Fish, Films & Over Indulgence

The fish that I cooked for our Friday lunch, as anticipated, was a right disaster; Phil found bones even though I had it filleted in the supermarket and the parsley sauce made with Soya milk tasted seriously weird. Phil was not happy, but Delia I ain’t and the laws of probability mean that I am going to have a disaster every now and again. So that I could have the weekend away from the stove, on Friday afternoon, I cooked a cauliflower and potato curry and a liver and onion casserole, recipes both from the prostrate diet book. They both came out okay but I am going to have to explore some prostrate desserts this week that allows for Phil's diabetes because he does like something sweet. He is allowed every now and then but it can't be every day especially as he is doing so well with the diet. On weigh in this morning he was done to 17 stone 2 pounds. So a loss of 9 pounds in just under 2 weeks which is excellent.

Steve Pem popped round after work on Friday night for a beer and a catchup, this is the first time we've seen him since New Year. After his illness before Christmas, he is still on medication and is going to be for some time. He suspects that the virus he had was actually Swine flu and I think this is quite likely, especially after seeing the state he was in when I visited him in MK General. Anyway, he looked well, he's back at work and has managed to keep the weight off that he lost when he was ill.

As usual Phil was up to the loo and in the wide awake club very early on Saturday morning, he managed to go back to sleep but yours truly didn't. We went to the gym where Phil managed a reasonable workout but nowhere near the 2 hour session that he told me he was going to do last weekend. Still at least he went and it's better to break in slowly and work up. I think I have solved the exercise during the week problem for Phil and on Friday I ordered I Reebok exercise bike from Argos which is being delivered on Thursday morning sometime between 7 am and midday. It was a real bargain, £249 reduced down to 99 quid. I can't wait for it to arrive although it will come boxed and will need assembling so may not be until the weekend that we're up and biking.

Phil went to do the VAT online after lunch on Saturday only to find that the accounts spreadsheet was in a right mess. I keep this up to date on a daily basis and can only think that the data got messed up when I transferred it from my old laptop on to Phil's desktop because he had a newer version of excel. I dunno but it took me nearly 2 hours of re-entering figures going right back to September. Lots of swearing in the kitchen but eventually I got it done and Phil was able to file our return. Accounts or indeed anything to do with figures is really not my bag, I am useless in this department.

After sorting out finances, we decided to park up at Willen Park south, just at the back of Lovat Fields Retirement Village and walk by the canal up to Campbell Bridge and up the hill to Cineworld. Unfortunately we couldn't find a canal bride at Willen so ended up going to the Campbell Park bridge and then had to go back on ourselves. Phil had the bright idea of walking through Campbell Park because he thought it would give us a change of scenery and would be quicker. It was a change I suppose to walk through the park but it certainly wasn't any quicker and we ended up getting out of the park and walking the last bit on the path by the road. Time was running out and we only just made the start of the film after getting scooby snacks in Waitrose and queueing what seemed like ages for tickets. The cinema was packed and we ended up having to seat right at the front but at least we didn’t miss the beginning. The film we choose to see was 'Hereafter' directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Matt Damon. It wasn't very joined up in parts but still, we both like Matt Damon and thoroughly enjoyed the film. I'm not sure you need to see it on a big screen so perhaps one to rent out on DVD.

The walk back to car in the dark in the freezing cold was not much fun but the exercise did us good and it was a joy to get back to our lovely warm house. The plan was to open a bottle of red and watch a film but just as I cracked open the wine Harriet asked Phil to give her a lift to Newport. Before going out she came down stairs into the kitchen to pose for a photo. She was showing off her new high heeled shoes heeled and how she towered above me. We had to laugh as the shoes were a little big and she was struggling to walk and that was before any vodka! After Phil dropped HH off we snuggled on the sofa with the heating turned up high and watched 'A Good Year'.

Unfortunately Harriet woke us up when she staggered in at 4am. I have to say normally she is very quiet but not on Saturday night. We did manage to go back to sleep until 7.30am but I have to say, I had to laugh to myself because as I passed her bedroom door as I was going downstairs to make tea I noticed that her light was on. I went into her room only to find Harriet, still in her black dress, sprawled on top of her duvet with her telly going full blast and the remnants of some unrecognisable fast food on her bedside table. The joys of being 21! Don't think it was much joy yesterday though, she was really suffering and stayed in bed all day.

I confess that Sunday was very a indulgent day for me. Phil left at half nine, he picked up G and they went to Melton to spend the day with his mum and dad. After he left, I did my ironing whilst watching Embarrassing Bodies and then moved the cars in the front and got the hedge trimmer and cut back the hedge. It badly needed doing and actually I quite enjoyed doing it, the sun was shining and it wasn't too cold. I put all the hedge branches and the leaves I'd swept up in the green bin. After a quick shower and change, I then went to the Toby Inn at Shenley Lodge and treated myself to a carvery. I was naughty and had the roast beef because Phil wasn't there and very nice it was too. Some of you may think its sad to dine alone but I really don't mind at all. It was nice to eat a meal that I hadn't had to cook for a change.

After lunch I took myself to the city centre, parked up and went to the cinema to see 'The Dilemma', it wasn't a film that I particularly wanted to see but my choice was governed by the timings. It was okay. It had a likeable cast and an interesting premise but I thought it was dark at times, even depressing and although funny in places, it didn't make me laugh and I wouldn't have called it a comedy; still I was happy enough with my miniature bottle of J.P. Chenet and my straw and a bag of minstrels. God, I do sound sad but I like watching movies and I have to make my annual cinema ticket pay for itself.

Last week I read 2 really good books. The first was one lent to me by Vanessa, a booked by Lisa Lynch entitled 'The C-Word'. It's all about a 28 year old woman diagnosed with breast cancer and her book came about by her blog which she started when first diagnosed. I admit to being somewhat cancer obsessed at the moment but this personal account of breast cancer was inspiring, simply truly amazing and I couldn't put it down. You might noticed that I have added Lisa's blog to my blog links www.alrighttit.com ha, love the title.

The other book which arrived in the post on Thursday was not quite as amazing 'The Plant Programme' by Professor Jane Plant & Gill Tidy but still I was glad I ordered it. Its basically a diet designed to fight breast and prostrate cancer. Now I do have similar books and one by the same author but this book has some really good and different recipes. If I am to keep Phil on the straight and narrow I am going to have to keep this diet as diversified as possible and this book has given me plenty of ideas especially in the sweet department.

I will have to pay for my over indulgence yesterday and have a big gym session planned today so after posting this, I'm grabbing my gym kit and heading out the door. It's a big week in the Krause household because of course Phil gets the results of his MRI scan on Wednesday. Our appointment with Dr Andrew is at 9.45am; normally I would blog on Wednesday morning but this week I am going to leave it until we get back from the hospital because I know lots of you will be wanting to know how we got on. Fingers crossed those bast**d cancer cells have stayed in the prostrate and not drifted anywhere else hey. At the moment I am positive that they haven't and as Jill said, if they'd have found anything serious the hospital would have called us in before now. So no call is a good sign but I'll update everyone with results on Wednesday afternoon. Right now, its time to start the week.

Thank God its Friday!

It was a hive of activity in our cul- de-sac on Wednesday.  I heard some commotion just after Harriet left for work and went up to spy out of the spare bedroom window.  A landscape gardening van with trailer and 3 tree surgeons had pulled up across both Sally’s and Sandy’s drive and were cutting up a tree or bush, I dunno, I couldn’t see properly.  Then Derek & Sally disappeared down the alleyway with one of the tree surgeons and I noticed that all the cars seem to be at home at number 10.   I took myself off to the gym and when I returned the white van was still there and Sandy was just moving her car.  I haven’t seen Sandy or her car for a while and wondered whether she had gone away on holiday.  She called me over and took me inside her house to see where the tree had been chopped down in her garden.  Apparently the tree was seriously over hanging next door and Sally wanted it chopped down, at her expense I might add.  It looked very bare but I guess it will be better when spring arrives.  It made me realise how private out back garden is and actually we have nobody that overlooks us.  We are lucky and I will be sad to move, if ever that happens.

Sandy asked about Phil and I asked her where she’d been staying.  She said that she’d been staying with a friend who had just split up with her hubbie and had only returned to oversee the tree chopping.  Julia, Sandy’s lodger was home and came down the stairs to say hello; she said she hadn’t been very well so when I went back home and put my shopping away, I took her over some of my homemade tomato soup, which is very nice even I do say so myself.

In the afternoon I had intended to have a quick hoover round but in the end I ended up cleaning the whole house from top to bottom, changing Harriet’s bed and then spent 3 hours washing, drying and ironing.  Phil had to work late but cracked open a can of beer as soon as he got in because Wednesday night is his beer night.   Vanessa invited me round for a catch up while the boys were all out and Harriet very kindly dropped me off.  Unfortunately for Vanessa, I was early arriving and late to leave and poor Vanessa got the brunt of my moans and groans.  I am not normally a jealous girlie but Chris & Vanessa have got themselves a new cooker installed in their kitchen.  It really is amazing, 8 rings plus a wok burner and so many ovens.   I would have taken a picture but Chris has yet to finish off the extractor hood and the bottom plinth so maybe next time I visit.  Anyway we caught up on all the Ford & Krause news over a bottle of wine and I felt a lot better for offloading.  Sorry Vanessa!

This week has been a long one and I’m very glad it’s over.  I have some bad starts to my days. On Tuesday my new laptop died and it took me nearly an hour to get going, which made me late to the gym.  On Wednesday morning, I was grumpy because Phil had kept me awake half the night and yesterday morning I was just about to set off for the gym when Harriet phoned to say her car had broken down¸ AGAIN!   I said I’d hang around for a bit just in case she needed a lift for work.  And, sure enough about 10 minutes later she walked through the door.  Thankfully she had managed to get it started again and was just about able to chug home.  I dropped her off at the OU then went to the gym.  It was half nine by this time I got in the changing room so I was an hour behind schedule.  Hey ho, I decided just to do 45 minutes but when I opened my sports bag I found all my kit was soaked.  My water bottle top had come off somehow and soaked all my stuff.   I swore out load and would have turned around and gone home, had I not of already been half naked.  Wet Lycra is not nice; I tried to dry it off with the hairdryer but to no avail.  I just about managed my 45 minutes but couldn’t wait to finish and strip off and shower. What a relief!!

I stopped by at the market on the way home and stocked up with veggies. During the cold period I have been lazy and bought  them from Asda but with the amount I am using these days, it’s got to be the market every time, not only is it cheaper but the produce is fresher.  I have coped well with the cooking this week, we finished the cauliflower and broccoli soup, the new batch of the tomato has already been eaten and yesterday I cooked a barrel of pea and mint soup which should do us for the weekend.   I’m a bit worried about today’s lunch though, I have got whole fresh mackerel which I intend to bake in lemon juice.  Trouble is, Phil doesn’t really do fish so I might just make up a fresh parsley sauce to accompany it.  Butter is not really allowed but I suppose a few dribbles isn’t going to do too much damage.

Phil has, once again, been very good on the diet this week but the weight loss has slowed right down.  Only a 2 pound loss this week but I guess that’s okay, at least he is still going down.  Now I have got the prostrate diet sorted, well sort of, we have now got to work on the exercise.  I think I may have solved the problem, I found a second cross trainer on the gum tree site yesterday and all I need to do, if Phil agrees, is to sort out cash and delivery.  Phil has been grumbling that my blogs have been boring and bland this week but I can’t help it, that’s just the way life pans out sometimes.  To be honest I think I’ve got the January blues, I hate the British winter with a passion.  And it’s not just me that feels like this, I had an email from Jill this week and she’s sick to death with the cold and just wants to be in the sunshine.   Just wish I could go to sleep and wake up in April.  Roll on spring………

Boring Domestics

Midweek and I'm not sure that I've got that much to say; I've seemed to have spent an obscene amount of time this week, shopping, chopping and cooking. This healthy eating may be good for the diet but it sure takes up a lot of time. It takes its toll on my lovely Italian Loofra oven and yesterday I had to get out my Oven Pride and give it a good clean. The racks are now bright and shining now but the bottom of the oven and the sides need another going over. The good news is thatt we finally finished off the veggie chilli (thank god) and yesterday I cooked up some lemon grass noodles with a Wagamama recipe. Normally I would cheat with a ready made jar but sadly can't do this any more, everything has to be made up from scratch. With so much cooking and a fridge full, I left a message on Sue's answer phone to see if she wanted some supplies taking over to the hospice. It only occurred to me yesterday that she may need some help in this department but she called me yesterday afternoon saying thanks but no thanks; the family have been rallying round so they more than enough in their fridge.

I forgot to report on Monday that Phil picked up a new set of ear plugs for his iPhone toys at the weekend and he says that they are brilliant. He rarely takes them of out of his ears so our house is very quiet! The only exception is when he takes a shower, eats or watches the TV. I know the iPhone is good but all the extra paraphernalia is costing us a fortune. I wonder what the next addition to Phil's Apple family will be ??

Yesterday we finally completed on the sale of the shared ownership flat in Oldbrook. This 70% share purchase, and I do not exaggerate, has taken almost 7 months. Unbelievable as Phil would say. There have been many factors but the hold-up has mainly been down to our crap solicitor and the efficiency of Milton Keynes Council. Staff at the civic offices do not believe in joined up thinking and neither do they do communication. This is not the first time we've had problems with them and I can guarantee you, it won't be the last.

Last night I met Christine at Cineworld and we went to see 'The Kings Speech'. It's not a film Phil would have gone to see, so my going out gave him the TV and remote all to himself for the evening. It also got me out of the house, even though it was such a rotten I think I'd of rather stayed warm at home. No, not really, it was worth braving the cold and the rain and the film was excellent. The cinema was packed out and Christine and I didn't get a seat together even though we went in on time. I can understand why the film has received so many nominations, Colin Firth was brilliant. It's definitely a film to see on a big screen and although Phil said it wasn't his cup of tea, I know he would have enjoyed it.

This morning Phil woke me up at 3am and I have been awake ever since. With his prostrate problem he gets up to pee at all times during the night, but generally its normally around 12ish then again around at 5ish but 3 or 4am is not good because it means that he then can't go back to sleep and will read his iPad which then almost always keeps me awake. This was the case this morning and I was latish going to bed and feel more tired this morning then before I went to bed last night. I'm not good with lack of sleep plus I look like shit. I am tempted to take my Cho Yung tea and head back to bed but it's seems pointless now I am well and truly in the wide awake club; may as well publish this blog and get on with the day.

Well Done Phil!

I was in such a hurry to post on Friday afternoon that I completely forgot to mention Phil's weight loss.   Since starting our prostrate diet, Phil has lost 6 pounds.  That's six pounds in one week which is brilliant.   I am very proud of him and unless he's sneaking snacks when he is at work, he is being very strict with himself and sticking to the meals that I prepare him with zero snacks in-between.  The late night snacking has always been his downfall especially late night visits to the fridge whilst staying up late watching the telly.   There isn't very much he can cheat with because I have got rid of all the naughty stuff but still there are calories to be eaten if he wanted too.  His only treats last week were beer with the boys on Wednesday night and one glass of red wine on Saturday night. Long may it continue.  My veggie chilli wasn't too bad which is just as well because we've got heaps left.

Whilst surfing the internet looking for vegetarian recipes I stumbled across 2 really good websites,  www.eattherightstuff.squarespace.com and also www.alprosoya.co.uk  Both have got some excellent recipes and I’m sure I'll be looking at these 2 website quite a lot over the coming months.  I have ordered a Soya cookery book from Amazon but it has yet to arrive.  I did indulge myself with a purchase of a blender from Sainsbury's and this already has been used quite a few times.  It's great for soups; last week I made tomato and on Sunday I made cauliflower and broccoli soup from a recipe I got from eattheright stuff web site.  I think the key to Phil's snacking is to have something healthy in the fridge all the time so that he has something to munch in an emergency.

Seeing the scales go down has given Phil the incentive he needed and I had no trouble getting him to the gym on Saturday morning.  Again, he impressed me with managing a workout for nearly an hour which isn't bad because he hasn’t been to the gym in months.   My back is still niggling, as is my hamstring, but I managed a 4k run without too much pain which is the longest run I have had since before we went to India.   Maybe things are looking up.  I am looking at ways that Phil can exercise during the week.  We have an off peak membership so early morning visits to the gym are out and going after work isn't really practical.  I am thinking of getting a cross trainer and sticking it in the conservatory.   We have a wall mounted TV in there and its cold so ideal for working out plus Harriet could use it too.  I did see a greatly reduced cross trainer in the DW shop but when I went to enquire about it, the sales assistant said it was reduced because it was the old model and ex display so it didn't come boxed.  The staff wouldn’t disassemble it so we would have to hire a van to get it back to our house.  This needs some rethinking.

On Saturday afternoon we went to the cinema to see 127 hours (my choice).  I like films based on true stories and this was good, if a little gory.   The original plan was to walk but the weather wasn't great so we made a compromise and parked up at David Lloyd and then walked up from the Campbell Park Bridge to Cineworld.   This gave us a 20 minute there and a 15 minute walk back which wasn’t so pleasant because it was cold and dark.

We were up bright and early on Sunday morning.  Phil drove over to Northampton to give G some driving practice leaving me to cook the Sunday lunch.  It was a treat having meat and roast potatoes but I didn't go overboard and cook loads like I normally do.  After lunch it was back to the gym for half an hour of cardio and then back home. Sunday afternoon was nice and easy, Phil read from his iPad and I read the newspapers and then we watched the telly.  So all in all a fairly relaxed weekend with no over indulgence or dramas.

An iPhone or a Blackberry>

This is Phil in our kitchen explaining and demonstrating the wonders of the iPhone4 to Harriet who is seriously contemplating buying one. I'm not surprised that she is interested in the iPhone because Phil has been banging on about it for months. Her contract is shortly coming up for renewal and she is undecided between the iPhone or a Blackberry but I see that she'ss posted a question on facebook and the iPhone won hands down so iPhone4 it is then. She has another month on a contract but then I am sure we will be straight down to the Apple store. God forbid, it will nothing but talk of 'Apps' in our house.

Today didn't start off too good, I struggled to drag myself out of bed and was a little on the drag. I decided to leave it until just after 9 to go to the gym and was just going out of the door when the land line phone rang. It was Harriet to say that once again her car had broken down. Laugh out loud, she hadn’t even made it out of the estate. She phoned the AA but I thought I had better hang around just in case she needed the house. The AA man said they wouldn't be out until 9.40am so I told her to come back home and get a warm coat. Having figured there wasn't much I could do bar giving her money for a taxi to work so I took myself to DW. I was driving past Neath Hill when I spotted an AA van going in the direction of our house so I pulled over and told her to go and meet the van. I changed into my Lycra and about 8 minutes on the cross trainer, my mobile went off. Now I don't normally take my phone into the gym (you won't believe how many people do) but I had anticipated Harriet calling me. The AA van took Harriet and car to a garage in Blakelands. The reason for the breakdown was a split fuel pipe and the garage promised to fix it by the end of the day and very kindly gave her a courtesy car. So drama sorted, for now.

At lunchtime I put some baked spuds in the oven, put on some mascara and picked up Jan at the OU and we went for lunch at The Barge in Woolstone. I was surprised that it wasn't so busy and a little disappointed with the limited lunchtime menu. But that said, I really enjoyed my lunch, a big plate of scampi and chips and Janet's chicken salad looked very nice but I forgot to ask her how it was. Sorry Jan and thanks for treating me. After a week of really healthy stuff it was nice to eat some 'normal' nosh. Phil had enough hours in the bank to finish at lunchtime which was just as well because he had a major paperwork drama going on. Basically a document that I posted on Monday had got lost in the post and had to be resubmitted to the council by end of play today. It was dependent on our completion on the shared ownership house and if it didn't arrive, we would have incurred a massive fine. My fault really because I should have sent it registered post, still Phil got it redone and delivered it by hand so we got there in the end, no need to yell his head off at me.

We have a viewing tomorrow so I decided to do a quick tidy up and clean all the windows, I should have really cleared up some leaves from the front but it was too chilly. I can't be doing with garden stuff at this time of year. My last job of the day was making a vegetable chilli and brown rice, it's very healthy and tastes okay but already I am looking forward to our Sunday roast chicken. Thank goodness its the weekend.

healthy or wat?????????????

Random Ramblings..........

I hope my egg photograph didn't offend anyone; Phil said it looked like a boobie with a nipple but that is just plain weird. For me, the egg photo with the single tear drop represented a cancer cell and a single tear for sadness and pain.

For obvious reasons, cancer is mucho on my mind at the moment. I read 2 really good Prostrate books on holiday and one of which, I have made, well more persuaded Phil to read when we got home. The moment wasn't right on holiday and I didn't want to spoil our time together but I think Phil has done the right thing by getting himself geared up. After all, information is power and I truly believe that in these current economic times, especially if you are under the NHS then you have to fight for your life because the doctor doesn't always know best.

My research and readings in trying to find out more about treating PC has been a little confusing and slightly alarming, so much medical jargon to take in and lots of conflicting information. What I have learnt is that doctors both in the UK and the USA treat prostrate cancer is an over zealous and aggressive way and over 75% of surgery is not necessary. Thankfully in the basic readings that Phil has done, he agrees with my train of thought. Of course, he has much more catching up with reading to do than me, but for now, we both believe the way forward is by first reducing his PSA levels, thereby helping his diabetes, addressing his weight problem, also his high cholesterol and ultimately reducing the cancel cells in his prostrate by diet first alone. Of course this all depends on the results of the MRI scan but if its contained that we think we will try the diet and then see what the PSA levels are.

Just want to publicly say to Jill (& Tony) first up for their very kind offer of a week in their villa in Kalkan (Turkey) free of charge. I mentioned this to Phil over lunch and his blue eyes lit up! I am not sure whether or not we will be able to them up on this but it was a lovely thought. Also want to thanks to Jill for answering all my emails and for also speaking to the Imaging Consultant at the private hospital where she works regarding Phil. I've been in a bit of a tizz since his MRI as the radiographer said a couple of things there were causing me some concern. Jill's email reply after she spoke to the consultant was very helpful and has lifted a weight of worry from my mind. Thanks Jill, u r a star!

I always thought our diet was fairly healthy but I now I wonder. According to the prostrate cancer books that I've read, red meat should be avoided, as well as all dairy products at all costs. Dairy products are the worst apparently and cheese should be classed as 'junk' food. Our new diet is no red meat, veggies, soya beans, nothing human made or artificial, no dairy, bar soya milk and where possible, organic. It all sounds expensive and very boring but it will be interesting to see if Phil's PSA levels come down after a couple of weeks of the diet. That's if we can stick it of course. I am already bored of cooking weird stuff. This week I have done stir fries (not too bad), tomato soup (very tasty) and a shepherds pie made with vegetarian mince and soya beans (DISGUSTING).

I promise not to turn the naked bloggers in a 'cancer' journey (god hate that phrase) because that would be very boring, but that said, I'm sure they'll be some references to it over the next few months. But, changing the subject, lets go back to me and my week. I had a very pleasant cup of tea-cum catchup with Emma on Monday and it was kinda weird because she was on my 'to do' list to phone that day but she texted first to say do you fancy a cuppa? Emma reads the blog and the first thing she said was how is Phil and wish him all the best from us. Emma brought an Xbox with her Christmas money and has lost 12 pounds in 10 days, how amazing is that? Bloody amazing and I may have to invest in one myself. Good luck to her and lets help I can help Phil to achieve somewhere near the same results, I believe with the new diet and exercise that I can really help him slim down and get well. God what is with me, here I am, after promising not to keep banging on about PC I can't seem to let it alone in and it pops up in every paragraph? Sorry, I promise to do better, really. Positivity is really the way forward.

Okay, still on the lighter side of life, I received a text from mad Betty from Cranfield. It read, and I repeat verbatim “Claire, my best friend, how are you and how is Phil love from Emily”. Now I was tired, very tired and it was late and I thought to myself “who the f**k is Emily” especially when my crap mobile told me it was Betty that had sent the text. Of course, I ignore all things weird and mental but I just had to phone to say HNY and ask why she signed off “luv Emily?” Now Betty, now Emily is seriously weird and I have struggled since ownership of our flat to deal with her but I really can't get my head round this. Anyway to cut to the chase, apparently she had decided after Christmas to create a new identity and a deed poll certificate changers her from 'Betty' into 'Emily'. Wow, can a new name really change your life? Each to their own I guess and who am I to judge.

Still on the subject of Betty from Cranfield,I have had, once again to decline yet another one of her social invitations that she gives to me and Phil god knows how many times each year. This last one on the 22^nd of Jan is to join her 40^th birthday celebrations at Cranfield village hall. Once again I have had to come out with yet another elaborate excuse so not to offend. I feel real bad but the thought of spending a Saturday night in a cold village hall with a soggy finger buffet and a karaoke machine amongst a room full of locals that I have nothing in common with just doesn’t appeal. Forgive me lord but if you don't mind I'll sit this one out; I definitely won't be going to heaven!

I seem to have spent most of the week shopping and cooking. I did get to the gym on Tuesday and Wednesday so that was something. Christine came to stay on Tuesday for a couple of nights; she has taken early retirement, rented her MK house and this week has started the commute between Surrey and MK. It was good to catch up as we hadn't seen each since before Phil & went to Goa. I don't envy her the driving to and fro but she's breaking this up by staying with friends a couple of nights during the week. It won't be for too long though as she finishes her job at the end of March. I felt sorry for her staying on the futon bed in our spare room because the room is tiny and the futon is very hard. I can't believe we made Harriet sleep on it for a whole year and no wonder she complained lol. Well that's my ramblings over for today, I think I've gone on enough. Got loads to achieve today, a visit to the gym first and then I am going to make a start on the end of year accounts. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Sunshine & Sadness

Just for the record I just wanted to let everyone know that despite the horrible photographs that Phil posted last week with my grumpy boat face, I DID enjoy our holiday in Tenerife, very much so. I had some reservations because it was a 'free' holiday from a scratchcard but these concerns were unfounded. The apartment in Albatros resort of Golf Del Sur was brilliant; I am unaccustomed to having so much space so a separate bedroom and fully equipped kitchen plus a large balcony was pure luxury. Aside from the accommodation, the resort was clean and well maintained and of course we had the weather. With temperatures in the early 20's it wasn't boiling but hot enough to walk round in shorts and a t-shirt.

We didn't spend a great deal of time sunbathing so I haven't come back with a dirty tan but I am bronzed and it was a nice top up to my tan from India. The added bonus was that it didn't cost us a fortune, in fact it was probably one of the cheapest holidays we've had in a long time. The flights were 100 quid each which included 15kg of luggage; the car hire a week was 80 quid and it only cost £26 for the long term parking just off Luton airport. Food and drink were cheaper than most of the places we've been to in Europe and so we didn't spend a lot. I think it did Phil good to get away and not think about his prostrate for a week and it was just what the doctor ordered.

Unfortunately, as is always the case, life returns back to normal and yesterday morning after a relaxing day on Sunday, we were at the MRI unit at MK Hospital at 8am so Phil could have his fully body scan. We were there for an hour and I think he was the first patient of the day. That was fine by us because it meant there were no delays so Phil wouldn't be too late for work. Phil said the MRI felt very weird and slightly claustrophobic. I think they had to squeeze him into the tunnel scanner and no space to spare. Still, lets hope the scan doesn't show up anything too serious and that the cancer is contained in the prostrate. All we can do now is wait for the results which we get on the 2nd of February.

I phoned Sue on Sunday evening just to check how Alan was and was very sad to hear that Alan was admitted to Willen Hospice last Sunday. This was a shock because I thought the Sutent would shrink the tumour and the secondaries but alas, tests showed that the cancer has spread. I felt gutted on hearing this news and god only knows how Sue is coping, she has had to be strong now for so long that I'm not sure how much more she can take. Words seem so shallow at a time like this, but I told her just call me if you need someone to talk to and I can only hope that she shouts if she needs some support. This f**king disease has a lot to answer for and its scary when it comes into your life. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemies.

North east Island and departure

We checked out at just before 10am and were off to Garachico on the north coast. The roads were very windy and hilly but the surfaces and widths were much better than I remember from doing it in 1978. It really is a wonderful run in a wonderful climate and with Teide in the background. Top Gear would love it, especially as there are not many cars around. We loved the place and very few tourists even though its not that far from Puerto de la Cruz; at one time we were within 15km of it but then we got back on the right road again. Hat means that we did almost circumnavigate the island but in two goes. We brought the satnav that we used in Australia and the USA because it has everywhere on it. We havent used it since we were away because it takes to long to boot up because it keeps going wrong on boot up. This time, it booted up first time which it had only done one on our entire tour last year. Second time again; in fact it hasn't played up once. What's going on? I think the secret is not to touch the top on off button at all, only the main switch.

We found a great place for lunch, they had a 3 course lunch with bread, ½ litre of water and ½ litre of red wine all for 10E and with a sea view, amazing. I didn't want to make the same mistake again and end up with a plate of bones so I chose the pork chops for my main. We both chose vegetable soup for our starter but when he brought them and stretched to serve he spilt mine all over Claire and in her handbag whilst he was serving her. The pork chops were good though, we got two each and could hardly manage them. It just shows what a difference it makes when you find somewhere a little off the beaten track of tourists.

We still had plenty of time so we reset the satnav for Los Gigantes on the west coast. Another good choice; we had a walk around and then a rest with a small beer each. Another lovely little place, but a few more tourists now as we are getting a little closer to Americanos again. Still, the road to it was fabulous along the coast, a real treat to drive if you are not stuck behind someone. Every time I caught someone up, I would stop to take a photo, there's no point winding myself up. We had a long walk around there and then found a nice little bar to have another drink with a sea view.

We still had plenty of time so we reset the satnav for Playa De San Juan and were there in a jiffy. Either I'm very good at picking places from the map or all the little towns along around here are the same. If we come back I would like to stay a few nights over the west and north coast because there must be so much to discover and there are no where near as many tourists as the main places so they have proper restaurants rather than breakfast and snack bars. Just remember that most the local dishes have lots of bones in them. We walked around the bay to a little port and beyond were two little bays with beaches surrounded by restaurants and bars and not too busy either. This place had proper black volcanic sand, not all that imported yellow stuff. Only trouble is, you try and walk on it when the suns out. Yet again, we found a nice little place overlooking one of the beaches for a drink and at last it was time to make our way to the airport. Strange really, we had one of our best travelling days on our last day; I guess it because we have lots of time to kill so we could take it easy.

By the way, I haven't been able to post yesterdays blog as our wifi was down in the evening and in the morning we left and the airport doesn't have it. That's why I am writing this new one now at the airport rather than posting the last one. I guess that they will both be posted when we get home on Sunday morning, so don't forget to look back and read the other one.