Another year almost over

As planned, we have had a fairly quiet couple of days.  The time between Christmas and New Year is always a grey area I find, especially living out here in a caravan in the middle of what seems, like nowhere sometimes.  On Thursday I had a mega workout and rather overdone it but I have managed to shift two pounds.  The afternoon was paperwork and a few domestics, some phone calls and a fairly early evening.  Or at least we tried to have an early night but we were disturbed by a phone call on the landline.  Phil did a 1471 and it turned out to be Jim, a close friend of Phil’s Aunt Daphne who was letting us know that Daphne had been admitted to hospital.  Apparently she couldn’t get herself out of bed because of pain in her leg and on Thursday had been in bed all day.  At teatime she managed to get a light on her mobile to phone Jim who immediately called the doctor.  The doctor went round and called an ambulance.  Daphne has no other relatives apart from Phil and his mum and obviously she is not in any position to help.  We are still waiting to hear from Jim as to how she is before making the drive to Lowestoft to visit her.  One feels so hopeless and so very far away.

On Friday morning we were up and showered and dressed and on the road to Melton Mowbray at half eight.  About an hour later than we had planned but the roads were fairly empty and we were at Phil’s mum and dads by half nine.   Dad, as usual was asleep in the chair and still isn’t any better.  If anything he is getting worse and is seems to me, he is deteriorating before our eyes.  Dad’s best friend’s wife Fran died in hospital last week and we drove down yesterday so we could take Bet to the funeral.  George wasn’t in any fit state to attend so we had turkey curry for lunch and then we took mum to the chapel of rest for the service.  Phil had known Fran all of his life but I had never met Fran but I went along for support.  Funerals are never easy but one needs to say goodbye properly.  We didn’t go to the wake and we were all in a bit of a sombre mood when we got back to Phil’s mum and dads house.

The journey back to Overstone wasn’t very nice either, grey dark skies and it poured with rain the whole way back.  We were staying in MK and the original plan was to go back on the M1 direct to MK but Phil had forgotten his mobile so we had to detour via Overstone.  Phil’s mobile is always with him but it was particularly important yesterday that he have it because we were awaiting a call from Jim.   Anyway, with mobile safely tucked into his top pocket we eventually got to Sue’s house just before 4pm.  Just time to have a quick of tea and a catch-up and a change of clothes for me.   We were in MK as we had been invited to Jim & Shirley’s family party to celebrate Tom & Younga’s visit from Malaysia.  Harriet kindly drove over and picked us up and the party was in full swing by the time we got there at 5 o’clock.

I can’t say that I was in party mode and it was bitter sweet without Jim’s dad Tom not being there but the Robb’s were very welcoming and boy do they know how to throw a party.  The food was fornominal, Goan chicken curry, spicy chilli and a variety of Korean dishes cooked by Younga which Phil managed to spill down his clean shirt within about 5 minutes from arriving! Later on in the evening, Shirley brought out a huge chunk of beef which she served sliced in a tiger baguette with horseradish sauce. It was good to see all the family and especially Ton & Younga.  

Jim’s mum was in fine form too despite being ill before Christmas.  Everyone seemed to have had a good Christmas and it was a good chance for them all to be together.   I vowed that I wouldn’t overdue the wine but Jim was there at every turn topping up my glass with red wine. I could have said no but that’s just not in my nature!  And then the music was switched up high and so the dancing began.  And of course I was up there at every opportunity! It was half one by the time we got to bed, a little worse for wear. It was a great night so thanks Jim & Shirley for inviting us.

I didn’t feel too bad this morning but Phil is really suffering.  We had cups of tea and toast and left Sue’s just before 10am.  I think Phil was just about legal to drive.  I can already tell that today is going to be a write off. Phil is slumped out on the sofa in his pyjamas with his telly viewing mapped out for the entire day and shows no sign of moving.  I have domestics to do before settling down to watch the telly.  For us women, there is always stuff to do.

And so we are come to the end of 2011.   Another year over.   I can’t say that’s it’s been a brilliant one for me.  It kicked off with Phil’s diagnosis followed by the agonizing decision of what treatment path to take.  This followed with 2 months of hormones and then 2 months of daily radiotherapy.  We spent the whole summer waiting on the house sale; weeks of waiting for the survey then for contracts to be exchanged and finally the completion.  The caravan purchase wasn’t without its problems and as you all know, I had a few downers when we moved to Overstone.  I for one could never have predicted that I would be living in a static caravan at the start of 2011 but hey it’s not so bad and hopefully it’s not forever.

This will be my last posting on The Naked Bloggers 2011. Despite Phil’s protestations (and Harriet’s) I will be writing a new blog for 2012 and here is the link should you wish to follow me.
http://www.thenakedbloggers2012.blogspot.com/

And so all that leaves me to do is to wish all our family and friends and any one that follows my sad life, a happy and healthy 2012. Not sure what the new year will bring for us Krause’s (one can never predict with Phil) but let’s hope it’s a good one for all of us.

H A P P Y   N E W   Y E A R!

That's Christmas cracked

OMG Christmas is over and it’s almost a week since I last posted a blog.  Starting to get withdrawal symptoms and actually hate it when I leave it so long because the memory is not what it used to be.  I am glad Christmas is done and finished but for the sake of the blog I’ll try and give an accurate account of what we did over Xmas. I warn you in advance it wasn’t terribly exciting I’m afraid.  On Christmas Eve I drove over to MK to pick up Vanessa and we went in my car to clean her Buy-To-Let flat in Shenley.  Her tenant had vacated and left the flat in a bit of a state.  It wasn’t too bad, I have seen far worse.  It was a lovely spacious flat with terrific views.  Chris came over to do some electrics and the three of us scrubbed for a few hours. It happened to be Vanessa’s birthday on CE and I’m not sure she should have been spending it cleaning but all hands to the decks and all that.

After cleaning, I went to Harriet’s flat at Caldecotte to wait for Phil.  The original plan was that he would come to MK with me so that we only had the one car.  But he couldn’t be bothered so he drove over at lunchtime and the three of us went to the Hungry Horse at Broughton for steak and chips.  The pub was packed which was not surprising because it was Christmas Eve after all, so we had a little bit of a wait for our lunch.  Harriet gave us our presents which she insisted we open; for me a pair of black leggings and a rather lovely pair of fur boots.  Phil got a pair of long sleeved pyjamas which he has practically lived in this last week.  Lunch over it was back to Overstone.   We had said that we would go to the clubhouse to listen to the Salvation Army sing carols but we couldn’t be arsed in the end, so we stayed home in front of the fire, stuffing our faces with chocolate in front of the telly.

We were up early on Christmas Day because we had to be on the road by half seven in order to get to Phil’s mum and dad so we could get the capon in the oven.   I don’t know what I was thinking ordering such a large bird from the butcher and not giving a thought to the cooking time. Phil nearly had a fit when he went into the butchers the day before to pick it up.  The capon cost 28 quid!  I did point out to Phil that it was organic but it didn’t stop him going on about the cost of all day long.   The roads were empty so we had a good run to Melton but it still took us an hour and it was nearly 9am when we arrived.  First job was to stuff the capon and whack it in the oven.   Poor George was already asleep in the chair and didn’t stir for quite a while.  He hadn’t had a good night and looked really knackered when he came round.  Phil’s mum and dad like their lunch spot on midday but our capon wasn’t cooked and it was nearly 1pm by the time Phil served.  It was a delicious but quiet lunch, I had taken down a nice bottle of Chardonnay, the old folks had a glass and I had polished off the rest.   There were no crackers or party hats and no Christmas pudding; after we washed and wiped up, we had a cup of tea and a mince pie whilst listening to the Queen’s speech and then we hit the road to go home.  We had phone calls to make and take when we got back to the caravan and then it was feet up in front of the telly.

For a girl that doesn’t dig Christmas, I did quite well in the present department.  Phil got me electronic cigarettes but he hasn’t quite worked out how to use them.  I’m not certain they were on my wish list but I suppose they were novel!   He also got me a Kimble which took me by surprise. I have been talking about getting one for ages as it will be great for when we go away.  I don’t think I shall give up my paperbacks because I have got a very good supply here at Overstone and nothing beats the smell and a feel of a real book.  Phil did me a homemade card which was a photograph of himself wearing nothing but a Christmas Santa Hat and a bow tie.   It cracked me up when I opened it!  Jan gave me wine and I got a Sanctury spa set from G which is always handy for the gym.  Mads gave me a very soft luxury throw for my bed and a cardigan from Next.  And as always mum and dad gave an envelope full of cash.  To be honest I felt a little guilty because this year I received far more than I gave.

 

On Boxing Day, I had every intention of going to the gym but Phil persuaded me to walk with him around the lakes.  Unfortunately one of the lakes was fenced off due to maintenance works.  My boots got really muddy and I wished I had gone to the gym after all.    At lunchtime we drove over to Mads & Steve’s cottage in Olney for a Boxing Day lunch.  Mads had her mum, sister Ali and nephew and niece Hannah and Dominic staying for Christmas.  Lunch was meant to be cold meat and mash and pickle but it was a 3 course very posh affair, totally over the top but very, very nice.   We stuffed ourselves silly and the boys ended up on the port.  I was the designated driver so I could only have a couple.  It was good to catch up with Mads & Steve and Ali and Iris whom we hadn’t seen since May.  Phil loved playing with Bella, Hannah’s little dog.  It wasn’t a late night and we left around half five because I was nervous about driving in the dark along the back roads, but it was fine.  

Yesterday morning I went to the gym.  Northampton town centre was quiet and also so was the gym.  I had a good, much needed workout, just the shame that I couldn’t get Phil to come along.  He hasn’t been to the gym since we have lived at Overstone, which is 2 months now.  How time flies.

Sue drove over yesterday; we had a cup of tea at the van and then went to the Billing Mill pub at Gt Billing.  We hadn’t been there before and wanted to try it out.  The pub was heaving but we managed to get a table, although we did have to wait a while for our food.  I don’t think any of us were expecting much of the food but it was okay, just standard usual pub fare.  After lunch it was back to the van and we watched Ab Fab.  Phil & I opened the red wine but Sue decided that she needed to get back to MK last night so she stuck to tea.  We had some mash and cold meat for supper and then Sue drove home.  This turned out to be a good move because she hadn’t been home long when she got a call to say that her dad had been admitted to MK General with a low heart rate.  She phoned earlier to say that she was at the hospital until half two this morning. I don’t often say poor Sue, but it does seem that the whole world is against her and it is one battle after another.  Shit happens I know but how much shit can a girl take?

I feel fat as a pig and very bloated; I got on the scales this morning and I have put on 4 pounds in 24 hours. How can that happen?  Well I do know steak, chips, red wine and chocolates.  It’s got to stop.  I want the world to get back to normal, I need a routine.  We have two fairly easy days ahead and I need to catch up with domestics and paperwork.  I know I am sounding like a real bar humbug but Christmas in the UK is really not my bag.  Next year I am definitely spending it in the sun and that’s a promise to myself that I fully intend to keep.

Christmas Wishes

This last week before Christmas seems to have gone quickly.  I thought I had plenty of time, but here am I on the day before Christmas Eve and I am still shopping. How did that happen?  I think its because we are rarely in this country and one forgets the stress and the queues.  On Monday I scraped the car and drove gingerly to MK as the roads were really icy.  I had good workout, got petrol and then it was back to Overstone for lunch.  On Tuesday Phil picked up G and they went to his mum and dad’s for lunch.  

This left me home alone, and determined not to go back to MK, I drove into Northampton.  I went to the gym first and then parked up and headed into the town centre.  It was a bitter cold day and I ambled round the streets, looking at everything but buying absolutely nothing.   I am really trying to like Northampton but nothing can beat CMK so I may as well just give up.  At least I’ve tried.  After catching sight of myself in a shop mirror I decided to get my hair cut.  I wasn’t going to bother and really I wish I had booked Rachel in Newport.  Anyway, I managed to get a cut and blow dry without an appointment but the highlights will just have to wait until the New Year.   It was gone 3pm by the time I got back to the caravan.  Poor Phil got stuck in traffic so he wasn’t in the best of moods when he walked in at just before 6pm.

On Wednesday I left Phil writing and drove to MK.  First stop was Sue’s in Newport to drop off a couple of bags and then I went to DW for a workout.  I did a couple of hours shopping in the centre and then went to see Vanessa for a cup of tea.  I hadn’t realised that she and Chris had brought a campervan so of course I had to have a look round.  It’s fabulous and the Ford family are going away in it next week.  We stayed at Sue’s on Wednesday night, Phil went out to the pub to meet up with the Wednesday night crew and Sue cooked us lamb chops, new potatoes and veggies.  It was lovely.  We were meant to have a quiet night and not get hammered but 3 bottles of red and goodness knows what time we got to bed.  Of course, Phil felt much the worse for wear the following morning which is quite usual for a Thursday. 

As we’d travelled in 2 cars, Phil went home and I went to the gym for a shower and then popped in at the OU to see Harriet.  I was lucky to catch her because she was only working the morning as she had taken the afternoon as holiday.   At half twelve I picked up Jan from the Business School and we went to The Ship Ashore for lunch.  Jan’s dad was moved into a home on Wednesday and also her aunt was put, by social services into a care home, so much like me, Jan’s really not got the festive spirit this year.  Still it was good to see her and we had a nice girlie catch up.  After lunch I dropped Jan back at work and then drove straight back to the caravan.  Now the plan was to go food shopping at Waitrose in Rushden but Phil was still feeling hung-over and there was no way in the world that I was going to be able to prise him from the sofa.

So with no food or drink in the cupboards, we had no option but to go shopping this morning.   What a big mistake that was.   There was a massive queue to actually get in the shop and once inside, it was nightmare.  We came away with only half the stuff on my list but do I care.  No. I have red wine and chocolate and we have veggies to take down to Phil’s mum on Sunday.  We pick up the capon tomorrow and that’s us sorted.

I’m signing off now for a few days but just before I do, I’d just like to wish all of our friends and family, plus folks that follow the Naked Bloggers, A very Happy Christmas & healthy New Year.   Christmas comes but once a year so eat, drink and be merry and enjoy.  Cheers!

Phil’s 2011 summary

Another year almost gone, and time to sum up my year of 2011.

We started the New Year feeling rough after celebrating the year in at Robbie’s with Maddie and Steve.  Following the holiday I worked for the first half of the year which I enjoyed as the job was on my doorstep and it was enjoyable work.  Having been diagnosed with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and prostate cancer last year I have spent much of this year pill popping and have undergone radio therapy for a couple of months.

We still managed to squeeze a week in Tenerife to start the year off as Claire had won this in a competition.  We also got a really enjoyable cheap weekend away in Birmingham which was a bit of a pleasant surprise.  We have been recently talking of revisiting it again because we had such a good time.

We also managed to get a weekend away in Suffolk visiting friends and family.  Claire started smoking again but this time not through her mouth.  Not quite sure how she managed to draw that smoke in through her ears but she seemed to enjoy it.

We had a great night at Maddie’s 50th Birthday party at Robbie’s again.

As my radio therapy treatment was starting shortly and Claire had won another holiday we managed to shoot off for another week, this time in Maspalomas in Grand Canary.

It was also a sad year, with Jim’s Dad Tom passing away first and later Sue’s husband Alan; both from cancer.  I was so pleased that we managed to see Tom at Jim’s party late last year and he was still in fine fettle.  We didn’t manage to see Alan very much towards the end as he was so ill and didn’t want anyone to remember him at his worst.  However, Alan had written a novel which I read last year and thoroughly enjoyed.  This actually spurred me on to have a go myself.  Claire’s aunt Jackie is also writing a book about Plato’s life and works; when people that you know do things, it somehow makes it more possible for you do the same.  I have tried to spend most of my spare time writing it and I am currently about half way through it.  It seems to have taken over my life a little and when I’m not writing, I’m researching for it.

We finally got our two bed flat at Oldbrook back that we had bought tenanted last year.  A total refurbishment necessary, including windows.  Still, you know how Claire and I enjoy doing that.

We always like to take a short break after renovating as a kind of celebration but we only managed a weekend at Rochford Hall after this one because I was still working.

No sooner had we finished but we bought and renovated a one bed flat at Coldecote Lake.  This was about the same time that I started my treatment and as I was still working, Sue kindly helped Claire with the decoration as well.

Even during my 2 months treatment we still managed to get away for a long weekend to Majorca.  As my treatment was every weekday, we managed this by arranging the first appointment on the Friday then going straight to the airport.  Upon our return on the Monday I had the last appointment.  It didn’t work out quite as planned as I had started to suffer a little from the effects of my treatment so I couldn’t really take advantage of our all inclusive weekend.  We paid more for that weekend than we normally do for a fortnight away but considered it worthwhile to have something to look forward to and it also coincided with Claire’s Birthday and she needed a treat.  It always costs so much more to travel when you want to rather than going with the flow of the offers.

My Milton Keynes job came to an end but I decided not to look for another until my treatment was complete and we had been away on holiday proper.  Having the extra time was handy as we managed to finish off the flat in no time once I was full time without work or treatments.

Our house sold around this time but we knew that we could manage a month away prior to completion.  Harriet moved into the Coldecote flat and we shot off to Malaysia to see Jim’s son Tom and his lovely partner Youngja.  This was short lived as the following day we jetted off to Thailand for an island hopping holiday.  We hopped across Thailand back into Malaysia and then jetted straight off to Borneo to see the monkeys.

Time flew,and so did we, back to KL again for our final two days before having to come home again.

Once home, we needed somewhere to live once we were kicked out of our house so we bought a caravan on Overstone Lakes as a stop gap between houses.  Of course, Claire wanted to decorate it before we moved in.

We liked it so much that we decided to stay and not rush into buying a house until next year.  I think that we both like it because everyone is so friendly and its like being on holiday all the time.  It only takes me about half an hour a week to do all the housework.

Towards the end of the year my Dad got poorly and its lasted for a couple of months now so we have spent more time than normal going backwards and forwards to Melton Mowbray to help around the house.  Lots was needed to do there as they too have sold their house too and intend to move into a bungalow down the road early next year.  Lots of packing and chucking out to be done in their house after 45 years of accumulation.  Mum seemed to have accumulated more wool in her attic than an Australian sheep farmer.  The staff at the local charity shop used to hide when they saw her coming.  They called her the “wool lady”. I even found a large suitcase up the attic that contained my last two years schoolwork and my first 6 years college work so I took it home to look through before throwing away.  I was interested as it contained drawings that I had done in TD at school, especially as I ended up as a draughtsman.  I also found two pictures, one drawing and one half finished painting; both must have been done before I was 13.  One was called “Destruction” and the other “Agony”.  What must have been going through my head at that time?  The one that I remember wasn't there though; it was a skeleton riding a motor bike that would have been aptly named, “Not so Easy Rider”.  Good job that I photographed them before Claire threw them away.

Georgina left school and moved into her rooms in London at The London School of Economics (LSE)

One last surprise trip to La Manga in Spain where we met Claire step dad and Marie, Kay, Jim and Anne etc.  Sue arrived on a different flight on the same day and also flew back on the same day.

We are not sure when Mum and Dad will be moving but have to be on hand to help them pack proper and move as they are both suffering with old age problems.  Normally we would have already been basking in the sun by now and not returning until next March or April when the weather gets better for our new life in the caravan.  I can’t see us getting away until at least March now unless we manage to find a quick week away somewhere cheap.  Have a great Christmas everyone and a fantastic New Year.  I wonder what’s in store for us next year.