Cold getting better

Surprising how much better I feel today (stroke): my cold has all but gone and I managed a good breakfast with 1.5 Weetabix, half a banana and a boiled egg. Later I have physio in Ely for 1.5 hours and then the speech and language lady calling here at 4 pm.

By teatime I shall be knackered.

Our "London" grandchildren come to stay next Thursday, so we have a week yet.  The "Kent" grandchildren were here last week for a few days. Edward's photo attached. he is a lovely looking lad.

More small steps

Today for the first time since my stroke I helped to make our bed completely. Up to now I'd managed sheets and pillow slips, but nothing else before being totally overwhelmed with fatigue. Today, I did the lot with  Lis without being totally exhausted. 2 weeks ago I could not have done this, so my levels of general stamina MUST be getting better,  without me realising it.

Everything in the garden is early

Back garden

Local  rape seed field

Compared with last spring, everything seems about 4-6 weeks earlier coming through.

Top LHS is a view of part of the back garden showing spirea well out as is the ornamental cherry in the lawn (branches visible - now in blossom). Both red robin bushes have lots of new season growth.  The trellis marks our boundary. The ivy covered trees are next door. The lawns have been cut several times  already.

In the fields, oilseed rape is now bright yellow and in the garden most trees are coming out and there is plenty of blossom around.

Real friends

Funny how a serious illness really shows up who are your REAL friends.  Some that you thought would stand by you just fall by the wayside and some that you'd not expected turn out to be incredibly supportive. and see me almost weekly or keep in touch by phone or internet.

Since my brain bleed (stroke) I have had to be at home far more than before (I am not allowed to drive) and we have had nearly 60 different people come to the bungalow to see us. There are a few missing people that I would have expected, but have not been at all or just once, with persuasion.  Others have visited several times: they wanted to come and to come back.

My thanks to loyal good friends who have been to call in person or who have been in touch via the internet or phone.

Boat Race

For the first time in a few years, I watched the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race on  the TV.  The Boat Race is broadcast live all over the world. In the end, the Oxford team outshone the Cambridge team who nearly lost an oar in an early clash and Cambridge were never able to get back in the race.

Like in professional soccer, it always seems a great shame there are not more English (or even UK) nationals in the teams. This is after all a very English occasion between 2 great English universities. Most in the teams seemed to  be "foreigners".

Very few top flight professional footballers are English. This didn't used to be the case.

See  http://theboatrace.org/ .

A quiet day at home

http://nutricia.com/images/sized/images/uploads/Images/933/Nutrison_pack_1L-130x186.png

We have no grandchildren staying at the moment, Lis has a cold, and I feel OK on the whole, so we are enjoying a quiet day at home today doing nothing very special. I may venture "round the block" on my own (about 400m) later for my daily constitutional walk. The walking does me good. I could not have done this unaided even 1 month ago (stroke).

I shall be on my liquid feed until around 6pm (fed via my stomach peg).  The feed is currently 800ml a day which is supplemented by foods and drinks through my mouth about 4-5 times a day. If I go out, I can disconnect the feed for a short period.

As I write this I see I've had 277ml of the 800ml of liquid feed, so I shall be "connected up" for all of the afternoon.  At least the unit is portable and can easily be moved around our home.

See http://nutricia.com/our-products/tube-nutrition-medical-devices/nutrison/medical-background .

Back lawn cut

Another post-stroke goal met. Lis (my wife) was out at her choir and I was determined to get the back lawn cut. Last time, Lis did about 70% and I just cut a few strips. Well, with 4 short breaks and battling my giddiness, I managed to cut the whole back lawn on my own. It was pretty knackering but I managed it! The lawn is about 60 feet x 25 feet average: it is not a small lawn.

Next  target: the front lawn, which is 80 feet long but narrower!