Spring Cleaning and Cuts

I've got two weeks off before classes start up again, and the timing is just right for a massive spring clean. The weather has been lovely, but I've been too busy to enjoy it. Those baseboards aren't going to clean themselves!

I was pretty proud of the job I had done, but then I received my new issue of Martha Stewart, and I realised how much I had missed. That woman is insane, by the way. So now I'm roaming around the flat with a dust cloth attached to my mop handle trying to dust my ceilings. 

I managed to get most of it done, and I moved on to practicing my brother's wedding cake, which I'm making for him. I must have gotten overexcited at the prospect, and my knife slipped while I was leveling off the cake layers.

I cleaned out the wound and applied pressure, but the cut was pretty deep and it continued to bleed. I called J at work, and he thought I should head to the a&e. I really didn't want to go, but I've been told before that I have a ridiculously high pain tolerance. I decided to suck it up and head to the hospital. It was a good thing I did, as it turned out I cut through an artery, which explained the non stop bleeding.

It was my first time using the nhs, and the doctor was fantastic. The wait time, however, was decidedly not. The whole thing took nearly 5 hours! Luckily, J came to keep me company after he finished up at work and brought me lots and lots of popcorn to aid the healing process.

It felt a bit odd to be munching on popcorn while people were moaning in pain in the background, but I was waiting for a long time and getting hungry!

I had a lot of fun posing with my bandages and J amused himself by naming the various implements that made an appearance. There were sterile stingies, alcohol ouchies, etc. since he knew how much I was dreading the sting of antiseptics. Meanie.

It looked like I would have to get stitches since my finger wouldn't stop bleeding, even after applying a coagulant, but I asked for butterfly stitches instead. The doc was kind enough to oblige, and my finger is on bed rest for a week. In the meantime, I just look like I really like to point, and everyone looks pretty horrified when they see my misshapened paw.

It doesn't hurt, and it's really more itchy and annoying than anything else. I can't wait for the bandage to come off!

Autumn's Here

We've had a wonderfully warm summer this year - multiple heat waves with temperatures near the 30's. It more than made up for the soggy summers we've had since we moved here when it rained most of the time, and the sun peeked out once or twice from behind the clouds.

The heat left suddenly as it came, and it feels like autumn. I'm actually pretty pleased, since London is poorly equipped to deal with heat. Most places (including our flat) don't have air-conditioning, and the heat can become pretty unbearable at times. And not to mention the Tube during hot days - it's common for people to faint dead away in the heat and TFL posts signs everywhere advising riders to carry water with them to stay hydrated.

Another plus of the cool weather is running outside is much more pleasant. It doesn't feel like I'm breathing through a hot sock, and it's not such a big deal that the water fountains in Regent's Park are usually broken. 

This is Casper's first taste of cool weather, and in spite of his very fluffy fur, he's been bundling up for his naps.

He's also been making good use of the fireplace. He's pretty fascinated with the flames, and I'm so glad I thought to buy a screen for the fireplace or we'd end up with roast cat!

The other good news is that work on our flat is finally complete, and I no longer have builders traipsing through on a regular basis. I think Casper's going to miss "helping" them...

The bad news is that it didn't mean that everything in our flat is working as it should. We had no cold water for over a week, and Thames Water was shillyshallying on repairs. Believe it or not, they told our building that they would get to it at the end of the month! Our building had to threaten them with their solicitors to get TW to get the leak repaired so that we could have cold water again. I'm still amazed at how insanely terrible a lot of the services are here. It's not abnormal for it to take two months for internet to get installed or for TW to expect you to go for a month or so without cold water. Insane!

Gone to the Dogs

Still not working, and I guess that's not a bad thing since there's been a ton of work going on in our flat!  Our fridge needed repairs, and our windows are being refurbished as part of the building works. J is crazy busy at work, so I guess it's a good thing I'm around to make sure we still have windows at the end of the day!

When my flat isn't being torn apart, I've been gallivanting around town and visiting friends during their various lunch breaks/ afternoon teas.

One of the funner outings was taking my friend's dog to the pool for doggy swimming. He's got a bad hip so this is actually doggy therapy to build up his leg muscles.

The water was quite warm, and we had the pool to ourselves so we had a blast throwing the ball and watching him swim after it. Doesn't he look adorable in his doggy life vest?

I also got to spend some more time with the baby, who's getting even cuter every time I see him! He's such a happy baby, and I rarely see him kick up a fuss.

I love talking to him, but whether he understands anything I'm babbling about is a question mark.

More good news: spring has finally sprung! The temperature these days is actually nice enough that I can get away with a light jacket, and I've finally resumed running outside. And not a moment too soon, as I have a rather long race in October that I need to be training for. I've managed to work my way up to 9 miles, but I still feel like I'm behind in my training plan so I'm using the time off to catch up a bit on my exercise. Fingers crossed I stay injury-free!