OK so far
More stress at the end of the week - Thurs might feeling the worst. I needed to put cheques in the bank and do a bit of money juggling, and was considering calling Helen to say I couldn't go to the Kelham Island Xmas market on Sat. Just didn't want to go out, or have to cope with anything.
Friday was dry and bright, which always helps. I drove the buzzly little courtesy car to Broomhill, and easily found a place in the little carpark just up from the South Seas, which was a good start. Did my business in the bank, which was a weight off my mind, then went round to Galaxy 4. Had a little chat with the owner, and sold him 2 of my copies of the Blakes 7 Anthology. I'd thought about doing it, as I have surplus author's copies, but was rather nervous about making the offer. It went well, and I think we both made a good deal. I got some extra cash in my pocket, which was another good thing.
Out again an hour or so later, to see the doctor about a soft swelling on the sole of my left foot. It's uncomfortable, rather like having a piece of fabric rucked up under my foot, but not painful. The doctor was sympathetic, but it's one of those mysterious soft tissue things of unknown cause. So there's not a lot he can do; if it hasn't cleared up by the New Year, I should go back.
Felt better for getting those two jobs out of the way. Gary came over in the evening. He helped me with setting up the YouView box so it connected to the internet, so I could get the OnDemand sevices as well as the Freeview channels. I took out the VCR and put the old Freeview box in its place, as that's got a load of stuff recorded on the hard drive, which I can still watch, I can't get live TV on it any more. I could have done it on myself, but I didn't really have the oomph to start rearranging cables, plugs, boxes etc on my own. We talked, and played Crazy Eights - a card game. I lost by about 320 points to 48 but enjoyed it anyway.
Saturday I was up in good time to go to Kelham Island with Helen. We had to change travel arrangements and make a diversion first though. I'd been told the B-Max would be ready for me by next Wed., but it was done earlier, and I had to pick it up at 10.00 Sat morning. So Helen drove here, left her car, and we took the courtesy car back to the repair centre - Helen driving which is OK as as she is the second named driver on my Motabiliy insurance. We swapped cars, and Helen drove the B-Max, which is an automatic, for the first time. We drove rather cautiously around the industrial estate. She kept using her left foot on the brake, pressing it down firmly as though it were the clutch, which meant coming to a rather sudden stop. Once she realised what she was doing, and remembered to keep the left leg tucked away and not use it at all, using the right foot on the brake in a normal way, the ride got a lot smoother.
The repair centre was in Attercliffe, so we made it to Kelham Island by 10:30. The land used as a disabled car park last year was the fairground this year, but we luckily managed to find a bit of road outside the Fat Cat, with a single yellow line, that I could use my blue badge to park on for three hours. We enjoyed the market - not quite as jam-packed as I've known it, but plenty busy. When we left at about 1:00, there was a queue down the street back to the Fat Cat, waiting to get in, so they may have been limiting numbers this year. We enjoyed it as usual, but as we go most years, the stalls don't change that much from one year to the next, so we didn't need to examine stalls so closely, as we'd previously seen the kind of things on offer. We both bought three or four things. I walked and pushed the wheelchair for an hour or so, then my leg was aching, so I sat and let Helen push me.
We felt we'd seen all we wanted before the three hours were up. As all the eating places nearby were busy, we opted to get fish and chips on the way back to mine, and eat at home in peace and quiet. We sat and talked afterwards, until it was getting dark, when Helen went home.
Altogether, it was a nice couple of days. I got some things sorted, saw friends and relaxed. No roleplaying tomorrow, so a nice quiet day at home (I hope). Just what I need.
Friday was dry and bright, which always helps. I drove the buzzly little courtesy car to Broomhill, and easily found a place in the little carpark just up from the South Seas, which was a good start. Did my business in the bank, which was a weight off my mind, then went round to Galaxy 4. Had a little chat with the owner, and sold him 2 of my copies of the Blakes 7 Anthology. I'd thought about doing it, as I have surplus author's copies, but was rather nervous about making the offer. It went well, and I think we both made a good deal. I got some extra cash in my pocket, which was another good thing.
Out again an hour or so later, to see the doctor about a soft swelling on the sole of my left foot. It's uncomfortable, rather like having a piece of fabric rucked up under my foot, but not painful. The doctor was sympathetic, but it's one of those mysterious soft tissue things of unknown cause. So there's not a lot he can do; if it hasn't cleared up by the New Year, I should go back.
Felt better for getting those two jobs out of the way. Gary came over in the evening. He helped me with setting up the YouView box so it connected to the internet, so I could get the OnDemand sevices as well as the Freeview channels. I took out the VCR and put the old Freeview box in its place, as that's got a load of stuff recorded on the hard drive, which I can still watch, I can't get live TV on it any more. I could have done it on myself, but I didn't really have the oomph to start rearranging cables, plugs, boxes etc on my own. We talked, and played Crazy Eights - a card game. I lost by about 320 points to 48 but enjoyed it anyway.
Saturday I was up in good time to go to Kelham Island with Helen. We had to change travel arrangements and make a diversion first though. I'd been told the B-Max would be ready for me by next Wed., but it was done earlier, and I had to pick it up at 10.00 Sat morning. So Helen drove here, left her car, and we took the courtesy car back to the repair centre - Helen driving which is OK as as she is the second named driver on my Motabiliy insurance. We swapped cars, and Helen drove the B-Max, which is an automatic, for the first time. We drove rather cautiously around the industrial estate. She kept using her left foot on the brake, pressing it down firmly as though it were the clutch, which meant coming to a rather sudden stop. Once she realised what she was doing, and remembered to keep the left leg tucked away and not use it at all, using the right foot on the brake in a normal way, the ride got a lot smoother.
The repair centre was in Attercliffe, so we made it to Kelham Island by 10:30. The land used as a disabled car park last year was the fairground this year, but we luckily managed to find a bit of road outside the Fat Cat, with a single yellow line, that I could use my blue badge to park on for three hours. We enjoyed the market - not quite as jam-packed as I've known it, but plenty busy. When we left at about 1:00, there was a queue down the street back to the Fat Cat, waiting to get in, so they may have been limiting numbers this year. We enjoyed it as usual, but as we go most years, the stalls don't change that much from one year to the next, so we didn't need to examine stalls so closely, as we'd previously seen the kind of things on offer. We both bought three or four things. I walked and pushed the wheelchair for an hour or so, then my leg was aching, so I sat and let Helen push me.
We felt we'd seen all we wanted before the three hours were up. As all the eating places nearby were busy, we opted to get fish and chips on the way back to mine, and eat at home in peace and quiet. We sat and talked afterwards, until it was getting dark, when Helen went home.
Altogether, it was a nice couple of days. I got some things sorted, saw friends and relaxed. No roleplaying tomorrow, so a nice quiet day at home (I hope). Just what I need.