Another Friggin Freaky Friday

Well here we are again and another Freaky Friday is upon us, no sooner have you got over one Friday then another one arrives, Oh well thats the way the cookie crumbles I suppose.

A Crumbling Cookie

So How did my day start you may well ask, well seeing as you asked so nicely, It started to early, I was awake about 4.30 isn for a Bathroom Break and was so hot that I went and got a cold drink and sat in the lounge for 30 minutes checking Facebook on the Tablet computer, oh what an exciting life I lead. trouble is I do find sending messages on my Tablet slow work, I must get a more modern one soon.

Why is sending messages on my Tablet so slow ?

Anyway I went back to bed just after 5.00 and woke again about 8.00, a far better time to get up. although it was one of those mornings where you feel if you could do with a few more hours in bed, but Gordon will be coming down this morning about 10.30 to help me so I can have a bath, he will also put clean bedding on the bed so that he can take it with the other washing back so that Pauline can wash it over the Weekend.

Is it really time to get up ?

However, seeing as Gordon will not be here until about 10.30 there is no reason to get dressed as I can see no point in getting dressed and then getting undressed again to have a bath ( mind you if I had a bath with my clothes on it would reduce the Laundry for Pauline.) so I take my Lansoprazole so that I can have breakfast at 9.00.

No Point getting dressed until after my bath

At 9.00 I have my Breakfast , I am having toast and marmalade this morning followed by my daily 4 Prunes, after which I check on Facebook and do the Morning greetings on the Myositis support groups and the Ramblers Group, and then I go and have a shave and Brush my teeth before Gordon Arrives at 10.20

Getting a Shave and Cleaning Teeth

Gordon Arrives and we have a coffee, and Gordon goes to change my Bedding while I am having my Bath, It feels so good and after I have had my bath it is so nice to be able to walk around without being followed by funny smell !!!!!!!!

Good Job it is nearly Friday

well once I have had a bath, gordon puts the Diprobase cream on my legs and back, and I do my chest and arms, and then I get myself dressed as we need to go down to the Chemist to get my Medication and some milk and a daily paper, and then we go into a little cafe and have a coffee and sandwich each for lunch.
Once we are back home we have a coffee and then I take my Methotrexate and Gordon makes his way home to Pauline while I go for a lie down and then at 3.00 I go on to the computer and get todays daily journal written.

Taking My Methotrexate

Now that I have had the Methotrexate, it is time to rest for the afternoon, So once I have Posted this Journal to my blog to will be rest and relaxation for the rest of Friday.
Watching the News and weather it is likely that it will get quite bad here on the South Coast as the remnants of Hurricane Bertha tracks across the South coast of England so it will be a case of batten down the hatches on Sunday and Monday and possibly Tuesday. although not as severe as first predicted it could still cause major flooding and some damage especially as tree,s are in full leaf.

well that is it for today 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........................

A Day of Rememberance

Well Here we are again on Monday the 4th August 2014. 100 years ago today on the 4th August 1914 Britain became involved in World War One. Today is a day to reflect and remember all those who took part in this conflict Those who never made it home and those who returned.

Well after a busy day yesterday I saw my Son and we went out shopping and I was absolutely whacked, went for a cat nap and the next thing I know the phone rings and it is Pauline and it is 6.00 o'clock  that is why there was no Journal yesterday, the day just left me behind. so it just shows how much the Methotrexate and this humid weather has taken out of me, but the good news is that I am a lot livelier today, which is a good thing as there is a lot going on in Portsmouth today, and it is a day to remember and reflect on our family members who were involved in the First world War from the UK and Canada.

The Hubbard,s

My Maternal Grandfather Frederick Hubbard was serving in The Royal Navy and was serving on HMS Vindictive assigned to the 9th cruiser squadron.  and His Brother Richard was serving as a Trooper  in the Lancers, and was serving in France,

Frederick Hubbard and Brother Richard.

There was another Brother Arthur that was also in World war one, he was part of my Grandfathers Family that emigrated to Canada in 1912, In fact the whole family Emigrated apart from my Grandfather and his younger broth Richard.
Arthur was serving with the Canadian overseas expeditionary force. It is the only Canadian member of the Hubbard family that fought in world war one.

Arthur Hubbard Canadian Forces

I went down to the local football stadium today as they were having the official unvieling of a memorial at Fratton Park To Commemorate the "Pompey Pal's" Portsmouth area men of the 14th and 15th Battalions of the Hampshire Regiment who gave their lives in World war one.

Unveiling the memorial to the "Pompey Pal's"

The Smith,s

My Paternal Grandfather John Michael Smith was serving in the Royal Navy during the first world war , he was serving as a coast guard at Roches Point in Ireland, in 1914 and that is where my dad was born in September 1914.

John Michael and Caroline Valentine Smith

Roches Point Lighthouse and coastguard station.

One of John Michaels Brothers emigrated to Toronto in Canada, in the early 1900,s and one went to live in London. both of these boys fought and lost there lives in France in 1916. The Eldest Joseph Smith was in the 75th Battalion Canadian infantry and was killed in Action in December 1916 at the age of 25. he is Buried in the Canadian war cemetery in St Sever , Rouen.

Sgt Joseph Smith 75th Battalion Canadian Infantry.

From the War Graves Commision 

The Younger Brother Ernest Duhamel Smith was with the 8th Battalion London Regiment (Post office Rifles) and was killed in action in October 1916 2 months before his elder brother. he is buried in the Warlencourt British Cemetery in France.

From War Graves Commission

so as you can see it has been a busy but interesting and also in some respects a sad day to think that after 100 years politicians have still not learnt anything. anyway tonight we are having a candle light vigil in the UK where everyone is being asked to turn off there lights in doors and to light a single candle in Memory of all those that  lost their lives not only in WW1 but all other conflicts around the world.
and there is also a memorial service held at the monument in the Guild hall square at 11.00 so it is now time to think about dinner so until tomorrow I will say Cheerio.

We Will Remember We Will Not Forget

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..............