Day 51: Tuesday 30th April

It is always a tricky one when someone you love unconditionally seems to believe that you don't care. C1 is in such a turmoil, and although I am sure I am doing all I can, she is still snarling, weeping and blaming. 

I asked her to write down all the good and bad points of her life for me. It makes tough reading, but gives me an insight into where on earth to start to try to rebuild her. 
For her sake and mine. 

It doesn't help when C2 has a minor injury to his thumb (read as bumped it playing tag at school yesterday and now is unable to walk comfortably!!!) and is going to school today with a 'sympathy bandage' on his wrist. 

I have swollen knees. It is a fact, and is painful. I do not completely blame the bike-ride, but it must have had something to do with it. 

Slathering them in alternate mixes of glucosamine gel, comfrey ointment, ice and a hot wheat pack. 
Kill or cure. 

Note to self: ask GP why, when I have shed 5 stones in weight, should my knees be actually MORE painful now than before. 

C1's school coat was left on the floor last night after being thrown there following her thwarted attempt to leave the country (wearing a nightie) and couldn't find the front door key. Furbaby 2 took this as a sign that the coat was intended for him to use as a paddy-paws wee receptacle, so this morning, there was a puddle in the middle of the coat. 

Furbaby 2 is nowhere to be seen, of course, so I cannot admonish him suitably. He is actually outside basking on the trampoline. With his brother, his younger 'pseudo-sibling' and a serious 'come-and-have-a-go-if-you-think-you're-hard-enough' expression on his face. 

He knows. 

He knows for sure that I will not attempt to get onto the trampoline, and he also knows that a reprimand hours after the crime means nothing!

Innocent Cat

No school run today, as Mrs Fisherman is back from l'Italia and would like to accompany her youngest to school and back for her last 4 days there. I don't mind. 

I will concentrate my efforts on completing 'Horseshoe Horace' for a wedding gift which needs delivering this afternoon. 

3-fold good luck:
black cat, chimney sweep and a lucky horseshoe
all rolled into one and held together with 2 hearts

Maybe some more seed planting later, if I feel confident that there will be no more visits from Jack Frost. 

It is May tomorrow. Ice on the car and on my baby plants this morning.
For goodness sake!

.

Going to teach C1 how to make home-made fish fingers tonight. 

The start of the tough love programme. Zero tolerance. She will know the rules. She will fight against them. She will reap consequences. She will be better for it.

Love hurts.   

Day 50: Monday 29th April

Oh my lovely girl.

It's impossible to find the right things to say. 

Friends come and go throughout life. 

Some move on to pastures new. 

Some just fade away. 

Some stay with you no matter how many hours or 

miles there are between you. 

For someone who makes friends slowly but with all

her heart, it's so difficult to accept. 

And it hasn't even happened yet. 

Tears before bedtime are never good.

A day of blood tests, blood pressure tests, parenting 

group re-join, thinking of ways to help C1 with her 

friendship issues, freezing leftovers, visiting 

recovering relatives, meals on wheels, and keeping 

calm.

It is now 50 days since my first operation. 

5 stones in weight have now disappeared from my 

person.

I am delighted, yet still frustrated at the slowness of  

my 'getting back to normal' recovery. 

Onwards and upwards.

Day 49: Sunday 28th April

A peaceful evening with C2 watching a film, lots of cuddles, a sofa blanket and a big sleep.

C1 was away on a sleepover.

Her return was awaited, as we had bikes on the bike rack, water in the bottles, and were raring to go.

A little later, and thanks to Mr 1957's satnav, we managed to collect C1 from her friend's house, say hello to 2 adorable little pugs, and make our way to the biggest lake in the area.

Cycling was easy. Easier than walking, to be honest. C1 and C2 raced round the cycle path with ease. So did I. Mr 1957 was in his element. No icecreams were purchased, and all was well. 

My tummy fared really well during the bike ride. My knees however felt the strain a little. Hot wheat bag, painkillers and a cup of peppermint tea sorted it out. I am now hoping that I can move tomorrow!

Further bike fun is planned for Tuesday. 

The slow-cooker produced a beautiful  lamb hot-pot - I decided to join in the fun and had a small portion for myself. Mashed a bit. Tasted fantastic. No problems - for the first time in months, I have eaten proper food, in a near-normal texture. Yippee!

A quarter of this portion was mine. All mine!

Ironing all done. Washing up completed. House reasonably tidy. For a Sunday evening, I see this as a triumph.

Day 48: Saturday 27th April

Blue skies, smiling at me,
Nothing but blue skies, do I see.....

I can hear the Fur-babies shouting at each-other on the trampoline, some starlings up in next-door's roof, C2 messing about on the laptop with a playlist of Queen's Greatest Hits (proud moment!), and soup bubbling on the stove. I love this kind of Saturday mornings like this. 

No positive results so far from the glucosamine gel on the knackered knees. I am a bit disappointed, but then, my question about 'how can a bit of stuff rubbed on the outside help a problem on the inside?' remains unanswered.

 

I caught sight of myself in the mirror this morning - not something I make a habit of - I was actually shocked by how much my face has changed over the last couple of months. Having shed approaching 5 stone in weight since the beginning of February, I suppose it is to be expected. What I didn't expect is the 'head-down, toes-up' fat-loss! 

I have a thinner face. 

I have gone down a shoe-size.

My middle area is still similar to Mr Michelin, but getting noticeably less of it. 

There may be an update later, but it is a beautiful day, and I have outsidey stuff to do. 


UPDATE:

All washing dried on the line, hailed on, then dried again. Now to iron or not to iron......

Bikes all pumped up, oiled and ready. C1 and C2 have been riding theirs this afternoon, proving the theory that you never forget how! 

My bike, however, with it's newly mended saddle covered in Duct tape, is relatively unrideable still. Something to do with the height of the saddle I think. I have WD40'd it, tried to raise it, failed, then when it hailed again, gave up for now, with a resentful squirt of more WD40 as I locked up. Will try again in the morning, and ask Mr 1957 to bring his spanners and some elbow grease. We really want to get these bikes used, and being so close to success, it's frustrating. 

The bike rack is now adjusted to fit the Skoda, so all being well, some biking is on the cards this summer. 

Day 47: Friday 26th April

Busy Busy Busy!

Am trying something new today. 

In fact, a few new things. 

Following my long chat with Bariatric Emma, I am giving myself a challenge to try new foods to test out the new re-routed plumbing and pipe-work. 

I am also trying some glucosamine gel to rub on my knackered knees, and flax-seed oil in my ready brek to attempt to lubricate my dry joints.

Lactose-free cheese needs some work. That's all I can say at the moment. Cous-cous went down OK. My home-made chilli hummus is a winner, and the Ryvita moments keep on coming. There is hope of a varied diet on the horizon!

Furbaby1 has a wonky tail. I originally thought that the dreaded blocked urethra had returned...

... but on closer inspection (Ouch!) I think he may have some kind of animal bite (Ratty?) at the base of his tail, 

or been clipped by something or someone larger than he is. 

He seems a lot happier tonight, but will keep a close eye on him.

After taking C1 to school, I took the Leg-Hider and 4 tubs of my hummus to Franny-Pan at her place of work. All good so far. 

Then I popped over to Mrs H2H to exchange ideas on bariatric surgery compared to Crones Disease, pick up some bits and bobs, and placed a request for any wool that turns up to be saved for me and my poppy-making British Legion project.

Then on to meet BabyDaddy to confirm calendar dates for child visits, clear up some confusion, and straighten out a joint stance on Roblox Addiction. 

Then on to see Mummy and Daddy for lunch, chat, hugs and some catching up. Dad not too great today - I haven't been able to see much of him during my recovery, and the difference in him is quite obvious. Mum is coping in her usual stalwart manner, but every time I come away from spending time there, I am more convinced that I couldn't do what she does with such enduring patience and such caring love. I know she blows a gasket occasionally, but then, she has every right to. 

Home is where the heart is. C1 and C2 are home for the weekend. School shoes kicked off in the hallway, bags and uniform scattered everywhere. 

Stuffed marrow for tea - a family favourite - I found the marrow in the 'discarded' tray in Tesco. I found half a bag of Quorn mince in the freezer, half a tomato and half a carrot and some sadly limp celery in the fridge, an oxo cube and some couscous, and hey presto! 5* dinner. 

All gone - according to my children it tasted fantastic.  

Fruit salad chopped at the table to follow. 

My meal consisted of blended marrow stuffing with a quarter of a potato mashed in, and some of the lactose-free cheese melted on top. 

I will not repeat this combination. 

It is on the 'NO' list.  

Relaxed, harmonious, Friday evening is blown out of the water by some tears from C1 as C2 had 'jumped on her head' on the trampoline. Not sure what actually happened, but there was no blood, a murmer of an apology from C2 (although actually, mummy, I'm not that sorry), and peace is restored, along with the WiFi connection, Roblox and FB. 

Roll on bathtime. Early nights all round, I think. 

My lovely friend Rach is coming over tomorrow with her equally lovely offspring. We shall drink tea. And make plans of a creative nature. 

Other plans for the weekend are brewing, depending on the weather. We have had sun, rain, wind, sleet and hail today. Whatever the weather, I will be spending a little time in the garage tomorrow on a bike inspection, preparing for a possible test-run on Sunday. 

Mr 1957 is most insistent. I need to get out more! 

On yer bike!!!!

Day 46: Thursday 25th April

Thursday brings sunshine, and aren't we all pleased? 

No rodents in the house this morning. Phew!

C1 has been 'spoken to' about the length of her school skirt. 

I have been treated to a demonstration of what length it really should be, (below the knee, apparently, but NOBODY wears it like that, mummy!) with the bonus of the standard thick black tights, girly boxers and huge expanse of school blouse all showing between the TOP of the waistband and her navel! 

Oh dear. 

C2 announced to me as we arrived in the school car park that he had a headache and was too tired. I cajoled/dragged/bribed him into the building, where he then proceeded to have a brilliant day, coming out again with a certificate for his excellent Lego aqueduct, 3 house points, and a massive smile. 

I rushed home after the morning run to meet the lovely recipient of 2 gorgeous baby blankets (I think so). She was delighted with them. I love handing over things I have made for people. Here they are, modelled by Baby Annabel.

Crochet blanket

Knitted wrapping shawl

                                     
The prospect of assembling enough of my makes to participate in a proper craft fair have been discussed. Still not sure, but I will continue making stuff!

My gardening exploits earlier this week are still causing me a little discomfort, so I will be calling upon C1 and C2 to help complete the weeding task this weekend. 

First I will need to locate the wheelbarrow!

Spent a lovely mid-morning/mid-afternoon window of opportunity with Mr 1957 - sitting in the sunshine, drinking peppermint tea, munching (20 times per 20p-size mouthful) on a Ryvita and hummus, while he sat next to me with a luscious bacon sarnie. 

All's fair, as they say.

An evening of kid-stuff, finishing off crochet projects, and thinking about the weekend that we might have, lies ahead tonight. Hoping for fine weather. Hoping for some extra energy now. I am feeling much more like my old self today. 

HOORAY!

Day 45: Wednesday 24th April

And so we are halfway through yet another week. I have logged the distance of the school run - 9.3 miles twice a day. Seeing C2 happily going into and out of school makes me smile. Although it would be financially brilliant to be able to walk him to and from a more local school, we will go with the flow. He is on the waiting list for a transfer, but if it doesn't happen soon, we will have to make it work to do the driving thing.

Crisis in the household - it all started last night, when Furbaby 3 came yowling in through the catflap. This sound is usually indicative of him having captured some form of wildlife. I thought nothing more of it, until I went upstairs to bed, to find all 3 cats sitting on the bathroom floor, staring intently at the hollow area behind the handwash basin pedestal. Closer inspection revealed a rather scaly tail, far bigger than that of a mouse or a shrew (FB3's usual victims).

Yep. Rattus norvegicus. Eek!

Cats shooed away. Bathroom door closed. To bed, and deal with in the morning. My achey bits went to bed, and shortly after I had gone to sleep, C2 arrived clutching his hoard of pillow-cases (Razzles) and announced that his bad dream had come back. I was not properly awake. 
This is why I did not notice that he had been to the bathroom, and left the door open.

C1 appeared at about 3am, and with no pleasantries at all, not even a gentle thump, began to query (i) why C2 was in my bed 'again', (ii) why her life was so awful, and (iii) why there was a rat's tail hanging down out of the attic flap of her doll's house, which is on top of her wardrobe.

At this, me being almost comatose and unable to shake off the drug-induced sleepiness, simply budged up a bit more to allow her to shove her way into the middle of the bed. 

Come the morning alarm, all hell breaks loose. Cats, rat, and children all vying for my attention.

I must have been slightly deranged, as I chose to ignore the rat, feed the cats and the children, and do the school run. On my return home, to await the arrival of Mrs JH for her one-to-one crochet tutorial, I decided to close the bedroom door, with rat still inside. 

Bariatric Emma rings for a nice long chat about Ryvita, liver, spinach and the joys of Fybogel. I am doing fine. My blood tests all reveal a reasonably healthy balanced body. I wish my body realised this. I feel remarkable unbalanced in a kind of over-loaded, heavy-leggy way. Must be playing catch-up after the day I had on Monday.

BFF Sally makes a call, and tells me in no uncertain terms to sling all 3 cats into the room, and close the door, and let them earn their keep. I do this. 

To no avail.

The end of the crochet lesson, and off I go to collect from school. On my return, in between making cups of tea for visiting old friends, new friends and Mr 1957 armed with a net, rat is tracked down to the inside of C1's old toddler toy box.

Goodbye Ratty.  

Tea is cooked and served. Tempers are lost.
Consequences are discussed.
Bed for 2 tired small people.

I am late with writing tonight. I still have a couple more things to do to complete my list for today.

May have to leave until tomorrow.

Day 44: Tuesday 23rd April

For England, and St George..........

Another lovely day - totally on top of things - it feels good. I have a suspicion that it won't last, but while I'm climbing up sunshine mountain, I will enjoy the view!

Sunshine Mountain ⁽¹⁾
I'm climbing up Sunshine Mountain,
Where the four winds blow, ho, ho,
I'm climbing up Sunshine Mountain,
Face all a-glow, oh, oh,
Turn your back on all your sorrows,
Reach up to the sky, i, i,
I'm climbing up Sunshine Mountain,
You and I, you and I...

    1: Memories of The Duke William in Lincoln, Rugby Club night out, a chair knob, and a whole lot more. The song starts with leader standing on a chair.  At end of each verse the leader points to a person not on a chair.  They get up.  Song continues until everyone is on a chair. Or under the table. Or behaving inappropriately. Hah!!!!!!!

Washing machine on before breakfast. This means that my 'to-do' list, which is shoved in the vent of the car's dashboard blower, consists of the following:

* Pack soup, crochet, water bottle and soya milk 
* Put note in porch for postman
* School run
* Hang out washing in the garden
* Tesco - buy Tahini and exchange stickers for Pyrex
* Body Shop - use birthday voucher
* Eyebrow lady - get brows threaded
* Visit Mrs Wobble - drink lots of tea and talk a lot
* School run
* Chop up all the twigs and branches from yesterday
* Cook tea
* Bring in washing
* Raise the hem of C1's new school skirt (reluctantly)
* Find the nit comb
* Lavender baths for both C1 and C2
* Read 2 chapters of pirate story to C2 (with accents)
* Boil up pre-soaked chick peas to make hummus
* Complete Fownz's rabbit
* Complete hook-holder
* Complete Franny-Pan's Leg-Hider Adjustments
* Take painkillers
* Flop in chair and attempt to watch telly.
* Give up and go to bed.

All in a day's work. Girl done good. No serious harm after yesterday's over-doing it. Sore, but happy.