Monday and it was a poor nights sleep, so I wake up groggy and mechanically go through my morning phone ritual of checking messages, mail and money. I get up, pack away my weekend clothes and then make toast and squash for breakfast to go with my morning meds. I search for some sort of solution to the numerous earrings and studs I have inherited, so I order some storage trays. One more step to being organised. I get my washing going and then I start to work on the sewing/jewellery work box that needs sprucing up and mending. The plan is to get it ship shape and to pass it on to a friend who runs a crafting circle in her village. Some of the beads will go with it so that if any of the circle want to start making jewellery they can. After hoovering it, filling the old screw holes with superglue and polishing it I can do no more until my new set of piano hinge screws arrive.

Having reached a natural pause its time to refill the squirrel feeder. The new young squirrels, two this year, are eating me out of house and home the rate they are going through the peanuts. I am impressed that they have both learnt very quickly to lift the lid to access the peanuts. I refill the feeder and then put in another load of washing. I’m feeling tired by now, not really tired but decidedly off it. I retreat to the sofa and start to draft the blog until my partner brings me a lunch time snack. A friend messages me and shares some information, it would seem that at last someone is being clear with her employer that long COVID is not a quick fix condition and that patience and rational thinking is required.

I feel decidedly not well and decide to make full use of the reclining sofa and have a nap. This I successfully do until the Tesco order arrives adn then its all hands to the pumps as my partner and I unload and squirrel away the goodies. I’m still feeling crap but I am irritated with myself at being like this and decide that I will train. Kill or cure really. So I get kitted up and go to the garage and strap myself into the rower. I can’t face an hour so I set it up for 45 minutes on my cruise level. So with Radio two in my ears I begin to row. It does not go well and my body is definitely not impressed but I row on, slowly. At one stage I thought I would fall short of my usual standard of 9 kilometres for this time. In the end I did not and I pulled over 1500 strokes, but I fell short of my 600 calorie target. Still my SATs was 98% at the end. At least I have taken my medicine for the day.

I return to the sofa and record my session in the journal. I want to get out of my training gear but I know if I do I will not get the washing in, so I head for the garden and round up the washing off the line. I take the fresh laundry upstairs and change just as the Amazon man delivers my piano hinge screws. I draft some of the blog before tea after which my intention is to finish the repairs on the sewing/ jewellery workbox.

Tea is eaten and then I get to work on restoring the sewing/jewellery work box, The long lid hinge needs to be reattached as does the lid restraint. I get the major things fixed and then I set about polishing and bees waxing it. By the time I have finished the box is looking quite good, I am pleased that the work has gone as well as it has.

I give the box a final polish and put it to one side and settle down for the evening. I return to the blog but also I start to make up a blood pressure monitor booklet that I can refer to when the oncology team start to monitor my blood pressure. I am hoping that our sphygmomanometer is still in good working order and will be giving it a test run soon. My aim tonight is to get to bed good and tired and hope for a consistent nights sleep. It is clear to me that my body is having trouble coming off both caffeine and the Bicalutamide at the same time but it seems to me the best thing to be doing. Those that know me know I like all my chaos in one go, I always thought that this maximises the potential for creativity and adaptation and so far it seems to have worked.