Towards the end of a rather tiring week.

Matching socks and phone cosy... it's all a bit sad really.



Still, it keeps my handbag stuff from scratching the screen of my nice, new, but-not-an-i phone.

A rather trying week at work. Nevermind. The garden is nice and we have a 3 day weekend approaching.







j is in London and it feels so odd without him around. What am I going to do in October when he goes away to university? How do people cope?

Springy

Well, survived my first week back at work
My colleagues were all really supportive and interested. (In fact, there's still a digram of my new insides, with Betty clearly labelled, on the whiteboard in the staffroom - for the visual learners )

It was my birthday - 47th - yesterday. I was bemoaning how it seems so much nearer 50 than 46 did, and I was told to shut up and be happy that I look so much younger than I did last year!

Had my first real experience of dumping last night and learned a valuable lesson about reading the label.

A person could be forgiven for believing that an organic yoghurt with prunes and seeds should be good for a person, surely! Reading the label would have revealed that the healthy ingredients were masking 23% sugar. Yikes!

Felt shakey, tearful and absolutely drained. Also, slightly disorientated. Had to go to bed for half an hour to pull round. Bounced back quickly enough, but it has given me and the lads an idea of what I look and feel like when this happens. Now to make sure it happens as little as possible in the future!

&hearts &hearts &hearts

Finished my latest pair of Monkeys - just in time for sandal weather, but what the heck! Here they are relaxing by the pond:



♥ ♥ ♥

In the garden, Spring is finally arriving. Can you see the tadpoles here? The pond looks like it is bubbling - there are so many taddies at various stages of development.



Found two Snake's Head Fritillaries in the woodland area this afternoon:

My week at work

Working and working with Betty-the-bypass-pouch is taking more getting used to than I thought it would.

I get up early, as I always did, and browse the interweb news while I drink a glass of water and get all my pills down. Then I make a latte (how I love my Gaggia and am so glad I can still drink coffee!) and take it back upstairs to drink with J. Ido make him one too! Sometimes this is the only timewe get to catch up when life is really busy.

I take a Weetabix to work with me (My life is one big pile of tiny tupperware boxes at the moment) and eat it while I do my diary and answer messages.

I'm managing a good fluid intake during the morning, which is good.

Lunch at school is usually a bit rushed, and Betty hasn't coped with being rushed at all. I have had really tight restriction at lunchtimes this week. So lunch has been really unsuccesful. The solution has been to take a scoop of protein shake powder with me the last two days. This mixed into milk has been manageable. I'm using My Protein True Whey, which has 19g of protein, 98 cals and low sugar. Just wish it came in smaller tubs. I have a 90 serving tub of banana at the moment and sometimes long for something different - like the Raspberry.



I've been more tired than I could have imagined too. My job is busy and fairly intense on a daily basis and I am feeling totally drained by 5:30 each evening.

Roll on the weekend!

Oh, I don't want to go back to work tomorrow

I've had a week off for my surgery and then two weeks' Easter holidays. I went to work for a day last week to see what state my post pile was in and to print out and collate a lot of data analysis I've been doing during the holiday. As there were only four of us in it was relaxed and free from the usual work-issues.

One of my colleagues is stranded in Portugal thanks to the Icelandic volcanic erruption. He won't be able to get a flight home for another week yet. It seems unreal and slightly ridiculous in today's world of the global village. I wish I'd seen it coming ;) Could have been stranded somewhere warm!





Still, there are signs all over the garden that spring is getting here. Even though it is only 10 degrees today and J is out gardening in his anorak!

Yesterday was relatively warm and we drove over to Saltburn, which was very busy. Then back along the coast.

Out and about again.

Been trying to increase my exercise lately. I don't feel like I have any stamina at the moment.
Managing 12 minutes at a time on the exercise bike (on j's rather tough settings as I don't know how to adjust it!) and walking more.

Went to Egglestone Hall yesterday and strolled around the gardens while J did plant shopping and j looked bored.



It was lovely to see some sunshine and, surprisingly, it was warmer up in Teesdale than at home.

Don't know whether it's a characteristic of this post-op period, or something else entirely, but I find myself getting very emotional about silly things at the moment. TV programmes, books, odd thoughts - can all bring me to tears. Odd.

I'm knitting again!

After a long absence (enforced by my orthopaedic surgeon and recently diagnosed Kienbock's disease), I am now knitting again. It's been odd, not being able to pick up the needles.
As soon as I was able, I didn't really feel like it. This was related to the project I was working on. I hated the colour of the yarn I was using.
So, I decided that, as it was superwash wool, I would try to overdye it. Fail!
Outcome:



Lovely colour, but felted so small they will do as slippers for my 5 year old niece if I sew some non-slip soles on. Never mind!

Back to the drawing board and some comfort-knitting. Another pair of Monkeys. This time in
Socks That Rock (mediumweight). The colour is Love in Idleness.

A cull

Spent this morning going through my wardrobe to cull the things that don't fit any more. I haven't had a drastic weight loss since surgery, but we're (hopefully!)heading towards warmer weather and I was nearly 5 stones heavier when I last wore my Summer clothes.
I don't have much left after sorting out 2 bin bags for the charity shop and a pile of stuff to go on eBay.

Strangely, or maybe not, the things that are left are much brighter coloured than the things that went. I seem to be gravitating towards cerise, lime, turquoise and red. I used to wear lots of black and some brown. Purple remains a perennial favourite, though.

Bruisey!

Should probably have marked this post not safe for children or at work, but what the heck! Look away if you are easilly upset!
My abdomen now:


It’s unbelievably swollen. I look much bigger than I did before I went into hospital, although I weigh less.

I seem to have spent all day working on eating and drinking, which is weird as I used to spend much of my time avoiding food.

Made a list of things that might work with the new, pureed diet stage and headed out to Tesco. Managed to get everything except Dutch crispbakes and I should probably not really have them anyway. I’m just craving something crunchy and I read that they are pouch-safe as they go to dust/mush in the mouth anyway.

What I ate today:

½ Weetabix with milk
Small latte
Petite Filous fromage frais
250mls Covent Garden winter veg soup, blended
Tbspn Mash with swede and carrot
Pureed veg with cheese stirred in
Apple puree and Angel Delight

Didn’t drink enough water, will try harder tomorrow.

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.

Great anticipation, this morning! If I can keep 6 spoonfuls of runny porridge down, I can go home. Felt really anxious about it, yet bouyed up by having slept from 9pm the previous evening with only 3 periods awake. Obviously what my body needed.

Managed the porridge, but I must admit, the odd gurgling and draining sensations take some getting used to.

Saw Maureen Boyle, the specialist dietician, who filled me full of confidence about my ability to cope with this new diet and lifestyle.
Saw Mr Mawaher (?Sp), Mr Small’s registrar, and was discharged. Wounds checked – all fine, no sutures or clips.
J and j collected me after a lunch of mashed potato (ate 3 teaspoons) and pureed mince (ate none, just can’t do that kind of thing).

Wonderful to be home. I was a bit emotional.

Spent a bit of time explaining to J and j that I was going to be ok and that things weren’t going to be too strange. j and I had a long chat about how frightened he had been on Monday night. He’d ‘played’ with the idea that I would die, which is the kind of thing I do. (Catastrophising, not dying!)

Had a shower! Bliss! Clean hair and no hospital smell. J took me for a drive to the beach.

Ate a small fromage frais, then later some baked beans pureed with grated cheese.
Must remember to drink more.