And off to Morrison,s.

♬ ♬ ♬ Its a lovely day today ♬ ♬ ♬

♬ ♬ ♬ And whatever you want to do ♬ ♬ ♬

♬ ♬ ♬ It's a Lovely Day for Doing it thats true. ♬ ♬ ♬

Good Nights Sleep

Woke this morning at 7.30 after a really good nights sleep, really enjoyed Mrs Browns boys on TV last night, it is so funny, so went to bed at about 10.30 and slept right the way through. so that was good, the weather is very gray and cold here, but not as misty as it was yesterday but a lot colder. The outside temperature at 7.30 this morning is 1⁰c but should rise slightly as the day goes on. There is a heavy frost on the cars in the road but no frost on the ground in the back garden.

HMS Dauntless.

So It is out into the kitchen for the coffee and then into the lounge to watch TV News and to check facebook and email before Amanda Arrives, I expect she will be cold today out on her Bike. The main report on the breakfast news for portsmouth is the Destroyer  HMS Dauntless is being sent to the Falkland Islands over the coming weeks following increased tension with Argentina over the Falklands.

Who takes who for a walk.

However Amanda arrives at 8 40 as usual and as expected very cold, I offer to make her a hot drink but she is pushed for time today, so it is not long before she has me washed and groomed and then she is back on her way to the next client and I get myself some porridge for breakfast, after breakfast I text pauline to let her know all is OK here and she phones back to say she is out on the common with Misty, so I arrange to book a Taxi for 11.00 am to go and collect her and then we are going to go shopping at the New Morrison,s store which opened last Wednesday at the Victory Retail Park in Portsmouth. 

it is now 9.30 so I get a nice cup of tea and then go outside to take a photo of the street in a bright but very cold Tuesday. The sun is coming out now and the temperature is up to 2⁰c and the frost has gone from the cars but it is a very fresh morning out here today, so after taking the photo with my mobile phone it is back indoors in the warm and onto the computer for 30 minutes  to see who is on facebook and to play a few games of "Words with Friends".

Well the time is now 10.15 and it is time to get myself shaved and dressed ready for the taxi to arrive at 11.00. I am dressed and ready with the wheelchair by 10.45 and the Taxi turns up at 10.55. While I get my coat on the Driver gets the Wheelchair into the car and then off we go to collect Pauline and then on down to Victory retail park and the new Morrison,s. We arrive at about 11.15 and I am surprised at the size of the store, anyway get the wheelchair out of the car, Find a wheelchair trolley and off we go into morrison,s.

Cheese Counter.

First impressions was that it was a big store, but the aisles were nice and wide, but not impressed with the Wheelchair trolley, cant seem to get it attached properly to the wheelchair, still we manage, they have very good selection of "fresh" food here including a Cheese counter, Meat counter, Fish counter, Deli and Patisserie, as this is only our first visit we are unsure of where everything is on the shelves but we find what we are looking for and it takes about 45  minutes and we have found most of what we want, Pauline and I both say that we will give it two or three visits to see how we get on shopping here but I think once we get used to it we will choose to shop here for our weekly shop.

Morrisons Portsmouth

So it is now 12.30 so we decide to go to the cafe in Morrison,s and get some lunch This is the biggest disappointment, it is crowded, and not easy to see how you order food and not at all easy to get around in a wheelchair, however we manage to get a couple of coffee,s and I have a cheese sandwich ( which came with a salad and crisps) and Pauline had a sausage roll. so that was ok but I think we will probably give it a miss in future but you never know.

Dreams Bed Shop.

We now go and pay for the shopping and then go outside to phone for the taxi to take us back home. That was not a bad first time shop at a new store so hopefully once we get used to it we will enjoy it more, certainly (apart from the cafe) it was a lot easier to get round with a wheelchair than it is in Asda or Tesco.

The other store on this site is a bedding shop called dreams so next time we are down here we may have a look in there and see what there bed linen is like.

Pauline and Gordon.

Well the Taxi arrives and we are soon back home and indoors, I get the kettle on for a coffee while Pauline gets the shopping sorted and put away, and then I make a coffee, Gordon has phoned to say he is back in Portsmouth so he is on his way round to collect Pauline so that is OK, Gordon arrives and we have a chat and about 2.30 Pauline and Gordon make their way home. so it is another coffee, an egg custard tart and then to get this journal written and posted.

Gervase phoned to say he won't be home until 8.00 tonight as he has been up in london yesterday and today filming and he does not finish until 5.00 tonight and then he has to get sorted and then the train home , So he will be round to see me tomorrow evening.  so that is today over with. It has been a good day today so until tomorrow I will say cheerio.

A Dreary Monday

Portsmouth Harbour at 9.00 am Today.

Oh dear, and another dreary day in Portsmouth, it is Grey, Cold and Misty here today, the good news is the Snow has stayed away, there was some snow to the west of us overnight, but it stayed well away from Portsmouth, I think we are lucky as most times the Snow misses us due to the fact that we are sheltered to the south by the 'Isle of Wight" and to the north by " Portsdown Hill" so the bad weather is shunted over us, also being on the coast and surrounded by water the temperature is always higher here than in the country side.

Portsdown Hill from the Spinnaker Tower.( not my Photo)

It's too bloody cold. 

And so we start the new day, had a good day yesterday seeing my Son and then going to see pauline and Gordon, so slept well last night. Woke this morning at 6.30 and my hands are so cold and white ( Raynaud's Is back) so get some gloves on and get the heating switched on as the temperature is very low outside this morning  3⁰ c and then go and get a coffee and then back to bed to watch the news on TV until 8.00. by then the house will be warmed up and I can then get up and start the day.

The Family (Most of Us)

Oh well it's 8.00 so have to get up ready for Amanda the carer, so make another coffee and then into the lounge to continue watching the news on TV and to log onto the laptop and check emails and facebook. The news is so depressing, all they are going on about is the amount of money being cut from the disabled care budgets by the government. ( half a billion pound to date ), It seems like it is the Disabled and Elderly that are being made to suffer in this economic climate. I am lucky that I have such a close supportive family and friends around me.   

Ah!! Daytime TV.

Amanda arrives at 8.45 and is very cold, anyway she is not happy that the care company she is working for is not keeping them up to date on what the future holds in store for the workforce with the changes being made to Adult Social Care in Portsmouth, ( I know even less) anyway she gets me washed and groomed ready for the rest of the day and then she is on her way, I get some Wheatabix for breakfast and then finish getting dressed and back into the lounge and the TV.

The time is now nearly 10.00 and I need to get some work done on my interactive DVD " What is Myositis" I started this last year and hoped to get it finished by November but I have fallen behind and now need to get it back on track so am hoping to get it completed by the Summer. As I am working on it so I am finding more items to add to it but still keeping it simplistic so that people can understand what Myositis is.

To Blinking Cold

So that is a little bit more added to that so now off round to Tesco to get a few bits and pieces before lunch. The time is 11.30 so off I go. Once round Tesco I get some milk, Newspaper, Fruit Drink and a cottage pie for dinner tonight, and then make my way back home, although it is very cold today, the sun is breaking through so it is quite bright outside now the temperature has also risen to 4⁰c, although the amount of clothes I am dressed in it feels more like a heat wave LOL.

That is better back home in the warm .so now for a "Hot Chocolate complan" and a Banana I think, and then that will see me through until lunch at 2.00, it will also warm me up, once I have had that then I will get on the Laptop again and see who is about on Facebook and check the Ancestry site and also my emails, and then I will have launch at 2.00 and this afternoon I will spend an hour or so on Family History Research.

It is now 2.00 and time for some chicken soup and a couple of crisp bread , so that should go down a treat.......

These are what trays look like.

So lunch is over and done with, and I enjoyed that, I do like "Cream of Chicken Soup" and it goes down well with a couple of crisp bread, although trying to juggle a soup bowl on a plate with 2 buttered crisp bread, a spoon and a coffee, one crisp bread ended up on the floor, so only one crisp bread with my lunch. Note to self: "Use a flaming tray"

James and Edith in Delson, Canada my great Grandparents.

Now I am back on the laptop carrying out more family research in to the Hubbard side of the Family. All the Hubbards apart from my Grandfather Frederick emigrated to Delson Junction in Canada in the early 1900,s my grandfather stayed here in the UK as he was in the Royal Navy, and in 1912 married my Grandmother. I have made contact with many of the extended family in Canada, and also with my cousin from the Smith side of the Family. Using Ancestry website I can search the Canadian vital records and found the notification of my Great Grandfather (James Hubbard) Funeral service at St andrews church in delson in 1940.

So now it is 3.30 and I need to sort out a few Bills as it is the end of the month and then get sorted ready for Pointless on TV at 5.15 and then it will be dinner at 6.00 followed by the soaps from 7.00 until 9.00 and at 9.00 it will be "The Royal Bodyguard" and at 9.30 "Mrs Browns Boys"  Don't you just love Monday night TV. so until tomorrow I will say Adios Amigo,s.

The Royal Bodyguard BBC1 9.00

Mrs Browns Boys. BBC1 9.30

A Gray Dismal Sunday

Too Stuffy in here.

Well the snow did not materialize as the weatherman said it may, but it is certainly a Gray, Cold and Dismal day outside today, Woke at 7.30 after a restless night and just do not want to get up and out of bed this morning, I hate winter, being stuck inside in a hot dry stuffy house is not my idea of fun, I am trying to find a happy medium where the house is warm but not to stuffy, not succeeded yet but am working on it.

I think I will have to see about investing in a humidifier if this keeps up as I find the Central Heating dry,s out the air in the room and affects my breathing slightly and also dry,s out my Nostril and my Throat, Don't you just love these little "Quirks" that we get with this bloody disease, still thinking about ways of overcoming the problem keeps me from getting bored "NOT". The humidifier shown is one that Homebase do at £72.99 so that may be worth looking at, Hooray, this may be the answer so a trip to Homebase this week I think.

So there we go that is my moan over for today "Maybe" However woke at 7.30  and off to make a coffee once I can get my right hand working, I slept with it under my Pillow last night, "Not a good Idea" and it is all seized up this morning so 15 minutes of Massage gets it working again and so Coffee and then back to bed, after switching on the heating.  to watch the morning news until 8.30, and then into the lounge ready for the carer to come.

Mick the Carer.

In the lounge watching the TV News and Mick the carer arrives at 9.15. we have a natter and put the British economy right in about 10 minutes (don't know how Cameron finds it so difficult) and Mick soon has me washed and groomed for the day ahead and is soon on his way, so now to get some porridge for breakfast and then I can settle down on facebook for a couple of hours.

Mick has made his way onto the next client and I have made my porridge and now I am on Facebook and also checking my e-mails.

Its cold today

I text pauline to let her know all is OK and she phones back to say that I will be welcome to go down and see her and gordon today if I get fed up, so that is nice and I may do that. Anyway I need to go round to Tesco Express and get a couple of bits and pieces so wrap up warm and off I go, It is so cold that I get there and back as fast as I can "Which in reality is Snail pace" I think half of what slows me down is the amount of clothe,s I am wearing in this cold.

Gervase.

Back home now and it is 12.00 My son Gervase Phones to say he will be round to see me  at 1.00 pm today, so at 12.30 I get some crisp bread and cream cheese for lunch and a Banana, and Gervase arrives at 1.10. so we have a good old natter, he then goes round to the ATM at Tesco to get me some cash out as he is going to give me a lift down to Pauline and Gordon at 2.30. so that is Ok and will save me a taxi fare.

At 2.40 we leave home and Gervase decides that we will go down to Pauline,s via the sea front. It is nice to get out of the house in the car and I am surprised by the amount of people out and about along Southsea sea front today. anyway I take a couple of pictures with my mobile phone, they did not come out to badly and it shows how gray it is out today.
The photograph shows the road past south Parade Pier. anyway we are soon at Gervase,s House " Gervase lives at the other end of Pauline,s Road". I had text pauline and said that we were on the way and she was waiting outside Gervase,s with "Misty the Labrador" so we walk down to Pauline,s and get inside in the warm and have a coffee. It is good to see Pauline and Gordon and also Misty. and I stay until about 4.15 when I get a taxi back home.

That was a nice afternoon with Gervase and then seeing Pauline and Gordon, back indoors now and make a coffee and then get this Journal written and Posted. It is Now about 5.30 and I get a phone call from Pauline to see if I am ok and keeping warm, the answer is Yes all is OK, Pauline,s sister Francis had sent Pauline a text to see if I was OK as She had gone to read my Daily Journal and it had not been done for today, so This is to Fran

I am sorry the Journal is late today.

I went down to Pauline,s, and got carried away

The coffee was cold, and the food was stale

And misty sat on me, Wagging her tale.

Gordon made me, Do the washing up,

I got ever so frightened, and broke a cup.

So I legged it back home, in a terrible state

And that is why, The journal is late.

Well that is another weekend over so until tomorrow I will say Tatty Bye.

A very cold Saturday

The Road where I live.

To Snow or Not to Snow.

The Morning has arrived and it is a nice sunny day here in Portsmouth, This is the view looking down my road, although it is sunny it is very cold, the temperature at the Langstone Harbour Marina is 5.9⁰c. The weather centre in the UK has issued a warning of Snow affecting the west and Southern regions of England on Sunday and Monday, so that should be interesting 2 mm of snow and Portsmouth will come to a standstill. 

Ah !! Television.

Anyway back to today, not a very exciting day today, I have got the heating on and apart from going round to tesco sometime this morning I will be staying in and keeping warm, it seem funny sat here in the lounge with the heating on and looking out the window at Blue sky and Sunshine. so it is going to be a day of sitting in front of the TV ( no change there then)

Must get Coffee.

Woke this morning after a pretty good nights sleep although was awake earlier today (6.00 am) but then yesterday I did rest most of the day and also had a nap in the afternoon, Anyway put on the TV News and go and make a coffee and some wheatabix for breakfast and take them back to bed,  !! AH  Breakfast in bed.!!  so stay in bed until 8.00 and then make my way into the lounge to watch TV in there while waiting for the carer.

As it is the weekend, I do not know what time the carer will come today, however the carer arrives at 9.15, It is a new carer today, She is a young polish girl, very polite and tells me she is studying English at Portsmouth University as she wants to be an English Teacher in Poland. She soon has me washed and Groomed and then she is on her way.

I forgot to ask her why she has so many bags with her, perhaps she has got some shopping for one of her other clients. 

It is Now Getting on for 11.00 am, have been watching some repeat episodes of Time team but need to get round to Tesco Express and get a couple of bits and Pieces that I need. I will walk there round the block  (the other direction than I did Yesterday) for the exercise and will take my camera with me. It is nice walking in the son although it is very cold. I soon get to Tesco Express and get Milk, Banana,s, Fruit drink and a tin of Sardines in sunflower oil for my lunch. and then get back home indoors out of the cold and make a nice hot Ovaltine.

Goldsmith Avenue in the Shadows. 

I go on to the laptop and check my e-mails and Facebook and then decide that as it is now 1.30 I will get some lunch. I got some sardines round Tesco so decide to have the Sardines on a couple of Crispbread with a nice cup of tea. It does not take long to prepare and it is very enjoyable, it is a few months since I last had Sardines, certainly easier to eat them now than it was.

Last of the Summer wine. Longest running sitcom in the world.

So that is lunch over and the washing up done so now to settle down and get this journal written and posted and then settle down with the newspaper and the crossword puzzle,s for a couple of hours before getting Dinner at 6.00 and then an evening of TV watching reruns of one of my favourite comedy series " Last of the summer wine" on "Yesterday" from 8.00 until 10.00 


So now it is 3.45 and the sun has now gone in and the temperature is falling, so "To Snow or not to Snow. That is the Question" we shall see tomorrow morning so until then I will bid you all a good evening.

Its "Friday" again

Portsmouth and the spinnaker tower today.

And a very good morning to you all, it is a super Fine Sunny day today, the skies are blue and although it is cold out there it is dry, here is Portsmouth today at 8.40 am.

A good nights sleep.

I had a decent nights sleep last night (slept through from 11.30 until 6.30 ) so that was good, it seems that my sleep pattern is starting to settle into a regular pattern, although saying that it will probably now decide to change next week, just to keep me on my toes.

So now it is 7.00 and time to go and get a coffee and make some porridge and then it will be breakfast in bed watching the Breakfast news on BBC1, once I have had my breakfast I will then take the dreaded Methotrexate ( Well it is Freaky Friday) and then I will be able to rest for the rest of the day while the Methotrexate takes over.

A Handsome Devil.

It is now 8.00 and time to make my way into the lounge ready for Amanda, While I am waiting for the carer I watch the BBC News and go online to check the e-mails and also facebook. Amanda arrives at 8.45 and soon has me washed and groomed and also washed my hair. ( I have just looked in the mirror, "I am such a handsome devil" LOL) anyway Amanda makes her way to her next client and I settle down to watch the daytime TV.

"What's up Doc"
Got some" hot choc"

The day is going fairly well today, not to much of a "Kick back" from the Methotrexate, it is now 10.00 and am feeling hungry, think I had breakfast to early today, but need to watch the weight gain so will have a hot chocolate "Complan" shake with a couple of biscuits and that should take me through until lunchtime.

I enjoyed the Complan so now it is time to make a start on this mornings washing up and then I need to make my way round to Tesco Express to get some milk and something for lunch, the weather is still very sunny but cold so will have to make sure I wrap up warm.

Around the block to Tesco Express.

So Coat, Gloves, Scarf, Hat, Walking stick, Tenna for Men, Mobile phone "Its like getting ready for an expedition" and I am ready to go round to Tesco Express, seeing as that it is a pleasant day and that I am not suffering to much from the Methotrexate, I will go the long way round the block to Tesco, the exercise will do me good and then I have got an excuse to take a nap this afternoon.

So I get to Tesco and get some milk and a Newspaper and also get a Microwavable Heinz Chicken and Vegetable big soup for lunch. so now make my way back home and back to watching the TV. at 1.20 I decide to get my lunch done and then I can decide what I want to do for the rest of the afternoon.

Time for a nap.

That was lunch over with and it was very tasty, only took 2.5 minutes in the microwave and went down well with a couple of crisp bread, so now I think it is time to get this Daily Journal completed and posted and then I can go for a short sleep before watching Pointless on BBC1 at 5.15, the weather has now taken a change for the worst at 3.00 so looks like it is going to be rain/hail this afternoon and the temperature has dropped to 6.4⁰c so looks like it will be heating on and an hour,s nap so get this posted and then in to bed. so until tomorrow I will say Adios.

Sack the Helper.

Rare Disease day is on the 29th February 2012

Here we are again, another Thursday dawns with the cold and rain although it is supposed to brighten up as the day goes by. It is 7.00 am when I wake today and it is a very miserable day, I get out of bed and get a coffee made and then snuggle back into bed until 8.00 when I will need to be up ready for when Amanda Comes.

A wet Miserable day in Portsmouth at 8.00 am.

Not a Happy Amanda

At 8.00 am I make my way into the lounge to watch the BBC 1 Breakfast news on TV and also make another coffee. I get the laptop up and running to check e-mails and Facebook and at 8.40 there is a knock at the front door and it is Amanda, I did not here her coming today and the reason is that she is not on her cycle, but is having to walk as her Bicycle has a puncture. And she is not her normal happy self.

Apparently Portsmouth Adult Social care are reducing the amount of Care agency,s they use in Portsmouth and although the company Amanda works for is being retained by Adult social care, they are being given a new area in the North of the Island so I will have to have a new carer, I am not happy about that so will look into the "Direct Payment" option and employing my own carer. anyway it does not take Amanda long to get me ready for the day ahead and then she is on her merry way.

Profile bed that I have.

Now I text Pauline and let her know all is OK here and to find out what time she will be round today as we plan to go to Lidl and then get the mattress turned on the Profile bed. and change the bedding. anyway Pauline phones to say she will not be taking Misty out for her walk yet as it is raining very hard, so will phone me after and let me know what time she will be round.

At 10.30 Pauline phones to say she will be coming round to day about Twelve  O'Clock. "I honestly do not know what the world is coming to, I let Pauline come round to help me, out of the goodness of my heart. I do not Embarrass her by offering to pay for her time,  and now she has the audacity to decide what time she will come round, I think the only thing I can do is give her the sack". But if I do that she will probably just nag me into submission, so there is only really one thing I can say and that is " Pauline, You are one in a million" It is now 12.00 and pauline phone,s to say she is on her way so she will be here shortly, and the rain has cleared and their is blue sky and sunshine so we can get out down to Lidl.

Portsmouth at 12.00 26-01-12

on the way to Lidl.

Pauline arrives and so I make her a coffee and we have a chat and decide that we will get the wheel chair out and then make our way to Lidl in Goldsmith Avenue. It is not far so I decide to walk and push the wheelchair for a little while. Anyway off we go there is a strong wind but it is pleasant out in the fresh air and I manage to walk all the way to Lidl before I feel that I need to get into the wheelchair so that was good exercise but do not want to over stretch myself, so we go into Lidl and have a look round, Pauline gets a few bits and all I get is a couple of bags of Dog treats for "Misty" and then we make our way back home.

Once home we get some lunch and then Pauline gets the mattress turned on my bed and puts new bedding on for me,  Pauline also brought my laundry with her today and will take the next lot with her when she comes on Tuesday,so that is a job well done, we now have another coffee and then it is time for Pauline to make her way home as it is now 3.00 pm. so I phone for her taxi and she is soon on her way home, so we have had a good productive day today. 

So all that is left for me to do now is to get this blog written and then to think about what time i need to get dinner for tonight, I got a Asda "Chicken Curry" ready meal on Tuesday so am thinking of trying that tonight, it is a long time since I had a curry, this is a fairly mild one so hopefully I will manage it but we will see, however I am going to get this Journal posted so until tomorrow and the Methotrexate I will say Cheerio.