Beware of an angry pansy
I think that fire bug was looking at me
We had hundreds of sunflowers in a field for oil production, but I loved this one most of all. It gave me a smile every time I wheeled past.
Daily Archives: 21/03/2019
FOTD 21st March 2019: Bromelia
And the new shoots are already appearing between the leaves. I once kept one for at least half a year and new bromelia were appearing. I suppose I could have planted them, but my patience came to an end. I might try it again some time.
FOWC with Fandango: Symptoms
We have an emergency room at the local hospital. I know because they know me as well. Now and again you get something mysterious happening in your system and so you go to the ER. First of all report at the desk. I live as a Brit in Switzerland, no big problem, I have been here for 50 years, but the last time the lady at desk looked at me and discovered we were both speaking Swiss German with the same accent, yes she was also a Brit. My symptoms were no longer so important, and so we had a conversation catching up on our anglo-swiss backgrounds. Then I had to go to the next desk where things begin to get serious.
First of all your name and address is required. This is no problem for me as they have my symptom history in their records and find me immediately with all the various operations and accidents. Yes the local hospital knows me inside and outside: not quite, because my broken arm happened in England. They only have the records of removing the wire from the break.
After a wait for about an hour you eventually get to see a doctor One of my last symptoms happened after falling and cutting my ear on a metal edge. That was interesting because the emergency nurse could not sew it together. It was cartilage and that needed a special process, only to be done by the surgeon on duty. They found him and he brought his assistant with him so that she could learn how to do it, not that I was making medical history. After an hour of sewing it all together I had 10 stitches and today I must say I have a very interesting left ear. The shape at the top is different.
I try to ignore symptoms when I can. What is the point. Today Mr. Swiss was visiting his doctor who is also mine. She asked him how I am and he said I never complain about anything. Of course not, what is the point. At the age of 72 you recognise all your own symptoms. I am allergic to milk (lactose) and coffee (perhaps also because of the milk), otherwise despite my MS everything seems to be working as normal. I have a funny walk, although I can disguise it with my stick and walker, but you really get used to it. Even the aches and pains that go with it are now part of me. And I can always take a trip into town with my wheelchair, the advantage being that you can take your heavy camera and lens with you for good quality photos – you no longer have to carry it.
If your symptoms might change, everyone has a mobile phone today, so you are no longer alone with your symptoms. You can always call someone and tell them about them. Even the ambulance arrives promptly to pick me up if I fall and those guys are really something to see – big and strong and…. yeah OK, that’s enough. Oh, don’t we love to talk about our symptoms.
RDP Thursday: Exercise
On my way again with Mr. Swiss. This car driving thing is getting to be too much of a pastime. It is always the same road from our village into town and I approach the roundabout and fit into the right lane of traffic. Ok, no big deal, but there seem to be people that have gas in their blood system and every journey for me is a new experience.
I took Mr. Swiss to the doc. There is a park house over the street but I decided to drop him off and return home again, where I now am. He will call me when he is finished and then I can drive again. I thought it over, but getting into the parking silo and out again is a complicated task for me with the ticket and driving around in a circle until I find a place to park. It is also a sunny day so the light was too bright for me as a driver.
I was never a person for exercise. I hated physical exercises at school: the worst lesson. Jumping over objects which were too high for me (although I was the third tallest in the class) and being accident prone I was always worried and had a few “accidents” and would fall. Climbing a rope did not come into the question and it was rarely that I managed to get both feet off the ground. I was always the last, or second last, in a running competition.
Although I was not a complete failure. I was a keen football supporter of our local club (West Ham United) and often went to a match on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately Football was not a choice in our all girls school, but hockey. It is very similar but you use a hockey stick to hit a small wooden ball instead of your feet. So once a week I was playing land hockey and after a couple of months I was in the school team. At last I had found my chance to enjoy exercise
Otherwise exercise – forget it. Mr. Swiss will soon be calling so I will be off again making the roads uncertai, now the only exercise being my foot on the gas pedal of the car.
Good Morning
According to my own personal calendar and I believe the official one, today would be the first official day of Spring meaning daffodils and crocus, sun and warmer temperatures. The crocus are flowering in my garden, I have one daffodil so far that is showing a bud and the sun has decided to say for a while. Yesterday was a windy day, but today it has gone and we have constant sunshine so far. Unfortunately I will not be able to make the most of it this afternoon as I am again the local chauffeur for Mr. Swiss who has a doctor’s visit. I was going to drop him off and park in the parking house and wait for him, but decided I would be quicker to drop him off, go home and pick him up when he is finished. I also do not have to make complicate manoeuvres until I find a parking space.
When I arrived in the kitchen this morning to make my tea I noticed I had a visitor in the sink. It was still dim light, so I switched on the light and took my photo – the first reaction when I see something creeping. It was a quick photo on the mobile phone and I had to brighten it up to see what it was. My first fire bug of the year I discovered. Poor guy must have felt cold outside and was thirsty so found refuges in my kitchen sink. They are usually the first and last insects I see in the garden during the year and they do no harm. I think they like to chew on seeds. I decided to rescue him and took a small spoon. When he was sitting on it I transported him carefully back to the garden. He did not wave goodbye as he crept off to other unknown territory.
There were still a pair of swans floating on the river on my last visit and they will probably soon be busy with delivering eggs for the next generation, reminding me that today is again the day of fresh bed linen. We now have the pleasure of putting on our new duvet and cushion covers as the old ones are really very old and no longer as good as they were. I had already washed and ironed the new ones and now have the pleasure of throwing the old ones away. They will not be washed or ironed, so have already saved some work for the day.
My raised bed is now looking good with the various crocus and other flowers, but now I have to stop otherwise it will get a little overcrowded. At the moment I am pulling out the weeds from the garden now and again. I can no longer do it so intensive. I just called the gardener and they will be arriving next week some time to deal with the rest.
And now to move on and do my normal daily routine plus finishing off the bed linen.
See you all later and have a good one.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 