It's Saturday (I think)

Bad sign - I'm totally losing track of the days, and it's a Bank Holiday weekend to make matters worse! At least Jen's comings and goings usually help me but the extra day throws me totally.
Today I was intending to go to Leicester for the day to see some old friends and meet new ones, but having had the injection in my knee yesterday, I am having a quiet day at home, alone apart from the dog.


Rex



 I will be popping over to see to Rex a bit later, spend some time playing with him and let him do the business in the garden. John and Roz are out for the day at Chippenham Folk Festival so I will be visiting Rex twice today for an hour or so each time. It's a short drive so no strain on the knees.

Is it me or is it cold? It looks more like a March day outside. A bit windy, overcast, and decidedly cool. I think I need a cardigan! Warm, sunny Bournemouth/Poole is not living up to its reputation today.



I am loving my new washing machine! It has a faster spin speed than my old one and shorter wash programmes. So I should save a bit on tumble dryer times too. I have a bit of a backlog of things - clothes, sheets, and towels so the machine will be busy this weekend.



new cover design

 I treated Honey to a nice new duvet and cover, (see pic) bargain stuff from Tesco! She had a rather manky old king size duvet folded over out near the boiler in the utility room. Giving the room a clean up ready for the new machine, I decided to scrap the old quilt. It was too big to wash and too nasty to face taking it to a launderette for the  big machines there.  Honey had also had a bit of a chew and scrape at it and blobs of the stuffing were coming out everywhere! I did let her try out the new thick single duvet in the lounge and she loved it so much I could not get her off it again! I grabbed it last night as she got off it to go to bed upstairs and plonked it down by the boiler. This is one of her bolt holes when I go out. It's warm, dark and draught free, she feels safe there. She can also watch me cooking from there! So it gets used quite a lot.
Using a single thick quilt means it's soft for her to lie on, but folds into a good size for her to stretch out on. It will also easily fit in the washing machine! Result!

There may be a recession on, but the one local business that seems to be thriving is Sunseeker boats. We are talking millions for one of their gin palaces and they have several boat yards and storage areas around the town, making them a big local industry.  I did suggest Jen tries to get a job there as most of the customers are probably multi-millionaires and you never know... but she did not fancy working there :(  I think she needs a millionaire to help her have the life style she wants, or at least a wealthy farmer who likes horses!
I drool every time I go along Poole Quay and see all the huge Sunseeker yachts moored up for their servicing visit. The pic is a modest 8 berth + 4 crew job. One of their smaller ones LOL.  I lost count how many were moored along by their boatyard opposite Poole Quay the other day, many a lot bigger than the one in the pic! Someone's not affected by the recession!

It is time to pop over and see Rex and let him out for a pee. I do hope you have a great weekend whatever you're up to.

Happy times to my Feesch friends in Leicester! Virtual hugs and a kiss from me {{{{ * }}}}

Life is a roller coaster

Honey saw the vet Monday morning and the lovely Dan gave her a good feel! Lucky dog! Anyway he is confident it is a fatty lump and nothing to worry about. There are options if it continues to grow and become a problem to her. There is a chance it will actually disappear but I am watching it! Any significant changes and I'll be back to the vet. It does not cause her any pain and is far enough away from joints not to cause her any problems walking.

My new washing machine is being delivered today :) I hope it all goes ok. John helped me hugely Monday with clearing the decks and Jen finished off last night sorting the corner where the machine is going so we're all set.

I am off to the hairdresser a bit later - colour, cut and blow dry. There goes a good couple of hours :) A nice chance to sit and relax and get a bit of a makeover! Much needed I can tell you!

I am going through one of those periodic dips in morale/emotions at the moment. Constant pain gets me down. I know my pain is curable and I am in a much better position than many who have progressive conditions they cannot escape. I am lucky in that Honey gives me the incentive to move and get walking - she nags me! She is squeezed up by the window in the lounge trying to stay in the now narrow strip of warm sunshine. She loves the warmth. Jen and I were looking at her the other day and surprised to see bum fluff! Stop laughing at the back! When we got Honey she had been living in concrete floored kennels for about 6 months since retiring from racing and sitting around on the concrete had rubbed off all the fur on her backside. This made her look a bit weird as she has dark brownish skin yet her fur is a pale gold honey colour. Anyway, until recently she has had a bald bum, but now she has definitely got new fur growing - sparse and whiteish and fluffy :-D The vet was sure the follicles had been destroyed and she was unlikely to get hair growing again in that area. I think the time spent with her leg pinned meant she seldom 'sat'. She either stood up or lay down on the floor and it gave the hair a chance to get going again, no friction on the skin.

I am all set for my knee injection Friday. Oh I do hope it works. Pain free days and nights for a short time.

It is a shame I will not be going to the Feesch Spring Bash Saturday and meeting face to face, for the first time, with some lovely online friends of many years, as well as seeing again ones I've met before. I've been on Feesch since 1999 and it's a shame it has closed, but the spirit of Feesch lives on via FaceBook. It's just a shame that such a mostly friendly bunch of people can harbour a few who have a warped view of the world and take delight in trying - unsuccessfully - to break up happy relationships. Twelve years down the road and John and I still have a solid relationship.
It's Chippenham Folk Festival this weekend too and I can't go to that either because of my knee injection. I can hear some of you saying - why not change the injection to next week? Well right now my knee is so bad I would not be able to walk at all after a long journey anyway, and be in pain day and night. If the injection helps even for a few weeks, the relief will be most welcome.  John and I make a good pair now - limping around with a walking stick each when we go out. John is hopeful he will get a cartilage repair op fairly soon which should ease his knee pain until his arthritis gets a lot worse. I don't have enough cartilage left to scrape smooth :( so next step for me is a new knee joint. I want to be mobile as soon as possible while I am still young enough to enjoy doing things with family and friends. I live in a beautiful area and have spent many happy days wandering the green Dorset hills in past years, but now struggle to get beyond the first park bench away from the car park instead of walking the entire perimeter of the whole park :-(
I want to walk well again, maybe even dance a bit! It will make losing weight easier too.

Ok now I've got you depressed and feeling sorry for me, I'll let you go and do whatever cheers you up most. Enjoy the sunshine if you have any, stay in comfortably dry if you have rain, and batten down the hatches if you still have wind.

Umm maybe I could have phrased that a bit better LOL

Have a good day/week and a fabulous bank holiday weekend whatever you are planning.

I hope my REAL Feesch friends have a superb Bash weekend - I will enjoy the photos and imagine myself there with you all. xx

Why does everything happen at the same time?

It's Sunday and the place is a tip - even more than usual because I'm having a tidy up! I know that sounds daft but I have little heaps of things to go to a) the rubbish bin, b) the recycling bin, c) the garage, d) store room upstairs and then there's the stuff I have no desinated place for and needs a home! So it looks worse before it gets better :(
James will be shifting the piles soon. The Grand Prix has just finished so it will be action stations when I've finished here.

There's been a lot of activity chez nous this last week or 2. Honey is now on lead walks and is delighted to be out and about, sniffing all the smells and leaving a few 'messages' herself. I have walked her down the road and been to Baiter harbourside park. She sniffed every blade of grass and every leaf on every bush to see who's been a round lately. She has also generously pee'd everywhere she can to let her friends know she is back LOL

In a rash moment, I let Honey out in the garden without checking for foxes/squirrels first. At 2 in the afternoon I would not expect to see a fox. Of course there was one sunbathing on the grass! Honey chased him off, managing to catch one of her dew claws on something in the process so it was hanging off and bleeding when she came back in :-( The claw came off cleanly on her bed when she tried licking it and it stopped bleeding quickly.  Anyway, it meant another quick visit to the vet *sigh* but a quick check up and a shot each of antibiotics and painkillers and she was sorted.
Tuesday was her annual check up with vaccination boosters so it was 'hello vet' again. He listened to her heart and lungs and felt her all over, checking her broken leg thoroughly. Everything seemed fine :)
My washing machine had decided to stop working and was completely silent with no pump, no drum movement, and a flashing warning light on the control panel. So I had a wet wash load to deal with and a few phone calls to local repair men. "HOW MUCH???" I have cut my losses and ordered a new machine. Super low energy, efficient thingy with a quick wash option if you need something in a hurry :) That is being delivered Wednesday tea time - well 5 - 9 pm - so I have to clean the utility room out for them to get the new machine in. I also have to disconnect the old one they are taking away, but that's easy - I hope.
John has offered to help me clean and clear and that will be great.
Friday I finally got to the doc, only about 9 months later than I was due to see him. *cough*
Anyway he looked at my warped knees and moved my leg around to assess the state of it. He's giving me another injection this coming Friday as a holding measure. I told him the last one didn't help at all - 48 hours no pain, then worse pain than before afterwards and no further relief. A trainee GP did it under his supervision and I don't think she was in the right place with the needle. My GP doing it this time and I have confidence in him. His injections don't hurt and work well. The one she gave me hurt like hell at the time and did not work as it should have. Following this injection , my doc will look to booking more X-rays then start the referral process with a view to a replacment knee hopefully not too far away. What a relief that will be even though it will be about 6 weeks of not driving anywhere! I love my car and the freedom it gives me to get around. I will also have to sort some kind of dog walking service for Honey, but I have a friend who does that as a job anyway. I'm sure she can help out for a price.

Ah, Honey! I usually give Honey a massage most days. She loves being stroked and rubbed and lies back totally relaxed while I do it. Most of the time she lies on her right side so I massage her back and left side. Today she was lying on my bed so I gave her her massage on the bed. This time she was lying on her left side so I massaged her back and right side. I found a lump on her shoulder. It was not there about 3-4 weeks ago as far as I know, but it is about 2 inches across and flattish. It did not move with the skin, it seems to be attached to muscular tissue underneath. The upshot is I am back seeing the vet with her again in the morning. :-( I hope I am worrying unnecessarily and it's just a harmless fatty lump or a benign tumour that can be safely removed, or ignored. Not sure I can face losing a third dog to cancer. Joey had a non-spreading but virulent tumour that kept growing back until vet could not operate any more. Casper had lymphoma. This lump looks very different to either of those so I am hoping for the best and preparing myself for the worst. Honey has not has much luck of late.

Fingers crossed for my Honey. xx

After Fairport Convention

Wow!! What a night! I have had trouble sleeping in 2 or 3 weeks running up to our fairport gig Friday. So much to organise and check, I'd wake in the middle of the night and toss and turn for an hour or 2 going over everything in my mind.
Friday was rather hectic from the time I woke up.
John had an important appointment 9 am in Bournemouth. They sent him an itinerary with a list of buses and trains to catch which would mean him leaving home soon after 6 to get a once an hour local bus for start of trip. :( so I picked him up at 8 and we were there 10 to 9. Rush hour traffic would have delayed buses and he'd have missed connections so would probably not have made it on time. Anyway, we made it and back at a reasonable time. We went shopping to get stuff for a buffet supper for the band prior to the concert. I made it round the supermarket ok but beginning to feel it in my knees by the time we were done.
I dropped John back at his place and headed home myself. I sorted Honey out and finished packing all my 'bits' for the concert. I had hoped to have half an hour so sit and maybe doze but the 2 hours just vanished and I was back on the road to pick up John and grab a quick bite of lunch at Wetherspoons before heading for the concert venue.
We set to with a band of brilliant helpers and sorted the seating. There was an added problem of a pile of stuff being 'stored' on the stage which all had to be shifted as it did not leave enough space for the band with the sound gear. We also had to wait for the Hall manager to turn up and sort the stage lighting for us - half the lights were either pointing down to the ground or up on the ceiling! We had to move some seats to get the ladders in for him and then move them back afterwards again. Our amazing team of friends pulled out all the stops doing the bar for us, as well as shifting furniture.
By 5pm I was beginning to feel the pain in both legs. I sat down for a bit, sorting out the 'box office' and table of flyers and advertising. We put out some club flyers on chairs in the hall and virtually all of them went by the end of the evening :)
The band were expected about 4 but it was gone 5 before they turned up. They started sound checking and tucking into their buffet so all checks were done well before 7. We opened the doors at 7 so people did not have to queue at all and could come straight in on arrival. Late arrivals had problems as the car park was full and there was a thundery downpour too, so not only did they have to drive around looking for a space but they then got wet walking to the hall :(
The concert was brilliant! Rod did 3 songs to open the proceedings and allow late comers to get settled before Fairport took to the stage.
It was an amazing concert with the band on top form! Brilliant songs! Great rapport. The whole evening swept past all to quickly and then we were bidding goodbye to our patrons, who all seemed very happy and loved the concert.

Chris Leslie (FC), John, Ric Sanders (FC), and me!

 The cleaning up and tidying up was a nightmare. The fit and able helpers all pitched in and stacked chairs and packed them away. By this time I was barely able to stand let alone carry anything. I did what I could, taking down posters etc but it was torture standing up. By now the pain was right down my shins and going up my thighs. I was forced to let the others do the moving things around and basically supervised from a chair. We collected up the rubbish and I took it home. I was not able to go round and check everything was ok before we left so I do hope all was clean enough and tidied up enough.
There was an almighty storm to the north of Poole and the lightning display was fantastic. Sheet lightning was running across the sky behind the clouds with the occasional fork finding its way to ground. I dropped off our helpers at their homes and headed home myself. I was in tears by the time I got in. I was tempted to sleep downstairs but I was so tired and in so much pain I thought bed would be best. I let Honey out and got myself organised and into bed.
Honey's leg was a bit swollen and she was limping badly so I think she must have strained it some time during the evening. James said she seemed ok while he was here, but she was limping when he left. It was not swollen in the morning, and she was walking on it with a bit of a limp. I kept her quiet all day and by yesterday (Sunday) she was back to 'normal'. She seems fine today and I shall start taking her for a short walk down the road and back later this week. I know she will be glad to get out and about.

This weekend has shown I need to take action about my knees. Both are now playing up. The left one has started giving way on me at times. The right knee is totally worn out and distorted. It gets very painful at times and can collapse without warning any time. I have not yet fallen over with it as I use a stick to balance myself, but if the other one goes too I will be over and down. Time for referral I think and get on the list for replacements.
Coping with pain is tiring and aging. I need help!

Last night our wonderful friends who ran the concert bar for us hosted a thank you barbecue. There were seven of us and we tucked into a pile of assorted, burgers, sausages, chops, steaks and chicken with salads and bread. Lovely!
We had a bit of beer left over after the concert which we bottled up in 1 and 2 litre bottles and they needed drinking up (well that was the excuse) so there was a lot of beer consumed between us. I say 'us' but I am not a beer drinker, and I had a couple of large glasses of Pimms, well diluted with extra lemonade. The wine was flowing too so everyone was very happy, apart from 'designated driver' - me! I dropped John and Roz back home before heading home myself.
Jen arrived home the same time I did so we had a nice chat for an hour before heading to bed. I was knackered!

I'm sorry there isn't much to smile at in this blog.
Ah .. I have an '...and finally'...
I cooked a few extra sausages yesterday for me to have today for lunch and I gave a couple to Honey as a treat last night. They were a bit spicy and now I have a flatulent greyhound stinking the place out :-( It is BAD!!!
 Anyone want a dog? ;-)

If I bury my nose I can't smell it :-)