General Chat

Went up the top to the village hall this afternoon to cut some things back and did just that BIL said he would bring up the big trailer and move the stuff I cut down. Got on well till I got a bit of wood stuck in the blades of the electic pruner. Could'nt find BIL anywhere and got worried so came down the house and got the strimmer still no BIL so went bak up and looked up the road, no one about, thne Em came past from picking the boys up so I flagged her down and told her if he was talking with her dad could she send him back here please? Yes he had got held up with his tongue right enough. While I was waiting I started to strim outside Les's place so BIL could see where the edge was as he was going to mow another strip. The blimmin battery ran out after I had strimmed a foot. I came back down the house and did manage to get the wood out of the jaws of the prunner and put the battery on charge. Did'nt get back up there as it was soooooo very hot but BIL picked up what I had cut off and dumped it on the bonfire outside the wall. Then he finished mowing the orchard and left. His first job this morning was to get the air pump out of the filter shed as it was too heavy for me to do and he brought it in and fitted the two new disaphrams for me. We plugged it back in and it worked perfectly so thats was a good job done and I managed to clean the filter out properly as you need the air going through the filter to clean all the little plastic bits out that filter the water. At least I don't have to pay the pond man to do that for me.

Salad for me tonight, I have boiled an egg and I shall have a small tin of red boneless salmon with it. I have a few bits of new pots from yesterday to make a bit of potatoe salad to go with it and will add some chives and mint out of the garden.

How things change - after several days of grey weather and temperatures around 13 or 14 degrees, it started to warm up yesterday and today it's hot, currently around 22 degrees.

It wasn't a very good night but I don't feel too bad today. My head is not quite so painful. I didn't get on very well with the extra pillows. They helped my head slightly but made my shoulders and back ache so at 3.30 am I threw them out and went back to just one pillow.

I hope your shoulder is a bit better now Mel. Are there any pain killers you can take? As AnnG says paracetamol alone won't do much for muscle pain; even the NHS site says that. Years ago, before I had bp pills, the doc used to prescribe Naproxen for me as Ibuprofen upsets me but that's another one you shouldn't take if you have high bp.. Last time my back was bad the doc told me to take the strong co-codamol that is prescribed for my head pain. Are you able to take codeine? Not everyone can.

You were wise to shop earlier today Mandy. I got a few bits in yesterday morning. I wouldn't want to be going out now.

First thing this morning I decided that, back pain and head pain regardless, I must do something for my own mental well-being so I decided on some gardening before it got too hot. I started about 10 am and came in at 11.15 when the temperature was rising. I ache and am tired now but glad to have achieved something. I cleared away some dead stuff and planted the two plants my neighbour gave me. It was difficult to know where best to put them as I am not sure what they are :-S After that I dealt with some heuchera. We had odd little bits of a dark red one scattered round the garden and not growing well because they were getting buried by other bigger shrubs so I've dug them up and replanted them all together in one area. They might all die on me as I doubt if it's the right time of year to move them but they are not doing anything where they are.

Tomorrow morning we are going to a screening from the National Theatre of the Life of PI. When I booked the tickets I wasn't having too many problems seeing. Goodness knows how I'll get on now. I may have to sit in a darkened room looking at the screen through sunglasses! It's not at our local theatre where we usually go but in Colchester. You have to park in a multi-story across the road but you can get a parking pass at a very good rate if you get it through the theatre when you order your tickets. If you pay at the car park it would be £6.50 for 4-5 hours, through the theatre it's £2.75 for all day from 9 am on. The only problem is you are not guaranteed a place. For an evening or Sunday performance it's not an issue as there are loads of spaces free at that time but it might be difficult on a Saturday morning. We'll have to get there a good bit earlier than we need to in case we have to find another car park somewhere.

Dinner's all prepared so I think I am going to get a cold drink and read for a while now.

Afternoon all,

Lovely warm day ,I've just been shopping to get a few bits so I don't have to turn out when it's supposed to get hotter tomorrow .

Mel I know just how you feel as a couple of days ago I pulled a muscle in my neck ,it so painful for a couple of days but feels OK now ,I only turned my head down to look up at something didn't hurt at ths time but it was the only thing I thought could have caused it ,hope yours soon feels better .

Have you tried a heat pad Mel, sounds as though you should rest that arm for a day. You could try asking a pharmacist or your surgery what pain killer you can take for it with your meds. In my experience paracetomal doesn't touch muscle strain. have you got any deep heat?

Morning Anng and all,

My pc is saying thunderstorms and high pollen count and 12 degrees and mostly cloudy. Its not tht bright htis morning so maybe we have a break in this lovely weather.

Arm still hurts right up my neck so not stayingon here much today. BIL should come today.

good morning all the sun is shining and it is 12 degrees so better get dressed and do another round of watering. I have found that a few of the plants I put in pots are surviving well so are ok for dry conditions, but one or two don't like it too dry. Of the Osteospernums I have put in pots two are fine the third is not happy so maybe it is just that particular plant. I am going with a friend to the local garden centre today but not until this afternoon. Have a few things for the charity lady so may walk down there later.
Vera I hope that the pain in your face has eased this morning and that you managed to sleep ok.

Not done much today did a bit of casting and went in the garden and picked up the sticks off the big ash tree as its windy here today and they always come down in the wind. BIL should be here tomorrow but the grass is'nt growing much so I want to ask him if he will come up with me to cut some of the stuff down by my gateway as it very over grwon there and he dos'nt cut down the side past our gateway and thats now about a foot tall.

I hope the pillows work for you tonight Vera and you get some sleep and the pain eases for you.

Still got the pain in my shoulder but I can't take Ibuprofen only paracetamol because I am on BP pills.

I got distracted and missed the post :-( We only have one collection a day and the time keeps changing. It was 4.15, then it was 4.30, then 5.30, now it's apparently 5.15 pm. I got distracted and didn't get to the box till about 5.10 and it had already been emptied so I wasn't very pleased as it won't go now till tomorrow evening. With luck E will still get it on Monday but I will text her Monday morning anyway.

Yes, the migraine pain always affects the left hand side of my head and the centre of the pain is always above my left eye but it usually goes once I am up and about again. This time I'm up and functioning but the pain is still there which is why I think it's being affected by my eye problems at the moment. I normally sleep with one flattish pillow but I can sometimes ease it if I have my head higher up so I am going to try extra pillows tonight.

It sounds as though your meeting went well. In every group there is always one person who dominates the conversation. My sister in law is like that, you can't get a word in edgewise but she is a lovely woman in every other way. I'm sure those plants will strengthen up and flourish for you. You seem to do well with plants - you must have green fingers :-)

You are lucky to have a post collection at that time. Last collection time around here is 9am so it has to be posted the day before.

That face/head pain sounds nasty, Is it associated with the migraine? and have you had it before? I hope it eased quickly for you.

the meeting went well. they do all tend to talk at once and we have one dominant lady who likes to hold forth and it is difficult to get a word in sometimes. she also 'knows' everything. other than that she is a kind person. Not that it makes any difference but she is South African. there were lots of free plants up for taking I had to take a few that were left over so I will see what happens with them none of them are very strong.

My goodness, there's a change in the weather today. There's still a nip in the breeze but otherwise it's sunny and warm

I had quite a good night last night. I still got up with severe pain over all the left side of my head and face but it does ease up a bit once I'm up and about. I'm sure it will be fine once I can get my eyes sorted. Today, I had a message on the answering machine from the eye treatment centre at the hospital.. My heart sank as I thought they were going to cancel my appointment on Monday but thankfully they were ringing to confirm it.

I hope your garden group meeting went well Ann. If your weather is anything like ours you have a good day for it.

I'm sorry your shoulder is still painful Mel but now you know how you did it you will be able to avoid doing it in the future. Do you have any anti-inflammatory pills like Ibuprofen or something like Voltarol Gel? (Don't use these without speaking to your doctor first if you take pills for high bp.) I hope you feel better soon.

I'm just going to walk down the road to post a birthday card to another granddaughter. Her birthday is Monday but these days I never know when to post cards or what stamps to put on them. Put a 2nd class stamp on and it arrives the other end of the country the next day, put on a 1st class and it takes a week to be delivered 10 miles away! Better get this one written quickly or I shall miss today's post.

I know where I did it now. There was lots of green blobs floating on the big pond yeserday and I was fishing them out with my long handled net and it got dso heavy and I emptied it three times the first time I did it. Just had some leaves out with it and realalised how I had done it so giving that a miss today.

Have you got anything to rub on it or take to ease the pain Mel. you have probably pulled something with all the gardening and cleaning the pond. try to not do anything to strain it more today. what about a heat pack or ice pack?

Morning Anng and all,

I went to bed with a dreadful shoulder ache and thought it would be gone by this morning but it has'nt. It hurts when I lift it up and not easy when I have to get my hair up and I was going to wahs it today too.

I do hope Vera is better this morning or at least an improvement on the last few days.

Hope all goes well with your meeting today Anng you have been working hard in the garden to make it look nice.

Good morning all 10 degrees but cloudy so far. hopefully the forecast will be right and the sun will make an appearance later. I have a garden interests meeting this afternoon. There will be 9 of us so three fewer than usual. At least the garden is relatively tidy.
Vera, nice to be able to show off your garden to your neighbour and to see hers as well. your day yesterday seemed a mix of good and not so good. sorry about the ill health of your friends, and also that you had a bit of a relapse yourself. Hope that you feel better today.

Night all.

I think we all lose our motivation from time to time for all sorts of reasons, sometimes minor and sometimes major issues. Sometimes we bounce back quite quickly but sometimes it can take quite a long while. I know my late brother's partner is still finding it difficult two and a half years after his death.

I haven't felt as well today as I did yesterday though I have managed to do a few jobs. On the plus side, we have seen a bit of sun at last and it got quite warm this afternoon o that's something to smile about. Also the part for my cordless vac arrived today so I didn't have to wait too long for it. The downside is that I now have no excuse not to hoover through. The house does need a bit of tlc.

We had a bit of stress and worry over a family problem but that's now been resolved so that's another good thing that's happened in the last day or two, but yesterday I heard that the husband of a family member is not in a good way. He has a serious physical problem but his wife in her mid-80s was coping OK as his carer until he was also diagnosed with vascular dementia and has had to go into a home. Then today we heard that a very dear friend has been diagnosed with a serious illness on top of the heart condition he already has.

This is not a very cheerful post is it? What happier things can I tell you about? Ah yes, I had a nice couple of hours this afternoon. My neighbour saw me walking into our garage so called out to me and we got chatting about plants, so she came in and had a walk around our garden and saw what we'd planted to replace some plants we lost in the winter and then I went and inspected her garden. She was very pleased with a couple of plants OH had given her and in return gave me 2 little plants that she had grown from seed. The only problem was she couldn't remember what the plants were. However she described them as "like blue thistles" so I guess they are eryngium (sp?). I think their other name is sea holly. I've got just the spot for them so I'm looking forward to seeing how they come up.

I'm still struggling with my eyes so I am going to say goodnight and turn the computer off. Sleep well everyone, sweet dreams.

Good to see you on here Island. Yes it is hard to get excited or motivated about things we enjoyed when we had somebody to share them with. I have moments now when I feel I am coping, enjoying, for example, the garden for me and being proud of it. But always in the background are memories of how things were. Maybe things will get better. I can only hope. But, as I said, chatting to people on here, helps a lot <3

My motivation took a hike 12 months ago. It's very very hard - as some will know.

often mel and end up doing nothing at all

I have had lunch and my shoulder hurt!! Don't think it was lifting a sandwich but probably from yesterdays cutting the edge of the border with the edging shears.

Can't get motivated now and am just drifting about think ing of all the things I should be doing. Do you ever get like that?