The Last Day Of February

So here we are on the last day of February, and another excellent nights sleep, although I did not get to bed until about 11.30 I did sleep right the way through the night until about 6.45 this morning. The reason I did not get to bed until late last night is that I was up downloading some  Parish records for Hampshire onto my Ipad as I can use them for my Family History research.

Anyway as I said I slept through until about 6.45 and at 7.00 I went and made a coffee and then took that back to bed and listened to the radio until 8.00 when I made another coffee and took into the lounge to wait for the carer, while waiting for the carer I checked my emails and Facebook on the laptop, while listening to the Morning News on Television.

Todays young Carer.

Well That was a waste of time checking my emails as They were all in the spam folder, not a useful email among them, unless I needed Viagra from Canada, Loans from the USA, or accident compensation from England, and of course I can always find love and marriage in Russia. anyway It is 9.00 am before the carer arrives, and guess what another one I have not seen before, a pleasant enough young lady but could not have been much older than 17 or 18 years of age, and not a clue what she was supposed to be doing. and looked quite puzzled when I presented her with my care plan. Oh well I had to explain what needed doing and she eventually managed to work out how to put te cream on my lower leg,s and feet. and then was on her way. They really are not getting the training that they require or deserve as it is not the girls fault but the company structure and training regime that is at fault.

On the iPad

Once the young carer had left I text Pauline and then get some breakfast, Pauline phones to say that she is on the common with Misty and that she will book a Taxi for 11.00 and will come collect my prescription form from the health centre on the way t me and then we can take the wheel chair and walk to Asda at Fratton to get the shopping and my Medication. Once I have spoken to Pauline I finish breakfast and then wash up, make a coffee and check out the books I downloaded last night onto the ipad. they are excellent.

well at 10.30 I go and have a shave and then get dressed ready for when Pauline gets here . Pauline arrives at about 11.15, so we, get the wheelchair ready and I decide That I will walk pushing the wheelchair for a bit and then Pauline can push me the rest of the way, and once we have done the shopping we can get a Taxi back home, anyway off we go at about 11.30. The weather is not to bad today, a bit nippy but at least it is dry and a little Milder than yesterday, anyway we walk along Goldsmith avenue towards fratton bridge passing the old "Talbot Public House" which has now been turned into flats which is something that has happened to a lot of the large victorian buildings in Portsmouth.

The Old Talbot Public House

anyway we cross over to the other side of Goldsmith Avenue and walk along side the Railway line to Fratton Bridge, The railway line runs along the route of the old Arundel Canal where the Barges and Ships used  to travel along from Langstone Harbour to deliver the goods and Produce to the large Basin  which used to be down at the end of "Lake Road" by the Shopping precinct. The canal was built in 1823 and closed in 1855.

Map of the Canal.

The Railway line running along the bed of the old Canal at Fratton

Well I was very Pleased today as I walked with the wheelchair all the way to Asda from Home, it took 30 minutes but feel really good, so will have to make sure I rest well tomorrow anyway we Look in a couple of Charity shops and then go and have a coffee and a snack in the bridge centre before going into Asda and getting the shopping, we go upstairs first so that Pauline can get some slippers for Gordon and I need a Potato Masher and A Mixing bowl for the kitchen and as usual pauline looks at Clothes.

Don't spend all your money Pauline.

A Happy Checkout Operator at Asda

 we then go downstairs to get the food shopping, I get chicken for tonight, Fish for tomorrow " Freaky Friday" and some beef to make a cottage pie on Saturday plus some other bits and pieces, Pauline gets what she needs and the once we have what we want we pay for it and then collect my Medication from the Pharmacy on the way out to the Taxi to Take us back home.

Once back home Gordon is waiting as He has just got back from Salisbury and he will have a coffee and then Pauline and Gordon will make there way home and I settle down with a coffee and get todays Journal started.

Well that has been a good day today it is now 5.45, I have had a phone call from Gervase to say he is going to be coming in to see me on the way home from work tonight, he will be here about 6.30. So I need to get my dinner started at 6.00 so I will get this Journal Posted and will be back tomorrow with the first daily Journal of March, so until tomorrow I will say Bye Bye.

Another day nearer to Spring.

Global Rare Disease Day Is Tomorrow 

The March Hare.

Yes Folks it is another day nearer to spring and only one more day until the end of February. and hopefully the weather in March will be better than the weather was in February or else I can see the March Hare emigrating to sunnier climate,s. which would not please Alice one little bit as she will be left all alone at her tea party with the mad hatter.
Now you may all be thinking "What has the March Hare, Alice and the Mad Hatter got to do with Frank,s Blog today" well I will tell you.

I Have No Idea Whatsoever

So there you go hope that answers your question, anyway one thing that I do know, and that is that I had a really good nights sleep last night, so am pleased about that. I went down to see Gervase and Leanne last night for a couple of hours and Leanne,s dad "Dave" was there as well so he gave me a lift home about 9.15.I enjoyed spending time with them and it was nice to get out of the house, anyway I had " sawyer: one of there cats wanting to be fussed and stroked most of the time I was there, he is such an affectionate cat and spent most of the evening on the arm of the sofa next to me.

And here is Sawyer

I.B.S. Treatment

I got back home about 9.25 and made a coffee and phoned Pauline to let her know I was back home Ok and also to ask how Gordon was feeling, Gordon was feeling a bit better this evening and is hoping he will be able to go to work tomorrow as Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays are the 3 days that he is busy with his cleaning business, anyway once I had spoken to pauline and drank my coffee I watched the 10.00 News on BBC 1 and then went to bed, I listened to the quiz at 11.00 and then got off to sleep and slept through until 6.30 this morning, which was good and I think the IBS is starting to be helped by the Colpermin capsules.

Getting the morning coffee

well I get up and make a coffee which I take back to bed and listen to the local radio station "Solent Radio" until 8.00 when I get up and make a coffee which I take into the Lounge while I wait for the carer to arrive, While waiting I go on line and check out my emails and also facebook until 9.00 when the carer arrives, still no Carol but I have seen todays carer in August when I had just moved  into the flat,anyway she soon gets me sorted and is on her way. anyway once she has gone I make a coffee and then out of curiosity I check my Care plan Sheets which the carers fill in every day,and found out that I am not getting the care time that I am being charged for.

You must be Joking ?

I do not need a lot doing in the morning,s but because of my lack of Mobility in my upper arms/shoulders I cannot raise my arms far above my shoulders and have any pressure in them to be able to wash my face and neck or to comb my hair, so need someone to do that for me, and also I need help to have Diprobase cream applied to my lower legs from the Knee down and also on my feet. The time allowed and that I am being charged for is 15 minutes a day for five days a week Tuesday through Saturday, (On Sunday and Monday I do not have a carer as I see Gervase on Sundays and Gordon on Mondays)  The last 7 days that I have had the carers come in should amount to 7 x 15 = 1 hour 45 minutes the actual time spent by the carer,s according to there logged in and out times amounts to 1 Hour 07 minutes. This should prove interesting when I get the care bill in for February from Adult Social Care .!!!

It's Freezing out there today

 I will not be ripped of by incompetent civil servants and a flawed NHS System, As I have told others it is my muscles that are weak, not my brain, anyway rant over so once the carer has gone I get some Porridge for breakfast and then text Pauline to let her know all is OK here. Pauline phones back and she is out on the common with Misty, Pauline say,s it is very cold out today and very dull and cloudy, Pauline said that Gordon has gone to work today as he felt a lot better today so anyway once I have finished talking to Pauline I get dressed and then go round to Tesco Express to get my Morning Paper, and Pauline is not wrong, It is bitterly cold out there this morning.

Nice and Snug reading the Daily Newspaper

It does not take me long to get back home and indoors and I turn the heating up a notch and make a nice hot chocolate while I settle down to read the paper and get warm again, which does not take long and then I am reading the paper and listening to the Local radio station. at 1.00 I go for a lie down for 30 minutes or so before heating up some home made soup for lunch The soup was very nice, It was made from the stock and vegetable,s that the lamb was slow cooked in on Monday. and I enjoyed that, so now to settle down to watch an episode of To the manor born on the "Gold" TV channel, before starting to get this blog written at 3.00.

To the Manor born starring Penelope Keith as Audrey Forbes-Hamilton 

I also watched an old episode of the Good life with the late Richard Briars.

The good life with Richard Briars and Penelope Keith as Margo Leadbetter.

It is now 3.30 and at last we can see a bit of sunshine and blue skies, I take a break from the Journal and get my bin bag tied up ready for the refuse collection tomorrow  It is still very cold outside but it is starting to look brighter.

A bit brighter in the back courtyard this afternoon

I then get the vegetable prepared for tonight,s dinner which will be rainbow trout with buttered potato and cauliflower with a white savoury sauce

Rainbow Trout fillets

So it is now 4.15 and I am going to get this Journal posted for today before making a coffee and then settling down to read some more of my P G Wodehouse "What Ho Jeeves" on the ipad before getting dinner cooked at 6.00 and then an evening of TV. so until tomorrow and shopping down at morrisons I will say Cheerio.

A Cold Shopping Tuesday

Checking Emails

And here we are at another Tuessday, again not a bad nights sleep but still waking up a couple of times during the night, but at least I get back of to sleep again quite quickly. anyway was up at 8.00 this morning and into the lounge with a coffee to wait for the carer to arrive, hopefully Carol will be back today, but while I am waiting I check out my emails and facebook.

Gordon is unwell today

Well it is nearly 9.30 and no carer has arrived as of yet, hopefully the carer will arrive soon as I have an Appointment at the eastney Health Centre at 10.30 to have my blood taken for my monthly blood works, and Pauline will be here at 10.10 to collect me and I have yet to have my breakfast. well at last the Carer arrives and it is another one I have not seen before, it is 9.30 so the carer gets me washed and groomed and is then on her way, Gordon phones to say he is not well today so will not be round to do the 2 hours cleaning, but Pauline will be here about 10.15 with the Taxi to take me for the blood test so a quick breakfast of Toast and Honey and then a shave and get dressed ready for when Pauline arrives.

well I just about finish getting ready when Pauline arrives with the Taxi. Pauline drops of my clean Laundry she has brought with her today and then we are off in the taxi to the Eastney Health Centre to see Debby AKA "The Vampire" to give the blood for my monthly blood test,

Eastney Health Centre

Hello Debbie

The taxi drops us off and we go in to the reception, it is 10.25 and my appointment is for 10.30 ish, anyway I also hand in a repeat prescription request to collect next Thursday and then we go and sit in the waiting room , I am number 14 and number 13 has just gone in, so it is not long before Debbie calls me in and it does not take long for her to draw the blood from me.

Once I have given my blood we go back out and phone for a taxi to take us home to collect the wheel chair and then off down to the city centre to get some shopping, I have not got to get a lot today, but Pauline needs to get some as well so we will probably have a look round Town and then have a coffee before going to Sainsburys for shopping today., once the taxi collects us we go and get the wheel chair and then the taxi drops us  off behind Boots the chemist in the city centre. and my first stop is the Nationwide.

The Nationwide, Portsmouth 

Once I have got that done we walk down the precinct to the fountain and then make our way to Wilkinson,s to get a few things in there before making our way back into the precinct to have a coffee at the "Espresso" mobile coffee bar in the Precinct

The Espresso coffee bar 1

The Espresso coffee bar 2

As you can see it is not that busy in the city centre today, I think the damp, cold weather is keeping people indoors at the moment. once we have had a coffee we make our way down the precinct to market way and over to the large Sainsbury,s store which is quite near to Morrisons the reason I like to go to Sainsburys occasionally is because they have a good Gluten free section and today  get my Gluten free Porridge and a tin of Gluten free Spaghetti in tomato sauce.

Sainsburys Portsmouth City Centre.

 Once we have got what we wanted we get it aid for and then I phone for a taxi to take us back home. Once we are home I make a coffee and we get the shopping put away and Me and Pauline have a chat and then I order a taxi to take Pauline home to Gordon while I have a quick snack as it is 2.45 and then settle down to get this Journal written.
It has been a decent day today, the weather has not been very nice but it was nice to be out around the shops for a couple of hours anyway It is now 4.40 and Gervase has just phoned to make sure I am OK , and I will be seeing him tonight, so I am going to get this journal posted nice and early and then I can get an early dinner tonight of Rainbow trout and Mashed Potato, so Until tomorrow I will say Bye Bye.

A Picture is worth a thousand words.

Pukka Night Time Tea

So here we are on Monday morning and another day I can have a lie in but not so long this morning as I need to get my Lamb into the Slow cooker about 9.00 as that will give it time to cook nice and slowly for my evening meal. Well as some of you may know I bought some "Pukka" night time tea yesterday and tried that yesterday evening, It did make me more relaxed during the evening but whether or not it helped me to sleep is too early to tell, but it tasted nice so worth getting.
I was not a bad nights sleep woke a couple of times during the night but soon got back off to sleep with no trouble and slept for two to three hours at a time, anyway went to bed about 10.30 and at 7.30 this morning, got a coffee and took that back to bed where I dozed and listened to the radio until 9.00 when I got up, dressed and went into the kitchen to start the early preparation of the food for tonight,s dinner which will be Slow braised Lamb with Roast sweet Potato, Honey glazed roast Parsnips and maybe sprout,s all served up with a nice gravy, The Lamb will be cooked in the slow cooker with Onion and diced carrot and swede which  will make a nice vegetable soup for lunch tomorrow. anyway seal the lamp in a frying pan for 3 minutes and then it goes into the Slow cooker, I also peel and cut the Sweet Potato and the Parsnip ready to go on and boil for a short time later today.

All the ingredients for tonight,s dinner ready

well There we are it is going to be a busy day today as I have my Sister and her friend Chris coming down today at about 11.00 to put up some pictures for me, so that will be nice to see them, anyway once the Lamb is in the slow cooker, I get some chocolate Star,s for breakfast and then send the morning text to Pauline. Pauline phones back to say that they are all OK, and that Gordon will be round tomorrow to do the cleaning as he is going to finish the decorating in their bedroom today. anyway once I have finished speaking to Pauline, I get on the laptop and check out facebook and my emails and then It is nearly 11.00 so make a coffee and then watch a bit of Daytime TV until Eileen and Chris arrive.
Eileen and Chris arrive in there van at about 11.15 so it is tea and coffee all round and a nice chat.

Eileen and Chris,s van with the Decima Designs Logo on.

Once we have had a nice chat we get the Pictures sorted out that they are going to put up for me, There are five Pictures going up in the Bedroom, three that gervase did in the early 1980,s when he was at Nursery School and Two that were my late wife Christine,s.

The three Pictures that gervase did.

The Two Pictures that were Christine,s

Next it was the four Pictures to go up in the Lounge, one was a modern canvas One was  Picture that belonged to my Grandparents of an elegant lady, one that is five 3D pictures of Fantasy scenes and there is one which is a print of a newspaper picture of the sinking of a passenger ship that my Great, Great  Grandfather drowned when it sank in 1870.

Two of the Pictures in the Lounge

The Large Picture in the lounge with Eileen and Chris

After Lunch of a Banana and a Yoghurt, for me and Sandwiches for Eileen and Chris they put up my Carbon Monoxide detector for me and also a large number outside my flat. While they are doing that  Pauline Texts a photo of a Meat mincer she has got for me from Robert Dyas and Gordon Texts a Photo of Charlie the cat getting warm by a oil fired radiator.

A nice new meat mincer, just the job

Keep Warm Charlie, its cold outside

So that has been a very hectic but enjoyable morning, Chris and Eileen make a move about 2.00 to go up to there Studio in Drayton and I go for a lie down for an hour before getting up and putting the Sweet Potato and Parsnip on to boil for 3 minutes.

Eileen and Chris,s Decima Designs Studio at Drayton.

Well it is now 5.00 so I am going to finish todays Journal and get it Posted before getting the Parsnips and Sweet Potato into the oven to roast for dinner at 6.00. I am also waiting for a phone call back from my GP. so until tomorrow I will say tatty Bye.

Its another Funday Sunday "NOT"

And here we are at the start of another fun filled Sunday. What to do today on this very bitter cold Sunday Morning, 

1. I could go for a walk along the beach, 
2. Go hang Gliding of of the North Downs, 
3. Go Sailing in the Solent, 
4. Sit in the lounge in the warm on the computer. 

Answers on a post card please to "To Flaming cold to go out" c/o Freezing Britain, UK.

Todays Breakfast.

Oh well let Sanity return, it was a funny night last night, not a bad sleep but kept waking up every couple of  hours and then going back to sleep again, probably the Methotrexate having a bit of fun with my body, anyway I actually did not get up this morning until 10.00.  I so enjoyed the lie in anyway can't stay in bed all day so I get up and get myself a coffee and also had a bowl of Gluten free Chocolate stars and a Banana for Breakfast and really enjoyed them. Once I had finished Breakfast I text Pauline to let her know that all is OK, she has just got back in from taking Misty for a walk and Gordon is Decorating the Bedroom so they are all Ok so after having a chat with Pauline I get dressed and then log on to the internet and check out emails and facebook.

The trouble with having a lie in so late is that before you know it half the day is gone, it is now 12.00 midday and Gervase phones to say he will be coming round about 1.00 to take me shopping, so I need to get myself sorted and get ready for when gervase arrives, seeing as I only had breakfast at 10.30 I will give lunch a miss today and maybe have an earlier dinner this evening. so I go and have a shave and a shower and then get myself dressed ready for when Gervase arrives at 1.00.

At about 1.10 Gervase arrives just as I am halfway through the first chapter of " Right Ho Jeeves" by P.J. Woodhouse, which I have just started to read on my ipad. I do like P.J Woodhouse and also enjoyed the TV Series of Jeeves and Wooster in the early 1990,s starring Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

Jeeves and Wooster on ITV 1990 to 1993.

Gervase waits until I finish the chapter and then we are off down to Morrisons to get the shopping, I have not got a lot to get today, in fact Gervase gets more than I do alythough I do get more than I intended to.

Morrisons Store in Portsmouth City Centre.

As you can see from the Photograph above it was very busy in morrisons today, but anyway we get around and get what we want as opposed to what we actually needed, (nothing like a bit of spoiling ones self with a few extras on a cold and miserable winters day), however once we have finished we pay for it and then make our way back to the car where Gervase loads up the shopping while I look on and give the orders LOL.

We have to much shopping Gervase

You are doing a good Job Gervase " Keep Smiling Lad "

As you can see it won't all go in the boot, mine has to go on the back seat, anyway once it is all loaded up we are off to B&Q as I need to get a bulb Puller for the bulbs in the Kitchen and Bathroom light fittings and also I need to get a Carbon Monoxide Alarm for the flat as well, I have a smoke alarm but not a Carbon Monoxide one. we get to B&Q and go in, I see Dave and Lee the two electricians that work there so they sort me out with a bulb puller, and then I see Paul on the Paint desk and Maria on Hardware, before getting the Carbon Monoxide Alarm/Detector it is a built in battery operated alarm  with a 7 year life span, so I can take it with me f I ever Move again. 

B&Q Portsmouth.

Once we leave B&Q we head home where we get my shopping indoors and get it put away, I make a coffee and Gervase and I have a chat before Gervase makes his way back home to Leanne, They are going out tonight to a friends birthday get together, it is a curry evening and they are all ordering Take away,s and as Gervase and Leanne are both Vegetarians and have had bad experiences with ordering vegetarian take away currys and finding odd bits of meat in them Gervase is going to make his own curry and take with them, Gervase is like me as I like to cook from fresh produce as I like to know what I am eating, and gervase is a good cook as well.

Anyway it is now 5.30 so I am putting dinner on now and then I will get this posted before dinner is ready for 6.15, so until tomorrow I will say Bye Bye.