Tuesday 15 September 2020

The trials (and comedies) of a shake.

 I have a condition called 'Benign  Essential Tremor' - it is inherited - my father and sister both had it and mine has been developing over the last ten years or so.   It is not dangerous.   It is, I believe, a brain condition and it is quite common.   The actress Katherine Hepburn (for those old enough to remember her) had it.   Hers affected her head and if you watch her in an old film now that you know you will see that she has difficulty in keeping her head still.   Mine affects my hands - my handwriting, my eating, my preparation of food - so many things.   But it is not painful - just a nuisance.   This morning is a perfect example.   Once a fortnight I have a Tesco order delivery on a Tuesday morning early.   I order it on line bit by bit over the fortnight as and whenI remember something I need.

It came at nine this morning - delivered by a nice young man - there seemed rather a lot of it.   When he had gone I began to unload it - I had intended to order a pack of 9 Andrex toilet rolls.   Instead of ordering 1 pack I had ordered 4 packs - so I now have 36 toilet rolls stacked in the garage!!

And speaking of Tesco orders - during lockdown they have changed their packaging several times.   First of all it was heavy duty plastic carrier bags which as far as I am concerned were useless to me so once a fortnight I rolled them up, tied them with string and put them out for recycling.   Then some time later they changed to lightweight plastic bags but, let's face it there's a limit to how many of these you need.   So once again - out for recycling.   Now this morning they have changed again - each big blue plastic box (the things they used before lockdown) is lined with a plastic liner and we are asked to return them the next time the driver calls.

And still on the subject of Tesco (and other superstores) if I sat in my window all day and counted the number of deliveries which passed each day it would be 'a lot'.   Good time to buy shares in the supermarkets!

And back to my shakes - it affects my typing skills so although I do proof read you need to excuse any mistakes I miss!!

 

18 comments:

Tom Stephenson said...

That's a good excuse for hoarding as far as I can see! I have a musician friend who asked his old sound engineer friend to digitise a vinyl record for him. The engineer has such bad shakes that my mate had to go round to the studio just to put the needle on the record!

thelma said...

Well you seem to cope with the shake in your writing and also housekeeping. We used to have a delivery from Sainsburys, they brought it in boxes which we unloaded at the front door. Never forget Lucy staggering down the hallway with a bag of potatoes, she loves sorting the shopping!

Heather said...

You 'little old panic buyer, you'!! Such an easy mistake to make. I have even spotted duplicated items on my written shopping list at times.
Glad your tremor causes no pain, but I can imagine it would sometimes be annoying.

Granny Sue said...

I remember you mentioning the shaking before, and saying that Katherine Hepburn had the same condition. So I watched her films closely, and you're right--every now and then a slight tremor is noticeable. We watch African Queen every year, one of our very favorite films, and in that one she seems fine. My mother did not approve of Ms. Hepburn--because she smoked, wore pants, and had the deep voice. Not ladylike, Mum said, which I thought was quite funny.

Rachel Phillips said...

A likely story!

We always eat so supermarket shares are a good investment during rough times.

Ulvmor said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bonnie said...

Katherine Hepburn was one of my favorite actresses. I do remember her having tremors in her later films. It did not affect her acting one bit, she was wonderful.

Judith said...

Another tremor sufferer, I read my shopping list and wondered why I’d written ‘baby wipes.” Finally deciphered it as “ body wash.”

The Weaver of Grass said...

Judith - good to meet a fellow sufferer - frustrating isn;t it?

The Feminine Energy said...

I once watched a young YouTuber woman who had the same thing... gotten from her father who had it also. Judging from the comment above, it's certainly not uncommon. I don't have it but I'm surprised, as I got so many other things handed down to me from generations previous. ~Andrea xoxo

Sue said...

It's good that you can see the funny side of your shakes Pat. It must be very annoying for you sometimes. But you can never have too much loo roll!

The Weaver of Grass said...

Feminine energy - it isn;t at all uncommon - since realising I was getting it (when I was in my early sixties) I have met many people with it. By the time he died my father couldn't lift his tea cup to his lips, he had to get his mouth down to his cup. I can't carry a cup or mug but have a special trolley provided by the local hospital trust and I move everything around on that.

ThrowingRoses said...

And yet another tremor sufferer here in California. I greatly appreciate your sharing your coping methods, and your sense of humor!

sue R said...

The over ordering of toilet rolls reminds me when I ordered 15 carrots only when they came did I realise they were 15 1kg bags lol and the time I ordered 5 zips for some cushions and they were 5 packs of 5 zips. Oh how the mind works lol . Gives us something to smile about when skies are grey :)

Joanne Noragon said...

I use paper towels infrequently. In the last year and a half, on my second roll. It is a very small roll by now, and paper towels have been on my list for some time. My last trip to the dollar store there finally was one pack on the shelves. A pack of six. A lifetime supply. I bought it anyway.

Red said...

I can emphasize with your last statement.

Cro Magnon said...

The idea of home deliveries is appealing, but I much prefer choosing each item individually. To have to rely on someone else's choices would worry me.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Cro I couldn't agree more but a) there is the Covid threat in Supermarkets. b) I can hardly walk and need support. c)the reaaly special things like fresh fruit and veg, meats, ham and the like are bought for me by a local lady who shops to my list.
Sue R - the first time my friend had a supermarket order delivered she got 1 carrot, thinking she had ordered 1 bag.
Throwing Roses - join the club - there are plenty of us about it seems and that makes it easier to bear.

Thanks everyone for your replies.