I am never sorry to say Goodbye to January and Hello to February which is as much as three days shorter than some months. I tell myself that four weeks tomorrow it will be March. Yes, I know, it is bad to wish one's life away but here in the UK it has not been a pleasant Winter. After breaking my hip on October 23rd I have not been able to walk outside until the last week or so and then only on some days. My leg muscles need strengthening and although I do my hospital exercises each day it is not the same as walking - and the paths are frosty again today so I doubt a walk will be possible.
I am toying with the idea of giving up my car. I hate the idea of giving up my independence but there are several factors to consider. First of all, last year when I had my Eye Test my Optician (who knows my eyes well) told me he doubted whether my eyes would be good enough for driving in a year's time. Well, an appointment for that eye test arrived in the post this week. Also my mobility is now such that if I drive somewhere there is the question of how am I going to move around when I get out of the car? For the year prior to my hip-breakage the only place I went regularly in the car was to my Hairdressers each week. When I think of the Insurance I now pay each year (over six hundred pounds as my son is also on my Policy) it does beg the question 'wouldn't it be cheaper to have a taxi each time?' It would be a huge milestone in my life to stop driving but the time will come and it may well be now. My little car has only done six thousand miles in its three and a half years and has been regularly serviced - and what is more I have someone interested in buying it. A painful decision.
Last evening I indulged in an hour of Michael Palin in the Himalayas --- what a wonderful programme - up in the mountains on his way to the Khyber Pass. How lucky we are that during Lockdown we have such things. I think of my parents - in the days before television - what would they have been doing? Well, they were both great readers, they listened to what they called 'the wireless' a great deal (Henry Hall, Itma, Tommy Handley, ) and they played Cribbage every night of their lives. And, of course, what you never have you never miss. My father would have missed his Crown Green Bowling over the Summer (as would my mother as she always went with him - the ladies made tea half way through the evening- ) but there was always plenty to do in the garden.
The clock tells me it is lunch time. Yesterday I made soup and there is enough for today and my Carer has brought me a lunch of a Bacon Chop with new potatoes, green beans and cauliflower cheese. I have never had a Bacon Chop before so I have a new experience to come.