Resourcefulness: The budgeter's friend

Toni'sfriend

Sending you my very best wishes, Foxgloves.

Sun_Addict

Thinking of you and hope you’re getting treatment. Get well soon 🙏

KajiKita

Accessing care through A&E is a tough slog, having been through it with Mr KK’s issues recently I know. But, once you are ‘in the sausage machine’ you can ride the process until you come out the other end. 

I second the comment about being very clear to what procedure you are consenting to. 

Sending hugs,

KK x

teapot2

Thinking of you and hoping you are able to find away forward that works for you x

marionmgcars

Take care x

Kantankrus_Mare

Just popped in to catch up..........sending good vibes Foxgloves and hope you soon get sorted. XX

thriftmonster

Thinking of you - hope all is well

foxgloves

Hello Dear Diary Readers,
Thank-you so much for all your kind wishes, comments, thoughts on nighties, uteruses (or should that be uteri?) & everything else. I have read them all & felt grateful to have such support from people who I have never even met IRL. More evidence of what a nice supportive community we are on here.
I don't intend to go into the ins & outs of my pesky uterine problems, but I do just want to say that re the subject of hysterectomy V alternative options, this has been a very longstanding problem for me (30 years) & I have kept myself well-informed of the various alternative treatments available, & have experienced some of them. From a 'women's issues' point of view, I am also well aware of the way that hysterectomy has been used in the past as the go-to routine option, & I certainly remember a couple of really thoughtless comments back in the 1990s from senior male gynae consultants. However, unless the current flare-up settles down, I think I have run out of road & just want the whole damn lot gone. My intention is to speak to my Dr after Easter & ask to be re-referred.
Oh dear, this post is already more medical than I intended........
The A&E staff were lovely. The gynae flare-up caused some knock-on (unrelated) symptoms which really worried me as potentially being an emergency & I decided that rather than do the 8am phone queue, 'might get a phone call, might not' thing with my surgery, to ask Mr F to drive me to A&E. We hear such negative things about attending A&E. Maybe it was the time of day (early) but I was 2nd in the queue at reception, saw the triage nurse within 10 mins of sitting down & was 2nd in the queue to be seen by the Primary Care team. They were lovely, so helpful & concerned & they LISTENED. This makes such a difference. I was thoroughly examined & both senior nurses concurred that this episode does indeed look like a flare-up of the old gynae issue. They were reassuring about the knock-on problem about which I'd been so worried & recommended some treatments which are underway. They also followed up the ongoing backache & fevery symptoms over the weekend by dispatching me off with that well known little cardboard dish & lidded tube.....& guess what, I have a kidney infection too! So they prescribed anti-bios for that. They also said that their policy is to get a letter off to my GP the same day saying that they've seen me, so that when I go in, he will be up to date with my woes. I actually took an overnight bag with me as was so worried about the other problem, I thought they might admit me, but they were able to calm down my worst fears, which I know were heightened because of the medical emergency which ended up killing my Mum & also resulted in very near death for my Nana - I don't want to be the 3rd generation iyswim. It was lovely to come home again & Mr F, who took an emergency day off work went straight into town to pick up my prescription, other suggested medicines & also some hot cross buns. 
Still not feeling great, but am trying to be positive. I've been pottering about doing little bits & pieces as sitting down is actually more uncomfortable atm than gentle movement. Hot water bottles are earning their keep, as usual with anything of this nature. Money saving wins today have been:
*Did Monday's delayed budget updates. 
*Put up my Easter tree. No new decorations required & haven't been anywhere to be tempted. The base is always some tall-ish garden twigs arranged in a large floral glass jug, then I hang my decorations on & finish it off with green tulle ribbons, tied on like the offerings you see at pagan shrines. It does look pretty. And free,
*Received some Easter chocolate in the post from my sis, which as we don't intend to be undoing all the good work on the weight-loss, will mean we will need to buy very little, if anything.
Oh, & not money saving, but a positive result on a recent potentially problematic issue.......our neighbour loved our alternative solution to his planned changes to our adjoining garden boundary & has made a good start on implementing the work. I was pleased to see it start so early as it will mean that I will be able to get on with planting up my summer borders in a normal timescale without risking losing plants to workmen. There will be no cost to us.
And a couple of replies:
@KajiKita - I don't know why the Flake Test is so named, as it has always seemed to me very much to be a 'drip test'. It's simplicity itself & just provides an extra little back-up for the saucer test. Once you are noticing that your saucer test samples of jam are starting to wrinkle, introduce the flake test as well. You dip the wooden spoon in the jam, letting most of it run off, until there's just a single drip left, then hold it still, away from the heat for a couple of minutes to see if it sets. If you end up with a little sticky drip of jam which stays on the edge of the spoon without plopping off, that's another sign that your jam is ready.
@Suffolk_lass - Thanks for the link to the nighties. Pretty, I think they'd be a bit too long for me, being very much a short-a*se. I tend to get tangled up in longer stuff. I prefer to sleep in the buff tbh, but defo not an option in hospital!! Was briefly on a mixed ward once in our major city centre hospital.....never again!! In the end (because of the price), I just ordered one, from the Marine-Condiment people, which looks longer than the stuff I already own.
Well, Mr F has just arrived home a little early & has insisted he's cooking dinner. That suits me. I am going to make a hot water bottle, write my journal & start my next library book. I don't feel very hungry, but could fancy a jacket potato with crumbled feta & sliced avocado, so he's making me that......& I am pretty sure from the sounds I can hear coming up from the kitchen, that there's an Epic Man Stew under construction!
Ah well, that's my day.......& an update on the general state of your frugal friend,
Foxgloves xx

Humdinger1

Welcome back @foxgloves! We have all been missing you!! As ever, you have it all under control. So wonderful to have you back love Humdinger xx 

Four_Seasons

 lovely to have you back Foxgloves, sending love and gentle hugs xx