Why not the good news?

I guess with modern communications we hear about everything in the world quite fast. It is a pity that there are not a few more "good news" reports in the news. A lot of good things happen, but we rarely hear about these. There are definitely far more good things happening than bad, yet we seem to revel in Ebola, IS and other bad news.

Quiet day today

We had visitors this morning and are out this evening, so this afternoon I am taking things quietly to maintain my stamina for tonight. Although better than I was, I still get tired easily and giddy if I am on my feet too much, because of my stroke last year. My wife is out at her choir this afternoon.

Driving again

Another milestone today here. I drove (first time in 13 months) to and from the local garden centres at Fordham. This is a round trip of nearly 10 miles. Both the neurosurgeon and my doctor said "yes" and DVLA agreed I could. Informed the insurer too.

This is a major step. Would probably not want to drive too far for a while, but at least I can drive again locally.

Out for lunch

Today we decided we should go out for lunch so we went to La Hogue Farm Cafe for a change. I was able to eat a ham and cheese panini with coleslaw and a very small cup of coffee. Small steps, but good to eat normally.

Bedding plants

Summer is gone and now we are entering autumn. The trees are losing their leaves and it is time to remove the summer bedding plants and replace them with bedding plants that will look good through winter. Last year my wife planted primroses and they looked really good when I left hospital in January. We'll probably plant these again this winter.

See http://www.lovethegarden.com/gardening-growing/winter-spring-bedding-plants .

PEG removal

If things work out as planned, my PEG, (line into stomach) should be removed on Nov 4th. Currently, the line is only used for water as my feed has been all by mouth since June.  This will be another step on the long road back to normality.

Cambridge University of the 3rd Age (U3AC)

As you might expect, the U3AC choices in Cambridge are huge and varied.

For the first time in several years I decided to join some courses this year. This term I am doing 2 and next term one course. The first, "Human Evolution, is it a Darwinian process?" started today. For me, it means a bus ride and a fairly (for me) long walk, but it is a chance to be "normal" again and get out of "illness mode". The lecturer is a chap called Ken Edwards who took me when I was on a different course a few years ago. It was good.