What made you happy today?

[johnpwalsh]

Jesus and begora. Must be doing something right, another 2 projects moving on today. Must start searching again as only a couple left. An Elite, Eclat, Excel and Esprit.

[Alfa2Evora]

@exeterjeep When I viewed the place a couple of weeks ago, I got a really good feeling about it, hence why it went on my (very) shortlist of just 3 establishments that I deemed suitable to meet Jennifer's needs.

Although it's of fairly modern purpose-built construction (the other 2 were old converted buildings with loads of 'character' features and felt more like hotels than care homes), it's not like any of the other generic 'out of the same mould' buildings that I've viewed. It too has a lot of character to it, with lovely large well-appointed rooms arranged in groups around a central hallway rather than a long corridor of prison cells, several acres of well-planted landscaped gardens which Jennifer will absolutely love, there's an over-generous staff allocation on each shift with 2 of the nursing staff having stroke recovery experience, a fabulous menu that wouldn't be out of place in a posh restaurant, and all the staff and residents appear to be enjoying each other's company.

It get's a 9.9/10 review rating from the relatives of current residents and the Care Inspectorate reports for the last few years all rate it as either 'Very Good' or 'Excellent' in the various categories assessed, so fingers crossed it fits the bill. I'm keeping my options open on the other 2 places just in case though.

[bogle]

David,

Happy to hear about your possible nursing home solution.  You really need to have more things go right way instead of the opposite direction.  Glad you are still pushing forward.

[windymiller]

so after a few months of testicular pain i finally had an ultrasound yesterday, although the dr said he didnt think there was anything serious wrong it struck me on the way to the appointment just how serious it could be 😞, the nurses were fab as i was worried, she asked have you had a vasectomy ? i said ive been married for 34 years its the same thing !!!! but long story short all clear on the plums !!! 😍

[LOTUSMAN33]

My old Cooper I restored has turned up at a dealer looking lovely still, mind looks like inflation has caught up with it 😁

 

https://graemehunt.com/inventory/657/1967-mini-cooper-s-monte-carlo-spec

[pete]

Under offer

[Alfa2Evora]

JENNIFER : LATEST UPDATE

I've deliberately held off posting this until now as I wanted to let the dust settle a bit and get a truer picture of what was actually happening in the longer term.

As I mentioned in my last post, Jennifer was offered a place at one of the nursing homes on my shortlist of 3. As you can see from the pic, for a relatively modern purpose-built structure, it still retains a bit of character rather than being a simple rectangular box like most of these places seem to be.

Its location in terms of its immediate surroundings is by far the best of the 3, being as it is a short 5 minute walk (or slightly longer 7 minute push with a wheelchair) from Linlithgow Loch and its abundance of wildfowl, which Jennifer has absolutely loved visiting for as long as I've known her - a couple of pics below for those of you unfamiliar with the area.

It's location in terms of ease of visiting is unfortunately for me by far the worst, being as it is a good 25-30 minute drive in the wrong direction from everything else I need to frequent, especially my work, but Jennifer's well-being overrides any of my selfish requirements so I was more than happy to accept their placement offer.

So on Tuesday, 8th November, after 267 days in hospital, Jennifer made her tearful goodbyes to the staff there and moved into the nursing home. I fully expected her to regress for a bit and to take several days if not longer to adjust to her completely different surroundings but she took to the place straight away.

While I had the job of unpacking all her stuff and personalising her room, Jennifer was sitting through in the dining room chatting away to a couple of the other residents and scoffing down her first 'sample' of the catering department's capabilities. I have to confess that they did bring me through a meal as well, and very nice it was too. I may have to make this a regular dining stop, .

Every day since has been a good day. Jennifer has taken full advantage of the various activities on offer (there's something on the go every weekday morning and afternoon) and seems to be making friends with everybody, staff and residents alike.

The home staff have already had her walking around the corridors using a zimmer frame with a member of staff only cradling her elbow to give her balance a little support. I think what was holding her back in the hospital was the shiny floors; now that she's got carpet under her feet, it seems to have boosted her confidence that she's not going to lose her footing any second and take a tumble.

I've arranged for her to be assessed by a member of the Community Care Team who'll be able to organise regular visits from any therapists that it's felt Jennifer requires, be that physio, occupational, or speech and language - I'm hoping it'll be all 3 as it can only help to push her ever onwards towards some form of meaningful recovery.

The early signs are more promising than I could ever have hoped for and my only regret is that the legal process took so long otherwise we could possibly have had Jennifer following this new path that much sooner.

[bogle]

34 minutes ago, Alfa2Evora said:

The early signs are more promising than I could ever have hoped for and my only regret is that the legal process took so long otherwise we could possibly had Jennifer following this new path that much sooner.

 

What made me happy today?  Good News from David today.

Fantastic news David!  Sorry about the drive being longer, but maybe those meals can make up for it.  The building isn't boring at least and I'm happy the carpet works out better for Jennifer.  You got through the legal process and that's what matters because it appears that Jennifer is going to be able to have access to more services hopefully.  

Edited November 26, 2022 by bogle

[Painterdave]

I think this is good news Jennifer get help she needs you get some rest and 20 minutes in the lotus 👍

[exeterjeep]

Had been wondering how things were progressing at the new home, sounds really good and better than I had thought. Hope her recovery continues, Jennifer must feel happier to be ale to get about a bit more.

[windymiller]

did one of those cryptic escape rooms today with the family in a harry potter style set, was abit reluctant to go but had a fantastic hour and solved the room with 40 seconds left on the clock !! 😍

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I played Cluedo with the family this afternoon. On his second turn, my eldest son was the first to enter a room. He then had the first guess at the suspect, weapon and room. Incredibly he was correct on all three counts!

What are the chances of that? Not only did he guess everything right first time, but he also just happened to have started close enough to the correct room and entered it within the minimum two turns required to get there. It must have been the fastest game of Cluedo ever played. 😃

[Rambo]

On 27/11/2022 at 21:59, LotusLeftLotusRight said:

I played Cluedo with the family this afternoon. On his second turn, my eldest son was the first to enter a room. He then had the first guess at the suspect, weapon and room. Incredibly he was correct on all three counts!

What are the chances of that? Not only did he guess everything right first time, but he also just happened to have started close enough to the correct room and entered it within the minimum two turns required to get there. It must have been the fastest game of Cluedo ever played. 😃

Who was it?

Sparky with his Torque Wrench in the Garage? 

 ☃️ New for Xmas 2022. TLC Cluedo. Discounts available from Bibs for Gold Members ☃️

[andydclements]

That version has it where it's upside-down  in the footwell of an Esprit using a tool made of unobtanium by a nameless torturer.

[windymiller]

my trusty air to air source heater had gone wrong (lost signal between inside and outside unit) i was a trained sparky but in industry / oil n gas and havent dabbled much with pcb's etc but thought it was a start run capacitor as it appeared out of range, swapped that and nowt, swapped the board for a spare i had (id mended what i thought had blown being a thyristor) and boom away it went !!! upon closer inspection the latest board seems to of suffered the same fate and in blowing the same thyristor a jumper link had been blown nearby !!! chuffed to bits and so money super market !!! total actual fix was pennies !!! 😁

[Escape]

I went to pick up some parts from my favorite motor factor, and got an early new year's present. These guys are always very friendly and extremely helpful, even if I'm often asking for unobtanium parts.
So now these are my favorite tools:

 

[bogle]

Is that chocolate rated above 15C and have a lifetime warranty?  So if it melts, I can exchange it for another?

[Escape]

It's fine Belgian chocolate, so the lifetime warranty only needs to cover a few days at the most.😎

[windymiller]

careful the dog may use the tools to get into the after eights !!! 😔

[Escape]

Our dog prefers fries to chocolate. Quite possibly my fault, as I always give him a few leftovers and that's got him hooked. We even got him a suitable toy, which he loves. 🙂

[windymiller]

james and his 2 boys lost their wife / mum 2 years ago aged a mere 50 and a while back they put the house up for sale for a fresh start, took a while to sell and we said dont loose the buyer and or go into rented just put your stuff in storage and move in with us, they have ended up buying their dream house and moved in yesterday which was both a moment of joy and sadness as theyve been great company and we will miss them but out of the blue james handed me and julie an envelope as thanks for letting them stay and omg we both have a day at Raymond Blanc's hotel in the cookery school (where weve eaten once a long long time ago) so "something" too look forward to next year "maybe" itd be a nice trip in the evora ?  

[TAR]

3 hours ago, windymiller said:

Raymond Blanc's hotel in the cookery school

Not far from where I live, and although I've never dined there, I've been several times (for work purposes). I have to say it's a magnificent place. There are some right posh motors on the drive so you'll be fine in the Evora  

[Rambo]

In fact, you will probably show up some of the "posh motors" if you go in the Evora 😉

[Bibs]

Getting married in about 2 hours

 

[Bazza 907]

Massive congratulations mate.

Nice to know I'm not the only one punching above my weight.

Best of luck for a very long future together.