Update on Bob

  Went to see the surgeon this week who gave Bob a clean bill of health.  He said he just had to look at him to see that he was so much better since the heart surgery.  He was told he could return to work at anytime, but I jumped in to tell the surgeon that he had a 2 hour commute on the train at both ends of the day, and had to carry a heavy rucksack fill of computer, files etc.  To which the surgeon said he has to stay of till November, he is entitled to 12 weeks sick leave and the surgeon told him to make the most of it.

I have my specialist appointment the week after next, so it is looking like I will get my surgery just after he goes back to work, so who is going to look after me.

 

Give this a go

This will boggle your mind...  Take your time and follow the instructions.    It's very clever!!!
After reading each window, click on the boy in the lower right corner. In the last window, type in your numbers in the white box using the keyboard.  You will be amazed....and
No, I don't know how it's done, but The answer appears on the boy's t-shirt.
click here: http://digicc.com/fido/

Over 55?

Another one for sharing   

 PERKS OF BEING 55 & OVER

 

1. Kidnappers are not very interested in you.

 

2. In a hostage situation you are likely to be released first.

 

3. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.

 

4. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.

 

5. You can live without sex but not your glasses.

 

6. You get into heated arguments about pension plans.

 

7. You no longer think of speed limits as challenge.

 

8. You quit trying to hold your stomach in no matter who

    walks into the room.

 

9. You sing along with elevator music.

 

10. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.

 

11. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the

      national weather service.

 

12. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can't

      remember them either.

 

 

 

Sisters

This was sent to me in an email today and I thought I would share it
  

A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As they talked about life,about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations ofadulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.  "Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. "They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them."  "Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your otherwomen relatives too. "You'll need other women. Women always do. "What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grown up! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all Ineed to make my life worthwhile!'But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,she gradually came to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 40 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:

 THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes.  Life happens.  Distance separates.  Children grow up.  Jobs come and go.  Love waxes and wanes.  Men don't do what they're supposed to do. Hearts break. Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Careers end.

BUT......... 

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you...Or come in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still. Pass this on to all the women who help make your life meaningful I just did. Short and very sweet:

There are more than twenty angels in this world. Ten are peacefully sleeping on clouds. Nine are playing. And one is reading her email at this moment.

Can you spare me?

Part of my job role at the charity I manage is to raise funds - these fund go towards giving carers/care givers breaks, so that they can take 'time off' from their caring roles.

I am toying the idea of putting together a booklet, or series of booklets

recipes

tips and hints

poetry/short stories

and as I want this to be original stuff and not something I have pinched from books or magazines, I was wondering if anyone would like to make a charitable contribution - with your name attributed (if you so wish) and country of origin

Once I have got enough stuff together, the booklets would be sold for funds.  I could even make them available here if people wanted.

I have to tell you that I have these mad, creative ideas from time to time

 

To start off I will share with you a recipe for soup that was given to me today - have not tried it yet, but will tomorrow as I have just found some courgettes lurking in the fridge.

Courgette/Zucchini soup

Boil 4 courgettes/zucchini in chicken stock (a stock cube is ok, if you do not have the real thing), with a tablespoon of curry powder. Use enough liquid to cover the courgettes/zucchi

When courgettes are soft, wizz together in a blender (add more water if required to get the consistency you require) - reheat if necessary

Put in some Philadelphia cheese

It is now ready to serve.

I understand that it can be eaten hot or cold.

Lazy day on the river 4

At last I have found how to upload more that 8 pictures at a time, so this is the last of the ones I took on our canal trip.

Part of my task when we have these outings is to provide lunch for people.  This year I decided to have jacket potatoes, so at 7.30 am in the morning I had potatoes in the microwave to part cook them through, and then they could go into the oven on the boat to brown and crisp them.  For fillings we had cheese, tuna/mayonnaise, coleslaw and beans, with side salad of lettuce, cucumber and tomato.  They had started with melon wedges and finished with a variety of cheesecakes.  All washed down with a variety of fruit juices.

No sooner had the washing up party finished their duties after lunch, then it was time for afternoon tea and even more biscuits (as I had forgotten to buy cakes for the afternoon).

The sun came out during the day but it never got too hot, although some of us showed evidence of the sun rays (even through cloud) having pinked up our skin. I am one of those unfortunate people who go red, blister and then revert to being pale skinned.

As we had been held up at the first lock our journey had been delayed, with further delays being caused by the horse drawn barges, so to our delight we ended up spending two additional hours on the canal, meaning everyone finally went home happy and tired.

Now that I have managed to work out how to get pictures here I will start to go back through our adventures in our 'Grand Tour of America' and start to post pictures for you all to see.

 

Lazy day on the river 3

Along the Kennet and Avon Canal they also have horse drawn barges, left over from bygone days.  We passed many of these and were glad to see something from a bygone era.  Although picturesque this mode of transport can be fraught with dangers for passengers of other passing barges.  At the time I was at the back of the boat talking to the crew when they yelled 'duck'.  Duly crouching down quickly I was then somewhat surprised to get a hearty thwack across the backside as the mooring rope from the horse drawn barge was thrown over our boat and it caught me stern side, meaning I spent the next hour or so trying to drying our my nether regions

much to the delight of the other passengers on board.

Lazy Day on the River 2

These pictures show us in one of the locks, where the water levels are being changed as we were going uphill on this journey.

We were in danger of not being able to make the trip as at the first lock workmen were trying to fix the gate where it had dropped off of its hinges.  For the participants of the trip it was a good time to relax, enjoy their morning coffee and chat.

 

Lazy Day on the River

One of the great things about my job is that I get to laze on the river from time to time.  We have not had much of a summer, but Wednesday 5th September was a morning of promise that did not fail to let us down for the whole day.

I run various clubs for people with disabilities and spend quite a lot of time with these particular club members. As well us having problems in common with mobility, they are a fun group and each year organise a trip for us all on the Kennet and Avon Canal.  This year I also took my other half, using the rational that he was recurperating from his op, so met the trips criteria.  The truth was that I just did not want to leave him all day, and this trip is so lovely that I did not want him to miss out.

So 16 of us set out at 10.00 am in the morning, and my first job of the day (after all the shopping) was to make sure everyone was settled with morning tea/coffee and a good supply of biscuits.  This trip is never very diabetic friendly, although all those who are diabetic assure me that they will be good the next day.  The boat that we us is hired by the local Lions club for a week and is fully adapted for people with disabilities.  The take one charitable group per day out, with the crew members giving up time from work take the boat through the locks.

The highlight for most people is travelling through the locks, some of which you can see from the photos and I will put the rest on a bit later - for some reason I could only put 8 on at a time?

As you can see the day was gorgeous - not too hot, but plenty of sunshine.  What I love is the reflections into the water.  I am not sure how I got this photo effect and I am impressed by the fact it looks as though the river is moving, like a movie, rather than still photos.

 

More to come

My knee

Well, I saw my GP about my knee and the Xrays show severe wear and tear, with a couple of bits of broken off ligament floating around, but as I am so young (57) he feels that it needs to be left for a while before they do anything.

Obviously I was not happy with this, so I am seeing the specialist in a couple of weeks and they are going to see if they can remove the couple of bits of broken off ligament in the back of my knee, which is probably the reason I am in so much pain.

A love story

 The Love Story of Ralph and Edna.
>
> Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to,doesn't

> mean they don't love you with all they have.
>
> Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while
> they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralph suddenly
jumped
> into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.
>
> Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled

> him out.
>
> When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic act she
> immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now

> considered her to be mentally stable.
>
> When she went to tell Edna the news she said, "Edna, I have good news
> and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were

> able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the
life
> of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound
> mindedness.
>
> The bad news is, Ralph, hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe

> belt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead."
>
> Edna replied, "He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry.
>
> How soon can I go home?"

 

 

Nordic Walking Poles

Nordic walking poles are a bit like ski poles.  Usually used in pairs, they are used for walking.  There was a certain amount of hype about them a while back as they are reputed to give you quite a good work out when walking as they also exercise the upper body.

I have to confess that I wanted them more to avoid using a walking stick or my crutches, as I needed something that helped me keep my balance whilst walking as my knee is prone to give out and send me tumbling over - not a pretty sight as I end up looking like a beached whale.

I have not taken them for a test drive yet, so will report back when I do.

For those who want to know what they look like, follow the link to the website I found.  If you want to try them out you can get them from Argos for £14.99 or the deluxe ones for £19.99 - and then if they work I may invest in more expensive ones.

http://www.sheactive.co.uk/brand.html?supplier=00000066&type=brand&gclid=CMrNnuLmuo4CFQSlEAodrAMnyg

 

 

Latest update

Bob is doing well, and just beginning to get a bit aggitated at not being able to do all the things he would like to do.  Patience is what I tell him, he has to be careful until he goes back to work in November, so we are only half way there on his road to recovery.

Today we are going out for lunch as it is my birthday, and he is taking me to a sports shop to investigage some Nordic walking sticks.  The problems with my leg needs an operation on the knee, so it is difficult to walk at present, and as I am supposed to be ensuring that he walks for half hour everyday we have to find a way of doing that without me suffering too much, and by all accounts these sticks could be the answer.

Later we will be seeing all the grandchildren - we have 9 of them still living at home with their parents, so they will all call sometime today