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TIP: Seasonal
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After the longest night’s sleep of the year, of over eight hours! 06:55hrs: I was woken from my deep heavenly sleep to the tune of the door chime charmingly but alarmingly chiming 
.
(A caring gal), was eventually recognised as the fizzled brain tried to get into gear. It was hard work, confusing and annoying to me cause I knew I was waffling about the leg straps and diabetic socks but could not get a hold of things. The gal gave me the medications and put the compression socks on me, but I struggled with fitting the two leg straps. I tried to guide her, but I was as much use as a bible in a mosque. Thanked her, and off she went to her next person in need.
Storm Babet was settled in for the majority of the day. A run of nine hours of rain. As a record of this, I took photos of the end car park mudslide throughout the day as it gradually grew gruesomely!
Tried to take a close-up through the window.
Then, opposite the flats.
It’s flowing down now.
Tried a closer shot with the window open.
Then, an even closer one.
Muddier water now…
Still growing slowly.
Another close-up.
The top white car had escaped.
It’s at its peak here!
Ablutionings.
Mug of Glengettie.
The District Nurse, Sophina, arrived. Now I’ve got two new diabetic socks on, with ankle straps, I think.
Poor gal got soaked in the rain, and her feet and socks soaked through. Luckily, I have several pairs of new, unworn socks from back in the day when they fitted, and I could use 
. And we went in to pick a pair so she could have dry tootsies on for the rest of her rounds. Lovely gal.
Do you remember me telling you about her?
It was never easy to manipulate by getting worse legs into the darned thing. Every time, I ended up with bruises, bleeding or blood nips. Many Tumbles as well. But nowadays, she lurks in the spare room, and I feel a hatred (well, fear) for her each time I go into the room. I swear the green-coloured, plastic-covered metal implement of torture still laughs as I go by! I can no longer physically cope with using her now.
‘Thank Goodness!’
As indeed, the other five visits of the day were!
Late afternoon,
The plastic pouring cones arrived. I refilled a dropper bottle with Olive Oil. And to think they came from Taiwan within three days of ordering!
When I was filling the bottle, a burst forth from the door chime. A resident had seen the other driver leave the quilt I ordered for the bed that may never arrive, and he’d left it in the ground floor lobby! Things have gone missing from there many times, and I thanked the man venomously for bringing it up to me. Now, if I can get some help with ringing the Age UK number the nurse gave me, I can find out if they can help at all, pay them, and after the clearing is finished, inform Sarah from the Falls & Rehabilitation Team that it is cleared, and then she will order a bed for me. But I have to find out first if they can help.
Then, there is that new appointment at the EENT for the post-cataract procedure – whatever that is. I’ve got to book a lift with Easy-Link there & back.
It’s all go here! Haha!
THE QUILT
At midnight, I gave up on the blog and got my Friday meal prepared. Although, it was a Saturday meal by the time I got it cooked and served up.
Not too bad. Taste-Rating: 7.2/10
TTFNski, Each
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are to be removed late at night and replaced in the mornings by the Carers; he then took them off for me. The compression socks underneath the straps are to be washed every two days. And 
, pads or whatever they will be, should arrive shortly, likely on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. There is no news from the Audio Centre about either of the appointments they are making for me to get the ear wax vacuumed out, and ears retested so they can calibrate both hearing aids for me on a third visit.
. Someone came up and had a search for some, but no luck. I am somewhat confused now. My In & Out of it spells today were numerous and worried me a smidgeon.
Although it was a good start to the day, albeit later than usual. Excellent coloured urine in the night bag to greet me. Much better!
The two great-unwashed feet. 
I made a mess of the first-morning view photograph taking.
this one of the kitchenette windows with the ledge reminiscent of Steptoe & Son’s from the 1970s television comedy. The white bit on the window is not the moon; it is a reflection of my 
.
arrived. He looked tired out, bless him.
Afterwards, I actually got the slippers on both feet! This is a 
I put the waste into one bag and put it near the front door in the hallway… which was a good idea cause I don’t have a back door. Hahaha! 
I snapped this
Back on the computer.
Arrived.
Used Cutaneous Only! So I looked this up on Mr Google. “
I’m miles behind with the blogging again. But I saw and had to photograph this evening shot from the kitchen window. Some eerie patterning from hours ago still showed high in the sky.
I got a simple meal prepared, some a simple man, me.
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… well, 
, and at the same time, I knocked the milk off of the counter and hit my elbow trying to catch it from falling on the floor. I missed, and a splattering of milk was spilt. Bent down to wipe it up before it got sticky, and that set off. Not that it bothered me, of course. 
and 
both stinging away at me… but not for long, oh, no. As I lowered the left leg carefully, It was undoubtedly 
failing that caused the heavily bandaged leg to clunk onto the floor. 
, followed by a few quietly emitted oaths and curses, as I hit my 
against the leg stanchion on the chair. 
Germolene from the ottoman, rubbed some in the left knee, and rubbed it in well for a while. The knee was a little larger than when I got my head down last night after 
doing the same thing, rubbing in the ointment. Took off the 
, and grabbed 
, to take this photo of the colouring. Which was not too bad at all.
I gently raised my elephantine body up on its dodgy knees, leg ulcers, 
in both, to catch my balance… I don’t know why I’m not in hospital. Hahaha! Grabbed 
the wooden walking stick, and hobbled into the kitchen to get the kettle on. Where I took these three-morning view photographs – Gawd! They came out worse than yesterday’s were? What’s the opposite of smug-mode-engaged? I’ve just looked up an antonym… and made a tab to use; 
!
Yet another photo that I either can’t remember taking or, took without realising that I’d taken it.
Eventually, I got the first of the two permitted brews of tea made. Thompson’s Punjana this time.
Sorted out the waste bags, and got them into one large one.
Took it to the front door to be collected by the Carer at a later time.
Then got the daily doses, dosed, and the ointments, cream applications, and medications tackled. Ear drops, eye drops, and eye-cleaning sorted.
Washed the Jenny-Donated mugs ready for the second brew, possibly Glengettie in the afternoon/evening.
Off to the wet room for the first 
 duties.
The 
man told her the bag was to be changed every month. This left me feeling confused. I felt sure that Kara checked every week to check and see if the day-pouch had been changed? convinced me that I’d got it wrong again. I apologised to 
for getting things mixed up. A lovely gal. I think I’m losing it worse than usual? I’d have put money on it that I was right, and it should be weekly, and the dried blood from 
backed me up. 
Galore on the blogging, so I gave it up and did some sorting in the spare room. No lifting or bending, though, as per the instructions and recommendations from Sarah of the Falls & Rehabilitations Team. More bags to go. Back to the mistake ridden-ever correcting the blogging.
. Another nice gal. We managed a little natter, leg-pulling and laugh. During which I explained my earlier 
was changed every week… And she said I was right! Â 
case. Then, a month trial on Finasteride tablets to try and reduce the size of the prostate as a last gasp-chance, and if this does not work, a permanent catheter will have to be fitted. The month trial turned into a 6-month trial; no passing, but still on the Finasteride even now! No signs of any permanent catheter being fitted either. This seemed a logical conclusion to me, and Joanne. We both wondered if they were waiting for me to snuff it. Save them the expensive operation? Won’t keep them long. Hahaha!
I selected the lesser bruised potatoes and put them in the oven tray for baking later. It turned out to be ten hours later as it happened. Tsk!
A snack, a treat, was the next thing I made. Two mini butter croissants, with some naughty lemon curd in a side dish for dipping them into, and the final mug of Glengettie for the day.
As I took this snap of the beautiful sky…
I thought of Mother Nature, and far beyond the sky…
What a fantastic, beautiful display of clouds in the sky this afternoon.
The blogging was not very productive now. Feeling tired and weary. Thus, even more cock-ups and mistakes were being made as I pressed on regardless. I cheated on my two mugs of tea a day… and made a third one. Naughty? Yes! In mitigation, it was not intentional then, as 
fooled me. But by the time I’d sat at the computer to drink it… the Memory returned and guilt flowed. I thought, well, I’m not throwing it away now, and drank it gladly! I didn’t realise how long it took to make so many errors on the blog! 
Nightie-Night Sunshine!
Made a start emptying the potato husks into the mixing bowl, with some delightful Leicester Cheese to taste. 
droppages or spillages. Flesh back in the halved husks, with sea salt and not butter, butter. Forked the tops to aid with crisping while cooking. And into the oven on 220° 
heat, and back to close the computer down. Then, I got the dirty pots I’d made washed with my not-so-secret method: I’d put the dishes in the bowl, 
washing up liquid added, and as the hot water filled the bowl, most of the bits of burnt cheese floated up and out of the bowl into the sink! A tip here: if you try this, make sure you run plenty of cold water around any metal bits in the sink cause it stains it rotten! 
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Found a clue… of which I before knew,
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What a slog of a day. 
04:45hrs: Great colour this morning. I felt tired out still, and had to encourage myself to escape the c1966, £300 Oxfam charity shop bought, second-hand, itchy, wincingly grotty, beige coloured, crumb-covered from my nocturnal nibblings, itch-making, uncomfortable, positively unhealthy & dangerous, no longer operational, virus-breeding, easy-to-fall-out-of catheter-tube-trapping, recliner. Caught my balance, and began to revert to my usual morning state of confusion and more confusion.
Ablutions and the first of the four visits to the Throne.
I spent several minutes counting the cracks on the ceiling, and then I got the crossword book and spent ages on them. Not that I got many answers in, but enjoyed it all the same. 
The legs are getting fatter at the top, and the left is thinner at the bottom. 
is getting uncomfortable and causing lesions on the skin? With 
Waste bags were collated. And left in the hallway close to the front door for collection by the kind carer. At this stage, I had a little bother when suddenly 
I took this with the window open from inside the balcony, at the right end, facing North, towards Daybrook, Arnold and eventually Mansfield. The rain was coming, and the mudslide growing.
Then some 
This may have been a mistakenly taken picture?
The last view of my leg’s condition was before the District Nurse arrived minutes later. bless her cotton socks, to sort me out with new paraphernalia straps & bandages!. 
A new black wind-on compression sock.
she’d take a photo of it, for me to use on the blog.
reduced the fluid.
This will need changing every so often and washing.
Carers will not be able to 
played dead for a few seconds… this time she got me – Crunched down on the hard floor, but the 
Utilising 
Got some nosh done. Potato Cakes, the last of the sweet Jenny-donated tomatoes, and some pickled beetroots
Hobbled into the kitchen to get the washing up done.
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Scarily deep colours in the night pouch?
I went to the wet room and adopted my Sherlock Holmesian mode to discover the problem was down there… I soon found the blood flowing close to the tube’s entry point.
The PPs were removed, and new Depends were readied to use. I then tried to stop the flow of blood. The Fungal lesion on the little chap appeared to have increased to four now! Argh! No doubt due to the presence of the deadly catheter that has been inserted for over a year now! I did take a photograph of the 
area… well, the blood on the pants, but decided not to show it, as it looked pretty gruesome. But at least I can show it to the nurses who are due today. But not on the web. Cleaned myself 
lower regions of little 
. A mite too much, mayhap… I almost slid right off it when I had to get seated on the Throne. Hahaha! That was another Trotsky Terence-controlled evacuation – what a smelly mess!
Off to the kitchen to make a brew of tea. I was having more trouble this morning from my 
leg.
I took a fetching photo of the car park below the kitchen window. Eerie or not? What do you think?
Oh, heck, back to the 
disappointment, or of that nature? He’s never been wrong in his tips, yet. I’m afraid. The evacuation was another Trotsky in-charge affair, but the content came out differently this time. It’s a sort of sludgy with flaky bits around the edges; I’ve had this type once before, a few months ago. I think!
I went off to the kitchenette again, only to find I’d left the damned kitchen hot water tap (faucet) running yet again! I keep blaming all these faux pas
… there is something within that is crushing, obliterating my plans, thoughts and abilities to pieces lately. In particular, she loves toying with my short-term memory. I’ve thought about it a lot recently. It erks me!
Later today, I realised that the most cock-ups come when I’m trying to concentrate on something, and a simple thing like a phone call coming in a Carer or Nurse coming in will leave me open to forgetfulness. Even with talking, if someone changes the topic, alters a question… I’m lost! Not only to the new subject but what I was doing before the chinwag started. I’m amazed that I can still do the odes? But everything is error-ridden and takes far too long to get written as I originally meant it to… 
The blood papules on the left leg had increased a bit. I’ll mention it to the nurse when she arrives later on. He says with an air of fallacious, 
blind confidence
they are old? But not to fret. Too much!
Aha, the Iceland order has arrived. So, I left the computer so I could forget where I was up to and what my next move would be. I admitted the driver via the intercom box and opened the door for his arrival. 
drinkies and nibbles shelves.
the first bag emptied out.
puffs are for Jenny’s other half, Frank. Nice chap, and lovely Lady, they are. 
against the server-trolley wheel. Naturally, me being a brave, almost heroic, man of courage, grit and gamely pain-tolerant, there was no groaning, moaning or Arghs! 
The intercom lit up, and I went to investigate. It was two of the District Nurses, who were soon up and in the flat, 
checking the legs first. They took photographs of the 
new blood leaks to show the Doctor when they returned to base at the Community Centre. Then, one of the Angels got her computer out and started asking many questions about my medical history, who and where each one was diagnosed when the various ailments first, what treatment I had, and when started. Well, that did not go too well! Instead, I feared she’d ask me for my date of birth because, cause for the love of me, I 
couldn’t recall it… It came back to me later; she didn’t ask for it. 
was a shock to me when it hurt so much, especially in my right leg, which seems semi-immune to pain at times when the 
. 
!
As they departed, I insisted they take their choice of drinkies and or nibbles, and I thanked them. One said they would be back on Friday to check out the state of 
My precious nurse Hristina phoned to let me know she would call in the morning, between 9> and 10:00hrs, to take blood for the anticoagulation DVT department ♥
Unbe-rotten-believable!
, is the one that can give me problems, but the left one (she’ll need naming now); Gave way, and down I went in the kitchen onto my left knee – which, as you know, is the one currently having 
attached to it! The pain from the fall was of little bother; I was more concerned that the bag may have burst. I checked and thought; well, that was a bit of luck! I thought it an opportune time to make the second brew of Glengettie tea of the day in celebration… 
Just caught the end of the sun setting.
Zoomed in a little…
Moments later, she’s gone!
Nightie, night!
Then, I industriously set about preparing the simple evening meal. Just potatoes baked, emptied out, causing a few burns on the fingers. Then, even more, I scooped out the flesh and mashed it with No-Butter, butter, Leicester cheese and sea salt in the mixing bowl. Ran a fork over the top of each skin to create ridges so as to crisp up the finished product, 
and back into the oven, 
After the lad had left, I checked on the cheesy spud’s progress, cooking-wise. They needed a little longer. So, I put the TV on to see if anything worthwhile was showing. 
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being on the verge of becoming an almost, practically smooth-working, but terribly slow service.
Yes! Only eight times, much better!
were their peak of non-performance. How I didn’t sink into the expected 
, is something that puzzled me at the time, and still does. Through all the mental mayhem, frustrations and mistakes made, I poddled along with them, as if they were a daily issue to just put up with. 
Back to being dark… Tsk!
Morning kitchen view.
Spuds for the later nosh in the crock-pot.
Each one was in a similar fashion.
The waste bag is sorted.
I later felt the 
slipping down the leg. I took a decker at it, and it was fairly full, and the urine was an even deeper colour now!
Obviously, the Finasteride Tablets are not working, no help at all. Why can’t they decide to give me a permanent catheter operation now; instead of another month with 
, 
, 
, 
A bit of sorting out, in the fridge and freezer, produced an extra bag of waste to be made up.
Simply Wonderful!
Veg soup with added spuds, & a little chilli!
Midnight view from the kitchen.
Inchy should not have had an early morning shave!
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The pouch evacuation was too dark.
Off to the ablutioning & of course…
A cut shaving on the cheek that took ages to stop. I was still
I went back in to check on it.
& the Two-Tone-Toes. Hehe!
Sorted the bags.
Booting the computer, I took this view of the morning.
Within an hour, their fourth failing!
The hearing aids were inserted.
And off!
, and thought I’d take a selfie in the reflection of the wall… But no! I’d left the SD card on the computer! Back up after getting to the ground floor, to the 12th, and en route to the flat to get the card, 
! 
against the trolley wheel as I got into the flat door. (Yes, I swore!) Got the SD, and back out again. To and down in the lift. Through the link passage to Winwood Court, then to Winchester Court. And out to the bus stop on the front of Winchester Court.
Three or four other residents were waiting, and I started having a so-much-missed chinwag with them. After about five minutes of enjoyable nattering and listening…
I seemed to be feeling a smidge perky. Mayhap due to having the flu jab? I made my way to the bus stop and found that the 
sign said the next bus due was in 1 minute. Great!
seat. She’s been all the way to Arnold and back.
Took a 
My purchases from the Ozan store. Shows I must have been aware of what I was buying, even though I couldn’t remember doing so? 
Two Frikadellens in cobs with sliced tomatoes. Four baked potatoes. Beetroots, and a lemon dessert.
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was easy going with me! Wonders will never cease. Mind you, she did kick off later when I dropped the walking stick and unthinkingly bent down to retrieve it. 
Tsk!
, 
were the worst. With a little occasional stinging back-up coming from 
. The pain behind the eyes is now coming from lower down, near the left ear? But not anywhere near as bad (He says with crossed fingers)
I tackled the nocturnal pouch removing it.
I was summoned to the wet room to use the Throne. The indications acting as a warning that came from the rumblings from the innards, that this was going to be a 
controlled evacuation… it was!
Added the sorted bag of waste to the one that I forgot to ask the Carer to take with him, in the hallway.
I failed to get to the 
when you need him!
I walloped down two Galpharm capsules when I eventually made the mug of tea… well, it was Thompson’s Punjana. And I took one last night as well. Humph! 
I eventually got the brew of tea made again.
Treats and essentials!
The fridge & freezer were full again!
I lost yonks again trying to get the signal back. Also lost time and work done when it kept coming back and off again within minutes each time! After an hour or more,
it seemed to be working again? 
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Carer Benjamin came for the heavy-medication evening visit.
Moments later the 
I selected some tomatoes.
The view had changed dramatically.
As the Sun rapidly disappeared.
Flavour Rating: 8.8/10. Nice!
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It is nice to escape the confines of the apartment.
The night Catheter Pouch was far too dark!
Before leaving to get the lift to the clinic, I suffered three of these types of visits. Hey-Ho!
I try to remember to turn on the low setting as I leave later… I then proceeded… 
and spoilt the day!
A final call to the Porcelain Throne.
lift.
.
.
Tsk!
I took this sad selfie!
He took a snap of 
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The colourful night pouch was removed.
Waste bags sorted out.
Ensured that the quality of the above moon shots came out crap. Tsk!
Kitchenette.
Balcony.
Late afternoon sky – Beautiful!
Medical appointments for next Monday to Wednesday came in via text and email throughout the day. 
At least the nosh was a good one… although resisting nodding off while eating was not easy. Hehehe!