About Me

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I'm 57 years old, working full time, wife, mother and grand mother, wishing that I wasn't working full time! I love and enjoy our children and grandchildren, our dogs and cat, our garden and allotment. I love crafts - knitting, sewing, crocheting, patchwork and restoring old furniture. I love to go to country auctions and love thinking that I've got my self a bargain!

Thursday 28 July 2011

Whatever happened to.....

Whatever happened to the Doctors of yesteryear who had time to talk to you, explain everything to you and when you left the surgery you didn't feel like you'd just been a spare part on a conveyor belt.

Yes it's been one of those weeks this week - I went to Occupational Therapy at our local hospital on Monday as I have arthritis in my fingers, one middle finger in particular is really swollen. The last time I went I was given exercises for the said finger - this time she said she was pleased with that finger but not so happy with my thumb joints and wrist -  so I left this time with exercises for the thumbs plus supports for both thumbs and a wrist brace! From there is was a quick sprint from Occupational Therapy across the other side of the hospital to the X Ray department where the finger was x rayed.

Today I've been into the Doctors and was asked why was I there - I told her that they'd wrote to me, telling me to go in because they had the results to a recent blood test - "Oh she says! Yes you're still anaemic - I'll send you to see a Gastroenterologist"......."right OK" I said  - "Whilst I'm here could I just ask".. "Oh no sorry not enough time you'll have to book a further appointment" she said and at that I was out of the door!

Turns out that although I booked this appointment 2 weeks ago she happened to be the duty doctor today so if anyone turns up needing a doctor urgently she's the one you see, so patients who have had a legitimate appointment for 2 weeks then get a poor service!

I remember when I was little we had a 'family' doctor, and he had a lovely kind receptionist called Mollie - they both always had 'time' for you and he had the deepest voice you've ever heard - strangely enough I now work in the same old building that was where his surgery was and every time I walk down the long corridor to our kitchen it reminds me of when I used to walk down the same corridor to his room as a child.

Different service completely to this morning! But that's progress for you............

Hope that you're all having a good week  - Byee

Saturday 16 July 2011

At last..........

At last I have a proper working computer - the computer that I write on is an old one of my son's which just gave up on me a few weeks ago. I've got a little net book but it's really not conducive to type on. So my lad has spent the last couple of weeks taking the old computer apart and re building it for me -  bless him and this afternoon the new re-conditioned computer was brought back downstairs for me and I'm back in position at my desk in our conservatory - it's nice to be back.

So what have I done since I've been gone, well quite a lot really - I started another 120 runner beans for the allotment as the cold nights of early June put paid to the first 120 that we had planted out. I've done 2 jig saws, read the new Maeve Binchly book 'Minding Frankie' painted the summer house country cream and wild thyme, sewed 2 union jack cushions and 2 trimmed cushions and paid off my mortgage!!

Yes we are now totally mortgage free and it feels brilliant! I paid it off early and when I came out of the building society, I just sat in the car and shed a few tears, it was  such a feeling of relief  - for a few days I kept looking round our little old house and thinking I own all of this - it really is a great feeling.

Now it's a case of starting to save for my old age - I just cannot see how I can carry on working in the job I do, till I'm 66 it's hard enough at 56 and the arthritis in my hands is getting worse, so it's a case of carrying on, being careful and getting to a point where we can save as much as we can.

No photo's yet I'm afraid - I'll have to load all the software on to this computer for the camera and then perhaps I can show you a few photo's off the summer house, although there is still work to be done on it - the weather here hasn't been very good today so I've cleared the welsh dresser of a lot of bits and pieces and just put my white dinner service on it. Then I've started to paint a small dresser top, all white, that I have in the kitchen and then all my Cornish wear will sit in the kitchen (it's been split between the kitchen and the dining room) and all the blue and white willow dinner service has been moved into the conservatory.

I'm going to look out on ebay for either a dresser top or small welsh dresser for that dinner service to sit on and then everything will have space instead of being squeezed onto the dresser in the dinning room - but where does all the dust come from? - I clean every week, but still it appears!

Oh well that's enough news for today -  Byeee