TARRAGON & THYME

  This morning I ventured into town for the first time in the best part of 8 weeks or more.  I was not happy to go in but needed to shop for basic stuff that we use on a regular basis.  I normally use Wilkos for this combined with the £ shop.  It is a form of bulk shopping for basics. These days I tend just to pick a couple of shops to go to and then if necessary go back another day.  I may have to do this as I have found a few more things since coming home that I actually need. I am still not 100% and firing on all systems and so found the small jaunt this morning quite tiring.  From Wilkos went to the £ shop but quickly ditched that because of the size of the queue and I could not find what I was looking for in any event. So then headed in the direction of Primark.  Another no go and queues outside the centre to get in the shop.  Abandoned that as well. So I then headed into M & S as I had decided that I was going to cook a simple chicken me...

In theory I do tend to try and get stuff out of the way with so that I am not caught on the hop.  However, I plead the seventh amendment on this in that I am a great procrastinator and tend to put off things, especially things that frighten me or ones where I am out of my comfort zone.  I have to learn to be braver and not as frightened of my own shadow. For the past four years I have been at home and it looks as though for the foreseeable future this will be the case.  In all honesty I do not think that I could cope with a full time job on the level I had back then.  I am very sure that the decision I made to take redundancy is still very much the right decision for me then and now.  However what I have found difficult to come to terms is that I absolutely loved my job as a Legal Secretary/PA and after 34 years of in many respects being defined by that job, then coming out of it, what form or function did I have.  I have been struggling with this but have ...

'Thank you all for your various good wishes.  Very much appreciated. Thing's have not been terribly good here but they are slowly getting better.  I should take the last lot of pain killers and antibiotics tomorrow and at least now I am a lot more comfortable than I have been.  Would not wish that on my worst enemy.  Hospital have been in touch as well for the ultrasound and that is due to take place on 11 May.  I have to starve myself for six hours prior to the testing.  Me starve!  Well I am off my food quite a bit at the moment and am being very careful with what I am eating which is not terribly much.  I think things will be a lot lower fat for the foreseeable.  I should then find out about 10 days after as to how they wish to progress. These things are sent to try us and yet another medical label for the list.  Honestly, I am getting a bit bored with this and a bit frustrated to say the least. I have not really been up to much in th...

 Well have got to the bottom of what is going on with my health. Monday evening I ended up ringing my GP practice as it appeared my sliding hiatus hernia and my acid reflux was playing up.  I was given certain advice to make myself more comfy.  On Tuesday I took it easy but just above my belly button was very sore.  That night I did not sleep as I could not get comfy. Yesterday morning my sore belly wS joined by pain on my right hand side and I was feeling bilious again although was not actually sick.  Therefore rang Doctor and he fortunately agreed to see me.  Our favourite Doctor who is very direct, stands no nonsense and gets things sorted. very efficiently. He examined me and apparently I have gall stones.  I have been put on antibiotics and pain killers as well as being told to top up with paracetomol.  I under normal circumstances have quite a high pain threshold but this has been an absolute killer.  I have not been able to get comfy a...

....... your own veggies and then process said vegetables. The commonest ways of preserving by the various forms of preserving known to us i.e. chutneys, pickles, Pressure canned in a professional Canner (not a pressure cooker) there is a distinct difference, dehydrated/dried, made into wines, frozen, etc. etc. and then [put up on the pantry shelf or into the deep freeze] for sustaining your family during the winter months. I have been preserving by different methods for over 40 years.  We have grown our own veg over the years, but sadly after OH sustained a back injury that kind of went by the wayside.  However this is something I am keen to redress. However, I do make up for it as I have a good local veg shop and I am always looking for bargains to squirrel away in one form or another. During our gardening years I invested in some specialist equipment.  The first piece I bought was a Victorio Tomato/passata press which was hand cranked and took all the pips out of the s...

  After a very uncomfortable night, and eventually dropping off to sleep, I woke at 6:30am and promptly dropped off back to sleep again.  There was no hurry to get up and so I have taken the time out to rest up a little and showing myself a little TLC.  I do not have the pain now, and I had taken some Ibruprofen but was told categorically by the Medical Assistant to keep away from Ibruprofen at all costs.  I am to stick to paracetamol.  I am sore today but a lot better than I was last night.  I bought new jeans last year and they were a size smaller than I used to be.  However since lockdown, I have put on a little weight.  My logic is that maybe this has something to do with it as well.  So me eating only what I need may be a good way of getting rid of those few pounds I have put on.  I am also going to start walking again into town to get a bit more exercise as that is how I lost the weight before.  It does not help with OH now be...

This post should have been lodged yesterday.  Unfortunately I was unwell last night again and had to get in touch with medical services via our GP Surgery as I had quite a lot of pain.  They asked a lot of questions and I learned a few things about the medication that I am taking and that I can take a little more if necessary. I had been taking the required dose, but apparently if I have an upset like this I can have a further pill to try and calm things down.  However by the time I got to speak so to someone (within two hours the pain was subsiding.  They were satisfied from my responses that I was on the mend but I have been told that if it gets unbearable again to get right back in touch with them.  I am extremely grateful that I was able to speak to someone to answer my concerns, without necessarily diving in and seeing a Doctor or alternatively turning up at A & E when there is no real need too. I was worried because of the amount of pain, but apparentl...