Tweets for Today

• 12:53 Home from hospital and slept the clock around and then some. Sore bits pulling a little but feeling okay on the whole. #

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Tweets for Today

• 12:26 Finally got home just before midnight but had a great night's sleep in my own bed, so not feeling quite so bad. #
• 12:27 Fingers crossed that my blood is good enough for them to do my op tomorrow to put in the Port so I don't have to be admitted for treatment. #

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Tweets for Today

• 16:06 I'm going home today, I'm going home today. Phil is going to come pick me up this evening. Hoping chemi shouldvfinish about 8ish. #

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Tweets for Today

• 17:45 Still in hosp going home tomorrow evening. Feeling good though and food is exceptionaly good for hospital grub. #

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Tweets for Today

• 17:24 Back in hospital again. At least this time it was planned so I've got all my stuff with me. #

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Tweets for Today

• 15:52 Woo Hoo! I passed my OU course on fossils with 95%. I'd suggest I was really clever but it was multiple choice. Pleased as punch though!! #

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Tweets for Today

• 19:33 Phil killed a printer today, it was funny but not quite as funny as when he strangled a fan and beat it's brains out on the bedpost. #
• 19:34 BTW I'm feeling better and my arm is recovering. Scan next week to see whytumour markers are up, results a week today so I'll let you know. #
• 19:36 Thanks for all the messages pepleps sent via Phil, was scary but all your good wishes helped loads. #

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Tweets for Today

• 14:18 Woo Hoo! such a good day, Phil had interview printed in Independent and we paid off 50% of our mortgage (our original Endowment paid out) #
• 14:18 Jilll is still bouncing of the walls with excitement and general bouncyness #
• 14:22 Phil worked out the LRL for the article he's in It's tinyurl.com/6xjy5s I'm soooo excited today Bounce Bounce Bounce!!! #

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Tweets for Today

• 12:32 Bit better today. Hopefully seeing the end of the worse of it. Looking forward to a day in Bath at the weekend. #

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Tweets for Today

• 13:07 Feeling pretty grotty yesterday and today, sore throat and fluey, I'd think I did have flu but got similar symptoms last cycle so prob chemo #

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Tweets for Today

• 14:33 Playing with my new iPhone, downloaded a couple of free games which are both pretty good. Friends coming down to visit today, brill fun. #

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Tweets for Today

• 16:06 We just boughted new iPhones, also went to Oil and Vinegar and Wittards to stock up. Spent loads of money and had good time. #

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Hi Everyone,

My blogs are like London buses, none fore ages then several in a row (hopefully).

To get the health stuff out of the way; it's Wednesday and I had my chemo fine yesterday. On the day before that (Monday) we went to the hospital for the clinic and my bloods to be done. I did give a quick preview of the lastest scan results earlier but this time I got to see more details and also a comparison of the current scan of my liver compared to the one taken just before treatment started one year ago.

The results are officially counted as maintenance as there is no evidence of growth but they can't see any noticeable shrinking in the liver nodules; however we are heartened as they are very pleased with the results and 2 of the small nodules in my lungs have disappeared (Yey for the chemo!!!!)

Also it was great to see the shrinking over a year from big patches of black in my liver to these tiny little dots which you could hardly see.


Anyway Phil suggested that I tell you what the Tweets of the Day are; the tweets are imported once a day from an instant messaging utility called Twitter. This allows you to follow people and have followers who see all of your (140 character posts as you write them.

The confusion for you as blog readers may be that you occasionally see Tweets that are answering or directed to an individual on Twitter i.e. InfoBunny (She's a deliciously loony librarian who posts loads of stuff to Twitter). If you want to look at Twitter it's at http://www.twitter.com


As you may have seen we went to the Bath area for a couple of days at the weekend and in Bath we saw the weirdest Christmas shop window display that I've ever seen so I thought I'd share it. I think it was some trendy clothes shop.

Tweets for Today

• 10:15 Had a fab day yesterday, visited Glastonbury and Street then drove home. In the evening I made some Shawl Pins that I'll post pics of soon. #
• 10:17 Today we are off to the hosp to get official info on scan results and I'll have my bloods done. Then dinner with our friends Gaye & Paul. #

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Hi Everyone,

I know it’s been ages since I’ve written a full post but hopefully the twitter daily tweets have been useful in keeping you up to date with my doings.

I thought I’d write a belated Birthday post with some pictures.

On Halloween which is my birthday (yes I AM a witch!) Phil and I had booked an evening at Igtham Mote, a delightful Manor house in Kent. They were holding a Ghosts and Gourmet evening which seemed an ideal way to spend the evening.

We went on a candle light tour of the house (they were pretend electric candles but it did mean that nobody accidentally set fire to the place). The house keeper showed us around and there were various apparitions along the way.
We then had dinner which was very good.
Here is a picture of us at the end of the evening (Phil was sober cos he was driving but I had mulled wine and then a glass or two of wine).


Also a picture of the lovely roses which my friends Mike and Shan sent me.


I had a second birthday treat a few days later when we had a family lunch at a very good local pub.
Here is another picture of Phil and I enjoying ourselves.

Tweets for Today

• 18:50 We've had a great day in Bath today. Started at the bookbarn, wandered around Bath then lunch at Sally Lunn's. #
• 18:52 After lunch we hit the shops, Lush and bookshops mostly. Now waiting for 7.30 and supper at the Walrus and the Carpenter. Blissfull!!! #

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Tweets for Today

• 15:17 In a course listening to Phil teach people about twitter. #

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Tweets for Today

• 15:32 We cracked and decided we couldn't wait til Mon so phoned hosp for scan results. Everything is stable with no growth! Woopee!!! #

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Tweets for Today

• 18:36 At the hosp for scan today, won't get results for a week. Feeling quite good so far. #

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Tweets for Today

• 22:38 Loads of cooking today, I made a huge pot of veg soup and a big tuna bake with our own home made tomato sauce. #
• 22:39 We had bought a whole tray full of tomatos (for £2) and the rest I baked in the oven to make more tomato sauce. #
• 19:49 Visited Dad, gave him 7 portions of home made soup, I had big bowl for lunch and 5 more portions in the freezer for myself, I make BIG soup! #

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Tweets for Today

• 11:57 Slept in late, listening to Jake Thackray now. #

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Tweets for Today

• 11:33 Not such a good night but bit better this morning. #

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Tweets for Today

• 10:56 Hospital stuff all okay. Feeling okay today waiting for my OU test results not out yet though. Jill sulks! #
• 16:50 @infobunny thought that what I do best might be smacking across the back of the head. What do you think Infobunny? #

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Tweets for Today

• 22:35 other lovely day, went out to lunch with Dad and Rick and Caroline. Caroline had bought me some lovely bath goodies for my birthday too. #
• 22:36 Just updated my ipod with birthday CDs for hospital tomorrow. #

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Tweets for Today

• 10:12 Had a fantastic birthday yesterday. Went to Ightham Mote for the Ghosts and Gourmet evening, had a great time. #
• 10:13 We tried to twitter from there but no signal. Not quite gourmet but plenty of food and we both eat it all so pretty good for veggie food. #
• 10:17 Drank more in the last few days than a normal month. Glass of port Thurs, then 2 glasses mulled wine and a glass of red last night. #

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Tweets for Today

• 22:41 Went to Kensal Green Cemetary today to take pictures, see some of them them on my Flickr account: tinyurl.com/5zmyof #
• 22:42 Traffic was horrible. took 3 hours for Phil to drive us home! #
• 11:37 Home alone today, Phil is out earning us a crust <grin> I'm gonna do a bit of cooking but mainly just laze about! #

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Tweets for Today

• 15:51 Woke up feeling gooooood today. Bit of lunch out with my darling; bit of shopping and now home again for a while. #
• 16:56 Went out for walk in the woods. Trees are still in their autumn colours and there was the smell of smoke fron the woodcutters shed. Bliss #
• 19:50 Bought M&S choc cherries in brandy. Best thing is Phil doesn't like em. I'm gonna eat them till I'm sick! #

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Tweets for Today

• 10:47 I lazed in bed watching David Attenbourgh's fossils programme. Up now and feeling pretty grotty but not so bad given the time in the cycle. #

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Tweets for Today

• 11:45 Finally up after we both had a bad night, fingers starting to get sore so typing may deteriorate over the next couple of days. #

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Tweets for Today

• 09:58 Chemo okay yesterday except having to wait 6-6.30 hours for chemo to come up to ward after it was okayed by doc. Was mightily pissed off. #
• 09:59 Feeling good today as slept fairly well even though I has steroid injection yesterday. #
• 10:00 Some of the Kew pictures put up on my flicr account. Access here: tinyurl.com/5zmyof #
• 10:02 Also posted off my OU assessment ( Fossils course) on Sunday; should get results in early Nov. Keep your fingers crossed for me! #
• 13:27 I was just talking to big myself up and the words came out "I AM WOMAM, hear me woof" #
• 13:29 I swear the word was ROAR in my head but in between brain and mouth it sort of morphed into woof. What does this say about my subconcious? #

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Tweets for Today

• 10:15 Yesterday I was a busy girl, finished my OU coursework and made a huge pot of tamato sause, we had it for dinner and froze 5 more portions. #
• 10:15 Today we are going to Kew Gardens to take pics and meet friends. #

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Tweets for Today

• 18:09 Went to reservoir for walk today will try to upload some pictures later. going to make huge tomato sauce now. #

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Tweets for Today

• 11:28 Poor Phil is still having major tooth problems but he does have a new computer to unwrap which will help. #

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Tweets for Today

• 16:12 I had flu jab too, didn't hurt but not to well today STILL. Bored with this now! Jill stamps her little foot. #
• 16:14 Phil has made me some more lemonade, he has to make it on a regular basis cos it mysteriously disappears from the jug. (Jill is sneak thief) #

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Tweets for Today

• 00:16 Bed for us busy day (sort of) and tomorrow too is all goes well. #

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Tweets for Today

• 16:41 Having a lovely time at a statly home on the way back from visiting my sister. #
• 16:43 Just got interrupted by peacock who came within 2 feet of us and posed for pics like a super model. #

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Tweets for Today

• 07:42 Up for the bins, think we'll go back to bed shortly though. Fingers crossed! #

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Tweets for Today

• 11:15 Woke up feeling better today - Long may it last. Did manage to go shopping with Phil yesterday and lots of knitting. #

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Tweets for Today

• 11:34 Yeh! pictures of infobunny's jumper with resident nips - I vote YES #
• 18:19 Phil is getting me some lemonade; you need to feed Jills with homemade lemonade at regular intervals or they become unmanageable. #
• 18:19 Like hair in the before pictures of shampoo or conditinder #

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Tweets for Today

• 12:48 Home bad day but I'm gonna try to do some homework. If that doesn't work I'll just have to read another Hayer novel! #
• 17:33 @infobunny - Thought you should know about this tinyurl.com/3gvgtq #

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Tweets for Today

• 07:00 Off to hospital and my fortnightly fix of chemo. Horrid morning. Trying to believe it's better than wasting an nice day there! #
• 20:55 Home again and full of fish n chips, life isn't so bad after all. #

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Tweets for Today

• 16:47 Went shopping on my own today now doing some homework on course. Phil home soon and fish for supper - Who says I don't live the high life? #

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Tweets for Today

• 00:53 I is armed and dangerous - got new camera today is lovely!!! #
• 15:11 In Danbury Park taking pictures to try out my new camera. Having fun and not as well as yesterday but pretty okay. #

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Tweets for Today

• 09:54 Doing washing - well putting it in the machine with soap and conditioner! Hope weather stays good so I can hang it out to dry. #
• 13:02 Doing some work for my OU course, is hard to get back into it after break. #
• 13:03 Phil home soon, Jill bounces up and down and claps her hands in glee. #

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Tweets for Today

• 10:58 Pootling round on the puter before we go of for a drive to Kent. #
• 19:20 Maybe poorer after visit to Farm shop but with loads of good things to eat. Including dinner tonight lunch, tomorrow and lots of treats. #

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Tweets for Today

• 22:52 @infobunny You should always follow your bat - it will take you to the darkside (if you need a guide; some of us know the way already) #
• 11:22 Finally doing some more work for my OU course, need to catch up. #
• 12:17 Looking up stuff for family - I'd forgotten how much I enjoy enquiry work. #
• 14:05 Sitting in Chelmsford High Street watching the world and his wife go by. Less scabby people than other parts of Essex! #

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Tweets for Today

• 13:37 Just had long bath with Lush bath bomb - life seems pretty good at the moment #
• 17:01 Followed bat with trip to the hairdresser so now have nice clean blow dryed hair too. I'm a spoiled little bunny rabbit! #

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Tweets for Today

• 12:45 Got up late, think I'll have lunch for breakfast today. #

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Tweets for Today

• 23:46 We had chocolate cake and ice cream for pudding tonight. Was good stuff. #
• 11:06 @infobunny - But do you have your teddy bear identification guide cos I think they may be having a picnic today #
• 11:08 Feeling better today almost like a real girl - Watch out world Jill is here! #
• 12:02 @infobunny - Boy does your bf know how to show a girl a good time! #

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Tweets for Today

• 23:30 @infobunny- I agree about the zombies, that's why children scare me too #
• 14:15 Off to do some stuff on fossils for my course #

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Tweets for Today

• 21:32 Watching Everton play football (sort of). Great fun - not #
• 11:26 Hands shit again, Okay God of Chemo "bored with this now!" - Pissed off Jill #

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Tweets for Today

• 09:57 Friend over last night was fun; Phil cooked chinese food and I made pudding of strawberries, Ice cream and merangue. (spelling wrong) #
• 09:58 Hands really sore; gonna be a bad day but hopefully having bad days earlier will mean that they go away earlier too. Fingers crossed! #
• 10:08 @infobunny Answer: My husband #
• 11:06 I now have picture on Twitter and on Ravelry which is a very strange but fun place #

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Tweets for Today

• 18:15 Home again, home again. Finished chemo earlier than ever before and then had to wait 1.5 hours from pills. Still got home early though. #

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Tweets for Today

• 22:38 Getting stuff ready for hosp tomorrow (this is allergy clinic, chemo is tuesday) #
• 16:17 On our way home from the allergy clinic. I'm not allergic to penicilllin, or at least not seriously. Good news for us! #

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Tweets for Today

• 23:59 When to Essex County Fair today and it was brill. Bought lots of food and 2 folding seats. dinner organised and something to sit on. SORTED! #
• 12:44 Lazy Sunday, I hope. #

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Tweets for Today

• 22:47 Phil still on drugs (well painkillers) at least he is when I can persuade him not to be a hero and try to cope with it. Bed soon I think. #
• 11:51 @infobunny Happy Birthday to you (I'm not singing cos I'm tone deaf and you really wouldn't like it. Birthday Hugs as well. #
• 13:47 Gonna go have lunch now, see you later #
• 14:34 The rain has stopped so we are going to nip out for a quick walk before it starts again. England in the summer - who'd miss it. #
• 16:35 Sun was out and our walk was brill. Home now and starting my OU short course again after taking a long summer break. My brain hurts! #

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Tweets for Today

• 18:48 Home after a very pleasant stay with our friends Shan and Mike; dinner last night in a superb local pub then lunch today in same place. #
• 18:53 Had fun talking wedding stuff with Shan, looking forward to helping her choose wedding dress and stuff. #

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Tweets for Today

• 14:53 Phil saw doc and is still in pain but at least we now have man sized painkillers. Cat's not too well either. Our cup runneth over! #
• 15:01 Just seeing if mobile Twitter works for me. #

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Tweets for Today

• 13:18 Trying to print spreadsheet. Why is printing always the hardest job? #
• 16:42 Looking after my poor darling whose back went into spasm this afternoon. #

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Tweets for Today

• 10:16 Buying yarn off Ebay and feeling good today. This is nice cos yesterday I felt like shit; always at least one bad day though so that's life #

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Tweets for Today

• 09:14 Up and about today #

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Tweets for Today

• 10:48 @infobunny Jill is sending you some virtual hugs and chocolate cake #
• 10:49 Slept really well and only just got up - lazy Jill #

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Tweets for Today

• 23:55 Chemo all okay and new PIC seems to be settling although very bruised> This is cycle 17 - way to go Jill; Chemo Queen!!!!!! #
• 06:20 Awake to the wonder of steroids and reading. "The Shakespeare Secret" by J.L. Carrell, It's not bad; pity I don't know the Bards work better #
• 17:49 Bit sick and icky today but not too bad considering it's only day 2, went for 15 min walk in woods but no dogs to pet (Jill sulks) #
• 17:50 We are making a huge super veggie spag bol for tonight and tomorrow, yum yum! #

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Tweets for Today

• 23:52 Weird day, but at least PIC line is in now even if my arm is aching like fury (took 5 attempts to get it in so I'm full of holes) Bed now! #
• 07:34 Off for chemo today #

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Tweets for Today

• 23:24 Finally finished the blanket/shawl I was knitting for Phil (I'll probably borrow it sometimes) He likes it; post a pic on weblog shortly. #

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Tweets for Today

• 03:40 Awake - due to some buggers having a party across the road, didn't even invite me! I shall ask infobunny to make them suffer. #

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Tweets for Today

• 23:53 Been out at Audley End house wif Phil and our friend Marian. Wonderful fun day. Will steal Phils photos for my blog (villainous laugh) #

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Tweets for Today

• 00:14 Little walk in the woods this afternoon and then knitting like a demon to make up for lost time - Woo Hoo! starting to feel human again #
• 07:13 Up early to put out the bins, life is just soooooo exciting #
• 11:40 Knitting again and going to have my hair cut in a bit, only found out last week that I shouldn't have it coloured while on chemo - Oops! #
• 15:04 Just had my hair cut and I feel so much better, I'm pretty girl now! #

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Tweets for Today

• 13:18 Feeling better today, more like a human being and less like a limp rag - let's see what mischief I can get up to! #
• 13:19 @infobunny here are some jokes www.ahajokes.com/ #

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Tweets for Today

• 00:14 Spent all evening at hospital, bloody PIC line infected again, also couldn't find late night chemist, poor Phil shattered - Bugger #
• 16:09 Even today couldn't get prescription filled in local chemist, they said tomorrow afternoon earliest. From Basildon hosp pharmacy in the end #

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Tweets for Today

• 15:34 Slept well last night but still just had nap - Lazy Jill, hands so sore to knit yet so slightly frustrated #

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Tweets for Today

• 00:10 Bed for us as it's after midnight, hopefully will sleep better tonight as the steroids should have worn off. #
• 03:37 Still can't sleep, not the steroids this time but a party across the road, or something else maybe - bugger #
• 16:22 Sm came over for a visit, we ooo'd over her scrap-booking and she ooo'd over my knitting and Phils photographs so a good time was had by all #
• 16:24 Went out to buy food discovered a shop which has always been in the high street but we only just found it, looks really nice - Yum Yum #

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Twitter - What Tweets are all about

Hi Everyone,

Hazel asked about Tweets and I realised that I should have said before I started posting.

Phil set it up for me so I may need him to help with the explanation.

Anyway there is this program (free) called Twitter, you join up and then can write short (140 characters) little notes at any time of the day, you can follow other users so that you get all their posts and then some people will also choose to follow you.
There a facility to be able to post from your mobile phone as well as your computer.
Here is the URL for Twitter (but you need to apply to Phil for any techie details) http://www.twitter.com


In addition to the Twitter application there is another add-in which allows your Blogger to access Twitter once a day and add all your little posts (each post is called a tweet) I'm hoping that this will mean that I update my blog more often with little snippets instead of leaving it until I have a huge amount to write.

The add-on is called Loudtwitter and you can access it from the bottom of a tweet post (you definitely need to get Phil to help with this application cos I'm totally lost as to how it works or how to set it up)

Hugs to everyone
Jill

Tweets for Today

• 23:58 Bed now; well if can get Phil off the puter #
• 10:00 Off to the hospital for my chemo, keep your fingers crossed for me #
• 19:16 Chemo went okay and finished early for once but the major mayhem on the M25 (2 hours 15 mins to get home) so poor Phil is exhausted #
• 19:17 @librarycj Naps are good things, you should enjoy them! #

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Tweets for Today

• 18:08 @infobunny Hi Infobunny, yes I'm Phil's wife and I've been reading some of your tweets on his puter but now I'll be able to see them on mine #
• 18:11 Knitting like a mad thing, big cuddly shawl for Phil and me to snuggle under on the sofa #
• 18:19 Eating Rossi's ice cream - heaven on a cornet! #
• 19:23 @infobunny Not nonsense but a very interesting and amusing writing style #
• 19:25 @spellen If we lived closer to you I might be tempted to mug you for those tickets; since I can't do that have a great time! #

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Latest scan results good!

Wed 20th August
Still feeling very delicate from yesterday but we did manage a bit of a walk. I wasn’t expecting to get my scan results till Thursday but the doctor phoned to check something and told me that the scan shows that the disease is stable so that’s good news.

Tues 19th August
Had CT scan at the Marsden and also took the opportunity to have my bloods done so that in Thursday when I go in for chemo we won’t have to get up at 6am.

Because I‘m allergic to iodine I can’t have the contrast injection so I have to drink a litre of this foul white stuff. They keep telling me that the stuff causes constipation but for me it sometimes results in massive wind and diarrhoea. This was one of the times which was a pain because we had arranged to go on to visit our friends Gaye and Paul for dinner. We did have to leave earlier than I wanted but the worse of the side effects hit later in the evening/night after we got home.

It was great to see them and the dinner was superb (Gaye is a wonderful cook) I had knitted a shawl for her (my first attempt at a shawl so be kind).

Shawl laid out


Me wearing shawl





Here is also a picture of the pink scarf I recently finished.



Mon 18th August
Quiet day, did a bit of shopping for food but mostly rested up for Tuesday. I was a bit weepy and pathetic cos it’s always a bit scary having a scan.

Sun 17th August
Went to the Gunpowder factory at Waltham Abbey to see an American Civil War enactment. It was fantastic and you can see some brilliant pictures on Phil’s Flicr account (a great one of Bodian castle too). http://www.flickr.com/photos/philbradley

Sat 16th August
Slept in reallt late and then spent a lazy day at home cos the weather wasn’t great.

Fri 15th August
I had an appointment at Queen Mary hospital at Paddington ,(it’s the allergy clinic to find out if I’m really allergic to penicillin) it was a lunchtime appointment so we travelled into London early and spent an hour in HMV spending lots of money on DVDs.

Thur 14th August
Went to Kent to visit Bodian Castle, great fun and then we found this super farm shop, bought loads of stuff and it was all good, especially the kippers which I gobbled up all by myself cos Phil doesn’t like them.

My blogs are like London buses

My blogs are like London buses! none for ages than then you get two together. Sorry if they are as irritating as buses too!

Wed 6th to Wed 13th August
Mostly I’ve spent the last week sitting around coping with various side effects. I’ve been knitting like a thing demented, Here is the extra bright jumper I made and I’ll take a picture of the scarf I just finished soon I promise.



Monday 11th was our wedding anniversary but we don’t usually do anything to celebrate unless it’s a big one (next year is our 25th so watch this space).

We did intend to go away for a few days this week but the weather has been so rotten it wasn’t worth it.


Tuesday 5th August
Chemo day, I had my chemo okay and my friend Gaye came to the hospital at lunchtime so I had a couple of hours with her and Phil while I waited for the drugs to be ready. The numbness and tingling in my hands is getting increasingly problematic so I discussed this with my doc; one option is to drop the Oxaliplatin which causes this side effect (it can take up to 18 months to improve and I was warned that it will get worse before it gets better). We agreed to wait until I have my next scan results (around the 21st Aug) and also to check that I can stay on the trial if I drop this drug before we make a decision.

Mon 4th August
We rested up so that we wouldn’t be too shattered on Tuesday.

Sun 3rd August
On the way home we stopped off at an unfinished castle called Lyvdon, it was very attractive as you can see from the photos below although I don’t do justice to the place. While we were there we had a makeshift picnic from ingredients we had bought at a local supermarket, we sat by the moat/pond making sandwiches when all of a sudden we were mugged!!! Yes mugged by a quintet of adorable ducks, they were quite small and pure white with bright yellow beaks; very much ‘Jemima Puddleduck’, they weren’t aggressive at all but quite prepared to sneak up behind you and snatch a slice of bread right out of your hand.

I don’t normally feed bread to birds because it’s not good for them especially in the summer but we didn’t have much choice with those little vandals (is was a very seedy brown bread so I don’t expect it will have harmed them).

Here is Lyvden


And a picture of the inside



Sat 2nd August
We started back down south but stopped off to spend a couple of hours with my sister Kay who lives near Stockport. She’s been in the wars recently and although she made it to the party she was very tired afterwards, we had originally intended to stay with her overnight but realised that it would mean too much intensive driving for Phil when he still had to take me to the hospital on Tuesday so after we left her we travelled down to Nuneaton where our booking was okay this time.

Holiday and Birthday Party

Friday 1st August
It’s just occurred to me that I didn’t tell you the reason it was so important that I would be well enough to visit my family at this particular time. Well the 1st of August is a very special day for me; for one thing it’s Phil birthday and it’s also the birthday of my oldest niece Helen, this particular birthday was Helen’s 50th and my sister Anne had arranged a family party at Helen’s house to celebrate.

So the first order of the day was to give Phil his presents (books and Cds which I’d smuggled into the car and then wrapped while he was out photographing. He also had the few things he’d bought at the Everton shop and will have a very belated present of a computer program that we are still struggling to get ordered.

Anyway Helen party was good fun and we had the chance to see lots of family we haven’t seen for ages, in fact in the case of Lynn who is my nephew Paul’s partner I hadn’t met her before but I believe she’s a reader so Hi Lynn!

Here are a couple of pictures and you can see the rest if you are interested at my Flick account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jill_bradley/

Phil and me


Me with my two sisters; Anne Kay and Jill from left to right


My sister Anne with birthday girl Helen


Thursday 31 July
We set out for Liverpool just after lunch and arrived in time to do a little shopping in the Everton shop before we went on to the splendid B&B we were staying at. For those of you who don’t know Phil is a devoted (fanatical) Everton fan; I sometimes joke that he only married my so that he would have somewhere to stay when he went to Liverpool for matches and we did come back early from our honeymoon so that we could go and watch them play in the Charity Shield at Wembley.

Wed 30 July
Visited another NT property; Penrhyn Castle, it’s a modern castle done in the gothic style and was absolutely fantastic. I was feeling better which helped but also the staff were helpful and pleasant which was a great relief after Tuesday. We had tea and cake in the café and the Bara Brith they make locally was so good we bought a whole cake to take home with us.

Tues 29th July
Visited Plas Newydd which is National Trust, the visit may have been coloured by the fact I still wasn’t all that well and that had a fete on so were busier than usual but we were very under whelmed. I nearly had my stick/seat taken from me but the woman eventually said she could see I needed it; the house was unbearably hot and about halfway through one of the dragons they have guarding the rooms suddenly barked at me to move my (tiny) backpack/handbag to the front of my body. Nobody else had said anything and I was feeling quite unwell by this time but the way NT structure their buildings you have to follow their route and can’t cut the walking short;. As you might guess Phil barked right back at her but it made us feel very unwelcome .

Sun 27th to Monday 28th July
Didn’t do much as I was still feeling a bit rough from the chemo (this is quite normal), still it was great to see my sister who’s been ill herself and Phil was able to go off with a friend to do some urban exploring/photography.

Sat 26th July
First stop on our family holiday was my sister Anne who lives in Anglesey, we set off latish on the drive because I wasn’t too great in the morning and early afternoon but it shouldn’t have mattered because we had intended to stop off and break our journey halfway. That was the intention and we’d been fairly sensible and booked a motel room on the motorway; however once we arrived it seems that they had double booked and as we were late they had guests in all the rooms.

We tried a whole pile of other places but they we all full as there was some sore of motor racing event on over the weekend; eventually we realised that we were only a couple of hours from Anglesey so phoned Anne and begged a bed for the night. Finally we arrived at our destination just after 11pm shattered but grateful to be able to lay our weary heads down. Poor Phil was worse off than me cos I had slept in the car but he had to drive the whole way. In the end we did the journey in really good time and have learned the lesson that sometimes motorway motels double book on the assumption that some guests don’t turn up so if you are going to be arriving late phone up and check that they will hold the room for you!

Wed 23rd to Fri 25th July
Rested up an Wed and Thursday cos I felt pretty ill but that’s to be expected in the first few days after chemo. Friday I was just well enough to pop over to Dad to drop off the pussy cat as he had offered to cat-sit for us.

Tues 22nd July
Chemo day, all went well which was great cos it meant that I would be able to go and see my family in my good week.

Thurs 17th to Mon 21st July
Lazy day on Thursday but on Friday we had lunch with friends at a super place Sam knew, afterwards we visited a huge deli supermarket I think it’s near Marks Tey but would have to check the exact location. We bought some bits and pieces and intend to go there again cos it had some fantastic stuff.

Afterwards we were still in a shopping mood so motored on down to Lakeside, got a couple of things in Costco then on to our favorite bookshop (Borders at Lakeside). Here we got the most miserable news that the shop was closing in early AugustL, is was a mixed blessing though cos they had all books and CDs at half price we spent £100 pounds and it would have been more if I hadn’t got tried after an hour of so!
Saturday we finally gave in to temptation and in the afternoon went back to ransack the shelves we missed on Friday sending another £100 (Oops).

Had quiet days Sunday and Monday but did manage to get a couple of decent walks in.

Busy at the moment

Hi everyone,

I had my chemo on Tuesday 22 Jul so I'm still feeling a bit grotty but will soon be looking up. My hands have been particularly bad this time but have just got good enough to allow me to type. Other than that everything is well in the Bradley household. I'll be pretty busy for the next week so don't worry if you don't hear from me before my next chemo session.

Hugs to you all

Wednesday 16th July 2008

I know that it’s been ages since I posted and I apologise to anyone who was worried but now it’s summer we are trying to make the most of sunny days and I may be remiss in my posting so don’t worry if there are gaps in my postings.

Wed 16th July
Travelled down to Kent to see Scotney Castle, weather was fantastic! hot and sunny like a proper summer day. The castle grounds were lovely and although we couldn’t get into the old castle (they were working on it) we did get some pictures of the outside. See a couple of pictures below and I’ll probably post some more on Flickr soon.





We bought some local strawberries from a farm shop on the way home and they tasted sublime (best I’ve tasted in years).

Tues 15th July
Weather was not so good so we went to see Mamma Mia at the cinema, it was fantastic! The story was totally crap and the plot had so many holes you could drive a truck through it but the music was great as always and it was a real ‘feel good’ summer movie of the best kind.

Mon 7th to Mon 14th July
Tired on Monday so we rested up after our busy Sunday. Tuesday was chemo day so spent it at the hospital; everything was okay so it all went well. I didn’t have a bad cycle this time but still quite fatigued so didn’t do much for the rest of the week except knit, take short walks in the woods and play on the WII.

Phil has bought me this wonderful game called endless ocean, you can deep sea diving and see lots of fishes. There isn’t any time constraints on doing stuff and it’s not energetic like the sports games so it’s ideal for bad days. It’s a special boon on days when my hands are sore so I can’t knit because I can use the hand controller and forget my woes in the ocean.

On Saturday Phil took me to visit a local yarn shop I’d discovered on the net and it was wonderful, they were really friendly and I found out that they also do knitting circles twice a week so I’m going to try sometime soon.

Sun 6th July
Fab day, we went out urban exploring with some friends, the place we originally intended to visit had guards so instead we took them to North Weald Redoubt which has some very interesting history.

It makes life some much easier now that I have the little portable seat we bought as I can sit down for a bit of a rest whenever I need to.

If you are interested in the pictures I took you can see them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jill_bradley/

Fri 4th to Sat 5th July
On Friday we went to Costco and then the Borders bookshop which is always fun and always expensive! On Saturday we visited Dad for a while.

Thurs 3nd July
Better day so we went to the reservoir for the first time in ages ansd walked for about 45 mins which I was very pleased about.

Tues 1st to Wed 2nd July
Not such god weather so the only exercise I had was playing a bit of tennis and golf on the WII. I’ve also been knitting like a thing demented, I’ll post a picture when I finally finish something but don’t hold your breathe

Mon 30th June
Nice day again so Phil took me to Sutton Hoo which I’ve wanted to visit for ages, the museum bit was a slight disappointment but we walked out to the mounds and they were very impressive

Tues 24th to Sunday 29th June
I had chemo as usual on the Tuesday, mostly sat around for the next few days apart from the occasional walk when the weather was good. I did go to a craft shop with my friend Sam on the Saturday but it was mainly card and scrapbook stuff which is not my thing so I sat on my portable chair and enjoyed the warmth while she shopped. On the Sunday I was a bit better and the weather was okay so Phil drove us to a different county park for a picnic.

Monday 23rd June 2008

Mon 23th June
Taking advantage of our new NT membership we decided to come home via Corfe Castle or maybe Avebury. The decision was made for us when I realised I’d left my camera at the hotel reception when I settled the bill and we had to drive back to pick it up. Luckily we were only about 20 mins into the journey when I discovered it’s loss but it still delayed us long enough to make Corfe castle a step too far so we did Avebury which is the more direct route home.

While we were there we bought a new waterproofed picnic blanket and also a tripod folding stool (like a sort of shooting stick) for me to be able to have a sit down when out shopping or walking.

Sun 22nd June
Our last full day away and happily the forecast was again much worse than the actual weather. As Phil had been doing so much driving and still had the trip home on Monday and then the drive to Marsden on Tuesday we decided to stay a bit closer to the hotel today.

We went to a castle for a wander around (free as we are English Heritage members), there was a nearby Manor House which was National Trust and lots of other local Nat Trust properties so I suggested we find out how much it would cost to become NT members. We prefer the English Heritage but are running out of new castles to visit we often just was a quick look at a place and the cost of entry to NT properties makes that an expensive proposition. Anyway we did sign up so we’ll give them a year and see how it works out.

In the evening we went to a super restaurant called the Olive Tree which was lovely.

Sat 21 June
Phil checked on the net and we found the best beach for fossil hunting, the weather was still forecast to be very bad on Sunday so we decid3ed to try the beach again while it was only light rain. It might have been light but it managed to get us thoroughly wet together with the spray coming off the water. We didn’t find anything on the beach but after a warming cup of tea I found some nice examples in the fossil shop (grin).

Once we’d dried off a little the weather took a turn for the better so we went on to a deserted village further along the coast that Phil wanted to see, it was very interesting if a little sad.

Fri 20th June
We were quite keen to do a bit of fossil hunting so we drove down to the south coast and tried to find a good beach for fossil hunting. The weather wasn’t great but much better than the forecast. Phil found a fragment of fossilised shell but we didn’t have too much luck so we headed north to Bath where we had dinner in one of our favourite eating places (the Walrus and the Carpenter) our very favourite restaurant in Bath used to be the Wife of Bath but that changed hands last year and we still miss it dreadfully.

Thurs 19th June
We stayed in a Premier Inn at Bridgewater just a few steps away for the conference so we were able to sleep in a bit on Thursday, Phil keynote speech seemed to go well and we left shortly after so we had a good part of the day to sightsee. As Thursday was the only day that was forecast to be nice we decided to trot over to Glastonbury to see the Chalice Well and mooch around the shops. We drank lots of water from the Chalice Well and sat in the beautiful peaceful gardens for a while and then bought some bits in the shops; I got a lovely rose quart crystal which sits in my palm like it was designed for me.

Afterwards we drove back to the hotel we had chosen near Bridgewater; it was a lodge hotel which we’ve not used before but it was nice having our own space in a little lodge rather than a conventional hotel.

Wed 18th June
Phil was giving a talk in Cambridge in the morning and then speaking at a conference down at Bridgewater on Thursday so we decided that as I had a bit of a chemo break we’d take advantage and have a long weekend away. While Phil went off to his morning talk I got everything ready to pack so when he got home we just had to have lunch and then throw some stuff into the suitcase to get off.

Tuesday 17th June
We were BADDDDDDD today!!! We went out and bought a WII console and then spent ages trying out the boxing, golf etc. It’s fantastically fun and addictive and hopefully will give us some fun exercise when the weather is too bad for walks.

I’ll let you know how we get on with it as we have time to see if it’s something we really use.

Monday 16th June
Lovely day so we went to Wat Tyler park and wandered around for a couple of hours (with frequent rests I admit). Part of the reason for our wanderings was that we have friends coming down from Scotland in July and we’ve promised to show them the strange little wooden figures they have in Wat Tyler Park so we thought it might be a good idea to make sure we could find them again.

Last year when things were low my friend Gaynor bought me two rose trees one had just bloomed and the roses are beautiful; the rose is called ‘Simply the Best’. I took some pics and I’m going to try to load one so fingers crossed (Phil loaded the last couple for me but I want to try to do it for myself this time).




Sunday 15th June
We went to a county type fair at South Wield, there were craft tents as advertised but only very small ones and not much to see. We did walk around and look at the vintage cars and Phil has some brill photos of them that will end up on his Flickr account I’m sure.

Before we went out I bid on some fantastic looking hanks of designer yarn, they were very low starting price and I confidently expected to be outbid on most if not all but I thought “what the hell” and bid on 6 of them. Oops! I won all 6 auctions, luckily they were very reasonably priced, absolutely gorgeous and I’ll save on combined postage. All my family can expect scarves for Christmas this year.

Saturday 14th June
Obviously it’s really Father’s day on Sunday but Dad goes to his Day centre on Sundays so we went down to see him Saturday instead. Richie and Caroline were there too so it was a bit of a family occasion. We always get Dad cards but don’t usually bother with Fathers day presents (he’s hard enough to buy for at Christmas and birthdays) but this year I knitted him a scarf in the great chunky chenille that he’d admired when I showed him the jumper I made with it. (I discovered that chenille makes a lousy jumper cos it doesn’t have any stretch in the fibre but it does make a lovely warm scarf)

Friday 13th June
Weather looked threatening and the forecast was for rain so we decided to have a bit of a wander in Chelmsford instead of walking at the reservoir, of course as soon as we had gone far enough in the direction of Chelmsford to make it a pain to turn back the weather took a dramatic turn for the better and the sun came out!

Anyway we had a great time mooching around the shops and discovered a wonderful strawberry vinegar in the ‘Oil and Vinegar’ shop.

Thursday 12th June
Phil was out training so I ironed a couple of shirts for him so he wouldn’t have to do it when he got home. I was going to iron all the ones that were clean but then my tummy intervened so I only managed 3 shirts but at least that should see him through the next couple of weeks. When he got home we went out to the woods for a bit of an evening walk which was lovely, there is honeysuckle along the easy path and every so often you get this beautiful scent drifting down.

Wednesday 11th June 2008

Wednesday 11th June
Still suffering with the runs but we had promised to go over and see Dad so we did that and watched a film with him. He’s still got the cat for a little while in case we want to go away for a day or two when I’m feeling a bit better.

Tuesday 10th June
Not much but a bit of shopping again, the diarrhoea is still bad and that’s wearing me down a bit. Still my fingers are good enough to let me knit which is at least something.

Monday 9th June
Still feeling fairly grotty so didn’t do much but a bit of shopping and watched telly. Phil drove to St Albans to get the car window fixed but we agreed that I wasn’t really well enough to go too. Jill sulks in a most childish manner!

Sunday 8th June
Feeling pretty grotty which is expected cos this is usually my worse day. The good news was that it didn’t seem quite as bad as usual and we did a bit of shopping and a short walk in the woods. Apart from that I just lazed around while Phil did some gardening. I hate that I can’t help with things and that I have to sit around and just watch him doing stuff, specially when I know he’s tried and frazzled.


I realised that I just was going to be able to adjust to sleeping in the wrong side of the bed so we’ve changed back, we may need to do it while I’m connected to the pump but we’ll see how it goes next cycle.

Saturday 7th June
Out for a quick shop then my friend Sam came to visit, we haven’t see her for a few weeks so it was really good to see her. Then there was a very happy surprise! The phone rang and some very close friends who moved to New Zealand were calling they were back here for a visit and decided to surprise us and they came over about ½ an hour later. It was fantastic to see Mark and Julia and we just picked up as though we’d seen then a couple of weeks ago instead of more than a year. It was quite touched and flattered that they came to see us because they had a very busy schedule trying to fit in visits to their families and stuff.

I am quite torn about Mark and Julia, while most of me wants them to be happy and make a success of the move to New Zealand (they are!) there is a selfish bit which wanted them to hate is so they would come back to the UK.

Anyway they are loving it over there so I’ll just have to keep my baser half in check.

Friday 6th June
Tired due to the problems sleeping, we are trying sleeping on the ‘wrong’ sides of the bed now that my PICC has changed arms.

I felt bad cos we were supposed to be going over to visit Dad but I felt much too grotty and Phil had a raging headache too (I think it was the long day in Thursday and also that he was worrying about me all day which he was teaching). We did manage a 20 min walk on the easy path of our wood in the cooler evening though so that helped.


Thursday 5th June
They had to put the new PICC in my right arm at the elbow crook which is a pain but it went in fairly easily. It was a shame because apparently the only person who can use the special machine for putting the PICC line higher up your arm was away on that day.

As the tingling and numbness in my fingers and feet has been getting worse they dropped the dose of one of my drugs by 20% (Oxiplatin) and also gave my some B6 vitamins (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) to add to my growing drug list J

It was a rather late day and as usual I slept very badly due to the steroids and also I think a reaction the B6 tablet which I took very late just before going to bed

Wednesday 4th June
Hospital on Thursday and Phil is training in London so we went over and stayed whih our friends Gaye and Paul, I’d been keen to out at least once during my chemo break so we treated then to dinner in and excellent Italian place near their house.

I was a bit worried bout having the new PICC put in so I didn’t sleep very well and Phil was therefore worried about me so he had a stressful as well as a very long day on Thursday.


Tuesday 3th June
Weather pretty grotty so we did that indulgent thing and went to the cinema in the afternoon. We saw the new Indiana Jones movie and it was good fun, exactly what you expect from an Indie movie; we reckoned it was a couple of car chase sequences too long and they could easily have cut the FBI stuff at the start which didn’t seem to go anywhere but that’s probably being a bit picky for what was a fun film.

Monday 2nd June
We wanted to do a little more castle visiting so we drove to Kent and went to see Upnor Castle. It was very good except for the horrible screaming kids who seemed determined to ruin the place for anybody else. To be fair (not sure why I feel obliged to be fair though) it was the adults fault because the kids were far to young to appreciate the castle and the adults seemed quite happy to let the all run about and scream for the whole visit with no concern for anybody else. I noticed that they went to sit a fair way away from where the kids were playing!

As we lest we were chatting to the two people at the shop and when I mentioned the screaming little animals (I was kinda pissed that they had spoilt our visit) the lady in the shop laughed and said to the bloke “so it isn’t only us!” she then said that they could hear then the whole length of the high street.

We had intended to go on to see Rochester Castle but when we got there is was raining, there was nowhere near to park, it looked huge and we were both feling a bit tired so we just drove home.

Sun 1st June
We were a bit tired after our Saturday expedition so we slept in quite late then pottered about in the house. We went off to buy a hanging basket stand which tasks 4 baskets and went we get around to it we’ll plant it up with baby tomato plants.

The stand went together much better than I expected; weeeellllll… to be fair it went together after we drove back to the shop to get all the fittings they hadn’t given us first time around.

Saturday 31st May 2008

Sat 31st May
We drove up to Suffolk and visited Framlingham Castle, as it turned out we had been there before but it’s such a wonderful castle it was well worth a second visit. One of the advantages of being English Heritage members is that you can just pop into places without feeling that you have to stay long enough to get your moneys worth. The previous visit had been on a very rainy day so seeing the castle in the beautiful sunlight was lovely.

We had a nice picnic lunch of bread and cheese with super vine tomatoes all of which we bought locally then we took a look at an abandoned industrial site nearby. It was so tempting because there was a loose door which we could have got through if we’d been just a little bit thinner and braver but Phil got some good pictures anyway.

We had packed the car in case we decided to stay away overnight but by 4ish I was feeling tired so we came home instead and watched the fantastic Dr Who episode which made for a splendid end to the day.

Friday 30th May 2008

Friday 30th May
Last time we went to the reservoir I noticed a windmill on the way, we’ve seen it several times but this was closer so we got out the map and located it’s position and then today we went to visit it. Apparently it’s open on the 2nd Sunday of the month so we may try to see if they have it in action those days (the board said it had been restored to working order).

Afterwards we did a walk at the reservoir and then visited Dad, he’s going to look after the cat for a week or so; I’m not sure that we will be going away as we have some appointments but we will go out for days if the weather is nice so that we can take advantage of my chemo break.

BTW my arm looks lots better so fingers crossed that the antibiotics continue to work.

Thursday 29th May 2008

Thursday 29th May
Pottered around the house while Phil was working and did some of my OU homework. I’ve started the short course about Fossils and I’m finding it fun. My arm does seem to be getting better albeit rather slower than I’d like.

Wednesday 28th May
Phil was training in London for the afternoon so I cooked dinner and then did lots of tidying. As I’m having a chemo break for a week or so I’m full of enery and feeling better.
The big event of the day was that he got trapped on the train; you may have seen the news about the bridge collapsing just outside Liverpool station. Well Phil was on one of the trains, eventually he was able to exit the train and walk back along the tracks and he finally got home just before 10pm. He was very tired especially as he was training again on Thursday morning but unharmed so I’m just glad he’s safe.

Tuesday 27th May
Feeling better and my foot was good enough so that I could put my boots on for the first time. We went out for a walk at the reservoir which we haven’t visited for ages, did about 40 mins which was enough, it’s surprising how quickly you lose I when you don’t go out for a few weeks.

The other thing is that I got a new computer today. My old one has been playing up for a while and so we finally snapped and went put and bought a new one. It’s lovely and I’m typing on it now!

Monday 26th May
Went to visit dad, my arm was still very sore and quite fatigued so mostly slept while I was there. Oops! But he seemed to enjoy the company even if it was mostly comatose.

Sunday 25th May
We were both fairly tired following the ‘lost in the woods’ scenario so we did a bit of shopping but mostly just lazed around.

Saturday 24th May
Went to visit our friend Lisa and went for a walk in Epping Forest. It’s a lovely forest but the walk was a bit longer than we expected cos we got lost and spent hours wandering around. Still I managed it which means that my foot is heaps better.

Friday 23rd May
Just as the diarrhoea and stuff started to get better the PICC line which is plumbed into my left arm got infected. We rushed off to the hospital which was just as well because it was scary just how fast it got worse. Anyway they had to remove the line and put me on some powerful antibiotics.

Obviously I can’t have my treatment on Tuesday; I couldn’t have it while I’m infected and I’ll need to have another PICC line inserted before they can give me chemo again.
Currently I have an appointment for Thursday 5th June to have PICC done and also chemo but it will depend on how the infections gets on.

Wed 14th to Thursday 22nd May
Not much to report for this week, it was a bad cycle with more pain than usual and the fact that my sore foot made it impossible to go out for walks added to both the pain factor and my depression. Feeling sorry for myself which is one of the reasons I didn’t post for such a long time.

At the to[ of this post is a picture of my foot on Thursday which is 10 days after I first did the damage.

Tuesday 13th May
Hospital for chemo, also got scan results which were good. They couldn’t see if there was any reduction in size (I can’t have iodine so my scan are fairly blurry), but there wasn’t any growth. I was a bit disappointed at first but then the Dr explained that as the tumours got smaller it becomes difficult to compare sizes from one scan to the next so in a way it’s positive that they have got small enough to be difficult to check.

Monday 12th May
Went to hospital for scan.

Sunday 11th May
My sunburn had got really red and mottled looking (still not painful but it looks ghastly); it was at this point that I remembered that some booklet we read at the start of treatment said not to sunbathe. Now this makes me look stupid in the extreme but in my own defence we read the booklet in November and it didn’t seem very relevant at the time.
Phil and Mike went off to do some Urban exploring while Shan stayed in to revise, I pottered. I was just getting lunch when I cut my finger; only a little cut but bleeding so I went upstairs to clean it and put on a plaster. Now the next bit of this reads like an Ealing comedy; I washed it under the tap then decided to go into the bedroom to get the Teatree oil so it wouldn’t get infected, on the way rushing so I wouldn’t bleed on the carpet I managed to bash the top of my foot on a raised bit of wood (don’t ask what it was doing on the bedroom floor cos the story would just be toooooooo long and convoluted). Anyway got the oil and went back to the bathroom (that’s when I noticed that there was another bottle of Teatree already in the bathroom) cleaned finger and put on plaster then looked down to see how my foot was!
Ahhhhh! there was this swelling that looked like a huge blister growing larger as I watched, put it in the bath under the cold tap at which time Shan had started to get worried so there was this little voice from the bottom of the stairs “are you okay Jill”.
After hobbling downstairs I put my foot up above my heart level and
Shan got me a bag of peas wrapped in a teatowel which did start to bring the swelling down.
Then we discussed which one of us Phil was going to be most cross with when he got home (it was me) the first thing he said was “are you okay?” swiftly followed by an explosive “I can’t leave you alone for 2 minutes”.

Sat 10th May
Our friends Shan and Mike came for a visit from Oxfordshire, Shan is just finishing her accountancy exams so she revised at home for the early part of the day and they drove down to us to arrive in the early evening.
Our friend Sam was going to come over on Saturday too and go to the farmers market with me in the morning, do some beading/metal work and then stay and see Shan and Mike in the evening and have dinner with us all. Unfortunately she was very unwell so she couldn’t make it (partly cos she felt awful but mainly cos she was terrified of what Phil would do to her if she passed the bug on to me ).
Phil cooked proper chips, Quorn sausages and fried eggs which suited us all.

Friday 9th May 2008

I know I'm still behind with my Weblog but I'll try to catch up over the next couple of days.

Everything is fine; I had chemo yesterday and my scan on Monday was okay too but I'll write in more detail shortly.

Friday 9^th May
Feeling much better today so the antibiotics are doing their job okay ( I never used to take them but now I realise that my body needs the extra help to fight off infections and I’m getting better at distinguishing between chemo diarrhoea and the tummy bug kind so I don’t have to take them too often).

Phil was working up in Stafford so he had to go off at the crack of dawn and was very late home; I had a hairdresser appointment for a colour and cut in the morning. I find that I feel a look much better if my hair is in good nick so I’m better at doing this than I used to be. I’m very lucky in that the chemo drugs I’m on hardly ever makes you lose your hair but I was a bit upset as Sandra showed me that my hair was breaking off about halfway up at the back, I suppose I should have realised that even if I didn’t lose it at the roots it would still be more fragile with all the illness and drugs but I’ve been on chemo for 5 months with no problem so it was little bit of a shock. Sandra was great; she knows that Phil and I both like my hair longish so she put some layers in which tidied up the broken ends while keeping the length.

After that I had lunch in the garden and then I had the energy to do some washing hang it up and then clean the kitchen floor (I never thought I’d be ecstatic about mopping the kitchen floor but it felt great!).

The only downside of the day (apart from Phil being away) was that I picked up a tiny bit of sunburn in a few inched of arm and the bits of my feet which were exposed by my sandals. It been years since I got sunburn! I’m very fair skinned and I’m fanatically careful about it. However I’d forgotten that there was a warning in the literature about staying out of the sun when you are on chemo (this was back in November as didn’t seem very relevant at the time). I was only out for 15-20 mins and was very mildly pink without any pain at all so I though I’d be fine – big mistake as I found out over the next few days!

Thursday 8^th May
Woo Hoo! Looks like I was right about the bug as I was feeling a bit better already by late morning after only two doses. We went to shop in the Costco at Lakeland and then on to the bookshop for more shopping and a bit of lunch. Costco was okay but we spent much more than we should have in Borders; I’m actually embarrassed to say how much but we did get magazines, books, a CD and a DVD.

Wednesday 7^th May
We were determined to take advantage of the good weather and went out for a picnic in Wat Tyler Park. It was lovely and the only fly in the picnic was that my tum was still really bad which meant we had to cut it short to go off to find a loo. This persuaded me that it was a bug so I started with the antibiotics Wednesday evening (the hospital gives me a supply to keep at home and the freedom to decide when they are needed although I can always phone them for advice, this saves me from trying to get a GP appointment or having to travel all the way to Sutton)

Tuesday 6^th May
I should have been a lot better today as Sunday and Monday were good for the cycle time. I did have more energy and we went for a 45 minute walk in the woods (I posted the Bluebell pics a few days ago. However the diarrhoea suddenly got much, much worse and I had tummy cramps and stuff too; we weren’t sure if it was cos I’d eaten too much cream on Monday or if I’d picked up a bit of a tummy bug.

Monday 5^th May
Monday bank holiday we went to visit Dad and so did Richie and Caroline; it was a very emotional and fraught visit as Dad has just put the house on the market and is looking at various sheltered accommodation. Phil and Richie intended to start clearing out stuff for the move as there is masses and masses (Mum and Dad lived there for more than 50 years).

don’t think Dad has realised how upsetting he would find the process and he certainly didn’t realise how long and draw out it is going to be. Phil and Richie found it quite difficult because they were sorting some of Mum’s hobby stuff and I was upset when I realised that I wasn’t going to be well enough to help with the sorting at all. Phil used to do most of the household work when I was working in London so it hasn’t been so strange for me that he is still doing that but I’m not used to sitting on my bum while he’s doing major sorting type stuff we usually work as a team so that hit me kinda hard.

Caroline was less affected than the rest of us and she kept busy getting lunch ready for everyone which was amazingly helpful; I realised that the best way I could help was to try to keep Dad occupied and in the house as he was getting very tearful and also trying to stop them throwing anything away. They spent a reasonably proportion of the day and didn’t even manage to clear one of the three sheds (it’s going to be a long long job!).