Christmas Day

Christmas Day turned into one of our more successful Christmas celebrations. I hope you all did too. Ours was helped by the fact the Fox seems to have got rid of his cold before I succumbed.

It was a beautiful day. It was the first day it hasn’t rained in weeks. We went along the promenade to the golf club just before noon. The light was wonderful. A still cool blue glow reflected on what water was in the Bay. The fells on the other side had an almost pinkish hue. Oh so soft. At the club itself the course looked so freshly green.

Soon after we arrived, our friends started to arrive. We had a drink with them before going into lunch. The meal was enjoyable without being exceptional. Our biggest criticism was for the Bellinis with which we were greeted. They had been poured at least half an hour before we got them with the result the prosecco was flat. However, the nibbles we had to accompany them were interesting.

The Fox then went onto the spicy butternut squash soup. I gather is was spicy too. I’d opted for the melon delice on the basis that melon was one thing I could enjoy even if my taste buds had packed up on me again. As it turned out my taste buds are working okay, or more or less okay, so I looked at the prawn & crayfish cocktails others were having with a certain envy. We’d had to order the food weeks in advance so I’d played safe.

We both had the turkey main course. The breast was very moist, not dried out at all. The Fox would have appreciate some extra gravy. I even managed some stuffing & pigs in blankets, things I usually avoid.  The sprouts were tender without being too mushy. The roast carrots & parsnips were okay. The cranberry sauce was fresh tasting. There were roast & mashed potatoes. Neither of us could bring ourselves to try the Yorkshire puds. To my mind they have no place with roast turkey. Beef yes, turkey no.

Desserts were less successful. We both left half of what we had. The Fox had a gin & lime cheesecake while I had the chocolate sponge with orange custard. It has to be admitted though part of our problem was that we were filling up too fast.

After that came tea or coffee & petit fours. For that we re-joined our friends in the bar. We let them enjoy the petit fours. We’d had more than enough to eat.

We returned home mid-afternoon in time for a zizz. Come the evening we watched the original Disney cartoon version of “Beauty and the Beast”, wondered anew as the china, cutlery & serviettes set the stage for Belle’s meal, smiled at the gentle way Belle taught the Beast to feed the birds, laughed over the unsuspecting peasants as they broke into the castle to be under attack by all the furniture etc. It was a delight, full of magic.

After that we put on some Christmas music & opened a bottle of Petit Chablis & had a good chunter.

By then my feet were restless. I was ready for bed even though it was only about 9.30 pm. It has to be admitted the chemo is making me very tired, especially the first couple of days after treatment. It was only Monday I had my last session.

So to today. Normally we go along to the club on Boxing Day, desperate to get out of the house after being stuck in all Christmas Day. Local pubs are usually heaving with all those who feel a similar urge to escape – far too much of a crush for us, especially with my wheelchair. However, the club has decided to be closed all day so that is not an option. I’ve decided on doing a more involved meal today, Cypriot chicken & penne, then maybe we will get out at the weekend when things should be a bit quieter. To mark that it is a more normal day, the rain & grey have returned.

Traffic jams everywhere

The drive into hospital yesterday was a nightmare. Clearly there was an awful lot of last minute Christmas shopping to be done. The traffic jam started a mile or so out of the city.

We tried to avoid some by going through the village of Torrisholme but we just joined another queue.

Once in Lancaster we avoided the main shopping/car parking streets & went through the more residential streets as much as we could. But eventually we had to descend the hill to rejoin the mayhem. By then we were nearly out of the shopping area. We went onto the next roundabout to find that almost at a standstill as people from the south of Lancaster were trying to stream in for their shopping. Eventually we were able to get around it to exit for the hospital. Fortunately we found a disabled parking space near Oncology. We eventually arrived nearly half an hour late.

If we’d realised the traffic was going to be that bad we would have taken the bypass & tackled Lancaster from the east side.

I was sat for my treatment next to a fellow patient & commented how bad the traffic was. She hadn’t found it too bad. She’d come from Quermore, a village on the Pennine slopes to the east of Lancaster, the side the hospital is & so hadn’t had the ordeal of trying to cross the city to reach the hospital.

My next trip in will be on Friday, when hopefully I should get the results of the CT scan. Hopefully the traffic should be a bit quieter by then. Or will there be a big rush for the sales instead?

In between times it will be Christmas so I will take this opportunity to wish all my readers

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

They're okay!

Three cheers! My bloods are okay. So it will be chemo later today. It’s a relief to think of one more session down. That will be 9 of 12.

I’m now just hoping the Fox will feel up to taking me. Yesterday he was blowing badly. So far I seem cold free. I just hope I can stay that way.

We’re hoping to get a meal out this evening as is usual after a chemo session. It has been getting harder to find somewhere of late as we’ve been getting nearer Christmas & so many people are having Christmas meal get-togethers, staff does etc. While I’m having my chemo, the Fox is intending to walk to a nearby pub & see if it is possible to book a table. Failing that we will try Ricky’s, our favourite Cantonese restaurant. They will usually find us a table no matter how busy they are. Our last thought is the chippy or a local takeaway.

Christmas will soon be upon us. I was horrified to hear on the news that so many ex-Thomas Cook employees are still having difficulty getting their benefits sorted out. Christmas is a stressful enough time, as is sudden unemployment, without having no income at such an expensive time of year. What is more nothing much will be sorted out for them until next year, I suspect, as so many offices close down over the Christmas/New Year period. Let’s hope something gets sorted out for them & soon.