In Between Days

Saturday. 

Back to work. Spanish inquisition to begin with. Bring out the thumbscrews. Actually it wasn't that bad. They used their sense for once. Yes, I've had a lot of time off in the last 12 months, but six of that was my ankle, which was an accident and you can't account for that. 

Anyhow, the day went well enough. 

Isn't it how some people enjoy making you feel awkward. There is a couple of people who I dread being on break with and yesterday one of them was sat on the same table. Don't get me wrong, they aren't nasty, just everything they say is like a dig. But they constantly moan about work ( yes, We all do) but if I hated that much I'd leave... Especially if I was their age. But I bet the money comes in handy, so that's why they stick it out. Then come but slap a false smile on and get on with it woman. 

God, my patience wears thinner as I get older. If I do make it to 67 when I finish, I dread to think what might escape my mouth by then. I bite my tongue now, but it gets harder. 

In Between Days

Thursday.

We decided to do a Sainsbury's shop, and went to the one at Castle Marina. We looked in B&M and Homesense first, and went to the Waters Edge for lunch, big mistake, huge... 

Both the food and the service was very poor, I think I'd have eaten more at Maccy's than I did in there. What we had was lukewarm at best, and some of it was burnt. 

Didn't help that there was a couple bickering behind us, and the kid with them kept kicking the booth seat so my side kept moving. 

We did laugh at it though, as you have to in those circumstances otherwise you'd get angry...

I got over 9,000 steps in and when we got back Kev ran a foot spa as both our feet and legs were aching. I was also tired. But that's good going step wise, yes, still with my stick, but that there now just to help with my balance. 

In Between Days.

Wednesday.

Kev got the washing in early and once that was done and the bed was changed we settled down to a quiet day at home. The crowns came for the Sadies... We ordered them well in time for the Coronation, so they can celebrate along with us, as you may know anything important and they join in. They watched the Queen's funeral with us ( they like a good funeral, as they are living dead) and were very happy with all the pomp and ceremony. I'm sure they'll love watching them crown Charlie, however, they both think he is a King Charles Spaniel and they won't be told he isn't a dog... Well, they are partly right, Camila is part horse, part dog... lol... 

We are pro monarchy in this house, but I have always thought after the Diana business that it should have skipped to William. 

In Between Days

Tuesday.

Well feeling much more like me, just really tired, so we went out to give me some fresh air. 

We went for a walk round the city, but we were home again for 1.30 pm as I'd had enough and was shattered. 

I wore my new sandals and they were fine staying where they should, my left foot is very mobile in footwear and it has to be held firmly by any shoes, boots etc.So they passed that test.

We did find some ice cream made with stevia which is a lot like Mr Whippy in small tubs. So we bought a couple of boxes. It is good that they are bringing out more made with it as it is a better sweetener than aspartame as it doesn't make your blood sugar spike. And it doesn't have the laxative effects of Xylatol. Kev uses it in baking and hot drinks. 

In Between Days

Monday.

Gradually coming back to normal, but still not 100%. I stayed in fresh pj's and had a chill out day. I mainly did what I've always done when I've been ill, which is read. I finished the second of the Dr Hunter books, Written in Bone. I've now bought the next one Whispers of the Dead. If you've not seen Paramount plus series I can recommend it. 

I ordered some sketchers sandals from Amazon and they arrived today, they are very comfy and will be ideal for the holiday in June. I love my Doc Sandals, but I wan

ted some thing lighter for during the day... These are elasticated so if my feet swell they'll still fit, without causing me pain. They also have the arch fit built in, so I won't need my corrective insoles.

In Between Days

The Weekend.

Was a blur of sleep, sweating and hacking coughs. I still have a very sore throat, a dodgy stomach and a blocked nose. The covid tests were clear, but the truck that ran over me still keeps coming back and flattening me out again. A bit like the flat guy in Beetlejuice, lol...

So I didn't go to work and apart from changing my pjs I've done nothing. Blood sugar is haywire ar the moment, but it will be. Stuck to instructions from the doctor and just eat when I felt like it... 

So not much to report other than that, and so I'll stop now...

In Between Days

Friday 

Well this head cold whatever, isn't any better, and I had to go to hairdressers. I wore a mask just in case, and Amanda did my temperature just in case. All seemed fine. Luckily it was just a colour top up and a tidy up. I don't think I could have coped with a full session. I came home and had a sleep. 

I felt progressively worse as the day went on and was in bed before ten. Kev gave me more Fireball and covered me in Vics again ( good job neither of mind the smell!) Willow hates it however, so she avoided me like the plague. I have more medication on my bedside cabinet than an apothecary... Needless to say although I got my stuff out and packed for work, that will depend on how I feel in the morning. Right now, that truck that ran me over might as well reverse and finish me off! Put me out of my misery, lol

In Between Days

Thursday.

Well the head cold that started yesterday bloomed into full force this morning. Sinus pain, the full monty. But I got up and dragged myself into the shower, and got ready to go out. 

We got the bus at 10.30 am because we believed there was an 11.20 am showing of the movie we wanted to see, Renfield. 

Turns out the first showing was 1.40pm. 

So a quick change of plan saw us do the shopping first, then heading back to TGI Fridays for lunch. Pricey, but worth it, as the food was excellent. As was the service. Its been a long time since we've eaten there but, we both enjoyed it. 

We left there just in time to buy tickets at the cinema and head to the Upper screens just as the adverts started. You'll be pleased and surprised as we were to find the price was £6.99 each as it was the first one of the day! Bargain!

Well I must say I was throughly entertained, the movie had plenty of laughs and action ( sort of a Vampire version of John Wick) I loved Nicholas Cage as Dracula, he had that camp sense of evil with a nod to Bela Lugosi in his mannerisms. The start was an endearing little homage to the original Universal movie, with this Renfield doing a clever take on the first ever movie Renfield. You'll only pick that up if like us, you've watched the old movie a couple of times. 

If you want the "traditional" Dracula tale, you will be disappointed, but that story has, if you'll excuse the pun, been done to death, I think these days to get the story across you need to make it comical, because let's face it, Twishite spoiled all the Vampire movies since. Vampires just aren't scary anymore, well movie ones at least. 

But Kev and I thought it was good fun, and a great performance by both leading actors. And this is coming from someone who isn't a Nicholas Cage fan... 

We could have done with some vampiric powers to fly home after like, as two Cotgrave buses didn't show up and we had to catch the 33 Rushcliffe one and get off at Woodview and walk some of the way home. Trent Barton the really not good bus company... 

In Between Days

Wednesday.

I wasn't sure last night as I thought it might be hay-fever, but today it turned into a head cold that made me feel pretty crappy. By mid afternoon I was asleep on the sofa, always a good indication I'm not well. 

So apart from all my usual exercises etc, I did very little. Kev gave me some fireball ( cinnamon whisky) shot and that made me sweat, so hopefully that'll help. 

Earlier night than usual and I smothered myself in Vics vapour rub so I could breathe and sleep better, which I did. I hoping I feel OK for going out tomorrow, my yardstick is, if I would go to work like it, then I'm OK to go out like it. We've planned to go to cinema ( the last time we went was before the pandemic) to Renfield. 

In Between Days

Tuesday.

We had a lovely lunch and catch up at The Willow Tree in West Bridgeford with Sue and Pete today. The food was gorgeous, and it's such a friendly relaxed atmosphere, certainly one to go back to. 

We got the bus back to Central Avenue then went to Marks and Spencers for a few bits of shopping mainly fruit and yogurt, our daily staples. 

We got back home around three, and then we chilled out, I did my pages, then we watched the drama that they made of the Raoul Moat case. 

In Between Days

Monday.

Lovely chill out day. Crafting, and watching stuff with Kev later on in the afternoon. I also booked a holiday for us both online, as it popped up in my emails an absolute bargain, 4 nights in Torquay in June with half board and transport there and back. Be nice to get away to the seaside after not being able to go last year... 

Charlotte will look after Willow, which sets our mind at rest knowing she will fine and in a place she loves. I don't want her having to go into a cattery thinking we have abandoned her. I don't think I'd go if Charlotte didn't love her as much as we do. 

In Between Days

Sunday.

Work, busy on and off, but another smoothly run day, kudos to the team on the back of tills for keeping it that way. 

Got both buses, which is a blessing as the Cotgrave bus finishes early on the Sunday. 

We got home had tea, and Charlotte came round, we played a board game on the Xbox then we started to watch the new Scared of the Dark show on 4.

I'm getting on OK with my smart watch and it's picking up more footsteps than my phone did, which means I actually doing more than I thought which is great. I suppose because this is on my actual wrist it's picking up more actual steps. 

In Between Days

Saturday. 

A good day at work, busy but not as bad as last week. Got off the tills and managed to get both buses comfortably. Even the tram slotted in without having go wait, which is a big bonus.

Got home and had a chilled evening watching Tim's live and the Reed drive to the impending tornado at St.Louis.

I had a reasonably early night as Saturday is a very early start for me and although I'm sat on a checkout it still takes a lot of out of me.  

I did have one thing come from Ebay a bigz die I bought that I'd been looking for, for a while. If you know how to bid you can get them at reasonable prices, but this one was a bargain...

In Between Days

Friday.

Kev went down to Sainsbury's and the Post Office to post my tag for the tag swap. 

Ian saw him and gave him a lift home, which was lovely of him. Not only did he deliver the shopping but my husband too... 

I did all my usual stuff, including getting stuff ready for work, and prepped pages for my dyalog. 

Talking of which I was a crossroads about whether to stop doing my dyalog or not earlier in the week, but I decided to carry on. I would feel something was missing if I didn't do it. 

In Between Days

Thursday.

We decided to go to Lady Bay, as it seemed a decent enough day for a good walk. 

We went in Hobbycraft, The Range and Food Warehouse. I miss the B&M there, that unit, and the one that used to be Poundstretcher are still empty. 

We managed to get a few bits we needed, and had a good look round. I did over 7,000 steps again which is a good total for me, and I rested up after we got back. I'm trying a little experiment with my pain meds at the moment, and have cut them down to one to see how I get on. So far so good, but I might still take two the days I am at work. I've always been against taking too many but now my leg is stronger and I am able to walk further I thought it was an ideal time to try and cut down. 

In Between Days

Wednesday.

Started off sunny, and we did wonder if we could hang the washing out, but, no sooner did we think it the heavens opened. 

So we did chores and just then the post came, which included my 60th birthday gift off Kev, my birthday isn't until August you understand, but he saw it and said I needed it now. 

It's a smart watch, as well linking to my phone it also reads my blood sugar levels. Which is invaluable to me trying to keep control of my diabetes myself. I was going to buy a separate blood sugar monitor, but not only are they twice the price of the watch, but you have to have an iPhone or top model Samsung to connect too, and you have to buy sensors every three months, which are £50+ a pop. So, we started looking at smart phones that had a similar function, it may be a little less accurate than the monitors but if I have just a general idea of where my stats are heading I stand a chance of keeping in a safe range. Plus it will alarm/vibrate if I'm heading for a hypo, or my levels are to high, so I'm very happy with it, and Kev has given it me now, so it can benefit me straight away. So very thoughtful of him, and very kind. 

In Between Days

Tuesday.

Sadly we couldn't have our regular meet up with Sue and Pete, poor bugger is having teeth problems again... I hate seeing her in pain with her mouth and at the moment it's almost constant. I hope the bloody dentist can sort her out once and for all.

So we went into town on our own, after I had a nose bleed. Nothing ominous, I'm having hay-fever issues because they cut the grass the other day and it's grass pollen that gets to me most. I blow my nose so much it makes it bleed. Trouble is, once it starts it keeps spotting for days. 

Anyway we had a good walk round town and fancied a pie for lunch, we went to Pieminister only to be told it was full ( which it clearly wasn't) when Kev pointed this out the guy serving, he just said, he was on his own and couldn't serve anyone else. Bloody annoying, it felt as bad as that time we were going to a goth gig in full kit, and stopped at a diner that said the same, turns out they just didn't want to serve the weirdos... Charming! Needless to say we won't be darkening their doorstep with our cash again. We went elsewhere. 

In Between Days

Easter Monday.

Another chilled day, I sorted out the tag swap for those taking part, and did all my usual stuff. I even sat and cut some collage sheets while we watched The Portable Door, don't bother by the way, it was OK but not as good as it could have been. I think they were trying to do a Harry Potter, but it fell short by a mile. 

Very disappointed with the Tempting Fortune finale too, the difference in the prize pot for those that spent and those that didn't wasn't that great, it made the whole experiment pointless to be honest. It just once again highlighted how shallow and money driven some people are. 

In Between Days

Easter Sunday. 

We had a lovely day,  it was so nice to not have to worry about the alarm going off. Willow loved having us around, you could tell by the amount of fuss she bestowed on us both. We had a cracking Sunday lunch, Kev made. We even had a bottle of Asti given us by Mariola across the way at number 10. She often drops something round for us after Kev sorted out her TV and dish last year, and hasn't forgot it. 

He even helped Denise too, he went out once he knew she was up and helped repair her wooden planter that was coming apart. She mentioned it Saturday night as we were on our way home and he offered to help if she could wait until Sunday morning. 

He wasn't gone long and while he was out I did my exercises etc.

We spent the day immersed in Storm chasing videos on YouTube and some more of the box sets. Kev went into the Bedroom to watch the football and I did my dyalog.

Later on Charlotte came round and we played a few board games ( on the Xbox) and then watched Tempting Fortune. 

I really enjoyed my day off...

In Between Days

Saturday.

I start by saying goodbye and good luck to one of the few managers who I consider myself lucky to have known and worked with for a long time, Shaun Clay. It's not often you can actually call a manager friend and mean it, but in this case I can. Both Kev and I knew him at Burton and worked for him on and off in different stores and departments. Lovely bloke who will be much missed, he is certainly going to be Chaddesden's gain, and I wish him all the best. 

Work wise it was absolutely manic after around 9 am and didn't stop all day. The queues were massive and a lot of big orders. The usual ignorant zombies, who don't answer you when you say hello, but on the whole pleasant enough. I did have a laugh with one customer who said I had behaved very well with the lady before, who came out with all the usual cliche remarks, like 'it's very busy' I'll bet you'll be glad to go home' 'it's a beautiful day out there, shame you are stuck in here' blah blah blah, I just smiled and said what I'm supposed to and was patient while she insisted on giving me 40 coupons ( of which three actually worked) and every single copper penny she had in change so I had to give her a note in exchange. The customer behind looked at me and rolled her eyes, and then said after she'd gone I was very professional and kind. Nice to get a bit of praise, especially when everyone else in the queue, looks at you like you've just killed their first born! 

Jane tried to shut my till to get me off to go home, but the queue was too big so, she got a young lass to come take me off, Kev and I just made the Calverton bus into town, and then, having missed one tram down the hill, we got the next in time to get the 4.40pm Cotgrave bus home. We got home around 5.30 pm, and had a chilled evening watching storm chasers ( on series 4 now of the box sets he got from CEX) as there was bugger all on TV. Because we had an early start that morning we had a relatively early night. 

In Between Days

Good Friday.

Woke up around 7.30am  and started my exercises around 8, Ian dropped off the Aldi shop before he took Charlotte for her nail appointment. 

Kev nipped to Sainsbury's in the village to get what we needed for the weekend.

While he was gone I did my pages... 

Charlotte came over in the afternoon and bought us a lovely card, candle and Kev some chocolates for Easter. Very kind of her and totally unexpected.

We started a game( we haven't played any for a bit, as we've been watching certain things) so that was nice. 

Later on we showered and got sorted for work on Saturday, then we settled down to watch some more storm chasing dvds that we found online. 

A nice chilled day off, before what will be madness at work. 

In Between Days

Thursday.

We got up and headed to town. Kev wanted another pair of the trousers he got last week, I was looking for a raincoat. I'd seen one in Sainsbury's but it was bright yellow. I'd end up looking like a bumblebee with all the black I wear, so I was hunting for a black one. My winter coat is too warm for the changeable days we are getting at the moment. 

I didn't find one, so it looks like another online purchase. 

Again I did just under 4,000 steps so another good moving day. 

We were surprised at how quiet town was for saying the kids are off, having said that it only needed one loud woman and her kid on the bus to drive me nuts. She was having a conversation with her friend, but, she may as well have been talking to the whole bus. She was shouting and her kid was shouting, she claimed that the kid was being checked by the hospital for hearing difficulties, and that's why he's so loud, I thought they need to check you too love, he is probably just trying to get a word in over top of you... 

In Between Days.

Monday. 

Chilled day after the weekend at work. Did all the usual stuff in the morning, then in the afternoon we finished watching the series A Town called Malice. Quite good, loved the 80s music, and some of the fashions bought back memories. 

Later, we caught up with Reed Timmer on his current storm chasing efforts in Illinois, fascinating and scary at the same time. 

Tuesday.

We forgot at first the kids are on holiday from school, so we changed our plans and avoided the city. We walked down by the canal and went to Homesense and B&M, Sainsbury's finally. We went for lunch at Beefeater. It was a gorgeous day, not too warm, just perfect for me. I walked 7, 583 steps with a couple of sit downs, this is a good amount for me. My stick helps me when I start to lose both balance and when I start to flag, which by the end I did. We got home and Kev ran a foot spa for us both, that helped a great deal. I have to keep on top of my foot care with having diabetes in any case so it helps keep tabs on any blisters, calloused areas etc. Later on moving was painful so Wednesday will be a "rest" day with targeted exercises.

In Between Days

Sunday.

Busy from the off, big orders, enough to make you wonder if they had it wrong and it was Easter this weekend after all! Zombie Sunday when most of the customers looked at you blankly when you said hello. One ignorant woman was talking on her phone for the whole transaction. So rude. Again, you are reminded that they aren't doing it to you personally, it's who they are, how they were bought up and basically how self absorbed they are. It's more a reflection of society in general. And another indication of low self esteem. It like they are holding up a placard that says Look at me, see how important I am, I am too busy to do the minimum human interactions because I have people who want to speak to me... Pathetic.

I'm glad I'm on the final leg of my journey through life, because I don't want to see where humanity ends up. This woke bullshit isn't real, people get outraged because you forget their pronoun, but will quite happily treat a shop worker ( insert all workers with the general public here) like they aren't worth acknowledgement. I treat people how they treat me, if someone is a decent human being smiles, says hi, whatever, I will go out of my way to be kind helpful courteous, otherwise I do the minimum I have to do... There are ways of being annoyingly polite to asssholes, the ruder they are the "nicer" I am... 

In Between Days

Saturday.

You know that saying every day is a school day? Every day is an opportunity to learn something more about yourself and those around you. I have long pondered on what makes people behave the way they do, including myself.

Take the pathological liar I met not so long back. Their lies began to get so outlandish even I started to fall down the plot holes. At first, I was angry that they thought I was so stupid ( and I was!)  for believing them. Now I see that really they had no life and they were inventing one in order to have something to talk about. Now, I just feel sorry for them, because they lost a potential good friend in me, because I couldn't believe what they said any more.

Or the person who still has me on their friends list but doesn't let me see their posts, so they can be nosy, and see what I'm doing, but I can't post on their timeline, so they don't have to have to admit they are still in touch with me. 

Which basically means they're embarrassed of me, for whatever reason. Perhaps because they have friends I no longer have in common... Sad, but at least I know where I stand. 

Even the one old friend who won't invite me to things in case I "steal" their friends, which is just them being insecure. Which again I can now understand, but it used to baffle me, as I have quite enough friends of my own and I like to keep my circle tight. At one time this would have hurt me, but not now as I try to see that none of this is really about me, but them and what they think. 

It's a much happier place to be in mentally once you figure this all out.