As today is a Friday, we make a visit to 'The Lemon Tree' which is now our preferred cafe of choice on a Friday. It also has the bonus for us of a visit to the High Street so that I can make a quick detour into one of the stores if I want to buy some toiletries for example. Sometimes it has the bonus that we bump into people that we know, now that we have lived in Bromsgrove for practically seventeen years now and in fact is the longest that we have ever lived in one place (or house for that matter) in our lives.
So after what seems quite a long wait, we are now enjoying the spectacle of the Paralympic games in Paris. The French had all of the athletes parade down the Champs d'Elysee (as in the main games) rather than just around the stadium and this innovation probably allows a much larger public welcome the athletes rather than those who have just paid for an opening ceremony seat. The joy on the face of the athletes is something to behold and whether they eventually win a medal or not, it must be an incredibly life affirming experience to represent one's country as a less abled athlete. The UK generally performs very well in these games and hopes are high for this year as well.
This afternoon, we have taken delivery of a piece of furniture that we purchased a week or so ago from the AgeUK furniture store in Bromsgrove in the form of a bijou leather two seater sofa that we intend to use as a quasi room divider. Our Music Lounge is quite a long room and is divided what might be termed a 'Technology' end in one half with comfortable armchairs, the TV and audio.The other half of the room has quite a different and distinctive character and has a generally rustic quality. We have a large (reproduction) Van Gogh in this section of the room and underneath there is our selection of (principally) pottery owls with a variety of cushions, generally with a bird motif, forming a kind of backdrop. The Victorians sometimes put collections of animals in a naturalistic session into a large glass case called a diorama and I think the essential concept we have tried to imitate to some extent but without the benefit of a case. So each half of the room has its own character and we intend to use the sofa we have just purchased to form a sort of open square in the 'Technology' half of the room and thus to add a degree of separation between the two halves of the room. We will have to experiment a little but I am hopeful that we may be able to transport Meg quite easily onto the new sofa which has the advantage that she and I can sit side by side which will very convenient if I am reading or showing Meg something. So the newly acquired sofa is completely functional as well as fulfilling a role of dividing up our living space. It was superbly comfortable that one sits 'in' rather than 'on' which can be a fault with some modern sofas. The colour is a mid to deep brown but I did not want a huge slab of this colour to dominate the room. So I have two throws which I can experiment with and use one against the other. The first I have bought is a faux fur throw which is a wonderfully subtle shade of a pinky purple colour best described as either a lilac or a lavender colour. The tonalities of this complement the sofa perfectly and helps to break up the 'slab' of the brown back of the sofa that might greet you otherwise in this end of the Music Lounge. The other throw I only purchased very recently and this too has been washed and prepared for eventual use. It is an Indian cotton in what is probably best described as an 'Eau de Nile' shade and as this turn out, it looks better o the newly delivered sofa once I have had a chance to try the two of them out. . In time I may come to much prefer one of these throws to the other but in the meantime, I am very happy with what I have managed to obtain (needless to say from the local charity shops). I have a good selection of cushions already in stock ready to be pressed into use so again a period of experimentation will be deployed until I settle on a firm preference. As I have now acquired a couple of pieces of fine leather furniture, I have some little rituals to be performed on them before they are put into their final position. Firstly, I give them a good all over wipe with baby wipes which I suppose are principally purified water and some added glycerine and therefore contain no harsh chemicals. Then I use a special spray polish which goes by the name of 'Leather Silk' and which, the manufacturers claim, is a blend of the purest beeswax, emollients and nutrient oils and contains no silicone. I have been very impressed by the results that I have achieved so far. The Amazon reviews of this product are very favourable and I try to ensure that I have more than one tin in stock so that I do not run out.
Yesterday, I received a phone call from one of the nurses who specialise in Meg's condition and she is always a great source of help and advice. She is going to liaise with the Occupational Therapy service to see if there are any additional aids to help keep Meg comfortable whilst she is sitting in her wheelchair, as well as other armchairs throughout the day. As Meg cannot stand or walk nowadays, then getting Meg's posture correct in a chair so that she des not slip forward assumes a significance. As it is, we use a variety of cushions and other aids to attempt to ensure Meg's comfort throughout the day when she is not being attended to in one of the four visits by the care agency staff throughout the day.