Not a speed limit sign but something much more irritating

An annoying week - for example - when you are 70 you have to renew your driving licence. I find this unnecessary and disrupting. And the process is irritating because on-line application is filled with gotchas of various kinds and I finished up using a paper form. At least there is no charge - - .
And where has all the time gone since I passed my test aged 18?

Iris May - August 2006 in Alnmouth. Bring back yesterday - -

Iris May -my old (and favourite boat) is advertised on Apollo Duck.
 http://www.apolloduck.com/display.phtml?aid=225342

If I had the energy and the money - it would speak to me again - - - - .

Swallows are back -

There is an established nest in the sheltered part of the balcony at the sailing club. They do not yet seem to be improving and occupying it.

Watched racing there today - one squall came through with a hail storm - so those of us ashore congratulated ourselves at being under cover.

Turnstones - next to the shelter along the river at high tide

Nothing much has happened this week - except that the fatigue has lifted. I still get tired and my muscles are out of condition, so I am walking short distances along the river and take every opportunity to stop to admire birds and boats. It has been too cold - but a small amount of sun entices me out anyway. I am also doing resistance training for a short time every day in the gym - to improve the muscles.

Visualisation of the ups and downs

Blue line - a calculation of how I am each day. Black line - 8 day moving average. Shown here to illustrate the ups and downs - and that they follow the chemo regime - with downs after each chemo session. I am hoping for a step up over the next couple of weeks.

I have felt pretty zonked-out all week - fatigue and general feebleness. I even stayed in all day for a couple of days. Today - the 11th after the chemo - the optimistic view is that it gets better hereafter.
A pity not to be able to illustrate this with a picture - but cannot think of a suitable one.

Laser 166650 for sale (1999) - XD controls,  new spars and radial sail.

This is not really an advert as such - unless you want to buy it of course. It is on Appollo Duck  at http://www.apolloduck.co.uk/display.phtml?aid=243885
This sounds energetic but actually I have been hit again by fatigue. The pattern seems to be a few days clear of it after the chemo then the killer chemicals then do their thing and fatigue sets in for a week or so. The good news here is that it is not as bad as it was and I am able to go out for lunch - and to put the advert for the boat on the sailing club notice board. I am also doing some epic sleeping. However - I feel shakey and a little sorry for myself.

Not helped by horrible weather - no sun and a biting northerly wind - and heavy rain forecast. I felt for all the boats coming up the river yesterday for a few days of holiday over Easter. They all retreated on the high tide today.

Lookfar - the mast and slot for the sail. And the edge of the marina across to yet another boatyard.

Wednesday: I had enough energy, after sausage and chips at lunchtime, to put in hand another change to the boat. This should make sail handling a lot easier. The idea is to install modern sliders to replace the bolt of rope that holds the sail in the track. The rope makes it hard to get up and harder to drop in a hurry. So I got some tracks from the sailmaker and figured out which to use. I then folded the sail and carried it to the sail loft (just down the road) - so the work is now in hand. The main snag appears to be that there is not (yet) a suitable fitting in the small  section of the mast where the sliders are fed in. Another task is to find one - hopefully without going to the chandler's (where I always spend more money than intended, even if I have a list!). So today I walked to the boat again in order to take a measurement and some pictures.

And from this you can see that I continue to get more active - and the change to sail handling is a statement about being up for it in the summer.

I have had some pleasant days - mostly in sunshine - since my last post. I did the usual things - ate out and walked along the river bank and watched the tide come in. I have also been to the shops (a big luxury if you have not been able to get to them much for a long time) and visited the marina and the boat. I have even sorted out getting the hull polished and the anti-fouling done by the boat yard, before launch in early May. This a statement of intent to potter around in the boat - in the sunshine - in the summer.

Black headed gull sitting on a life bouy. Most of the gulls around just now seem to be juvaniles - maybe the grown ups have gone off to lay eggs etc. 

Today - third lot of chemotherapy. This time it was in the Day Unit - which was much nicer as I was not in overnight - although it was a long process from about 8-45 to 17-30. I went with a lot of survival gear - magazines, newspapers, iced water and some food. I got a comfy chair next to the tea machine. I am not surprised that one gets side effects- for the chemicals themselves are fierce - and one also takes supportive medication for a few days.  I expect to feel OK tomorrow and then get fatigue for a week or so. Intend to sit it out - and avoid the rain. So I may even write emails but try to keep off the subject of symptoms and medical stuff.