This and that

Saturday was my Mum's 60th birthday. When John and I arrived around her house, it looked more like a florist! And there I stood with three more bunches in my arms and John with a pot of sunflowers. We also gave her £30 and a ticket for Dirty Dancing in London, and she will join John and I at the evening performance on 29 October. She was well chuffed. I've seen plenty of 60 year olds who look like old age pensioners but my parents look and act young for their age. Anyway, Mum ended up with £250 in cash and vouchers which was amazing, and I may go into town at the end of this week to help her spend some of it.

As Dad couldn't get a reservation at our favourite restaurant for the Saturday, we went on Sunday instead. Alvaros in St Helens Road (off Hamlet Court Road) is Portuguese although their menu is extensive, and the staff there are so welcoming and funny. It's a fairly small restaurant but they don't squash you in, and the ambiance is just right. Mind you, it is pretty expensive, but you do get gorgeous food - you can't fault them. Dad has actually known the owner since the 60s; they've been there since 1966. So there was my parents, John and I, and Tina. Unfortunately my brother Dave couldn't make it as he was working. When it came to dessert, the waiters brought out a creme caramel with five candles in it and sang happy birthday to my Mum (Dad had a word earlier). We all had a lovely time, although I was feeling a bit crappy with a headache and sore eyes. John was a naughty boy as when it came to paying the bill which we were all going to split, he whipped out his credit card and went to the counter to pay it before anyone had a chance to argue with him. A good bad habit of his, you could say!

On Monday morning I took my cat Poppy to the vets. Eight months ago she had one of her thyroid glands removed (with some complications) but just lately she's lost weight, eating like a horse, and drinking quite a bit. I suspected almost straight away that the other thyroid was overactive. The vet agreed with me and took samples of blood to assess the thyroid and also to check her kidneys. Together with the consultation, I had to pay £109! I couldn't help gasping when the receptionist told me the amount. As they won't remove the second thyroid, Poppy will have to be on tablets for the rest of her life. However, when she was on those tablets before, they caused her kidneys to start failing, so it's catch 22. I will also have to buy special renal food to combat that problem. I am now awaiting the results from the vet.

This morning, my good friend Alison from work came round for a couple of hours. She has been signed off work with stress - one of three in our team at the moment. Me being off as well makes four! Bless her, she bought me some flowers, and we chatted about all sorts. It was so nice to catch up and see a familiar face.

This afternoon, I had my long-awaited physio appointment at the hospital. I haven't actually experienced any pain for about 10 days now so physio wasn't going to do any good but I still decided to go. I saw Stephanie who was very thorough with her examination, bending me this way and that and asking whether it caused me any pain. Unsurprisingly, she found no problems and could do no more for me. However, she did recommend that I do pilates for exercise. My Mum has a dvd (which she has never used) so I will borrow it off her to give it a try. I was actually going to take up yoga which my Mum has just started going to, but Stephanie said she wasn't a fan of it.

At 4pm I had an opticians appointment. I only rang this morning and managed to get in straight away which is good because I have been feeling really tired, suffering from a continuous headache and my eyes ache as well. One of my oldest friends (Ellie) who I've known since I was eleven, is the receptionist there. As it happens, my eyesight has actually improved slightly, so my eyes may be aching because my current lenses are too strong. How bizarre! Anyway, I chose some new frames which are much more funky than I have now and hopefully I'll be able to collect them next Monday. Of course, my eyes may not be the reason for the way I've been feeling lately, but I hope it is simply that.