THURSDAY
Today my dad got a phone call from the hospital to offer him a potential place to get the long awaited knee surgery he needs. Trouble is, our local hospital is Covid swamped right now and the nearest place that can take him is Greenock-18 miles away. If not it will be at least a year to wait and he's suffering too much with it for that. He can't drive himself back as he can't drive for 8 weeks after the surgery, and I can't drive either so it'll be taxi there and back. That'll cost a fortune but there is no other option really as their hospital is safer from Covid right now. I just hope we can get our second vaccine doses before my dad's surgery as we could also have transport problems getting to Clydebank if I'm called back there for the second dose. I'll be hoping for those blue NHS envelopes to appear very quickly in the post!
FRIDAY
The weather was actually nice this morning-slightly cool breeze but sunny out in the open and a clear blue sky so I was out at ten thirty this morning getting the second coat of varnish on the back garden fence. It took four and a half hours without a break but I was really pleased to get that done before wasp season comes.It was nice sitting out there just listening to my music in complete peace and quiet without being attacked by nature!
I've also decided to order a bit of exercise equipment, now that I seem to be sticking to my routine. I've ordered a set of weights. I have a set but they are way too heavy to lift so I'm going for a smaller set of three that will be easier to use. I've got an order in for a mat to lie on, and those exercise band things which I'm not sure about but it will help my dad with rehab for his knee after the operation. It doesn't feel natural to actually be excited about getting exercise equipment in the post!
SATURDAY
I was out in the front garden at 7.30 this morning, keeping an eye on the bins after I unlocked them, and I got the second coat of varnish on both sides of the front fence. I might do a third coat just on our side at a later date if I want a deeper colour on it but for the moment the front is done. It was sunny but a bit of a chill out there this morning but I sort of went numb after twenty minutes and just ignored it! By 11am the sun was fully out and it was lovely! Just sitting there with my mp3 player on, the sun on my face and getting stuff done! It's been a really productive weekend for me.
I've decided that I'm bored with my hair colour. As a child I was redheaded but as I got older my hair basically went a dark brown shade. I used to colour my hair as a student, trying out cherry red, blue and purple at various times then dying it black when I was at work. When I stopped working I dyed it black with a platinum blonde stipe down the middle. I kind of looked like a skunk but I did it to show solidarity with the English cricket team when they won the Ashes in 2005-I was copying the hairstyle of Kevin Pietersen! (below) When he dyed the stripe blue I did it too for a laugh. My parents at the time thought I was mad!
Anyhow, I've decided to dye it for the first time in about twelve years and I'm going for a nice shade of vivid purple. It should be arriving in the post today.
One of our neighbours has just offered to drive my dad to the hospital in Greenock when he goes in and to collect him a couple of days later when he gets out. That is such a relief to me because taxis are not a great way to travel that distance as some won't go that far, there are sometimes boundary charges for going into a different area etc.
My beloved football team St Mirren have progressed through to the next round of the Scottish Cup with a great 3-0 away win at Hamilton. Happy days and a beer to celebrate tonight!!!
