BASKETTCASE

I haven't posted for 3 weeks.  Been too busy.  Chemo symptoms are boring now as they are the same every cycle.  Day 5 was horrible again, so don't take any notice of anything I might say next Monday, in fact it is probably best if you leave me to my own devices that day!

We have had a lovely 'grown-up' week with Sheila and Bob.  They had had a pretty exhausting time with travelling around for weddings and Bob making his contribution to a funeral that he wasn't able to take because he was here.  We pottered round Sheringham at the beginning of the week and Holt at the end, picniced in Holt Country Park, went to Taverham GArden Centre and spent a lot of money on plants, and drove all the way out to Alby Craft Centre to see a furniture maker who came up on the internet when I searched for re-claimed pine, but works in anything but reclaimed pine.  The trip was worth it though, because on the way home, following the Satnav, Dave spotted a sign for Guestwick.  I have been nagging about going to see the new stained-glass window made by a young local craftsman over a period of 10 years.  It ws featured in the EDP, and I have wanted to see it ever since.  With the light shining through it, it was so much better than the pictures in the paper, and we all took pleasure in seeing it.  Then Bob and Sheila went to sign the visitors book and the last entry was a couple they have known for 40 years, who now live in Reepham.

At home we did a minimum of housework, gave ourselves a space every day for reading and rest, Sheila did weeding and together we hosted a Biggest Coffee Morning in the World for Macmillan Cancer Care.  I had put a letter through all the Homewatch letter-boxes and Dot and Rodney had put invites in 50 more local houses.  It was also on the church notice sheet.  We made cakes and scones, Dot baked sausage rolls, and June Ward, our Fair Trade lady from church provided individual caffetieres and teapots as well as cake.  Various neighbours and friends also provided cakes.  By ten past ten our house was heaving, and some of the early-comers must have stayed here' being sociable and talking to old and new friends' for a couple of hours.  Dot and Rodney had run a raffle and tombola with prizes from nearly everyone they have run into in the last few weeks, and we sold some left-over cakes at the end.  Altogether we made £362 on the day, and after we banked it this afternoon another £5 arrived.  Even the cashier at the NatWest said how well we had done!

I have done some weeding and planted some spring cabbage this afternoon after my rest, and hope to do a bit more autumn stuff in the garden tomorrow as it will be October before I am able to handle cold things again after that.  Amazingly people liked our garden, weedy and untidy though it is.  Hopefully by next spring it will be better organised, with more perennials in the flower patch so we don't have to buy plants to cover up bare spaces.  I worried a lot about that earlier this year, but since we started to have some rain everything has filled out and I now have to thin out the catmint and re-site some of the bigger plants that are crowding each other.