Walking around the block

Surprising that small things can mean so much.

One of my aims since having my stroke has been to walk about 400m around our close and windmill on my own. Well, today I did the "circuit" twice on my own without even grounding my stick.

The next aim is to walk further, such as to the Bank or Post Office on my own later this month.

A year ago I had no idea this (stroke) bombshell was going to hit me. In many ways I am lucky. With hard work and determination I have every hope of a (near) full recovery given time. I have just got to continue with exercises and continue to walk as much as I can. Already I am feeling a lot better than I was some months ago. I have to hope that I continue to improve.

My main issues remain balance when walking and a slight discomfort inside . Both are better than they were.  I still feel clumsy doing things too. Speech and swallow also need to be improved.

Speech and Language visit

Today, the Speech and Language therapist called on one of her regular visits. She is pleased with my progress, with voice a bit stronger (again) and speaking better than on her last visit. She suggested some more foods to eat by mouth.

Progressing, slowly but steadily.

Setting up new PC

I had a surprise today: my Inspiron 15R does NOT have a touch sensitive screen after all. Dell assure me I did not order, or pay for such a screen The next surprise was a sort of malware program called "optimizer pro" which managed to install itself.  A free call to 0800 028 2660 ( the FREE Dell support number) soon had this removed and the PC fully checked remotely. WSPR, Spectran and Ccleaner all installed and worked without issues.

New PC here

My new PC is here and will be set up tomorrow all being well. The essential programs are Spectran and WSPR related so I can use my favourite amateur radio mode (WSPR) again. I am waiting until tomorrow so the grandchildren are not around.

See: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15r-5521/pd

Strimmer Wire

Our strimmer had run out of nylon cord. Visiting the local Homebase today to get new cord I was amazed that there appear to be hundreds of different varieties to choose from, depending on maker, model and age. My son and I had to ring home to check we were getting the right one.

Be warned, go armed with make and model number or you too will be confused. Thankfully I got 10%
off as it was a seniors day (Tuesday).

View of our house from the windmill next door

In my present (wobbly balance) state of health because of my stroke , I cannot climb up the inside of the fully restored windmill right next door to us.

This morning, our son managed a sneak preview and he took some photos of our bungalow  from the very top floor of the mill.

Our bungalow from the mill

You can see my V2000 vertical and 2m halo on the garage roof if you look at the blown up photo. You may JUST be able to see my HF Par end-fed wire too but you will need to look carefully at the  full sized photo.

For the second time this year, a party of school  children is visiting the museum, and windmill. The windmill has its official opening on Sunday April 13th.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk.btck.co.uk/StevensMill

The windmill,next to our bungalow, is the highest spot in the village. The church, about 400m away, is on the second highest ground.

Burwell Church from the top of the windmill

New PC due today

According to the tracking data, my new Inspiron 15R PC is due to arrive any time now. It has been dispatched from their factory so is ready. When it arrives I need to check for updates and install WSPR and Spectran software as well as CCleaner, Firefox and VLC media player. My old versions of Photoshop Elements (V2) and MS Office (2003) may not install? We'll see. With 1TB of hard drive there should be no shortage of space for apps,but it does depend on them working OK on a 64 bit machine.

I am using my wife's PC to write this and that is 64 bit Dell machine and both WSPR and Spectran installed OK with Win 7. Let's hope Win 8.1 is OK too.