1951

Yes I was born in 1951.

Some people don't believe it was possible to live in a house without mains water or electric in the 1950's.

Like Kate I lived in Lincolnshire but not in a rural area, I lived in a market town, within walking distance of the centre.

Guess the date

Guess which year I was born.

My home, my grandma's home and the local shops were gaslit by mains gas, not bottled.

There was no electricity in either house.

My grandma had no running water, there was a shared pump outside her house.

She had no toilet indoors, there was a shared two hole toilet across the yard.

We had a cold tap in the kitchen and no inside toilet. 

We didn't share our toilet but it was outside in the yard by the coal shed.

And it all went tits up!

So after all my son in law's hard work, prepping a wonderful Christmas dinner for us, the damn cooker decided to play silly by buggers. It got up to temperature for about 40 minutes then dropped to 100 degrees and that was it.

I managed to cook some of the meal yesterday so we had beef with pigs in blankets, veg, roast potatoes and gravy. It was about an hour later than it should have been but we ate in the end. CHS got very stressed as he was worried about taking his medication on time.

I think the thermostat is probably buggered but CHS is convinced I just had the dial set wrong, I didn't but it's cheaper than sorting out a new cooker.

A step forwards

Yesterday we took the boat across the marina to get the black water tank emptied.
CHS steered it himself. He managed brilliantly and didn't panic even when he was told that he needed to turn the boat around as the house had been replaced with a shorter one.

Saturday we went to visit DS1 and DIL which was lovely, we stayed overnight so I didn't have to drive in the dark.

Yesterday DD1 visited with her family, it was lovely to see them all. Her husband is a chef and he had prepped us a complete Christmas dinner, Turkey beef, roast pots, pigs in blankets, parsnips, brussels, carrots, cauli cheese and a Yule log for pudding.
I usually do cook all this but it's difficult in a tiny kitchen with no usable work surface.

More bollocks

This time only small ones. 

My neighbour stood on the jetty calling his dog.

Stark bollock naked.

His wife tries to make him wear his boxers.

He often doesn't bother.

He used to be a bodybuilder and abused steroids.

All I can say is that the rumour that steroid abuse causes willy shrinkage seems to be true!!

I'm surrounded by people talking bollocks

Every month I have to order CHS's medication online, every month the surgery get it wrong.
This morning I collected his script, checked it and pointed out a mistake.
Yet again the script was for 84 betahistine.
CHS takes 6 a day, there are around 30 days in most months therefore he needs 180.
I pointed this out to the receptionist who assured me that 84 was enough for 1 month, I explained the math again, 6 x 30 = 180 it took for goes before she grasped what I was saying.
'You need to put the quantity 180, on the request form' I assured her that I had.
She then suggested that I make a note of it in the comments section. I told her I had also done that.
' Oh well, you'll just have to order them fortnightly'.  
Because let's face I have fuck all else to do all day do I! Also fortnightly orders would still only give him 168 tablets, not the 184 needed.

We then went to the chemist to get the script filled whereupon a very officious pharmacy assistant inormed me I had ordered an item by the incorrect name. I had used a brand name that went out of fashion years ago. I explained that I had merely copied the names from the existing packets. She then launched into a loud and patronising explanation of how stupid I'd been to accept the item in the first place, eventually she asked me where I had obtained said item.
' Here' I replied, 'Last month'. Making sure my voice carried as far as hers had!

Experiment

As I often make soup for lunch, mushroom tomorrow, I'm experimenting with no knead bread, does anyone have a favourite recipe?

I have about half a dozen to try.

CHS offered to knead bread for me if the recipes don't work but it's not the kneading that is the problem, it's the lack of work surface to knead on!

I'm also looking at soup recipes, I'm not interested in making soup with eleventy billion ingredients, just simple recipes with three or four ingredients.

My mushroom soup contains mushrooms, onion and potato.
My leek and potato soup contains just those two items.

I'm off to Google, I'll let you know if I find anything interesting.

Red Mist

I'm like an overwound spring and I have a hair trigger.

Yes I know that means I'm half clock and half gun.

I'm in permanent danger of a red mist of incandescent rage descending.

We took dgd to the church cafe today for a toasted tea cake an a drink. CHS had jacket potato with cheese and I had soup. For some reason CHS was doing a good impression of an aeroplane, elbows out and taking up most of the table. I really struggled to eat my soup with him thrashing around.

After lunch we dropped Dgd of with her brother and we came home.

Since we arrived home CHS has watched YouTube at full volume as he won't wear his hearing aids at home. I have no idea what he is watching, some American crap by the sounds of it. A loud American shouting Oh my god, repeatedly.

I may see what is on TV, sometimes if I can find something I think he will watch he will turn YouTube off and watch tv instead.

Cheap food cheap to cook

We had jacket potatoes for tea, I double wrapped them in foil and put them on the coals in the stove.
There were two cooked sausages in the freezer so I sliced them up and added them to a pan with a third of a tin of beans in. I stood the pan on top of the stove, they were hot through by the time the potatoes were cooked. Cheap food cooked for free.
When I buy sausages I cook them all together and then freeze them in two's as this also saves on fuel.

I'm holding my breath

I received a reference request about my tenants.

I gave them a good reference, ok they have been a nuisance at times but they have paid the rent on time all but once and that could have been the fault of the bank.

The house they want to move to is managed by a letting agency so they will get short shrift if they start demanding a new bathroom suite because the bath drains slowly.

I haven't been notified officially but they have posted on Facebook that they have the house they want.

A special kind of hell

Today my beloved decided we needed to go on a shopping trip.

Not just any old shopping trip.

He needed to go to Ikea, to choose the sofa bed for the boat we haven't chosen yet.

Next he needed go to Dunelm to choose the bar stools for said boat.

He'd never been to Ikea before, I told him he'd hate it. 

I told him how he'd have to walk through all the rooms.

He didn't believe me.

He does now.

I fecking hate shopping.

House update

There have been four viewings on the house and two offers made.
One offer is for the full asking price.
Onwards and forwards!

Going out.

I think I drew the short straw!

In an effort to avoid the therapist I volunteered to help at DGD's Christmas fair.

This meant I was off the boat when she visited but CHS wasn't left alone as the therapist always stays for a couple of hours.

There were only a few stalls at the fair, it's a very small nursery.

There was a Raffle, a Tombola, a Book stall, Guess the weight of the cake, Guess the name of the large toy dog and Decorate a Gingerbread Biscuit, guess which one I got?

The biscuits came in various shapes, man, woman, snowman, reindeer and Christmas tree.

So there was I, six children at a time, tubes of coloured icing, bags of mini marshmallows and tubs of sprinkles!

Some of the children were eating the icing straight from the tubes, some were eating the marshmallows and some were tipping the sprinkles straight into their mouths!

It was anarchy!

I was very sticky by the end and so were the children!

I'm sure some of the parents would have preferred a more structured and disciplined effort but as none of them wanted to get sticky, they had to put up with my lackadaisical approach.

I think I was given that stall for two reasons, 1) no-one else wanted  to do it. 2) accountability, if anyone complained to the staff about their child overdosing on coloured sugar, they could blame it all on me and assure the parents I wouldn't be helping next Christmas. DGD leaves nursery in September!!

Replies

Thank you for all your replies to my earlier post.

I spoke to the therapist as she left the marina last week, I was reasonably polite but very blunt in my observations, she didn't take kindly to my remarks!

Heidi suggested giving CHS some jobs to do, but he doesn't want to do jobs, he just wishes to re-do them!
Joan all the other professionals who visit ask me how I am, they are not really interested but at least have the courtesy to ask.
Susan, yes I agree I think we women are just expected to get on with it and if the man is the carer he get more attention, as Joan says her husband does.
Janice, yes she was full of book learning and bugger all else.
Kate, we need a mutual support society, I love your blog.

I'm sorry I haven't replied to every comment, I've had to wait for my laptop to be repaired before I could reply at all.

In the interim we have had another visit from the same therapist, I missed most of her visit as I went out, on purpose.

However when I did return she beat a hurried retreat. CHS said she had told him that although his frustration was understandable he must try not to make unreasonable requests like slowing down on the motorway for him to read the signs. She also told him he must try not to shout at me as I'd get upset.

A couple of hours after she left someone else from the stroke team phoned me to as how the therapy visit had gone, no one phoned last week.

I know the therapist was fuming when she left last week, I'm wondering if she went back and told the team that I'd been rude to her Maybe someone explained where she'd gone wrong.

Some good news

My house went on the market mid afternoon yesterday.

There are two viewings booked for Monday!! 

I've had a bollocking

Today we have a visit from a new  therapist, she looks 12 years old and isn't married, so obviously she is the best person to tell me I'm doing everything wrong.

I'm not supportive enough, I don't understand how frustrated CHS is, I need to listen to him more.
For example when we are out in the car and he asks me to slow down I must do so, if he feels the need to read the road signs I need to slow down to enable this.

He couldn't read the road signs before he had his stroke and I can't slow down on the motorway just so he can read the fecking signs.

I need to consider his feelings more.
So when he wakes in the night, scared he is going to have another stroke, who wakes up and makes him a cuppa and talks soothingly to him until he drops off again?

I need to find ways of making his meals more palatable without salt and if he doesn't like herbs then I need to try harder.

I need to take him out for outings at night despite not being and to see, as he doesn't watch tv and it's not good for him to just read or play solitaire.

Sorry this is a bit disjointed, but it was either sit in the car and type this or brain the bloody therapist!!

And now it's the bloody cat!

Next door have a cat as well as the Dalmatian.

This evening I was sat knitting when there was a bang on the window.

I got up to see what it was, only to find it had been caused by next doors cat. 

She'd been on the roof of my boat and dislodged one of the flower pots as she had jumped off my roof.

Who's that knocking at the door?

Well actually knocking on my window, you cannot get to our door without opening the cratch cover and it is considered bad manners to step on someone's boat without an invitation. 

During the summer it is usually the swans tapping on the window for breakfast.

Now we are in the marina, the jetty between us and next door's boat is about 3ft wide.
They have a very large friendly Dalmation dog called Marley, who has a very waggy tail.
He often knocks on my window as he waits to go out for his morning walk.
Marley reminds me of Spotty dog from the Wooden Tops. 
Now I'm showing my age!

Buggered off

My get up and has done just that, it's got up and buggered off.

I have knitting projects and crochet projects that need finishing.

I have two half written posts that hopefully will be more interesting than this drivel.

But I have no energy or enthusiasm at the moment.

Rhea, next time we come to Willington I'll let you know, maybe we can meet for coffee.

Really!!

As I said we went for a  carvery meal yesterday, they serve on different size plates, £11.99 for super huge, £9.99 for large, £7.99 for a standard and £5.99 for a small plate. 

These are the weekend prices, they are £1 cheaper midweek.


The family in front of us, mum, dad, 10 year old son and 4 year old daughter had two meals at £11.99, one at £9.99 and one at £5.99.


The mum was explaining that they always ate Sunday lunch there as it was cheaper than buying the food and cooking a roast dinner at home!

Really? She can't cook a roast dinner for four for almost £40!

Where does she shop??

We're in Willington

It took us about three hours to get here with only a couple of meltdowns when CHS thought I was going the wrong way.

We looked at two boats so now we have a better idea of what size boat we want next.

We are in the Ibis budget hotel, the room doesn't have a bathroom, it has a shower cubicle and a toilet cubicle, it's roomier than the boat so it suits us just fine.

There is a carvery at the other side of the car park called the Cherry Tree, so we've eaten there.

CHS wants to look at more boats tomorrow  but I'm not sure why. I'd rather have breakfast at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning and then set off home.

Eye test

We made it to the eye test, the traffic was horrendous as it's the first Saturday after the last payday before Christmas.

I did the shopping whilst CHS was with the optician. His glasses are going to cost £450, ouch.

I also snuck round the corner to the charity shop on the Oxford Road.

I wanted some knitting needles, 4mm the ones in the shop were all old sizes but I managed to work out what I needed and bought a pair for £1.

It means I can take a small project with me tomorrow when we go to look at some boats, we want to compare different sizes.

The Celtic shrug will be finished soon, I would have finished it tomorrow if we weren't travelling.

Oh and we managed to get a pump out when we got back and filled the water tank up.

Getting rid

CHS is finally rid of his three day ECG and greatly relieved too, it was getting on his nerves.
He's not been well today, nothing to do with his stroke, an upset stomach.
Hopefully he will feel better tomorrow as he has an eye test, it's already been cancelled once and he is desperate for new specs, he's going to go for reactolite specs this time.

W, definitely no salt or sugar, maybe I need to wash my mouth out with soap.

A day of therapists

Today CHS has been visited by the psychotherapist and the physiotherapist.
He's been given more exercises and activities to do.

Yesterday another boater gave us a leg of lamb and two joints, one of pork and one gammon. He is given a meat hamper every year but only eats beef and turkey. I cooked the gammon today.  The lamb and pork I managed to squeeze into my freezer by being ruthless with some packaging and cooking today's and tomorrow's meals early and putting them in the fridge.

Huge hugs to those who are struggling and have taken the time to post supportive comments on my blog, especially anonymous who's husband has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, it's a cruel disease.

Frugal food 1

There was a post on the MSE forum asking for advice on living on £1 a day for food.
I posted about some of the meals I'd served my family when we were skint.
I hadn't costed them out, they were designed to feed six of us as cheaply as possible.
Tessie suggested I do a blog post about the meals so here it is.

Porridge for breakfast, it's the cheapest option served with a sprinkling of sugar.

I was working full time so didn't have much spare time but every autumn I dug a long trench and threw all the tea bags, peelings and the contents of the guinea pig cages into it. I grew runner beans, shedloads of the buggers. They were the mainstay of our vegetable intake.

I'm not claiming this is a perfectly healthy diet, it's what I did to ensure my kids didn't go hungry when money was in short supply.

I usually prepped a weeks worth of meals on Sunday whilst cooking lunch. I cooked a sponge traybake or a batch of biscuits as well. These did for packed lunches for the kids and instead of puddings.

Everlasting chicken, we ate a lot of chicken because it's cheap.
Roast chicken, one slice of chicken each served with Yorkshire pudding, stuffing balls, roast potatoes and assorted veg usually runner beans, carrots because they are cheap and  frozen broccoli/cauliflower in a cheese sauce because most people will eat veg if it's covered in cheese sauce.

Strip the meat from the chicken, don't forget underneath the chicken too.

Put the carcass, skin and gristle in  pan and cover with water, bring to the boil and then simmer until the last scraps of meat fall off the bone. Strain and leave to cool.

Divide the rest of the cooked chicken into three piles.
Use one of these piles to make a chicken pie by adding any leftovers from Sunday lunch including roast potatoes, veg and stuffing, add some thick gravy and top with pastry.

Use the second pile to make a pasta bake. Make a white sauce, stir in the chicken, add sweetcorn, cooked mushrooms,  a chopped up slice of ham, cooked broccoli or leeks. You don't need all of these just what you have. Cook the pasta, drain and stir in the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with a mixture of grated cheese and breadcrumbs. 

The last pile of chicken can be made into special fried rice by adding it to cooked rice. Soften a sliced onion in a tsp of oil, add cooked rice, any other veg chopped small, the chicken, just scraps will do, seasoning of your choice, shove the mix to one side of the pan, crack an egg into the space, beat it as it cooks, break it up and stir it into the rice mix.

Stoup, half way between soup and stew. Using the chicken stock add a large sliced onion, potato and carrot plus any other veg that is looking sad. Add a large handful of red lentils and one of pearl barley. If there was any breakfast porridge left in  the and pan that went into the stoup as well. Add seasonings to your taste. Bring to the boil and then simmer until cooked, I used a pressure cooker so it didn't take long. Sometimes I made home made bread to go with this but white sliced is fine too. If you prefer a smooth soup use a stick blender. We ate ours lumpy.

If you are wondering why money was in short supply with two of us working, well it wasn't but I was only allowed £10 a week housekeeping as this was what my 

Put up and shut up.

That's what I need to do. Thank you for all your comments. There are many people a lot worse off than me.

 I'm even more grumpy than usual at the moment, the days are dismal and we are crammed in between two boats that block the natural light.

CHS isn't well today, reaction to the nightmare hospital trip I think.

I promised in my wedding vows to give CHS my strength when his failed and I will honour that vow along with all the others.

What's the answer

The problem with having no life in real life is that it is tempting to spend too much time on line. I need to limit myself.
My birthday meal out was buggered up by the restaurant being overrun by small boys and I can't reschedule as I was only able to go because CHS had a visitor.
I'm sometimes at a loss to know what to do with myself. 
Lucy at Attic24 is releasing another crochet along starting in January, I may see if I have enough yarn to follow her.

I know things will get easier in time, though the discharge team have now decided that CHS is not to be left alone until the end of January.

He is still having visits and appointments with assorted therapists, two or three a week.


CHS fortunately has a couple of people he can chat to on the marina, he also tires easily. Two ten minute walks a day and a ten minute chat is all he needs to stop him going stir crazy.


We collect one of the dgd's from nursery once a week and take her for lunch and we shop once a week.

We don't go out at the weekends as everywhere is crowded and he cannot cope with crowds.

We went to a local retail outlet for coffee once but the fire alarm went off so he won't go back now. Mind you at £10 for two coffees it's not something we would do regularly.

I had planned to attend a local crafternoon but I had to withdraw. I was looking forward to some conversations about something other that boat porn.

It's time I stopped whingeing isn't it!

Proper cracker knackered

Phew what an afternoon.
We left the boat just after 1 o'clock as CHS had a hospital appointment to have a three day ECG tape fitted.
It was pissing with rain and there was nowhere to park, so I dropped CHS of at the drop off point.
I drove round and round trying to find a parking space to no avail.
CHS was phoning me because he was having an anxiety attack and can't remember where he is supposed to be.
We checked the hospital map before we left home but despite the map showing him he needed to head towards the eye clinic he'd gone via the hearing unit and got totally lost.
I drove through the hospital grounds until I found him and set him on the correct path. I still hadn't found a parking space by the time he was ready to be collected.
He found his way back to the hearing unit and I picked him up.
He was quite distressed but calmed down after a while.
By the time we got home it was pitch black and still pissing with rain.

I'm cooking spaghetti Bolognese for tea with garlic bread, then it's back to the knitting.

What a lovely evening

I'm sat in front of my stove, it's cold outside but the boat is toasty warm.

I'm watching Miracle on 34th Street on TV, one of the few Christmas films I like.

My neck light is working really well and I'm knitting my shrug.

What more could anyone want.

New stuff

The Swedish fid I ordered for CHS to help him splice rope has arrived, it's bigger than he expected but hopefully it will work ok.

My neck light has also arrived, it makes knitting and crochet so much easier.

It makes CHS laugh as it illuminates my nipples as it lines up with them perfectly.

Never again

I went out last night with my children for a belated birthday celebration.

We went to a small local Italian restaurant, we didn't stop.

Unfortunately the local under 11's football team had booked at the same time. Three long tables, two containing the small boys and one containing the parents. The noise was indescribable, the boys running riot and being ignored by their parents. 

We were the only table not occupied by the footballers. 

After 10 minutes we left, there was no pleasure in being pushed, shoved or deafened.

The wrong coal

As we can't get out on to the cut we cannot buy our coal from the fuel boat.
He is not allowed in the marina.
So we are stuck having to buy our coal from the marina, it's £15  bag instead of £11 and it doesn't burn well.
Still needs must, without it we'd freeze.
As soon as we are able we will move out for a couple of days to somewhere that the fuel boat can get to.

Black Friday spending spree

I ordered some gloves from Amazon a couple of weeks ago, this morning I checked up to see when they were due to arrive.
I'd have been waiting along time as they were saved for later.
I moved them to the basket and had a  browse, I've seen people recommending neck lights and they look like a good idea. I struggle see to knit or crochet now the evenings are drawing in. When the weather is  bad there is no TV signal, I usually only watch an hour a day but even that is denied me if it is raining or snowy. I found a neck light on special offer, £6.50 so I added it to the basket and ordered both items.
That's my Black Friday splurge sorted.

KISS

As in keep it simple stupid.

If there is one thing CHS loves it's a good panic.

One day last week he turned the light on in the living room and nothing happened.
I went to walk past him to the electric control panel by the door in to the boat.
The panel has two rows of switches that need to be in the on position for things to work.
He insisted I sat in a chair until he had isolated the fault.
He rushed up and down the boat, flicking switches, peering at dials and checking the solar info. Eventually he decided the only thing to do was to crowbar the ceiling down.
Whilst he was hunting for the crowbar I went to the control panel and flicked the switches into the on position. The light came on.
Unfortunately because of the position of the control panel anyone coming down the steps into the boat wearing a big coat or with a fat arse is likely to knock the switches inadvertently and that is what had happened.

This morning the water was spluttering as it came out the taps and the water pump kept trying to run.
I tried to explain that as I've been unwell for a couple of weeks now the toilet was being flushed a lot more, I was washing my hands more and I'd done some extra loads of washing.
Brushing my explanation aside and after lifting various hatches, he phoned the local boating engineer who suggested filling the water tank would be the first thing to try.
We did, problem solved.
Because he is usually at work these are the sort of things I deal with regularly, he has been unaware of these minor problems and assumes everything is a crisis.

Birthday

CHS and went out for a meal yesterday, he was determined to take me out as it was my birthday.

It's the first time since his stroke that we have been out in the evening.

He's managing the supermarket now, we go to a small supermarket that runs purple Tuesday's so the shop is quieter. 

He does tend to stop dead every so often, oblivious to the people behind him and I have to steer him to one side.

We've been out for coffee and also to a small local church run cafe.

But yesterday we went to a pub, I booked an early table and we only had one course. He managed fairly well but was a bit unsteady when we left. No he wasn't drunk, he had orange juice and lemonade.

Shopping day

Today we shopped, CHS pushes the trolley, I trail along behind.
I couldn't get any lettuce so I will look for one tomorrow when we go to DD1.
Apple's are a problem, we have yet to find a type that he likes, I'm struggling to keep up with all the leftovers after he has eaten one and decided he doesn't like them. Last week I took a dozen over to DD's and there are still six waiting to be eaten.

As usual I drove too fast (anything approaching 10 mph is too fast) and I went round far too many roundabouts.

A week Monday he wants me to drive him to Derby.
I apologise in advance to anyone in a 50 mile radius of Derbyshire. I'll be the person in a blue Nissan doing 10 mph on the motorway!

Chilly day

It's chilly here today so I've topped the stove right up.
We've walked around the marina once already, the occupational therapist is due at one, she will walk him round the marina and get him to practise moving the gangplank.  I will walk him around again after she has gone.
Apart from that I will change the bedding, read my book and do some knitting.
Salmon and new potatoes tonight.
My days are as boring as my blog!

Stretching a chicken breast

I defrosted a chicken breast for lunch today and was then asked to feed four instead of two of us.

I have a sausage that I skinned and moulded into balls, I've made a batch of stuffing and have Yorkshire pudding batter sitting in the fridge.

By the time I've done mashed and roast potatoes, cabbage, sprouts, carrots and peas  I'm sure no one will notice how meager the chicken is. 

I will make a traybake to fill up any corners.

A peaceful day today

Kate, CHS is only expected to walk around the marina and step over so couple of low fences and he's happy to do that. Following the diet he is less keen on! He was a grumpy bugger before his stroke, he is ten times worse now.

It's been peaceful today CHS has taken his blood pressure repeatedly with both the monitor provided by the ESD team and my monitor. He has wittered on all day about the discrepancy between them, I have refused to be drawn into a discussion about it, he then decided that he cannot get the sleeve on his arm unaided, so I've been fitting it for him.

I managed to cut his hair for him so he is looking tidier now.

I have spent most of the day knitting, doing housework and walking around the marina with CHS as he is not allowed to walk alone. I'm now watching repeats of Midsomer Murders and continuing with my knitting. I also have a new book on my kindle by Ben Aaronovitch Lies Sleeping.

Still here

We are still plodding on. 
The changes in diet are happening some more willingly than others.
I'm aiming for 80/20 and will be happy with that.
I seem to have a permanently dodgy tummy. It's stress related and should improve as things get easier.
We are still receiving visits from and hospital appointments with the Early Supported Discharge Team.
Unfortunately because we live on a boat they are not happy for CHS to be left alone at any time, so wither I goest, so goeth he!

It's going to be hard

Whilst I'm sure the nurse does know her stuff, trying to persuade CHS to eat no salt, no sugar, no fat, oily fish and small occasional portions of lean meat with lots of veg is going to be like pushing water up hill.

He dislikes oily fish and most veg and hates unsalted food, I'm going to be extremely unpopular!

Yesterday I  cooked a very tasteless chicken fricassee, tonight it will be spaghetti Bolognese.

This morning it's porridge made with water, no salt or sugar, wallpaper paste anyone?

Oh the Irony

Today the nurse came to explain the healthy eating regime for those who have had a stroke, basically if CHS likes it he cannot have it!

The nurse is so overweight she struggled to fit in to the seats on the boat!!

Rinse and repeat

Still lots of therapists visiting, also some of CHS'S friends and family have visited.

I'm pushing for psychotherapy as well as I know depression will hit him soon, we are also a few days from the anniversary of his mother's death.

One benefit of moving on to the boat was that it stopped contact with his stepfather, who does nothing but try to pit one brother against the other.

I spent a couple of days dealing with a flare up of my diverticulitis but I thinks it's fading now.

I'm knitting a shrug, it's called the Celtic Knot shrug by The Wool Shop Leeds. It's a fairly straightforward pattern but I'm not much of a knitter. Most of it is supposed to be moss stitch but I keep losing count so bits of my version are in rib. I'm using a navy and purple yarn so the mistakes don't show much and anyway I don't care, it's giving something to do.

How bloody much

I spent £86 on parking whilst visiting CHS in hospital!

Fortunately although I ate in the hospital cafeteria or bought something from the M&S foodhall in the hospital every day I never spent more than £4 a day so only £28 in total.

If I'd had to use public transport it would have been cheaper but added a couple of hours a day to the journey time.

Up to my arse in alligators

Life continues here, visits from assorted therapists, trips to hospital, trips out so CHS doesn't go stir crazy and two walks a day around the marina.

To add an extra layer of joy to my life, my tenant phoned yesterday to say the dishwasher has stopped working. My first instinct was to tell her to buy a pair of marigolds, but common sense prevailed.
I will get someone out to look at it but I will make it clear to her that if the problem is caused by her misuse, as the bath was, I will be charging her for the callout and any repairs needed. Cunningly enough I haven't had a single complaint about the bath since the plumber told her she'd caused the problem with it and that she didn't need a new suite!

Change of name

Wean, CHS stands for Captain Hot Stuff. I nicknamed my beloved this when we moved on to the boat. I spend the day layered up and looking like the Michelin man, my beloved, on the other hand is wandering around wearing just his underkeks complaint that he is sweating cobs.

The tables have now turned, not sure if it's the medication, the result of the stroke or because he's not moving about so much. But the log burner is stacked high, my beloved is layered up and I'm wearing a top and leggings, just one top, not the three or four I usually wear.

He's coming home

CHS is coming home in a few hours, from Friday he will receive help from the Early Supported Discharge Team.
There is a stroke survivor group that meets in a nearby village hall.
So onwards and forwards.

Update

CHS has been moved on to a side ward, he was having trouble sleeping in the main ward. The lights were on full all the time, patients were being moved in and out and machines were beeping constantly.

It's beginning to dawn on him that he won't bounce back from this in a couple of days.

All I can do is keep reassuring him that it will be ok eventually.

Another update

Another scan yesterday, it looks good.
He is still wobbly and having balance problems.
I'm to shower him today when I visit.
Yesterday I took one of the DGS's in to see him, they did each other good. 
DGS is a worrier so seeing his grandpa talking, albeit laying down, has put his mind at rest.

Update

CHS had a Ischaemic stroke this morning at 7:20, he was at work and someone found him immediately.
They phoned me and also phoned for an ambulance.
He was in A&E by 9:15, he had a brain scan and because he was within the 4 hour window he was then given alteplase.

I stayed with him until he was admitted to the ward and went back to see him this evening.
Because of the speed of his treatment the prognosis is good, he has full  use of all his limbs and there is no slurring of his words.

He is having another scan tomorrow, I will update my blog with the results.

Thank you all for your kind words and healing thoughts and prayers.

CHS

Has been admitted to the acute stroke unit.

Sorry

I'm still not blogging regularly, too much going on.

This week I'm cat sitting for DS, it means I get to use his washing machine, and I get to have a long hot shower, woo hoo.


CHS is having his shifts changed yet again, and they will change again after Christmas.

In other news, we have decided to sell our boat and buy...................... a bigger boat.

Yesterday it rained

It was wet and chilly, it was dismal out and I got wet when I was shopping.
Fortunately I have some thick socks knitted for me by a friend and the lovely Paul on the fuel boat delivered some coal and logs so I was toasty warm on the boat.
CHS was shrammed when I collected him but he soon warmed up after a hot meal.

How much does free cost

Today I had to book a hotel room, I needed a specific hotel on a particular date.
A list of prices came up, I had a choice of paying £140 with free WiFi or £150 which included free breakfast and free WiFi. 
How silly is that.

Oh the joys of predictive text!

The stern gland is leaking on our boat.
CHS contacted the engineer who fitted the engine to ask if he could come and tighten it.
Unfortunately he didn't check the message before he hit send.
So the message read, could you please come and check my stern mistress as I think it is leaking!!

Update

George's boat has finally been refloated with help from the boating community, money has been raised to help him, he was offered so many tents and sleeping bags he was thinking of opening his own branch of Millets.

Boaters are still left dealing with drunken stag do's.

Mind you some sober people are no better, someone on a hire boat hit my boat very hard a few days ago, she carried on going, no apology, nothing.

What she didn't bank on was me waling past her a while later as she was returning to her car. I offered to kick her car like she's hit my boat, until then I don't think it had occurred to her that I may have been upset by her behaviour.

Poor George

George is an elderly, vulnerable man who lived on his boat on the Kennet and Avon near Bradford on Avon.
A short time ago two hire boats full of pissed up Hooray Henry's on a stag weekend caused so much damage to George's boat that it sank.
The pissed up twats were told to slow down and take more care.
They shouted abuse and said that as  boaters don't pay council tax it was just tough.
George is now living in a tent on the towpath.
There are some arseholes around.

Lethal combination

Novice boaters and strong gusty wind is a lethal combination.
Yesterday it was very windy, it was also return day for the hire boats, actually they had to be back at 9am this morning but most of them like to get within spitting distance the day before.
It was interesting watching them trying to get in the lock.
Narrowboats are buggers in strong wind, they are basically a 70ft sail with a mind of their own.
Most of the poor sods got their boats in sideways.

I got very little sleep last night, the water levels kept dropping.
I dropped off for an hour just after midnight but was woken up at 1:30 as the kitchen drawer flew open as there was another drop.
At 4 am it dropped again and all the stuff fell of the kitchen shelf.
We got up and spent a couple of hours poling the boat off until it was afloat.
We got to back to bed about 7:30 but I couldn't sleep as I couldn't get warm.
We moved the boat at about 10 this morning in the rain, I'm still cold and now I'm wet as well.

Oops

For her birthday we bought DGD a rolling pin and cookie cutters to go with the play doh she was given.

There are all sorts of very complicated things available to go with play doh but  they tend to get clogged up and require more skill that DGD has to keep them working. So DD particularly requested a rolling pin and cutters. As I couldn't find a child's set I purchased an clear acrylic rolling pin designed to be used with icing and some metal cookie cutters.

As I have said before DD works for a company that manufacturers sex toys, one of their most popular items is a glass dildo. Something to do with being able to heat then up and cool them down.

When my son in law got in from work the rolling pin was on the table. He picked it up and said to DD. 'I wish you would stop bringing you work home with you'. She often does bring things home so she can write a description but doesn't leave them where the children can find them.

DD looked up and said ' My mum brought it over'. My son in law's face was a picture as he first thought I'd left a sex toy at their house. DD had to explain that it was a rolling pin!

Who's looking after who

I collected DGD from nursery today, as CHS is home with his damaged ankle I brought her back to the boat.
He has to spend  lot of time on the bed as there is nowhere else on the boat where he can sit with his leg elevated.
DGD sat beside him with my kindle and they watched Peppa Pig together.
It took his mind of the pain.
CHS gets sick pay and an accident form was filled in, he just missed his footing.
We are ok to stay where we are for now, CRT get a lot of bad press but I've always found them very helpful.
CHS keeps asking if I can get him crutches but I won't as he will only try to walk before he should if I got him some.
DGD was four on Monday, she is so pleased, her twin cousins were four in May and she's been desperate to catch up with them.
We bought DGD an acrylic rolling pin and some cookie cutters for her birthday as she loves play doh and was also given a box of 36 tubs of it.

Deep joy

My poor CHS has fallen at work, I collected him and drove him to our nearest MI unit.
The ankle is probably not broken and despite breaking his fall with his forehead he hasn't got concussion.
Getting him along the towpath and onto the boat was an interesting experience!!
He has to keep his leg elevated for 48 hours and if it's no better he must return to MI.
I now faced with moving the boat by myself or contacting CRT to see if we can overstay our time.
I am caring for dgd this morning she is now 4 and keeps asking 'how many am I now?'

I've finally got my Sloe gin going, I've made lots of elderberry cordial and I have hops drying around the curtain rails.

Knackering

Due to staff illness CHS has had his working times altered. His shift pattern has changed yet again. He is now expected to work alternate Saturday's instead of one Saturday in three. He will no longer get Monday's off when he's worked a Saturday. Yes he will get paid for the extra hours but to add insult to injury he has been asked to take on some cleaning duties as the school is five cleaners short.
On top of this we had to move the boat on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
We are going to find it difficult to move the boat with CHS working so many extra hours. CHS should be working a 38 hour week, now he is expected to work between 43 and 51 hours a week.

Baaa

There is a car park near where we are moored, it's a public car park, not specifically for boaters.

Yesterday I went to see DD1, I walked to the car park to find it full of people, it was a walking group.

Unfortunately the walk leader was running late and hadn't yet arrived so the walkers were all milling about.

As they were expecting to walk, walk they did, to and fro, like a heard of blessed sheep.

Just like sheep, when one stopped they all stopped.

It took me ages to manoeuvre around them, they kept stopping at the back of my car, not on purpose just out of stupidity.

Drugs and alcohol

I had a disturbed night last night. I kept waking up with toothache but once I was awake there was no pain. I was probably sleeping with my teeth clenched. I often find my self with clenched teeth during the day and night, it's very uncomfortable.
I shall have a glass of Sloe gin before I go to bed tonight and see if that helps.

I bought a book, a real, proper book not a kindle book.
I love my kindle and couldn't manage without it but some books need to be real.
I bought Grow your own Drugs by James Wong. I'm surrounded by plants so I might as well take advantage of them.

I looked after Dgd today and I'm caring for her tomorrow as well. Today it was so DD1 could work a few extra hours, tomorrow it is so DD can attend a hospital appointment with her husband. He has a long term chronic condition so the news is unlikely to be good.

A wedding or a marriage

When I was organising our wedding we wanted it to be all very low key. Apart from the legal bit everything else happened in our garden. I made my dress just two weeks before the wedding and I bought the food the day before. I didn't have to arrange a venue or music or flowers. I carried a few sprigs of lavender and rosemary cut from my garden just before we set off for the register office. We spent £800 mostly on food and drink.

My tenant got married over the bank holiday weekend, God knows how much the event cost. Amongst other expenses they hired an entire hotel albeit a small one, it cost £7800 for one day/night. They hired it for the three day weekend!
Then there was the cost of the wedding dress, suits for the menfolk and the bridesmaid dresses.
Add on the flowers and the honeymoon, the mind boggles.

This weekend I read a brief article that said the more you spend on your wedding, the shorter time your marriage will last.

I'm not sure if it's true, but I do know a few people who have had very short-term marriages and yet spent thousands on their wedding. 

Stumped

I took CHS's hearing aids to be re-tubed yesterday, this meant a trip on two buses, one into town, one out to Royal Berks Hospital.

As I was in town I went to Fabricland and bought some muslin to strain the blackberry vodka and sloe gin through. I don't need the muslin for about a month but I don't go to town very often so I got it whilst I was there.

I was stopped by a lady with a clipboard. 'Could you tell me who supplies your gas and electric?' she enquired chirpily. 

'Yes' I replied, 'my gas is supplied by Calor and my electric is supplied by solar panels'.

She thanked me and turned away, her script obviously didn't cover my reply so she was stumped.  

Yet another shift change

There is a possibility that there will be changes to CHS'S shift pattern.
There is talk of bringing in a company to run events after hours in the school.
If it happens the lates CHS would have to work is 7:30.  Bring it on is all I can say!!

Waiting in

Today I have stayed on the boat waiting for Ozzie's fuel boat to come along.

Ozzie wasn't far away but was waiting for a diesel delivery.

Someone had been spreading rumours that he had diesel bug, but we've never had any problems and we think it's important to support small traders otherwise next time we need them they could be gone.

The fuel boat is two boats bolted together, the back boat is the living area, the front one is the fuel storage.

The boat trundles between Wooton Rivers and Burghfield, if we need anything we phone Ozzie up to see whereabouts he is, we tell him roughly where  we are and he honks his horn as he's approaching.

We needed diesel, a gas bottle and a bag of logs, the bank account is now £112 lighter.

The gas will last about 5 months, the diesel will depend on how far we travel and if we use the central heating/immersion tank.

I had a cuddle with Max, Ozzie's dog whilst the diesel was being pumped in.