Month: March 2023

Well, what a weekend! It was full.

I hadn’t expected anything much on Mothering Sunday because I’d suggested to the boys that they concentrate on their own wives and families. Michael took Danielle out for the day to the Cotswolds, which sounded like it was going to be lovely; and Andrew was working. Paul, however, suggested that he come and collect me to go to church in the morning.

Yep. All good. And then I thought to myself that the Kenilworth Originals are struggling with their catering arrangements, because of building work and having no proper kitchen, so how about they come over and cook chez nous? That idea went down well, so I went and killed the fatted lamb (rather than the calf) this week.

As it turned out, we spent pretty much all day together. Just as I was leaving for church, John wondered if I’d like him to come along, too? Would I? Of course I would! We met up with Paul and Freddie at church and had a lovely time together, remembering all those who care for us and also for all those who care for others in the far-flung corners of the world where there may be disaster – war-torn, cyclone-hit, flooded, and so on.

We had a cuppa at our house, then I went over to Paul’s. Our plan was to go for a walk in the woods and say goodbye to Mac, who had loved to play there and splash in the river. Harriet waded the river in honour of his memory and got a wet leg and foot for her trouble, as the water tipped over the top of her boot!

The walk was great fun and somewhat chaotic which, as I said to Paul, was typical of how Mac liked to live and so very apt. Naturally, we were all a bit sad, but we remembered his boisterousness and happiness in the open air, so it all went very well.

I left the family to get ready to come over to our house for Paul to cook, while I drove over to visit Mum. She was delighted to see me as usual, and kept exclaiming, “I can’t believe you’re here! How long is it since I saw you last?” When I told her it was only two weeks ago that I visited, she was very surprised.

“It’s Mothering Sunday, Mum!” I explained. Of course, she didn’t know, but she was delighted with her flowers and chocolates and, like a naughty schoolgirl, said, “Shall we have a chocolate now?” as if it was the cheekiest thing ever.

I had taken a pair of scissors with me, thinking I might cut Mum’s hair as it is getting quite long. Before I had the chance to suggest it though, she patted and stroked her hair lovingly. “It’s getting long, Mum!” I observed. “It is, ” she replied proudly. “I’m letting it grow….” Oh! That scuppered my little plan, didn’t it?

As the visit went on though, I thought she didn’t seem quite so well, becoming more and more confused, not recognising her own room even, nor remembering that I was her daughter. Her ankles were rather swollen, too, so I flagged my concerns up to the staff who immediately went off to do her observations and ask the nurse to check her ankles. We’ll see how she goes.

When I got back home, the feast was well under way under Paul’s expert eye, and we sat up to the table right on time. It was smashing to all sit together and enjoy roast lamb and mint sauce for the first time this year. Lush, eh? How lucky we are !

Today was a day of clearing up and taking the car for its MOT and service. Once again, Paul helped out, giving us lifts to and from the garage in Coventry and taking John to his exercise class in Solihull. “Are you sure you want to go, John?” I wondered, as he wheezed his way downstairs. “I don’t want to go, but I’ve got to do something to get stronger, so I’m going,” replied Mr Determined.

We eased off the pedal this evening and agreed we both need an early night. I wonder if we’ll sleep? I do hope so……

Take care everyone. God bless.

Gosh, today has been so warm, hasn’t it? It’s felt very Spring-like all day. In fact, the daylight was calling us quite early this morning!! And, of course, so was Freddie.

Although, to give Freddie his due, as I put him to bed last night, we had had a conversation to establish just what time he might get up. “About 7 o’clock?” I suggested. “8 o’clock,” he said. “I usually get up, go to the loo and then get in with Mummy and Daddy.” That sounded just right to me. And, as forecast, he came wandering through just before seven and snuggled into bed. He snoozed on until eight o’clock, and I think I was ready to get up before he was.

It was pancakes for breakfast and even Grandpa came downstairs to join in the fun. Smashing. We didn’t have much time, though. Paul was due to come about ten o’clock to collect Freddie for swimming. “Get dressed, Freddie,” I urged, “and then we can plant up a pot with seeds for Mummy for Mother’s Day.”

We had just put the finishing flourish to the plant pot with a label that said ‘Mommy’, when Paul arrived and – whoosh, just like that, Freddie was on his way and the house was quiet again. It had been lovely to have such good company overnight and we had thoroughly enjoyed it.

“What now?” said John. I shrugged. The impetus had walked out of the door with Freddie and we were now both hanging about like loose ends. We sat on the sofa, waiting for inspiration. “Right!” I said, “I’m going to get on and plant up my dahlias.” John got up, too. “I’m going to have a look at the Lotus,” he declared, “to see if it’ll start.”

We were both successful. With the spring sunshine and showers inspiring us, we achieved what we set out to do. I made an almighty mess in the utility room though, and had to spend an hour scrubbing everywhere down. I had decided to put the dahlias into pots and used the utility room as my potting shed.

John was a bit more successful in that he didn’t make a mess. He drove the car out of the garage onto the drive, tinkered about with it for a bit, nattered to one of the neighbours, then drove the car back in again, before settling in front of the TV for an afternoon of rugby.

I interspersed rugby viewing with a bit of grocery shopping, but in essence, we had a lazy afternoon and evening. Is that’s what called pacing yourself? I think so…..

Take care everyone. God bless.

A propos of pacing ourselves, we did absolutely nothing yesterday. We spent the morning in the style of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, following their example of a ‘bed-in‘ for peace. Our peace, that is. In the afternoon, we did ‘not a lot‘, followed by ‘busy doing nothing‘ in the evening.

We felt a bit more refreshed this morning, therefore, to face the world. Well, I use the word ‘morning’ loosely because I am not sure that John was out of bed much before twelve. I had toddled off to yoga by 11.30 and left him in bed. By the time I was back though, he wasn’t in. Slippers were by the front door, shoes, coat and walking sticks were all missing, so I presumed he’d gone for a walk.

I was right. He’d decided to take himself round the ‘Yellow Brick Road’. He laughed when he got back, “Last March I did a mile a day! This year, I’m doing a mile a week….” If he could do that, he’d be doing some good, so well done to John.

We had a bite to eat and then I set on to sort out the open fire. I found the ash pan full, so emptied it before collecting some wood and coal and laying the fire. Now why, you might wonder, was I going to light a fire on the warmest day of the year so far? Hmmmm……

The answer, of course, is that Freddie has come for a sleepover. And a sleepover is not complete unless there are toasted marshmallows over a roaring fire. It’s a ritual, any time of the year. And, despite the warmth outside, both John and I felt comforted by the glow of the fire so we were pleased we’d lit it.

And, oh, how we love to have Freddie for a sleepover! Here’s Grandpa looking as pleased punch that he’s allowed a Freddie-cuddle! Mind you, Freddie looks as pleased as punch, too, doesn’t he?

We have had a lovely time so far. Grandpa got his scooter out so that we could all go up to the shops for some sweets, and Freddie hopped on the front for a ride. Honestly, those boys had a whale of a time! “Go faster, Grandpa!” encouraged Freddie. Grandpa didn’t need any encouragement at all and whizzed along to both their delight. My little legs could hardly keep up!

On a totally different note, we breathed a sigh of relief today. Over the last few years, Chester, Michael and Danielle’s dog, has been growing a warty thing on his eyelid. It never bothered him so there was no need to have anything done about it. However, recently, the growth has been interfering with his vision and, at one point, he thought he’d lost Michael altogether on a dog walk the other day. So the decision was made. Remove the growth.

Bless him – today was the day and here he is, recovering well, but wearing the dreaded cone for a few days. I know I shouldn’t laugh, but those cones always make me giggle……

Take care everyone. God bless.

Ha! Ha! It’s been one of those days!! A merry-go-round of fun and frolics and not knowing what we’re doing!!

This morning, we were up reasonably early as we had arranged for Pete to come and have coffee with John at our house, while I went and had coffee at theirs, with Dawn, Alison and Sally. All went very smoothly and we all enjoyed our coffee, cake and chats. I think, for a change, it was nice for John to have some man-on-man talk. And I certainly enjoyed the girly chat.

“What time will you be back?” John had asked as I went out of the door. “Probably about half twelve,” I replied, “I’m going to pick Freddie up at one o’clock.” Ah… yes! John remembered we had arranged to have Freddie for tea.

The arrangements had changed at the last minute though, because the teachers were on strike and Freddie needed looking after from 11 o’clock in the morning instead. I texted Paul: ‘I’m not sure I can help all day……. I can still do the afternoon though. 1 o’clock?‘ He gave me the thumbs up. Danielle said she’d look after Freddie until then.

When I got home after the coffee morning, John reminded me that he had a dental appointment in Kenilworth at 3 o’clock. “Oh….” I said doubtfully, “I’m not sure how we’re going to time that.” Peter offered to give John a lift. Lovely.

In the end, we didn’t have Freddie at all. I had made an assumption that William would be off school too, and had planned to invite all of the children to come to ours. However, when I arrived at the Kenilworth Newbies, I found that William’s teacher wasn’t on strike, after all.

Ah…… hmm….. I was just mulling over what we might do – stick to Plan A? Or shall we try Plan B? Or even Plan C? – when John rang. “My appointment’s at two o’clock, not three o’clock,” he said. Right. Oh, crikey, did that make a difference to the plan?

Well, anyway, if you’re lost by now, I’m not surprised. I was in a dither. Michael and Danielle said they were happy to keep Freddie all day, and for me not to worry but to go and get John, sort out the dentist and then come back for a cup of tea. So we stood Peter down, toddled to the dentist and then, with Danielle, looked after a variety of children at the Kenilworth Newbies’ house for a couple of hours instead.

John was very tired all afternoon though, so by about 4.15, we said our goodbyes and I took him home for a bit of a rest.

The ol’ man perked up sufficiently to be on top form at Quiz Night, however, cracking a few jokes and knowing answers to a fair few of the questions. What makes us all smile ruefully, though, is the realisation that we can’t remember anything really. Our ‘revision’ round was very testing……

So, there’s another day done. Very enjoyable for most of it, but John would like to feel a bit better. I’d like him to feel a bit better, too, so it’s time to pace ourselves, I think! Now, which wise person put that idea into my head, I wonder?

Take care everyone. God bless.

We have tried to have a ‘doing’ day today. Instead of sitting, curled up on the sofa, goggle-eyed, we have been out.

This morning, it is true that I left John in bed while I went to yoga, but he was more or less up when I got home. My yoga class was very gentle, being all about somatics – the mind-body connection survey. We mostly lay down on the floor to check ourselves out, and I was conscious, at one point, that I might drift off……

I did feel better for the exercise though and felt ready for a trip out when I got home. “Shall we go for a bit of lunch and a walk at Baddesley Clinton?” I asked John. Yes, he was up for that.

In the end, we didn’t leave home until about one o’clock what with faffing about with one thing and another. Soup in the café, therefore, was orf……Ah, well, never mind, I had a lovely hot chocolate instead and John had a panini. Here he is, enjoying it!

We didn’t manage the walk though. John felt a bit wobbly after lunch, so we tottered to the National Trust shop, bought a bird bath, and came home.

The member of staff serving us was kindness itself. I had enquired as to whether the bird baths were available on line as I didn’t think I’d be able to carry it to the car. Not only did he carry it out for us, but he allowed me to bring car right up to the door so that John had a simple hop, skip and jump to get into the passenger seat.

We thought we might go over to the Kenilworth Newbies to drop their ‘left behinds’ in this afternoon but, in the end, we didn’t do that either. Oliver has a bit of a cold and it looks like I’m going over there tomorrow anyway. Not only that, but the afternoon slump overtook us and we ended up comfy on the sofa.

I managed a walk to the shops, however, in the pouring rain, to buy a few bits for tea. And then this evening I’ve finished the quiz. So it’s definitely been a ‘doing’ day, today. Go us!

Take care everyone. God bless.

Ay up! It’s Monday. New beginnings, eh? Well, let’s hope so anyway!!

Both John and I had thought we might make an effort to get going a bit today. John succeeded, but I didn’t. Although it was a sluggish start, John managed to get out of bed in time for me to take him to his exercise class at lunchtime today. “Do you want me to stay and watch, John, or shall I go shopping?” I asked. John said he was keen for me to stay and watch so that I had a bit of an idea of what went on in his class.

He did very well, cycling for what seemed ages to me, but he wrote it down as just ten minutes, before moving on to some weights for his arms and legs. He had a chat to the instructor who offered him some advice, which he hopes to follow at home. All in all, although it was a struggle, he managed to do what he’d gone for.

I was pleased because success is so affirming, isn’t it? I was also pleased that his ailments yesterday must have been related to fatigue from not having slept the night before, so my worries lessened.

I had intended to get up and go for a walk this morning, but it was pouring with rain so I baulked at the idea and snuggled back into bed until nine o’clock. I feel rather burnt out just at the moment, so bed is very inviting indeed. In fact, anything other than the jobs I’ve got lined up seems very inviting! I am sure I will get onto them sometime though – maybe tomorrow? We’ll see.

John, of course, is very encouraging in his comments, “Oh, dear, you look a bit pale and pasty,” he said to me today. Gee…. thanks. Yes, yes, I know I am, but I am a bit out of sorts, so what can you expect? Hehehe. Perhaps I’d better slap a bit of make-up on!

Anyway, I didn’t get my walk because this afternoon, instead of taking myself out and about, I set on to write some Quiz questions for this week’s challenge. I managed to get a few rounds done and only have one or two to think of tomorrow, so that was a good job done so far.

Paul and Harriet called in for a cuppa at about half past three, to collect the Mini that they’d left here when they came for Paul’s birthday lunch. They had been over to Birmingham to Selfridges to buy a rather fancy pair of shoes for Harriet, lucky girl. Mind you, it is her birthday this week! It was lovely to see them and they stayed for a good hour and a half. Paul, however, was busy playing a game on his phone so we didn’t get to chat to him much today!

Michael phoned at tea-time and had some wise words to offer to help me feel a bit better. He’s always helpful, that boy. Sons! What a blessing they are.

Take care everyone. God bless.

John woke up early this morning and brought me a cup of tea in bed. Lush, eh? “You’re up early,” I said. Yes…. he hadn’t been able to sleep. Oh, dear. So he went back to bed for as best a snooze as he could get.

I also stayed in bed, scrolling through social media and doing online puzzles, and I was just contemplating whether to get up or not, when Paul rang. “We’re going up to the Informal Service at church, do you want to come? We’ll pick you up.” Well, I thought, why not? How lovely to be in company at church – especially that of Paul and Freddie. So up I got and whizzed round to get ready just in time for the doorbell going just before eleven o’clock.

We had a very pleasant time at the service – there weren’t many of us, so it was quite intimate and easy. Lots of songs that I didn’t know but that didn’t stop me singing! Lots of people I did know though, and, of course, I stopped to chat to them all.

All that chatting meant that we were quite late out of church, so I wasn’t sure whether Paul and Freddie would want to come round for a cup of tea – but they did. And that was really lovely, as we sat together for a good long while, gently chit-chatting and enjoying each others’ company. Freddie and I had a game of chess which Freddie played very well. We could do with a ‘short version’ of chess, though…. anyone know one?

Soon it was time for them to go and we waved goodbye, having made arrangements for Freddie to come for tea on Wednesday and then for a sleepover on Friday, all being well.

I say all being well, because John is not yet best. The lack of sleep overnight seemed to have done him in today and he really wasn’t at all well. He slept most of the afternoon, although he did manage half an hour of the rugby. But I was quite worried about him and on the alert for the possibility of medical intervention. Anyway, he perked up at tea-time and feels a bit better this evening, so we’ll see how he is tomorrow.

Some of the un-wellness is due to John having hurt his back when he fell, a few weeks ago. They did an x-ray and claimed that there was nothing to see, so my theory of cracked or broken ribs was dispelled. However, whenever he coughs, his back is very painful, so it may be worth investigating it again……..watch this space!

This evening, I enjoyed the final of Dancing on Ice and my favourite won, so that pleased me. Then we watched the last episode of ‘Endeavour’, which we both thought was very well done and we thoroughly enjoyed it – especially the closing scene…….

And that was us today. A quiet day really, mostly relaxing, despite the coughing and the anxiety.

Take care everyone. God bless.

John looked forward to today. A day of George and Sue calling in for a check-up on John’s computer, then an afternoon of watching The Six Nations rugby tournament.

We lazed in bed until nearly mid-day, when George and Sue were due to arrive, supping the cuppa John had made and brought upstairs. It was lush. Having a little natter and a little snooze on a Saturday morning has to be one of life’s little luxuries, I think.

We tottered downstairs in time to greet our guests and then that was it! We were off.

Sue and I talked and talked and talked. George and John puzzled and puzzled over the computer. We drank tea. We drank Prosecco. We drank red wine. We ate cheese on toast. Later on, we ate Spaghetti Bolognese. It was all lovely.

We settled down to watch the rugby, prosecco and nibbles to hand, and we thoroughly enjoyed the Italy v Wales match. Then along came the much anticipated England v France match, at home at Twickenham. But oh, groan… What a disappointment! France pounded the England players and ran out easy winners, with a score of 10 to us and 53 to them. Ouch!

Although we were all disappointed with the match and the score, it didn’t stop us enjoying each others’ company and we rounded our evening off with some lively debate about this week’s current affairs – particularly focussing on the government’s policy on immigration, Gary Lineker’s tweet and the ins and outs of how we treat people. Fascinating stuff – and we all came away having learned just a bit from each other.

I am not sure what we did to have such fabulous friends, but whatever it was, I am very, very grateful for them. Their kindness and their company is just wonderful.

John managed the day pretty well – especially enjoying the after-dinner debate – but he is still a bit wobbly and coughing well. Not sure if we need to administer more antibiotics…… we’ll see how he is tomorrow.

Take care everyone. God bless.

And… oh! Just realised that, once again, we were too busy enjoying ourselves to take photos…… ah, well, maybe next time?

We lounged in bed this morning with a cup of tea that John had made, just chatting a bit before I winkled myself out from under the warm covers to get a shower and prepare myself for a private yoga lesson at 11.30.

I was lucky, Jaime had a spare slot at the last minute this morning and offered it to me since we were not travelling down to Dunstable for Terry’s funeral, after all. We had agreed with Gloria that the journey and standing in church would make it a long day and probably not the best thing to do, as John is still under the weather.

As I got ready to leave, John also winkled himself out of bed and declared that he was going to have a shower. Ah….. OK. “Will you be alright on your own, John?” I wondered. He said he would. I trusted to judgement, kept my fingers crossed that there’d be no fainting in the shower cubicle, and set off on my way.

I had a wonderful yoga session. It was just right. I had told Jaime that I am still feeling less than able to do the power type of yoga, and that even gentle yoga might be too much. As it was, she created a brilliant lesson concentrating on breathing, stretching, somatics and Yin yoga which suited me down to the ground. Oh, yes, getting back to the old, familiar and fundamental poses of yoga was spot on.

Once home, I fearfully opened the front door to find out whether John was still upright. He was. He’d had his shower and no funny turns. He’d come downstairs to make a cuppa and only had one funny turn. Fortunately, it was when he was holding the water jug full of cold water, rather than when the kettle was full of hot. Phew!

We had a bite to eat and watched a TV programme about a plane lost at sea. Part Two rolled on from Part One, by which time I was fascinated and kept on watching. Bless him, John was so tired after his shower, he missed it as he nodded off on the sofa.

I tapped his shoulder just as the programme was coming to an end to remind him that last night we had arranged to call on Pete and Dawn this afternoon. It took him a few minutes to work out where he was and what we were doing, but he soon picked up his wits and his marbles and we were on our way. “Do you want to get the scooter out, John, or shall we drive?” I asked. “Let’s drive,” came the answer. I concurred – use the bit of luxury we’ve got standing on the drive, eh?

Ah…. familiarity… to sit comfortably with dear friends whom we’ve known forever; and to relax, chat and laugh together did us all the power of good. We may have been laughing at misfortune some of the time, but laughter is definitely the best medicine in getting things into perspective.

We got to talking about wills ‘n things and bemoaning how much we’re fleeced for creating our end-of-life documents. John said, “Yes, its the same old thing… The solicitor told me it’d cost 300 quid and I’d just got two questions for the price. ‘Two questions?’ I gasped. The solicitor replied, ‘That’s one question. Next?'” Ber-Boom-Tish! Hehehe. The old ones are best, aren’t they? Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle.

A fish ‘n chip supper on the way home; a lovely video chat to Michael and the children, and that’s us done for the day.

Take care everyone. God bless.

I was keen to go into the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham this morning. After two years of not doing anything much on Mum’s stuff other than having stored it, I thought I’d check out a few strings of pearls to see if they were real or not. I had found a small box with an inscription in it, written by my Dad: ‘Pearls for a pearl’, and I was hoping that at least one string of the pearls might be the one. Unfortunately, no. All the pearls were simply modern costume jewellery. Ah well.

We had decided to brave the journey, despite the gentle fall of snow from the sky. “Do you think we are foolish to go, John?” I asked. “No,” he replied. “It’s just a smattering and not going to last long.” He was right, of course, and our trip was uneventful.

On the way home, we called into a warehouse in Tyseley which dealt in all things e-movable. He’d seen them advertise a wheelchair that he thought might be better than what he’d got, for transporting in the car. It turned out to be the case, so we’re thinking of getting one. We’ll have a different wheelchair for every season then…..hehehe……

Home again and, because of the miserable-looking sky which had started to drop heavy snowflakes, I thought I’d light a fire. Something to cheer us up. John had gone very quiet on the journey home and I’d wondered if it was something I’d said. He told me that he was just fed up of everything. Nothing is easy; everything hurts; and life is very difficult.

The open fire was warm in a cool house and John had a nap. I hoped he’d feel better for having a sleep but he didn’t really. Despite the blues, he perked up a little bit when the Kenilworth Sleaths arrived at tea-time. While their kitchen is being built, they’ve scheduled a Wednesday for tea at our house. Paul prepped and cooked the meal which was a very nice fish pie, thank you.

After the Kenilworth Sleaths had departed, we got ready for Quiz Night. Neither of us were sure that John would stay the course, but he did – right to the very end. Not only that, but he had plenty of the answers too, which was rather good. Mind you, we’re all at the stage of, if in doubt the answer required is going to be Robert Walpole; or the name will be Dave; or the organ is likely to be the brain….

In the meantime, the family we busy on the WhatsApp sending messages to and fro and sharing photos. I was delighted that someone had captured Sunday’s birthday tea, so here we are – ‘happy birthday’ singing for Paul!

Take care everyone. God bless.