Lunch on Wednesday. Pasta, tuna, spring onions, cucumber, cherry toms, red Leicester and Cheddar cheese, sweet pepper (and pineapple chunks for me).

Much gardening got done on Wednesday. And a little of next!Poppy was written while Kai was having his platelets on Thursday. Unfortunately I'm now a bit hampered: went out to get a little shopping when we got back from the hospital and the rain had washed mud onto the path at Sainsbury's. I slipped and landed heavily on my left knee, which is now horribly swollen and hurting rather a lot...

Need to take it easy for a few days. There's nothing seriously damaged, and ice packs are helping, but I don't want to make it worse. Got too much to do.

Currently have the Glastonbury Festival playing on BBC3. Pilton's only just up the road but the prices! £210 a ticket this year.

Labels: food porn for Lutra, medical matters

This was my lunch today. Half a Galia melon, peeled sliced pear, kiwi fruit, red and white grapes (halved, because of reasons), and homegrown strawberries and raspberries. Never let anyone tell you diets are dull and boring!

Indhente.

And as guessed, Sunday was mostly gardening. All the plants I bought are now in the ground, I have my first tomatoes ripening in the greenhouse, and the sweetcorn is OK, although I seem to have managed to plant the block on a fox run, as four of them (in a line) have been trampled and probably won't survive. I planted 36 though, so should still have plenty come up.

Monday's appointment was nice and quick, and we're stocked up with meds, now, for the next month. Tanked over to The Range for Sodastream canisters and diet Coke syrup when we got back, so stocked up on drinks now too.

My second planting of mange tout and dwarf beans are looking good - hoping to plant them in the veg bed tomorrow. We were hoping to get out today, but Kai's having problems coping with the very hot weather, so will give it a miss for now. I have some client stuff to do, and am yoyoing between here and garden (have already hoed the veg bed today).

Freckles!

Labels: food porn for Lutra, gardening, medical matters, shopping

Happy Summer Solstice!

Ken and I went to Clevedon for a meal at the Little Harp for his birthday (a bit belated but still...) He had gammon steak with chips and summer fruit cheesecake with double cream for dessert, I had British Ploughman's followed by a toffee sundae - all extremely tasty. On the way back we stopped at Golden Acres, which was buzzing, and picked up four drought tolerant (I hope!) alpines, a pale mauve and maroon dianthus, a flat leaved parsley (mine is in the wrong place and has to go), a very pretty little dwarf abutilon - and a heuchera Midnight Bayou that I've been lusting after for months for only £1.99!!

Out by Failand someone has planted two fields of poppies...

(Not the best pic, the bus was moving pretty fast)

This is the lily I bought when out with Kim last year (I think it was). It got completely eaten the first year, but this year... freckles!

After dinner we watched the Live Arena Tour of Jesus Christ Superstar that I picked up in Wells ages ago. It's fantastic! Better than the original in most places.

Tomorrow will be mostly gardening...

Labels: birthdays, Clevedon, garden centres

I am so sick of bloody football...

Thursday appointment actually went reasonably well. The platelets were ready, the biopsy was quick (and Kai just had entonox, which seemed to work fairly well), and while all that was happening they got two units of blood ready too, so hopefully he'll now be OK until more platelets end next week. He certainly feels a little better today, even though his back is still hurting.

It's hot. But not too unpleasantly so, and the temperature drops significantly at night, so sleeping isn't a problem with the windows open. Ken leaves work a little earlier on a Friday and his new office is fairly close, so the bus home usually only takes a few minutes. We went down to Sains to pick up a few bits and pieces, then after dinner watched Time Runners, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Intelligent sf - wonderful change. Though possibly too intelligent for many, going by the stupidly low rating it's been given.

Remember I said I bought some cheap lily bulbs in Wilkinson's? They've all sprouted and the first is flowering. Pretty, neh?

Labels: films, garden, medical matters

[GRUMP] Well, the thing that I was hoping might become a thing, isn't now going to become a thing because I'm not American enough...

Labels: grumpy

Apanhar

Sunday was Sainsbug's and Tesco shopping, then over to Go Outdoors where I finally managed to get a pair of comfortable sandals. After dinner we watched Swordfish, which, despite it starring John Travolta, I finally picked up in a charity shop because Hugh Jackman. Thoroughly enjoyed it!

Monday's appointment was fairly quick. Unfortunately they weren't able to get enough sample from the last biopsy: poor Childe has to have another after his platelets transfusion on Thursday... Got back and shopped, and after dinner watched The Croods, which is quite fun!

Ken's birthday today. He had to waste it, and lose a day's pay, at a mediation meeting (long story involving his long-worked-on book on St Anne's Well and an incompetent copy-editor). I actually had a lovely long lie in, then got washing done, hoed the veg bed and slope, sprayed the difficult weeds front and back, generally pottered.

Labels: busyness

Took Kai to the Showcase to see X-Men: Days of Future Past yesterday. It took us a while to walk there slowly (it's been weeks again since Kai had any exercise: we have to time it so that he's had both blood and platelets no more than a week ago, otherwise he has no energy and just can't walk) but there were only two other people at the 2.30 showing, so the risk of infection was very low. We thoroughly enjoyed the film, and it was great for Kai to be somewhere different.

And this -

- was in the foyer...

Labels: films, Transformers, X-Men

[Babelfish not working - imagine 'catch up' in Greek...]

Sunday. Kai had said he couldn't sleep properly because he was so hot, so on Friday I bought him a 4.5 TOG duvet. He is very happy with it, finds it very comfortable. So on Sunday I checked the one we're using - 13.5 - and the spare one - 10 -. No wonder I keep waking up every ten minutes to shove the downie off because I'm roasting! So today I bought us a kingsize 4.5 TOG duvet, and together with the new pure cotton bedding from Wilkinson's (in a gorgeous rich teal) had the best night's sleep I can remember. Bliss!

It was blood units on Monday, so a long day again.

Tuesday was shopping and some garden work (the weeding is a nightmare this year).

Wednesday we were hoping to go see X-men: Days of Future Past but Kai couldn't wake up in time. Will try to see it another day. I planted my sweetcorn instead - legs absolutely killing me afterwards and still aching now.

Today was platelets, and they were waiting for us! Nice quick day: we were home by 12.30. Tesco shop after lunch, then Hotel Transylvania after dinner. It's a light and charming film, with a few very funny moments.

I am very tired. Will try for an early night.

Labels: busyness, films

Alcanzo...

Where are we? Still Saturday?

Thursday ended up being horrible. The platelets were ready, which was good. But the biopsy took well over an hour (although half an hour of that was trying to get the sedative to take effect) and was really brutal. Kai had nearly the highest dose they're allowed to give and entonox and said he could still feel what was happening.

However - once it was over and he went back to his seat in the unit, he had his sandwich and meds - and then completely zonked out. The puncture wound (largest he's ever had) wouldn't stop bleeding - not much, but it's still a worry - so we got him through to the alcove with a bed, and he fell asleep. For several hours. And can't remember a thing after leaving the procedure room until I finally go him home at 7.30.

We think it was a delayed reaction, and he actually had far more sedation than he needed. Going to have to get that put on his records on Monday as we don't want it happening again.

Friday... what happened yesterday? Shopping, definitely. And some cleaning and tidying. And a little client work. Kai was still aching and not wanting to move too much, so took it easy.

And today I had a treat! Ken and I got the bus to Keynsham for a look around all the charity shops (picked up a couple of DVDs and shirts) then back via Pets at Home for crickets for Rosa and Toys Я Us to check the Transformers figures. The ones for the new film are already there. Nothing appealed. I mean, Bay killed off Megatron, Ironhide and Starscream, and the new OP looks mostly like the old one. And Hound looks more like Kup. [grump] I can see I'm going to loathe the film. Especially as I'm not at all fond of the dinobots.

That's about it. I've no doubt forgotten lots, like the foxes visiting most nights but Kai still feeling rough. Maybe after blood on Monday he'll feel a little more like posting vids. And I now have a lot of sweetcorn ready to be planted out but I'm worried the foxes will trample on it. (Not doing much in the veg bed this year. After having all my peas/beans/mange tout seedlings sprayed with fence paint I haven't found the time to get any more on the go, and it's getting a bit late now.) And I'm rewatching Beast Wars bit by bit (and loving it. And the 20 minute eps give me a chance to take a break and put my feet up with a coffee or fruit juice.)

Heh. Might try for an early night tonight...

Labels: busyness, medical matters

Aufholen...

On Tuesday we got the taxi to the BHOC in time for Kai's scheduled 2.45 bone marrow biopsy - only to find that he couldn't have the procedure as he has to have platelets first as a precaution against haemorrhaging, and of course he didn't have platelets on Monday as they thought he was OK. [sigh] Partly my fault for not querying it, as I know that... So lots of apologies and he'll have it after platelets on Thursday instead.

Today it was my turn: up to the doctor for a quick check. My kidney function is absolutely normal, the BP is (slowly) coming down, and she's happy with progress. I just need to carry on eating correctly and taking the tablets, and go see her again in a month.

And that's pretty much it. Interspersed with shopping, of course, there's always shopping...

Oh, except that the fox kits have broken my cold frame again. I think I may have to just dismantle it, I've never grown anything successfully in it.

Labels: foxes, medical matters

Next chapter of The Poppy Tales - Celebrations (New World 2 part 17) now posted: link above.

Labels: The Poppy Tales

I can't remember what it feels like to not be tired.