Wet.

I didn't get to sleep until after 3.00 so it was hard to wake up again at 6.00 but instead of doing 3 afternoons at school this week I had been asked to work all of today. Peter leaves a little before me but it was still dark (and wet) when I got into my car. I turned the key, the ignition started and then died away. Oops I thought, I must have been a bit too quick so I tried again. The same thing happened and at that point the air in the car turned blue. I used to have a lot of trouble with the landrover batteries but this micra has been pretty reliable. I tried for a third time and after a half- hearted wheeze it just about got going so I revved up to keep the engine running. I can only think that not turning off the back window heater might have drained the battery. I do hope I'm not going to start getting problems.

At school I worked with the year 2's in the morning and the reception children in the afternoon. I had forgotten that I would be in all day when it was the children's Christmas lunch. Having the whole school crammed into the hall makes for quite a noise. The teachers serve and clear away and in past years they ate with the children. It's now been changed so that the staff eat after all the children have finished. I hadn't booked myself a lunch but there was more than sufficient. I'm not keen on turkey, Brussels sprouts or stuffing but I enjoyed a couple of roast potatoes, peas and gravy. I made the mistake of having some of the carrots. Not only were they tinned and tasteless I had forgotten that what look like baby carrots are machine carved from old big carrots. This all sounds as if I'm picky which I'm not but I am only 1lb short of my Christmas target so I only indulge if it is something I really like. Unfortunately Santa in his helicopter flew over while the children were eating their lunch so for once they missed him.

It continued to rain all day but now the promised storm has arrived. The wind is howling through the trees and around the house and it's raining heavily. At the supermarket I got soaked in the few minutes it took to put my shopping in the back of my car. Today was my last day before the holidays but I'll be going in tomorrow for our little lunchtime do.

Bright and Cold.

The numbing effect of yesterday's injection had completely worn off by this morning.  So no excuse not to make the most of the dry weather and get on with outdoor jobs. We are due some stormy weather for the next few days so I shored up the dam and then got on with demossing the scree garden path. I had to race against the failing light to finish but it is now done. Lots more leaves and moss to clear in the rest of the scree garden but I like the feeling that I have completed one section.

I made some humus today to take to our bring and share lunch at school on Thursday. I made half of it my usual way with lemon and garlic and I got Peter to spice up the other half with extra chilli for those who prefer  a bit of a kick.

Grey.

Today has been another grey and mostly wet day. The lawns are looking a nice shade of emerald mainly due to the moss.

Our day has been spent driving down to Exeter for my spinal block. It was a lovely drive down through the rolling hills of mid-Devon. This is the 'old' road dating back many hundreds of years and it winds around beautiful old farms dotted along the wide river valley. This morning we had to avoid an old farmer walking down from his barn using a pitchfork to carry a bale of hay on his back. At another farm I could see the cows in an open sided barn right next to the road. The river runs through a wide flood plain and I imagine the houses there must be prone to damp. One house, probably made of cob, had a thatched roof that was almost completely covered with green moss. Not an easy house to maintain. The mansions and grand houses are all built higher upon drier ground overlooking the valley. There is also a short stretch where the road runs through a small forested area with its own special character. Although Exeter has some good architecture even the 10 minutes spent skirting round the edge of the city to get to the hospital made me long for our quiet country roads.

I have to admit than when we got to the hospital I grumbled at bit at having been made to go nil-by-mouth. Apparently a lot of people prefer to be sedated for the procedure. I think that must be more out of fear than anything else. The scratch when the local anesthetic is put into your back is no worse than when they stick a cannula in your hand and while the positioning of the needle into the spine does produce an odd sensation down the leg it could hardly be described as painful. Anyway my moaning got me a cup of coffee and 2 mini packets of biscuits. I had a bad headache when we got to the hospital which I put down to my sinuses but as it was much better after a drink I guess I was just dehydrated. I waited nearly 2 hours while my blood pressure etc was taken (red bands because of my mild allergy to bee stings), and then I walked to the operating theatre for the  injection which took 5-10 mins. I was wheel-chaired back because you can feel a little dizzy and as soon as I got someone to bring me my clothes and they checked my blood pressure I was free to go. Back in Barnstaple we stopped at Lidl's and I got some fruit including blueberries which I am going to have on my very late breakfast muesli. My back is stinging a little at the injection site and I have a numb bum. The top of my leg is also numb but the real test is to see if I can sit & lie in bed without the usual pain. The consultant said that there was no point in waiting for another appointment to discuss the result of the injection but if it has the required effect I should ring his secretary and I will be put on the list for surgery. And he said it would be at the private hospital again as the wait is too long at the RDE. 

Wet.

It has been raining all day and I haven't had a chance to get outside. Instead I've had a tidying and cleaning day as well as wrapping up the last of the Christmas presents. I had a good sort out of 2 of the spare rooms and now there is a pile of stuff to drop off at a charity shop tomorrow. As tomorrow will be taken up with going down to Exeter for the spinal block I gave our bedroom an extra clean pulling out all the underbed storage boxes, giving the lids a wipe and then checking to see if I could find any more clothes to get rid of. A big bag of loose polo tops is now waiting to go as I can't see myself wearing them any more. I kept one just in case I ever go riding again and yes I still have 3 pairs of jodhpurs (cream for competing, thermal black for winter and dark blue for everyday) as well as boots and 2 hats though I think our dog ate my schooling whip. So I'm all ready to jump on a horse at a moment's notice should the opportunity arrive. Silly that I don't ride living next door to a stables but the cost is horrendous. I think I should make myself a salad to eat tonight as the hospital sent me the usual nil-by-mouth letter and though having had spinal injections 4 times already I'm certain I won't be having a general anesthetic I don't want to take a chance that it might be different this time. (The letter arrived too late on Friday for me to ring the ward and ask.)

Very Wet.

I had a good evening yesterday. Not in an exuberant wild dancing way but I had some good conversations and a few laughs too. There wasn't a fish option so I had 2 generous slices of roast beef with peas, carrots, a little cauliflower in cheese sauce and some small new potatoes. They do make a tasty extra strong horseradish sauce which hits you at the back of the nose a few seconds after you have eaten it. I did indulge in some profiteroles for dessert as I remembered that last year the white chocolate cheesecake was disappointing. I didn't get home until 1.00 so I felt a bit tired today.

Fred the builder came round early today, took down the old chimney and rebuilt it with Peter's help. They were able to cut down and use one of my garden chimney pots which saved having to go out and buy a new one.

The new chimney is wrapped up against the weather. At least now we don't have to worry about the old chimney falling off. The rain held off until the afternoon so I was able to do some work in the scree garden. Since then it has been raining heavily. Almost like exactly a year ago when all the roads were flooded on our way home from seeing The Hobbit. We have just returned from seeing The Desolation of Smaug and while it was an enjoyable film it did not have the magic of LOTR due to the deviation from Tolkien's plot lines. 

Wet.

The day started by being very gloomy and grey but I simply had to try out my new work gloves. They were nice and warm and I didn't have grubby fingernails after an hour of removing moss from the stones. I left home early so that I could spend an hour in town before an afternoon of teaching. It was raining a little when I got to town but when I was leaving the library it could only be described as monsoon weather. People were getting utterly soaked. I had my jacket but even that got wet through at the shoulders.The library was full of people and school children for some sort of charity fundraising event. There was a table with delicious looking home-made cakes but I resisted not only because of my diet but tonight is the staff Christmas do at the Braunton Hotel which includes a lavish dinner. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there is a fish option because although I love roast beef after so many months of almost no fat I don't want to end up with indigestion. At least I don't have to worry about a gall bladder attack any more. They were horrendous.

This morning's foray into town was successful and all my Christmas presents are now sorted. I got Jack next door a book on dinosaurs. That's usually a good topic for boys of that age. At school I had just started introducing the Christmas decoration activity to the other Year 2 class when  message came round that we all needed to go to the hall for some singing practise. The whole school went through the carols they will be singing at their Christingle Service next week (the one where they hold lit candles stuck in oranges!) It was really sweet to hear them singing. As time was limited and the children are getting tired the decoration activity was optional and for once I let the children use the internet on the class computers. We do use a lot of programs from the web but when they have free rein the children tend to find unsuitable games even through the school filter. I did say that there would be no typing in addresses to get on to YouTube which one boy has worked out how to do.

Now it's time for me to glam up, at least in my limited way, fish out my party sandals with 31/2" heels and spend the evening with my work colleagues. 

Grey.

At this time of the year there is always that pleasant feeling of anticipation when I come home wondering what the postman has left for us. Today there were a couple of cards from friends and a soft parcel. It took  a few moments before I remembered the gardening gloves I had bought on line. Very welcome they are too as my current job of rubbing moss off the stones in the scree garden has almost destroyed my current gloves. It will be good not to have to scrub away the dirt that ges in through the holes in the fingertips. Next stop for those gloves is the bin.

It is still mild but today there were no pretty skies, just plain old grey which turned into rain on my way home. I spent the afternoon with one of the Year 2 classes. Having finished the work on mud huts I thought we would carry on with a bit more DT. I even have a lesson plan which says that the children are learning to make 3d shapes out of 2d shapes. Translated that meant they were making semicircles into cones and decorating them as angels, Santas, trees or bells to use a Christmas decorations.  (There's an art to writing up planning.) The children enjoyed the afternoon and then after school they had a disco in the hall. Still in their school uniforms but they were excited anyway. I think they will be wearing their own clothes for the class Christmas parties next week. I didn't have to stay for the disco and so was out by 3.45. I was home nice and early and after I had done my exercises I had fun going through some of my boxes of clothes to see which trousers fit me now I have nearly reached my goal weight. Best of all was finding trousers that were far too big. But I shan't be throwing them out because I might need them one day. Maybe that's the wrong attitude but I come from a very poor background and have been taught to be thrifty. I am looking hard for clothes to give to the charity shop and hopefully there'll be a few more items to give away.l