Monday 27 September 2010

Myeloma Calendar attempt

Last week I joined the Under 50's Myeloma site........ sssssshhhhhhhh....... Yes I know I'm older but they don't seem to mind! Lovely bunch of peeps and I was made to feel very welcome.
I was perusing the comments and came across one where my new friends were saying a "calendar would be a good fundraiser"............... so, as I was in a particularly helpful mood that day......... I've sent an e-mail to Gok Wan @ Channel 4 proposing a "Moobs and Boobs" calendar producing programme, aka calendar girls. Now knowing how "not backwards in coming forwards" our followers are, here is your opportunity to get in on the act and nab a month before they all go. So far, January, April, May, September and December are spoken for possibly, but that still leaves 7 months to fill as we speak.
Of course, we still have to wait and see if Gok can help, but if not then I will pester some other poor celeb.
By the way, has anyone got 2 tassels and a fig leaf?

Wednesday 15 September 2010

Blood from a stone

Another handy little phrase. What prompted such a title I hear you cry. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.

Once upon a time there was a team of haematologists who worked together in a hospital in a land called the Black Country. Despite its foreboding name the people who lived there were not dark, but cheerful, happy go lucky and almost always laughing. Now for reasons unknown to the people of the Black Country, it appeared that only those of 5' 6" or below were allowed to practice the art of blood management.

Now one of the people who regularly visited the vertically challenged team was a giant of a man. Unlike our friendly haematologists he had over 6' of body around which his brave red blood cells had to travel. So when his Hb fell to 10, they really struggled to reach all of it efficiently. The little people though had never experienced this and kept on telling the giant they wouldn't give him any of their precious elixir. The poor man became more and more listless, he no longer felt like laughing and found it difficult to walk from his horse to the ward.

Then yesterday while he sat looking grey and tired, a fairy godmother by the name of Donna appeared. She took one look at the poorly man and waved her magic wand. Before he knew it, the fairy had managed to get blood from a stone and organised that the man have two units of blood the following day. The man was so relieved, that had he had the energy, he would have danced for joy.

The End.
(With a bit of luck everyone will live happily ever after.)

Monday 13 September 2010

Better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick.

I love that phrase, although Mike had never heard it until he met me. Maybe I just made it up, I don't remember. It's a useful little phrase that makes everything seem better. You get a bid of 99p on eBay, well it's better than a poke in the eye etc..


Last week we were watching a program about the Tropical disease hospital in Liverpool. There was some poor bloke on it who had worms which travelled to his eyes, he'd had them for about 10 years! Luckily Mike and I had eaten our tea otherwise..... well you know. We did spot Ian Rush in the waiting room of the clinic, they didn't say it was him or why he was there, but we know our ex-Liverpool players (well Welsh Evertonians).

This morning Mike looked as if he had been poked in the eye with a fence post never mind a blunt stick. He says it is probably an old-fashioned stye, he always has been a bit of a pig. I'm no doctor, nurse or even a vet, I just know he looks as if there is an egg under his right eye and I'm worried about what might hatch out of it, I'm hoping for a pet dragon.

Sunday 12 September 2010

Getting them out for the girls.

Well some of you knit and some of you sew, some of you even do both. Me, I like food, I'm fascinated by how our mothers, grandmothers and beyond wouldn't dream of buying a ready meal full of additives and with no fridges or freezers had no choice but to make do with fresh and used preserving methods for those foods that could cope. With this in mind, I have spent the weekend putting together this larder of food:With the weather starting to change I thought I'd better make use of the glut of green tomatoes I still have and made them into tomato chutney. My nan ALWAYS made pickled onions for Christmas, although she usually had to hide a couple of jars or they'd all have been eaten long before and the Victoria sponge was made with the time honoured method of weigh your eggs and use that weight of butter, sugar and flour. The cake no longer looks quite so complete, Mike, Toni and I all like sponge with blackcurrant jam (not homemade this year, but hopefully next as I planted a blackcurrant bush earlier this year!)

Oh, for those of you wondering about the title, it was what Mike exclaimed as I laid out my wares! He knows how much us girls like sharing our homely talents. All that time in the kitchen does have it's drawbacks though....... it means it appears I can't be arsed to post. ;-)

Friday 10 September 2010

Peep show

Well it's day 4 of cycle..... I've lost count with all the interruptions, and Mike is looking a little bit like an elephant, all grey and wrinkled. Actually that's not fair, he's no more wrinkled than he should be at 40ish..... he has certainly got the memory of an elephant as far as his old friend from the age of three is concerned. Mike and Mike (no confusion there then!) have recently gotten back into contact after an estimated 35 years! I've had the pleasure of sitting with the two of them on two occasions now...... I think we are up to 1969 in the story telling..... not long to go then. That's Mike in the middle (notice he has two totties!) on 25th January 1966 and Mike C is bottom right corner peeping into the frame!

By the way, I'm thinking of moving to Amsterdam, I currently have 23 watchers on eBay! I certainly wish I'd always been so popular.

Sunday 5 September 2010

Would this win any prizes?

Well it would seem that elsewhere it is village show time and everyone is busy entering their handiwork into various competitions. (Well done Paula and Susie.) Unfortunately we don't have village shows here in the Black Country, I do however have an entry into the strangest vegetable class:My daughter says everyone will say I photoshopped it... I have no idea how so you'll all have to take my word for it that it grew that way!

Saturday 4 September 2010

Milky mix up.

While we were driving to the hospital yesterday Mike spotted one of the posters advertising Anchor...
Mike: Made by coors since 1886?

Me: Made by cows, haven't you seen the TV ad?

Mike: What did they do before 1886?

Me: They used pigs?

Mike: What? Pork butter?

P.S. Mike's paraprotein is down to 12 from 27 after 1 and 3/4 cycles of Velcade. Must be all that laughing.

Thursday 2 September 2010

She who started us off.

Those of you who follow us in the UK will probably already have read the bad news about Amanda. Being a bit behind (in my case major behind) it wasn't until this morning that we read about her on Myeloma UK. For those of you who never read her blog you can find it here .
It was finding Amanda's blog that gave us the idea of creating our own witty, irreverent and at times downright silly blog, to chart the journey we are on. For that we are truly grateful. What with the good news about Paula and the sad news about Amanda we've run out of toilet tissue, Toni is starting to look worried.

Long Time No Pill

When you want to push on and get those nasty PP things shot, having 10 days rest from the nice Cyclophosfamide and the wonderful Dexamethasone and the beautiful Velcade, is a bit of a bind. Feel like i'm floating in a glider, looking for a thermal. So i'm off up to the Inland Revenue office to ask em if I need to pay em for 2009-2010 or if I should just keep running...... tempted :-P.
Tomorrow is consultant day, where I circle the Heart and Lung unit for an hour till I find a parking space 1/2 a mile away behind all the shoppers and sightseeers and queue for the vampires at 9 am. Get my results sheet from the techi, and check the PP levels that I cheated and wrote up on last weeks blood form....don't tell anyone will you....it is probably illegal to waste NHS funds on sneeky peeks at my slippery slope. Then it's back home for Coffeee..... oops, no, not allowed Coffee, got dodgy Kidenknees. I love Coffee more than I like Kidneys, maybe swop?
Back to clinic and wait to see Dr. B, and hope that he's tellin me i'm goin in the right direction for a change, and not that i'm reacting differently and stuff has got to change..... I used to like being different.... but this is different....lol.
I'm gonna polish the car today, just in case.
On a lighter note, since I visited "Spec-Savers", the world seems a lot clearer. My FIRST pair of glasses ever....but I look dead sexy in em apparently.....I'll ave a bit of that, i don't say xx