Where did Saturday and Sunday Go

So Here we are on Monday, Where did the weekend go to, I did very little apart from sleeping, resting and some graphic work on the computer, and before you know it we are at Monday and the start of another week so all I can say is.

WELCOME TO 

Saturday

Turning the clock back to Saturday Morning. Not a bad nights sleep on Friday night, woke a couple of times during the night but was up by 9.00 am. Spoke to Pauline and had breakfast and then just checked on Facebook, apart from that not a lot happening, so a nice restful morning. My Son Gervase phoned to say he will be coming round about lunchtime as he is going to the first home game of the season  for Portsmouth Football Club at Fratton Park and they are having a fans fun day in the stadium car park so he will take me over to see what is happening, as it is within Rollator distance to where I live.
Gervase arrives at about 1.15 and we have a chat and then I walk with the Rollator over to Fratton Park with him to see what is going on.

Fratton Park from the Main Car Park.

Some of the fans at the Fun Day

The Pompey Bus at the Fun Day

The Pompey Shop, Fratton Park

It was not a bad turn out at the Fun Day, and when you think that 2 years ago "Pompey" were on the brink of Liquidation and going out of the English football league after getting into so much debt after some successful years in the Premier league and winning the FA Cup.
It was only through the supporters ands the Pompey Supporters Trust that we survived in league 2 of the football league and is now owned by the supporters.
Pompey won the match against Cambridge 2 - 1, so a good start to the season.

Play up Pompey

After we have been at the Fun day we make Our way back home, we were only out for about 40 minutes once indoors I get myself some lunch ready and Gervase heads back over to Fratton Park to watch the match, as he is a season ticket holder, We have been supporters of Pompey for many years, I remember my Father Taking me to fratton park when I was about 6 or 7 years of age, That would have been in about 1949/1950 and I have been supporting them ever since, through all the bad and good times, I started taking Gervase to Fratton Park when he was about 9 years of age in about 1990.
 After the Match Gervase came in and we had a nice chat about the match, as I listened to it on the radio and then he made his way back home to Leanne, and I settled down to watch some TV and do a bit of Graphic work and then dinner about 7.30 and bedtime at about 10.00, so all in all a good Saturday.

Sunday 

Sunday started with a Thump in more ways than one, I had woken at about 6.30 and as usual I go and make a coffee to take back to bed, Turn on the Radio and Open the bedroom Window to let some fresh air into the room as I get very Dehydrated during the night, and being in a ground floor flat I cannot have windows open at night for obvious reasons, Anyway I must have dozed off because the next thing I know I am awaken by next doors Kitten leaping on to me from the window sill.

I am always being pestered by Cats

Anyway that was the way my day started, Once i had got up and gave the Kitten from next door a drink of water and opened the back door he was happy, he just went up to the end of my courtyard and sat there licking himself and looking at me as if to say " Well that got you out of bed" after that shock to the system I needed a good strong Coffee.

My goodness I needed That 

Well once I had got my self sorted I got some breakfast, Text Pauline to let her know that all was ok with me, Pauline phones back and we have a chat and then I go and weigh myself before getting washed and dressed and settling down to check out Facebook.

Nothing wrong with my weight.

Well once I had got myself sorted It was time to head of down to the paper shop and get my daily Paper, I met one of my neighbours out taking his dogs for a walk down the Park, so I headed of down to the park  with my rollator, we had a nice chat but my muscles soon got tired so after about twenty minutes I headed back home, but it was an enjoyable half hour .

Out with my neighbour with his dogs

Once back home I just spent the rest of the day Resting and listening to the radio.

I got dinner about 7.30 Pm a nice Moussaka,  and then spent the rest of the evening in the recliner watching a couple of recorded episodes of "Highway To heaven"

Highway to heaven with Michael Landon and Victor French.

And so ends Sunday, off to bed at about 10.30 last night and slept through pretty well until this morning

Monday

Well This morning started pretty well, It is a lot cooler her on the coast today, apparently we have a cold front moving in from Scandinavia so that will make life a lot more comfortable for me and my walking, I find it hard going walking when it is to hot and humid, a cool breeze makes it far more comfortable for me.

As I said in Fridays Journal, Pauline had made me a Bib for when I am eating.

Franks Bib for mealtimes.

The reason behind Pauline,s needlework skills is that she does all my washing and ironing for me, {She takes The washing home on Wednesdays after she takes me shopping and Gordon takes it on Friday when he goes home to Pauline after Helping me with my Bath etc. And needless to say Wednesday,s washing is returned all clean and ironed on a Friday and the same for Friday,s on a Wednesday, } Anyway as I have to have a lot of liquid with my food due to my swallowing not being 100% and also that my Hand, Mouth and Cutlery co-ordination is not 100% I tend to get food down the front of my shirt, and I think Pauline is getting fed up of having so many shirts to wash and iron, I am all right with Sandwiches, Drinks, ice-cream, cakes etc but Meals are a different matter.

Calm down Pauline

Anyway one I had had my breakfast of cereal (Wearing my posh Bib), I go and get remedy and then head off down to get my Morning Paper, In take a walk around the block and that is enough for me so back indoors to get a coffee and sit and read the Paper and do then crosswords.

Well Today has been taken up on writing this journal and apart from having lunch , I have not done much else, apart from looking into setting up a fun Global Myositis Awareness website, Just turning ideas over in my head at the moment.

Anyway it is now 5.00pm and it is time I got this Journal posted so  as there is not a lot happening today So Until the next Journal on Thursday I will say..................

Rest, Rest and More Rest, That is the answer.

And those are very wise words my friends and fellow myositis warriors. Welcome to my Saturday of rest, today I am reporting from my Recliner in front of the TV

It has been one of those days today after a very busy friday, not only did  Gordon come down to help me to have a bath ,  a visit to the chemist, a trip for an x-ray, a trip to the seafront for a snack and a trip to show Gordon where the old canal used to enter Portsea Island BUT I also had to take my Methotrexate. so as you can see after all that there was only one thing to do today and that was to rest. BUT Did I ??????????

Freaky Friday 

Getting Breakfast

However the day started badly, or Good depending on what way you look at it, I overslept and did not get up until 9.30 am, that is what happens when you have an enjoyable day , anyway I made my coffee, although still in a bit of a daze and made my way to the lounge to log on to Facebook and catch up on the posts from Friday night and this morning and then got carried away exchanging posts on the Australian  Myositis support group, and before I knew it, it was 11.00 and I had not had breakfast, so got some toast and Marmalade and the obligatory Prunes and sat and had breakfast followed by a mint tea.

Once I had finished Breakfast Gordon phoned to say that Pauline and he  were back from the vets with Misty, They had taken her down to have her booster shots (Misty that is not Pauline) and also Misty had a sore patch on her back at the base of her tail, the vet checked it out and there was not a problem with her glands, and it is an infection that she has picked up when she has been taken down to the sandy beach at Hayling Island, apparently it is an infection from Sand Mites in this hot weather and the salt water, so the vet shaved the area, and they have some ointment and antibiotics to clear it up.

Misty and the Vet

Wash and Shave.

Once I had finished on the phone speaking with Gordon it was time to get myself sorted and to get to grips with the day.
The trouble was I was still in my Pyjamas and it was heading towards midday, so I thought If I have another Coffee, that will wake me up so I took todays 5 mg Prednisolone tablet and then had a coffee and then decided I had better go and get  washed, shaved and dressed before the day is over.

Once I had got that all done and I was dressed I thought it was best to get the washing up done from breakfast before settling down to get some  pictures and information from the family tree emailed to my Cousin,s son Grant.He asked yesterday evening if I had any details of any of our Smith Family that were involved in ww1, as he had been watching the programs on the TV about the first world war, on the build up to the 100th anniversary on Monday the 4th of August. I had a little bit about 2 of my Great Grandfathers nephews , who were both killed in action in France in 1916 so sent details of where they were laid to rest in the war grave cemeteries in France and some other bits and pieces so hopefully he will find them of interest,

A Cat Nap

Once that was doneI decided that it was time for a lie down for an hour as I was feeling in need of a cat nap.

Well that was a nice 45 minute sleep and I feel so much better, anyway it is now getting on for 2.00 pm so decide That I would have a Jacket potato and cheese for lunch, it will take 30 minutes to cook so that goes in the oven and I settle down to get yesterdays crosswords done in the paper before lunch is ready at 2.20. I have lunch and then decide I had better get started on todays Journal so that is what I do.

So that was my day of Rest, well as they say "nothing goes to plan", so perhaps tomorrow will be a day of rest, who knows, on reflection, i should have stayed in bed this morning. !!!!!!!.

Anyway It is now 5.10, so I have just about covered today so I am now going to get this published on my blog and then listen to some classical music for a couple of hours before I start to get dinner at 7.00 ish, tonight it will be steak pie with cheesy  mash that Pauline made for me, so until tomorrow i will say a ...........................

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 walk in the Park

Well here we are again absolutely Knackered but happy, so welcome on this sunny day in Portsmouth  on the South coast of the UK, so open the door and walk right in.

early morning Bathroom Break

Last night was not a good night,s sleep I think that this hot and humid weather is taking it out of a lot of us at the moment here in the UK, we are not used to this type of weather here, well not in recent years anyway, you could always rely on the rain coming when the Schools closed for the 6 week summer break, and this has not happened this year.

Anyway I was very restless, and was up and wide awake at 3.00 in the morning , well it was time for the bathroom break anyway.

 Well after I had abluted I returned to bed and then just dozed on and off until I went back off to sleep until I woke at 8.30 feeling like I was ready to go back to bed.

An Australian Beauty

Well Once I was eventually up I made a coffee and went into the lounge where I got on the computer and logged on to Facebook to see what had  been happening in the Myositis support groups overnight, "Especially the Australian bunch" because when we are in the land of nod they are awake and creating havoc.

My Rollator

Well Once I had finished on Facebook and posting in the

Myositis Friends Support Group.

Myositis Support Australasia

Myositis-Canada

The Myositis Ramblers "KIT" Group

I then go and get another coffee and have my Breakfast before washing up and getting ready to go out round with my Rollator/Walker  to the local Tesco express store to get my daily paper and then as it is a nice day a trip around the park where I can sit in the shade and do the crossword in the paper and watch the world go by.

It amazes me that in a very congested city we still have so many parks and open Spaces. Milton park is surrounded by 3 busy roads but has been here for centuries, it used to be a farm in 1722 and was purchased as a Park by Portsmouth corporation in 1912. It is a very well used park in Milton/Eastney which is on the eastern side of Portsea Island. Following are some Photographs that I took today.

Looking towards the Entrance to Milton Park from The Crossroads at Goldsmith Avenue.

Dog Walkers ?

Once I get into the Park i found a nice seat in the shade of one of the many trees that are in the Park and it is nice as although it is surrounded by busy roads it is still a fairly quiet place with lots of people out walking the dogs and as it is school holidays there are mothers with there children in the Play Park area having picnics etc, a nice family environment.

However I read my paper and do the easy crossword, the harder one can be done this afternoon or evening, as for some reason I am not watching that much TV at the moment, I prefer to listen to the local radio or to Classical FM. (must be getting old) after about 45 minutes I start to make my way back home.  It is only about a 20 minute walk with the rollator for me, about 8 minutes of anyone else, but today I seem to be having more problems with my legs not wanting to work, it is the upper leg and thigh muscles that seem to be the problem an both the left and right hand side, I have noticed a slow deterioration over the last 3 or 4 weeks, but today it just seems to be that little bit harder.

A Sandwich for lunch

Once I am home I get myself a coffee and then go for a lie down to rest the legs, after which i notice that it is nearly 2.00 pm so time to make a corned beef and tomato sandwich for lunch and also a yoghurt

well that is really about exciting as today got, I now need to get todays journal started and then I can think about what to have for tea, and get myself rested for Shopping tomorrow with Pauline, I have a feeling the wheelchair will be needed tomorrow as we will be going down to the city centre.

Frank is Old and Cranky

 I Have an appointment with my GP on Thursday so I will have a word with her, I am not one to start to try and analyse what the problem may be but knowing my body and after 3 years of Myositis the  likely causes are Either the tapering of the Prednisolone, "Adrenal deficiency" from being on the Prednisolone for over 3 years and taking my age into account,  or progressive weakening of the muscles. it is not a problem with the bone as it is certainly a muscle ache and weakness. either way I will get it sorted, my GP will probably contact my Neurologist and bring my appointment with him forward as I my next appointment is on September the 18th and they will probably up the Prednisolone in the meantime, AS I am now on 2.5 mg a day and I have been struggling ever since started to taper from 10 mg daily. Oh the Joys of Dermatomyositis

Well that is about it for today so a nice beef casserole for dinner tonight and then a relaxing evening listening to the radio, with a brief interlude to watch Emmerdale on the TV, it is the only "soap"I watch so all thats left is to say is..............

See Ya Tomorrow

The Return of my Daily Journal.

And so here I am back again after a gap of nearly Ten months and here I come riding back into your lives on a white charger, well it has been an interesting few months which I will not bore you with apart to say that I had a few up,s and downs with tapering my Prednisolone but at least I have now got new glasses and a larger screen computer so hopefully get back to what i do best and that is boring you all silly .



So where do I start,  I am now down to 2.5 mg of Prednisolone daily ( 5 mg taken alternate days} and that was a journey and a half to get to this from 5 mg daily (10 mg taken alternate days) but fingers crossed i am now finding it easier but a big difference in my energy levels, they are so much lower on this low dose.

Anyway I have got to where my Neurologist wants me to be, and now all I have to do is to work on my weight, I am just under 13 stone which is not helping with my Knees and with my weak muscles in my upper legs and thigh,s, My Neurologist "Dr Gibb" wants me to be at 11 stone unfortunately that is not going to happen so I am going to try to get to 12 stone and see where we go from there but I think Jogging is out of the question.

So that just about brings us up to date on the health side of things so we start with today. as usual it was a case of waking up not knowing if the heatwave we are in the middle of was going to continue again or not, it was another night of restless sleep as it is so hot and humid here in the UK so wait to see what the weather forecast is for today

Well it looks like it is another hot day ahead and so it seems the Fan will be used to its maximum again today, anyway time for breakfast so that is a coffee with a bowl of Special K with red berries followed by the obligatory 4 pitted prunes, I have found that having 4 prune,s in the morning with my breakfast can reduce my laxative ( Latulose) from twice a day to just once in the evening.

Once I had finished Breakfast I send the morning text to Pauline, and she phones me back to make sure that all is Ok, Pauline and Gordon  are off up to Waterlooville town centre to do some shopping and asked if there is anything I needed but all I have to get today is Milk and the daily Paper, as I went shopping with Gervase yesterday so i have everything I need until Pauline takes me shopping down to Portsmouth city centre on Wednesday.

Waterlooville  Town Centre.

Once I have spoken to Pauline I check out the myositis support groups on Facebook and then I get myself ready and go down to winter road with the Rollator to get my Daily paper and a couple of pints of Milk. While I am out I take a walk down Devonshire avenue and around the block back home, which is my exercise for the day. it takes about 20 to 30 minutes and the good thing about using a rollator it has a seat so I can sit down if required, however it is a lot less humid today so it was not to bad on the breathing

Approach to Devonshire avenue from Winter Road

Winter Road looking north to the shops.

Once i am back home I have a sit down and a coffee and then go out and dead head the Rose bush and the two hanging baskets, there are still a lot of buds on them to bloom yet, They are at the front of my flat and looks very pretty, there are a lot of hanging Baskets in the houses down our street.

The Rose bush is doing well this year.

one of my Hanging Baskets

My other Hanging Basket.

Once I had done that it was time for some lunch so a nice Corned beef Sandwich and then a lie down for an hour until 3.00 when it is time to get the computer ready, make a coffee and then on to writing the daily journal before getting dinner ready for tonight, Tonight it will be a sea bass fillet with New Potatoes, Broccoli and a cauliflower cheese, all home made from fresh ingredients.

well that is about it for today, not the most exciting of days but an enjoyable one all the same so I will say bye Bye to you all until tomorrow, and It is so good to be back writing the Journal, it will probably take a few days to get back into the swing of things.