leukaemia-limbo-dance

After what seems like ages I thought I’d better do a bit of housework today. A touch of Spring Cleaning. This was prompted by Paul who passed comment on Tuesday about my lovely cobwebs. They’re the new fashion, don’t y’know…..

Anyway, I got out the feather duster and gave the kitchen and lounge a bit of a going over – just got the rest of the house to do now! And then it was on with washing and drying of bedding and towels – just the weather for it, so very warm outside. While that lot was going on I cleared the decks in the kitchen, which seemed to have got a bit clutter on them, while John pottered about with more Lotus stuff. Honestly, we have three parcels a day delivered at the moment. All very exciting.

We were, of course, still waiting in for the nurse. I phoned the Community Nurses this morning and left a message on their answerphone, not expecting anyone to get back to me, but they did. Yes, yes, the nurse will be with you today, sometime before 5 o’clock. Good-oh. We had our fingers crossed she’d come reasonably early because we wanted to nip into town to collect the ol’ man’s hearing aid which was in for repair.

And luck was on our side for once. The nurse arrived just after mid-day and had no trouble sorting John out, so he’s feeling a bit comfier now.

After the nurse left, I thought we’d have a cuppa and a bit of a sit down. John promptly fell asleep, so I left him to snooze for a while and carried on with a few more cleaning jobs until he woke up.

With the nurse having arrived at an optimum time we were able to shoot into Solihull to collect John’s hearing aid, which we are both relieved about. John, because he’s fed up of me ‘not answering him’ and me, fed up of having to repeat myself……..

On the family front, the Tooth Fairy is having a very busy time. When they called in on Tuesday to collect Mac, Freddie was a bottom tooth-less, having just lost it while eating an apple on the way over. A photo of him this morning now showed him a top tooth-less……….. and he wasn’t half looking pleased with himself!

On the news front, Covid doesn’t feature in any headlines at all now and even the war in Ukraine seems to be falling down the pecking order, with the editors concentrating on today’s local elections, the Johnny Depp v Amber Heard trial and the interest rates rise today. I hardly know what to say.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Tired and done for the day but, rather than allow yet another flash past without reporting in, I offer a swift summary of our day.

John has spent all day in the garage pottering about with the car and waiting in for the nurse to come. She didn’t turn up so more frustration and phone calls to no avail. Will try them again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I sauntered about in the garden this morning. I had been to the garden centre the other day and bought one or two things so I went out with the best intentions. Of course, it’s always the other jobs that grab your attention, isn’t it? So, naturally, the main event – which was to liven up the rockery with alpines – didn’t happen. I did, however, manage to plant up a hanging basket for Danielle to cheer her up. Some weeks ago she’d asked us if we could get one of those pointy-shaped hanging baskets. At the time, there weren’t any available where we visited. But voila! We found one at the Hampton Garden Centre.

After a grubby morning, I shot upstairs to get a shower, before going out to a neighbour’s house for ‘afternoon tea’ with several other ladies of a certain age. It was all very nice and genteel and we had a good chat.

When I got home, John was still waiting for the nurse and opted not to come over for grandparenting duties at the Kenilworth Newbies. Michael was working between 5 and 6, so could I go and feed the boys their tea? Of course….. Had a lovely time and stayed on to read William a bedtime story. When I got back home the nurse still hadn’t been….. par for the course I suppose, but nonetheless it’s very irritating.

We simply sat and watched the box this evening – two of my favourite programmes, MasterChef and The Great British Sewing Bee, were showing so I lapped them up.

And there we have it. A day in a nutshell.

Take care everyone. God bless. Keep safe – Covid is still doing the rounds…..

We have some days that are driven; some days that are purposeful; and some days that are meaningful but a little more relaxed…….

Today was one of the latter. This followed on from a similar day yesterday, in which we had lazed in bed, trundled to the garden centre, taken the dog a walk and then chilled in front of the TV.

Today? A yoga session for me early on. A potter in the garage for John. A trip into town for me, mid-day. More pottering in the garage for John.

I came home from town, fairly laden with goodies – especially some nice ham, cheese and sourdough for lunch. Fatal. “Where are you going to sit to eat your lunch?” John asked. “The lounge,” I replied, “in front of the TV.” Hmmm……… the trouble with that little plan is that one is drowsy after one’s lunch and the TV has a soporific effect. John was aware of this fact and initially held back from sitting in comfy seats. He was easily persuaded however, and we both dozed for a about three-quarters of an hour…… pah!

John roused himself and went back into the garage for more tinkering. Although it seems that he’s a little frustrated with the whole process. Invariably, he has a bolt or screw or thingamajig that is just the wrong size. Naturally, he has to send off for a new one. It arrives. He tries to fit it. Only to find that it’s in metric, not imperial, or perhaps vice-versa…..and he has to send off for another one.

Meanwhile, I see that the car is coming on. John cannot see that it’s progressing much yet, but it definitely is. Although there is still a lot to do.

After I woke up from my doze, I took Mac for a walk. Once again, I enjoyed it. The rapeseed, as tall as me, is now turning to seed and the petals are dropping, showering both me and Mac with yellow confetti as we brushed past. Lovely.

I sent a little video of Mac on his walk to the Kenilworth Sleaths, as I do most days, and was surprised to get a reply from Paul asking when they should pick him up. Not knowing exactly when they’d arrived back from Malta, I tentatively suggested, ‘Tomorrow?’. Apparently, the family had arrived back mid-afternoon, so were refreshed enough to come and collect Mac this evening. “We’ll be round in hour,” said Paul. Another lovely.

It was great to see them. Freddie marked the occasion by proudly showing us a nice little gap in his gum where a tooth had just come out on the way over. He’d been munching on an apple. He’s hoping the Tooth Fairy will arrive tonight…..

They didn’t stay very long though – just long enough for a cup of tea – before it was time to take off and put Freddie to bed. School tomorrow…..

And that was us today. Busy, but not so busy as to be driven.

Take care everyone. God bless.

Without thinking it through, we invited Michael and Danielle over for lunch today, imagining that it would be a lovely way for them to relax. Being ‘Pooh Bears of Very Little Brain’, we had forgotten that Danielle’s parents were on their way over from Jersey and would be landing on the Kenilworth Newbies doorstep at any time on Sunday.

However, Danielle thought they’d be able to get over for brunch before they met her parents for a Sunday Roast, so how about we do that? Naturally, we were game for that!! So, to our delight, the family visited today……

This is the best I could do, photo-wise. Michael wondered if I had a photo showing his full face? Erm… sorry, no. Or one with Danielle’s eyes open? Nope. Or one of William smiling? No….. Or one without Thomas’s finger in front of his face? No, this was it! I thought it captured the moment perfectly. At least Oliver is looking good, that’s what counts, isn’t it? Hehehe…..

We had a really nice time, even though the visit was shorter and perhaps not so restful as we thought it might be. While Michael was out collecting some bits and pieces on his way over to our house with William and Thomas, I nipped over to collect Danielle and Oliver. John cooked the brunch. Wonderful.

“Come through to eat your breakfast, William,” I said, to which he replied, “It’s brunch, Grandma!!” Silly me….. I do love to be corrected by a four year-old.

I am not sure what we did with the rest of our Sunday. We watched a bit of telly; I took Mac for a good long walk; John tinkered a bit on the car; and then we had a ‘cream tea’ consisting of tiny salmon sandwiches and a scone, laden with jam and clotted cream. Oh, and Prosecco. Nice.

With other things going on, I have failed to mentioned that we are currently dog-sitting Mac again for a few days. Paul had to go to Malta on business so he thought he’d take the family out there with him over the Bank Holiday weekend. With no-one available at short notice to take Mac, I had a phone call which went something like, “Do you want to come for tea? Oh, can you have Mac over the weekend, please?” Well, how could I say ‘no’?

Anyway, on my walk with Mac today I had a very exciting time. I thought we’d take the path where I knew there to be badger setts. My thinking being that we might spend an early evening camped out for an hour at dusk in the hope of seeing them. Well, I needn’t do that now……

Just as we neared the setts, storming out of the rapeseed fields charged two badgers, hurtling towards safety. They took both me and Mac by surprise. Me, so much so, that I squealed before I realised what it was. Mac was also slow on the uptake, only realising that there was something to nip at after the larger badger had bolted between his legs and scuttled into the sett. Too late, as well, for him to do anything about the junior badger careering across his path and rushing into the sett by the back door.

I know badgers aren’t everybody’s cup of tea but, honestly, I was thrilled. I think it was a mother and her offspring, the larger badger being too small to be a male but too big to be a youngster. I have no idea why the badgers would be out in broad daylight nor why they’d be thundering back home as if their lives depended upon it. Maybe it was us who had disturbed them…… but it was very exciting and very unexpected!!

Take care everyone. God bless. Hope your weekend is turning out to be a happy one.

We have spent the last couple of days round at Michael and Danielle’s ….. because we could!! The household is all clear of COVID, so we took the opportunity to shoot round there and spend some time with new baby Oliver.

Here’s us – all very excited to make Oliver’s acquaintance for the first time properly!

Andrew stayed for a little while and then went off to Nottingham where he was having a very posh meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant, while John and I stayed on.

I walked with Michael to collect William and Thomas from school and we were amused when William emerged – he was so busy telling Daddy all about his day that he didn’t notice me at first. When he did, his little face lit up and he said what he always says when I am there unexpectedly: “Grandma! What are you doing here?!” Makes me grin every time.

We had a lovely walk home, with William scooting almost all the way as proficient as you like, and Thomas toddling half the way home. Delightful. Especially the bit when William was holding my hand and telling me all about it…..

William had a birthday party to go to in Sutton Coldfield this afternoon and the plan was to take both William and Thomas. We chose to go and spend the afternoon with Danielle to look after her while Michael was out. When we got there, Thomas was fast asleep, so we said not to worry, we’d entertain him, so Michael and William went on their way.

We had a wonderful afternoon. Thomas and I spent the afternoon running round and round the garden, clearing up various bits of debris and gathering up all the stray balls from the ball pit. They were everywhere!

We also had fun in the double buggy-cum-pram. Oliver was fast asleep in the pram on one side and Thomas spent a good hour strapping himself in and out of the buggy. We went ’round and round the garden, like a teddy bear’ and did lots of ‘tickling under there’. Each time we spied another ball, out Thomas got, picked it up and popped it into his ‘choo-choo train’ trailer. Excuse the pun, but I had a ball.

We came indoors as the afternoon waned, and Grandpa took up the reins in looking after Thomas while I did a bit of tidying round the kitchen and cooking the tea. At one point, Grandpa had his hands full of Olivier and Thomas while Danielle nipped to loo – and a sterling job he did, too.

Marvellous. I love a bit of family time, don’t you?

Take care everyone. God bless.

We really wouldn’t want it any other way, would we? Full days? They keep us on our toes and, for some reason, keep us looking well. Apparently anyway, ‘cos that’s what the college crew said to me tonight – that I looked well. I’ll take that, thank you very much. I think it’s all that scraping of wallpaper and polystyrene that’s kept me fit!

Anyway, today was another full day one way and another.

Before the plasterer came round, I did the housewifely thing of vacuuming up all the stray bits of paper and polystyrene, just to look a little bit presentable. When he arrived, he ran an experienced eye over the room, talked through what we might do with skirting boards, architraves and picture rails; offered us advice on where to go for good cornices; and suggested we use an electrician he knows to move the plugs. I was impressed and, more importantly, so was John. Marvellous. And the price was right, so we’ve booked him. Goody! Not until June though…..

Next job? Pull up the carpets and order the flooring. Woo-hoo! Can’t wait for it all to come together. Fingers crossed it does, just at the right time.

And now to use the wonderful gift John bought me yesterday. He certainly knows how to treat a woman right, doesn’t he?

Buzzing in the background to any activity I may be undertaking was John, tinkering with his car, surfing the internet for parts, watching YouTube videos on ‘how to….’ and nipping out to Tool Station or Screwfix for a piece of equipment. He’s worked hard today.

This afternoon I did the ironing (I know, I know) and then thought that I might offer another casserole to the Kenilworth Newbies. They are both exhausted. Michael said ‘yes, please, if you don’t mind’ and, of course, I don’t mind at all. So I did a bit of cooking this afternoon for them and took their tea over to them at five o’clock.

One good piece of news is that Oliver, who has been developing a nice shade of yellow from jaundice, is improving. Michael and Danielle took him to the clinic at the hospital today for a check-up and the bilirubin levels are coming down. That’s a relief. Cheers to Oliver……

Meanwhile, Andrew is home – sort of. He arrived on Tuesday and we had a lovely evening meal over at Paul and Harriet’s together. He then slept for most of the day yesterday, cooked us a wonderful roast dinner, packed his overnight bag and went to stay over at one of his friends.

Home again this morning, but he clearly hadn’t had a lot of sleep so he napped all afternoon, before disappearing to the pub just before tea-time….. he has watched a film with John this evening, while I chatted to the college crew, and then he’s up to Nottingham tomorrow before he heads off home. It’s been lovely having him around, but we haven’t had much of him really….. maybe next time…….

Take care everyone. God bless.

When I saw Pete and Dawn yesterday we arranged for them to come to our house to help eat up the ‘fatted calf’ I’d originally got out of the freezer ready for Andrew’s homecoming on Monday. In the end, we had a change of plan and they didn’t come. The prodigal son had arrived home and so they suggested we enjoy the joint of beef with him en famille, rather than in a crowd.

I had planned to cook a wonderful roast beef meal, but Andrew, being a chef, got stuck into the cooking and banished me from the kitchen when it came to it. I didn’t argue. I mean, who would, when you can have your meal prepared for you, eh? It was lush.

I am not surprised he’d turned his nose up at my suggestion of steamed vegetables. His version of a roast dinner was with creamed leeks, cauliflower cheese and glazed carrots as accompaniments. Delicious.

Such a glorious meal was very welcome. We’d had a busy day one way and another.

First thing this morning John and I had a run out to Heartlands Hospital for his regular immunoglobulin treatment. I dropped him at the hospital door and drove home, before returning a couple of hours later to collect him.

“Everything go OK?” I enquired as I picked him up. “Yes,” he replied, “but it was a bit odd as the nurse kept coming to adjust the speed at which the infusion was going through, which they don’t do normally. It only transpired, as I was getting to the end of the treatment, that I wasn’t supposed to be there this morning, but this afternoon, instead! She said they didn’t have the heart to turn me away, knowing that we’d come a long way and I’d been dropped off and you’d already left. Mind you, there was a lady who had to wait for treatment while I had mine. No wonder they were keen to whizz the infusion through.” Oops….. we hadn’t double-checked the time of the appointment because it’s always at 9 in the morning…..just not today.

As Pete and Dawn weren’t coming round after all, once I was home and before I went back to collect John, I set to and got on with the wall stripping. I am delighted to report that I have managed to get all of the polystyrene off the walls in the dining room to reveal the full horror of the crumbling plaster underneath. I have also revealed a little bit of house history….. did this used to be a book case, do you think? I was quite charmed by this unexpected revelation.

This afternoon, before John was engrossed in tinkering with his car again, we went over to Paul and Harriet’s to retrieve our cars, where we’d left them last night. We spent a few minutes chatting to Harriet, which was very nice, before we all set off home in our individual cars. How profligate……

Andrew left us to our own devices this evening and went to see his friend, Tubsy. We had our quiz to look forward to – and, once again, it was good fun. Lovely to see everyone and enjoy their company. The scores on the doors were about the same as they are every week, but there were plenty of questions that challenged us. I wasn’t on top form tonight, feeling rather tired from my scraping exertions, but it didn’t matter – everyone else was!!

Take care everyone. God bless.

Had a great morning. Pete and Dawn picked me up in their new car and we all trundled off to Solihull to see if we could sort out some accessories for Dawn’s Mother-of the-Bride outfit.

We went to the best place in Solihull for such things and, within minutes, had found a ‘titfer’ that looked like it might fit the bill. Naturally, we didn’t plump on that one straight away; and also naturally, we had to go through every other hat of the right colour and shape, just to check. The shop assistant finally came over to assist and, of course, the first one that we’d picked out was the one.

And a handbag? I’d found several that might do the trick, but when we got them close up, they were either too small, or the wrong colour, or the wrong material. The assistant brought out a few more bags and…. boom! There was one that was just right. Ooooooh, we were very happy bunnies.

“Shall we have a coffee to celebrate?” Dawn suggested. Don’t mind if I do. So we popped to a café nearby where there were very few customers, and thoroughly enjoyed our beverages and good conversation.

John, meanwhile, had been at home tinkering on the car again. Lots of lovely parcels keep arriving with bits for the car so, obviously, they need to be attached. It’s coming on…..

In the afternoon John continued with more car collation and I busied myself in emulating the ‘Bear Ladies’ from the Repair Shop. William’s little cuddly toy had sprung a leak in his arm and some of the stuffing had fallen out, so could I repair him please? I am not the best needlewoman in the world, but I had a go and voila! There he was, all mended and ready to go home.

I then had a half hour scraping away some of the polystyrene in the dining room. Oo-er! Honestly, it seems that we’ve been holding the building together with polystyrene and wallpaper……

Had a great evening, too. We were invited to Paul and Harriet’s for tea, so I gave up on stripping and we got in the car and drove over to Kenilworth. We had a lovely time. Andrew joined us, having driven across from Cambridge, and we sat over the dinner table all evening chatting away. Sometimes loudly debating a point…… a great time had by all. So much so, that it was an Uber home…….

Take care everyone. God bless.

Despite the fact that I woke up early this morning, I couldn’t winkle myself out of bed. I snoozed on for another hour or so, then read my book for a bit before hitting the word games on my phone. John, however, was a bit better at getting up and brought me a nice cup of tea at about 9.30.

I finally dragged myself from under the bedclothes at about ten o’clock to get ready for our guests, Dave and Chris, who were popping in with a little gift for the baby. “We won’t stay long,” said Chris. Haha! Once we get nattering there’s no way that’s going to happen!!!

Chris and I nipped up to the shops to buy some ingredients for a casserole that I planned to cook in the afternoon for Michael and Danielle. While we were in the Co-op we saw some lovely pizzas in the ‘reduced’ refrigerator. “Do you want to stop for lunch?” I suggested. “No, no, really, we won’t stay long,” Chris replied.

Once we were home, we nattered some more…. and had pizza for lunch. How lovely to spend time with friends and to get on so well with each other that you just natter and natter!

Chris helped me with the casseroles that I was cooking for the Kenilworth Newbies and offered her experience and expertise as a professional cook as to what would taste particularly nice. Apparently, her advice was spot-on. Michael said the chicken casserole went down a treat and the boys loved it.

Puzzle time….. what, do you reckon, this is?

No…. it’s not a mangled spatula. It is, in fact, a dead, plastic whisk. I only went and put it back in the pan that I’d left on the heat, didn’t I? No use to man nor beast now!!! Ah, well, I was due a new one, anyway.

After Dave and Chris left, I had a bit of a clear-up and then lit a fire. I know it’s Spring and all that, but we’d had the windows open while we had guests and John had gone chilly. The clouds had accumulated and hidden the sunshine, so it felt just right to be cosy in front of an open fire. John was delighted to have the warmth of the fire and promptly fell fast asleep, snuggled up in a blanket.

I gathered up all the goodies that I was to take to the besieged in Kenilworth – the little gifts Chris had brought, plus her delicious coffee and walnut cake; the just-come-out-of-the-oven chicken casserole; a chilli con carne; some ready-to-cook jacket potatoes and rice; and some tasty, fresh pineapple – before I set off to deliver the ‘Red Cross food parcel’.

All goodies were gratefully received, but ‘before you get here Mum, will you call in at Sainsbury’s and buy more nappies, please?’ Size Ones. For the newborn. Hmmmm….. the Sainsbury’s in Kenilworth doesn’t have its own-brand nappies in that size, but I bought others. “I tell you what,” I said to Danielle as I delivered the nappies, “I’ll pop over to Canley and see if they have any of their own brand in size ones.” They did. Success. Fingers crossed that Oliver doesn’t grow out of that size before he goes through the seemingly thousands of nappies I’ve bought……

All in all, a good day. But no time for dealing with the dining room. I did think that I might have a go at getting some more of the polystyrene off this evening but, by the time we’d eaten, I was tired and it was blog time. Maybe tomorrow?

Take care everyone. 341 people died with Covid today. 45,077 people tested positive. It’s definitely not over. Even if it’s no longer deemed newsworthy…….. God bless.

Being a Sunday, I thought I’d go to church and, as I awoke early, I decided to nip to the 8 o’clock service to say my prayers and thank the Lord for keeping an eye on us over the last couple of weeks.

I should’ve checked the weekly newsletter though, shouldn’t I? No eight o’clock service today – Peter is on ‘is ‘olidays – which I had forgotten, d’oh……. never mind, I watched the 9.30 service online instead.

But what was particularly delightful this morning was that John got up early. He was downstairs by 8.30 and we were breakfasting on bacon butties together by ten to nine. Oh, bliss – to have John’s company early in the morning. I thought I was in heaven.

My plan for the day had been to do some scraping of polystyrene in the dining room, but honestly, I felt weary today and couldn’t quite bring myself to do it. I did a bit more sorting out of the kitchen, where I’d deposited items from the dining room, then sat and had a cuppa and a sandwich before it was time to go over to Mum’s.

John, meanwhile, was still tinkering in the garage. That is, until his glasses fell apart….. we think he must have sat on them because they were a bit bent and the glass had parted company with the frame. We spent a good half an hour fiddling about with them to try and mend them, carefully putting the teeny, tiny screw to one side so we didn’t lose it…….. hahahahaha…… John picked it up and it immediately escaped onto the floor. Nope. We couldn’t find it. Fortunately, we had a spare pair of glasses which we cannibalised to repair them. They are not great but, luckily, we found another pair that would do just as well, so all’s well that end’s well.

I visited Mum this afternoon and she was quite well. She couldn’t hear me at all, though. Then we found her hearing aids on her bedside table. No wonder she couldn’t hear me!! I gave them a bit of a clean-up and she popped them in and, all of a sudden, we were having a conversation. Mind you, it was fairly one-sided in that she couldn’t remember anything much, which isn’t such a bad thing when you’ve been poorly and can’t remember having been so. But she was happy.

I told her that Graham and Gail were on one of their trips to celebrate Gail’s 70th birthday – which is today. Mum was delighted they were enjoying themselves but shocked that Gail was 70. She kept shaking her head as if she couldn’t quite believe it.

G&G have gone to Christmas Island which I think is very exciting and I think they are having a good time despite the rain!!! Of course, it’s the wet season now, so monsoons are in order. Despite it being very close to Java in Indonesia, it’s an Australian territory, so they import much of their food from Australia. Gail says meals out are hideously expensive as a result….. and the crabs that run around everywhere are inedible, so no local speciality, after all.

Take care everyone. Look after yourselves. God bless.