Another step forward

 One more appointment today, with the Stoma nurse.

A successful meeting, and an interesting character..in the army from school, then left to have her children..then back to work at 40 to train as a nurse.

She has a similar character to our District Nurse..and we get on well with her no fuss attitude as well.

She has concentrated in the urology section, and then the stoma department, training in Scotland and then London before returning here about ten years ago..she has two years to go, which should see Pirate launched with his stoma ok!!  The surgeon will sign him off as fit after a couple of days...but it is she who will say when he is fit to come home!!..ie when he can look after himself.. probably a week,..so I get a week off!!

The weather has changed again, a few icing sugar sprinkles on the hills yesterday and this morning, but coming back this afternoon it was gradually increasing..but still wettish sleet.

Let's hope travelling will be ok tomorrow as we are back at the hospital for the consultant surgeon interview appointment...a twenty minute drive short way, but could be half an hour on the slightly more indirect, bigger roads...but safer in the snow.

We had lunch out after the nurse appointment...just a simple meal, but nice to be out!!

Furniture sorting has continued...there has to be room for a hospital bed in our living room as our bathroom is downstairs.  It is a good incentive to use that reason to get done something that has been needed for a long time!!

I have got as far as possible with the living room for now, next stop is my study where some things have to go up to. Cue more drastic weeding...

Yesterday I heaved out a load of old cardboard boxes from the bike/ training room.....but what really needs doing is for Pirate to sort bike bits that won't be used so that I can sell them and boxes of paperwork so that he can find things instead of getting annoyed when he can't!

Getting my Big Girl Pants on and doing stuff that is needed has got him started anyway..even the small amount he has done so far is welcome. The thin end of the wedge towards actually getting it done!!!

Exciting?

 We have had an interesting couple of days.

Pirate had to hop off to A&E..and was being assessed for a couple of days.

Nothing mega.. basically the after effects of prostate cancer radiotherapy, plus the post viral effects of covid in April on his gut.

Things calmed down so they sent him home...the NHS waiting list for a camera Where the Sun Don't Shine is three months here...better than the UK average of just over a year....if it was that bad it would have been done.

Interestingly the list has ballooned 500% since Covid started.

Why am I not surprised?!

The main thing is. He is still here!!

I also got a lot done whilst he was elsewhere 😎

Travelling

Wizzard and Partner left the Borders in snow this morning and had a slow drive across to Moffatt and the motorway. Thereafter it was a steady four hour drive home, probably stopping at Tebay, the independant motorway services,for a break. It was good to hear that they'd arrived safely. 

We're looking forward to their next visit already!

We've just returned from the county hospital where the Pirate has been dealt with by the mole-catcher. Three skin tags and one suspicious one dealt with,and we'll need to get a couple on his back seen to next time.  Just something we keep an eye on, as you do.
Its a pity they've stopped doing these procedures at our town hospital, which seemed to be developing  well, with the local town clinics all centralizing there.
To get there is one bus ride to the hospital from our village or 15 minutes drive at the most.
The county hospital on the other hand is a three bus ride...into Ayr, over to Kilmarnock then out to the hospital. Fine,we have a bus pass being 60+...but working people have expensive fares to pay; now people have to work to 67- 70 years old, so have to take a day off just for a short appointment....

It was good that the appointment was late enough in the day that everything had mostly thawed..on the other hand it was dark and raining heavily for the 45 minute drive home. Heavy rain is forecast tomorrow and storm winds on Sunday.
Indoor jobs will be the order all weekend.

mess!!

Sorting and de-cluttering, ....whatever you do, in whatever field in your life, it looks worse before it looks better!

Papers in boxes LOOK very tidy...and its a mess when they are being sorted/shredded/used for lighting the stove, recycled.....and even, a small amount, filed!   
Have you noticed that people never seem to visit when your home is tidy?

As Winter draws in we'll have less gardening to do and less money to travel, so more time to tackle this mountain of sorting....one box at a time.

Yesterday the Pirate had his latest appointment with the oncology nurse...all well so far, just keep on keeping on...six weeks down of hormone treatment, one hundred and fifty to go....

It would be easier for him if his op had left an external scar...then he'd have a visible reminder of having had a fairly major op.

Winter makes him sad as it is, the treatment could make this worse.  However he is through half of his worst sad part of the year, not long to go....then he can get me through February and March...

We are booking our tickets for our Hogmanay trip to Eileann Siar today. We're both looking forward greatly to that.  I must buy a spare pair of rechargeable batteries for his camera that I'm using, so that we're never caught with flat or chilled batteries and no camera!!

We went to the Burns Centre for lunch yesterday...pictures hopefully next time!

blue sky!

Not a lot....but enough!!
Down to the Gwent hospital in Newport today and The Carpenter was fortunate that A&E wasn't busy...within half an hour they had xrayed his hand and wrist,  and given him a wrist support...no breakages apparent, even when they zoomed in on the xray image.   There is still a small amount of swelling, but not enough to warrant how much it hurts. Now he waits to hear from them after the consultant has had a look at the image.  
A bit of shopping on the way back, a leisurely lunch and next I must prick out some lettuce seedlings in the greenhouse.

The Commission is drying slowly...which is as it should be...I should be able to add another coil or two this afternoon.
   All the other work is also drying slowly....which is not as I'd like!  If it is still dry when I return from the allotment I'll risk putting them outside for a while, and that should do the trick!!

The drawing book turned up....in a very obvious place....where nothing had been moved.   OK, it must be happy now I've started the next one! 
I've tidied the shelves right by my bed, and the three latest ones now live there.

I probably ought to do a lot more tidying and sorting but somehow that doesn't feel an attractive proposition!