Parafin Shower (by sarah)

Today has been stupidly hectic starting with dropping Jean off at nursery via convoys of cars due to the amount of road works going on enroute. Then to the shopping for food as I had forgotten several essentials such as more musili etc... Then home in time to discuess stuff with electricians and tunnel repairers, make lunch, I did start making dinner but somehow got distracted.

Then off to Stayte Services in Stroud to get our gas canisters refilled which was kinda urgant as at the moment its the only heating the Bakery has. i asked Barbara if she wanted anything and she said she'd like some parrafin from the Green Shop as they sell it 'loose' ie you can refill your own canister. So off we went - and after asking some confused people in the actual shop found that it was in the fuel part and was infact in the pump stand with the red diesal. This was where things really started to go wronge!

I don't drive therefore I do not use the pumps and therefore I managed to cover Dad in parafin getting the pump down from its cradle - it was alot heavier than I was expecting and I had trouble holding it. Still that wasn't too bad and we poked it into the canister and I squeezed the trigger and it thrummed to life - then I was fretting that I wouldnt know when it was full but Dad reconned it would have an automatic cut off - and sure enough it went thunk.

So....

I pulled it out of the canister and it was still glugging parafin - all over dad and all over the pump!

On top of that Dad had managed to park in the car lot where they where selling cars instead of in the shops car park and he dissappeared whilst I went to pay. I couldn't use my card as the transaction was under a fiver but I was apound short in cash so I had to leave the shop to track dad down. Grudgingly he gave me the quid and then it turned out I did have enough and now had about a pounds worth too much - this was becuase the lady had accidently told me 3 instead of 2 when I first went in as the sun was shinning on the display that told her how much too charge!

They let dad try and clean himself up in their toliets and then we had to chuck sand in the puddles of parafin and I was highly embarrassed especially as I managed to drop all my 'shrapnal' all over the floor - with it rolling under freezer units and shelves and everything and as it was all the money I had to pay with it all had to be retrieved - oh well!

I think I must have been over tired yesturday as I also managed to burn myself and blow the fuse box several times whilst attempting to cook dinner yesturday resulting in dinner being served about 9 o'clock :/

Of Bits Going Festy! (by sarah)

Unfortunatly though mum has mostly come through the radiotherapy ok the scar under her bust which had healed so fantastically has since become singed by the radiation and a thin uncomftable red wet line has taken over when the scar had been. This plus an absis has ment that she has had to go back on antibiotics and she is now at risk of cross infection 🙁

I am currently suffering from a bizar 'festy belly button' I am washing it out at least twice a day and yet it is still weeping a smelly liquid which I really don't like - it keeps happening and the pattern is wearing slightly tight trousers with a high nylon content :/ Everytime this happens and then it takes about a month to go away completely - so strange and probably not something you all wanted to hear about but never mind 🙂

Ella’s Visitd (by sarah)

My friend Ella visited this week which has been great fun - someone who is both scientific and artistic such a relief. I find that I am stuck between two words most of the time - those who think artistically not necassarily not what I call scientific in mind but just not scientifically trained and so emmersed in the world of arty creativity that it is hard to have a technical convosation with them as they don't know the lingo as it where. Or I have Alaric who can talk to me about how black wholes work and talk about scifi until the cows come home (which is normally abolut once a year when someone leaves a gate open round here!) but always responds with either - 'I don't understand poetic stuff' or 'its great wifey wrote it!'

I miss having coffee with Ella on an almost daily basis as we did in the latter parts of degrees and as part of her PhD and my stint at the Natural History Museum. We didn't get enough photography in nor anywhere near enough writting but this was mainly due to the whole issue of moving furniture from the house and the fact that I managed to be quiet sick on Tuesday and had a meeting on Monday night - sigh - everything just happened to clash this week.

I'm hoping that once I have the house sorted again she will want to come for more - this time proper - writting holidays 🙂

Ouch :( (by sarah)

This morning at the slightly more humane hour of 9:45 am I went to the Drs to get more pain killers on the advise of the physio - tank me up so that I can get muscles moving and stuff agian.

I thought this would be a simple quick appointment - no! First of all no repeat prescription as chronic pain etc... puts me in a high suicide risk catagory :/ Then to being prodded and poked enough to put my left foot into spasm. Once that was over I get informed that my mysterious hernia lump thing isn't being followed up as there's no point and am sent on my merry way with a prescription for stomache linners and strong anti inflamitories.

The numbness and tingling I get which has been ignored for two years is suddenly of huge concern to both the dr and the physio - in the past I was just informed that it was due to the epidural and the sensation may never come back - the tingling and pins and needles in my hands and feet every morning occured before the pregnancy but where no where near as bad. I can't help but feel angry and sad with my body at the moment.

They asked me what I do at the moment and I said mostyly look after Jean and make websites. I actually got, 'well the back problems wont affect making the websites much.' But then I pointed out I had a two year old!

They also asked if it was affecting any pass times or hobbies - I snapped a bit at this point and said 'Well I am supposed to be a geologist.' And then pointed out that I was a climbing and archery instructor and love hill walking - I didnt even get a chance to mention the Scouts before they decided it all needs to be sorted out in that case :/

Sorry I'm not being all cheerful guys - I just feel abit like everything is against me at the moment - still if I do succeed at stuff it'll make an interesting biography 😉

Physio resumed (by sarah)

This morning at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am I had a physiotherapy appointment - the one for when I hurt my back in the autum. It turns out that becuase I am young there is still alot of water on the discs in my back making them prone to being squeezed out of place - the disc sort of popped out a bit and that was what cuased the pain. It gets worse when I sit for more than fifteen minutes or bend over too much (this is nuaghty bending from the waist rather than simply crouching) This is becuase those actions are pushing the disc back out where as the excersises I stole from my seperated pelvis excersises and walking help push it back in.

Unfortunatly the physio said that the muscles have all really spasmed around it so that I manipulation would put me out of action for too long so its the slowely slowely approach. Also apparently part of my lower spine is ridged and not flexing at all - this she said is probably just the way I am but that it needs sorting.

The stretches she did to test how bad things where tended to hurt and put pressure on my knees which lead to a discussion on that. I had been told back at Chelsea and Westminster hospital that I had refered pain from my lower back damage but the Physio said she thought there was actually something wronge with the knee joints themselves. This as you can imagine didn't exactly cheer me up. We desided that as they only hurt properlly once or twice a week unless its really cold its not currently worth worrying about.

She was suprised that I had such good range of movement considering how spasmed the muscles are and the pain I'm in but I pointed out I do my excersises still especially when things are really bad - I pointed out I'd had the pain management stuff in London. She nodded then asked me lots more questions including stuff about other joints.

So many of my joints have become unstable - though I dont really know what that means. I am in for more grulling and painful physio and this time its hourly for one excersise, two hourly for others and twice daily for yet more - plus pacing walking so as not to activate the pelvis which still decides to click painfully if I do too much - sigh.

Poor Ella got dragged to the appointment with me at stupid o'clock but went into PAinswick to photograph things - we then walked back to Cranham which I think was two and something miles but I may be wronge.