The aftermath

The downer came today.  I thought we had escaped the post-chemo down as things were going so well. Today my man spent all day in bed, lethargic and unwell.  The steroids are finished and with their demise, less appetite and far more lethargy and tiredness.  He is feeling the cold so badly.  Today is a mild autumn day, beautifully sunny and cool but not cold.  Macmai is in bed with flannelet pyjamas ( new addition to his wardrobe), two hot water bottles and blankets and a duvet.  I panicked thinking he might be ill with an infection, but no his temperature is fine. He has been there all day sleeping fitfully and apart from breakfast has not eaten nor drunk.  Worrying.  Also he is wanting different foods now, carbohydrates, nuts and fruit.  He is no longer wanting dairy, fat or meat.  I made crumpets for breakfast and in times past he would love butter plus treacle, honey or vegemite.  Today no butter just crumpet and honey. I had been making his coffee on milk, just to increase calories and protein, but he is no longer tolerating that either.  It worries me as to what might be going on  - what is that cancer up to?

We have had home made crumpets now for many years.  I have a little bread making book and it has yielded two family favourites - the crumpets and focaccia.

Crumpets

Ingredients:

·         1tsp/1 packet dried yeast

·         3 cups plain flour

·         1 tsp salt

·         ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

·         ½ tsp sugar

·         200ml warm milk

·         300ml warm water

Method:

1. sieve flour and bicarb
2. add rest of dry ingredients
3. add milk and water (must be the same temperature as a baby’s bottle for the yeast to grow)
4. mix to a pouring batter consistency – add more water if necessary
5. leave to stand in a warm place until foamy ( about thirty minutes
6. cook in greased crumpet rings in a well greased pan – turn after holes appear in upper surface
7. serve warm with butter 

I spent most of the day outside coming in the check on  my man, hoping that he would be able to spend just an hour or so in the garden and enjoy the glorious day.  It was not to be.  There is a lot to do in the garden in autumn.  Lots of pruning and thinning and the winter/spring bulbs and annuals planted.  Our trees are way out of control and we are having to get tree loppers in to do the heavy pruning. Time passes and trees grow and one suddenly notices just how big they are.  Today I mad inroads on the side beds, shady and sheltered, perfect for clivias, hellebores and bromeliads, as well as ferns.  I noticed today the hellebores are starting to shoot, a sure sign of cold days coming.  Autumn is one of the times for a big mulch with lucerne hay  for warmth and then again in late spring to protect from our savage summers.  Endless days of heat are not my favourite.  Everything becomes so scorched.

However the bed is looking pretty now. The bromeliad flowers have changed from their vibrant red to a pink as they age.  The crab apples in the background are already dropping their leaves, always the first of the deciduous trees.  Good in a way, because it lets light into the winter vegetable garden.