Inchie: Wednesday 8th April 2026

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06:40hrs: I stirred reluctantly, as more visuous winds were already emanating from my rear quarters. Convincing me that I was going to have another chronic Constipation-Conrad struggle to free a gigantic torpedo, just like yesterday.
I was wrong! I got the Catheter night pouch removed ASAP, grabbed Willy the Wooden Walking Stick, and off to the wetroom. What A Mess!
Being so far behind with the Blog again, I didn’t collate any bins, didn’t make a brew of tea, didn’t wash the pots from last night, or even make the bed! I was fully dedicated. Committed to getting on with the blogging work.

Things did not go to plan… How Surprising!
Booted up the computer. 15sec.
Got Google to open. 12mins.
Opened CorelDraw….. 1hr 50mins. Yes, I’m not joking! After about ten minutes of working, I opened the import tab. Nothing happened. The mouse commands went unresponsive… Then, to add more mayhem, I tried to press the CorelDraw close button and instantly got a blank screen!
Mavellous… great! Sarcasm here.
A pandemonium of the sickening, depressing morning was not going well at all.
I assumed that CorelDraw had shut down because the working light was off, so I pressed the icon button to try to restart it. I t started and brought up the bare workdesk. After about an hour of waiting for it to start, another opening started, then the first working one showed up on the banner. Yes, I admit it, I swore and cried at the same time.
Good heavens, I’ve got three CorelDraws trying to open at the same time on a computer with so little memory that just one struggles. I decided my only option was to turn it off at the plug again! Then I thought no, I tried resetting when the desktop suddenly appeared as I was about to remove the plug… I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I took a chance to load via the bottom bar and see what happened – I was so deeply into this problem, and the intercom chimed out… to let the Carer in, I thought I’d pressed cancel, and went to let Carer Rashid in. Getting back to the computer, I was totally lost as to what I’d done and not done, done wrong, or what to do to get CorelDraw back working. The icons have disappeared from the screen, and all I could do was kill it at the plug. Carer Rashid did not seem bothered. He gave me my medications, I asked for Porpaining my shoulder, and he got on his mobile, toyed with the hoover, and his time was up.

I left the computer to rest for an hour or so, before warily trying to start it again. During this period, the much-belated arrival of you know who fell. And I remembered that Carer Mizra will be calling this afternoon, to help me with the showering; a smidge embarrassing. But a necessity nowadays.
A mug of tea, and I got a Kaugoule and a dressing gown on the bed, ready to save time later. Amazingly, I think I expected the computer of die and did not lose patience or try restarting it too soon.
But then Carer Rashid was back for the midday call. And I’d still not started on the Blog at all. Rahid seemed in a more helpful mood, 
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AFTERNOON: Things take a turn for the better!
I got the computer to open, with the usual time-costly refusals and delays from Google, and… wait for it… Honestly, CorelDraw opened! But it was so slow and jittery. Still, I finally made a start on the graphics, & rare photos I’d taken up to now. At last, I was getting on with the job.
I made a brew for a break and checked the emails and texts. Jenny had emailed me, and I got carried away and waffled a little in my reply.
Sorry, Jenny, my Angel. 🎀
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Carer Mizra arrived. I felt a breath of fresh air enter the room. Mizra & Ejaz often give me this feeling. Their ability to be more communicative than others is always welcome.
Yet again, I forgot to ask Mizra for a list of the new call times and days. Got an excuse this time, today was a busy one. Mirza really got stuck in with the plan we made. I’d remembered to get a kagoule and dressing gown ready for after the assisted showering session. Mizra cleared the thing out of the wet room to make space and, when I asked him to, shifted the carpets into the hallway without any problem, explaining that they get wet during showers because of can’t fully control the showerhead. He sorted some socks out that I’d forgotten to do, as I had a quick shave & teeth cleaning. Mizra moved the shower curtain to a better angle. Which was all helpful, and he realised that with the shoulder, back, Peripheral shakes, the possibility of a seizure, and Lost-Balance-Belinda, he made sure he did not leave me alone in the shower. I noticed and appreciated it so much. He washed the areas I have difficulty reaching. Never complaining, always asking how I felt. This was the best thing to happen to me for months. Embarrassing, of course, an old fart like me now needing help to shower. He helped me dry off the wetter areas, and as I assembled the medications needed for the body check that followed, Mizra cleaned up the wetroom and brought the bath mats back in from the hallway. He changed the Catheter Contraption’s lower sections, then helped me into the PPs, after the new Catheter was completed. Then got my slippers put on. We started trying to get help with the showering many months back, last year it was. Thanks to support from my Angel, Jenny, and financial checks, I’ll now have extra time on some calls to get this done without Jenny. Mizra, and Ejaz, I’m sure I could cope very well at all. XXX
Mizra explained he will take me shopping next Saturday, and I could get some cash from The Co-op, Ozrans, or the new food store, I can’t recall the name of, that begins with H, I think. Me being me, naturally, I expect the toenail cutter and window cleaner to call before I get the dosh. Hehe!
He will also check my stack of unopened letters that has been building up for about three months.
I thanked him muchly as he departed.
Somehow, apart from Jenny’s help, of course, without which no extra help would have arrived. 🤎 I felt a surge of satisfaction and felt semi-contentment for the first time in years.

Ah, yes, I just remembered, the store in Sherwood with the cash machine is called Herons! Jenny tells me the Post Office one is currently not available.

returned, along with a slightly, no, much more worried-about-things attitude.

With a rekindled enthusiasm, I got the potatoes out of the slow-cooker. Doesn’t it look weather-beaten? Hehe!
I cut some thick slices and put some of the Leicester cheese on them, ready to use. I covered them with foil, and when the oven heats up, I’ll cover the spuds with the cheese.
I’ve got green tomatoes to slice and have with them, and I can open the jar of Salatka green tomato salad. With shredded carrots, red peppers, and onions, in vinegar.
I’ve also got pickled mushrooms to add.
I’m beginning to feel hungry now.

Late-afternoon views taken through the open kitchenette window.
Immediately after taking this, and thinking I’ll check if the oven was hot enough to put the sliced spuds and cheese into it… that much I can recall. My next recollection was the upsurge of acidic reflux coming into my throat, nasal passages, and mouth. And, I was sitting at the computer? Another of the mysteries from Woodthorpe Court, with the hobgoblins, spectres, gnomai, phantasms, ghosts, the grotesque succubae, extraterrestrials, ectoplasms, & spirits. Receptive Aphasia Phyllis, Paroxysmal dyskinesia, Episodic ataxia, Ménière’s disease, Dark, Deep, Depressing Darius, Nicodemus Neurotransmitters Dying, Glaucoma Gladys, Stuttering Stephany, Lymphorrhea Leslie, Premordid Cognitive Impairment Inchie, Fractured-Knee-Frank, the damned seizures, or the Fata Morganas that have been sent to taunt, irritate and terminate my already limited saneness of mind. My faith, sanity, and logicality were already on the wane. Not to mention the deteriorating state of me physically and mentally.
Just thought I’d mention it, like.

As quickly as I could, I went back to the kitchen to check the condition of the oven, fearing I might have left it on high. Carer Mizra arrived as I was checking it. All was okay, and he helped me add the cheese topping and told me not to forget about it, check it every ten minutes. Which I did. Thanked Mizra.

Got the meal served up; my overall rating was a 7/10. This is due to the potatoes being tasteless. The cheese was alright, the fresh green tomato delicious, the pickled veg fantastic. The Polish sausage and pickled mushrooms were both the highlights of the nosh.
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