Quilting for the win.

Mum trims the binding.

Three weeks! 

Crunchy hip was evicted with extreme prejudice by a fellow named Hutt! There is a movie in there, I am sure.

I have a couple of in depth posts in my head and have started some. So, looking forward there will be a post about the actual exercises I do,  medication adventures, packing your bag for a hip replacement , hacks for stopping your crutches falling over and hopefully a video on putting on TEDs!  

The reason for lack of real post today is my mother and I have been doing some sewing and have almost completed a patchwork quilt. When she offered to come over to help out for a month, Mum asked if there was a project I would like to do. I wanted to finish a quilt that I started three years ago. It has been waiting for this time it feels. It was pieced together, I had wadding and backing but do to not being confident, I was yet to assemble it.

Once I was feeling better and bit more mobile, Mum got us moving and taught me to put it together and then we quilted it and today the binding went on. I am very proud of it. 

The big bonus is that if I am sewing, I have to move around. Using the machine is not too bad but have to be careful with the angle I use the pedal. My mother is a master quilter and she was more than happy to help and get me moving to finish it. It is a bit of rough and ready, not really straight but prefect for a snuggle quilt and being dark, if there is a red wine spill, it will be okay.

Exercise, buses and a Fern named Fenchurch.

So, a bit of a mobility and sociability update.

I have been home for just over two weeks, my mother with me for pretty much all the time. She goes home next week. We have had a great time, given the circumstances and she has been a boon with doing washing, tidying, a bit of cooking and a lot of keeping me going. There has been some down days, generally coinciding with a lack of sleep and feeling generally overwhelmed. She lets me sleep in but not too far and nags about exercise.

The first adventure outside was after being inside for a few days, three I think, and generally going a little batty. We headed for the end of the street. About a 200 to 300 metre walk. Thankfully with a lot of fences to sit on.  We got to the corner and added on an extra 100 metres to the local small Tesco.   There were at least five stops each way and a long sit down when I got home.

The walks have slowly got quicker and with less stops. We have also attempted buses. One day we met Mr Gin and had lunch. That day almost killed me even though there was very little walking and a lot of stops.
The las bus trip up into the same area meant no stops to the bus stop (Tesco) and slowly wandering to the butchers, Pound shop, stopped for coffee and then to the large Tesco for groceries then lunch, then bus home. This was the most I have done and really the pace is picking up really well.

We have been to the pub a couple of times, taking a taxi (there was a birthday celebration I was not missing out one for the world), and having to be fairly blunt to get through the tight spaces in the crowded pub. Mum and I also went to the cinema in a shopping centre, on a weekday was quiet but after the film was crowded and people are really not switched on to moving for people who are not that nimble. There were points I was doing well not to batter people texting with my crutches!

The mobility of the joint is improving, I am doing my exercises and the improvement is amazing, I can do some movements I have not done since I was in my 20s! Amazing.  I am still using my helping hand/grabber to put on trousers and undies but can pick up a cat off the floor, which is spooking them! The exercises are from the physiotherapists and designed to gain better mobility in the joint. There are lying down ones and standing, almost ballet bar exercises.

There are improvements every day, I stand well unaided and sometimes forget to grab my crutches but my muscles remind me.

The other bit is I have had visitors, and those visitors have been very, very welcome. I love my mum but we do need to see other people so we don’t kill each other! I think there have been five different visits, from one to multiple people.  R and S arrived with a fern (now named Fenchurch) and M dropped past as well on the first day of visitors. This was lovely and it was a much needed mood lift.  H and T rolled up for a Saturday dinner and we sat and played board games and drink a bit of red wine. Then Mr Gin had to go off to a hospital appointment and Mum went with him, leaving me potentially in the house on my own. But M bought around some had sewing and the K, M, N and R came later. M had bought the most wonderful lunch, her Japanese comfort food that was wonderful and beyond tasty. N bought an orchid and K and M provided sugar and R astounding brownie cookies. E came over this week for a quick but lovely visit.

All these visits have been just wonderful and either filled in the days or given me something to look forward to. (The fact there was food and presents were just lovely and wonderful surprise.) I am isolated with not really being able to use the tube and buses being a bit of an adventure if the driver does not lower the bus. Visitors are a bit of a boon!

All in all things are going well.

Have Cape Will Travel!

I have just spent a week in the Lake District.

Travelling with a dodgy hip makes for an interesting time when going into an area of natural beauty with mountains and mud. In nature there are hills, stones, steps and not many bust stops which can make it tough to make it an enjoyable time. But we had a plan!

We had a car and a lot of tramadol. We had a small list of things we wanted to do and as it is late November in the UK the days are short. This meant we could keep our days at manageable length by trying to returning back to our holiday home before dark.

The other part of the plan was to take strong pain killers and hope I did not buy all the shiny things and also  not do too much and make sure what we did was accessible. Mr Gin said he would rather a slightly drugged me than me being in pain. I took this on board , I don’t like the feeling of being on tramadol and there was one point I felt like my brain had shrunk and I could feel a breeze  between my brain and skull, not very nice. It did mean I could walk further and we did something every day. And most of it involved some walking, generally I rested in the evening and in the mornings not too much pain to deal with! Mr Gin was a trooper and had to explain to some shop keepers as I lost track of my thought’s and found money a little tricky at time. Oddly I found dealing with my camera generally fine. I used my cane outside all the time and found most people aware off it and got out of my way which helped too.

A couple of places that deserve mention for their amazing accessibility and views as, for me, most of the views were out of my reach with the walking.  The first was  Force , an amazing water fall in the Pennines. The walk was a wide gravelled path, a little steep at the beginning that would be a challenge for wheel chairs coming back. For me it was very comfortable, and it was only at the falls I skipped the short flight if steps to the river side. The views all the way were stunning and not going down the stair did not mean I felt I was missing out!  Brilliant.

The old railway line walk in Keswick was also lovely, it was a little muddy and stout boots would be advisable. The bridges were well constructed and had anti slip bits. It is part of a bike trail to the coast there were no steps. The general feel was tranquil and well used with lots tourists and visitors using it, from bike riders, joggers, older walkers and lots of dogs using the trail. We were assured there was good coffee at the end.

We visited Beatrix Potter’s Cottage, the house is generally not open and I suspect would be very much an old building with the standard issue winding stairs and narrow doorways and tight interiors. The original cobbled path was a challenge but we did find an asphalt path which was much easier to navigate.  There were some steps into the main building but I think there was a way around this. The cottage is run by the National trust and the staff were super helpful.

Castlerigg stone circle was amazing to visit, located in a field there was a little bit of a sort ground issue and if you were on your own the self-closing gated could be a challenge. We parked right outside and just crossed the road to get in. At the entrance there was a bronze plate with the relief casting of the circle for those with vision loss. The hill was a little steep and the grass deep but I got up the hill to be greeted with the most magnificent view. Just breath taking. The circle was lovely and the view stunning. Had it been any wetter I figure the grass would be mud but certainly accessible.

A lot of the Lake District towns are old and therefore have the standard issues of steps and generally getting into places. In general we did not find many places with toilets down stairs or upstairs like you do in London. Most of the pavements were well cared for but of course there were places there was no pavement and you had to go onto the road. Most of the curbs were low and dropped in many places.

Finally the most wonderful thing was it was possible to get to parts of the lakes and drink in the views and even driving around in the car the views were stunning.

With the all the planning and work arounds we had a great time, but so will be back when I can climb some mountains.