Another Freaky Friday

It has come to my attention. 
It is very clear to see.
When I wake up very early.
It's because I want a pee.
"Sorted"

Yucky Today

Good morning Boys and Girls, and another Friday creeps up when we are not looking, as most of you know today is Methotrexate day, and for those of you who did not know !well you know now!. However after a really good day yesterday with positive results from my consultant and being out for over 4 hours today I am back to normal for a friday only this time I am also suffering from over doing it yesterday, will I never learn

One thing that did make me laugh was me and Gordon had the waiting room up the hospital in stitches (excuse the pun) yesterday, I have no idea how Pauline puts up with us. Anyway it happened as me, Pauline and Gordon were sat waiting, the waiting room was pretty full and people moaning about having to wait and I said to Gordon That I did not mind waiting as I needed my Viagra Injection, Why an injection he asked, I replied that I had tried The Tablets but they gave me a stiff neck, Gordon then said he has the Liquid form of Viagra, because it means he can have a stiff drink, That brought the waiting room to life and several people said they hope we are up there next time they come as its the best entertainment they have had for a long time. Some people are easily pleased.

anyway enough of this frivolity today is a really very warm and sunny day here on the south coast as you can see from the photo taken from the live webcam at Portsmouth Harbour. This was taken at 11.45 this morning. The temperature here today is 24 C.

Portsmouth Harbour 11.45 today

As you can see it is a calm sea and not a cloud in the sky and also to hot to go outside today.
Well I have just checked on the progress of the Olympic Torch Relay, it is on day 7 today and is going from Worcester to Cardiff. Here is the Torch going through Ross-on-Wye the last place in England before being carried over the border into Wales. At the moment at 12.30 it is at Abergavenny where the temperature is 27 C.

The Olympic relay torch being carried through Ross-on-Wye

My afternoon Catnap

Well it is 12.30 and I have not done very much at all today I have taken my methotrexate and my Prednisolone, Had some cornflakes for breakfast and had a Banana at 11.30 but apart from that I have done nothing at all apart from check my emails and spend time on facebook. but that is about it for me on a Friday, I will get some Chicken soup for Lunch at 1.00 and then will probably go for a lie down for an hour this afternoon before carrying on with the laptop.

Well Hydrated Today

Well that was a nice hours lie down listening to Radio Solent , and I am now sat in the back room with the back door open and there is a nice breeze blowing in so I am enjoying this, I can look out into the sunny back garden without actually being out in the sun, the one thing I have made sure of today is that I am drinking regular glasses of water to keep myself hydrated.

Putting on weight

Anyway I am now back working on the daily journal and as you can see I have not done a lot today, I had some Chicken and Mushroom soup today for lunch with a Cream cheese sandwich so that was nice and light to eat as in this heat I do not feel like eating much, which will probably please My Consultant as he did mention yesterday that I do not really want to put on anymore weight.  Do you think that was his way of telling me I am getting fat ? lol.

So It is getting near to the time where I need to get this Journal posted so that I can spend a couple of hours on Family History research, although I really need to go and get the washing up done from lunch time.
Well here Is another Picture from todays, Olympic Torch Relay this picture shows the torch being carried across the medieval Monnow bridge in Monmouth.

The Olympic Relay Torch crossing the Monnow Bridge

So there we are just about at the end of todays Journal, just one other thing and that is I was listening to Classical FM earlier this morning when I woke up and they were playing parts of the " Planet Suite" by Gustav Holst and the Day in History for today is the 78th anniversary of the death of Gustav Holst. so that is what I am going to leave you with today.

Gustav Holst 25th May 1934

so that is the end of Friday,s Daily Journal so I will say.......................

A hospital visit today.

And another bright and sunny day begins here on the South Coast, todays Journal will be a short one as it has been a busy day today as I had my appointment with my consultant at the Queen Alexander hospital. so once I had been washed and Groomed by Jo my carer this morning and had eaten breakfast and phoned Pauline there was just time to check the emails and facebook and to check the progress of the Olympic Torch Relay before It was time to get dressed and gather up everything ready for my appointment with Dr Gibb.

Olympic Relay Torch in front of Gloucester Cathedral.

Today is Day 6 of the Olympic torch Relay from Gloucester to Worcester here the torch is Passing through the grounds of Gloucester Cathedral. Pauline phones to say she and Gordon are leaving at 10.50 to collect me and then we are of up to the hospital for the 11.45 appointment.

Queen Alexandra Hospital.

 Once at the QA Hospital we sit outside in the sun for 10 min,s and then go into the waiting room. My appointment is for 11.45 and it is 12.30 when Dr gibb calls me in.
It was a good Visit, I am going to taper my Prednisolone down from 5 mg/15 mg alternative days to 2.5 mg/15 mg Alternative days for 4 weeks and then down to 15 mg on alternative days. Dr gibb is pleased with the way I am progressing with the swallowing, all my 3 weekly blood tests have been coming back ok so I am going to 6 weekly blood tests. and he will see me again in 4 Months time. as far ass the Foggy feeling in the head is concerned he said it is not any tying to worry about just annoying and that it should go as the Prednisolone drops. He has been a good Neurologist so far so will go with what he says, He also said that the Cardiologist is not overly concerned with the erratic heart beats as they are both sure it is down to the weakness in the muscles around the  heart and chest areas. The 15 mg of Methotrexate on a friday and the 5 mg of Folic acid on a monday stays the same as does the two Calcichew D3 Daily. so all in all a good positive visit and although I still have a lot of Muscle weakness in the legs which reduces my Mobility he is hopeful that it will improve when he feels it is time to arrange Physio Therapy.

Portsdown hill Overlooking Portsmouth

One out of the hospital we drove up on to Portsdown Hill where we could get a burger and coffee from the burger van and sat there overlooking the panoramic views of Portsmouth. after that we drove into Portsmouth to Visit Pauline,s Sister Janet and Brother in law Fred as it is Janet,s birthday today. We had a coffee with them and then They took me back home, we got home about 3.15 so it has been a good day but Tiring, so I will cut this Journal short as I need to have a rest and then think about dinner as Gervase will be round to see me this evening on his way home from work. so I will say Tatty bye until tomorrow and go and have a Nap.

Another Glorious Day.

ooh Bacon

I am sitting here in my back room with the door open, and looking out into a very sunny back garden. it is 10.30 already this morning and apart from the carer getting me washed and groomed and making myself a bacon sandwich for breakfast I have done nothing. It is a very lazy day for me today.

My Back garden at 10.30 this morning

The reason I sit indoors rather than outside is that the rear of the house is South facing and it is a real sun trap all day long, if I sit outside i just get so hot and red that it is not worth the hassle.  The one thing I have noticed today is that the butterfly,s are around the bushes. It will not be long before the flowers will start to bloom, so I need to start getting my Planters planted up ready.

I am sat out here with the laptop and have just checked the Olympic torch relay, today is day 5 out of 70. Today the torch is going from Nailsea Bristol to Cheltenham. The highlight of the Morning was when the torch relay crossed the Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon, with the fireworks being set of as the runner crossed.

Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol

Due to safety reasons the public were not allowed on to the bridge as the torch crossed but they found many good vantage points around the bridge to watch the crossing from.

Many Vantage points around Clifton Suspension Bridge

A Tasty Banana

Well so far this morning I have spent most of it sat here by the open door writing this journal, apart from regular excursions out into the garden and back. The temperature in the back room with the door open is 70⁰F and out in the back yard it is over 90⁰F far to hot for me, so just had a nice cool drink and a Banana. For some reason I have developed a taste for Banana,s Just hope it is a phase I am going through and that I am not Pregnant lol.

Today is the Second day of the Royal Horticultural Society Chelsea Flower Show, One of the special Gardens is the Arthritis Research UK Garden to mark its 75th Anniversary.

Arthritis Research UK Garden at the Chelsea Flower Show.

 This garden won a Silver-Gilt Medal, so a good result for the Arthritis Research UK Society. Well it is now approaching 11.50 so soon be time to think about Lunch, so before then I am going to go and watch yesterdays recording of little house on the prairie, then lunch at 1.00 and a cat nap at 1.30 so that is the next couple of hours planned out.

Dinner Tonight.

So it is now 3.15 and I am back on the laptop to get this Journal finished and Posted before settling down to an evening of Family history research, I had a nice piece of smoked haddock for lunch and tonight for dinner it will be roast chicken breast with Jersey royal potato,s and 2 veg, so tasty meals today.

So Before i sign off for today I will go and check on how the Olympic torch relay is progressing through Wiltshire and Gloucestershire today . The Photo below shows the Olympic Relay Torch making its way through Calne in Wiltshire

The Torch making its way through Calne in Wiltshire

The crowds are still coming out in force to cheer the runners through the City,s Town,s and Villages, Olympic fever seems to have caught on in a big way here in the UK.
So this is about it for today, I have a busy day ahead tomorrow as I have my 3 monthly appointment up at the Queen Alexander Hospital with my Neurologist Dr Gibb, so I will say tatty bye until tomorrow and leave you with todays date in History from Canada.

It is All happening today.

Well where do I start, probably best to skip through all the early morning bits and pieces as they are the same everyday and move on to the better things about today. What a great start to Tuesday, A really Warm sunny Morning and it is only 10.00 am, Pauline is coming at 11.00 so that we can go down to the City Centre and get the shopping, Also it is the 4th day of the Olympic Torch Relay, and Chelsea Flower show starts today so lots happening. We will start with a Photo taken by Myself this morning showing how nice the weather is here on the South Coast Today.

Taken at 10.00 am this Morning.

The sky is really blue with not a cloud in sight so long may it stay like this, they are predicting Temperatures of 26 degrees Celsius later on this afternoon, however while I am waiting for Pauline to arrive I check on line to see how the Olympic relay is progressing.
The Route for the relay is from Taunton to Bristol. Part of the journey is made by Canal boat along the river Tone through Taunton.

Olympic Torch relay on the canal boat along the river Tone

Pauline arrives just after 11.00 and we get the wheelchair into the Taxi and off we go, The Driver drops us off at the Precinct in the city centre,  Pauline needs to get some bits and pieces for Misty, There is a story to tell here but that will have to wait a while longer, we get what Pauline wants for Misty, and some food for Charlie the Cat and then we are off out into the Precinct to get to the Bank.

The Precinct 

Once we have got the bank business completed we make our way along to The card shop and then stop at the Expresso bar cafe for a pasty and a coffee for lunch before going into Argos as I need to pay my argos account, Surprise Surprise, you cannot pay your argos account at the Argos store ???.

Argos store at Commercial Road Portsmouth City Centre

Oh Well no wonder Home Retail Group are having falling profits, another store that I will not buy from again, No Customer Service = No Custom from me. so we are now off to Morrisons to get the shopping, it is a bit of a walk to get there but it is a nice day so we go via Sainsburys so that we can use the Disabled toilet on the way.

Going through the Sainsburys Car Park.

Well we reach the New morrison,s store in the victory retail park, there is not a lot of cars in the car park so it will not be very busy inside, so it should be easy to get around, and get the shopping that we need to get, I must remember to shop to take me through until Gervase takes me out on Sunday, as we will not be going shopping on Thursday this week as I have my appointment up at the Hospital with my Neurologist.

Victory Retail Park Car Park.

Guess Who?

and Now the story about pauline will be revealed, Once we are outside of morrisons I phone for the Taxi, and when it arrives I get out the wheelchair and into the Taxi while the driver and pauline put the shopping and wheelchair into the Taxi well on the wheelchair is a packet of "Dog Treat,s" horror, horror "has Pauline been Shoplifting Doggy Biscuits", anyway once home we check the receipt from the shop and this pkt of treats is not on the bill, It must have fallen down off my lap in the store and we had not noticed it as I was holding the purchases on my lap, anyway when we go down next week we will go and pay for them.

Anyway once back home we get the shopping put away and then have a nice coffee and then Pauline is on her way home with her Ill Gotten Gains LOL.

The Chelsea Flower show opened today and I do like watching it on TV to see all the Flower and Garden Displays, it is a big yearly event in London, and is always well attended and has good TV Coverage.

RHS Chelsea.

Anyway it is now getting near 5.50 and dinner will be ready for 6.10 so I must really think about getting this Journal Posted but one thing you must see is the Crowd gathered today at "Wells Cathedral" to welcome the Olympic torch relay earlier today as it makes its way to Bristol.

The Crowd at Wells Cathedral waiting for the Olympic Torch relay

so that is about it for today, I am running out of time, so I will leave you with todays "Day in History" for the 22nd May 1813 and will be back tomorrow with a more organized edition.

Richard Wagner. (Composer)

And Monday follows Sunday.

Where is the sun

Got Out of bed, Oh full of fun.
When I draw the curtains, I will see the Sun.
With baited breath, I grabbed the cord.
I pulled it hard, without a word.
The Light came in , I cried out loud.
There is no Sun, just Blinking Cloud.

In the Bathroom

So a good Morning to you all and welcome to another day of Fun here in the South of England, As you can tell by the above little verse, despite what the meteorological office is telling us, the sunshine has still not arrived although we live in hope. Not a bad night last night, slept relatively well, woke about 4.30 to go to the bathroom and then went back to sleep until about 6.45 so pleased with that.

As I usual I stayed lazing in Bed until 8.00 then went and made the coffee and went to the lounge to watch the TV News and to wait for the carer to arrive, once the carer has been I text Pauline and gervase and then go and get some porridge for breakfast before going on line to check out the emails and also Facebook, to see who is around. I check how the Olympic torch relay is going, Today is day 3 and they are going from Exeter in Devon to Taunton in Somerset. at 8.10 the torch is going through Okehampton being carried by local Olympic shooting Hopeful Georgina Geike

The olympic Torch Relay at Okehampton

Cutting my own Toe nails

So this morning is taken up by Spending a couple of hours on Genealogy Research on line through the National Archives website, and then at 11.00 it is time for a coffee and a couple of biscuits and then an hour on Facebook, catching up on the "Words with friends games" after doing the washing up, this brings us up to 12.00. and this is where another milestone is reached, Yahooo, Yipeeee and "I Can't believe it" for the first time in over 18 months I have managed to cut my own "Toe Nails". the only problem now is that I am sure I had 5 toes on each foot when I started LOL. Anyway if this Myositis has taught me one thing and that is to take nothing for granted as you do not know what you miss being able to do until you can't do it.

Cat nap

so now at 1.00 o,clock it is time for some lunch and today I am having a nice Cheese and Bacon sandwich with a nice cup of tea and that went down really well, so another first for today is eating Wholemeal Bread including the crusts. once that is finished I watch the TV News until 1.45 and then have  a cat nap in the chair for an hour.

So now the time is 3.00 and time to get this journal finished,  As usual i am adding the Day in history, Today it is the 118th Anniversary of the official opening of the Manchester ship canal by queen victoria, This has nothing to do with my daily journal except that I enjoy spending time on the computer with Graphic design. and it is one of my daily tasks I set myself.

Official opening of the Manchester Ship canal.

so there we are then another little bit of historical knowledge, so now I am going to check to see how the Olympic torch relay is progressing on its 3rd day and it seems that it is not just us humans that are getting excited about the Olympic torch relay around britain, our Canine friends resplendent in the Union Jack are also out in force in Bideford. the true British Bulldog spirit LOL.

 So there we are then folks, All in All another good day, and to top it all the Sun and blue skies are trying to make an appearance so fingers crossed for a good day tomorrow out shopping down town with Pauline. so I will leave you all with a fond farewell until tomorrow and the latest photo from the live webcam at Portsmouth harbour.

Portsmouth at 4.20 this afternoon.

Another dull Sunday.

Don't panic Frankie.

Good morning people and welcome to another dreary sunday here on the south coast of the UK, well I must say that last night was another hot and miss affair with the sleeping, went to bed at 11.00 took about an hour or so to get off to sleep, Woke about 6.00 am and then went back to sleep and woke again at 8.15, Panic stations then as Jo the carer comes between 8.30 and 9.00 so mad rush to get a coffee and into the lounge ready for Jo. Lucky I got a move on as Jo arrives just after 8.30 anyway she gets me washed and groomed and is then on her way, while I get another coffee and some breakfast.

So it is Day two of the olympic torch relay. Today it is covering the route between Plymouth and Exeter, in south Devon. At 9.30 this morning it was passing through the small town of "Modbury" in south devon, A large crowd had gathered and the Church bells were ringing out as the Torch passed through. The whole street was adorned with Flags and bunting.

Modbury South Devon

Well it looks like the weather forecasters at the meteorological office has got it wrong again regarding the weather and "sunshine today" so I thought I would grab a picture from the Live webcam at Portsmouth Harbour and this shows how dull and cloudy it is here today, it also explains why we have no Sunshine today either.

Portsmouth Harbour at 11.10 this Morning.

Go gordon Go

Anyway regardless of all that once i had finished breakfast I sent the morning text to Pauline, she phoned back to say that they her and Gordon, slept well last night as they had been out on the Cycles along the sea front yesterday evening and I think it tired them both out, Mind you it was probably a sight for sore eyes to see Gordon on a Push bike.

Well it all seems to be happening today, Gervase phoned earlier to say that he may be late coming round to see me as they have to take one of the cats to the vets as it has a bit of a problem, anyhow he phoned just now to say that the vet did blood tests and it looks like they may have to have the cat put down as it seems it may have an incurable tumor. 

So he is going to pop round and see me for a few minutes later on this afternoon and will have to arrange to have tomorrow off work to take the cat back to the vets.

Well not much on the TV this afternoon at the Moment I am getting this journal written and also there is a film on the TV called " Doomsday Prophecy" starring A J Buckley, a 2011 Made for TV Movie. I have no idea what it is about as I am not really watching it, the one thing I do know is that it is not as entertaining as " Ice age 2 The Meltdown" that I watched last night.

Doomsday Prophecy 2011 made for TV Movie

Ice Age 2 The meltdown ( watched last Night )

Well the time is now getting on, lunch today was a nice bowl of Heinz Chicken and Chunky vegetable Big soup along with a couple of Crisp bread, it went down a treat so I enjoyed that. anyway it is now 3.00 and it is nearly time to watch an episode of Diagnosis Murder which is just starting on Alibi. so I will have to say tatty bye until tomorrow

The olympic torch relay is now in Paignton Devon at 3.11 pm.

Paignton South Devon

A Sporting Saturday

Good morning one and all and here we are on Saturday the 19th May 2012. Today s the start of the Olympic Torch Relay, where the Olympic torch is carried in Relay around the UK. It started this Morning at Lands End in Cornwall.

The start of the Olympic Torch Relay

Another Restless Night.

So That was a different start to my Saturday, last night I went to bed at 10.00 and for some reason had a very restless night, kept waking up every couple of hours and by 6.30 I decided that I might as well have a coffee in bed and watch the start of the Olympic Relay until 7.30 when I decided to get out of bed and go into the lounge to wait for the carer to arrive.

I make a coffee and check the online banking and Jo the carer arrives at 8.30, she is early today as her workload is quite heavy today, anyhow she gets me washed and groomed and then she is off on her Cycle to her next client, while I get back on the laptop to check the emails and facebook before getting breakfast at 9.00.While I am on line I check the Live webcam at Portsmouth Harbour to get a screen shot of Portsmouth as it looks this morning at 9.00 am.

Portsmouth Harbour at 8.55 am today

As you can see it looks like the blue skies are making there way Eastwards from Cornwall as the photo above shows the clouds starting to break up and blue skies starting to show through so perhaps today will be a brighter day after all, at least we can hope it will be. So now it is time to get some "Alpen Porridge" for Breakfast and then get dressed and plan out what I am going to get done today.

So here we are then and the sun is still Shining off and on . It is now 12.38 and heading towards lunch, I have spoken to Pauline on the phone and Also gervase phoned me and everyone is OK and glad to see a bit of Sunshine. I have not been up too much today I have been reading the paper and doing the crossword,s also I have been Watching the Diamond Jubilee Armed Forces Review, which has been taking place in Windsor and has been shown live on BBC TV from 10.00 until 12.40 and very good it was to.

Part of the crowd at the Armed Forces tribute Today at Windsor

That was an excellent broadcast by the BBC and now as it is approaching 1.00 it is time to think about getting some lunch, I think I will have a Egg and bacon Quiche today, so off to pop that in the oven for 20 minutes and then it will be time to settle down to see what movies are on this afternoon. 

Well that was lunch over with, no movies I want to watch on the TV this afternoon so I am watching some repeats of NCIS that I have not seen before so that is OK. However I will probably go to have a lie down later, and try and catch up on some of the sleep I missed last night, so before then i will get this Journal posted and then see how the rest of the afternoon pans out as it is now 4.00 . 

The Date in history for today is the date in 1887 that Oscar wilde was released from Reading Gaol.

The Olympic Torch relay is still heading through Cornwall towards Plymouth in Devon where it will stay overnight,

The Olympic torch relay at St Austell

So there we go then folks time for me to have a nice coffee and an hours nap before getting dinner (fish and Chips) tonight, and settling down to watch the 1939 John Wayne film "The First rebel" at 6.20 tonight. 

"The First Rebel" 1939

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