Egypt4u

Was out to pottery today. It is raining now but it has been extremely dark all day long. Looked like it was going to snow big time. Now that I'm home and watching the TV News I'm seeing that it IS snowing heavy up the mountains which means the ski hill will be open (maybe) for Christmas.

@Mad Dylis
Are you sure it isn't MT? Perhaps his fortune has run out and he is back on the tools

@LovelyLadyLux
I follow your weather reports LLL and by coincidence they seem to match my weather here in SE UK. Interesting! Your last report is exactly todays weather AND we have also had first snow up country....

Yesterday I suggested our ski hill might be open by Christmas. Reports say it'll probably be open this weekend! We always need to get lots of snow otherwise we don't have sufficient water to get through the summer. Weather looks better today in that it isn't raining and maybe hopefully possibly the sun might come out.

Today the back patio should be finished (will be nice to have a spot to put a picnic table) and I'm also off to the Doctors to see if he'll give me a cortisone shot in my hip. Been doing physio now for about 16 months. Deep intra muscle accupuncture along with ultrasound. I seem to have an inflamed bursa and nothing is moving it. It manifests in sharp pain particularly if I just stand. I'm better walking but soon as I stop and stand I can't. Really hoping the Doctor can hit the spot.

I hear you loud and clear, LLL! I'm finding that I can only stand at the frame and quilt for two hours at a time now. Then I have to go 'walkabout' because my knees lock.

Good news from me for a change - my brother was actually brought back to the local hospital yesterday and discharged today! He is now safely ensconced in his own home and feeling much better by being so!

So glad about your brother Ruby - so sorry about your knees though.

RS Glad to hear your brother is home & doing well .

@RS - super glad and happy your brother is home. He will now do so much better being in his own home, familiar surroundings and without the smells/sights/noises etc of hospital.

As for me and my trip to the Doctor to get a cortisone shot - as I predicted to myself it was a waste of time in that all I got was a referral from my Doctor to another Doctor here who will call me a some point over the next few MONTHS to schedule an appointment which will also happen a few months out! And IF I am not available at the exact time they call and have an opening I'm outta luck.

I'm not too bad if I'm walking but trying to stand is awful. I volunteered at the Blood Donor Clinic last month for a 2 hours shift and after 1 hour I was gimping and kneeling on the chairs and sitting when I could as the pain just shoots through my back and down my leg to the point that I really can't do much other than dream of getting home to sit in my chair on a bag of ice.

Much sympathy coming your way. LLL

@MD - Thanks I just keep plugging on. Walking is ok but standing just can't happen particularly if it is a concrete floor. That is like sudden death but hopefully SOON a shot of cortisone will fix me.

I think I posted a before photo but I'm darned if I can find it ........so this it the backyard before:



And this is what it looks like now. Landscaper finished yesterday afternoon. This is the middle section of the backyard under red maples and all the pine needles from the evergreens blow onto this. I spend my days picking germinated seedlings and weeds. Hopefully now I"ll be able to sweep and there won't be nearly as many seedlings to pull. I'm also thinking picnic table for this area. Chairs and tables on the pea gravel were not stable at all (the gravel was about 4" deep) but this area will give an outside area to sit on. Not that you can see that well but the ground also kinda rolled down (wasn't flat). The Landscaper made it a very short wall so now I'll have to think what will grow there.

That looks very neat and tidy LLL

I have an eye appointment and injection at 3 pm today so #1 son and his wife are picking us up and we will have a pub lunch before my appointment. I have mentioned in the past that a year ago they changed the AMD clinic arrangements from the hospital, which was very convenient, to Sunday appointments at Herne Bay, which is certainly not convenient. As I don't drive any more and there is no public transport on Sundays we have to rely on family to help out. A return taxi would be £50 which I object to.
At least Mrs G will be relieved of the cooking chore today

LLL , It's looking nice

Grandad , Hope all goes well with your injection and enjoy your pub lunch

Thanks - having it paved over is/should/will save all the weed picking although as red maples command a pretty penny when they're about 12" high here it had crossed my mind numerous times to go into the Red Maple Tree sale business. Getting a thousand of them started every year would be no problem at all I'd just have to transplant them into pots and water and grow (which = work so it never happened!). Now will be on the look out for some sort of small round picnic table for that area which will give another eating/sitting spot for summer. BEST thing is I can now get from the house to the veggie garden area in either bare feet or slippers!

Just came back from picking up the daughter and Granddaughter and taking them out to the Dance studio. Rehearsals and costume time today as in two weeks it will be concert time at the Theater for the Granddaughters first Highland Dance Production (although the studio does different types of dance). The twins are with their Dad working on a puppet production so they were all a bit stuck with only having 1 vehicle to get to everywhere they needed to get to.

Am back home now. Raw type of day with drizzly rain which isn't being too welcoming to go back outside.

As an aside about 2 years ago a "Tim Hortons" Restaurant started to go in close to me. Out of sight but within an easy walk. A "Tim Hortons" is totally Canadian a fast food type restaurant in that it does specialize in coffees, tea, donuts/scones/muffins and features select bread bowls (small round loaves of bread hollowed out and then filled with stews or chilis). Basically a fast food type restaurant.

Construction started in that the walls and roof went up with Tyvek wrap (like plastic vapour barrier stuff) on the outside then stopped. After two years all the plywood on the roof turned grey, the tyvek was off and it sat as quite an eyesore. Lots of gossip as to why construction stopped. Long story short about a month ago construction started again in that the rotting plywood came off the walls, new plywood went on and when I passed yesterday it looks like the roof is actually getting shingles.

Am really hoping this restaurant will go as I'd love to take the short walk up there, have a 'steep tea' and sit and read. There are no table reservations as it is take what is open but they're typically fairly pleasant place and usually busy. The ambience isn't going to be super terrific but the newer ones of these usually feature a couple of the electric fireplaces mounted on a brick wall along with one or two TVs. They're definitely nothing fancy but also definitely OK to do a walk, stop, have a cuppa AND being in MY immediate neighbourhood I'd become a frequent customer. Am looking forward to this one being finished this winter & spring and being up and running by summer 2019.

Today it is dismal grey with rain that is just pouring down. 9am and it looks like 10pm at night it is so bleak and dark looking out there. Doesn't inspire me at all to put my foot out the door. Matter of fact I think I'm going to have to turn the lights on just to see in here.

Me too! 10.20am and have to have the lights on to read, BUT not long till we get the shortest day and then it just gets better for a few months,

Went out to the Thrift Store with the daughter this morning. It was Seniors Day so I could get 30% off anything we bought and we bought nada! I sometimes find really good cottons or crochet cotton or plant pots but absolutely nothing so after a short tour 'round we went for a cuppa and talked. 'Bout as exciting as it'll get today although it isn't raining. Sun is trying to poke through (maybe).

Had an appointment for a visual field test at the hospital this morning. We have known the technician nurse for many years. They are not supposed to discuss the results but she did tell me that there appeared to be some improvement in my 'bad' mostly blind right eye and the 'good' left eye appears to be stable. I have a consultants appointment 31 December so it will be interesting to see what he has to say.

That's encouraging Grandad, hope improvement continues

I'm feeling a bit normal today so got more done and am expecting a Tesco delivery late afternoon. It includes persimmons!

Last time I had a big order and stuffed the big freezer it switched itself off the next day and I had to throw more than half the stuff out. I shall keep a close eye on it this time.

Encouraging news Grandad.

I'm off to get a cortisone shot in my hip this morning. Definitely hope it helps.

I hope it hurts like hell when you have the jab LLL. If it doesn't hurt, it is in the wrong spot.