Laser Surgery - the first 24 hours

Well I have done it and I am so glad that I did.

Monday afternoon was the pre-op just to check that my eyes were still OK and had not changed since my previous check. That was fine. Tuesday saw a trip into Glasgow where I spent a few hours shopping then went for the wavefront scan. This is where they scan the eyes and map them out so that the laser can be programmed to suit the individual eyes rather than just have a blanket prescription which might not be perfect for your eyes. That went well, and then I had a few hours to kill to wait for my pal to finish work so that we could go to her home in town. I got very fed up with shopping - not one of my favourite things! and my feet were sore from walking and walking and walking! I did get some Lush products and got a bargain pair of trousers though!
We went out for a meal and a few glasses of fermented grape juice! then an early night. I was woken in the morning by a JRT jumping onto the bed and tramping all over me - he was just checking that I was OK. Friend's hubby cooked me breakfast and then I set off for the train into town.
I got to the optician's on time, then came the wait. The waiting room was full of patients and their friends/partners/relations waiting for treatment. I then got called in for another pre-op check - still all OK. then back to the waiting room again. Eventually, about 75mins after my appointment time I got called in. A really nice male nurse explained the post op drop regime that I was to follow, then he cleaned my eyes and the surrounding area and told me not to touch them as they were now sterile. He came back a bit later and took my handbag off me - he did say to remind him to give it back as he had a habit of not returning them! LOL. He gave me a lovely hairnet to wear, then led me into the theatre. He introduced me to the team, but as I couldnt see them it was just voices that I was greeting. He then dropped some anaesthetic into my eyes and handed me over to the team.

If you are squeamish miss this bit out:
The next stage was to make the flaps in my corneas. The surgeon put a clamp in my eye to keep the eye open, then attached a contraption to my eye, the pressure was tough to stand, but this only lasted until the flap had been made which ended with a pop! then the same to the next eye. My head was then shifted under the laser machine. Again a contraption was put onto the eye being treated (the other eye was covered by a shield) and I was told to watch an orange light. Then the laser was put into action, there was a slight smell and cranky noises, and the light was quite strong, but this was soon over. Then the other eye was treated the same way. Anaesthetic eye drops were topped up throughout the procedure.

After the op I was told to sit up and was then led into another room where the surgeon checked my eyes and I picked up the eye drops and my handbag.

I then returned to the waiting room and called my pal. I immediately put my dark glasses on as the lights were very strong to my now sensitive eyes.

My pal picked me up and steered me towards the station, she had to lead me as my vision was like sitting in a steam room (not like Stobo though!). She gave me her return half of the rail ticket and put me on the train and told me that her hubby would be waiting for me on the platform which was 6 stops away. I dutifully counted the stops as by now I could not bear to open my eyes. It was as if I had been peeling onions all day and had wiped my eyes with onion hands. Every time I did open my eyes tears poured out and stung. Hubby picked me up and drove me back to their house and I immediately went to bed to try and sleep. The pain was getting worse and I topped up on ibruprofen! eventually I went to sleep and woke up 3 hours later no longer in pain! My vision was a wee bit blurry and I was sensitive even to low level lighting. I sat watching the news with sunglasses on! Hubby made me a cup of fruit tea and gave me a biccie (no lunch). About an hour later I could bear to take my sunglasses off, and my vision was good enough to read the BBC straplines on the news. I was very very tired and retired to bed after the England game!

This morning I woke up and could see. It was brilliant. I made sure I put my drops in - 1 I have to put in 6 times a day, 1 4 times a day, and 1 at least every hour.

I caught a train into Glasgow, then another into Stirling. Then to the optician (after buying a Jasper Conran handbag that I had seen on Monday and couldnt justify the expense, but today it was 20% off!! - must have been a sign). The optician first checked my sight for driving and said I was perfectly OK, then I went on to read ata greater level - that was less than 24 hours after the op! He then looked at the eyes thru his gadgets and was very pleased with what he saw.

My next appointment is a week today, then I will have one at a month, and I think 3 months.

If anyone is considering laser treatment please do ask me questions. I would recommend it, but would say that it would be better to have taken pain killers immediately after the op in hindsight. I had Intralase Lasik with Wavefront - the creme de la creme treatment but worth every penny.

The Wedding

Just back from my Brothers wedding in Bromsgrove.
I drove down on Thursday and picked up 'im indoors from Birmingham airport as he had cut his Bridge and Bowling holiday in Spain short to come for the wedding. My brother and his wife have been an item for many years now - almost as long as me and 'im! But because of one thing and another they were not able to get married until now. I was asked to be a bridesmaid (one of 5) along with my 2 new nieces and my great niece! The colour theme for the day was coffee and cream- the only one wearing white was my new great niece (aged 18 months!). The wedding took place at the Bromsgrove Hilton where my brother and my new SIL first met. It was a lovely day and we partied well into the night -the only problem was that a glass of wine cost £7.45 and a coke cost £2.50! so we were restrained on our drinking which was probably a good thing as we were both fine to drive back today.
I even managed to fit in 3 swims during my stay which was great.

here is a pic of me and 'im indoors with the bride and groom...

What a busy 5 weeks

Forgive me purple folk for it is 5 weeks since my last blog.

what a lot has happened in the last 5 weeks.

My Aunt fell and broke her hip - not a nice experience for someone of 75ish. She was taken into hospital on the Monday and did not get operated on until the Wednesday - she had a pin put in as the break was below the hip joint. We were travelling down to Northhamptonshire for our Nephew's 18th birthday party, so we set off a day early so that we could call in to Birmingham to see Auntie. Thank goodness for Sat Nav - I dont think we would have found Heartlands Hospital without it! We stayed overnight with Mum and Dad which was nice, and it was great to see how Mum was improving.

The next day we travelled to Daventry where we were staying. The hotel was on a golf course, free internet, free coffee, free fruit, swimming pool, sauna, steam room & jacusi - and all for £50 including breakfast for the 2 of us!

The party was something else - I have never felt so old! It was actually our other nephew's 16th birthday on the day, so there were crowds of 16yr old and 18 yr olds! Most of them were hanging around outside the venue, until the music went louder and the lights went lower! We made our excuses by 10pm and went back to the hotel for a decent drink and an early night.

I have managed to play a fair amount of golf during the last few weeks - this has been good for me health wise as well as helping me to relax.

me and my pal Olive (her nickname) have booked for a trip to Stobo Castle on 22nd for 2 nights - she has been to the wedding of her son this weekend, so the two of us will enjoy the break.

So, last weekend whilst playing golf I was discussing the problems I had been having with my contact lenses and that I was considering the laser surgery. Her pal had had it done 2 1/2 years ago and had not looked back since. So I made an appointment to see if I was suitable. That was yesterday.

First I had to wear my glasses for at least 48 hours prior to the treatment - that is a struggle for me as I find it difficult to see with them on and feel very trapped when I wear them. The appointment started with the puff of air in the eye routine, then a check of the prescription. After this I had a chat with one of the girls who was very informative about the whole procedure and explained all the different options that MIGHT be available to me. Then followed the more rigourous tests. I had drops of anasthetic put in my eyes - stingy or what! Then she measured the thickness of my corneas using a probe against the eye - weird or what! Then she put some other drops in which relaxed my eye muscles so that I could not focus - I couldnt even see my watch! Finally she gave me the news that I was very suitable for the treatment, and I could have a choice of every option.

I decided that the Lasik method was preferred as it has the fastest healing time, and did not require a dressing on the cornea. then I had a choice of which method was used to cut the flap in the cornea to give the laser the required access. There is a mechanical method where a gadget is put against the eyeball and suckers onto it. Then this is rotated to cut a flap - a bit like taking the foil off a bottle of wine. The more modern method is to use the laser to cut the flap, a series of dots are made on the eye ball which causes bubbles under the cornea, then alcohol is put on which raises the flap for the surgeon to peel back. The downside of the mechanical method is that the incision is deeper and therefore takes longer to heal - so I decided on the Ultralase method.

The next decision was whether to have a standard treatment which basically gives you off the shelf laser treatment for a standard prescription. This gives you the vision you have with your lenses or glasses, but no better. The Wavefront option gives you a treatment that is specific to you. Your eyes are scanned and any inperfections are noted - these can give you problems with night vision - halos, glare etc when driving. I decided that I might as well go for the top treatment.

So the next stage was to book all the appointments. I have to go without lenses for 7 days before a further check with the optician in Stirling (again with the possibility of the relaxing drops so no driving), the following day I have to get the Wavefront scan in Glasgow, and the following day the surgery also in Glasgow! My pal also has a house in Glasgow, so I will be staying with her the night before and she will bring me home after surgery.

So all booked up after a 2 hour appointment - boy was I exhausted! I went to meet my pal who had driven me down as I knew that I would not be able to drive. She was in fits of laughter as I could not see a thing. Because my eyes were dilated I was suffering from the bright lights in the shopping mall, and I could not control the vision in them. Trying to read labels in M&S was impossible - so she had to read them to me!

I got home and could not turn the PC on as I knew that I would not be able to see it anyway.

This morning my eyes were still quite dilated, but I could put my contact lenses in and I can see - what freedom.

I am so pleased that I have made the decision, even though it is costing mega bucks, but Mum and Dad have offered me a huge sum towards it. I just look forward to being able to swim and use a spa without being worried about water getting into my eyes and lifting my lenses.

Played golf today - not brilliant, but happy with my game. Off to play at a different course tomorrow as a guest of a couple of male pals of mine.

Hopefully it will not be so long before my next blog.

Where has the time gone?

I cannot believe that it is now 2 months since I blogged. It was also 2 months ago that my Mum had a stroke. She had had a minor stroke 9 months earlier whilst she and Dad were on the boat. Paramedics were called and they carried Mum down the towpath to the nearest hospital, after a few hours she was released and returned to the boat. She could not speak properly, but after a few days resting on the boat her speech returned. This time my Dad returned from a meeting to find Mum speaking gobbledy-gook - he immediately knew what had happened and took her to the doctor the following morning. My brother still does not understand why Dad did not call 999 and get Mum into hospital, but I think he was scared that she would be admitted and not allowed home. I was in a meeting at work the day Dad phoned me on my mobile, so when I saw the missed call I knew something was up. I drove down to see them the following day - the M6 on a Friday is not the fastest of roads, but I just wanted to be there for Mum. It was a long journey, but Dad was so pleased to see me for some support that it was really worth it. Mum really could not speak - we had to guess what she was trying to say, she was not really aware of what was happening, and she slept a lot. My Dad has never run the house, Mum always did it. He did not know how to operate the washing machine, had no idea about cooking and has never had to plan meals, shop or clean the house. Unfortunately my Nan always felt that men/boys were there to do the earning and manual tasks and that was how Dad was brought up. Now he had to take control. I showed him how to cook some simple and healthy meals - if he had his way it would be versions of pie and chips! I was pleased that I made the journey and when I returned home I made sure that I kept in touch with them daily and then slowly returned to weekly so that I could hear the difference in Mum as she progressed. A month after the stroke she managed to see a specialist and get scans etc. During this time Dad contacted the Stroke Association and through their help and support Mum has managed to improve in her speech. She still gets very frustrated when she cant get the words out, she is fully aware of what we are saying, and is very observant, but the words cannot get out.

'im indoors has been made redundant so now only has a few weeks to get a new job before his last pay packet. Very stressful, and to top it all he has to sell his flat which is nearer Glasgow than here as he cannot afford to keep it on without a job. Thing is that having the flat opens up job opportunities in Glasgow, without it there is a lot of commuting to do - horrid situation really.

My brother and his fiancee brought Mum and Dad up to visit on Saturday and we have spent the last few days together until they left this morning for the long drive down south. Mum thoroughly enjoyed her visit and I think it did her the world of good. She managed to do some gently walking, each day managing a little bit more - after all she has been more or less immobile for 2 months. I would have loved to have spent more time with my brother and his fiancee, but it was good for Mum and Dad to spend time with me. My brother has a lovely Boxer called Bruce who is 3 years old and worth a small fortune apparantly - they insisted that he is my nephew!
What a gorgeous brute he is.......

My brother is getting married in November and I have been asked to be a bridesmaid - never in my life have I been asked to be a bridesmaid. She has her best friend, her two daughters and her 14 month granddaughter as well, and the theme is coffee and cream. So I have now bought a dress - which she loves, and now have to buy shoes, pashmina and a bag!

All is quiet now that they have all gone home, so I spent the afternoon digging up roots of shrubs that have got past it and some brooms that have self seeded where they were not wanted. I am now exhausted and am sitting with my feet up watching Beechgrove Garden (a brilliant Scottish gardening programme - much better than Gardener's World in my opinion).

On Sunday, my neighbours decided to cut 2 rather large trees down that were planted on the boundary of our two gardens - they were far too close to the houses and actually touched my roof, so down they came. We had my neighbour and my pal on chain saws, the youngest son of my neighbour (age 12) scooting up and down trees putting on the line for us to guide the trees down to the ground, and then some of his pals and his older brother on wheelbarrow duty clearing the logs. My neighbour's wife provided us with bacon rolls after she returned from church and then helped us to clear the fallen branches and later burnt them in the field. It is so amazing what a difference these trees have made to the amount of light coming into both of our gardens.

Last friday was the last junior golf session of the year, so we had our prize giving. We had 41 children between the ages of 8 and 17 playing golf, these were later joined by parents and siblings so you can imagine what the noise level would be like. They were very well behaved, and enjoyed the meal provided for them. It was great handing out the prizes to the kids and seeing their response. After the prizes "the oldest junior" (now no longer playing with the juniors, but working behind the bar at the clubhouse) presented me with a card and golf gift voucher from all the parents - this was a total surprise and totally not expected - to me it is just great to see how well the kids have improved over the year - that is the biggest present of all.

Now to start turning my mind to winter activities - drama, curling, living!

Lets hope it is not another 2 months before I blog again!

Morning sun over the hills

More about Stobo

I thought that I would share a little more about Stobo with you.
I first went to Stobo about 4 years ago when him indoors won a voucher for a day including 4 treatments. He very kindly gave it to me (aaahhhh – wasn’t that kind of him?) Anyway, we decided that we would meet up and spend the night in a B&B about 5 miles away and make an evening of it, so I duly set off really early in the morning to be at Stobo for 9am (might as well get the most out of my day!). As soon as I set foot in the Spa Reception I could feel the relaxing vibes in the place and I was hooked. That first day was packed with treatments which did mean that I could not spend as much time in the pool as I would have liked, but that too was good because I then learnt that I didn’t need all the treatments to feel relaxed.
The following year I persuaded 3 of my friends to come with me and stay overnight for 2 nights – if you only stay one night I felt that you did not get as much benefit as you are not allowed to check in until 3pm and have to check out at 12 the next day (you do get lunch though!). We stayed in the castle lodge which is new and costs £99 pppn Mon- thur and an extra £15 pppn over the weekend, the only disadvantage is that you have to walk across the car park to the spa, but you do get a mini-bar & fridge in the room, plus 2 double beds in a twin room & lcd tv on the wall. Although this sounds expensive you do get 3 meals (and big ones!) a day plus the use of the spa facilities, well-being classes (yoga, tai chi, aqua-fit etc), gym, walks round the grounds and bikes(I think). What is nice is that everyone walks around in robes (supplied) all day, so there is no keeping up on fashion/style etc. (not that I do – clothes are just there to cover my body!).
The following year we could not get into the lodge, so we took standard rooms in the castle. This costs an extra £20pppn, but we were so desperate to go and my friend had arranged respite care for her husband, so we paid. The rooms were nice, but no mini-bar or fridge and the beds were singles. The advantage was that we did not have to cross the car park – esp good as it rained the whole time! This time we got upgraded to a classic room in the castle for no extra charge. The room was lovely and the beds were big, but again no fridge!

OK, so you might have got my drift with the fridge? It is common practice to take your own drink for your room, so as I thought we were going to be in the lodge I took white wine, and my pal took G&T (doesn’t drink wine!), so what to do – unchilled wine and G&T would not do!! My pal is so resourceful – in the Ladies Health suite there is an ice fountain which spews out crushed ice for you to rub over your body when you come out of the steam room (lovely), there is also a spin drier for your cossie and a roll of bags to put your cossie in. So what does she do? She fills a bag with crushed ice and hides it under her robe, unfortunately it becomes too cold against her skin, so she takes a towel (always on hand) and wraps it up in that and brings it to the room to fill the sink so we can chill our drinks! The next night she borrows my shoe bag style rucksack and fills that! She even had the cheek to ask for a lemon from the spa coffee shop - although the first night she did use her nail scissors to slice it!

What I really love about Stobo is the atmosphere. It is so calming. In the hydrotherapy bath there is a jaccuzi at one end, big water jets in the middle to massage your back and shoulders, and relaxing bed things at the other where you can lie and be gently massaged by water bubbles around you. If you lie there holding onto the bar (metal not drink) behind your head you can float looking up at the starry lit ceiling. There are 3 ladies steam rooms and one mixed by the pool side (there is a gents health suite, but I haven’t been in there so I don’t know what is in there), each steam room has different settings, the first is not really steam but more gentle warm heat – you could read a book in there, the next one is steamier, and the last is very steamy. There are also showers where you can have different settings – tropical rain for example. Then the pool – my favourite. Ozone treated, all one depth (which is good for the aqua fit) and one side of the pool area is glass which looks out over the grounds. Fantastic.

No, before you ask! I don’t get commission for Stobo, but I just thought I would share with you my experiences and explain that it really is good value for money and you feel so relaxed all the time. I can just lie on my back in the pool, eyes closed and I feel totally at one with myself – what is that worth?

Stobo - The Pictures

I have been back from Stobo for just a few days but the wonderful memory is still there. I thought I would put some of the pictures I took here.
The above image is the main entrance to the castle, followed by a view from the front door.

And then the hallway...

..... looking up and...

...looking back.

The back lawns for Mousie..

The stairs in the above picture are above the Cashmere Suite with it's private terrace. We got a tour of the Suite - WOW is all I can say!!!

The next picture is the Spa entrance - if you are not staying in the castle this is where you get in.

Through the doors and you enter the glass roofed courtyard that is the Spa Lounge where you can sit and relax. There is even a coffee shop if you are feeling the need for a drink (including wine) or a piece of cake.

And finally, my favourite place - the 25m ozone treated swimming pool!I had a great time. The mud room was a hoot! We were shown into a room where we stripped off and put on paper knickers! Now Wizzard is not all skin and bone - there is a fair amount of the wobbly stuff, as I pulled the lovely garment up they ripped! Well that had us both in fits of giggles! We then went into a huge cubicle with 2 sitting alcoves and covered ourselves from head to toe in sulpher smelling mud. We helped each other out on the places we could not reach ourselves, then sat in our alcoves as the heat dried the mud on us. All we could see of each other was the whites of our eyes and our teeth! Then the steam came - it must have lasted for at least 20mins! it was very very hot and the mud started to melt so we rubbed it in and the grittiness exfoliated our skin. Eventually the steam stopped and we were told to shower off - there were 5 shower nozzles in each alcove, but it must have taken 15 minutes to get it off - even so it was still engrained in my feet! Then we dried ourselves off and moisturised before putting on our robes again and going back to the spa reception. My skin was as smooth as silk!
I really cant wait until my next visit, so I am saving up any £2 coins that I get in change!

Stobo

So many people would like to come along with me to Stobo next week that I thought I would post a picture of the swimming pool to make you even more jealous! Yes WW - you can come next time!!

and the above image is of me (she jokes!) in the mud room!

June

I thought I would put up some pictures I took on my way to work at 5.30 one morning.

Same spot, just different zooms!

What a strange month this has been. The first Saturday was our Ladies Open, I narrowly missed winning the best local handicap by one point to a lady who only just rejoined our club after a few years absence! It was a great day though and the rain stayed off until the prizegiving.
Last weekend I played golf on Saturday morning and got a sunburned neck because I missed a spot with the sun cream! Got eaten alive by the midges. Sunday was day 2 of a motorcycle trial. I went along to take some pictures for our village magazine. Unfortunately the stage I was taking photos at was under trees and I got eaten alive again! Still suffering from the itchy bites now - that is one thing I dont like about living here!
One of my pals and I have booked 2 nights at Stobo Castle Health Spa near Peebles. It is total luxury and pampering. the 25 metre pool is ozone treated - no chlorine smell. I just love spending hours swimming around. The hydrospa is so relaxing and there are 3 different levels of steam room. The food is fantastic - not just lettuce leaves! Rich chocolate and wine! We are going for the mud room where you both sit there in paper knickers and smother each other with mud. She has done it before and says that she had adverse reactions in the wind department the next day - maybe I should take a clothes peg for my nose! LOL. We managed to get a summer deal which gives us a free back massage each as well, and then I am also having a full body massage. I am so looking forward to it.
On those thoughts I will sign off for now.

Catch up

It seems like ages since I had the time to blog. I have visited other peoples blogs, but haven't had the urge myself.
I had a really busy weekend as we had our Mixed Open on Saturday - I played at 8.30am and then spent the afternoon helping with the administration of all the scores. When I first left the house I looked up to the hills and saw that they were covered with fresh snow - yes in MAY! The weather was great and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day. Once the scoring was done I could relax with a few G&Ts in the bar. The local winners were one of my ex-junior golfers and his Auntie who only just took up golf fairly recently - she is also the Club Captain's wife. The Captain had said that he would eat his hat if she beat him - so guess what was served as his starter!
On Sunday morning I played my medal as I cant play on thursday. We played at 9.30 and were very fortunate with the weather as about an hour after we got in the heavens opened and the rest of the day remained rather damp. I was really pleased as despite making some silly shots I still ended up with a net 64 which is 2 below par. Fingers crossed that my score holds for thursday - it would be great to win!
Monday came, and I had to get up really early (5am) to go to the office as I had a meeting with my boss and his boss to prepare for an interview I have on Friday. This has come about because our organisation has been going through a process of Job Evaluation. They basicall interviewed a selection of people in different areas of the business across Scotland, then created profiles which should enable managers to match a persons job against them. The grade you get matched against will affect salary. Anyway, when my manager and I met in november we did not totally agree with the matching - he though I was a D and I felt I was a C. We decided that there was nothing to lose by me trying to go for a C as the worst that could happen would be for me to get a D - for once in my life I was actually "going for it" rather than accepting what someone thought. How wrong could we be. The result of this "nomatch" was that the panel decided that I was an E! The process had asked us to fill in a form stating in which areas I thought I matched a higher grade, but we understood that we did not have to fill in the form stating where we agreed on the original matched D grade. SO, next step was to appeal. My boss and I completed a very comprehensive form in which we started off by stating how we had filled in the original nomatch form and that all the managers were behind my appeal. We hoped that the panel would see sense and not make me attend an interview. But again we were wrong, I now have an interview with the panel on friday morning. I hate interviews, I dont interview well, and I am hopeless at selling myself. What I feel is run of the mill is what I need to sell as to non-techies it is not run of the mill. My bosses and I met for 4 hours helping me to prepare for the interview- I just hope that I come across ok.

On a brighter note, we have our Ladies Open on Saturday, once again I am out at 8.30am so that I can get back in and sort out all the scores. The weather forecast is not great at the moment, so fingers crossed for a dry day.

Off to Edinburgh tomorrow afternoon for a meeting for the magazine I have started to edit for the Scottish Community Drama Association - the old editor left and I was asked if I would take on two issues to give them time to find a new editor. I have now been asked if I will continue. I wish I could make a living out of this rather than doing it just for voluntary organisations (OK, I do get a payment for overheads, but this is not a commercial rate). Editing this mag and maintaining their website along with the many others that I maintain voluntarily seems to be taking more time than I first envisaged, but it is great to receive compliments - worth more than dosh!

Ring Tones

I just remembered - I was playing golf on thursday evening and all the birds were trying out their new ring tones!

One bird would go thru so many different tunes that is was like trying out all the ring tones on a new mobile phone! I just had to laugh to myself - all around the course the birds were doing the same thing!

No Golf but Ploughing Match instead

What a wet Saturday. I had to get up before 7am so that I could pick up my friends to travel to Auchterarder for the Ladies Open. The weather on friday night for the junior golf was not good - several turned in after a few holes totally sodden right thru. So things did not look good for us, but we looked at the BBC weather forecast and it said "light showers". The weather here was bearable, but as we travelled down the rain got heavy, the roads were flooded and the roadside fields were beginning to look like lochs! We arrived at Auchterarder and made a run for the club house - to find that the competition had been cancelled! Mixed feelings- we had just travelled for an hour or so and were geared up for golf, but the thought of everything getting sodden wet was not appealing! so we had a coffee and a bacon roll, spent a few pounds on the tombola (and managed to win several prizes!), then made our way to the pro shop where a few more pounds were spent! We made a few detours on the way home, including one to a farm shop where I bought some local strawberries and some hand made soap - lemongrass, camomile & geranium, and lavendar- wonderfull! So now I was home with no plans, so when one of my neighbours said she was going to the local ploughing match I said I would go too. So on went the boots (great look with the cut off shorts! and waterproof jacket) and off we went with dogs in tow. I was thinking of a ploughing match being like a football match only with tractors and ploughs! The match was being held on my friend's farm, there are 2 ploughing areas - one for traditional tractors, and one for modern tractors. Then each area is split into sections - 1 for each ploughman. It was really interesting watching the traditional ploughs, some of them being driven my some of the boys who attend junior golf. They have to plough their section (probably about 20 feet wide) perfectly - dont ask me what all the criteria are, but I think it has something to do with how straight the line is and how the cut sod falls in lines. we spent several hours wandering around watching these men and boys working away oblivious to the weather. Eventually we called the dogs to us (not sure what one of them had been rolling in though!) and made our way home. The ploughing had not finished, but the speed was not part of the criteria for winning! By the time we walked home my legs looked black with mud - well saves on the washing!. Quick change and clean up ( or was that clean up and change), threw the chicken and veg into the oven then nipped next door for a glass of wine.

lovely dinner, followed by strawberries, raspberries and ice cream, now sitting with a glass of wine watching the Joseph programme!

Hope tomorrow brings better weather - would like to get out in the garden for a wee while.

Oh, just remembered - got some purple balls!

Why Do I Live Here...

Why do I live here?
Is it the poor roads, that so often get closed?
Is it the 40 miles to the nearest town?
Is it the snow and the rain and the wind?
Is it the people always ready to chat?
Is it the community always there for the needy?
Is it the clean air, no pollution in sight?
Is it the abundance of activities around?
Is it the golf when you fancy a round?
Is it the kids who appreciate my help?
Is it the views where ever I am?
Lets just be honest... I love where I am.
I can put up with the inconveniences of this rural life
For the quality of life far outweighs all the rest.

Wet Golf

Why is it that whenever I want to do something outside it rains! I took a few hours off work today to play golf with a friend of mine cos she cant leave her husband at night much these days (he has dementia). At the 3rd tee I put up the Caddy Cover to protect my clubs, by the 4th tee I decided to put on my waterproof top and put up my umbrella. The 4th hole was terrible, first shot was wonderful despite the heavy rain, then my ball must have had a rough magnet in it. I got totally flustered with the clutter of having an umbrella to keep putting up and down as I took my shots. I put my sensible head on and relaxed for the next hole - the dyke (wall for those not up on Scottish terms) my ball got over but just off the green, my pal's ball bounced before the dyke and made it over (Jammy!), she then proceeded to do a miraculous putt and ended up with a birdie - jam on jam if you ask me. By the 7th I took off the waterproof (had long abandoned the umbrella!). Just as we finished the 9th hole the heavens opened again. We sheltered for a while under the clubhouse veranda before we bravely set out again. We thought that it would just be a short shower - how wrong we were! The rain just got heavier and heavier but we got on with our game and tried to keep our heads down and our grip on the clubs. By the time we reached the 15th hole I was soaked through to the skin and feeling very cold. Nae hat meant that the rain was running through my hair and my hairstyle was ruined! The 17th fairway was very wet and full of puddles. Our scores were not brilliant, but at least we completed the course, and we did have our very own private golf course as nobody else was mad enough to play!
As soon as I got home I got into a nice hot shower and warm dry clothes!
Now vegging out in front of eastenders with a mug of fruit tea!

Wet Monday

Not much to blog about today. It might be a holiday for most people but not for me, so I have been hard at it all day. Went out for coffee with the regulars this morning - I think we got 9 or 10 of us around the table - the record is 13!
The weather has been wet and windy all day, I felt sorry for the little lambs in the field behind me as they were being battered by the weather! They had their tails docked last week, so they aren't scampering around as much as they normally do.
It's been so cold that I have had to light the fire again - the storage heaters seem to have failed yet again and I have my aunts visiting me - and they feel the cold!
Gave my aunt her first lesson in texting today - a long way to go, but not bad for someone in their 70's! Better get on with entertaining them now.

The Thrush

This little chap (or chappess) visits my garden daily, but I have to make sure he (or she) does not get into the wormery!

Worm update

Had a furtle in the wormery today to make sure that the worms were ok and that the compost was not getting compacted.

I thought I would show some pictures of my worms.

The first picture shows some worm eggs which is good cos I know that they are still breeding well.

May 1st

What a loveley day. Thought the Purple Phlox was gorgeous.
not much time to blog recently, with visitors arriving today I cant see me getting much time in the next week or so either.
Very interesting visit to the wormery at work yesterday - it was amazing to see a mature wormery in action. It gave me a lot of confidence in that what I am doing is OK - but I must make sure that I give the worms a varied diet. Also saw the green cones - these have to be dug into the ground with the cone on top. You can put all kitchen waste in (including meat! - but not in a work situation as that comes under different legislation!) and basically it just improves the soil around the cone. So when it is full you leave it to do it's work, then move it to another location. I guess you would need at least 2 to work efficiently. I think I am going to have another go at composting as well - maybe move one of my daleks to a more sunny spot! Back to work now....

Happy Friday

What a loverly sunny day up here. Thought I would put a bright and sunny flower on this post to represent the day.
Worm check this morning revealed zero worms trying to escape - hurrah!
V V tired from driving back from the Scottish Finals of One Act Plays - arrived home today (just!) - back again tonight and tomorrow. V good plays, adjudicator is throwing red herrings around though. Great to support my pals in their production and they really appreciated it.

temporarily in 'im indoor's office as my office also works as the spare room and my aunts are coming for a visit on tuesday. The house has had it's annual spring clean (good job they come in spring!) and the rubbish bin is full! Mind you, the recycling bin is full of election notices! Wine has been purchased, but forgot the chocolate! horror of horrors! must sit down and recover.

The worms are all escaping

The poor little things are leaving home. Dont know what I have done wrong, but came home late last night and went to tuck them up and found a load of them on the garage floor and in the lid of their home.
Decided that they didnt like some of the food I had given them, so started to remove some of the soggy mass - too much too soon methinks. I did notice that they had been breeding well though and there were lots of baby worms without their breeding rings yet. Chucked in some corrugated cardboard and switched off the light.
Checked on them again at 5am today before leaving for work, only a few had gone to the lid, so maybe it was the putrid food!
I am now hoping that they are OK. Was tempted to leave a key for Mrs WesterWitch to check on them for me, but the little darlings will have to fend for themselves until I return.
Unfortunately, my scheduled wormery viewing at work has been postponed until Monday.

Worms

Looking forward to work tomorrow - one of the Environmental Policy Officers is going to show me how the wormery is doing!!!

I have just started one off at home, but getting worried as there is no worm juice coming out of the bottom! there is a lot of worm poo around the top of the wormery, and there appears to be baby worms trying to escape, so maybe I am doing things OK.

Cant believe how much stuff I have to put in it - too much for the little wormies to eat at the moment though.

Hello World

This is my first ever blog.

probably not the best time of day to start this lark, so now I have it set up I will do the sensible thing and go to bed.

Wizzard