Around the World in 80 Days, well 56 actually

Wow what a telling off you all gave me yesterday hey! Okay Okay I have given in and decided to have a day of rest at home, no visitors, just peace and relaxation time however I do still have to work. But thanks for caring about me.

Last night I made myself a scone with butter, strawberry jam, clotted cream and then fresh strawberries on top. Now I wasn’t hungry after tea but in a rest week I can taste things that I can’t taste during chemo and it was so lovely I took a picture of my creation for you. Life looks better with cake in it I think LOL.

Bed at 2 ish again and up at 6.20 am, usual morning routine of animal feeding, 1/2 a biscuit, coffee and a fag. I’m feeling okay and I’m checking my emails etc when Richard appeared from the garden. He fell asleep last night under my quilt in the chemo gazebo and I didn’t have the heart to wake him up, so when I got up this morning I must have woken him up with the coffee machine, being a bean to cup one can make a right noise. He goes straight upstairs back to his bed to sleep some more. I would love to sleep for more than 4 hours through the night and I envy him.

I checked my blog stats as normal and the blog is not only being read by Beverley in Michigan but also by someone else in Dallas, oh how I loved this series, Dallas that is. I had a message from an ex member of the BHS family last night who lives in Estonia, so that clears that mystery up as I thought it was a political friend of ours, James Oates reading my blog. Evrim is the reader in Turkey, Ruth in the Maldives, and the Stud muffin himself Pete in Australia. Some odd places have also popped up lately like The Yemen, Jordan, Mexico, Iceland, New Zealand, Vietnam, Poland and South Africa. So the blog has now been going 8 weeks, that’s only 56 days if my maths are correct. We certainly are going around the world with the help from you all who share my blog everyday, thank you to you all.

Anyway, back to Dallas. When this was first shown in Britain I was hooked from the start. Being old again sorry but this was before the internet and ‘On Demand’ so my week was centered around this must watch favourite. I was so into Dallas that I used to record each episode whilst I watched it just in case anyone spoke or I was interrupted. The glamour, the lifestyle, the cheating JR and the lovely Bobby. I just loved it and secretly wanted hair like Victoria Principle. Now a couple of years ago I discovered that I could watch the whole thing again via Apple TV and whilst Steve was working away my guilty secret pleasure was to re watch Dallas again from the start. Or it would have been my guilty secret pleasure but it’s Steve’s card details linked to the account and he wasn’t best pleased when he found out I’d spent £150 buying the whole thing, Whoops! I could have brought the whole thing for about £50 from HMV or Amazon but that would have meant I’d have to wait and just clicking a button that says ‘buy now’ is just to tempting and easy.

This morning I ventured onto the Beating Bowel Cancer website to look at the forum and other blogs. It was odd but nice to read about others on the forum who experience the same side effects of chemo. Jani who volunteers there sends me a warning about taking turmeric in tablet form whilst on chemo so I’ll have to get Steve to check this out properly. I went on the blog part of the site and whilst some were up to date there were a lot that hadn’t been updated for months. Why? I thought, and I worry that these people haven’t survived. I made a promise when I started my blog that whatever happens I will post daily and if I’m not well enough Steve has agreed to update you all.

Now talking of my blog and don’t even think about telling me off but I have a mega day planned for tomorrow. Bloods first as it’s the dreaded chemo cycle number 4 on Friday, then rest and then into London for the afternoon to surprise Mr Moore and others at the hub of the BHS family. Then it’s back to BFF’s flat where I will rest if needed and out in the evening with her friends for a meal. Steve has agreed to pick me up after the meal but he is concerned that my day will tire me out too much. So for all you daily readers I have prepared tomorrows post already and it’s about my 2nd near miss with cancer and of course the emotional roller coaster that cancer brings to anyone’s life, even if it turns out to be benign. It’s also about personal stuff as Steve and I had only just started our lives together too so I hope you enjoy it.

It’s 8.15 now and I’m in the chemo gazebo with the second hot water bottle that Linda from work brought me. This one has a pink fluffy cover as the first one burnt my skin when I was trying to cope with cancer pain in the early days thinking it was wind. I was enjoying the peace but now I have the building work to my left and now another worker has started on the house to the right of me! Grinding and banging on both sides, great rest day this will be hey! Ear plugs required I think.

Work completed and emailed, Rebecca, Richard, Molly and I set off to our usual local dog walking park which we call ‘Moo Moo Land’ my car is now covered in brown dust from the workmen as it was parked on the drive. We walk together and I think of all the walks I’ve had with my kids over the years. Watching them play, run, laugh and argue too as life isn’t perfect is it. Rebecca held my arm throughout the walk and Richard threw the ball for Molly. Walking hurts and the longer I do it the more it hurts and I had taken painkillers before I went. I hate my loved ones seeing even the slightest pain I’m in. We stop off at McDonalds again as I can’t resist an Iced Mocha Frappe. Gotta get those pleasures in whilst you can as Friday will soon be here and cold drinks will be a distant memory as will cold water, taste and the ability to touch anything. As soon as we are back home I have to sleep, just over an hour out of the house and I’m knackered and sleep for nearly two hours. Steve is worried about me tomorrow that I’ve taken on too much again but hey what could go wrong hey apart from falling asleep during the evening meal, I’ll be fine I tell him and myself and hope for the best.

Tumeric update from Steve, well, from the Cancer Research page about Turmeric anyway!

So a pre prepared post tomorrow and then I’m back with you on Thursday with gossip of my day out, speak to you all soon as I’m off to cook Madras and shitache mushroom rice lol xx