The Beeches

I was waiting for my lift to Hexham and I photographed frozen leaves in the lawn and one of the signs for my house.

One sign, this one, is gradually being covered with a crustose lichen, the other is clear. Interesting.

I combined these in Snapseed later in the day.

Liz dropped me at the hospital and I spent this morning with Margret. She knocked her right leg 3 nights ago and the large, raised bruise had suddenly increased in size. She was in terrible pain, relieved much later in the day by morphine.

It was a tricky morning. Amongst other things, her Wi-Fi was off because the new smart phone was not charging.

I had to leave shortly after 12 because I had an appointment to have a spinal injection. Waiting on a trolley in a cold ward was the worst.

The man before me, cheerily greeted me as our trollies passed, to warn me that the needles were all blunt! I think the surgeon was a bit nonplussed, but I reassured him that I was born in the north east, so the humour is quite acceptable to me!

The surgeon is such a lovely man, even when pushing a needle into my back. He kept reassuring me that I was doing really well! I hoped that he was too.

My left leg was wobbly afterwards and kept giving way, but I was passed as fit and Joan came to collect me. (I had to tell a lie at the hospital and say she was staying with me for 24 hours, otherwise they might not have done the injection. In truth, she is a stone’s throw away, across the road. It did make me realise how tricky it is to be a patient and live alone.)

Margret’s condition worsened and there was talk of transferring her to Cramlington Hospital tonight. It is 40 miles away and I feel that the journey would be exhausting. I await news.