July 2026 Goals

 

June was another awful month for me, all health related, though the heat wave didn't help at all! However, there has been some progress so, if you're sitting comfortably, I'll tell you all about it.

Home: BiL and his son's FiL completed the kitchen. Yay! They just had the skirting boards, trims and end panels to do so it didn't take long. The delay was down to me taking ages to get the flooring fitted, but it's all done now and I am very happy with the end result.  

The plastering in the living/dining room will be completed this week. I'm just waiting for the walls to dry out and then I can organise the decorating. I haven't finally decided on the colour scheme for the room but the walls will probably be painted in a creamy colour. Then it's a case of getting the new carpet chosen and fitted, the curtains and blinds chosen and fitted, the furniture put back, and my pictures hung on the walls. I'm aiming to get this room completed by the end of August, but that timescale is dependent on the decorator's availability as he is fitting me in between his numerous summer bowls tournaments!

The plasterer will be returning soon to do the study and the hall. I added both of these rooms after the initial quote and the agreed date for the living/dining room, so he wan't able to complete them at the same time. He'll do the study next, and then the hall, but I am still waiting to agree dates for those rooms. 

The lodger's room is currently functioning as a storage room for all the heavy wooden furniture from the living room. I still intend to get a lodger but it will now wait until all the internal work has finished, so probably September or October.

Garden: I've accepted the quote from the landscaper and he will be starting work here on July 13th, or possibly a day or two sooner if his current job is completed earlier than expected. Initially he can only complete the garden part of the work I've asked for as the work required to give easy access to the stream bank can't be completed until the owner of the field on the other side of the stream has cut back the tree that is overhanging my garden. Anyway, the garden part is the most important part and getting that done means I will soon be able to get some plants in the ground. My aim is to get all of the existing plants (currently in pots) planted out, do some serious shopping at the garden centre with Joy if she can make it, and again with friend E who is buying me some plants as a thank you for the empty planters I gave her. I'll place some online orders for the plants I can't get locally. Obviously, all the planting is dependent on gardener M's availability ... I've texted her with the dates but haven't heard back from her yet.

Music: I haven't really played much this month, entirely due to feeling so poorly. For now, it will have to take a back seat as the piano has to be moved to my bedroom, where there won't be enough room to sit and play. It's staying in my bedroom until the decorating and flooring is sorted out in the living room. That may all change if I can't find four strong men to actually move the piano and then move it back when the new carpet is down - the carpet fitters won't move a piano! My aim is to get the piano moved before the decorating is started. 

Photography: I only managed to take a few photos during June, which is disappointing. However, I have thought of a way to motivate myself to use my camera (and also give me the material for another blog post each month) and that is to redo the free photography course, A Year With My Camera. I have to thank Joy for the idea as she mentioned that she will be completing the course when she plays with her new camera. I already understand the technical side of photography but there no harm in refreshing my knowledge. It's a weekly course (via email) and there are photos to take to reinforce the learning for each week. I won't be posting all of the photos on my blog, don't worry, but I will be attempting the "Make 30 Photos" challenge and I plan to post my attempts. The themes for the challenge are as follows ...

... I think the idea is to take one photo for each prompt but I'm planning to do more than that so I have enough photos of each prompt to make a series of blog post. I've also changed one of the prompts - 'self portrait' is now 'everyday objects' - because I don't post photos of myself online!

My aim for this month is to complete my monthly photo challenge, Joy's Ten on the 10th, and at least one of the 30 photos challenge prompts.

Swimming: There was no change in June. This is what I wrote at the beginning of April - I'm not sure whether to keep this in the list as we never seem to get to the pool! It is an activity that will be good for me so maybe I'll just leave it here as a reminder to myself with the aim of getting back to swimming once I've finished with the home improvements.

Reading: I haven't actually read any books but have been listening to short stories online. I'm looking into Audible to see a) if I can afford it, and b) decide whether I'll use it enough to justify the cost. I'll aim for two books this month, either reading or listening.

Healthy lifestyle: I'm very hopeful that I will see an improvement in my health during July. 

I have the blood test for my adrenal function on the 6th. Once that's done I can resume taking my usual BP medication and hopefully the side effects from the new tablet I've been taking will all disappear. 

On the 9th, I have an appointment at the Royal Infirmary in Bristol to do with my recent diagnosis of sleep apnoea. This appointment is to learn about and be issued with a CPAP machine to use every time I sleep. This should improve my quality of sleep and significantly reduce the constant tiredness I've been experiencing. I think it will take some getting used to but I'm expecting a positive outcome from it. I hope I will see an improvement very quickly as my driving licence will remain suspended until the doctors can confirm that the CPAP treatment is effective.

I also have a diabetes check up this month but can't remember the date ... the surgery always sends a reminder so I'm not panicking just yet. It was postponed from last month because I had that horrible bug and couldn't attend, but I'm hoping everything will be fine and I am given the go ahead to keep doing what I have been doing. 

And finally, I need to book an eye health appointment as, although a recent vision test confirmed that I didn't need glasses, my vision is increasingly blurry. It's not a hay fever thing, I just don't seem to able to focus my eyes properly (so just as well that I'm not allowed to drive at the moment!). I'll be glad to get this sorted out as it affects everything I want to do.

Socialising: The only things in my diary for July are medical appointments and things to do with the renovations. I can't make the regular canasta meetings or my own Something Snappy group because I need to stay at home for the various renovation things going on, but I will try to arrange some social meets with friends before the end of the month, and also get some dates added for August and September.