A New Claws Comes Into Effect.

Let me start by saying I’m not mad. No more than normal anyway and I prefer eccentric if you don’t mind. Just because you haven’t seen Oscar’s ghost yet doesn’t mean it wasn’t there. After all, when the minor g*d Somnos affected my sleep pattern so much a few short years ago you surely didn’t doubt my veracity then? I’ve heard him jumping around playing with a ball of wool (Oscar not Somnos) or pushing his meal dish around the floor with his nose.

Last night I went to bed about 3.00 am and took just a few minutes to get to sleep not having had much the night before. I woke with a start at 4.17 am and wondered if I’d wet the bed. Well, I had but I hadn’t. I turned the light on and looked at my trouser leg, surely it was grey when I went to bed. It was now a fetching shade of pink. Underneath, the thick pad held on my leg by stockinette was shredded and a less fetching shade of red. There was blood running down to my ankle and disappearing into the blue sheet I had been sleeping on. It could only be Oscar reminding me of how he used to sneak under the covers and depending upon his mood or the resistance I showed to waking he’s encourage me with his claws. Oh, but I haven’t forgotten. It was as I finally came fully awake I realised just how deviously brilliant, or is that brilliantly devious he was for he’d managed to plant the blood beneath my own nails.

I cleaned up as best I could then applied some Germolene and a new thick pad held down by some blueline stockinette. It’s been itching all morning but I’ve been careful not to scratch it. I tell you all this in confidence of course as surely if my daughter hears of it, she who loved Oscar, she will blame me and have the nurses on my doorstep first thing. I prefer not to bother them for a bit of epidermis and a tad of dermis. They of course blame me for their putting on weight which can be reflected in their way of removing dressings. Ouch.

It looks to me from afar as though America is at the point of losing it’s democracy. The politicians on one side of he divide seem intent on carrying forward ‘The Big Lie’ that Trump actually won the 2020 election and had it stolen out from under him. This, despite there not being a shred of proof they can bring to support this claim and despite 60 court cases which were lost even under judges appointed by Trump. Also despite GOP Officials from some states swearing that the elections were free and fair even though Biden won. This news is of course old hat now but still the tale unwinds. Joe Biden has been able to get some legislation through which did not need the agreement of congress. Had that not been the case then nothing would have happened so far because Mitch McConnell says it will not.

As part of what has been done, money was put aside for those Americans still suffering as result of Covid19. An award of $300 monthly for those who are still unemployed, and money for those with children who have no income. A couple of States decided it would be good to refuse to pay this money to the families but to use it to create lotteries offering the chance for people who took the vaccine the chance to win a million dollars. Considering many places would not push the vaccine while some of it’s politicians like Marj Greens were still saying Covid19 is a scam an others laud doctors who claim taking the vaccine makes you magnetic. (That can’t be the case with them all as it hasn’t worked for me.) It’s odd that they now want to push the vaccine. All that being said, I would imagine that it’s unlawful for State Legislatures to use Federal money for any purpose than that for which it was issued. Never mind that the money was earmarked for specific people who are being denied what is theirs, and they’re suffering without it. I understand that more States have said they are withdrawing from the scheme to pass this money out from the Federal Government. hat possibly means that the Federal Government will be able to stop issuing it in that way and may be able to find way to send the money direct. I suppose they will also be able to do the same if the original monies are returned and not given away as lottery prizes.

The most worrying factor for me that shows the breakdown of Democracy is the speed with which many State Legislatures under Republican control are steaming ahead with plans to disenfranchise so many voters, which even they admit will affect mainly People of Colour or people generally inclined to vote for the Democrats. There’s no denying it will also hit some people who vote Republican but that’s collateral damage. These States no longer meet (or will meet) the minimum requirement for free and fair elections. That could mean the Republicans winning the house and Senate majorities in 2022 and so far a Trump election in 2024. The country might never recover from this as Trump himself hinted in 2020 that when he won the election he might decide not to step down. That would make him one of his favourite people, A Dictator. The lawmakers supporting these changes say it’s necessary to support electoral integrity in the face of so much election Fraud when in fact the e2020 elections are said to have been the most secure ever with minimal fraud detected and that being on the Republican side.

If Mitch McConnell as promised, does not allow the ‘For the People’ act to go through with the expanded voting rights and the changes to campaign finance laws I’d say you could write the U.S. off as a democracy and it will find itself sidelined by a number of countries currently allies. I have to be honest and say I don’t know what my country might do. I know what I’d expect it to do. But under it’s current leadership I think it’s still an unknown quantity. I’m sure the people would be on the side of one person, one vote though. I urge all Americans to ensure that whatever your politics, make sure your senators and representatives vote for free and fair elections or be prepared to live in a country where you will get o help from the State no matter what and only the 1% will reap benefits while most of the rest of you struggle to get a minimum wage.

Hugs to all

Nil Illegitimi Carborundum Desperandum or Do you sprechen Latin?

Another new week and on Monday night I didn’t sleep. Not from lack of trying, but from fear that my alarm would not go off at 5.30 am Tuesday morning. I tried to go to sleep at 3.00 am but found myself giving up after about forty minutes. I wondered if I could test the alarm but being a Luddite I knew the technology would take me longer than the less than two hours I needed to wait for it to go off. I managed to tur it off quite quickly for me and still had time to dress before leaving the house at 6.20 am. I was almost fully coordinated with maroon jeans, maroon shirt with trendy Mandarin collar and my red waistcoat. Even my shoes were a shade of red and very comfortable. If I couldn’t sneak through customs as as I crossed the border with England at least I could run away. After a quick trot through town, stopping only to divert to the big Tesco store to use the loo, I was soon ensconced in Cafe Nero awaiting the appearance of my grandchildren on their way to school. I needed to see Yvonne as Cafe Nero’s wasn’t accepting cash and I hadn’t brought my card out. The tin of sweets I took after so long allowed them to kindly offer me my coffee while I waited for my payment to arrive. Such trust. Yvonne brought the children over to the cafe side of the road and didn’t warn them I’d be there. Both girls walked past without so much as a glance but my grandson did a double take and through the glass I saw him mouth ‘Pops’ which brought the girls back. I could see Yvonne was laughing. They all came in and as Yvonne ordered and paid for my drink I gave the kids their weekly treat of chocolate to eat on the way to school. I got another hug as they left and sat feeling the warmth of grandkids as I waited for Yvonne to return from dropping them off.

Yvonne ordered a drink for herself and sat looking at the dresses I’d bought for the girls and the shirt and waistcoat for Roobs who likes to be dapper. Apparently one of his favourite outfits currently is his black leather waistcoat and a pair of fingerless black leather gloves I bought him. I’d tell you what I’ve bought him for his birthday but I’m not sure I trust you enough not to blab before then. I will say that I’m gently leading him away from the Henchmen look ( a local Biker group) but I suppose it’s my fault for wearing the same. I told Yvonne I wasn’t happy with the dresses and she allowed me to buy two more dresses as the morning wore on. I also bought a pair of jeans I thought my son in law (AKA my son or Ugo) might wear and hoping the colour would be good on him. I daresay I’ll have to face the (don’t buy me any presents till my birthday) music when I see him on Friday. We started heading for a mid morning coffee when I was approached by a street vendor of a magazine for the homeless called The Big Issue. I didn’t want the magazine but I was happy to give her a couple of pounds to get a coffee or to put towards her stay at a hostel that night. I was just handing over the money when a passing stranger said “Eeh lad (me a lad?) don’t let the b*stards grind you down.” Paus for though left me with no wonder there are so many homeless if that’s your only charitable donation. Of course he was nowhere in sight for any smart-ass retort. After coffee we both shopped for a few things we needed at home then headed for the bus station so I could catch my bus. I found I couldn’t use the loo before I left. I was hoping the one and a half hour journey wouldn’t be too challenging because of that. I nodded off for most of the journey but didn’t miss my stop. When I got off I had to pick up speed as he urge was upon me. Would I be able to get home in time. I did. Afterwards I had to face severe criticism (and probably sarcasm) because I hadn’t undone his cage before I let for the bus. Only after I’d apologised and grovelled a bit was it OK to go and concentrate on my lunch.

Thus far the cease fire is holding on the Gaza strip. I’m pleased and hope that amongst those meeting to find a lasting peace are those with a genuine need to help and not just those with an agenda of their own. I think a two state solution would be best if we can’t have a single state jointly ruled by both Arabs and Israelis where the Palestinians have lands restored to them as near to the original boundaries as possible. The Palestinians could perhaps agree to taking over the property in what are the occupied territories as landlords or could even agree to the sale of the land to the tenants and/or occupying some of the land themselves if the Israelis didn’t want to stay.

In America the controversy rages on about the new voter laws some states are adopting which obviously disenfranchises a lot of people, the majority of whom would be likely to vote for the Democrats in any election. his cannot b construed as anything but legalised theft, as cheating. Yet the Republicans GOP does not seem either willing or able to create any viable policies for anyone to vote on. They’re expecting only that their own base will be enough to carry them through once everyone else’s vote no longer exists. The Democrats still seem to have some excellent policies that will benefit everyone regardless of party but Mitch McConnell has already warned that he will filibuster all of them regardless. The Democrats are to achieve nothing so that they will lose the mid-term elections in 2022. I find it a strange way for a party to win power, by having no policies of their own and as part of a Union, being allowed to cheat so blatantly. It’s almost as if the GOP consider the Country to be two separate entities and no Union at all. Another thing I find strange is the seeming power of the Evangelists in all this. A group who call themselves Christians who are happy to see all these people disenfranchised which is anything but Christian. And thy are pushing for the Supreme Court to revisit Obergefell v Hodges to have same sex weddings made illegal, to stop women having the right to decide about their bodies by having abortion made illegal, to stop people having their sex changed in order to tie in with the way thy identify and no doubt to legalise Interventions by the Church to try and make gay people ‘straight’ again as though being gay was a choice. As I commented to a friend this week, if there are 5000 religions on Earth, no-one can tell me theirs is the right one until they’ve studied the other 4,999 and found them wanting. It’s also odd that when they say their G*d is the one and only that there are another 4.999 serving their followers, or not as in the case of the Christian G*d who allows the slaughter of innocents whenever there is a conflict, as there always is. Bring on the Buddhists.

I wish you all a great rest of the week and send Hugs galore.

Flights of Fancy

Well, it’s 3.27 am on Thursday morning and I can’t get to sleep. My legs itch and while having a scritch I did check that it was still plural. I checked them twice in case like other asses I had forefeet. In the (almost) week since the last nurse signed me off to fend for myself I haven’t managed to lose a leg and that’s something I don’t think that any of them had faith in. To be honest I think they would have considered coming until my right leg was fully healed but as the last one left clutching her tin of chocolates , she did mumble something about them all having to go on diets. I’ve missed them this week and their mostly tender ministrations but it’s honestly no reflection on them if I say I won’t mind if I never have to see them again. Unfortunately that’s just not likely to happen so I might as well build up the stocks again. Anyway, as the young ladies from the Chemist’s deliver my meds they still have to collect their share.

The situation in Israel has been bothering me as it has so many others worldwide. While both sides are shooting missiles at each other I read that the Israelis say they try to be careful to avoid civilian casualties and yet I saw that they concentrated their artillery on just one street causing civilian deaths which is bad but with multiple children’s deaths which is worse. I ask myself if there is anyone who could broker a peace deal that could stand. How many countries can the Palestinians trust? The British can’t stand too high in their estimation since the Balfour plan tried to create a Jewish homeland after WWI. Other European countries have also tried to do the same thing. Joe Biden has called for a ceasefire but the U.S. can’t be considered an honest broker when they fund the Israeli war machine to the tune of almost 4 billion dollars per year.

You might have to forgive me if I sound perplexed but why do the Americans still allocate this amount of money to a country that has a taxable population and that trades with the world. Their armed forces are formidable and they’ve beaten back foes far stronger than themselves. They are now at peace with many of them but making peace with the Palestinians still seems to be beyond them. It may be that in peace they will no longer be able to continue stealing land to build on for their ever increasing population. With hawks like Benjamin Netenyahu in charge it’s unlikely a common peace will be found but if he is found guilty of breach of trust, fraud , and accepting bribes then maybe peace will be a step nearer.

It may sound naive but I shall ask anyway. Would it not be possible to have a ruling body composed of both Arabs and Israelis who can ensure that land is not owned by the state so that it can be bought and sold. Palestinians could be compensated for their stolen lands and for those that still own land they can choose whether to sell it for Israeli redevelopment or to farm it as their families have for years. This continual killing has to cease though before the Middle East erupts again in total warfare which could easily spread worldwide. With Iran and Iraq already like tinderboxes and Afghanistan probably ready to blow as the American soldiers withdraw. The world has not known a sustained peace since the end of WWII we don’t need the next in the series. Man should be able to live with man at a time when so many countries are committed to saving the planet from global warming. We don’t want the next global warming to be nuclear.

Hugs to you all.

Chocolate Covered Reasons.

Way back in 2014 I started this blog after deciding it was time to leave Facebook where I ran a similar site but with many more members. Sometimes what we start in one place doesn’t always translate well in another. I had to be prepared for that. When I started here I did so with the following explanation.

About The Buthidars

The Buthidars is a religion free Order where people of all ages, colours and creeds can come together as one all-inclusive group united towards seeing peace in the world.
You will hear ( from me ) about Hugs as I maintain you can’t hug with a weapon in your hands.
You will see the reason I think Hugs are important to us as people, ourselves and others.
You will I hope learn to understand why I ask people to leave religion at the door as they visit and if they still need it, to collect it at the door as they leave. So now you will see, as I promised why I use hugs at the end of posts and when I comment on a blog I visit,

The Buthidar Hugs

The Reasons we should hug.
When we hug, we receive an energy feedback. We bring life to our senses and
reaffirm the trust in our senses. Sometimes we CANNOT find the right words
to express how we feel, and then hugs are the best way to say it.
We need four hugs a day to survive, eight to preserve ourselves, and twelve to
grow. A hug makes you feel good. The skin is the biggest organ we have and it
needs a lot of love. A hug can cover an extensive part of the skin and provides
the massage you need. It is also a way to communicate. It can convey
messages for which you have no words. We can always resort to the universal
language of hugs.
The Power of Hugs Hugging achieves many things that you might never have
imagined. For example:
It feels good
It dissolves solitude
It defeats fear
It opens the door to sensations
It improves self-esteem (wow, he or she wants to hug me!)
It encourages altruism (I can’t believe it, but I want to hug that person)
It delays aging (those who hug age more slowly)
It helps reduce appetite (we eat less when we are nourished with hugs and
when our arms are wrapped around others)
More benefits from hugs:
It is environmentally friendly (it does not damage the environment)
It preserves energy
It is portable and requires no additional machinery
It does not require a special place to do it (an adequate place to hug)
In any place such as a conference room, a church or a football field
It makes happy days even happier
It gives us a sense of belonging
It fills the void in our lives
It is still effective even after the hugging has finished
It strengthens and increases our ability to share
It harmonizes the hearts of friends
Hugging creates some form of addiction to tenderness, to altruism, to
happiness…
Just as laughter, it is highly contagious! Whatever your hug may be, let it
always come from the heart, not from the mind.
Come up with new ways of hugging.
Give your hugs interesting or funny names.
Become a full-time “hug therapist.”
Be always ready to offer a hug to someone.
Observe the other person and always be careful of his or her personal space.
A hug does and says very much.

My great hope when I moved to WordPress was that I could slowly create an order across the World that would perhaps equal the Order of St. Lazarus to which I belong. An order where there would always be someone willing and able to offer help wherever you are. An order where kindness is not just a word but a way of life. I want this to be the lesson we teach our children as we try to preserve the world to give them a future. In celebration of which I’d hoped to start with uniting people across the world in making as many people’s day special with a hugathon but the take up was pretty small and student bodies weren’t interested. If I’d only managed to convince enough people that they could work miracles in their own countries and perhaps their knowledge alone could help people in another. I want to stop FGM and forcing children as young as 12 from being forced to marry much older men. This latter I thought was peculiar to third world Countries but I found it was not. People have life skills they can use to help others or pass on to them. People whose marriages have broken up and they don’t know where to turn. There’s no problem that someone doesn’t know how to solve. I’m 70 years of age now and I haven’t given up hope yet. I know many of my friends on here share my wishes in one form or another and have shown exceptional kindness to others and for that I thank them. Together we can change the world.

Huge Hugs.

David

I Was Minding My Own Business

OK, that’s not strictly true since I was at the computer reading other people’s thoughts and catching up on outstanding emails. It was 3.20 am this morning and I couldn’t sleep and couldn’t get comfortable Now I don’t want anyone to think I couldn’t admit to dozing off on the odd occasion since more than one person has sent me an email with a big question mark where I seem to have sent them a message in some rare Gnomish dialect. But, I was not dozing this morning.

Question. How many of you have watched/heard a cat when they jump from somewhere high to somewhere lower? There’s usually the sound of the front two feet followed quickly by the back two. Two little bumps but unmistakable. My computer table lies at a right angle to the bottom of my bed and I was sitting side on to the table so I could have my bad leg (and the lazy one) on the bed. There was the softest sound but two little shock waves ran up from my heels. Nope, the ceiling was still intact and nothing was there

Some of you may have read my Barsetshire Diaries Blog and been introduced to Oscar, one of my arch nemisisis. enemies. My wife’s cat, she could do no wrong in his eyes but I was treated with disdain. Mainly a house cat by choice he did occasionally go out but usually he chose some unearthly hour of the night to do so. Often like 3..20 am. One of his methods to get his own way was to jump from a tall bookshelf at the end of my bed directly on to my stomach (if I was lucky, or his aim was off). I swear he’s the reason I can only sleep curled up on my side now. other choices might be to lie on my face so I couldn’t breathe, put a paw under the covers and swipe the nearest piece of anatomy, or crawl under the covers and run his claws down the sole of my foot. Once I was awake he’d indicate his orders which might be like “Open a window serf” or perhaps “I don’t like what’s in my dish, fill it fool.” Ju used to get long and fascinating conversation from Oscar, I got orders.

I think he’s back. There have been strange noises all night since then and though my slippers re dry, I found my dressing gown belt was wet through at one end a short time ago. I’m willing to accept I was in the kitchen at 3.00 am and did have occasion to run some water in the sink so that on may have been me somehow but I’m starting not to like the odds. In fact now it isn’t a case of can’t sleep, it’s I’m afraid to go to sleep. Has anyone got a tent they’re not using so I can camp out?

Hugs to the World. We’re all family.

Freedom Weekend

By dint of bribery, a great deal of pleading, and being forced to sing Nellie the Elephant while limping round the room in my kilt- Ha, I bet you didn’t know about the room In my kilt did you?- I managed to persuade the nurse to give me the weekend off. This was on the understanding that if things got worse I would phone them. At this point I think she’d forgotten I don’t use the phone at all, but later on Mike said he’d happily make the call if it got me into trouble.

As a rule I don’t bother going to bed on a Friday night. I’m up until Mike goes to bed about midnight, have to be up at 3.00 am anyway and then usually make Mike a coffee and call him at 6.00am knowing he’ll have ignored his alarm. I must have nodded off sometime after 4.30 am in my office chair as the next thing I knew Mike was giving me a gentle shake at 6.20 am complaining he’d had to make his own coffee (not really). .I got myself ready and then told Mike which bins were due out before we were.

Just before 7.00 am Mike took the rubbish out and went to bring his car to the front of the house so he could put the wheelchair in but he made me use my crutches to get there myself.

7…20 am and we were at the supermarket. I was in the wheelchair and at the cash machine where I found that it’s not the easiest thing in the world to cope with if you’re in a chair. Planners take note. Mike attached a wheelchair basket which is no fun if you have long legs. There’s nowhere to put your knees and I had to put my feet on the front bar of the wheel frame so at least I could push people out of my way Once inside we fairly whizzed round making sure the premium space in the trolley is saved for essentials, tins and boxes of sweets and my four bottles of Pepsi Max. Any food is a bonus.

From there we went to Flint to a Gregg’s Bakery so that we could have a coffee in the car and Mike could have a sausage and bacon bap. The moment I finished my coffee I told Mike I needed to pee and he had to rush me to another supermarket that had a loo and I was praying no-one was already there. I was lucky and came out dry. Close call. We carried on to our usual shop from there which I was going to do on my crutches but he wouldn’t let me. I’m so glad. The morning was moving on then so we shot off to the hot sandwich shop where Mike got a hot pork bap with stuffing, onion, and apple sauce. I had a ham bap with some onions. Back home we put the shopping away, me hopping the best I could as Mike passed it to me. I did my bloods and found it was very low so I must be the only person who gets 6 jelly babies to eat just before his lunch. Afterwards I put my leg up and drifted off to sleep snoring all the way through the film he was watching, or so he told me.

Hugs to everyone. Have a peace filled week.

Beating Winter Hands Down.

The sound was like a siren approaching in the distance and getting closer by the second. It was only when it became piercing I realised it was issuing from my own mouth. I was hanging upside down from the ceiling and my fingernails were losing their grip. In truth I think I was losing my grip on reality.

Since I last wrote, at which time I mentioned not being too fond of the cold, my hands have taken to growing their own pair of gloves. There has grown a skin as thick and as strong as rhinoceros hide which has made bending the fingers very difficult indeed. I’m told this is another possible side effect to the vaccine which I hadn’t heard mentioned before. I can’t raise blood from the fingertips for testing my blood sugar so I’m having to be more adventurous. Yesterday the skin started to split just as it used to when my hands got very cold but each hand now appears to have 5 snakes in the process of shedding their skin.

This morning the nurse came and she was one of those sweet ones who hate to cause pain. I sat in my chair as usual anxious to see the results of Day 1 of the new super cream one of the senior nurses got the doctor to dispense. Rebecca cut away the stockinette, unwound the bandage, unwound the wool padding and unrolled the next stockinette. That hurt but we were down to the pads. She started to peel the first one away and I could see a big chunk of me coming away, it wasn’t cream they’d used but superglue. The agony grew and grew as she washed each section as she drew the pads away. I would have welcomed death with a handshake then. It was as we reached the heel and the various ulcers that I must have screamed, and judging by Mike’s chuckle it wasn’t just in my head,

“He’s always been a big baby” Mike told Rebecca as he helped me down from the ceiling lest I fall on him as I’d planned. As gently as she could Rebecca washed my leg down and applied new cream before forming a bootee from a large pad and starting the redressing process. Every slight touch was agony and my leg was on fire. There had been a fair amount of blood spilled, unfortunately all mine, which was cleaned up Pity I couldn’t save it for blood sugar tests. I took the bag of waste from her, exchanged it for some Easter chocolates for all the nurses and waved her goodbye. Most of the morning was over so Mike went out to get us some lunch while I lay in my chair, leg up, exhausted from the fray.

It’s now nearly 2.30 am on Sunday and I know someone will be coming to repeat this today.

For your own sake, if you know what vaccine you’ll be having. See if you can find out in advance what the possible allergic reactions are and be prepared. Check if you have underlying conditions that may be brought on by the vaccine. All of them will have some side effects. Remember though that a vaccine can save your life and some discomfort is surely worth that.

Happy Easter and Super Huge Hugs to you all.

UNWANTED EXTRAS.

Over the years I’ve had more than my share of unwanted extras. The Christmas after passing the 11plus which for all our non-Brit friends used to be a big thing over here as it decided what type of school you got into as a senior, secondary school which concentrated on more brown collar jobs or grammar school where you were expected to be a leader amongst men/ or ladies. A system where mistakes were often made. anyway, that Christmas yours truly was obviously meant to be the next Samuel Pepys as I got 5 diaries. They all came with a scarf or gloves which were welcome as I’ve ever been fond of the warmth.

Skipping forward to my 21st, I had obviously moved up to novelist since I received 4 beautiful fountain pens from various members of the family. We were out for the evening and I was chatting with my much beloved cousins about, of all things, whether Hitler had done any good thins for Germany among which was mentioned the VW car and my own choice, the autobahns. A stop for drinks and one of my uncles ambled over and told me he didn’t think I could hold such a conversation, the implication being that I was thick. That was definitely amongst my leading unwanted extras.

Amongst the funniest was when I cut short a career path that would lead me into management of a shoe store to go into care of the elderly, three of my friends presented me with a costume nurses outfit. I wish I still had it as when my legs are behaving I have just the legs for it. As two nurses have pointed out this week, “your legs go on forever “. As a chat-up line I’ll take what I can get.

I’ve bought computer parts that have come with extras to tempt me, like I got a wire to connect an mp4 to the computer If only I’d buy an mp4. The was no information leading me to understand that it was the same wire as used to connect an mp3. Not that I didn’t want an mp4 as those days I lived in, haven’t got one, must have one land. I actually picked one up from ALDI. and then found out the problems of downloading music vids from YouTube to an mp4. Now you get all that advice for free from Google.

Just a week ago now, one week after the onset of this latest cellulitis gig I received another unwanted extra. My arms and the palms of my hands grew very itchy and broke out in a rash. My left ear quickly scabbed up and I could hear tidal waves washing around in there. It wasn’t good for my balance which was already at risk from the pain in my legs. I mentioned it to one or two nurses but they didn’t seem that interested until yesterday when one told me to get the doctor down to look at my ear. Knowing the boss would ask me what had been said I got in first and told her. I asked if she’d mention the rash at the same time. The receptionists at my surgery have received some form of training which allow them to be called something with ians on the end. One of them happily told Yvonne that the rash was probably from my AstroZeneca jab, A lot of people are complaining three or four weeks after the first jab about this. Why am I only just hearing about it? That’s just my time frame.

So the doctor came today and what a nice lady she was.(I’m glad I do a spell check sometimes, the missing D in lady gave the sentence connotations that she might not appreciate). Anyhoo, we quickly established that the antibiotics are not the right ones for my leg and that the new ones she’ll issue back at the surgery will hopefully do for my ear as well. She can’t believe the swabs done last week came back as negative. There’s no doubt there is an infection and my ears establish that though I’ve only tidal waves in one. She’s going to issue a good steroid cream for my legs and an emollient for my itchy arms which she doesn’t think is AstroZeneca as there’s too much of it. I’ll keep my judgement to myself at the moment as maybe my arms just go on forever too.

One thing I don’t think is an unwanted extra (or I hope not) is the Hugs I leave with you. If anyone isn’t sure, just go to my opening page and read how good Hugs are for your health So many benefits you’ll be hugging all day, Have a Wonderful weekend all.

The Agony and No Ecstacy.

I’ve spoken in the past about the joys of cellulitis and how the itching can drive you insane (short journey I know). Sometimes it goes away with a liberal use of moisturiser but warning, don’t help yourself to your wife’s favourite brand unless you want scalping. Sometimes it takes a more specialised cream with a steroid and sometimes it takes anti-biotics in conjunction with one of the others. this last couple of weeks the itching has been a pain and didn’t respond to any of the usual stuff. The nurse has been coming round to do dressings and came Tuesday of last week when she decided to apply a pre-medicated gauze dressing with iodine in a paraffin base.

I had the usual discomfort for the first day or so where it felt like it was burning but I knew I could ring them if I needed to and anyway, she’d be back this Tuesday. Saturday I shopped as usual with Mike but for once I was glad there was nowhere open to eat as I waned to get home. By Monday I was in agony and had a problem putting my foot on the floor.. I couldn’t wait for Tuesday to arrive. She arrived late morning and commented how smart I looked. Blue trousers, flowered shirt and blue waistcoat. She spent 15 minutes washing my leg in small bursts trying to get the dressing away from the stranglehold it had on my leg. Not easy with the sharp intakes of breath and little whimpers from me. Finally it was done and the leg was a mess. I was losing a lot of water. She was going to redress it with a new iodine patch but I asked her not too as the burning would have been the last straw. She asked me to take my trousers off but as usual my imagination ran ahead of the facts. She wanted me just to put something comfortable on.

I grabbed the first thing to hand which to my shame turned out to be a pair of lounge pants covered with Animal from the Muppet Show. Of course I was still wearing shirt and waistcoat. Thank Heavens I wasn’t wearing a dickie-bow too. It’s not like my street cred hadn’t already nosedived. She took photographs of the offending site then packed great big pads around my foot/leg to try an hold in some of the fluid loss. I could see why losing the trousers was a necessity as I’d never get the legs over the bundle. I looked exactly like one of those irascible Colonels with Gout. She’s due back tomorrow and I’m hoping there are some antibiotics and painkillers in my immediate future. In the meantime I’m going to try for some sleep tonight if I can find a comfortable position for the leg.

Huge Hugs to all.

PARTY FEALTY.

Way back in 2016 Donald Trump had a big lie in his back pocket. It was about how the ACA was a social security benefit and was therefore being paid for from the taxes of those who worked for the benefit of all the undocumented immigrants and people of colour. The lie was ACA had to go and would be replaced by another system designed by the Republicans which would be much better. The PINO (President In Name Only) did not allow for the fact that many Republican voters liked the ACA and didn’t want it to end. They got their wish since 4 years later the plan still stood and no other plan had been put forward to replace it.

There were lots of lies in the intervening period but in 2019 a new virus was found, or It would bed more accurate to say found us. At the start of 2020 a lot of Countries were in the grip of this Coronavirus (Covid19), some like Italy were in real trouble. It didn’t take long for the virus to spread, carried back by people who had been abroad. Soon enough the U.S. was struggling with the number being admitted to hospital and dying in huge amounts too. PINO told everyone this was nothing and there were only a small number of cases and it would be all over in a week. Currently many weeks later the number of cases is just short of 30 million and the number of deaths is at 543,000+.

In 2020 there was the Election during which PINO attempted to cripple USPS (United States Parcel Service)having given the job of managing it to one of his donors who had no experience. That was meant to hinder the delivery of postal ballots in time. He lied and told has base that Republicans were being refused permission to invigilate the count at various sites which was easily proven to be wrong but not easily got out of his base’s head. Lots of little lies and complaints led up to a big one. Even before the voting was over PINO claimed that votes were being stolen from him via illegal ballots. These claims were all checked and found to be untrue. The invigilators were still there. At the end of the count PINO was now ex-PINO and it was time for the Big Lie, that the election had been stolen and he was still PINO. Voter Fraud was responsible. Over 60 court cases later and all but one claim were thrown out for lack of proof. The one incidentally, showed claimant errors of less than 20 which weren’t enough to alter the result. He sulked and refused to acknowledge the loss and nor did he congratulate the winner and even refused to offer the usual courtesies to an incoming President. This lie was maintained through January until on Jan 6th after pointedly inviting a White Supremacy group (The Proud Boys) and his base to come to Washington to help overturn the counting of Votes in the Capitol. They came, and with a bit of encouragement stormed the building looking for Mike Pence with a hanging noose and for Nancy Pelosi. There were various injures from the day including one officer lost an eye and another one died. Some of these insurrectionists have been arrested since that day. Those in charge have not- so far.

I’m not going into the differences in policies between the two camps but at the moment the Democrats have just passed a huge package to help those suffering because of the Covid19 restrictions, that’s employers and employees as well as the unemployed and those with rent arrears. It’s a very comprehensive package. They’re also trying to get the minimum wage increased from $7.25 to $15.00 an hour, currently not one Republican will cross the floor and vote with the Democrats for this .Instead the emphasis seems to be on a number of states who are trying to push through changes in the law which will allow them to disenfranchise a number of groups, Blacks, Latinos, Indians, Native Americans from voting at all in their states. Like the shouts of fraud and cheating made by PINO and by them who still follow him, in their hypocrisy they are cheating too. It’s hardly a fair election if some of your opponents aren’t allowed to vote.

But to the crux of this. All of the Republican voters have heard the lies. All of the Republican politicians have heard the lies. Pino is currently telling the RNC not to use his image to collect money, he still likes the GOP though. Please send the money directly to him instead. How, with all that’s known about PINO could anyone want him back again? How is it he has the fealty of millions of people when he’s quite capable of using any donations to pay off his bar bill rather than put it to it’s proper use. Can there be anybody strong enough to stand against him and win to be the Republican nominee for President if he does stand in 2024? Can somebody else create enough good policies to appeal to the people and make them a viable party again? Perhaps they’ll have to in PINO is in prison at that point.

Hugs to all