(Photo Description: An arch-shaped Bridge with water and greenery in the foreground.)
Sunday may 8th
The day started slowly. I took my sweet time with breakfast while we waited for it to warm up a little outside. Around 11am we got ready to leave the house. Put the necessary medical supplies and drinks in my bag, took my wheelchair and left together for the train station. Yes… it’s Sunday, Jessica’s free day and I’m allowed to share it with her.
We took the train to Zwolle, checked out and stopped at the supermarket to get some lunch and drinks. Croissants, they’re easy to take with us. Then we headed to Het Engelse Werk park. It was a nice Sunny day. Great weather for a walk. We needed to go down a hill and under a bridge to get to the park. That was interesting as the pavement wasn’t smooth. Free butt massage anyone?
The park was very green, full of trees, grass, bushes and plants. As we decided to follow the NS walk route, we also passed water and went through the woods. Why would we stay on a friendly wheelchair path when we can have adventures in nature?
We had great conversations while walking and we both made some photos and TikToks. We found a lonely bench with a great view of a lake where we sat to eat our lunch. Jessica watched some geese do their goosey thing while we were eating. I could hear them calling and splashing as they went into the water. It was such an enjoyable adventure.
On the way back to the train station, we noticed that the wheelchair may have had too much adventure. One of the side plates that sits between my leg and the wheel, was rubbing against the top of the wheel. Making it hard to roll. I’m not sure if I lost my balance and bent the plate by leaning all of my weight onto it, or if there is something wrong with the wheel. I’m going to have to get someone to come out and look at it. We made it to the station though and got a drink and a snack from the kiosk before boarding the train to go home.
It’s so nice to be able to do normal things again and it’s a huge honor to be able to share Jessica’s free day with her. Just like we used to do in the old times – you know? – before the pandemic broke out? Jessica said we can go on adventures more often now that the weather is good. As long as my body can handle it.
Monday May 9th
You’d think it would be a rest day after all that adventure. Except for some pain in my shoulder, I feel fine.
I had some phone calls to make so started doing that as soon as I finished breakfast. First the doctor – oh why oh why does the queue have to be so long when you call the doctor? – Then the call to the wheelchair people to get someone to come look at my chair. I was supposed to make a third phone call but I couldn’t find the correct number. I’ll ask for help with finding that tomorrow.
I Skyped with my Dad as I usually do on a Monday and I very much enjoyed our conversation. I also enjoyed teasing him. Every time we call, we end up talking about things that he wants to show me. The further we get into the conversation, the more objects he has gethered from different rooms in the house and they all surround him, on the couch and the table. He’s like a squirrel gathering nuts for winter. Only my Dad does show and tell instead of storing them away.
After we hung up, I did some chores and got lunch. In the winter months, I’m not a good lunch eater. I am always cold and want to eat warm food. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for healthy choices unless it’s soup. Which I do eat, but not every day. Now that the warmer weather has arrived, I can pick some healthy food to enjoy at lunch time. Today it was multi grain wraps, filled with salami, pepper and tomato. I enjoyed them and am looking forward to more healthy lunches this summer. I hope it will help with my blood sugar, which slowly appears to be creeping up.
The afternoon was filled with YouTube and TikTok. I even made a TikTok. This morning my nurse had taught me a safer way to put on my jacket, so that I no longer over extend my hyper mobile shoulders. I thought it was a useful trick that other hyper mobile people may benefit from. So I demonstrated my new trick for the internet.
Blog writing ended the afternoon. This blog needs to be written at some point. If I wait til the end of the week to write it, I’ll forget all the good stuff. That would make for a very boring blog. So I update it regularly throughout the week. My iPad is currently hanging in the tripod mount in front of my face and I’m typing on Jessica’s wireless keyboard. Lazy blogger achievement unlocked!
Tuesday May 10th
The day started with some chores. I also needed a new tube for my hearing aid. So Jessica went with me to the hearing aid specialist. He cleaned my hearing aid for me and fitted a new tube. It didn’t take long and we were soon ready to leave. We picked up some groceries on the way home.
At fitness I didn’t do all of my normal exercises. My shoulder was still slightly painful and felt a bit unstable so I didn’t use the handbike. At the rowing machine, I only used my left arm with a much lighter setting than I usually work with. I used the leg press and also did leg stretches and curls and then I got to try out a new exercise. The sitting bike. It has a proper seat instead of the normal saddle that the average exercise bike has. Much more stable for my hips. I cycled for about 6 minutes at a very slow pace. It was a good session.
Once at home, I realised that my knee was hurting while walking. I must have over stretched it during one of the exercises. I’m not sure which one. Luckily the pain isn’t terrible. Hopefully it will heal quickly.
Wednesday May 11th
I try to avoid doing chores the day after fitness. The only thing on my list was the dishwasher, which wasn’t full enough to run. So I moved it to thursday.
I watched a lot of YouTube and Tiktok after breakfast. Made healthy lunch at lunchtime and chatted to friends in iMessage afterwards.
Later in the afternoon, a friend that I haven’t seen since before the pandemic, came for coffee. I saw her in the first week at fitness. She came to talk to me while I was using the handbike and we decided that Covid was no longer going to stop us drinking coffee together.
We had a great catch up conversation. We both had lots to share after two years. I even learned that she has fitness before me, at the same place with the same physio. That was a fun discovery.
Thursday May 12th
Chore… sleep… chore… sleep… if this is how this whole day is going to be, I’m not going to be amused. Luckily after lunch it got better and I was able to stay awake.
Jessica came home from work – she only works a half day on Thursdays – and needed to do some of her own chores before going with me to a doctor appointment. Unfortunately, the washing machine, which I had turned on more than an hour ago didn’t get that memo. It told me when I turned it on, that it would only take 38 minutes to complete the cycle. It could better have said 380 minutes. It was still running when Jessica got home. So she had to wait to do her laundry.
We went to my appointment and ended up waiting almost 30 minutes to see the doc. He was behind with his schedule. I finally got to talk to him about the list of complaints and questions I had written down. I left with a new prescription for eczema cream and an extra illness to add to my list.
I am super sensitive to cold weather and quickly get cold fingers, toes and nose. That seems normal in winter, but being under a blanket in spring when it’s 22c inside, is not normal. I was afraid I had started to experience diabetic neuropathy but, no. It’s Raynaud’s Phenomenon. Please don’t google photos. I have a mild form and my hands have never looked as bad as the pictures that google will show you. It’s really not worth your ‘freak out’ energy. This condition is normally treated with certain blood pressure medicines. Which I’m already taking, as I actually need treatment for high blood pressure. Further there’s not a lot to be done. I have to keep my hands and feet as warm as I can and move around when they feel too cold. Google also suggested using insulated cups for warm as well as cold drinks so that I don’t trigger a flare up when holding the cup. We have been using those cups for a long time already. So I think I can manage just fine.
In the evening, Jessica went to a meeting. Members of SP Dronten along with members of 3 other political parties were being sworn into counsil and Jessica needed to make photos. I watched a few of our favorite youtubers that we would normally watch together. Today was an exception. It was a relaxed evening.
Friday May 13th
Not a lot to report about this day. I did a lot of blogging. I spent some time updating this blog and also wrote a blog for Platform Zorg. That won’t be published yet though. I’m trying to stay ahead with those blog so I can post one even when I’m not having a good day. I now have 3 blogs ready for them and I post there every 2 weeks.
In the afternoon, I faceTimed with Emily. She is just as much, if not more of an Animal Crossing fan than I am and needed skateboards to finish a crafting project within the game. I have a skateboard parked outside of one of my villager’s houses, so figured I could get more. While we hung out and chatted, I turned on the game and sent her 3 skateboards.
The wheelchair repairman also came to take a look at my chair. He was a bit confused as to what might be wrong with it. So he took it out to his bus to have a better look. Turns out there was something wrong with the tire. It had a weird bump in it. So he changed it out for a new one.
Saturday may 14th
The weather is getting warmer and we decided it was time to make our garden summer proof.
First Jessica planted some seeds in the grassy part at the back of our yard. We’re trying to make that part into a wild garden. Hopefully in 60 days, it will be a colorful one.
Then there needed to be a boundary between the terrace and the wild part. It will keep visiting dogs from trampling flowers, but it also will keep legally blind people named Codee from falling on flowers.
For this, we needed something we could use as fencing. We were aiming on big long plant pots. The shop we went to didn’t have those. They did have some low, plastic panels which we could use though. And we saw 2 metal racks which we could put in the ground to later use with a climbing plant.
After we got that home and put it alm together, we realised it was a bit wobbly. So Jessica went back to the shop to look for something to support it. She came back with butterfies on sticks and some candles mounted on poles. All could be stuck into the ground. Jessica strategically placed everything and used ties to tie the fencing to the poles. That’s not going anywhere in a storm.
Jessica filled up the parasol feet with water and retrieved the parasols from the attic. We attached a white sheet to our large window to prevent the living room from becoming a sauna and the garden was finally summer proof.
We enjoyed some ice tea while sitting out on our terrace before going inside for dinner and TV time. It was a productive day.
The blog is later than usual this week as our whole weekend was busy and I’m just now finding time to finish up as I lay here in bed. Sorry about that.
I hope you enjoyed the read. Have a great week!
CRS Life 