So we got one half of the difficult weekend negotiated when Meg is confined to her bed on the instruction of the care agency. However, last night after she had settled off to sleep, I did manage to get the back lawns cut, which they badly needed only to be reminded that I must seize opportunities when I can to get the front done as well. Meg had a somewhat disturbed night and had to be made comfortable in the middle of the night which is not easily done singlehanded. Sunday mornings are not particularly to be looked forward to as we are scheduled to have our care workers at 7.00am rather than the normal 8.30am and this makes it a longer morning for the two of us. After breakfast I made a lightning visit out to collect the Sunday newspaper and the reading of these occupied me for most of the morning whilst Meg watched the Alan Titchmarch programme on ITV1 which I must admit I quite enjoy myself. In some of the odd moments that I had whilst preparing breakfast this morning, I managed to get some audio sorted out for Meg. I have one of my Panasonic units which is permanently tuned to ClassicFM– as the display had failed, I had contacted the seller who let me have the whole unit gratis. This is complemented by a Pure Radio in which since the ‘upgrade’ of ClassicFM I have been unable to receive on this DAB unit but the happy combination of two slightly dodgy systems give us what we want which is Radio4 when we want it and ClassicFM as a default. After the late morning care workers and had come and sorted Meg out, I cooked us a lunch which was a conventional meat and two veg meal, having had a salad yesterday. To try to ensure that Meg is getting enough fluids inside her, we finished off with a coconut yogurt which Aldi sell but which is absolutely delicious.I have started to think about how the hospital downstairs interacts with other domestic systems such as washing and dressing. The care workers are very helpful and practical and once Meg is out of bed and mobile, then they can wheel her down the passageway along to our downstairs loo which might be better in the long than running all over the place with bowls of water, towels and other washing gear. I have started to think about the clothes in which she is to be dressed because I want to avoid the clutter of this all over the place in the lounge-cum-bedroom. I have ordered from Amazon an under-bed chest (available at a ridiculously cheap price and delivered) and I think this might be a better solution than additional downstairs cupboards or chests of drawers and the like. I seem to remember that when we moved house some seventeen years ago now, whilst we were surrounded by seemingly dozens of cardboard boxes, I tried to resolve only to bring into a room (such as our study) only that which was absolutely essential for it to function. The intention behind this was good but with the passing of the months and years, this good intention did not last for very long. However, I am going to try to keep Meg’s new sleeping space as completely uncluttered as I possibly can.
Now for a bit of a technology moan. My principal computer is an Apple MAC and I have the official Apple mouse to accompany my main system. This mouse whilst being quite ergonomically well designed needs every so often to have its internal battery recharged and the recharging point is on the bottom of the mouse which means it has to be detached from the computer whist charging which is inconvenient to put it mildly. My Apple mouse started to malfunction as the mouse pointer used to get half way across the screen and then ‘stick’ I wondered whether the problem might be my very old and ancient mouse mat so I bought a new one but the problem remained. Eventually, in desperation, I bought an Amazon Basic ergonomic mouse which needs a little nano receiver in a USB port and so it is effectively cordless. I bought this a week or so ago thinking would bring it into use when the Apple mouse finally seemed to die a death. Eventually after the mouse played up so much I decided to bring the Amazon Basic mouse into use. It worked perfectly and needed no configuration – once the nano receiver was in the USB port the mouse worked perfectly and with a great deal of sensitivity although this is adjustable and I thought that the £13 I paid for it with delivery included was well worth while.
As Meg and I were settling down for a little afternoon rest, my son and daughter-in-law turned up to spend some time with us. I was particularly glad to see them as we could discuss some of the the bedding requirements that Meg may or may not require once she occupies her new hospital bed downstairs. Also, whilst my family were sitting with Meg, it gave me the opportunity to dash out and get the front lawns cut which badly needed doing – I am convinced that grass grows more quickly in May than any other of the summer months. I always feel that once I get as far as June or July, the rate of growth slows down somewhat and the miss of an occasional week can be tolerated but as things stand, I do need to keep up with a weekly routine. Meg and I will be sleeping in the same bed for the last time in approximately 57 years so this is going to be quite an adjustment for us both to make. But I am hopeful that Meg will enjoy her new surroundings which will make life easier so that the care staff can use a hoist to get from the hospital bed into her wheelchair and then, hopefully, we can resume our little trips down the hill.
© Mike Hart [2024]