So doing monthly reviews didn’t happen, and I’ve still not even finished all my end of year posts. Mostly because although I was doing better with physical stuff and things like watching telly and listening to podcasts, actually posting things (here and in places like Twitter and Facebook) was really hard for some reason.
My new wheelchair continues to be awesome. I went on an adventure in February, which included rejoining the library so I could access ebooks, getting my head shaved at the barbers again, and trying out a new restaurant with Johan. I technically was well enough to go out again in March, but Johan had planned to go running three nights in a row in the middle of nowhere so I had to save my energy for going into respite.
Respite went about as well as it could. A couple of issues but they were sorted quickly and we’ve got some ideas for improving it next time. The main issue was the noise, which unfortunately there isn’t much that can be done. I wore ear plugs continuously and occasionally added my ear defenders as well, but I could still hear all the call buttons and yelling (as most of the residents are deaf, not because anyone was angry) even with my door shut. The problem with it being a good care home is there aren’t exactly many spare rooms so they have to put me where they can, and the nursing floor has the call buzzers going off for all floors (and I’m down for nursing care for some reason :P). I also had a bath while there which was awesome 🙂
The first weekend while I was in respite Johan did the Dark Skies Kielder Triple, where he came fourth (and in the double). That was a 10 mile race the first night, a 26.5 mile “marathon” the second night, and a 14 mile “half marathon” the third night. The triple is doing all of them, the double is dropping the 10 mile race. He really enjoyed it and luckily on the last night it was clear enough for him to see the stars, which he said was amazing as Kielder has very little light pollution. I’m really proud of him for managing it all and doing so well.
When he got home he visited me (and enjoyed not having to be carer for a bit) and also rode on trains to various places in northern England, including Carlisle and visiting his parents in Leeds. The weekend after he was in London for QuickCade, a speedrunning marathon. I managed to watch his run of Chiki Chiki boys, but wasn’t really well enough to watch more. I had hoped to catch up on some TV shows and such while in respite, but the noise and changes to my usual routine meant I wasn’t coping as well as I hoped.
Coming home was fun, especially as I wasn’t really well enough to travel, but being back in my own, quiet bed was amazing. Johan says that pushing me up the hill from the care home to our flat is harder work than doing the Kielder triple 😛
Since then I’ve mostly been resting. I gave up mindlessly browsing Reddit for Lent, which has been a little hard at times but meant I have had time for other stuff, mostly reading TV Tropes. I’ve managed reading a few books which I’m happy about. Yesterday was the first day I felt kinda with it again since getting home, and today I’ve been well enough to go on my computer where I’ve sorted some stuff out and managed to play a bit of World of Warcraft.
Sammie introduced me to Happy Colour, which is a colouring app where you don’t need to choose the colours so great for me when I’m not doing so well. It’s pretty much replaced the cross stitch app for now. I’ve also stopped playing Animal Crossing Pocket Camp as the constant events meant I felt overwhelmed, and they introduced new features that pushed the fortune cookies (loot boxes) even harder. I’m still playing Godville and Neko Atsume, and I’ve started Lost Island and restarted Gardenscapes as well.
I’m hoping that now I’m over the worst of the payback from going into the care home I’ll be able to do more again. I was well enough to get out of bed today but Johan had other plans already so I’ve gone on my desktop computer instead. The next respite will be the end of June when Johan runs the St Cuthbert’s 45 mile ultramarathon, so plenty of time to do things before then 🙂