leukaemia-limbo-dance

It swirls faster and faster and faster as you get older, doesn’t it? The maelstrom of the ‘untowards’? The time has passed when we could snap the world away in a click of our fingers and have a few minutes restoring the balance. The ‘out of kilter’ moments just seems to keep going now. No even keels to be seen for miles around….

Never mind, it will get better, I am sure. And, in fact, I can hardly complain because, on the way back from a visit to the audiologist to get John’s hearing aids sorted out this morning, all the traffic lights were on green. Can’t be bad, eh? Gotta be thankful for small mercies.

Equally, I am very thankful for all the wonderful people we have in our lives. Those wonderful friends and relatives who are there, come thick or thin, with offers of, ‘Let us know if there’s anything we can do.’ – and knowing that they mean it. Marvellous.

So, in relation to the ‘Mum Saga’, this morning/early afternoon I trawled around the homes that the agency suggested – either chatting to the staff, or undertaking a virtual tour on-line, or even better, undertaking a virtual tour round the home in real time. I think it’s going to be a difficult decision to make, because Mum has always had nice things around her, and I am not keen that she be faced with a clinical atmosphere. We’ll see. The last visit arranged is on Tuesday, so there’s time yet.

I called on Mum first thing and found her in bed fast asleep. She said she felt dozy. Ah…. that’ll be the Pregabalin, I expect. But she seemed much less confused than she was yesterday and talked coherently to me. She even had the ‘nous’ to recognise that she’d already had some pills this morning when the carer tried to give her more. She took a little bit of persuading that these were different and she still needed to take them. But she took them in the end.

The day has been interspersed with visits to Mum, including a ‘tuck-in’ service this evening; responding to emails; scrolling the internet; on-line tours; and prepping food. We had a nice interlude watching William and Thomas roaming around at home, playing, via a video call. It was delightful. I was sorry not have seen Freddie today though – we had had the lawn fertilized the other day, and Steve had advised keeping the children off it for three or four days, so we had to say ‘no’ to a visit. And neither of us felt that we had enough energy for whizzing over to Kenilworth today, either. Maybe tomorrow…..

And that’s about it. A bit of TV this evening and….. wait for it….. not only did John get the ironing board and tackle a bit of the ironing today, but he walked up to the shops, too and he went up two flights of stairs at the audiologists without getting too much out of puff. *Does a little dance* Things must be looking up. And there’ll be good weather to look forward to soon, as well!

• 3,030 people tested positive for the virus today
• 53 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 11 people died in hospitals with the virus on 6 & 7 April
• And it’s Day 11 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 381 since Lockdown 1; Day 386 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. God bless. 

One way and another it’s been a day of sorting Mum out. I was just lazing in bed this morning, trying to improve the weariness I have been feeling recently, when the phone rang and it was the warden at Mum’s flat. Mum was still not feeling well, so could I go over? The doctor had been called…..

I went over after I’d eaten breakfast and after I’d phoned the doctor on my own behalf, having had a second opinion on my eye infection (my own, that is) and he agreed to give me an antibiotic for the both the sinusitis and the eye infection. Fingers crossed it sorts it out.

When I got to Mum’s she was clearly unwell but it’s a bit of a puzzle as to what exactly might be wrong with her. However, I thought it might be a urine infection as she was complaining of backache and she seems more confused than normal.

I popped down to speak to the warden, to establish what she had told the doctor. She had told him that Mum’s situation merited a home visit. Right. OK. And, apparently, Mum had been wandering the corridors of the flats last night, knocking on doors. Two different neighbours tried to help her, but she couldn’t remember which flat she lived in – nor could she remember the number of the flat either. They finally managed to usher her into her own flat and asked her if this one was hers. She wasn’t sure. She didn’t recognise her belongings. Fortunately, they must have recognised her from photos because they got her into her nightie and tucked her into bed. But, really, you can’t expect other residents in their eighties to be doing that sort of thing, can you?

I went back to Mum’s flat to try and make her comfortable. I had not long been there when the warden came down, phone in hand. It was the doctor on a telephone consultation. Ha! So much for a home visit then. We spent fifteen minutes on the phone talking through Mum’s symptoms, with the doctor carefully describing to me what he was discounting and why. It felt like he was covering his back just in case……

One of Mum’s symptoms is the shakes. She is not cold, but she is wobbling her arms and legs around uncontrollably. The doctor deemed that this was to do with anxiety. Hmmm…… well, maybe it is, but I’ve never seen Mum do anything like that before. Reluctantly, he agreed that I should take a urine sample down to the surgery for them to check. We’ll wait and see. If it’s not that, then heaven knows what’s going on……

Anyway, pills were prescribed and there we are. Over to you, Anne. I had to leave Mum while I sorted out lunch for John and me, and to take John over to Solihull for his final infusion. I shot to the pharmacy to grab the medication that had been prescribed, and then nipped back into Solihull to collect the ol’ man. “I’ll drop you at home,” I said, apologetically, “While I go to get some petrol and drop Mum’s drugs in to her.”

Mum was miserable when I got there this evening and, in the end, I decided to put her to bed at that point. She was still complaining of backache and then a bit of a headache. I promised to go back later on to check on her.

Earlier on in the day, I had contacted an agency that helps you look for care homes. Grateful thanks to Anita for the suggestion – it’s certainly taken the legwork out of the choosing. I shall have a jolly good peruse of them tomorrow and then make a choice as to which might be best. Certainly, Mum needs more care than we can give her at present.

Poor John has had to take a back seat all day, but he hasn’t been feeling too bad. Although I must confess I did hear a loud exclamation of frustration from him this evening…..oh, dear.

We decided to abandon ship on our beloved quiz tonight as we were overwhelmed with things to fit in before bed-time. Never mind, there’s always next week, isn’t there? Well, I hope so anyway!

There was one positive in amongst everything today and that was a surprise visit from Janet and Brian, bringing Diamond Wedding Anniversary cake for us. What a surprise and how thoughtful. Lovely.

‘Scuse me while I nip back to Mum’s now, but here are the COVID figures:

• 2,763 people tested positive for the virus today
• 45 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 11 people died in hospitals with the virus on 5 & 6 April
• And it’s Day 10 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 380 since Lockdown 1; Day 385 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. God bless. I really do think things are going to improve – although they might get worse first…. fingers crossed that they don’t.

Today was heads ‘n tails; good ‘n bad; sunshine and snow. It didn’t seem to know what to do.

I whipped down to the doctor’s surgery first thing, for a blood test, to establish if my tiredness is simply a mental thing or whether there’s anything physical going on. I am not expecting it to be anything physical, but I’ll know next week.

Then, back home, dear Margaret came round and dug my house out for me. How wonderful to have such good friends – and one who doesn’t mind getting her hands dirty! For weeks now, I have looked at the fluff in the cat basket and thought, ‘I really must vacuum that out,’ and then done nothing about it. I have seen an empty cup on the side and thought I should pop it in the dishwasher, but left it behind. I’ve noted little spillages on the kitchen floor and thought I should mop up, but just walked over it instead. I have been feeling weary.

We are now spruced up, however, and the kitchen, in particular, is showing a marked improvement. You can actually see the work surfaces; and walk over the floor without a stickiness…… thank you, Margaret.

While Margaret was busy with her mop and bucket, I spent some time looking into future plans for Mum. I think we can no longer accommodate the pretence of ‘independent living’ and we shall have to find a care home for her. She needs someone to be available in the evenings as well as during the day now. We’re waiting for the social services to do a formal assessment, but I think they will confirm what I suspect.

In fact, I am half-expecting the warden at the accommodation she is currently staying in to tell us that the premises no longer suit her requirements….we’ll see.

Late morning, I shot over to the opticians for another review of my infected eye, which has not improved. Despite it being very red and sore, the optician stated that there is no infection in it anymore. He also suggested that if I wanted he could refer me to an ENT specialist but there’s a ‘very long waiting list’. Yep, his spiel did the trick. I retreated and decided I’d consult someone else and get a second opinion. He did suggest some eye drops however, but offered no prescription – which means I have to pay. I wasn’t happy about that. Luck was on my side though, because, rummaging through the chemist’s shop which resides in our utility room (aka John’s stuff), I found the very same eyedrops that John isn’t currently using. So I shall avail myself of them and not waste them. But it does feel like the slippery slope to privatisation, folks……

Mid-morning, Harriet had phoned and wondered if a garden visit would be OK this afternoon. Oh, yes! The sun was shining. “Come about one o’clock,” I suggested, “when the weather is a bit warmer.” However, as we waved Margaret goodbye at lunchtime, the snow began to fall, as did the temperature in the garden. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to be out in the cold in the snow, so I phoned Harriet to discuss the options. She sounded relieved. She had double-booked herself and was just about to discuss plans for the new house with an architect who’d arrived. “Shall we postpone?” I said. Yes, good idea.

We then had a bite to eat before collapsing into the sofa and watched some TV this afternoon, and then drove over to Solihull hospital for John’s infusion. As I was driving back, I took a phone call from the warden at Mum’s flat. Mum wasn’t feeling well. The doctor had been called but it was likely to be a telephone consultation. The warden was going home, so the doctor would be likely to call me. Righty-ho.

The doctor did phone – unfortunately, I didn’t pick up the call. I was outside, battling the elements of wind and snow, to trying to batten down the gazebo before it flew away. By the time I realised I’d missed the call, the surgery was closed…. ah, well, the carers haven’t reported any illness today, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed she will manage overnight. I’ll visit tomorrow.

With the kitchen so sparkly clean, I couldn’t face making it all a mess with cooking our evening meal, so I walked up to the fish ‘n chip shop….. our tea was delicious.

And that’s it. Nothing more to report. It’s been weird and wonderful day today, one way or another. The COVID figures, however, remain stable.

• 2,379 people tested positive for the virus today
• 20 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 6 people died in hospitals with the virus on 4 & 5 April
• And it’s Day 9 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 379 since Lockdown 1; Day 384 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. God bless. Things are going to improve.

Well, we were promised cold weather and we definitely got it. A little flurry of snow to remind us not to ‘cast a clout’, but the skies were blue for most of the day. Not that I saw much of them today, really. You might say that I stayed in bed for much of the morning, and then ‘rested my eyes’ this afternoon. I had a lazy day. But I definitely appreciated the sunshine.

John was up and bringing me a cup of tea this morning. This prompted me to ask him how he was feeling after our thorough investigation of the contents of the brandy bottle last night. “Fine.” he said, “I’m absolutely fine.” Well, I suppose he’s had years of practice. I, on the other hand, found that paracetamol was on the menu for breakfast.

Neither of us have done anything very much at all, and I literally swanned about in my dressing gown for most of the day, prompting William to ask me if I was poorly when he video-called. No, I wasn’t feeling poorly by then, but just hadn’t bothered to get proper clothes on. It is Easter Monday, after all, and a day of ‘whatever takes your fancy’, I think.

This afternoon the nurse came to administer John’s drugs, and my fears of the cannula playing up were unfounded. The infusion went through without a hitch. What a relief.

“What are we doing for tea?” John asked as it got to about half past five. Hunter’s chicken had been my plan. “I’ll do it,” said he. Wow. Things are looking up. Of course, John does like to be creative in every part of his life and cooking is no exception. Hunter’s chicken sounded boring to him, so he made up a recipe of his own, which involved mustard and ginger, Jerusalem artichokes and other roasted vegetables. It was delicious. I was rather pleased he had done the cooking. Nice to have a break.

This evening I watched TV while John inspected the back of his eyelids. All that cooking had worn him out, bless him. And so passes another day in which John wonders out loud what it’s all for? I don’t know, I said. I wasn’t in the mood for a philosophical conversation today….. maybe tomorrow.

The murmurings from the Downing Street briefing were positive today, and the COVID figures are still giving us hope that we will be able to lift restrictions a little bit soon.

• 2,762 people tested positive for the virus today
• 26 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 8 people died in hospitals with the virus on 3 & 4 April
• And it’s Day 8of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 378 since Lockdown 1; Day 383 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. Keep up the good work. God bless.

Life seems so wonderful, doesn’t it, when you don’t look too closely? Or when it’s written down, like I do in a blog, and it’s seemingly mundane? And it looks like you are coping when you make a joke of it?

Well, there you are. Life ain’t that easy folks. And this has just been highlighted to me when I had a bit of a spat with my brother (who resides in Oz, don’t ya know), on a WhatsApp call. The spat ranged across a variety of things, but included the fact that I should leave Mum to it. ‘Scuse me? Really?

I don’t think he meant it how I took it. He was feeling raw, because he’s having a difficult time himself just now. And I get it. It is so hard to deal with the practical things as well as the emotional stuff when you are endeavouring to cope with a partner’s illness. By ‘eck! It’s tough!

What struck me, though, was the fact that those very difficult things, and those ‘near-death‘ experiences, are somehow sanitised when you write them down on a blog. Life experiences are distanced somehow. And the conversation with Graham highlighted this in spades. No-one, just having read my blog, can have any real comprehension of the depths to which we have plumbed in the last fifteen years.

Ah, well.

Anyway….. it was Easter Day today. Alleluia! It’s a day of hope. And I hope that things will improve for us; I hope that John feels better; I hope that our kids get what they are dreaming of; I hope that Gail gets better; that my Mum doesn’t suffer in her ageing; that friends, and their families, live in peace and harmony….. and so on. God bless us all.

Our day was taken up with more medical stuff and visiting family and friends. John’s infusion actually happened at the appointed time and, beauty of beauties, the drug for tomorrow was delivered and is safely stowed in the fridge.

I had planned to ‘go to church’ this morning but I fell back asleep after the alarm went off, so missed the service being live-streamed. Not yet caught up but hope to do so soon…. I finally managed to drop Easter cards and Easter Eggs off to the various destinations this afternoon. Phew.

I was delighted that the Easter Bunny visited us this morning……in the guise of dear Margaret. I was puzzled as to why this very posh car was pulling up and stopping in front of my house…… well, what do you know? It’s Margaret with a handful of Easter eggs. Thank you very much!

I toddled over to Mum’s this afternoon to deliver an Easter Egg or two, only to find she wasn’t well again. Oh, dear. What to do? I offered paracetamol, tea and sympathy which seemed to do the trick. I suggested that if she felt unwell she might like to lie on the bed. She considered this for a nano-second and seemed to reject the idea. However, the carer found her lying in bed this evening. Something stuck, obvs….

This evening, we had the traditional lamb dinner and then, tipsy on wine, decided to go for an aperitif or two. This resulted in us playing lots of seventies music to which we sang or danced… and then came the phone call with Gail and Graham – and said spat. Oh, dear, must have had too much to drink…..

Just to keep you posted on the COVID front, we are as follows….

• 2,297 people tested positive for the virus today
• 10 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 8 people died in hospitals with the virus on 1 & 2 April
• And it’s Day 7 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 377 since Lockdown 1; Day 382 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone, and God bless.

“What are your plans for the day?” John wondered, as we awoke this morning. “Hmmmm…. I’ll have to consult my list.” I replied. He was scornful. “You and your lists.” he said. I felt I had to justify myself and started on a long spiel as to why I needed a list, ending up saying, lamely, “…….. and, you know, I might forget….”

So I consulted my list which consisted of: ‘make lots of phone calls to agencies about Mum’. Well, obviously, I couldn’t do that, it being Easter weekend an’ all. Next, it told me to do some running about the village to deliver the Easter cards I’d carefully written. I could do that, and so I set about thinking of the route I’d take. I also planned to shoot over to the Kenilworth Sleaths to take Easter Eggs. “Do you fancy cutting my hair?” John wondered next. “Ah…OK.” I replied, quickly re-calculating my day.

I just had time to deliver a couple of cards to people living a stone’s throw from us before I did John’s hair. Then Michael phoned and wondered what we were doing this afternoon. Was a garden visit on the cards? He didn’t have to ask twice. Most definitely, please come for a garden visit – and you can help me put the gazebo up! I can do my deliveries later – perhaps across tea-time.

The Sutton Sleaths duly arrived and William found that the Easter Bunny had also arrived – a little bit early at our house, but he wasn’t to notice and he hunted round the garden to fill his basket full of eggs. We had a lovely afternoon – quiet and gentle. Peering into the pond, playing in the sandpit, chatting softly, and dandling baby Thomas on our knees. Marvellous.

The nurse arrived mid-afternoon to give John his infusion. She struggled to feed anything through the cannula. She said it was blocked and needed to be replaced, and promptly sent for someone else to come and fit another one. Two hours later they were both still here, however, having failed to get any access to any vein anywhere in John’s arms. Black and blue the boy is – black and blue.

The solution to the problem? Phone for the paramedics to come and put a cannula in. They’ll be here within 4 hours. Oh… OK. We waved goodbye to the Sutton Sleaths in the middle of this little bit of excitement, and then we waved goodbye to the nurses too, and sat down to wait.

I started thinking about food. I realised that we didn’t have any sweet potato, which I was planning to cook, so I nipped up to the shops to get some. On my way, the phone rang. It was one of the ladies at Michael Blanning. Mum wasn’t feeling great. Oh, crikey! I explained that we were waiting for paramedics to arrive so I couldn’t immediately shoot over to Mum’s. “Sit her in her chair, please and put her feet up. The carer will be there shortly.” I hoped for the best.

I cooked our evening meal and we were still waiting for the paramedics. I was also still waiting, with trepidation, for a phone call from Mum’s carer. I hadn’t yet delivered all my Easter cards, nor taken the Easter Eggs over to Paul’s. Never mind, there’s still time…..

By 9 o’clock this evening the paramedics still hadn’t arrived, but neither had I had a phone call from Mum’s. I checked the app. She seemed to have recovered and was OK. We had, however, taken a phone call from the ambulance station to say they were sorry that the paramedics were delayed.

Finally, they arrived at about half-past nine. And they were successful in their mission to cannulate. It’s amazing what a bowl of warm water can do to tease out a vein. Next part of the jigsaw, then: phone the District Nurses to come out and administer the medication – which takes an hour to infuse. The nurses arrived at 10.30, and were satisfied that the cannula was operative. Whoop! Whoop! The paramedics left.

What a relief. We had had visions of having to go to the hospital to get sorted, if this plan hadn’t worked. Fingers crossed that the cannula will stay in situ for tomorrow and Monday…..

And so, just before midnight – with the infusion infused, the nurses have left. Aaaaand breathe…… I think can now remove that axe that seems to have lodged itself between my shoulder blades…….. not sure John has yet, though, poor man. It’s tough.

Deliveries? Shall I run and do them now? No, said Monika, the District Nurse, as she left the premises. You need sleep. Eight hours is what you need……. hmmm, deliveries then – maybe tomorrow? Yes, maybe tomorrow.

Just for the record, and ‘I’ve started, so I’ll finish…’ here are today’s COVID stats.

• 3,423 people tested positive for the virus today
• 10 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 13 people died in hospitals with the virus on 1 & 2 April
• And it’s Day 6 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 376 since Lockdown 1; Day 381 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Meanwhile, the clock hands have moved smoothly over the hour and we’re now into Easter Day. Alleluia! Happy Easter everyone!

Take care and God bless.

Today was a day for doin’ nothin’. We had nowhere to go and nothing really to do. I mean, I know there are always jobs to do, but I was mentally set up for a day off thank you very much, given that the Community Nurse was going to come here instead of us having to charge about the country to some hospital or other.

And so we just meandered about really. John spent some time on his poker and a bit of TV, while I did a bit of poking about in cupboards to see what I might be able throw away. I had come away from Paul’s yesterday with a proper realisation that we ought not to leave it much longer before we have a real clear-out, or the kids’ll be lumbered with such a lot of work when we snuff it. The only trouble was that the cupboard I started poking about in was full of their stuff…. and they were really very little help. When I texted them as to whether I should ‘keep’ or ‘chuck’ the stuff, I got some non-committal answers and then they started messing about, making jokes…… made me laugh though, even if I still don’t know what to do with half the stuff.

And so a short blog today with not a lot to tell. The nurse did arrive this afternoon, just as John was getting anxious as to whether anyone would turn up, and the whole process took just as long as it does at the hospital. John was hooked up to the infusion hung from a coat-hanger, hooked onto the drinks cabinet, there being no formal equipment available to get the height on the bag of fluid. He sat and fiddled about with a jigsaw that I’d taken possession of recently and so the time passed relatively pleasantly.

Being trapped and strapped for a couple of hours doesn’t make for feeling good though, and John was a bit down in the dumps after the nurse had left. I was also feeling blue, having rummaged through the children’s teenage years via their possessions in the cupboard, and I’d reminisced, looking into the now ever-receding past. A past I loved and have no regrets over, but wish I could experience all over again.

Just as the blues threatened to overtake us, William phoned. That cheered us up. Whatever story he has to tell, it’s always interesting and we always get a tour of one room or another, or the garden, or something. His little voice, Thomas’ smiling face and Michael’s direct gaze, which asks us without words if we’re OK, broke the bad spell that had settled on us and the evening wasn’t such a wistful time as we thought it might be. I watched trash on TV and John honed his poker skills. Then he went to bed and I dozed off on the sofa…..

With regard to the general situation we find ourselves in, I am still pleased to report that the COVID figures remain stable, and the experts are still hopeful the dreaded lurgy will be contained if we continue to follow the guidance offered. So, this is the latest:

• 3,402 people tested positive for the virus today
• 52 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 24 people died in hospitals with the virus on 30 & 31 March
• And it’s Day 5 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 375 since Lockdown 1; Day 380 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Today may be the blackest day in the Christian calendar, but it ain’t over yet…….Easter is on its way!!

Take care everyone. God bless.

Cousin Janet married Brian, 60 years ago, on this day. Janet sent me these photos of me as her bridesmaid…..regrettably, I haven’t been able to fish out my own photos of them on their day, so can’t treat you to those.

But, it was April 1st – and it doesn’t look cold, does it? But it does make me feel old…..I was 8 and a half years old in these photos. Heavens.

Anyway, this morning, I popped round to visit them on their wedding anniversary and was very excited to be sharing this momentous day with them – even if it was only for a few minutes and socially-distanced. It was so lovely to see them and congratulate them on achieving a Diamond Wedding Anniversary milestone! And, as I walked up the path, their son, Peter, noticed me and recognised that I was the bridesmaid, even though we think he was a child and it was a very long time ago since he last saw me. Clearly, I haven’t aged a bit…… Oi! Stop laughing at the back!

While I was visiting, I had left John at the dentist’s surgery to have his broken tooth dealt with. It was a bitterly cold morning and he wasn’t in the dentist’s chair as long as we thought he might be, so he had to wait outside in the cold for a good quarter of an hour while I whizzed back to collect him. The poor man was frozen! Well…… if you will cast a clout afore May is out and wear your light coat on a cold day, what can you expect? Bless him – we’d neither of us thought of essential outerwear this morning before we set off. Brrrrr!

After the trip to the dentist, we drove the short distance to Paul’s new house to have a look round. They haven’t moved in yet, so it was a safe viewing. We were wowed by what we saw. It is such a lovely Edwardian house and I think they will be very happy there. It has three storeys to it, but I am delighted to report that John made it up to the very top of the house and back down again without feeling too out of breath.

We agreed that this was exactly the sort of house we’d have loved to own years ago if we’d had the money – and we are not jealous at all. In revelling in its loveliness, however, we were reminded of how quickly the years pass and how you can’t go back in time – felt old all over again for the second time today. Can’t wait until restrictions are over and we’re allowed to go and stay, though.

Once we were home, we grabbed a bite to eat, and then it was the trip across to Solihull Hospital for John’s daily infusion. While John was being attended to, I chose to do nothing very much. I am still tired, so I wrote a few Easter cards and posted them before starting to read a new book that had come in the post this afternoon.

When I collected John a bit later on, he had good news to tell (mind you, it’s all relative, isn’t it?). The infusions would be administered by the community team over the Easter weekend and so we could stay at home!! Also, the treatment will finish on Wednesday. Yippee!! Not as bad as we originally thought.

This evening, I had a lovely Zoom chat to my dearest friends from college – ‘Old Salts’, so named, because we were at Saltley College. And, do you know, every time we meet up, I feel blessed all over again – they are a delight. I thank the Lord for such wonderful, wonderful friends and fifty years of their friendship. Feeling my age again…… We were missing two of our number though, this evening. Sue D was busy with her granddaughter who has come to stay – how very exciting – but we are yet to hear what held Lizzie up. Nothing untoward, we hope. Both girls were missed.

And how quickly the days pass. I had intended to join in with the prayers this week on-line, with it being Holy Week, but have not quite had the right schedule here at home to be tied to a specific time. I’ve had to do a bit of DIY prayer instead but I baulked at the washing of feet today…..

Finally, I popped round to Mum’s to ‘tuck her in’ tonight. She was feeling very miserable and a little unwell – and had given the carer the run-around at tea-time. The carer had had to phone me a couple of times to be sure she was doing the right thing. In the end, I suggested she offer Mum some paracetamol and I’d see how she was when I got there. She soon cheered up when she saw me and I managed to cajole her out of her misery and into bed. Fingers crossed, folks.

I am still monitoring the COVID figures – to quote a phrase: “I’ve started, so I’ll finish….” and see that they are still steady. I am watching them like a hawk and checking the experts’ opinions to establish whether the figures look stable and so far, so good.

• 4,479 people tested positive for the virus today
• 51 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 25 people died in hospitals with the virus on 30 & 31 March
• And it’s Day 4 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 374 since Lockdown 1; Day 379 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. God bless. 

Neither of us slept well, so we were both bleary-eyed this morning. Me, literally slightly more so, from the fact that I have an eye infection. However, we were up and at ’em early on as it was an ‘immunoglobulin’ day. A trip across to Heartlands this morning where John was attached to yet another drippy something or another for three hours to help him feel a little better – or, at least, to prevent him getting more infections than he might otherwise do so.

I dropped John off and shot back home to set this evening’s quiz but, before I did, I thought I’d nip into the garden centre to see if there was a cure for those ‘orrible little grubs I found in amongst the primulas yesterday. Sure enough, there is a specific treatment. They are clearly notorious. Vine weevils apparently…. I bought some rather vile pest control.

Once home, rather than immediately get on with the quiz, I thought I’d have a little potter in the garden, which was lovely. It was still warm and the sun was shining, and I thought I’d better sort a few things out before Steve, the milkman, who does our lawns, came round. I was very happy with my bit of planting and hanging up of little lanterns that I’d impulse-bought at the garden centre. Didn’t quite have the guts to deal with the vine weevils though….maybe tomorrow?

Next, it was time for a trip to the opticians to check out the eye infection. Doctors, apparently, no longer deal with eyes. Yes, said the optician, you have infection in your eyes. Do this, this, and this – and if that doesn’t work we’ll have to refer to an ear, nose and throat specialist. Blimey!! From optician to ENT ….there really is no such thing as ‘general practice’ any more, is there? Or is that a bit harsh?

I did a little bit on the quiz before it was time to shoot back to Heartlands to collect John, and then we were back home and it was lunchtime. John hoovered up the leftovers from yesterday’s picnic – French stick, ham, mustard, millionaire shortbread, scones, clotted cream and jam and so on, while I tucked into a delicious salad….. chalk and cheese we are….. Jack Spratt and his wife…. or maybe Joan Spratt and her husband.

Soon afterwards it was time to whizz over to Solihull for John to undergo yet more treatment – this time, antifungal – and an hour or so hooked up to another drippy thing. I went home to wait for him to call to say he was finished and ready for collection. In the meantime, I spent a bit more time finalising the quiz.

I was waiting for the doctor to phone me about Mum today as well and, having had a bit of a battle this morning to get a telephone appointment today (the original offer being: How about 21st April?), the receptionist had finally slotted me in for this afternoon. I explained that I was doing journeys back and fro to collect John so could they fit it in between times, please? Yes – OK – about half past four? Right – that’ll fit in – thank you.

Of course, half past four came and went, and I had to shoot off to collect John again before the call came in, so I wasn’t hopeful that I’d speak to a doctor today. However, just as I settled down to sit on the sofa for the first time today just before our evening meal, in came the call…..well, that was a good thing, after all – even if I didn’t get my sit-down.

This evening, John wasn’t sure that he’d want to join in with our get-together but, fortified by a full bottle of white wine, he was game and he sat alongside me as I read out the quiz questions. It transpired, though, that the quiz I’d prepared was hard. Lots of questions that no-one knew the answer to – even ones we’d had before in a ‘revision’ round….. Oh, dear. I did feel bad about that. The scores on the doors are tumbling….. ah, well, got to keep everyone on their toes… tee-hee.

So, there passes another day – lots of miles travelled; lots of drips dripped; and a wonderful friendship shared.

• 4,052 people tested positive for the virus today
• 43 people died with the virus in the community in the last 24 hours
• 15 people died in hospitals with the virus on 29 & 30 March
• And it’s Day 3 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 373 since Lockdown 1; Day 378 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. God bless. 

Today was a momentous day for the Kenilworth Sleaths. They took possession of their new home to great excitement in our household, as we looked at some photos of them having a mosey round it before they move in at the weekend. Can’t wait to go over – perhaps we’ll do a garden visit this week if time, medical appointments and weather permits. *Does an excited dance*

One thing that particularly touched us were photos of items that the previous owners had left behind. One was a map of Jersey – well, we have the Jersey connection through Danielle, so that felt good; and the other was what looks to be an original drawing of a Tawny Owl by Trevor Boult – a dear friend I met at church in his later years – so that felt good, too. I do hope the whole family will be very happy there.

And so to the ‘garden party’…… just before we went to bed last night, I had a message from Danielle, wondering what we were doing today. The weather was going to be nice. So nice, in fact, that we could have a picnic in the garden, couldn’t we? Well, that sounded like a jolly good idea to me!! That would lighten our mood.

So, we planned for lovely food at lunchtime, and then John & I would nip over to Solihull to drop him off for his treatment; I’d come back for a little while longer before it would be time to collect the ol’ man again and it would be time for Danielle to go home. And, do you now what? The plan worked! *Does another little dance*

We had the most scrumptilicious picnic with all the things John is not supposed to have, as a treat – including scones with clotted cream and jam. Mind you, scones/cream/jam is such a worry isn’t it? Do you put the jam on first? Or do you put the cream on first? And which of the ‘cream tea police’ will come nee-nawing up the road after you? Will it be the Devon or Cornish ones? We were nervous wrecks…..

Thomas was delightful, too – although he was fast asleep in the pram when I took the ‘Post-Lockdown Picnic’ photo. He was a happy, smiley boy, pulling himself up on absolutely anything he could, and trying to wobble-walk. And if he couldn’t do that, just crawl over anything and everything and then dibble his fingers into whatever he could find. He is such a grand character and so lovely, and my heart was full.

Because it was such a nice day, we even put the roof down on the car for our journey across to Solihull to let the breeze blow through our hair. That was lovely too and we ‘apricated’ as we drove along. What? You don’t know what ‘apricate’ means? Well, Susie Dent tells us that it’s a 17th century word meaning ‘to revel in the warmth of the sun on your back.’ She recommended it today – so we did.

John’s treatment went fairly smoothly, as well, this afternoon, with the nurse only having to have one go at getting the cannular in. That’s a bonus, isn’t it?

John was worn out, though, once he was back home, so we sat outside for a little while, drinking tea, before he went to sit in his favourite chair and have a snooze. I stayed outdoors and planted up some of the pots that have been waiting for the ‘fair weather gardener’ to get outside and do them. Had a lovely potter about. Although I wasn’t too happy with one of the pots I had a rummage in. It was full of little white maggot-y things which had clearly enjoyed munching on the primulas in there and had been busy killing them off. Had a look on a gardening site on-line and I think they are weevils. Might have to pop to the garden centre tomorrow to see what dastardly trick I can find to get rid of them. Pesky things!! Anyone got any gardening tips?

This evening, I had planned to do a little bit more on the quiz that I’d started this morning, but I felt tired and so sat and watched a bit of MasterChef instead, and then amused myself with the ‘Dogs Behaving Badly’ programme, which I always find very funny if I ever watch it. And then I went and tucked Mum into bed.

We had a bit of a laugh as I cajoled Mum into bed. She really didn’t want to be in bed as early as ten o’clock, but I gently explained that I couldn’t be calling round at midnight. She wrinkled her nose up, and then said, “I feel as if I’m being shepherded to bed.” I had to agree. Yes, she was being shepherded but it was all in a good cause.

I suggested she read a book before she went to sleep, which she thought was a good idea – until she remembered that all of the print in her favourite books was too small. I had to go on a hunt, then, to see if I could find any large print books. I eventually found one, and left her ostensibly reading it.

So, although John is still feeling in the doldrums, we have had a better day today. Phew! Didn’t want to face another one like yesterday!

With regard to the COVID figures, they are still looking fairly stable so I continue to be ever-hopeful….

• 4,040 people tested positive for the virus today
• 56 people died with the virus in the last 24 hours
• 15 people died in hospitals with the virus on 28 & 29 March
• And it’s Day 2 of the lifting of Lockdown 3; Day 372 since Lockdown 1; Day 377 since our self-imposed Lockdown 1

Take care everyone. God bless.