Oh What a Week

The week promised much. Dave had booked his last week off for this financial year and we hoped to make a start on some preliminary clearing work for the planned renovations of the kitchen and bathroom as well as a trip to Yorkshire to see brother and sister in law.

Mothering Sunday
A lovely start to the week, the weather was sunny and pleasant. We picked up Miss G from her Dad’s and took her home to her Mum’s first before heading off to Toft a little village west of Bourne where we were booked in for Sunday lunch. Waiting at the Toft House Hotel was my Mum, my sister, brother in law and my two Nieces with their families. We had a lovely happy chatty time and the food was really good.
After a prolonged lunch we headed out to Haconby to my Niece Bev’s new house. The house is a large new, four bed roomed, spacious house in a secluded village setting and in a room over their double garage they run their constantly expanding little business.
Bev served up her usual outsize spread for tea and we had a noisy afternoon with more chat while the kids played around us.

Monday
Another nice sunny day. Dave sorted out the space in the garden for the bins and I emptied out the old dead fridge where I stored my cake making sugars and fruit. It needs to go to the tip. An uneventful day really but we got a few thing done.

Monday evening. Now thing begin to take a downwards turn. I go to bed but start to feel really ill. I toss and turn and can’t sleep well, I begin to vomit at about 5.30 in the morning. I'm cold and shivery. By morning I’m so wreaked and can hardly get out of bed.. We are supposed to be going to Yorkshire today. Dave rings to cancel. The pharmacist give him some medication for me to help stop the vomiting. It doesn’t stop until gone midday on Tuesday

Tuesday night is another bad night tossing and turning and by morning I’m still shattered. I get another shock,
Wednesday
I’ve had some internal bleeding. I’m a bit stunned, what do I do? With my family history of cancer I start to imagine the worst. OK, best thing, go and talk to the Doc then it’s on my records if it happens again.

The Doc’s new to me. Not my usual GP. I describe whats happened . He wants to know how I know the correct terminology! I tell him, so he takes me seriously now. After an embarrassing examination he agrees with me that There has been a significant bleed from somewhere.

I have to go to hospital straight away. OK Well, I didn’t expect that! What a pain.

Hospital
It’s a nightmare being a patient. Bloods from my non compliant veins but only after three sites had been probed. A two way drip inserted with fluids intravenously reluctantly dripping into my veins. The admission and assessment ward is busy. I send Dave home. Hospitals are his least favourite places. Two old ladies in the beds opposite both look as if they’ve been in the wars. Beds are found for them in appropriate wards. I’m left alone in the bay. I hear all the commotions along the corridor in the other bays.

The curtains are quickly whipped around my bed. A new patient is brought in. He’s 85, with dementia and noisy. Oh deep joy. ‘Darling you know I love you’ keeps booming out and echoing around the ward. Four nurses assemble to change him. I escape to the loo dragging the drip stand with me. I sit enthroned waiting for the noise of his shouting that still reaches me to subside. By 12.30am the staff have found me a bed on the Gastoenterology ward so to my great relief I’m trundled out and up three flight away from the mayhem.
Thursday
Will I manage to get home? No, ‘fraid not. My endoscopy’s not been booked. More intravenous fluids go up and a second line with IV meds. The Consultant with six junior doctors in tow arrives. More prodding and poking. He agrees I’m right I have had a significant bleed. He decides I need an urgent referral for an endoscopy.
Hurray! I can eat until tonight. This decision is quickly reversed. Fluids only, once more. I protest. They weaken and I get two weetabix, two chocolate biscuits and a cup of tea. For lunch! Then more 'Nil by Mouth'
You have to be an excellent sleeper to cope in hospital. The wind roars around the building leaking through the old single glazed crittal windows to gently waft the curtains. Shoes squeak and creak along tiled corridors. Nurses whisper to each other. Telephone bells ring. Trolley wheels rumble along. Call bell bleep out. The bed pan masher churns. The unmusical hacking coughs, groaning and snoring of the elderly inmates along the corridors penetrates our quite four bed bay. I want to go home to my nice comfortable quite bed.
Friday
By this time my blood pressures sky high. At last I have my endoscopy. They decide to give me an intravenous sedation for the procedure. Thank goodness. I’d never cope with just a spray in my throat. No source of bleeding is found. I told them I was a fraud. Now I have to have more tests. Oh no not that one. I helped Mum through that. It wasn’t pleasant. But at least I can go home. I’ll get an out patient appointment.
Saturday
Peace and quite at last. What a blessed night sleep. 9.30pm to 7am. Woke up twice turned over and went straight back to sleep. Just a bit shaky still but improving fast.

The First Day of Spring

Today is the first day of Spring. Hooray. It's a lovely sunny spring day just as it ought to be. With the clocks going forward next weekend it'll be goodbye winter blues. Well hopefully.

The lawn has had its first cut of the season today. The edges have been neatly trimmed. With all the spring flowers in the garden it 's looking quite pretty. More and more are emerging. I've spotted little blue cillia and mauve drumstick primulas today.

We don't seem to have had any frogs in the pond this spring. The last two springs they've arrived early, spawned then the eggs had been decimated by a severe late frost. The two grass snakes roaming the garden during the summer may also be responsible for scaring them away. They swallow them head first. It's quite bizare to see a snake with its mouth stretched around the body of a poor frog and its webbed feet sticking out.

Daisy our tortoise has finally emerged from her winter hibernation. We're not sure how long she's been awake. I haven't heard her scratching about her box trying to get out but she was wide awake when we lifted her out this afternoon.
After her annual luke warm bath, her shell is given a coat of oil to set her up for a summer of rooting around the garden and squashing the newly emerging plants. She had a turn in the garden and soaked up some of the afternoon sunshine. We always weigh and measure her before she hibernated and when she comes out. This spring she weighs 5 kgs about the same as when she went to sleep so she hasn't lost any weight over winter. Her shell from neck to tail measures 40 cms and her girth is 57.5 cms. She's getting to be a big girl and she plays havoc in my garden.

Many tortoise are anorexia for a while when they come out of winter hibernation. I tried tempting her with her favorite food of grapes and some little gem lettuce leaves but she wasn't interested yet. Here she is all spruced up and ignoring the treats in front of her.

We had some visitors this afternoon. Little Caity my great grand daughter with her Dad, Michael and her Nan and Grandad. Caity is two and a half and is fascinated by Daisy and the fish in the pond. Shes very chatty and speaks in clear sentences. Her favorite word at the moment is 'Why'

Poor Dave's taking a rest in the sunshine. He's exhausted after doing a spot of appliance moving this morning and lawn cutting this afternoon!

Spring Marches On

The sun of last three days has been making us believe that spring has finally arrived. The days are getting longer and the temperatures are at last climbing away from zero. The hedgerows and small trees have a bloom of fresh spring green from the emerging leaf buds. I love this time of the year.

I've finally been tempted out into the garden. There are tiny seedlings shooting every where in the garden and mostly where they're not needed. Masses of Love in The Mist seedling. Tiny violets everywhere and little shoots of the lenten Roses pushing up in the middle of them. Strange though theres not many weeds! I can see theres allot of digging and rearranging to be done.

These bright cream and yellow daffodils, nodding in the breeze work wonders uplifting the spirit. The little sweet smelling Daphne bush has been flowering away for weeks now. The tiny four petaled flowers are crammed along the twiggy stems of the young bush. The original Daphne bush on the same site died suddenly several years ago and about three years later this seedling appeared on the site of the old bush. I carefully protected and nurtured it and now it rewards me in early spring each year with these sweet smelling purple flowers before the leaves appear.

I was given the bulbs of these white and yellow variety several years ago by a gardener to one of the big houses over on Castor Hill. They have been multiplying in my garden cheering us up every spring since I first planted them.

My Carmelia is covered with flower buds waiting to burst open. It's grown bigger each year, not bad from a £1.59p potted plant from Morrisons supermarket. This perfect pink flower was the first one to brave the spring. I just hope the predicted -2 degree night temperature for Friday night doesn't materialise or I'll have horrible ruined brown flowers in its place.

Red Nose Day

Friday March 13th was Comic Relief's 21 Red Nose Day.

Comic Relief was a charity launched in 1985. It developed in to Red Nose Day, and in conjunction with the BBC has been running now every other year for 21 years. The first one held in 1988. The events manage to pull in more and more money at each evening. This year the theme was 'Do something Funny for Money.' Wacky events have been held in Towns, Cities and Communities all over the country. From 7pm to 2am the BBC transmits items and comedy sketches put together by our best comedian who all donate their time. This is indispersed with short films on how the money is spent here and in Africa. The money is used to fund causes in Africa and here in Britain that will help people to care for themselves and their families. For example this year they are aiming to buy 1,000,000, at £5 each, mosquito nets to help cut the infant deaths from malaria.

This year it been a donations have been pouring in despite the recession.By the time I went to bed at 12. 30 am the total was £54,690,437, unbelievable! by 2am the total was £57, 809, 938.

In Peterborough, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire gang organised a shaving off the beards they have been growing for the past three weeks. The big shave-off took take place live on air at 10am in Queensgate Shopping Centre.

At the swimming pool and Gym we wore something red and were asked to donate a £1. John's red ribbon got somewhat lost in the fetching blond wig!

Town Hall Talks

Every year in March the Peterborough Local History Group give two illustrated talks, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. They take place in the Town Hall reception room and are given to boost their funds and support the current Mayors Charities. There are usually two talks on two local historical topics with refreshments of tea or coffee and biscuits at half time.

This year we attended the evening talk and normally the room is a sell out. We were surprised to see a few empty chairs there this year. This photo was actually taken during the tea break, there wasn't that many empty chairs!

The first talk this year, was entitled '40 years of the NHS in Peterborough'. It was given by a retired pathologist and actually covered much more than the 40 years that he worked in Peterborough Path Labs. The second half was a film put together from archive films taken by amature film makers in Peterborough and the surrounding villages over the last century. As usual the talks were very interesting as we both love all aspects of history and especially Local History.

An Antique Mayoral chair made from solid oak in 1837 with the City cross keys symbols carver in the back

Springs on the Way

After my regular morning swim I had to forgo my usual trip to Sundays for coffee todayand take a trip into Rutland to Tixover Grange. I was supposed to meet with a Rutland Social Worker to discuss my Sister in Laws care at her Nursing Home. Mmmmm........ Someone mess up the appointments and I'm not putting my hand up. The meeting was yesterday, so I missed it. Fortunately there has not been any change in her condition that needed any change of policy and I signed all her care plans at the end of November last year.

She's a stroke victim and her home is now a Nursing home set in this lovely rural setting in a valley amonst the gentle rolling Rutland hills. When she had the stroke she was home all alone and didn't manage to get to the phone soon enough to call for help. Stroke victims need help fast. So her stroke was quite devastating. Her initial care in hospital was somewhat hit and miss. She contracted MRSA there and I discovered that the Hospitals infection control policy was pretty abysmal and their communication somewhat chaotic. Physiotherapy was haphasard. Then, the County Council refused to fund her for rehabilitation. She was 76 and too old! TOO Old. I protested but the purse holders won. Now she just vegetates. Her remaining brain cells have atrophied through lack of use Her muscles have atrophied. The post stroke depression won over. Sometimes I think the care system at the present time for some has some what regressed. When I worked with elderly people back in the 60's patients were just left to vegetate then. Now there's a fantastic amount of thought put into entertaining and occupying elderly people. But, only if they will accept and participate. My Sister in Law needed it and and should have had it but her remaining brain cells rebelled and she refused to cooperate, so she was left to vegetate. Its all to do with Human Rights and not forcing people to do what they don't want to do. She needed that forcing. If she had been made to do certain things she wouldn't have been in the position shes in right now. Just laying looking at the ceiling waiting to die. There I've had my rant.

It was quite lovely out at Tixover today though. I took a walk past the old Grange through the trees and down to the lake before driving home. It was fresh, not too cold and with some sunshine breaking through the sketchy cloud layer.

The newborn lambs were bleating for their shaggy winter coated Ma's. Rooks, crawed loudly in the tree tops as they sorted out their nests for their coming nesting season. Under the trees the snowdrops nodded their heads in the breeze and the pale yellow primroses peeped through their covering of dead leaves. The coarse woolly leaves of foxgloves are growing through the leafy woodland floor and banks of daffodils with their buds bent over almost ready to burst open into a riot of yellow. A moorhen and pair of mallard ducks were swimming lazily on the lake searching for a suitable nest site.

A nice gentle walk, not too long. Just enough to clear my head before I headed home. Aaahhhh arn't they cute. Shame to think they'll land up on your plate in a few month time as the delicious roast leg of lamb or beautifully soft and suculaent lamb shank!

Tin Bath Night

A bath in front of a living room fire on a Friday night.

A tradition from my childhood long long ago

The galvanised tin bath carried in to the living room brought in to use from its hanging place of a nail on the wall outside or in the coal house. A Friday night tradition in many households in the early 1900's. The tub was filled with hot water, bucketed in from the copper in the kitchen. A strict protocol followed. Kids in first then Mum followed by Father. The simple addition of more boiling water to prolong the ecstasy.

Or Not!!!

................Oh and just one bath a week I'm afraid!

So dear Canadian friends I'm still having a super posh shower in my fabulous new bathroom.

I could get you one of these though!!!!!

and followed by Bathrooms

Well folks after three weeks researching kitchens and trawling through catalogues and showrooms. Having designers trying to persuade me to have units and configurations I don't want, we've eventually finalised our plans for my dream kitchen. Well almost. As far as the budget will allow. Maybe a little fine tuning may be required when we go to Yorkshire at the end of the month to visit our Kitchen fitter aka Dave's brother.
Anyway we've now turned our attention to the fabulous once stylish 80's Pampas green bathroom. We've decided. It has to go too. The bath is definitely due to be pensioned off. Although in 21 years it's hardly been uses as a bath it's surface is horribly crazed. Neither of us care for baths. Give me a nice refreshing shower any day. So it's to be a walk in shower for us. Bliss. No more climbing into the bath for a shower.

The bathroom catalogues are so much more swish and stylish than their kitchen counterparts. Well the ones we've acquired so far are. We only managed to get to two showrooms on Sunday and we came home with an armful of books to peruse.

.........and I saw the most stylishly clever designer sink tap ever. I really really want it. But can I justify £600 on one tap.......... mmmmmm maybe not. Well not unless our numbers come up on Lotto!

Dave really fancies a steam shower pod. They are mega money though. And we would have to have structural work done to our tiny bathroom to accommodate it. I source the smallest one that would go into our minuscule room, on sale, at a mere £1100. It was reduced from £2000 though.

Luckily by the next day he came to the conclusion the cost couldn't really be justified. The problem with the bathroom It's so tiny and I've no clear idea about how I would like it to look. With the kitchen I knew exactly how I wanted it to be. I think we've a few more weekends of bathroom showrooms looming!

I do know I don't want any tiled walls. All that grouting to get grubby. Ugggh! It has to be special wall panells for bathrooms. Cuts down on decorating too.

Kitchens

I really can't believe its March already. At least the snows gone. I've had a bucket full of that for this winter, first in Canada, then more on coming home. The early spring weather of this week is fading fast, hopefully not to more snow. The sunshine this afternoon made me feel an onset of gardening fever but a wander around the garden soon cured it. Definitely still too cold!



The talking over. A decisions been made and now it's beginning to happen. It time for some radical spring cleaning........... for a kitchen makeover.


The last three Saturdays have been spent trawling kitchen showrooms. First to get ideas them to refine them. I've measured and remeasured up the walls, drawn up a scale plan ready for the ideas.
I'm surrounded with kitchen catalogues and books. Trying to work out how to do stunning on a budget.

I've made my self a mood board and a wish list.............

I need enough cupboard space to accommodate all I have in the kitchen already but one that gives me a better layout.

I don't want cupboards that I cant get too.

I want an oven I don't have to double over to look into.

I don't want tiled, walls smooth splash backs are much better looking and easier to clean. No grouting to get grubby either.

I want an induction hob, far more efficient and safer.

A bamboo floor, hard wearing and wood from sustainable sources.

So I've researched and refined my plans and I know how I want my kitchen to look before the kitchen designers arrive to tell me how they think it should look. If they don't take my ideas and designs on board they're out! I've worked in this kitchen for the last 20 years thinking about how I'd really like it to work and I know what I want.

So now.......... how to get it on a budget!

So now its all down to which firm can do what I want at a price I like. The last estimate came in today.
Watch this space................................................