Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 22: Calmly through the day

[MissConductUS]

I've started a new one. Please join us and share the boring and mundane things happening in your world. It will be calming for all.

Here is the link to the prior thread:

Come and tell me your dull and unexciting news 21: Calmly through the day

I dont feel well.
Tried to order free lft test kit online through NH
Got right the way through the system until it said, there are no Home delivery slots available at present. Try again later.

I havent been keeping up with lft developments so not sure what is going on.

I do have 6 tests left. So will eek them out. Will test myself tomorrow.
Was supposed to be going away this week. Cant go until I feel a lot better.

I think this qualifies as dull and unexciting!

MissC, the closest thing we have in the US to Yorkshire puddings is popovers, except in the US they're a sweet thing, and in the UK Yorkshires are a savoury thing. I think they're all basically the same ingredients.

I love popovers but it still feels wrong to me to fill them with butter and jam rather than gravy.

Welcome, @lightand and thanks for sharing your news. Sorry to hear about your testing woes and the fact that you're feeling poorly. Colds and flu are still with us, so it might not be covid.

Helena and Spudlet our school district, which I think is comparable to your local authority, has one ed psych for the whole district, about 1200 students total. It was very hard to get her time for our son. The other obstacle was the testing. The test publishers charge a lot for the tests, so she kept trying to deal with it by giving him little subtests instead of the whole thing, which was almost useless. We eventually opted to have him tested privately and just give the results to the school district, which pissed them off mightily. Eventually after meeting with us and the outside psychologist things got sorted, but it was a long, hard slog.

ZZ, I have had popovers and really liked them. Are you getting the same awful spell of frigid weather today that I am? It actually snowed for a bit here around noon.

DS has a diagnosis, he’s had that for years. But a diagnosis does not automatically equate to additional educational support, so the ed psych will now assess his needs as opposed to seeking to diagnose anything - you don’t actually need a diagnosis for an EHCP, as far as I’m aware, it just helps. If we can get an EHCP into place it will be huge - it follows him throughout his education including university and is legally binding, plus it will potentially give us access to more funding for respite care and activities, and perhaps something like a blue badge so we can use disabled parking, as DS is a bolter. His headteacher says that things can move fairly quickly once the Ed psych has done her report, so we’ll see how it goes. We have to be prepared for a fight - if the local authority refuses we may need to take them to a tribunal or take legal action, so I have a call booked to talk that process through. But today felt like a step forward.

@HelenaJustina I know our school considered getting the private speech therapist that helped DS in for a day or two to assess all the children in the school that needed it - this is a tiny village school but there is such need. It’s awful, really - it shouldn’t be such a hard fight and no child should have their educational needs left unmet because of their parents circumstances.

Spudlet, our son had an IEP (individual education plan) that sounds very similar to the EHCP. He got extra test taking time, access to class notes, a special quiet testing setting, etc. and it's followed him right through uni. So yes, if you can get it, it's a huge benefit. The extra testing time was especially important for the standardized college admissions tests.

Yorkshire pudding is definitely not a pudding. It goes with roasts, all crunchy and crispy with gravy. My Dad came from a very traditional ScottishEnglish family and it endured over generations.

When you go to England Miss, go out for a Sunday roast at a good place. You will get Yorkshires.

I just spent a hour trying to clip the dog, who has a poodle coat. No shedding but it grows fast. I got a clipper set from online. He was very good and patient. I can't say it was anywhere near expert but he can see again and is much tidier. I hope my skill will improve.

He hates the groomers and cries all the way there, not to mention it costs $80. This was much less trauma. I put all his soft fur outside in case the hummingbirds want it for nests.

Then he had a bath and zoomed around like a fool. It is a sunny afternoon so he will dry fast although he put up with the hairdryer for a bit.

We are looking at getting a new freezer for our pantry. The current one (upright) is manual defrost and after taking, I kid you not, almost two days last time to empty and defrost it, I am officially never doing that again. What a mess. It seems we have to get a slightly bigger one to get self defrost but Costco has one that will fit.

The alternative is a completely ice filled freezer! It is so humid here it takes little tine.

There are few household tasks I won't tackle having grown up in the 60s, but that freezer, never again.

My cameras have arrived and I've left one out on the bin to keep an eye out for wildlife. Unfortunately DS saw me do it, and I've been deluged with notifications that show him pulling faces and dancing around in front of it

Love, we have a 20 cubic foot Frigidaire self-defrosting upright and it's still going strong after 15 years in the garage. I love having all of that space.

Champagne, are they trail cameras, like the ones that get mounted on trees to take pictures of Bigfoot?

miss they're Amazon Blink wireless outdoor cameras, I got two for less than £70 on a special offer.

I have to say I'm impressed so far. They're motion activated and have fairly decent night vision, and I can watch footage live on my phone. I've looked at trail cameras in the past but they are quite a bit more expensive than these.

No wildlife to report yet however

So we have a new 16 cubic foot upright freezer on the way. Frost free! Hooray! No more crawling around in the tiny pantry room trying to muscle six inch thick chunks of ice off the shelves.

Very pleased. When DH said it needed defrosting for about the fifth time in a month, that was it.

DH and I planted some kale, spinach, carrot and onion seeds in our little community garden space yesterday.

I am going to plant herbs on our deck.

I don't mean the freezer needed defrosting five times in a month. DH kept mentioning that it did, many times!

Glad you have an ed pscy Spudlett I could always get ed pscyhs surprisingly easily but 3 years before support appeared. I used to go direct to LA for an ed pscyh and they seemed to have a separate secret Ed pscyh budget though the observations are good and the recommendations are always things like general staff training and teach child not to be autistic and its the recommendations that are key to getting right help. Hope you can get some help through it, it is a necessary step for help.

We all love Yorkshire pudding here, definitely not a pudding and traditionally served with roast beef Sunday lunch but now can be used more generally. Historically it was invented as meat prices were high and how much Yorkshire pudding you ate first gave you how much meat. The idea was people got stuffed on Yorkshire pudding so then could not eat meat.

Hope you DD has recovered Makiwa

I had second chemo yesterday but having a lot of pain in the one eye socket and a watering eye so have to watch that, really hope no eye damage and not sure if its the Paciltaxol chemo or the ondasentron. I also have a steriod dexa something and anti-histamine but won't be anti-histamine, I don't think they gave me dexa yesterday but hard to know, they just hook you up. It may be going between eye and teeth and also had bad jaw pain and numb gums for 2 hours round one and numb right leg and tingling in hands and feet. The chemo line aren't sure why but have to monitor it. Teeth were checked in end Jan including x-rays so were fine pre chemo. though my dentist is amazing, private though so adds up.

Its my birthday today, not the best birthday with chemo and DD came in at 12.10am when I was in a lot of pain and worried I could lose some eyesight / teeth and started having a go at me as we have not booked her Paris Eurostar. Still nothing for mother's day from her or wishing it. Would imagine will be same for my birthday. DS is mute so wasn't expecting him to do anything and tbf to him he probably has not realised either. DD is on her usual Mon / Tues refusing to go to school as she has a migraine. Never gets them at the weekend and can always see her boyfriend and friends fine. Though I am not too bothered as school are relaxed and its a covid nightmare there and she keeps up with study from home. Not long until exams for her.

Just heard we lost parking appeal, happy birthday to me and I really, really struggled with the walk after chemo nearly collapsed and had to go in lift with others, not ideal with so much covid plus it was £8.10. We can though pay £30 in 14 days now or go to second appeal but if fail is £60 so think will just pay it.

I am applying for ESA now, don't know if I will get it and they certainly don't make it easy but can be backdated 3 months if get it. I was self employed but was paying some NI so am not totally sure. It should cover parking fines and extra chemo things at least but done 1 form then you get posted 30 page form then need sick notes then have an interview but will try. At least its video. But it seems to link to other things as well which get denied so worth a shot. I have savings at least from working before so it could be much worse, feel so sorry for women on chemo forced to work with rising prices and no benefits though a bit jealous of the ones with full sick pay and private health care. I used to have that. DH is also having to use his annual leave for my treatment though he does at least get 30 days and its 0.5 days per chemo he needs. Just hoping we will still have enough time left to take a holiday at the end of it but DH also wants to spend a week with MIL, understandable but my idea of hell. She is in France and he hasn't seen her for 2 years but she will make stupid comments to me for a week as she always does as she is jealous DH lives with me not her. 3 days tends to be our limit before I snap at her catty comments though some of them where ridiculous like your claim to be intelligent (I do have a degree from Cambridge) but you are not as you have not produced me a baby girl yet when we needed to do IVF, not sure when having a baby was linked to intelligence either. Though she did then apologise at least when it was found I needed to do IVF due to male factor due to a drug she took in pregnancy called DES. She will never let us leave the house, she has about 30 locks on it and she goes mad if you leave.

But a lovely cancer charity have given me a free trip on a cruise in Lake Windermere. Its 4.5 hours from here but good to have one nice thing. School have just messaged to say DS is now out of all subjects and just wanders a field all day and council are just faffing with school move and he's is year 10, mid exam years. MP did reply offering to chase again though they just get waffle off the council which they forward on, at least they are trying though. But so far its been 4 years of no help at all, so different to his lovely kind primary who did everything they could including a full time TA from own budget and Head helping and then he got best results in school and had friends. Now expected to fail all subjects, council just want to send him after to a vocational school which he would hate and is full of problem children and he's mute. Urgh.

Silkie, sorry to hear about your chemo side effects. The steroid they gave you is dexamethasone and it's to prevent nausea and vomiting. I'm sorry to hear about your MIL challenges. There's a subreddit for support with MIL issues Just No MIL

It still feels like January here, but this duck pair seems to have settled in at the reservoir. I see them in the same spot most mornings.

Thanks MissC and nice photo. The dexa they said is to boost my immune system and there is another tablet for anti-sickness which is onda something. But I have stopped the anti-sickness one as gave me lots of side effects with chemo line reluctant agreement and am better without it, had lot of chest pain / indigestion and constipation with it and this chemo is not bad for nausea and don't have it anyway. Well hopefully. If I do I have extra anti-sickness tablets but none yet and its been 24 hours. The steriods are fine, can't sleep on them and get very ranty and waffly and get more energy but its useful to get things done. Plus they think I may have an adrenal condition, maybe secondary adrenal insufficiency so I may need steriods for that though not got the energy to do their appointments as well at the moment but chemo did their bloods and I have results and that is what it looks like but main thing is not a second cancer.

I phoned chemo line again and they think chemo is causing the eye pain but they said its rare and they don't know about it but are asking the team. They were also puzzled that I lost all feelings in my gums for 2 hours last week, that was quite freaky as it felt like all my teeth were about to fall out. I see the oncologist on 4th anyway and as long as its not blood clots which don't think it is its OK to leave. Though I hope one of them finds out about it, it has to be either the Pac or onda causing it, took steriods again today and did not worsen so not them. They think its Pac but hope not as normally that is permanent with eye issues though my sight is OK at the moment, just watery but its hayfever season.

MIL is OK in short bursts, its also she has a need to tell about 1000 people about all your news as well telling them I am telling you this, its a secret don't tell anyone else. Though at least chemo will be over when we see her. Sent lots of e-mails re schools and parking at hospital. DD is still sulking but she has now had an offer from her preferred very academic school for 4 A levels including Further Maths on lower than they normally offer so good day for her. And the Gp has given me a sick note from mid December so can apply for ESA, they don't make it easy, form won't upload, then they send you another 30 pages then interview then a return to work scheme if not put in support group. Though may be ok on that with chemo.

The dexa they said is to boost my immune system and there is another tablet for anti-sickness which is onda something.

It's either not dexamethasone or someone misspoke. Like most steroids, dex is an immunosuppressant. It's commonly given to severe covid patients to prevent an excessive immune system response. After 62 years of regulating immunity, dexamethasone meets COVID-19 I wouldn't concern yourself about it too much, it's quite safe at standard dosages.

Thanks for reminding me of why I need to be more thankful for my lovely MIL.

The dexa they said is to boost my immune system and there is another tablet for anti-sickness which is onda something.
That's ondansetron.

Happy Birthday, Silkies. I hope the day improves for you and that your DS gets the support he needs in school.

I don’t think I have updated on here that my sweetpeas seeds have germinated and are proper seedlings now. I may sow some more as I do love sweetpeas. We only have a tiny garden and all the sweetpeas will have to go in one largish pot.

Thanks MissC I think it is that one. I have the full names written somewhere but its a steroid starting with dexa, that's interesting it suppresses immune system. Tbf I think they probably said they were giving me steriods for my immune system and I assumed it was to boost but I guess with chemo suppress makes sense. The steriods seem fine and the steroid days can get lots done, well relative for a chemo patient but they are the most normal days if a bit buzzy and determined and blunt with people as it takes you sense of caring what they think away you just say it as it is then steroid wears off and you think oops should have been more diplomatically phrased.

Thanks for the birthday wishes Nydj Really does not feel like a birthday with no presents and no birthday wishes from family but DH is making some biscuits for me tonight. Lots of people on the cancer Facebook have wished me happy birthday, about 100 so far. I am really not that bothered about birthdays but do like family to say happy birthday and get a cheap present. Though poor DH is flat out helping with the cancer so its not him and DS is mute. Its only DD who is being selfish but DD can be like that and generally she is much better than she used to be. Just heard back she can have special consideration for GCSEs and have forwarded onto school. Spent rest of it emailing re DS, doctors cert and parking. I have a call at 10am from cancer team re my eye, hopefully they have found someone who knows about it, there was a lot of when I called and said it will be by chemo but very rare and hopefully its temporary but would prefer a more definite / researched answer. I looked online and found a research paper with a similar case where guy went blind in both eyes permanently day 10, I am day 9 though guess that's rare as it was a special paper.

Happy birthday Silkie . Sorry that it hasn't been up to much but you seem to have been productive with your correspondence and research. Biscuits sounds like a delicious reward for just pushing through in the way that you have.

Yes, Miss you are lucky to have a lovely MIL. Mine is decidedly odd.

Nydj I love sweet peas too but have never found them on sale here. Perhaps Amazon would help me with that.

DD2 is fine and gives regular updates on the state of her bruises and scabs now . We have just gone through how to calculate the perimeter of a semi-circle together.

Happy Birthday Silkies hope your day & your DD's mood improves.
My DH has dug up our front lawn apart from a path through the middle ( it's tiny & a pain to mow) and sown wildflower meadow seeds. I'm waiting patiently for signs of life.

Viel Glück und viel Segen Silkie
I am sorry about you chemo side effects and full of admiration for getting things done anyway.

Makiwa Last years sweet peas (Wicken) were destroyed by mildew. I am generally not very lucky with them,

Happy Birthday Silkie.

Champagne, I've had a look at the Blink cameras on Amazon and they look fab. Amazon also owns Ring. I see that the Blink cameras also have two-way audio. I love talking to visitors through the camera. The shock on their faces is priceless.

I may get my second covid booster tonight. It's just been authorized here for age 50 and over.

ZZ, I have had popovers and really liked them. Are you getting the same awful spell of frigid weather today that I am? It actually snowed for a bit here around noon.

Yes! I'd got used to it not being cold and it took me by surprise. I'm so done with winter!