Rising

Eating, sleeping and making mosaic were my first choices for ways to spend today...so I give thanks for plenty of the former, a little of the rest...and rising to the challenges that kept me from indulging more. For not only rising earlier than seems suitably Saturday like to me, but dressing in time for Clive to arrive and leaving the building in time for my flu jab appointment. I'd enjoyed the marvellously stormy weather from snug inside to begin with but was grateful the clouds had cleared and the gale subsided for my walk up the hill. For the gorgeous little path between the trees shedding golden leaves at the side of the car park, and a brood of new fluffy black swan cygnets on the brook. For a spot of quick popping in shops on the way back, and finding a gluten free name sake pie for Clive who'd never had one!

I give thanks for a selection of very welcome home improvements, including installation of a new bathroom blind that goes up and down on demand, plus hooks for hanging a plant in there and my chimes on the window reveal in the living room so I can tinkle them when I open the curtains in the morning. As for many months I'd not been able to safely open this window, it didn't dawn on me that they will also be wind chimes if I do...until I did in the beaming sunshine this afternoon. I also give thanks there's now a working heater in every room for when the sun don't shine...well, except for the kitchen, but there's a cooker in there...

There won't be much in the way of cooking this evening. I'll be grateful for a reduced price Higgidy pie for my own tea, as I'd like to make inroads into more restoration of homeliness now that I have shelves up in the alcove again and room to put the table and chairs back in place...and of course there's still some more eating, sleeping and creating mosaic to fit in!

Back

How nice to be back home - I give thanks that I have one! For it being spruce and clean after Michelle coming while I was out. For her thinking to clean the cutlery drawer even though it wasn't on my list! For a cup of Rooibos as it's too late for caffeine for me. 

For an OK day on the unit, despite further consternation about my fistula which now has some unspecified skin condition as well as a malfunction of flow. For remaining fairly philosophical - I suspect it's related to the other skin condition I've developed which I suspect is a side effect of the immunotherapy - and for a practical Sister who not only took photos for my record but found a way to get the needles in avoiding the area of discomfort.

I give thanks for the new taxi company I'm using working out well so far. The owner had all his drivers leave him this year so appreciates a few decent fares, and tries to be accommodating. He is also the only one I've experienced thoughtful enough to take off the front passenger headrest and move the seat forward so that having to use rear is as pleasant as it can be. I give thanks for discovering a Danish crime series that started last weekend on BBC but I didn't notice...and for the little miracle of catch up TV. 

Stalled

So...hmm...let me see. Well, last night I remember being grateful it had been a long time since I'd had so much pain in so many places at once. For choosing a soothing bath despite being also very weary as, though I kept dozing off, I got out rather more nimbly than I got in. What wonderful stuff hot water can be!

I give thanks for a good night's sleep and giving the first part of a home based catch up day my best shot despite still being extra achy and uninspired... before giving in to the desire for a siesta despite the very un-Mediterranean weather. 

I give thanks for feeling much better when I finally got going again. For some fancy pants aromatherapy Epsom salts I ordered arriving. I know I can make my own...and maybe I will if I like the experience, as I've always a selection of oils in stock. For writing that and remembering a former version of life with a market stall where I used to sell such stuff as well as crafts I'd made. For a bit of time and energy for making crafts today, as well as a bit more rearranging of living room goods and chattels... 

New

Today I give thanks for the pandemic providing me with ten ships to marvel at through my window. I do remember my gain is others' loss of course, but still it is a splendid sight whether bad weather gives them a mirage like quality in the day or they're twinkling with lights at night. For my new windows too, also still a novelty. 

For the new local taxi company I'm trying being eager to please and, so far, very pleasant and accommodating. For treatment going OK after a rather tricky start, and for my appointment next week with the fistula surgeon (which got lost in the new computer system) being found again - and having a letter to prove it. 

For leftovers to microwave, as I'm very tired tonight. For my new very simple and efficient microwave. For some stuff I want to watch on Netflix as there's nothing I fancy on terrestrial TV. For the various technologies that makes my life a little easier. 

Optional

I give thanks for more perfect weather this morning - peeing down and windy and not a tourist in sight! As my battery ran completely flat just after 9 last night I'd been awake for hours by the time the world was open and was grateful I was able to get out and back before the sun reappeared and everywhere filled up again, even though I've been in a state of zombi since. For a stunning array of shopping in the bay... 

I give thanks for reminding myself almost everything I think I ought to do is actually non-essential. For wryly noting I ought to remind myself about this more! 

I give thanks for accepting the mounting evidence from other areas of my life that something pleasant planned for this weekend would be better postponed until next. As soon as I made the decision to change the date Saturday filled up with sensible stuff like my flu jab appointment and Clive coming to sort out all manner of outstanding manly jobs, so I give thanks for the feeling I'd made the right choice,even though I'll never know of course how the alternative might have turned out. 

I give thanks thanks for salmon and broccoli risotto almost ready to eat. Didn't have enough of the right type of rice so I topped up with the pudding sort. I give thanks though I know a few Italians none of then read my blog! 

Complimentary

Yay, I finally got my flu jab invitation letter! I resisted these for years but after getting the 'wrong' flu last Christmas, I'm rather keen to be inoculated against the what I hope are right sorts this time. 

For a mild sunny afternoon, nice to be out in though very halftermy everywhere. For a walk through a city park bright with maples, and peacefully free from the students that usually hang out there...

For Cross Country automated 10 minute seat reservation service for when you have a ticket but no booking. The time scale refers to the latest you can book it before departure, not how long it takes - that's nearer 10 seconds after you send the text. Rather annoyingly this proved to be an academic exercise as, despite choosing what I thought was a generously tardy service the unit was running so late I wouldn't even have been able to catch it if I'd been teleported from treatment chair to platform. For attempting to remain good-natured and calm. Staff tell me I'm noted for this which may be a ploy but I'm always pleased to hear! Apparently some patients get grumpy about delays but even if I feel disgruntled or upset I never see the point in taking it out on people who would also prefer that things were going according to plan.

I give thanks for managing to phone for a taxi instead despite the dropping signal. For adjustments made when my blood pressure dropped as well so I began to recover and was able to get on with writing this so there's one less task to fit into an abbreviated evening. For the curly haired sister who came to release me from my torment being so impressed with the accidentally attractive state of mine she took photos and Whatsapped them to me!

Unrestricted

Mmm, I give thanks for the extra hour - I spent it reading in bed after being bright as a button at dawn but slipping back under the covers with a cuppa and having a top up snooze. For the box designs of Co-op Truly Irresistible tea bags. I'm grateful for their contents too of course, but how pretty is the packaging?

I've been low in energy today so give thanks for making myself go out for a bit of a walk around an extended exploratory block where I found a pretty little lane just wide enough for a vehicle but thankfully apparently only used as a thoroughfare by cats! For remembering, when enviously encountering other people's properties, that there may be no more contentment inside.

I give thanks my urge to gawp at the crowds gawping at a minor RTA which reduced the main road to a single line traffic  (and not traffic as wide as a bus!) meant I finally mastered the new style window restrictors and could lean out for a better view. For the laundry done and my experimental mosaic butterfly turning out even prettier than I hoped it would. 

Swish

I give thanks for Chris Montez - never been known to refuse his offer! For it being most welcome on what has been a mostly sedentary day... For most of the sitting time being spent most happily sticking bits of glass onto bits of wood, along with associated activities of nipping tiles, trying out designs and grouting - all of which still enthrall me. For the wet and windy weather being just right for this indoor pastime and for the cosy feeling I get when hearing rain on the window and the cars swishing outside. 

I give thanks for spells in the kitchen too. For good food made and for being good and doing all the washing up afterwards! For a hot water bottle tucked into the small of my back for cosiness and soothing of the soreness there. For Saturdays - the one day of the week there's no hospital tomorrow. 

Fielded

I give thanks for a remarkably enjoyable dream about being in a hospice. Noel Fielding had assigned himself to my pastoral care so there were lots of jaunts where we went hunting for interesting face masks and vintage guitars! For staying alive/asleep an unusually lengthy time...

For another pleasant day as a commuter, catching the bus home even though I knew it would be almost dark by the time I arrived - next week it will be completely dark so this was my last chance to watch the sky as the sun set and see over the hedges into the landscape as it gradually drained of colour. For my mp3 player and headphones to drown out a droning slurred monologue coming somewhere behind me on the almost deserted vehicle. I chose to assume they were talking into a phone and not to turn round in case they weren't. For assuming they would be getting off at the end of the line, and then telling myself off as people who behave like that are found everywhere. For remembering to be grateful for my relative mental and physical health, and again later in the Co op when I saw a familiar local street drinker blatantly bundling a bag of something that sounded like crisps under his jacket and heading for the entrance door which he knew how to open and turn into an exit.

For some new tiles and bases arriving this morning so, as long as my poor sore thumb can handle it, for plans for a weekend mostly mosaic making, munching and watching Netflix and TV.

Today's coronavirus gratitude is for the way it has helped at least some of us remember not to take even the simplest things for granted.

Halfway

I give thanks for half a good night's sleep, and for a good meditate for half of the time I was awake. For eventually getting up and getting on with a few things so I was ready to meet Cathy late morning...and ready for an afternoon on the sofa when we parted company later! For enjoying spending some time with her in between, and for her being understanding when I was way too tired to spend any more. It's already been a far busier a week than I hoped to be dealing with post Pembro, and I give great thanks unless the government decides otherwise tomorrow should be Friday! 

I give thanks for eventually successfully jumping through the necessary hoops needed to make a dental appointment. For this leading to today's Covid gratefulness - they don't drill unless absolutely necessary now! For the fabulous stormy skies as rain and sunshine came and went. For the changimg light on the sea. 

Potted

I give thanks for my first day as an independent traveller going pretty well. For leaving much earlier than I needed to to get an idea of how long certain processes might take, such as getting the lift up from the station platform and waiting for a driver (taxi not train) to write a receipt...and also just because the novelty of being able to choose my departure time and method was too enticing to wait for! For it being a fine day to visit the city as the weather wasn't, for raiding a pleasantly quiet Poundland and getting some lunch alternatives from Gregg's.

For my treatment going mostly well. For the taxi back afterwards attempting to collect me from the wrong place which led to Rachel arriving here before I did, and greeting me with a freshly made mug of tea. What a delight!

For acupuncture. For friendship. For the mild temperatures and being at home after a long and sometimes tricky day.

Today's virus related gratitude is for how the situation challenges us to rethink priorities and possibilities. Oh and I just looked up and remembered the plant that Rachel gave me in the prettiest ceramic pot. I'm ever so grateful for that!

Administrative

I joke about days at the office, but today has been almost all about health related admin - phoning (including one call an hour long!), photocopying and filing. I give thanks though I was supposed to print out relevant pages of a long document to sign, I was asleep when it arrived and now can't be bothered to get up and see if the old Epson is in the mood! There's no real rush as I've been told I'm already officially in charge of organising my journeys to and fro from hospital (woohoo!) but...wait for it...I have to wait until (at least) 9th November to actually get my hands on the budget to fund them. 'It'll be back dated and you'll be able to be reimbursed' the chap told me...and I should blooming well hope so too at an estimated minimum weekly spend of close on £200! I'm grateful for the autonomy but also, justifiably I think, rather indignant at the lack of warning of how things would be.

In this office you have to do the cooking and dishes and laundry too so I'm grateful for fitting some of that in though I'm far from back to full strength yet. For having to go out to post something I was sent that was wrong so I could get a train ticket for tomorrow at the same time, and for valiantly attempting a short restorative pootle despite spring tides flooding the underpass to the beach and a river of schoolchildren taking over the footpath up to a view. For more emails, messages and phone calls valiantly attempting restoration of the website and mobile application services of a certain western railway company that has less than great technical support. I give thanks that e-ticketing exists, and if it would exist for me that would be rather handy right now!

My pandemic related gratitude for today is that my ISP upped my budget benefit recipient capped broadband package to unlimited usage at the end of March and hasn't put it back down yet. I give thanks for the many usages I put it to - streaming, shopping and 'office' work obviously, but also arranging to meet someone later this week I don't think I've seen all year, and for finding and contacting someone else I'm sure I've not for over forty! 

Amended

Goodness me what a busy day trying to sort out and catch up with all manner of things. I give thanks for some more energy to help with this. For waking up early with an idea for how to get away for a couple of nights, wrestling with the ifs, bits and maybes during the ensuing hours and finally clicking on the button to book something amendable just in case. 

For a nice woman who drove me in on Friday attempting to pick me up from the unit today and being super helpful when I said I'd be at least another half an hour, rebooking my journey with the cab company and then hanging around to collect me again. For another enjoyable chat with her and for an OK day at the office despite confusion and delays. 

For being fabulously full after once again failing to make two servings of my not too naughty but oh so nice home made cauliflower cheese last two days. Abstinence makes the taste buds and tummy fonder and even the tiniest bit of cheddar can be a great treat for a kidney patient! 

Today's Covid related gratitude is for the peacefulness there was during lockdown - well away from the front line anyway... 

Viral

This morning I opened the spare room curtains and said hello to these cheerful little lettuce plants that generously offer a layer of freshness to my food time and time again. And as I gave thanks for lockdown inspiring me to grow a little window sill garden (after years of saying I might), I decided to try to think of one thing I'm grateful for every day for a week that is in some way attributable to the pandemic. And that's today's of course!

Otherwise I've been very grateful it's been another day off and there's been plenty of opportunity to be horizontal and, as necessary, asleep. For nonetheless achieving the goals I set myself ie. to be dressed before midday, to be outdoors for a very slow very local pootle before dark, to chop some veg and fruit to supplement my currently packet based diet and to put away the rest of the packets! For the gilding of windows coming up to sunset. For the smell of the sea. For the heartrending cuteness of fluffy ducklings. For stumbling into the start of a Jurassic Park movie I'd not seen last night - I do enjoy that franchise though I'm pretty sure I'm not the demographic they are aiming for! Also for a Netflix offering I'd dismissed thinking it was a superfluous remake of the 2006 film of the book Perfume being in fact a series, nodding to the both of the above but a stand alone delight. Well, if you like that kind of thing - which I do. 

Skilled

Phew, that was a long one! I give thanks for an oncology nurse who also works in renal so she understood about various needs and processes including how to re-organise my taxi home ninety minutes later than the original booking! Fascinatingly, she appeared to completely fail to grasp what either illness (let alone both) is like from the inside though, questioning my need for transport between the sites and saying (while starting my treatment) at 7pm that as I left home at 12.45 it wasn't too bad a day! I give thanks for the callous incomprehension of the healthy. For many I was the same, and it really is a blessed state, though probably only truly appreciated when it's far behind. 

I give thanks for genuinely enjoying the novelty of the drive home in the dark, and for a clean flat and a Clive's Pie in the fridge for a late supper courtesy of the very helpful Michelle. For chancing upon something I actually found absorbing to watch while my bath water heated up. That's not happened for a while despite trawling platforms and genres, and I was beginning to fret I might have lost the ability to enjoy staring at TVs, tablets etc at a time when for various reasons it's a useful skill to have.

I give thanks for achieving my two targets for today, the first of which was to be dressed in time for my early evening Tesco delivery...and the second to sanitise and stash the perishables before curling up on the sofa again. For not minding not getting anything else done, nor going anywhere - there was such a wintry light today and I felt so detached from the world dealing with the Pembro after effects that the view from my window seemed quite unreal. I give thanks for remembering how gentle this is compared to the extra vicious chemo used for my cancer. For the comfort of cuddling a hot water bottle....oh and for some surprise gifts I sent to a couple of folk last week being much appreciated. 

Capped

I give thanks they're going to stop selling alcohol in the House of Commons. Might not be enough tax payers left to subsidise the bill. 

For the first part of my day going smoothly, beautiful weather again and no major treatment or transport complications, in fact the taxi laid on for me between hospital sites arrived early enough for me to grab a quick cup of tea before Round 2 - which I'm grateful I mentioned before they took my temperature at pre oncology ward triage! 

I give thanks for a bit of a lengthy wait pre-oncology ward entry enabling a bit of pre-oncology ward blogging while still feeling relatively at peace with the world. For that merry wagtail outside my window again while I had breakfast (yes I did offer to share but it panicked and flew away) and the mournful autumnal croak of a crow flying as I enjoyed some fresh air between captivities. 

Appealing

I give thanks for an early night, diving under the duvet for oblivion leaving organisational and existential questions far behind...and for managing to stay asleep for a reasonably restorative period of time. For getting up and getting on with the unappealing tasks of the day, and eventually getting out in the very appealing weather to enjoy a takeaway tea on the seafront down the road with Mima. 

For the shops having the items I went for and the fascinating shipping views. For a chirpy wagtail below my window when I arrived home and finding time between more sensible pastimes to play with those soothing tiles. Also for some time doing nothing as I'm feeling rather weary. 

For hearing I've passed the relevant tests and my cancer treatment will go ahead tomorrow... and even more so that the ward clerk, in calmer and more capable frame of mind, has not only managed to arrange for transport between the hospital sites but transport home at the end of the day. At the end of the day that really is a relief! 

Desperate

I give thanks for regaining the plot a little after a bit of a meltdown today. It's always a tad challenging trying to arrange two treatment Friday given that oncology and renal seem to have very little grasp of the other's discipline, the ward clerks act as if you are just being plain bloody minded having two serious illnesses at once and, as the patient, doing this on a Wednesday not knowing if on Thursday you'll be told the blood tests - or worse still the scan - show your cancer therapy won't proceed, can be rather stressful in itself. To complicate matters further there's a new computer system causing the kidney unit ward clerk to lose the plot herself and lose her rag if you ask her to use it for anything at all...so, to spare you all the ungrateful details (and to spare myself going through them again in my mind), there reached a point this afternoon when I began to wonder if I should just do everyone a favour and forgo all further life prolonging interventions as there didn't seem to be any practical way two treatments were possible at all, unless I agreed to have my blood scrubbed and polished straight after having the immunotherapy drug pumped in - which isn't desperately sensible and would involve being transported home for around bedtime. I give thanks for a Plan B being borderline workable, and trying to get my head round having to go in early to one hospital site, come home late (but hopefully not quite so late!) from another, and not only make my own way between the two not desperately close locations but make my own way home by means of a not desperately scenic (or regular) after sunset bus.

I give thanks for moving some of the furniture and furnishings back into place...but not all all of the way as not only are there more jobs to be done, but I'm wondering if maybe I'd like a slightly different arrangement...at some future date, when I've recovered from whatever the next few days may bring. For the very unflappable and friendly sister being on hand when someone new to my arm panicked about putting the needle in the tricky vein, and also when my blood pressure started going too low again. For a Plan B dinner cooking when Plan A didn't defrost in time to be manipulated into a meal. For my sofa and remote control beckoning...

Hanging

Last night I enjoyed watching Agatha and the Midnight Murders recorded on my TV box. The night before I enjoyed watching Midnight Cowboy (for the first time - don't like to be hurried!) streamed on Netflix. After Midnight? Well who knows? It's a song there's been some cracking versions of! I give thanks for the availability of many kinds of media and the opportunities for entertainment they provide. For mains electricity and access to the internet. For my bath and my bed as I'm bushed tonight and haven't got far with putting the living room back together after... tadaa...the wallpapering finally being finished 😍

I give thanks for being much more pleased with how the paper looks than I imagined I would be...bearing in mind I imagined I'd be fairly pleased or I wouldn't have bought it. For what a genuine pleasure it's been having Sam do the protracted hanging of it. I can easily feel uncomfortable when there's people working in my home but he managed to be both good company and non invasive.

I give thanks for finally coming to a mutually agreeable arrangement for meeting Liz and Jo both at the same time...and that a nice time was had by all. For a cafe very careful virus wise but with the usual limited lunch menu for a mostly vegetarian kidney patient, basically boiling down to eggs on toast. I resent paying hospitality prices for something I serve at home, unless the eggs are offered poached (as I don't - and they weren't) so opted for being a carnivore for the first course wolfing down a bacon butty, and redressing the balance with a vegan cup cake for dessert. I give thanks this was most acceptable and should  I ever become hungry again there's leftover veg and tofu curry in the fridge. Oh and for Liz's most unexpected and absolutely wonderful gift of a stained glass hanging. I give thanks this is much easier to photograph right now than the wallpaper. For one thing I don't have to get out of bed!

Unknown

The winds of change have been blowing through today with little turning out as expected. I give thanks one thing I thought was going to happen didn't - ie my fistula playing up. The nurse who was putting the needles in was even more relieved as she had not been near my arm for months and was nervous knowing it might be problematic...as well as with the new computer system everyone is trying to get used to. I give thanks when my blood pressure dropped due to over zealous fluid taking a very efficient sister was on hand and let me out early. The taxi was late though, but still it was nice not to be on the machine so long. I was grateful for a comfy ride home too - some of the drivers have very sleek cars but the one who took me in had a dirty people carrier with no suspension in the back and windows open in the front making it a chilly and turbulent journey. I give thanks meanwhile the forms have arrived for another attempt at organising a Patient Held Transport Budget to possibly enrich my life with more autonomy

I give thanks for being philosophical about plans changing for tomorrow too - it was scheduled to be a very busy day and as first one arrangement and then another got changed it now looks more mellow, if less socially rewarding. I give thanks as far as I know Sam is still coming to wallpaper in the living room though and I should have more time - and maybe even more energy - to move furniture to and fro.

Set

I give thanks for a busy morning cooking and creating and sorting stuff out. For a French final not so gripping I couldn't carry on with a few more tasks on the list while keeping an eye on the action and score. For having the idea to use some scraggy loaf ends to make a lemon bread and butter pudding -curd on the slices with candied peel between - and carrying on and making it during an ad break without faffing around looking for a recipe to check my plan was a good idea. I give thanks my plan was a good idea - mmm, very nice! For the sofa glue setting after a dish of seconds so I've been happily stuck here day dreaming and dozing for an hour or so. Meanwhile the sun has gone down...and I'm rather grateful descending darkness makes staying put a while longer seem quite the right thing to do! 

Reserved

I'm on holiday in my spare room again - I give thanks for having a spare room! Even though there's even more stuff in there now that should be elsewhere it's still a snuggly little space on a chilly night... plus it enables me to take my time with the rather strenuous tasks of turning my proper bed mattress and putting the leccy blanket on. As it's a self catering break I give thanks for the well stocked kitchen so I could make a veggie stew for this evening before going out for a stroll around a nearby place that's been out of bounds for many months due to being way too popular with trippers and tourists. It was considerably busier than I'd have preferred today, but that's cause I like places with no people in - it wasn't really packed even by the time I left with the clouds clearing and the car park filling up so I give thanks for that too. 

In retrospect I was grateful the gates to the further paths were locked as although the spirit was up for striding out, the bodily parts were keener to head for home after buying some bread and milk and a slice of take out carrot cake from a cafe. I asked the woman serving if she'd made it herself and it turned out to come from a now well known dessert supply company from where I used to live in Wales!

I give thanks for only giving attention to essential chores today. The long wait for the last of the wallpaper to go up has created a lot of knock on chaos about the place which I don't find comfortable to be in so I've been grateful for literal escape as well as the virtual sort via creative pursuits, the first of series about 'ingenious' animals I worried might be too twee for me but wasn't, and a short but refreshingly deep sleep on the sofa. 

Scheduled

You win some, you lose some and I give thanks after two phone calls and a lot of hanging around this morning I managed to re-schedule a vascular access appointment before I left today. I hope this will lead to scheduling what should be a relatively minor op to put my fistula right, as a band was put round it to slow it down last year and, now it's flowing too slowly, removing or loosening it would seem to be the way to go. I'm not keen on these procedures but neither am I keen on treatment days when the machine keeps going off and/or my arm gets very sore...nor having to be at the hospital at 9.00 am on a non dialysis day to see a surgeon! I was pretty sure there wasn't much to be done about the latter but ready to plead my case...so I was surprised how helpful the admin staff were, resulting in a new booking on a Monday afternoon instead and two weeks sooner too, which might be also wise.

Meanwhile the machine had a lot of complaints to make today about the state of my remodelled vein. I was very grateful for the great tenderness of the staff - and not too much tenderness in my arm  - but when we'd all lost count of all the stoppages and my generally reasonably good nature was wearing thin, I said to the nurse that I might ask to finish a little before the time I should. She said in her opinion the machine would feel the same and we agreed if nothing improved by 5pm I'd quit. Strangely then the machine settled down for more than half an hour and left us with an impending dilemma. She was working in the corridor outside and our eyes met as we puzzled what to do...and then a moment later, at 5pm on the dot as if it had understood our pact, the machine alarm sounded again and we both burst out laughing! I was most grateful for my early release...

I give thanks for pretty skies these last two evenings.....and for the WEEKEND!!! Woohoo!!!

Inviting

I give thanks for a better night's sleep last night. Still didn't feel much like getting up and going out on a damp and breezy morning but I'm very grateful I did as I'd arranged to travel across the bay to see Gary and the weather had cleared up perfectly by the time I arrived adding to the pleasure of the meeting. For chuckles and commiserations. For stunning views along the coast and the oh so inviting coast path, for happy memories of other get togethers and outings over the years. 

For glimpsing a most majestic bird of prey at rest in some trees on the way home, white fronted almost like a honey buzzard...plus delicately tinted fuchsia in lilac and pastel pink over a garden hedge. For a large late spicy leftovers lunch and a quick snooze on the sofa before Julie arrived with my new microwave. For a take it easy evening stretching ahead - minimal chores as Michelle is due tomorrow, and I don't even have to get worked up about the tennis as play is done for the day. 

Dreadful

I was full of dread for various aspects of today so I give thanks those went OK, and the totally unexpected challenges mostly also. They added up to a lot of delay though and as I've had a prodigious appetite I'm extremely grateful to be not only home but fed...for now at least! I'm rather more tired and sore than usual so I give thanks for the bathwater heating up, curtains drawn early against the murky night, Paracetamol waiting to be taken. For the sense that at least one of the long running, running round in circles situations I've been trying to sort out might be spiralling off towards a more satisfactory state of affairs. For the light bulbs ordered on line that didn't look right when they arrived fitting a particular fitting. I swear I saw them in stock yesterday in the high street shop that said they were discontinued so I'm hopeful I can go back before they really are and have a few in reserve...maybe they'll have the kind for the lamp I knocked over this morning too. That's the second needing replacement due to my clumsiness this week and two more of the modern supposed to last for ages sort have simply given up the ghost. That reminds me I give thanks Bulb have decided not to increase my monthly payments after all. They may change their mind when the results of my need for cosiness this month show up in the readings...but with a spot of luck maybe I'll have a Warm Home Discount again this year to offset the excess.

Accessible

I give thanks for feeling considerably better by late morning today, and realising by early afternoon that what was ailing me most at that point was cabin fever, so grabbing essentials and hobbling up the stairs on a bus. For the fabulous views raising my spirits...the stiff breeze chasing stripes of light across the surface of the sea and those stunning liners in the bay. And for Imee Ooi drowning out the wittering whingeing women who would otherwise have lowered them! For our bus coming up to a T junction just as a visually impaired woman plus dog were paused at the edge of the pavement to cross. Our driver stopped as another double decker was in the stream of traffic inching along the T, and that driver stopped to jump down and guide the pedestrian safely to the other pavement. How heart warming - even the witterers shut up for a bit after that!

For completing the technical challenges of creating a new Disabled Rail card with photo as an app on my phone. For giving Great Western Railways another nudge about not being able to register on theirs as it says my email address is taken...as it is...by me! For warm sunshine and rainbows in the stormy skies here...and and for worse weather in Paris delaying some matches I wanted to see. Fabulous tennis - the reduced crowd were making almost as much noise as a fully packed stadium! For the blessed feeling of having access to a pleasure I'd thought I'd have to give up on for this year

Excused

I give thanks for being on the home straight of a rather frustrating day, and for being home on my sofa beginning to settle and defrost after a chilly and uncomfortably bumpy ride home that made my already sore joints hurt even more.

I give thanks for last night's tennis match having me shout at the screen which is a pleasure I honestly wondered if I'd ever have again. For the woman who messaged me this morning wanting my ancient microwave grill combo actually coming to get it when she said she would and not spinning some yarn about her grandmother falling out of a plane the way so called 'buyers' are often likely to do. She'd asked me where I was which puzzled me a little until she showed me her phone and it showed the listing as in Birmingham. I give thanks, though I have the odd senior moment like everyone over the age of ten, I'm quite sure I didn't forget my address and it was the IP one perhaps that came up with such an odd location. For Asda having a sale on for a new smaller lighter less bells and whistles one to replace it. 

I give thanks for feeling better this evening than I did during treatment today, and for having my uneaten lunch to snack on - yes, I really did feel rough! The machine kept alarming so I also missed my nap and I'm grateful for the prospect of either a snooze or an early night (or possibly both!) when I've written this and thought what else simple I can have to eat. I give thanks for Paracetamol and a snuggly cuddly throw. 

Migratory

I've always envied folk with camper vans and this year even more, but I give thanks I have caravanettes on my wellie boots, and the same weather that is so perfect for practising hibernation is also just right for appreciating almost deserted beaches beginning a few yards from my door. For my 'new' coat keeping me cosy and dry, having wonderfully practical large zipped pockets and being long enough not to get a wet bum if you perch on a seat. For the cafe in the cove not only being open and having my most favourite yoghurt topped flapjacks for sale, but the friendly staff advising me they plan to be there ALL YEAR ROUND weather permitting! Oh what joy - definitely worth a small renally unfriendly cappuccino to celebrate as I sat contentedly in the drizzle with martins sweetly swirling all around me gathering to fly south. 

I give thanks yesterday's idling about seemed to ease off the pain in my joints and crank up enthusiasm for putting them to  good use. For the exhilaration of being outdoors in a bit of weather and places that were too crowded to enjoy before (including the pavements!) being empty enough to satisfy even my unsociable tastes. 

For watching fit young men run around on clay and intelligent academic women solving unearthed mysteries on the Bone Detectives while I sewed a few more crochet leaves onto my Tree of Life fabric hanging. 

Hibernating

I give thanks for a perfect autumn day for not doing very much at all save perhaps practising hibernation. For a long late lie in, and rustling up a batch of very nice dairy free pancakes to ease me into (semi) upright mode. For digging out some warmer clothes, which I don't mind...and packing away some summery ones which always makes me sigh. For Clive offering to pop over with a bathroom shelf designed by me and constructed by him, partly from reclaimed parts of an old cupboard at Mima's. For this visit meaning although I did have to put on some of the aforementioned clothing, I didn't have to go out and get a pint of milk for a welcoming cuppa as he could bring it instead! 

Elemental

At first today I was grateful to stay in bed listening to the wind and rain, and then when I finally stirred myself I would have been very grateful to stay in my chair gazing in wonder at the tumbling sea and changing light. Tonight the big ships in the bay (there's a giant ro-ro row your boat as well as the cruise liners) have been bright gold where the late sun was catching them against a curtain of grey rain moving across the sky. I give thanks for my wonderful views!

I give thanks for an OK day at the office - staff I get on well with and my fistula hanging in there, though I guess something will have to be done to fix it soon. For coming home to various sparkling signs of Michelle's visit, and a lovely note complimenting me on my taste and decorating developments since she was last here six months ago. As progress has been slow (and slowed down!) it's easy to forget how much has been done, including how much has been done by me... 

Experimental

I give thanks for the forewarning the weather would be inclement today. For contentedly anticipating a chance to try out my new-to-me non-down uniqlo hooded coat while popping to the the local shops, followed by a comfy indoor afternoon to potter with creative projects, watch a spot of tennis and clear the decks a little ready for Michelle to start to clean again tomorrow.

I give thanks for not minding at all when the weather started unexpectedly bright and mild and dry though, there'll be lots of other chances to wear coats in the coming months I'm sure! For the generally sunny atmosphere in town complementing my own good mood, even in interminable queues in the Post Office and Boots. For my local independent health food store putting together items on my list ready to collect, including specially ordered Basilico tofu which is hard to find these days. For successful experiments planned in the craft room and unplanned in the kitchen after something went wrong when home again before the rain began.