So, following up to the last post...

Chris arrived at 6 pm on Monday evening. He couldn't actually fix the shower rail properly, as he couldn't find a replacement bracket, so he's put in a screw as a temporary fix. It means we can't completely pull the curtain open, but I've draped it back using a butcher hook (the round-ended sort I used for hooking the wheelie onto a trolley to keep it out of the way when shopping) and it works well enough. So we now have a working shower, and it's fabulous. Sheer luxury.

The acoustics in the bathroom are now completely different, too - rather more muffled than the echoey space it was before, which is taking me some getting used to. But it's an absolute doddle to use: it's recommended for all sorts of disabilities, including the blind: the controls are simplicity itself. We've already decided which temperature suits each of us and a couple of presses of the plus or minus sections on the left adjusts it within seconds.

It'll be near-perfect when we have the extractor fan in and working and the curtain rail fixed (though that's a much lower priority). The electricians are supposed to be coming back today to fit it, but I don't know what time...

Dinobot arrived!

He comes in alt mode, so Kai will have to help me transform him on xmas day. He's a lot better at following instructions than I am!

Gorgeous quality - which is just as well, as the handling fee and import tax were £55! [WINCE] I shall not be doing that again in a hurry!

Dentist on Tues am went fine - no problems, next check up in 6 months - and Kim picked me up for swimming in the afternoon - 26 lengths, which is fine and relaxing.

Wed was the big, 4 year post transplant BMT clinic for Kai. I went into the BHOC with him (had some banking and shopping to do in town) but waited outside while he saw the consultant. Prof Marks - and Peter, the trials nurse - were both very pleased with progress. Kai has to continue with the venesections until his ferritin count is consistently below 1,000, then they'll reassess, but they seem to think that under the thousand would be fine and he can stop. We both think that a bit lower would be healthier - from what we've learned the normal level for males is between 12 and 300 - so Kai might opt to have more. His energy levels are still low, and he thinks reducing the ferritin a bit more than 1,000 will help. I booked his next five sessions while he was waiting for the standard blood test that goes with the clinic appt: we'll see how we go. His next BMT clinic is in 6 months, next March.

While we were at The Galleries we nipped into Lush for soap. There's a really nice lemony and fine sand one, great as a gentle exfoliator, called Sandstone I think. Thought I'd give that a try - then Kai spotted the new Salted Caramel scented soap... [sigh] Of course I had to have a small piece of that, I'm a salted caramel addict, but I'm not sure I'll ever actually use it. It literally smells good enough to eat and made my mouth water. Quite difficult to resist biting into it! It's making the bathroom smell wonderful...

9.30 on Thursday am the Smart Meter Services guy rang: he was in the area, so would we mind him fitting the meters now rather than that afternoon? Fine by us! He arrived twenty mins later, checked where all the stuff is, said it should be no problem. Electricity had to go off, of course, so Kai and I played a game of Transformers chess while everything was dead. He beat me soundly (my own fault for letting Starscream - the silver queen - get taken early on), and we agreed to play another game after lunch (game lasted over an hour and a half, both of us playing defensively, and I won, though it was a very close thing!) Such fun, and we've left the chess set a bit more accessible so we can play every now and again. It's good for the brain if nowt else!

Smart meters in, instructions left, and the little household scanning thingie explained (has a lot of functions, but the default is showing the gas and electricity bills - electricity is £1.07 and gas 57p since yesterday). Over the weekend Ken wants to try turning things on and off so we can see what draws most power and keep that usage low (though we're already fairly aware and do what we can to leave things switched off if they aren't in use).

Watched Avengers: Infinity War... Hm. Well, the cinematography is glorious, the acting much as we've come to expect, but... Maybe I just really dislike omnipotent villains. And illogical actions by heroes who should know better. Kai really liked it though, and it led to an interesting discussion on survival and evolution while Kai and I were waiting for the bus, so that was good.

And that's about it, I think. Kai and I finished Lexx - still one of the best s-f series' ever - and Ken and I are still struggling through Starhunter. It's getting worse. It's really difficult to stay awake through it. We have two more eps to go, then I shall bestir myself to actually review it on the IMDb. It deserves a 4 at best.

Still no electricians...

Labels: chess, films, house, Lexx, medical matters, shopping