No Web

So I woke up s'morning, got breakfast and was sitting down with it. I reached for my iPad, switched Radio 4 on and it sed "No inteweb connection". I looked over my shoulder and the router had indeed a red light on the front. I thought "Bother" but thought I would just finish Muesli and Coffee before buggering off to press restart.

But about 1.5 minutes it fixed itself as if by magic

Folky

So we did head to the Christmas Party at the Folk Club tonight and it wasn't bad. I was drinking some Punch which wasn't too unpleasant.

I have taken some photos which I will add here tomorrow. Here you go, added now

What A Morning

So first of all we popped to Iechyd Da to pick up a much larger than usual order as they are not supplying there next week. Timmy was delighted at the extra carrying, especially as I can't walk back to the car very fast.

Anyway dun that then to Morrisons for milk etc

THEN we tried the gym as I have had a few days off. It was OK, I did the rowing tool, I think I took about a minute longer than last time but not too bad

Then we had a late lunch and did early washing up as we are popping back to Iechyd Da for their Xmas do tonight

Oh yes, while we were in More Reasons To Shop At.... s'morning I got a few bottles of wine as the kids who are *grown*up*now* are coming over at the weekend. It is sitting in the kitchen crying out to me but no, it's not for now

Echinacea

Lordy. Yes, I still am a small bit snotty but 97% less than yesterday.

That herbal medicine is money well spent

Get's Me A Bit Emotional.....

Just good lord, how kind hearted is this. From the look of it they are not even Christian so shouldn't care that it is Christmas Day.....

From Facebook

WTF

The day after I posted summat about online advances I read in the paper today about how Drs might be able to let you grow older etc

Nooneraft Off

And I spent a quiet afternoon sniffing and coughing. Hooray.

But I do feel slightly better now after 1 day of Echinacea so hopefully it is doing me some good

Medicine

So we popped into town s'morning to pick up some Echinacea medicine to make my cold feel better. As I had already said I was too poorly for Gym we headed off around town for a therapeutic walk.

Now it did occur to me on the way to the 'Healthy Items' shop that I could probably bought it cheaper online but it was the delivery delay that put me off. I only decided to fetch medicine s'morning and the 48 hour delivery timeslot makes me feel a bit too poorly for Xmas 

Nor Tonight

And I am feeling too poorly to head to Men's Shed tonight too....

The borrowed sander will have to wait a bit longer....

Well I feel a bit better than I did s'morning but not very. I still feel like sh*t

Not Today

So we are not going to megacycle today as I feel a bit poorly. Might go out later but for now it's just sit here

Got A Farking Cold

And my nose is running and my cough is a bit scary. I don't feel very well

Happy Farkin' Christmas

Then we popped into town as there was a pressure of the shop closing by the time I have had my bath

Then we popped to B&Q to try and get some sanding bits to attach to the sander that GGtGG lent me for tomorrows session at The Men's Shed but they had none there. We even asked a chap.

But I did ask him where to go, an alternative, he said Charlies where they did actually have the bits we needed. GGtGG paid for them, they only cost IIRC £4.50 for 20 pads which I might only need 1 or two of

First Of All

So then we popped to gym to one of Sam's classes. Except it wasn't taken by her. It was strange, still struggling with some stuff but better than I have ever been at some other stuff.

Afterwards I spoke to the instructor, told him to pass it onto Sam, I was well happy with the quality of his teaching but he wasn't even a tenth as beautiful as she is

Uber Dubious

So feeling more dubious s'morning GGtGG said "You can go to Sam's class today, as you are gonna miss her on Friday" so while we were heading into town we called in gym and checked time.

Then we popped to the Drs to get my 'script.

THEN GGtGG needed to do some "Buying cleaning products for the house" so we went to about 3 places to do that.

THEN we came home for an early lunch as I am going to Sam's class at 2

And while we were at home I got GGtGG to re-position the FES pads and suddenly I can stop my right knee from beating back into hyper-extended position

Dubious

So after getting out swimming trunks etc for tomorrow, piling them up in the hall along with towels etc I feel a nit snotty to actually go to the pool. I will see how I feel tomorrow, if my nose has stopped running etc etc

Busy Today

Gosh, today is full. Of....? OK, sarcasm

Scared Of Cycling

And my right knee which has been wonky since the cycling trip on Tuesday is again some better

Off Out

And we are popping out s'evening to Pontardawe Arts Centre to see the "Adult Panto 2017 - Aladdin" (new correct link) so gord nose what to expect

And oh what fun we had (Midpage link)

Chop, Chop, Chop, Chop, Chopping

So doing the veg for my food today. A) I have bought some sharper knifes, and B) My right hand is just getting better at "moving in the way I want it to" and I am pleased about how I can chop

QOTD

"Is Paraffin Wax As Non-Toxic As It Was Declared To Be In 1850?

In a word: No. In two words: Hell no"

From GeekyGirl

Chopping

But first we have to go to the toenail chopper to have my toenails done. And paid for.

Well.... didn't she do well. Again watching her made my brain hurt but she did it

Missing Her Already

And IIRC Sam is not gonna be about to take the gym class today. The phrase glamorous assistant springs to mind....

Well it went OK. For most of the class I am thinking "I am still getting better" except on the bike device I had a problem bending my right knee enough to do it. Yesterday and today I had some cream rubbed on the back of my knee which is improving it some but not enough for the class today

Pressies

And first thing I got out the sellotape and wrapping paper etc and wrapped last pressies. Again I am just getting so much better at stuff involving my right hand. Today I did the cutting of paper with my right hand and writing cards also with my right hand

Cream

Then last thing Timmy put some Ibuprofen Gel on my right knee as it was hurting oodles

And it does seem a bit better s'morning, still hurting but not as much

Beer

So we popped out to the pub and was actually surprised how many folk were drinking and not eating!!!

Loadsa

Then when I was half way thru lunch the postman came knocking on the door. He had 2 xtra pressies I have bought for someone, my piece of perspex for the table top, a Xmas card from Sturit and a book from the Guardian, a years worth.!!! I carried them thru, dropped half, picked them up and was able to resume eating and opening them at the same time

Marginally Hectic

Then we have to do the collecting organic veg, then the "normal" shopping in More Reasons To Shop At... (noisy link) then gymwards before lunch

Well I did the rowing exercise at gym, my breath was breathy and I was sweaty so it must be doing summat.

Hectic

So we have already been to the PO delivery section to fetch my parcel that the postman left a card for yesterday, came back, opened that, then Denyse arrived, to do GGtGG's appraisal, Timmy is here to discuss that with them, then Denyse is gonna come and talk to me, then I am gonna have an early lunch then go to an AquaAerobics session in the pool.

Then I am gonna pant for a bit.....

Well the pressie turned out to be from my Dad, a Xmas card for me c/w 3 minor cards/gifts for each of my 3 kids

And AquaAerobics was as much fun as it is usually but I did it

Oh, and Denyse was....... Denyse-like

Men's Shedwards

So tonight I am taking my new project to and starting, sanding etc. Next week I will take the sheet of perspex and try to cut it to size. At some point I will make loadsa photos to patch together on the top.

But first I have to sand it well and oil it etc

Well we did loadsa sanding. It looks well different but the photos had a crisis so you won't see more progress until next week. Someone was saying that Perspex is too mark-able but told me where to pop in Johnstown to get glass cut to size not too dear. But I will try my perspex first, see if I can cut it etc. The powered sander there seemed really wonky but we did loads by hand. Gareth said he has got a sander which we can borrow for a few weeks so he will drop that off next Monday and me and RoyGBiv can take it there next week

It does look well better already, but there is loads more to do, with the powered sander and some new sandpaper

Cycling

Then GGtGG said "Wanna go for a speed cycle or shall we head west to that place you went last week?" so actually we headed over to BikeAbility and had a good fun, if a bit chilly, hour going round and about

Warmness

So compared with the rest of the country, according to the weather forecaster last night, we were in a relatively tropical heatwave, a mere minus a few degrees

But by tonight it is running at 8 or 9 degrees, what a difference a day makes!!

Didn't Get Wupped

So at a game of snooker last night I still lost but not as badly as I used to do

On The Motorway

So I was bimbling along the motorway today, the emergency telephone caught my eye. I was thinking they must be used 96% less than they were 20 years ago as most folk have a mobile phone nowadays but they are still an important emergency feature

Not Swimming

So we are popping to Headway Swansea at lunchtime today for the last meeting of the year. C/W raffle, mince-pies etc

I won a prize last year, will I be so lucky this year?

Well it wasn't as bad as I expected. I did some bonding etc even tho we were playing the awful "improve your mind" games. At least I won the second go.... After games we had Mint Spys and a cuppa. It was the first Mince Pie I have had in nearly a year and I did enjoy it. Then during the raffle, which did cost me some quids, I did win a prize again.

Warm Day

Lovely and warm s'afternoon

But it's a bit chilly s'evening

Better Balance

So a bird tried to fly at my Xmas tree t'other day and left big marks on the outside of the window. I simply popped outside with a damp rag and cleaned it off the window.

Simple, now I can balance to walk on the stones outside the living room window, the ones I didn't used to be able to walk on

Yes, I have already posted about being able to walk around to the back on the house now, but it is still an improvement

Buying Online

So I thought "No, we can't find any" but put into eBay '2 foot square perspex' and after a few more clicks ended up buying a piece which will need cutting down somewhat and drilling but is free delivery. All the pieces I found yesterday were about £8-£10 but cost about £40 postage. This item costs £8 summat and is free postage!!!!

And hopefully eBay covers you so it should arrive!!

Weather

It was sleeting when I woke up s'morning but it has got stuck into proper snow now. It is not lying, yet

Well by 11.30 it is raining, so hope for the best etc.....

Out

So we popped up to't pub tonight and it is busier than I have ever seen it, Xmas party meal-ing

Out After Lunch

So me and Timmy popped out to B&Q to try and buy some perspex for the top of my next project but they only had expensive enormous pieces. We popped to another shop but they had none. So I will ask around at Men's Shed and see if anyone has any off cuts

Third Things Third

Well we went to Sam's Stroke Class and what fun we had. But I am still getting better and better week after week

Second Things Second

Then after that we popped off in the car to someones house in Carmarthen where I had bought a small table from. We had to pay the woman cash etc but it is done. So next week I will do it up, polishing etc then I will print out some photos to put on the top and cover it with perspex or summat.

I am a bit pleased with it, she said "There are some scratches on the top" to which I replied "Ah, but I have a plan"

Unsettling Thought

So s'morning as we are popping off in a bit while Timmy and MagicMark were conversing I put my trainers on and did them up etc.

But it occurred to me, how fscked did I used to be when I couldn't even tie shoelaces....?

Morning Has Broken......

So as usual on a Thursday we had a busy morning. First of all to Iechyd Da to pick up my organic veg, then to Morrison's to do the rest of the shopping, came home and put it away then shot straight to gym. Today we did an exercise I haven't dun for a while. For nine and a half minutes be cycling, then for 30 seconds go as fast as a very fast cyclist, then back to normal speed until you have repeated the ritual 4 times. And yes, I am so much better at it than I was last time, my faster speed was very fast and I didn't need to stop half way through for a puff, I just did it all at one go

Class

So as we were coming out of Dentist s'morning I said to GGtGG that my nose is running, I don't feel like swimming today so he drove into gym to have an exercise session then turned the car round and said "2 o'clock class then" so we came back and had lunch etc

Well so we went to (Gorgeous) Gaynor's class and it was..... Yes, as hectic but different than one of Sam's classes. We had an extra 16 yo who was sitting in on the class to see whether this would be an exciting career for him. And I was talking to Gaynor afterwards and she was recollecting about how f*cked I was when she first met me when I was first in gym in my 'chair

That Warm In The Middle of The Night

S'posed to be winter.....

Work On My Teeth

Then we are off for my 6 monthly check up at the dentist s'morning

Lordy, she cleaned and cleaned it all around but didn't need to get the dentist to have a look which was to my benefit. Next appt is April now.....

THEN after leaving the dentist we popped to King Street and had a look at charity shops and left my bag of goods for them in one

Too Late

So as we were out s'afternoon when we came back, I bathed, napped, cooked food, ate it and did the washing up, by then it was too late to head out to the Men's Shed for tonight. Possibly I will have found some tat to remake by the time I go back next week too

Different Webpage For Mobile Users

So because I had to use some code on one of my pages that mobile phones aren't very happy with I puzzled and in the end dug out a "different, depending on how you look at it" bit of code and if you are looking at it on a PC then this comes up but if you are looking at it on a mobile phone the subtly different page comes up instead

To market, to market, to buy a fat pig....

So I have said to RoyGBiv "What shall we do today?" and he said "This cycling place in Swansea, shall we go and check it out, try various bicycles etc"

Well I was rather impressed. We spoke to the in charge chap and he got me on a trike and round and round I went

Frozen Food

Yes, we headed out to Farmfoods to fill up on basically froze food, yeah OK, garlic bread and ice cream.

Drowning

Sigh

So we have an early lunch today then go to the Waterworks AquaAerobics session s'afternoon.

But first we need to pop to the chemist next door to the Drs to pick up my Sockings that I left the script for there on Friday.

And then come back and take off my FES device ready to go swimming etc

D'ugh, we don't have an early lunch today. Just make sure it is on the first of my normal lunch times, the Waterworks session isn't until after 2.45 today so.......

And it was a bit odd at the Chemist s'morning, picking up my
sockings. When we got there the delivery lorry had just been
so they had to find it and sort it out etc before I could have it

OK, that was as hard a work session than it was before but as I feel that I could do some exercises for the first time it is doing me some good so it is worth it. Only ¾ of an hour but she works us

F. All

And there is feck all to do today except for watching cricket which I have been doing for a number of hours now.....

And they are losing like feck......

Not

And I said to RoyGBiv "Lets nip out to pub", he replied "Out Thursday, out Friday and......" so perhaps pubbing it tonight wouldn't be too good an idea

Attempting....

So after lunch we popped into the vast 2nd hand furniture establishment down near gym but they had no recyclable/re-doable stuff in stock, it was all too good quality for me. Dunno, perhaps just charity shops or as the chap in the shop suggested the tip

Which might be time consuming, waiting for folk who are gonna throw stuff away until Neil sez.......

But after there we headed into town to Poundland and got some batteries, hopefully one of which will fit my pocket sized torch

Ultra Cooking

So s'morning I have done the weeks cooking, not finished yet, pan is boiling away, needs lentils adding and cooking some more, but that is most of the weeks eating. OK, I have the same dinner for a week but as my taste buds are wonky I don't mind too much

Urk, Pizza

So instead of buying the na'an bread to make into pizza they only had 1 left on the shelf and it had been opened so no to that. Instead we bought some cheese and tomato flavored flatbread (although ours was cheddar not mozzarella) which needed more tom puree and cheese and various ingredients to make it into pizza. It did taste good but was a hassle to prepare and cook so I don't think it is on my list again

To See A Star

Then tonight we are popping to The Lyric Theater in Carmarthen to see Andy Parsons live.

I am quite looking forward to it

Sorry, I enjoyed it. I was thinking along the same lines as him. Tee hee hee

Early Lunch

So we had an early lunch today as just after normal lunchtime we are popping to my weekly class at gym

It feels like oh what fun we had but it is helping me to be so much better than and medical staff thought was possible a while ago

Docs

So we popped to the Drs to pick up my 'script for sockings, popped into the chemist and they said "Ah, come back on Monday....."

More

So more uber walkies.

Sorry for putting it on, I am just so pleased with myself.....

Well...

So after a quietish afternoon I am having a cuppa before going into King St to see the special "We are still open" Xmas shopping treat. Then we will head down to Iechyd Da (noisy link) for the once-a-month Folk night

Thursday Morning

So first of all doing my weekly busyness...

And we popped to town, it stopped raining on the way there so we both popped down to Iechyd Da, said "Ta and see you later" then popped to Morrison's and bought the small rest of my shopping. So now I am waiting for Timmy to finish whatever he is doing and pop to gym for some rowing

"Row row row your boat,
Because you will soon finish,
And it will be time to go home"

Which I did and it was. Tra la la.....

Feck. Rugger Bugger

So I am watching the rugby tonight. Or should I say 'trying to watch it' it is just too fast and quick ball flying about ball even on the foot wide telly in the kitchen

"Timmy Was Taking Up My Suggestion"

So I mentioned biking to Timmy. He said "Can't you remember, there was one but it was so far away at Cardiff that you got fed up and stopped going" but he had a look on this interweb thingy and it turns out that there is a new place, loadsa bikes to hire, different kinds etc and it is only about 20 or 25 mins away in that Swansea place so I think we will head down next week at some point......

Temperature

WTF's going on with the temperature. It was freezing earlier tonight, well after dark etc but as the night went on the temperature went up.

As I said WTF?

Timmy Swim

So as we are rearranging staff holidays etc Timmy is unusually working today and ⛬ is swimming today

Well at last Timmy listened to me blowing my nose and sneezing and said "Perhaps not, you have got so much on next few days you better not get flu" so just gymming today, not swimming

Sigh. So we are off 3km into my cycle, only 7 more to go

Lord, I did the last km at about twice the speed I had dun the rest. There's not wanting to go too fast at first because I will be too knackered at the end..... dunno, I will go marginally quicker earlier next time I try.....

Summers Day

Toasty s'morning

Game Of Pool

VBG

Quadruple Chin

So Sara the Physio sent me an old photo today of me exercising but what a fat git I was then, even I can just see it

Men's Shed-wards

So we are off to the Men's Shed tonight to not do owt, just drink tea and chat to folk. I might find another project but dunno

Aargh, and when we arrived they were having a "meeting" which was like politics and finished with a vote. Later I was talking to Stu and said "I was thinking of reinvigorating a coffee table" and he said "Yes, I will help you" so we have gotta find one now

Physio-ing

Then today at lunchtime we had to be in Pyle, about an hour away. Because of time inconvenience we popped to Asda and had a cheap lunch which actually wasn't bad and then we drove the last half a mile to the physio dept. So she kind of said "You look good, what shall we do?" to which I replied "So do you, and dunno".

But we actually did some new to me exercises which I even impressed myself by being able to do etc. First of all we did some "Show off your balance exercises" then putting my left foot on the massive ball seat thing they use and pulling it backwards and forwards. While standing on my wonky right leg. Eventually we were able to do that without holding on with my hand which did even impress me.  Then we did some "Stand on your tiptoes then back to your heels then tiptoes again" which proved very difficult but just about possible with my right foot. Then we were balancing on the bouncy beam and walking back and forward and left and right without holding on. Oh and at some poing I did some hopping on my left leg and on my right leg. It was much harder on the right but I managed

After all this we practiced throwing the gym ball and a volley ball which again made my right arm do strange stuff

Walkies

Then s'morning I walked from the lounge to the loo with my walky stick held up off the ground. Yes, I managed but it took much longer than with my stick

Physiowards

So we are heading east to see Sara the physio in Pyle, miles away, ATM

Oh It Got Me Going

As mentioned yesterday here is a copy of the leaflet that got me feeling......... yesterday.

I don't know what to say, it got me feeling strongly

Lordy

So am I gonna be able to do the whole two months?

Dinner Disaster

Well no, dinner was delicious and well made etc but after I ate, on the way to the washing up, I stopped at the fridge/freezer, took out tomorrows frozen dinner that has been in there since yesterday to put it in the fridge, and dropped it on the floor. Where the plastic container broke bits off. So we will have some bought frozen food tomorrow

Headshrinking

Then today instead of swimming I had the Headway Swansea meeting. I talked about it with Timmy last night and tried to feel a bit more positive about it. Which actually wasn't too bad. We found two chatty folk that I vaguely know from before so we got stuck in. I should have won the second game but was mind faddled and didn't notice the move that was staring at me.

But the reason my mind was faddled was a little A5 booklet called "The Real Guide to Brain Injury" that I picked up today, it it all factual etc but it didn't half get me going, agitated etc

10/10 I Got

Not being smug and clever but....

Ten out of ten I scored.....

Aargh

So in bed tonight I have just won a game of pool on my 'phone which was unusual enough but then about half a second later the white ball followed the black into the hole transferring me to loser mode....

Cooking Error

So yesterday I cooked, divided into portions and froze most of my weeks food. I had some by myself tonight (It is Timmy working) and it was delicious.

BUT today I opened the drawer in the fridge to take out my salad pack for lunch and found behind that a bag of 250g of Curly Kale which I hadn't added to the food and I couldn't think of a way of cooking it and adding to frozen packages

Oops

Proper Cooking Day

So I am back to cooking on a Saturday and as Mark said "I did well".

But we popped out to the market today for some last minute Xmas shopping and I forgot, the sauce pan was on the cooker turned lowest but still on when we went to town. No harm done, it was fine but a bit unnerving

Shopping

And we popped out s'afternoon and got Xmas pressies for my old bro and his wife and my young bro. I knew what I had in mind for Dink, we popped there and found summat for Gareth about 10 yds away. Utterly different stall but it's done

Shock Horror

So I found myself going to drink "some beer" at boozing strength. It was empty when we passed 2 folk on the way out/in but then later more folk were drinking, so he didn't have to focus on.........

We're Off

And in a bit we are going to the only gym class that I attend in the week. Just lordy, how different this class is compared to one I started in a while ago

Double lordy. I am just better than I was last week etc

And today I took it upon myself to use the stretch backwards tool which is attached about 10 ft off the ground, so I held on and sat right down before pulling myself back up using my arms. (Kind of like this, sort of.)  It is not a machine I was s'posed to use but even Sam was impressed at how well I did it

Chilly

Yes, Timmy has just been outside to move his car and he says it's freezing

No, Today It Is

No, today is Friday, now...... it's not Saturday, it going to gym class day

Friday Today?

And for a number of hours now I have been thinking that tomorrow is Saturday. Dunno how or why but I have to go to Sam's Class tomorrow @ gym. It was not today.......

Gym

Then just before lunch we popped to the gym and I did my 3.25km cycle. And it was about 2 minutes quicker than last week

Phew

So Timmy and I popped into Iechyd Da then Morrison's and all I can say is I am so glad that we had the new FES straps, so walking wasn't a problem

Chicken Dinner

And I am in bed tonight lying not going to sleep and I have just, for the first time, won a game of pool on my 'phone

Habit Now

Well so today I am walking without my 'stick again, seems to be force of habit now

Where's The Car Key?

So we came out of gym today, I reached into my pocket and where was the car key? I use the same pocket every time, no wasn't there. So we went in out of the rain, I handed my bumbag to GGtGG who looked in every pocket. To no avail. I was just starting to panic when GGtGG opened the big bag that had contained everything when we were in the pool and started looking thru it. At the very end, at the very bottom of the bag he reached in and produced the car keys. Dunno how they got there but at least we were able to drive home

We Tried It

And even tho I won't need my FES on today we tried it on, with alternative wires etc and we couldn't make it work, Roy was right.

So hopefully the new wires will arrive while I am at pool or else they will arrive after we need to go shopping etc in't morning

No, phew, they arrived while we were in't pool, we got back, changed them over, tried on my FES and it worked!!!!!! So big phew about using it for shopping tomorrow

Drowning

So we are off to the sw*mming po*l, to an Aqua Aerobics class again in a bit......

Hoo-fscking-ray..... but even tho it is such fun it is doing me loadsa good so I shouldn't complain too loudly, but......

And bother GGtGG has remembered his trunx today so it is a go.....

And wasn't it fun. But as she said aren't I getting better and better at doing various exercises

Why Not?

And why did I never experience anything like this when I was in a care home?

FES Crisis

So we couldn't get my FES to work on the way to gym earlier. When we left I put it back on and it was working then if I stuck my right hand out horizontally to the right. After we got out of the car it had died completely. Roy changed the wire etc, no avail. So he phoned "them" and they said they would sent out new bits. Dunno. So not going out tonight, we will see if GGtGG has any more luck tomorrow

Tonight

And tonight we are going to the Men's Club again but it feels a bit strange. As we have nowt to make what shall we do there? Roy said "Just go along and chat" but that feels strange too, what do I have to chat about?

Now I think we have called it off. As we are having trouble making my FES work today and as the Men's is a standing on your own two feet exercise "we" decided no

Stroppyness

So we popped to gym earlier and I got stuck into the cycling machine. I did half the distance required, I stopped after 5 km instead of doing 10 but did say "What other machine should I use?" so then I went on and did some "Pulling arms backwards" exercises

I did get stroppy at RoyGBiv, as he was trying to beat me so he had time to recover afterwards but I had to say "Stop it, you are going too fast and I am going as fast as I can manage"

It Doesn't Drip

And I have noticed everywhere in my house that there is no longer the sound of the tap in the kitchen dripping in the background. It wasn't too loud before but my house is quite small etc so you could pretty much hear it from everywhere. No more

Possibly you might say "Everywhere??  OCD" but I could hear it