Time Goes By

 Sunday. 7.35 a.m. I was awake at around 4 this morning. You know how it is, you need the loo, then go back to bed, lie awake, not a chance of sleep. Someone in Dexter House, in a flat which is close to mine, has a radio or something on, not loud, but has a voice chattering. It's enough to keep me awake. I do all my washing up, which I normally do a good deal later. Tidying up my space in the lounge, my coffee table, which gets cluttered up, so I sort rubbish, which goes in the recycling bin.  I have a wash and a shave, then sort my medication out in the kitchen. I'm fussy, having it all in the same plastic box I bought just after I had my first heart attack in 2006. I have two glass shot glasses, which have measurements on the side, which I got from Amazon. The meds get put in one of those, and the other has Feroglobin liquid.I  do, eventually, go back to bed and sleep.

Monday. 8.35 a.m. A somewhat lacklustre sort of day. What more can I say?

The digital thermometer currently reads 22ºc.

I have managed to finish the sequence I have been working on for months. Now, to develop the next stretch of writing. My creative muscles will be put to use.

4.40 p.m. I attended the U3A Shakespeare Group at Dovecote in Newport Pagnall. As I drove there, I was shocked by the amount of building work which is going on at the junction of the road I would have driven into from Bedford when we first went out before we were married. There is a roundabout on the A509, which, if you follow it on into Milton Keynes, becomes Monks Way. There are also traffic lights, which make it easier and safer to cross over into the road which leads into the centre of Newport Pagnall. So much building is going on, with vast warehouses on one side of the road and houses on the opposite side. Every time I drive around Milton Keynes, there is more building going on. When Carol and I married in 2007, we lived in Crownhill, and it must have been the last estate grid going out of Milton Keynes towards Stony Stratford.  That estate is called Whitehouse. Now, the farmland on Watling Street has been built on, and further along Watling Street there are more houses. 

Autumnal Days

 Monday. 1.05 p.m. A new week. Currently, the digital thermometer reads 21ºc.

I have been to a Shakespeare session at Dovecote in Newport Pagnall. I used to go, quite some time ago, but for some reason, I stopped going. I think it was probably because the person who used to be in charge of the group left, but I made contact via the U3A website, hence today's session.

I haven't driven to Newport Pagnall for some time, and the road has been improved, and there are warehouses built on one side and houses being built on the other and a new roundabout on the main road which comes in from Bedford, with traffic lights which make it safer and easier.

Tuesday. 7.20 a.m. It is another dull and ordinary November day. The digital thermometer currently reads 21ºc, so , stuck at the same temperature recorded yesterday.

I have bought an Osmo Pocket 3 digital video camera. I am getting to know all the features, and, similar to the Pocket 2, which I also have, but with more features, including a touch screen which swivels round to turn the thing on and set up the camera.

1.55 p.m. I was scheduled to have blood taken this morning for a blood test. It's meant for my annual diabetic prevention review. I was due at the surgery at 10.55. I got there in plenty of time and, once logged in on the computer system, I had to go upstairs.

There was a problem with giving blood, and today was no exception. The nurse tried my right arm, but with no success. Then my left, but still, no success. I was somewhat annoyed, not with the nurse, who was incredibly patient and professional, but I just wanted the procedure done and out of the way. I have another attempt booked for 1st December. I just hope that this time it is successful.

As the saying goes, 'you can't get blood out of a stone.' Yes, but you can't get blood out of my arm. 

Wednesday. 12.55 p.m. I went to Sainsbury's after 9 this morning, but there was ice on all the windows of the car, so I spent around 10 minutes scraping it off before driving away. It has been sunny for most of the morning, even there it was cold. The digital thermometer currently reads 23ºc.

Spring Is In The Air!

Thursday. 7.45 a.m. Alfie and I were out at around 7.10 this morning. It's getting lighter each morning. 

Spring is definitely in the air! Not only is it now a good deal milder, but bulbs are coming up, which I noticed when I was at Camphill on Tuesday. Also, blossoms come out, and many trees have the first signs of leaves.

2.40 p.m. I have been to The Oaktree Centre to assist with setting up and clearing up the playgroup this morning and then to take part in a Bible study. I have wanted to get Alfie an appointment at The Groom Room in Bletchley in order to get him trimmed, as he is beginning to look scruffy. I think a groom every six months or so is usually enough, not just a trim, but to have his nails trimmed and the build-up of mess under his eyes to be removed. I thought I could drive over to Bletchley from Shenley and then come home for some lunch, but then I decided the lunch should come first and then drive to Bletchley. Unfortunately, when I got there, I went into Pets At Home, which houses The Groom Room and discovered they were closed until 2 o'clock, so I had to fill in the time browsing in T.K.Maax, Sports Direct and Home Bargains, all of which are in the same parade as Pets At Home. I also went into Boots to buy vitamin D tablets and cod liver oil capsules, which I take every day and  I found if I bought an extra packet I could have one free, so it was a good offer.  I then needed the loo and walked over to Tesco to avail myself of their facilities. 

Once all this had been done, it was approaching 2 o'clock and I managed to get Alfie booked for his appointment on 23rd March at 2p.m., which was the earliest slot I could get.

5.05 p.m. I notice that the workmen working on the roof have packed up the scaffolding and it is gone. I thought I could hear a lot of banging and clanking but didn't realize it was them dismantling the scaffolding. There is still quite a bit of their equipment left on the grass below my kitchen window. No doubt it will be removed in the next day or so.

Friday. 8.30 a.m. It's a rather mixed sort of day on the weather front. Alfie insisted on going out at around 6.45. I got dressed hurriedly, and we went out on the grass alongside Strudwick Drive I found it was frosty, although it wasn't particularly hard. I have to take my small electric torch with me as it's difficult to see otherwise to pick up after Alfie.

I have my washing in the machine and on at around 7.45. I'm now waiting for it to finish, so it can go in the tumble drier.

1.40 p.m. Washing done, some hanging in the wardrobe, dried, and some on the airer.

We had the second poetry session this morning. Five of us in attendance. I was expecting more Dexter House residents to appear, but no one else came. Pity. This is, as I think I mentioned in an earlier post, a part of the U3A of which I am a member. We have to spring at least two poems to read and discuss. The theme this month was 'love' and no doubt is connected to it being Valentine's Day on 14th February. The theme for the next one is 'birds'. I am currently looking on Google for any poems on that subject, hopefully at least one will be amusing.

Saturday. 6.25 a.m. I have had the windows in my flat open, to attempt to remove the cigarette smoke. It does seem to work, but I need to have the window in the lounge open to create a through draught. I have mentioned the matter regarding this smoke, which comes from the flat below me, but I have been told that the flat door should be closed to prevent the smoke seeing out. It certainly shouldn't come into my flat, or anyone else's if it comes to that.