Nine Feet Underground

I'm spending this week in Liverpool with Q, as she has a week's leave before getting back into the craziness of the new University term. The week being subject to the usual caveats. There are signs that things may be happening to E at home, and if the indications continue, I will have to press the Sue Ryder nurses for action. It goes without saying that if things change I will return home. Against this backdrop, we are planning several things, including Christmas.  It is hard to think about Christmas now, but we'll probably spend it in a rented property, to accommodate family. Cats.  Herding.  And a cat, maybe. Yesterday was a day of drama down south, luckily today things seem to have settled down. One achievement has been the completion of the playlist for the school reunion in September. It clocks in at 19 hours and should include something for everyone, though I have excised several personal favourites ('under orders') and concentrated on the singles charts from

Our actions and  decisions can look very different through another person's lens. There are a few 'undeniable' truths, though. We only have a finite, but unknown, length of time here. It is better to regret something you have done than something you didn't do, but wished you had. The past cannot be changed.  You can change how you view it and learn from it. You can choose how you respond to adversity, though that is far easier to say than to do. Don't be judgmental without knowing the whole story.  That's enough truths, though I'm sure I could go on.  (I usually do) After ten years of putting other people first, I realised I needed to 'put my oxygen mask on first'. That's not to say I haven't continued to care for others, especially E. My priority is to ensure she is loved, safe, well looked after and comfortable. My life has expanded greatly in the last two or three years, thanks to meeting Q and becoming part of a bigger family.  As I'v

August starts with son #3's birthday.  We celebrated with a meal at a local Thai restaurant, even though a salad had attempted to poison me the night before.  Hard as nails, me! Q joined us for the weekend and then the three of us headed back to Liverpool for a week to give son #3 a break from caring responsibilities, especially while son #2 was in Costa Rica and son #1 was away with his gf. We had a great week, including a tiring day walking at Malham and meals with my big sister and her husband in Saltaire and my brother-in-law and his wife in the 'pool. Family is key. Since returning dahn sarf, I've started, with the help of the dudes a big clearout of crap we no longer use/need.  I have begun the process of sorting through E's stuff, which is long overdue.  E has a huge collection of shoes, boots and clothes and it's hard to know where to begin.  I guess the biggest challenge is accepting that she'll never need any of these things again.  Especially when she

Pinch and a punch etc. In the last post (hopefully not) I suggested I'd cover Thailand and RIAT in the next post, i.e. this one.  At the time I envisaged writing a detailed travelogue.  Ain't gonna happen. Time passes (much more than I anticipated) and I'm preparing for another, much shorter, journey. A whistle-stop summary of Thailand... The headline summary is that Phuket is beautiful, but full of Russians. Bangkok is an assault on the senses: on my first full day there I went into the seven-storey shopping mall that adjoined our hotel. Crazy place! So many bright lights, so many shops and market stalls, and so many eating places - I had to return to our room for my brain to adjust. The holiday was split in two, the first week was spent in Phuket with twelve people: six from Q's family and six from mine (depending on where Q sits and assuming son #2's gf is part of 'my' family).  The second week was just Q and I in Bangkok (although my sons plus one did le