do it yourself Donkey

Every wall in Connemara should have a donkey looking out over it and a lot do. Unfortunately due to vets bills, feeding and shortage of a stable I'm not allowed one, however I have a chainsaw so I made one anyway
"to practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut-
The cattle grid at the gate got reflective parrot and seahorse as well, so those of us (Angie) who have to get out of bed before dawn will have reflective pillars to avoid.

 Had a wee bonfire yesterday and it is still smoldering away today even after the rain we had last night. I also had a burst water main outside so that was my first job this morning repairing that, I shall have my plumber friend have a look on Saturday to advise me on the best way to lag the metal joiners as they freeze quickly in the winter.

Ron is driving through tomorrow so fishing is on the cards and the weather is bonny again so it could be a good couple of hours out on the water if its not too windy.

Doing a fish pie recipe I saw on Jamie Olivers cheap meals show the other night for the first time so that should be interesting, the mashed potato topping has mashed peas, butter and lemon zest through it and is peaked so it browns better. Frozen salmon and cod cooked in milk with some wee prawns , spinach, onions and carrots and the milk the fish was cooked in to make a sauce. Easy peasy.

Who would be a nurse?

I spent yesterday 0900 - 1600 sitting in a blue backless gown with the needle in a vein waiting to get into surgery in the Cardiac day ward of the University Hospital Galway. All I can say is the nurses do some job they are under constant pressure to free up beds by admin staff while they are monitoring folks just out of surgery and prepping others to go in to surgery. They are pushing around beds and trying to explain rudimentary stuff to junior doctors, well I presume they are junior anyway as they seem pretty clueless, the one I had was the reason I was there all day.

Almost finished the novel I started at 0900, its one of those that would normally have me snoring after two pages but as is the way if you keep reading a book sometimes they are better than if you just read a couple of pages before falling asleep, what I should do next time is actually take a pen and paper and write my own novel in the waiting section.

The reason they did not do surgery yesterday is that I still have a chest full of flem from the cold I got weeks ago now when my parents where over, Dad is blaming the cold on me and I am blaming it on him. Replacing the ICD has more risk of infection than doing the initial whole operation but it took the surgeon explaining this to me and my comment about my cold for the thing to be picked up, now I know I should have said something early in the piece but surely a Dr in an operating day care prep room should have known, especially as I was having the occasional coughing fit and a bit of a temperature.

So big praises for the nurses who never stopped and are probably on half the wages of the Dr bloke who just seemed to swan around and write up a few forms. My nurse Denise said that I was one of the most patient patients she had had ( liked that repeating words there) so I bettered my chances of getting a cup of tea next time by telling her I thought "nurses are brilliant, under payed and over worked Angels and the last thing they need is whinging patients." She looked extremely pleased.   

The next attempt is on the 27th of this month and I am on a course of penicillin for the next 5 days, have you ever read the side effects of some of these drugs? my face and mouth may swell up, fever, joint pain, indigestion, dizziness, headache, diarrhea, convulsions, hyperactivity, inflammation of the liver, jaundice, and my favorite "Black hairy tongue".  Cant wait.

Decorating and the like

Spent the last couple of days decorating the bedroom at the front of the house and moving furniture around, the second bedroom with the en suite, that was usually for visitors is now my office. I will decorate the old office when I get out of hospital if the weather is wet.

Go into hospital on Monday to get my battery replaced, I wish they could do the whole service with new tires and a respray too but thats not an option with this service. Still have a wee bit of a cold it has lasted weeks now and is a drag.

Someone asked how big the croc head is so I took a photo with Ben in it and one of a Ganet I have just finished doing.