Spent

I give thanks for being back on the sofa (once again!) after a rather very weary, rather dreary twenty four hours. For spending a reasonable amount of those hours asleep, a delightful one reading in a bubbly fragrant bath, two or three watching TV and a couple more out with Julie and Spencer looking round some big second hand shops we'd not been to for a while and trying to find interesting food items in the erratically stocked supermarket shelves. For help collecting the breakfast bar stools for the breakfast bar I hope to have when I have a new kitchen...

I give thanks now my steroid dose has been increased my liver function is showing improvement again. Also (slightly) that I have to continue the regime for some time yet so I could come home with a spinach and ricotta pizza from Aldi and have some for my tea! I'm finding this extended course of treatment hard on many levels so the lowering of potassium in my blood allowing an increased intake by mouth is definitely something to be grateful for. For reading one of the many visitor enquiries to a local Facebook group and discovering the ice - cream shop parlour on the corner offers oat milk as an alternative for their hot drinks. Must find out if they'd rustle me up a cappuccino one of these days as even with my current more flexible diet I'd rather spend my dairy allowance on more interesting stuff than milk, such as various forms of cheese! 

Airborne

I give thanks for being back on the sofa - it seems to have been a while! Last night I was loath to leave it so, though it sounds all wrong, I give thanks the air ambulance came in to land in the park and I got to admire not only the pilot's consummate skill but a glorious golden sunset in the background. I was very grateful the frantic flocks of various birds taking flight avoided the rotor blades!

I give thanks for cooler cloudier weather for the Bank Holiday as, of course, it was a normal treatment day for me and I can be quite selfish like that! For unexpected ladder action just when I thought there'd be no workmen, and for unexpected chocolate cake on the tea round...just tiny portions but a very welcome treat. 

Tired and sore and moody today, all I've wanted to do is to read books, watch TV, play with my toys, snooze and soak in soothing how water...so I give thanks for managing to fit in a little of that so far, and for hoping some more will follow. For making a start on the pile of washing up I created making two dinners last night. For my impatience to see what (black) grout would look like on the mosaic I was working on at the weekend resulting in a reminder of what it looks like on pale grey carpet!

Jarring

I give thanks catching the steam train earlier, as I've rather run out of it myself today and I always find the sound a bit of a thrill...even more so if I move fast enough to see it pass. For planning a long lie in after a short night's sleep, and for being awake to be aware enough of what was going on and leap out of bed when a ladder top appeared outside my window around 8 am. For giving thanks for an hour or two of further exterior improvements despite some disappointment I couldn't get the restorative rest required. 

I give thanks for another fine day, and for feeling fine about doing very little at all, though it's always a bit of a shock to the system to move so swiftly from a 'good' day to one verging on 'bad'. Also for sticking to the plan to meet Mima at a spot where we figured refreshments would be served in a refreshingly scenic but underpopulated spot. For being right...and for making it up s short section of hill for a quick tour of her new flat and the well kept communal gardens before very gratefully accepting a lift home.

For finding a forgotten stash of Paracetamol. For culinary assistance from jars of pesto and Rendang paste to rustle up food for tonight and tomorrow respectively. For my hands free can opener for the butter beans for the curry. For my sofa and some undemanding Netflix offerings.

Bemused

I was grateful to see the men working on the gutters and fascias outside yesterday morning (especially as they didn't quite see me wandering around not quite as dressed as I might have been!), but gave thanks they weren't here until later today so I could enjoy a leisurely lie in interspersed with getting up for snacks, working on new mosaic ideas which are coming thick and fast right now, and the usual household chores. For the most amount of sleep I've had in a night for months producing much mellowness without any medical assistance...

The forecast suggested it would be a tad on the brisk side for a wuss like me, while the calendar, of course, led me to believe there would be wall to wall tourists right up to the building entrance gate, so I was quite delighted when, after a fragrant wallow in the bath and a delicious picky bits lunch at home (smoked hummus, stuffed vine leaves, chilli oat crackers, olives et al) it looked calm enough outside to go out for a stroll...and work on getting fitter ready for when I next get ill!

I give thanks for making it to the cove where mysteriously there was no queue and empty tables at the café (and no, they hadn't run out of milk - I checked!). It was also warm enough for me to want to take off my top and leggings...and as they were under my dress but over underwear rather than a cozzy that meant a trip back to the loos to change...and there was still no queue and somewhere to sit when I returned! I give thanks my guardian angel must have had a word with the gods as normal service soon resumed. For lush cake that didn't just taste of sugar (a rarity it seems these days), my first cappuccino for months (nom nom nom) and a convenient spot on the beach appearing when I was ready to move down there with a book and a happy, if slightly bemused, expression at unexpectedly finding myself doing the Bank Holiday thing!

I give thanks for changes of activity helping keep the aches, pains and cramps under reasonable control. For homemade food dug out of the freezer in time for tea, and for remembering to stop pottering and eat it so I can take those pesky pills.

Amiable

I give thanks it's the weekend - I'm ready for one even though mine will just be the standard two day variety, and it will probably be a bit manic round here with tourists. For my flat cleaned, washing up done, bed made with fresh laundry etc courtesy of the Michelle who is very helpful about the home! For new mosaic materials arrived for some projects planned and for well stocked food cupboards, freezer and fridge.

I give thanks for managing to organise dropping off Jo's keys again (plus a thank you cake) on the way to treatment, as well as collecting more meds delivered from the main hospital pharmacy to a Boots on our route. For my extremely accommodating taxi driver... 

I give thanks for a rather amiable day at the office, including a member of staff who had been shedding stress all around on Wednesday declaring she wouldn't today - and didn't, another coming to ask me about the botanical gardens project as I'd not wanted to discuss it beforehand in case I didn't make it and she had been away since at Beautiful Days, and for the ward clerk not being at lunch as she usually is when I arrive and being in a very jolly mood so I could sort out some odds and ends.

Corny

I give thanks for the calm before the sun - much easier to get up the top of town when it's cool and cloudy...and for the beautiful magnolia tree I passed on the way. 

For the friendliness of folk up there, it's a completely different atmosphere to the eager but beleaguered tourist trap down by the sea. For getting new keys cut, and raiding Costcutter for a couple of bits for the food bank collection point in the library nearby. In fact I raided several food shops, which is great as I won't need to do so again for days.

I give thanks for feeling more mellow today on account of more sleep helped by the calming painkillers I ration as they hit the spot and I'd hate them to stop doing so. For even the lower town and beach staying relatively mellow as well, despite a sunny afternoon - relaxed and relatively empty enough for me to pop out for another wander. For an unusual amount of energy... and for some mosaic materials I'm very keen to get my hands on not arriving so I used it for other tasks. For corn on the cob from the farm shop bargain table for afternoon tea...and a low loud Chinook swooping past as I ate it. 

Deserving

I wish I knew what I'd done to deserve today...so I know not to do it again! For nothing major going wrong, and all minor mishaps and delays either rectifiable or putuppable with... For reminding myself (sometimes through gritted teeth!) they were all very much first world problems. 

For plenty of time in the sunshine...waiting for late running buses. For a lousy night's sleep so that even though I had a machine that made a noise like an alarm was going off (but wasn't) all through treatment I did manage to put an Insight Timer yoga nidra on and snooze through some of the afternoon. For Jo and Keith bringing my emergency keys when - an hour late due other issues - I arrived outside without my own, that I had definitely left home with and put in one of those proverbial safe places. I can even remember which one! I give thanks that other items that disappeared earlier - bus pass and Walkman - eventually revealed themselves but  I've shaken everything upside down (almost including myself!) and my door keys have clearly left home...

For finding the delayed pill that rolled under the sofa, and for an almost instant dinner already planned. For my ancient TV box slowly creaking back into life and finding myself part way through a programme on staycations. Lovely to see some favourite scenic spots and helpful to hear the horrendous prices charged, plus   difficulties with staffing and cleanliness so I don't feel so bad I can't go. For a pleasant evening for the tourists here. They sound quite mellow for a change - I hope they're having fun!