Today I shall be Mainly...

[Big Kev]

The thought of anything away from the norm will always raise anxiety levels, whether we're conscious of it or not. Men are not all babies, there are quite a few women I know who are constantly looking for sympathy for the slightest minor ailment

[Stanley]

I agree Kev. If you never get apprehensive or even fearful you haven't fully appreciated the gravity of the situation. Peter Tatham told me he never lost his fear of falling as long as he was a steeplejack. He said if you lost that you were in serious trouble.
I am so busy following all my instructions at the moment that I haven't got time to think about the Operation! (I think I'm on track.....)

[Big Kev]

...going to the cinema to see Bohemian Rhapsody, a very good film finished off with a curry at the Barlick Raj. Now indoors having a brew, a grand day.

[Wendyf]

Busy with family history down at Colne Library this morning and waiting to hear how Stanley has got on.

[Marilyn]

Likely his biggest fret is having to go without his pipe!

[Wendyf]

Likely his biggest fret is having to go without his pipe!

Oh dear, I hadn't thought of that problem! He was probably out for a walk around the grounds at 3.30am this morning, puffing gently.....

[Marilyn]

Being on bladder irrigation kind of prevents that Wendy! ( it's like a drip that goes up the catheter and constantly irrigates the bladder). ( hubby hated it). A bit of an effort to drag that about on a drip stand, just to have a puff on the pipe!
Mind you, depends how desperate he is.
Bladder irrigation is usually taken down "early hours" though..

[Sue]

Hope all is well Stanley. I have tried to send this message three times, but I had login problems again. Hopefully these are now sorted.

We are in France for a few days doing an autumn tidy up and a plumbing jobs. Its our last visit this year. Its cold but very sunny. I did a little gardening yesterday afternoon and discovered a few veg lurking in the veggie plot. Quite a nice haul of aubergines, peppers, chilis, butternut squash, and even one small melon. Today I will harvest 5 large pumpkins and see if we have any sweet potatoes.

Off to the shops in a few minutes. Thinking of you Stanley

[Wendyf]

Being on bladder irrigation kind of prevents that Wendy! ( it's like a drip that goes up the catheter and constantly irrigates the bladder). ( hubby hated it). A bit of an effort to drag that about on a drip stand, just to have a puff on the pipe!
Mind you, depends how desperate he is.
Bladder irrigation is usually taken down "early hours" though..

Only joking Maz!

[Marilyn]

I wasn't! Smokers become desperate in hospital and go to all lengths. They are quite happy to pitch for an early discharge whenever possible too. ( though likely to deny all stress once they have reconnected with their habit)

[PanBiker]

The login issues seem to be up at the host providers end maybe due to migration of servers. I still cant get into the Admin Control Panel. I struggled yesterday to post in various topics and did get logged out a few times.

[Big Kev]

I am getting the occasional prompt to log in, it auto populates so not really an issue.

[Stanley]

Thanks to all of you, you've cheered me up no end and God knows I need that at the moment!
I had the login problem this morning, see computer thread for what eventually worked.
Absolutely no problems with the pipe, I didn't even light up when I eventually escaped. See the medical thread for a full sitrep.
I have no Jack but am going to go out for a slightly curtailed walk. Than the day is going to be trying to rebuild the wreckage of my life! Still wearing the anti-DVT stockings, sexy!
(When you read the sitrep be kind to me! I don't need anyone else telling me I am wrong! Sometimes you have to follow your gut instincts, they have served me well for 80 years. Even Joe my surgeon agreed with that. I shall face the wrath of Hassan as soon as I can get to see him!)

[Sue]

Cheer up Stanley, it sounds like post op depression to me. You will be fine when you have Jack. Like me, you like to be organised and in charge and things have gone a bit wrong. Fingers crossed for results.


On a lighter note I am glad you are all having problems with the log in, I was beginning to think it was just Maz and I. I had a nightmare day the other day. I had to contact THE WEBMASTER ( I like that phrsae, it sounds it bit Sci Fi) . After a number of tries I was relogged in with a newpassword (although I knew there was nothing wrong with the old one), but not after total exasperation on my part. So far so good.

Another cool sunny day is promised. However I have done as much gardening as I intend, so will retire to indoor activities, unless we decide to go for a walk. It depends on the progress of Bob the builder

[Stanley]

It wouldn't let me re-register Sue because my email address was already in use. I got in eventually by going to the bottom of the page, re-logging in and telling it to remember me.
You're right about slight depression but I am fighting it. Just had my normal half hour's walk, no problems.

[Sue]

It wouldn't let me re-register Sue because my email address was already in use. I got in eventually by going to the bottom of the page, re-logging in and telling it to remember me.
You're right about slight depression but I am fighting it. Just had my normal half hour's walk, no problems.

Yes I tried to reregister too and got the same message.

[Stanley]

Up to now it has been all go. Making appointments for bloods and the GP. Unpacking the overnight kit. Getting Jack re-oriented in the family. I'm on top of things now and the natural shakiness due to stress is receding as I get control back. We will survive!

[PanBiker]

I am reasonably certain that the problem is with the host providers, they have merged with another company and have been migrating accounts to new servers. I have had occasional login problems, invalid form errors when trying to post and no access to the ACP. Cant be anything we have done as cant get in to to the business end to break it.

[Stanley]

A good start to a perfectly normal day. A solid uninterrupted 6 hour sleep. We have had our half hour's walk and I am not rushing to get my communications done, no shed today. This is my version of taking it easy! As far as I can tell, all is going well and I am enjoying a pain-free enjoyable life. I hope the rest of you can say the same!

[Sue]

Jolly good Stanley, I knew you would be ok when you were back in control.

I spent the day yesterday making a new master pattern for making a jacket. I then used this master block to draft the pattern for a lightweight denim jacket, my next big project. I also spent some time having a play with the sewing machine. Claire and I have swapped machines. We bought this one for her 21 st birthday some 20 years ago. Recently she has taken up sewing again following lessons with my sewing teacher. Her machine is quite basic but good enough for the sewing I do here. The machine I had here was only about 4 years old thus was adapted for sewing modern fabrics and doing simple embroidery stitches. She is happy with the swap, and so am I.

[Stanley]

Sounds like a good swap! I love hearing about your projects Sue. I know exactly what you get out of them, it's exactly the same for me in the shed, I get so much pleasure in working with my hands and making something out of a variety of materials. Actually I get the most pleasure out of taking something that is out-dated or broken and giving it a new life. Do you get the same buzz modifying something that is out of fashion?
Thanks for the words of support. I have no doubt that Hassan will give me a hard time when he calls on Monday and I am not looking forwards to it because it awakens my natural stress levels when I made the decision. That is receding now as the evidence seems to show that I did the right thing. My exercise and home life are perhaps the best medicine!

[Sue]

Actually I get the most pleasure out of taking something that is out-dated or broken and giving it a new life. Do you get the same buzz modifying something that is out of fashion?



I actually get the most pleasure put of combing the internet for garments I like and then trying to make a pattern ( with the help of my sewing teacher, Maxine) . This time Maxine has given me instructions on how to make the master pattern for a jacket but left me to try and adapt it to copy my planned garment. So far so good. The pattern is drafted and cut out as a toile, only the sewing to do. Then judgement time. Will it fit?

Its based on this shape but will be quite different in other ways

958E516A-9A66-4EF7-95A2-BFD4EF3BFBD5.jpeg

27CDA927-9283-4BBB-9E00-C54F0AF616BE.jpeg

[Tizer]

I get so much pleasure in working with my hands and making something out of a variety of materials.

But that's disappearing now due to children using digital devices instead of fingers and hands, which then has a knock-on effect on the ability of students learning surgery...
`Surgery students 'losing dexterity to stitch patients'' LINK

[Stanley]

Lovely response Sue. I shall not try to emulate you but love the skills.
I saw that report as well Tiz and it didn't surprise me. We were always doing something with our hands as kids, whittling wood, tying knots and even French Knitting.
It has echoes for me in something Ian and I talked about yesterday, the propensity of people to get into bad habits with posture and suffering for it later in life. People comment on 'how well I walk for my age'. I put this down to army training where we were forced to stand and march properly. I mentioned this to Ian and he said that one of his neuro-physios told him he could recognise an ex army man by his gait and posture. I rest my case. Today's youngsters may have amazing ability to use their thumbs on a touch screen but what will that do for their later life habits?
Today I shall again take it easy and avoid the shed. I have two articles in mind for the BET.

[Sue]

The toile was a success, apart from requiring a few adjustments to the back seam, but I need help for this as I need to be wearing the jacket whilst Maxine pins and marks the adjustments.

It was a surprisingly beautiful day yesterday and promises the same today. We did go out for a walk, just around the lanes to the next village and back in a loop. Its just over 4 miles but as its on the road its a bit hard going on the feet. I do have a pair of old walking boots here which I wore and that helped. Needless to say we noticed all sorts of things that we miss when out and about in the car. In the evening we went to our friends Paul and Joanne for a meal. It was a very pleasant evening. I think I told you they have taken french citizenship. They are rather worried about visiting England after Brexit because of their french registered vehicles. They are anticipating a bit of a backlash towards them.

Today will be a bit of shoppping, possibly a few bits and pieces towards Christmas presents, as we won’t be visiting again until next February.