healed fully left arm.

THEN we went for a walk up and down the street with no wheelchair

I think I am much to nervous to head out without my 'chair but I managed it today

But gord I feel knackered now, soon to nap

Dinner-ing

And we had a veggie lasagne and oven chips for tea tonight and it was lovely. But I baked it, lifted it out of the oven and Ed had to portion it and lift it. I could lift it with one hand but not keep the tray still with the other.

I will have to ask Denyse if there is summat available to hold the dishes while I lift the food out of them

Thinnest

And as they measure my leg twice a day to check if it is getting much bigger thru infections, they measured it s'afternoon and it was the narrowest it has been since they started this measuring

Dentist

And I had an appointment with the dental hygenist s'afternoon and she was quite impressed with how clean my teeth and gums look, she said there were no "crisis bits" this visit

Sarah Bailey

And I am awaiting a therapist who is coming to see me s'morning . Her name is Sarah Bailey and every time I think that I think "Sarah Bailey, little old lady".

Sorry, she isn't but I think this anyway

Still waiting, she is ¾ of an hour late....

Double Sigh. She had changed this to a next week appointment last week, I had the new appt in my diary but still with the old one too

Network Crisis

And I nipped to bed for my nap today, I thought "Oh, I'll listen to that podcast", turned on my back bedroom laptop, clicked "Connect" and it said "No, connection dead". I panicked but when I came out of there I had to press "Reset" on the router and it all works again

Jiminy

The only "going out" thing on my diary for today was gym. We went along and it is shocking to me how much better I am now than I was 6 months ago

Dinner

And Ed brought in some "make pancakes" stuff which we had for a dinner that he made tonight. It was rather lovely but I couldn't remember what I used to like on my pancakes

Honey, sugar and lemon, according to Julia.

And blackcurrant jam! Apparently

It's too dangerous

Having seen Stu on his motorised bicycle and talked a bit about my accident all I can say is it's much too dangerous

Visitor

Then just as I was gonna go to the kitchen and make lunch there was a really big noise outside and that Stuart chap appeared on his motorbike. He is now one of my neighbours

Emptying The Garage

So I asked Ed if he could help me load up the car with old cardboard boxes from the garage and take them to t'tip but he said "No, I will take them there on my way home tomorrow"

Grill Pan

And Amazon txted me s'morning and said "Your delivery will be here between xxx and yyy" which it was and now I have a grill pan in my cooker.

Cheese on toast is calling me...

Yesterday

And we had very little on s'afternoon as we went shopping yesterday.

Just 15 minute windows of various therapys etc

Jeroo

So as we did my weekly shop yesterday I have nowt to do but go too gym s'morning

Hoo-flippin'-ray

Gosh, I am getting noticeably better at gym

Program

And I am watching the second episode in this, and rather enjoying it.

I watched the first episode last night

Rugby

Ooooh, England v Ireland now......

Oh dear, the English won...

More Reason's To Shop At....

And I went and did my weekly shop at Morrisons on the new day for once a week, I now do my shopping on a Sunday as Monday has got a bit busy what with gym etc etc etc

Wonders Of Life

I saw summat that was talking about an ex-Boy Band member, Professor Brian Cox, who is now a science teacher and a TV presenter, presenter of science programs.

I am watching one of his programs and rather enjoying it

Wales Are The Greatest

Watched the rugby today :)

And I watched the first third of the scotland match, then went for my daily nap, the score was in their favour too

Memory Coming Back

And today for no apparent reason I said a poem which did give me great pleasure, remembering stuff from the past

Out&About

Then we nipped up to our local late last night and got talking to (I think it was...) Veronica and her chap from no 40 or so. We talked for ages about loadsa stuff, it was well worth it

Davising

Then immediately afterwards Sara Davis, the physio, came. At first we were talking about how my walking has changed as we tried on my new splint today then we nipped out walking without my wheelchair. I walked up the street a long way, down and back up the kerb then back again without my wheelchair to rest in. Later we were talking about electrical stimulation and she is going to enquire again in Cardiff tio see iof they will do me now

And I had to ask her her surname too...

Jones Bach

And Sarah the OT came to see me first and I had to ask her second name, it was Jones, she is from England but married a welshman, hence the well Welsh name. We talked about Mindfulmess which was well good, we downloaded an mp3 to play, played it to all of us and I just feel wow

Fredumpkins

Then we went and got that Freya girly, fed her with the only chips we are having this week (as I have learned about cooking sauces and stir fry) then took her home

It was OK, she felt like "My daughter"

'Wimming

Then as "someone" had said to me that I will be so busy tomorrow me and Dicky went swimming today instead. So for the second time since my accident I was able to walk down the steps to get in, do some exercises etc then walk back out.

I now think of the hoist as a cripple lifter

Psychobabbling

So first thing s'morning Claire WILSON the psycholigist came to see me. We talked about how I react to stuff etc. She did say that my voice is much clearer than it was when we first met

Power Cut

And I was sitting at my PC about 7 o'clock when suddenly the lights went off, the streetlights outside went dark, the music stopped, the PC died. So I fumbled about in the drawer, found my torch when suddenly the power came back

Shopping

Then me and Ed popped to the shop, we bought more salad and 2 lots of stir fry veg and 2 lots of cook in sauce, 1 curry (again) and 1 to eat with pasta. Because I was crying "But I want oven chips too" I also bought tomorrow night's dinner, onion bhajis and some other foreign eat hot or cold food to have with OCs

Jim Jiminy Jim Jim Jaroo

And we (me and Ed) are off to the gym (noisy video) in a bit, hope it's more exciting than usual...... OK, it is doing me loads of good but it isn't very much fun

And it was as much fun as usual but I did what asked, and I was able to cycle for 10 mins today, it wasn't as busy

Proper Wine

And tonight I am on the proper wine and while delicious it seems to head down my throat a lot slower than that weak stuff I had last week

Feed Me

So me and Tim nipped into the super(dooper)market this afternoon and bought 2 cooking sauces and stir fry veg and various bits so I will be able to actually cook from scratch 2 meals, for about a fiver. It would have cost a bit more if I had to buy rice etc but I already have that.

So tonight we are having curry and tomorrow chilli

And wasn't tonight's curry delicious, it was "extra hot" vindaloo which made me smile, just right

But the second night without oven chips, I am beginning to get withdrawls

Wine

And tonight I had 4 glasses and finished the box of really weak wine that I had. I opened the "proper" wine then and got more pissed feeling off 1 glass

(sent from my phone)

Shop

On the way back from Gym we called into Morrison's so Ed could buy some lunch and while we were there I asked Ed what other ingredients they sold there that could turn a stir fry into a meal, not just a "Stir Fry". And they have loadsa goods on Aisle 1 to turn it into curry or pasta sauce. We didn't buy any today but I think tomorrow I will take SlimTimmy and have an explore. Buy a couple of ingredients and a couple of stir fries which have a best b4 of 3 or 4 days usually

It sounds like I am being mean and not cooking for Ed but we had a delicious meal last night, "proper" cooking

Jiminy

And we are off to Gym in a bit

And it went quite well. Although it was too busy in the cycling room for me to go thru, I had to stay in the classrom and get stuck in. But at one point I was doing 'step forward' exercises, I expected the one 'step forward with your right leg' to be hardest but that was OK, relatively easy. However when I stepped forward with my left leg I could feel my right leg trying to turn over onto it's side

Chap and Dog

Well I watched a program tonight that I used to read in a comic when I was littler

Busy Morning

So first thing me and Ed went shopping. First of all we nipped into Wilkinson and got an oven glove for £4.50 less than the one we looked at in Tesco last night and more comfortable etc so hopefully it will be more effective.

And it is, it works well

 
Then we went to Matalan and couldn't find any padded shirts (to replace the one I had to throw away s'morning) but instead I bought a posh (but black) kind of "keep yourself warm" top for £6 less than it is advertised here.

THEN we came back here and after lunch I asked Ed to cut my hair again.

Then I looked on Amazon and bought myself a padded shirt thingy which helps my "do not be fashionable" way of life

Pissing

Sorry.

I just went for a piss on my way to bed and as I stood there doing it it occured to me how much I have changed my habits, matured. 3 months ago I sat down on the loo every time I needed it, now I only sit down for poohs, I can stand up and control where my wee goes.

There you go, HTH or whatever

Shopping

So today we went shopping as tomorrow Ed will be cutting my hair and the shop closes earlier, and on Monday I will be at the gym.

Roof

Then this afternoon Ruth and Athan, her 9 y.o. son, came over to see me. We talked about me visiting her more.....

They Are Stuck Here

It occured to me s'morning, and confirmed by Dicky, that if eg Paul was on his way over here and eg crashed his car that Dicky wouldn't be able to leave me to go back to his wife and kids until another replacement made it here

Aardvarking

So then we went to Aardvark, I bought ecover washing up liquid and noted that they sell ecover "washing powder" liquid too(1). I stayed in wheelchair thru the first bit of the shop, where it widened I parked, stood up, and shopped for owt else, up the slope with no handrail into the back of the shop and bought more from there. Sat down and paid for it all

(1) The week after I bought 2 new boxes of Persil

Busyness

Then when Sarah was bringing me back home here we caught the end of a locksmith from the police who had fitted a lockable key safe outside my front door.

THEN we get a text from other SaraNO-H who was supposed to be here afterwards but she said "Sorry, too busy, see you next week instead"

SaraH

So Sarah came round s'morning and took my to the library where we had a look at their "What's happening in Carmarthen" booklet and saw that it is really cheap to rent DVD's for a week etc

Out

So we are out having dinner at Caffi Iechyd Da and she came and took my order. She said "Salad with your quiche?". I thought "Chips" but I managed to resist and simply replied "Yes"

(sent from my phone)

And it was well full at Iechyd Da tonight, it was excellent

Early Freya-ing

And I was in bed for my nap when Freya txted me and said "No spanish class today, shall I just wait in town?" so I had to reply "No we will come and get you" so she is here for 3 or 4 hours before our date at Iechyd Da (noisy link)

Sigh

And as we are so busy tomorrow we are going swimming today

Hoo-flippin'-ray

Blinkin' flip. I actually enjoyed myself at the pool today!!!! I wasn't lifted in on a hoist (which I hate), I wasn't jumping in (which I hate less but still hate), but today there was a temporary steps not a ladder but steps, which I was able to walk down into the swimming pool

...Pigs Bum...

And I cooked some Broccoli and Stilton Melts for dinner and they were a bit delicious.

Timmy didn't like it very much but I did

Shops

Then later today me and Timmy went into town and bought loadsa cleaning products and a new cloth covered wardrobe for the office, to put their bedding in and also the hoover now I am taking up it's space with my clothes

Jones, OT

So s'morning we had no gym as they are all at college but then after lunch Sarah Jones the OT came in. To not really see me, all 4 of my assistants are in (in grey cars) for her to talk about panic attacks etc, and how they can help me deal with anxiety

Dinner

And for dinner tonight we happened to be in the supermarket anyway so I bought some onion bhaji some veg spring rolls and some veg samosa's.

Which when we came back I cooked some oven chips and them, so effectively we had curry and chips for tea and it was very nice

Cosmos

So this morning I had a visit from Nic Cosmos, the housing expert who was checking out "this place" for my solicitors and making notes that when I buy the house I will..... which needs to be put into my claim

AND I forgot to comment on his cosmic name....

Dinner Time

And I made a stir fry veg with chilli sauce and cous-cous for tea and it was rather nice. Tomorrow back onto frozen food but it was nice

Hooray

And for today when I woke up I stripped my bed, put that onto wash now waiting politiley for a trip to gym

And I worked hard at the gym, as usual. I was talking to a new partner today and she commented on how much better I am getting

Double Figures

So last week we had the snow, ice and generally freezing conditions, whereas today the weather forecast is in double figures. 10+......

(sent from my phone)

Cooking Dinner

So we went shopping today and I am now ½ way through cooking a Sunday Dinner (new pic now)

And it was lovely too, when it was ready. Surprisingly easy to cook but surprisingly difficult to eat properly with a knife and fork

Electricity

So we did the electric shock to my leg thing again

Shopping

So we nipped to Morrison's today and did our weeks shopping and a bit. We bought some Roasties and Yorkshire pudding and summat to cook in the oven so we can have a "proper" Sunday Dinner

Lie In

When I woke up s'morning (1) it was 9.00!!!! A big lie in!!

(1) And I had my torch in my pocket!

Power

And there was a thunder attack earlier and all the lights went out and the power off.

Thankfully it came back later but a bit scary...

Walkies

And, as asked by Sara(h) t'other day, today I walked once I had my splint fitted s'morning and didn't get back into my wheelchair, except when going outside, 'til after 5 this evening

Quiet

And I have had a quiet Saturday so far

Aardvarked

Then later we actually made it to Aardvark this week and picked up everything we need.

When I got there I thought "When I used to work here I noticed that everyone else who worked here was quite beautiful, nothing has changed!"

Sara no H

So s'morning Sara the physio came round. She said "No, we aren't swimming this week" which pleased me but then she did some scary stuff putting a mild electric current which was pulsing thru my leg. It didn't work at first, many many readjustments, then
eventually my foot lifted up one way all by itself. This is to, eventually, make my splint obsolete.

She also did some acupuncture on my left arm and rubbed on the right while we were waiting

Spring Time?

So it's raining s'morning, quite heavily onto the scared looking snow/ice outside

Wiv Freya

Then later this afternoon we called for Freya and said "Right, only one of my kids still in Wales, where shall we go for dinner?" She suggested The Angel Vaults which didn't have a lot of veggie food on the menu but the only thing was actually rather nice

And I had 2 small glasses wine so as to not get drunk and be un-understandable to Freya

But next week we will need to eat in again

Lie In

My alarm clock wasn't switched on last night so I stayed asleep until 9 s'morning.

Good lord etc

More Snowy

So yesterday there was snow all over the place but none around Carmarthen but today it has come back here, big style. Paul came into work just as it started, my solicitor just about made it but they are both here. Denyse was supposed to be here too but got snowed in at home

Hope

Then this afternoon Dicky shared a link with me that nearly made him cry, and it made me wanna cry too.

But it was proof that there is hope for us "never walk"ers

More Reason's To Shop.....

So Dicky said to me "Shopping today as you are busy tomorrow" so in the end I agreed, we went to Morrison's bought salad etc but then I noticed a pack of crisps so dieting is..... well.....

Folking

And for some reason me and Paul contacted 'em yesterday and confirmed that it is on tonight so me and Ed are heading to Burry Port Folk Club tonight

And it was excellent if a bit exhausting

England

So that Toby chap is in Wolverhampton today, in that England place, he has moved

And I txted him "So job centre tomorrow?" and he replied "No, I am calling into shops and pubs tomorrow to try and find work"

Dinner

And two parts of tonight's dinner fit together so strongly. Scrambled eggs and beans.

They just go together

Doctors

And I am off to the doctors now to show him my mole, which apparently has changed colour and got bigger

And he examined it and said "No prob", looked at the small swelling on my leg and said "'Various' Vein" so it was a good result, being sent away with no bad news

Choking

I finished my lunch, sipped my coffee and it went down the wrong way. Ed heard me choking and came rushing in, he said I was red and my eye rolled up so he leaned me forward and I then started coughing.

Scary, I think I was unconscious for about a minute, I have no memory of him coming into room and fixing me, first thing I knew he was stood beside me asking "R U OK?"

Gym

And I went to the gym s'morning and worked even harder. Apparently too, someone else noticed how hard I was working

Child's Boots

Then s'morning we took a run out to Kidwelly to the house, across the road from a pub, where I think we were living when I had my crash.

It was a bit strange, no memory of living there, but I did recognise nearby places stronger than last time

Out To Play

And then I txted Julia to say "Tara Toby" but she replied "Not going today, so wanna go out with Toby and Freya for tea" so we are gonna wait at the end of their road tonight and take 'em both out for dinner

Which we did and it was better than I expected, me and Freya and Toby talking. And being a bit emotional, but "Missing you already" etc

Right Knee

And after I got up today my right knee was hurting loads, even if I rested it on the ground and moved, it hurt so much that I needed to stick my right foot out and move with my left leg. After my bath and nap it hurts loads less, dunno why but phew

Dinner

And I actually got it together to make proper food tonight, from my chair, we had stir fry veg and sauce and couscous. And it was delicious, it's 2 - 3 weeks since I have made proper food as I was trying to stand in the kitchen, I sat down tonight and actually cooked.

And it made me think....

"Meat is murder but couscous is cool"

No ready meals heated tonight...

Stuck Here

As it's snowy we are stuck here with no visitors

And I have just watched out the window next door and their kid, who is at a guess 18 months old, playing in his first snow. He was just starting to get the hang of snow balls but he is still a bit small to actually make one...

Panic Buying

Then after we took Freya back home tonight we headed to Tesco's and panic bought my shopping list for tomorrow and Monday from Aardvark and Morrison's just in case we get stuck in here in the snow

Whuped Her

And as Freya wanted to play cards I won at cheat, twice

Got it back

Then at 4 o'clock they phoned and said "Your car's ready" so Paul was able to drive me and Ed there in his van and Ed was able to drive me home again in my car

Team

So "they" were all here for a "team meeting" today, up to and including that Denyse girly

Defrosted

And when I get up and look out s'morning the snow has melted