Well, mostly. Today I start what I hope will be my final week of reduced meds before I stop altogether. I’ve been eating live yogurt, and porridge the Scottish way (?) a little salt, no sugary products, and comfort food such as chicken soup, casserole and so on. Plain food, mostly, and my stomach seems to be finally settling down – nothing major, just pain, and feeling very uncomfortable and growling almost non-stop. Unsurprisingly I’ve lost a little weight though that’s no bad thing. I’m feeling better in myself though one eye is still playing up; this is the main reason I don’t like these meds and it is a recognised side effect. Once they’re out of my system I’ll see my GP to see if anything else is available. If not, and I can’t manage, then I’ll ask for a small dosage to be taken only at bedtime to help me sleep, and hopefully not affect my eyesight too much.

After some glorious weather, we’ve now turned to wind and rain for company and as well as us holed up indoors, we’ve also had visitors in the shape of one wasp, a slug, and a spider with feet the size of d*mn soup plates! Okay, maybe I exaggerate just a smidgen. Each has been summarily evicted with no notice. The Ship’s Dog is only being walked in between showers as I don’t want him getting a chill though he and I did manage a very nice walk on Saturday, met lots of dogs and owners, and he even had a run off the lead for a short while. It’s quite a large space, all grass, and if you walk far enough, it’s not too close to the small road. It was a good day.

Today, I’m making ‘fried’ chicken and chips (oven chips). The chicken is coated in baking powder and a little salt and cooked long and slow on a wire rack in the oven. Towards the end, a mixture of blackcurrant jam and soy sauce is brushed on and baked a further 30 mins. The recipe calls for siracha (hot and spicy) sauce too, though for obviously reasons I won’t be using that! It’s the most ‘exciting’ meal I’ve have had in 2 weeks, and I’m hoping my stomach will be fine afterwards.

The only news I’ve been keeping up with, mostly, is the political situation here in the UK; I’ve never known anything like it. I’ve been slowly stocking the cupboards and freezer, partly because winter will be here before we know it, but also because it’s very unclear what will happen at the end of October and I do like to be prepared. The dog has a 15kg sack of dry food, and early next month I’ll get another just to be on the safe side. He has a very sensitive gut and changing his food is not a good idea, so he needs to have a good stock in place. Well, only time will tell though some are obviously expecting the world to end – plagues, the collapse of society as we know it, food running out, power outages…

I’ll do my best to keep up with current blogs though if I go quiet, I’m maybe simply having a few bad days and being careful what I say. As stated, my mood is mostly better though I do still have the occasional off-day. Take care, and enjoy what’s left of the week.