Slight Setback but Not a Real Problem

I played in the doubles tournament at Bowls Club this morning.  I partnered John, it was very enjoyable in spite of being knocked out in the preliminary round.  I did play a few more games for fun during the day, but wasn't playing well.  The final was excellent.  Well done to the winners, Keith and Peter, and well tried to the runners up, Sue and Darryl. 

I bought prawns on the way home to have for supper.  I’m cooking them in butter and garlic, tomato purée and lemon juice with pili pili and parsley.   I shall have them with crusty French bread to mop up the juices and indulge myself. 

It’s hard to imagine, but wonderful, that I shall be able to eat so little yet not feel hungry.   I have nearly cleared the fridge of things I won’t be eating after Thursday.  When I last went shopping I bought 0% fat 0% sugar yoghurts, apple compote and vegetable soup.  These will be my staples to begin with when I move to purée from just liquids. 

Opening the door of the fridge brings it home to me – usually it’s packed with goodies and it looks very empty indeed.   Everybody keeps telling me that it’s for the best and, of course, it is, I know that, I’m fat not stupid.  However, it’s a complete change of life forever for me.  I live alone.  Food is a hobby – one of those hobbies you can do on your own, although it’s good to cook and eat with other people too.  It has been a major interest of mine since I can remember.  Reading cookery books like novels, devising menus, enjoying choosing and shopping for food, cooking and finally eating my meals have taken up large parts of every day.  Nowadays I enjoy watching food programmes on the television and there are lots of them.  When someone asks me what I’d like to eat I never say “Oh – anything would be fine.”  I am very particular about what I eat – I love so many things.  

So – it’s going to be a change – a big change – a monumental change.  Luckily, in spite of the fact that I haven’t practised good healthy eating, I do know pretty much everything about nutrition and that will help me in the future.  I won’t be liquidizing fish and chips or dunking biscuits to make them soft enough to eat!   I’ll be a good girl because it’s my future that I’m making.

I had a dodgy moment on Monday.  I had received a file on 1 July from the hospital with a prescription in it for measured stockings for the operation and afterwards.  I took the prescription out of the file and promptly lost it.  I looked everywhere but couldn’t find it.  On 5 July I telephoned the hospital to ask for a duplicate prescription to be sent to me.  On Monday, when it still hadn’t arrived in the post I telephoned the hospital again.  They said it had been written on 5 July, but still not been signed and therefore not sent.  I called in to see my local pharmacist and he told me that there was not now time to get me measured, the order put in and to get it back by Thursday when I go into hospital.  To make matters more difficult, Thursday is Bastille Day here, a public holiday.  In the end he telephoned the hospital himself and agreed that I would go in without them and when they arrived at the Pharmacy that he would telephone friends of mine to collect them and take them to the hospital for me, although he didn’t know quite when that would be.

I was just going to post this blog when I listened to the answerphone.  My surgeon had left a message saying that due to holidays, there were not enough anaesthetists available this week and that I would have to delay and instead of going in on Thursday, go in on Sunday and have my operation on Monday, 18 July.  Ah well - only three days extra to wait, and I get to have a couple more "proper" meals!