We survive a kitchen fire

With just two of us at home now, we often use only half a pan of food, freezing the rest to make a ready meal another day. On Monday, Ann chose to reheat some frozen stir fry she had made a week or two previously, and thought to add some noodles for extra filling. She put the noodles in the microwave,  but forgot to add any water and they burst into flames. Ann pulled them out, and dropped them in the black rubbish sack, where they continued to burn. Next moment, I heard a voice down the hall, "John, there's a fire!" I came out to find Ann standing in the hall, black sack in hand with a melted hole either side, with old food coming out, and pouring smoke. I grabbed the sack and took it into the yard where, ban or not, I turned the hose on it but it took some time to dampen down before I felt it safe enough to drop in the bin, still steaming from the heat. We opened the windows and turned the extractor fan on, but it took two days before the smell began to disappear from the rooms.

On Tuesday we went to Bury. A while back, I had seen the optician who made an appointment for my cataract to be done in Thetford. Unfortunately he sent it to WSH in Bury for processing, but they had contacted me to say they couldn't forward it, and it would need to be resent. Because my new injections can cause serious eye problems, the dermatologists have refered me to the WSH for an ophthalmic assessment, so it made sense to also transfer the cataract booking back to WSH. The trip to Vision Express went smoothly and they quickly agreed to resend the letter. I then went to the art shop to buy some supplies, but nearly ended up with a haircut. The shop had been sold and turned into a barber's since I last went; they have moved their entire stock next door to the framing shop.

We let Edwin know we were in town, so he and Andre walked across to meet us, initially for a drink but it turned into a full meal at a smart new restaurant called the Gastrono-Me. Edwin is thinking of updating his car, so pulled Ann in as his car-buddy to go to Huntingdon with him today to test drive it.

 STOP PRESS: He and Ann returned with a new car to collect. It is a demo car, but won't be available until garage receive their new demo car, so we will try to collect it next week on the way back from Birmingham.

Ann in the wars - again

Ann injured again

What started as a week of hope for me with my new injections for the dermatitis turned into a week of pain for Ann, when she tripped over in the kitchen and fell full-length onto her nose. The quantity of blood was like a slaughterhouse, with puddles running down the hall and up the walls. I settled Ann as best we could on a chair, with copious tissues to catch the bloody downpour, and texted MA then Edwin who said "We're coming over!"

We stemmed the blood flow from the nose eventually, though a nasty cut over the nose continued to bleed for some time. Ann took some sips of water, and I mopped up much of the blood and washed down the walls. When the boys arrived, we managed to half-carry Ann onto the settee with a pile of cushions propping her up. We dressed the cut, though it was some time in stopping bleeding, mainly because of the anticoagulants and the rapid swelling of the nose, the pain from which prevented more than a light dressing. We gave her a sweet cup of tea and a brandy - the first alcohol she has taken since going onto her new tablets over three weeks ago - and co-codamol to ease the pain. The nose is terribly swollen, yet squashed, and already the signs are appearing for two real shiners. I eventually took Ann up to bed, leaving the boys to finish clearing the mess. She did not sleep well, partly from the pain but also because of a urine infection she's developed, with blood in the urine, for which she's taking antibiotics. 

The dreaded rash on my arms

Altogether, Ann is having a succession of bad weeks although there have been some good spots. The first injections for my skin arrived by courier for storage in the fridge. They are extremely expensive and only prescribed as a last resort, so if they don't work there is nothing else. I had to self-administer two the first time, and one every fortnight thereafter, but they are easy to use. The syringe is pressed against my abdomen, I press the trigger, and a yellow flag slowly covers a window as the viscous fluid flows in. That was on Tuesday, but sadly no benefit yet, although I may be a little impatient. 

Yesterday we met Rae and Malcolm and Robin and Yvonne for lunch at the Cock, a newly opened restaurant in Clare. At the end of the month, we have two nights booked to visit Birmingham, which we always enjoy. Hopefully Ann's good looks will be restored by then, and she will not look like the loser in a prize boxing match.

 

Catchup time

 Autumn has come early to Hundon foretelling a long harsh winter,. Already, in early August, blackberries hang heavy on the brambles, darkest black and thick with juice, not sour or acidic but sugary sweet in the hot prolonged sunshine. Underfoot crunch the fallen leaves,  deep gold and brown and crisp as burn toast. The trees still wear a green mantle, but look closely and the edges of the leaves are turning yellow. The ground is hard as concrete, fizzured and dry beneath the tawny grass. This long, dry summer and the early autumnal changes presage a cruel winter, forecast to be harsher by a looming fuel shortage and massivley increasing bills. 

Our friends Rae and Malcolm came for coffee this week. They have recently returned from a holiday abroad, staying with two friends of theirs in France, another Ann and John. At least, it was meant to be a holiday but didn't turn out as planned. The plane from Stansted was on schedule and loaded quickly, while passage through the airport in France was smooth and swift. But the day before their arrival, Ann had fallen badly and fractured her femur, and was having to attend hospital. John was driving over to see her, but they could not go with him. Eventually she was brought back by ambulance as they could not get in the car because it wouldn't take her wheelchair. This meant that for the whole holiday, they could not leave the house, lacking a car of their own. The house lacked air-conditioning, yet the shutters were closed to keep out the sun, so the house was roasting. They could not even sit in the garden or take restful strolls due to the burning 40+C heat. To crown it all, Malcolm slipped in the shower and was badly bruised. He's just lucky he didn't break a leg as well.

Our Ann is improving slowly, but still gets breathless. She saw the cardiologist on Monday, but a young man rather than the consultant, who told her she had fluid on the diaphragm and would need a diuretic. Unfortunately, our GP refuses to give her a prescription until he hears from the hospital, but the hospital still haven't written to him, so Ann remains untreated.

Ann needs to sleep well to help heal her damaged heart, but I continue to be restless at night, getting up every hour or two to go to the toilet, or put creams on to ease the itching, or to pace the floors to relieve cramp. The dermatologist has offered me a new treatment: self-administered injections once every fortnight. They are expensive, and semi-experimental as few people have received this treatment yet, but they do give hope that things might improve. Surprisingly, Ann gets disturbed by my nocturnal wandering rather than sleeping soundly, so has opted to sleep downstairs. At least she gets some unbroken sleep now.

Tomorrow, Ann's sister Jane is coming to visit, with her son yet another John, who has always been known as Little John, as he was the youngest in the family. Their car is too unreliable for the journey, so they are hiring one. Ann has been busy all day baking cakes, making a trifle and preparing for their coming, but they will not stay the night, being determined to do the whole trip in a single day.

Ann, with sister Jane and nephew John