Writing and posting a story a week on top of all my other writing was really a little too much. Real Life, too, has a habit of getting in the way...
To recap everything that's happened since my last post would take too long and probably be of limited interest anyway but the highlights of the year so far have been...
25th Anniversary celebrations back in March. 25 years is, of course, silver, so one of the things I gave my Amazing Husband was a copy of the new Lone Ranger film because... yes, it's got Silver in it... and amongst other things, he took me to Blackpool to celebrate. We had talked about Dublin, where we had our honeymoon, about Paris, about Amsterdam... but for various reasons, going too far afield wasn't easy and so... Blackpool! It's where we met, all those years ago.
We had sunshine... but it was cold...
We had cloud... and it was a bit nippy...
I had a paddle and it was freezing!
But we had a lovely weekend, even though walking was really difficult and it took ages to find a place I could manage to get down onto the beach; I couldn't manage the steps!
***** ***** ***** *****
Moving forward...
Walking was difficult because of end-stage arthritis in my foot. We went through all the usual procedures; physio, advice on shoes, special insoles... x rays showed that the only thing that could help would be surgery, and the insertion of a metal plate in my foot to screw the bones together. This usually stabilises the joint and reduces pain. It also limits the kind of shoes I can wear, but I wasn't big on high heels anyway...
In July I had surgery under a regional anaesthetic, and at one point was able to watch, to see the plate in my foot; it looks like Meccano, only it's very posh Meccano, being made from titanium... there followed two weeks when I had to spend almost all my time with my foot elevated above the level of my hip with no more than 20 minutes at a time walking - crutching - around. Since then, I've still had to manage on crutches and wear what we affectionately call the Shoe of Doom...
I did manage to get out and take part in Writers in the Rafters inspirational trip to the Royal Armouries, to look at the Saxon Hoard and a very nice exhibition of needlework inspired by the Samurai collection, and to return a few days later to meet a writer friend and her family.
Other than that... well, the high point of last week was being able to crutch to the shop and back.
Now I'm going stir crazy; it's raining, and my crutches slip on the path, so I'm housebound until it stops and the path dries... probably tomorrow.
Still, not much longer, and I already have less pain. I've been doing a lot of writing, and knitting, and planning what I'll do once I can abandon my crutches and get back to what passes for normal.
No pictures, they're all too grim...
Now I have 10 days to go for my next follow-up and
