It doesn't rain, but....

 At least it is beautiful outside.

Pirate has managed to get himself seriously dehydrated...so another infection to clear, and I have to stay on his case to get him drinking.

Being dehydrated he is also a tad confused.

Neither of us need this. Why do things like this always happen on a weekend...and a long weekend to boot!

Still, it was a bonus when the emergency doctor came out...he is a cyclist and walker, and his wife is a triathlete..and we know him!

I cut a leek from the garden in half...soup time... isn't it beautiful.

A bit of a mess

 And that's an understatement!!

I need another pair of hands to help me move a deep bed and a polytunnel frame...

That I can't manage on my own..and I am not dismantling them!

Then the workshop

You should see how much of Pirate's stuff I have shifted out ..shall we say his sheds are full to the doors....and Stuff has gone to the cowp ....

The kiln shed is now clear of non kiln things, I will be discussing strategy with another potter from up the coast....

So much to do ..but at least everything is inching in the right direction.

Carthen. For Joanne

 Please excuse the colours..not taken in daylight..but I have tried to tweak the images to nearer the blue yellow and green that they are.

A carthen is a traditional Welsh 8 heddle double sided blanket made from wool.

Equinox, weather, friends

 

There always seems to be stormy weather around each equinox.

Eleven years ago we were in NZ and people here were saying to us "don't come back now"..with heavy snow and the telegraph poles along the western side of Arran snapped like matchsticks...

No snow here, but we have been having days of "washing machine weather", four seasons in a day, hail yesterday...we might get a break in this for a short walk.

Pirate now has diuretic tablets..that and non penicillin ABs are working slowly..but worryingly his appetite is still low..if it's not one thing....

Getting there slowly. We will see what the stoma nurse says at his review on Monday.....

I have a sale to post! The six books in the series "Earth's Children"by Jean Auel . I must get more things listed, a sale is a good incentive!

Yesterday we had a friend visit from France. When Pirate came out of the RAF sixty years ago, friend was a 13 year old, getting into racing and noone else in the club they were in then was willing to help. Pirate encouraged him, and for the years that he did race he enjoyed it. He kept on cycling, became a mechanic and ten years later was working with British Cycling squads. I met him at Lilleshall on a Women's Squad training weekend...but I hadn't seen him again since then!

So a good day of reminiscing for us all. 

And one step back

 Up and out on time this morning, just after 8am, to take cardboard, a bag of green waste ( brambles), the old ripped polytunnel covers and a "dead" vacuum cleaner and fan heater to the cowp...the tip, or recycling centre.

It is run by a private company for the council.

Unload all that, then fill my four bags with free compost (council bags, £2 each then yours to use again) ..no more than four at a time,  but as many visits as you want. Since lockdown you have to book every visit, but that is no big deal.

It isn't perfect, you do get a certain amount of woody material..and are advised to use it 1:1 with garden soil. I do that, plus using it as one of the layers in the compost heap.

A quick visit to the nearest small town, Cumnock, the home of Kier Hardie, for a small top up shop....

And back to see how Pirate was getting on.

The district nurse yesterday had advised a doctor's phone call...and thankfully the doctor asked him to call by the surgery..verdict, fluid on his lungs.  Not surprising, with a serious bout of pneumonia 70 years ago, plus covid two years ago, plus weather too cold and wet to keep walking after his op....luckily there is an alternative to penicillin (which he can't take)...

Picked up the new meds..we are so fortunate to have a medical centre and a pharmacy in our village, just 200 metres apart.

Then he had a bright idea....lunch out!  The first place in the next village was full....we should have thought before going on to the next place..a garden centre cafe....it wasn't overfull, but he couldn't relax and eat even half...

Back home, him for a nap and me to do some research...which was confirmed by next door's daughter who is a nurse...I am doing the right things!

Then our daily walk, this time IN THE SUNSHINE!!!! and the walk was slow but steady, not painstakingly slow any more.

It does feel like Spring..even if we are heading for a cold snap.

Hopefully I will be able to get out on the garden and be destructive and constructive tomorrow... weather permitting!!

Speeding up

 Pirate is at last walking slowly instead of at a snail's pace!

No walk this morning...when it was beautiful... waiting for the weekly nurse visit..which didn't happen until 3pm...and then Pirate needed a siesta....by which time the clouds had come back in, and you could only just see  Arran through a luminous mist.

But the birds were singing well.

And while he was having his siesta.....I loaded the car with rubbish to go to the cowp....and the bags to collect the free compost (made from the green waste)..slot booked for tomorrow morning. 

On the prom

 Another delayed walk...but we got to promenade on the promenade!

Busy cleaning the beach after the winter storms, ready for the tourists 

People are mucky....

And the sea throws everything over the green stretch between the houses and the prom as well!

Oystercatchers...no oysters here 

The rain missed us....just!

It was a trifle windy..so we walked against the wind to start with, to get a tailwind back to the car!

As I write the wind has risen further and it is still raining....but there is hope for a walk tomorrow morning.

Maybe it is nearly Spring

 First walk today, just before lunch.

The second, late afternoon was even shorter...

As the rain came in again.

But it isn't about quantity now..after exactly a year back here of little exercise and much disruption, we must both set our pattern again to regain health.

A day of two halves

 We had a beautiful sunny morning, with the intention of going for a walk....but I got "chatting" to my daughter by message...

Then we had a flying visit from half of the Ayr Burners clubrun!!!

It was great to see them and chat...

By then it was definitely time to head out with the plan to pick up the paper and a picnic lunch and go for a flat walk...

The weather gods had other ideas....not even a chance of ten minutes walk in a break....it started gently and didn't let up...eight hours later as I write it is still raining outside.....

So picnic in the car, in a layby, looking over at Arran...and Goat Fell in the clouds..down to Girvan...still raining....and home up the Girvan Valley on the lower road.

Still, we did have a nice "tiki tour" even if was with a tin overcoat!! Better than just sitting indoors.

Wandering and wondering

 Things just go along slowly here..far slower than Pirate had expected.

I don't think that he could take that in before. It doesn't help that the weather has curtailed our activity outside and recovery needs a little more gentle walking than he is getting, so other niggles are growing.

It is reassuring that the district nurse and doctor and Macmillan nurse are all happy with his progress so far.

Meanwhile I am keeping busy.  Necessarily because a house has things doing to keep it going...and we need to eat and there is plenty of washing...

But there are also things to do for myself.

This afternoon I started sorting the greenhouse properly. Rubbish cleared out, dead plants including some that I disappeared from the house...they had been struggling despite tlc...so they got parked out in the greenhouse to "sink or swim"...they all sank.  Next step is to sort out all the plastic trays and pots to see how many I really will need!!

This morning it was wet and cold outside so I "wandered" around quite a few blogs to see old friends and possibly find some new.

I was surprised at how many times I found names I already knew commenting on a blog new to me!!  Another surprise was how many blog commenters have no blog....and no description of who they are and where from...  Not everyone has the time or inclination to write, but it would be nice to know a little more, especially when their comments are so interesting!!

Plus as ever there are those that have stopped blogging for whatever reason.

Some still comment on blogs, which is reassuring. Others have just gone.

What a difference ...

 an hour makes

5pm, Northwest then southwest...

And an hour later..

Ticking along.

It is early days, and Pirate is finding it too easy just to do nothing...and our new mattress topper has made our bed FAR too comfortable!!

Today started wet and windy, but lifted nicely soon enough. I didn't trust enough to hang the washing on the line though!

I had a fleabay sale to pack...the first for nearly a month.  However you do it, at whatever level, selling is in the doldrums. Having the one sale has spurred me on to start listing more again...one on, and half a dozen lined up to be described and photographed.

The parts for the car didn't arrive until this afternoon, so no car until tomorrow. Which took the pressure off....dashing around can wait until tomorrow!  We walked down to the top shop in the village, where Pirate (reluctantly) went in to buy some biscuits while I went further downhill to pick up supplies from the pharmacy.  Lockdown strengthened his dislike of shops and shopping...and this had started easing ...but now he needs to learn to yes, be careful...but to do shopping again.

It was good to be walking outside...we are yearning for decent warmer weather and to be able to go for longer walks. 

Pirate's Macmillan nurse phoned to see how he was doing...and said that as soon as he is comfortable sitting on a saddle he can start back on the turbo trainer. Very gently.   He was glad to hear that!

We had a sort of Italian supper...blue cheese and oatcakes to start, risotto with veges and red beans...then vanilla ice cream with raspberries and pistachio nuts on top.    Making a meal interesting...when the "customer" is not too interested in the idea because he isn't doing enough yet to develop an appetite.

Every day up and down...but that is to be expected....everyone on the phone saying how well he sounds...but I get the down side...

It is normal, but hard work.

Just ticking along

 Just doing the ordinary things...trying to get a short walk in for Pirate morning and afternoon. Working on his cardio vascular fitness and rebuilding muscle. Use it or lose it comes home at times like this, for both of us.

The weather isn't much help..dreich...damp, cold, and Easterly with a windchill bringing the feel down to freezing.  Which means walks are even shorter!  So having stairs is coming in handy. Ad break on the TV? Up and down stairs once or twice...keeps the circulation going, keeps him feeling warmer! 

One day at a time....and if it ends up being two steps forward and one back....that ends up as one step forward!

Meanwhile I am trying to do jobs for me...starting to clear out the kiln shed, sorting things to go to the cowp, hopefully listing more things on fleabay...in between house sorting...making feel less cluttered as well as decluttering... and increased washing. 

Getting to the town on the bus is a relief..a break from home and from driving!  A good chance to get the car in for a bit more work, getting jobs done bit by bit instead of a huge amount before it's annual MoT test.

We have just watched the final of the Pottery Throwdown Programme.

A worthy winner, but close. Good to see, and inspiration for me as well.

Truth Vs Lies

 Reposting from a fellow blogger

https://blackmtnbarb.blogspot.com/2024/03/truth-vs-lies.html

Sunshine

 Not a lot got done today..but Pirate was feeling better.

Life is now interval training...activity....nap... activity..nap. It is working!

To the doctor in the afternoon to sort out a few niggles...he was on heart meds in the hospital... slightly raised blood pressure with all that was going on, plus a good dose of White Coat Syndrome....and they forgot to send him out with any to take. They are not things to stop suddenly...

I checked them..they may lower BP..but they also cause swollen feet and ankles... looks like he will be back to the surgery as they have done that in the hospital...   Why can't this be simple?!

We just need a break so that he can simply get better...two weeks down, ten to go....

The sun and breeze helped though..and not just to dry the washing!

A late afternoon trip into town as we missed the local post...and to buy some well reduced items to make a quick supper!

A down day

 It is hard, learning how much is too much..Pirate has had a bit of a down day.  Late up and a long siesta after lunch.

I've caught up with some mending, tidied a little and experienced the great Meta server wibble....some wag suggested that Mr. Z tripped over the plug....

Wastebook and Insta are back....the rest, not yet apparently.

If only there was a viable alternative...on the other hand anyone starting out could see how big it could grow...

It was my phone's turn to be rung...for a change!!...A call from the daughter of a good friend...and her mother was with her...contact details refreshed..and a good chat for twenty minutes or more!! So much to catch up on...and even more when we can get together in the summer.

I made a cross between risotto and soup for supper...rice in one small pressure cooker, veges and water in the other...combine the two with a dollop of yeast extract and a tin of black beans....a quick supper and plenty of individual portions to freeze.

Thankfully we found  interesting TV programmes after supper. First the Paris Nice highlights , then about how ordinary people lived in the 1800s...which kept him up and awake for another hour..you can have too much time in bed in 24 hours. It doesn't recharge your "batteries" the longer you stay in bed, too much and you end up even more fatigued.

Pirate wanted to watch the next programme on London's Bridges...it is fascinating...but he was ready for bed.

Now to tidy the kitchen, do a little Duolingo lesson and bedtime with Sudoku to relax and wind down.

Back down to earth

 Back to reality....Pirate had had a good weekend with Fife Friend, getting used to being out of hospital and back home, dealing with having a stoma..he is getting on ok with that and also finding more and more with one..or whose parent had one...

Then the first night for me in two weeks to share a bed....the sounds of someone else sleeping...

And today settling back into and old and new routine. We need to find a routine to eat smaller more frequent meals. With all sorts still going on that isn't easy.

Today Pirate had his staples removed..not the seven he expected..but sixteen! A bit of a shock to the system, as he found later when he had his afternoon walk to take a bird box to a friend..a level walk, near enough, but the wind is still cold.

We did enjoy the sunset, so the walk was worth it!