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Night bag red!
Bad, innit?
He looked poorly. No, cheering him up at all was successful. He must be going through hell with the diabetes symptoms. Poor lad.
Got on with the blogging catch-up. (Of course, I never caught up; I just got further behind as the day crawled, mistake-ridden on!). I thought yesterday was the worst day in months for typing and memory loss, which was annoying, but today was worse!
The intercom rang out. It was the Parsley Box delivery that Kara had arranged for me. The access button was pressed, and I realised the catheter pouch had to be emptied and hastened to do so. During this, I heard a loud thud. I thought it was the chap in the flat above; he has been getting noisier daily this week. I’m not complaining. I believe he also has to walk with a stick, so I know how he is, like me dropping stuff all the time, hence making noise for the poor tenant below me.
I got to the door and found what the earlier thud must have been. The DHL driver had dropped the box of ready meals on the floor outside the door. This was poor; the box split and tore… will I use them anymore?
I spent a long time using 
to take photos of each meal I’d bought.
Collectively.
Mushroom Risotto
Vegetable & Lentil Hotpot
Three bean Chilli
Vegetarian Cottage Pie.
Meat Free Chilli.
Cumberland Pie.
I read each meal to find the cooking time it needed. Each one varied a little, but the timing and the sell-by dates were written large enough for me to read easily. The shortest sell-by date was Nov 24. Some had Jan 25 dates. They can be stored without a fridge or freezer. I’ll try a Cumberland Pie tonight and add some canned garden peas.Â
Finally, I finished the blog. As 
arrived. She rang the Community Nurse’s place and told them about the new Catheter pouch being too long and the tube too thick. They said they would replace them with men’s day bags ASAP. Thanks, Kara! ♥.
I realised when I got back on the computer that I was out of templates for the blog. So, foolishly, thought I’d do a month’s worth in advance. This time, determined not to make a right hash of it and get things wrong, like dates and days for each one, and have to re-sort them 
like last time. I went into concentration mode and proceeded to make up the templates. After three hours, the next Carer arrived.
It was 
. We had a natter after she’d sorted the medications, and she had to rush off, busy, busy, busy; bless her, leaving with a smiling face.
When I got back to the template making. I was like another different creature. Confidence was all gone, and I got myself lost for a while, trying to find where I was up to with the task.
Another hour later, I felt delighted and thought I’d done an excellent job this time. I almost went into an undeserved 
. This belief later turned out to be fallacious! Humph!”.
I smugly turned off the computer; I’d tired myself out with the concentrating, I think. Mind you, I’m not getting much sleep due to my fixation with doing this blog… for far too many hours each day. But I love it when I can raise a smile or two with the truth.
Arrived to carry out the late call.
I showed off to him and looked at the list of templates I’d done.
Dagnabbit, and balderdashski! I’d missed two days off and doubled up on another. And now they are all out of order and sync. Crying was an option, as was cursing and self-recrimination… not as far as suicide, though! Chris thought it was funny. Huh! Boy, was I irked at my own stupidity! No meal or TV watching tonight; I had to correct the errors and spent an aeon getting them sort of nearly, well, something like an imitation of a workable order. Â
A really mixed-up mess to tackle every day of the month now. I fear dates, days, etc., may get flummoxed!
Not a good shot, Tsk!
A smidge betterer?
A commonplace late-night event here.
I wanted to stay awake to watch the film The Rock. Every single time the adverts came on, I drifted off into slumber. But not for long. Because I kept getting woken up with 
. I gave up and turned off the TV, but the mini-shocks kept coming regularly. Thankfully, 
took the night off, and it didn’t bother me. Then again, with the ankle shocks, he wasn’t needed to ensure I gave up not only on watching the box but also trying to sleep. I got up at 03:15hrs and rose up like a behemoth… is that the right word? Pondered on what day it was and got my feet down on the floor again as I climbed out of the itch-creating, bruise-giving, catheter-tube-tugging, crumb-decorated from my nocturnal nibblings, God-awfully uncomfortable, cringingly-grotty, no longer working, dirty beige, anti-sleep designed, c1966, second-hand bought for ÂŁ300, ten-years ago from the Scope charity shop in Sherwood, recliner.
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Fare Thee All Well…
Luck’s coming your way,
Yes, I can tell…
If not, have a day that’s swell!
Adios Amigos!
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Terribly up-and-down day today. Alternating seemingly every five-minutes to me, looking back.
The Catheter Katie night pouch did not have much in it, and it was far too dark.
Removed it from the day bag. This new style, which I believe is a woman’s version, has a really thick, long tubing. The release valve at the bottom is touching my slippers; it’s that long! When it fills, the weight drops it down even further, making reaching it to release the valve to be emptied, is difficult and painful.
Morning view ahead.
The misty sky.
called on the first call of his day shift.
A nearly full front car park this afternoon. 
I painfully bent down to get to the release valve, which with the weight of urine, was now on the floor! And noticed afterwards the state of the top of the leg, where the extra-thick (No, I’m not talking about me, Hehe!) and long tube had worn a shape into the leg.
I wiped off the trickles of blood and took this picture of it. I’m hoping Kara can call the District Nurses, or wherever she calls it, to ask them if there is any chance they can swap back to the old shorter ones.
Easy-peasy one today… even I spotted the mistake. Albeit, it took me longer than the 4 seconds.
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Not good in the night bag!
Wobble and a double moon.
Another bad un…
Nearly missed it altogether…
Aha, Gorrit!
Later shot from the kitchen.
tended to me. Got diabetic socks on my feet and Phorpain Gel, which medicated me.
Gotten Himmel! That suddenly filled up!
Carried them into the kitchen
No potatoes! But hot dog rolls and baguettes last a week if I use the freezer. Drink treats for the nurses & carers. There are low-cal sausages and some franks in there, too. Wholemeal cob hot dogs?
The freezer is full, too!
Even darker wee-wee now.
Carer Chris saw how long and so low down the new Catheter day pouch was. He tried to shorten the thick, wide tubing, but it was glued on, so there was no go. We both think this was a female bag. I’m in great pain as I now have to bend down as low as my ankle to get to the release valve for emptying, which is not suitable. I’ll ask Kara if she can see if these are ladies’ bags tomorrow.
Massive tubing!
The release valve is far too low down.
Lovely view.
Late night shot. Not too bad for me.
Made hot dogs and had them with tomatoes and mushrooms with a splash of low-calorie tomato sauce in each sliced roll. The chips are processed out of a packet cold, which the Nurse tells me are low in carbs and calories, and I’m allowed to eat.
I only got three of them in 25 minutes!
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The only decent photos taken all day. Of the sky and moon. Peripheral Neuropathy Pete put an end to decent Kodak Tim shots then. Not many were taken today, and I lost my confidence a little. the Kodak Batteries lasted for only a day, about 12 pictures worth. Later, I put the last of the Kodak batteries in; they are… were, two batteries a day used since buying them. A warning here is anyone is tempted to buy them from Amazon or eBay… don’t! They should be called Energy-less!
On the next visit to the Porcelain Throne. Still, it does make things more interesting; never knowing what you are going to have to put up with. Constipation Konrad’s unmoveable concrete Torpedoes? Splurging, splattering, almost liquid evacuations, of the Trotsky Terence mode that needed not only my body but sometimes the wet room floor, WC, and splattered floor cupboards to be cleaned.
it turned out, arrived five minutes after Richard had left me. It was 
. She was on the much overdo and needed weekly domestic visits.  Helped me with the ablutions. I really appreciated that and hid my embarrassment, and she didn’t laugh. Haha! While I was shaving and not doing a good job of it, Maryham cleaned the wet room for me. But I forgot to ask her to put my socks on afterwards, Brr! Hehe! ♥
Started blogging many hours later than planned. Then,
getting the socks on. ♥ 
Stubbed my toes against the base of the clothes-airer legs. I just laughed it off, with gay abandonment and a chuckle to myself.
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My typing and blogging skills were even worse than they were earlier. I’d typed unknown words that did not exist. Misspellings and grammar disasters that had Grammarly forever showing up. Forgetting the word or words needed to suit the context. Stomach ache, and of all things, I’m being barraged by 
, Now, stabbing grinding pains
Took the tablet, and was summoned to the wet room. What a mess! And an awful lot of cleaning up afterwards was needed. 
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Then Germoloided the delicate
Applying the Germoloid ointment 
has never stung before. Well, it flipping well did today? 
After a few hours farting about making mistakes on the blog, I opened the box of Walkers Worcester Sauce-flavoured 21g potato sticks and gobbled it up. Not the whole box you understand, just one packet. Hehehe!
I went to use up the last of the chips. Doing the daily meal preparations… 
Placing the chips in the oven, and up popped kindly, 
gave me a 
. With a clatter as the tray fell to the floor, the chips seemed to catapult all over the place, and a feeling of depression overcame me instantly; 
these were the last of my chips, and I was going to have a last feast of them, now they have been banned by the doctor! After the pain of getting down to retrieve them and then getting back up and cleaning them, I 
carefully got them back in the oven and cooking. Then made up a baguette with the usual No-Butter Butter slathered thickly on the wholemeal roll. How will I manage with eating no potatoes? Can witchcraft help? Praying did
Here it is! Sadly, these are my last chips until I get the diabetic level down to a safer level… even then, and if I can do so, will they allow me to once again eat 
the staple food of the 1940s-born generic Nottingham proletariats ever again? Will this be the final score high score of my noshes?
I saw here, Mummy & Daddy clouds, with the babies all in line below
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I’ll get the considerable embarrassment over with first.
I stirred reluctantly in mock life.
Removed the nocturnal catheter bag.
Wash and shave.
The legs & feet were looking okay.
The bloodless parts of the toes were seemingly getting larger in the area? The make on the right foot is actually, I think, a mark on the camera lens. But I tried to clean it off the other day without any success? It does not show up in dark areas, so I cunningly took the top photo upside down. Clever, eh? Or not.
A second attempt at evacuating from the rear end, and Trotsky had regained control. Last visit!
All done ablutionally and medicatingly, I tackled getting the Depend PPs on. I am not kidding; I reckon the whole operation took me about 5 minutes from start to finish! With some miracle, the pains from knees Arthur Itis and the two Cartilages were not too bad! 
I made up some bottles of spring water (flavoured with cordials) for the day’s intake. 
Sorted the waste bags.
I was gobsmacked to see that the Catheter Day Pouch had filled quickly. Oddly, the shade looked a little deeper as the day went on.
The landline rang 
. My beloved Hristina of the DVT Warfarin Anticoagulation Team advised me that she would call on Wednesday to take the blood for the INR test.
And very welcome she will be! ♥
At least it was a small one.
Baguettes, beans & bacon soup, Soda water, a can of minced beef, kitchen towels, and Worcestershire Sauce flavoured chip sticks. And…
Hot dogs, potatoes, rissoles & Lamb Patti!
The day pouch was choker-full again!
I eventually discovered that I must have knocked it off the recliner arm, and it’s fallen into the control pouch outside the chair. Angry at myself but so pleased that I found it, I went to take a very late shot of the night from the kitchen.
Not a brilliant one, though.
Full again! And look at the dark colour?
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Nocturnal pouch.
We’ve agreed to leave the ankle & leg strappings off, to see how it goes. Richard did not put the diabetic socks
Lovely morning view.
Amazing cloud and lighting.
What handsome looking best!
I got some bottles of Bladder-pleasing spring water into the front room. I’m trying to during more, as the urine in the day bag os getting darker.
A very rare event here! I microwaved a hot dog, opened a packet of low-calorie sticks, and I added a pot of orange jelly, and had an afternoon snack! Nice!
I did, however, get the few photos taken into CorelDraw and got them in the WordPress gallery to use in the morning… at least, I hope to. I pondered over where the term cat in hell’s chance may have originated, I looked it up on Google: A footnote to a humorous poem printed in The Gentlemen’s Magazine of April 1792 perhaps gives a clue to the origin. “Charon”, it says, “has orders to deprive all cats of their claws. Whence comes that saying in hopeless cases – he has as much chance as a cat in Hell without claws”.
Got some fodder cooked, prepared, and served up.
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Not a good start!
Morning kitchen view.
ARGH!
The legs and feet looked better now. But both cartilage and backs of the knees were worse. Got the medicationing done. Two shaving cuts, a stubbed toe and a heck of a job getting the PPs on.
Computer on, CorelDraw for graphics.
Took an afternoon shot of the clouds.
As I took the first one, a crow flew into view.
The sun’s setting was earlier than ever tonight.
Yum, Yum!
Low shot.
High shot.
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Morning views.
Heavy fog for an hour or two.
Darker again.
Just in time to catch the end of sunset.
Did a sweep of the sky.
Right view.
Photo’s the progress of the spuds. But missed. Haha!
Almost ready.
Seasoned the vegetable stew.
Added some veg stock.
The ribbon of light.
To the left, some clouds.
Great looking further on.
Tinned chunky vegetable soup. Roast potato chunks added. Along with tomato & Mediterranean vegetables cooking sauce. Two oven-cooked bread rolls. A baby-sized pot of orange jelly and some spring water with a dash of Pineapple and Grapefruit flavour.
had five hours of twinging and stabbing away at me. Occasionally accompanied by 
. Well, perhaps she was getting jealous? Hahaha!
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section of the site, there are many people at the end of their tether. I replied to some of their comments in the hope that what I wrote would help them, in some way, to cope with things a little easier. I know how they feel. And so many said their Doctors seem to fob them off. So many are on medications for the PN. Well, to reduce the pain from it anyway. But with my being on Warfarin and having bladder problems, any extra medication will be risky with the side effects. Then, of course, I had to view my other Hubs… FND, bladder & bowel, cataracts, Hard of Hearing, and others. This cost me several hours of not getting any blogging done. So the written descriptions are going to be short, if any, today.
Not much.
Blue hue again.
She’s brought the laundry back up for me.
Medications were given, and then she doctored the bleeding wounds that were bleeding and got the 
and diabetic socks fitted.
Getting lighter.
Spuds out to bake later.
Did the midday call. She helped me get the washing from the fairer into the cupboards, bless her. Checked the cooler and taps for me and took the waste bag as she left. 
commenting and reading. I was on it for hours and hours, addicted. 
Chris took a photo of segregated legs when he removed the strappings & socks for me. Hehe!
Not sure why I took two of these?
Rest assured, there will have been be a reason hidden within the convoluted, warped confines of my cerebr
, and 
And dunked some Maryland cookies.
Seasalt & no-butter butter and ‘no bread’!
Took these sun-setting photos.
Bootifu!
Amazing…
A final closer effort.