Health updates first and they are a bit varied. I done a dump / tip run on Tuesday, which required lifting some heavier items, which did not do my back pain levels any good. I managed one long walk this week (Wednesday), with a result of 12:48, which was a great time. In the later afternoon, I done a bike ride, but it turned out to be a bit uncomfortable afterwards and into the following day. That day, I felt like doing some outside activities and decided to attempt to install the engine into Karl’s vintage Vespa. It is usually a 2-person job, as elements of it are awkward, but I thought I would give it a try and see how far I would get. It was a warm morning and that, combined with being in the middle of a difficult stage of the fitting task, put me over my limit of energy. I was forced to stop, due to a rain shower and by the time I had walked the 10 feet up the garden, into the bathroom and washed my hands, I felt wiped out. That resulted in me phoning my daughter to come over and sort me some lunch, as I had to rest on one of the chairs and let my heart rate settle down, but also needed food - I did not want to risk worsening the temporary situation. I had an almost identical incident a number of year back, when doing part of the garden (again in hot weather). It had a similar impact and I am therefore content that what transpired, is not directly linked to the AD world (but my lower fitness levels may be a small factor?).

I felt annoyed with myself, for being caught out like this and placing myself in the situation where I had to impose upon Alanna, then Dan, who had to come and help me partially finish off the task to a point where we could put it away and return to the task at a later date. Alongside that was Sandra’s reaction when she got home. I made the decision not to phone her and worry her, which was the wrong decision to make. Overall, a lesson for me this past week and one I will not be repeating.

Overall, the discomfort around the prostate area continues and when combined with all of the aspects that unfolded, the mental challenges this week have been frequent and difficult to work through. Staying motivated and focused on anything, has been hard, but I did continue to forge ahead with some of the book aspects.

Activity-wise, there was an increase on the consultancy side of things, with a total of 3 extra activities, on top of the usual 1-day, so various activities over 4-days of last week. That, combined with the aspects mentioned above, reduced the remaining time for further walks.

Some of you may recall the vintage Ford that we have? Since Karl’s move, the question has been, ‘what to do with it?’. I had a sideline thought to utilise the experience and knowledge of a long-term friend, Andy. His skills include welding, hot rod building and engine rebuilds. I asked him if he could help me assess the state of the engine and whether the car itself could be done as a ‘rusto-ration’, rather than a full restoration. He arranged to some down on Saturday and he brought a close friend of his, who also builds his own hot rods and is very knowledgeable on older engines. Sandra and I went to where we store the car and met them there. They quickly determine a seized engine (as we expected), then the proceeded to quickly remove the complete engine and gearbox. Whatever we decide to do next, the engine would have to come out, so great to get that key task done - after many of years of inactivity on that project. We had a long and detailed conversation about the routes that could be taken next, which has given me lots of food for thought.

Sunday was Father’s Day in the UK, so we ‘swopped out’ our day with Alanna, Dan and the grandkids to then. We joined them for the usual lunch, but then followed that by a trip to one of the nearby seaside towns and a session of crazy golf. A nice couple of hours was had by all of us. I also had a catch up call with Karl, which made it a complete day all round.

In summary, not the best of weeks and one that seen a lot of variety and unplanned situations, some good, some more challenging; part of this life thing and no doubt matches what some of you experienced.

Thanks for your time in reading and supporting these updates.
Regards
Peter