me and jean ...

... in the Forest of Dean
(poetry to rival Cousin Pauline's there)


a memory of weekend away, last year
.. in bluebell season:

birthday girl

hi
not much new to say today -- but since Jean is back, and it was her birthday this weekend as well here is a picture of her *cheers me dear*


ps - loved your holiday photos - that red one looks more like a desert scene than Iceland!

ladies who lunch

During my short bursts of energy between stretches of exhaustion and sleep I like to "do lunch." Apart from anything it breaks up the long days when B is out of the house for 10 to 12 hours at a stretch.

Yesterday Kasia drove me out and we met up with James, who was literally just back from Oz. He treated us to our lunch in a Cheshire Country pub .. what a gent!

Today I am going to meet someone new off tinternet, she lives near here and we are meeting in The Lounge -- for a change. I must be boosting their profit margins this year cos there's is the only place I really trust in Hanley. I have got be careful to avoid food-poisoning and not get take-aways or eat in any dodgy diners, so I'm sticking with the same place.

dressing up

It was Azrini's birthday yesterday, and B and I are celebrating 14 years together this week -- so we decided to have a good dinner together and use the opportunity to be all girly and dress up. We had a great night, and they drank nothing but champagne the whole evening!

I got to wear the Cocktail dress (that is too big now and droops down at the back - but it still looks OK at the front).
B wore her newly cleaned "retro" 50's dress (which I love) and Azrini was subtle in dark blue velvet. She is saving her beaded dress for her Big Night Out in Gray's Inn later this month .. such exalted friends we have!

Dunno why I cant sleep -- been ups since 4am -- this is rare, especially considering how whacked I am most of the time ... hey ho


here are the pics:




hmm - we are showing off our twinkly shoes, obviously, not trying to fly!



and Azrini is showing off her new lippy!

dinners

At last, blogger is letting me put my pics here, Julie has told me not to go on too much, in case she gets "performance anxiety" about Christmas ... ha ha ha, only a woman with her training would even think of that!

Sadly the image of Julie's first dinner was too blurry (my fault) -- just imagine potatoes dauphinoise, wild salmon, roasted plum tomatoes and broccoli spears!

This next one is the saddle of lamb with red cabbage, mash with onion marmalade and green beans:


Then she rustled up this vegetarian medley with baked goat's cheese, mediterranean potatoes, sprouts with chestnuts, carrots and a tomato dish:


This is me, ready to tuck in -- I guess you'll notice I look pretty tired, that's cos I am pretty whacked most of the time, but it didn't stop me enjoying my dinner! (and the leftovers since she's been gone)

(btw - note the new dress from TK Maxx - the only damned thing in my size in the shop - I have got a rant about clothes shops brewing, but dont want to spoil this homage to the celebrity chef by doing it now -- remind me next week!)



So, thanks Julie, it was so lovely having you here. We had such a good laugh every day and I reckon that's at least as powerful as Dr Adab's stuff.

We both love you to bits
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Celebrity Chef

Julie's cooking while she has been here has been excellent -- I rather fear she has shattered my image with B, cos she used to think I was TOP CHEF and now Julie's been here strutting her stuff, I think I've been relegated --

Sadly the blogger is having an off-day for photos, and will not up-load them, but I will keep trying so you can all see what she can do!

more time with sister

My sister could shop for England .. no kid, TK Maxx took the mian hit, so anyone thinking of popping up there tomorrow - be advised - it's empty.

In fact, town was heaving with shoppers today - there was no where to park, and jams all over the place ... which turns out to be because PRIMARK has opened -- bejayzus -- it's only a shop, folks, and it will still be there tomorrow .. literally 4 out of 5 ppl we passed by had a primark bag in their hand ... very odd.

time with sister

hey -- thanks for all the lovely comments yesterday - especially from "new" commentators, Paoloman and Lee... you are very welcome .. and also a big wave and *hi* to the office staff at college -- I got your e-mail and realised that you read this stuff!

I am feeling fine and having a fine time with my lovely sister .. if I am the celebrity patient, she is the celebrity chef . Unlike many ppl undergoing this regime I haven't lost my appetite (what a surprise) but I had veered towards a pretty bland diet ... Julie has rustled up lovely meals, and if the blog would work properly there would be pics ... yesterday we had wild salmon and sundry lovely veg dishes including gratin potatoes and today she did me rack of lamb with onion marmalade and more sundry veg dishes ... just delightful -- I am trying to persuade her to move in but the Mistry bothers are to strong as competition I'm afraid -- but it has been a good taster for what Christmas with her will be like...

Kasia, yes yes yes doing something together on Monday would be most welcome ... pencil me in and we'll fix details later.

Matt -- thanks for your email -- you really cracked me up! Roll on May 1st, eh?

Liz - your comments ARE here -- but I need to moderate them and Ive been so engaged with Julie I've not been on here during the day -- thanks for your lovely e-mail,

yay

So that is is, I've SAILED through it and had my last radiation treatment today.

The head radiographer said I'd come through it "remarkably well". I said "I do a lot of work on my mental outlook." and she said it is obviously working .. so she should know... she sees a lot of people having this treatment, after all!

I am really pleased to be at the end of that bit. Even though I am tired and sometimes sore/ achey, it really hasn't been as bad for me as it is for some people ... they reckon the radiation keeps working for another two weeks, and the side-effects of soreness and tiredness can last more than a month . ... but that still means I should be hunky-dory for Christmas.

Julie is here, and we had a little stroll round part of the lake today. She is getting her hair done now, so I might be posting pics of glamour sister soon!

(Mr Kettle, should you chance to read this blog -- thanks for your lovley card that came today .. it really made me smile. )

C+R finish minus 2

Can you believe it, only two more treatments to do. I am really really tired a lot of the time now -- so email and other contacts may be reduced for some of you .. but I feel pretty chipper, all things considered. Did a bit of a walk around the lake at Trentham today, and a bit of mooching in shops. They have a glamour shoe shop there that is really great.

Liz arrived last night, and is here for a couple of days. She will be making a giant casserole to see us through a couple of days ... yum.

On Tuesday night the lovely JULIE, my premier league sister will be coming up to stay for a few days .. which I am really pleased about ... there is no question of me having any un-nursed moments this week! Just feels a bit fraudulant cos (luckily) I don't need much nursing.

sunday

Today I am working on my spiritual / mental strength.

You'll have to reda the other blog to see what is in my mind just now.
http://takeheart-suze.blogspot.com/

birds

Such a bright day -
this is our copper beech - showing off how it gets its name:



We decided to go over to Tittesworth Reservoir for our walk today,
but sadly when we got there my belly went quite sore and I felt too tired to actually walk.

We had a drink and I got a few snaps of the locals there:













You're not supposed to feed the birds, and these big geese in particular are considered a hazard up there, but the carpark is full of people dispensing crumbs.

ps if you click on the images you can see a slightly bigger version of these.

C+R finish minus 3

There we are 3 days to go. Feeling fine.

Humour
Example of humour from the radiotherapy waiting room ... we've all been hob-nobbing there together for a few weeks now, and share a bit of chit-chat each day. As we all turned in today the chat kept reverting to the miserable weather, then one fellah says, "oh well, it could be worse.." and another one goes, "Yeah, we could be dead .. "
and strangely this makes us all laugh like drains!

Wedding snaps
Seeing Jean (cosmolina) mention our Civil Partnership (aka wedding) in the comments has tempted me to post a pic of said event:

here we are - many of these are "usual suspects " whose names or comments appear often in this blog:

back row boys are
andy, james, woolfie and matt


lovely ladies are:
liz, jacky, B, kasia, me n mand

lovely looking lot, eh!


then cos jean was busy taking pics all day, here is a pic of her taking pics ..

C+R finish minus 4

Only four more days of radiation to go. The lady at the hospital who is on her last day was terribly sick today and I notice my nausea is increasing .. but otherwise it aint too bad most of the time.

It was great to see Matt and Kasia last night. We only 1/2 watched the footie, it seemed a bit dreary .. but everyone liked my "one-pot-dinner" and Kasia asked for the recipe since it very very easy to do and is the same thing I've been doing visitors for the past few weeks (cos it is easy and you can do it when you feel ill, and can fall asleep while it cooks itself) I'm going to write it out here....

CHICKEN RECIPE
Serves 4 (or three if one of the diners is Andy)

8 - 10 chicken thighs , skinned (best use thigh cos of the bone to add flavour)
8 -10 oz of BROWN rice
1.5 litres of chicken stock (can include a sploosh of red wine here if you like)
2-3 big leeks
1lb fresh tomatoes
tin chopped tomatoes
2 red/yellow peppers
handful of black olives
garlic
bay
thyme
extra salt and pepper (optional)

METHOD
Chuck rice in big roasting tin
Pour on the stock
Wash and slice the leeks, sprinkle the slices over the rice
Chuck in garlic and herbs
Roughly chop tomatoes, olives and peppers, and add these
Space the chicken pieces evenly over the veg
Pour the chopped tomatoes over the meat
Cover with tin foil
Bake for ages (about 2 hours) on gas 5.

It is done when the rice is all cooked and the chicken is loose on its bones.
It ends up like a risotto with very little "sauce" Yum

To add a bit of spice in the past I have done this with chorizo added, but these days I pop chorizo slices on a tray and bake them for a few minutes to serve alongside for ppl who want it. (Too fatty/spicey for me to eat these days)

PS to aunty barbara -- this is a version of recipe I always did when we lived in cov, it is taken from the recipe book you gave me years ago which I have used many times over the years!

C+R week5 day3

Went to see Dr Adab last night, and there is no problem with me carrying on the treatment for the final week. He has booked me a CT scan for 7th Dec and another meeting with him on the 9th. He was lovely, as ever.

When we got back here Andy had cooked us a great meal, and enough for another night this week, which is so helpful. Tonight I've thrown some rice and chicken in a pot to feed Matt and Kasia who are coming round to watch the football with us.

Just a quick point about sending comments to here that haven't got through -- I dunno why that is, but if you sent have sent a comment but don't see it the next day, then neither have I, cos I post all the comments and I look several times a day. (The exception to posting all comments is when jean gets too frisky .. obviously, there has to be a line drawn!)

I'm getting withdrawal symptoms from missing Keiran now! K - where r u?

C+R week5 day2

hey there! what has happened to Keiran? So, OK Jean, you are top of the list for the belly massage..

Today has been less painful and I'm a lot less weary than yesterday. Felt quite chipper first thing and walked all round the lake today, in some patchy sunshine. The colours in the trees are brilliant just now. Must remember to put my camera in my bag.

So does anyone have any comment on Dowie's sacking from Charlton?

Spa treatments

B's just had a mailing inviting her to Moddershall Oakes Spa. It's a thick brochure, and when I picked it up it fell open on:
Elemis Fennel Cleansing Cellulite and Colon Therapy. Hmm, *thinks*
this might be right up my alley...

but no, the wimps aren't really doing colon cleansing, they are rubbing your belly for a bit of "abdominal massage"... *tsk*
and charging £55 for it ..
If you need your thighs and belly rubbing I can do it for less.

C+R week5 day1

An early start today, my machine is being serviced and some ppl are having a 2 day break -- but not me, I had to go in for 8am.
Also had to go for blood sample after that.

It turned quite sunny so we went for a stroll in the Italian Gardens and a hotmilk in the cafe. I have to say, hot milk is a good drink to order - no-one ever charges you much for it- usualy between 40 and 60 pence .. weird!

I'm having a few days where the side-effects are giving me some gyp .. but at least not all day every day. Only a few days more of this treatment to go!

weekend

International
Loads of people I know are doing International Travel at the moment. Mand is holidaying in Egypt, James just got back from Thailand and has to go to Australia on Monday. Ian is in New Zealand, Azrini just got back from LA and Greg is in Germany.

Erin lives in Canada --(*waves* - thanks for your lovely long comment the other day, Erin)
Scott lives in China (you can link to his blog from my index)
and thanks to this blog we can all keep in touch really easily. Technology.

technology
It amazes me - especially using the wireless lap-top - like this morning, B lying in bed and idly wondering what the fixtures are for the next round of Carling Cup and we just turn the laptop on, no cables, no wires and start to look for the info - plucked from the air (as James puts it).

Got a question and you can get it answered on-line in minutes. (oh and we've got Wycombe .. yipee, since we aren't doing very well with the league so far!)

Amazing.

Sunday
So, I am lazing in bed after breakfast ... making the most of the laptop since we dont have to go for treatment today.

Azrini came round last night and we had a good meal and sat by the fire chatting for hours.

Sweet (as Joe likes to say).

James' pressies

I thought you'd appreciate this snap of the lovely new necklace J bought back from Thailand for me. Apparently, he had to wrestle with a monkey for it. Hmm, seems it is a jewel more suited to a creature than to a celebrity patient like me.

Mabel, the Trusty Guard Dog, growls most threateningly if we try to take it off her now.

C+R week4 day5

Great - 20 down 8 to go.

Day started quite well, and I've been very relaxed, although the tiredness and soreness came back on schedule this afternoon. Mum and dad said goodbye last night, and they are off to Nana's for a couple of days now.

Have spent some time on the phone to various friends today, including my spiritual guide, Anandi .. think I'll bob off to the Take Heart blog and note down a few things there.

don't worry

I know some of you think it is a strange thing if there isn't an entry every day, but some days there isn't time!

Yesterday was taken up by a pleasant few hours in the hairdressers in the morning and an unpleasant few hours in bed with belly-ache and exhaustion in the afternoon...

So, no blog.
AND I'm a bit behind with emailing ppl. too....

Mum and dad were here, and mum made a nice tea, which they all enjoyed, and I had had a bit of it... Not too hungry at times.

Today has been much less belly-ache. M+D picked me up at 10 and we had a couple of hours up 'anley, duck. including bumping into Cousin Pauline and having a coffee together in The Lounge.

There was a VERY strong smell of gas on the ring-road behind Marks and Spencer but no sign on Transco, desite the numerous calls made by The Lounge managers.
Today's top-tip: don't go smoking near Hillcrest St .
(and if it blows up you know that it was notified YESTERDAY!)

Dorchester Drama
My sister wasn't impressed when I laughed at this, but wouldn't you laugh if she told you:
the mistry brothers are "off sick" (sic) from school (sent home by the teachers) but well enough to get the saws and hammers out and start crafting a bird-table as soon as they get back.
Then they don't notice that one of the chickens took a fancy to the mastic and glued her beak together ..

SEE?

C+R week4 day 2

We have more sunshine this afternoon ..

After another quick day at the radiotherapy place Mum and dad picked me up and we went (guess where?) yup - Trentham, tho it was too foggy to bother with the lake-side walk we did all the shops and had a drink in the Garden Centre bit. We came home for a bite of lunch and now my mum is ironing and I guess dad is snoozing! I may nod off later.

Mr K is coming around later.

ps - I've recently up-dated the other blog ... for those that are interested.

C+R week4 day1

On the home-straight with the radiation, and got a quick in and out again today.

The side-effects are becoming more noticeable. I seem pretty well rooted in either my bed (fast asleep) or the bathroom (very uncomfortable).

hey ho - not feeling massively sociable as a result.

Mum and Dad will be arriving soon. They are going to be here for a few days, making nice teas for me and Brigid - which takes the pressure off her, and will allow me to snooze more!

Sunday

I forgot to say yesterday, but I also got a date from the hospital confirming my surgery will be on 15th January .. so now we know!

Yesterday we had a great hour or so in the sunshine at Trentham, in the formal gardens. The car-park was almost full but there was no-one else in the garden, so the shops must have been busy. We also popped over to Leek to get our fruit and veg. The man gave us a bunch of parsely and knocked a few bob off the bill: "15 pound for cash" .. which you don't get in Sainsburys!

In the afternoon I was very sleepy and did nowt!

Today I've been relatively pain-free and managed to do a bit of tidying in the front garden, dead-heading and picking up leaves, mainly.

B has been running and we are going to have a lovely soup for lunch that she made with a pumpkin (which Azrini gave us!) and a few other veggies .. it looks lovely and orange food is supposed to be especially good for cancer healing. I've also had a pomegranate and orange smoothy. Anandi says pomegranates are "nectar" for me, so good job they seem plentiful (2 for 60p in Leek!)

This afternoon I want to finish the shrine curtains, but I might be too tired -- already going dozy
xx

Week 3 finished

Great news:

• over 1/2 way through my radiation treatment
• had a lovely walk with kate yesterday
• had a laugh with James in the evening (he brought pressies -- keep your eyes peeled for pics later!)
• got up and had a pain-free morning (yipee!)
• the sun is still shining
• B and I are going out for a walk now

Love to all my family and friends .. you are all doing your bit to keep me up-beat in these strange times and I really appreciate it. Thank-you. xxx

xxx

C+R week3 day 4

More sunshine ... innit great?
Liz is in the kitchen whipping up a cottage pie for B and I to have for tea. It is the first time I've felt like eating red meat for months, and it smells wonderful. She'll be going off home in a minute and I guess I'll grab a nap then. I get pretty tired in the afternoons, generally.

DVD news - we watched Brokeback Mountain last night, or rather B and Liz did. I went to bed b4 the end .. I was so tired yesterday. Anyway it sounds like it was a real tear-jerker, so maybe I won't watch the end by myself today.

Comments
A few ppl have told me that they've posted comments that didn't show up with me in the last few days. Rest assured, I've not gone into some silly moderator's cull thingy ... it is all to do with the provider -- Google has had a few probs, but they reckon they are sorted now, so plz feel free to comment away .. you know I love it!

C+R week3 day3

Doctors.
Went to see Dr Adab last night. He is such a good bloke, though how he can manage to look quite so interested in the details of the day by day working of my bowels is beyond me. I had got anxious cos we'd booked the cottage for Christmas without checking the dates with the doctors, so I quizzed him about my surgery dates. He said he thought January was the likliest time....

Then as we left his office, my surgeon, Mrs Hall was in the corridor. She gave both me and Brigid a big hug; it feels so friendly and safe being treated by this pair.

She confirmed that she'd operate either the 15th or 22nd Jan. so this means our lovely plans for a good Christmas are all stations-go. Mrs Hall said she'd be skiing at the start of Jan.. so she said, "Plan something for the New Year too.... " hmm, there's a thought..

Trentham
Liz has been here today and we walked all the way around the lake at Trentham after my radiation treatment. The sky was completely blue and the air fresh but not too cold. It was delightful. However, it seemed to exhaust me and I slept for three hours when we got back here. There is a fragrant smell of roast veggies that she is cooking up for tea and we are going to watch a DVD later!

B says I'm 1/2 way through my radiation tomorrow - day 14 out of 28 :)