Sunday 15 September 2013

A Wee Bit Of Wind

An unusual thing has happened to me. I've been invited to a party!!

I don't get invited to many parties anymore, simply because people know I have trouble going out in the evenings because of my meds and the tiredness that comes with PH. I can't drink, I can't dance and by the end of the evening I'm too tired to drive, so all in all a bit of a party pooper. However this party is an all weekend event which allows me to arrive and depart at times when I'm most likely to be able to enjoy myself. I still won't be able to dance and I still won't be able to drink but I will be able to drive so those coming with me can have a good time.

Autumn has arrived

The loss of a social life is the hardest part of being ill. You certainly find out who your true friends are that's for sure. Lots of people I thought were my friends, who I used to go out for a meal with or go out for a drink with after work, have vanished in the mists of time. I'm not saying there is any animosity but you can only turn down so many invitations before people stop asking. Out of everyone I knew I'd say I've got around twenty who still keep in touch and out of them only around three I see with any regularity, though these three I know I can count on should I need them and one in particular I know would do anything for me at the drop of a hat.

I have, of course, made new friends since being ill. These are people who are in the same boat and who I'd never have know existed if I hadn't developed PH. I feel blessed to have met them and they will be friends for life, transplant or no transplant.

So I've got a weekend to look forward too. All I need to do now is get rid of this damned awful cold. To be honest the temperature, headache and cough have all gone now but I cannot shake this bunged up nose. I'm steaming twice a day and that helps for a couple of hours. Going out in the fresh air also helps, if I can keep warm that is. My face feels as though I've been punched and I'm worried that maybe my sinus's might be a little inflamed. I thought/hoped I'd be well enough to go to the GP and ask for the sick note to be cancelled tomorrow but that is looking unlikely now. It seems I'm just going to have to give in gracefully and do my time. On the plus side the palpitations and pain have not returned so it looks like that was just a blip of some sort.

My appetite is returning but has become very specific. I'm eating fruit, particularly blueberries, raspberries and plums like there is no tomorrow and I am fixated by Marmite on seeded wholemeal bread. Told you it was specific. The fruit I can understand, full of vitamin C and ideal for fighting off a cold. I've always liked Marmite so that's sort of understandable, having something salty and almost bitter to counteract the sweetness of the fruit but I really, really love Marmite at the moment. I'm three quarters of the way down a big jar and Its only been a few days. I'm sure anyone with a science back ground will be saying it's because I need the vitamins, which is probably true, but come on! Marmite? Really?

I woke up this morning to a beautiful sunny but chilly day. My weather station said it was on 6C at nine o'clock. How come winter has arrived so suddenly? Of course this is only the calm before the storm, quite literally. Later today and overnight we are expecting the first big storm of autumn. And now at eleven o'clock the sky has clouded over and the wind is picking up. Overnight we are expecting gales of between 50 - 70 miles an hour.

Got to make the most of the sun now there's so little of it about.

Now I love a good storm but it always worries me a little bit, especially if the Silver Birch is still in leaf. This is one of the tallest trees in the street, if not the tallest, and could do some real damage if it ever came down. So far it has weathered everything nature has thrown at it. It is very healthy and seems sturdy enough so I'm hoping it will make it through tonight with everything intact.

I know this was taken in winter but it gives you
an idea of how big the tree is.

The cats, on the other hand, hate storms. Thunder, high wind or very heavy rain sends them scurrying under the coffee table, the only space in house they can share without fighting. At the moment Tarmac is sleeping but Smirnoff is sitting beside me glaring as though it's all my fault.

Today I am cooking lunch. For two reasons. Andrew went out to a party last night and came in sober but late, so he is unlikely to emerge from his pit until midday. Secondly because I'm trying to get back into the swing of being more active. Testing the waters to see how well/ill I really am. I've made mistakes before when I've felt absolutely fine sitting in front of the TV but as soon as I started to do something felt like death warmed up. I'm making something simple that won't require a lot of standing around. Judging by the weather though I'll soon be making stews and soups again that require no effort apart from slinging it all in a pot and leaving it to do it's thing. That's what I call my kind of cooking.

Right time to get on with it. Something warming I think and not to heavy. Then we'll batten down the hatches and watch something on TV. I love Autumn, I really, really do. Almost as much as Marmite.

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