Monday 19th May....Today would have been my sister-in-law Jean's 98th birthday. She passed away on 30th May, 2004 when she was 87. On her birthday I always send a short email to her two daughters saying I am thinking of them on this day. They seem to be happy to know I still remember their mum.
I also played some Scrabble (through Facebook on my computer) and checked and answered emails.
Visited my physiotherapist Jenny and talked about my bad knee which Dr Ken said really needs replacing but at 83 I feel I am a little old to go through that. Jenny agreed. She strapped the knee and also worked for 20 minutes on a shoulder that has decided to partly freeze. It's all rather painful but the end result if well worth it. Tonight watched "A Touch of Frost".
Tuesday 20th May...Today would have been the birthday of a lovely penpal from New Zealand with whom I corresponded for many years. We used to have real 'conversations' in our letters talking world affairs etc. She passed away five years ago and I do so miss Heather's wonderful letters.
More computer.....more scrabble.
Phil tried out a new recipe and it's yummy and enough left for tomorrow as well which saves work. It was a type of stir fry. He takes longer than I do to cook things but he enjoys doing it so I let him and it saves me standing at the stove for too long. He is also better at cleaning up as he goes for which I am very grateful.
Candy used her indoor tray today which surprised us. She asks to go out in the morning after 7am and although she is shut in after 6pm there seems no urgency for her to to out at all. She'd not used her tray for weeks but we were glad to know she will use it should she need to. She pops in and out all day and never seems to be very far away from the house. No more problems with other cats of late so perhaps she learned her lesson when she was injured a while back.
Tonight we watched "Endeavour" which is of course about the young Inspector Morse and a programme we both really enjoy.
Wednesday 21st May....Visit to Dr Ken for my vitamins B12 shot (I have 3 on three consecutive months and then 3 months break). We talked about a test I had that showed I seem to have too many white blood cells so more tests (urinary tract ultrasound....oooh, all that water I'll have to drink!!).
Dr Ken also told me about an injection one can have for really bad knees. It costs just over $400 and supposedly helps a lot and lasts for up to 6 months. I asked him if it was worth it and he said there have been some very good results. You order the 'stuff' and it is sent to your doctor and he then removes any fluid in the knee and injects this new fluid. Am thinking seriously about having it done.
Unfortunately I don't think it is covered by Medicare or our private health insurance but will check on it to make sure but don't hold out much hope.
Yes....more computer....and more Scrabble. Watched "Inspector Morse" on TV.
Thursday 22nd May....Today our cleaning lass (also a Jenny) come for an hour and what she does in that hour amazes me. She is a lovely English lass and when there is time she will often stop for a cuppa. Today she didn't stop as the lady before kept her over her allotted time. These people that come from Cockburn Care really are special.
Did I ever tell you that Jenny (the cleaning lady) has a phobia about cats and even gentle Candy frightens her if she gets too close to Jenny. It's not something I can understand but then many people think I'm strange being terrified of thunderstorms. I still think they are more dangerous than domestic cats but I guess it take everyone phobias affect everyone differently.
Remember to put in our AFL (Aussie Rulles) footy tips in for the weekend games.
I made a new dish tonight...a chicken stir fry you would call it. I was very good and chopped and mixed everything before I began to cook so it all fell into place easily and it tasted pretty special too. Got full marks from Phil who has his own opinion about what is good food so seems I did the right thing. We decided that both the new dishes will be repeats in the near future.
Tonight we watched "Lewis" which of course was a follow on from "Inspector Morse". Phil and I are not very keen on many of the programmes shown these days so tend to enjoy watching these re-runs on the digital channels (as long as they have captions for the hard of hearing!!).
Friday 23rd May....A quiet day today until the pest control man arrived. Had to move the TV so he could get down under the flooring to check for termites and then on his ladder to check the roof space as well. They are supposed to check all timbers in and around the house but I've never seen them do everything. It is now costing nearly $200/year but is worth it as we know we are termite free and should we ever need to sell the house we can show the yearly inspection and treatment has been done. Seems all is well and when he sprayed for spiders I asked him to pay special attention to one that lives on our front verandah. I am constantly trying to get rid of that one with the broom and am hoping this time it will be gone. Makes an awful mess and its web is enmeshed in the security screen so difficult to get to.
Today Phil used the slow cooker to make another recipe I found. It is a beef and barley soup which has turned out more like a stew than a soup so with some buttered toast it made an excellent tea for us, followed my apple pie and icecream.
Nothing worth watching on TV tonight so out with the DVDs and watched an episode of "Inspector George Gently". Another of our favourites.
Saturday 24th May.....I remembered my late friend Judy today as it is her #2 sons's birthday and he is the same age as my son. Judy was a bit of a nut really but I do miss her as we had so many great laughs together and there's not enough laughter about these days.
I have never had a Saturday appointment before but it was the only time I could get to see physio Jenny for a second visit this week so at 11am I had more treatment on my shoulder and neck. I had such a bad ache at the back of my shoulder on Thursday night it kept me awake. Those needles she pops in my neck muscles really do help as they did today and my shoulder is somewhat easier but Jenny says I should definitely have Dr Ken do a cortisone injection or it won't get any better.
I asked Phil to make sure my walker was in the car before we left so I could go to Big W and replenish my supply of yarn. I have 12 rugs ready to take to Vinny's (St Vincent de Paul) with another 3 nearly finished, and I had only one ball of yarn left. I have slowed down somewhat as my hands do rather hurt at times but I am sure if I keep using them it is better than not using them at all so I persevere....that is when Candy doesn't decide she wants to sit on my lap which doesn't go with crocheting as she wants to play with the yarn.
Tonight the football ran on well into the evening and our Fremantle team once did exceptionally well and they are still on top of the ladder with 8 games won out of 8. The other Western Australian team, West Coast Eagles, are also doing well and are in second place with 6 out of 8 wins.
Sunday 25th May....Gee, only 7 months till Christmas!! That time will simply fly and then we'll be thinking New Year. No, not really, but it does seem as we age the time seems to whiz past faster than ever. I remember brother Len saying after he retired that he often wondered how he found the time to go to work five days a week?
Tomorrow the men arrive to replace the old louvres in my work room and the backroom with proper windows. Have been wanting to have that done since we moved in in 1974 so last month I bit the bullet and rang for a quote. It will cost me over $2,000 but it really needs to be done and they will allow me pay it off over 4 months which I thought quite fair and which I can manage OK. We took the curtains down and they are on the line after being washed. I made them and put them up in May, 1974 so the are very old but of strong fabric so will pop them back again as nobody comes in here very often and at least they will be clean. This was once son Steven's bedroom.
Didn't do too well in the footy tipping as there were a couple of upsets but then that's normal in AFL It never fails to amaze me how some people manage to pick the winners of all 9 games but I put it down to sheer luck in most cases, rather than knowledge and good judgement.
Tonight we watched "Poldark" which I am sure is a remake of a series of the same name some years back. We are enjoying the series and it is very well done giving one the feeling of being there way back then. Gee, they were bad times for the 'little' people lorded over by the rich.
As you can see we do very little that is exciting and our taste in TV programmes is rather boring. I guess after you've been around as long as we have you are content with a rather drab existence and don't go looking for much in the way of excitement. I doubt I will continue on with this idea as it would be terribly repetitive week after week. I am sure you agree.
Thank you for sharing your week.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you can get the cortisone for your neck and shoulder, and that the shot for your knees could be covered.
Candy has really settled in, hasn't she? Which is lovely.
Thanks EC. Having given a sample of our week by week life I feel it explains why I have nothing of note to report.
DeleteI have other issues right now but will see Dr Ken again soon re shoulder and knee.
Candy is a real delight and, although she will never take the place of Precious, she has filled a huge hole extremely well.
Sweet diary writings Mimsie. I enjoyed reading about your week. Thank you :)
ReplyDeleteYou are very kind Denise but I won't do it again. Week after week of medical stuff is not very interesting for us or for others but just needed to give an idea of our week, mine mainly I guess.
DeletePhobias are one of those things that simply cannot be explained. I don't seem to have any, thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking of beef and barley soup myself recently. I usually make at least one batch per winter and freeze it is single serve portions. There is always a variety of single serve meals in my freezer. At the moment I have bean&pasta soup, spaghetti sauce, beef casserole and prepared chicken schnitzels, frozen in uncooked state. I thaw them one at a time and fry it while I make mashed potatoes or roasted veg to have with it. I have a few of the ready made from the supermarket "Lean Cuisine" meals
A few tips for your shoulder. As often as you remember just move the shoulder even very slightly to prevent freezing of the muscles. A few small shrugs every half hour or so, have the arm bent at the elbow and swing the shoulder back and forth as if you were walking, two or three small forward shoulder rolls, followed by the same number backward shoulder rolls. Because computer work and crocheting are mostly hands work, moving the shoulder as I've suggested should help. It may hurt in the beginning, but as you continue that should ease; and anything is better than the pain of a frozen shoulder.
Another thing I do is put the fingers of one hand on the neck/shoulder curve and gently press up and down for about a minute, then do the same on the other side. Perhaps Phil could do that for you.
I remember playing Scrabble with my kids. Three boards and all the tiles stretched across the table, we played from one end to the other. No scoring, just fun.
You are very fortunate not to have any phobias River.
DeleteBeef and barley soup is filling and satisfying and very healthy too I would think. A good standby in wintery weather.
We don't do a lot of frozen meals but tend to eat the same thing two days running. If there are 3 serves of course the third does go into the freezer.
I to all sorts of exercises for my shoulder including 'the elephant's trunk', the one where you lean forward and let your arm swing like an elephan'ts trunk. You can do it standing or sitting although I find it can be painful.
Actually crocheting doesn't just use the hand but also the wrist and, believe it or not, the muscle behind the shoulder as well. I checked it out when I was crocheting last night and even using a keyboard uses the wrist and some arm muscles as well.
I will definitely be going back to see Dr Ken as soon as I get answers to this kidney thing. Waiting for ultrasound results and also have more urine tests to do next week.
At times I begin to wonder why I am doing all these things. It'd be easier just to drop off to sleep as it is all very tiring.
I also do pressure on my neck and shoulder and we use Dencorub too.
I shouldn't be too angry about it all as I know it is just wear and tear and not some disease I am battling but it doesn't make it any easier when I ache and can't move much.
I have always loved Scrabble and crosswords but I am not as good with words as you are. Probably didn't do very well with essays at school, can't remember now, but did well in English in general.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteRiver's shoulder tips are great Mimsie.... (hint hint...&*<>)
I didn't at all mind reading your week, m'dear; after all, the key function of a blog is to journal life - and it is wonderful to get a proper insight of the mates we are meeting this way!
I agree that much of what is passed for 'entertainment' on our boxes these days is nothing but tripe. I love the Morse et al stories and all similar such. Mostly though I don't bother beyond the news; either putting on DVDs - or just not watching anything at all.
As a family we always had scrabble and other like games (boggle, yahtzee...monopoly!) Now i engage myself with wordpuzzles in compendium books, newspaper but rarely online - I am too much at this screen as it is!!!
Huggies, YAM xx
I do most of the things River suggested until they get so monotonous I give them up for a while.
DeleteI won't be doing weekly reports again but it proves there is really nothing to report after all.
We are very selective in our TV viewing but do watch the news and then wish we hadn't but you have to keep up to date with what is happening around the world.
I have played all those games you mentioned and also Trivial Pursuit. Phil and I often play dominoes as he is not into card or word games, more's the pity and the family don't come to play any more so it's just he and me now.
I am tired and perhaps not making much sense? xx