GP visit

The weather has changed again! and although the wind and rain continues with a vengeance, it has become icy, icy cold! Old Mrs Jones has subsequently donned her hated slacks when she walked down today for eggs (she prefers wearing her usual woollen skirt), and I have finally found my warm winter hat lurking inside the sock drawer, and gratefully used it during the afternoon jobs.
This morning I went to the doctors with my week long assessment of blood pressure readings. As I walked into the consulting room, I noticed a grinning teenager sitting stiffly in the corner. The doctor didn't explain why his associate was there nor did he introduce him, so after I sat down I got the proceedings off to a bad start by saying to the teen "I presume you are a shadowing medical student, my name is John Gray...nice to meet you!"
Both medics looked suitably embarrassed and did apologise.....which was something.

Anyhow, all of my blood results (thyroid, renal status,liver function,glucose and electrolytes), turned out to be normal, which was a relief.....and in actual fact readings such as my cholesterol was down to 4....according to the doc, I was uber healthy, albeit on paper!
After reviewing my blood pressure reading the doctor stated there was no case to answer for and told me not to drink my usual extra strong filter coffee when working nights! it is all a bit of a relief really but it has been a wake up call for me and Chris to start to watch the weight again and cut down on the usual excesses of life.....

The rest of the day has been filled with jobs, the Christmas gifts I wrapped up last night have been sent (accompanied with the usual cheerful conversation with Jenny the postmistress) and I repaired the broken roof of the duckhouse. (Above photo my two buff girls Shula and Ruth, the chicks from my first set of eggs in the spring, taking some respite from the cold wind)

Chris is still away today, so it's another night in with the fire and the new Star Trek dvd

All Cosy

The wind had been gusting all day, but at least the rain has kept away. Chris has just woken me up with a "nite, nite" phone call, and all the animals have joined me on the couch as the gales whistle around the gable end.
This is my favourite part of winter, being warm and quiet in the dark living room illuminated by the fire.....
I have finally wrapped Christmas decorations I have bought as gifts for my mum in law and friends in Australia, Derbyshire and Sheffield, and will post them tomorrow
I am tired but the draw of the fire is just too attractive to leave just yet (above Meg in the gloom)

Why be a nurse?

made me smile

"You're my touchstone Emma!"

Now every middle aged Gay man worth his salt will recognise the above quote!....

Uttered by a slightly fey Patsy (Lisa Hart Carroll) to her dying best friend Emma (Debra Winger) in the sob fest Terms of Endearment...........the term "touchstone" has become synonymous with slightly angst conversations between gay men and their ( largely female) best friends.....

I always wondered where the term "touchstone" actually comes from in this, "you were always there for me" kind of meaning, and I was interested to find that it may actually derive from a character called Touchstone from Shakespeare's As You Like It. Apparently this character acted as a guide and a point of comic reference throughout the play, very much like the character of Emma did with Patsy throughout the aforementioned film.......which I thought very interesting...

My main touchstone ( and I have several of both sexes) is Nuala, and I can't wait to catch up with her in London on Friday! It has been too long since we last caught up.....she is definately my Debra Winger.........

Off to bed early tonight...Chris is away in London and I am shattered after a day without sleep after night shift.....

A Public display of Emotion

I am getting bored of the torrential rain showers. The kitchen is awash with muddy dog paw prints,Albert has tastefully dotted his wet feet over the table,windowsills and work tops and everywhere feels damp and dirty. I am so frustrated with it all I could spit!
I have emptied the wet straw from the pig hut and have filled it completely with fresh warm bedding, then filled each coop in turn with warm dry sawdust ( a gift from the red faced welsh farmer!), so at least most of the animals remain warm and dry.
The beach was so windswept that I was the only person in sight, so the dogs had a huge, cold gallop for miles along the sodden sand.
By the car park I noticed these floral tributes attached to one of the slipway signs. Apparently last year an elderly fisherman had gone into the water in an effort to recapture his small dingy and had gotten into difficulties and had died in the cold water.
Public displays of grief, such as these flowers are still not thought to be the "done thing" in Britain, I always think. There seems to be an innate snobbery by some that regard tributes as a "little bit common"....Reactions to disasters such as 9/11, Hillsborough and even with Princess Diana's death, where carpets of flowers, poems and cards literally covered everything in sight seemed to have opened the floodgates for public shows of emotion, and everywhere I go, little shrines of sadness can be found at kerbside or half hidden away on fences and road signs.
I have no problem with tributes like these. I just find them all rather sad, and certainly on days like today, rather forlorn.
If the relatives and friends of the departed find solace in leaving a few flowers and card, what is the harm of it?....hummm? Mind you, I suspect the jobsworth brigade in the local council department will be enforcing bylaws outlawing them at some stage, quoting the dreaded health and safety legislation......
hummm, the bad weather has soured my mood me thinks..........on nights tonight too!!! hey ho!

We Walk the Same Line

I had a text today from an old friend who is having a pretty hard time....I thought this cover of an EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL song......may help just a little.......
we have all been there in those dark night time depressive moments
xxx
ps love the cat running down the stairs at the end

Christmas plans

It is only four weeks away and Christmas day has been organised by matriarchal sister Ann.....Apart from my affable Nephew Pete and his family ( who are all off to European snow slopes) the whole family will be together for lunch ( 14 of us)
Forgive this video....Chris designed it last year
x

Wet,wet,wet

In true British style, I remain totally obsessed with the dreadful weather. Downpour after downpour has saturated and re saturated the livestock, which is alright as long as there is a brief lull between each shower, so that the animals can have the opportunity to dry off in the cold wind.

The pigs have suffered the most (apart from Hughie who is constantly "outside") and their enclosure is now knee deep in liquid mud.....thank goodness for their shed which remains high and dry of the deluge, they're sleeping inside it, nearly all day now...I am feeding them extra to help fortify them against the cold and wet and will buy them extra straw tomorrow!

There is some flooding locally (above is the village of Llanfair Talhaiarn) but no where near the problems Cumbria have suffered. It is dreadful to realise the long term consequences that these out flung communities will have to experience in the months and years to come.......and always out of sight and out of mind of the Government in London.

Anyhow enough already, today has been a washout.....fire is lit and I have a good book to read later......Blood pressure is down (again) and I have started Chris and I on a weightwatchers regime, which worked so well for me a year or so ago. Bringing down blood pressure can be a simple lifestyle choice (and change) so its off with the weight and up with the exercise! (Meg and William are pleased as they now go on two power walks with me daily)
I have an appointment with my cold fish GP on Wednesday to discuss my "hypertension" and the results of my blood work