Cincuenta y nueve

I give thanks my back has mostly recovered from whatever I did to it last night. My muscles are so delicate that just moving too quickly or in the wrong way can create a searing pain, and the one around midnight was scarily like the ground zero attack at the end of August. I give thanks acupuncture had left me feeling pretty mellow and I was able to work out a plan of how to get through the night and, as this included getting out of bed to limber up, for thinking of a new way to do that. I give thanks for the way the furniture is arranged in my bedroom, which I originally thought of as a pleasing and practical use of space, but have come to realise is also a series of handholds at increasing height to help lever myself upright after lying down.

I give thanks it was a non-dialysis day as tenderness and lack of sleep meant most of it was spent just attending to basic nutrition and hygiene needs. For staring out of the window in the small (and not so small) hours watching men at work and people pottering about between the showers ...plus a majestic tall ship sailing across the bay. For managing to be dressed in time for a surgical supplies delivery, for the driver meeting me half way on the stairs and (oh joy of joys!) an item that has been unobtainable for some time being back in stock at last. There's other kit that does a similar job but my hands can operate this one most easily, and it's the kind of thing you really don't want your hands to fail with.

I give thanks for determination and sticking to the plan to get a bus to the nearest greengrocer, despite the outing having little appeal except for fresh fruit and veg. For Mima agreeing to meet for nearby cafe refreshments, and offering me a lift home which improved the prospect considerably! The bus was very uncomfortable so I couldn't walk far when I alighted, but I did admire this ex-fountain which, to save money and the planet, is now a giant planter.