Tuesday 4th February 2020

00:55hrs: Woke up feeling as if I had no sleep at all, I lay there for ages, uhtceare and heavy eyelids. The need for a wee-wee proved to be my expergefactor. Almost wearily, I forced my heavily-stomached body from the recliner. And was well-pleased when I found that Dizzy Dennis and Shaking Shaun were no longer in attendance. (Oh, yes, I was most approbatory about this!)

I used the untouched-overnight GPWWB (Grey-Plastic-Wee-Wee-Bucket), and I was taken aback by the power of the flow at first, but it faded to a trickle shortly. SFDBFF (Started-Firm-Determined-But-Faded-Fast) style. Then, I was hobbling off to the kitchen, where I took the medications, made a brew and passed wind. It was only a silent tiny phwert, but boy, the pong it left!

Feeling much better now, life was returning to the brain, and physically I was doing well. Mmm, apart from the Neurotransmitters failing a few times, I was lucky not to drop the tea-caddy, then the kettle. This is going to be a problem when I start typing on the computer. But no complaints, qualms or expostulations from me. After yesterdays horrendous events, I just appreciated being here, and the absence of so many ‘usual’ ailments. Yee-ha!

I went to move the tomato-slicer from the tea-brewing area, and soon found how bad Nicodemus-neurotransmitter was today, and the slicer slipped from my grasp. I automatically and foolishly made a grasp for it to stop it hitting the deck. I caught it. The serrated edges of the blades drew blood. A good job I have a stock of plasters in the medical drawer, Tsk! Klutz!

I took two shots of the high in the sky moon. I used the Night Landscape option for them.

Unfortunately, when the nerve-ends transmitters let me down again, I lost my grip on the camera. Mercifully, I had adopted a habit of always using the hand strap with the photographicalising, and this saved the day and possible damage to the Nikon. Phew!

Yet again the nerves failed, when I was putting the lid back on the tea caddy. The result was a scattering of tea bags that was made worse by my failing to catch it properly, knocking it away from me. Which sent Glengettie tea-bags over the floor and between the cooker and cupboard! I fetched good picker-upperer from the front room and attached it to the four-pronged walking stick back to the kitchen. I nearly went head over heels on the way through the door, as I caught my dodgy right knee against the bulky load I was carrying. Dizzy Dennis came into force.

Now I was really getting back to normal! Bleeding, in pain, well-dizzied, pissed-off, and silently offering forth a selection of expletives and traducements, regarding my foul luck and many ailments! Yes, my run of fair-fortunes and luck has ended! Crying was an option at this stage, but my experience of its futility prevented my sobbing or committing suicide. Hehehe! But I was getting a little discouraged with events so far this morning. Yet a feeling of normality blossomed, and amazingly I cast off the shadow, cheered up, made another mug of tea, and got on the computer straight away. Mainly to scribble notes to use later in this diary, while the thoughts were fresh in my mind. Which I did!

Then I got the updating of the Monday post done and posted off.

I’ve had better starts to a day! But hopes linger!

I added some bits to Pinterest, then spend an age on the TFZer Facebooking. But I enjoyed it. Mr Fries Virgin Media started and stayed playing up again. Spitworthy-Splurging-Sparrowhawks! Then went to make another brew of tea, gingerly, carefully and cautiously I might add. (Ha-ha!)

Then went on the WordPress Reader.

Well, I must stop now and get the ablutions done. Iceland delivery (Oh, fear of daft substitutions comes to mind!), then my precious sweet vampire Christina is calling to take my blood later. I put the handwashing in the bowl to soak before doing the cleansing of my ailment-ridden, torturously overburdened-bellied body-mass. Then off for the stand-up, cause it’s too early to make a noise with the shower.

Well, it didn’t take long before the first cock-up, did it? I got the shaving done first (one nick on the cheek) for a change.

As I stood back from the sink, I caught the four-pronged stick, fell backwards and clouted the side of my head and cheek against the dreaded sock-glide on my way to visit the rather hard floor” The sock-glide is now bent a bit! So are my elbow, knees and confidence, that was caused by the landing, not the glide! Grungle-Grumps!

The legs looked betterer this morning, though, less palish. Just noticed how I put the two photos together, at least I’m hiding the worst bits of my body, Hahaha! The teeth-cleaning went well, only one dropsy; the brush. The flannel once, and the carbolic soap. The refreshing and medicating afterwards; dropped the Haemorrhoid cream tube, olive oil bottle, then the body, spray (twice).

Got dried-off, and dressed, off to get the handwashing done. The Iceland deliveryman cometh. He kindly threw the bags into the kitchen for me, and I sorted out what was what. Or, not! I’m already looking forward to having the braised steak in onion gravy, the taste is fine, the main advantage is they are boil-in-the-bag, less chance of burning when… if, I fall asleep, no sauce to make either, so less washing up to do. Little things like this, mean a lot when you’re disabled and a bald, deaf, hard-of-seeing, overly-flobby-stomached, short, memory-tested, bespectacled, saccades-suffering septuagenarian! I lost the plot there again!

No substitutes! Some expertly squashed sliced wholemeal cobs, that I managed to return to something like their original shape. Some short-date satays, beef slices and pork & pickle pies. Got the canned goods, baked beans and tubers in the farraginous cupboard with the other stuff. To eat the short date products with time, might include me becoming even more overweight. Haha!

If only Christina comes early, I can get out to buy a replacement saucepan and something else, but I can’t remember what it was at the moment. I took some black bags to the waste chute. Then started to work on the graphic making on CorelDraw.

Tap-tap, bang from the electricians. The ‘Hum’ getting even louder. And it looks like Christina will not arrive in time for me get any shopping for saucepans and whatever the other thing is that I need. Most agravannoying!

Phlebotomy nurse vampire, the super-beautiful and highly desirable Christina arrived, a little earlier than expected. So, I might be able to catch the 10:30hrs bus to go and get some saucepans to replace those I’ve burned! Haha! She took the blood in her usual professional way, no bleeding from the vein, as usual (Oh she is good, and pulchritudinously, alluring, angelic, appealing, beauteous, charming, bewitching, and gorgeously pretty with it). She warned me of the oh, so cold weather outside. If only I was fifty-odd years younger, fitter, had hair, no ailments… Dream on Inchcock! Hahaha! Christina departed, sadly in her usual rush, bless her.

Recycle bags were made up, two large ones, and I got dressed and things ready to go for the bus. I remembered to take the bag of spuds I’d ordered by mistake from Iceland, to give to someone who could use them, it had enough potatoes in it for a meal for ten people!

You should have seen me struggling with the three-wheeled guide trolley and the two massive bags of waste for recycling! Getting out of the lift, I caught one bag against the door frame, dropped it, hit my head on the wall bending to retrieve it, gathered everything and then I saw a bloke waiting to get in the lift – if an expression ever spoke, his did! “What is this old fart messing about at!” He never spoke, he didn’t need to. I got the bags to the caretaker’s room, then on to the Wardens Detention and body-search Office, dropped the potato bag off, and walked to the Winwood Court Social Room and had a go at the crossword book. But the concentration was not good, I think my trying to make u[p my mind where to go for to buy the saucepans was bothering my dithering mind, so I hobbled through to the Winchester Court lobby.

Where I spotted something, I did not expect on the table there. A copy of the Financial Times Money paper! 

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I went out to the bus stop and took some more photographicalisations of Winwood Heights. I kept walking about to keep warm, gosh, it was nippy out there, and very windy with it!

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AS more residents joined me at the shelter, the main topic of discord this morning, was the vehicles blocking the turning circle for the buses and emergency vehicles. I said nowt, but felt the workers had no other choice, as no parking spaces were available for them to use? Difficult situation.

Caught the bus with about twelve other tenants, who all got off in Sherwood. I decided in route, to go to Sainsbury’s in Daybrook to look for saucepans and get some nosh in. As I got off of the bus, Dizzy Dennis came on, but not badly, but it slowed me up and did my concentration no good. A few hazy bits in my memory of the visit. I do remember getting a cling-film wrapped set of three saucepans, all ready-made up (handles and lids not loose). Which was glad-making for me. It was the last on the shelves, too! I recall struggling to get around carrying it and coping with the walker-guide and getting things off of the shelves to buy.

I spent £18.60 in total, paid at the self-serve tills. Then, as I was going for the bus home, it dawned on me, I had not got the saucepans! I stopped near the exit doors and checked the receipt… no, I hadn’t paid for them anyway!  What I had done with them remains a mystery. Did I leave them somewhere in the shop, or at the checkout? Ay-yay-yay! What an Eizel!

I caught the bus back to the flats. No doubt about it, Arthur Itis is going to start giving me trouble again. The occasional short sharp stabbing pains behind the knees, not often, were the clues and signs.

Back at Winwood Heights, I made my way to Winwood Court and through the link passage. I thought I was doing well, Chrissie and Betty overtook me, then, further along, two other ladies overtook me. Leaving me in their wake, so’s to speak. Hehehe! All four of them, pleasant ladies.

Over the next few hours, I took these pictures on the right of the page, of the sky from the unwanted, unneeded, unpopular, light and view-blocking, unable to get at to clean, photographers nightmare kitchen window.

Arthur Itis reminded me of what’s to come a few times.

I took the medications straight away so as not to forget. The thermometer is still not working properly. It just shows High or Low, no actual temperature levels at all? Puzzling that, it used to show details every time, but no longer! I suppose that I have pressed or set it up wrong during one of my dreaded and feared, confusing ‘Out-of-it’ spells? This thought got me pondering: If I snuff it during a ‘Blank’ spell, will I die not knowing I’d kicked-the-bucket? Would that be better than knowing at the time? Does it matter? Hehehe!

The things that sometimes permeate through and hassle my brain; I don’t mean the usual brain-storms, but these odd moments of pointless reflections, can be entertaining, but not until after they’ve been tackled or considered.

I got the kettle on, and stuff purchased put away. A cheap and a pricey washing-up liquid, distilled vinegar, baked beans, onion chutney, chilli-con-carne, Fancy flavoured Tuna for Josie’s meal next Sunday, orang biscuits, Viennese blondes, smoked almonds, Five-beans in tomato sauce, Mackerel for Josie, a bar of Galaxy chocolate, Lemon curd tarts, Milk Roll loaf, vine tomatoes, and a pack of two Italian brown Primora tomatoes. These tomatoes were not very large, but still £2 for two! I just hope they are as tasty as the ones I got last week from Ocado. Sainsbury is part of Ocado anyway, along with Waitrose.

I found this little snippet of information on Wednesday morning:

BBC News Feb 2020. Marks & Spencer and Ocado have confirmed a deal which will give the High Street retailer a home delivery service for the first time. M&S will buy a 50% share of Ocado’s retail business for £750m. The joint venture will be called Ocado and will deliver M&S grocery products from September 2020 at the latest, when Ocado’s deal with Waitrose expires. Under the deal, Ocado will also continue to supply its own-label products and big-name branded goods.

Which pleases me a lot. I cannot get to M&S in Nottingham easily. There are escalators to get down to the basement food store, which prior to the stroke, were of no problem for me. But now I have to use the elevator, which means so much more hobbling with the walker-guide to get there, and again to get out again with a full trolley.

The nosh was prepared and served up. Chicken and vine tomato Dagwood-Style sarnies, new potatoes, mushrooms, garden peas and beetroot. A lemon curd yoghourt and drink of orange cordial flavoured spring water for afters. I ate the whole lot of it! Not a scrap left on the plate!

Got the washing up done, thought about doing the handwashing, but chickened out. Then got my head down early even for me, but I was so weary. Sweet Morpheous came within minutes, ah, bliss! My worries and fears stop when I sleep… unless the nightmares start of course.

The banging on the door and ringing of the chimes woke me up! Growls of Grumpworthiness! I somehow got out of the recliner and to the door, with the brain caching me up. I was still drained and so confused. Josie was there and a big bloke with a clipboard. Then I found myself with Josie’s tray and cutlery on it, from last Sunday’s meal I’d cooked for her… then in the flat with the ID tag missing man, 6’2″, stocky, dark brown hair. I asked him (I think), Why he was checking in Water usage? He replied, ‘We want to know who has baths or showers fitted…’, but he still didn’t tell me who or where he was from! (These details I found on the scribble pad in the morning).

I was so pissed-off at being woken up, it doesn’t matter that people would not expect anyone to be sleeping so early; my rest was knackered! And getting back to sleep took me ages! Amidst swearing and spitting out words of hatred at being disturbed again!

What an odd day! A day of changeable, poignant, fragmentary, haphazard, mental bocks, absent-mindedness and confusion, and Grumpworthiness!