Wednesday 18 April 2012

Things That Brought Joy - Wednesday



Today wasn't really going to be a joyful day; Beloved was due at Shrewsbury Hospital for the fourth injection into his left eye to halt the progress of wet macular degeneration. He is really brave about it and pretends it's nothing much. But I know he's nervous, so am I.

It was a horrible morning with heavy rain and limited visibility and we weren't exactly looking forward to the expedition.  Driving in heavy rain is not a pleasure and I was annoyed when first a Beamer (BMW) and then a van overtook me, the former at traffic lights and the latter just as I was pulling out from behind a lorry. Both manoeuvres were rather dangerous, particularly as I am a fast driver myself. So I have to admit that I felt a frisson of joy - or perhaps Schadenfreude - when neither car got very far ahead of me at all. Why do people overtake when there's no point? 

The eye thing went well and took no more than an hour altogether. Beloved came out with his eye patch but otherwise in one piece, relieved that it was all over for today. A procedure that costs £900, and could save your sight, such as it is,  is free on the NHS. If that isn't cause for joy, I don't know what is. There was plenty of morning left, so I raced round one of these vast supermarkets, filling two trolleys, while I parked Beloved in the Starbucks concession. Not a lot of joy there, but it got a necessary job done.


"What are we doing for food today?", Beloved asked when I collected him from the coffee shop.  Note the "we".  "Not a lot, I haven't even thought of it", I replied, a bit miffed that he should be finding me another job when I was still panting over the current one. "Would you like to stop off at The Pound for lunch?" Do dogs fart? Silly question, of course I would.  The Pound is a 15th century country pub on the road home in the village of Leebotwood which serves tasty food reasonably priced at lunch time.


 Two starters, one of sweet cured herring with orange, a garlic mayonnaise and glazed cucumber and one pork and apricot pate, with pickled, shredded beetroot and a brioche finger. Both came with fresh baked rolls and butter and salad garnish.


Our main courses were equally good.
Beloved had a chicken leg in a whole-grain mustard sauce,




and I chose the whole plaice, which was beautifully cooked. 





We'd left Benno at home with his baby sitter. It's such a palaver to get him in and out of the car via his ramp;  he is much happier with Jay, whom he loves dearly, than to be bumped around in the boot for hours. It also means that I don't need to worry about his well-being, which gives me a stress-free day, at least as far as the dog is concerned.

There you are, I knew I could find something joyful in the course of the day, if I put my mind to it. All's well that ends well.


43 comments:

  1. An injection in the eye sounds like no fun at all. But as you say, it's better than not being able to afford it.

    The Pound looks super - I'm getting concerned at so many pubs shutting these days and it's good to hear about good ones. I hope your post inspires a few people to try it out. I will if I am in the SHropshire area.

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  2. Very little is free on this side of the pond. I am SO glad it went well. I take a perverse pleasure, myself, when driving into Hartford (my state's capitol) during the rush hour. I tend to pick a lane and make myself breathe. I LOVE to drive fast, but you are right; often it is a waste. I do love it when I see a car weaving in and out behind me, then in front of me, and, when I get to the exit ramp, having stayed in ONE lane the whole while, he or she is BEHIND me, still trying to move over.

    Beyond that? I am now hungry and shall order food from my favorite Chinese Restaurant, which delivers. Your pictures did me in.

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  3. Those are some wonderful pictures of food. Now I'm hungry. I have beginning AMD and have been told it could turn into wet MD at any time. But at least there is some treatment for the wet kind; I am forced to take precautions but just hope for the best. Hopefully it will stop it for B. Your post and pictures are priceless. :-)

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  4. Oh that sounds like a nasty procedure. I'm glad all is going well.

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  5. Well written, as always, and a pleasure to learn from your example that there must be some way I can find pleasure in today. I am so stressed over legal disputes about wills it seems to spoil everything. But if your beloved can find pleasure in a day he gets an eye injection I know I should just get over it.

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  6. It is indeed a joy to know that such a procedure, unpleasant though it must me, is covered by the NHS. How fortunate we in Britain are!

    Food looks good and so does the pub!

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  7. I admire your Beloved's stoicism and your commitment to finding joy. Food, drink, dogs and the natural world are such reliable providers aren't they? Good luck to you both.

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  8. I wish I could wave my magic wand and materialize that amazing food, I am now starving!

    Glad B is doing well with the eyepatch, nasty business.

    And please please tell me you don't put the dog in the boot of your car??????? No!!!!

    XO
    WWW

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  9. These things are sent to try us springs to mind. As you say, the NHS can be a Godsend at times like these. Hope everything continues to improve for your beloved.
    Di
    X

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  10. 1. Well done Beloved, and well done NHS.
    2. I think just the same thing when drivers pass me, especially when they take stupid risks to do it and I meet them at the next intersection.
    3. Yum.

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  11. You can thwap me for this, but I was giggling throughout the post at the way you write. I LOVE IT! I think you write with awesome brilliance!

    Now I need to go look up the word palaver. I'm get the gist of the meaning but its a new word to me!! :)

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  12. OH, see, I found joy in your post!

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  13. I cannot imagine an injection into the eye, although it is covered here in Canada, too. I don't think the second one would be any more fun than the first one. Beloved is very brave, especially if he was secretly frightened but didn't want you to know it.
    I'm so glad Benno has a babysitter he loves. When we travel, Lindy stays with friends who love her, and she loves them.
    And that food...I never saw the like in an English pub. It's just gorgeous.
    I'm so glad there were good parts to your day.
    K

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  14. A delicious lunch ... that fish does look good ... was definitely called for after one of those injections ! An excellent idea .

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  15. I like your "finding joy" posts, Friko. Not too sugary (except the chocolate one) and just the right amount of joy. Glad the injection went well - that sounds awful.

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  16. A rotten disease, Friko (I have two good friends who suffer from it)) and it's good that Beloved can have treatment for it. I think you both deserved a good meal at a pleasant pub after all that.

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  17. What a blessing the nasty, but hopefully helpful, procedure is paid for!! Good food you didn't have to cook and a happy dog--yes, that would bring joy. :):)

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  18. An injection in the eye must not be pleasant at all. I’d love to have a plaice for lunch – haven’t had one since I visited old England in 2002 – too long! I had not heard the expression “do dogs fart?” I like that. My husband usually says “Does a bear sleep in the woods?” so that is what I also say as I am not very good at clichés in English or I mess them up. Your post made me hungry so I’ll go down and make some dinner.

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  19. And you just happened to have your camera with you today!

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  20. Oh that didn't sound like a day to look forward to at all, but you certainly made the most of it.

    I wish we had that kind of coverage in our health care, certainly it's something for which you can be rightfully grateful.

    That plaice dinner looks divine!

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  21. Friko, I do know that this has been a long day, in which you were keeping the wheels turning, the happy ending in view while practical matters got attended to, and risky drivers kept trying to change the plot lines of others.

    May Thursday be full of quieter, lasting joyful moments, after you and your Beloved have had a deeply good rest.

    xo

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  22. I feel that same satisfactory joy when someone who passes me doesn't get very far.
    Your meals look wonderful! What a treat to not have to return home to cook.
    Glad the procedure went well. My MIL has those same injections and the whole affair of getting to the doctor and back plus the procedure is most exhausting.

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  23. You drive like I do, and I wonder why cars have to pass by in such a rush when in the end, they put others at risk and make no real progress down the road.

    Your joyful moments are just great. Your husband is a trooper going for a procedure such as he did, and then he suggests to a wonderful place for lunch.

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  24. It is good to hear that the procedure went well, Friko. Tom has diabetic retinopathy, which has flared up after some twenty years of being stable. In that time, the doctors have found an injection that is used for macular degeneration (wet) also helps in controlling retinopathy, I am thinking it is the same on both sides of the ocean. A great medical advance.

    I won't go into the cost of such a procedure here in the US.

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  25. That meal - we'd be driving miles to find a place to serve something so good-sounding.
    I'm glad the injection went well.

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  26. I can't bear anything in or near my eyes (so no contact lenses); I can't imagine what those injections must be like. Your lunch looks an absolute treat; I love your moments of joy.

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  27. A very good reason for being joyful indeed, having the possibility to get the eye treatment you described! After all, the NHS isn't so bad, is it?
    And while you did not much enjoy in itself shopping at the supermarket, I think it is reason for joy that you had enough money to fill TWO trolleys with groceries, plus having so much choice in what to buy.
    Your lunch at the pub sounds yummy, although I'm afraid I would have been full up after starters already :-)
    What did you have for dessert?

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  28. Hello:
    We are so pleased that the day which began in such an unpropitious way should have turned out so well, thanks very largely to the NHS which, whatever people say, delivers the most wonderful service free and, from what you say and what your images show, a delicious lunch. All very goodly!!

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  29. I thought all you blokes ate were things like shepherds pie, fish and chips, bangers and mash and the like. The meal and the restaurant look delightfully delicious.

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  30. An injection in the eye has me squirming in my seat. It is better than the alternative, but not by much.
    Anyone who has been shopping and worrying deserves a treat - and your lunch out looks very good indeed.
    Healing wishes to your Beloved.

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  31. i am glad you talked about the food...it sounded delicious and helped me forget that you said a shot in the eye...eeep...i dont think i could do that...

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  32. My dad is having the same eye injections - free on the NHS... What a life-saver - to keep his sight.

    Love your shots!

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  33. A delicious lunch would surely make the horrors of the eye injection fade. Three cheers for the NHS - great in emergencies and chronic cases.

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  34. Re the drivers...I know, right? I watched a guy zoom around the car in front of him and then immediately take the exit. What was the point of that?

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  35. Your Beloved is a strong one! Amazing how the UK Health Care system works vs The US.

    Lovely images of a very nice lunch - again a sharp contrast to the typical fare offered here - in Wisconsin if it isn't fried or covered in cheese it is not considered eatable. My grocery cart is the only one that contains fresh produce & no TV dinners.

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  36. Oh, your poor husband! I am so sorry he has to worry about macular degeneration. Hope the treatment is successful.

    The food looks great! I wouldn't mind having a bite! As my grandson would say: "Yummy!"

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  37. What a great thing that Beloved has this miraculous procedure available to him. While scary, it beats the heck outta blindness. Good on the NHS!!!!

    And your lunch looks like a serious yum!!!!

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  38. Foolishly, I bought a pecan pie at the bakery yesterday and David ate a big slice with vanilla ice cream for breakfast this morning. Fast forward to 12 PM and he tells me he is dying (from a sugar drop no doubt).

    So I take him to our favorite pub New Zealand style and feed him an omlet and mushroom and barley soup for lunch. Nothing fancy but he has got his color back and is taking his usual 2 hour nap. Dianne

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  39. Isn't lovely how things can turn out well? What begins with an ordeal ends with a little reward and treat. Perhaps it is what we might learn in childhood, that the hard stuff has to be tolerated and can be tolerated with a spoonful of sugar, so to speak.

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  40. We have the "what are we doing for dinner" conversation nearly every day at our house. And only one of us (not me) is a good cook. So of course I went straight over to the link and looked at the menu. Looks fantastic. Yes, I'd say you turned this day right around with that lunch.

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  41. Of course Beloved was using the 'royal we', glad to read the eye survived, agree with you that NHS (or equivalent) allows we commoners to keep our eyesight and our teeth. Lovely photos and I enjoyed your classy use of German (Schadenfreude) and not so classy "does a dog fart!".

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  42. I don't have a clue what any of those starters were at your restaurant! Well,cucumber I recognize, of course. And herring. I think it's the combinations and preparations that seem to unusual.

    And, "palaver"! I haven't heard anyone use that word since I left Liberia. At least, I don't remember it. Every village had a palaver hut where the conflicts were worked out, and "making palaver" sometimes seemed to be pure recreation. Seeing that word again brought me joy!

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  43. Hi Friko .. brilliant photos - and it looks delicious. So glad the hospital trip went well ..

    Love the name of the village - cheers Hilary

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