Puzzling

My DB and I go back yesterday from four days and three nights of clearing Mum and Dad's house to make it presentable for viewings.  This time my DH and DB's DW came as well, and we really got a lot done.

Because we had 2 cars this time, we also took it in turns to drive and visit Mum, to make sure she had plenty of visits over the 4 days.

One of the things we tried to do was to corral all the jigsaw puzzles into one room.   Mum and Dad were very particular about passing puzzles on.  On day 1, I said we'd have to get rid of any that Mum and Dad hadn't done: we couldn't be sure that they were complete.

We found stashes round the house. n cupboards, under tables in the loft, in boxes, in piles, in bookcases... , I opened each one, worked out if Mum and Dad had done it , and then I either filed it ot I emptied the pieces into a bin bag and broke the box for recycling

It was a bit sickening.  Some of them were lovely puzzles.  If we'd had less to do, I would have offered those puzzles free (postage only).   I had to remind myself  that  there is just too much work, and too many good puzzles to sort out,  and all the ones that were being destroyed had not been done by my parents (so I shouldn't feel any attachment to them). 

Thousands and thousands of puzzle pieces ended up in black bags, and in the recycling at the local tip.  I've got a picture somewhere (can't lay my hands on it) of the first tip run of puzzle pieces.

These are the bin bags for the second tip run of puzzle bits.

I thought I'd finished, but then DB and DH opened a wardrobe and found another 20 or so puzzles.  Later, DB found another box.  It seemed never ending,

I organised all the Mum-and-Dad-done puzzles on shelves.  My organisation started off perfectly. I organised by manufacturer and by size.  Eventually, the system broke down as I had more puzzles than space,  and I committed the cardinal sin of stacking puzzles in the same pile even when the box sizes were different.  This is an absolute no-no, as it results in boxe sbeing crushed and damaged,  and I felt awful doing it.I think we halved the number of puzzles by doing this,

We also discovered a couple of stacks of jigsaw puzzle boards from various manufacturers in a range of sizes.  They are now stacked with the puzzles.

In addition to those in the picture,  DB brought home a handful for a chap that is starting a drop in centre;  DSiL took some for a puzzle loving friend;  I put some to one side for a friend; I brought some home for me;  and we put some to one side to take to Mum (one at a time) so that we can do the with her.

By the way, the puzzles got their revenge.

 

 

 

 

Molly Coddled

I brought home their 30 egg coddlers, to attempt to sell them.

I found an excellent resource ,eggcoddlers.com, which told me all about the different patterns and sizes.  I also, of course, joined a FB group, which was also helpful.

I then washed and dried about 20 of them and, with my new found knowledge, started listing them on Ebay.  I'd had a "reduced fees" offer, so it seemed worth trying.

Some of them sold, some didn't.

I'm not sure what to do with the unsold ones.

My brain is a but full of stuff at the moment, and I can't spare the effort required right now,

Getting started

It's been a horrible few weeks.    I'm still in the middle of it, and I can't sort stuff out well enough to write it down yet.  So Im going to try and just write about specific things.

My DB and I have been trying to clear some of the stuff from my Mum's house, so we can get it ready to sell.  She needs the money to self-fund her retirement home.

Last time we went,  a week ago,  we did a few tip runs. DB's people carrier was rammed to the rafters.  We also brought home one of my Dad's sets of china (which took 3 crates),  their collection of egg coddlers,  their photo albums, and a load of paperwork.

I started with the paperwork. Sorting through it, throwing away the envelopes and leaflets, putting unwanted stuff with their address on in the "burn" pile,   and separating out the bits of important things,  Then I attempted to sort each pile into date order, and then I started scanning.  Some of the stuff I put in the "burn" pile as soon as it was scanned.  Some, I saved (for now).   As I got through it, I was able to organise the filing of the paper stuff so I could find stuff again if I needed to.   It was hard going, and took several days.

For a break, I started to scan the photos from the 7 large albums.  These were mainly photos donated by my Dad's large family to form a record of the entire clan.  The alums were self adhesive,  and it was difficult to get the photos out without damaging them.     I did several albums, but stopped.

I don't know what to do with the albums.  I need to find someone who wants to take them on and keep them.   I'm going to ask one of my cousins if she would like to take them on.  If not, we are planning a family do in June, to say goodbye to my Dad.  I will have to raise the subject then.

Then I had some small albums of photos, that Mum or Dad had taken themselves.  These were presumably important, because they'd gone to the trouble of creating little albums of them.  I emptied each album, scanned the photos, and then put them back in the albums.      I've still got 2 little albums to do.

 

I noticed that my living room was smelling like old books, and I guessed that this was probably coming from the mountain of photo processing envelopes which had presumably got a bit of damp.  My Mum had stuffed dozens and dozens and dozens of photo envelopes into shoeboxes. I'd emptied the envelopes into a crate, thank goodness.    I decided, for the sake of my nose, that I'd better get on and do those.

There were many envelopes, most from the days where we posted rolls of film off to get them developed, and a "free" roll of film was included when the photos came back.   Truprint,  Colorama,  York to name a few;  and Boots from when Mum moved to getting them developed at the chemist. 

 I threw the negatives into a clear bag so I can make sure they are destroyed. I ripped off any identifying info from the envelopes, and put it in the "burn" pile.   I then scanned each pack,  often having to break it into multiple batches.  The photos from the same pack are grouped by name,  and I filed them according to what the majority of the photos related to.  These were from the days where a roll of film might be in the camera for months,  so the subject matter could be all over the place.  

I put an elastic band round  each pack of originals , and put everything in a shoe box of my own  Eventually, I'll destroy most of the originals, but for now, for Mum, I'll keep them.

As I went along, I didn't pay too much attention to individual photos.  A few registered with me,  and some of them printed  to take to my Mum next week.  A few, I sent by WhatsApp to the subject (or their relatives). 

One envelope contained photos from the house we all lived in, or even older.  There were some of my brothers as babies, and I sent those to DB.

I've got hundreds of their house - the one we are getting ready to sell -  being built.  I hope it's bought by someone who is interested enough to want a copy of the photos.

Thank goodness for my fab scanner!   I'd been planning to upgrade to the newest version of it, but it's made by Fujitsu and I can't bring myself to buy any more of their products (Post Office scandal). 

It took most of the day to do the envelopes of photos.  The actual scanning didn't take that long, it was the peripheral stuff that took the time.

I've made a shared online album, so I can give my DB access, and my Mum when she is well enough.  And I can access the photos on my phone when I am with Mum next week.

I'm going to try and finish the sticky albums today, and then see if I can stash everything under the stairs. There's loads more stuff to come home to be dealt with, and my home is looking overwhelmed already.

As am I, truth be told.

 

 

 

 

Lola

Well the visit to Mum was full of ups and downs. 

We booked a new-to-us cottage about 15 mins from Mum's home.  It was only one bedroom, so DB had to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room/diner/kitchen It was nice enough,and the people were lovely.  It wasn't ideal with the sofabed in the living room, but it was relatively inexpensive.

Mum was a little under the weather, and her dog obviously had nouth problems again. I told Mum that the dog had problems again, and she made a vet appointment for the following day.

The Home is lovely, the staff are wonderful, and Mum is very happy there.   We saw her again the next day.  Her friend took the dog, Lola, to the vet.  We decided to wait until she came back, just in case.

It wasn't good news.  She did bring Lola back with her, but Mum had to be told that Lola needed to be put to sleep before very long. 

We had to leave later that afternoon, and Mum was mostly OK.

On the way home, we phoned to see how Mum was and was told that they were waiting for an ambulance to take her to hospital.   We asked whether we should turn the car round and came back, but we were told there wasn't any point as there was a long delay for the ambulance.

We got home on the Friday evening,  phoned the hospital on Saturday.  We got an update, and had a brief chat with Mum before she was moved to part of A&E where there was no phone signal and where they couldn't get a phone to her.

We went back early Sunday morning,  having booked a different place to stay.  The new place was just a couple of minuites away from the hospital.    W We went to see Mum several times that afternoon and evening.  She asked us to arrange for Lola to be put to sleep, before she came out of hospital. She said her friend's husband would take Lola to the vet.   

We weren't happy about this, it wasn't fair on the poor dog., She was a rescue,  and being bundled into a strange cr, with someone she barely knew, to be taken to a Vet 45 mins away and which she hated visiting, would be a horribly stressful thing for her.

So on Monday morning, we drove to a local vet.  I asked them if there was any chance they could come out that day to put a dog to sleep.  I explained that we weren't registered with them, and I gave them all the details.   I paid up front, and said we would be there to meet them at 12.00

We phoned the Home to let them know what was happening.    We then went off and visited my Mum's old house,  and then got to the home with about half an hour to spare.   

Lola had been staying in the lounge area while Mum had been in hospital.  She got lots of fuss and attention,  and even more so that last morning.  They gave her roast beef, took her for a couple of "walks" outside.  We sat in the lounge and played with Lola for a while, until the vet arrived.

My brother welcomed the Vet, and I took Lola along to Mum's room.  She got up on the bed, and we made a fuss of her while the Vet and her nurse sorted things out.    I asked the Vet if Lola would know we were there.  She said that, once she'd had the injection, she wouldn't be aware of much but she would be able to hear us. 

My brother played with her while the Vet gave her the sedative,  and I talked to her throughout, right up until the Vet confirmed she had gone.

It was the best ending she could have had under the circumstances,  and I am eternally grateful to the wonderful people at the Vet who went out of their way to help us.

Mum came out of hospital on Tuesday.

Snap

Still no embroidery done.  

I sent bought cards instead.

On the positive side, I produced some phot prints for OC's lovely widow.  A friend had kindly left her a beautiful frame photo of the friend and OC. It was black and white, and was taken on bonfire night, not long before OX went into hospital.  

It's  a lovely pic, and OC's wife mentioned that she'd love to have just her husband in the pic.  She got a digital copy of the original and sent it to me, and I did some cropping and did 2 versions,  one which was just cropped and enlarged, and one which had attempted to sharpen the image (which was a little blurred on enlarging) .   DH dropped them both round, and OC'sW preferred the unsharpened one.  

She asked if it might be possible to have an even bigger version printed,  so I did 3 sizes for her.  She's very happy.

....

I had a series of medical related appointments, none of which gave me any answers. 

I signed up for the Our Future Health initiative, and had various measurements taken, and a blood draw,   during the week. That highlighted some areas of concern and I was advised to see the GP.   I do have a GP appointment this coming week, so I guess I'll have to talk about these things now, instead of what I booked the appointment for.

I wish we could just get to the bottom of it all. 

...

My Mum has arranged a trial stay in a retirement home.   She's in a particularly lovely and caring place, and they seem very on the ball,.  We're going to see her next week.

....

It was our village litter picking weekend this weekend.  I did not want to go out and do it.

I'm glad I did, this time there was a huge amount of rubbish (2 dustbin bags instead of 1).  This was mainly die to the hedges being cut right back, and all the detritus underneath them being accessible.  It normally takes me an hour to do my road,  today I was out for about an hour and twenty minutes.

.

Procrastination - not always the thief of time

No, I didn't do any machine embroidery today.  What is wrong with me?!  I've got two birthdays and Mothers Day this coming weekend, and I just can't get motivated,

My procrastination today, however, was a triumph!

I made a replacement bag for my Pilates mat and ball!

I realised - early on - that I'd made a bit of an error in starting by sewing the channel for the drawstring.   I'd sewn the edge over with my seewing machine (first time in a very long time that she's had a bit of exercise),  and then I folded it over again and coverstitched it.

I hadn't considered that I'd need to leave a gap at the top of the long side, to enable nme to "open" the bag to put it on my mat.  I would be left with a raw edge.  However, I worked out a way to ensure that it wasn't a problem for sewing up the sides by quickly overlocking some extra fabric on to top of the side piece, then folding it over the raw edge and coverstitching.  Then I overlocked the rest of the side together.

It worked really well.  I should have realised before I started of course. And I sghould have just unpicked when I realised.   Buy, I didn't get cross with myself,  and I worked out a useable soluion, so that was a result.

I even managed to sew the bottom in without incident,   and I managed to get the drawstring through.  It looked very acceptable. 

And then I realised.

In my excitement at having worked out a slution,  I'd sewn up the side without putting the carrying strap in,  What an idiot!

I thought about my options for a while., If I hadn't sewn the bottom in, I would have just re-sewn the side seam,  I'd got enough space to do it.  However, I had sewn the bottom in, and I didn't want to have to redo it, 

In the end I decided to try just cutting two gaps and then resewing.  I thought abut what could go wrong, and took action. Firstly,  I marked where I wanted to insert the strap.  Then,  I used my sewing machine to zig zag along my marks.  reinforcing the seams either side of where i was going to open them.

I then unpicked the overlocking in the gap.  I inserted some webbing which had been threaded through a ring.  I then straight stitched it in place,  and then I went over this with a zig zag stitch many times.   I did the same at the other end.     I then did a lot of zigzagging on the webbing, to make sure that was reinforced as well,.  

Next,  i did a straight stitch, along my original seam line,, starting well before the webbing and ending well after.  I then zigzagged that as well. 

Finally, I used the overlocker to chop off the ends of the webbing, sealing it and giving another layer of reinforcement. 

It worked much better than I expected,

t would have been better if I'd just unpicked the channel.

It would have been quicker (with a better finish, this still has some bits that aren't great) i I'd just unpicked it in the first place.

But it was a good learning experience, and a great result.  I'm really, really happy that I saved it.

It's taller than I need, even with the ball on top of the mat, so I might redo the top bit at some point. 

Trying

This morning I hemmed all four skirts (the three the other day, and the one from a little while ago).

I also cleared and cleaned the table on which my machines stand, and put some haberdashery bits away.

I went on to do some clearing in the small room which had, as usual, become a dump.  I realised I couldn't find the little USB stick which contains the backup of the Orla registrations, so I had to try and find that.  I failed.

I've cleared and cleaned all sorts of places looking for it (the spare room, the klittle room, the kitchen, the hall table), and I can't find it.  It's very frustrating, as I want to sell Orla, and I need the USB stick.

My back is hurting now from all the shifting I've done.

I'm going to focus on the positives, to stop me sliding into a bot of a funk about it all.

Swings and Roundabouts

I failed completely to do anything with the embroidery machine.

At the beginning of the week, I didn't have the motivation/I had other things to do.

In the middle of the week, I had other things to do (and I didn't have the motivation).

At the end of the week, I didn't have the motivation, and I did other stuff instead.

I'm going to try again next week. I really am.   

 

On the plus side,  I made three (yes, THREE!!) new skirts.  The fabric had arrived, I washed it immediately, and I decided I'd better get on and make the skirts, otherwise the fabric would go in the fabric boxes, and that would be the end of it.

I had to clear the kitchen first, to have room to cut.  I whipped up the first skirt, without hemming.   I was worn out,   However, I realised that if I put everything away, it might be days before I got the energy to clear a space again.  So, I measured, cut, and made number 2, and then number 3.  I even cut and prepped a new waistband for a pair of trousers,  but I didn't get round to doing that.

All 3 (THREE!) skirts need hemming,  as does the skirt I made the other day.  I'm going to try and get them all done tomorrow.  I was going to do it today, but my back had other ideas,

Lewis and Shelby had fun with the pattern template, which had dropped onto the floor while I was sewing. It became a thing to skid on,  a thing to hide under, and a game of kitty hide and seek ensued.

I  Whatsapped the pic to DH (and Miss Teen), with the usual caption "Where's Lewis?" 

Au revoir, Violent.

Violet (Violent) died last night.

She was one of three girls we kept from our 2018 hatch (Violet, Elizabeth, and Bott).   She was the offspring of one of the Welsh Black  All 3 of them were very assertive and bossy girls, and I ended up calling her Violent because she really was.

The three of them were part of our allotment flock (pre covid) but we never had the chance to breed from them.   Their Dad was Bertie, our Vorwerk.  Her Mum was one of the allotment girls. She (and Bott) had a flat comb, rather than the pea comb that the original Welsh Black (and thir mixed offspring) had.   I'd always assumed her Mu, was Phyllis or Dilys, because they also had flat combs (but that was just a lazy assumption).

Most of the lovely girls we bred had the nature of the Australorp (or going back to Roo) part of their heritage.  These 3 were not the same.  Maybe it was the Vorwerk influence.  

None of the three of them liked to be handled, and we never forced them.  She would eat out of my hand,  but that was it.

Violet would go broody, for a long period, each year, and this provided a respite for the lower ranking hens. She was a gorgeous looking girl,  her black feathers had the irridescence of her Australorp heritage

Her death was quick. 

She was a bit off colour a couple of days ago, and was definitely off colour yesterday.  Her comb and wattles weren't right, but she was still a good heavy weight so hadn't been hiding an illness.   I gave her some Nutridrops, and checked her over, and she just looked like she was on her way out. I offered her mealworms. She ate one, but refused others,  She took herself off to the Cube very early,

I wasn't surprised to find her dead in the coop this morning.  

She was coming up to 6 years old, which is a reasonable age.#

I will miss her. 

 

Fail

Last week, I decided that this week I would do a few embroidery projects.

I'd started to keep a notebook of  things I wanted to make (both sewing and embroidery) so that I could try and keep motivated.  It's worked quite well for sewing.

I had a few things to sort out yesterday (Monday), so I set aside today to Make Something.  It was even better that DH was going to be out, as that would give me a clear run.

It's now 3.45 pm and I have done nothing but procrastinate.  Even now, writing this blog entry, I'm procrastinating.

Earlier today, when I realised what I was doing,  I thought seriously about calling it a day.    I don't want to rush in to selling my machine,  in case it's a temporary aberration.     The thought had crossed my mind before, but I'd dismissed it.  

Now I'm thinking it might be the right thing to do.   It would free up a lot of space.  It's not just the machine,  it's the threads, the stabilisers, the peripheral stuff.

I will try again later this week to do something.     If I get started, I might get re-enthused. I just need to get my motivation sorted.

 

 

Just for One Day

My best friend Y and I went to see Just for One Day on Monday. 

Normally, we'd take an afternoon but I wasn't sure how I'd be.   I was fine on the train, and walking to the dinner.  The meal was fine, we just had some pizza - no starters, no puddings, no alcohol.   At the theatre, I had a hot chocolate.   I was then felt a bit unwell.

Before the performance started I decided I'd have to go to the toilet, just in case my queasiness turned into something else.  Good job I did.

I felt better afterwards.

The show was very enjoyable.   It reawakened a love of the music of my teenage years.   I really enjoyed the story.  We talked about what we remembered from the original day.

The train jounrey back was straightforward, and I slept well when I got home.  It was so lovely to spend an evening with my lovely friend,  and the train journey is such a great opportuntity to catch up.

Every time DH is out, I've been putting on something from the late 70s/early 80s.  I've just bought some of the Now collections for some of the years.   

I expect it'll wear off. 

I made a thing!

I made something!

A new skirt. To replace the one soaked in blood and thrown away.

I actually wanted to make a skirt with a black background, but I couldn't find any suitable scuba in my stash.  I had to chuckle at that.    

I went for something funky instead.

I actually attempted to make 2 skirts, but I found an unfixable fault in the second lot of fabric.  Good job it wasn't the first lot of fabric, as I think I would have just given up at that point.

The skirt needs hemming, and I might post a pic of it properly when that's done.

Hear, hear

I had my ENT appointment today.

The consultant thinks I've just gone deaf in that ear. 

He checked my ears,   did a test with a tuning fork (which I failed, but I did find the room quite noisy). and he put a camera up each nostril.

There is a 6 week window when steroids may help with possible nerve damage.  I'm outside that window now,  and the steroids won't help.

He's requesting an MRI to check my middle ear, just in case.    I've got a hearing test scheduled for early next month,  but I won't have had the MRI by then.

Throwing in the towel

The overlocker is still on the big table in the kitchen,  and so I decided to do something to repurpose a towel. 

Not very exciting, perhaps,  but I'm quite happy.   

I made a small pile of flannels, all the same size.  I made a couple of washing mits, with twill in the corner so they can be hung up,  and a few finger things (with hangers) which are designed to make it easier for us to clean the cats eyes.   I've still got plenty of towel left over, but my back was starting to ache.

The 6mm cotton twill, which  I've been using to make the hanging loops,  is a bit wide at 6mm.   I've placed an order for some other stuff which is 2mm and 3mm wide.  I was restrained, and only ordered 10 metres of each sort.  I'll buy a full roll of whichever ones turn out to be the right type.

 It's the first time I've used a good towel to make things, usually I use an old towel.  This was much more satisfying. 

I was also pleased to find that the finger things also work really, really well for cleaning the seal on the washing machine.   I wipe it every time I unload the machine,  and up to now I've been using kitchen towel.    I think I'll make some more finger things for this specific purpose, and this time I will use an old towel rather than a good one.

If I can find any old towels in the cupboard. 

I've just remembered,  I vacuum packed a load (along with loads of old sheets and duvet covers) and sent them to Monkey World!  I'm not sure I've got any left!

I expect I'll find something. 

Making Hay

On Thursday I decided to batch cook a selection of curries, using my Mrs Balbir Singh's spice mixes.  I defrosted various packs of meat.     It was a long old afternoon,   but I ended up with:

• 4x 2 people portions of Mutton Rogan Josh
• 4x2 people portions of Shahi Pork Massala
• 16 individual portions (we use them as shared side dishes) of Beef Keema Massala
• 2 x 2 portions of beef Goan Vindaloo
• Many falafel sized pieces of lamb & pork kebab "meatbal/kebab" type things

The stack of Lav glass  lidded bowls  and the small bowls from Costco last time I went, really came into their own, as they helped me keep everything organised before cooking.  I have the recipe cards laminated, and I stood the bowls of ingredients on the relevant cards,  helping me make such a large number of dishes very smoothly.   They were worth the money!

I also made that evening's dinner:  a Keralan Coconut Curry, with fish!   I used some cod and some barramundi from the freezer.  The flavours of the spices cancelled out the fishiness of the fish, so I was able to eat it.

I had intended, but failed, to make  Chana Massala and Daal.  I couldn't find the chickpeas, and I didn't have the energy to make Daal.    Probably just as well,  as I don't think I'd have had the energy reserves for that too.

I felt like I'd achieved something!

Yesterday, we put the mega mutton joint on to cook.  It was the first time in months (maybe longer!) that we'd cooked anything in the oven.    Our airdryers and pressure cooker normally do the cooking.

My lovely brother arrived, to accompany me to Costco.   I've been struggling to make myself go on my own,   and I'd started to run out (or had completely run out) of a few things.

I bought a lot while I was there,  only a couple of extras from my list.

I bought 5kg of potatoes, a load of garlic, and some pre grated strong cheddar (yes, I know it would have been much cheaper to buy a block and grate it myself).  When I got home, I peeled 3kg of potatoes, pressure cooked them with one and a half peeled heads of garlic. While they were pressure cooking, I melted 500h of butter, added in the other half head of garlic, crushed), and left that to infuse, then put in a tonne of black pepper.   When the potatoes and garlic were cooked,  I Masha'd  them along with about half of the melted butter/pepper/garlic, then added 1kg of cheese and the rest of the melted butter.  The Masha was fantastic as always. 

I ended up 4 and a half kilos of Aligot mash, which I portioned up for the freezer (keeping a couple of huge portions  for dinner). 

The potato thing was all very quick,  and I'm so happy to have it in my freezer.    I need to do the rest of the potatoes, and I'll try and do something today before the enthusiasm (or capability) wanes.

Chest Freezer inventory

We've been meaning to do it for months, and today we finally did it.

We have an upright freezer in the kitchen which is always rammed.  I will try and learn to not fill it up so much, eventually.    Generally, most of the contents are well rotated, because I keep stuff we actually use in it.  It's also home to the cats' raw food (they have a whole drawer),  and we have a whole drawer for "ready meals" which are from my habit of cooking in bulk and freezing.

In the summerhouse, we have a fridge freezer.  The freezer part was originally going to be for ice cubes, drinks, ice creams,  froozen fruit for drinks, and other summer stuff.... but it's ended up being storage.

The chest freezer is smallish (not the smallest size), and was designed for cuts of meat, potato products, and a stash of frozen vegetables.  It's not a frost free freezer, which means the food keeps better in it.  The stuff in here is stored in bags of similar products,  so it's easy to hoik out and put back in when searching the depths.  It was this one which needed inventorying.

We did a quick check of the upright freezer first, and pulled a few bits out to bring into the house.   Then, as I emptied the freezer, we moved a few things intot the upright.  And more things into the bag to come into the house.

In fact, it wasn't too bad,  nowhere near as bad I was expecting.  The bags idea had worked brilliantly.  

Right at the bottom, we found a mahoosive shoulder of mutton, 4.6 kg, which was labelled and dated July 2020.

We'd had half a sheep, and this joint was earmarked for a big family get together which never took place. We looked at it, looked at each other, and came to the same conclusion.  It had to be eaten.  So, that’s on the side defrosting, and we'll aim to cook it on Friday.  We can freeze some for an impromptu mutton roast, as long as it tastes good.

While the freezer was empty, I decided to scrape it down, using a Scrapr and a jug.  It didn't take long, it wasn't nearly as frozen up as I expected.   One of the advantages of having a full freezer is that ice is less likely to form. 

I then started to put stuff back.

The medlars, which are waiting for me to have the energy to make medlar jelly, went at the bottom.  Then 2 joints of pork which we might turn into sausages,  and a stack of pork bellies, went in.  A bag of chicken quarters (our own chooks); and then the smaller stuff.   The small bag which contained our sausages,  another one with some pork mince,  and another one with some mutton mince.   Then a large bag containing "potato products" (sweet potato fries, one huge bag of french fries, some waffle fries, some hash browns, and some croquettes).  Underneath the basket went the ice cream products.  And finally, the spillover frozen vegetables went on top (they have their own drawer in the upright freezer, which was packed).

And it was done.

There is space at the top, which I am resisting filling.    I'm planning a big batch cooking session, and I'll need to rearrange the freezer in the house to fit everything in, which means some
things may get sent to the chest freezer.  Once that's done, I'll think about what would be helpful to stock up on.

Quick sew

My overlocker is on the big table in the kitchen, where I'd left it after coming back from the embellisher course.    

On Saturday, I decided I'd make DH a new cover for his foot quilt (3 years ago I made the original).  We had a duvet cover which had irreparably torn.  It was a brushed cotton fabric I really liked, (we actually have 2 of them so we can have one aon the bed all the time during the winter)

I decided to try and repurpose it, and i wanted to make the mini cover as efficiently as possible.

And I did!

I even remembered to make the opening down the long side, so SH doesn't accidentally catch his feet in it.

No mistakes!!

Actually it was really easy because I used one of the originally stitched sides, and the bottom which already had the buttons attached.  All I had to do was cut it correctly, sew 2 sides and reinforce another, and it was done. 

I didn't take a pictur before putting it on the bed.   It's taken me a few days to remember to fold the duvet back and take a pic

I know it's a tiny thing, but it made me happy.

Stacking up

Clever DH made me some stackers for the mini Le Creuset casseroles. 

I bought a set of these on a whim, when I saw them on FB marketplace.  When I got them, I thought they were quite cute, but I couldn't imagine what I'd do with them - certainly not 7 of them. 

They turned out to be one of those serendipitous purchases.  They are fantastic in the airfryer for heating  and then serving meals.  I found I could fit loads of them in the Versazone, which was particularly great when I was doing home made curries. It meant I could put main course, sides, and all sorts in at once, andthen just serve up in the dishes.

They don't stack well in the cupboard. Originally I was storing them with the lids inverted, and then stacking them on top of each other.  It was OK until I went to get one, and another one slid onto the flor and smashed.   I bought a preloved replacement, and that broke immediatelty.   I started stacking them without the lids, and I put the lids in a cardboard box.   That was better, but I could only stack them 2 high to avoid catastrophes.

Meanwhile, i found I wanted a variety of colours.  Not (just) because I wanted a variety of colours,  but I thought a variety would be helpful when using a lot at once. One colour for the main course,  and a different colour each for the various sides.    I searched for ages on FB narketplace, but some the ones that were inexpensive people woudnt post,  and the ones that were expensive were too expeinsive once pst was added.  

By accident, I happened upon the Le Crfeuset website on the last day of their sale, and I bouight a set of 4 different colour ones, for about te same as I would have been paying preloved.  The new nes are particularly lovely, and I was worried about breaking them.

I had some ideas for putting them in a kind of mug stand, but I couldn't find one that was the right size AND would work with the two handles.  Then I had a look for 3D printed ideas, and found a chap who had had exactly this problem.  He'd made something which seemed like a good idea, had got feedback, and then had made something completely different.

I showed DH and asked if he would be able to print these for me.   I wanted something which would let me stack variable numbers, and which wouldn't get in the way if it wasn't being used.

He was happy to, but wanted to do his own design (building on the shape that chap had used).   He made one, which took forever to print), and then he refined the design further and printed another one. The revised design "only" took 3 hours to print.  

I'm really happy with the design, and DH is going to print more. Pic shows both v1 and v2. V2 is upside down in the pic,  you can still see that the band is much narrower, and it is shorter, which is why it takes less time to print.

A moment of self pity

Yesterday I went to Baby Lock UK to do a 1 day workshop.  It was for a machine I'd bought, on a whim, in January 2021.  

On the journey there (vile driving conditions),  I found myself thinking about why it had taken me so long to do this.  I worked backwards.

I'd had a course booked for October last year, which was cancelled because of lack of interest.  I'd booked that around January 2023, I think.   So why had it taken me two years to book it?  

I remembered that I'd had trouble finding a course....  and then I was overcome a wave of self pity as I realised that when I bought the machine,  on impulse after seeing an online demo,  I was well.  And then I wasn't well,  and the being unwell and trying to manage it all had taken over my life.  I hadn't been able to do anything.

I really did feel sorry for myself.  I felt sorry that I was such a shell of my former self.  That I was reduced celebrating such tiny achievements. 

I shook the sensation off before it settled too much.   No point in wallowing, and many people would be happy to have only my problems.

I reminded myself that  I was well enough to drive myself to the Workshop, do the Workshop and drive home... and a year ago,  that wouldn't have been thinkable, so I should be grateful for the wins.

This morning, I again thought about before  all this started.   I decided I need to push again to try and get some help identifying what is actually causing the problem, and I'm going to the surgery to try and make an appointment (rather than phoning, where I'll be told to fill in a econsult. which is hard to do when I', taking about an issue which has been ongoing for 2 years and 7 momths now.

 

A stitch in time

It's been a trying week.

We spent 6 hours in A&E last Saturday,  getting home at about 2.30am on Sunday morning.   I was due to travel to see my Mum on Sunday,  and my brother arranged to come later than we originally planned to gave me time to try and sleep (and to see how my leg was).  DH had an event  booked for Sunday, but he had to cancel: there was no way he could manage the early start.

We had arranged to spend three nights with my Mum, and she really needed it.  We were able to help her with a few things that needed doing,and we took the dog to the vets while we were there to get a problem sorted.  We were a bit worried that it would not be good news, but we were lucky.

It was Mum's birthday while we were there, and this was one of the reasons we chose this time to visit and to spend so long there.  We went out to dinner,  with her best friend.   Mum had a few hours where she was able to think about something other than my Dad, and to just have a good time. It did her the world of good.

The no-attendance cremation was on Wednesday.  We should have picked a time where we would assume Dad had been "done", but we didn't think of it.    Wednesday night Mum had a better night's sleep than she'd had for ages, and that was probably because the cremation was out of the way.  The next Thing will be for her to collect Dad's ashes.

I found I wasn't able to do my recommended exercises, because they all pulled on my stitches.  I also wasn't able to shower, so I had to have a strip wash each morning.  On Sunday morning, before my brother arrived to collect me,  I'd cut a towel into 4 large flannels, and overlocked the edges. They worked well.    (The overlocker wasn't very well though, so that's got to go in to be looked at next week). 

We came home Wednesday evening, and I was surprised at how tired I was. My brother had, as usual, done all the driving.

Thursday was the Dentist, and we only just got there in time.  Except it wasn't, I had the date wrong. 

I also had a hair appointment, which was much needed.  

Friday was the day I'd been told to have the stitches out, and I had an appointment booked with the Nurse.   I think it was too soon really, Monday would have been better.

The Nurse taped over my wound, right angles to the gash. She then covered it with a clear waterproof square, so that I  could have a shower.  I spent ages in the shower on Saturday morning, soaking my aching back and shoulders.

I had to drive from my stitch removal straight to my Physio  and I really, really needed it.

Today we had to get up early (relatively speaking) as I had booked an Ocado delivery and we had Paul coming to do some work in the garden.      I'm off to a birthday party today, and I really don't feel like going anywhere.

 I'd like to just go back to bed.

It's another "busy" week next week, so I hope the leg improves,

 

Fuckety Fuck

      

 

 

Spring and Bins

Spring must be in the air today.   

I've found myself doing some fairly detailed cleaning, despite my backache.     It's taken me half a day to clean one side of the kitchen, and I've had to restrain myself from going the whole hog.   I've been at it pretty much non stop, just having a rest now,  and I've no idea where this compulsion comes from.  It's the same every year.  The first time my body smells spring,    I get an irrational urge to clean.

I'm trying to contain it to a manageable area, and it's working.   The fact that I'm sitting down now suggests that the steam is running out of my engine.

 I've rearranged various appliances, and I imagine DH will find it a bit unsettling next time he reaches for the air fryer or the pressure cooker.

I've got to complete the breakfast bar, and then I can stop.

I bought a new bin (I live life in the fast lane!) which arrived yesterday.   There was nothing wrong with the existing bin, and I wouldn't have bought this one if it hadn't been on sale at a bargain price.  It's ore or less the same bin as I have now, really, except it has a butterfly lid (instead of one lid) and it opens from the short side rather than the long side. And the compartments are equally split, instead of 1/3rd : 2/3rd.  I suspect that, I may miss that 2/3rd bit,

Anyway, the existing bin has now gone on holiday to the summerhouse, where it's dual inners will be very useful. Much better than the single chamber bin that was there before.  The ex-summerhouse bin has now gone to the utility room to store the sunflower seeds and corn,  and that bin has gone into MyShed where I will attempt to replace one of the ancient plastic Addis bins   I got as far as putting the bin in MyShed and then I just closed the shed door.   Every metal bin that has ever gone into MyShed has been to replace one of the ancient Addis plastic bins.  

But the ancient Addis plastic bins are still there. One is a vile tan colour, the other a lurid greeny bluey turquoisey colour. They are from the days when Addis bins were usually grey or white  or some other colourless colour.  They also represent a time when I'd change colours chemes in my home on a whim and without a second thought.

I know I should just.... dispose..... of them, but I can't bring myself to do it. 

Sometimes, the pull of the Come In Handy gene is strong in me, despite my efforts to overcome it.  

Or maybe it's just nostalgia.

Bergamot and Jigsaw

I made bergamot marmalade.

It didn't set well (my fault), and I wasn't sure about the taste.    However, I ghad some on toast this morning, and it was most acceptable.  Just as well, as I have a lot of it (despite throwing a lot away).

i also did a jigsaw. I saved the edge pieces for DH to do, and I finished it this morning.

It was a really enjoyable one. Lots of variety, and I really liked the subject. It was a Gibson  "Memories of the 1970s", and was an array of groceries from that time.  

I was a small child then, and I vividly remember most of the  items. I don't remember "Quaker Natural Cereal" (top left), nor the"Prewetts Wholeweheat Flakes  next door to it, nor the Magic Roundabout  Nabisco whatever they weres.  I also don't remember the "Brancrisp" half way down, right hand side). I do remember the Energen though.   

i do remember everything else.  

I smiled when I saw the brick of Walls Raspberry Ripple ice cream (bottom),  that was my favourite ice cream as a child.  Its still one of my favourites now,

I remember the Kellog's Country Store jingle (well, the last but where the singer sang the name);   iI remember the Ariel before everything bccame automatic and then biological powders and the Ariel logo turned green.  I remember the Daz challenge.   "Kellog's Rise and Shine orange juice powder was a treat; we tried to make Alpen in a lesson at school when I was about 6 or 7;  My Nan always had lemon barley water; we had Treetop orange squash

It was a joy to do, and I've got a confectionery puzzle in a similar vein in the to do pile

Such a lovely trip down memory lane.

Ear Ear

I had my appointment today with the paramedic.

Its likely ,y Eustachian tube is blocked.   He said to buy an Otovent and to use Beconase.  If the Otovent hadn't worked in 2 weeks, phone for a phone consult and to get a referral to ENT.

The Otovent is a balloon and a piece of plastic with a ball shaped end. When I saw it, I thought I had to put the ball end in my nostril.  Fortunately, it's not the case.   I have to blow up  the balloon with each notstril in turn,  holding the other nostril closed. Then I have to swallow several times.   I have to do this 3 times a day for the first week, and then more often for the second week.

It's easy enough, and less awful than it looked on the picture.

I wish  I'd just gone to the pharmacist, as I'd be a week into this already by now.

The deafness is cvausing some issues.

On the plus side, my eardrum etc is OK, so that's good news.

 

 

 

Sorry Odie

I managed to leave Odie, one of the young Araucana, shut out last night.

This morning DH went to let the Girls out, and was a long time. I looked ut of the bedroom window, and saw him counting hens before opening the door to the run.   i counted, and there were 2 missing, both araucanas,

And then I saw Odie walk in to the paddock from DH's workshop.  I realised she'd been shut out.

DH also saw her, but he was still looking, and I realised Ollie was missing as well.   I came downstairs and went outside, and found DH looking in the nestboxes of all the coops.    Thankfully, he found her sitting in one, possibly trying to lay an egg,

Poor Odie.  It was a horrible night to be stuck out.  At least it wasn't freezing, but there had been a lot of wind and rain. She looked OK, so I guess she'd found somewhere sheltered to roost.

I'm so lucky we didn't have a fox visit.

Bergamot Curd

I made bergamot curd today. 

I used the quantities suggested in Catherine Phipps excellent Citrus book, but made it in my Magimix CookExpert.

The Bergamots didn't really smell very ...well.. bergamotty; and then  I started to zest them.  The scent was lovely, although still not quite reminiscent of Earl Grey tea,.   When i'd juiced the ones I needed,  I ate a little bit of the pulp. 

It wasn't sharp like lemon, and it wasn't sweet like clementine.     It reminded me more of grapefruit

I even remembered to sieve it as I poured it into hot jars. I'd prepperd 4 jars, but only needed two.   The eggs I bought were Medium, and I probably should have bought large,  but it would only have made a small difference to the end volume.

I'm looking forward to eating some of the curd when it's cooled.

One of bergamots was needed just for its juice, not the zest.  Thinking I'd store some for later use,  I peeled some of the zest off using a potato peeler. It still extracted some of the pith, which means I'll have to clean it up if I'm going to use it in marmalade.

Then I thought I'd try the long, thin, woodworker-tool-like, microplane zester.  That did a fab job of removing small, thin, shards of zest without pith.  It's now all in a tub to add to marmalade (if I can keep motivated and do it),

I don't think I'm ready to make marmalade today, maybe tomorrow.

Bit of a turn

I went to get some honey from a lady in a nearby village.  DH has been getting through loads of it, trying to alleviate the symptoms of his cough/cold.

I decided to pop in to Sainsburys, a bit further on, while I was out and about;  I could get eggs, unsalted butter,  and preserving sugar to do something with the bergamots,  stock up on Lemsip and Bronco Stop, and get some vegetables for the freezer.

Part way round the supermarket, I had a fairly urgent need to go to the toilet.  I went to the customer toilets, but they were blocked off.  I went and asked an assistant where the toilets where.  They are blocked, it's been reported, there aren't any toilets for customer use.

I could feel panic setting in.

I tried to work out where the nearest toilet would be, and decided it was probably Tescos down the road a way.   I realised I didn't have time to get my trolley through the checkout, so I abandoned it and left the shop.

I managed to get to the Tesco toilets without a mishap.   I decided I might as well do my shopping there, while I was there.    Here, I had to put a poind in the trolley, so I had to go back to the car to find a £1 coin.  And then the shopping was a fail.... they didn't have any form of jam sugar or preserving sugar,  theur eggs were rubbish,  they didn't have dishwasher salt (another thing on my list), they were sold out of BirdsEye Petits Pois.

It was a funny shop.   It was very echoey, and the deafness in my ear was playing tricks on me.   I found myself trying to do calming things,  and I was very close to abandoning that trolley as well.

In the end, I bought the shopping in Tescos, unloaded it in the car, took the trolley back to get my money back,   Then  I sat in the car for a bit, trying to regain a sense of calm.  When I eventually started the engine,  the display on the dashboard went doolally.  God knows how much this is going to cost to fix.  I probably won't bother, i can see the speedo, the temperature, and the fuel gauge.

I drove back to Sainsbury, retrieved my abandoned trolley, and bought that stuff too.   I still managed to forget a few items.

It had all taken a loooong time, and I was so glad to get home.

 

Can't settle

I'm having trouble getting motivated to do anything.

I did have a go at making something out of an old towel.  I managed to break both needles on my Overlocker, 4 times.  At one point I began to wonder if I'd knackered the overlocker, but it's OK on other fabric.

I've got a long list of things I supposedly want to make, I just can't get up any enthusiasm to actual do anything.

I cleared the kitchen table last week, in an attempt to unblock my creative juices.  It didn't work, andit now has a crate of clementines and a tray of bergamots on it. Plus a jigsaw puzzle, a tray of tools which DH needs to sort an dput away, and a load more besides.   The jigsaw puzzle was one I bought lastyear, and I decided a few weks ago that I'd like to make it and then sell it on,

It spent several weeks on the dining room table.  It was joined by another (preloved purchase) puzzle last week.  I moved it to the kitchen today, thinking it might spur me on. It didn't.

I realised that I could probably zest and juice the bergamots and freeze everything, and I'll keep that as a fall back position if I don't snap myself out of this funk.

I did manage to take a birthday card (with some penguin earrings and a wad of cash) round to Miss Teen on her birthday. And I ordered a specific Moonpig birthday card for the youngest DGD , in good time.  She'll have money as well, but I'll transfer direct into her bank account.

It's my SIL's birthday on Friday,  and I have a card for her.   I've got two other January birthdays to plan for,  but I can't quite think that far ahead.

I've got a Physio appointment on Friday, and I really need it.  I've been back and forth to Wales, and I've been ill, and I haven't had an appointment since just after Christmas.

Deaf Bergamots

Deafness continues.

I phoned the GP surgery yesterday when the lines opened at 8am. I was number 18 in the queue.  My call was answered at 8.45 (thank goodness for having a speaker option on my phone), and I'm booked in to see someone..... on the 23rd January.

DH now has a vile cough, rather like the one I had.  It's not the same, however, as he has cold symptoms and itchy eyes, which I did not.  It does sound like the same cough though,  and it's almost constant, like mine was.   He's lost his voice (which I did),  and now it's becoming a problem because he can't speak up and I'm deaf.

Meanwhile,  my next Crowdfarming deliveries arrived.  The first was another box of clementines, which I'd ordered long before I knew I was going to be away so much.   They taste good.

The second box to arrive was a small box of bergamots.   There are 15 of them in the box, which makes them quite expensive.   They weigh pretty much exactly 3kg, which is the weight I paid for, so I can't complain.  

 On the plus side, it should be possible to use them all fairly quickly, My ideas list is:

- Bergamot curd
- Bergamot jelly
- Bergamot drizzle cake
- Bergamot Turkish Delight
- Bergamot marmalade
- Bergamot slices frozen for spring drinks

I just need to get into making mode.  And get some more eggs so I can make curd. And a cake.

Night Dad

My Dad died on Thursday afternoon.

He waited until we got back from the funeral of DH's best friend.

I made a card for my Mum.

Continuation

What a horrible couple of weeks!

On the evening of Tuesday (2nd),  my left ear bunged up.   It was like being underwater, the sort of deafness that can be fixed by nose holding and pushing the pressure from the inside to the out.  Except it didn't.

My DB and I left early on Wednesday  morning to visit my parents.  My Dad was in hospital, and it wasn't looking great.  Our other brother declined the option of coming along.

I wore a very high quality mask from the moment I got to my brother until moment I got home.

We had a meeting with one of the Doctors on Wednesday afternoon,  and then a meeting with the senior consultant on Thursday morning.    The news wasn't great,  Dad was going to be moved to palliative care,   Dad would be fast tracked so that he could be moved home, and a team would come in 4 times a day to look after him.  The prognosis was 4-6 weeks. There was to be a multi disciplinary team meeting the following day to confirm this.   

We decided to wait until after the meeting before letting everyone know what was happening, so that we could give them accurate information. 

DB and I were driving home late Friday afternoon when the call came through to say that the situation had changed somewhat.  Dad wouldn't be going home, there wasn't time.  It was now likely to be days to a week now.

With Mum's agreement, I contacted the various family members to let them know the news.  We couldn't get hold of our brother.   We guessed that he was probably screening his calls, and that he'd phone back when he saw that he had so many missed calls (and messages asking him to phone). 

I'd phoned all my Uncles to let them know of the situation and dissuaded them from trying to visit.  Repeating the same thing so many times was hard work,  but the retelling made it easier to get the words out.   The hardest was telling my Dad's youngest brother (who is not much older than my husband)  They were very close; almost every time I've phoned him in the last few years has been to tell him that someone is in hospital, or has died.  They all live too far away from my parents to come and see Dad in hospital - and, to be frank, my Mum preferred that they didn't visit. She wanted them to remember my Dad as he was when they last saw him.   I wanted to take away any guilt they might feel about not making the journey.     

We agreed with Mum that we would go back on Tuesday (9th). This would give me time to see a doctor about my cough, sore throat and deafness on Monday.  My cough had got even worse (which was a shock, as it had been improving). I  think wearing a mask for 3 days hadn't really done me much good.

.......

I spent Saturday morning in bed, trying to recover.   Then Mum phoned on Saturday to say that things had declined, and the ward sister said we needed to be there on Sunday.  DB went round to check other brother was OK (he lives alone),  and to update him.

The local (to us, not to my parents) Uncle wanted  to come along. I think he wanted to do this for his dying brother, and to do it for the brothers who couldn't be there.    He'd visited Dad with us in December, so he already knew what Dad looked like, so it wouldn't be quite such a shock to him.

.......

We all set off early Sunday.   The people at the place where we stay are lovely, and they were happy to rearrange our dates.    This time I wore an even stonger mask, a proper  FP2 one,  to make sure I didn't spread my lurgy to my Uncle and Brother.  I also took paracetamol every 4 hours, no matter what. 

We  went direct to the hospital.

Dad was in a lot of distress, very agitated.   It wasn't at all what we had expected palliative care to be.   We went off to find a doctor to ask about it all.  Long story short, the palliative care hadn't started and wasn't going to start until Monday.   

Dad was obviously in a lot of pain, so we asked foor his pain relief to be increased, and we asked why the palliative care hadn't been started.  The on call doctor came to see us,  and she then had a conflab by phone with the senior consultant, and they agreed to start the process.

Mum stayed with him, against our advice, on Sunday night.     We'd wanted her to sleep at home so that she was as rested as possible for the next few days.  She was convinced he would die very quickly, so wouldn't leave him.

We went back to our accomm via Mum's to see to their aged dog. 

We got to the hospital, having travelled the long way round so we could stop in and see the dog on the way.    It had been a terrible night for Mum as Dad was so agitated.   It wasn't at all what we had expected palliative care to be.

Mum had worked out that the pain happened when the catheter was used, and we asked the nursing staff to have a look at it.

Mum was shattered.   She agreed to go home and get some rest, so we decided that Uncle and I would stay with Dad while DB took Mum home to get some sleep.    We played music for him, and we chatted to him, and about him, and about stuff and about nothing.

It takes about 45 mins to get from the hospital to Mum's  so DB was gone some time.

Just before he got back to the hospital, Dad had a syringe driver put in, and the agitation eventually stopped.

The accommodation people were lovely, and extended our stay for another night.

We were there all day.  DB set off again at about 5pm to collect Mum, and they got back to the hospital just before 7pm.    

We stayed for  little while, then we left Mum with Dad again.    We called in to Morrisons to get some food,which we took back to Mum,  and then we drove over to Mum's so that we could feed the dog and spend a bit of time with her.

On Tuesday,  we visited the Dog first thing, and then went on to the hospital.     Mum didn't want to go home this time, because we had said we would be leaving at about 2pm to go home. 

Dad was quite peaceful at this stage, it was much more the way we had expected palliative care to be.  Mum was doing OK (as well as she could be expected to, anyway), so we left as planned at 2pm.   Of course we felt awkward at going,  but we had to go sometime.  

 We called in on the way to see the Dog, and to fix a couple of things in the house.    It was a tiring journey home, and I was pleased to sleep in my own bed.

........

It's now Wednesday 1pm, and Dad is still here.   It makes me feel marginally better about leaving yesterday.

My ear is still blocked, but now I can depressurise it temporarily (which I couldn't do at all  last week) by holding my ears,closing my mouth and "blowing".  My cough is more under control, and I'm having paracetamol first thing, last thing, and maybe once in between.   It's wonderful to not have a mask on.  I also feel better physically than I have done for a few weeks, so that's good.

Both DB and I agreed we need a few nights at our respective homes before we think about going back again.  We're in constant touch with Mum, technology has been such an asset.

 I have a funeral tomorrow, DH's best friend. It's also our local Uncle's birthday.   

 

 

Cough COugh

The COugh is horrendous.  The sore throat is raging.   My chest and back hurt from the effort of all the coughing.

Yesterday, Sunday, was appalling.   I've been gargling with salt water, which provides relief for a few minutes.    I've been taking paracetamol 4 times a day, and I've been trying to keep up my fluid intake.  Last night was dreafdul.

I continued to use my CPAP. I turned the humidifier down to 1 on Saturday night, as I'd had a problem with water spuddling ("rainout") on Friday night.    The downside of that is that my throat was drier, so I upped it to 3 last night.   That was fine for most of the night, but I woke up at 6 with horrendous "rainout", caused by my tube gettng hooked on the corner of the mattress and being lower than my machine.

I tried to sleep "propped up" yesterday, and it was easier on my throat for a while.  It didn't work too well for my o2 levels though, and I had to give in and lie down part way through the night.    

My scores weren't great.

I choked trying to eat. As soon as something touched my throat, my body rejected it.  It took a long time to eat my breakfast.

I've been gargling with salt water every couple of hours, and trying to stay hydrated all day.

I feel like crap, but I feel slighly less crappier than this time yesterday. 

 I'm hoping it's on its way out.

I spent the day taking decorations down, a bit at a time.  The cats supervised and helped, getting into every box, biffing decorations,  sitting in the tree skirt. Super cute as always.

Everything (almost) is stacked on the landing, waiting to go into the loft.

There's just the wreath left to do, and ideally  I'd like to leave that until tomorrow.  But if I leave it, there's still the box with the wreath making bits to go.

Maybe I'll take it down this evening after all