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Friday, 2 September 2016

DIARY OF START OF HOLIDAY BY FIONA CUMMINGS


Do you ever get the feeling that time is running away from you? I’m there right now. I’m writing to you for many reasons, one is because I’m addicted to you all. Smile. You are my healthy cigarettes. My alcohol free drink and my favourite hobbies.

 

So, not long before our holiday now. Counting the hours. It’s a short holiday very short and it has taken about five months to sort out. We know the owner and the area, not good enough to navigate ourselves around on our own, but enough to know what is there.

 

So, looking back. It took ages to book this and sort out flights and so on, insurance too. As I have written about before, not all internet websites are blind friendly and the amount that now you have to prove you are not a robot, is getting ridiculous. They  used to offer you audio options, where by you have to come out of the box where you should be writing the code, to listen to the code this means you can’t write in the number as it is being spoken to you, so you have to remember it as soon as you come away from the part of the page where you can listen to the number, it jumps and it is almost impossible to get into the correct place by this time because my software is reading to me what is on the screen, in writing not picture form, what the codes are always written in, you can’t hear the numbers that you are meant to put in the box that is being audio’s to you, as the audio provided clashes with your software and they don’t make the audio easy, it is someone saying numbers in the background with a load of voices talking rubbish over the code. Confused? Yep, me too Anyway insurances also ask for codes but don’t offer the audio, and though the audio is so very difficult because of the above reasons, we do manage to do it.

 

Long story short, well,  shortish. . . Did all that.

 

Have you ever booked a holiday where you don’t have a clue what the place looks like? Haha. It’s a little scary. But I do know it has a huge outdoor swimming pool in the garden. And it is right on the beach front. At the bottom of the garden is a gate that leads onto the beach. Now you all know how much I have craved beach/sea air of late? Any kind of fresh air. My breathing is really affected living here. The whole of the area is dirty air. Even living next to fields now, it’s still not clean air.

 

I hope we can just chill. But that will be a dream. Let’s see if this dream comes true? I know my Hub needs badly a holiday. He has had two areas to look after for the past year and for the past two weeks he has had a lot of work to do for his boss whilst a holiday was taken. He is looking exhausted. He is taking his kindle and I will look after him as well as I can. Teen needs a break too, though his life is full of WhateverWhenever, he has had some stress this past few months too. He will be sad though to leave Shamrock. Bless her, we said that next holiday she can come. Hub is so kind and has offered to take her.  I’m sure we don’t have long with Teen before he will just say no he isn’t coming, not many kids of such an age go with their parents, when they get their own money, they say stuff you parents, don’t need you now. Smile… When that happens, I doubt we will go on holiday abroad anymore. Even the UK will be a challenge, because as soon as you step out of your hotel, you are stuffed. You don’t know the routes. We have done London before and Edenborough, but that was for two nights and we just used taxi’s everywhere and those old Bloggets, will remember our trip to London? Heck… It was a huge challenge. Especially as the taxi drivers had their hearts removed and didn’t care where they dropped us off… Getting out of a taxi in the middle of London with so many sounds different nationalities and heavy traffic around you, buzzing sounds impounding against my head was simply too much. I hate London, for those who can see I’m sure it’s great and even those who live there will be fine as you can learn the routes with help from a mobility instructor

But you won’t get one of those to train you if you don’t live there. There just isn’t the resources.

 

So yesterday all of the packing got done as far as clothes for me and Hub. I have one more item I have in the drier. It’s essential so I pray I don’t forget it? It needs to dry then I must iron it before packing. Gosh you should see the difference between my packing and Hubs? Hahahaha. Heck, mine is, folded. . . Kind of.

 Put in the case. . . Kind of! Whereas Hubs clothes are pressed so tight it’s as if they have been in between a huge trouser press for a month. He puts them in so methodically. Its funny I was just saying to a lovely lady today, packing for my love and myself has huge bad memories for us both. That sinking feeling as we knew when the case came out at home, it meant dreaded boarding school. I can’t even imagine what went on in my Husbands mind as a three year old. I know how bad it was for me at six. Then when we got to school, and it was time to come home again, no one packed our cases for us, we had to do it ourselves. Just as we had to dress ourselves and so on. Gosh I hated those days and so many years later, we still dislike Sundays as that is when we went to school and packing cases still has memories that hurt our hearts. It really is true what happens to a child stays and, sticks. Hub and I have had lots of lovely holidays where packing should have good memories, but nothing changes the mind of a child’s memory.

 

I said to my bestie today that we seamed to pack too easily. What have we forgotten? Well, as I went for tea bags today, a brand new box I had in my cupboard I was saving for my holidays, I discovered to my horror that it was a box of filters for our machines… Oh no… no tea? Our local shop doesn’t sell nice tea. I guess we are stuffed for a full week. Teen was just home for lunch I asked if he would get us some as he works twenty seconds from the shop where you buy the tea we drink. Hmm. I think we will be without tea for a week. Just another reminder that blindness is a cruel condition.

 

I don’t have my lovely dog. She left this morning with Hub and LF. Hub packed their stuff last night and we pack the absolute basics but still he set out about eleven bags of dog food and a box of it. Leaders Lf different collar and I hope he remembered his plug in drugs to calm him at nights? Also LF’s favourite toy bless him. Oh gosh I am so worried about him. I was just saying to Hub last night, if only we could tell him he is coming back? He pines for his Daddy even if Hub goes to the garage which is attached to our house.  He is so insecure. Wagga has a busy week planned. She is doing some collections for Guide Dogs, she is also attending a couple of talks and I am sure she will be fine and not miss me at all smile, she is a typical Labrador. Belly on legs, so as long as she get’s fed she will be OK. But I will still miss her so much and worry. I already can’t wait to see them this house today is so very empty without her and there is so much more room without LF. He is just everywhere.

Teen got up early for work and shouted on Waggs he was really upset. I told him Wagga had gone on her holiday, he was really thinking she got out and was lost. Bless. Teen has to pack, last minute Charlie. He didn’t get new sun glasses that he needed.  I am annoyed about that. He also hasn’t told his phone provider that he is going abroad. So, will he be able to talk to his gf? Well, again, I have been telling him for at least a week to call them. He has only just started to pay for his own phone, so it’s now out of our control. Poor little Shamrock will miss him this week. They are really close.

   

So much paperwork was done by Hub and myself last night.  For weeks I have been keeping files on my computer, so last night I sorted them out and printed what we needed and Hub took notes and wrote them in Braille. I put phone numbers in my new phone. I still have so many contacts to add. So many of my friends are not on my new phone, as it’s so blooming hard to add. I have to go into my old phone, slow the speech down listen carefully and add numbers to my new phone. Listen again to make sure it is written down properly, realise that one number is wrong, then try to delete it and add correct one. By the time I get around to writing my friends numbers in there, it will be time for a new phone. Haha.

 

I got some new sun glasses yesterday. Teen kindly took me to get some Euro’s. Whilst I was there, we went to buy sun glasses. I asked him to get some for himself. He said no, he will get them later… Later? How much later? Well, I tried them on the young girl was watching as teen put them in my hand to see what they looked like. It was funny I read her mind.

“Why does she need sun glasses?” Answer, I don’t want my cataract back and of late my eyes have been stinging in the sun. I also was aware that I looked like a typical blind person, how people perceive us. With the dark glasses on. Haha. I didn’t like that. But vanity has to come after health. I think I’m getting old.

 

OK for dinner tonight everything that is perishable from our fridge… It’s like one of those reality TV programs, where the chef gives a bunch of food and tells the TV celebrity to cook something out of it all. I somehow don’t think that I will have the same result as they do on the telly, but we shall see.

 

Just spoke to my bestie on the phone. Love her to bits. We first met at boarding school when I was six, she seven, must remind her that she is older than me. haha.

 

I keep looking for Wagga, gosh I don’t like the house without a dog. I am so going to miss them. Dogs are my world. I adore them. Teen came home before for lunch and even he said Mum I don’t like the house without our dogs. There have always been dogs since teen was five when I first got my Hannah AKA Black Beauty. I am sad in my heart as tomorrow, Long Chops Hubs Last Guide Dog, would have been ten. No age. No age at all. Gosh she was the best guide dog in the world. Hub will never get better. In twelve days’ time, it will be one year since we lost our Long Chops. AKA Suki. She is a huge miss in our life. There was nothing much we could not do; she went beyond guiding like a normal guide dog. Again thanks to a load of Bloggets, we raised enough money for Guide Dogs to name another new born puppy after Suki, so her name lives on.

 

For me it’s a tough time of year. Tomorrow the 3rd of September is two years since I lost my beautiful girl, my first guide dog. She gave her life for me and I wasn’t able to help her when she was ill.

 

So, LC’s birthday, Anniversary of BB’s death and in thirteen days’ time, LC’s Anniversary of a year since we had to put her to sleep. So a holiday is needed. Not wanting to sit in my house behind these prison like walls. I want to walk along the sands, feel the sea breeze against my face enjoy the sun play in the pool, go to the French market and buy delicious cheese and huge olives. Go to the bakers and buy breakfasts and sit in the beautiful garden sipping on coffee eating pastries. That will do me thank you. I need this holiday so much, may try to write one more blog before I go, for sure I will have loads to write on my return. There are a few blogs on my blog page

Fiona-cummings.blogspot.co.uk

That you may not have read, so why not check it out? Laters with love. Xxxxxx

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