A Distraction

We sit to watch a quiz show on the TV.

My eyes wander to the windows. The sky is unusual, & wonderful. The sky is a pale blue, a shade not dissimilar to the colour of these words. The clouds are separate bubbling heaps of grey, with silver edges where the sun catches them.

We quiz on.

At the end of the round, my eyes once more stray to the window. By now the sky is now pink, the clouds a deep purple.

By the next break between rounds, it is so dark we have to draw the curtains & put the lights on.

I’m not sure the sky watching wasn’t more fascinating than the quiz show.

Pancake time

The curry is plopping away. We’re having Chicken Curry Pancakes. This consists of leftover chicken warmed in a fruity curry sauce & then used to fill some pancakes. Purists may not regard this as a proper curry but it is a tasty way of using up a small quantity of leftover chicken. This evening I will warm them up in the oven & serve with rice & naan bread.

In those far off days when I was fit & well I would have filled the pancakes & serve them up immediately. These days that would be too much so, in the morning, they are made up, put into a casserole dish, covered with a lid & put in the oven, ready to warm up in the evening. That way I have chance to rest up before facing the serving up & eating.

I find life is all about pacing these days. Provided I am sensible & pace myself appropriately I can keep my pain levels at a just about tolerable level. Unfortunately life intervenes in the best made plans & suddenly you have a flurry of activity, such as hospital trips, & that puts pay to any ideas of pacing. Using the wheelchair has helped immeasurably. At least these days I don’t have to drive myself to walk long distances. Indeed I rarely walk outside the confines of my home & garden. I tell myself I should be content that I can manage even that bit. I was told twenty years ago by one specialist that he was surprised I was able to walk at all. Each year the distances I cover get that little bit shorter, I manage to do that little bit less.

Pacing is also the reason I do most of my cooking/food preparation in the morning. That means I have the rest of the day to relax & recover from the exertion needed for the cooking/preparation. I’m also happy in the knowledge that, if I haven’t recovered sufficiently, the Fox can take over & complete the last stages of dinner-making.

Round two

The Fox is cooking today – sausage coddle. After a few quiet days his hands seem to be settling down again. I feel he should be safe enough with a sharp knife once more. He’s now moved to his other stress symptom – loss of appetite. He’s not as bad as he was before, but no matter how much he’s enjoying the meal he seems to run out of steam long before the plate is cleared. So far I’ve not felt the need to reduce the amount I cook. I’m hoping that will remain the case.

I’m once more finding I’m occasionally feeling the need to scratch the back of my head – a return of psoriasis? So far there isn’t any welt & the itch isn’t constant. I’m telling myself it’s just one of those occasional irritations that strike, a bit like the insect bite I’ve got on my leg.

Roll on holiday that’s all I can say. A prolonged spell of relaxation is what we both need.