Journal Entries
End of Christmas
Posted Dec 29, 2005
Well, Christmas Day involved just myself, husband, mother & 
. The three of them fell asleep in the afternoon 
Unfortunately I was making a cake & trifle for the next day when my daughter & son-in-law would need feeding. It was a quiet, relaxed day - thank goodness as I still am not well after 4 weeks & very tired.
Boxing Day went well too - my daughter, etc had spent from Friday night to Monday morning with my son-in-law's parents, then they came on to us for lunch and were to leave the following day. She is 8 months pregnant, still working, driving & looked very drawn.
It went fine here, until they were leaving - she said something & I made a small harmless (I thought) remark (having bitten my tongue all Christmas I may add & feeling 
) - she exploded, storming off to the car - that was Tuesday & I haven't heard a word from her since. There was no farewell 
, which I am still missing.
I feel she should make first contact, I am fed up with having to watch every word I utter in case it "upsets" her (she is heavily pregnant at present, but she's like this most of the time anyway). She acts like a spoilt brat at times - 
maybe she is - I did try not to spoil her when she was growing up with no father, but I did ensure she had everything that was really needed, etc.
Are all kids (27 years) like this? I had her when I was 22 & I know it made me grow up superfast, so maybe when she has the baby the same will happen. She has everything planned out, including going back to work after 6 months & working till 2 weeks before the due date - the remark she made was that they were not having any visitors for the first 2 weeks to enable them to "bond" with the baby - I just said "you'll be lucky!"
Comments most welcome.
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Latest reply: Dec 29, 2005
To sum up ...
Posted Jun 27, 2005
The Kitchen: Oh boy - too much happened to have kept up with it all - fridge/freezer was a so&so to put in cabinet & fix doors - then it had to be moved to alter the wall socket - legs collapsed - now heavy wood supporting instead of "plastic" legs!! The socket had to be moved to enable the fridge/freezer cabinet to be moved nearer the wall, otherwise the cabinet drawers wouldn't open the other end as the cooker was there - if you see what I mean!! We've just found out that the two "pretty cabinets" with glass doors & glass shelves we have put one in upside down so we'll have to drill holes in to fit the shelves . To fit the cornice round the top of the cupboards we've had to buy an expensive mitre as the basic one was too small to fit the width of the wood - you need to be a mathematician to work out the angles 
Anyway, once those two obstacles are overcome all that is left is the tiling & fitting some hanging rails, then ... we will have finished the kitchen ... ready to start under the stairs 
The Coast: We've been to the coast a couple of times: one time I was making the bed & found a dead earwig inbetween the pillows ... then I walked in the seaside part of the garden & found a dead, wait for it, RAT 
Just to make it "things happen in threes", I found a dead bird just outside the conservatory in the front garden ... WE survived
One of the bedrooms has now been re-decorated & so too the lounge ... just got to find some new curtains.
Art Society: My last art exhibition has just finished - I say "my" as I am resigning at the September AGM after 11 years of working as their secretary - all I have to do now is loads of filing ... never was keen on filing & should have kept it up - own fault 
. Anyway all the artists that sold a painting have their cheques crawling by snailmail to them. Almost an end of an era - yaaaay!!!
Hospital: Letter arrived last Thursday - I go in tomorrow to have my right arm manipulated + cortisone jab and an op to my thumb & ring finger on my left hand. They have managed to keep to the 40 weeks date they gave me - 37 weeks I've been on the phone to find out how they are handling the diabetes this time as I have had only one letter stating "nothing to eat or drink from midnight & arrive at 7.30am". It appears that if I am very early on the list they won't bother about the diabetes too much, but later on the list then a sliding scale drip. Ah well, I am glad that someone realises! Each time I have been in for an op the attention has dropped somewhat. Years ago my diabetic specialist was there as soon as I was on the ward. Now, they seem not to be informed & it is left to the surgeon & ward staff. The diabetes nurse advised me to take in some sweet drinks if I felt worried about going low-sugared - huh? - "nothing to eat or drink" !!!!! (Taking in loads of antiseptic wipes too & will discharge myself asap!) Ah well, if I survive ... "I'll be back"
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Latest reply: Jun 27, 2005
Our Kitchen Part 5
Posted Mar 16, 2005
16 Mar 2005
OK, next stage: the cooker is due to arrive this Sunday. A few weeks ago we called in to the vinyl shop, chose the vinyl & the man said come in a couple of days before you want it laid 
So, we have continued with work & the extractor fan is fitted. My husband has nearly finished painting the walls.
We called into the vinyl shop on Monday & he duly came out to measure up last night, but ...... can't fit it this week 
... not sure, maybe next Tuesday - will ring in the morning.
This morning he rings & yes, 10.30 next Tuesday 
We have nowhere to store the cooker - the lounge is full of the kitchen units, which can't be fitted till the vinyl is laid. See the consternation?
Rang the kitchen store: 
can we postpone the cooker arrival, are we too late to postpone? The first reply was: ... but you've cancelled the cooker. NOOOOOO! We cancelled the extractor fan & got it from somewhere else, and then we had to change the model of the cooker to gas from electric. She replied: Hold on ... ah yes, that's we can deliver on ...... 5th April.
As it works out it means we can take our time & begin fitting the units, so there will be space to actually bring the cooker through the house. All's well that (WILL) end well 
Meanwhile I'm still coughing & sneezing well, I also haven't been able to manouver the furniture around to checkout my printer - which won't print. I'm keeping positive, happy & 
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Latest reply: Mar 16, 2005
Forthcoming Operation
Posted Mar 14, 2005
11 Mar 2005
Well, the appt. wasn't cancelled this time so along I went Both specialists were there &, if I may say, were complete gentlemen 
They both checked out my hands & arms, then discussed with me exactly what they think is going on & what they propose to do:
Left Hand:-
To operate on ring finger to release the tendon again (this was operated on some 12 years ago for trigger finger, but something wasn't quite right & I was left with my finger partially bent down with - according to the general orthopaedic surgeon - scar tissue, which he refused to go in again & clear out - I've been asking him every year since!). This was the main reason why I asked to see a hand/shoulder specialist, because sometimes the whole finger swells & is really painful to the extent where I want to chop it off . (Also I have had to wear my wedding ring on the other hand - as is done on the continent) They may have to go into the back of the hand, where there is swelling on the joint where the finger meets the hand, if they can't clear from the palmside. They said it wasn't just scar tissue & that something else was happening there
To operate on thumb, which is bent, swollen & painful - they reckon this is a mix of trigger finger (where the tendon gets stuck) and an arthritic joint.
Right Arm:-
While I'm under for the other ops, my right shoulder will have a cortisone injection & be manipulated - there is a slight difference of opinion as whether this is frozen shoulder or tendonitis in the rotator cuff. I had 3 cortisone jabs in my left shoulder a couple of years ago & the symptoms are very similar - the gen. ortho said then that it was tendonitis, but the specialist reckons this right shoulder is frozen Well ... whatever ... the treatment is the same only this time the jab will be when I'm 
The swelling on the back of my right hand - in line with my little finger - is, they reckon, due to arthritis - nothing to be done as yet.
I mentioned about the lefthand carpal tunnel op site, where it is very tender - hit the roof if I knock it - they said that could be fixed at a later date too - although, as I told them, I'd had that for so many years now that it wasn't too important, but it would be nice to get rid of the feeling of a can of worms in my palm
The rheumatologist said that once the ops are done & recovered I should go back to see him & we'll take it from there. Basically I have arthritis, which has been underlying for many years - this would be part of the reason why I have a tendency to tendon problems, although it was brought on by repetitive movements. He said he doesn't want to put me on drugs, which can be toxic to other organs, etc., but try to treat any arthritic areas locally. I totally agreed
So far I've had over the past 17 years: carpal tunnel surgery to both hands, 4 trigger finger ops, 3 cortisone jabs to fingers when they started clicking (onset of trigger finger), 3 cortisone jabs to left shoulder; together with a multitude of different treatments: wax, electromagnetic therapy, physio - none of which have been of any use at all 
Oooh, if only I'd had another occupation instead of keyboarding for most of the time, then maybe I wouldn't have had all this trouble. However, I had some very good bosses & interesting places of work so ... c'est la vie (... and I've been at home for my daughter while she was at secondary school )
Oh yes, today was my birthday too 
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Latest reply: Mar 14, 2005
Somewhat Late Post
Posted Mar 3, 2005
3 Mar 2005
The post arrived this morning, as usual. In amongst the trivia was an envelope addressed to myself & husband - quite normal? Well, not quite: the envelope was date stamped the 17th of December We wondered where the missive had come from - Australia maybe, the Arctic perhaps - it had obviously take so long to reach us that it must have been posted in the wilds of some distant country.
On opening the said envelope we found a christmas card sent from a couple who live in the same town as us
It reminded us of when we had a holiday in Egypt. We were on a Nile cruise and had spent a whole afternoon writing postcards to relatives & friends at home. We duly stamped them with the correct postage & put them in the postage box at the reception of the boat. the box was situated on the side of the boat - there was a sign saying "POST" & staff saw us putting the cards in there.
Not one of those cards was ever received by anyone at home - not even the one we sent ourselves We suppose they are lying at the bottom of the Nile & in thousands of years time they will be found ...
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Latest reply: Mar 3, 2005
Shirps
Researcher U1178788
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