It's a nice day!

I've realised it is a long time since I posted on here - I've been quite busy! The other weekend we had a weekend in Stratford for Network. Alison Judd talked to us about her time as a Mission Partner in Barbados and we thought about getting alongside women in mission. We had a great time but it was very tiring. Since then I have had a cold and chest infection which does not help my breathing.

Yesterday I went to Papworth for a check up and they seem pleased with the fact that I haven't deteriorated very much and said that my fitness seemed to be improving. The critical thing now for being on the transplant list is my quality of life and at the moment, allowing for winter blues, it is quite good. There are restrictions obviously, but there would be other restrictions if I had a transplant. My osteopath has said that the aquafit is making me more flexible in my chest and upper back area. The main problem at the moment is that I have put on a lot of weight over the winter which I now need to lose.

Today is what my daughter used to call 'a nice day' - cold but with blue sky and sunshine which definitely improves the feeling of well-being so hopefully we can put the winter blues back in their box. We were woken at 7 by a phone call from my niece in New Zealand wanting to sing Happy Birthday to her uncle Nick before she went to bed. My sinuses are feeling more comfortable so hopefully my cold is on the way out and normal service can be resumed. I'm not very good at what the doctors call 'pacing' myself - if I feel better, I do things and then don't feel so good, so today I think I will have a gentle day to save myself for District meeting on Thursday. One thing I need to do today is order my oxygen for a weekend at Swanwick before Easter.

I am reading through a wide selection of study books as part of creating a library for housegroups at church and trying to produce a booking out system. This seems a suitable occupation for a quiet day!

Still plodding along

Saturday's Network day was a great sucess even though I didn't sell many cards. We had lovely weather and a good number of people. On Sunday I suffered the consequences of the long day - I spent the afternoon with my head under a pillow to get rid of a migraine. What we call an 'undercover elephant day'. Those of you of a certain age will remember a cartoon which appeared with Secret Squirrel, featuring a large blue elephant who put on sunglasses so that noone would recognise him!
My daughter starts has her first GCSE exam today but then has none until Monday. Of course, it is due to rain for the rest of the week now but she will just have to revise indoors.
I am finding that having O2 piped around the house is easier to cope with than having to carry my portable everywhere and the rest of the family are getting used to avoiding stepping on the tubing.

Network Conference

Today I have been in Birmingham (UK) for a meeting of Women's Network. This meant a slightly less frantic dash out of the house as I didn't need to leave until 9:30 - usually it is closer to 7:30!! Unfortunately my husband has got to catch a 6:40 train in the morning so tomorrow will be somewhat different. People at Network are getting used to me and my oxygen now so I get less comments and questions about it and my back was much better today. I find that when carrying the oxygen backpack, I tend to lean forward, which curves my back and makes it ache. I have found the blowup pillow and half inflated it provides lumber support in the car. This makes me sit up better and alleviates the back ache.