October's ending and Winter's on its way

It’s almost the end of October and 12 degrees Celsius at 09.30am and getting warmer, which seems pretty good to me.  It’s been an incredible October with the weather during the week of my friend’s stay here being so good that we spent much of our time outside enjoying it.  We have taken the pots from the terrace into the garage to overwinter, beating the first frost.  I tend not to get up before it’s light, which means just before 09.00am at the moment, so I haven’t yet seen any frost, but I am told there has been a little already.  Of course, the clocks go back this weekend, so I will be getting up at 08.00am for a while as it will be lighter earlier.  I have no blinds or curtains on my bedroom window, haven’t had for years and years, so that I can see the stars and moon, so the light really does affect my waking time. 

I have been in chaos downstairs this week with ceilings, walls, skirtings and windowsills being painted.  The carpet which my newest cat peed on in the summer has been hosed down and is dry and back inside again, I do like a pile underfoot in the cooler months.  The stairs, landing and bathroom are the next to be decorated, starting Monday, having been filled and sanded yesterday.

My three cats are happy now that the woodburners burning logs every day and like chilling out on the settee together.

I have been to see the dietician this week (which involves a paperback for the waiting room – photo below) who wanted to offer her usual mantra of eat six times a day, three of these times to be milk products, and gentle exercise and is concerned about the speed with which I am losing weight because of my poor food intake.  She, however, understood that I am still having problems with putting anything meaningful in my mouth and just asked me to try my best.  I had a whole range of blood tests yesterday morning.  The nurse arrived at 07.05am and had to knock loudly on the outside door to wake me.  In the afternoon, my doctor’s surgery partner ‘phoned me as the laboratory had ‘phoned her to say that my potassium and protein were extremely low and needed immediate attention.  I collected a prescription for potassium syrup, one soupspoonsful twice a day for two weeks and a prescription for a further blood test next Thursday morning, to check on my progress.  I love the way the dosages are prescribed here, not 5ml, 10ml or 15ml but by coffee and soup spoons. I promised to try to get some more protein into my mouth, but really wonder how I will be able to do that. 

In spite of buying hay and straw in June, we seem to have been using it extravagantly as I am having to collect ten rectangular bales of each next week.   We use straw for the poultry shed and the nest boxes and hay for the rabbit shed.  I like to put lots of hay in the rabbit shed so they can burrow into it if the temperature drops seriously.  Also the goats like to eat hay in the winter months. My worker, Andy, has got it into his head that it will be a hard winter and that we can’t afford to run out, so I am joining his bandwagon and have sourced what seems to be a scarce resource at the moment.

The heron has been back several times, but he had already emptied my pond of fish, so he has gone away hungry.  Although I don't like him taking the fish, I do love to see him here.

I found this lovely animal in one of the old newspapers I have been reading through and couldn’t resist a photo of it.  I can't remember what it came from, but I think it's just brilliant!

Three things I like:

1.   After Eight Mints - which are one of the few things I can eat easily at the moment.

2.   Resting my bare feet on the thick oriental carpet which has just been brought back into the house.

3.   The duck eggs from my new girls.