Where do the days go to ??????

Welcome to..................

It just seems like no sooner does the day start than it is soon time for bed again, They do say that as you get older that the days seem to go quicker.

So seeing as the days going by so quickly must be a sign of getting older perhaps I should buy myself a book on getting Older ..................

After my positive appointment with my Consultant Neurologist on Friday and then the taking of the Methotrexate, the week end went pretty much like every weekend does after freaky Friday.

Saturday 7th September 2013

Friday night was a decent nights sleep and saturday was a bit of a nondescript day really, so did not do an awful lot on Saturday, I did go for a bit of a walk round to co-op in winter road to get my morning paper but most of the day was spent watching old repeats of Bonanza and Gunsmoke on the CBS action channel, so that is one of the good things to taking the Methotrexate it wipes me out for a day or two so I can catch up on some nostalgic TV series from my Youth

Those were the Day,s

Bonanza 1959 - 1973

Saturday evening was a good evening as I spent a good 4 hours watching the last night of the Proms live on BBC 1 and 2  from the "Royal albert Hall"

The Royal Albert Hall, London.

Last night of the Proms BBC 1 and 2

Sunday 8th September 2013

Sunday was much the same although my Son Gervase came round to see me for a few hours in the afternoon and took me down to Asda in Fratton to get some shopping so that was a nice change, by Sunday afternoon the Methotrexate "Yucky" feeling is wearing off.

Asda at Fratton (Stock Photo).

anyway once we had done the shopping we head home and after putting the shopping away we sit and have a chat and put the world to rights before Gervase heads back home to Leanne.

Monday 9th September 2013

well come Monday and it is time for the slow cooker to come out of the cupboard as Autumn is approaching, so it is time to get out the Slow cooker recipe book. when I was shopping with Gervase Sunday I got a nice chicken breast quarter and a nice pork cutlet along with a nice pack of fresh casserole vegetables so after breakfast I get the casserole pack into the slow cooker with the Chicken breast Quarter and add the water and stock cubes and set the slow cooker on its low setting so that it will be all cooked ready for dinner at 6.30 this evening.

Casserole Vegetable pack

Fresh chicken breast Quarters

Pauline and Gordon were down at there Flat this morning and popped in to see me for a coffee about lunch time so we had a coffee and a chat an I gave Gordon his Birthday Card and Present as it is his birthday on Tuesday. Pauline and Gordon stayed about an hour and then headed back home to Waterlooville, so I settled down to catch up with some Tv and also to get another "Myo Man Dreams" Cartoon strip done, I did one on Sunday as well It is nearly a year since I did the last one so decided I had better start getting creative again.

Sundays Cartoon strip

Mondays Cartoon Strip

well monday was a pretty good day all round and I was ready for my Dinner from the slow cooker so at 6.30 it was a nice Chicken Casserole followed by fruit in Jelly and It was very tasty, and there is enough vegetable left in the slow cooker to have with the slow cooked Pork cutlet on Tuesday.

A Tasty slow cooked Chicken Casserole home made with fresh ingredients 

 Monday night was spent watching the TV before heading off to bed at 10.30 to listen to the local radio quiz before getting off to sleep at 11.30.

Tuesday 10th September 2013

as Usual Like any other morning it starts with a trip to the bathroom before a coffee which gets taken back to bed.

The morning Ritual

Once I have had my Coffee and lie in I then make another coffee and take into the lounge, where I send the text to Pauline and then have breakfast, Pauline phones back and says that Gordon is having a birthday lie in today and then they are going into the town later on this morning so ......................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GORDON

So another day of watching TV, and relaxing until tomorrow when it will be shopping with Pauline down the city centre and also Morrisons. anyway at 10.00 I get the Pork cutlet into the slow cooker and also the remainder of the vegetable from yesterday, I add a rasher of Bacon and some extra stock and then put it on to the slow setting so it will be ready for dinner tonight.

A tasty fresh organic Pork Cutlet

Once that is all ready I get the washing up done and then settle down to get this journal written. I will be so glad when I get my new computer, which hopefully will be the second or third week of October if all goes to plan, anyway after a little while I take a break and  go and get a paper and some milk and then have another spell at the Journal, at 1.00 I make a nice Toasted Bacon and Egg sandwich for lunch and also a Banana, before getting back to the Journal.

Toasted Egg and Bacon Sandwich for lunch

So it is now 2.40 and the vision has just about had it with the computer for the day so I am going to end todays Journal and to remind you all that it is only 11 days to Myositis Awareness day on Saturday 21st September. so do what you can to raise awareness of Myositis in your community.

so until the next Journal I will say.................

here we are on a wet and windy Sunday.

And the weather is not much better either...............

For those of you that know me on Facebook then you will know that I have decided to spend less time on there and also to publish this daily journal, every other day for a few weeks while I catch up on other things that need doing. For those of you who are not on facebook then this journal will for a short period of time be written every other day and not everyday as it has been for the last two years.

Saturday 10th August 2013

Saturday started off bright and sunny, I had a decent nights sleep after a freaky Methotrexate Friday, but had a decent nights sleep and woke up at about 3.30 to use the bathroom but apart from that slept through from about 11.30 until 7.30,

Wakey, Wakey, Frankie

when as usual I went to get a coffee and took back to bed and just dozed until getting up and going into the lounge with a coffee at about 8.45, where I Text Pauline to let her know that all is Ok.

I need my morning Coffee

 well after I have sent the text to Pauline I get some breakfast and then settle down to check out the emails and facebook.it is then that I realize that I need to cut down the amount of time that I spend on facebook and the daily journal as It has become a large part of my day and I have got way behind on my family history research and also have neglected my other websites " Myositis in Focus" and " The Myositis Hub" so I have made the decision to limit the amount of time I spend on facebook and spend more time on my other projects as although I have written six books on my family history there are still 7 more to write and I have done nothing in the last two years, mainly because this Dermatomyositis has taken over all of my time.

Well once I have checked emails and facebook I have a wash and shave and then wander round to Tesco Express to get the morning paper and then get back home and settle down to read the paper and listen to the local radio. Pauline phones to say that Her and Gordon will be coming down to the their flat in Southsea later on to collect a couple of bits and pieces so will come in and see me for an hour or so as Pauline has a couple of shirts of mine to bring back and also she wants to take my dirty laundry back so she can get it washed and bring back on Tuesday when her and gordon come down to take me shopping. Once I have spoken to Pauline I then get on the computer to get started on the Family History research.

I take a break from Ancestry at 1.00 to get some chicken soup for lunch and then continue again at 2.00. At 3.00 I get a text from Pauline to say "Get the kettle on" so her and Gordon are on the way round so they arrive and we have a coffee and a chat for an hour, and then Pauline collects the washing and they are then back on there way to Waterlooville. They have settled in to their new home and Misty seems to like it there as does charley the cat so everybody has settled in OK.

Misty enjoying the Sun on the Patio

Charley pinching his food out of the storage tub.

Once Pauline and Gordon have left I watch a couple of old episodes of Gunsmoke and then a couple of old episodes of "Walker' Texas Ranger"

Gunsmoke 1955 - 1975

Walker "Texas Ranger" 1993 - 2001 

After I had watched those I get some dinner and then settle down to watch a movie on TV. and then I watch an episode of Bonanza that I recorded earlier today before going of to bed at 11.00 so that was a very enjoyable Saturday today.

Sunday 11th August 2013

Well it is a very different start to the day today than it was yesterday, yesterday I woke to blue sky and sunshine, today I woke to Torrential rain, although it is still very humid. Not so good a night last night, I woke about 3.00 this morning to use the bathroom and had a splitting headache, I was soaking in perspiration and it was so warm and humid, took a paracetamol and drank a bottle of water, and within 20 minutes the headache was gone, I hate it when I de-hydrate at night, so I put the fan on to circulate some air and went back off to sleep and woke again at 8.00 am.

Time to Rise and Shine

Made a coffee and took back to bed where I lazed listening to the radio until 9.00 when I got up and made my way into the lounge and sent the morning text to Pauline.

Pauline phones back to say that all is Ok, so we have a chat and then I get some porridge for breakfast and then get washed and dressed before putting on the TV and watching the morning news debates on the TV. One of the subjects is about the amount of money being paid to the people who run the large charities in this country, that is why I will only give to local charities where I know they are run only by volunteers and I know where my donation goes.

Once that Program finishes a do a quick check on Facebook and then an hour on my f=daily journal before having a look at some of the old maps of Portsmouth and trying to locate the paperwork and books on the hilsea lines

Part of the Hilsea Lines fortifications. Hilsea, Portsmouth

The Hilsea lines are a line of 18th and 19th century fortifications built to protect the Northern approach to Portsea Island, I have in my archives the work that I produced for a walk through animation that I did for my computer 3D Animation course at Portsmouth University, as I want to spend some more time researching the whole of the fortifications of Portsmouth to run parallel and in conjunction with My Family History books that i want to complete over the next 2 years, as there are a lot of involvement with our ancestors with the Navy and Marines in Portsmouth stretching back to the Napoleonic wars.

Hilsea lines over london road c1903

The Photo above as it is today c2013

It has been an enjoyable and relaxing morning but have to check facebook as I am having withdrawal symptoms, however Gervase Phones to say he will be round about 1.30 to take me up to sainsburys to get some shopping so as it is 12.00 I go and get washed shaved and dressed ready for when Gervase arrives and then get myself a Strawberry Flavour Complan and a Banana for a light lunch. Gervase arrives at 1.40 so we head off to Sainsburys at Farlington.

Sainsburys at Farlington

We stop here to get the shopping and then we head of down towards home taking a slight detour to Burfield,s shopping Park as Gervase wants to go into Pets at home to get a couple of items for Leanne,s Mums Doggies. on the way from Sainsburys at Farlington towards home we cross "Port creek" which separates Portsea Island from the Mainland, the Photograph below shows the view looking east to west down port creak with the area to the left where the Hilsea lines were to protect the northern approach to Portsea Island.

Port Creek looking East to west, hilsea lines were to the shoreline on the left 

 

Burfield,s Road retail Park and "Pets at Home"

Once Gervase has got his shopping from "Pets at Home" we head back home and get the shopping put away, we both have an ice cream each and then I make a coffee, we have a chat and then at 3.45, Gervase makes his way back home to Leanne and I make a coffee and settle down to finish the two day Journal.
It is now 5.10 so I am going to get this finished and Posted and then get my dinner on, then after dinner it will be an evening of Watching two episodes of Bonanza that I recorded earlier this afternoon and then to watch a movie " Wall street: Money never sleeps, a 2010 drama with Michael Douglas Carey Mulligan.

Wall Street: money never Sleeps 2010

so that is it for today so until the next Journal on Tuesday I will say........

Whoo Hoo, Its another Freaky Friday

Good day one and all and welcome to another Freaky Friday.............

again it was another good nights sleep last night, although I was woken at about 6.00 am with the rain hitting the window, anyway got up and used the Bathroom and then back to bed and slept until 7.30 when I got up to make a coffee and took back to bed where I lazed listening to the radio until 8.30 when I went into the lounge to watch the breakfast news on the tV and send the morning text to Pauline.

BBC Breakfast "Stock Image"

However I send the text to Pauline and she phones back to say that all is OK, She has taken Misty out for her morning walk and she is now indoors waiting for her Sister Fran who is going over to see her today, once I had spoken to Pauline I get some cereal for Breakfast and then check out the emails and facebook before going round to tesco express to get the daily Paper.

Getting the Daily Newspaper

Once I have the Paper I get back home and settle down with a coffee and read the paper and get the crosswords done before Doing a bit of Local History research on "Old Portsmouth" the area that was the original naval town of Portsmouth. When my sister Eileen came down she brought me copy,s of a couple of old maps of Portsmouth from 1880. and as I am very interested in Local history "Coming from a long line of seafarers" I decided to spend a couple of hours today going through the archives that I have.

One of the Maps that my sister gave me yesterday

The Point Barracks have long since gone but Broad street remains as does the fortifications along with the round tower and the square tower ( which is where the first fleet sailed from to Australia on the 13th May 1787)

Broad street in Victorian times

The Same area of Broad street today

The Following are photographs of the Point battery and fortifications as they remain today.

The Round Tower

The Fortifications and gun emplacements

The Fortifications

The Ramparts and Fortifications

Looking along the top of the Ramparts to the Square Tower.
You can see the monuments to the first fleet to the left

The Fortifications from the sea with the round tower to the left 

The First Fleet Monument at the Square tower Old Portsmouth

The First Fleet Monument at Sydney Australia

So after a couple of enjoyable hours trawling through my archives I get my self a sandwich and a custard pot for lunch and then after taking my 15 mg of Methotrexate I go for my daily cat nap for an hour until 2.30. at 2,30 I get a text from Pauline with a Photograph of Misty half asleep in the sun with her ear dangling in her water bowl.

Ere what you doing Misty

so once I have text Pauline back I make a coffee and then settle down to get the daily journal written. it has been a good day today and I have kick started my interest in our local history. anyway as it is now almost 5.30 I need to get this journal posted and then get my dinner started. tonight it will be the Sainsburys "Rumbledethump" with a couple of roasted Chicken thigh,s so until tomorrow I will say.................