Hi Jules,

Glad you coped okay; see you are stronger than you think. It's strange how often its take something bad to make us find out things about ourselves we never knew we were capable of. Life is certainly one big learning curve and I am still learning.

Mrs B was at a loss yesterday afternoon so she asked me if I would take her for a drive through the country lanes. We saw a lot of wildlife and the trees are just changing colour so we had a lovely time. when I got home I went to fit the new threaded insert I have just bought for my woodturning chuck. I thought at first they had sent me the wrong one but it was mainly because the thread on my lathe had been bruised before I bought it. So after quite a struggle cleaning it up, I have managed to get it to fit. I can now use my chuck on eiether end of my lathe which will eneable me to do more jobs.

We have primroses, a rhoededendron, strawberries and roses all in bloom in the garden at the moment. Plants dont seem to know the seasons anymore. I hope you enjoy your walk to the farmers market. Did I hear you mention cheese straws??? Dont let Kathy hear you say that or you will make her mouth water like you have done to me.

Take care Jules, Have a great weekend; best wishes to you and your family, Brian

Hi Brian.
Did I hear the mention of cheese????  Must have been a mouse in a previous existence.  Truth be spoken though cheese isn't good for pet mice, maybe I was just a cheese gogolic. Don't care if word wasn't invented... It is now....
Your strawberries are still fruiting? Wow.  Mine just starting.
Tomorrow sees me drive to Kidlets place for 2 days babysitting.  New chicks due to be born.  36 degrees forecast so will need to ensure mum hen has ice cubes in her water to keep her cool.
Sorry to read of your recent losses.  Words can't explain what I feel.
Sending much love to you and the ever patient Mrs B
Kathy xxx
 

Hi Kathy,

I am staggered, you smelt the smell of cheese straws from 10,000 miles away, either that or you have super efficient hearing ha ha. Yes our stawberries are doing fine. I hope we get enough sun to ripen them before we get any frosts. Mrs B has picked two large ones and said they were delicious.

Bet you will enjoy your baby sitting duties as usual.

Thanks for the kind words regarding our recent losses. Dad is still fighting on in Canada. He really is a tough guy.

Take care my forum friend, sending best wishes and kind thoughts your way (minus the cheese straws) Brian

Hi Sue,

Delighted that your treatment went well on the day and hope the benefits last for a while for  you.  It certainly sounds very professional and specialised  and just a shame the NHS could not cover it earlier for you but sounds as if it will be money well spent.  Are you are to 'self help' too now that you know the area to concentrate on as I know y ou were having a go at the massage before you went.

Well, you would have been proud of me; I walked round the market yesterday, enjoyed the atmosphere as always and bought six small plants (cyclamen and viola) for the front garden for some winter colour. I said good morning to my 'regular'stall holders but..........resisted temptation!! Came home for lunch instead and then put the plants in. Such a pleasant day that I then moved into the back garden and did some weeding  and have had a go at splitting my lily of the valley clump to see if they will grow in a new area (probably totally wrong time of year to be messing with them!!!). Finally pruned a couple of the roses  and then came in and watched the rugby (shame about the results for Scots and Irish but definitely gave it their all).

Now, already it is Monday and work calls  though I am meeting two old workmates afterwards for a late lunch (finish work at 1.45) so need to take change of clothes with me as don't fancy sitting in the cafe wearing work uniform!!  Hope your week goes okay and that you enjoyed dinner with Mum. Take care Jules x

Hi Brian

Well, yes I did mention cheese straws and even the other side of the world  picked up on it - no surprise there Kathy.  In the event I resisted temptation for a change!  Instead I bought some plants for the front garden and came home to get them in whilst the weather was nice.Decided I had eaten enough 'treats' during the past week and needed to get back on track ha ha.

Glad you and Mrs B enjoyed your drive. It's a hard period for you both and little moments of pleasure can bring some light relief - important to re-charge the batteries in the coping day to day way of things.  My weekend was pretty quiet but back to work today to will find 'my voice' and then meeting friends for lunch afterwards. Will appreciate the company for a while. Before I know it tomorrow will arrive and the weekly visit to Mum takes place and so the routine goes on. I must say with the darker evenings it seems to make the day longer (no escaping into the garden) so am relying on the tv more!  Maybe I will turn back to books but still find it hard to concentrate for any length of time, preferring to flit from job to job. Hey ho.

Well time is moving on and best get ready to go to work. Best regards to you and Mrs B. Jules x

Hi Jules, hope your day at work wasn't too stressful and that you had a lovely lunch with your friends afterwards, you certainly deserved it after all your good behaviour yesterday. How you managed to resist all that lovely stuff is way beyond me! Still, your garden certainly benefitted from your purchases and I hope the lily of the valley thrive from their thinning out too.

Unfortunately, the relief from the treatment didn't last as long as I had thought it might and some of the pain and swelling has returned already but I am still hopeful that the remaining sessions will help and that by continuing myself on a daily basis will at least keep things from getting any worse. I guess little & often is the key.

Have a lovely day off tomorrow and I hope your Mum is having a chatty day when you visit.

Take care  Sue xx

Hi Sue,

Such a shame that the effects of your treatment wore off far too quickly but hopefully with time this will improve, the more sessions you are able to  manage and the knowledge to help yourself day to day hopefully will help long term too. (Can imagine it's frustrating though!!).

Work is rediculously manic with the usual 'too much to achieve and only one pair of hands' but taking it day by day and trying not to worry about what I cannot manage -( I am only human!!!!).

Day off almost as busy. Washing out early am, visit to Mum for usual one sided chat bless her. Though she did request that I get her new nighties  for a change so will fit that in after work tomorrow.  Also took down the latest 'puppy update' from Guide Dogs for the Blind to whom she gives regularly and that raised as smile as her latest 'adoptee' has just begun training school. From there went to the supermarket to stock up for coming weekend (cannot go Friday as caring for grandson whilst daughter goes into London for her EEG). Dropped that off at home and then went to gym, followed by visit to dentist and then popped to see daughter who had open house as she was selling her card crafting wares. On way back popped into see old friend who also lost her husband a couple of years back. Got home about 3.30. Think I have earned my dinner and a sit down ha ha. 

Hope work not tiring you out too much and take care of yourself. Jules x

Good grief Jules, you do more on one day off than I do all week, little wonder you were looking forward to a bit of R&R this evening! Made me tired just reading everything you got up to.. As for work, as you say, you only have one pair of hands (even though you are clearly superwoman!) so please don't beat yourself up about anything you don't manage to get to.

I ordered some of the sports tape the therapist used on me on Saturday and as it arrived today I thought I'd give it a go. After struggling to stop it sticking to itself I thought I'd mastered it until I looked in the mirror and realised that I was rediculously cone shaped, a la Madonna in the 80's! Burst into giggles and decided that it wasn't really the look I was going for so I now have just one wider strip of tape underneath each side . Obviously it's much easier if someone else does it for you but it's not exactly something you can ask a neighbour to help with is it?! Still, as I say, it gave me a laugh if nothing else.

Different building company hopefully coming round tomorrow to look at the roof repair so I should get another quote shortly. Really need to get it sorted out now before the weather starts in. Having said that though it was a lovely day today so I had a great wander in the sunshine during my lunch hour.

Hope you have the peaceful evening you wanted and are suitably recharged for tomorrow.

Take care  Sue xx

Hi Sue

Well, did have a relaxing evening in front of the TV and work was just as frustrating today and no doubt tomorrow too but what's the alternative!!!!

Your antics with the 'sports tape' I am sorry to say gave me a fit of the giggles when reading it.  Reminded me of when you are trying to wrap presents and the tape won't behave itself.  Now if I was your neighbour we could have got in a state together!(cannot imagine 'neigbour with yappy dog' would be a welcome addition to the event though. Glad that you managed a solution in the end and hope it stays in place and is a help.  When my close friend had her journey with breast cancer and had her double mascectomy for some strange reason she chose me to 'share her scar/reconstruction' with and from them on 'nothing was sacred' when it came to sharing her feelings and how she dealt with things was amazing (in my eyes and that of her family).  She became a far more outgoing personality following diagnosis and sometimes drove her husband mad. They do say laughter is the best medicine so maybe that was a sports tape therapy session. No one can say you did not try.

Am thinking I may not be re-charged until after the weekend which is definitely going to be a pull on the emotions as well as entertaining the sister in law who still reckons its like her brotherhas gone on a fishing holiday and she is thinking he will be back. As she chose to stay away for the most part during his illness and then moved a couple of weeks after she was told he was receiving end of life care I am hoping she will be okay on  this return visit. Will be practising my deep breathing exercises at the gym tomorrow in readiness.

Hope the next quote for your roof work means you can go ahead and not be using the brolly indoors.

Look after yourself and try and avoid sticky situations.  Best regards Jules x