Skies

As I remained so tired, despite an afternoon lie-down, & nothing would spoil, we decided to abandon the idea of the salmon & eat out for once. We just went down to our local village pub. As we went from the car, sharp cries could be heard from the woods behind. Looking that way, I couldn't help but notice the colour of the sky, gloriously streaked with purples, oranges, pinks. A plane flew overhead & even the vapour trail became a brilliant fuschia pink. Fabulous.

We seem to have had some wonderful skies lately. One night last week, we were struck by a huge, almost perfectly circular, silver disc in the sky - the moon, bigger than I think I've ever seen it in these northern parts. Within this disc, the greyness of the mountainous lunar terrain formed what almost looked like two eyes, a nose & a big smile. It was easy to understand how people came to believe there was a man in the moon.

But today we are back to brilliant blue. Everything is covered with a thin patina of frost. I'm half-contemplating that trip for the salmon but it just looks so cold. I'm not sure I fancy it, especially when I know we will have to go out later to day. The Fox's new glasses have arrived, so we will have to make a trip into Lancaster. He will be relieved to get them. He expects the others, with their temporary repair, to give up at any time & feels very restricted without them. 

Looking forward to a quiet day

For the first time in what seems ages, the sun is shining. Blue skies reign over us.

I'm intending to cook salmon for us today. A bit of me thinks it would be good to go out on the Mean Machine. I've not used it for ages. Another bit of me feels no. It will be cold & I am very very tired.

Last night I fell into bed at about 6.30 pm & didn't rise until 7.30 am. I took some sleeping pills. They well & truly knocked me out. I start on the pills I take in the middle of the night tonight so this was my last opportunity to take some sleeping pills & ensure a solid sleep. Even with the muscle relaxants I'm still waking most nights about 2am with stomach pains, not as severe but nonetheless sufficient to wake me & keep me awake for several hours. Though I will admit, yesterday, for the first time since Christmas, I did get through the daytime without a single ache. Maybe the problem is passing. I'm still waiting sample results to confirm what is the cause of the problem.

Surprise, surprise, my blood pressure was high. I've got another appointment for next month.

I think what really did it for me yesterday was the Big Food Shop. It never ceases to amaze me how sometimes you end up buying, for one week, either a few expensive items, or a lot of small cheap ones. This week was the latter variety. Full of fresh fruit & veg. The lad at the till reckoned he'd passed through the cheapest item he'd ever seen - fresh ginger 2p. Well, there's not a lot of point in buying more than you need. It never seems to keep that well.

Today should be a quiet day. Apart from going off to buy some fish, there's nothing else that has to be done. We're hoping by then to have heard from the opticians so may go into Lancaster. We'll see. Or we may just have a lazy afternoon of it.

Meanwhile I'm tackling some new jigsaws the Fox bought me - a couple of Rossetti paintings. I enjoy fine art jigsaws in that, while you are examining the pieces so carefully to join them up, you find yourself gaining a greater appreciation of the artist who produced the original artwork. You discover the looseness of Monet's flicks of paint, the searing pain of Van Gogh, the incredible skill in moving from skin tone to fabric with Leonardo. Sometimes I'm struck by the use of a particular colour can sometimes give a cohesion to a painting which otherwise would be lacking. I wonder what I will discover with Rossetti. 

Getting things done

It's off to the surgery again this afternoon. This time it's for my blood pressure. You may remember before Christmas it was rather high, so they we want to check it again. At least we've got past the stresses caused by the deaths & illness that beset us & our friends then. Some problems haven't entirely resolved themselves but the level of stress has reduced. The only real cause of anxiety at the moment is our own health, mine in particular. Hopefully my blood pressure should be more normal. The results of the tests from my GP visit last week are not expected until nearer the end of the week, then we should be closer to knowing the cause & hopefully some treatment which is more efficacious at easing some of my aches & pains.

Monday we ended rushing into Lancaster to sort out some glasses for the Fox. The arm had come off his reading pair & he ended up feeling unable to do anything, to cook, to read, anything. In Lancaster one of the opticians do a one-hour service so into Lancaster we went. Of course the person who makes new specs up was on holiday while it is so quiet in the post-Christmas period. They did manage to at least do a temporary job affixing a mismatch arm on. Hopefully that will last until the 2 new pairs he's ordered will be ready later in the week. He's decided on 2 pairs in the thought he shouldn't be stranded if one pair breaks. They surely can't both break at the same time! No harm in hoping. And, of course, it will mean another trip into Lancaster later this week.

Familiar territory

On Friday I finally decided the time had come to see the GP. My stomach problems seem to have been steadily worsening.

So I rang up for an appointment. Our surgery uses a push button system. Faced with the options of a routine doctor's appointment or an urgent appointment, I opted for routine. After all I'd had the problem for a fortnight already so I didn't think it was really an emergency. When I got through to a real person I was told the earliest appointment was next Tuesday. I asked if there was any chance of something earlier. She asked me what the problem was, consulted her protocol & instantly said she would transfer me to the emergency line.

This came as a bit of a shock. Even more so, when I spoke to the second receptionist & explained the problem a second time. She instantly organised me an appointment half an hour later. It was that urgent!


When I did see the doctor, his conclusion was that it had nothing to do with food poisoning or a stomach bug. Instead he is confident that I am suffering from internal bleeding as a reaction to some of my medication, & so becoming anaemic. Anti-inflammatory drugs are notorious for doing this, especially if you are on them for a long time. I've been on my present ones for 10 years or so. He's given me some anti-cramping pills to keep me going until he gets the results of tests. Meanwhile if I get any worse I am to get back to the surgery IMMEDIATELY.  

Oh dear, this sounds awfully familiar. I was in a similar situation in 2000 when my then doctor was reluctant to let me go away to attend a wedding unless I promised if I felt any worse I would instantly go off to the local hospital.

Let's hope it all gets settled soon.

Meanwhile yesterday we had a day out & ventured over to Arnside, where we used to live. This was partially as a longer drive for the Fox. It's some 19 miles away. It has reassured us both that the Fox should cope with a bit further a drive after a flight if we do go away on holiday.


It was surprising to see some of the changes since we left in 2000. There's now a wheelchair accessible fine art gallery where there was once a Victorian style bank. The shop I used to work in has now been extended into the next door shop. The Pub has been extended, making it wheelchair accessible & providing an extensive restaurant part. A few familiar faces came in, though they didn't seem to recognise us.


Arnside is a very pretty village even on a grey day. We questioned whether we regretted the move. It was a matter of necessity rather than desire. But no, we have no regrets. We feel so much more at home here, even though we lived in Arnside for over 20 years. The convenience of having shops & other facilities within just a few minutes drive is great. The views across the Bay here are almost as good as those as the Kent estuary empties out into the Bay at Arnside. No, we are happy & have no desire to move back.

Dilemmas

Now the banshees are visiting. No longer do we just have the sound of the wind battering on the house, the rain slashing on the windows, we also have the banshees whistling down the chimney. It just seems to be never stopping. We're grateful we went to the expense of re-roofing the house a couple of years back, otherwise we would be very worried indeed.

To escape, I'm looking at our holiday brochures & dreaming of warm sunny days, lands of blue skies. In particular we are hoping to go self-catering in France once more.

We've usually enjoyed this type of holiday. It's always a bit of a chore locating a wheelchair accessible property - some have turned out more successful than others - but now we have another consideration. How far will the Fox be able to drive after a flight? Since the stroke, the only long drive he has done, was to Stoke. The drive took it's toll, but then that was in June, not long after his stroke at the end of March, & he is doing a lot better now than then. Since that June trip the furthest he's driven is to Carnforth, approximately 10 miles away. That we know he can confidently do most days, but could he go further? Even as a passenger he did find the 80 mile taxi drive to Manchester airport when we went on  our Rhine cruise in the autumn exhausting. There's no point in finding the most wonderful gite if he isn't up to driving there. Once there we can just potter, but we need to find the right spot to stay. So, how far should we allow  between airport & gite? Anyone's guess.

Wild

My stomach still rumbles on. I keep thinking maybe I ought to see the doc. I just get ready to do so when either I'm feeling a bit better & feel it therefore would be a waste of time, or I'm up too late to ring the surgery for an appointment which has to be done before 9am. Normally 9am is fine for me. I'm rarely still in bed at that hour, but these stomach cramps have left me not getting off to sleep until after 4am so, not surprisingly, I'm not very prompt at waking up in the morning. Indeed yesterday I couldn't believe it when I noticed the clock to see it was already 11am & I was still eating breakfast! At least today is a better day. My tum's feeling more itself & I was feeling up earlier, ready to go.

So much for my health. I'm just grateful the Fox seems to be doing a lot better than I am.

Yesterday we did manage a venture out. It was wild. All morning, brief as it was, the wind had been howling so much I'd had to put the volume up on the radio to hear it above the noises from outside.

When we did venture out in the afternoon, we went along the prom. The wind continued to blow. Poor pedestrians were trying to walk, bent forward into the wind, trying to pull scarves & collars up, anything to protect their faces, & their eyes in particular. Great drifts of sand were blowing across the prom straight into their faces, with a force that really must have stung, if not positively hurt. In parts the sand was mid-calf deep. In other parts the gravel, placed on the shore as part of the sea defences had been forced right up virtually onto the pavement & road due to the sheer force of the tide. When we got to our destination sand was clearly visible covering the car. Coming back we went a more inland route. We avoided the sand but not the wind. As we sat at the road junction waiting for the traffic to clear so we could turn, you could feel our heavy car bouncing around.

The wind still blows today. Not as bad but still blowing. I wonder what damage has been done. Clearly part of the trellis dividing the patio area & the lawn area of our garden is coming down. The birds will have to find another perch. But what else? I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't find yet more fences needing to be renewed but until these winds abate there seems little point in looking too carefully. Instead we just keep our fingers crossed, hope for the best, & stay snug inside, in the warmth.

Catching up

Readers of the Fox's blog will realise why I have been silent so long. Our ill-health continues. Yesterday was one of the worst for me but come about 8pm I picked up & managed to eat a bit & see the new year in with a glass of wine. I'm relieved to say so far I'm doing much better today, managing to eat & drink fairly normally so far. I'm even hoping to get the household chores done this afternoon.

I weighed myself today, the first time since Christmas, & discovered this has clearly been one of the few Christmas periods I've even managed to lose weight. That doesn't happen often. Usually I dread looking at the scales after such a period of self-indulgence.  Mind you I've not done as bad as my cousin Ann who has lost over over a stone due to the effects of the chemotherapy she's presently having for cancer. She sounds reasonably cheerful despite that & has found the treatment not as bad as she feared. We just have to wait & see if it has been effective. We won't know that for a few moths.

Meanwhile a great thump resounded around the house the other day as a pile of unrequested holiday brochures arrived in the post. I've been flipping through the pages in my more lucid moments. I feel we could do with a holiday - a bit of sunshine & relaxation, above all a bit of better health.

Anyhow to get back to what the theme of this blog was going to be. Accept my belated apologies for not getting around to it earlier in the week, but

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL MY READERS

MAY YOU ALL HAVE BETTER HEALTH THAN WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING IN 2011

MAY 2012 BRING YOU ALL PEACE & A RENEWED WONDER IN THE WORLD