Got a busy-ish week, 2 engineers to come and repair things....the BT one coming tomorrow, a plumber to sort out our hot water pump which keeps running on even when switched off. No idea when he's coming, he just turns up when he's in the area! He's employed (and paid) by the landlord and is a nice bloke, it's just a bit inconvenient sometimes not knowing when he's coming, but that's the way they seem to work.
Got a small bit of shopping to do, and some food and a new bed to get for Betty, and then I need to have a morning making her some food to freeze. Husband has a couple of jobs to do for neighbours, I have some cards to make. And we have a family wedding on Friday, which I'm really looking forward to.
Husband's expecting a phone call from the GP today, with his latest wee test results from the lab. He took a sample in last week (he does most weeks), a quick dip test there and then showed the infection is still present. All the antibiotics he's been taking for months now don't seem to clear it up completely, they just keep it subdued. At least he's not getting the pain on peeing now, although it's still tingling and he still has the frequency issues. His CT scan results were a bit inconclusive, no 'nasties' visible (in the consultant's words), but he admitted that parts of his bladder and urethra are still not visible because of the grossly enlarged prostate, so it's impossible to be 100% certain. He said husband will probably need some treatment for his prostate, but didn't say what! The consultant (who husband has still yet to see) is going to discuss husband's problems with his colleagues at their next joint fortnightly meeting. We are both so totally fed up with all this uncertainty, we just wish that they would discover and tell us exactly what's wrong, it's so bloody frustrating not knowing and therefore not having a solution to husband's ongoing UTIs.
Nothing much changes for me, I'm still knackered from lack of sleep and putting up with back and hip pain, they're all constants now. Just keep plodding on! (or limping on).
Monday, 12 August 2019
Friday, 9 August 2019
For Ann
THANK YOU! 💜
Ann of 'An Ordinary Devonshire Life' has sent me a beautifully wrapped parcel of cardmaking goodies, lots of lovely and very useful toppers and stamps, along with a gorgeous handmade card. Thank you so much. If our internet wasn't so rubbish (even more so than usual) at the moment, I'd show some photos.
On the subject of our rubbish internet, husband has again spoken to BT, who are sending out an engineer next week. They've said if a fault is found which is theirs, they will give us compensation to the tune of £8 per day, backdated to the day we first reported the fault (I said in that case, they should backdate it years, as we've been complaining to them about the rubbish broadband for pretty much the entire almost 7 years we've lived here). If the fault is found to be with our equipment or inside our house, then we have to pay them £85. At the moment, on the quick virtual tests they do, they're saying they can't find a fault, which is what they always say. Well, if there's no fault, then why doesn't the damn thing work properly?! Why hasn't it EVER worked properly?!
Thank you again Ann, I shall take your advice and lose myself in card making, especially whilst we have this horrible weather going on - galeforce winds and squally rain. Been up since just after 03.00, a thunderstorm woke me up so I came downstairs to keep Betty company, she was wide awake and a bit anxious but soon settled down once she knew I was staying down with her. I dozed off in the armchair and woke about 05.30 with a stiff neck.
Ann of 'An Ordinary Devonshire Life' has sent me a beautifully wrapped parcel of cardmaking goodies, lots of lovely and very useful toppers and stamps, along with a gorgeous handmade card. Thank you so much. If our internet wasn't so rubbish (even more so than usual) at the moment, I'd show some photos.
On the subject of our rubbish internet, husband has again spoken to BT, who are sending out an engineer next week. They've said if a fault is found which is theirs, they will give us compensation to the tune of £8 per day, backdated to the day we first reported the fault (I said in that case, they should backdate it years, as we've been complaining to them about the rubbish broadband for pretty much the entire almost 7 years we've lived here). If the fault is found to be with our equipment or inside our house, then we have to pay them £85. At the moment, on the quick virtual tests they do, they're saying they can't find a fault, which is what they always say. Well, if there's no fault, then why doesn't the damn thing work properly?! Why hasn't it EVER worked properly?!
Thank you again Ann, I shall take your advice and lose myself in card making, especially whilst we have this horrible weather going on - galeforce winds and squally rain. Been up since just after 03.00, a thunderstorm woke me up so I came downstairs to keep Betty company, she was wide awake and a bit anxious but soon settled down once she knew I was staying down with her. I dozed off in the armchair and woke about 05.30 with a stiff neck.
Wednesday, 7 August 2019
Funeral
Well, the funeral's done and dusted. I'd been dreading it but in the event it was fine, the celebrant lady (non-religious speaker) delivered a lovely warm and personal eulogy that had me in floods of tears, particularly when she mentioned me and some special memories Sylvia and I shared. I have my (temporary) pink highlights, my own personal tribute to Sylvia, and several people commented on my likeness to her, which was nice. One of the pictures of her on the Order of Service was one where she had the same highlights, it was taken (by my husband actually) on her 60th birthday, so I'm very nearly the same age as she was in that photo.
I'm glad it's over, but am having great difficulty taking in the fact that I will never see my aunt again. Despite the fact that I saw her in hospital just a couple of hours before she died, somehow it still doesn't seem real.
I'm glad it's over, but am having great difficulty taking in the fact that I will never see my aunt again. Despite the fact that I saw her in hospital just a couple of hours before she died, somehow it still doesn't seem real.
Monday, 5 August 2019
No change
Thank you for comments, husband's UTI is no better at present, but he's soldiering on. Still no letter giving scan results, he did try ringing this morning, it was an answerphone, he's left a message.
TA, yes BT is our only option here....a couple of neighbours out of sheer frustration with BT did try TalkTalk and Sky - worse if anything (if that's possible!). We knew when we moved here that internet wouldn't be great....I wouldn't mind so much, but it's actually deteriorated quite a lot from what it was when we moved in, and yet BT (who are ALWAYS working on poles and cabinets in the area) claim there's no fault. The new hub is still dropping out, 4 days after installation (they said to give it 3 days), and is still exceptionally slow.....and signal has already disappeared twice in the few minutes I've been typing this. Dc, thank you for the info re BT wifi-with-FON - no better, the signal is just as bad. I think the trouble is, this is a very small community here and there just aren't enough customers to make it worth BT's (or anybody else's) while to provide a better service. We all went to a meeting in the village hall a couple of years ago, to a presentation provided by a new communications company who were promising all sorts of fantastic speeds - even they admitted, when questioned, that it would cost them too much to provide a service here to this tiny hamlet. They were only really interested in the larger neighbouring parish, which is full of big posh houses and well-off residents.
I probably won't be posting much here in the near future....too much going on, rubbish internet, and a feeling of being out of control over what's happening in our lives. I'm not depressed, just stressed as usual. I will probably try to start posting again (internet dependent) on my food blog, as making food is about the only thing I do actually have control over right now.
Aunt's funeral is on Wednesday and I'm dreading it.
TA, yes BT is our only option here....a couple of neighbours out of sheer frustration with BT did try TalkTalk and Sky - worse if anything (if that's possible!). We knew when we moved here that internet wouldn't be great....I wouldn't mind so much, but it's actually deteriorated quite a lot from what it was when we moved in, and yet BT (who are ALWAYS working on poles and cabinets in the area) claim there's no fault. The new hub is still dropping out, 4 days after installation (they said to give it 3 days), and is still exceptionally slow.....and signal has already disappeared twice in the few minutes I've been typing this. Dc, thank you for the info re BT wifi-with-FON - no better, the signal is just as bad. I think the trouble is, this is a very small community here and there just aren't enough customers to make it worth BT's (or anybody else's) while to provide a better service. We all went to a meeting in the village hall a couple of years ago, to a presentation provided by a new communications company who were promising all sorts of fantastic speeds - even they admitted, when questioned, that it would cost them too much to provide a service here to this tiny hamlet. They were only really interested in the larger neighbouring parish, which is full of big posh houses and well-off residents.
I probably won't be posting much here in the near future....too much going on, rubbish internet, and a feeling of being out of control over what's happening in our lives. I'm not depressed, just stressed as usual. I will probably try to start posting again (internet dependent) on my food blog, as making food is about the only thing I do actually have control over right now.
Aunt's funeral is on Wednesday and I'm dreading it.
Sunday, 4 August 2019
Bloody hell
Internet since we've had the new hub is just as bad, if not worse, and I'm downright bloody fed up with it, it's yet another stress. It's a pain in the arse trying to do banking or an email when the damn broadband keeps going off halfway through. Oh, and the nice lady from BT who said she would phone Friday to see how we're getting on....didn't. Nor did we get the promised text from the delivery company to say when the hub would be delivered...not that it was a problem, the hub came when they said it would. But BT lied again, as they have done almost every time we've been unfortunate enough to have to speak to them.
Still not had husband's scan results, although his GP managed to partly access them via the hospital records. The scan showed there is a problem with his urinary tract, and there's lumpiness in the middle of his prostate. GP said as he's not a specialist, he can't interpret the results. He's writing to the consultant, asking for an urgent update. And husband's got a raging infection again and yet more antibiotics.
Normal blog service will be resumed when (if!) the broadband is sorted out. In the meantime, I'm sorry for not commenting on blogs.
Still not had husband's scan results, although his GP managed to partly access them via the hospital records. The scan showed there is a problem with his urinary tract, and there's lumpiness in the middle of his prostate. GP said as he's not a specialist, he can't interpret the results. He's writing to the consultant, asking for an urgent update. And husband's got a raging infection again and yet more antibiotics.
Normal blog service will be resumed when (if!) the broadband is sorted out. In the meantime, I'm sorry for not commenting on blogs.
Friday, 2 August 2019
Ho hum, and fingers crossed
I spoke too soon yesterday....the internet with the new hub was fine for the time it took for me to do a bit of banking and post my blog. I put the laptop down and went off to do other things straight after, and when I came back to the laptop a few hours later, the internet was off again - and remained off for several hours. Well, it came back on intermittently, for literally just a few minutes at a time before going off again, and was so slow it was almost unusable, as it took so long for a page to load. Upon reading the little instruction book which came with the new hub (why are these things printed in such tiny letters? Or is that just me getting old?), it does say that it may take up to 3 days for the thing to reach optimum performance - I know how it feels! It may reset itself several times during this period, apparently. So hopefully it will all work out alright in the end.
I've had a stonker of a headache most of the week - a tension headache I think, it feels like a steel band is wrapped around my head and is alternately tightening then loosening a bit, and the back of my neck is very tight and painful. I've not taken any painkillers so far, other than a couple of paracetamol just to take the edge off when I needed to concentrate on something....when I have a headache like this, painkillers seem to do nothing much except make me feel woolly-headed on top of the pain. Husband is going to be out this morning, so I think I'll take the opportunity to lie quietly on the bed with the curtains drawn and my meditation app playing, I'm sure that will sort it out. I don't think it's anything sinister (I've not got a brain tumour, I'm sure!), it's just the result of the constant stresses and worries we've had for weeks, along with anxiety about the results of husband's CT scan, which we've still not yet got. Husband has a GP appointment this afternoon, for something which we hope is minor, so we'll ask him about the results - they might have had them through electronically already, whilst we have to wait for a paper copy. Oh, and the oppressive heat we've had for over a week doesn't do me any good, I definitely don't do well in the heat.
I've had a stonker of a headache most of the week - a tension headache I think, it feels like a steel band is wrapped around my head and is alternately tightening then loosening a bit, and the back of my neck is very tight and painful. I've not taken any painkillers so far, other than a couple of paracetamol just to take the edge off when I needed to concentrate on something....when I have a headache like this, painkillers seem to do nothing much except make me feel woolly-headed on top of the pain. Husband is going to be out this morning, so I think I'll take the opportunity to lie quietly on the bed with the curtains drawn and my meditation app playing, I'm sure that will sort it out. I don't think it's anything sinister (I've not got a brain tumour, I'm sure!), it's just the result of the constant stresses and worries we've had for weeks, along with anxiety about the results of husband's CT scan, which we've still not yet got. Husband has a GP appointment this afternoon, for something which we hope is minor, so we'll ask him about the results - they might have had them through electronically already, whilst we have to wait for a paper copy. Oh, and the oppressive heat we've had for over a week doesn't do me any good, I definitely don't do well in the heat.
Thursday, 1 August 2019
Praise for BT (for a change!)
Our broadband has been playing up since last week....it suddenly went very slow, then over the last couple of days was off altogether for several hours at a time. It's never been fast here anyway - our top speed has only ever been just under 1 - yes, one - mb….living in a very rural area means no superfast or fibre, we're just grateful for having the internet at all. Even if driving to the library or bank would be faster than trying to renew books or do banking online! 😂😒
Anyway, husband rang BT a couple of days ago, the Scottish chap did a few quick (unknown) things then said it was fixed. Was it hell, it lasted a few hours but was back off again yesterday morning. Rang again and got a very nice lady with a London accent, she spent half an hour on the phone with us trying all sorts of things, she was very helpful and apologetic. She said she would raise a complaint for us as the previous chap clearly hadn't fixed things (I didn't ask her to, she just offered - what good it will do anyhow, if any, I don't know, but told her to go ahead). She also said she'd send us a new updated Home Hub (ours was out of the ark). It arrived this morning! All set up relatively easily - nothing techie is easy for me, it gives me a corker of a headache and i find it horrendously stressful, but between us we managed to do it. So far so good, all seems well, and our speed is up to 0.8! Considering it was just 0.2 for the past few days (when it was working at all), that's fast!
The very nice lady from BT said she will ring us tomorrow to check whether everything is working alright, and would get an engineer out if not. Fingers crossed it stays as fine as it is at present.
It's a lovely sunny day, very warm, Betty is flaked out on the sofa, husband is laying the final bit of concrete on the patio....it's taken him several weeks to do this new patio, as he's just been doing a little bit at a time in between bouts of illness. I didn't mind how long it took him, I didn't want him doing it if he didn't feel up to it. I've almost finished the wedding card, I'm so pleased with how it looks, just need some fancy gold ribbon to make a bow and that'll be it. I'll put a photo on when it's done.
Anyway, husband rang BT a couple of days ago, the Scottish chap did a few quick (unknown) things then said it was fixed. Was it hell, it lasted a few hours but was back off again yesterday morning. Rang again and got a very nice lady with a London accent, she spent half an hour on the phone with us trying all sorts of things, she was very helpful and apologetic. She said she would raise a complaint for us as the previous chap clearly hadn't fixed things (I didn't ask her to, she just offered - what good it will do anyhow, if any, I don't know, but told her to go ahead). She also said she'd send us a new updated Home Hub (ours was out of the ark). It arrived this morning! All set up relatively easily - nothing techie is easy for me, it gives me a corker of a headache and i find it horrendously stressful, but between us we managed to do it. So far so good, all seems well, and our speed is up to 0.8! Considering it was just 0.2 for the past few days (when it was working at all), that's fast!
The very nice lady from BT said she will ring us tomorrow to check whether everything is working alright, and would get an engineer out if not. Fingers crossed it stays as fine as it is at present.
It's a lovely sunny day, very warm, Betty is flaked out on the sofa, husband is laying the final bit of concrete on the patio....it's taken him several weeks to do this new patio, as he's just been doing a little bit at a time in between bouts of illness. I didn't mind how long it took him, I didn't want him doing it if he didn't feel up to it. I've almost finished the wedding card, I'm so pleased with how it looks, just need some fancy gold ribbon to make a bow and that'll be it. I'll put a photo on when it's done.
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