Month: March 2023

I was up and at ’em early this morning. I had done an online order for Easter Eggs earlier in the week but when they came, only half of them arrived. That decided me. It was off to Tesco’s in Cannon Park today to see if they had anything exciting. Regrettably, although they had plenty of Easter Eggs, there was nothing exciting.

I did buy one or two, and then nipped over to Aldi to see what they’d got. Again, nothing exciting. So I’m still on the hunt for Easter Eggs. Have I left it too late? Surely not! There’s a whole week to go yet!!

When I got home, John was also up and at ’em, having had a shower early. “I can cut your hair today, John, if you like,” I said, having noticed that it was getting long. “Yes, please,” he replied. So that was the order of the morning once he was downstairs.

In the meantime, I had been texting Danielle to see how her toothache was. Still not good and another disturbed night in pain. In the end, she went back to the dentist who inspected the damage and offered to some local medication to ease the pain. The dentist advised that she was probably in for another week of it. The tooth had been so difficult to remove that the surgery has caused a lot of trauma. Oh, dear, oh, dear….. what a to-do.

We sat and had our lunch and, as we did so, John started to feel very low. Thinking over all the good times we’d had in our lives and disappointed at his current inability to re-create them. He was tired and weary. I suggested he have a rest while we waited in for the solar panel engineer to arrive.

Apparently, we needed a new meter on the system. However, when the engineer (whose name was ‘Little John’) arrived and checked the system, he declared that it was working OK and the part wasn’t needed. Ho-hum. He seemed to be quite thorough and confessed that he was the son of the owner of the company, so if it all goes wrong we know where to look!

‘Little John’ tried to explain what was on the app. I didn’t have the app on my phone, so I had to wake John up to have a look on his. ‘Little John’ wanted to show us some of the workings of the meters, so ‘Big John’ had to get up off the settee to take a look….. Bless him – that was his afternoon nap well and truly disturbed!

After the engineer had left, we spent about twenty minutes trying to load the app on my phone. What a palaver. But we finally did it, and patted ourselves on the back for cracking some modern technology. I tell you, it’s getting worse…… we hardly know what day of the week it is now.

John’s low mood continued on into this evening. “Let’s go out!” he’d exclaimed earlier in the afternoon – but we couldn’t go then because the solar chap was due to arrive. I had planned to chat to Anita about tea-time, so we thought we couldn’t go out then either. When I’d finished my natter to Anita, I wondered if John fancied going out for tea? But by then, he didn’t want to go out after all.

John was cold, so I lit a fire and prepared a comforting evening meal. As the evening wore on, he felt too hot then. Eeeh…… but it’s a hard life; poor John doesn’t know what he wants to do just at the moment. I’m hoping a good night’s sleep might help tonight. Fingers crossed anyway – and prayers might help, if you have any spare.

Take care everyone. God bless.

We had a fairly busy day today, me with my Yoga and John with his exercises. And then we went over to Michael and Danielle’s to relieve the pressure with the children a bit, because of Danielle’s continued toothache. So. no real blog today, just a photo of three gorgeous children listening to a story!! How lovely is that? Makes my heart sing.

Goodness me! Hasn’t it rained a lot today? Every time I have looked out of the window it seems to have been lashing down. So it seemed a good job that John and I changed our plans for today last night.

It was ‘immunoglobulin day’ today and John had thought he’d drive himself across to Heartlands and walk from the car park to get his walk/steps in. I agreed and said that was fine, as I could walk up to Oakes’ to meet up with the church girls for breakfast.

Then I had a thought: “Perhaps we should check the weather forecast for tomorrow, John. We don’t want to be walking in pouring rain.” John was confident that he’d be OK as most of the walk would be indoors. But then, a little while later, feeling rather tired at the end of the day, anticipating an early start, a long-ish drive in the morning traffic and some treatment, John thought better of it and confirmed we’d do our normal arrangements. We were pleased we did, as we would both have got very wet during our perambulations!

The normal plans were nearly overthrown however, when I took a phone call from Michael early this morning to see if I could help with the children. Danielle had had another awful night and was in pain from her tooth extraction. Michael was due to drive to Stafford, which would leave Danielle without a car – and she needed to get across to Leamington to consult the dentist. Unfortunately, I couldn’t help unless John got an Uber to Birmingham.

In the end, Paul did the school run with William, and Michael took the day off to ferry Danielle to Leamington and to parent the children. “Family first,” Michael’s boss told him. What an enlightened manager. Hurrah for that.

Knowing that the situation was all under control in Kenilworth, I spent a very happy couple of hours in Oakes’ café with the church girls to say a little ‘farewell’ to Sandra who is leaving the parish after Easter, as she and Father Peter retire. We had a lovely time together, chatting and putting the world to rights.

I collected John at mid-day from Heartlands and it was once again pouring with rain. The roads had many large puddles in them and there was plenty of spray coming up from the other vehicles. We were glad to get home safe to a nice warm house!

The afternoon rolled on and we lazed about – both feeling tired. Michael phoned to see how we were doing. But, in my mind and more to the point, how was Danielle doing? Michael told us that the dentist had prescribed antibiotics for her, as she has an infection, so we are hoping that they will work quickly. At the moment though, it’s still horrible pain for her.

Paul phoned. “OK for us to come over for tea?” he asked. Of course it was!! Paul and Freddie came and cooked the most delicious meal, but they left Harriet at home because she was going to play hockey this evening – I wonder if she got wet? I hope not.

By the time Paul and Freddie arrived, John and I were celebrating small wins. My favourite extension lead had given up the ghost, so John looked into mending it. It wasn’t straightforward at all, but he did it. It transpired that there was a broken wire two inches from the end of the cable. Snip! Snip! And a bit of re-wiring, and it was done. Thank you very much, John!

My small win was replacing a titchy little battery in the food probe. Hehe. You’ve got get pleasure where you can, haven’t you?

Quiz Night tonight and great fun had by all – nice to see everyone again and to chat – and especially to do that very British thing of bemoaning the weather. Can’t beat it!

Take care everyone. God bless.

We had a gentle day, today. Danielle called round with Oliver and we did our best to entertain him to give her some respite and ease the day so that she could manage her toothache.

First off, we prepared eggs and soldiers for breakfast and we all had some, including Oliver. Bless him, he was so cute eating his soldiers. He has the most gorgeous lob-sided grin which melts your heart. Pity I didn’t take any photos!

Once Oliver had stopped eating, he was climbing out of his high chair. Crikey! I wasn’t expecting that! Anyway, we set him down on the floor and that was it then, off he went, on all fours and at speed, exploring upstairs and downstairs. He made me chuckle going up and down the stairs. He was so earnest in his endeavours.

After a while, he and I came downstairs and he looked at me as if to ask for a pick-up. So I duly picked him up and he snuggled in. I wandered about the kitchen, humming ‘Rock-a-Bye-Baby’ and he nodded off. I crept up the stairs to put him to bed. Ha! Little monkey opened his eyes wide as we got to the top of the stairs and was, to all intents and purposes, wide awake. However, more humming and rocking and he fell asleep again, sufficiently deep enough to enable me to pop him in the cot.

I made some carrot and coriander soup for lunch and nipped up to the shops to see if I could find some more suitable pain relief for Danielle. The recommended Diclofenac has been withdrawn from sale, so it was simply a matter of a topical painkiller instead.

Just as I was congratulating myself on the marvellousness with which I had got Oliver to sleep, he woke up. Must have smelt the soup…..

We ate lunch and, as soon as it was over, I had to rush off into Kenilworth for a haircut. John entertained Oliver for a while but Danielle left not long after I’d gone so John had time to spend the afternoon on the computer and then have a rest.

This evening I went to my little prayer group which was very welcome. So nice to sit quietly, study a bit, talk about what we’d read and then take some contemplation time.

Although John is still struggling to find energy and is somewhat breathless, I think he enjoyed the day with Oliver. Thank the Lord for family, eh?

Take care everyone. God bless.

We took it easy today. Had a lie-in and John brought me a cup of tea, which was lovely. He then said he’d cook me breakfast which was equally lovely. What a star. Mind you, he wasn’t totally satisfied with his efforts and, by the time I came downstairs, I could hear a lot of cursing. “What’s up?” I asked. “Burnt it!!” he said, ruefully. Well, it may have been a little charred but, honestly, it was delicious.

After breakfast – well, more of a brunch really – John was keen to get on with his exercise regime that Paul had prepared for him in the SnuGym. So, off he went to do his pull-ups, sit-downs, arm stretches and so on, while I pottered about a bit having a bit of a sort out.

John was thrilled with his progress and I was delighted for him. The video that Paul had done worked a treat.

After a rest, we popped along to the local garden centre which was formerly Watkins Roses/Blooms/Rosebourne and is now Hilliers. John went along to the café to order us a coffee while I chatted up the garden centre manager, Colin, to get the best deals on bird feed. The choice made, Colin loaded the bag of feed into the car for me and I went to join John, who was tucking into a cheese scone. My peppermint tea had brewed to perfection.

Home again and, we while we were unloading the scooter from the back of the car, the lady who had recently bought our dehydrator on offer on Facebook’s ‘MarketPlace’ arrived to offer us her hard-earned cash in exchange.

John was busy this afternoon, discussing his situation with a solicitor to see if there is anything that can be achieved by taking the NHS to court over the way they have managed his prostate cancer. We’ll see. In the meantime, John continues to be distressed by the whole thing and wondering what next?

I spent the afternoon whiling the time away doing the puzzles from the Sunday papers. Gosh, it is such a long time since I sat and did that and I found it very relaxing.

This evening we goggled the box, but not before we’d had a chat with the Kenilworth Newbies. Danielle had a tooth extracted on Saturday and is in a lot of pain. Still feeding Oliver, she can’t take anything other than Paracetamol and Ibuprofen which isn’t touching it. I feel for her, having gone through similar agony just over a year ago. Felt a bit guilty that we hadn’t gone over yesterday now after all……. but we’re planning to see her tomorrow and hope that we can help out with the baby.

All for now, folks. Take care everyone. God bless.

Despite the fact that we put the clocks forward overnight and missed an hour of sleep, I didn’t feel too bad this morning. I got up, popped up to the shops to buy one or two bits and pieces, then came home and cooked us a lovely breakfast.

What was particularly delightful was that John joined me downstairs in the dining room to eat, too. It gave me a proper ‘feelgood’ factor.

After we’d eaten, I watched the church service online. I had thought I may go to church in person this morning, as the Bishop was in attendance, but I decided not to rush about in the end. It was a lovely service and I enjoyed it, singing my heart out to myself on my own in the computer room.

Meanwhile, John was beavering away in the kitchen trying create some kind of order in it. It was marvellous to come down to some clear work surfaces!

While I was upstairs, I took a call from Paul who said that he and Freddie would call in. Nice. I went downstairs to tell John, who told me that he’d been talking to Michael and had promised we’d go over to give advice on some DIY that he was doing. Ah…….

In the end, we stayed at home, for which I was grateful. I am still trying to pace myself and we seem to have had a very hectic week!

Paul arrived, with a purpose in mind. Hehehe. John now has a fitness regime to follow, with a personal video of Paul doing a demo, to boot.

Freddie and I messed about, but quietly, which suited me just fine. In the talk of exercises, Grandpa happened to mention that I’d got some ‘exercise putty’ to use for my arthritic hands. “Please can I see it Grandma?” asked Freddie. I brought it down and he promptly had great fun with it….. even creating an elephant in the room! Honestly, he is such a joker. Makes us giggle all the time.

After Paul and Freddie left, we spent a very happy hour reading the newspaper that I’d bought as a treat, and watching the Boat Race. Great excitement in both the men’s and the women’s races, wasn’t it? The right crews won, in my opinion…..

It’s been a relaxing day and I think we have both enjoyed it. Looking forward to another relaxing one tomorrow.

Take care everyone. God bless.

45 years ago today, Peter and Dawn said ‘I do’. So, what should we do but celebrate??

We were invited for a piece of cake and a glass of prosecco this morning, with Alison and Peter and Sally and Leigh. And it worked out just right. We all arrived together at a house that had been beautifully garlanded with streamers and balloons, and with a fabulous balloon arrangement in the hall.

Before we did anything else, we thought we ought to have a photograph or two, so we gathered together alongside the wonderful balloon arrangement and the celebratory cake for an informal photoshoot. So here we all are…. grinning like Cheshire Cats…..

Naturally, we had a lovely time. We sat and ate the cake, which was extremely well-made and tasty, downed a couple of glasses of Prosecco, and chatted to our hearts content. “I’ll drive home,” said John, as I took my second glass of pop from Peter. Hehe. What a lovely morning, though.

Once we were home, we sat in front of the box for the remainder of the day. A day of rest…. just what was needed.

And that was us today.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Yesterday, we had arranged to spend some time with the Kenilworth Newbies, as Michael has the week off work. Maybe a little walk and a spot of lunch somewhere? In the end, we mooched about at their house for a while while we inspected various DIY jobs that Michael has got on the go, and offered our meagre advice.

We messed about in the garden, reviewing the plants and deciding whether or not they should stay or go, given the plan to re-arrange the landscape. I was floored by the rose bushes that I thought I could snip, snip, snip, but I didn’t get on very well with the secateurs. A new pair is needed, methinks! Not only that, but I need to consult my friend and neighbour, Livia, who is an expert on these things!! I mean, this just looks like a lot of twigs, doesn’t it? Where to start?

We had lunch at the Virgin and Castle in Kenilworth, which was very nice. We really enjoyed it because it was very quiet, we were served quickly and the waitress really looked after us. The boys behaved impeccably and the cider was good…..

Back at Michael and Danielle’s I rocked the baby to sleep while Danielle collected William from school; John closed his eyes and slumbered for an hour; Thomas watched a spot of TV and Michael tried to get some shuteye but was disturbed by Thomas wanting a different programme every so often.

We left all three boys on the sofa with their Mum and the goggle-box just after 4.30. We had gone tired…… oh, dear, that’s a sign of our age isn’t it?

Our plan for today was to get up early-ish (but not rush) and set off for the NEC where the Classic Car Show is being held. And I do love it when a plan comes together!! That’s exactly what we did!!

I got up and made a cuppa, taking one up to John. We sat in bed for a while, chatting. John was feeling pretty low this morning, so we talked through our situation and, although it still feels sh*t, the agony eased off a bit and we got ready to make the most of the day.

We had a great time at the show, enjoying all the cars we had known and loved in our youth and beyond; marvelling at the brilliant job of restoration some people do; and checking out the side stalls, where I bought myself some Gorilla tape. Don’t ask…..

My enjoyment came from a chat with a chap involved with Triumph Dolomites and Toledos. I used to own a Toledo and loved that car, and have been looking for one on display ever since. Regrettably, there were only Dolomites on display, but the chap we were talking to owned three Toledos. It was a very interesting chat.

John was on the hunt for someone to talk to about the problem he is currently experiencing with the Lotus. We wandered from Hall 5 to Hall 4, grabbing a Cornish Pasty lunch on the way, where we found a Lotus Elan on display. Its owner was there too, and so we had a good chat to her. “My husband, Adrian, might be able to give you some advice on your car,” she said, “come back in ten minutes or so and he should be back by then.”

We had a little tour round the rest of the hall and then went back where, sure enough, there was Adrian all ready and waiting to talk to John. Marvellous. He had some good suggestions which John will look into, I have no doubt, but one of the best suggestions was to join in with the PubLotus club where there may be someone who could physically help carry out the work. So, fingers crossed, we will get to sort it out!

We had promised to call in to Kenilworth on the way back, to collect a parcel from Michael and Danielle’s. When we arrived there was no-one home. We had an inkling where they might be, so drove round to the Green Man and had a pint with all the Kenilworth contingent – originals and newbies…… a lovely way to round off the day.

We left them all to have their evening meal together chez les Kenilworth Newbies and came home to put our feet up after a tiring day.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Oooh, we were busy yesterday! It was Mum’s birthday, so I went to see her in the morning to take her a gift and a card, and to join in any celebrations that might be happening.

“How old you are you, Hazel?” asked one of the carers, as she brought in some beribboned and spangled stars for her to hold and enjoy. Mum shrugged her shoulders, grinning. “21, again, are you?” Mum laughed. Yes, she thought she might be 21 again and, with a twinkle in her eye and giggling delightedly, shook her stars at the carer.

Of course, she’s ninety-seven, and she can hardly believe she’s lived so long. Well, neither can we! And she was on top form – all ‘with it’ and thoroughly enjoying the attention of a photoshoot and people coming in and out of her room.

She was delighted with the necklaces I had taken in for her, too – so she put them both on! It was good job I’d taken a few more beads for her to wear as I found a couple of her necklaces were broken, when I went to put them with her other jewellery. The broken ones come home to the ‘Repair Shop’. Hmm, I wonder when I’ll get time to do those?

It transpired that Mum’s confusion on Sunday had been due to a urine infection, so she’s on the mend and right as rain again now that she’s taking some antibiotics. “She’s going to reach a hundred, you know,” said John, when I got home. Yes, I expect she will.

Once I was home, we got ready for more celebrations as we waited for Carol and John, and Pete and Dawn, to come round. It’s going to be Carol’s 70th birthday next week, and we were beginning the celebrations early.

Michael had phoned to say he’d call in to collect one or two tools that he needed for the DIY work he’s got going on at home. “Yes, no worries,” said John. So, for a few minutes the house was chaos as everyone arrived, greetings were exchanged, drinks were made or poured, and food prepared for the table. It was fabulous.

After the family left, the rest of us sat to the table for a wonderful Ploughman’s Lunch, to which we had all contributed. Oh, it was so lovely to be together, sharing a meal and memories.

Carol had made her own birthday cake, a really lovely lemon cake – gluten free and dairy free – which she served in the lounge. This was accompanied by champagne, courtesy of Pete and Dawn. It was lush. And here’s the darling birthday girl herself, looking lovely, as always:

As the afternoon was drawing to a close, Paul phoned. Ah….. it was Wednesday, of course – the day when they come and cook at our house. “Alright if we come over?” he asked. Yes, it was alright. Pete and Dawn just missed them, having left about four o’clock, but they had time to chat to Carol and John for a little while before they, too, went home.

By the time the evening meal was ready though, John was exhausted and had gone to bed for a rest. He didn’t want anything to eat. He was still full from the lunch and, in any case, was far too knackered to come downstairs.

We waved goodbye to Paul, Harriet and Freddie at seven o’clock, which gave me just enough time to put together the two quiz rounds I’d been tasked with for the evening. John got up and thought he’d try and join in the quiz and see how he got on. In the end, he stayed up for all of it and I think he enjoyed it.

And then there’s today……about which I shall write tomorrow, but I can’t help including this lovely thing today. William was so delighted to see Mummy and Daddy at the ‘Award Ceremony’ at school this morning!

Take care everyone. God bless.

Are we pacing ourselves, or are we gathering pace? Looking at our packed schedule for today and the next few days, we think it’s all gathering pace!! In a very nice way, of course, seeing friends and family and getting out and about.

We were both up early this morning – me, because yoga was scheduled for 8.30; and John, because Richard was coming to visit at 10.30. I hadn’t realised Richard was arriving mid-morning, so I was just nicely back from yoga – eating a piece of toast, drinking a cup of tea, sitting in the rocking chair looking out at the flora and fauna of our garden – when the doorbell rang.

I was delighted to see Richard, but my initial reaction was that he was here early. “I’m ten minutes late actually,” he said. Ah….. it was then that I realised the visit had been set for mid-morning. John was just finishing his shower and getting ready.

We had a lovely time with Richard, mulling over the world’s events, our own ailments, telling amusing stories and so on. I declined lunch and sent the boys on their way to Oakes’ to have a bite to eat. I thought John would relish the man-on-man talk, which he did.

The boys were back just before three o’clock, having been for a little walk in the Katharine’s Wood park. They sat back in the armchairs and settled in to enjoy a bit more chat, before Richard thought he ought to go home. We were all relaxing and enjoying each other’s company when we had to say our goodbyes.

To round off the day, I wondered if John would like to pop over to the Kenilworth Newbies for an hour or two at tea-time, as we hadn’t seen them for a little while. He was up for the treat but, in the end, they came to us and enjoyed a fish ‘n chip supper. The children were excited to be at our house and we had a wonderful playtime.

Ah… what a lovely, lovely day! Full again, but worth it. And I have to confess that I was secretly pleased that our prayer group meeting was cancelled this evening – I needed to put my feet up!!!

Take care everyone. God bless.