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19 July 2008
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We have just returned from our French trip , where we had lovely weather. The garden was a little wild as all lawn mowers had broken down. The herbs were reaching for the sky but it felt such a shame to cut them down. I waited until the end of our stay there.
We were joined by some friends from home for a few days. We hadn't seen them for some time so there were a lot of laughs, fun and eating. This latter really finished my diet off and now I am back to salad with everything, plus small portions.Back to France , we decided to have a game of boule late one Sunday evening. I have never really got the hang of it, even though we had a demonstration from our neighbour who had been looking at our attempts through his bedroom window. Needless to say I LOST!
Towards the end of our holiday we went to stay in Northern Brittany for a couple of days. We were surprised at how much cooler and wetter it was and had been. We still managed a trip to a local market and lunch at a sea shore hut/cafe. The view was magnificent , a wild and wide stretch of beach. I intend to try and paint it when my creativity returns. I think it will be called a View in Blue
Now we are home and we have a wild garden here, due to continuous rain. We have a sea of white Astilbes, Hostas and white lilies, and enormous rhubarb leaves. I think the rhubarb will end up in a pie before this week is finished. We also have a small repair job as our cat has manged to completely remove the catfllap whilst we were away. The door to the flap has at last been recovered amongst the vegetation , but it is irrepairable. She( the cat ) seems very pleased with herself!
Still no date for my operation...I await with apprehensive anticipation
Sue
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06 July 2008
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Another two weeks flown by, or is it 3. I am losing track of time at the moment, which is great as I see the waiting time for my operation fly by. I had my pre operation assessment this week. All was fine so I have just to wait for the date which still seems to be late August. Time to get that trip to France in, a wedding and a 60th birthday party . Life is never dull when you are retired
We are going to tackle the next trip to France by car and overnight ferry. Its a long way to Portsmouth from here, so we are not sure how my back will hold up. I know I can manage 2 hours, but feel very uncomfortable afterwards, so lots of breaks are called for i think. On the ferry I will be fine.
I am looking forward to the break when it happens as I am beginning to get restless. I seem to tackle one hobby and then another and either make a mess of what I am doing or fail to complete the task. I think I just want to see the end of this operation ( which may be keyhole surgery I believe, meaning a faster recovery time). However I have at last finished one quilted cushion cover for a chair in the sejour in France
Two weeks ago we were invited to a barbeque by one of our walking friends, a nice old gentleman well into his eighties. He lives with his daughter and family and they had all worked hard to throw this event for all the walking group. It was lovely to see them all again and I think that was when my restless spirit kicked in, as I so long for those walks in the hills. Its a shame that once again the English summer provided us with wind rain and sun. It was far too cold and windy to venture outside so the son in law of our host along with a couple of observers had to brave the elements to cook for the 15 of us. Despite the weather it was a very enjoyable event
Well I must go and tackle the gruelling exercises courtesy of my physiotherapist. He is determined to make me fit and strong for the operation and recovery. I am very grateful and therefore dutifully comply with the torture!!
Next time I hope to know the date of my operation and can start planning the events for the rest of my year
Sue
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17 June 2008
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Well its over three weeks since my last entry and I am trying to remember what I have done in that time
I may have mentioned last time that I was off to another oils class. This time it was a beautiful waterfall scene. 15 people in the class managed to produce 15 different scenes. There were Alpine views, Austria, the laedistrict and many others. Its amazing how we all produce such different results when following the same instructions.
Talking of the Lake District, we ahve just spent a very good week in Langdale, with 4of our friends ( yes we have 4 more friends!!). I couldn't do much , so I felt that I was restricting their activities. However I managed to increase my swimming power, much to the delight of my physiotherapist today. That seemed to give me some walking strength, and I managed a short walk ( about three quarters of a mile) around a small tarn. The weather was not the best, dry but alittle chilly. We spent one lunchtime sat on the shore of Lake Ulswater having a picnic. It was only 11 degrees centigrade. After we had eaten we made a rapid retreat to the car, and decided to visit other sites instead.
The news on my operation has now arrived, after many administrative errors where I seemed to get lost in the system more than once. Once again I had to contact my GP to sort it out. I won't be the only person who will be glad when it is all over, which will be any time in the next 11 weeks.
At least now we can organise a short holiday in France, and reply to a wedding invitation. At home life goes on as usual with trips to the gym and swimming, plus a couple of imminent social gatherings. Next week it is lunch with two old university friends. ( they are not old of course !!!!!!!)
Oh yes the diet is progressing, and I have reached about 5 pounds weight loss. Slow but sure
And I think that is all for now
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25 May 2008
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10 days gone by so quickly. We have spent the last week in France. We managed to get another bargain flight, and once again it stopped me having to endure the long drive. What I hadn't thought about was the long walk to the terminal from the carpark, and worse than that the long walk to the terminal from the plane when we got back yesterday. My legs were giving way and I reallty felt extremely sick.
The week passed in haze. We visited a few friends, and had one couple round for a meal. It was too windy to sit out but it was still a pleasant evening.
I didn't want to travel far so we pottered around the house and garden. I managed to do alittle gardening in the form of planting geranium pots and clearing a few light weeds. Nothing more was possible. It was lovely to see the colours of the herb garden against a backdrop of clematis and honeysuckle. It is slowly beginning to mature. We may have lost a passion flower and a clematis but they can easily be replaced in the autumn. The land we turned over with the intention of having a lavender garden has once again become a potato patch rather than let the weeds spread back in
8 days away has ruined my diet and I am back where I started. Oh dear I will have to tackle it again with a vengeance.
This week I have another oils class, and after that I may feel informed enough to have a go myself with the kit I bought of ebay. Other than that there is nothing much to report this week. A trip to the GP and hopefully sorting out the mixup over putting me on the waiting list for the spinal operatiion. The sooner that is over thebetter. I so miss my walking.
Sue
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15 May 2008
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Well its done and I have officially changed my mind. Hopefully I am now on the waiting list for a spinal operation and I can get on with the rest of my life.
Last Wednesday was the watercolour day workshop. I usually combine this with a hint of clothes shopping and last week was no exception. I am busy with trying to restock my summer wardrobe and /or lose weight. The Dr assures me it is the medication that is causing the problem but it is still a problem as I have fewer and fewer clothes to wear. As fast as I lose weight I get invited out to some scrumtious meal and that is the end of that. I have bought a small calorie counting book and recently invested in one of those portion control plates. I know what will happen, I will just have restocked my wardrobe when everything will then be too big for me.
On Sunday we took my Dad out for lunch and on Tuesday I went to a Ladies Lunch in aid of the Macmillan Nurses. I decided to wear the dress form my youngest's wedding, only it was 6 years ago and it was too tight. Luckily a few minor alterations came to the rescue, ie removal of all the darts nicely hidden by the lace overdress. Teamed with shoes and bag from the eldest's wedding I looked OK. All items were their second showing since the big events. I don't do 'posh' very often !! It was a lovely event, food and company good and I heard yesterday that a considerable amount of money was raised. Yesterday we were invited to a friend's for a meal and all I can say is that three weeks dieting has been destroyed in three days!!!
It is another beautiful day and due to my back problem I am forced to do little in the garden except sit and enjoy. So its off I go to watch the plants grow
Sue
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