Well here we are at another Methotrexate day

 So Welcome to "Freaky Friday"

Well it has been a decent week this week as you could see by Wednesdays Journal.

Thursday 22nd August 2013

Thursday went pretty well, I sent a text to Pauline as usual in the morning but had no reply for a bit so phoned her mobile and she was still out walking Misty, and had got lost in the wooded area, so I think she needs to get a Sat Nav, still they have only been at there new home for two weeks so it will take time for her to get to know her way around the area.

You are going the wrong way Pauline

anyway once I had spoken to Pauline I have porridge for breakfast and then go round to the co-op with the Rollator to get a daily paper and some milk, It is good having the rollator as it means I can walk further than with a walking cane.

"Roland the Rollator"

Once back home I settle down to read the paper before Leanne arrives at 12.30 to come down to the dentist with me for my appointment, the appointment was at 12.50 and by 1.15 we were back out and I had a upper plate with 3 new teeth. Whoo Hoo, mind you will take some getting used to,

anyway we head back home and then Leanne goes of to meet a friend for lunch and I have a tin of soup and a banana before going for a lie down.

Once I have had my lie down I spend the rest of the evening Watching TV. My son Gervase comes in to see me at 6.30 on his way home from work, and at 7.30 I have my Dinner a nice Liver and Bacon with Mash Potato and Gravy, and then I watch the TV until bedtime at 10.30 where I listen to the local radio before getting off to sleep about 12.00 . I am tired after a very enjoyable day.

Friday 23rd August 2013

So here we are back to Friday, where has the week gone to, I have actually got very little done this week, out for 7 hours on Monday with a canadian Relative, Shopping Tuesday, Milton park and the art cafe Wednesday, and Dentist Thursday, so today t will be a quiet day at home with some research into world war one. I have had Canadian and American relatives who fought and also 2 died in france in World war 1 so that is my aim for today. The Canadians from Toronto and also Quebec, and the American Smith from Trenton New Jersey.

Western Front world war 1

However before I start that I text Pauline and then get some Breakfast before going round to get my morning Paper, once back home I read the Paper and do the cross word before settling down to the History Research.

Joseph James smith from Canada, Died in Action France 1916 along
with his Brother who was from Jersey in the Channel Islands UK

Arthur Hubbard who fought in France in World War 1 he returned home in 1917
Arthur lived in Delson, Canada. and was my Grandfathers Brother.

My Maternal and Paternal Grandfathers fought in WW1 with the Royal Navy but today I am researching the war in France and Belgium along the western Front and concentrating on the Canadian and American Relatives/ancestors.

I have got 8 bound volumes of the "Illustrated War News" Published by the "London Illustrated News" covering the period 14th June 1916 through to April 10th 1918 in 96 Parts.
Here are a few of the pages that show photographs of Canadian and American troops on the western Front.

one of the 8 Volumes

The memorial at Vimy Ridge in Memory of the 3,598 Canadians who  died
at the battle of Vimy Ridge. in all there were over 10,000 canadian casualties

In memory of the first U.S Officer struck down in France.

Canadian troops at the front.

American Nurses tend the wounded in France (Paris)

canadians on the western front

The American U-Boat Blockade

The Canadian Capture of Vimy ridge

Stars and Stripes in the City of london

Well that was an interesting few of hours of research into WW1, I will do a bit more tonight, but now it is time to get todays journal completed and posted before Pointless on TV and then dinner at 6.00 so until tomorrow I will say tatty bye,

So Far so Good this week

Well after a really crap weekend of Methotrexate and Constipation At last I can honestly say that I am not yet ready to "Roll over and let this Myositis take over my life". So In the words of the Frank Sinatra Song "I did it My Way"

As most of you know I had a pretty rough three days this weekend but I was determined not to miss meeting up with a Distant relative from Canada who was visiting the UK and who I had arranged to meet on Monday, so as the words from the 1936 song by Jerome Kern goes, it was a case of "Pick myself up, Dust myself down and Start all over again"

Quite a musical Journal today isn't it.....................

Following the chat with my GP on Friday I have increased the Lactulose Dose which is so much better for me and also since friday I have increased my prednisolone from 10 mg alternate days to 10 mg every day and feel like a new man so the first achievement  was to go with Pauline and Gordon to Meet Dean Hubbard and his Daughter Hayley who are over from Canada on Monday.

Monday 19th August 2013

We met them at Portsmouth harbour railway station at 11.00 am and spent the day in old portsmouth with them until the caught the Train back to London at 6.00 pm a very enjoyable 7 hours.

Me and Dean looking at Family photo,s in the Cafe at Portsmouth Dockyard

Dean, Hayley and me with HMS Victory in the background. Portsmouth Dockyard

Dean and Hayley at the top of the Spinnaker tower, Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth

Gordon in the stocks at Portsmouth Dockyard

Pauline and Hayley at the Historic dockyard with HMS Warrior in the background.

Lunch at the Slug and lettuce in Gunwharf Quays

Dean and Hayley on the shore at Old Portsmouth, Isle of Wight in the distance.

Dean and Hayley on the waterfront at Gunwharf Quays.

Memorial to the British and Canadian Royal Navy,s for Minesweepers and Escorts.

Quebec house, Bath Square, Old Portsmouth,

Bath Square was one of the earliest known sites for the recreational use of salt water, which took place in what is now Quebec House.

The bathing house was built in 1754, with the baths connected to the harbour by pipes.

The name Quebec House comes from the 19th century when the bathing house became part of the Quebec Hotel – so called because its weatherboarding was used chiefly in the North American colonies.

The building was saved from falling into the sea by John Henry Pounds.

So all in all Monday was a very enjoyable day but also very tiring so it was early to bed on Monday night.

Tuesday 20th August 2013

Well after a really great day yesterday , today it is another Tuesday shopping day, Pauline and gordon came down at about 11.00 o,clock and while gordon stayed at my flat to give it the weekly clean, Pauline and I went down to the city centre to get some shopping and pick up a prescription from boots, it was a decent couple of hours out in the sunshine and I got the shopping today to take me through until I go out shopping with Gervase on Sunday, I am still taking 10 mg of Prednisolone every day up until thursday as we are out shopping today and I have dentist on Thursday so I will go back to 10 mg on alternate days on Friday, but will have a chat with my Neurologist when I see him in a fortnight about going back to 10 mg Prednisolone every day, at least that way I can Function and have a decent quality of daily life.

Shopping in the Arundel Street Precinct, City Centre

Pauline,s Favourite Charity Shop in the Arundel Street Precinct

Once we had got all the shopping we wanted we get a Taxi back home where Gordon makes the coffee and then after a chat Pauline and Gordon head home, and I make a coffee and then settle down with the TV until dinner at 6.00 . One thing is that I kept getting told of by Pauline today as she was pushing me around Tesco in the wheelchair as I kept singing the chorus from the 1988 "Prefab Sprout song "King of Rock N Roll" but kept changing the words from " ♬♬♬Hot dog, Jumping Frog, Albuquerque♬♬♬" to "♬♬♬ Big bum,s, Wobbly tum,s, down at Tesco ♬♬♬". and if you shop in Tesco or Asda in Portsmouth, you will know what I mean.

Wednesday 21st August 2013

So here we are at Wednesday and still feeling Good so after a decent nights sleep and a chat to Pauline I decide to go for a stroll with the Rollator and went down to get my Paper and some Milk and ended up in Milton Market, so went into Bransbury park and had a coffee in the "Art Cafe" and sat in the garden for half an hour reading the Paper before strolling back home, where I had a coffee and a lie down. a most enjoyable Morning so thank you Prednisolone.

The Art Cafe, Bransbury Park, Milton, Portsmouth

The Garden in bloom at Bransbury Park

After I had my lie down I made a coffee and then my Brother Pat came in to see me for an hour, it is a couple of months since I last saw Pat , although we do speak on the phone, he was down in Portsmouth doing some work so came in for a chat and a cup of tea, once pat had left I had a spot of lunch and then got started on todays Journal.

It is now 4.20 so I am going to get this journal finished and posted and then settle down to watch some TV until dinner at 7.00 and an evening of TV. so all in all increasing my Prednisolone up to 10 mg a day is the way I need to go and also by increasing my Lactulose to 10 ml twice a day my digestion and bowel movement has improved and also I have not needed to take my Lansoprazole as I am not getting the acid reflux so probably the lactulose has helped in that. so I think that as I said at the beginning I will do what my body tells me to do and do it My Way.

So until the next journal on Freaky Friday I will say....................

its another Dentist Visit Today

Not enough hours in the day

Hello again and here I am on a day of a Painful Back and a Trip to the dentist to look forward to, These days just get Better. As many of you may have noticed there has been days where the Daily Journal has not appeared, the reason for this is that there are so many other things going on at the moment that there are days when I do not have enough time to fit everything in, but the journal will still be appearing on most days.

Ouch, Ouch, Ouch

Well as some of you will have gathered by my facebook page I pulled the muscles in my back yesterday moving my Fridge out from under the kitchen work top, On Hindsight a silly thing to do but to be honest I did it without thinking, I had knocked a pair of kitchen scissors of the top of the fridge and pulled it out to retrieve them all went well until I bent down and twisted myself to reach round and pick them up and that is when the Pain kicked in, so it was a day of rest and Co-Codamol yesterday, although I did manage to go out shopping with my son Gervase in the afternoon once the tablets kicked in.

Well as most of you know by now that with Co-Codamol come Constipation, so at least that was the excuse I needed to treat myself to a Gluten free Chicken Korma Curry for dinner last night, which I really did enjoy so with every dark cloud there is a silver lining, anyhow I got myself to bed early last night and slept right the way through until 7.30 this morning and today the Back is feeling a lot better so hopefully the damage is not to severe, the question is, " Will I Learn to think before I act in future ?" the Answer is "with my track record in life probably not". Now the Question you are all asking is did the Curry help with the constipation well the answer is "NO" so the lactulose will be out on force tonight. LOL.

My Morning Coffee

However as I said earlier I had a really good night and slept all the way through from about 11.00 until 7.30 this morning so a good nights sleep and thank goodness the back is a lot easier this morning still a slight twinge but nowhere near as bad as yesterday, anyway I take a couple of Paracetamol just to be on the safe side as I have a dental appointment this morning at 9.30, so I am out of bed by 8.00 and into the lounge with a coffee and a banana for breakfast, I text pauline and she phones back to sat that her and Gordon will be with me by 9.15 and take me down to the Dentist and then Gordon will drop us off there and come back to start the weekly flat cleaning and then we will get a Taxi back home when we are out of the Dentist.

"Must clean Teeth"

Once I have spoken to Pauline I make another coffee and then check out my emails and facebook before going into the bathroom to get myself washed and shaved and then get dressed ready for when Pauline and Gordon arrive, They are here by 9.20 so we are off down to Outram road to the dentist where Gordon drop me and Pauline off and then he goes back to my flat to get the cleaning done while I go into see my Dentist.

The Happy Dentist

I report to the Reception and I do not have to wait long before the dentist,s nurse comes to take me into the treatment room, The dentist checks my mouth to check that all is OK and that no more work needs doing on my teeth and after checking that my Medication has not changed since my last visit he explains that he is going to take the impressions for my upper plate that I need doing and also for a lower plate, this will give me a full set of teeth again, The upper plate will be made and fitted first and then the lower plate, later I have to go back in 3 weeks when the upper plate will be back from the lab so we will then have another fitting then, so once he has taken the impressions I am off back home.

Outram Road Dental Surgery, Portsmouth

A Cat Nap

Once Back home Pauline and I walk round to the Tesco Express to get my morning paper, and then back home where Gordon has just finished the weekly cleaning for me, so I make the coffee,s while Pauline sorts out my Laundry for me, She brought some clean back with her today and is taking another load to do this week so thank you Pauline and Gordon. Once we have had the coffee and a chat ii is 11.00 so Pauline and Gordon are off back home and I make a coffee and settle down to read the paper and then at 12.15 I make myself some Sardine and Tomato Paste Sandwiches for lunch which is very nice and get washed down with a nice cup of tea and then I go for a lie down at 1.15 until 2.00 and have a bit of a cat nap, as I was up early this morning.

Once I am up I go into the kitchen and make a coffee and get the vegetable prepared for tonight,s dinner and then into the lounge to get the journal written. It is now 4.20 and I have got the journal written so I will get it Posted and then I can settle down with the TV for the rest of the day, as tomorrow will be a busy day out shopping down commercial road. This week is also armed forces week with armed forces day on this Saturday the  29th June.  The Local flag raising ceremony took place in Gosport this morning.

Well there we are the end of another day, there are lots of events taking place throughout the week in Portsmouth and Gosport with Armed Forces day taking place on Saturday. I am now going to post todays blog so until tomorrow I will say Tatty Bye.

Here we are again................I Think ??

♬ ♬ ♬ Don't Blame it on Sunshine ♬ ♬ ♬
♬ ♬ ♬ Don't Blame it on Moonlight ♬ ♬ ♬
♬ ♬ ♬ Don't Blame it on Good times ♬ ♬ ♬
♬ ♬ ♬ Blame it on the Government ♬ ♬ ♬

Well Hello one and all well it is the start of another day and the dreaded Methotrexate so that means only one thing. Today must be........................

So another good nights sleep and the usual morning rituals of Bathroom, Coffee in bed, Coffee in the lounge, Breakfast and the morning text to Pauline. So I am in a cheerful mood today "So Far" as when I was listening to the radio I heard an interview with one of the "Newly Formed" Police Commissioners Another another bright idea dreamed up by our out of touch and totally useless Government, and they were talking about the introduction of the police forces around the country being sponsored by "Business,s" Now I was under the impression that the entry on my "Council tax bill" which is headed up as "POLICE AND CC FOR HAMPSHIRE" was for supplying and running a Police service in Hampshire, but then I got to thinking about it and thought, perhaps the police in Portsmouth might be sponsored by a burger chain like McDonalds if so would they be wearing Clown Uniforms and instead of Tasers and Pepper spray be using water squirting flowers in there lapels ????

E.N.T Doctor

anyway that is me just being my own silly self, anyhow once up and I have had breakfast and gone and got my morning Paper I come back home and settle down to read the paper and to catch up on face book and emails, I have not heard from Pauline yet today so Phone her mobile and apparently her and Gordon have not gone into work today as gordon had a restless night and Pauline,s throat was sore after her Voice box test yesterday as she had to have a camera down her throat, and that is sore and also this morning 3 of her crowns have broken of off her teeth so perhaps they were damaged yesterday so she has to phone the dentist but anyway Her and Gordon are Ok

anyway At 1.00 I go and get dinner prepared and started so that I can have my main meal at 2.00, This is my new regime of eating my main meal at lunch time and just having a light tea in the evening, this is only the 4th day and I am trying it for a fortnight to see if it helps, and so far it has been very positive as I am not getting half the amount of problems with acid reflux at night that I was getting so that is a step in the right direction, anyway I am having Salmon with New Potato and Cauliflower cheese today so that will be a tasty meal, and a pudding of Mango in Custard. Whoo Hoo.

Dinner is on Cooking

And here is Dinner

Well dinner was excellent and I really enjoyed it, so much better having a meal earlier in the day, however it is now time to settle down and get this Journal done and while I am doing this there is a good old fashioned movie on the TV which I can watch/listen to it is a Movie made in 1939 Directed by "John Ford" and starring "Henry Fonda" and "Claudette Colbert" and is a Western called " Drums along the Mohawk"

Drums along the Mohawk 1939

well it has been a good afternoon, the sun is shining through the window and the Methotrexate has ben taken and the film has been excellent, although if I had not kept stopping to watch it or make a coffee I could have finished this journal earlier but "What the Heck" anyway I have decided that for supper later on tonight I will have a couple of Boiled egg,s with a slice of toast, When I was down Waitrose yesterday I bought a pack of 4 Speciality chicken eggs, 1 dark brown,(Burford Brown) 1 light brown,(Burford Buff) 1 white (Leghorn White) and 1 light blue (Old Cotswold Legbar).

The Box of 4 Eggs

And here are the 4 Eggs

So anyway that is about it for today so now It is time to watch the quiz show "Pointless" while the Methotrexate Kicks in and then after that at 6.00 it will be time to do the washing up before getting a late tea of boiled eggs at 7.00, so I will say Tatty Bye until tomorrow,