Sensitive

Last walk with Portly Lucy - headache lying in wait so thought a gentle stroll might clear it and didn't intend going far - 2 hours later returned her to her owners! Discovered a mushroom hotel - difficult little buggers to photograph. Maybe it was the headache making me sensitive, but today it was the sounds that really struck me. Someones radio adding a bizarre sountrack at one point - even caught one of those comical "boing" sounds! Lots of bird noise and chickens, the piling machine emitting the odd low resonance, 2 army water boats speeding up the river, the tap of Lucy's feet on the tarmac, drops of water, a childs excited exclamations and his grandparents soft responses. The clamour of dogs barking as I met fellow dog walkers and stopped for a chat about dogs ( 5 in all with us!) and the state of our allotments and our good intentions!

As the day draws to a close the image of my friend sleeping last night keeps resurfacing. I felt a pang at the time and now its a sorrowful ache. She looked so defenceless, exhausted by the chemo and its effects. I did the practical things today - remaking the fire, tidying the kitchen, filling in her diary of mood, food, symptoms. A few nights off from cooking and friday an end of the tablets for a week till cycle 2 starts. We all need some respite - none more so than her.