Shopping

And we are nipping off shopping s'afternoon to try and find more joggy bottoms. Yes, they don't look the best but they are elasticated in the waist and as I am loosing more and more weight I am sick of belt/braces. This time we are nipping to Matalan which (GGtGG thinks) is where I bought my last pair

Well we got a pair for £8. I didn't try them on as I had all my FES on etc but I will try them on in't morning when I get changed b4 swimming class, so if they don't fit I have another 27 days to take them back. I think they do tho, they seemed rightish when stretched over me etc. The receipt is in the hall waiting

(Sigh)

So I said to GGtGG s'morning about how I would much rather go for a long walk around town instead of cycling for 10km, like MUCH, but he said "No, it's so therapeutic, go cycling".

So I did it, progressively going faster and faster instead of starting too fast which made me have to finish unfinished last week. Anyway it took me me 42 mins to complete the distance

Pool

But first of all me and MM need to go to the swimming pool for my weekly session, not a class, just a session

And it went OK. I was a bit nervous as I felt strange in the pool last week but no issue today. First of all I did my 8 lengths, which I would have found too knackering even last week to do them all at one go but my fitness is increasing loads. MM said I looked much better, less red and panting when I finished it too which is good

Docs

And we have to go to the doctors s'afternoon and tell him that I am feeling lightheaded/dizzy when I get up/lie down too quickly

Right. Dr listened, took loadsa tests, took more tests, said "Erm...." and then basically told me I seem healthier than he has seen me, wait and see. get back in touch if it gets worse but just wait and see, he hopes it will get better by itself

Out For Dinner

And as Timmy said "Can we go out, please" we headed into Pizza Express and had a 3 course meal for next to nothing

Cheep Cheep

Noisy Birds again

Blooming

Sunday bloody Sunday

(First link noisy)

Washing My Back

And when my MOS was creaming my back every day I had noticed that they needed to do more at the top LHS, the one part that I can't reach with either hand to wash. So a couple of days ago I re-started using the brush on a stick to clean it. And even though I have only done it twice so far I think Timmy had to do less creaming at the top LHS today

Lets Go Out

As it's a quiet Saturday, let's go for a walk. But it's raining like fsck, perhaps not

And on second thoughts someone is coming soon (18 deliveries away) to deliver new ankle weights, which required a signature

Only 14 away now.....

And it arrived when I was in bed, Timmy had to sign for it

Friday Night Dinner

So I had the usual Friday night dinner of na'an bread pizza and chips for tea, it was as delicious as last week. But as I have been "doing the dishes" all week I got stuck in, there was extra bowls etc from grating cheese and 2 oven plates but I just did it all. I even did it all, looked round to check and had to get the floor sweeper out to pick up some bits of detritus, but I did it all.

So I shouldn't pay my staff as much as I have taken over one of their rôles?

Classwards

And today I am heading to the only gym class I do every week

Well I did it. It was nearly as hard work as ever but I am slightly fitter than last week so it seemed a touch easier. MM did comment on how much easier it all looked but that was because I wasn't skiving

Nearly

And so last night I was trying to stand just on my right foot, balancing. I was trying to last for 10 seconds as I couldn't even manage 2 seconds last time I tried but I managed roughly 9 seconds this time, which is a big improvement

It Worked!!!!

And this morning my hand is more stretchable already, my fingers are stretching without bending over already

And I tried writing with my right hand, it is still difficult but only half as difficult as yesterday

I'm Off

And I'm off to bed early tonight as I had to have a too early nap today so I could be up and off to the Botox clinic so I am half asleep already

Neath

So here we are waiting in Neath/Port Talbot Hospital. Tra la la

Well that's done. After a bit more waiting they took me in and said "Hum" and "Ha" about my wrist then decided in the end to inject for just my wrist which is what I thought they had been asked to do, gord nose. So they had to stick some needles in and test that they were injecting into the right place and then they said "Excellent, tara". What they had injected me already?? Wow and it is dun. I've got a form that Sara has to fill in and send back next time I see her

Strange Day

So as usual on a Thursday morning it is nip to Iechyd Da to pick up my delivery of organic veg then to MoreReasonsToShopAt..... to fetch the rest of my shopping, then after lunch me&Timmy have to head miles east so I can have another Botox injection in my arm

Apparently loadsa women use Botox to hide their wrinkles but it is purely functional for me, I am so ugly there's no point in vanity to that extent

Reading Again

As I finished my Terry Pratchett novel I am sat outside trying to get into another new book

Aerobics, Aqua Style

So today we have to head over to Aqua Aerobics class to do loadsa exercises etc

"Oh what fun we had....." (noisy link)

And they signed me in etc but failed to tell me that she is off sick today and there is nobody to take the class. Which I found out after I got changed and in the pool. so we did various exercises then were the last to leave

Pratchettless

Lordy, I have just finished that Terry Pratchett novel I hav been reading and just loadsa positive stuff. I fscking loved it

Physio-ing

And we are off to see Sara the physio in a bit. Hopefully I have too many questions to ask her to do any fscking exercise but.......

No, she had me exercising. Walked from one end of the room and back with no 'stick, walking along while rocking my stick from side to side in front of me which I thought "WTF?" but it was actually really effective and my feet were moving better than usual.... And I did loadsa sitting down and standing back up but actually properly, not the one sided way I usually do so it was actually rather good

And she couldn't supply bigger ankle weights but did provide me with a link which I used s'evening to spend £20 from petty on new adjustable heavier weights

Noisy Birdies

Again, tweet tweet etc from my bathroom without even opening the window

Washing Up

And for the second night I did all the washing up. We may have a new routine.....

So when I told MM that I would have to pay him less now he said "So, that's the only reason you have done it", but I had to say "NO. It's a not very exciting therapeutic exercise......"

No Swimming

No swimming today as we are off to a Headway meeting in Swansea

Well oh what fun we had. But I did beat MM in cards and I didn't have to go swimming

I Am THE BIGGEST Fan

Terry Pratchett. Lordy, I am currently 80% of the way thru "The Long Earth" and I am so impressed on so many levels. It's just..... wow......

Windy

So I thought "Lets go out for a walk as it is a quiet day" but it is still much too windy. Yesterday I posted this, it is even worse today

And a couple of hours ago it started dropping then by an hour ago there was no wind. But it's too dark to go for walk, perhaps next weekend

Walkies

So I was sat at the table in't kitchen, I stood up and walked to the bathroom for a pee. I was walking slower than usual but my walking stick was in my left hand held sideways so it wasn't touching the ground. I had my pee and walked back too, in that no stick style

Rugger

Ooooh, at half time now Wales are in the lead over Scotland

Oh bother, the second half wasn't as much fun!!!!

Meat Eater Happy With Veggie

And MM s'morning said his missus took him to a Hare Krishna restaurant in Swansa t'other day, he thought "I WANT meat" but when the food arrived he was so impressed with it that he will go back another time to eat there!!!

Muesli

So we need to pop and buy some muesli today. Fairy nuff. But I didn't make a note somewhere, it just popped into my head s'morning, I can remember stuff sometimes

So

And tonight I was having a play with one of these post your pic pages and managed to make this. No function, just trying

Gymming

So today on the way to gym we popped into town to go to a charity shop to donate a strange pair of leggings that I found in the wardrobe yesterday.

From there we were on time for the Stroke class @ gym. Where I worked as hard and fast as I am capable of and was exhausted when we finished. As I was putting my fleece back on getting ready to leave one of the illest folk in the class said "Tara" and commented on how much better I am looking. As we were leaving I commented to RoyGBiv slightly perplexed and he said "No, I can see how much better you are getting here". Oh, I thought I was just still struggling on but apparently it is doing me some good

Card

So Timmy (and the team)'s new cash card arrived, he phoned the cash manager and got the pin number for it so now he can pay for his own dinner at Iechyd Da eg. And all the rest. So petty cash has been split in two

Gymming

Then after all the chaos we went to gym (Hooray) and I did another 7.5 mins walking upstairs at the slower pace which is much more effective. Then I went on the rowing machine and rowed for a kilometer and a half. It is noticeable how much fitter I am, I didn't need to stop and pant every few minutes like I had to 3 or 4 weeks ago

Aargh

So we went to Iechyd Da to collect the veg, it hadn't been delivered. h*t. She phoned him, he said "Sh*t, I will be through Carmarthen s'afternoon, will drop it off then" so as long as it is all there or else we will have to nip to Morrison's in't morning too. But as we will be there s'evening for the Folk Night they will keep it until then

As we also had to nip to Morrisons after this catastrophe......

Windy

And it is really windy now, there is some storm with a name but apparently there will be up to a foot of snow in Scotland now, so a wee bit windy is lovely, in comparison

Simplified

So tomorrow at Iechyd Da Timmy will have his own portion of cash to pay and I will pay for my own. Hopefully a bit simpler

Busy

So me and GGtGG had a discussion of what to do today as there was no Aqua Aerobics group on. So we decided to go to the gym and do 1 or 2 exercises then head off for a long walk. So we arrived at gym, and before I knew it I was on my fourth exercise. Mainly upper body we did today, pulling, pushing rowing etc

So we came back for lunch first then headed into town for walkies. It was just nearly raining so we were nearly dry when we finished walking around town and around charity shops. I was rather impressed with the Oriel Gallery on 4 Blue St although I think their website is down for a few weeks

Oops

So tonight I ate my dinner, enjoyed it, finished the last mouthful, reached for my pot of coffee and knocked the coffee into my lap. Oh, wasn't there extra cleaning up for RoyGBiv to do, as I couldn't head over to even get the kitchen roll as I was stuck circle of slippery coffee.

But he has done mopping and wiping as well as the washing up etc. Much relieved I am

Bicycle Races Are Coming My Way

And today I managed the whole 10km on the bike. I set off today pedalling slower so I kept going until I had finished the cycle, but I was still quicker than I have ever been, as I am getting fitter week after week

Brought Tears To My Eyes

I am 2/3 of the way through another Terry Pratchett novel ATM and there was a bit of a quote that nearly made me cry in this one, I thought it just applies to me very much so

And doing further research later just made me think wow or summat. It is a bit strange but nice with it

No Swimming This Week

So we couldn't go swimming today as it's half term, full of kids. I had said to MM to go walking in town but he was scathing, insisted I go to gym and do various exercises

AND I did 10 minutes on the walking uphill machine and only needed to rest for a short time before doing more exercises. Even that machine is making such a difference, last week I only managed 7 minutes and was nearly crying by the time I had finished, already I am so much better

Shreking

And I just switched on telly just as Shrek 4 was starting, as I haven't seen any of the first 3 I was a bit bemused but GGtGG suggested watching it and just WOW, I am a bit of a fan now.

Long winded animation but well worth the effort

.... Bloody Sunday

And I have changed my bed and listened to the washing machine all morning now.....

Pub

So we headed down (or up for that matter) to the pub tonight for a few pints. Yes, I haven't lost any weight for 3 weeks but I did today so I went straight way and had a fattening night

Restful Weekend

So today I shall..... read my novel(1) more

(1) This still gives me a lot of pleasure, simply being able to read at all after so long

Garlicless Pizza

Then we had the traditional Friday night dinner of na'an bread pizza and chips for tea, which was as delicious as usual but I made it without adding spoonfuls of crushed garlic, which I usually do. It was still delicious but a bit different

But I think RoyGBivs wife will allow him a kiss when he goes home in't morning, she complains most weeks as he still stinks of garlic. Apparently, my sense of smell is a bit fscked nowadays

No Plastic Here

So they are trying to make the world tidier

Link to a reference

Small Bug Crisis

And yesterday Timmy panicked about the number of small black bugs near their cereal, also near the enormous sack of bird food that had only had one lot taken out. The bag was full of these small black creatures so we put it in the garage overnight. Today me and RoyGBiv went out, he poured one feeds worth in a container which I put on the feeding device in the front garden and he poured the rest of the kgs of food along the back garden, below the hedge which is full of birds. Then tonight we will pop out and buy a couple of smaller bags of seed, ones that you open and empty onto the feeder straight away

So we did go out later and buy 2 or 3 smaller bags of food, either it will all fit on one go or I will be able to seal the top and sellotape it shut, so no more creatures, hopefully

Jablicious

So today, before I go to the gym class, I have got to head over to my doctors and a) pick up some 'scripts and pop out and get them in the chemist next door, and more to the point b) have a testoserone injection

Really summat to look forward to

Oh what fun we had. But it was done, the fscking injection took ages to be injected in, it is thick gloopy stuff which she had to squeeze for ages to make it go in.

Hotter

And it is loads warmer today, just everywhere. The radiator in the hall which I dry my sockings on is just fully cold.  The central heating has just decided it's as warm as a warm thing

Another Day, Another Dollar

So me and Timmy headed gymwards this morning and first of all I did the climbing up steps exercise for 7 minutes without a rest.

Then, after a few mins panting and gasping, I got on a pedaling machine and did 1500m

Aqua Aerobicing

So we are going to aqua aerobics today.

So today I was looking at the piles of towels and clothes to take when it occured to me, I asked Timmy.... "So, all these clean clothes we need to take to the pool, shouldn't I get changed here, after lunch, so then within an hour I will be taking them back off at the pool, and we will have 15 bags of dirty clothes less to bring home with us". He thought about it, said "Try it today, wear your trunx on the way down.....".

Ooh and didn't it work well. It was much easier getting changed etc and much easier getting back to the car afterwards with less luggage.

And wasn't it as much fun as ever but I did it and am recuperating

Bicycling

So me and Timmy headed to gym s'morning and I just did 8km on the bike, not the 10 I was supposed to. I thought I was a fast as..... but Timmy reckons I was faster last week.

But I was still fscking knackered

Terry

And I was mid Terry book when chappy said to me "Did you see that program t'other night?" Which I hadn't but was even more impressed after watching "Terry Pratchett - Back In Black"

Pool Free

So we're not going swimming today. Hooray

Because we are going to a Headway group meeting to do...... fsck nose what I actually do there

And I did mention it to a MOS and he said "Get's you off swimming" so I suppose I shouldn't be so negative about it

And that was actually good this week. By a combination of it not being very busy and my head being in a different place we just headed in and looked for someone else to sit with, so conversation was a bit fuller. So I actually enjoyed it

Scrotes

Scrote

                                          And W*nker this says to me

Oooh

So today I went into the bathroom to have a bath. I mentally noted that it was cold outside but opened the window anyway as I was running the bath to let the steam out. I felt the cold draught but thought 'It's ok I will be in the water in a minute' but the toes on my right foot started to hurt loads, they were objecting to the cold air.

I have always known my right foot was fscked as the toes are all bent over but I didn't need reminding

Nippy

Well me and MM headed into town for a walk about this morning and what can I say except it was fscking freezing.

But a long enough therapeutic walk was had

We went in s'morning as I will be stuck to the telly s'afternoon watching the snooker final

Oooooh

And I did see the woman who works in't pub tonight who promised me a pint if I swam 10 lengths of the pool this week, which I did. And MM who is a part time advanced swimming technique teacher was able to tell her that he was there and saw me do it

And the pint did slip down more specially than usual

We're Off To Watch England Getting Beaten (Hopefully)

And we are heading to the pub up the street for dinner tonight while we watch the England/Wales rugby match

(Sigh)

We lost in the end but it was a well close match, one team winning then t'other. They took the lead 4 mins before the end

Nuts Are We

Snooker Loopy Nuts Are We....... he sang to himself while sitting in front of the telly again

Isn't She Wonderful.....

Then after lunch it is off to my only gym class of the week, Pulse, with Sam (noisy link) in charge

Lordy. Well sorry but I am still a bit stunned about the room full of folk working their nuts off 'cos Sam sez "Do it!". But it is doing me sum good so......

Chipless

And as Friday is the only day of the week I make chips I will have to not do so tonight as we ate chips last night with our omelette at Frankie&Benny's

To Shops

And first think this morning before we had any fun @ gym or eating out or anything, first we popped to Iechyd Da and were actually able to park on the closest spot and walk down to fetch my veg and then we popped to Morrison's and got the rest of a weeks shopping

..... And Benny's

So we popped out to Frankie And Benny's to eat dinner tonight. We were gonna order on top of tokens but in the end we figured out it would be easier/cheaper to just buy and nibble some food but it was delicious. So now in my wallet there is still a token with 2 or 3 days left on the usability stake but it was just lovely eating anyway

K-knackered

So today Timmy announced that I needed to cycle the 10km without speeding up/slowing down. I am fricking exhausted but I did it a minute quicker than last time

Oh What Fun We Had....

And it's Aqua fscking Aerobics today.....

But first we popped to the Docs on King St and to the chemist next door to pick up another 'script for asthma medicine. And as we have a new system I put the parking receipt and the diesel receipt ('cos we killed two birds with one stone) in a new envelope to be given to Timmy at the end of the month

Well that was Aqua Aerobics. It seemed a fuller class today but perhaps that's more folk to show off to. And yes, every time I have a session summat is easier

What A Day

So at lunchtime today we headed over to Sara the Physio's east of here. She was well busy but we got in. As we had to park across the way my boots were a bit muddy but I took them off and we looked at my ankles etc. I did loadsa walking on the padded beam, sideways was no problem and after about 8 go's I managed to walk up without holding on to anything. Now this is difficult even for proper folk to balance on but I did it

But it threw my time out, we got there for 2, left about 3 and it was 4 o'clock before we were back so closer to half past by the time I bathed and got in bed for a nap

'Wimming

Hooray, so today we get to head to the swimming pool for some therapeutic exercise

Well I only did 8 lengths today but with loads of other exercises etc

If She Wins

Frexit too?

Marine Le Pen

Rugger

And I am just about to watch Wales playing rugger in the 6 Nations

Aargh, end of the first half...

That looked easy in the end. Didn't we do well

Warm Enuf

And 10 minutes later I tried outside again and it is now warm enuf to sit on my bench reading

Steam

And while I was having breakfast s'morning out the window the sun had come up and was making all the rain on the windowsill turn into steam, so there was loadsa it going past the window. Steam, scary it looked like we were boiling away.

But the pictures I took of it were useless.

And I went back outside and tried to take further away photos soon after

Pigs Bum, Cabbage and Potatoes

Yum yum..... So today we had the traditional Friday dinner of na'an bread pizza and chips.

Sorry I am still grinning

Not Milling Quite So Much

Well the scary wind has dropped. It is still a fair bit windy but nowhere near as much as yesterday

Weekly Session

Off to Pulse class. So today I have the only class I go to at the gym, it is about the 4th in line, I am now "so well" that I attend the "Pulse" class

Well phew, that's dun. Yes it was hard work but as (the gorgeous) Sam said to me, you can see how much quicker I am walking etc

Busy Day

And me & That Timmy are off to Iechyd Da to pick up the veg s'morning then MoreReasonsToShopAt..... (noisy link) to get the rest of my needs

Which we did then brought stuff back here to put away then we headed to gym where I did 10 mins on the up steppy machine then ages/miles in the rowing machine 

Miller

And the wind is back up but from a slightly different direction s'morning

Well Windy

And I had to close the living room windows tightly today as it was *so* windy, but now I have been able to open them to the first notch bit again that they have been open to for some months

Split Seconds

And I listened to a radio program that was talking about time/medicine and just WOW I thought

Technology

So today Denyse said "Maybe you could set an alarm on your phone to remind you to think of another one tomorrow?" to remind me to look out and see a cheerful thing. So with my phone I recorded "Find summat cheerful", clicked various buttons and tomorrow (and every day after that) at 10AM my phone says to me "Find summat cheerful. beep. beep. Find summat cheerful"

Cheerful

So Denyse emailed me s'morning and said that I need to concentrate on what was making me feel good today. So I thought "Erm..... what?" and then 5 mins later got into Amazon/PrimeMusic/90'sDance and have been listening to it ever since.

That's what is making me smile s'morning

Especially when I wanted to leave the room. So I went to Amazon..... on my phone and made it play from there

What Fun

And s'afternoon we are going a Aqua Aerobics again.

"How pleased am I?" ha said sarcastically

Lordy. My sarcasm is beaten. I nearly, NEARLY, enjoyed getting better in't water today

Sneaky Gym

So then when Denyse and Timmy left I said "Right, lunchtime". Roy said "Nip to gym". I said "No, I can't, if we have some lunch then by the time I have digested it will be nap time, then it will be full of kids"

But he was kind of insistent, we nipped, did that normal speed on the bike for 2 mins then go like fu*k for 30 secs then repeat for 20 mins. Lordy, dunno about time etc but I was panting less when I finished

Torn

Lordy I am torn. So Denyse is coming to see me in a bit and I am trying to think of what to say to her. (I suspect there is *no* point with "Will you marry me?") But it's like I am so dissatisfied with many parts of my life but they are parts that were so "off the beat" that I couldn't have even considered it a while ago. As I am SO MUCH BETTER now I shouldn't complain about issues, just be glad that I can even think now.

Well she came, and Timmy came in too and we had a conference. It was OK, we talked about my issues etc.

BUT she still wouldn't marry me

WTF?

And what the flip was this ad that popped up on my iPad last night?

Weather

And having been outside tonight it is, significantly, just a bit chilly as opposed to fecking freezing which it has been for a couple of weeks.

Dunno, apparently the cold will be back in a few days but.....

Special Pocket

And today when we were out my eyepatch elastic broke. So I reached into my bumbag, went to the "secret" pocket at the back and took out a new one, still in it's wrapper.

Then later when I was back home I replaced the emergency patch with another new one out of the cupboard

Buying Mini Ice Creams

So we popped out tonight to get some more mini-ice cream lollies. So I bought 2 packets so they should last nearly a month. AND in the same shop we bought 2 bleaches as it was so cheap we didn't just get the one we needed. So petty cash card bought that

Dinner

And for dinner tonight we had baked potatoes with that veggie bollock knees as I am a bit short of pasta ATM but it was fecking delicious, even nicer than with pasta.

So perhaps it needs a different name but who knows

Wimming

And at lunchtime we are off to the swimming pool for exercises.

Hoo-fscking-ray

And I did it. Swimming and various walking and stretching exercises.

But today I swam 10 lengths for the first time since my accident. And it seems easier, I wasn't panting etc when I had finished.

STILL Reading

And I have just finished another Pratchett book, lordy this Kindle machine makes it possible once more. Can't believe I couldn't for SO long...... but it's hard deciding "What next?"

He moaned again, I think it is almost identical to the moan I had when finished the book before this one....

Not Fatter

So this week despite having a night out at Iechyd Da (inc beer) and the Headway Christmas Lunch (with cheesecake) my weight hasn't gone up this week.

It is the same as last week but I see that as progress

Early Cooking

And I cooked tonight's and tomorrows dinner before lunchtime so it has time to simmer in the pot so it will all mix together and go down into the heat etc. It is my main "cooking" project, bigger than the pizza and I need to chop and grate more stuff

But peeling with my right hand, it is still 3 or 4 times quicker than last week, I am still getting better in so many small ways so fast that I must have been fscked to begin with

And actually it was nicer than last weeks, my herb/spice comb was spot on, which can't be bad

Fscking Solitaire

Lordy, I have just had to play the same game of solitaire three times before I actually won it. So now I can shut my eyes, I have been in bed now for fscking ages

Cruising For A Bruising

Then today on the toe that I hurt in the pool on Wednesday, which doesn't really hurt now, there is a huge bruise below the half nail bit.

The photo that I took a couple of days later but you can still see the bruise below the nail on my big toe

Out For Lunch

And we are going out for lunch to a nice pub towards Swansea as it is the Headway Xmas Party

And we took it over pretty much but we had a pleasant enough feed paid for by Headway Swansea. But it was so big I am gonna have bread roll and some salad for dinner, as in my usual lunch

And I still felt as full as a full thing after a roll and sum salad for dinner

Oh and we were in the pub but it was lunchtime so I had a bottle of mineral water to drink

P&C4T

And as Timmy was working last night when I fetched my food home, tonight it is na'an bread pizza and chips for tea.

VBG

Classwards

So I am off to my only gym class for the week today at Leisure Centre after an early lunch etc

Gosh, that was hard work but I did it. I was speaking to Sam afterwards and she did say "Yes it might seem difficult now but every time you repeat it, as you are doing, it sinks into your brain and becomes automatic so you will be able to do it without this concentration that you are complaining about" 

Iechyd Da

So me and Timmy the not-folk-fan went to Iechyd Da Folk Night last night. As I was eager to get going we sat there staring into space for a bit but later loads of musicians showed up and no-one was a disappointment, a variety of styles