The Last Couple of Weeks
Paul and I have just spent the evening filling in insurance claims. Paul’s been dealing with the drains, and I’ve been dealing with the car.
The car? Well, a few weeks ago I was in the front room when I heard a crash and the sounds of an altercation from outside. I looked out and saw that one car had gone into another in a queue of traffic outside our house. I saw there was red vehicle debris on the road so I went out to check our car. It was fine. The debris was clearly from the other cars. Later in the day I went to the parent and toddler group at church. I parked the car on the road, and had a fun time with Eleanor. I got back to the car, put Eleanor in the front seat, walked round the back, got in and drove home. On the way home I noticed that the indicator was behaving oddly. Later in the afternoon a good friend came round with a cheer me up present, which did, until she said ‘is that your car with a damaged front bumper?’ It was. And wing. Judging by the lack of smashed headlight on the road, and the odd behaviour of the indicator, it had happened while I was at toddlers. The way I had got into the car, I hadn’t actually notice that the front wing curved at a rather more acute angle than previously. So some kind person had gone into our car and not left their details.
Several weeks and one rather small courtesy car later (3 door cars are not designed for toddlers), we got our car back, repaired and very clean in exchange for £100 excess.
So, life went on. We booked a holiday. On the first morning I looked out of the window of our cottage and noticed a small lorry near our car unloading sand. Hmmmm, I thought, they’re having work done. Not long afterward, one of the workman knocked at our door, very apologetically (not that it was his fault) and told me that the builder’s merchants had damaged our car. Hey ho, I thought, here we go again…. apparently what had happened was that whilst the delivery bloke was reversing, the unsecured crane on his truck had swung out and dented the top of our boot and the roof and smashed the quarterlight. And then he went off and Not Left His Details. Unfortunately for him, he had left a large bag full of sand with the name and phone number of his company on it, who very nicely admitted liability on his behalf, and taped up the quarterlight for us.
So, the first morning of the holiday was spent at a builder’s merchants, sorting out an insurance claim. Eleanor had great fun though, playing on a sample of driveway strengthening matting and building snowmen.
We did after that thoroughly enjoy our holiday. We were staying at Kilvert’s Cottage in Winforton in Herefordshire. We’ve stayed in the B&B before, Winforton Court. Both are excellent: A lovely host, welcome hamper (including Bucks Fizz) great cottage with lots of space for Eleanor to roam around in. Two bookshelves full of books. Very close to Hay on Wye (which amazingly, we didn’t go to this time!). The weather was beautiful, cold, clear and full of puddles. (Lots of changes of tights and trousers for the youngest member of the party). There was even enough snow to go sledging: or at least for the sledge to be pulled along, though not enough for both mother and daughter to sit on the sledge, alas. And I ran out of energy way way before Eleanor ran out of enthusiasm.
So, now we are back home, back with another diddy courtesy car and back into some sort of routine. I’m going into work for two or three short days a week. Paul is doing the odd day of supply. And now Eleanor has caught a bug, and spent the day eating hardly anything and sitting still. I’m doing my best not to catch it too, but this is very difficult with a small daughter who wants to sit on my lap and have cuddles.
My treatment is still going generally well. I felt less sick this cycle, but for longer. And I’m getting more tired (not sure how long the going into work is going to last). On my non chemo weeks, I need a blood test and to have my line flushed out. The chemo department is short staffed at the moment, so they have passed me on to the district nurses. They came round for the first time on Tuesday. There was one experienced DN, demonstrating the technique to another DN. She asked if anyone had showed me how to do it myself. I said no, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to… good job really, as I managed to faint toward the end of the procedure. Apparently it does happen sometimes, though I didn’t last time it was done, and it’s not as if I’m squemish about blood being taken and so on. Next time they’re going to sit me in a chair with arms!
Meanwhile, Paul has been to see His consultant, and he is due to have a minor op on his knee on 29th March. Although a day case, this is likely to put him out of action for a couple of weeks. Oh joy!
In fact, I’ve got so fed up with everything that’s been happening, I’ve decided that I’m going to become a citizen of another country. I am now a citizen of Lovely, have participated in the citizenship ceremony with my hand placed on the computer screen, and I have a Lovely passport, to replace the British passport which I lost last year. For those that haven’t heard of Lovely, it’s a country created last year by Danny Wallace. Currently there are 55 967 citizens, but only one of them, Danny Wallace himself, actually lives in the country itself (his flat). It even has a national anthem:
..Teach the world to sing
Danny Wallace is the king
For justice and politeness are the laws that he will bring
Where the order of the crown
Is to frown upon the frown
We done a constitution and we even wrote it down...
Maybe I should try frowning upon the frown….
The car? Well, a few weeks ago I was in the front room when I heard a crash and the sounds of an altercation from outside. I looked out and saw that one car had gone into another in a queue of traffic outside our house. I saw there was red vehicle debris on the road so I went out to check our car. It was fine. The debris was clearly from the other cars. Later in the day I went to the parent and toddler group at church. I parked the car on the road, and had a fun time with Eleanor. I got back to the car, put Eleanor in the front seat, walked round the back, got in and drove home. On the way home I noticed that the indicator was behaving oddly. Later in the afternoon a good friend came round with a cheer me up present, which did, until she said ‘is that your car with a damaged front bumper?’ It was. And wing. Judging by the lack of smashed headlight on the road, and the odd behaviour of the indicator, it had happened while I was at toddlers. The way I had got into the car, I hadn’t actually notice that the front wing curved at a rather more acute angle than previously. So some kind person had gone into our car and not left their details.
Several weeks and one rather small courtesy car later (3 door cars are not designed for toddlers), we got our car back, repaired and very clean in exchange for £100 excess.
So, life went on. We booked a holiday. On the first morning I looked out of the window of our cottage and noticed a small lorry near our car unloading sand. Hmmmm, I thought, they’re having work done. Not long afterward, one of the workman knocked at our door, very apologetically (not that it was his fault) and told me that the builder’s merchants had damaged our car. Hey ho, I thought, here we go again…. apparently what had happened was that whilst the delivery bloke was reversing, the unsecured crane on his truck had swung out and dented the top of our boot and the roof and smashed the quarterlight. And then he went off and Not Left His Details. Unfortunately for him, he had left a large bag full of sand with the name and phone number of his company on it, who very nicely admitted liability on his behalf, and taped up the quarterlight for us.
So, the first morning of the holiday was spent at a builder’s merchants, sorting out an insurance claim. Eleanor had great fun though, playing on a sample of driveway strengthening matting and building snowmen.
We did after that thoroughly enjoy our holiday. We were staying at Kilvert’s Cottage in Winforton in Herefordshire. We’ve stayed in the B&B before, Winforton Court. Both are excellent: A lovely host, welcome hamper (including Bucks Fizz) great cottage with lots of space for Eleanor to roam around in. Two bookshelves full of books. Very close to Hay on Wye (which amazingly, we didn’t go to this time!). The weather was beautiful, cold, clear and full of puddles. (Lots of changes of tights and trousers for the youngest member of the party). There was even enough snow to go sledging: or at least for the sledge to be pulled along, though not enough for both mother and daughter to sit on the sledge, alas. And I ran out of energy way way before Eleanor ran out of enthusiasm.
So, now we are back home, back with another diddy courtesy car and back into some sort of routine. I’m going into work for two or three short days a week. Paul is doing the odd day of supply. And now Eleanor has caught a bug, and spent the day eating hardly anything and sitting still. I’m doing my best not to catch it too, but this is very difficult with a small daughter who wants to sit on my lap and have cuddles.
My treatment is still going generally well. I felt less sick this cycle, but for longer. And I’m getting more tired (not sure how long the going into work is going to last). On my non chemo weeks, I need a blood test and to have my line flushed out. The chemo department is short staffed at the moment, so they have passed me on to the district nurses. They came round for the first time on Tuesday. There was one experienced DN, demonstrating the technique to another DN. She asked if anyone had showed me how to do it myself. I said no, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to… good job really, as I managed to faint toward the end of the procedure. Apparently it does happen sometimes, though I didn’t last time it was done, and it’s not as if I’m squemish about blood being taken and so on. Next time they’re going to sit me in a chair with arms!
Meanwhile, Paul has been to see His consultant, and he is due to have a minor op on his knee on 29th March. Although a day case, this is likely to put him out of action for a couple of weeks. Oh joy!
In fact, I’ve got so fed up with everything that’s been happening, I’ve decided that I’m going to become a citizen of another country. I am now a citizen of Lovely, have participated in the citizenship ceremony with my hand placed on the computer screen, and I have a Lovely passport, to replace the British passport which I lost last year. For those that haven’t heard of Lovely, it’s a country created last year by Danny Wallace. Currently there are 55 967 citizens, but only one of them, Danny Wallace himself, actually lives in the country itself (his flat). It even has a national anthem:
..Teach the world to sing
Danny Wallace is the king
For justice and politeness are the laws that he will bring
Where the order of the crown
Is to frown upon the frown
We done a constitution and we even wrote it down...
Maybe I should try frowning upon the frown….
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