When living remotely some things take some coordinating. The motorbike needed its annual MOT - nearest MOT station is only about 20 miles away, on the Isle of Bute. However every chore gives an opportunity so John hopped over on an early ferry, got the bike MOT'd whilst having a lovely coffee and sausage sandwich, then had a lovely ride out round the island before being back for lunch. In a while he'll do the same when getting the back tyre changed - make a day of it!
Lucy, the eldest of our three cats, lost a canine tooth and we know from previous experience that they snap off and leave the root which causes tooth ache. So, again, John had a little road trip (1 1/4 hours each way) to our vet in Helensburgh. They pre-emptively got her pencilled in for surgery in the afternoon. John had a lovely lunch in the busy town - hash brown, pea puree, smoked salmon, poached eggs and lovely coffee. A lovely drive out up loch Fyne, across Rest and Be Thankful pass and down loch Lomond. Lucy had one root and one other tooth removed, a good ear clean out and signed off to return home.
Liz's XKR's luck has run out this year. We've had it for 7 years now and we thought that corrosion would take it away from us, but this year's MOT focused on front suspension needing complete rebuild and likely some extensive repairs on the rear diff and driveshafts - probably about £2000 worth of work and then the risk is for more / different next year. The time to bid a sad farewell to this beautiful car may be upon us.
John is now registered disabled, thanks to Sheila from Macmillan filling in the right paperwork. One thing this gives us is a Motability car so, with Liz picking up work and her XKR being off the road, we have decided to take it up as a second car to ensure we can both get out and about at the same time. Toyota in Helensburgh have been very helpful and a little Aygo X is due to be ready very shortly. Small, petrol and nippy enough, it'll be a useful run-around.
Mentioning the new job - I (Liz) am now a GP receptionist and dispenser at the local GP in Tighnabruiach. It's good to be back in the health sector, feeling like I'm helping people, giving back, getting back out there, and having regular work hours. I am doing four afternoons a week, with Wednesdays off. It suits me nicely - I'm not leaving John on his own for too long, and I don't have to get up early in the mornings! I'm picking up the job, learning my way around, I really like my new colleagues. It's only a one year fixed contract covering maternity leave, but that's ok. I'm nervous about where John's health goes over the next few months, and how I manage that along side my new job, but I think they'll be understanding when the time comes.
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