A relaxing night.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Amazingly today has been a very pleasant looking day, with blue skies and weak sunshine sadly none of the snow that fell last night remained on the ground this morning.

Yesterday it rained all day and our three dogs did not like going outside, they seem to think that it was all Richie's fault that it was so wet outside, that they were almost refusing to go outside until it was dry again.

Yet when they went out later on and it was snowing they were delighted and jumped and played exuberantly in the falling snow, according to Richie it was a pretty sight seeing them play so happily.

Richie has taken them to the Rembrandt Park so that they can run and play to their hearts content and get rid of some of their excess energy, then they will come home happy for their dinner afterwards they will be relaxed and content dogs.

No sooner had I written this when the door opened and Richie and three dogs were back from the Park, by the sound of the dogs running around they had a good time which is good news for all of us as tonight will be very relaxed now.

Reasons To Be Cheerful.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Surprisingly after the miserable cold wet day yesterday that to day was a pleasant looking day to day with blue skies as well as sunshine.

Not the day I'd expected it to be, I thought we would get more rain seems we've got lucky.

It was very noticeable how difficult life has become for me recently, despite this Richie and I still manage to have a laugh which is wonderful.

The curvature of my spine is making everything more complicated; now that I have again managed to cope with being showered and dressed I am sanguine about life.

At the moment Richie is in the kitchen making dinner, which will be a delicious cottage pie with shards of cheese on top of the mash potatoes.

I'm looking forward to eating dinner and then not too long afterwards being able to enjoy Tuesday edition of later with Jools Holland on BBC2.

They are reasons enough for me to be cheerful about life on this very dark Tuesday early November evening, plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

Time Flies By.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

This morning's  it was quite overcast, with an occasional glimpse of pale blue sky in between the clouds.

That was at 10.00 this morning, at 1100 I was being showered by Richie, the plan was to be ready for 1200 when Milou, the wound nurse would be here.

At 1200 I had been showered and was half dressed, just my top half, so that all the nurse and to do was check how the wound was progressing on my bottom.

Milou said that she was pleased to see that it was much smaller than it was previously, this is good news indeed, if only the last 2 mm would heal quickly.

We have a new appointment for the 28^th of November; it would be absolutely brilliant if more progress has been made by then, my fingers are crossed.

What a lovely surprise when I was brought back into the bedroom by Richie, to see that the clouds had gone and were replaced by blue sky and sunshine.

Before Richie put me back into bed, I was sprayed with Yves St Laurent perfume which is a lovely light fragrance, just the thing for a sunny day like today.

Now that it's 1700 the blue sky is slowly fading away as dusk draws in, the time is flying by as usual and it soon will be Christmas once again.

Right now I'm going to concentrate on today and enjoy every moment of it together with Richie and our three happy Jack Russell terriers.

Enjoying Being Outside.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

It was the day, today for my supra pubis catheter to be changed at the OLVG Hospital, hopefully it will be is quick and easy as it was last time.

The care ambulance came for us at 11.30, what made it nice was the fact that the weather was extremely pleasant, despite being cold there were blue skies and sunshine which was nice to be out in.

The ambulance was smaller than the last couple of times which made it easier for me to see the city as we drove across town to get to the hospital; I enjoyed the ride a lot, good to see this beautiful city.

The down side of this small ambulance was that I felt every small bump on the road which made me feel quite unpleasantly carsick; luckily we were quickly at the hospital, where the fresh air revived me.

we arrived slightly too early at the urology polyclinic, so we had to wait for 20 minutes until the Dr was ready to see us, when he was available the catheter change happened smoothly without problems.

It took precisely 5 minutes for the Dr to change the catheter; he said that as it had gone well for the second time that Richie could do the catheter change at home again from now on.

That is good news indeed, the ambulance crew soon had us outside and into the ambulance once again, Richie sat in the back with me which was nice.

After another pleasant ride through the city we were home at 1245, I thoroughly enjoyed being driven through this beautiful city we live in.

It was enjoyable to be outside despite the cold I found it wonderful to be

Outside again, I shall never take this for granted again, it is something to be treasured.

Every moment outside is precious to me, I'm going to grab all those moments I can grab with both hands, seizing the moment is very important to do.

Enjoying The Sunshine.

Roberto Matta.

It’s been both summer and autumn day, when I woke up this morning, it was quite cold and there was a thick cloud cover.

It was so cool Richie closed both bedroom windows as well as turning on the central heating for 10 min to take the chill off the room.

In the afternoon the cloud cover vanished and was replaced by a lovely blue sky and pretty sunshine which lasted until nearly 19.00.

Today it has not been easy for Richie to get me sitting well, nor has it been possible for me to maintain my position for very long.

As I can't sit well it means that it is more difficult for me to do simple things like backspace to delete or even reach for either my hanky or THC.

I guess it's just one of those days as I've been sitting extremely well for the last couple of weeks, and now this happens today.

How very typical for this to happen today and despite all Richie's excellent efforts to achieve a good sitting position for me.

I am glad that even so I've been able to carry on dictating using my Dragon voice recognition software and editing as I go.

I need to learn how to move word is close to each other once I have deleted words that are either misspelt or just not the words I wanted.

Knowing how to use the mouse via commands as well as learning how to get Dragon to open other applications would be very useful.

Especially after my left index finger, thumb and little finger no longer can function which is not long now I think.

My intention is to be ready when that happens, so that I can carry on communicating.

Via my blog, e-mails as well as read the newspapers, play solitaire and purchase pretty things on eBay.

Now that I cannot go out to the shops eBay has become the shop I can visit and either window shop or buy both are pleasant to do.

Well now that I've finished I shall find a picture and place both on my blog, after which I'm going to enjoy Richie’s company when he returns from the Rembrandt Park with the dogs.

Enjoying The Sunshine.

Roberto Matta. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Gradually every day since Monday and Tuesday I become relaxed once again.

It took me awhile after the ordeal at the hospital on Tuesday; I was well on the way when on Wednesday afternoon was another catheter problem.

Suddenly without any warning I became totally preoccupied with urinating, as soon as I became aware of this I called Richie for help.

Richie had a look and decided he needed to flush out the catheter, because may be a blockage.

He used a saline sachet, which went in and came back out without any problems, but it had not resolved my discomfort.

Richie checked the catheter bag and found a small bit of matter was causing the problem; a new bag soon solved that problem.

It was brilliant that they could be sorted so quickly and easily, the only negative aspect was that it made me quite anxious for a time.

Luckily that soon went and the next day I felt much better again which was really good, better than getting upset.

This week I am taking it very easy in order to put all the catheter problems right out of my mind and concentrate on more pleasant things.

Such as enjoying the blue skies and sunshine as well as warm temperature between 24° and 26°.

Extremely pleasant for 8th of September, especially after our cool it was yesterday and especially last night when I was glad of a blanket.

This morning when I woke up it was too warm blankets but luckily not warm enough to make me feel unwell, I'm enjoying the sunshine enormously.

Mellow Moments.

Oscar Dominguez.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%93scar_Dom%C3%ADnguez 

Despite the heat wave we are having right now I'm managing to stay reasonably cool.

This is marvellous because it means I don't feel terrible all the time, as I would do if we did not have this temporary air cooling solution.

The appointment for the installation of the air conditioning on Tuesday afternoon is something I'm very much looking forward to.

It would be brilliant if they can install a mobile air-conditioning unit that allows the hot air to be expelled outside, so the system can work properly.

Right now I think we're getting too much hot air inside, as we can't hang the ventilator tube out of the window.

Which explains why sometimes I feel warm air instead of cool air, however our system of having a small electric fan right next to me working in tandem with a conditioning seems to work.

Richie has taken the dogs to the park now, where I'm sure they're running around barking their heads off, which must be a beautiful sight.

The weather seems to be changing now, as the clouds have become very thick and there is now a dense cloud cover over the city.

It looks as if it could rain at any moment, seems that the brief summer heat wave is already coming to an end after only five days.

This is very sad for all those enjoying the hot weather, I wish I could enjoy it too and I do as long as I can stay cool.

There's nothing lovelier than seeing the street outside bathed in sunshine and hearing the mellow sounds of happy neighbours, I love it.

Now I'm looking forward to seeing Richie coming back from the park with those lovely dogs, when my darling Richie is back we will enjoy the evening together.

Not Worrying Is Better.

 
Norma Bessouet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norma_Bessouet

After a dreary start to the day the sun is breaking through which makes everything look better, despite it not looking nice it’s a warm day.

Today was the catheter change day, again it was easier, which is good, I hardly felt anything; Richie is getting very good at replacing the catheter every 6 weeks.

He puts a dab of KY jelly around the opening so he can slide the catheter out without causing me any discomfort, which works well.

He removes the liquid in the bubble; he always empties it twice as there is always abit of the saline solution left in the bubble after the first emptying.                

This can cause pain when pulled out, today I hardly noticed anything, at the moment Richie removed my catheter I breathed out.

It seemed to work well, and now it’s been done I am very pleased that I do not have to think about it until the next time in 6 weeks time.

I shall put the next date in my calendar then I do not have to even think about it for one moment, on the day I will get a reminder.

When I have posted this I will do my leg exercises on the Motomed, 40 minutes and after that I want to relax and enjoy the late afternoon sun.

This time I did not worry about it at all, which was brilliant, I am very pleased how well I am doing not spending any time on worrying.

I Need Sun.

George Grie.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Grie

My good friend Anja visited today, which was brilliant; especially as a letter arrived confirming that my carers allowance is extended for 2 years until 2013.

That is good news, it’s a relief to know that we do not need to worry about money, I am relieved.

For the last two days I have been trying to keep calm, which hasn’t been easy, but I have managed not to dwell on it.

Anja has taken a letter away with her, from the council department turning down my application for air conditioning.

She will write a letter appealing the decision and will e-mail me the letter tonight which I will then print out and Richie will post, the deadline is next Tuesday.

I have no expectations, expect that I hope that my appeal will be getting a fair hearing and hopefully they will scrutinise the reasons for the rejection of my application.

Our apartment doesn’t get much sun, the kitchen faces north and the other side of the front room faces east, so sadly no sun after 11 in the morning.

If I had known that before we took it I would have been tempted to wait for another apartment, one with sunshine.

After being stuck indoors for nearly one year, this apartment with lift was too good to miss, a pity about the lack of sunshine, being a Trini I need sun.

Tuesday, 15, March, 2011. Out And About.

Henri Matisse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Matisse

Briliant That Richie Is Looking After Me.

Ernst Fuch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernst_Fuchs_%28artist%29

Yesterday it was quite exciting waiting for Richie to get back from the optician with my new lenses in my old frame.

The new lenses are better, but I will not know if they are really any good until tomorrow, as it seems to take two days to get used to the bifocals..

Sadly it is being a traditional weekend, no blue sky or sunshine like the last two days, which were beautiful days,

I must get Richie to reorganise how I am sitting up in bed, I am collapsed to the left which is very unpleasant after a short time.

Richie has just lain me down and reorganised how I was lying and three minutes later I am leaning badly to the left again.

Adjusting me is something that has to be done constantly throughout the entire day and evening.

Richie is busy enough already without having to do this too, must be so difficult for him to do everything he has to for me everyday.

He looks after me so well and is always looking for ways to make life easier and better for me, which I appreciate.

It is extremely good to know that Richie is looking after things.

Today Is A Beautiful Bright Day,

Alasdair GrayFaustin His Study1958.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alasdair_Gray

I found it very difficult to stay optimistic yesterday because it was such a struggle for me to do anything.

My arms would hardly move, it was difficult to hold my beaker to drink or to hold the vaporiser bag to inhale thc.

I found this very depressing as being able to use my hands and to raise my arms is important, difficult to contemplate losing even those basic functions.

Not being able to eat dinner myself is difficult, eating yourself is so important, I never realised quite how important it was until Richie has had to do it for me.

It was not just my arms yesterday, but also my fingers which would not work, they flopped about and I could not get them to do anything that I wanted to do.

I tried my best to find a picture for yesterdays post but had to give up and leave looking for a picture until today.

Today everything is working; I got a picture for yesterdays post, edited the Dutch version and getting today’s post written.

Today is a beautiful bright day, with sunshine and blue skies, it is lovely to see, a huge much needed boost for me.

Tuesday October 5, 2010. Up And Downs And Sunshine.

Joan Miro.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Mir%C3%B3

Had a funny day today, mostly felt ok in myself, lots of pain but cheerful, the day started off with my hands hurting and my fingernails sticking into the palms of my hands.

This was helped by Richie rubbing my hands and massaging my upper arms and of course by my doing my daily 30 minutes of arm exercises.

Afterwards I sat up, had my calcium/vitamin B and took my baclofen tablets and drank some lemon & ginger tea.

The day was improved by the weather being pretty nice, no rain and intermittent sunshine which was very good for my mood.

Sadly did not get up as early as I intended to and missed out on going out in this afternoon, not going to spend any time at all reproaching myself.

Instead I shall move on and focus on this evening and thoughts of tomorrow where I will ask Richie to get me up early, so he can get me ready in time to make the most of the day.

Think that getting out tomorrow will be good for me, feel that sometimes I do not push enough to go out, think that this is because of spending so much time in bed.

I do not want to shut myself off from life but notice at times that I tend to shy away from things which I have never done before.

Think this is because of having to make the best of things; have to get out of that way of thinking as I no longer need to do that.

Life in all its beauty is out there waiting for me to rejoin it and I want to do so, do not want to settle for second best and neither will I.

Think it is ok for me to feel sorry sometimes and to let my tears flow but have to watch out that I do not get submerged in self pity.

Do not think I will as I am too aware of the pitfalls and want to enjoy every moment of everyday and I will enjoy every moment.

.

Party Time Tonight.

Shinkichi Tajiri

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinkichi_Tajiri

Rained all night and was still pouring at 8.30 this morning and then at 10.00 the sun came outand everything looked wonderful.

Gareth and Paul went off for a walk in the Vondelpark and a coffee in the Blue Tea House in the park.

On their way back the clouds came back and it started to rain, luckily not as heavily as it had done during the night.

It is just about 15.30 now and every now and then there is a promise of sunshine which is immediately covered by thick clouds.

Today I do not mind what the weather does as here inside it is sunny with happy anticipation of the party this evening.

Richie has gone out to get bottles of proseccio and rum and some tahni for the humus and Gareth is cleaning the front room.

It is all happening here which is great feel quite excited about tonight, Webster is right saying ‘’ Anticipation is an underrated joy in life.’’

Have had a lot of pleasure all week looking forward to tonight and right now am finding it quite hard to concentrate.

Richie just arrived back with a bargain box of proseccio and a bottle of rum for rum punch, Trini style.

It is all happening here now, looking forward to getting out of bed again at 17.00 so that I am ready when people start arriving.

We have all the makings of a memorable party, shame that all our friends can not be here too that would be brilliant.

Two hours to go going to stop and post and relax.

Good Friends.

Lucebert.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucebert


Today has had moments of sunshine and also moments of lots of rain but nevertheless it has been a good day.

Brilliant having Gareth and Paul here to stay, really good to have good friends around, good for both of us.

Nice to talk with them both, good fun and quite a difference for us as quite often there are weeks where only the physiotherapist will come by.

We usually do not mind being on our own as we enjoy each others company very much, but it is good to interact with others.

Paul fixed the problem with the amplifier and it works perfectly again which is really great, he also spotted that the record deck needle needed replacing, luckily Richie had a spare one.

Tonight we listened to our records, much better quality on vinyl not as sterile much more atmosphere.

We enjoyed it tremendously, Richie is planning to buy some records again, he had seen some recently but had not bothered to buy it at the time.

Once he has worked out where to put the record deck we are all set for lots of good listening this autumn and winter.

Tomorrow is our party really looking forward to it very much indeed, quite excited about it now, can hear Richie busy making delicious things for tomorrow.

Can’t wait for tomorrow evening now.

Sunny Days.

Purple Auroras, Sept. 8th over Bø, Norway.


Today has started off sunny with blue skies which are so amazing seeing as yesterday was so cool and grey and rainy and downright miserable.

It got dark really early, the lights in the stairs and on the galleries in our building went on just after 18.00 and I noticed cars too had their headlamps on early.

Our dogs were miserable yesterday as they do not like rain, unless they get to go to the park but yesterday it was a rainstorm not a gentle rain shower.

Today all of us, including the dogs are cheerful because of sunshine, spoke to Gareth just now; he and Paul will be here at 16.00 this afternoon.

Happy to see them this afternoon, be really good to have them staying here for a few days, it’s a nice thing to do.

Makes life feel normal like before the MS, think I will be abit self conscious about eating with other people present as that is becoming increasingly difficult for me to do.

My right arm can’t stretch out like it could, can not straighten out my elbow out which makes it difficult to get food to my mouth.

Have been coming to terms with this, when I can’t carry on Richie helps me and feeds me, not something I like but on a purely practical level when I need help to eat I will ask for it.

As this has been happening more and more I have been able to accept that it is happening, hope that I will be ok with eating on Friday.

8 friends will be coming here for our little party, Richie is going to be making quiches, bread rolls, humus, and guacamole, bowls of spicy Tempe and Tofu cubes and potato crisps.

He will also make small individual cakes which he plans to ice and we have several packets of fancy German biscuits which Katrin brought us last Saturday.

Friends will be bringing potato salad, green salad, tabboleh, macaroni salad and fruit salad as well as nibbles like nuts and raisins, dates and olives.

Looking forward to Friday immensely, be good to see a lot of friends all together and good for me as I come to terms with the effects of MS and no longer want to hide this from our friends.

No need to as it does not detract from who I am and my friendships.

Life Has Many Bright Spots.

Jan Vanmeer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer

Since Monday we have had rain all day everyday, Monday night the wind got up and howled all night, this kept us awake for a great part of the night.

The rain also started during the night and only seems to have stopped today; right now the sun is trying to break through the cloud cover which is like a thick grey lid over the city.

So not exactly sunshine right now, but it is brighter than the last couple of days and that is really nice.

The prospect of sunshine is really giving me a big boost this morning; it is great seeing tiny patches of blue sky appearing as cloud rolls away.

Hope that the weather is pleasant this coming Saturday when my cousin Katrin comes to visit us on her way home to France after a family reunion in Germany this week.

Brilliant seeing Katrin on Saturday, really looking forward to seeing her again, she is my favourite cousin.

Next week our friends Gareth and Paul will be in Amsterdam for 10 days, they will stay with us for three days which is really good, looking forward to seeing them.

We are going to have a small party on Friday, 17 September from 18.00 to 23.00, really looking forward to this.

Richie is going to make some tasty treats such as quiches, salads, hummus, fruit salad, cakes and homemade crisps.

Living in the here and now of a brighter Thursday and looking forward to visits from good friends.

Life has many bright spots for me despite my disability and pain and I enjoy them all to the full.

Enjoying Any Independance I Can.

Claude Monet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Monet


Slept well last night did not wake this time in the early hours calling for an extra blanket as I have done since the beginning of the week.

It is already cold enough at night for us to start sleeping under duvets again; this was quite a shock last night.

Amazing to need duvets on the 27 August, because of the hot weather last year it was end of October last year before we needed extra warmth.

This morning started well with beautiful sunshine which soon made way for dark clouds and thunder and lighting and lots of rain.

This cycle has been repeated several times; Richie went out around the block with the dogs and said it was cold despite the sun.

Oh well the end of our summer and the start of spring in New Zealand and Australia, heard from my good friend Jeannette from NZ telling me about the first signs of spring there.

Sadly when they came to install the software on Tuesday they left the back of my wheelchair open.

This apparently is exposing wires which means that going out in wet weather could affect the wheelchair badly, it could actually stop working.

Richie has rushed around getting the shopping done before the next huge deluge which the gathering dark clouds seem to promise.

Despite the weather and lots of spasms and pain I intend to enjoy today very much, my darling Richie is making chicken curry for me tonight.

Looking forward to dinner later and watching some good football, watched a DVD on Wednesday Little Miss Sunshine which I enjoyed very much, especially switching the DVD player on and off.

Enjoying any independence I can and hoping for more with the intercom for the front doors of the apartment and the building.
.

Pink Roses.

Myrtille Henrion Picco


This afternoon a great friend, Anja came by to visit, she brought us a delightful bunch of lovely pink roses which unusually for here had a gorgeous delicate scent.

It was great to see Anja, one of my best friends, someone who knows me well and someone I trust 110%.

She is a wonderful woman, lovely to think that I have had the pleasure to know her now since 1984.

Amazingly that is twenty six years ago now, how wonderful, shame she no longer lives in Amsterdam.

Now she lives an hour and a half away, today she came straight from work to visit with us and was here until 17.00.

We had a very pleasant visit during which Anja helped me with a couple of admin things, which are sorted now, a relief and now there is nothing for me to worry about.

All set to enjoy the weekend now, whatever the weather is like I intend to enjoy it tremendously.

While she was here there was a brief glimmer of sunshine, seems that the weekend will be dryer and brighter and next week will be nice warm weather.

That’s what Anja said and I really hope she is right as a brief return of summer would be an unexpected treat for us all.

Ever The Optimist.

Gertrude Abercrombie.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Abercrombie

Dreary grey sky again this morning without even a tiny glimmer of sunshine to be seen anywhere after Richie did my leg exercises.

My legs were not too stiff and tense this morning which was good, Richie picks up each leg in turn, he holds my ankle and lower leg and supports my knee.

Then he lifts my leg towards my head as if I were cycling, he does this once with both legs, then he massages both legs from foot to top of thigh.

After that he lifts both legs in turn, then he carefully places legs in a good position and puts feet up against foam bolster at the end of the bed.

This stops my feet from collapsing to the sides which results in my feet pointing down in the wheelchair.

Which also causes problems with footwear; it seems that if my feet are not braced against the bolster, it would increase the time my feet slip off to the side.

Feet hanging or pointing down is not good, the other thing Richie do is to reposition the long cushions I rest my arms on while sleeping.

He squashes them up and use them to keep my knees from flopping to the side which is not good either as it stop my knees being flexible.

I had done most of my arm exercises before Richie did my leg exercises, the only ones I had not done was the one with the handles over the bar over my bed.

Enjoy that exercises as it helps me to stretch out my arms, excellent thing to do not long after waking up.

Especially good to counteract the cramps and the feeling of having a strait jacket around my arms and shoulders.

After the exercises and my calcium/vitamin D tablet I sit up using the beds handset, once I am sat up Richie uses a small long cushion to prop me up on the right.

This stops me slumping too quickly to the right side and it has been very effective, but it does need to be regularly checked and adjusted so it gives me the maximum support that I need

Briefly the sun came out and the thick cloud cover lifted so the blue sky became visible, this did not last for longer than 30 minutes before big clouds drifted by and massed up to form a big grey cloud cover once more.

Hope the sun and the blue skies happen again, for a short time it was so pretty outside makes me hope for more sunshine today.

Ever optimistic.