General Chat

I'm glad you were seen Mandy and hope the pills work. It can be so frightening specially for me being on my own. All I can say is thank goodness for my Em.

Evening All,

My goodness what a day you've had and poor Mandy feeling poorly and having to go to A&E. It's a horrid feeling so I hope you start feeling better soon and as Vera says take it easy as it should help. Your son is good, but you do so much to help him and his family too so I bet he is glad to be able to help you as well and I am sure the school would understand as he is a good worker and I doubt he would be late without good reason..<3

That's poor service all round AnnG. Don't they have the special hearing system for the hard of hearing. I know at work there was some kind of loop the switchboard operator would connect people to at work. As for not letting you know when the district nurse will call, that's poor as they must surely be able to give you some idea even if it's just to say whether it will be morning or afternoon. Keeping customers informed seems to have gone by the board these days too.

How confusing getting those letters Vera when your OH is already booked in for what you think is a CT scan. You could begin to think you are losing the plot yourself couldn't you! As you say you should hopefully sort it out tomorrow. I think our surgery has a walk in day for blood tests but it may have changed! In the past they would do it while you were there. Thank you for letting me know about the new Dyson and I had wondered about a Shark too. I think I will look up the different weights compared with what I have next. Our Curry's used to let you try them out on a strip of carpet but I'm not sure they do anymore. Your poor OH must be fed up with all the coughing by now. It is really tiring.

Gosh that Sparrowhawk doesn't scare easily does he Mel! He must have been hungry. Asda seem to be improving here as I only had 1 sub last time.

Well I'm going to need my scarf now as the hairdresser was chatting and chopping away this morning about her holiday to the Maldives and Sri Lanka and my hair feels shorter than usual. I tried the new car screen cover (anticipating the snow!) and it fits perfectly so that was good and we've tried the garage door again and it works fine now the cobwebs have been brushed off. OH wants to use the roller door tomorrow when he sorts some programmes for a friend he will see at a match tomorrow night. He can put them straight in his car boot from there and not need to carry them and hurt his back.

Poor you Mandy, hope the BP tablets work quickly Hopefully it is a blip but do as the doctor has said plenty of rest. Something very similar happened to my sister, she is OK now though.

Thank you Vera ,yes he is don't know what we'd do without him and dil

Oh, poor you Mandy. Now make sure you do as you are told and rest. Your son’s a star isn’t he. Sending you a hug <3

I hope you can both get sorted out ,why do they make things so complicated.

I phoned the doctor and she said all appointments were taken but when I explained my symptoms she filled the form in and said someone would get back to me but a little while later I really felt so bad son rang 111 and they said I had to go to A&E within the hour and I would be seen so off we went and when we got there I had my blood pressure taken ,one arm was 199 over something and the other arm was 191 it set the alarm off so I then had to see the in hospital GP after quite a long wait ,she has upped one of my blood pressure tablets and said I had to book a blood test for 2 weeks time for a kidney function test and I have to take my blood pressure for a week and take that in to the doctors .
I feel really tired now and she said I have to have complete rest for the next few days .
I did feel bad as son was late for work but he said mum you come before work .

Of course, Ann, I completely forgot your hearing problem. My apologies.

Back to the reason I was using the triage form Vera which worked very well before. I can’t hear on the phone and that is if I ever got through. Previous times I have used the form I have headed it with the Dr I wanted to contact and it worked. I suppose it is possible that she was nit in today but it would have helped if somebody had explained. It would also have helped if the doctor who set up the nurse to call had left the link that allowed me to reply.

I am just going to wait and see when the D nurse calls and if I am out it is not my problem. I am sure the anti B could have meanwhile been prescribed.

That’s a bit of a dilemma AnnG. If you phoned your surgery would a receptionist be able to tell you anything, even how to contact the district nurse to speak to her? Everything seems so complicated these days.

We’re now confused about OH’s hospital visits. He had 2 separate letters in today’s post. One said a blood test should have been booked for him and asking him to get a test quickly and enclosing a form to take when he goes. There are no walk in places, all tests are appointment only. He’s tried ringing to book but I think the line closes at 4.00 pm. His other letter was booking him in a couple of weeks for a CT scan and a camera examination. We thought it was a CT scan tomorrow so we are thoroughly confused now. He is going to turn up at the right place tomorrow and see what happens. And I was bragging about how well the NHS were doing!

Fingers crossed AnnG that you and OH both get sorted out.

I needed to ask the dr that dealt with my leg op referral if she thinks I need more antibiotic as it is not healing. I don't think it is infected but who knows? anyway I used the Triage form which workes as far as getting a reply albeit not from the doctor I wanted. 'they' requested a photo and obviously read my explanation that I couldn't get to the surgery because the only bus is not running there this week because of roadworks. But still did not pass it to the relevant doctor but to another one who was obviously duty Dr fro the Triage. He has just arranged for me to have the district nurse call. Fine, but no way of getting back to him, how do I know when they will call, I am not housebound and if it is PM tomorrow I will be out. But there was no way I could answer his message. And no way of contacting the dr who is interested in my BCCs for which I have op booked in March.

I hope you get a quick call back from your surgery Mandy. Take it easy while you are waiting.

Kingsmill is OK Mel but, like you, I prefer Warburtons Wholemeal. The only thing with Warburtons is that their medium sliced is often quite thick and if I am having a sandwich I like it a little bit thinner, but that's just me being fussy. I've got Tesco delivery this afternoon with 2 subs; 2 small tins of evap instead of 1 large and a half leg of lamb instead of a half shoulder. I'm happy with both those, particularly as the lamb they are sending is £16 but I'll only have to pay £12.60.

I've had a good vac round with my new cordless and am very pleased with it. It picks up well but it did seem a bit heavier than my old one but still manageable.

I've been trying to book an appointment for an eye test. I go to Boots Opticians so rang the local shop number but that seemed to put me through to an automated recording where I had to press 1 to make an appointment and was then told to hold on and I would be put through to the "store opticians line". Well, it rang and rang. After a few minutes I gave up. I tried 3 times with the same result so decided to book online. Went through all the process of choosing my store and saying what I wanted etc only to be told no appointments are available. I looked right up to April and kept getting the same message and being told to choose another store. No thank you. So now we are going to stop in town when we come back from OH's scan tomorrow and I'll go in and book my appointment face to face.

OH has just called out that lunch is ready - just a corned beef sandwich so I'd better go. Might bbl

Shoppings arrived 2 subs my Warburtons wholemeal they sent a Kingsmill instead and my coffee and walnut cake they sent a chocolate fudge cake. Neither went back as I hav'nt any wholemeal bread so I am going to try this Kingsmill.

O Mandy take it easy and I hope you can get an appointment to see someone. My flu started with a funny head.

Just take it easy while waiting Mandy hopefully just a blip

Morning all,

Just rung the doctors to see if I can see someone the last few days I have been a bit heady and my blood pressure is high ,waiting now for them to get back to me

Morning all,

Dull dreary dire dreadful day this morning and its very windy and looks wet ouyt there. The Sparrowhawk is perched on the bird feeder hoping for breakfast and I have opened the window and banged it closed and banged a baking tin on the window and still it sits there.

Shopping comes today so I better get ready .

Good morning all a bit brighter here so far although no sun already 7 degrees, clouds breaking up and some blue sky. I kept waking up and when I didn't, if I slept heavily my back was really stiff. It is still 'pulling' now.
Vera I hope the antib's sort your OH's cough out. Your surgery is very impressive I think, they seem to be taking good care of your OH.
Your talk sounded interesting. Our talk tomorrow could be interesting. (The renassance of swing).
Ann Hope you don't get the snow forecast. I didn't see that list so not sure if we are on it or not, quite possible I suppose. 29th is the 5th anniversary of T's death.
Hope you are wrong re the use of the Care home. That can be a worry.

I found it hard to settle last night. First I was cold, then I was too hot, then my legs were jumping and I was also half listening for OH who was coughing like mad. Still I must have got enough rest as I’ve managed to keep going all day. Weatherwise, it’s been quite a good day. It was a bit cloudy at times but sunshine in between and it got to 9 degrees for a while. Can’t complain at that for January.

AnnG, I can’t remember ever having problems with the controls on my soup maker. I haven’t made any soup for a little while as I had quite a lot in my freezer. My daughter often gives me soups for the freezer as well. Mostly they are made with veg she has grown. In fact we had butternut squash soup today and the squash was out of her garden.

I hope your new slow cooker is a success Mandy. I’ve thought of changing mine which is very old and also has a heavy ceramic pot and lid but I don’t use mine nearly as much as I used to and also the modern ones only seem to have 2 settings, low and high. Mine also has an auto setting which I like so I think I’ll stick with it for a while longer.

My old cordless was a Dyson as well Annx and we’ve been pleased with it so we just went for the updated version of the same one. I don’t need an all singing, all dancing one that costs an arm and a leg. I did consider a Shark cordless which looked pretty good as well. I haven’t used the new one yet but it’s all charged up and ready to go so I’ll probably use it tomorrow. I did have a giggle at the thought of you shooting out of the shower into your bedroom, hiding your blushes and everything else. Our window cleaners can get round the back of our house but they always knock first and ask if it’s alright to do the windows. We’ve told them that we are happy for them to go ahead if we’re not in and, funnily enough, that happened this afternoon. I hope you don’t get the blizzards at the end of the month. In fact I hope none of us get them but there’s still time for the forecast to change.

You’re getting some nice miniatures made Mel. They should sell well for you. As AnnG says, there’s not much to understand about the Tesco club card. Some items will be a bit cheaper with a club card, though those items change regularly and also every 3 months club card holders are sent vouchers for money off the bill. How much you are sent depends on how much you have spent over the previous 3 months. Most supermarkets have a loyalty card scheme.

We had a nice meeting today at the club we go to. November to February we meet in the afternoon as we’re all getting on a bit and some don’t want to come out in the dark and cold. Today our speaker was an actor/singer who used to be in Hi-de-Hi, the old television series set in a holiday camp. He basically told the story of his theatrical life, particularly with regard to Hi-de-Hi and sang a few songs along the way. It was a very entertaining hour.

Would you believe I forgot to make an appointment to get my eyes tested again? I must try to remember tomorrow. I think my mind was on OH and his problems at the moment. He is currently under 2 different GPs at our surgery as he has seen different ones for different problems. This morning he had a call from one of the reception staff to say doctor had seen the X-Ray that was done on Thursday afternoon and had sent a prescription for antibiotics to our local chemist where OH is registered to receive any medication. He just had to go and pick them up. Then he got a text message to ring the X-Ray department at the hospital as GP no 2 had referred him for a scan. When he rang he was given an appointment for Wednesday morning. So in 5 working days he has had a face to face appointment with the GP, 2 telephone consultations with the other GP, an X-Ray which has been seen and acted on and he has got a quick appointment for a scan. I think that’s brilliant service from our local NHS. The only downside is that OH thought the scan was being done at our local Health Centre but instead it’s at the hospital but at least it’s in the morning so he will be able to drive himself though I will go with him.

I think I’m about ready to go to bed and either watch something on the iPad or read. Sleep well tonight everyone.

Two bits of unwelcome news tonight. We are in the list of cities to be hit by snow blizzards on the 29th of this month. I hope it moves away before then as OH will be out in the sticks at a school that night. The other bit of news is that a planning application is in for the old people's home just next to the garage by the island on the main road only about a 7 minute walk away. They are applying for it to be temporary accommodation for people without a home which sounds like it might be for asylum seekers.

Hairdresser in the morning so I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow looks like the best weather for a few days so we'd better make the most of it.

It sounds as if the new slow cooker lid will be safer Mandy. Mine has a glass lid, but has a big knob that doesn't get hot which helps. Yes the windowcleaner used to come on a Monday, at about 9.00am but not anymore. He told OH a few months ago that he's retiring soon, so maybe whoever takes the round on will keep more regular days and times. The glass in the ensuite window is frosted, but that close up you can still make out a lot! lol. I was reminded of the old film 'Confessions of a windowcleaner' when I shot into the bedroom. Luckily the blinds and curtains in there were still shut!

You are making some really interesting things Mel. I expect some people you have sold to come back for more with you finding different things to make too. I have just bought some very cheap little detail brushes from Temu but not tried them yet. The Works don't do the packs of five now, just a pack of assorted sizes and types of brush. I hope these will be ok as the tiny brushes have to be so accurate they don't last very long.