Its depressing...

... how much I have deteriorated.  The recent visit to Sheffield confirmed how much less I can do now and how little i can cope with strange beds and chairs.  Six hundred pages of medical moans will now follow, or, as Victoria Wood once memorably wrote: "As the doctor said to me when I had my tubes tilted..."

However, I had better not.  And I haven't yet had to have my tubes tilted, though I have come pretty close to it.

What has brought this on is that i have been "busy" for the last three days and today everything aches and I feel so exhausted that the prospect of doing  the basic housework and the shopping looms like Mount Everest, without oxygen and a team of sturdy Sherpas to help me.  AND I have the valiant Captain B to help, as he always does the vaccuuming and will pitch in with the rest if asked.

Yet I haven't even been busy in the sense that I would have once used the word.   All I did yesterday was go to the Hall for a couple of hours Bible teaching, which is refreshing and comforting and keeps us going through the horrors of the crumbling system of things - half an hour on the door to door work (delivering April magazines) - a shop - and then home.  Oh and i did manage to cook bangers and mash for Col's tea.

So my plan today is to get that housework done, shop, change the library books, study and then collapse. We are not going out tonight.

I expected the Black Adder pictured in The Captain's Log to look more like Rowan Atkinson than it does.

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An invitation

Audrey and i went out yesterday morning delivering invitations to The Memorial of Jesus death on the 17th - which will be held at your local Kingdom Hall - after sundown.

All are welcome.

And last night Jacks cooked a lovely roast pork dinner for Tom, Jill, and us.

My arthritis was so bad during the night that I felt feverish, and thought for sure I wouldn't be able to get out on the doors this morning, but I did manage it.  Jean and I did nearly two hours, delivered  many invites to the most important night of the year - and had some interesting conversations.

People are troubled by what is happening - and are wondering who or what they can put their faith in.  We met a lovely lady who is looking after her husband who has Alzheimers.  That is a 24/7 occupation and a harrowing one.  She is not young or in good health herself.  She would like me to deliver the magazines next month which I will feel privileged to be able to do.

And we met a couple of young lads from Liverpool who were doing up an empty house.  "We can't come love, we're going back to Liverpool the day after tomorrow".

But we gave them the invite anyway to read.  It says on the front:  "JESUS "Takes away the sin of the world.""

"I wish he would", said the young lad with real feeling.

We are trying to assure people that he will.  And that Jehovah will restore the earth to Paradise, and obedient humankind to perfection.

How wonderful it will be if suddenly more people are going to listen, even in such well-worked territory as this.

Captain Butterfly had his treasure hunting hat on today and set off early with his box of sandwiches.  He will be leaving even earlier tomorrow, with another packed lunch and his Rescuer Hat on (People not Whales this time).

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What did I do yesterday?

...  help... this is supposed to be my diary... as I can no longer manage to write much more than an address on an envelope...   Oh yes, I did send off a reply to a question about my tax code from the Taxman him/herself (the letter didn't make that clear).

I tried to do it by phone, but its a Kafkaesque nightmare.   If you want such an such, press 1: if you want such and such, press 2; and so on for lots of numbers.  You press the one you think is right.  It starts again.  If you want (a slightly different) such and such press 1; if you want a (slightly different) such and such, press 2; etc etc.   And so on.

After a while, I pressed a number which got me out of that particular nightmare, but that led me into a seemingly endless loop of repetitions of "Your call will be answered soon".

So I had to send a written message by the London Stagecoach - in fact the Bradford Stagecoach if I am remembering right.  Hopefully no Highwayman will interrupt its journey, and my carefully sealed scroll will convey its precious message to the Taxperson.

That didn't leave me a lot of time and energy but I did two loads of washing from our hols, plus the ironing.  A good drying day, as today will be.  So you will gather from that it was (and is) a sunny day.  Plus we did a big shop.

I am trying to source the ingredients for some proper Thai cooking, as I have promised Thai for the next Tom and Jill evening.   I used to cook a Thai buffet for my fellow expats, but that was many years ago, and the ingredients were easy to find.

I also finished the A.N.Wilson biography of C.S.Lewis.

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The Eagle has landed

We got back home to the English Channel yesterday evening.  We travelled back via lunch with Alex and Nadine.  The new house is great - amazing what they have got done already and the situation, by the River Derwent, is even lovelier than Google Earth suggested.  I hope a picture will appear on the blog in time.

We looked at the baby scan pictures.  All is fine apparently.

I wonder what the artists of old would have done with the baby scan paintings that various nobles would have commissioned from them, had such things been available then?

We were both tired when we got back - and I have had a bad night which doesn't help.   Today will be shopping, getting the vast mound of washing done and then getting back to normal routines tomorrow hopefully.

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WANTED!

Hopefully there will be a picture of Scooter the Dread to go with this blog (in time), although, in her perverse way, she was as good as gold last night.  Purred happily at us even after we had fed her, slept on us all night, purring away, not huffing off when we dared to move or breathe.

The York Branch, in the shape of Keith, Janet and Charlotte came over for a curry lunch, and Ollie's parents returned from their wanderings in the North - to a rapturous greeting.

We have had April showers today.

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Barking mad

Ollie told us in no uncertain terms how he had missed us during the day - and the noble Captain took him straight out for a walk.  It was a long lonely day for him, but we won't be going out again while on Sitting duty.

We drove over The Snake to visit Bea.  We are impressed by the new bungalow.  It is almost picture perfect, but still awaits its new garden, which starts to arrive over the next few weeks.  I do rather envy the brand new kitchen and bathroom.

We went to the Hare and Hounds for lunch, and had dessert and a cup of tea at Bea's after.  Simon and family joined us.  We then drove back over a sunny Snake to rescue Ollie from his loneliness.

Driving the Snake pass brings back such memories of my parents and my childhood... we used to drive over it so often to our childhood Paradise of Nabbs to visit granny.   We went out into its foothills on sunny Sunday afternoons, to picnic, to pick whinberries - and for icy walks along its moor tops on winter days.  The Captain and I drove out to its pubs for lunches on Sundays when we were a young married couple.  And now, hopefully, we will be adding a fresh layer of memories as we drive over to see the family in Romily.

What will it be like to be in the Paradise earth and have maybe 2,000 years of memories behind us - all so happy?

I hope and pray we will be there to find out.

The apple crumble for tomorrow is made and I am wondering if I can face tackling the dahl now - or shall I do it tomorrow?

On that note of sizzling suspense, I will close my blog for today.

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Scooter the Politician

Scooter was all charm last night.  I couldn't get to sleep for her winding and purring and gently licking my arm.  I kept telling her that I had already put her food in her bowl and she was wasting her charm (and keeping me awake) but it took her ages to realise.  I fell asleep to the sound of cat biscuits being crunched.

Then she woke me up by clawing my foot as it carelessly slid out from under the duvet.

If she ever stands for election, she won't mind what she promises.  But  please expect a good clawing afterwards.

It was chutney-making day yesterday, with two giant pots of chutney simmering on the stove.  I took over the stirring while Captain B took Ollie for his walks.  That was my only contribution.  

Yesterday made me realise how much I have deteriorated over the last year.  My energy meter seems to be set on minus figures.

I am reading Hilary Mantel's amazing "Eight months on Gaza Street".

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