Post 535: A walk, some shopping and a tiring walk home.
Again, the waking after another poor night’s sleep was in excitement for another walk, but this time towards, not away from, the shops in town. At least that’s what I hoped.
There were only two things on the list, that I knew of: onions and fish (salmon).
So I would postpone my overnight yoghurt-based fruit bowl of satsumas and banana, covered with a teaspoon of pumpkin and sunflower seeds which can wait for me to get back from the shops.
Today I knew better than to race off, so I learned from yesterday’s hike and got into a slowish pace initially, but one I could continue with for an hour or so before we were heading back to the start of the trip.
There was a need for my shopping, even though it wasn’t much of a list, so I firstly dived into the fishy counter I normally use, where the slightly smoked salmon I chose was wrapped straight off the ice. As for the onions, they were back on the veggie shelves behind me.
I checked out at the tills with my two little bits and walked over the road into the other superstore, where I’d bought the very same socks a while ago. The fact that they sold the best thin old man’s socks I’ve seen in the right size for me was important, as that was always the main problem.
Footnote: (ha ha) My feet are size 12 UK, so most socks, 7–11, are way too small, and the 9–12s are so hard to find.
I picked up two pairs off the wall hooks, which sadly were so low that it was uncomfortably low for me, and I wondered if I could get them off the hooks without falling on the floor. These flashes of wisdom and worry beset me now I’m getting older, stiffer and less able to reach certain products I need.
The socks were checked off the list and placed in the basket, and I returned to the sweet and biscuit aisles for necessary items I will list but will not be especially happy with grabbing, but grab I did. Malted milk, custard cream and Nice, with one packet of Haribo Classics.
I needed some yoghurts too, and this tipped the boat over in terms of my ability to store the products in my little backpack slung over my shoulder. In point of fact, this would be the breaking of me later on the walk home.
I think the problem was the weight and bulk of all those extras I really didn’t need but bought anyway. I wish I had avoided the biscuit aisle and had less on my back and in a shopping bag that bumped my leg occasionally on my new tattoo. That wasn’t fair.
But the crux of the problem came later on the walk back home, over a humpback bridge, where the problem with moving forward all the way up the banking was a terrible pain in my right hip and my groin. But I set my brain to “you will succeed” and struggled on.
I arrived at the tip of the bridge with half a mile of downhill paths until the turn up the close where we live at the top of.
By this time, each step was judged, painful and a big effort, and I wished I was home. As I got nearer home, I saw a motor scooter belonging to my neighbour, who’s on the other side of the road, but he’d seen me. This is the guy who also has prostate cancer and had the swig of my extra, extra good pain relief last week, but he’s a true gent when it comes to sharing his allotment of vegetables, which all summer long he brings fruit and veg over to us.
But as I crossed the road to say hi and have a little chat, he was in a hurry and said, “I’ll see you at home for a cuppa in 15 minutes’ time.”
I was, by this time, glad of a stop but could feel my legs stiffen up, so I got cracking in the operative direction to home and set off on the last 500 yds home.
The crawl up the close was not pretty to watch, and by the time I reached our home, I had only one thing on my mind, and that was to carefully get into the kitchen and sit down for the fruit bowl of yoghurt. Carefully.
I honestly had nothing left to give when I sat down at the table. I was spent. Exhausted, and it was only 0.3 more than yesterday’s easy walk?
So it can only have been the extra weight on board (on my back and in my hand), but I had made it, just. By hook or by crook, the legs got me home.
I resigned myself to TV watching from then on until my Darling came home. She wanted a shower and bed today, so it wasn’t until after 5 pm that she came down after an afternoon snooze and watched a bit of K-drama with me. Marry My Husband was the title, and it was an excellent ‘get your own back’ storyline.
After just one episode, it was time for salmon, beans and mash for supper, and what a delight that was. So yummy.
The TV was still on, but this time for Strictly Come Dancing, while we munched through the fish and mash. But as the programme still has 20/21 contenders, it’s a minefield and has a very long 2 hrs 15 mins of just this one episode. I certainly couldn’t cope with all that glitter and forced smiles, tanned faces like Uncle Trump, and endless repeats of repeats. I went to the kitchen, fully recovered from this morning’s exploits to town, and washed the supper dishes up, then headed for bed. It was only just 8 pm, but I deserved an early night because of that other problem…
Stupidly, I had thought dusting was a great idea before my Darling got home, and went upstairs to my bedroom, the office and the middle bedroom, where the cat, Mr Messy Vicious, had got in the window and, with dirty wet paws, had left his paw prints all over the window ledges and down the wall to the floor.
We’ve got a rechargeable vacuum upstairs and dusters, so the cobwebs and carpets were done as well. The problem came after I’d been stretching across the middle room bed to get at the dirty paw marks, when I overreached and heard a horrible crack under my right armpit somewhere on the side of my ribs. Ouch! OMG, what to do?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Perhaps finish tidying away the socks in the drawers and then get sat down in front of the TV until my Darling comes home.
And that’s what I did.
I thought I’d had that acid infusion for bone strength a few weeks ago. Perhaps it needs more time or more frequent infusions.
So watch what you do out there, you part-time cleaners and polishers. It might cost you a whole lot of bruising.
Let that be a lesson to me.
Take care and sleep well if you can.
