Darling uncle has had time in A&E, but has been discharged and is now much better. I am so relieved, although there is no doubt going to be the hassles of adjusting the tablets.
I think he will probably have a while to recover, in that he was stuck in A&E for hours without food etc and he is a diabetic, but that is just time. I shall be keeping closely in touch!
Now I can focus on the mayhem that is little bear and half term
Showing posts with label darling uncle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label darling uncle. Show all posts
Monday, 13 February 2012
Thursday, 1 December 2011
A Welcome Visit
Darling Uncle visited us today.
It is an awful thing, but I think he was just far too exhausted by it. He was walking with a stick for the first time I have seen, and he was looking so frail.
We had a swift pub lunch, we got to have a quick look in a shop, and then we came home. Little bear was absolutely thrilled to see him.
I will just have to come to him in future, and as often as is practical. It was lovely to see him, hard to curb his generosity - he is out for all he can give - and little bear was thrilled. But I can't ask him to do this again.
It is an awful thing, but I think he was just far too exhausted by it. He was walking with a stick for the first time I have seen, and he was looking so frail.
We had a swift pub lunch, we got to have a quick look in a shop, and then we came home. Little bear was absolutely thrilled to see him.
I will just have to come to him in future, and as often as is practical. It was lovely to see him, hard to curb his generosity - he is out for all he can give - and little bear was thrilled. But I can't ask him to do this again.
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Missing conversations
I am used to speaking to darling uncle at least once a day, often two or three times. And I have been driven to distraction when I am trying to wrestle a recalcitrant little bear or sort out darling father's breakfast. But I have always had those calls.
It is now a fortnight since darling uncle went into hospital. I really miss those calls.
I am getting so many confusing messages about how he is doing, but I am really worried about him. He is so much better, thank you for all the wishes and prayers, but now I feel that everything has changed because even if he is so much better, what if there is a next time? What if it is worse? He has been a rock for me and my brothers for years. Now that seems suddenly less safe.
There is very little I can do. What I can do, I will do, and I continue to pray. I just really want him to be happy.
It is now a fortnight since darling uncle went into hospital. I really miss those calls.
I am getting so many confusing messages about how he is doing, but I am really worried about him. He is so much better, thank you for all the wishes and prayers, but now I feel that everything has changed because even if he is so much better, what if there is a next time? What if it is worse? He has been a rock for me and my brothers for years. Now that seems suddenly less safe.
There is very little I can do. What I can do, I will do, and I continue to pray. I just really want him to be happy.
Friday, 29 April 2011
Darling uncle is getting better
Darling uncle is a lot better, I saw him in hospital. However, he is not well. He can't stand without assistance and his legs are a mass of bloody scabs. He looked pale and tired when I saw him, but he was more or less keeping up with the conversations.
So worried for him.
So worried for him.
Hard Day
First of all - I thought Duchess Catherine looked lovely and so happy. So did her new husband. That is, when I caught up with the wedding news @ 7pm.
I had a broken night, little bear came downstairs at 2pm, then I was awake every hour putting a blanket back on him. Then darling brother came and picked me up @ 8am and I went to help sort out darling uncle's house.
I just cleaned in the bathroom. It needs further work. The big thing was the bath. It was filled to the brim with clothes, as darling uncle doesn't really have a place to dry clothes if it isn't fine weather, and he has really been too poorly to use his twin tub washing machine (he refuses an automatic). Dirty clothes are stacked in the bath and there is a bit of strata. He has been quite poorly with his eyes for some time, making washing clothes in a twin tub a problem.
Unfortunately he is also losing his hearing and didn't hear that over the cold weather the cold tap in the bath started running. What with one thing and another he didn't notice. So when I came to clear the bath I threw all the clothes away - with darling uncle's permission I hasten to add. They were mouldy. They were horrible. And what was worse, they had a huge crop of Jews Ear Mushrooms on them, some of the mushrooms were really big, four or five inches across. AND SOME OF THEM WERE ON A SWEATER THAT I HAD KNITTED HIM WITH CABLES AND EVERYTHING!
I also disposed of a sewing machine last used by by late grandmother who passed away in 1987. There was a teasmaid of similar vintage that went, and a lot of miscellaneous awfulness, including newspapers from 1997.
One thing that saddened me was getting rid of a towel rail of 1930s vintage, probably oak, a little bit deco. I loved it, but it was in mouldy pieces.
I suppose at least another 20 bin bags were added to a growing heap for when we get a skip.
And I wish I didn't notice things. The chimney not only has smoke coming out of the chimney pot on top, but also at the base of the brick stack where it meets the roof. New liner needed, along with plumbing, rewiring, redecorating, etc, etc, etc. I had the fire on to heat water. It was not effective at heating water, but at least it got the air moving and chased away some of the damp.
I had a broken night, little bear came downstairs at 2pm, then I was awake every hour putting a blanket back on him. Then darling brother came and picked me up @ 8am and I went to help sort out darling uncle's house.
I just cleaned in the bathroom. It needs further work. The big thing was the bath. It was filled to the brim with clothes, as darling uncle doesn't really have a place to dry clothes if it isn't fine weather, and he has really been too poorly to use his twin tub washing machine (he refuses an automatic). Dirty clothes are stacked in the bath and there is a bit of strata. He has been quite poorly with his eyes for some time, making washing clothes in a twin tub a problem.
Unfortunately he is also losing his hearing and didn't hear that over the cold weather the cold tap in the bath started running. What with one thing and another he didn't notice. So when I came to clear the bath I threw all the clothes away - with darling uncle's permission I hasten to add. They were mouldy. They were horrible. And what was worse, they had a huge crop of Jews Ear Mushrooms on them, some of the mushrooms were really big, four or five inches across. AND SOME OF THEM WERE ON A SWEATER THAT I HAD KNITTED HIM WITH CABLES AND EVERYTHING!
I also disposed of a sewing machine last used by by late grandmother who passed away in 1987. There was a teasmaid of similar vintage that went, and a lot of miscellaneous awfulness, including newspapers from 1997.
One thing that saddened me was getting rid of a towel rail of 1930s vintage, probably oak, a little bit deco. I loved it, but it was in mouldy pieces.
I suppose at least another 20 bin bags were added to a growing heap for when we get a skip.
And I wish I didn't notice things. The chimney not only has smoke coming out of the chimney pot on top, but also at the base of the brick stack where it meets the roof. New liner needed, along with plumbing, rewiring, redecorating, etc, etc, etc. I had the fire on to heat water. It was not effective at heating water, but at least it got the air moving and chased away some of the damp.
Friday, 22 April 2011
Darling Uncle
Darling uncle is in hospital. He has one kidney now not working. I don't think he realises that he is actually quite poorly, nor do I think he has a realistic idea about the sort of things the hospital are likely to want in place before he is discharged.
I am not currently going to try and visit him. I am trying to ring him now and again, as he can sometimes get reception on the ward.
I am coping less than I would like, as it is not only the massive upset that my darling uncle, who really is a darling (stubborn, awkward, opinionated darling) is poorly but there are a lot of consequences to any change in the status quo.
His bungalow, which looks like a 'before' and is heaped with loads and loads of things, needs to be cleared and cleaned. I will not be in a position to help with that, it will all fall to my brothers. I hate that. All mixed up with rubbish and half filled seed packets and empty fruit trays are some beautiful (and dirty and dusty) antiques. So many of our family travelled, and brought back stuff, including a beautiful geisha doll under a glass dome, brought back from Japan nearly fifty years ago. It needs to be all sorted and cleared and rearranged before he will be considered safe there by any Social Services representative.
Many years ago we went into his shed. It was a large shed, full of 'stuff'. There were jars and jars of screws, rusty tools, unidentified containers probably containing oil, bike parts, lawnmower bits and just junk. The shed had been flooded several times and it was all in heaps. It took a major feat of persuasion for me to get him to throw out one rusty pruning saw. In the end the shed was picked up by a digger and squashed into an outsize skip when they put flood defences in his garden. Darling uncle will put up a stern resistance to things being thrown out. Or changed. Or anyone suggesting that he needs to do anything different. I don't know how things will pan out.
I am not currently going to try and visit him. I am trying to ring him now and again, as he can sometimes get reception on the ward.
I am coping less than I would like, as it is not only the massive upset that my darling uncle, who really is a darling (stubborn, awkward, opinionated darling) is poorly but there are a lot of consequences to any change in the status quo.
His bungalow, which looks like a 'before' and is heaped with loads and loads of things, needs to be cleared and cleaned. I will not be in a position to help with that, it will all fall to my brothers. I hate that. All mixed up with rubbish and half filled seed packets and empty fruit trays are some beautiful (and dirty and dusty) antiques. So many of our family travelled, and brought back stuff, including a beautiful geisha doll under a glass dome, brought back from Japan nearly fifty years ago. It needs to be all sorted and cleared and rearranged before he will be considered safe there by any Social Services representative.
Many years ago we went into his shed. It was a large shed, full of 'stuff'. There were jars and jars of screws, rusty tools, unidentified containers probably containing oil, bike parts, lawnmower bits and just junk. The shed had been flooded several times and it was all in heaps. It took a major feat of persuasion for me to get him to throw out one rusty pruning saw. In the end the shed was picked up by a digger and squashed into an outsize skip when they put flood defences in his garden. Darling uncle will put up a stern resistance to things being thrown out. Or changed. Or anyone suggesting that he needs to do anything different. I don't know how things will pan out.
Monday, 21 June 2010
Little bear visited Wales
We went to visit my uncle in Wales on Sunday. It was glorious. Present were my darling uncle (with a birthday soon, so all his goodies), OH and darling father (lots of father's day goodies), two darling brothers, a friend of one of the darling brothers, little bear, a young teenage girl who is a friend of darling uncle and myself.
It was marvellous. It was fantastic weather, we had a barbecue, it was peaceful in the garden, little bear was mightily indulged but did quite well on the behaviour stakes, I am working on 'please' and 'thank you' a lot.
There was also a dog belonging to a friend of one of my brothers, which I shall call, for the purposes of the blog, mooching hound. It is the size of a smallish labrador and allegedly crossed with an elkhound (most of us were betting fox hound) and he was lovely. He roamed around for tidbits, got into trouble for stealing when he ran off with a piece of rib and refused to be caught, allowed little bear to stroke him, played football and endlessly sat patiently and mournfully in front of anyone who was eating.
Ian who sometimes posts comments made the (really delicious) birthday cake and it was a wonderful time.
I did have a few heart in mouth moments. Darling father may be approaching 80 at speed but he can still do a creditable slide to the ground (last competitive football match at age 50). And little bear took the fence with the neighbouring property as a challenge and just tried to climb a fence which is uprights with an upper and a lower cross bit and is taller than him - he didn't flinch. When we tried to stop him he said, 'I good at this.'
Today his exhaustion is showing, but he had a marvellous time. Actually I think it could possibly apply to all attendees. I can't wait for the next time.
It was marvellous. It was fantastic weather, we had a barbecue, it was peaceful in the garden, little bear was mightily indulged but did quite well on the behaviour stakes, I am working on 'please' and 'thank you' a lot.
There was also a dog belonging to a friend of one of my brothers, which I shall call, for the purposes of the blog, mooching hound. It is the size of a smallish labrador and allegedly crossed with an elkhound (most of us were betting fox hound) and he was lovely. He roamed around for tidbits, got into trouble for stealing when he ran off with a piece of rib and refused to be caught, allowed little bear to stroke him, played football and endlessly sat patiently and mournfully in front of anyone who was eating.
Ian who sometimes posts comments made the (really delicious) birthday cake and it was a wonderful time.
I did have a few heart in mouth moments. Darling father may be approaching 80 at speed but he can still do a creditable slide to the ground (last competitive football match at age 50). And little bear took the fence with the neighbouring property as a challenge and just tried to climb a fence which is uprights with an upper and a lower cross bit and is taller than him - he didn't flinch. When we tried to stop him he said, 'I good at this.'
Today his exhaustion is showing, but he had a marvellous time. Actually I think it could possibly apply to all attendees. I can't wait for the next time.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
So that's why...
Little bear has a mound of toys in the living room and his room. Heaps and heaps overflow everywhere. I need to do a serious cull, when able.
Darling uncle rang this morning. It is a regular call whenever he goes to Tescos. He heads to the toy and children's book section, and then rings and asks whether little bear would like this...or this....or this...
Today I managed to head off a lot of his suggestions, but sometimes I give in because darling uncle loves buying 'stuff' for little bear. And the heaps get ever higher.
Darling uncle rang this morning. It is a regular call whenever he goes to Tescos. He heads to the toy and children's book section, and then rings and asks whether little bear would like this...or this....or this...
Today I managed to head off a lot of his suggestions, but sometimes I give in because darling uncle loves buying 'stuff' for little bear. And the heaps get ever higher.
Monday, 1 June 2009
A day out
Yesterday we visited my darling uncle. He hasn't seen little bear for nearly a year, so it was wonderful to make the trip. A visit to darling uncle involves a trip over the Pennines and in bad weather we usually do not bother.
Another factor limiting our visits is the weather. Darling uncle's house is far too cluttered to risk little bear in there - some of what is seen as clutter is also antique or memorabilia - things that couldn't easily be replaced. So we have a barbecue in the garden, and that demands dry weather.
Well, little bear thought it was wonderful. A lovely large garden to race up and down in, lots of people who were happy to indulge him, great food, sunshine, juice - what more could he want? He had bits of people's barbecue. He had tomatoes, strawberries, physallis, cucumber, satsuma, raw pepper, chocolate cake, breadsticks, crackers... I don't think I caught up on all he had. Most of it was 'good' stuff, you know, veggies and fruit. Actually most of it was sampled and then he moved on to the next new thing. He was like a kitten in a feather factory.
He also got lots of gold stars for his behaviour from other people. I am so proud. On the whole he didn't throw tantrums or demand things, though there were some heated moments when I was not letting go into the playhouse as we were going home. By that time exhaustion was starting to get to him. Darling uncle thought he had done very well.
Of course little bear's spirit of adventure was well to the fore. I don't know how I am going to keep in one piece till adulthood. He headed for the empty bee hives - now filled with wasps. He headed for the river. He headed for the hot barbecue. He climbed and raced and generally headed out into the wild blue yonder.
Darling uncle has bought little bear a summer house. Behind it is a stand of shrubby trees and weeds. I didn't realise, as dear heart and darling brother were the first to see it, but little bear was going round the back of the summer house for adventure, right past a large stand of nettles, much bigger than him. It was later, when we were starting to pack up that we realised he had been nettled. In a few years time I imagine that nettle stings will be almost de rigeur but little bear is only two and a half and the stings covered at least a third of his under arm and it was the first time he had been nettled. He hadn't told us, he hadn't cried or fussed. Dear heart only twigged when he saw him rubbing his arm. Of course there wasn't a dock leaf to be had! I wiped over with a Wet Wipe and let him get on with it - if he wasn't making a fuss I didn't want to.
I think with little bear, the world was just too full of interesting things to explore, and fussing about a sting would be wasting time. I admire his attitude. I just hope I can survive it.
Another factor limiting our visits is the weather. Darling uncle's house is far too cluttered to risk little bear in there - some of what is seen as clutter is also antique or memorabilia - things that couldn't easily be replaced. So we have a barbecue in the garden, and that demands dry weather.
Well, little bear thought it was wonderful. A lovely large garden to race up and down in, lots of people who were happy to indulge him, great food, sunshine, juice - what more could he want? He had bits of people's barbecue. He had tomatoes, strawberries, physallis, cucumber, satsuma, raw pepper, chocolate cake, breadsticks, crackers... I don't think I caught up on all he had. Most of it was 'good' stuff, you know, veggies and fruit. Actually most of it was sampled and then he moved on to the next new thing. He was like a kitten in a feather factory.
He also got lots of gold stars for his behaviour from other people. I am so proud. On the whole he didn't throw tantrums or demand things, though there were some heated moments when I was not letting go into the playhouse as we were going home. By that time exhaustion was starting to get to him. Darling uncle thought he had done very well.
Of course little bear's spirit of adventure was well to the fore. I don't know how I am going to keep in one piece till adulthood. He headed for the empty bee hives - now filled with wasps. He headed for the river. He headed for the hot barbecue. He climbed and raced and generally headed out into the wild blue yonder.
Darling uncle has bought little bear a summer house. Behind it is a stand of shrubby trees and weeds. I didn't realise, as dear heart and darling brother were the first to see it, but little bear was going round the back of the summer house for adventure, right past a large stand of nettles, much bigger than him. It was later, when we were starting to pack up that we realised he had been nettled. In a few years time I imagine that nettle stings will be almost de rigeur but little bear is only two and a half and the stings covered at least a third of his under arm and it was the first time he had been nettled. He hadn't told us, he hadn't cried or fussed. Dear heart only twigged when he saw him rubbing his arm. Of course there wasn't a dock leaf to be had! I wiped over with a Wet Wipe and let him get on with it - if he wasn't making a fuss I didn't want to.
I think with little bear, the world was just too full of interesting things to explore, and fussing about a sting would be wasting time. I admire his attitude. I just hope I can survive it.
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