Sunday 8th November 2026

We took Ellie to Eastry just for a change.

She is very slow but likes it there. As we arrived home our neighbour Janette was walking her dog Chippy, so she came in for a coffee.  Chippy kept kissing Ellie, she was just ignoring it, lying on the floor.

It was very autumnal as the leaves were just dropping off the trees as we walked around.

Friday 6th November 2026

It is Mal’s sisters birthday when we are away and so we took her present over to her.

She is having solar panels fitted on the roof of her bungalow (council owned) as are all the rest of the properties around her, so the road was a bit chaotic with all the workmen’s lorries. Nice to see her and hearing all she has been up to, including bowls!

In the evening we watched the last two of the new seasons “Slow Horses”.

I also heard Tariq and Izzy have got engaged. Congratulations to them.

Tuesday 3rd November 2026

It was time to complete yet another Anima form to the GP surgery as the pain in my knee is getting increasingly worse and I have no answers, re diet (overload of iron) etc etc Also the fact I have mouth ulcers again, so maybe the B12 tablets aren’t sufficient enough.  The surgery called back very quickly and I have a telephone appointment with the same doctor next week.

Later in the day another anima form requesting a blood test (as they had asked on my app) – 2 weeks time!

We then had an appointment with Claire the vet who had carried out Ellie’s dental procedure. She initially thought the lump in her mouth was cancer and then discovered it was an abscess and was pleased the way it has gone down, not totally gone but going.

We then discussed how ill Ellie was after the anaesthetic and she agreed as she had seen her when we had the emergency appointment with Andy.  But she emphasised that she does need to extract some of her teeth, obviously aware of our fear of more anaesthetic, so  we now have some dental paste to use on one of the damaged teeth and the lump and we return to see Claire in 2 weeks for more discussions. If we do decide it really needs to be carried out, she said she will limit the anaesthesia time. Not much choice really.

As Ellie gets older she does amuse us and tell us what she wants. At 8.30 she just stood at the bottom of the stairs waiting to go to bed! Mal carried her up and by the time we went up she was fast asleep. Yes, Mal carries her up and down the stairs.

Monday 2nd November 2026

A work day, only Jack and I in, well Chris for a short time. We spent ages sorting out Christmas cards on the display shelves. They have to be placed the way we are told, every single box of them!!

We were also quite busy with a lot of donations and one person who brought in bags and bags of rubbish. Why do people do it? It certainly is not pleasant for the volunteers who have to sort it.