OS ways and Poor Health

Lynplatinum

Evening All

(((Hugs))) Lame Wolf - as you know I am a dog person who has lost woofs in her life. It is so sad, bless you. Knowing you I am sure they had the most loving doggie sitter in the world. If there truley is a Rainbow Bridge when you get to the other side of it you will be mugged by furry bundles of delight with wagging tails. Its a great job you do befriending all these creatures.
They are very theraputic - one day soon (Spring) I hope to be rescuing another one of my own. It will make me go walkies and be a friend.
Take care.

LameWolf

Thank you all. :A

I've had sixty different dogs through my front door in the seven years I've done dog-sitting. One tries not to have favourites; but Bailey really was something special.

One time I put him and his cohort Cassie into the back garden (it's all fenced in with a six-foot fence, so perfectly safe) so that I could vacuum, and the next thing I knew they were standing side-by-side in the lounge doorway, positively smirking at me. Bailey could open doors, if they had lever-style handles, and he'd opened the back door so that they could come back inside! Another time, I'd made vegetarian toad-in-the-hole with Marmite gravy for our dins, and Bailey was drooling so much at the smell of the food that I had to get a cloth and wipe his mouth!

I don't really have many RL human friends - and none who live anywhere near me, so my canine friends mean the world to me.

Mr LW has been for his flu jab this morning - he's over 65 so qualifies on age, but he got them for free before due to being my Carer. Bless him, he's tackling the ironing at the moment. :A Then we gear up in waterproofs and take current guests Charlie and Harvey (Cocker Spaniels) for their 2nd of 4 walks for today.
We're managing them by having Harvey walk with me (using the mobility buggy) - we can zip ahead if Harvey feels so inclined, and Charlie goes with Mr LW - Charlie's elderly, and has a bad back (slipped disc in 2013) so he's a tad slower, and it means he can pootle along at his own pace without Harvey getting impatient if we have a dog each.

CurlyTop

Hi

Hugs to LW on the loss of Bailey. We do become very attached to our pets. So much so, that when we lost the last of our two dogs many, many years ago, we never had any more. The heartbreak is too much. Lots of happy memories but too sad to bear when they go.

Next week sees the start of my reduction to a three day working week due to my health getting a little worse. I've been making plans in earnest. I always meal plan for the month and then weekly fresh top up but I'm gonna try weekly meal planning in the hope that I can bring my shopping down. At the mo, it's set at £200 for food and toiletries for myself and DH, but it's been creeping up because I've become a little relaxed when I'm worn out.

I'm having a go at no book buying for the year, unless they come via gift vouchers (if I'm lucky enough to receive any that is). I rejoined the library this morning. I have a recurring problem with my eye (iritis) that sees me in A&E every 6-8 weeks. This weekend I had a cyst on my eyeball that was driving me batty. Went to A&E and they popped the fluid with a little needle. I'm on drops as they've said my eye seems to be dry a little.

So, in the spirit of trying to improve my health, I've decided that I'm going to try and cut down on my internet time. I spend 8 hours a day in work on the computer, then I read a kindle sometimes on the way home and then my tablet in the evening - you jump on with the intention of maybe just looking at something specific and 2 hours later, you're still there. I'm hoping a more focussed break will help. Can't give up my kindle but am hoping that a little break away will help things.

Added to which, the reduction to a 3 day week - for me to spoil myself for once, my DH says - I'm really looking forward to what's around the corner. I'm also hoping that I will feel the benefits health wise from not being in 4 days a week.

Hubby is away next week so I'm using up any old things in the freezer. I'd forgotten some pasta sauces that I'd made too much of, so guess who's eating pasta for three days next week. Ha ha.

Hugs to all who need them. x

Nicki

I'm a big reader too, Curlytop so I sympathise with your eye problems. Have you thought about perhaps downloading some books of the kind you'd ordinarily read from audible and listening to them on your commute and resting your eyes even for a few weeks to see if that helps with the dryness and eye strain?

I sometimes download things I may not have the patience or concentration to read and listen to them instead (e.g. I'm listening to something on neurobiology at the moment which is fascinating but maybe a bit dense for me as a non scientist to read. I can listen to chapters or extracts as many times as I need to, and pause to think things through, and am finding it surprisingly enjoyable). When I've been really poorly I've sometimes found my kindle and paperbacks too heavy to hold, and have listened to lighter stuff then as well which has been enjoyable in a different way to reading.

LameWolf

Curly top will the reduction in days working mean a reduction in travel costs? When Mr LW retired (last March), our monthly petrol bill reduced by about 90%

candygirl

So sorry about Bailey LW As uou know, we lost Candy in Aug, n although she is irreplaceable, we are getting amother staffy pup called Bonnie in 2 weeks. I can't wait :j:j

Prinzessilein

I have been AWOL for a few days!....there has been a bit going on...

I live in sheltered accommodation, in a 2nd floor flat.Last week, the lift broke down (Again!)...and that means taking the stairs - each floor is connected by 3 flights of stairs with a twist after each flight - who designed this?????? everyone here is either old and/or disabled!...6 flights was a bit much, so I was housebound for a couple of days. (Lift broke down, was repaired, broke down half an hour later, then there was the weekend....)

Anyway....Mum also lives in sheltered housing - in a block opposite mine. She has a ground floor flat. The flat next to hers has become available ...and I have applied for an exchange!

Moving will be stressful - but a ground floor flat is becoming a necessity...I will just have to wait and see whether the council accept my request. As a woman of faith, I will just accept whatever decision they make - if God wants me to move, then the application will go through!

I have also found the sudden drop in temperature is causing muscle aches...so I have got my wheat-bags ready....lovely and easy to heat in the microwave (safer for me than water bottles!) and sheer bliss against my back!

CurlyTop

Hi

Nicki: I'll be honest, I'm not a lover of audio book. DH loves them and many a time we've had them on in the car (well when we had one, that was) on the way to somewhere far away but I kept finding my mind drifting out the window at scenery etc and was losing my place in the story.

I've started reading one of the two books I got from the library yesterday and I'll be honest, I can feel the benefit already, in that I can read for longer. Just got to conquer the weight of the book now!!! Kindle is so good for that. I think it'll be kindle going to work - 18 minutes on the train there and the same on the way home but a real book at home.

Which brings me to the question LameWolf asked. Yes, the reduction in days will bring a reduction in travel costs but I'll be honest it's one I'm gonna struggle with - not the cost side, oh no. At present my travel pass for the year is £783 (mild by comparison to those of you down south I know) you pay for 10 months but get 12. This gives me unlimited travel on the train and the bus. My ticket is primarily for the train to work but I do look after a relative and use the bus to get there. My employer offers a ticket advance that I choose to pay back in 10 payments from my wages. The two free months drop in just before Christmas which is like having a council tax free 2 months just before the man in the red suit arrives :T

I'll admit I didn't use it every Friday and Saturday when I was off but I would use it about once per month. Where it really benefited me, wasn't so much the train travel but when I got off the train of an evening, there is a bus that leaves from the terminus. On the days when I feel pants, I take the bus for 2 stops. They aren't close together stops either and one stop crosses an exceptionally busy dual carriageway. So I am gonna miss that bit. Although to be fair, the train time changed by 2 minutes which means there's only 1 of the 3 buses per hour, I manage to catch lately, if you get my drift.

It will mean me walking home from the train station but to be honest, I can't justify the costs. I've sat and crunched the numbers and even looked at the option of purchasing a train only ticket but whats the point, I'll be paying for 2 days I won't be travelling and then there's my holidays to come off, which next year will rise to 6 weeks.I'll be having an extra 52 days holiday anyway by dropping a day, as DH says and that will more than compensate. Remind me of that when I'm tackling the rain. Oooh the one weather element I hate. I'll take any of the others, just not rain. Ha ha.

So tomorrow sees the start of the first week at 3 days, which couldn't come at a better time. I', really struggling with tiredness at the moment. I seem to find the 4-6 weeks before the clocks change in the autumn, is always a struggle for me. It's been like this for a few years now. Does anyone else have that problem. I average about 4 hours sleep in total, oh and I'm dreaming the most bizarre dreams.

The dream the other night ...... I broke into one of those bags that you see the securicor men carrying from their van to shops. Inside was £1,000,000 in new £5 notes. I didn't want it for myself and so I asked DH what to do with it. He came up with the idea of giving it away to people. But how and where? Card factory - don't ask why, but there I was in Card Factory shop giving away £5 notes to random strangers until the shop became so busy, I was asked to leave. What on earth that dream signifies is beyond me. Bizarre.

Well that's me off for the night. Going to make a cuppa before strictly.

Have a good night all and may our aches and pains lessen. x

NewShadow

CurlyTop wrote: »

Which brings me to the question LameWolf asked. Yes, the reduction in days will bring a reduction in travel costs but I'll be honest it's one I'm gonna struggle with - not the cost side, oh no... I can't justify the costs. I've sat and crunched the numbers and even looked at the option of purchasing a train only ticket but whats the point, I'll be paying for 2 days I won't be travelling and then there's my holidays to come off, which next year will rise to 6 weeks.

Have you considered looking into a lift share?

https://liftshare.com/uk

Don't know where you're based, but I found it good (before I decided to move closer to work).

I found one through work - I asked around who lived near me and if I could chip in for petrol in return for a seat - but I've known some people that use this site, and it seems to work for them.

CurlyTop

New Shadow

That's a great idea car share but not for me I think. Whilst in the main I'm fairly chipper, at the end of the day my chipper has normally got up and gone so I prefer to sit in peace and quiet. Not sure that makes me a good passenger. For 18 minutes journey time it's not too bad. Parking in city centre is expensive so lots of co workers are on public transport. Thanks for the suggestion though, really thoughtful of you. X