Friday 19 March 2021

Shaking

 Oh dear!   I have done something wrong again and - sorry 'Breath of Fresh air' but you have appeared in red above my blog list -  I have just managed to put the Bike Shed in the correct place (thanks Rachel) when it happens all over again.   I am afraid it is usually down to my shakes.   I have an inherited condition called Benign Essential Tremor - my father had it and my sister inherited it and now me I am afraid.   It is, as it says, a benign condition, but it does cause problems on some days when it is bad.   My hands shake so much that I easily hit the wrong key and you get a garbled reply - hence my location yesterday.  It is easily mistaken for Parkinson's Disease but is in fact much more common and   not at all serious.   I try to choose a time of day when it is not all that bad for the time when I put on a post but it doesn't always work.

A lot of you having tried to read Anne Mustoe (and Graham Swift) found the books impossible and didn't finish them.   It just proves one thing - our reading tastes vary.   We did have a discussion about this in our Book Group a few months ago.  For some people the story is the most important, for others the quality of the writing is most important and for some it has to be both. I think I probably fall into the last category.   I do like a good story line but far more important to me is the standard and the quality of the writing.   But whichever it is, one thing is for sure - I would have been absolutely lost without books during our Lockdowns.   Not only have various friends supplied me with books but I think the number of books I have bought on line probably balances well against what I would normally spend on petrol.

Sorry I appear to have moved to some remote place in Australia yesterday folks - I assure you I am still here in my little cosy bungalow in the Yorkshire Dales.   I have no intention of going anywhere - not to Australia, although Joany and Jessie ring me regularly from there and it would be lovely to go an see them.   In fact getting round the block with Priscilla is my absolute maximum so far this year and it is not likely to improve much.   I dare not try to alter that because I might make it worse.   Mary (Breath of Fresh Air) I see you are actually in both places - but my son will hopefully move you from the top when he breaks up from school and has more time.

I saw this morning on Breakfast television that it is sixty years ago today since the E type Jaguar was launched.   I remember it well - it always seemed to be red - and I rather think it cost around six thousand pounds (I am sure somebody will correct me if I am wrong)  One thing is for sure, it was the very height of sophistication - and I really think it still is.   I have never ridden in one and really have no desire to do so.   I do know that, a week after selling my little three door Corsa I am still missing the sight of it on my drive.    But - as they say - onward and upward.   There is no point in looking back.

The sun has just emerged from behind the clouds so I shall go round the block with Priscilla.   If anything earth shattering happens on my walk I will report it back to you.

Back from my walk, it is pleasantly warm but hardly a soul about.   Round here people are really obeying the Covid rules.   We have a large vaccination centre in our little town - at present using the Astra Zeneca.   I go for my second jab on Thursday next week and I shall be getting my top up in Pfizer, as that was what I had the first time round.  As with all of the centres, it is all well-organised - in and out in no time at all.

I came back in after my walk - the longest I have done, put the lunch my carer had brought for me (casserole of beef and vegetables) in the microwave to heat.   Within five minutes I was eating a delicious lunch.   I took my pudding (a banana and a tangerine) into the sittingroom to eat while watching the lunch time news, promptly fell asleep and woke up when the news was over.   My walk had tired me out - but I don't mind that;  it means my muscles are getting stronger.  My friend must have been while I was out  or asleep because magazines were through the door when I came through the hall.   I shall now send her an e mail to ask her.   Until tomorrow friends.

  

 

26 comments:

Debby said...

My brother in law has the same condition. Yours sounds as if it gives you more problems, though. I read with delight that the weather is supposed to be in the seventies here next week, and I cannot tell you how excited I am about this.

Anonymous said...

Ah, many in my family have benign essential tremor, I keep waiting for mine to check in. I'm going to have to look up a 3 door Corsa - sounds interesting! I don't think I have ever seen one. And yes, being tired after a short walk is frustrating; I remind myself that in December I couldn't even do that so progress, albeit slow.

cheers!

ceci

JayCee said...

Hope your second jab goes as well as the first. The UK vaccination programme seems to be moving very quickly. We are catching up slowly!

Derek Faulkner said...

No need to apologise about your condition Pat, most of us younger ones will experience similar conditions as we travel into the nether regions of older age.
Spring has descended on Sheppey for a day today, as you will see from my latest blog, it has been glorious but I fear, short-lived.

bornfreev said...

Just yesterday I sold my car that I've had for 25 years. It was a good car until a couple of years ago it developed problems that made it unreliable and I could not justify paying to repair. Still, I did not want to part with it. It took me from Florida to Maine and many places between. I will miss it, but I love my newer car I bought 2 years ago. One day I'll have to stop driving. Like yourself, I'll be moving on... it is what we do. I love your blog and read it daily. Your life wisdom and positive attitude give me hope for myself. Provided I'm fortunate enough to live to your age.

gz said...

A friend of ours has the same, or similar condition. He walks with a stick,and cannot stand...but is fine on his bike or driving. He has had it for a long time now and is just 70+.
It has been lovely today, really felt like Spring.

A siesta is good after a walk, you probably sleep really well then

Rachel Phillips said...

I have read Anne Mustoe's A Bike Ride more than once such is my love of the book.

Bonnie said...

How nice that you and Priscilla were able to get a good walk in today! A nap after some exercise is always good too. It's great to know you will be getting your second vaccine soon. I get my second one next week as well, also Pfizer. Enjoy your evening!

Virginia said...

What a curse Benign Essential Tremor is! You have my sympathy, and (for what it’s worth) my full permission to scream and swear when it is at its worst! My beloved aunt, who brought me up, had a really bad BET. She died before touch screens were used , which is just as well, because she could only just manage an old style phone with the circular number pad. A touch screen, or modern keyboard would have been completely beyond her control. In her final years I did all her record keeping for her. The worst indignity was she had to use a straw to drink, and food like peas were off the menu. She, like you Pat, handled her disability with courage, realism and good humour.

I trust your son will be able to sort your computer out... before you throw it through the window!

The bike shed said...

Writing over narrative any day for me - in fact, most of my favourite books have very little 'plot' at all - it is the inner story that matters. My favourite author is Jean Rhys, for the sheer beauty and clarity of her words; I like Orwell for his essays; Jim Crace is a good modern writer; Raymond Carver for short stories; Steinbeck is someone who does great writing and narrative... so many I could list. I'm interested in Welsh writers too: Bernice Rubens (I sent a letter to my Love) Raymond Williams (Border Country) - again, so many I could list. More recently I've been reading the US author Cormac McCarty who is brilliant if hard going - but so worth it.

Donna said...

That sounds like a lovely day apart from the tremor issues. I have Essential Tremor too as does my father and his mother did as well. I am 55 so it is not too bad yet except when I am nervous. But I can appreciate the frustration. Spending money on books instead of petrol sounds perfect to me!

Heather said...

You are not the only one who feels tired after a short walk. I have been known to fall asleep halfway through the crossword after my walk to the papershop! But at least we make the effort to have a walk. As the slogan goes: 'Every little helps'!
Your tremor must be infuriating but at least it is nothing serious.

CharlotteP said...

Your longest walk since the accident; definitely good news! Spring is almost here and you will be better able to enjoy it as you are that little bit fitter.

Susan said...

Computers? One day, just fine and the next...one never knows. Luckily your issue was easily fixed with some assistance from Rachel or your son. It must be lovely to walk through your village and say hello to friends and neighbors. The jag is a lovely car. A friend built a home and included a grease pit in the garage. Fine tuning the jag was his hobby/baby.

Minigranny said...

I must look for Anne Mustoe's book - it sounds interesting,!

wherethejourneytakesme2 said...

My husband's granny had a benign tremor for all the time he could remember - it didn't stop her doing anything and once in the residential home she would go shopping for all the old folk (who were actually much younger then her given that she was in her 90's).
My blog list has a mind of its own and I have to go through it often to keep updating and adding missing people. I think the problem is the blog list only allows 100 people and I have far more so if I add a new one on someone falls off the end!

Joanne Noragon said...

I love a Jaguar and can always recognize one on the road. They mostly are dark these days.

Cro Magnon said...

I always have a 10 minute 'power nap' after lunch. My oldest friend has a couple of E Types, one is perfect and the other is awaiting some restoration. I'm quite happy with my French runabout.

Librarian said...

I truly admire you for how you manage your life so well. Others with your condition would probably simply give up on blogging - not so you; you write almost every day, and not just a few words! Also, you comment on other people's blogs, you write emails and have zoom meetings and so on.
Your walk certainly did you good and it is perfectly alright to fall asleep after that, plus the delicious meal you had.

thelma said...

Also echo Librarian Pat, you are Wonder Woman. Keeping in touch with everyone and leading your life to the full in the restricted circumstances we find ourselves in. X

Frances said...

It is surprising to see how many people have the "tremor". My husband has it ( as does our nephew) and his writing ( when he does the crossword) is like a demented spider did it! It worries me when he leans across me to hand over a cup of tea, but so far no problems. Does it get worse with age?

Tom Stephenson said...

I am always amazed at how spindly E-Type's wheels are for such a glamorous body and huge engine. I suppose it was all down to production trends. These days everyone's wheels are colossal.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Lovely interesting comments from you all. On B E T - yes it does get worse with age and it is worse when one is upset about anything. By the time he died my father could not lift his cup and had to get his mouth down to it in order to drink. But there are plenty of things worse aren't there?

Too many comments to answer but I assure you I have read and enjoyed every one. You are such an interesting lot - you keep me going in these troubled times - so thank you all.

am said...

Thank you for reminding me how dear that books and walks and good food and blogging are to so many of us. It's good to be alive with you today (-:

Mary said...

I so wish we were neighbors. I would love to sit and chat with you in person Pat, sharing stories of our lives - growing up/school days in England - the latter so different from today, travels we've experienced when the world was a more welcoming place. You really are amazing managing all you do - and your words each day inspire me so much.
Regarding books - I usually know from the first couple of paragraphs whether I will find the story interesting, however as I move along through that prologue or first chapter, it's the cadence of the writer's words I'm most aware of. As Mark (Bike Shed) notices about Jean Rhys (The Wide Sargasso Sea etc.), it's "the sheer beauty and clarity of her words". For me that can even turn a lesser story into a wonderful book.
Often books are not Best Sellers but little gems I come across in strange places - such as the Dollar Store here in the US! New books, both hardcover and soft, usually in perfect condition, for just $1.00. Robert Seethaler's "A Whole Life" was definitely one of those gems.
Others - not at the Dollar Store but worth purchasing - have been Anthony Doerr's short stories and his amazing novel "All the Light We Cannot See". Tan Twan Eng's "The Gift of Rain" and "The Garden of Evening Mists", two beautiful stories.
Now I'm hooked on John Lewis-Stempel's British nature writings - blown away by "Meadowland", now reading "The Running Hare" and "Still Water".

Books are wonderful no matter what, don't you agree?
Hugs - Mary

Anonymous said...

New to you but you are not new to me; came to you from John Grey's blog. My love has bet and has had it since he was in his 40s. Runs in his family. He takes a pill for it; propranolol I think. Works well for him. I read with sympathy and fascination about your hip surgery recovery; had mine replaced after breaking it a few years ago. We are bionic now!
B.