Lovely day

Strange perhaps to call a rainy day like this lovely but in fact a day with James, Davie and the kitties has been great! A pleasant and leisurely start to the morning included breakfast in bed and a cuddle with Tom and Ruby. James just can't help smiling when Tom sits on his lap and stares up at him adoringly. And Tom loves his daddy! We needed to take them to the vet to get some drops (to prevent fleas? worms? I'm not sure) On the way back home I let them peek out of the cat basket to look out of the car window and they were fascinated by all the traffic and roads and houses, and they quivered with amazement! In the afternoon we went for a brisk walk round Strathbleak Park in between showers; there weren't many people out walking in the ominous weather - cowards! After a delicious dinner cooked by my excellent husband we watched the second of the Hunger Games Trilogy. It was really good; I thought it might be just a repeat of the first film but the plot evolved and continued. Ally got in touch with great news about an internship he applied for this summer which was the cream on the coffee of a good day! And now we are watching a programme about the music of the South - gospel and soul music - one of those programmes which you flick on to by accident but which turns out to be really interesting. The wind and rain are battering on the windows and I am feeling cosy.

Miscellany

It was just as well that we had gone for our walk on Saturday because Sunday was a right dreich day. We went into town with Davie and had an excellent lunch at Jamie's Italian before going to the Apple Shop regarding a fault on Davie's computer. There was an illustrated talk going on in the shop by none other than Colin Prior (with whom James went for a photography tutorial a couple of years ago). We joined the audience - it was all about framing and lighting photos - and at the end James went over to have a chat with him.

This week so far is flying by; Jamie turned 25 yesterday so we had a nice phone chat with him, and Ally Skyped us on Sunday when Grandma was round.

I was at the eye clinic yesterday and got good news (my retina has healed nicely) and bad news (I have a cataract in my left eye and will need another surgery). I was disappointed, although my vision in that eye is still so misty that I wasn't totally surprised. It's a small operation under local anaesthetic so hopefully it won't be too bad. I felt a bit down though; what bit of me is going to wear out next? I was cheered up this evening by a lovely text from Cat, who is full of the joys and loving her ski lessons at Hillend. 

Snowdrops and Sika deer

James and I went for a walk along the Clyde Walkway this morning, from home to the David Livingstone centre in Blantyre. It was a fine morning and a really pleasant walk; mostly beside the river and sometimes through woodland and fields. We saw a Sika deer bounding through long grass very near to us and saw big crested goosander ducks paddling down the river. As we approached Bothwell Castle we were treated to steep slopes covered in snowdrops which looked very pretty in the sunlight. When we arrived at the David Livingstone centre the café was closed which we had sort of expected since it's so early in the year, but luckily James had resourcefully brought a flask of coffee and some biscuits which we consumed while sitting on a bench in the gardens. 

Bubble no more

On Wednesday evening I noticed something missing in my life. The gas bubble in my left eye has gone! Earlier in the day it had been bouncing around cheerfully at the edge of my vision, very tiny by then, but by the evening it had disappeared without so much as a farewell. My vision in that eye is still like a steamed up mirror, but I can ask the consultant about that on Tuesday. 

And this morning I returned to work after five weeks; the longest ever absence of my working life which now spans thirty-five years including my student job which was three months every summer from when I was seventeen. It was strange to go back - I felt nervous and a wee bit excited. I got such a nice welcome back from everyone and was soon so busy that I almost felt that I hadn't been away! I still need to get up to speed though, I was exhausted by the end of the day! Jennifer marched me out to my car to make sure that I didn't stay too late, which was very sweet of her. 

In the evening I went to see The Slab Boys with Catherine at the Citz. I haven't seen it before and thought it was excellent, the dialogue was very witty and it was good fun.

Throbbing tooth

It has been a busy few days in the run up to my return to work. I had to get a "return to work" line because my sickness line lasted for another week so I needed clearance to come back early! I also went to the dentist for my root canal treatment, met up with Jamie, and spent time with Davie doing errands such as buying him trainers and a new watch. 

I met up with Jamie on Tuesday because he had a day off so he came through to Glasgow and we went for a walk and had a bite of lunch in The Bothy in Ruthven Lane. It was so great to see him and we chatted away; it was nice to be just the two of us. He stayed on to come to the hill-walking AGM in the evening, and David came too. It was at The Ivory this year and the meal was very nice. There was a lounge area round the back of the bar where James chaired the meeting in his usual efficient manner and I took the minutes for him. The highlight was as usual Andy's slideshow about the past year's outings, it brought back good memories. 

The good news about my dental treatment yesterday is that it was painless and speedy. The dentist even numbed my mouth with some sort of gel first so that I didn't feel the injection. To my surprise he told me that the treatment is complete so my memories of having to go back week after week are clearly very out of date. The bad news is that I woke up this morning with the tooth very sore, throbbing away! The dentist did say that it might twinge a bit before settling down, so I hope that's all it is. Funny that it wasn't sore yesterday though; maybe the anaesthetic hadn't completely worn off.

Bobbing along

As I was promised, the gas bubble in my eye has got smaller and smaller. It went from looking like a curved "horizon" across my vision to a perfectly round bubble which has reduced in size daily. Occasionally a "baby bubble" detaches from it and floats around before being reabsorbed. The bubble is very low down in my vision but a bit disconcerting as it bounces along on the periphery of my vision as I move. Yesterday it distracted me as I was walking and I tripped up some steps! The rest of my vision in my left eye remains misty (I'm hoping that this will improve) but my right eye compensates so I can see pretty well now. So I have contacted the doctor for a "return to work" line so that I can go back to work later this week, a week earlier than planned. I feel that this will be the right time although I'm sure that I will be exhausted after the first couple of days!

This morning I observed Tom and Ruby's bedroom wastepaper basket game for a while, trying to work out the rules. As far as I can tell, one kitten goes in which makes the other want to go in. Once you are in you get to chew the basket and roll it about to then envy of the other! Then the other jumps on the protruding kitten bottom to make the first one come out. A variant is to roll the basket from the outside to noise up the occupier. Roles are reversed and the game continues. I have to say that this is more fun than being at work!

Not quite Spring yet at Lanark Loch

I didn't sleep well last night because of tummy issues - too much steak dinner? Or perhaps the previous night's curry? Anyway I was tired in the morning and had a pleasant lie in, joined by my furry friends Tom and Ruby who curled up on the bed to nap after chasing and fighting each other all up and down the hall and stairs.

Then we went for a walk with Grandma round Lanark Loch. It was a fine day with a slightly chilly breeze; I noticed a few clumps of snowdrops near the path and there were lots of people enjoying the sunshine. I was impressed with Grandma's stamina and speed; I had thought that she might struggle with the distance (1.3 miles), but she only needed to pause a couple of times and I think she was quite pleased with herself. It helped her that the path was very flat, because she says that she is finding hills to be more and more difficult. Davie is so lovely with Grandma, chatting away to her. We had a nice coffee in the Inn on the Loch then went home for an early tea.

Earlier on, James and I had set the oven timer so that the pork joint would cook for two and a half hours and be ready for 5.30 p.m. We retrieved the manual for the cooker from the cupboard to make sure that we did it right, and carefully set the timer and the temperature. However when we returned from our excursion there was no delicious smell of roasting pork to greet us. We had not completed the final step in the process, which was to turn the oven on! Aaargh! Disaster was averted when we found an quicker alternative in the freezer of chicken with peri peri sauce, and James kindly cooked dinner while I had a FaceTime call from Ally and Cat. Jennifer, Russell, Josh and Ben are visiting them in Oslo just now and it sounds like they are all having a great time. 

Dinner was delicious and the peri peri sauce wasn't too hot for Grandma. We went ahead and cooked the pork which we will have tomorrow. A good day.