June 17th Shopping day today
and, as we had previously had an altercation with those pesky dragonflies, a
car wash. Here you can see the before and after pics. Otherwise, NTR!
June 18th Yesterday we received a phone call from the Post Office, there’s a
letter for me. I must say it does make life a little easier when they phone,
all we have to do is collect the mail. Because of that I kept the distance of
our walk reasonably short today and made sure that said Post Office was on our
homebound leg. We did get some photos today, even though I still haven’t sorted
out the Fuji
Having wasted a lot of the last couple of days ‘surfing the web’ I
decided to get another Chinese lesson in this afternoon. I have been using the
flashcards and repeating some quizzes but I hadn’t been as conscientious as I
should have been. Bad boy!
Of course having done my Chinese in the afternoon I was free for a
short walk in the evening. Not a fast walk, 4.7 kilometres in an hour but I did
stop a few times to chat to various four legged friends! Huan did her usual
dancing and then brought her friend home along with her laptop for me to sort
something out. Unfortunately, as said friend didn’t know the password to get
the thing started I could be of no help whatsoever. We’ll try again some other
time!
June 19th Wednesday again so my big plan was to walk fifteen kilometres or more,
maybe even another twenty. However, hypochondriac Bob took over this morning and
I spent a good hour on the internet trying to find out what causes your head to
spin. I had woken up in the night and the
whole bedroom was spinning, it was very unnerving. I came up with this – “Benign
paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). This condition causes an intense and
brief but false sense that you're spinning or moving. These episodes are
triggered by a rapid change in head movement, such as when you turn over in
bed, sit up or experience a blow to the head. BPPV is the most common cause of
vertigo.” There were of course many other results but this one seemed to fit my
symptoms.
So a very long walk was out
of the question. Instead I went on a river, countryside and town walk. This is
how I got down to the river, via the storm run off.
I didn’t take any photos but I
did take a video, you can see it if you follow this link: -
I managed to get more than ten kilometres in, good enough for today.
Huan was out in the evening, dancing, but I stayed in, preparing and
uploading the video and of course learning some more Chinese
June 20th No
‘spinning’ while sleeping last night but I did have a little trouble focusing
this morning. This is a minor problem that many people have so I didn’t mention
it to Huan. The weather didn’t look so good so on the pretext of possible rain
I kept our walk around various streets in the town. Huan was happy that we were
home after just seven kilometres. Having tried not to worry her I almost put
her into panic mode in the lift. I bent down to start undoing my bootlaces, as
I usually do, and everything went haywire. If Huan hadn’t been there I’m fairly
sure I would have ended up on the floor. Talk about an intense feeling of
spinning, even I was a little worried. I did try not to worry Huan even more
though.
Huan
went off singing in the afternoon, once I had convinced her I was fine, and I
stayed home and cooked today’s dinner. It was chicken curry, made with boneless
chicken leg meat, potato, sweet potato, onion, mushroom and a little carrot. I
had to have the obligatory side dishes of desiccated coconut and raisins,
brings back army memories you know. Huan was well pleased, walking in to dinner
on the table!
While Huan was out I
was still getting bouts of light headedness which once again I kept quiet
about. When she went dancing in the evening I went for a slow walk to make up
today’s distance. The first thing I saw was Huan sweeping up the dance area
they use.
Someone
was being a little nosey and trying to peer through the trees.
And
what was he trying to look at? Why, the ladies of course!
I was actually
back before Huan, still a little worried that my head is not quite right. No
need to panic Huan yet though, I’ll see what it’s like tomorrow. If it’s not
improving then maybe I’ll pay a visit to the hospital.
June 21st My head is still not right, some dizzy spells when I turned over in the
night. They are even worse if I open my eyes. Decided to give Huan a treat
today and we walked around the scenic mountain route. On the way I thought I
would take a photo of the signpost, mostly because of an article I read about
how companies will not be allowed to use foreign terms in their names. I wonder
how tourist spots will fare?
Once we were back into
town, we parted ways, I couldn’t convince Huan to continue along with me. I
carried on along the riverside, this time walking on the lower path and took a
lot of photos. I’ll just share a couple with you. The first was something stuck
on the riverside wall. Could it be some kind of insect pod? I did touch it, only
with my fingernail though, and it was hard, almost like stone itself. If you
know what it is let me know in the comments.
Then, how about some
reflections? This one took my fancy.
Lazy rest of the day for me apart
from surfing the interwebs looking for piano lessons for Huan and sneakily looking
at guitars for me. No decisions yet, only wondering and thinking.
June 22nd Huan needed to go to the phone
shop to top up her account and the bank to get some money so we merely
meandered through the town this morning. That was probably better for me today,
I didn’t sleep so well again last night, had some more dizzy spells too. We
decided to check on the possible side effects of my monthly dose of female
hormones. Here are some of them: - hot flashes, sweating,
headache, dizziness, mood changes, increased or decreased interest in sex, impotence,
bone pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation, loss of appetite, sleep
problems (insomnia), acne, or mild skin rash or itching. Of course it’s also
followed by the usual disclaimer – “This is not a complete list of side effects
and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects.”
Today’s verdict? Only the emergency section of the hospital is open today so
we’ll wait and see what I feel like by Monday morning.
In the afternoon, I should have been doing some Chinese but instead
I was lost down the Youtube plughole, spiralling ever deeper. I don’t how it
started but I ended up listening to a huge amount of late sixties music, good
memories though.
Not having got my 10k in the morning I was
‘forced’ to go out again this evening to make sure I got them. Boss’s orders,
although she’s not worried about the 10k, just about whether my feet swell or
not. Once again, I found someone who goes very slow, down in our entrance hall.
I took some photos of it the other day but they were rubbish. In the meantime
it has moved another two feet up the wall, I hope this photo is good enough. I
was using my phone again, I still haven’t sorted my Fuji
June 23rd Huan fancied what
she calls the farm side walk today so that’s where we went. Of course we had to
take a detour as well, off the road and onto a little path with no idea where
we would end up. Still, that’s what makes it fun. Here’s Huan trying to decide
which way.
I chose the way she was looking
as it still led us away from home. Eventually the path met a concrete road and
led us into the village with the school in the middle. I wonder if you remember
that one. I knew where we were now so it was off the roads again and through
the countryside to the medicine factory. Nothing new to see there. We did spot
a snail on the way but I must have had some ‘sweat’ on my lens when I took that
photo, not so good. Once back on the road after the medicine factory, at the
first village a water stop was called for, internal use and external use! I
seemed to be sweating far more than usual today.
From there we had a little more off the road
until we completed the circle and ended up back in the ‘school in the middle’
village. Here we came across a couple of pigeons only one of which tried to
move away from us, and then only half-heartedly. I think it was looking after
the other one which seemed to have a leg problem. Unfortunately there was not a
great deal that we could do so we left them for the villagers to find.
Usual full English when we got
home followed by a very lazy day for me and music practice for Huan. An even
lazier evening followed for me with a nice long soak in the bath with a book
while Huan expended even more energy doing her dama dancing.
June 24th Monday came round again so we went shopping again. Otherwise not a lot
to talk about, it was just a lazy day. I did try and sort the Fuji
At that time, the local
government had given up trying to rent these places out and had begun trying to
sell them. Well, someone has bought two units in front of our house, that’s the
first six windows in the picture above. Just to be nosy we had a walk up to see
what was likely to appear there. The ‘man in charge’ said that it would be
offices which I thought was a good idea. Now a couple of weeks later we can see
the progress that has been made. I certainly wouldn’t fancy working in an
office there! They have removed all the front windows and are building internal
walls everywhere inside. I should point out that this part of the building has
no rear windows. I wonder just what kind of offices they will be.
June 25th I’m still having problems
with my head so, much to Huan’s relief, I agreed to go the hospital today. At
least it’s not too far from the house, and in a brand new building now too. We
do have to go through the same rigmarole as we do in Haikou
The usual procedure then followed with the doctor asking questions,
translated and relayed to me by Huan, then I answered and vice versa. I doubt
my Chinese will ever be good enough to know what’s being said in the hospital.
I know Huan asks many things apart from what I ask her to, in this case, where
to go if her husband, (me), has a stroke! Bless her. It seems this hospital can
now deal with stroke cases as long as we get there quickly enough. Let’s hope
it never comes to that. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, the doctor came up
with exactly the same diagnosis that I did on the 19th, BPPV, I hope
she wasn’t using Google too. She prescribed this Chinese medicine for me, I
have to take five capsules, three times a day. I’ll be rattling!
This medicine is for high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis,
hyperlipidemia and headache caused by the above diseases, dizziness, tinnitus,
insomnia, etc. Seems all possible avenues have been covered, I think I’ll avoid
Google this time.
No walk this morning, decided to go home and have breakfast instead.
I had purposely skipped that just in case blood sugar tests were required. The
only test I had was my blood pressure before seeing the doctor and that was
138/83, not perfect but not too bad.
Not having had a walk in the morning I decided an evening one was
necessary. No photos taken although I did spot the traffic diversion signs
again, being prepared for tomorrow. This is the date for another important test
for Chinese students, the Zhongkao, the results of which decide which high
school they will go to. Pressure, always pressure, from kindergarten right
through to the day they finally graduate from university.
June 26th Wednesday again, singing lessons for Huan this
morning so a nice little walk in the countryside for me. I had planned to go up
to the local reservoir again but as I was walking along I seemed to find a very
comfortable stride that told me, “Avoid all hills!” My Fuji
I quite enjoy being out in the country,
away from city sounds, but there is a small problem, it’s called chafing. I
realised that the red mark on my right bum was being caused by my wallet
rubbing through the sweaty clothes. Of course, as many hikers, and runners,
will know, chafing can also appear in other areas. For me it’s the middle of my
backside. (Don’t worry, no photos!) Once I got home and finished showering and
lunch a lot of internet surfing was done to try and find a solution. I suppose
I could always try naked walking!
Huan is off out dancing again
tonight, I’m staying put. Apart from chafing worries, I walked far enough
today, 19.82 kilometres. I only missed the twenty mark because I got caught in
the rain in the last kilometre and couldn’t be bothered going around the block to
make up the extra 180 metres. Do you ever wonder why I like to walk so much?
Well, if I don’t walk I get fluid build up in my feet, especially the left one.
That even shows up after my ‘day off’ on a Monday. Today I was thinking how
ironic it was that I was walking to avoid fluid build-up and filling myself
with more fluid by drinking three 500ml bottles of water on the way round!
June 27th Our plans today were the normal scenic walk
up the hill and back. However, we hadn’t been out too long before the rain
started so we ended up not straying far from town again. We still managed seven
kilometres though which means not too much for me to catch up on this evening.
I had the Fuji
Huan was off singing again today
so I said I would cook. Today’s offering will be a stir fry. First in the pan
goes some chopped chicken with garlic and onion. Follow this with diced
potatoes and diced carrots, and shortly thereafter diced mushrooms, diced red
peppers and diced yellow peppers. After another little while add snow peas and
then, at the last minute, bean sprouts. Season while cooking as required. For
us I will add a little paprika and maybe a little oyster sauce. I only hope the
boss approves!
This is the finished
dinner and I’m happy to say that C-in-C approved.
Because we, or rather I, had not
completed ten kilometres this morning I had to have a gentle walk around town
this evening. Huan of course, was dancing.
June 28th Not a good start to the day, I woke up at five to nine having had a
terrible night’s sleep. I thought these vertigo tablets were supposed to help
my insomnia too! Anyway, both Huan and I weren’t sure about the weather so she
decided to stay in and do some plant re-potting and I decided to go out and
keep an eye out for the rain. It didn’t come, in fact, it didn’t come at all
today! I did take a lot of photos though. First we have a man pruning the
trees. They will eventually form a canopy over the road but they’re not tall
enough yet so have to be pruned to avoid being hit by buses and trucks.
Lots of animal life today,
we start off with a little pussy cat that I manage to stroke now and then. He
seemed to have a bit of a sulk on today though.
I then stopped off at the
local pet shop where they had some little chicks, not in cages, probably
because they can’t fly yet. This one was shouting “Feed me!”
The town square had been
taken over by a farmer’s market. I wonder if they will continue to do this on
Fridays, it’s not a bad idea. Here’s s photo from there.
Meanwhile, just off from
the market but probably going to end up there, a bigger bird was playing
“chicken in a basket” but again, not as you’re used to.
By the time I got home, even with multiple photo stops, I had walked
eight and a half kilometres in an hour and fifty three minutes which I pleased
enough with.
I still had to make some distance up though so before Huan went
dancing I popped out again for a short walk. I told Huan I would probably be
back before she started dancing, she didn’t believe me. I was though, I met her
as she was walking down to the gate. This time I had excelled myself having
done three kilometres in thirty five minutes. That doesn’t sound too good until
you realise that the first one took just over fifteen minutes, I had to talk to
the dog at the gate!
More Yoyo Chinese at home including going over previous quizzes to
make sure I haven’t forgotten too much. They will be having a ‘Study Streak’
competition in July where whoever studies for the most continuous days,
(possible 31), has the chance of winning a free course. My present streak is
thirty eight days. It all depends on whether we stay in Haikou
June 29th Huan was lucky, she got her favourite walk in
this morning. Here she is on the way down, although she is going up a little.
Spot the sweat!
It is a lovely walk,
especially the way we come down, there are some great views.
As we passed the WC lay-by
we spotted this ‘snowbird’ playing with his whip. I wonder if he knows what
song this is from, “A beautiful sky, a wonderful day, Whip-crack-away,
whip-crack-away, whip-crack-away”. Do you know? It’s from “The Deadwood Stage
from Calamity Jane (1953)”. He was enjoying the ‘craic’ anyway.
Usually on this walk, we separate at the seven kilometre mark and
Huan goes home while I continue to ‘get some in’. Today I bribed her with “It’s
OK, I’ll cook the full English today, you can rest.” She carried on with me and
we both got eleven kilometres in! In case you’re wondering and thinking that
I’m a big meanie, I did cook the ‘full English’.
Come evening time and the rain came back so no dancing for Huan and
no walking for me. Not to worry, we did enough this morning anyway! Instead we
had Huan practicing keyboard and singing in the living room and me practicing
Chinese in the office. I think I need to buy a guitar to compete with her!
June 30th My choice today so I chose the road to
Changhao with detours through the countryside and a little village. We were
quite lucky, there was not as much construction work going on as we expected so
the road wasn’t too dusty. We stopped in the little village for a wee rest,
it’s a very pleasant place. Here I am refreshing myself.
And
here’s what I was looking at. No, we weren’t using a wide angle lens, the tree
is actually bent and with the little circle in front the effect is ezaggerated.
As
you can probably guess Huan was taking all the photos today. She even had to
take one of me in the WC. She wasn’t in there with me, the windows were wide
open so she stood there to ‘protect my modesty’! This is the disabled toilet,
which we often look out for because they have western style loos. Don’t ask me
why there are two.
Once
we got to Changhao we decided not to go for ten kilometres, but to get the bus
back so that Huan could have a rest before she made us a ‘full English’. Oh, I
do love weekends! I did manage to take a couple of photos there, this one is a
happy Huan having just spent some money! She decided that the fish here was
cheaper than in town.
And
that’s it. The rains came back in the evening again so no more walks, just
internet browsing, FB, YouTube etc.
So, we come to the end of another
month. Time flies by doesn’t it. In fact I recently read something explaining
why time goes faster for us oldies than the younger folks. Sorry, can’t
remember the details, you’ll have to search for yourselves.
See you next month,
take care and be good!
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