Flying solo

*Robin*

Hello Diary, and dear faithful MSE friends,

First I must apologise to Ani; you were right - I misunderstood what you were saying and I am so, so sorry that I reacted the way I did.
Of course it is a situation I have been put into many times recently; one of the problems of living in two places part-time is that sometimes ages can pass between seeing a particular friend. In fact last Saturday I crossed paths with three mates who didn't even know that PC had been ill, because they weren't here last spring..
Those were three very difficult conversations; perhaps it was as well that all three were men, so despite their shock nobody burst into tears. A sympathetic hug I could cope with; tears would honestly have been too much..

Ani I will get round to sending you a pm, I promise - please don't abandon me - but it will have to wait because Life has thrown me a curve-ball today:

Last night we were close to the eye of the storm so the winds were terrific; this morning I opened the door to see that my wonderful recycled fence construction has been absolutely flattened! ..All my hard-won effort last week wasted so I've had to shut Blind Dog into the patio for his own safety, which is obviously only an acceptable solution for a couple of hours. Although it's the last thing I feel like doing now, I've got to go and buy more materials (the section built with the wire fencing acquired last Saturday is still mostly intact; at least I know that method works).

All of the boys who are within reach, are too busy to help today; really I am grateful that in an area where one in four people are unemployed, my lot all have good jobs which are making a positive difference to the local economy. Thinking about it, I cannot bring to mind any other local youngster who'd just be sat at home twiddling their thumbs - therefore available to help me today.

Sooo, I have [another] date with DH's sledge-hammer. My nemisis. Still, I found a short woman's way of making it a little bit easier to wield the wretchedly heavy thing, getting it to strike the top of five foot poles; stand on a chair!

It's probably just as well that no-one will be taking 'photos of my antics. :rotfl:

Be Lucky and Chev, forgive me but I must go and do this; will respond to your comments when am on the other side of my task [and have recovered somewhat].

fallenwiccan

Good luck getting it all fixed *Robin* I'll be thinking of you and the dogs.

HeadAboveWater

Gutted.com Must be so frustrating after all your hard work! Nature can be very tough and unsympathetic sometimes!

Sure you can't sneak in a pic of you on the chair wielding a sledge hammer?!?

Fudgefund

Hey

I've just caught up with your diary since my MSE break, sounds like you're having a rough time at the moment.

If it's any comfort I think your resolve in the face of adversity is amazing. If it was my fence that had been blown over I'd have just crawled back into bed.

I know this is trite, but please take things in your own time and don't feel under pressure to sort everything out at once. You take all the time you need.

chevalier

Hey Robin, you can only do your best. Boo hiss about the fence. I am sorry there is no one there to help you though. Pity you can't just get some contractors in to do it for you. Help the economy a bit. But my guess is that they might not have the sense of urgency you do.

chev

*Robin*

Good morning Diary and dear MSE friends, :hello:

It will be a very quiet day here after yesterday's exertions. Yes, the fence is up, and it stayed put as the storm travelled east (which meant another battering from fearsome winds).

The job is not finished - tangled wreckage from my first effort still lies in a heap outside the completed enclosure - but I decided that could wait until a stronger person is available to help sort it out.

chevalier wrote: »

Robin does your family know you have ME? The only reason I ask is that they seem to think that you can cope with moving to another country, sorting out a house, managing what is it 4 dogs now? without much regular support or even phone calls?

Of course they know - the youngest members cannot remember a time before I fell ill with what turned out to be ME. Yes, there was concern about me doing the journey alone - but it's a run I've done many times (van is well prepared ). Daft Dogs are used to it too - they love the fact that every time the door opens they have a completely new set of scents to explore.
And I'm not without support here; skype is much used and one of the boys 'phones almost every day - it just happened that yesterday's task could not wait and they were all busy. It would have been the same with a contractor - next week; of course. Immediately? No chance!

Anyway it's done. Today am paying in pain and befuddlent, in fact it's rather hard to write - catch you later folks, am back to bed for a while until the meds kick in..

*Robin*

Good morning Diary, :hello:

Don't remember much about yesterday. The pinnacle of achievement was managing to cook dinner which was enough effort.

My visitor of two days ago has passed on her bug. After hugging me effusively when she arrived, she then proceeded to relate at length how ill she and her child had been over the last week..
This is the kind of problem that plagues folk with ME. Even family and friends who know I've got it, just don't think. This is why I chose to live in an isolated field, rather than staying at DH's village houses. <sigh>

So another quiet day today; a little light gardening perhaps and maybe try and finish my on-line xmas shopping because I've already blown today as an NSD by ordering Clever Dog a seat-belt lead (now I've got all the dogs back again she has to sit in the front of the van if we all go out together - which is illegal unless she's restrained). Used to have one but no idea what happened to it, and don't want to give the traffic police an excuse to escort me to a cash machine of their choice (the offence carries a 60€ instant fine :eek: ).

fallenwiccan

Get well soon Robin, it's awful that people just don't think. I didn't see my boyfriend for a good few weeks last year because I was ill and his Mam was undergoing cancer treatment, I was terrified to make her ill or him ill and then he passed it on.

*Robin*

Hello Diary, :hello:

Blink, and it is Monday.

Thanks for your good wishes Fallenwiccan, and well done for your thoughtfulness last year - I bet that was appreciated by your BF's family. ..Wish there were more like you around.


The Nest has again been battered by storms over the past few days, enforcing timely isolation during the battle with my young friend's bug. Stocks of honey and echinacea are now somewhat depleted, but to good effect. Thanks Be.

On the down side; xmas chocolate stash and bank account are also sadly depleted - baad Robin!

However, on the up side; think that's xmas just about prepared - as much as I intend to get involved with this year anyway.

If the weather carries on like it has been, Daft Dogs and I will not risk the roads - it's the perfect excuse. ..Had already decided that I would prefer a day of quiet contemplation, as opposed to attending the family feast (it will be one of the big "firsts" - first xmas without DH - so I don't want to bring down the festive mood but also don't want to feel obliged to banish thoughts of DH on what will be a poignant day for me).

Hmm. :think:

*Robin*

Good morning Diary,

Blind Dog woke me up at 5am, in great distress because he couldn't open the door by himself. It turned out that I hadn't heard him soon enough; by the time the cleaning up was done, sleep had fled.

So begins a new day. I have been watching BD closely since bringing him home; the vet's medication is helping, but not as much as I'd hoped. It looks like the effect wears off about six hours before the next pill is due - he spends part of every day in pain. The rest of the time he appears happy and relaxed, but I suspect that I am going to have to call out the vet in the not too distant future if BD isn't pain-free by the time he's finished this course of pills. At just turned sixteen he's now completely blind, almost deaf and very arthritic, so there is only one more thing that modern veterinary medicine can do for him, alas.

DH's Dog also has arthritis, so she's on a course of the same pills. The difference between them underlines my realisation that BD will not be with us for much longer. Old Auntie has started coming for walks again; bouncing and playing with the others, skipping up and down the steps with no evidence of discomfort (she is a year older than BD).

I spent much of yesterday thinking about the dogs, while out in the garden. The last storms caused a fair bit of damage to my terrace walls, but luckily I hadn't yet planted anything where most of the largest rocks ended up. Interestingly, although sections of the walls collapsed, the terrace above has stayed put - which is good news.

In the wider locality there were landslides, chunks of roads washed away, and lots of houses flooded in the village below. In fact pretty much everyone living near a river in this area has been affected by flooding..

I cannot help worrying about the community of illegals camped up behind the beach next to the river-mouth, living in tents and cane shelters. I fervently hope they had time to get to higher ground and find sanctuary. But if they didn't, it probably won't even be reported.

Times have changed. Ever since I've been visiting this area, there have always been beggars outside the shopping centres. They used to be illegals from Africa, then East European Romany mommas with a hoard of kids apiece, but now the man who wants to save customers the bother of returning their trolley to the dock [and retrieving each captive euro] is Spanish, as is the woman sitting outside the doors with her hand outstretched and pleas on her lips..

The social security system here is much harsher than in the UK. I don't know much about it as foreigners are expected to look after themselves, but believe that such financial support as is available to those who do qualify, is time-limited and dependant on contributions.

Evictions are becoming common-place in the city, where the unfortunate families who can no longer pay their rent are forced to move in with family or friends, or squat in unfinished buildings left over from the boom years.

What is happening to humanity?
It's no surprise that so many desperate people want to immigrate to the UK.
..And here am I, giving love and attention to, worrying about, and spending money on a decrepit old dog.

Hmm. <LBM?> What can I do? Lavishing love and resources on BD is ok as long as similar effort is focussed somewhere else where it is needed.

Plus, I need a project to break a block - am finding it very hard to progress the dour task of sorting out the Spanish version of probate for DH; shutting down his life here and transferring paperwork.
The finality of it all hits anew every time I try and work on it.
I should be putting money aside to pay the death duties too - the bill for that is likely to arrive without much warning.

Still have not plucked up courage to visit DH's cottages - must do that soon as visitors are expecting to stay there at xmas so they'll need a good clean, stocking with food, and warming up. Repairs may be needed first of course, if the rooves weren't up to keeping out the storms..

chevalier wrote: »

I would be very upset if my elderly relatives struggled on alone

Ahem! How old do you think I am, Chev?