Good Morning

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Morning Sky

And now the sun has joined us, so it looks like it is going to be a good day. Yesterday was also quite good so I made the most of the afternoon and went for one of my notorious wheelchair journeys. This time I took the path to the north-east of the village where the various farms are situated and old houses.

Feldbrunnen North 16.06 (7)

I think this must be one of the oldest houses in the village, although I am not sure. It is certainly something completely different.

Feldbrunnen North 16.06 (3)

We also have a few barns hanging around, probably for storing the hay for the winter food for the cows, or perhaps they are even cow sheds. The cows are still missing, and I slowly have to think of the film “The Silence of the Lambs”, substituting it for cows. That would be very sad, although I have steak today for dinner, so I should not be so hypocritical I suppose. At least my meat comes from an anonymous cow, I hope. If this continues I will become a vegetarian, or perhaps a vegan. No, I do not think so. My dad was very basic in his logic. He always found why vegetarian when there are enough cows walking around, although he very rarely saw one living in London.

Ibex Goat 16.06 (13)

I wheeled back to the central part of the village to see what the animals were doing and at last I saw the new arrivals again. There are two goats, at least I think they are goats, but only one one munching in the grass. She was at the edge of the chicken run and a couple of chickens got curious to see what this goat thing was. Suddenly the goat took a small gallop nearer to the hen shed and there were about 20 hens all running and clucking. They had a small shock I think. I am not so sure that this is a goat, but perhaps an ibex as the horns seems to be quite big.

Black Swan 16.06 (11)

The black swan pair were also around. This one was preening her feathers. I noticed she first of all dipped the beak in the duck pond and distributed the water in her feathers. You can see some tiny drops as she sprays the water. I do not know the idea of this, as she was standing on the edge of the pond. All the other ducks were having a swim so no photos as the pond is too low for me to get them.

I had pasta to cook for the evening with a creamy parmesan sauce and a tomato sauce. No. 1 son prefers his tortellini and ravioli with the traditional tomato sauce and Mr. Swiss and I like the cream sauce.

Taking photos is OK, but when you have 90 of them on the camera to upload you need time. I was out on the porch with my computer until 9.30 yesterday evening, but it was a pleasant evening.

We then discovered this creature crawling around on the corridor ceiling.

Katydid 17.06 (3)

It was enormous and Mr. Swiss found it to be a giant grasshopper, but I think it was more a so-called katydid. It was difficult for a photo as he was at a distance, but I took a couple with my normal camera, as the mobile camera is not so good for distances. I felt quite sorry for this insect and he was crawling very slowly trying to find somewhere to go. I would have liked to put him in the garden but it was difficult. Eventually it had crept over the main entrance and I opened the door and knocked him down. He made a thumping noise when he arrived on the ground outside the apartment, but he seemed to have lost all his energy. I do not think he survived the night.

And that was the excitement of the day. Today looks like a good one again, although sometimes I prefer a quite afternoon at home. Remember it is Sunday, a day of relaxation, so enjoy the day. Some of us arise in the morning and are convinced it is Monday. No names mentioned, I know it is Sunday, but other golden oldies are not so sure.  It looks like it will soon be harvest time in my area, although quite early this year due to the super corn weather.

Felbrunnen 16.06 (3)

RDP#16: Target

Posted in Ragtag Daily Prompt by

Blue Tit aiming for food

Now this blue tit has a target before its eyes. Hanging from a branch is dinner, a net packed with all sorts of goodies and the bird is thinking about it, but not very long. The canteen is open and it is time to feed.

My target is often shopping for food, because no-one hangs it on a tree for me, or puts it in the cupboard. I have to fetch it myself. Having targets in life are a way to solve problems.

When I broke my leg in January everything fell apart for me. My daily routine no longer existed and my life at home was turned upside down. This all being coupled with having MS. Of course Mr. Swiss helped. From the beginning at home I cooked the food. He fetched it from the supermarket according to the list and I cooked it. That was the first target achieved. Although I must say I really had to pull myself together with a leg that did not function accompanied by a walker to give me support, but no-one went hungry.

The next on the list was the daily cleaning plan. I know it is not the most important thing to do, but it was for me. It was part of my life, and I enjoyed that part of my life. Things were where they should be and there were no odds and ends or bits and pieces laying in the corners on the floor. I have a stone floor and like to wipe it over in the morning: just with hot water, but it stays clean. I had to forget the living room, it was too big and too much. The kitchen had to have a clean up daily. I mean who has a kitchen that stays clean all day? No-one. My eldest son took over the ironing with a little help from Mr. Swiss and they also took care of the washing machine.

In the meanwhile I was making my target plan. Cleaning with a walker in the hand that I used to carry the mop and vacuum cleaner was very complicated, so my first aim was to ban the walker. The next step would be to do it all with my stick and eventually with just my own two legs.

The accident happened in January and 6 months later I can do it. It is a slow process, but I set my targets weekly and it worked. I am still not able to clean the bathroom or shower as I used to, but now have a wonderful cleaning lady who does it for me once a week as well as the kitchen every two weeks. Today I can do it all again under my own steam. I learned that you need patience above all, Rome was not built in a day. At the beginning you have a feeling that life will never be the same again. I had pain at night in my broken leg, and sleepless nights. Today I really do not know what the problems were because Mrs. Angloswiss is back again.

I was getting advice about not doing these things, it is really not necessary every day. I was overdoing it with the cleaning. That might be, but one thing people forgot was that it did not bother me. I still had time to sit at the computer and write, I still had time to go out in the afternoon in my wheelchair. And the best was the first day when I accompanied Mr. Swiss on the shopping trip, because from that day on I did it every time. The big achievement was last week when he could not go shopping on Monday so I took the car on my own, drove to the supermarket, did the shopping  and came home: mission accomplished.

And I have now banned my walker to another room. I spent every night with it next to the bed in case I had to get up. Now I get up and my stick is enough to get me to the bathroom. My target theory worked, I can do it again.

RDP#16: Target

Good Morning

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Tabby

One of those perfect sunny mornings: not a cloud in the sky. Even Tabby was out to enjoy the event of the day. It is also slug free, since I have sprinkled slug corns everywhere and it has not been raining. It is strange, when the weather is dry you see no slugs. As soon as we get a downpour they are everywhere, as if they were waiting to make their entrance.

I also received another new video of my grandson this morning from my son. I do not see him very often as the family live in the eastern part of Switzerland on the german border, so thank goodness for the messenger. It is always a delight to see how quickly he is growing. He is now at the creeping and pulling-himself-up-to-stand stage, meaning it will not be long before he discovers the walking when he will probably become quite a handful.

Breakfast 16.06.2018

I have now eaten my breakfast and am ready to go. Yesterday my only excursion was to the shops in the morning. I was just too tired and exhausted to go anywhere, even only in a wheelchair, so I stayed at home.

I am still dealing with my permission to park on places for handicapped. My neurologist has now sent the signed form for permission, I have my photo for the police document. In the meanwhile we have the magnetic plate for the car with the picture of a wheelchair on it which we now have on the car and yesterday we parked on the allowed space at the supermarket which are nice and wide and next to the direct entrance to the store. We still have to hand in the documents at the police station for their final approval, but when they see me hobbling around with my stick when I leave the car, there is no discussion.

Feldbrunnen 14.06 (3)

I missed my afternooon wheelie yesterday, but here is a photo of our Jura mountains and part of the top half of our village from the day before. Our local cow population have really disappeared.

Cows 12.06 (3)

These were the last couple if saw a few days ago, knee deep in mud almost. They did have some nice dry grass to walk around in, but seem to prefer muddy pastures. I suppose the farmer has to shower their feet in the evening before they enter the barn to keep things clean. Perhaps they now stay in the barn in the hot weather. I will ask the farmer when I see him.

Saturday is a quiet day for me. I have no shopping and the few bits and pieces Mr. Swiss will fetch from the shops. This afternoon I must go out and see places again, but I am running out of places to go. I would love to make the effort to go into town with my wheelchair, so perhaps I might do it today, although I am always saying it and never do it. I cannot walk such long distances. At home I manage with my stick and even without when I am cleaning as I also feel safer.

And now to deal with my housewife duties, there are things to hoover and places to mop and I should also perform my morning ablutions in the shower. I have only got as far as the computer and breakfast up to now. I have to set my priorities. Have a good week-end start and take it easy.

Bush 14.06.2018

RDP#15: Cataract

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Rain 31.05 (7)

As soon as it rains, there are cataracts of water everywhere. At last a gutter was fixed above our entrance to the apartment block last year when a complete renovation was carried out. Now, instead of getting wet newspapers and letters from our letter box, they remain dry as the water in channeled to the exit. Of course you could get a free shower if you did not notice, but the water runs on the side out of the way.

This reminded me of an occasion in our house in East London where I grew up. It was built in 1884, had no bathroom and the toilet was outside in the garden. I grew up with it and got used to it, although the spiders that lived outside in the toilet, especially in the summer, were a nuisance. The advantage was I never spent too much time in the toilet.

In Winter it could become quite precarious because our water pipes were all fixed outside All the water from our sink and the rainwater collected and poured into these pipes. It worked, although in Winter now and again the water might freeze, as it did one Christmas, actually Boxing Day which meant we had no water in the kitchen.

This particular Christmas, not only were our water pipes frozen, but the sink was blocked and the water could not escape. There was a remedy for frozen pipes as it often happened. We had something called “lagging” which were torn remainders of material that you draped around the pipes and eventually the ice would melt.  Later on Boxing day evening mum went to the kitchen, which was upstairs in our two story slum, to see if the ice had now melted. Of course it had, the lagging did the trick and water was flowing again. Mum had left the water tap open to be able to check. The problem was she forgot that the sink was blocked.

It was then that we realized cataracts do not only occur in nature. Our cataract had filled the sink, overflowed to the ground and was already a mini waterfall as it fell down the staircase. And, of course, it also seeped through the floor. Luckily electricity was not discovered when the houses were built so there was no electric wiring in the floorboards. It was all outside the walls. However, the lower floor was now quite damp. Luckily since grandad passed away, no-one was living downstairs. Of course a certain amount of damage occurred, so mum reported it to our insurance.

Insurance? Yes we had one, but nothing special or comprehensive. The insurance man came and said that walls and floors were not included in the policy. Mum was only paying a few shillings and the only object that could be replaced was an alarm clock, which we did not even realize we had.

I still remember the picture today of mum feet deep in water in the kitchen because the pipes thawed. I must have been about 10 years old at the time. Mum and dad spent all night trying to mop up the water as best as they could. It seems the house dried out eventually and I still lived there until I was 20 years old with mum and dad. Eventually the house was demolished and mum and dad moved to a house in Essex, where they at last had an inside toilet and bathroom.

Living in houses that originated from Victorian London in the East End of London was not fun. I still had the old gas holders on the wall in my bedroom from the original build of the house.

Norah Street
Our street before the houses were demolished.

RDP#15: Cataract