Category Archives: Daily Life

Oct 15 2012
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Daily Life

About as Useless as a…

One of the best things about the weekend newspapers are those ‘innovation’ catalogues that fall out of them. You know, the ones with all those amazing items you can’t believe you’ve lived a whole lifetime without.

I must be getting older (can’t blame everything on the MS) as my ritual now is to make a nice cup of tea, choose a biscuit, settle on the sofa and jot down all the things that will make my life so much easier and more fulfilling. Here’s my latest list:

  1. Hands-free vegetable and fruit peeler – which, they say,will be the envy of my dinner party guests. That’ll make for an exciting party then, eh?
  2. A traditional barometer in classic brass and mahogany. Measures atmospheric pressure in millibars and hect-pascals. A grateful customer is quoted, ‘invaluable as it lets me know whether I need a cardigan or coat whilst gardening’. Lovely.
  3. A mop that spins itself dry! Comes with foot pump and centrifugal spinning system. They promise that once I use it, I will never want another mop!
  4. A foot stool with floral padded cushion that even stores my telly remotes. With four lockable castors, it’s not available in the shops!

If I order now, I can choose a free LED torch and if I spend over £30, I can claim a set of 2 ceramic potato bakers for just £2.99. Will I place my order? Um, no. I can peel my vegetables just fine, I check my weather app every day, the remote lives on the sofa arm and I don’t have space for a huge mop bucket. Even if it is centrifugal.

But I will still write up a new list, next weekend, just for the fun of it.

 

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Oct 14 2012
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Daily Life

Under Construction

I can think of a million and one lovely things to do on a beautiful, sunny Saturday. The Teenager is spending the day with his dad and I have the house, and time, to myself. There are museums to visit, shops to look round in and I need to pick up some books from the library. So why am I dressed in builders gear, thick gloves and Timberland boots, twirling a spirit level?

The good news is, I seem to be in remission at long last and a builder friend needs a bit of help with a last-minute job. It’s all quite technical, but it involves two steel lintels, lots of cement, nails and bits of wood. If the job isn’t done properly, the house will collapse in on itself. Or something.

My main roles are chief sweeper-upper and go-fetch-from-the-van person. After a long week of office work and study, it’s surprisingly good fun, this building malarky. I think I sometimes forget how satisfying it can be to do physical work, never more so than after months and months of mind-numbing exhaustion from a relapse. Suddenly, I feel refreshingly, alarmingly, gobsmackingly alive. My arms and legs seem to be behaving and I’m actually doing something useful.

Plus, I get coffee, breakfast, lunch and the odd Snickers bar thrown in – always a bonus. When I’m dropped home, I rush to the shower and it’s never been a nicer one. I’ve had an excellent day and I feel as if I’ve had a full-body workout – another bonus. So now, as I am about to lounge on my sofa for the rest of the evening, I kind of feel I deserve it.

Would I give up the day job though? Not a chance. My friend’s last job was fixing a roof. In torrential rain.

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Oct 09 2012
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Daily Life

Going out on a work night…

Ooh, I’m going out on a work night! I haven’t been out much at all since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, so this is BIG news. Fingers crossed, I’m well and truly in remission right now, so I’m going to make the most of it. Anyone with MS will know the dark spectre of a new relapse is always lurking round the corner, ready to pounce.

Up until very recently, just getting through the day and then falling headlong in the sofa used up all my energy. Having an evening out did not even cross my mind. Loading the washing machine was akin to running a marathon, cooking dinner from scratch was replaced by the microwave and life was scaled back to the absolute bare minimum needed to function.

So, decisions, decisions. What to wear? Can’t really wear the same as you’d wear on a Friday or Saturday night. Need to look as if I’ve just thrown together a chic outfit whilst juggling my oh-so busy life. The ‘no-effort, but somehow devastatingly fabulous’ look. A bit unstructured, but put-together. Does that make sense?

Right, now, got to think about what to have to drink. Soft drink? Maybe a bit unsophisticated. A mocktail? Bit naff. Wine? Well, I’m not driving, so possibly, but drinking so early in the week? Could be viewed as starting the weekend a little too early. Perhaps a spritzer then. Next, I have to think about how long to stay. We are meeting half six for seven (what does that even mean?). Should I turn up dead on half six and look a bit tragic or play it more mysterious by arriving just before seven?

Fleetingly, an image of me all cosied-up on the sofa with a good book pops into my mind. So tempting, so…..comforting and familiar. But, no, I am going out. And I can’t wait.

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Oct 08 2012
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Daily Life

Doing Housework the MS Way

MS and HouseworkI used to be a real neat-freak, probably a hangover from my tiny 1-room box in London years ago, when the sofa was next to the cooker and I could switch the kettle on from my bed. I was there until I was 8 months pregnant and could clean the shower by simply rubbing soap on my stomach and turning round.

Up until a year ago I was still pretty much the same until jaw-dropping fatigue hit me like a demolition wrecking ball. Standards had to slide, but rather than becoming depressed, I just came up with some handy hints, which I am now passing on to you:

  • Rip up your carpets and put down wooden flooring wherever possible, adding a few non-fluffy rugs if necessary. Majorly cuts down on dirt.
  • Chuck out most of your knick-knacks and ornaments – dust traps.
  • Use paper plates whenever you can. There’s some great designs now, don’t worry.
  • Use make-up remover wipes, then when you’re brushing your teeth use wipe to quickly clean sink. A bit icky, but small gestures count.
  • Fit dimmers to your lights and adjust accordingly – the less dust you see, the less it matters.
  • Borrow a small child. Put a feather duster in one of their hands and a lollipop in the other. Make up a fun game, but check they dust with the right one.
  • Invest in light-coloured furniture (IKEA, I salute you) – shows up way less dust.
  • If you must invite friends round, wait til it’s dark and light candles. Lots of them. And make sure there’s wine. Nothing matters after a couple of glasses.

If questioned by worried, well-meaning friends about the shabby state of your house, gently explain you are channeling the vintage, boho-chic vibe. William Morris once said, ‘have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful’. So that covers me and The Teenager then.

And don’t forget, experts reckon a little dirt is good for your immune system, so don’t feel guilty – you’re actually looking after yourself…

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Oct 07 2012
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Daily Life

Just chop it all off…

In my continuing quest to ‘try new things’, I decided to chop most of my hair off yesterday. I usually steer clear of hair salons as much as possible because:

  1. * I’m a whole generation older than most of the clients, grrr
  2. * I’m not ready for a bubble perm and tint just yet
  3. * I never, ever get the cut I ask for

Yet I was feeling strangely optimistic and full of hope as I tried a new hairdressers. I figured that if they could fit me in straight away, it was meant to be. And they could. I was given a look book, a strong coffee and the latest copy of Vogue. A child (it seemed) sashayed over and picked up my locks, tutted, exchanged glances with the child next to her and just about managed not to roll her eyes. I know, I know, I have let my whole hair-care regime lapse into grunge since being diagnosed with MS. It’s not been that high up on my list of priorities, but that’s all about to change…

The child, who turned out to be a mother-of-two, asked me what look I was aiming for and we discussed a few ideas. I like Keira Knightley’s style in that perfume advert, but then I like a lot of things that are just not going to happen. I was kitted out with a cape, plastic shoulder mat and towel and led over to the sink where my hair was washed, conditioned, massaged and pummelled into submission. Meekly, I followed her back to the chair and read a magazine until she was finished. Couldn’t look. Finally, I had to. Hmm. Ok. It’s kind of short. Oh, that’s a lot of hair on the floor. But I actually like it. It’s swishy!

I paid up and bounced out of the salon, pretending I was attracting admiring glances as I walked back to the car. Back home, I did what every woman does after the hairdressers and raced to the biggest mirror I could find, turning this way and that, mussing it up, mentally working out if I could live with it. I think I can, although my neck’s a bit cold. And I sure don’t look like Keira Knightley.

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