Irritable

 Back and hips still mostly pain free and I didn't have as much stiffness when I got up this morning.  However, my left knee is problematical now, keeps feeling like it's going to give way.  If it's not one thing it's another, joys of getting older I suppose.

The very low carbing is working, I'm slowly but steadily losing a few pounds.  I shall endeavour to keep it up until Christmas.  It's hard though this time of year, usual winter foods are all carby.  And then there's Christmas foods everywhere you look!  Hard to avoid them, TV and social media full of ads and pics, shops loaded with them wherever you go.  I've got stuff for Christmas here, both things I've made and some bought, but at least they're either frozen or hidden in cupboards out of eyesight, so out of temptation.  Will just have to stay strong.

All this Government stuff is really getting up my nose at the moment, something else it's hard to avoid as it's all over the TV, radio and social media.  So unless we have the TV off all the time (not going to happen, not in this house!) and basically don't engage in any form of social media (which is how I keep in touch with some of our family), then it's almost impossible to avoid hearing about the Government's parties that did or didn't happen last year (bet they did) when none of the rest of us were allowed to mix with or visit anybody outside our immediate bubble.  And all the rest of the unsavoury stuff that's now coming out.....once again it's as it has always been - THEY make the rules, WE are expected to follow them, but these rules don't apply to THEM, THEY can do what the hell they like!!  And I'm not saying that any of the ones not presently in power would be any different, I think they're all a bunch of immoral sleazy self serving tossers, who wouldn't/couldn't answer a straight question with a straight answer if their lives depended on it.

The thought that there might possibly be restrictions over Christmas gatherings again will really upset me, as it will everybody.

Sorry, I'm feeling very irritable today!  I will NOT succumb to the chocolates hidden away, will just have to have a big mug of coffee with cream in it......I'm NOT going to open the Chocolate Brownie and Orange flavoured Baileys lookalike also hidden away either.  If we had any crisps in the house it might be a different matter, I can't resist those, so have deliberately not bought any yet.

The poor NHS, and a Very Good Thing

 Yesterday morning I needed to go to town to a couple of shops very close to each other - the pet shop and shoe shop.  As they are both also very near Sainsbury's, we decided to go in there too, to get some more of the green veg that husband didn't get enough of the other day, and also so I could point out to him a few of the pack sizes/brands I normally get, which he got wrong when he did the shopping (because I didn't actually specify ALL the details on his written list!).  So next time he'll know....unless he forgets by then! 😒😂

Whilst in there, I noticed some sourdough loaves that I normally have, had been reduced to 49p - they're usually £2.50 for a small loaf.  They're sliced seeded wholemeal and, unusually for a prepacked sliced loaf, really tasty, with a good sourdough flavour.  So I got three to put in the freezer - I'm not actually eating bread at the moment, as we're very low carbing until Christmas, but now I have enough of this bread in the freezer to last me for a few weeks after Christmas, and I've saved £6.00.  One of these small loaves lasts me more than a week, I take a couple of slices out of the freezer as and when I want them.

Yesterday, husband had a phone call from the hospital again, giving him a phone consultation appointment with his prostate surgeon for next Friday - I pointed out he's already got a phone appointment with him booked for next Monday.  The lady apologised.....seems they'd got their wires crossed somewhere, his Monday appointment still stands.  All well and good.  But then this morning he got a letter from the hospital stating he's got a (face to face) outpatients appointment at the hospital for Monday!  He rang to find out what's going on.....more wires crossed, it's still a phone appointment, he doesn't have to go to the hospital.  Just as well he rang to confirm it, as the hospital is over an hour's drive each way.  I think the poor NHS is on its knees at the moment, bless them.

Having now finished designing, drawing and putting embellishments on all my Christmas cards, I now have to write in them all and post/distribute them.  Trouble is, I can't get up the enthusiasm for it - oh dear! 😉😂

I keep looking at my little 4ft Christmas tree - I do quite like it, but I don't love it, it can stay as it is for this year now though.  Next year I will almost certainly get a bigger one, 5ft I think - it will still have to stand on a table to keep it out of Betty's reach, she's already showing signs of interest in this one - I know when she's been nudging it with her nose as the gonk tree dec I have on one of the lower branches is sometimes facing the wrong way!  I'll have different lights next year - I have multicolour lights on this one but think I'd prefer single colour lights.  I also think I want bigger baubles, and lots of them, in one colour.  And I'll definitely have a different tree topper - I have a big silver glittery star on this one, it's ok....but just that, ok, not 'oooohhh lovely'!!  I don't know what I want to top next year's tree, I'll know it when I see it I think.  I definitely don't want a fairy though 😁

Oh, and the Very Good Thing....I noticed this morning when I was drying my feet after my shower that the numbness in my big toe has completely gone, it's back to normal, after about 4 months of not feeling anything in it at all.  So I'm guessing that means the osteopathy (Felicity and her magic fingers) has succeeded in getting the prolapsed disc back in place.  I continue to be almost pain-free for most of the time, with just the odd twinge here and there, and some lingering stiffness when I first get out of bed or up out of a chair.  Worth every penny.

More practise needed

 Husband didn't do too badly with the shopping.  With a few items he didn't choose what I would have picked, but then I didn't specify the exact brand/weight/size.  But they were all things that we regularly have, you'd think he would have known what one to get....hey ho.  Bearing in mind we're going to be eating a lot of green veg the next few days, I'd put on the shopping list 'Selection of green veg' - he got a bag of sprouts and a very small cabbage.  Hmmm, will have to send him out for a top up shop in a day or two.  He did well with the Cheddar, left to his own devices he would have just got a huge value pack of the cheapest (and tasteless) cheese.....I did tell him not to get that, but to get a decent mature Cheddar, which he did (probably because it was on special offer!).  However, he forgot the eggs, and some fruit for himself.  He'll get better with practise, and is insistent he's quite happy to carry on doing it, which I'm pleased about.

I went to the osteopath yesterday afternoon, it was fine as usual and I now feel totally relaxed.  She starts off by having me stand with my back to her, whilst she uses her fingers to feel all down my spine, across my pelvis and then my shoulders.  The first time of going, when she did that I was all "Ow, ooh that's tender there, Ouch!!"......now, nothing, not a twinge.  Whilst I was lying on the couch and she was doing her thing with those little movements of her fingers, I had just one tender knotty spot in the middle of my back, nowhere else.  Felicity feels I've responded so well (which I know I have) that I don't need another treatment until mid January, which I'm happy about.  She's a miracle worker.

Husband had a phone call from Yeovil hospital yesterday to say that the surgeon wants to do a phone consultation with him next Monday - what for, I don't know.  He was told a few months ago he would have his prostate operation before Christmas (this one coming!  He's already been waiting 2 years) - whether that's still going to be the case I don't know.  It's up to husband, of course, if the surgeon wants to do the op in the next couple of weeks, but personally I'd rather he didn't - he'll be recuperating and unable to do anything much for x amount of time, just like this time last year when he'd had his foot op.  Having him out of action that close to Christmas will be a bit of a nuisance, we've got things planned, I'll have lots to do and then the added nurse stuff, chores that husband normally does and taking the dog out 2x daily on top.  Well, what will be will be.

Driving home from the osteopath's late in the afternoon, the sun was setting and therefore loads of people had their Christmas decorations all lit up - beautiful, I do love seeing all the lights.

Storm Barra arrives today, thank goodness we don't have to go anywhere!  Hope nobody suffers any damage, or minimal at least.  Stay safe and warm.

Husband's first shop, and dieting before Xmas

 Today is the first anniversary of my lovely friend Toni-anne's death from cancer last year.  I thought of her when looking out of the bedroom windows this morning - I always stand and look at the views for a few moments, seeing if there's any wildlife about (there usually is) and if anything's changed in the landscape.  The first time she came to visit us here, we both stood looking out of the front bedroom window (the photo at the top of my blog, although that time when Toni came, there were sheep in that field) and she said "How do you get anything at all done, living here?".  If she lived here, she said, she'd be sitting on my high backed stool at that window, looking out at the view all day.

Husband has just gone out to do the supermarket shopping - he has done it by himself a handful of times, but mainly just a small shop for a handful of things.  Today, whilst not being a full trolley shop, it is bigger than just a little top up.  I wonder if he'll regret offering to do the shopping regularly, once he comes back today?!  It means I have to write him a list (in big capitals, partly because of his dyslexia, but also because he will probably have forgotten to take his reading glasses!), and he will stick rigidly to the list.  I do generally write a hasty list for myself, but often when I'm in the shop I'll see something on a shelf and think 'oh yes, I need one of those'....whereas he won't.  Still, it means he'll save a bit of money!  I am grateful that he's volunteered to do it, it relieves me of a job that I hate, and gives me a bit of free time to get on with things whilst he's not here cluttering up the place - and it means the blasted TV isn't on! 😁 Win-win.

Another storm forecast for the next couple of days, sigh - it's already blustery and rainy and is set to get a lot worse.  Well, it is winter.  I don't have to go anywhere - I've decided not to go out to any garden centres, craft fairs, Christmas lights displays and the like, because I want to avoid crowds whilst this new covid strain is building up.  And who wants to go out in weather like this anyway?  Even Betty's not keen, she does her business then turns and heads for home.  It's so dark and gloomy and the days are so short now, barely 8 hours (less, I think) of daylight.  Still, only another couple of weeks and it's the shortest day, then daylight starts stretching out a bit again, albeit only a couple of minutes or so.  It always makes me happier though once the 21/22 Dec has passed - Spring is on the way, albeit 2 or 3 months to go yet.  And 84 days till I can go back to my beloved caravan!

I'm making soup today, for our lunches for the next 2 or 3 days - broccoli and cauliflower with blue cheese.  We've decided to go very low carb for a couple of weeks - we'll be eating all sorts of carby/rich food over the Christmas period, so need to get a bit of weight off now to counteract that.  So for 2 weeks or so we'll be having no potatoes, pasta, rice, bread or cereal, although husband will probably still have a slice of toast or a small bowl of cereal for breakfast - I'm not much of a breakfast eater.  Lunches will be homemade soups, or a cheese & tomato omelette, or salad with cottage cheese, ham or tinned fish.  Dinners will be meat or fish with lots of green veggies.  Husband likes a pudding, so he'll have a yogurt or a piece of fruit.  We actually started on Saturday....oven roasted ribs and salad, then roast pork with green veggies for yesterday......I'm peeing for England already (cutting down drastically on carbs always gets rid of excess water for me).  I'm in the right headspace for this at the moment, so should have no problem sticking to it for a couple of weeks.

It's done

 Well, I've dressed the tree, the mantlepiece and the hall side window and that's it, the sum total of my Christmas decorations.  I'll take photos when all the lights are on and show them in due course.

I still don't really feel in the Christmas mood, but I dare say that will come.  Once I'd finished the tree (which is very minimalist! - my choice), I stood back to have a look and could almost hear Aunt Sylvia saying "Blimey, that's not very Christmassy, get some tinsel on it, and bigger baubles!" - which made me chuckle (I've never been fond of tinsel).  Still, I like the tree, and that's all that matters.....husband isn't bothered one way or the other.  I'm pretty sure I will have a bigger tree next year, though.

This morning I made several dozen little cheesy biscuits - each one is just a mouthful, so it's not as OTT as it sounds.  I had 2 or 3 (or 4....or 5) for testing purposes 😉, husband had a couple, then as soon as they were cold I froze them all.  Safest thing to do, they're very moreish, and anyway they're to take to best friend's house on Christmas day, along with some little chocolatey treats I'll be making nearer the time.

I made another Christmas card, only 2 more to do and then I've finished them all - just got to write in them all now 😂

Cherie, it's a very good idea to treat the poinsettia as if it were a bunch of flowers and throw it away when it gets past it - after all, it only cost £3, less than the cost of a bunch of carnations!  I shan't feel so guilty now, if it drops all its leaves and keels over in a couple of weeks.  I may or may not buy another one!

My first ever, and no more shopping!

 I bought a poinsettia this morning, my first ever - although I like them, I've always been wary of buying one before, due to their reputation for being sensitive.....I don't do very well at keeping houseplants alive at the best of times.  But it looks pretty and Christmassy, so it's getting me in the mood for decorating tomorrow.  And if it only lasts a few weeks.....well, it will have made the lounge mantelpiece look festive for a short while!  I've also bought a light up reindeer to go alongside it (steady on, at this rate I'll be taking a leaf out of Cherie's book! 😂).

For the past 2 days I've had jerky twinges in my lower back, it feels almost as if a disc is on the verge of popping out again - I've had it before, many times over the years.  So I'm being very mindful of my back.  Thank goodness I'm seeing the osteopath on Monday, she can hopefully head off any potential back problem before it happens.

Husband wants fish and chips - from a chippie, not home cooked in the oven - for dinner today.  It's only a rare treat for us nowadays, I will eat just half of mine - I'll share it with Betty....well, the fish anyway, and she can have a couple of chips.  I'll have some salad on the side to fill me up.  Although husband only gets one portion of chips to share between us, they still serve up a massive portion, so I may even wrap and freeze some.  I've done that before, they're perfectly ok reheated for a few minutes in a hot oven.

The shops are getting a lot busier now it's December, which I hate, I find it very stressful.  Husband actually volunteered to do the shopping from now on, if I wanted - erm, yes please!!  He normally sits in the car waiting whilst I go in - we've always done that since the start of the pandemic, as he was more susceptible to catching Covid and being seriously ill with it, having heart failure.  However, as we're both fully jabbed, including the booster, and have never stopped wearing masks in shops, he feels perfectly safe doing the shopping, he says.  It means I'll have to write a list for him every time, and he won't necessarily choose the things that I would - he's unlikely to check over the fruit & veg for blemishes or ripeness, e.g. - but if he wants to do the shopping, I'm more than happy to let him.  One less stress for me, and I can stay home and get on with things whilst he's out.  Fortunately for him, we won't be needing a big shop anytime before Christmas, just a couple of top ups of fresh stuff.

Ok I will

 Thank you so much for all your lovely comments.  HH - no, not disrespectful at all, please don't worry.  Sue - your comment about Mum coming back to whack me with her Watchtower mag did make me laugh - and it would have made Mum laugh too, in fact it's just the sort of thing she would say.  Pumpkin, welcome and thank you for commenting.  As you may have gathered, I don't follow Mum's faith but, as Mum was baptised when I was around 8 or 9 and we were thus brought up with her faith, I have always been respectful of her beliefs.  Mum had the most wonderful friends in her congregation who were very supportive to her and remained good friends right to the end, lots of them visited her in hospital during her last weeks - some of them from her old congregation in London came up to where she lived in the Midlands for her memorial service at the Kingdom Hall, and one who we'd known since childhood (her mother and my mother were great friends) even came over from her new home in Paris to attend.

I've decided to take everyone's advice and decorate my tree.  I'll do it on Saturday, the 4th - that's my lovely aunt Sylvia's birthday, she would have been 75 this year.  Sylvia absolutely adored Christmas, she was like a big kid about it, her front garden and the front of her house had the most lights and decorations of anybody's in her street.  You could hardly see the ceiling and walls of her lounge for the amount of Christmas decorations she put up, and she had an enormous tree.  She loved it, it gave her such pleasure, although she did it as much for her youngest son - he has Downs syndrome, he loved it too.  So I shall make it a tradition to put up my tree and decorations on the 4th every December - although mine will be minimalist!

My best friend has invited us to spend Christmas Day with their family again, as they do most years.  I've accepted, of course, they make us so welcome and we have a lovely time there.

I continue to be mostly pain-free, although do have the odd twinge or stab of pain and a bit of a wobbly leg when I've been standing in the kitchen baking or doing veg prep for a while.  With a rest and my electric heated back pad though, it soon wears off.  I had a phone consultation on Tuesday with the orthopaedic assessment team (referral by my GP), the nice therapist said as I was now getting on so well and having good care and treatment from my GP and osteopath, she felt she didn't need to see me right now.  She said, however, if anything changes or I get a lot of pain again, I can ring her direct rather than having to go through the GP and she'll see me then.  So that's good to know I have backup if needed.  I'm seeing my osteopath again next Monday, I don't know how many more treatments I'll need, not many I should think.

This morning I have 2 birthday cards to make.  This afternoon I'm going to have a go on my exercise bike, now husband has finally got round to altering the handlebars for me (my osteopath's suggestion).

It's vegetarian day, so I'm having avocado and cottage cheese on a slice of sourdough toast for lunch (husband will have cheese and tomatoes on toast, he doesn't like avocado).  For dinner I'm doing green veggies in a pesto sauce, with a little wholewheat pasta and grilled tomatoes on the side.