holiday time

Brigid is enjoying not being at work ... we've had a sort of "at-home" holiday these last couple of days ..

but only after she had got the "domestic goddess" routine out of her system and spent the complete first day of her holiday in the garage - moving everything off the three decrepit shelving units, rationalising and tidying; then constructing the three new shelving units she had bought ... and putting everything back.

I have to admit it looks great - but what a whirling dervish she is!

I didn't do much myself on Monday cos I was still pretty weedy ..

Tues was better - we toddled off to Trentham, round the gardens, even managing to catch a little sun. We had cake for lunch .. not a good thing. We also bought a new raincoat for me.

Raincoat sellers must be the only ones pleased with this weather .. and wader manufacturers. How many of you have waders at the ready for the event of flooding? And how come so many ppl on the telly always seem to be equipped with the right gear for the unfolding drama? Do the BBC take the rubber kit with them from props and fix the story like they do with faking phone-ins? .. I guess we'll never know!

Weds was a sociable day.

We went to Little Moreton Hall like real tourists. It was busy there, in fact. Then off to The Egerton Arms in Astbury where they were having a Shellfish Month and I ate langustine for the first time since I had them in The Outer Hebrides .. strange but lovely. I used to work in that pub when I lived in Congleton, 25 years ago. It's changed totally inside and the"new" landlord is really excellent .. he's been there for 12 years.

We went onto Sandbach after lunch - it always seems to be all traffic there to me,

tho the old ancient crosses and the three pubs on the adjacent sides of the old square offer a calm space in the melee.

B stayed there to meet Celia H and I went over to see Azrini and then to the Simcocks' place - all of which offered an interesting variety of conversations.

Today saw us off to an early start to meet "our" interior design woman at John Lewis. We're all excited about getting new curtains for the lounge and she had some great options to show us in the range of fabrics there. We then drove ot Central Manchester for dimsum at Little YankSing .. which wasn't exactly the YankSing we were looking for, but it was lovely.

We added a bit of culture by dropping into the Art Gallery then home to pack for our weekend in Wales ..

YAY!

home 8

Have had a more than usually sleepy time in hospital this week ..but alleviated by some good visits ....

Aunty B did her usual tour of duty and took me in on Tuesday. Then Mr K came over in the evening..

On Weds, Mandy came for lunch, followed by Sam in the evening..
Matt came by on Thurs, but it was perhaps as well Liz was too ill to come in the afternoon, as I was very sleepy and hardly stirred all day, and for the first time during chemo I didn't even get showered / dressed .. *eek*..

Celia D picked me up this morning and spent a couple of hours here - this weather is tedious in the extreme .. I feel like a prisoner with it, really ....

Next chemo will now be in three weeks time, due to Dr A being away. He is also starting to think a three week cycle might be best for the last few treatments since my white cells went so low last time...

Llandudno

~ Turned out fine - the hotel was fine - marvellous bay windows with great views and the food was marvellous, but ...... the rooms are very small for the money so we wont STAY there again. ~ Tho we would certainly dine there .. maybe it is a place to replace Churches / 64 for dining out for birthdays etc? .. Mr K are you reading? Go see what you think (and the murals in the Terrace Dining Room are of Lake Como ~ Hilda Ogden eat your heart out!)


We got sun and had a glorious day on Saturday -- we were outside nearly all day: strolled along the Pier, then up the front of the Orme, through the lovely gardens there. Later we sat outside for coffee and after a late lunch we wandered along the beach looking at the British @ Play - it was marvellous .... all in the warm and sunny weather. B actually got burned cos her emergency sun cream wasn't in the car and it took us a while to veer towards a chemist, by which time the damage was done!


I was reminded of the old days when we went there en famille to Llandudno. I told B that we'd sometimes get a picnic and sit on the edge of the Orme there, tucking in .. but I had very clear memories of having to fight off the seagulls there who seem to think they're entitled to a share.


I don't think she was paying me much heed .. but the truth of my observations came later ..


Walking along the prom, I noticed a fellow eating a sandwich and waving his hand about to point things out to his g/f. slightly behind the fellah but in front of us, I saw a seagull ..


I said to B "Look, that gull's eyeing up that guy's sandwich ..."


No sooner were the words out of my mouth than the bird swept up and snatched the sandwich from the guy's mitt. We were all in hysterics.


The guy was quite shocked, of course, cos the bird had swooped in from behind in an ochestrated raid ... but he managed to laugh a bit! The bird just sat there, only a few inches away ... with his stolen sarnie swelling out his neck ~ the way they do when they've swallowed something too big for them.

Weekend

It seems that Grey is this year's sun!

I'm so tired of the relentless clouds ... I hope it brightens up a bit over the weekend. We are off to Llandudno later! A very over-stuffed and muralised hotel near the pier -- St Tudno
http://www.st-tudno.co.uk/
plenty comfy seats if the weather is poor, anyway!

I'm just toddling off to get my blood test. All being well I'm back "inside" next week.

Met a pal from tinternet yesterday, which was lovely. She found me through this very blog and our shared experience of cancer etc etc. We've spoken a lot on the phone and get on very well so that was a new thing to do. *waves to jan*

Le Tour - Stage One - Canterbury

Wow

It was so exciting to watch Le Tour pass through Kent, and past the end of the street where B's grandad lives in Canterbury .. He had the good sense to toddle his 92 year old frame down there and declared it to be "rather fantastic" .... we wish we could have been there with him. All our trips to France start with a stay with Faff and he knows we love Le Tour.

David Millar did such a great solo-ride, I think he really meant it when he said he rode up front to thank the British public for turning out in huge crowds along the way to cheer on the cyclists. He managed a great personal feat and clearly enjoyed it all the way. It was a real bonus that he got on the podium with the King Of The Mountains Jersey!



It is a BIT sad cos me and B would have soooooooo BEEN THERE yesterday and today if I was not too weak to embark on that sort of jaunt ... but I've enjoyed it on the telly and been very pleased to see an international crowd of fans out lining the route on both days

allez allez allez!!
Vive Le Tour

Le Tour - Stage One - Race For Life

I sort of double posted this heading .....

it's a big day cos Le Tour is in England, and that excites me enormously .. but also it's been an emotional day cos there have been runs for Cancer Research under the Race for Life banner today, and to my knowledge at least two people have run with my name on their backs.

Bless you, Glossy, up in Glasgow, bearing me with fortitude ...

and bless you my lovely little sis, down on the South Coast, doing the race for life with my name on your back ... I can't pretend that I wish you DIDN'T have to put my name on your back this time, but I do appreciate what (both of you) have done for several years now to raise money for this charity

Bless you, both, tonight ....

The rest of you - I hope you've contributed to the Race for Life and if you haven't, you can do it on line:
http://www.raceforlife.org/supportus/donate/













xxxxx

Le Tour

Yay - the sun is shining on Le Tour de France prologue in London right now -- I'm getting such a thrill from just the fact that they've brought it over here and planned such a cute route through London ...

And it's still possible to believe that Millar or Wiggins (British riders) could actually win today's stage..

Allez allez allez!

At home

It is slightly strange being here when I expected to be in the hospital this week. Andy came to visit at usual on a Tuesday, but it is the first time we've been in the house together for months, cos he usually sees me wired up to the drip.

We were talking about the Tour de France and the Gormley show being in London and Andy was encouraging me to go down, and I said I just can't.

I think seeing me at home, or hearing me talk about weekend breaks gives a false impression of my capabilities at the moment. In reality we walked to the post box and back and I was breathless .. my tiredness is through the floor at the moment. Being driven to a seaside hotel and lounging around for a weekend is one thing. Coping with bustle of a city centre, walking more than 1/2 a mile and the general lack of hygeine out and about in London put any ideas of such jaunts firmly on the back-burner!

I am getting excited about the Tour though, and would really LOVE to go and see the prologue down in London ... well, the telly will suffice! Especially if it's still raining! I'm going to see if our newsagent can get L'Equipe (the French sports newspaper) for me for the next three weeks. I'm not optimistic though, it taxes his resources having to get The Guardian for me!

Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhhh

This chemo business is SO frustrating.

I've just been told I can't go in this week cos my white blood count is too low .. which in itself I sort of cheer about, cos going in to hospital is never great (even tho they ARE lovely there ...)

BUT - it means the two hotels we booked for the weekends when I am "off" the chemo may now fall on the weekends when I am ON chemo and I will be feeling shite cos I just got out of hospital..

BUT then again they might not, cos we can't be sure I'll be well enough to have the treatment next week anyway .. and I dunno yet, whether he wants me to try again next week or whether I can just plan on another two week break and keep my holiday plans ...

Oh it is frustrating ..

But then, this is part of what cancer does. It robs you of any sense of certainty. This thing now is just how I feel most of the time, sort of in a microcosm of the whole thing .. always uncertain!

Honest to god there is tippex nearly an inch thick on my calander, as the chemo dates have been on / off this month so many times!