The Return of my Daily Journal.

And so here I am back again after a gap of nearly Ten months and here I come riding back into your lives on a white charger, well it has been an interesting few months which I will not bore you with apart to say that I had a few up,s and downs with tapering my Prednisolone but at least I have now got new glasses and a larger screen computer so hopefully get back to what i do best and that is boring you all silly .



So where do I start,  I am now down to 2.5 mg of Prednisolone daily ( 5 mg taken alternate days} and that was a journey and a half to get to this from 5 mg daily (10 mg taken alternate days) but fingers crossed i am now finding it easier but a big difference in my energy levels, they are so much lower on this low dose.

Anyway I have got to where my Neurologist wants me to be, and now all I have to do is to work on my weight, I am just under 13 stone which is not helping with my Knees and with my weak muscles in my upper legs and thigh,s, My Neurologist "Dr Gibb" wants me to be at 11 stone unfortunately that is not going to happen so I am going to try to get to 12 stone and see where we go from there but I think Jogging is out of the question.

So that just about brings us up to date on the health side of things so we start with today. as usual it was a case of waking up not knowing if the heatwave we are in the middle of was going to continue again or not, it was another night of restless sleep as it is so hot and humid here in the UK so wait to see what the weather forecast is for today

Well it looks like it is another hot day ahead and so it seems the Fan will be used to its maximum again today, anyway time for breakfast so that is a coffee with a bowl of Special K with red berries followed by the obligatory 4 pitted prunes, I have found that having 4 prune,s in the morning with my breakfast can reduce my laxative ( Latulose) from twice a day to just once in the evening.

Once I had finished Breakfast I send the morning text to Pauline, and she phones me back to make sure that all is Ok, Pauline and Gordon  are off up to Waterlooville town centre to do some shopping and asked if there is anything I needed but all I have to get today is Milk and the daily Paper, as I went shopping with Gervase yesterday so i have everything I need until Pauline takes me shopping down to Portsmouth city centre on Wednesday.

Waterlooville  Town Centre.

Once I have spoken to Pauline I check out the myositis support groups on Facebook and then I get myself ready and go down to winter road with the Rollator to get my Daily paper and a couple of pints of Milk. While I am out I take a walk down Devonshire avenue and around the block back home, which is my exercise for the day. it takes about 20 to 30 minutes and the good thing about using a rollator it has a seat so I can sit down if required, however it is a lot less humid today so it was not to bad on the breathing

Approach to Devonshire avenue from Winter Road

Winter Road looking north to the shops.

Once i am back home I have a sit down and a coffee and then go out and dead head the Rose bush and the two hanging baskets, there are still a lot of buds on them to bloom yet, They are at the front of my flat and looks very pretty, there are a lot of hanging Baskets in the houses down our street.

The Rose bush is doing well this year.

one of my Hanging Baskets

My other Hanging Basket.

Once I had done that it was time for some lunch so a nice Corned beef Sandwich and then a lie down for an hour until 3.00 when it is time to get the computer ready, make a coffee and then on to writing the daily journal before getting dinner ready for tonight, Tonight it will be a sea bass fillet with New Potatoes, Broccoli and a cauliflower cheese, all home made from fresh ingredients.

well that is about it for today, not the most exciting of days but an enjoyable one all the same so I will say bye Bye to you all until tomorrow, and It is so good to be back writing the Journal, it will probably take a few days to get back into the swing of things.

Its the end of the week again so.............

♫ ♫ ♫ Its A Freaky Friday, A Squeaky Freaky Friday ♫ ♫ ♫
♫ ♫ ♫ Lala La La, Lala La La ♫ ♫ ♫

So here we are again so welcome to ...............

♪ ♪ ♪ Good Morning, Good morning. ♪ ♪ ♪
♪ ♪ ♪ I slept the whole night through ♪ ♪ ♪
♪ ♪ ♪ Good Morning, Good Morning to you ♪ ♪ ♪

Wakey Wakey Rise and shine

Yes thats right folks it was a good nights sleep last night, Went to bed at about 10.30 listened to the local radio quiz and music until 11.30 when I switched off the radio and slept through until just after 6.30 this morning so a good  7 hours of uninterrupted sleep, so at 6.30 it was off to make the obligatory morning coffee and then the morning ritual of taking it back to bed and just lazing in bed listening to the radio until going into the lounge to watch the breakfast news on the TV.

Nothing good on the news this morning

  At 8.30 I send the morning text to Pauline and she phones back to say that all is ok and that gordon left early to go up to Salisbury and that she has her follow up hospital appointment with her thyroid doctor this morning and that her sister fran is going with her and that she will phone and let me know how she gets on.

It all went well with Pauline,s thyroid operation

Once I had spoken to Pauline I got some breakfast and then once I had watched "Heir Hunters" and "Homes under the hammer" on the TV I walked round to get my daily paper and some milk from the local Tesco Express. Once I had them I go back home and then watch the 6th episode of series one of Bonanza before reading the daily paper and doing the crossword.

Reading the daily paper

once I had finished the crossword I go for a lie down at 12.45 for half an hour, before making some sardine sandwiches for lunch and I also have a banana and it all get washed down with a nice cup of Rosy lee (Tea).
Pauline phones to say all went well at the hospital she has had the results of the tests on the nodule that was removed and it was Benign as they suspected, but because the removed one half of the thyroid her thyroid levels are low so she has to take a daily tablet to keep it at the right level and her calcium levels are Ok so she has her next check up in two months time.

Once I had spoken to Pauline I go out in the kitchen and get the vegetable prepared for tonight,s dinner I am making a potato, cabbage, cauliflower and onion cheese bake to have with a nice fresh roasted chicken breast quarter, it will be roasted with its skin on and the vegetable bake will also cook in the oven with it so that should be ready by 6.30, as long as I get my timings right.

Roasted Chicken Breast Quarter

well it has been a really restful day today, I am waiting until after dinner before I take my Methotrexate today, otherwise I will not feel like cooking, anyway it is now 4.10 and I have got this journal written earlier today for a change, so as you can see not a very active day today, more TV watching than anything else today so now I am going to settle into the recliner for a nap while listening to the local radio, so I will get this journal posted so until tomorrow I will say .......................

And the daily journal goes from strength to strength.

A great big HELLO to one and all to day, well here we are on another Thursday and the hot weather has made a return to the South Coast

Not only is it the start of another Thursday it is also the start of a new month so we say farewell to July and Hello to August the Eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

And in case anybody is interested the Birthstone for August is the Peridot or Onyx and the birth flower is the "Gladiolus or Poppy meaning Beauty, Strength of character, Love, Marriage and Family.

Gladiolus

and one other thing that I must mention today is that the number of people who are reading my daily Journal blog is increasing in Leaps and Bounds. I started the daily Journal on the First of July 2011 and in the first month I had 610 people read it, in the month of July 2012 2389 people read it and in the Month of July 2013 (Last month) 4,461 people read it and to get 4000 + people reading my journal a month is phenomenal.

And so back to today, it was a decent nights sleep last night although not as good as the previous few nights due to the fact that the nights got very humid again as the hot weather returns again, temperatures today have been reaching 27 C here which is about 81 F but it is nice to see the sun as I drew the curtains at 6.45 when I woke this morning, so after making my way to the bathroom and them making a coffee, which I took back to bed where I lazed listening to the local radio until 8.00 when I made my way into the lounge with another coffee

I need my Coffee

once in the Lounge I put on the Breakfast news on the TV and then send the morning text to Pauline, before getting some Porridge for breakfast and then checking out the emails and facebook on the laptop. about 8.45 Pauline phones to say that she is OK she is out on the common with Misty for the morning walk and although it is sunny and warm there is a bit of a mist over solent and the Isle of Wight is not visible, also a lot of the common is fenced off as they are putting up the marquees etc ready for the two day Southsea show this weekend.

Walking the dog

anyway Pauline is going to book a taxi for 11.00 and then will collect me and "Roland" the rollator and we will go down to morrisons to get the shopping, we will not be going to the city centre first so I will not need the wheelchair as we will go straight to morrisons and then straight back home afterwards so I will use the Rollator to get around the store and Pauline will push the trolley.

You don't need all that Pauline, Gordon will not be amused. 

However once I have spoken to Pauline I settle down to watch an episode of "Bonanza" that I recorded last weekend it is episode 5 from series 1 anyway at 10.30 I go and get a wash and shave and then get myself dressed ready for when Pauline arrives just after 11.00 and then we are off down to Morrisons to get the shopping.

What to wear ?

Once down at Morrisons we go round and get the shopping and then  once we have got what we wanted we go into the cafe area and have a coffee and a sausage roll each before going and paying for the shopping and then we get the Taxi back home, once indoors we get the shopping put away and then have a coffee before Pauline heads back home and I go for a lie down for 30 minutes.

Morrisons Fresh fish counter

Morrisons Fresh Veg Department

Once I have had my lie down for 30 minutes I go and make a coffee and take out into the back yard where all the shrubs are coming out in bloom and the array of colours is very pleasant, there are many Honey bees around collecting the pollen and also lots of butterflies fluttering around, it is very warm outside so only stay out for about 20 minutes before going back indoors at 3.30 and start the daily Journal.

Five Photographs of my back yard from today

So it is now 5.00 and it is time to get todays Journal posted and then start to get dinner ready for tonight, I got a nice piece of Sea Bass down at Morrisons today with a spig of Parsley and I am going to have that tonight with a Jacket Potato with Butter and grated cheese, and after that a nice Strawberry and clotted cream Yoghurt, so that should go down a treat, so I will end todays journal with a photograph of a sign that hangs inside my front door, This was made for me by my sister last year when I moved from my house into my ground floor flat, and it is something I read every day.

How true is this

So until tomorrow I will say....................

Time to change the story.

Well and here we are on another Wednesday so welcome one and all to Wednesday

yes it is halfway through the week, I am feeling slightly better as it is not so humid today so easier to breath, and also had a decent nights sleep as well so I must admit that "Pauline" AKA "She who must be obeyed" must in future be listened to as she said since I got the Rollator that I was overdoing it and as much as I hate to admit it she has been proved right.

Also the royal baby has now been born so perhaps we can get back to relatively more normal news broadcasts and Newspapers, but any way I will say congratulations to Kate and William on the birth of a new baby son who will be third in line to the throne.

William left holding the Baby

And now for the rest of the day, Apologies for such a short journal yesterday and for mr winging on but it was a really bad day for me yesterday for the reasons given above, anyway I feel so much better today as although it is still very warm and sunny, it is not as humid as it was and the air is not so heavy, but until this "Heat wave" is over I will be taking things a lot easier as directed by Pauline.

Here is the weather for 4.00 pm along the South Coast of England

Although there were many Thunderstorms and flash flooding around the UK yesterday evening we had none in Portsmouth, bu there were some along other parts of the South Coast, and I think that is what lowered the humidity last night and allowed me a better nights sleep.

Flash Flooding in Nottinghamshire yesterday evening.

On the Laptop

As I said I had a decent nights sleep last night and slept from about 11.45 through until about 7.20 this morning when I got up for the bathroom and then made a coffee which I took back to bed and lazed listening to the radio until making my way into the lounge at 8.30. Once in the lounge I text Pauline and then make some Porridge for breakfast before settling down to check the emails and Facebook on the laptop.

Misty out for her morning walk

at about 9.00 Pauline phones to say that she is out on the common with misty for the morning walk and that it is a bit chilly this morning and she wishes she had worn a cardigan as her arms are feeling cold and there were a few drops of rain in the air, but that did not come to much as we have not had any rain here today and it has been quite sunny but the temperature has been lower at 22 C + 71 F.

Doing Well Gordie

Anyway before we finish chatting, Pauline said that Gordon will be round at about 10.30 or so to do the cleaning for me, he did some yesterday but because I was no that well he did not do the vacuuming, so he will be doing that today and also washing the Kitchen and Bathroom floors as well as cleaning the Bathroom. While waiting for Gordon I watch Heir Hunters on the TV and then "Homes under the hammer" that finishes at 11.00 and Gordon  arrived at about 10.50, so we have a coffee and a chat and then while Gordon starts the cleaning I take a slow walk round to get my Paper and some apple juice. once back home I settle down to read the paper while gordon is doing the cleaning, he vacuumed the lounge while I was round getting the paper.

Gordon finishes at about 12.30 so we have a coffee and a chat and then about 1.00 he makes his way back home to Pauline and I get some chicken soup for lunch (which was rather tasty), while watching the lunchtime News on the TV and then once I have had that I do one of the crossword,s in the daily Paper before going for a lie down at 2,00 for 45 minutes before getting up at 2.45 to make a coffee and going to watch "The Royal" on ITV 3 at 2.45.

Chicken soup for lunch

Once the "Royal" has finished a "Touch of frost starts" which is another on of my favourite programs. That goes on until 6.00 when I will get dinner started, so on that note I will get this journal finished and Posted as it is now turned 5.00, so today has been a day of rest and on Pauline,s instructions when we go shopping tomorrow we will take the Wheelchair not the Rollator . so until tomorrow I will say.........

To Be or not To Be ? That is the question............

As The words at the opening of Shakespear,s "Hamlet" go.

To be or not to be, that is the question

Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer

Wise words written by Shakespear for Hamlet to say on his entry to act 2 Scene 1 in "Hamlet" and I really do think that as I sit here today that it is something that I should ponder and think about in future

William Shakespear

 To be quite honest I think that I need to use this quote from hamlet and alter it slightly to read ................

To be or not to be, that is the question,

Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The aches and pains of ye olde myositis

Or to listen to thine body, and not exert thou self. 

Yes folks as you may have gathered I am not having a good day today so it will be a really short journal today.

After a good week I have come to the conclusion that I have been really stupid and have overdone all the walking with the rollator the last to weeks and it has come home to roost. today I woke after a restless night with really aching legs, especially in the area of the right and left thigh and also the right hip. These are the areas that have always given me the problem over the last couple of years and tend to be the weak areas of Muscle. so this is how I feel this morning................

Alas poor Rollator, I knew thee well

walking with you was really swell

but my downfall was walking to far

to parks and shops that were afar

so future walks will shorter be

and so I say "Oh woe is me"

So the question now is, Have I learnt my Lesson ? (again) and I think the answer must be yes. in future I must control my enthusiasm, and take it more slowly, so anyhow I am resting up today and doing nothing, apart from watch TV and trying to keep cool.

Another warm day

Well Gervase is coming in and going to get my shopping for me today, and as I am writing this I must say that my legs are feeling better than they did this morning, anyway I will not be going out shopping today and hopefully by tomorrow my aches and pains will be less so that I do not have to cancel any of my appointments this week, anyway that is it for today, I was going to give this Journal a miss today but thought I would just write a short one to let you know what the problem was.

So I am going to get this Journal posted early now and so until tomorrow I will say..........................