A wee update

Hello all - no news is good news. I have been taking only one pack of goo a night recently, as my eating has improved considerably (in quantity if not in variation... minced beef and tatties; spag bol; meat stews; not much else). I am expecting to go back to work part time from the start of May! which is great, or will be, if I can work from home; not so good if they want me in the office, the extra travelling would be tiring (although it's only 30-45 mins); and I am not really comfortable spending that long in non-friendly public. But I'm sure we can sort it.

L and I go to Marrakesh for a week from Monday. Scary and good - I won't be able to take my goo pump etc with me, so I will HAVE to cope with eating normally; but we both really need a holiday, so yay. I have a friend there (well now... the cousin of my godmother's youngest son... he being my oldest friend, and she being someone I have met at various times over the years); she organises tours and runs a Riad. Sadly I didn't know she ran a Riad when we booked ours, but hey ho. We will go and take tea, if nothing else!

I just spent a few days with the folks, it was great, although I do worry so about them - pa doesn't walk more than a few feet or not if he can help it, and ma is worse, although she tries hard. She is so frustrated, and gets very depressed sometimes with it. Still, it was great seeing them, and I took her out shopping, borrowing a wheelchair from a local place. OK, it knackered me lol - I had to go to sleep a lot that evening and the next day - but it was really great. Also had lunch at Russ's, and a lovely time playing Pat at Boggle in the sun. So good for the soul, sitting in the sun, chatting, and listening to the birds and no other noise at all.

Back briefly to effects of all the treatment. At the moment, there is a straight line from the base of my chin to about where my adam's apple would be. I am hideous in profile. Poor Nils was trying to take a decent pic of me when I popped in for drinkies with Lionel - she had to truc the photos, I'm afraid! Fantastic pic of L, though. And lovely to see her, Steve, Claudio and Kat - I popped in to Kat's for a coffee and good old chat before I went home, too. Saw round her house - wow. There is a lot to do... it's a big place! Kat - start at the top! The roof is the principle thing, I don't think just getting part of it done will do, or at least you need to do more than just replace that beam. Money, I know, money...

Tomorrow Rachel is coming to stay for a few days, which is wonderful! it was going to be today, but I didn't read my mails and she didn't have the right phone number for me... so what with the train strike and her not hearing from me (would probably have been sensible if I'd contacted her to check all was ok...), she is still at her father's, done the south coast somewhere. But she'll be leaping on a train tomorrow morning. I meanwhile have appointment with the nutritionist tomorrow - I hope she will be pleased with me having taken the initiative myself to reduce to 1 pack, and won't be too worried that I've lost 1 kilo - or maybe less. I don't think so... Then later the speech therapist. Saw the physio today, god that hurts, but it makes such a difference.... my hideous chin/neck is gradually softening out and the swelling should gradually reduce. She has told me to click my tongue a lot - it makes the base of the tongue work, and affects the swollen area. So I go around making horsey noises now whenever I think of it. L loves this - he makes them too, but in a sort of gee up way. Grrrrr.