The Lockdown Gang still chatting

I'm glad you both had a decent sleep Doodle. I hope tonight is just as good.
I am glad too that you escaped being sent to hospital.

The car tyre pumping sounds horribly familiar to me. Well done to you!
I went to the local garage where they charge for air by the minute. I felt so under pressure (no pun intended) that the air came out instead of in.
There suddenly seemed to be a queue waiting and I had to accept help from another motorist male.before limping to a real garage to find and repair the leaks.

Quite a fun day today for me. I've been wondering for a while why the pond seemed to be drying up so with my garden helper we found the blockage. It was leaves in the pipes. The gush which ensued was most satisfying and by this afternoon the pond was almost full.
Definitely Women's Day.

I took a carfull of rubbish from DMiL house and garden to the recycle.
I finished some pots and went to the community lunch.

These will be the first Brazilians I have hosted. But infact before they come I have a Chinese girl and her boyfriend. I can't remember what Nationality he is but she told me he is a whizz at DIY so I said yes please come!!

I am very proud of my DGS and so pleased he is keeping up his music. His younger sister is almost as good.

Better get to bed. We're in for another freezing night
Hot water bottle and hot chocolate please Jeeves.

Good news Doodle, it's beginning to come right isn't it? And you have super health team. So glad you are sleeping well too. Makes a world of difference. ;-)

Gramaretto I used to teach some lovely Brazilian families but alas, I can remember only one of the many words they taught me: Obrigada = thankyou (to a female).
Quentin Crisp (my hero) never did any cleanig, he said after the 1st year it doesn't get any worse.

Doodle I think it's you who should be writing the book about humour in older age. I was imagining you like the gorgeous Geoff Capes, pulling on the hose.

Yes Cherry that's exactly it. But in the end, I can't save the dog and the only thing I can do is wear earplugs.

I didn't wake to snow, thank goodness but the mornings are certainly getting a bit cooler now Autumn is well established.

I've just posted an excerpt from the book, the bit I worked on today, in case anyone is interested.

www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1242348033327117577/6458860690008154684

Good evening 🙂
Doodle Are you sure you haven't been sticking pins in The Dude? 4lbs is one big pee! But in all seriousness I really, really hope your GP keeps helping.

I'm back at the quilting again because DD1 has named the day for her youngest daughter to be Christened. Can't wait to witness this as she is a chip off the old block is 3.5 and has about 60 years of attitude. I know because I've tried bathing her!

All the family are coming to spend the day on Mr M's birthday in ten days......he's asked for Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, including mince pies and a tree......is there a doctor for that?

Cherry DH has put on 7 kg in 2 months. It must be fluid because our diet has stayed basically the same.
Not sure what the GP is going to think of us but we’ve decided to go against her wishes.
Gp wants DH to double a drug he’s been taking recently. DH and I both feel it’s the cause of his weight gain and cough and swollen legs. Trouble is those three things could also be caused by a heart problem. He took one of the tablets yesterday afternoon and about an hour later started coughing and started retaining fluid. We’ve made the decision to stop for a few days to see if symptoms improve at all. So far today he’s hardly coughed at all. Just hope we’re not doing the wrong thing.
Do you think we could charter a virtual plane to take us all to Kaimoana’s book signing. We could hang around and say nonchalantly, we of course we know the author well. 😊
Yes we had some snow. Very light though.
Grammaretto I too find those air hose things let out more air than they put in.
I love a pond in the garden. Glad you found out what the problem was.
Oh the Chinese lady and her boyfriend sound as though they may be a big help. What can you get him to build/fix I wonder?
Kaimoana I used to love watching the early Worlds strongest Man competition. I’d forgotten about Geoff Capes. A giant of a man who bred budgies. 😊
Ooh can’t wait to read what you’ve written.
Mamissimo I must admit I have thought about poking DH with a needle to let all the water out.
Your DGD sounds a lovely feisty young lady. What sort of quilt are you making for her?
Please can I come and join your for MrM’s birthday meal. I’d love a Christmas dinner. I could bring crackers.

Lots of things to celebrate in our gang at the moment. Long may it continue.

Happy birthday in advance to MrM.

Yesterday was a horrible, frustrating day with a long, wasted journey and a grumpy, complaining driver (before we even knew it was wasted) and a doctor's receptionist who asked for passport, driver's licence or birth certificate - none of which I had been asked to take.

The two former I don't possess and I've no idea where my BC is, and can't see to search.

Then the electrician, here to service the alarm system, discovered someone has stolen the special bulbs from my security lights. They must have brought a ladder because the fixture is on top of the garage.
He is going to ask the Sallies if he can fit a caged device, thief-proof.

Today it's raining and very dull but Artoa and I went for coffee and sat outside on the covered veranda.
It was lovely.

If you come to my book signing, you won't need to nudge anyone to say you know me, you'll be in the honoured, front row seats, plied with plonk and home baking.


My other book signings have been, from choice, low key, just in our local library.

I was asked to speak at the Women's Book Festival though and received a standing ovation after I sang at the end.

Don't think there'll be any sort of fuss for the children's book. It's usual for authors to travel to libraries or schools and read to a group of beautifully fidgety little ones. Obviously that's not an option in my case .

Doodle shame on you how could you forget Geoff Capes!

His son, like mine, played American Football.

I do feel for you Doodle having to go against the docs advice
I remember when DH was on a drug trial and the effects were so horrible he decided to halve the dose. Sometimes the cure is worse than the disease.
I shall be thinking of you both.💐💐

I hope the birthday boy enjoys his roast Mamissimo
We have a birthday season approaching.
DMiL and DBiL have theirs this weekend. I shall visit with cake on Sunday.
I've a new recipe for citrus, thyme and rose cake which i tasted at the community meal. I tell you it is the best restaurant!

I went to the ceilidh dancing tonight and we almost had a lockdown in the building as it snowed constantly but we all got home safely.

I like a pond too Doodle but one with no water isn't brilliant.
You have the river near you to enjoy don't you

Goodnight dear friends
See you tomorrow.

Well we have a conundrum. DH weighs less, his breathing has improved and his cough is almost non existent. He feels better in himself but his heart rate is still very high. So do we do what the GP asked and take the meds that lower heart rate but put up with massive weight increase and coughing and breathing difficulties. 🤔
Kaimoana I used to love Geoff Capes. A gentle giant.
You need a passport to be seen at the Doctors !!😲
Why on earth would you need that. As if the grumpy driver wasn’t enough, some mean spirited person has stolen your light bulbs. What a cheek.
Well I wish I’d been at the Women’s book festival to hear you speak and hear you singing. What a lovely day theAt must have been
You may be surprised to hear I am making a ‘cake’. Not any old cake but a special one for my sons 50th. My lovely DGD will no doubt produce one of her spectacular birthday cakes for her dad and I certainly can’t compete with that so I am making him a ……can cake. It’s an idea I saw on Pinterest. You stack beer (or in my case Guinness) cans to form a three tiered cake and decorate with ribbons and sparkly stuff. I hope he likes it,
Grammaretto so you have a lot on birthday wise in March too. That cake sounds delicious I’m sure they’ll both enjoy it.
Have you ever been stuck somewhere in the snow? I was. When my boys were small, I set off to pick up my mum and dad to bring them to ours for the weekend (they didn’t have a car). It was snowing lightly when I left home but quickly turned to heavy snow as time went on. Lots of slow moving trafffic. After an hour I wasn’t even half way when I finally came to a halt when I got stuck in a rut at the side of the road and couldn’t make the car move forwards or backwards. This was in the days before mobile phones. I happened to stop outside a very large and imposing house. I knocked on the door and asked if I could possibly use their phone to call my DH for help. They very kindly invited me and my two small boys into the house and put us in their childrens school room (!) where there was a phone for me and toys for the boys. It was like a stately mansion. They were very kind and fed us tea and biscuits till DH finally made it to us an hour later. It then took us another three hours to get home. If you consider my parents only lived an hours drive from us you can see what the weather conditions were like.
Yes we are so lucky to have the river on our doorstep. I sit and watch it while I eat my breakfast in the mornings.
Have a good weekend all the lobstars.

As usual, I got it wrong, sorry. It wasn't possible to follow the link. This should be better.

the-lockdown-diary.blogspot.com/2023/03/the-aztecs-were-spiritual-people-and.html

You're not wrong Grammaretto, sometimes the cure is worse than the disease. Side effects can be debilitating. In my time various medications for my epilepsy have been responsible for kidney stones, started off with 3 ended up with 6, liver function impairment despite the fact that I don't drink alcohol and aphasia as well as Kepprage when I was prescribed Keppra. A man I know ended up in a wheelchair as a result of side effects of medication.

Doodle it can be daunting to go against medical advice but 7kg is a heck of a lot of weight to put on in a couple of months when there's no dietary explanation. It does appear to have coincided with your DH being prescribed these tablets, ergo - no coincidence. I hope you're right, I think you could well be (but it's not for me to judge). How is your DH today?
I like your idea of chartering a plane to get the lobStars to Kaimoana's book signing 👌, especially since we'll be honoured guests, thanks Kaimoana 😊

What a 'mare of a day Kaimoana, you really should have been told in advance you'd need that sort of ID! I hope the Sallies allow the electrician to fit a theft proof device for your alarm system 🤞
I haven't been able to access your link yet. There's a repeated theme going on here - at first I couldn't listen to the song via the link you sent for St David's Day. I forget to say that I did eventually though, the female singer has a very sweet voice and plays the harp beautifully. I enjoy it very much, thank you. I'll keep trying the link, 🤞 I'll get to read it in the end.

That's an unusual combination of ingredients for a cake Grammaretto. I'd definitely give it a go though and it's not just because I love cake 😁
I'm glad you didn't have to take up overnight shelter where your ceilidh dancing takes place, you wouldn't have had blankets or anything like that would you?
I had to laugh - I like a pond too Doodle but one with no water isn't brilliant 🤣

We had a positive result in Cherry Cove yesterday 😁. We found someone who didn't charge an arm and a leg to fix the window in our kitchen and now hey presto it opens! He said he can fix the side door to our garage too so is coming back next week to do that. We're still waiting on the builder to get back to us about the work we need doing to stop the rain coming in on the landing though .... if he doesn't hurry up we'll have to sack him before he's starting!
Oh, by the wayDoodle our team won their European match yesterday 😁

A conundrum indeed Doodle I don't understand blood pressure so to me it seems obvious to keep doing what keeps DH feeling better.
Don't ask me though. I know nothing.

Your adventures in the snow sound great though I'll bet you were scared at the time.

I don't miss those days when we were broken down and had to knock on doors to ask to use a phone. But people were kind.

I have been helping DSiL clear her mum's house. Actually she has done wonders and moves out tonight.
Then it's up to the estate agent to sell it.
I am confident it will sell quickly but DSiL is anxious. I'm glad she's not showing people round because she only thinks of what's wrong with it!
It's in a good location with great views and the sun shines in all day.

The beer cake sounds fun!

Oh goodness Kaimoana someone has stolen your light bulbs. Some people are horrible!
I also wish I could have heard you speak at the women's book festival. I would have stood and cheered.

I must pack the kiln and then have an early night. I am tired again and have another shift tomorrow.

Bring on the drinks Jeeves!!

We won Cherry , fantastic. 🥳🥳🥳🥳
Now if only they could keep it up.
Good you got your window fixed. Getting anyone to do small jobs these days is almost impossible.
Thank for asking, DH says he feels better now than for days. Will it last I wonder. 😊

Kaimoana I have just looked at your link. What a fabulous writer you are. You had me in stitches. A wonderful story of Aztec life. I am looking at rabbits in a new light. 🤣

Definitely a conundrum Doodle. Is there a suitable alternative medication the GP could prescribe do you think? Your DH has been prescribed something else in the past though hasn't he? A few years ago my GP prescribed me medication for high blood pressure and my face swelled up but I was fortunate as my BP had settled enough for it to just be monitored for a while. I don't know if my GP would have prescribed me an alternative if I needed it but I know there's a number of medicines available to treat high blood pressure. Both my WP and my niece1 are taking tablets for high BP, they are not taking the same medication and neither of them are on the medication I was prescribed. I won't say your DH is in a catch 22 situation yet, the medical professionals can surely find a solution to his problem.
What a lovely idea and present for your DS' birthday, you're making a crafty artisan cake I'd say 😊
What lovely people you met behind the door of that large imposing house all those years ago. You must have been so relieved to receive their help. I wonder who lives in that house now, descendants perhaps, or whether it still houses a family at all.

Oh well done to both you and your DSiL Grammaretto. I think you're right, it won't be on the market long. It sounds like it ticks a lot of boxes for what people want when they're looking for a good home, light is especially important. By the way, how is your DMiL doing now, is she any better since moving back into the flat?

Aha, it wasn't me that had the issue accessing your link then Kaimoana, phew, I was starting to think I was technically inept which might be true but I'm not going to admit it . Now I've been able to read it I must say that I enjoyed it immensely, unmistakably our sharp witted Kaimoana 😊

My neighbour was up to her antics again last night 😤. It's only around 7:20pm and I'm almost ready for 😴. What do you recommend to keep me awake for a couple of hours Jeeves?

I haven't managed to access the link yet
I'm not sure what it is I'm trying to find

#stupidgran

I had a lovely chat with the NZers . They have tickets to see and hear the poet laureate, Simon Armitage in Wellington tonight. Isn't that exciting for my poetry mad DGS.!

DMiL is not improving but I hope she'll manage a piece of cake tomorrow. I've baked the cake but not decorated it yet.

I am so sorry your noisy neighbour keeps you awake Cherry. Bad enough just lying awake unable to sleep but to be disturbed as well must be awful.

What does Jeeves recommend?
He's brought me a glass of red wine. Thanks for that but I doubt that would help keep you awake.

We’ve just had a bit of an incident.
DH (in compliance with GPS wishes) has decided to take the meds she wanted him to have for a couple of days. He took one early morning and one just after lunch. Within 1 hours he’d started coughing when drinking liquid. More coughing followed by being a bit wheezy. Just now he got up to fetch his foot stool and on pulling it back to his chair he started to fall. Like something out of a slow motion film he was going backwards over the stool. He was reaching out for me and I for him. l just managed to grasp his fingers enough to slow his descent to the carpet where he lay in a bit of a daze. He’s now back sitting on the sofa very much out of breath but feeling better. I think the new meds have lowered his BP too much. I think he will halve the dose tomorrow. Another fall is something we don’t need.
Cherry Dh was already on 3 BP meds when this started. They want him to take this new one to control his high pulse. Not quite sure where we go from here. Will see what GP says Monday. DH is in a catch 22 situation really. What cures one problem seems to start off another. When you’re taking 20 to 30 different tablets a day something is bound to disagree with something else. He’s just taken his BP and it’s 95/65…….not surprising he fell over.
Like you I thoroughly enjoyed Kaimoana’s blog. Interesting and amusing at the same time.
Oh no Cherry you shouldn’t have asked. He’ll have you playing dominoes all night. It’s one of Jeeve’s many passions.
Hope you have a quieter night tonight.
Grammaretto I couldn’t access Kaimoana’s first link but the second one should be Ok. It’s a very amusing story about the Aztecs.
What a lovely opportunity for your DGS. Hope they all enjoy it. It must have been such an upheaval for your DMIL recently. Not surprising she’s not feeling to great. I’m sure your cake I’ll be just what she needs to cheer her up.
Hope you both enjoy the day.

Your poor, poor DH Doodle. You must feel so helpless and fearful.

When I saw the cardiologist, he wanted to put me back onto Warfarin but that's a blood thinner and the injections I have in my eyes are the opposite! They stop the blood thinning and the bleeding in the eyes which is rapidly taking away my sight. So I refused, and feel like a rat


Eyes or heart? I chose eyes but when I can no longer see to write I may go back to Warfarin.

I've just sent off 3 Chapters and Synopsis to Harper Collins and IF they accept, I will be like Hercules in King Augeas' stables trying to finish the task in limited time.

I’m sorry your MiL is still unsettled Grammaretto it’s so hard when something as fundamental as safe housing goes frighteningly wrong.

Cherry I’m sure you’ve thought of this but would triple glazing keep the noise of you nasty neighbour out? I suppose this is what Thatcher called Care in the Community

Dogs, two now, have been barking/whining all day but I put in earplugs and worked on.
What else is there to do?

I hope you both had a better night Doodle dear.
At least he managed to get up from the floor. I once had to call out our son from Edinburgh when his dad fell.

Sorry you have to put up with unwanted noise all day from those poor dogs Kaimoana I hope it doesn't adversely affect your prose.
Eyesight or heart? Hmm. I'm with you.
The poet Milton was blind but his DD was his scribe.
There's a blind woman at the ceilidh dancing. She is brave.
She was in a set with me and we were both relying on someone to twirl us in the right direction.
It's not really something you can practice on your own.

Good morning 🙂

Good grief Doodle what a thump that must have given you! It strikes me that The Dude and Kaimoana have got their heads screwed on over their medication priorities and I have every confidence that you will present a cogent case to the clever medical people about your approach to risk. It's about quality, rather than quantity first.

Mr M is going to have to square up for another one of those battles soon because they've given him a drug that causes horrid gastric issues at night which keep him awake, leading to grumpy man and woman with a frying pan in her good hand, on the arm that works properly .

We each keep a diary of symptoms and drug changes to provide evidence of our theories. Doctors like evidence 🙂

The dear old grumpy boots built me a new potting bench yesterday as the leg went on the old one -- when I perched on it whilst gossiping with DD1-- after 30 years. I asked for a stronger model because my dignity was hurt - and I have a large dignity these days.

I asked DGD2, three and a half, if she had enjoyed her day yesterday......" if was good thank you Granny....I went to space and had plain pasta". I checked with DD1 who explained the imaginative science man had been into her Nursery School to lead a space themed day - and she currently is refusing to eat anything tomatoey. All good there then - I went to Sainsbury’s and had a boring dinner.

Seize the sunshine - to the garden!

Just popping in briefly to wish Grammaretto's DMiL, and DBiL I think you said too, a happy birthday. I hope she enjoys her slightly sunken delicious birthday cake 🎂.

Thankyou Cherry I've piled it up with yoghurt icing and am about to decorate it with primrose petals. just checking they are edible
It would be bad form to poison people today.

Kaimoana I think we have to have a say in our own lives and what we do and don’t want to do. Not sure what the GP is going to say tomorrow but DH doesn’t want to take the meds she prescribed we think the side effects are bad enough not to take them.
How exciting about your book. Fingers crossed you get a positive response. It must be really upsetting having two dogs barking all day like that, for you and for them. Do you know where they live?
Grammaretto thank you. We actually had a reasonable night. We were up for an hour but before and after we both slept well and felt far better for it.
The blind woman you mention must indeed be brave. Can’t imagine dancing without being able to see where you’re going.
Having said that, good for her getting out and doing something enjoyable.
The birthday cake sounds good. Hope your MIl has a happy day,
Mamissimo sadly it seems to be the case that whatever solves one problem creates another. Waking up with gastric issues isn’t fun. Hope they can find an alternative for MrM
Must have been a fun day for your DGD. Pasta without anything tomatoey sounds a bit bland to me. I wonder if she’ll come round to it soon.
Hope Honey Beagle is doing ok.
Cherry hope you are getting on ok and your noisy neighbour has quietened down.

The cake topping sounds lovely Grammaretto, I hope your DMiL enjoyed her day.
I bet your NZ family enjoyed seeing Simon Armitage in Wellington.

Your poor DH Doodle, I can imagine he was a bit dazed. These things always seem as if they're happening in slow motion don't they, funny how our brains react that way. I hope he's not bruised. It sounds like your DH has got his evidence that the new med' is responsible for these adverse effects. He has his Neurology appointment tomorrow rather than an appointment with his cardiologist doesn't he? I hope you have an opportunity to speak to his GP as well. I know she wants him on this medication she needs to know how your DH has faired when he's not taken it and what happens when he takes it again. His BP was incredibly low! It does seem like a catch 22 but there must be something else she can prescribe.

I see your dilemma too Kaimoana and completely understand your choice.
Triple glazing wouldn't be the answer to the problem with my neighbour. The noise comes through our adjoining wall. That's the problem living in a semi'. Like you, with the problem you have, all I can do it wear ear plugs but that's very disorientating when I have a seizure in my sleep and wake up deaf. Short of making various agencies aware of her issues, and they are I don't what can be done. She needs more support but our so-called care in the community doesn't exist 😤

CherryI hadn't realised she was stuck to your house, I envisioned her opposite. Don't suppose you can sound-proof the walls

The funny (or careless) side of being almost blind.
The hot water tap in my kitchen runs 4 litres of cold before it gets to a temperature suitable for washing up. I catch this in 2 clean milk bottles which I then use to refill the jug, for veg cooking and sometimes watering plants.
Today I made a cup of coffee and went to refill the kettle – picked up the wrong bottle and poured in milk.

Because I have dodgy skin I can’t use soap so get Sorbolene, an unscented emollient cream which comes in a pump bottle.
This evening, when having a pre-bedtime wash I pumped this onto my washcloth and began to swab away when I realized it had a perfume. Wrong pump, I was using hair conditioner.

Although these two sprays are not stored together, both oil spray and fly spray were out on the work bench. You’re ahead of me aren’t you?

There’s a very oily blow fly out there somewhere.

Kaimoana you always manage to see a funny side!

I hope the Doodles appointment goes well today. We are all behind you
what a thought

It's not possible to move house is it Cherry ? Silly question I know but watching our matriarch moving, although she has not had to do the paperwork or the removals, it has made me realise that changes can happen at any age or stage of life.
She, DMiL enjoyed her at home yesterday and took a great interest in all her extended family. She was very close to her brothers and now their DC are kind to her
One nephew came up from Cardiff.

The film last night was a romcom Ticket to Paradise with George Clooney and Julia Roberts. Light relief after last week .

Cherry like Kaimoana I didn’t realise the troublesome neighbour was attached I thought opposite. No wonder you can hear her so much. I too wondered if you could move or perhaps install some kind of soundproofing on the adjoining walls. Ear plugs definitely not a solution then.
You are quite right, tonight we are due to see the neurologist. DH can’t wait. I just hope he’s not disappointed with the outcome.
Thanks for asking, no DH wasn’t hurt. I managed to slow him down enough so he just slid slowly onto the carpet.
How are you doing yourself?
Kaimoana you make all the misfortunes that happen to you sound so funny yet it must be frustrating not to be able to see what you are using. Could you tape something to the sides of the bottles that give different shapes so that you can tell which is which?
Blow flys will know to avoid your place in future or they will be coated ready for cooking.
Grammaretto I’m pleased your MIL had such a lovely time. She’s obviously a favorite with all the family. Was your cake a success? Where do you go to see these films? Is it a small local cinema?
Well we had a chat with the Gp by phone this morning (I say we but you can imagine who did most of the talking 😊)
Much to my surprise and relief the GP listened to what I had to say about the problem drug. Didn’t question anything but said it’s a good job we had done such a thorough investigation of DHs problems and come up with an answer that could save weeks of investigation. He is to stop the drug at once and have a break for a week to see if some of the symptoms get better.
There is a degree of heart problem so at the end of the week she will call again and discuss whether we carry on as we are of add in a new drug. I am so pleased she’s willing for us to follow this route. I may be wrong and it isn’t the drug but I’m glad to have the opportunity to find out.
Got to get ready now to see neurologist. Hope he’s nice and helpful