Grandma P's Ramblings Through Life

Monday has felt like a gentle sort of day, though maybe Bill, who has been cutting the lawns and watering the garden, might not agree.

We needed bread and fuel this morning - I should no longer say that we need "petrol" for the car because it is diesel; but old habits die hard.

So after breakfast we went to Tescos - though Bill couldn't be bothered to queue up there to fill the car, especially as the fuel was the same price as in our local service station.
Fuel consumption for the Berlingo seems good - we have put nothing in for 3 weeks, despite longer trips to car boot sales and going to Dorking.
Bill's calculations suggest that we have been doing 53 miles to the gallon.
We bought bread and things in Tescos.
One treat for me was pea and rice crisps/snacks. These are stick shaped and just like the ones I discovered in Thailand, though these were made in China.

This afternoon I began describing things for Ebay which will be listed so that the auctions finish after Ashley and Ecky have left us.

I have chatted briefly with Jamie - all exhausted after a weekend of parties. It was Jessica's on Saturday (see picture below) and they went to another one yesterday. John could hardly keep his eyes open today!
Another who has not had enough sleep was Ekatarina.
I think she felt a bit unsettled being away from home and didn't sleep too well - and she is unused to sharing a room with 10 other little girls. But she enjoyed the activities and was proud to get her "staying away" badge from Rainbows.

The weather is promising for this week and I think we should plan a day out. Maybe we'll stay close to home tomorrow, because Bill has a physiotherapist appointment in the afternoon.
I must arrange an appointment with the dentist - a broken tooth is getting worse and I fear it may have reached the end of the road.

Now for some pictures from the weekend. I have to say that I think they need clicking on to make them bigger.

The first shows our Jessica and friends enjoying her cake and candles in the dark. It would not have been that late of course - in southern Thailand dusk falls at almost the same time each day whatever the season; about half past six is average.
Then, as promised there are 2 pictures that Bill took at Betchworth yesterday (site of the little village car boot sale we stopped at).

Then there are 2 pictures of a set of wooden nesting dolls that I bought to enjoy and to sell. This set has 10 dolls and cost me only £2. They look quite charming on the kitchen window sill.

We were out by 7 o'clock and on the road to Epsom.
The car boot sale there was big (though I have seen it bigger) and peaceful and civilised.
We ambled along the aisles - not getting very far before Bill was making the journey back to the car. This was the first of several trips to offload bags laden with wares.
I am not sure why I am buying so much glass - because it is there is the most obvious answer. Some if it weighs a lot.
Bill bought model cars. On one stall there were 33 of them at a pound each. He decided to see how much they would take for all of them and was pleased to buy them all for £25 and that included a wall shelf to display them and a sturdy plastic box to carry them in.
Our eyes were taken later with a large framed print - it is a slightly erotic Chinese girl on an old fashioned bicycle. Shall we --- shan't we? We tentatively asked the price. "Oh" the stall holder said, "you can have both of them for £1".
So now we have them and wonder where they - or at least one of them might go.
Maybe it is time for the dragons on the stairs to finally to come down.
Bill bought a piece of carpet which he is now laying - not in the house, but in the back of the car!
We left the boot sale at about half past ten and were looking forward to the cafe at Walton on the Hill, but it has changed its name and now doesn't open early on Sunday mornings for lovely breakfasts like scrambled egg and smoked salmon.
So we carried on towards home. In the village of Betchworth we saw a sign to a car boot sale - a small village sale might be interesting although we were a couple of hours after it started.
I am not sure how people did - their stalls still seemed remarkably full. We bought a few bits.
We got home and made some lunch and then we got busy with our purchases. Bill was able to watch the German Grand Prix as he "played" with his 33 racing cars. This was won by Lewis Hamilton again.
I have got a lot of my bits done too.
Ruth called in with Felix - a happy, smiling boy, despite feeling tired.
The British Open Golf finished today - the weather has made it very hard for the players.
And The Tour de France continues - a change of race leader today.
Below are a few pictures of the day. Bill took some too, which are almost certainly better than mine. But he is busy right now with that carpet (or he is talking to a neighbour out there) and I can't ask him to deal with his photos. Maybe I'll put something on the blog tomorrow.



This was the view from the car boot sale at Betchworth - a waving sea of golden barley with the chalk North Downs beyond.

I wondered this morning just what I ought to do...... could I cope with activity whilst feeling so fragile and nauseous?
But I wanted to fight back.
At bedtime last night I resolved to make sure I kept very closely to the low potassium diet. I wonder why I had lapsed - apart from wanting some variety.
This week some more things from our lives could be put into that place called "the past" - now that all the insurance issues for the car have been sorted the accident can be tucked away. And now we are established in Pilgrims, then I feel that the 8 years in Rocking Horse could be left in the past. Did I also half think that I could also move on from all the chemical imbalances?
Anyway, as I was fixing myself to the night back (for wee) last night I just found myself musing on doing it every night for the next 20 or so years - and then added "hopefully". But hope alone is not enough, not when there are things I could be doing to enhance both the quality of my life and maybe the length of it too.
There is a phrase I have recently learned, a new thought - I think somebody who plays Boggle somewhere in the world calls them self by this phrase as a name. "Hope is not a course of action".
I knew I needed action and so today I have been so careful about my food - back to the beginning really.
And we went out to car boot sales - and wondered why, for we found very little to buy today.
This morning we went to Faygate and I bought just 1 book for selling. I also bought a bead kit for little girls and maybe Ecky and I can make bracelets and necklaces when she is with us.
At lunchtime we went to Edenbridge and found very little more - a few more books and a 1953 coronation mug from a good pottery. We also bought a couple of videos to sell. One is about the history of Wrotham in Kent (pronounced Rootum, which I didn't know). It is interesting and very well done - I am sure somebody will want it. Bill chose one about Auto Union sports cars.
Bill bought some fruit too - and I know the cherries are delicious, but for now I will keep away from fresh fruit.
I bought another long length skirt.
We have watched the cycling - they are heading for The Alps now.
And I cooked dinner - a new taste for us today. We had sea bass and it is every bit as delicious as the cookery experts on TV say it is. Admittedly the 2 fillets were frozen and had been bought some time when they were on offer (sea bass is amongst the most expensive of fish), but we will certainly indulge again; eating it was a real pleasure.
We have also enjoyed the choir competition on TV. Oh dear I can just hear Dad complaining that not one of them sang a "proper" piece of music! But still, they are excellent choirs full of skill and life.
This evening I feel lots better than this morning. Thank goodness - I wasn't sure how quickly I would start to get the balance in my body better again.
Tomorrow morning we have decided to go to Hook (near Epsom) for our car boot sale - it is over a year since we have been there. It is normally very big.
Despite the wind (quite strong) this afternoon has felt warmer.
I hope the grand daughters are enjoying or have enjoyed their special events.
I hope you sleep tight Ecky!
And so, goodnight from me.

This is my 500th blog posting - and I have little to say.
This evening I feel a bit off, some nausea and real tiredness. Shame! I don't like it.
Hopefully some good sleep, without cramps and hurried visits to the loo, will make me feel strong enough for another day.
Today I have described and listed things on EBay and very little else that I can think of. There are watchers already and even a bid - which is good, for I feel that during the summer and maybe particularly at this time of price rises, EBay business is a bit slow.
Bill, on the other hand, worked really hard - changing the beds and vacuuming the house.
One tiny little thing quite upset me - it was a fly. Nasty insects are flies, buzzing around and potentially infecting things with their eggs and germs.
I had got some turkey pieces out of the freezer and just left them on the cooker to thaw. They were in a bag, inside a box - but both had been opened once before, for this was the second meal to be made from that source.
I should have thought to protect better.
When I opened up to cook the dinner a fly was inside the plastic bag. So, shamefaced I just had to commit the crime of throwing food away.
It still makes me shudder to recall the site of the fly crawling all over the turkey steaks.
The Tour de France continues - another stage win for the British guy. He is an out and out sprinter - he can pedal along with all the others for 150 Kms and then outsprint everybody for the last 200 metres - a feat he will not be able to achieve in The Alps.
I really am hoping that tomorrow there will be no rain and that I feel fitter. We won't travel far tomorrow but there are boot sales to go to and hopefully I can add to the stock for the shop.
Tomorrow there is a party in Thailand for Jessica's birthday - she will be 7 years old next week. I am sure there will be pictures on the jjjj blog in due course. Jamie put a few family pictures on today. There is a picture of John where he looks like a very young Uncle Roger!
Ekatarina also has a big day tomorrow - her first night without a parent at hand. The little girls in Rainbows are off to Anglesey for a sleepover.
Right - I am off to bed quite soon, even though it is only quarter past nine.
Good night.

Today we have been in the shop at Dorking - a quiet day, but it felt good.
Actually I omitted the good bits about yesterday when I wrote yesterday evening, so I will begin with that.
The first item is not of great importance, but pleased me. One of the other women waiting with me for my CT scan is also on a low potassium diet and it felt good to find another one like me.
But the main piece of good news came in the daily post - a cheque for almost £3,000!!!!!!
This was the money that we had been fighting for from the "rogue" insurance company. Obviously they are not such rogues after all.
There has been a lot of time and hassle required to deal with this matter, but hey! It was worth it.
The amount we have been paid makes the amount our motor insurance paid out for the current value of the red Berlingo up to the original purchase price when it was new. So we are not actually out of pocket after the accident.
Maybe now we can look forward to a further pay out - at some time way in the future I guess for our injuries and trauma.

Today has been gentle in Pilgrims, though the three of us there today have worked hard.
I started by re arranging and getting a box of new stock onto my shelves.
Bill had more to do. He had constructed an extra shelf to fit on top of his cabinet and then he had to sort everything out.
Our little bit looks really good.
Our takings are just about good enough - we have taken the July rent money in 2 weeks. Hopefully we can take at least that much again before the end of the month.
We were working with Jill today and there was more time to get to know her. She has worked out that Bill and her husband would have a lot in common - both were members of a cycle club, like trains and buses and so on.
Jill has been working with curtaining.
It has been accepted that the little cafe has gone. That area has been transformed into a furniture section and Jill thought it would be best to screen off the kitchen and working areas of what was the cafe.
Customers came in and there was chatting and just a few items were sold.
The weather was exceedingly dull and drizzly - enough to keep most away from leisure pursuits like browsing in the antiques shops.
This evening I have had to sort out a few EBay items selling and the accounts for Pilgrims.
And we have watched The Tour de France - Mark Cavendish became the first Britain to win 3 stages in one tour. Now he ought to concentrate on winning a gold medal at The Olympics.
So, now we will make another drink and watch Emmerdale.
Goodnight.

The evening was spent at the track. I wasn't feeling very lively and found Gerry most tedious to endure. But then I think most people find that. But this is not about Gerry.
The last race finished as the rain started and we scurried up the steps to get under cover as quickly as possible before all our paper work was too soggy to write on.
I suppose the events of the afternoon left me me feeling a bit fragile and sombre.
I had another CT scan - how many litres of that awful tasting liquid have I drunk over the years?
But the hour, given you to get the jug emptied, passes with some conversation with others at different stages of their jugs of contrast medium.
The lady I talked to made my situation seem really tame - breast cancer which recurred during a great amount of treatment in hospital for at least 15 fractures received in a nasty motor bike accident in Spain. She has had more chemo since then and also had to have a hip replacement because the cancer has reached her bones.
So - no grumbles from me about my lot.
The radiographer had the usual problem to find a vein and in the end opted for the back of my hand - ouch!
When pressure is put on the syringe and the dye enters the body a strange overpowering feeling seems to hit every organ.
The scan itself can be quite relaxing really - as long as you breath and hold your breath as instructed.
Soon I was out again, waiting a while to just check that there were no ill effects from the drink or the dye.
This evening my hand is sore - but already feeling easier and for a while I felt a bit queasy.
But it didn't hinder my time keeping skills too much. It probably did me good to get out.
Tomorrow is a shop day - I wonder if we have sold anything much.
We have more things to take with us and so some sort of rearrangement will be necessary.
I shall be off to bed soon.
Goodnight.

I have felt quite a bit better today, but I am beginning to feel slightly tormented by some not knowings.
Firstly I am awaiting a letter from the endocrinologist - a copy of what she is sending to the GP, which would confirm or reject the idea that I have an under active thyroid gland.
I certainly seem to have the symptoms and maybe they have only flared up in the last month. I get cold and achy and I have put on weight. I just can't understand where 5 or 6 pounds have come from so quickly for my eating patterns have not changed.
And I am waiting for my CT scan - not much longer to wait for that. I have to be at the hospital at 2 o'clock tomorrow. I feel quite tense about it. I cannot eat for 4 hours beforehand and then I must drink 2 litres of foul tasting liquid and then have a dye injected into my veins.
The waiting will continue until August 5th to know that the scan has or has not revealed anything.
I know I should tell myself how lucky I am to have these facilities available to me - and I really do know that. But tonight I feel nervy.

This morning was devoted to addressing parcels, posting parcels, taking 5 or 6 boxes to the hospice shop and then a trip round the supermarket.
One of the parcels included a book called The Archers Pantry - based on the very long running radio series. To my surprise it was bought by an American who has recently discovered this gem which is a part of my life - almost all of it. She said that American radio has nothing like it and was thrilled to have discovered it.
This afternoon I went through much of my stock file taking out items that have not been crossed off in the past despite them no longer being in my possession.
And in the process Bill and I managed to fill another box for a charity shop.
We have also described a few things for EBay and listed them.
Bill has 76 OS maps left from his stock and he wondered what to do with them. I suggested listing them on EBay very cheaply and the buyer to collect - if that fails then they are off to a charity shop of course.
This evening I was Emailing my brother about schools and looking back at head teachers I have worked for - mostly good. Then I suddenly remembered Mr Payne!!! Do you remember him Jamie and Ashley? My memories are that he was not good at the job and was "persuaded" that he needed a long sick leave.

I have started trying to get puss cat Harry back to some sort of fitness. He likes being brushed and combed and I can see some improvement already. He also has coped well with the vitamin and conditioning minerals paste that can be given by putting some on the front paws to be licked off. He is enjoying the fuss too - and George is cross that Harry is getting all the attention.
Worse than children!

It hasn't rained today - extra special good news! Today is St Swithins day and if it is dry on this day (or wet) then we shall more of the same for 40 days and 40 nights! Try telling the Met Office that - they have put rain blobs on their forecast for this very night!
The thermometer says it has been warm - but it has been overcast for much of the day and my body felt chilly. The sun did shine during the afternoon.

Well, time for a cuppa and to get this yawning body to bed.
Goodnight.

Last night, after a hard day's work I was in bed feeling rotten by half past eight.
For much of today I thought I had felt the benefit of of a long night, but midway through the afternoon I began to feel bad again.
I just had to keep going, I had parcels to make in preparation for EBay sales.
And there was a dinner to cook which we ate with a dose of sport again.
We were watching the Tour de France, one of the most interesting days really as they pedal themselves up the Col de Tourmalet in The Pyrennees.
I fell deeply asleep though.
I have just checked the results on-line and see that there is now a new race leader in the yellow jersey for tomorrow at least.
Well, I think I will make a cup of tea and then have another early night, though I think it will be 10 o'clock now before I get there.
Good night.

Well, we did what we set out to do today.
The amount of old stock that we now have out in the garage is very much less than it was yesterday.
But, oh my! It was hard work.
We started off with the intention of selling everything for 50p or less.
And things began to disappear thick and fast.
As the morning wore on we had the books at 25p each or 5 for £1 and then finally we were selling them at 10p each.
I ended up with just one box of china. As we packed up I pulled off the labels and dusted the things and put them in a cardboard box and so they are all ready for a charity shop.
This afternoon I have been slowly crossing off all the items in my stock book. There were between 200 and 250 of them.
And then I counted out the takings - obviously we didn't expect much with such low prices; we were quite pleased to find we had taken £81.
The very best thing for me about the pictures below is to look and see all those things that have gone.
You will notice, too, that we enjoyed some blue skies.

I spent a lot of money this morning at Ford.
We met a woman selling things which she claims to have been collecting and now realises she has too much.
She collects quality and we wanted lots of it - another time maybe.
But of course she wanted her money back so the prices were quite high.
She was happy to talk about her things and we learned a lot about modern art glass and some superb bird ornaments (which we didn't buy this time). I bought one plate designed by a man who worked for Poole Pottery for 30 years but now has his own place where he continues to produce items rather like he did in his Poole days - all reds and oranges.
I really enjoyed handling it and getting it all written up during the afternoon.
We also found a number of lesser things - but no books today, so it is all destined for Pilgrims.
Our things will look really good in the shop.
Maybe though, I will enjoy the lovely iridescent paper weight made in a Lancashire glass centre for a while longer.
We also bought a few plants - 6 standard looking geraniums - or do I mean pelargoniums? for £1. We also bought a luscious gaudy red dahlia in a large pot.
Dahlias always fascinated me at the Ifield Flower Show - especially the large pom pom ones.

After the boot sale we made out way to Littlehampton.
We probably should have had a cup of tea and a snack in the beach cafe, once we realised that it wasn't just cordon bleu type meals; but after a walk we somehow ended up at The Balaton and ate too much for breakfast.
The beach cafe is fascinating and very stylish from the outside and rather from behind - at the front there are windows so that people can sit inside overlooking the beach and the sea.
I described as a shell building - I think it looks more like a rippling rock.
I can see why it has won architectural awards.