Sunday 5th May

Oh the satisfaction of ticking things off the 'I really ought to do that but I don't want to' list...

Four items of correspondence either emailed, or written, or printed, and in stamped envelopes ready to go. Deep joy.

 Then I moved on to the things I wanted to do;

Also the Bog Coat had stalled for a while, waiting for me to get time and energy and mindset all combined in the best proportions

I tapered the sleeves, and now I'm binding the neck. Looking at the photographs I can see I'm going to have to extend the binding right round,  down the fronts and along the bottom edge. And then probably around the cuffs too... sigh. 

I've done today's cross stitching, and counted the squares along the side edges in order to chart my borders ready for Tuesday (I'll be finishing the top lettering tomorrow if I stay on schedule).

It is very cheering to sit here feeling satisfied with what I've managed to do.

I've finished listening to 'Death in the Parish' by Richard Coles. I'm a bit uncomfortable with the heavy-handed depiction of Christian Fundamentalist Evangelicanism. I suppose it is a plea for people to be open-minded and ready to engage with other opinions and ways of understanding Christian faiths (and other faiths).

But it is a dreadful warning of the awful consequences when people in postions of influence and power abuse this trust with abusive and ungodly behaviour, whatever the organisation, be it a church or a school or anything else.

I've returned to 'The wedding repair shop' for light relief!

Saturday 4th May

There's not a lot to post...

I went into the garden (like I do nearly every day) to see what's new;

Something is going on in the cardoons, in the centre of the photograph 

I wasn't expecting to see a flower on the hot lips salvia just yet

One album is out

And something very weird is emerging from the walking onion flowers (are they even flowers?)

You can see how one of the stems is searching for a new place to grow. I'll replace those empty spare pots with one filled with earth and see what happens next.

Otherwise, more crosstitching... I'm on track at the moment, finishing the lettering at the bottom today. Tomorrow I'll start on the lettering across the top.

More reading. 

So far this month I have finished 'Dancers in Mourning' - Margery Allingham 'Smallbone Deceased' - Michael Gilbert and 'Death of an Author' - ECR Lorac'. I've got 'Traitor's Purse' - Margery Allingham and 'The Wedding Dress Repair Shop' - Trisha Ashley on the go, and I've nearly finished listening to 'Death in the Parish' written and read by Richard Coles. And it's only the fourth of May!

Friday 3rd May

 We went out for a stroll up and down our road today. It was a grey and chilly morning, but I was determined to start walking again. I say 'we' because Best Beloved carried the little Inogen oxygen machine. It only weighs about 2.2 kg, but that's enough to slow me down! 

It was lovely to look at the plants growing in the front gardens. I spotted Lilies and weigelia (I think) in flower, as well as the usual forget-me-nots etc.

After lunch I was busy doing this and that; paying bills and writing up a piano lesson I taught yesterday. Then I set the laptop aside and got on with cross stitching. Yesterday I was sitting on the settee with the magnifier precariously balanced on the arm of the settee. We sent off yesterday for what looked like an ingenious (and very cheap) table to fit over the arm, and it arrived later in the day;

It is pretty good; the sides are slats all stuck to a fabric base, making them flexible and non-slip.

I couldn't understand why I was finding organising needle, fabric, stitching and using the magnifier so awkward... then the penny dropped... I'm left handed! So I rearranged things

I moved the little table so it was draped over the red sewing tin, and then I had no trouble. 

It's going to take at least 7 more days to stitch the rest of the text in the borders on all four sides, and then another 6 for the cross stitched border and a day for the back stitching. A minimum of 14 more days to finish... I might, just, perhaps, possibly finish it for Pentecost on the 19th May. That's the plan, anyway!

The little wooden box I ordered at the beginning of the week arrived. The idea is that we fix it to this trolley so the little oxygen machine (the one I used for this morning's walk) can sit inside. Then I'll be able to tow it around, or just park it beside me when I'm using it around the house and garden or going for a walk.

It will need a bit of fettling, but Best Beloved is excellent at finding ingenious solutions. 

He's measured and checked and considered various ways of solving the problem. 

Thursday 2nd May

 Snippets...

I did some cross stitch, so I can start on the lettering tomorrow. That feels like progress. 

The family opposite have managed to train the toddler twins to stagger along in a close approximation to a straight line - I love watching them! They seem to have got the idea of walking as a means of reaching a destination,  as opposed to just staggering around as their arms, legs and sense of balance directed!

I haven't been putting out pebbles for some weeks. This afternoon the little girl who used to collect them carefully placed a snail on the wall. Was that a hint?

We ate the bean sprouts in a stir fry. Very enjoyable!  I'll get the next lot going soon.

Thursday 2nd May - My Oxygenated Life

I'm going to have to open a whole new file to keep track of everything... perhaps these blog posts will help. 

I did some googling today. Apparently there are around 32,000 people in the UK with Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF), around 8,000 people with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) and 19,000 with Scleroderma, the auto-immune condition I was first diagnosed with back in about 2000, which led to the PF and the PAH. I hadn't really realised how uncommon my situation is - when I go to the clinics they are always packed with people so I had assumed I was one of a large crowd. 

That explains why, outside the specialist clinics I attend in London, none of the other health departments I interact with have much idea of these diseases. I'm working on getting an assessment for home oxygen done locally. The secretary told me that I am seventh in the queue, so, with two clinics a week I should been seen at the beginning of July, possibly at the end of June. 

Months away. Oh. My. Word. It's a good job my life doesn't depend on this (heavy irony and sarcasm). I've said I'll accept a short notice cancellation in the hope getting an earlier appointment. Meanwhile I'll carry on juggling the portable concentrators, each with a short 1.5m  length of tube, that we bought some time ago. Otherwise I would just have to stay upstairs using the NHS concentrator prescribed for overnight use. 

I had a call from another community health department about things that would make life easier. I'm so glad we were able to afford a stair lift ourselves. The waiting list for assessment for NHS help is 6 months... I really, really feel sorry for people who just have to wait. 

Thank heavens, praise the Lord that Spring is on the way! Getting out into the garden every day for a little while is keeping me sane and sweet tempered(ish!).

Wednesday 1st May

This morning was all misty, but it soon cleared. Not enough to let the sun through. We have thunderstorms forecast for tonight...

I did have a look around the garden

This first aquilegia is flowering in a sea of lemon balm

And I think this white flower is a kind of viburnum call snowball, but I'm not too sure;

And a reminder of the Sans Day Carol; 'now the Holly bears a Berry as white as the milk, and Mary bore Jesus and wrapped him in silk';

We ate the alfalfa sprouts at supper time, as a fresh and crunchy addition to ravioli with green pesto and pine nuts.

I mentioned yet another decluttering hack which is to remove one thing every day for a year. I thought I'd start with May and see how I got on; today it was a star ornament which has been added to a charity bag.