Rest. Ice. Elevate.......

The rain still falls leaving Britain very damp and with frazzled hair to go with the frazzled people, just a couple of days before Christmas.

I am not frazzled in the slightest, I hasten to add. No. I just have a to do list which shows no sign of getting any shorter. And I actually popped down to the village supermarket and spent £15, but not one thing (apart from the milk and I will have to buy that again anyway) can be crossed off. They were all optional extras I had no business buying. This is why I hate shops. I will send the kids in next time and I will wait in the car.

I then noticed the little light which comes on when you start the engine in the car. It usually flashes "Oil OK", only now and then it has been just flashing "Oil". So I tend to forget these things. Today, however, I thought that checking it may be a sensible idea, so took it to a motor spares shop, and it was indeed almost empty. One should check these things the first time one notices them, which I have not. Oops. Oh well. For the princely sum of £1.99, a helpful young man came and did the grubby part in the engine, while I looked on in a quasi helpless fashion. Of course I know what to do (I did point out the whereabouts of the dipstick) but he didn't have to know that, did he. I think helpless may be quite fun, actually. I need to practice a little more. And my delicate lily white hands did not get dirty.

Sorted.

David is making his way north, and will be home late afternoon, and so the chicks will have started their return to the roost. And that, quite frankly, is all that matters. The people will be here. The rest can take care of itself.

Yesterday's post was all over the place. I started talking about one thing and drifted into another, and then just hit the publish button. So, some of you may have wondered if I had lost the plot a little.

Actually, I was in a bit of a daze. My knee has developed some interesting new bulges, and because I suspected it was fluid, and why the heck was more fluid pooling on the other side if the knee when it was horrible enough as it was, I went to see the doctor. The fact that I got an appointment was by divine intervention. I called in at the surgery at 11.15 to find out when my doc would be on duty and they said that she was there yesterday, so I asked them to get her to give me a call, which she and I have arranged so I can get past the front desk when I need to. "Oh," said the receptionist "you can come and see her today, if you like!". Huh? An appointment on the same day??? Wow. So I said thanks and 20 minutes later I was talking to her.

"I do not have the plague" I announced as I walked in the door. Half the village has this vomiting virus, you see. "I think I have housemaid's knee". Well. She started laughing, until she realised that it was the bad knee which was bulging all over the place. (I have no real idea what housemaid's knee is, by the way.) So she asked me to lie down and she TOUCHED my knee and I did the world's fastest sit up, while screeching. She was very apologetic and announced that I needed to rest, ice and elevate and that I had been doing way too much. I looked at her and said "Rest? Ice? Elevate? A few days before Christmas? Hello?" She tried to hide a grin, but failed.

Sigh.

So I came home and tried to listen to her and failed too. I did ask whether it would stay bulging forever or go down. That is my worry. But she didn't know. No-one knows these things.

And so this morning I went to our last pre-Christmas Aquazumba class with Jean. (Not so much of the rest or ice, but I did elevate it. Quite a lot actually.) And it was a real pool party today, with our teacher in the water with us. Hysterical. Just as well we all know the routines, because we couldn't see her legs. And yes, we had our bouncy stars and baubles on the heads. Oh, did we laugh. I have to admit that I did cut what I normally do by half, and certainly didn't push myself at all. I was just glad to be in the water.

So, people, I have to sit and ice my leg in winter. Why bother with heating. Arghhhhhh. I haven't got room in my freezer for an icepack. My kids need to come home and eat some of the food out of there. (It is a very small freezer, believe me!) And I don't have time to sit either. I am a Mum.

BUT

Isn't it good that I have done the shopping (mostly), wrapped the presents, and decorated the house? There is still the cleaning to do of course, and a little baking, but we will manage that. I will do the little baking and they can clean. Sorted. Missy can help me.

I am now off to bale out the water in my potting tray................

Rest.

Ice.

Elevate.

Hah.

Maybe on Boxing Day.......