Posted on 31/10/2011 8:10 PM
Id have said (totally deadpan!) that I had a wild orgy planned for that night, and the numbers had been carefully worked out for obvious reasons so unless the Carer could bring a partner, oh and some more lube/whips/chains... it really wouldn't be practical..
But I am a sarcastic and stroppy sod!
Posted on 25/10/2011 9:05 PM
I am trying hard not to think of packing. The Boy will have to do all that and I will sit and direct operations from some safe zone where he cannot throw things at me.
Otherwise he will attempt to move by throwing it all into binliners the night before. And I might kill him.
Fortunately, the next occupants of this house are my best friends, who are renting it from me - so I do not need to fear mail going astray etc etc!
Posted on 24/10/2011 10:37 AM
I hadn't thought of that.. but its pretty much like for like.. out of a two bed semi, into a two bed terrace.
Still got stairs, upstairs bathroom and toilet etc - actually the rooms are differently proportioned so I may not get away with bouncing off walls and leaning on furniture to get around, shall have to see when I get there I guess!
So, I let them know when it actually happens (we are still at the 'suggest a completion date to aim for' stage, no where near exchanging!).
Cheers :)
Posted on 23/10/2011 10:43 PM
I am waiting for my DLA claim to be assessed/decided/thrown in the bin/laughed at hysterically and then thrown in a bin.....
Problem is, since I claimed, and sent all the gubbins off, it now looks like I am moving house... some 150 miles away.
This was a possibility when I claimed, but only a possibility, by no means definite (I still do not know WHEN exactly!).... but I do need to move, to live nearer my father and sister, as my OH is struggling here on his own holding down a full time job and looking after me too.
Sooo.. at what point do I rattle their cage and tell them I am moving? My gut instinct here is to say nothing until I have to, but I am not sure.
To be honest, I fully expect to be turned down and have to appeal as this does seem par for the course at the moment - If i have to inform them I have moved during that process, will that slow things up ??
Posted on 23/10/2011 10:26 PM
Confusing article really - Not sure why they blather on about blocking up windows...
If you as a tenant of a council house or HA property were to actually BRICK up a window - you'd be in breach of your tenancy agreement, and be told to fix it, or more likely, charged for the costs of their contractor restoring it to normal.
If you just blocked up a window with a board or similar, or fixed it so it no longer opened, it would still be counted as a window!
Not really sure what the point of all that was, other than to pad out what was not a particularly scintillating article.
The point you raise Sunshine is absolutely right - if you (the generic!) force people to move on quickly, you don't form a cohesive community. I live in exactly such a community, in council housing (though mine no longer is as I own it) - the pockets of the community that are predominantly 1 bedroom flats, where the tenants change rapidly as their needs for housing change, are the exact same areas where trouble kicks off. I firmly believe (after ten years of observing it), that this occurs both because the tenants do not intend to stay long term and thus do not feel a part of the community, but ALSO because other people do not view the residents as part of the community so will not worry about 'getting up to no good' outside a strangers property.
At my end of the street where I, having lived here ten years am one of the most recent residents - that simply does not happen. We know everyone, whether residents are a big part of the community or keep themselves to themselves and are just a familiar face. No one brings trouble to their own doorstep in the main, and because we are all to a greater or lesser degree 'known', having lived here so long, no one ELSE brings trouble here either (because we are a right nosey bunch and stick our heads out the door to see whats going on, and we all talk to each other!).
My next door neighbour would be just the kind of person who on paper ought NOT have a two bedroomed house. She is in her late 70s and lives alone.
But - her son sleeps there three nights a week to be closer to his work place for early shifts. She is absolutely housebound and relies on friends, family and neighbours to fetch her shopping, her pension, go to the library for her, etc etc. We have also often used her spare room as overspill for guests staying here (as do other friends), and she is, because of where she lives and the size of house she lives in, a big part of our community despite never setting foot over her own doorstep!
Move her to a single bedroomed flat (of which there are very few in the area), would mean moving her OUT of this community, which would remove her entire support network and she would need carers several times a day or some kind of warden assisted sheltered housing. All of which would cost the state far far more than her living in a two bedroomed house does.
*Grumps off back to grumpyland*
Posted on 21/10/2011 2:43 PM
I am feeling in a much more positive frame of mind today...
This has a LOT to do with the fact I have been testing a mega super offroad scooter... amazing what two hours of fresh air, watching my dogs run amok and er, whizzing along shouting 'POWERRRR' will do for the soul! :snigger:
I am trying to do more exercise - I am a bit stuck there (could do with a link to some chair exercises really!) - I can swim. I'm currently warned to avoid anything ELSE as I am far more likely to overdo it/pass out/fall down splat and hurt myself.
It is also really aggravating the arthritis, and the muscle fatigue/spasms/cramping.
In part it will be finding the right balance (not something i am great it, I was trying to race a very tasty young man in the pool the other day and suddenly hit my 'wall' and damn near passed out at the deep end! The brain doesn't quite grasp yet 'CAN NOT RACE!'....) and the rest (again on cardiologists advice) is maintaining the level of fitness I actually have now, and trying to address the weight problem by diet (likely a sole source meal replacement) and getting my thyroid levels correct.
Hopefullyyyyy with the aid of the scooter (testing another tomorrow!) and a crutch I can get out more and do more, even if it is just fresh air and standing up a bit more often!
Tomorrow I shall try NOT to whoop and do Jeremy Clarkson impressions... :lol:
Thankyou all for the bumkickings, tis much appreciated!
Posted on 20/10/2011 8:23 PM
Theres a lot of stuff whirling about, and this is probably going to be realllllllllly long... and possibly not make much sense..
I feel most of the time, like a big fraud - like an idle git.
Go back in time 3 years or so, I 'suddenly' (with hindsight it wasnt sudden at all but you know how things are) inflated.. for want of a better word.
I am already very overweight. I am not using the O word. Hate it. But I am.
I delayed seeing a GP about my sudden inflation in weight and general proportions because I thought "thats it.. I have eaten myself bedbound. Bring on the cranes and the fire brigade to get me out of the house."
I couldn't get up the stairs in under 10 minutes or without three or four rests on the way up, eventually none of my clothes bar some jogging pants actually fitted me. I could barely walk, I couldn't sleep much, for drowning in my own fluids.
Eventually a friend quite literally dragged me to my then GP..
Who didnt once make eye contact, recommended I 'go for a run' and prescribed me sleeping pills and tranqs for panic attacks (as evidently, that is what the palpitations and waking up terrified and gasping for breath was.)
I wasn't really in a fit state to register this but clearly my friend was, as she dragged me out of the office she called the woman a useless b*tch (and not under her breath either), and took me straight into another GP practice, got me signed up there and then, and I saw that GP three days later.
Very fortunately, HE prescribed me diuretics, though not before I had actually taken one lot of sleeping pills and been shaken awake by my OH when i went a funny shade of blue and made gurgling noises in the night.
Jump forwards 2 and a half years ish - I bring up the potential of heart failure (alongside hypothyroidism), he referred me to an endocrinologist, but ridiculed the suggestion of heart failure (though ordered a chest xray to cover his back. DIDNT actually listen to my heart though).
x ray came back with an enlarged heart, but 'nothing to worry about' - but fast forward to the endo appointment and HE did listen to my heart and said I had a fairly serious murmur - go get an ecg - did that and roll on the cardiologist appointments etc etc.
In the fullness of time, my GP did have to agree eventually (when my TSH went out of range) that I was hypothyroid and put me on thyroxine. I also have various vitamin deficiencies and treatment for those.
No diagnosis for the digestive issues (acid reflux, here have some Omeprazole - no thanks thats not really helping me either! IBS etc) though some investigation was done (EUUUUUUUUUUUCH swallowing endoscopes without sedation. very very unpleasant!)..
Where I am at now - GP and various cardiac specialists are all agreeing I have likely had the hypothyroid a long time (ten years+) and the heart problem all my life but some extra stress made it get worse to the point where I went into heart failure and started kicking up a fuss about the symptoms.
So looking back - despite an active childhood I always struggled with exercise (skinny sister could RUN up mountains I was the one at the back going 'wait for meeeee'). I was forever twisting/spraining/breaking ankles, falling down, lagging behind...
I was a plump child and became a lardy adult, and over the years (and here we get to the point.. finally).... I have told myself I don't WANT to do things..
Now when I think about it, for years and years (ten or more), I have whinged, avoided, flat out refused, to do things like walk around town, shoppign with friends, etc - because it hurts, because I cant do it as fast as they can or I need to stop for rests.
I have conditioned all my friends AND myself to think I am a lazy whinging git who doesn't WANT to do anything - because THAT is to my mind, easier to deal with than admitting that I CANT do things.
Soooooo I am struggling, with accepting that I CANT do things (oh, I have OA of the spine, hips and knees - thats a very recent diagnosis and explains the pain I am in - still no nearer discovering why I have muscle cramps, spasms etc - today my hands are bad and I am struggling to type!).... though some things have had to give.. I cannot walk without leaning on OH (shortly to be fixed with a crutch), and even then I can generally manage from the front door to the car and not much further...
But tis the age old problem - im 31, I am very fat, I LOOK like an idle fat git - a lot of the time I FEEL like an idle fat git. I know damn well when people see me on a scooter in ASDA, they THINK that I am a lazy slob who spends all day eating pies...
How do i learn not to give a crap what people think?
I have ordered my new crutch (hot pink!).. where, how do I grow the balls to get out and USE it???
Please apply kick in the pants <here> thankyou!
Posted on 18/10/2011 4:56 PM
Ello, I am also pretty new around here, but so far no one appears to bite (maybe I haven't been asking them in the right way...)
Posted on 18/10/2011 4:49 PM
Yeah, pretty much full time job here, but we don't really want to do much else anyway. Fortunately I am self employed and work from home so it doesn't matter!
The only real issue the animals cause is that when I need to visit my family who are 150 miles away, we need someone to come mind them all, but we are moving in a month or two so it wont be a problem then!
I find the snakes very calming and theraputic to watch, less so to clean out as they may only poo once a week or so, but my word they make a good job of it!
I think baby cornsnakes are the funniest though, they are all full of p*ss and vinegar, all hissy and S-d up and ready to strike, and do strike... but they are like 8" long multicoloured worms with very big ambitions. They'd like you to THINK they are dangerous but in reality they are like Scrappy Doo!
Posted on 17/10/2011 11:35 AM
Don't worry, when I eventually figure out how to post pics, I will make any snake pics super clear (ie, their own thread, labelled as containing snakes!) - I have a few snake phobic friends who also appreciate prior warning!
Posted on 17/10/2011 10:23 AM
Sunshine - My human crutch is OH, however he has a tendancy to walk too fast, or too slow and bless him, he isn't particularly great at noticing things like, me being about to fall down, or the fact that he is walking to slow or too fast.. it makes trips out liable to turn into a fight!
Tattoos - I have a lot, I think my favourite is a big black dragon on my right calf, asides from that, i have a red and black dragon n my left calf, another different red and black dragon on my left forearm, a HUGE rose/tribal affair on my right forearm, various bits of celtic stuff and tribal stuff, a wolfs head on my right upper arm..... Asides from the wolves (theres another on my back) and the roses they are all my own drawings. I need moooooooore ink but not sure where else I want tattoos now!
Posted on 17/10/2011 10:15 AM
Oooooooh, get a cuppa people, before embarking on my account of my menagerie!
Ill go by numbers I think starting with the fewest.. working my way up,.
One hamster - Special Patrol Group - he is an angry wee boy and spent hte firs tweek snarling and growling at us. We have reached some sort of a truce, on the grounds that i provide licks of smooth peanut butter and he doesnt rip my hand off if i stroke him or gently hold him for a second or two. Hopefully in the long run he will be handleable to the point we can transfer him from one cage to another or trim his long fur (I doubt he will ever be a cuddly hamster!!!).
So, we have two degus - Fatgoo and Thingoo (who isn't thin, just isn't as fat as Fatgoo), they are boys and live in the top level of a huge custommade cage. They were originally part of a group of six but four died in mysterious circumstances about 18 months ago and these two remain. They like their wheel, its a chinchilla wheel so they both fit on it together, but one goes one way and then the other will try to go the other way... and then we come to their arguments.
They argue a lot, high pitched squeaking and chirping and wheee whee warbling noises, its very very expressive! And for such tiny things, very loud!
Anyway, beneath them live our three rats - Hex is the eldest, and she was recently joined after a short period alone (when her previous group of friends had all died of old age!) by two sisters, Ashurburnipal and Gilgamesh. Gilga is really really naughty, Ash is painfully shy and for the first week I didn't think she had moved off her shelf at all but now she will come to the front of the cage to rummage on my dinner plate for snacks!
Then theres the dogs - five dogs! We have Rocky, the eldest, who looks like a Staffie x who knows what, but I met his mum who was a tall wirey lurcher, and his dad was a GSD so we can only imagine he is a throwback to some bull breed influence his mum has somewher edown the line. He is black and tan, long legged but compact with a wirey coat like his mums. He is nearly 11 now but still a fiesty boy, loves his clicker training and still cannot be trusted around strange dogs!
Next is Dilly, my little bedlington x whippet - he is both a delight and a terror, he lives to steal things and this is his coping strategy if anything upsets him (and a lot of things do!). We lose a lot of loaves of bread and packets of butter to him!
He is nearly 10 and very very cute!
Next in age is Ellie who is 7 though we have only had her 18 months - she came to us from Saluki welfare though actually came directly from her previous owners who had had her 2 and a half years and in that time, thought she had no personality.
Actually she has personality by the bucketload, she was just too scared to show it! She is a saluki x afghan and has the most wonderful long silky ears, and has fitted in here nicely!
Then theres Kelda who is a Deerhound - shes been here since 8 weeks old and shes now 4 and a bit - shes loooooooooovely and really not at all neurotic like the rest of the gang!
And finally there is Errol, a Tibetan Terrier who is nearly 3, and he is a pain in the rear but super cute and we love him! We have had him from 12 weeks old and he has a few hang ups but generally he is quite typical of his breed really. He can jump ON anywhere and behaves like a mountain goat. He shouts at any noise he hears, and his eyesight isnt that great so he also shouts at anything that to him, looks 'funny' which is a lot of things!
And theeeeeeen... theres the snakes. Mostly cornsnakes but we also have some kingsnakes and a Taiwanese Beauty Snake.
And finally, there are the mice - mmm uncountable numbers of mice which we breed to feed the snakes. I am in the process of cutting down the numbers as we have too many and the work is quite a lot. It is worth it though as I can provide the snakes with much higher quality food than by buying them in frozen from pet stores, and I can provide the mice a much nicer life before they are culled than intensive rodent farms can do.
As you will probably guess, OH and I spend more time looking after the animals than doing much else, but neither eof us are really into going out or drinking or mmmmmm ok, we are antisocial gits!
Posted on 16/10/2011 4:33 PM
Nope that hasn't been suggested before - I will do more research on that thanks! There are a few things there that are ringing bells, certainly!
Used to doing research and suggesting things - I had been visiting my GP for 18 months, requiring large doses of diuretics and constantly having a horrible cough, unable to sleep for 'drowning' in fluid.... i jokingly suggested heartfailure (during a conversation about how internet diagnoses is silly... :hollowlaughofirony:).. he snorted in derision ... 6 months later an Endocrinologist picked up on the heart problem and it all went from there!
Off to do more research, though knackered today I am in a kick arse mood - I am biting the bullet and buying a crutch because I cant get ANYWHERE without leaning on OH and even then, only a few feet. I am road testing some mobilty scooters soon (I get around the house by leaning on stuff er, and fervently hoping or gringing in pain... and falling down, im REALLY good at that now!) ... fingers x in a few weeks I will be walking my OWN dogs for the first time in nearly four years! Raaaaaaaah! (And then I shall find out just how badly behaved OH has allowed them to become!)
Posted on 16/10/2011 3:18 PM
So... I guess I say Hi here?
I hate this bit, not that I don't like sharing, (get to know me, I'll share detail that would make your eyes water, I am not shy), but I haaaaaaaate talking about myself!
Im 31, I have five dogs, 20 snakes, more tattoos than is ladylike (but who says I'm a lady! :P) - I live with my OH who tolerates and copes with a heck of a lot (but also drives me mental at times).
Some days I know who I am and I am happy with that, other days.. not so much.
I have recently been diagnosed with left side heart failure, which three consultants and two surgeons think I have had brewing for a long time (they suspect I was born with a left ventricular weirdness/dysfunction and mitral valve issues that was never picked up and has worsened over the years), along side hypothyroidism, osteoarthritis in my spine hips and knees, and some weird and as yet unnamed muscle cramping/spasming stuff.
Up until 2 years ago I just thought (and was repeatedly told) I was fat, idle and a whinger.. so... somedays I still think I probably am...
But then I fall down after walking a few feet or I find holding a spoon to stir soup hurts and I drop it (either the spoon, the soup or indeed both!) and think perhaps not!
Im just waiting to hear about DLA after two years of encouragement by my GP, and 2 years of procrastination by myself (and fully expect to be turned down) hoping that I would miraculously 'get better', but that is looking unlikely really so I had better stop moaning and get on with things.
Otherwise, mm I am a gobby cow with an attitude though I have learned the art of STFU in later years, I love my animals, music, tattoos and a good ole heated debate!
