A Treck into the wilds of Milton.

Good Morning all you lucky people it is me again, with more exciting and nail biting tales of life with a Rollator. so welcome to................

Should get up when
 I wake up

Well Saturday morning was interesting to say the least, For the second morning running I woke about 3.30 isn with a very painful shoulder, Why this is happening again I have no Idea, anyway it was a case of applying "Deep Heat" and taking a couple of co-codamol and then getting back to sleep again,  before waking at 7.30.

I have a suspicion that I "Cricked" my neck on Thursday, reaching to get something out of the cupboard , anyway if it happens again over the weekend I will phone the doctor on Monday,  anyway instead of getting up and out of bed I decided that I would just check on Facebook with the iPad, Big Mistake, still there at 9.00 am

My Trusty Rollator

Once I am out of Bed I text Pauline and then get some breakfast and get dressed before Pauline phones and we have our morning chat, Pauline has only just got up, so looks like we are all having a lazy start to the day today, Anyway after I have spoken to Pauline it is on to the lap top to check emails etc before deciding that as it is such a nice day today and that we are in for some wet and stormy weather over the next week I will go for a walk to Bransbury park and Milton road with the Rollator, I am under no illusion that I will probably suffer for it over the next few days but I know that my leg and thigh muscles are getting weaker , and my Knees are starting to give me trouble, so I need to walk while I still can.

So  after making sure I have an ample supply of Food, water, Tena, Medication and camping gear I head of out to explore the wilds and to face the perils of walking to Bransbury Park with my Rollator.

The Reason I am so attached to to this area and why I live here is that it is where my Mother and my aunt and Uncle were  born and raised and where they all lived from 1918 until about 1925 when my Grandfather was Posted to Ireland before moving back to Fareham, just outside of Portsmouth in about 1928. so here we are with a photographic tour of my walk today

The first Photograph is walking east along Goldsmith avenue towards the Milton Road, with Milton Park to the left.

This is Milton School, it is in milton Road, just after entering from Goldsmith Avenue, This is the school that my Mother, Auntie Maud and Uncle Fred went to, Mum would have gone there in 1918, when she was 5 years of age.

The two photographs above show one of the little independent shops still trading in the Milton road " known locally as "Milton Market" it still has sweets in the jars and weighs out the sweets you require and serve them in a little paper bag, memories of days gone by.

This shows one of the flower beds by the bus stop in Milton Road, at the entrance to Bransbury Park.

Time for a coffee at the "Art Cafe" situated in Bransbury Park, an excellent little cafe with a wide range of food and very nice tea and coffee, a independent cafe .

These two Photographs above is the area of Bransbury park, that the "Art Cafe" is situated in a nice peaceful place to sit and enjoy the sunshine

This Photograph is the area that runs along the side of the sports areas, tennis, soccer , miniature railway etc. that is about it for me so now tio head back home, I have been out almost 2 hours, 

The final two Photographs are taken as I go home via the side roads and shows the victorian houses and architecture  along the Tree lined roads that makes up most of the residences in the southern half of Portsea Island and the district of Milton.

So here I am back home and I am absolutely tired out, my legs feel as if I have run a marathon, I have been out about 2.5 hours and enjoyed it but I now need a light lunch of Chicken soup and then go for a cat nap for an hour or so.

Chicken soup for lunch.

That was a lie down that lasted longer than I thought, anyway I now need to get this journal written while listening to the Portsmouth soccer match on the Radio, which Portsmouth drew 1-1 against Exeter, it was the first match of the 2014/15 season. well the Journal is written and now to get it Posted before thinking about tonights dinner which is a nice Marks & Spencer fruity chicken curry, my saturday treat after Freaky Friday,

Tonights dinner will go down a treat

So until tomorrow I will say.............

Problems with Blogger on Wednesday Ok Today (Thursday)

Wednesday 6th August

Good Morning one and all, well today has been a good day, I had a really good nights sleepTuesday night, went to bed about 11.00 and must have dropped of to sleep about 11.30 and slept through until 6.15 this Wednesday morning. so woke up in a positive mood

Waking up in a positive mood

Well it would have been apart from when I tried to write Wednesdays Daily Journal "Blogger" was having all kinds of problems and I could not write it so I am doing it today (Thursday the 7th)

Anyway Wednesday is the day that Pauline takes me shopping, and while we are out shopping Gordon does my weekly flat cleaning, " I am so lucky to have true friends like Pauline and Gordon", anyway I stay in my dressing gown while I have breakfast and then get myself, washed, shaved, abluted and then get dressed ready for when they arrive, with misty the Labrador.

Do I need a shave ?

Pauline and Gordon arrive about 11.00 o'clock , so I have only just got myself ready anyway they have brought Misty, who comes bounding into the kitchen, and promptly rolls over on to her back to have her tummy rubbed, this seem sot have become a ritual, every time she sees me.

My Doggy Friend "Mist

Well we have a coffee and a chat and then I phone for a taxi, and me and Pauline head off down to Portsmouth city centre, to get the shopping done while Gordon stays at the flat with Misty and gets the weekly cleaning done for me.

Come on Gordon, no slacking now

Once we get down to the city centre, I drop a prescription into Boots the chemist to collect later and then WE go into WH Smith the book shop as Pauline needs to gat a couple of things including a game of Scrabble, and I buy a couple of Book,s about Portsmouth in the First and Second world wars, to compliment my collection of Local History and local military history.

Purchases from WH Smith.

once we had come out of WH Smith,s we made our way into the Cascades shopping arcade. it is not very busy today and we make our way round to Mark and Spencer to get the food shopping.

The Cascade,s shopping arcade.

not for the feint hearted

once we had got our shopping from M&S we went and had a coffee from the coffee bar in the Precinct before heading back into boots to get my Prescription and to get some more Tena for men., before heading up to Gregg,s the baker to get a couple of steak slices and sausage roll,s to take home for lunch with Gordon..

A well earned rest 

I phone for the Taxi and we head back home to have lunch with Gordon, once home we get the shopping put away and then have a coffee and lunch before Gordon, Pauline and Misty head home, and I settle down in the recliner in my nice clean tidy flat to get this Journal written which as you know did not happen so I watch some TV and listen to the radio instead before having a nice  M&S Potato and egg salad with some corned beef.

The other thing I noticed is that we had some heavy rain overnight on Tuesday and early hour os Wednesday, and I do not know what happened but the bushes in my back courtyard a growing like mad, Gordon only cut them back a few weeks ago, Oh well that was Wednesday and now to get Thursdays Journal started.

My Back courtyard and That bush reminds me of my hair on a good day 

Thursday 7th August

Well here we go with Thursday, it was not such a good start to the day today, i woke at about 3.30 this morning with a really painful right shoulder, I had to get up and rub some deep heat in to it and that seemed to settle it down, I should have used a wheat bag but was to grumpy to mess around with that anyway after about an hour the shoulder had settled down so got back to sleep, and woke again about 7.00 am.

Not the best of starts to the day.

Anyway ashen I woke at  7.00 I went and made a coffee and then sent the text to Pauline to let her know I was up, and then at 7.45 I made my Breakfast, I had wheatabix with honey and prunes today,as I needed something quick and easy as I have an appointment with "Debbie the friendly vampire today at 9.40" so need to get a move on and get the taxi booked and then get myself washed and dressed.

Phoning to book a taxi in my best telephone manner.

Well It is now getting on for 9.30 and i am all ready for when the taxi arrives, Now A question for you all.:
WHY when you I am  all dressed and ready to go on a tight time schedule do my Bowels decide to talk to the prunes and arrange an evacuation, Funny it is not, Well it is really for the timing , but I won't admit to that. Oh well what will be will be, good job it is one of my regular taxi driver today at least he understands.

Thats Better

Well once that little episode is over it is back to normal so into the taxi and off down to the Eastney health centre to see Debbie and give my blood for my 4 weekly blood tests. Debbie is quite good at taking the blood, well she should be as I have been having it taken every 4 weeks for the last 3 years , anyway after I see my Neurologist we will be having the blood tests every 8 weeks.

Debbie The Friendly Vampire nurse.

well once the blood taking has finished Debbie ask how Pauline is and how her surprise party went, and is pleased it went well, and so I make my way home, so that really is about it for today, once indoors I make a coffee and settle down to get yesterdays(Wednesdays) journal written, I then get a jacket potato with Tuna for lunch, read the paper and do the easy crossword and then settle down to write todays Journal.

Franks Daily Dermatomyositis Journal in its Prime.

So here we are at 3.20 in the afternoon and I amin need of a lie down so I am going for a lie down and a cat nap for an hour and then the Journal will be posted and then I can start thinking about dinner tonight, it will be  Sea bream fillet with a cheesy mash, Excellent

Enjoying a cat nap

Just heard on the weather that we are expected to get the tail end of Hurricane Bertha reaching us on Sunday, it is tracking across the atlantic from America, it is being downgraded as it nears the coast of Northern Europe and the UK. although it is not going to be as severe as first thought it is fiorecast to be very wet and extremely windy through Sunday and Monday,

Prepared for Sunday and Monday

so until tomorrow I will say........................

x-ray and coffee by the sea

Feeling Like Crap

Well what do you know, here we are on the first of August and not only that it is Freaky Friday. so an interesting day ahead of me today, first of all I had a very bad nights sleep, kept waking up and then dropping of to sleep until about 4.30 when I eventually got to sleep but then slept through until about 9.00, so not good as Gordon comes down on a Friday to help me have a bath and also today he is going to take me to St Mary,s walk in centre to get my Knee x-rayed.

Pauline on the Phone

anyway make a coffee and then sit and text Pauline to let her know all is Ok but that I am running late, as I am sending the text Pauline phones to see if all is Ok as I had not text her, anyway she got the text as she was phoning me, anyway we have a chat and I say that there is no rush for gordon to get here today as I am all behind, "in more ways than one" anyway after we have spoken I take my lansoprazole before getting breakfast in 30 minutes so log on and check face book and post the late edition of Thursdays daily Journal.

Pharmacist

Once I have checked on Facebook and posted yesterdays journal, i have some breakfast and then about 10.00 Gordon arrives so we have a coffee and then I have my Bath. Once I have had my bath I then get dressed and we sit and have a chat until about 11.30 when we get in the car and off we go to to drop my repeat prescription of at Rowland,s chemist so that it will be ready to collect next Friday and then it is off to The walk in centre to get my Knee x-ray done. there is up to a 45 minute wait but in fact I get called after about 25 minutes so not to long a wait. so once that is done we leave and Gordon drives down to the sea front at Eastney which is the quiet end of Portsmouth and we have a coffee and a snack at the tea bar there.

It is very quiet down this end of the seafront as it has no facilities here and is a bit of a "Natural State" and also most of the people will be at the other end of The sea font at Southsea  common as today is the first day of the Three day Southsea Show.

Looking East along southsea sea front towards Eastney.

Looking Out to Sea across the solent

Gordon Enjoying a snack and a coffee

Looking West along the front  at the Tea Bar.

after we had enjoyed a coffee and a Snack Gordon I got Gordon to drive down to the bottom of Locksway road where the Thatch house is to show him where the lock gates were and the locks where the canal came into Portsmouth from Langston harbour in 1823 , the canal was abandoned in 1855.

The Remains of the canal entrance looking west.

The remains of the Lock at the entrance of the Portsmouth Canal.

After that we head back home, it is now 2.30 so we have a coffee and then Gordon makes his way home and I start to get todays journal done.

enjoy a cat nap

So all in all it has been an enjoyable afternoon, it was nice to be out and about and also nice to be able to visit the old lock as I am very passionate about the local history of Portsmouth. anyway I need to get thous Journal posted and then a lie down for an hour before thinking about getting dinner ready, although it was an enjoyable afternoon it took it,s toll on me and my legs are now feeling very achey and i am worn out so an hour,s cat nap will do me a power of good.

 

So now to take the Methotrexate and enjoy the rest of Freaky Friday so until tomorrow I will say..............

A visit to the Doctors.

Although it is now Friday I promised that I would post Thursdays post this morning so here we are

Thursday as it happened seemed to be a day that came and went I slept reasonably well on Wednesday night and got up about 8.00 am as Thursday is the day the household refuse is collected so I need to put out the black bin bag ready for the collection.

Time for breakfast.

Once I have done that I phone Pauline and She and Gordon are Ok, I then go on the laptop to check out Facebook and get up to date with the Postings, before getting some toast and Marmalade for breakfast followed by the obligatory five Prunes. after which I get myself washed and dressed, before heading out with the Rollator to go and get my daily paper at the local Tesco Express.

On Facebook again

Once I had got my paper I went back home, my knee is playing up again today so the less I walk the better it is anyway take a co-codomol for it and then go for a lie down.  after about an hour I go and get back on the laptop for an hour until it is time to get some lunch ready as it is 12.30 and I need to have lunch at 1.00.

See my Doctor

I am having a Jacket potato for lunch today with cheese and some mince that Gordon and pauline brought down for me yesterday. Once that has been cooked and eaten it is time for a mint tea before getting the vegetable prepared ready for dinner tonight, as I have to start getting ready about 2,30 as I have a taxi booked for 3.30 to take me to Eastney health centre for my appointment with Dr Lake at 3.50, Dr Lake is a very attentive Doctor and listens to what I say.

Once I have got myself shaved and dressed the Taxi arrives and Off I go up to the Health Centre. I arrive about 3.40 and report to reception I am number 1 to see Dr Lake so I have not got long to wait and am in spot on 3.50.

First of all  she understands that I am having problems with the tapering of the steroids but what she was concerned about was that i was having problems and pains in my Knee and hands, she looked at my notes and prescriptions and could not understand why I was not on Calcium, as I have been on the Prednisolone for so long, I said that is something that I had wondered about as my dietician stopped my Calcium and Vit D tablets in October 2012 after I had come of the Puree and soft lumps diet, anyway she is going to look into my notes and then write to me and is also going to write to the dietician and also my Neurologist as she feels I need to go back on them, but need to find out the exact reason it was stopped. she is also going to arrange tests to see if I may have Adrenal insufficiency

The pains in the knee and hand she thinks could be Arthritis as my monthly blood works for the bone comes back normal so she wants me to go to the St Mary,s walk in treatment centre tomorrow for an x-Ray on the Knee, just to see if anything is amiss with the Knee Joint. I had a x-ray on it about 18 months ago when I was having knee pain and it came back all clear.

St Marys walk in Treatment centre .

Eastney Health Centre and Doctors Surgery,s

So all in all a good appointment so now back home at 4.40 so time for a coffee and relax until Gervase comes in to see me at 6.30 and then dinner for 7.30 and then an evening relaxing listening to the radio and an Facebook so until Fridays Journal I will say Adios..................