March: Miserable and Marvellous

A little good news!

Have finally been prescribed painkillers, after the debacle of January 2021.

The morphine does seem to help a little.

Well that's a little relief. I hope it reduces your stress level.

>3 Bookmarque: TBH, it's a bit late. The tumours are now breaking through the skin, and pressing on the nerves in my arm. Apart from the pain, I am losing fine
motor control. (But I was trying to look on the bright side.)

>1 -pilgrim-: Sending virtual hugs, hope this will make you more comfortable.

>1 -pilgrim-: Hope you are better!

Soooo. I was sick for most of February (bad flare up of diverticulitis) but am finally feeling close to normal. Still quite weak after not being able to really eat for nearly a month. But hey, I lost 10 pounds!

Hope to be more present now that I'm not feeling like death warmed over.

>1 -pilgrim-:, >6 majkia: hugs to you both.

My marvellouses (marvelli?) are little things: got a badly needed professional haircut, took a couple of walks with friends, going for dinner in a Thai restaurant tonight, picked up a new library book. They do add up, though.

Went over to Emmaus and had lunch. I'd wanted to look at loose buttons except they hadn't got any. Not much in the craft section at all - I suppose donations have been down over the past couple of years. I suppose we could have gone on into Cambridge and gone to John Lewis or HobbyCraft. Instead, we drove back via Ely and along the New Bedford River. Still flocks of swans in the fields. The rooks are busy nesting; I've been watching the crows in our neighbour's tree, and the jackdaws have been sitting on the feeding station.

Winced at local petrol prices - most places are over £1.60/litre and week after next we're off for 4 nights at the seaside. I'll have to see prices at Tesco during the week - and we're thinking twice about going to ConcreteCow. Original plan: Saturday over to Milton Keynes, drive Saturday evening to Corby. Either back home Sunday evening or drive straight to Norfolk Monday morning. Friday, back home.

Then Paul observed it was Mothering Sunday the following Sunday, and he'd like to go over for the day; it seems a bit much to go west, east, then back west over the course of a week, so we're probably going to drop ConcreteCow (pity, but it's a fairly small venue and the games on offer aren't brilliant for me - 2 possible in the morning, 1 in the afternoon, and none in the evening).

Paul's been going on about a hotel in Hunstanton for a few years and finally I got him to book. We're going Monday - Friday and hope to get some walks on the beach, perhaps a visit to Holkham Hall (sadly venison is no longer on the menu), and he'd like to visit the nature reserves. I'm hoping for some fresh seafood and interesting fossils!

>1 -pilgrim-: I hope the medicine gives you some relief.
>6 majkia: glad you are feeling better!

>7 tardis: I'm going to go with marvellings.

>1 -pilgrim-:, >6 majkia: Hope modern medicine helps you both.

I mentioned last month how much I dislike blood thinners. Well, they re-energized parts that had retired decades ago. I began to bleed, then began passing clots. Back to the hospital where I got numerous tests, two transfusions, a uterine artery embolization and a D&C. Came home Sunday after a one week stay. Now I'm trying to recover again. Starting physical therapy tomorrow.

>11 Taphophile13: Oh, I'm so sorry! I hope it's smooth sailing from here, at least.

I have just sent a group of S.A. friends my miserable, which goes like this:

SONG OF THE ROMAN LEGIONARIES
(All I can remember of the stage version of Sellar & Yeatman’s 1066 And All That)
(To be sung loudly, raucously, joyfully, off key and increasingly drunkenly as the evening wears on)

“We’re going home,
We’re going home,
We’re on the road that leads to Rome…”

But indeed I am home, thanks be to everybody! After four trying days of threshing around the hospital have decided that what I have is called GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflex Disorder) Class D, which makes me think I now share a characteristic with Wesley, USR’s Class 19D steam locomotive. (Can’t pull 4 coaches full of tourists up the hill from Kloof, though).

The marvellous was the bunch of Johannesburg friends (mostly genealogists) gave me a delightful weekend up there, only slightly marred by a bad and bloody (literally) case of diarrhea. But now I could echo the Mozambican who once replied to my asking how the world was treating him:

"The world issa notta treata me! If he is difficult I hit him over the head!"

>13 hfglen: Sweet cheeses! Well, I'm glad you're better and I hope you can keep it under control now that you know what it is.

>13 hfglen:
Sorry to hear you have not been having the greatest time. I hope that now you have been diagnosed that medical science can help you feel better and be more comfortable.

>13 hfglen: Oh, GERD is terrible. Hope your treatment gets it under control quickly.

I started Physical Therapy today and the psychological lift alone is wonderful.

>14 clamairy: >15 pgmcc: >16 Taphophile13: Many thanks, everybody!

>15 pgmcc: Oddly enough, I do already. Just not having to run to the loo every 20 minutes helps a lot.

>13 hfglen: I am glad you had some fun to to offset that very unpleasant "miserable". Wishing you a speedy recovery.

>1 -pilgrim-: Best wishes and I hope you get some relief from the new medication. My late wife was given slow-release morphine, which seemed to help her a lot.

>13 hfglen: I had my first occurrence of reflux at the age of about 30, and went to the doctor ASAP, scared that I had cancer or something. He reassured me without making me feel like an idiot, which was kind of him. I am therefore in a position to say that reflux is Not Fun. Hugh, you have my deep sympathy. Even more so for the other symptom that you mention, which I assume was even less fun. Seconding what >18 -pilgrim-: said. Nobody ever asks you to pull a bunch of coaches up the hill from Kloof, I hope.

>6 majkia: >11 Taphophile13: Best wishes again and hoping for a speedy recovery for you both.

>8 Maddz: I noticed that petrol seemed to have got a lot pricier here too.

>19 haydninvienna: I'm hoping that prices will drop at the weekend; I'll need to fill up before going away on Monday...

I managed to slip on ice yesterday, came down hard on my back, and whacked my head into the sidewalk. Big lump, quite painful, but not concussion so I went on with my walk to the library and then came home and put ice on it for a couple of hours. Today I'm quite stiff in neck and ribcage, but otherwise fine. The lump has gone down and only hurts if I press on it.

On the positive side, yesterday I had my annual ophthalmologist appointment to check for glaucoma, and the doctor said everything looks good.

Last night my husband and I finished watching the BBC series "The Watch", which is "inspired by" Terry Pratchett's Watch books. It's a TERRIBLE adaptation, but my husband (who hasn't read the books) liked it well enough (although he found plot holes and there were bonkers things that really didn't make a ton of sense) and there were things I thought weren't terrible. Despite being staggeringly miscast as the book version of Cheery, the actor playing the TV version (Jo Ayton-Kent) was charming and sweet. Vimes and Carrot were also decently cast, although in the case of Vimes, actor Richard Dormer did a lot of scenery-chewing. I don't think I want to see any of it again and am not particularly keen to see any more (assuming it gets made), and I had to re-read Guards, Guards to re-set my memories.

>21 tardis: Lucky you that it wasn’t worse! I hope you can sit to read though.

Minor bit of miserable for me: you might remember that Mrs H has me feeding the local wildlife. This involves me in buying mealworms in large quantities. I normally buy them from Wilko or one of the other cheapie chains where the going rate is £5 or so for a 500-gram bag. We usually go through 2 or 3 bags a week. Today we were passing by a Pets Corner shop and I nipped in and checked their price. £30 a kilo?!! What parallel universe are they living in to think that I’m going to pay that much for mealworms to shovel down the throats of flocks of starlings (which is where most of the food goes)?

>22 haydninvienna:
:-(

>22 haydninvienna: Supposedly starlings are declining in numbers, although from the numbers visiting our garden you wouldn't think so.

>24 Maddz: Same here. I would prefer that the blackbirds, robins and thrushes got the mealworms, but the starlings roll up in gangs and clear the place out, making a mess while they do it.

Our blackbirds wait impatiently on the fence for Paul to go out with the bag... They've learnt to dive in when they have a chance; they've been known to swoop in just as Paul's turning away from the feeding station. The robins seem to prefer the sunflower hearts, along with the blue tits.

Ah well, Paul's going to get a telling off when we get back home next week! (Why haven't you been feeding us - you're failing in your duty...)

This is not a big thing, but in my books it is classified as marvelous.

I was contacted a few days ago by someone I know through Science Fiction conventions. It is only at these events that I meet her. She lives in Belfast and has been working from her apartment for the past two years and is feeling the lonesome times.

She was asking if I would be available to meet for brunch today. My wife and I were booked to collect my son's two cats from the cattery this morning as he and his fiancée were returning from separate trips to the US. (The two of them were over in the US at the same time, he for a work event, she for a family reunion.) It was going to be tight to meet but my wife and I said, "What the hell! We'll give it a go."

We collected the cats on a beautiful morning. The Cattery is way out in the country, so we had a lovely country drive and still made it in time for Brunch as 11:30am.

Of course, the gremlins did have their fun. The place where we arranged to meet was closed and not opening until 12noon. Luckily we found a place on the river, The Aarlington Hotel*, and it was perfect for brunch. We met our friend and had a great chin-wag. My wife had not met her much before. The two of them got on like a house on fire. We all had a great time, which was rounded off with visits to two bookshops: one was Easons and the other was a re-opened CHAPTERS!. haydninvienna will be happy to know Chapters has re-opened under new management. This was our first visit to it after its reopening and it is much the same as before.

*I recall someone here telling me of their staying in The Arlington Hotel on a visit to Dublin. It was my first time visiting their premises. We will be using it again. It was perfect for meeting up and having a bite to eat and a chat. The staff were lovely, couldn't do enough for us, and kept telling us to take our time and enjoy ourselves.

So, a marvelous day was had.

ETA: I forgot to mention that our friend was a regular attendee at P-Con, the SF convention I used to organise. The last P-Con was held in 2012, ten years ago. During our brunch I pronounced the event a Mini-P-Con Reunion. :-) Fond memories.

>27 pgmcc: Re-opened Chapters? You’re absolutely right I’m happy. Wonder if I can swing a trip to Dublin ….

Um … I’m happy also that you and Mrs Pete and your friend had a good time.

>28 haydninvienna: I gave a few more details about the re-opening in my own thread.

Looking forward to meeting up on your return visit.

>27 pgmcc: Another marvelous outcome from our meet-up was our friend and my wife ganging up and insisting that I decide to attend WorldCon in Scotland in 2024. They forced me into it.

>30 pgmcc: Oh no! "Please Brer-Bear, don't throw me in that briar patch! Anything but that!!"

>31 ScoLgo:
See you there. We can organise a GD/LT meet-up. We had a successful one in Dublin.

>19 haydninvienna: Thanks Richard. I am glad that your late wife found morphine helpful.

I last had some after surgery in 2015. It is one of the few pain medications that do have some effect on CRPS.

At least the bottle that was apparently prescribed on the 14th arrived on Friday.

Three tornadoes went through my town late yesterday afternoon. No deaths, some injuries, a fair amount of property damage. One didn't even register on the radar, but was captured by a local new station's weather camera mounted on the building that it hit (Kalahari Resorts.) The building is fine, but a lot of cars ended up in different parking spaces; some even shared the same space, vertically.
Another damaged a bank bad enough it'll probably have to be razed. I suspect it was the same one that went through one of my son's neighborhood. His house and the bank are about 1.75 miles apart. He lost power and one board off his fence.
Curiously, I'm 1.5 miles in the opposite direction from the bank, and I had sunny skies and my wind chimes didn't make a sound.

>34 WholeHouseLibrary: Good to hear you and yours are safe. A co-worker posted a video of a tornado spinning a pickup truck around and around and around, they weren't too far from his town either.

>5 NorthernStar:, >6 majkia:, >9 catzteach:, >11 Taphophile13:, >19 haydninvienna: Thank you for the good wishes, everyone.

>6 majkia:, >16 Taphophile13: And am glad to see some good medical news around!

My commiserations to all whose experiences have been to the contrary this month.

>34 WholeHouseLibrary: yikes! Glad there weren’t any deaths.

>34 WholeHouseLibrary: Yikes! I saw a lot of footage on my Weather Channel app. Scary stuff. Seriously, there wasn't even a breeze at your place? Isn't that unusual?

My father-in-law died in his sleep early Sunday morning. His health has been declining for several years. He has struggled to get enough oxygen with 16% lung function. Since his wife died in December, I think the struggle became more than he was up to. For the past couple of months my husband and his sister have been caring for their father, and a few weeks ago he opted to have hospice care at home, not wanting to go into a hospital again. So although this was not unexpected, and we are all relieved that his passing was as peaceful as it can get, there is a hole in our lives which only he could fill. He was well loved, and he loved well.

>39 MrsLee:
My condolences for your loss. It has not been a good couple of years for you and yours. My deepest sympathy.

So sorry, MrsL even if it is a good thing at this point, it's never easy to lose a parent. Pass along my condolences to M.

Hugs to you and all your family.

>39 MrsLee: I'm sorry to hear of your loss, even if it was a peaceful release for him. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts.

(((((Mrs. Lee)))))

>39 MrsLee: Your father-in-law sounds like a lovely man. May your memories be a source of solace to you and your family.

So sorry for your loss, MrsLee.

>39 MrsLee: What everybody else said.

Thank you all. We appreciate your condolences and sympathy.

>39 MrsLee: So sorry for your loss.

>39 MrsLee: So sorry for your loss.

Sorry to hear that, Mrs Lee. It's so conflicting, isn't it? I lost my dad in similar circumstances this year. (hugs).

>39 MrsLee: My condolences and sympathies to you and the others he's left behind.

>51 MrAndrew: Conflicting, yes indeed. I am sorry for your loss as well.

One doesn't realize how many questions there are to ask until the parents or grandparents are gone. My husband and I were driving and listening to classical music. I mentioned how sad I was for him, because he no longer had his father to share all the little details of music they used to talk about. Then I asked where his father came by his love and knowledge of music. Mark's father had a difficult family growing up (divorced parents, his mother, who he lived with, was from a migrant farm worker background), graduated high school, went into the Navy for three years, then worked as a civilian electrical engineer for the next 35 or more years with the Navy. What/who in that experience was the spark for his love of classical music? We will never know.

>39 MrsLee: I am so sorry for your loss. It has been a hard year for you and your family. My thoughts are with you.

We have never really met, MrAndrew, but I would like to send you my condolences as well.

>39 MrsLee: Ah, sending massive hugs your way. I hope he finds his way to his love.

>51 MrAndrew: My condolences and many hugs to you as well.

>51 MrAndrew: Condolences to you and yours, too.

This is turning out to be a rough year in many ways.
My brother just called to tell me his son died last night of a heart attack. He was only fifty and left two teenage children. My nephew was born prematurely, less than five pounds, and I remember how worried we were.

>57 Taphophile13: So sorry. That is indeed very rough.

>57 Taphophile13: Oh no... I am so deeply sorry for your loss. Losing parents is bad enough, but children (or nieces and nephews) is another kind of pain entirely.

>57 Taphophile13: My heartfelt sympathy. Very difficult indeed.

>57 Taphophile13: oh my! I’m so sorry!

>57 Taphophile13: I'm so sorry to hear this. What an awful shock it must be. My sympathy to you and your family.

>57 Taphophile13: Heavens but that's rough. Strength to you and yours!

>57 Taphophile13: I am very sorry to hear your news. Platitudes about a peaceful passing are of little help at such a young age. Peace be with you all.

>58 haydninvienna:, >59 clamairy:, >60 MrsLee:, >61 catzteach:, >62 Sakerfalcon:, >63 hfglen:, >64 -pilgrim-:
Many thanks to all of you. I've lost several cousins in recent years but I was totally unprepared to see someone in the next generation go. As clamairy said, it's a completely different kind of pain. Thank you, everyone.

>51 MrAndrew: adding my condolences.

>57 Taphophile13: that's a really tough one. Deepest condolences.

Thanks everyone. I'm not much of a sharer, but LT is a very special place. And you guys mean a lot to me. Really appreciate the kind words.

>57 Taphophile13: That's just awful. My condolences to your family.

>54 -pilgrim-: This is the police. Leave immediately! He's posting from INSIDE THE HOUSE!