Fighting Back

I managed to get myself to the allotment on Thursday and Friday morning and worked on filling the Daleks and tidying up the potting shed.

Saturday Emma came with me for a few hours in the afternoon and more progress was made in regaining control of the plots back from the weeds that have moved in as I have been unable to get down there for the last few months.

The two Daleks on Bed 5 were topped up again with various layers of grass, mulch and kitchen scraps. The worm farm was also topped up.

I had planned to go this morning on my own again, but way too knackered as over did it a little yesterday.

George The Tumour

Good News today, "George" the Tumour has not helped himself to any more roots of my teeth and I will not have to lose any more teeth before the Radiation Treatment starts at the Royal Marsden.

Now question for you. What Superhero will I turn into as a result of the exposure to Radiation? The Hulk, Spiderman, Mr Fantastic, The Thing? There are so many in both the Marvel & DC Comics universes .

Making Compost

It's so nice that I'm well enough to get myself down to the allotment for a very enjoyable morning of sorting out the potting shed, feeding my worm farm and processing vegetation and mulch into the two new Daleks installed on bed 5.

I Love making Compost!

The sacks on bed 4 are greens waiting to go into the Daleks on bed 5

Daleks on Bed 5

Another good morning on the allotment with daughter Emma, as I can't get down to pick thing on the ground up at the moment she has been a little god send.

I may have over done things a little and should have taken a few more rest breaks but I was having a great time and we got a lot done this morning.

Tomatoes in the potting shed harvested and the pots all emptied into a trug that then went into the two Daleks we set up.

I cut two Dalek shaped holes in the 2.4 x 1.2m Blank sheet of membrane, Emma weeded the bed I levelled it and then together we placed the Daleks on Bed 5 and fitted the weed membrane sheet over and it fixed down the the winter.

Emma filled the Quadgrows up with water in the plot 1 greenhouse.

She also cleared the last two onion beds and those have been weeded and put to sleep the the winter.

Another great harvest of tomatoes from outside on the plot and the greenhouse and potting shed experiment.

All set up for me to start filling the Daleks up with the vegetation as we start clearing beds.

Emma found some melons in amongst the foliage under the grape vines

Footnote Thanks to my sister Elaine for popping in to help me with creaming my legs and getting my socks on this morning

Harvest for Friends

Great day catching up with friends for life, and I was so happy that I managed to harvest the last of the green cucumbers to add to the Mushroom Tray Mini harvest from the allotment to take home with them to the Isle of Wright .

Next year the range of what I'm growing will be back at full capacity !

Relay Path To Make Step Shallow

Todays mission on the allotment was to lift the paving slabs from the corner of the potting shed to the entrance and bring the levels up such that the step up and down into the potting shed is easier at my current level of mobility.

So with this task in mind and found that the woodchip was everything but. Its an ideal mulch or brown additive for a composting Dalek but as It's all I can lay my hands on I went and filled the first wheelbarrow and then proceeded to lift the slabs.

View from the Plot 1 shed after lifting the slabs.

View from the mobility walker with seat that is the ideal height for me to get up from. I place the walker against the shed so that there is resistance when I stand. Originally this was picked up for my wife Jenny and has been in storage. It's ideal as it helps me get stuff to and from the car and helps keep me steady.

Leaf mould / woodchip laid ready for relaying the paving slabs

Slabs laid and the photograph taken during my next rest period. I'm having to learn to take breaks and a swig of drink and pace myself.

The square foot garden bed on the left is one that I'm going to extend higher to make it more manageable for me next year.

I ended up placing a slab across the joint of two others and made a 20mm step making the difference in level smaller still.

Again a view from the 4 wheel mobility frame with seat during another short break.

Empty Potato in Buckets stacked.

View of the mobility walker with seat that is the ideal height for me to get up from. I place the walker against the shed so that there is resistance when I stand. Originally this was picked up for Jenny and has been in storage. Its ideal as it helps me get stuff to and from the car and helps keep me steady.

Count Your Blessings

I took myself to the allotment this morning to harvest some more potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and onions as Emma is baking some sauce from the excess tomatoes tonight.

The walker helped me get all the stuff I brought with me from the car to the sheds. 

Until you loose your mobility, you just don't realised just how blessed you are when your body is working as it should do.

Frequent stops and sitting on the walker which is just the right height to allow me to stand from the seat to continue after a breather, and a drink. The photo of me above was sent to my daughters to show them I was taking rests and not over doing things.

Emma's warning rang in my ears from Sunday and the suntan lotion was applied. Its way too late to catch up with my usual tan now, and I have been warned to use something over factor 30 for the rest of my life.

The path to the potting shed that needs regrading and bring up to reduce the step height in and out

The path to the potting shed that needs regrading and bring up to reduce the step height in and out of the potting shed. 

First bucket of Charlotte Potatoes

The second bucket of Charlotte potatoes

The third Bucket of Charlotte Potatoes

Third Buckets worth of Charlottes

Harvest

Lots of Crystal Apple Cucumbers to be harvested

Lots of Crystal Apple Cucumbers to be harvested

Butternut squash invading the adjacent bed

Butternut squash cutting that need to find there way to a Dalek

Off to the car with the harvest and then home. 

Making My Mask or Shell

Today I went to the Royal Marsden in Sutton to have my shell made for my Radiotherapy Treatments these are also known as masks or moulds 

The process of making a mask can vary slightly between hospitals. Most often they use a special kind of plastic heated in warm water or an oven so that it becomes soft and pliable.

The technicians puts the plastic mesh on to your face so that it moulds to fit your face exactly. It feels a little like having a warm flannel put onto your face. You can still breathe easily, as the plastic has lots of holes in it and they form a hole for your mouth as well.

The technicians use their hands to stretch and form the plastic mesh, and they work it until they can snap it into the sockets formed in the table such that it will hold you in place each time you have a treatment. 

 

Once the mask is sufficiently hard they will remove it from your face.  

The technicians told me about the procedure of a mask being fitted and how it would be moulded to the shape of my face. These lovely ladies put my mind at ease and talked me through the whole process of heating the mask blank and then moulding it around my face, It's not an uncomfortable thing at all to go through.

These lovely ladies are very skilled at what they do and are very caring and talk you through the whole process to keep you informed and calm.  

In the photo above you can see the locating clips by my shoulder and neck and at the top of my head. The locating clips repeat at the neck and shoulders on the other side of my face. You do have to stay like that for a little while as the mask hardens enough so they can remove it and it retains your form 

They bring you back a day or two later do a CT scan and place marks on the mask to line up the machine each time you have treatment. 

The mask keeps you head still and makes sure that your treatment is directed at the cancer. They put your name on the mask and keep it in a sack in the radiotherapy department ready for your treatment.

At the end of my 5 weeks and 25 sessions of treatment, I was asked if I would like to have the shell / mask. I'm going to mount it on the wall at the allotment and hope that a bird takes up residence via the mouth and builds a nest in it. 

I tried the glasses on the mask to see if it really looked like me.   

Esmarald Cucumber Seed Saving

Take one very over ripe Esmarald Cucumber

Cut out the seeds from the middle.

Spread them and then decant into a take-a-way container

Leave them for days to dry before bagging and tagging.

I love this variety of cucumber but have not been able to find it again so each year I save seeds.