Nothing in my diary on Thursday? Don't be silly!

It goes this way sometimes. On Monday, after my morning routine, I decide to return to bed. Tricia's phone rings. I make the necessary arrangements for meeting Rhonda and Maisie at Short and Strong at Charlestown. We go. The weather is warm and sunny,

I have a delicious americano and a bite of Rhonda's tea cake. While we're there we discuss Maisie's possible need for an inexpensive car. We make an arrangement to look at a car on Tuesday morning at Trewoon.

Because our diaries are becoming overwhelmed (see previous blog) we had made some space on Tuesday to breathe, that was changing fast. Monday continues as planned. Rhonda arrives 09:40 Tuesday and 10 minutes later we're on our way.

At 10:00, we hadn't gone far, my mobile rings, "Hello" says the voice, "you should be at Wadebridge Show Ground for a Covid test". I quickly explain that this test was all a part of the port fitting debacle. Unconvinced the voice replied "You still may need to come. I'll check it out and call back in 10 minutes". Rhonda and I abandon our car seeking trip and return to base.

I'm now more than a little concerned. What if I do need the Covid ram rod? Maybe that means I'll need to undergo this particular discomfort before each chemo session. My heart sinks. While waiting for the call back in 10 minutes I contact the Headland Unit (Chemo department at RCH). They allay my fears. No covid test required. The trip to Trewoon is back on. We look at and photograph the car. All is well. We arrive home. The car investigation is done.

Just as Tricia and I sit down for a much needed cup of tea our next excitement begins.. We're going out to lunch with our good friends. In case I haven't mentioned it before these particular friends were due to get married a couple of weeks ago but, alas, it wasn't to be. But they didn't only want lunch. They had another agenda. They actually wanted to meet with us to ask if, next year, we would honour them with our agreement to be their witnesses. Needless to say we were delighted to be asked and a nano second later we agreed.

Our celebratory lunch was partaken at Pinetum Garden Tea Rooms. A nice place but a completely underwhelming shadow of the rather delicious menu we saw on their website, but it wasn't all about food. When we got home we popped the cork of the obligatory bottle of champagne (Tricia insists we keep one in the fridge for this very reason) and drank a toast to the moment.

By now it's 15:00. The phone rings. It's OK. I'm not required to rush to Wadebridge for a Covid test. Strewth, what a relief. That was a long 10 minutes!

Fast forward to Wednesday. Much to do, people to see, kitchen renovations to continue.

I take Abbi to her Dr's appointment while Tricia looks after the kids. We deposit stuff at the charity shop, check the chemist queue (too long), drop some tools back to brother Richard and collect the much anticipated laminate samples (we have decided to have our kitchen worktops made to our specifications). We're home in good time for lunch. I have a pre-assessment phone call booked for 13:30.

The phone rings, it's early, it's the Headland Unit, there's a problem. Bleddy hell, what now? Apparently, my chemo, on Friday cannot be administered via a cannula. I need that port fitted! But that needs 7 days to heal before use. Can I get to RCH to have a PICC line inserted TOMORROW. I need to crack on with the kitchen. I need to remove all the tiles. Tomorrow my arm (not sure which one) will be out of action. We have lunch. The pre-assessment phone call happened for 1 hour 4 minutes. Tricia pops off to visit her mum. I tidy up the loose ends in the new utility room and remove the tiles and adhesive in the kitchen.

Tricia comes back we rest. finalise our kitchen appliance choices. In case you are in the slightest bit interested we have decided on

1. A built In Electric Black Single Oven which can be split into two individual sections with an oven separator plate. This allows you to cook different meals at two different temperatures.

2. A built In Black Combination Microwave.

3. A Black Electric Induction Hob

4. A T-Box Cooker Hood

Sorry, but I thought you may want to know.

More friends pop in to show us their new "Cazoo" car which is very nice. Accidentally we drink a few beers/wines and substitute dinner with cheese and crackers..

We finally have a bit of time to think, and we think "If we don't use the hot tub tonight it might be ages before we get to use it again. Quick.... grab the towels.

It's now Thursday morning. I've been writing this now (not continuously, I'm not that slow) since 04:00. I've been wide awake since then. Today my treatment starts with the insertion of the PICC line.

A quick public information moment.... A PICC line is a long, thin, hollow, flexible tube called a catheter. It is put into one of the large veins of the arm, above the bend of the elbow. Then it is threaded into the vein until the tip is in a large vein just above the heart.

My PICC line is scheduled to be removed next Wednesday when my Port is finally installed. Yea right!

On top of all this I've been advised to practice fairly strict social distancing. So Abbi, Cal, Louie and Mila are coming around this evening to join me and Tricia for a huge family hug. The last one for a while.

Is it any wonder I've been awake for 3 hours and it's still only 07:00. It's going to be a long day. At least we've got that bottle of Veuve Clicquot and a big hug to look forward to later.