My main concern as I seem to insist on being ill, is the welfare of my cats
and poultry while I am gone and to allow for the worst happening too.
My friend Stephen is taking 1 rooster plus 3 hens, 1 rooster plus 2, 1
rooster plus one and two spare roosters, which is six pens to get ready.  I
am visiting him at 5.30 tomorrow evening to finalise the arrangements.  Oh,
and the two geese as well.
June is taking 2 11 y.o. Appenzeller hens, one 10 y o App cock with his two
old hens, and my two bantam Barnevelder girls.  She was going to have the
geese too, but her mom is in hospital not expected to live.  She rang me to
say she was sorry, she would not have time to knock up a hut for the
geese...bless her little cotton socks, so Stephen will have to have them.
As if I would expect her to!

I have 12 x 24 boxes of Whiskas pouches in the porch plus 8 boxes of
crunchies and some tins that Stan can access.  Stan is going to look after
the chickens that are in absolutely fox proof houses and runs and will only
need feeding and watering once a day and feed the kitties.

I went today to the farm where I've bought  my chicken food for years,
explained the situation and set up an account so that Stephen, June & Stan
can put the chicken food they need on an account which I will pay
afterwards.  I offered to pay now, but they said no.  We set a limit around
what I would normally pay per month for my chicken food, for them all.

Tomorrow I have to go to the hospital to have a pre-op assessment, blood
tests, x-rays, ECG and stuff they only did about two weeks ago, but, hey,
who knows in what mysterious ways these hospitals work.  They tell me to
allow three hours for it all.  After that my friend is going to drive me to
go birdwatching with my new fantastic binoculars and later I have that
chicken meeting with Stephen.

It takes me so long to do things now, and I have so much to do before I go
into hospital next Monday.  Meetings with counsellors, all anxious to
support me.  All so healthy that they can, although they would like to think
so, not imagine what I am going through.
I am being almost counselled to death.
"Yes. I *do* understand what you are trying to tell me what I have probably
have even though you say it's not completely certain until you open me up.
We all know, not least me, that the oncology nurse visit was a bit of a
giveaway." I said this in my mind, not to them.
Anyhow, folks, I will be tottering around with help moving most of my
chickens out and making arrangements in the next few days and might not be
able to post, although I will if I can.
From next Monday I will be out of action for ages.  When I feel able, at my
aunt's I will try and mail to Debbie - or even see if I can get the ng on my
uncle's computer, under the name of "Bryan"
Margi, my cousin, will post updates via Debbie about my progress while I am
hospital.
You are all so special, I have never know a ng like this.

Tweed