Malawi & More

  It was, for me, an uneventful weekend made up mostly of TV, reading and doing a couple of simple online courses that are free with my school account. The others were much busier than me. No rain but not a huge amount of sun either, still lovely to sit and read in the garden while listening to house martins making some cheerful noise.  BigA cooked up a lovely breakfast for us on the bank holiday morning which we ate in the garden before the sun was too strong. I ventured further afield on Monday to the shops and despite the lingering and slight pain in my neck and shoulder I felt almost normal. I continued with the book 'Butter' it has taken a bit of perseverance but now I'm over half way through and it is making me hungry and excited for our trip to Japan in Easter next year. I am minded to write down the dishes the characters seem to enjoy the most and see if I too can taste what the serial killer has enjoyed! We were lucky that M popped in following her epic trip to Per...

 Some positive news to start. BigAwas awarded the contract he'd been waiting on and, despite them being typically late with letting him know, now gives us a little more security for a few years. He is now very busy.   I hope my husband knows (I do tell him) just how much I appreciate it when he brings me a morning cup of tea in bed. He doesn't even drink tea and as I have no clue how to make coffee to his standard in his machine, I never return the favour.  I wasn't hung over but I was worn out from a busy birthday and found it hard to get out of bed. I did eventually and as we said goodbye to one lot of guests our next arrived. I was so pleased to have M tackle the garden, getting it ready for late summer. I was only able to watch but I know soon I'll have reached the time I'm allowed to garden again. The weeds never stop. We had a lovely couple of days culminating in a BBQ where, as always I made far too much food. BigA cooked away and I was still feasting on left...

The week began with us heading off to see mates over from Malawi and then later on that day seeing another pal, T, who is over for the long break. It was lovely to chat and find out about things that have happened, stayed the same and changed. It made me feel a little sad to not be going back at the end of August. There's a lot to miss. But things sound tougher for many people.  We also saw another Malawi connection this week, K and her son who came over and we got the chance to swap stories. She really helped A through her English GCSE and we used to play a lot of poker together, so it was a lovely but all too short catch up.  On Monday morning I found A up and eating breakfast downstairs - very unlike her this holiday. Turns out Scruffy had brought her a frog at 5am. So she was very awake. We must ensure our bedroom door stays firmly shut at night. I do not want these gifts.  I went for a decent medium sized walk with U this week and she treated me to a very nice coffee...

I spent a very pleasant morning with M and A, it was a warm but not too warm morning. I washed my hair all by my self. After M has set off on her adventure, I spent a lot of the day lying down and napping. Which meant by 8 I was able to head off to the pub to listen to a band with friends. Knowing I could easily head home if I wanted to I felt as close to relaxed out as I had to that point. It was good fun and A joined us after her work leaving do.  Very few plans for the week, still trying to build up while mindful of not pushing my luck. I was expecting to get an appointment to see the surgical team for a post op review so when on Monday I still hadn't heard I got in touch. They said they'd follow that up but no sign yet.  We did have a lovely night out on Wednesday for E's 80th and I got the bus for it. I think I over did it a bit and spent the next day reading more than anything else.  BigA had a big frisbee week, the end of his summer tournament and his team won. He ...

  With some sense of normality I did a bit of a tidy, mindful not to lift anything too heavy but I felt quite satisfied by doing very normal things. It tired me out though and I spent a fair bit of the day on the sofa.  I've kept up getting out each day. This has involved going to the Hub, Aldi, IKEA and pubs. At IKEA I was building up and almost completing the uni box for A. She's rather reluctant to acknowledge this right now, the nerves of the move showing.  The day I was most looking forward to was getting my stitches out. All of these moments important steps on the recovery road. The broad idea that it will take 3 to 6 months until full recovery and this is hanging in my mind from the initial consultation in May.  When I got in, the initial nurse had forgotten her glasses and was going to need help. She also had never seen stitching like it and so I was relieved the next nurse had and was pretty swift at getting it done. It certainly felt good to get the stuff o...

In the knowledge that A was probably getting wet in a field I enjoyed the warm bath and mum helping once again to wash the bit of hair we could manage. Then to change the dressing and see what lay beneath. Beautifully gross. A lovely pal popped in for a cuppa as I let the air get to it before being recovered. He was as impressed by it as I was. Long! Wonderful S then came over and 4 of us went out for lunch. My longest trip out after returning home. Just around the corner. Odd how tried it made me feel to hold my head up. And confirmed I was not ready to go to the wedding reception we'd been invited to later that evening. Although I did make it round the corner for a drink in our newly refurbished pub the Elmhurst. It's been done nicely - lots of parents in their late 30s with prams though.  I've been making sure I take a walk each day to get out and avoid cabin fever. Highlight being getting to Fieldseat - one of my favourite local cafes and then excited to visit a differe...