Spring has sprung- let's hope.

The weather this week has been so warm - I think Spring is here. The bird song is louder in the morning. There is more activity in the garden. Plants are coming to life and wondering who the new boy in town scrambling all over them. The tete a tete narcissus that Neil planted over 2 months ago are still in full bloom.


Mornings have become very busy - luckily the sun makes you want to get on and do things. I have to watch that I am not wiped out by mid morning. I don't know if it the warmer weather but the tingling feeling is not as bad as it was last cycle. I am generally OK unless I touch something cold and then either my fingers or toes tingle. I can quickly get rid of the feeling by using the heat pads or putting my fingers under the warm tap.

Strangely this time I am hungry most of the time and need to snack regularly - little and often is the new approach. But at the same time there has been no weight gain or loss which is also good. The only side effect that is a bit annoying is that food sometimes tastes metallic. I am experimenting with foods to see if there are any which create a more metallic taste than others. I have been taking a good pro-biotic and must say that has really worked in settling down my stomach.


Having Colin means that I take him for a long walk every day so there is no excuse now for not taking some exercise every day. I read somewhere that walking is  as good for you as running - I don't think I ran this far every day! Yesterday I got a bit lost on Chobham Common and Colin and I ended up in a bog and got a bit wet! An hour and a half later we made it home. Both of us were exhausted and collapsed on the garden bench in the sunshine to recover.

Following the same pattern

Since the treatment last Wednesday the side effects and how I am feeling are following the same pattern as last time. Thursday and Friday just tiredness. Saturday and Sunday are the worst days for feeling out of sorts - no energy, tingly hands and now feet, strange sensitivity in my teeth and a feeling of irritability as I feel frustrated at not being able to do much. There was a glimmer of normality Sunday afternoon and this time I took Colin for a walk but think I got carried away as we were enjoying the sunshine, so there was a bit of a slump again later afternoon and early evening. But an early night and this morning I have woken up feeling much better and I just have to pace myself today.

Luke and Charlotte came to meet Colin on Saturday. Excitement all round - kids and dogs! Charlotte was a little nervous at first but then the three of them were running around the garden. I have a feeling that the lawn will take a bashing this summer and my flower borders will be more naturalised this year with Colin charging into the undergrowth.

Resting after play time.

Neil has been brilliant in the last few days. He has walked Colin and looked after me - he is looking a bit tired and I am happy that he is going on his well deserved break towards the end of the week.

In the words of the song "I feel it in my fingers I feel it my toes"

Since the third treatment on Wednesday the tingley feeling is back in my hands and now if my feet touch a cold floor then I get it in my toes. As I forget to put my slippers on when I go to the loo in the night I have resorted to wearing sports socks to bed - very flattering! So bye bye freezer and cold drinks again and hello gloves for the fridge and touching anything cold.

The treatment went much like the second treatment and I got to relax on the bed as my infusion takes more than 2 hours - this time I even fell asleep so there is no pain when the infusion goes in now that they use the heated pads on my hand and arm. I was home by 3.00pm to relieve Lynne who had very kindly agreed to doggie sit Colin as we did not like to leave him alone for too long. She really enjoyed the time with Colin and he must have as he was exhausted and spent most of the evening snuggled at my feet sleeping while I watched TV. He is settling in very well and generally behaving himself.

I have been extremely lucky that I have had no other side effects. However my white blood cell count was low after the last blood test taken last Monday so instead of going back in 3 weeks I will go back in 4 weeks - 13 April. This gives my body an extra week for the white blood cells to recover. The risk with a low white blood cell count is that this leaves me with a higher risk of catching infections. If my temperature goes above 38C then I have to go to hospital - something that I would rather avoid.

Thursday - Colin and I had a restful day. I am glad that he was happy to be quiet as well as I was tired today and we both needed to conserve our energy as we had our first dog obedience class at the RSPCA Centre from where we adopted Colin. I will keep the details of the experience to a minimum - it was a disaster!

6 dogs all very excitable including Colin who thought he was at dog social evening and was too busy trying to see what every one else was up to! He liked to roll on his back and show off his tummy and play.

Strange that today when it is quiet he is happy to sit when you ask him - so we have a plan for a command a day and see how he responds.

We had a lovely sleep this afternoon - me on the sofa and him on the rug. I don't think he is in to West Wing very much though!

Colin - the big distraction.

Well you would see from the earlier posting that I took a lovely dog for a walk at the RSPCA at Chobham. I fell in love with him and ended up putting a temporary reserve on him until Neil saw him the following day when we fully reserved him awaiting some home checks before we  adopted him.

He just makes me laugh

Look how little he is - the dog that is!

 He is a nine month old terrier cross - with what, we do not know as he was a stray  so no-one knew his back ground. He has been in kennels at the RSPCA for about 6 weeks  just in case his previous owners came to look for him and take him home. But no-one came  so he was sent from Hillingdon to Chobham for re-homing. We had been thinking of having a dog but I was keen on a border terrier puppy. I had mentioned to one of our  neighbours that we were looking and Sally said that she would ask her neighbour Ruth who works at the RSPCA to look out for one. Within a week we had been to see Colin - not quite a border terrier but prettier!



Ruth passed us on the home checks on Saturday and we arranged to collect him on Sunday. We have been so excited!

Colin - the new addition to the Greenley Foskett household.

Look at the tongue!

I have to say that while we were excited we were nervous as to how he would be in the car on the way home and how he would settle in. We needn't have worried he was so good in the car sat quietly next to me in the back looking out of the window. He went straight into the kitchen when we got home and looked out of the french doors into the garden as much as to say "looks ok". He then sniffed his way around the downstairs. Our worries about him going upstairs have yet to materialise  he makes no attempt to climb them - why is a mystery not that we are complaining but did he live in a flat or a bungalow before with no stairs or was he trained not to go up the stairs!?

I think we have been very lucky to have found him as he has settled in very well and is a great distraction as well as being a huge time waster..but not a waste of time :-). I now have company on my walks and someone to talk to during the day. He is already popular with the amount of people who have and are planning to drop in and see him.

Have a cuddle with his friend Lionel on his new blankey.

 He has been such a distraction that I almost forgot I am having my next treatment tomorrow! That has come around quickly. Watch out Colin we have DVDs to watch in the next few days - wonder if he will like the West Wing?

Still doing well........

Still feeling ok and the tingling feeling is subsiding and no longer need gloves to go in the fridge! The sunny weather has been such a boost - and when you are out  in the sun it is quite warm - is this what it feels like to be a a lizard basking in the warmth? I sat in the garden today for 20 minutes and it felt so good to be outside and not cold! Surely this is the end of winter now?  I managed a bit of light gardening - there has been some plant casualties this winter. I am wondering if the olive trees I have in pots will grow new leaves. I took precautions to protect them from frost with fleece covers but when I took them off autumn arrived as all the leaves fell off - guess I need to research what I can do if anything apart from hope for a recovery.


I went to see my great nephew Luke who is 5 play football. We kept it a surprise so when he showed up with his mum his face was a picture when he saw he had his own supporters club - me Neil and Lynne to cheer him on. It was only an hour and it was so funny to see the little ones tearing after the ball. At this young age you can see the ones who have the coordination skills that makes them a better footballer but they were all so enthusiastic. When they scored a goal they all had the celebrations that a premier league footballer would have been proud of - they must be watching Match of the Day before they leave home,  and Luke managed to score his first goal so we all had a good time.  I was glad for a warming cuppa and a slice of cake afterwards when we all descended on my sister.

Luke is the one in the orange tabbard

Tuesday bought a new experience - dog walking at the RSPCA in Chobham with Ruth one of my neighbours. We took a lovely dog for a walk - it was different walking a dog rather that being by yourself.

Dog Walking

Still going good!

Here I am at nearly 11.00 pm on Monday night ( sorry blog is late back from publishers) and having the energy to type. I guess that was down to the one hour sleep that I had the need for this afternoon. Well it was a dismal afternoon weather wise and it was cosy snuggled under the duvet and my book failed to keep me awake! This  matched the weekend energy levels - as long as I got a rest then I was good. The tingly feeling still comes if I forget to make sure that the water is hot before I put my hands under the tap - or I forget to take my gloves out with me. The sensation is more irritating than painful and now that I have the microwavable heat pad I can quickly normalise it.

It was another nice weekend to have friends drop in for a cup of tea and a chat. It is good to catch up with what people have been up to and that normality,  however you define that, carries on. The house is full of flowers that visitors have brought and they brighten up the place - especially the bright yellow tulips that Gillian brought on Sunday.

Sunny tulips

  It was  nice to get out in the garden on Sunday morning and potter about in the sunshine. My window boxes at the front of the house now look more spring like and alive and the tete a tete daffodils are looking pretty!

Window Box 1

Window Box 2

Pretty Tete a tetes

Our friend Dave called in on Monday evening - armed with antioxidants in the form of red wine and organic chocolate! I got the benefit of the chocolate but had to watch Neil and Dave get the benefit from the vino as I am still not feeling like I want a glass just yet.

Today Sarah called in for lunch. I don't think I have ever received so many visitors and it made me realise how very lucky I am to have such great friends who  take the trouble to drop in and see me,  and  how much I enjoy seeing them and catching up with their news. When this is all over and I am given the all clear I need to think of a way to say thank you to everyone for all their love and support.

I have noticed that the weather has turned cold this week as the tingly feeling now makes as appearance more frequently - back to the gloves!