A Bad Knee Day

Knees especially painful today - read terrifying brochure about knee operation - with graphic picture of how old knees become new knees - they will make the cybermen look quite cosy.   Captain Butterfly lived up to his name and flew off to Rewell Wood with a batch of sandwiches - I studied on the balcony - and made tea for the plumber - who turned up late due to plumbing emergency - made a start on my magazine route - albeit a tiny one - talked to Audrey - we reminded each other that there will be a meeting tomorrow night as it is the Circuit Overseer's visit.  We are having a DVD rather than a talk tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it. We had Abel & Cole pasties for our tea, with veggies. Nute coming on Thursday hurray.

I have found a very interesting new blog:

http://agirlcalledjack.com/

I have been re-reading Helen Forrester's books ("Twopence to Cross the Mersey" and the sequels) about her childhood in the Liverpool of the 1930s. I hope we are not heading back to that. The Welfare State is a very recent creation. However I also know that, as the Hebrew Scriptures warn, "it does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step".

We have not solved the problems of poverty - and we never will. But the incoming Kingdom of God, the heavenly government, will - more wonderfully than we can now imagine.

Just think of what Jesus did when he was on the earth. And he is the annointed King of Jehovah's Kingdom.

Read More

Carry On Up the Spout

A blowy day today. But bright and sunny with blossom everywhere. We went shopping this morning, and I could barely manage it....   How much worse will I be in 6 months time?

And will I survive the operations?   With all my various health complications, who knows?  Clearly, I should have thought ahead and had my knee replacements done while I was young and healthy.

Jackie is coming for supper. And, to cheer us all up, we are having champagne and strawberries. And spatchcock chicken.

Email from Nute to say she will be coming over for lunch in a couple of weeks, as she will be down in London for work, with a day to spare.  So that is something to look forward to.   Still haven't started on my talk or my magazines, but hope to do so next week.

The bathroom seems to be on target.  The plumber is a nice guy and has advised us of a better way to site the shower.  He also - and I hope this doesn't sound like a line from a Carry On film - liked my marmalade muffins.  (You don't get many of them to the pound!)  So I had better make some more for next week. - Plumber, Plasterer and Tiler, I think.

Captain B took the second batch butterfly paperwork to the Post Office this morning.  I can no longer walk as far as that.  And he also posted my letters to Aunt Jo (update on health issues) and Richard (update on health issues, plus offer of two more books). And a butterfly sympathy card to Bavaria.

Read More

Knew Knees

Long session at the hospital yesterday.  Two full knee replacements required.  But waiting list 6 to 8 months - plus a scary discussion of health complications and hazards of operation for me - all very depressing.

A plus is that we like the Surgeon very much - and he has treated many Jehovah's Witnesses, so he has no problem with bloodless surgery.

The woods are full of bluebells at the moment - and I won't be able to do any bluebell walks this year.  Maybe next...?

How quickly life goes.

The plumber is back, doing something mysterious in our gutted bathroom so that the plasterers can come back and finish their work.  Jackie kindly babysat the workmen while were at the hospital.  I now need to get started on my magazine route calls - but I also have a talk to write as I have a part in the Ministry School this month.

Captain Butterfly has got some wonderful Orange Tip Nectaring on Bluebell shots that will be appearing in his next blog, I hope.

Read More

Bathrooms and Butterflies

Our bathroom has been taken out - there is nothing but bare walls and a lot of dust.  The plasterer arrives tomorrow (we hope).  Jacks is house-sitting as its hospital day, and we will bring us all back something for lunch.

Captain Butterfly set off after lunch in pursuit of the Duke of Burgundy.   That is a butterfly, not a Lord of the Realm - this is not a civil war situation, with Captain B joining the Roundheads.  And I spent my afternoon with butterflies - but butterfly paperwork, alas, as the second batch of April memberships arrived this morning.   Anyway, its done, dusted and the membership packages are ready to go.

Audrey phoned 3 times, so I spent the rest of the afternoon talking to her about various things.

We have just enjoyed the new Apprentice, and don't think that Jaz should have been fired.

Read More

Fretting

Feel very anxious today- no wonder my blood pressure is up. The thought of the coming visit to the surgeon, the possibility of operations and above all the thought of being in hospital for at least five days is keeping me awake at night and stressed out during the day.  I feel too old and ill to cope with being in hospital.

The weather is in sympathy with me this morning as a sea fret has replaced the English Channel.

On the bright side, I got to the Meeting on Sunday.  We were discussing Paul's image of the runners in the race, and being given wonderful practical Biblical advice on how to keep running in the race for life, how to pick ourselves up and keep going.  And one thing that can stumble us and make us inactive can be health issues.   And don't I know it.  I didn't get out on the doors once last month and won't this. I am still keeping a witness going, but it is not what it should be.

And we had supper with Jacks on Saturday. She cooked us a lovely roast chicken dinner, followed by lemon meringue pie. And we had a laugh over all the horrors of ageing. And admitted that we would not be young again, unless we could go back then knowing all that we know now.

But that of course is what the Bible is promising.  Well more, as it is promising us perfect health and life, right here on the earth. Which is something we, the children of Adam, have never known. We are born imperfect and dying.

We heard from the Oz branch - musical news, with soundtrack.  And today we must get the house ready for the Bathroom guys, who arrive tomorrow.

Read More

Ted & Sylvia

Yesterday I drove myself to the doctors - usual blood tests - and came back via the library. There was a disabled space vacant so I parked up and walking-sticked myself in thinking I would just get 3 books - can't carry any more - and to my amazement, I found "A Lover of Unreason", (by Koren & Negev), the biography of Assia Wevill - the other woman in the Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath marriage/suicide tragedy.

I have been reading both the Stephenson and Hayman biographies.

How important it is to take marriage seriously - to regard it as something sacred. And what tragedies can result when we don't.

The meeting was great - the teaching just gets better and better.  It was the oral review.  And Charles was pleased with our answers. Clearly we have been keeping up with our studies. And I got a new blood form from Martin - if I am to be facing some operations, I need a current one I think.  And he has asked me to keep him updated so that the brothers will be on standby to help if anything happens.

Jehovah's command not to take blood was given to Noah after the flood, and hence to all mankind.  And I do wonder if we had remembered it, would we have been more able to see how sacred all life is, including animal life.

Which brings me back to Ted and Sylvia, and the suicides.   If they had known...

A housebound day - after my outings of yesterday.  All I seem to have achieved is to have done my studying for the day, and made a batch of marmalade muffins for lunch-box purposes. Though I notice they seem to be disappearing rather fast.

Do we have mice?  Or is it a Butterfly?

The cousins yahoo group is full of news of babies currently being hatched, so the Nabbs family marches on.

Read More

Captain Butterfly paled

"What is that appalling racket?"  I crabbed.

"A nightingale singing. I recorded it today" said Captain Butterfly smugly.

"Ah - of course, what I meant was, What is that gorgeous sound trilling from your computer?"

After we had shopped - a slow business with me in tow - we lunched and he set off "to find those nightingales again".

"Bring back enough for a pie". (That would be about 500 I should think).    You will be glad to know he didn't, and we had salmon salad. Though when I think of those valiant salmon heading upstream against all the odds, I don't feel good about eating them either.

The world is so wrong at the moment.

Another housebound day. The sea was lovely. Lilian, from further down the coast, rang me, and we had a long talk. She and Dave hope to drive over for lunch one day - I have to let her know how the trip to the Surgeon goes. And of course  I had a chat with Audrey, who wanted me to print off another copy of the notes from the Haysbridge Convention for Jackie's daughter.

I am enjoying the new series of Masterchef, and I think that Natalie will win.  Looking forward to finding out tomorrow night, or rather, on Friday morning on IPlayer, as its the meeting tomorrow night.

My study today has reminded me how important it is to stress that the incoming Kingdom of God is ruling from heaven now.  It has subjects all over the earth - more and more every week - and will soon act to remove the wicked.

We all "study war no more" - and are being drawn back into one loving family, which is what Jehovah has always intended the human race to be, and what it will be.

Read More