Ah the great British summertime......

Once again today I regretted that no one has invented windscreen wipers for glasses.....It would make cycling in the rain a lot easier...Even without such marvelous inventions I still prefer cycling to walking in the rain...not quite sure why....

A and I went down to the seafront again today, only this time the cafe was full and then it started raining. A, being A, hadn't brought a coat so he was very cold. We all ended up walking along the front until we found a shelter to sit in - and then A proceeded to nestle under my coat and I ended up with his shoulder in my ribs..ouch... I love sitting by the sea, listening to the waves and just people watching. It was lovely to catch up with my friend as well, I shall miss her when she moves back to Bucks but I'm so proud of her for achieving her teaching qualification..she's going to be an amazing teacher...

Southsea Seafront - it wasn't raining at this point!!

Before I ventured out to Southsea I took Molly-cat to the vets....my diagnosis of an abscess was correct and Molly had the pleasure of having her temp taken...for those of you who aren't aware, taking a cat's temp involves the insertion of the thermometer in a certain place where the sun definitely doesn't shine...needless to say, Molly was deeply unimpressed by this (can't say that I blame her) and made her feelings known...very loudly!!! The lovely vet then had the rather disgusting job of bursting the abscess, I did offer to stay in the room but they turned me down. I have to say that I'm glad they did, because when they brought her back out to me the smell was incredible...I had to move her carry box from the counter top because the whiff was making me nauseous....poor Molly. Not that it improved for her as I got her home and promptly shut her in the bathroom - on the advice of the vet I hasten to add...she was in there for a good few hours and the room needs a good clean. Molly is incredibly forgiving though, even after all that and after I'd bathed the wound in salt water, she still loves me and sat on my lap purring...

Molly-cat before her visit to the vet

So today has been another busy day and I've cycled a lot. However, depressingly, walking is still problematic. When I got back home today and sat down my knee was incredibly painful, a stabbing, burning, spasm type pain...it hasn't been this bad for a while and I was really upset. I intend to walk the Race for Life on 22nd July, and I'm determined to do it..but I was hoping that I'd have seen an improvement in my walking by now. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, maybe the improvement will be more gradual, maybe I just tweaked my knee without realising it and that's why it's hurting today. I know that my weight is the cause of my knee problem, and all I can do is keep on eating properly and exercising - eventually things will get better. I also think that I need to start walking more, I was hoping that cycling would strengthen my knee and improve my fitness and although I think it probably has done, I guess I need to start walking as well. Walking, at least where I live, isn't always the nicest thing to do so I plan on cycling to the seafront and then taking a walk along it...Hopefully this will help.

I'm really tired today - shockingly I fell asleep on the sofa watching the tennis and woke up with a start at 7:50pm...oops...the cats weren't best pleased and did their best to trip me up as I staggered sleepily to the kitchen to make dinner... An early night is definitely in order, and tomorrow will be a day of reading for Uni.... Although I've felt low at times today, overall I'm still feeling positive and hopeful...I know that one bad day in terms of my knee should spur me on, not stop me and I'm determined to carry on. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a shop window today and that was enough to remind me exactly why I'm doing this...

Right, just before I go I'd like to mention the amazing Tracey J Marshall, mum to my little hero Jackamo, who was nominated for and won the Practical Parenting Mum of the Year contest...it's a much deserved award for a very brave and caring woman...I can't imagine what she has been through in the last few years, particularly last year, and yet she's remained strong, continuing to be the best mum to Josh (Jack's brother) and raising awareness about Brain Tumours - giving hope to many parents. Please go and visit www.jacksfund.co.uk and also the Facebook page,  https://www.facebook.com/groups/Jacksfund/. You won't regret it... 

Southsea looking better in the sun (last Saturday)