Hi Dita and all

[Penny]

meant to say, have you made stollen at all. I decided to a couple of years ago but it took such a time, gave up. might suit you though as it can be frozen when cooked. I bought some but we didn't like it. cheers Penny

[vannin]

Thanks Andere. For tomorrow I have fixed up a hire car from a company called 'Driving Miss Daisy'! The cost each way is much the same as local taxis. Saves me some stress!

[Penny]

Will be thinking of you vannin. Pop back in ASAP.cheers Penny

[Penny]

Hi everyone, what a day. Raining early so delayed trip to Lidl until 11 am. got myself a trolley and as I turned to go in stores a great gust of wind push me and trolley passed the door. A chappie came out with a pack of toilet rolls o n his trolly, they were blow of an scattered, the man stopped his trolley and went to save his t/rolls and his trolley was picked up and ran after the man, I have never known such chaos along with heavy rain. Anyway, finally got into stores and did some shopping.Bought a Stollen Andere and Xmas pudding. They now do a half size pud for two so I bought one as well. Coming back, a lot of the way we had to drive very slowly as the skies were black and the rain so heavy we could barely see through
the windscreen.. . Son popped in for a short chat and stayed until 7.30pm. So, its been a right funny day. Hope all are well and keeping warm. Take care. cheers Penny

[Andere Richtingen]

A much brighter day today but still quite breezy and fresh. Oh dear; I had a chuckle, Penny, about your Lidl adventure with the trolley and poor Mr Loo-rolls. It's amazing, isn't it,the way thw wind can suddenly catch one of those empty trolleys and just hurl it off in a completely new direction, dragging you, the hapless shopper, with it? Anyhow, I'm pleased you and your goodies got safely home through the deluge.

I have also made my own stollen in the past but decided some years ago it was all a bit too much of a faff and that the German supermarkets' offerings were nicer and, overall, less expensive.

I vaguely thought, as it was such a nice day I might force myself to go for a nice brisk walk but I walked to the butcher's this morning (at least 200m away!!!) and the sun was so bright and so low in the sky that my eyes streamed and i was practically blinded. On the way back, i literally bumped into a neighbour who said he was off for a bracing walk around the park but was being blinded by the low sun. Stumbling around with streaming eyes felt like no fun at all so fresh air and exercise will have to wait! It's supposed to be fairly horrible this weekend so I've stocked up on the ingredients for bacon butties and some good books for the Kindle and i shall sit back and ignore the world. Have a good one, everybody.

[Penny]

Hi all, began to wonder if the wind had blown everyone off line. Yes, managed to get all the goodies home. The sun was lovely this afternoon so decided to have an hour with the ducks. Had not gone a hundred yards when weather changed to awful again. As you say, looks like a nasty weekend. Hope your eyes are feeling better now. Keep wondering about vannin. Do hope all went O>K> Take care all and try to post now and then. cheers Penny

[vannin]

Here I am! The afternoon of The Eyes, turned right on its head so I have news that is both good and not so good.

I don't know if anyone remembers me mentioning the original eye problem from long ago. Like Laurie described recently. Is not really related to the recent/current complaint which has needed the laser surgery because both of my cataracts (done 2015) started going wrong a year ago. Yesterday I went along fully expecting the second eye to have the same as the first eye, with numbing drops taking away any risk of pain and enabling an instant recovery. It transpired that procedure must be postponed for now. This is why.

I had a tiny nagging doubt a doctor or consultant might tell me the old complaint had progressed to the point it must be dealt with first. Proved correct. The first doctor after taking scans, said he must have second opinion of the consultant who came in and agreed with him. The condition is called Macular Degeneration and has two kinds, wet and dry. Wet MD is more serious, treatable and comes suddenly, with a need to be treated quickly by injection into the eye then continued at monthly intervals. What I have had for 16 years, developing very slowly is Dry MD which is untreatable though research is trying to get a cure for it. It makes the sight have wavy lines and some distortion which must be lived with, helped by guidance from the optometrist twice a year, specs and Lutein supplement capsules. No drug available.

Occasionally a person's Dry MD changes into Wet MD, and that is what has happened in addition to (that right eye) also having the separate thing needing laser (some time). So... followed by the good part of the news that they had spotted this change in its very early stage and could maybe 'nip it in the bud' by giving an immediate injection into the eye, to be followed by injections every month for a while, at Amersham Hosp which is closer to home. It was not pleasant and the numbing drops wore off in the evening but by this morning, OK. It was done by a specialist nurse assisted by a young Filippino male nurse who held my hand during it!! What would the NHS do without the influx of these lovely nurses?

I hope this makes sense. I shall be a regular client of the transport I had yesterday, a hire car with a female driver/escort, who used to be a Carer. The business is called Driving Miss Daisy. I am delighted with it.

[Penny]

Thanks for update vannin. Very difficult to understand but as long as it is good for you, that is all that matters. Love the Driving Miss Daisy bit. Fingers crossed for the future, take care. cheers Penny

[dita]

Hi Penny and all----- White Rabbits White Rabbits------- Just came to see how Vannin was after her eye procedure, it a bit up and down good and not so good but bearable by the sound of it. LOL Vannin Not much news from me I have to go back this next week, stomach,putting pressure on my lungs causing my asthma to increase on an already irritated bowel and stuff, BP up etc -----having tests its all go------and I was planning a real good eating, boozing, rollicking good time this Xmas. Big hugs from Dolly and me and take care of yourselves xxxx

[Penny]

Hi Dita and all, lovely to hear from you Dita, take care. Big hug for Dolly. Hope vannin improves, info very confusing. Can only pray and wait. Just been for a quick ride, never known such dreadful cloudy weather. Made the mistake of buying a large Xmas Stollen yesterday and once again, birds have a big feed. Neither of us got passed the first bite. Watching rugby at present. How do they cope. Wonder who will be in the dance off tonight. Take care all and keep warm and dry. cheers Penny

[vannin]

Penny I am sorry about the long-winded info - that's one of my problems.

All it comes down to is: I went for laser treatment of one eye condition and finished up having ocular injection for another condition.

Today's good news is I already have had my new date in the post, for the next one in 4 weeks. Fast work - it was only Thursday when it all started! Being the 27th and immediately after Christmas is brownie points for the NHS. But, as these will be done by a specialist nurse and not requiring the presence of a consultant, I shall let them enjoy their holiday!

I blame the 'System' not any individuals, for having been happy to delay another three months, although management people without health knowledge are often at fault. After sending my blistering email of complaint, I know a manager phoned another manager and the vital appointment was brought from late Feb 2019 to late November......last week.

[Penny]

Brilliant vannin. Roll on 27th. in the meantime, take care.cheers Penny

[vannin]

Thanks Penny.

Hi Dita, it was good to see you visit, and wishing you better health and free from worries. Take care and God Bless. xxx

[Andere Richtingen]

Hello all. Not a lot to report but I just wanted to say hello to Dita. Good to see you here but you certainly sound as though you've got some complex and uncomfortable problems there. Wishing you much better, very soon.

Viv, I'm sorry about the delay to your lasering but it sounds fortuitous that they were able to spot the worsening of the MD and deal with it so promptly. I don't envy you the course of injections - I've had sub-conjunctival injections in the past and was a bundle of gibbering idiocy at the mere prospect. In fact, the anticipation was always worse than the event but I still didn't !ike it at all. Now, maybe if they'd supplied a nice male nurse to hold my hand ....

Penny, I can't believe you fed a whole stollen to the birds! (You should have sent it to me!) Whatever was so awful that neither of you could eat it? Sorry, I know we all have different tastes but as a stollen addict, I'm just curious!

[vannin]

Thanks Andere. It may be wishful thinking but I am sure I can see much better than I could a week ago!