Tuesday Night: Clear and sunny, 27C and windy. Yesterday was partly cloudy but sunny. I made the impress mould to make the roof slates on Jackson's....
Today I made the slate effect using the impress method pushing the mould into the clay, it looks very effective....
The painted slates.... Now for the rest of the roof....
Jackson's has also had perspex windows added to keep the cats out....
Sunday Morning: partly cloudy, breezy, cooler 20C. On Friday evening we went to dinner at Mandy and Steve's place with all the same people as last week, we didn't get home until gone 2am so yesterday was a little quiet, although most of the afternoon and evening was taken up watching/listening to the football.
So ends the football season, I must say that for once I feel "happy" about the results..... I had followed the Champions league, so was very pleased to see Chelsea win than and of course Reading won the Championship and have been promoted to the Premier league
On Friday afternoon I spent a little more time making the Jet Ranger look more scale and adding some decals, I still have some detail to add, but slowly it is looking more like a Jet Ranger.
Because it is 1/12th scale I have been able to fit a couple of our home made dolls into it to add realism..... "Steve is about to start up and Maria checks the pressure.....
Thursday Night: It was incredibly warm over the weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were 29C and the pool temperature rose to 25C by Sunday. I had several swims on Saturday afternoon at 24C and found it was very refreshing.
On Sunday we met up with Donna and Chris , Donna's Mum, Mandy and Steve and Beccie and Antony at Maria's for a meal, then they all came back here for the evening and had a swim.
On Monday we were supposed to go with Beccie to Benidorm for her PET scan, but Antony didn't go to work so he took her instead.
We went to Jalon Tuesday lunchtime so I could get a hair cut and Beccie and Chrissie came to see Lou, who used to be Beccies boss
Wednesday afternoon I was looking to see if a screw that had been found had fallen off the Jet Ranger, then I noticed that the wooden cradle which supports the helicopter mechanics was completely unglued. It had simply fallen apart, which meant I had to take it apart. When I looked at the wood it was obvious the glue used to make this base was useless to the exreme. I was also bewildered by the lack of any bracing. On the Hughes 500, the undercarriage braces the cradle, but this model has nothing, so it's never going to be strong enough.
I decided to improve it so I made some formers to brace it and strengthened the undercarriage mounts because I planned to change the plastic under carriage. The model is supplied with a very flimsy unscale plasic undercarriage that is far too small and sags at the back, so I decided to buy some tube and try and make a scale one instaed to replace it.
We had a hospital appointment today at Denia for 9-50pm, waited just on the hour then after tha we went to the Ondara Centre so Chrissie and Beccie could go shopping and I bought the tube to make the new undercarriage.
I was rather pleased with myself this afternoon when I succesfully made the new undercarriage. I wasn't really sure how I was going to do it at first, but I remembered seeing a some old pully's in a "box of treasures" that was left here and it turned out to be the correct diameter for the bends I needed to make in the aluminium tube to make the legs. I cut down a spare T Rex U/C to fit the skids and shapped the ends to fit inside the tube. It all went together really well but as well as enhancing the look of the model, the larger "scale" undercarriage will make the model much easier to land here on the uneven ground.
It looks so much better than before, it definitly looks more like a Jet anger now! The other exciting thing I discovered when I was looking at scale drawings of this helicopter is that the model is 1/12th scake and our homemade bendy dolls fit perfectly in the cockpit!
Thursday Night: Today and yesterday have been really warm, it was 29.5C here yesterday and we got to 28C today. There are periods of very little wind (at last) but the sun is fierce.
We have had three appointments, the first was last Friday in Benidorm for a consultaion, it was at the Hospital Clinica Benidorm where Chrissies parents had both been, so it was a little difficult at first, but it's changed a lot inside and really we were there for a totally different reason. We were kept waiting nearly 2 hours, but after we went to the port in Calpe for lunch, then sat and watched the sea, but it was windy.
Beccie had to be at the Denia hospital for 8-30am Friday for bloods followed by a 10-30am consultation with her doctor, but they put an extra appointment in for 10, which took until gone 11 and by then we'd missed 10-30 so we had to wait until gone 12 for that one..... and that took an hour, so we were there for 5 hours....
Beccie stayed at her appartment with Antony on Saturday, I made the fireplace and stove I had promised to make for the dolls house club's display house. They have a fayre this weekend, so it was needed for that. At least the wind began to drop, so I worked in the naya mostly, but finished off in the courtyard.
We had an appointment Monday in Benidorm for Beccie to have a scan, We had to wait an hour, but that's quite good as hospital appointments here go.....
On Tuesday I decided to fix "Jacksons" the miniature shop, which was badly broken again due to the cats..... I was pleased with the result though and carried on Wednesday making windows out of some perspex we found, at least that will stop the cat/cats getting inside. It was decided to leave the scrath marks it made escaping the falling building though as it "adds character".
This afternoon I decided to finish off the new Helicopter, so I sat in the courtyard in the shade and although it was incredibly fiddly, I managed to get it assembled correctly. When I test flew it however the tail was really unresponsive, probably due to the large tail fin now obstructing it and at first I feared I would have to take apart and put a bigger servo arm on. But I decided to have a look at the transmitter settings and found that the tail servo had been set to 50%...... I re set it to 80 and that was too much so it's at 70% at the moment and that's nice. I had another fly later in the plaza and trimmed it out properly, it flys really well.....
Wednesday Afternoon: Mostly clear and sunny, 20C with a medium to strong breeze from the south....... What a difference to yesterday thogh, we have been tidying up in the courtyard this morning and then sat with the blind down and had lunch, it's been very pleasant.
I had a flight with the Lady B earlier when the wind changed and although it was a bit bumpy, it was OK. I tried to land from the West, not a good idea.... My "landing" was abismal, in fact it was more of an "arrival" right into the tallest grass by the bonfire..... At least it was soft!
I finished off the new T Rex airframe yesterday afternoon and was able to test fly it last evening in the Plaza. A lot of people turned up in the plaza yesterday as it was a holiday in Spain, two lots even arrived whilst I was trying to set the tail up and each one asked me if it was going to fly it (in Spanish). I had to explain that this was it's first time, but that was about all I was able to say so maybe they thought it was mine too and left! Anyway after they went away I made a few minor adustments to the tail servo position and reset the gyro reverse switch, then the model flew really well first time.
The Bell 206 Kit.
I flew another full pack with the new T Rex later on when the wind dropped, which means I can now put the mechanics into the new Bell 206 body and complete the second scale helicopter....
I noticed yetserday that all our large cactus plants have started to grow their "tree" which looks like a shoot of giant asparagus. This happens when the plant is over 20 years old and once the "tree" dies, so does the plant. Well we were thinking of getting rid of them anyway, so by next year they will all have died.
These grow to about 20ft (6M) tall and have a lovely yellow flower..... Then they cover the entire area with thier seeds..... nasty little things to weed out too!
Tuesday afternoon: Cool strong wind, mostly sunny 17C. The wind is still blowing and it's so strong you can't sit outside......
I took Daniel to the airport on Friday, but we had to go early and take Baccie back to denia has she was havig a bad reaction to the antibiotics. I left Chrissie and Beccie there and drove to Alicante, then I picked them up on the way back..... In the mean time they had seen the doctor and been told t stop the antibiotics.
On Saturday and Sunday I built the third T Rex, which is the one for the new Bell 206 body. it's ready to fly, but the incesant wind keeps blowing!
I did the lawns yesterday, I call them lawns now as the more I mow the terraces, the more dense and green they have become.....
Halfway through mowing and after just two weeks the grass has grown sevral inches......
On the mountain terrace.......
Thursday Afternoon: Sunny, some cloud, mild 22C, some breeze now. Beccie came home from the hospital on Tuesday, it took all day to see the doctor to get the papaerwork, but in the end we got home about 5-30pm. On the way to the garrage the cars electronic dashboard ent wrong, so we have to go to the garrage on the way and they lent us the sevice car for the day as ours had no electrics.
Wedneday I took the service car back and picked ours up, Chriisse was unwell and spent the day in bed.
Thursday started out clear calm and sunny as forecast, so after a month of relentless wind, we finnaly got to fly today.
Daniel video'd the T Rex in flight, then I asked him to film my Hughes 500MD with my video camera, so here at last is the promisied flying video of the Hughes 500MD...
Tuesday Night: Beccie is now in a ward and we don't have to wear the protective gear anymore. I took Chrissie to the hospital and she spent the day tending to her and looking after her. In Spain the "family" do the basic care, all the nurses do is take your temperture and give you drugs.....
Currently it's 24/7 so Antony is staying with her at night and Chrissie is going during the day, which at the moment invloves a lot of work. Beccie needs help with everything, so Chrisse has been helping with washing, feeding and above all comforting.
I took her to the hospital for 9.45am this morning and stayed for a while then went home, whilst Chrissie stayed all day. About 3-30pm Daniel and I went back to the hospital for a couple of hours and stayed until some of Beccies friends arrived....
During the drive home we decided to visit Jim and Angela and we stayed there for a couple of hours, we always enjoy thier company.
When we arrived home it was time for me to listen to the "big game"..... (needless to say all of this is immaterial in relation to Beccies health) but If "dreams" were to come true tonight, Reading would need to win against Nottingham Forrest and lowly placed Bristol City would need to at least to draw with West Ham.......
Was this "trivial" thing too much to ask after our prayers have already been answered? I didn't even dare to dream ti could..... But unbelievably it happened !!!! West Ham Drew and Reading won so are now back in the Premier League!
This is insignificant in comparison to the best news this week.... Well done Beccie!!!!
Monday Night: Nine days, I can't believe it's been nine days, but the scary bit in the UCI is over. Beccie has responded to the treatment so they woke her up Saturday, Sunday she was better, today they have moved her to a ward and although she is still in "isolation" it's 1000 times better than in UCI.
Chrissie waited at the hospital all day so she could join Beccie as soon as she went up to a ward, but then Beccie had another temperature which delayed things and freaked us all out, so we all spent the afternoon in despair.... However all is well and she was moved up to a room about 5-30pm.
Daniel spent the afternoon cooking spring rolls to take her and it was just as well becuase her dinner wasn't too good, but we all had a grand feast on the spring rolls which were lovely! We left Antony with her at about 9-15pm
Chrissie is going to be with her during the day, then her friend Donna is comming late afternoon until Antony Arrives. Beccie can't stand up yet, but is exercising her legs already so I expect in a couple of days she will.....
Saturday Night: Beccie was taken very ill a week ago last Wednesday (re entry below) so wee took her to the hospital and they diagnosed that she had the start of pneumonia, they gave her antibiotics and sent her home. For the rest of the week she seemed to be better, although still very week and short of breath at times. Last weekend she went to stay at thierr flat with Antony, I took her to town to meet him on Saturday afternoon then did the shopping..
Early Sunday morning she became unwell with a very high temperature, fast heart rate and very short of breath. Antony took her to the emergency at denia Hospital, just 5 minutes away. After scans and tests during the day she was admitted and we went up to her room with ehr to settle her in. The rooms are realy nice, good as a hotel, similar facilities, shower toilet, phone, TV (extra) but nice comfortable couch and seat for family, who are expected to provide basic care for the patient, other than medical.
So fhe rest of the week we spent most of the day with her in her room. It was OK, I was able to use my computer and even have a sleepit was so comfortable, then after work Antony came and stayed with her each night so she wasn't alone very much at all.
But then a worrying pattern began to form, she would seem to become better, then suddenly crash and each time the crash's were worse..... Tuesday they took her for a scan and said the pnuemonia was worse, it had now spread to both lungs.
On Wednesday morning the doctors saw her and they warned us she may be admitted to UCI (ITU) "as a precaution" but not to tell her. But as normal she perked up and seemed to be improving and we left her in higher spirits as she seemed to be getting better again. She had a good night and Antony went to work from the hospital, although she was short of breath when he left.
Thursday morning she texed us in what seemed a good frame of mind after a comfortable night, so we planned to arrive lunchtime, stay a while, then go shopping for the easter weekend as Daniel arriving Friday and everything here closes..
We arrived Thursday lunchtime with her dinnner and expecting her to be on the mend, but instead she was laying flat exceedingly breathless and very discoherant...... I went and got the nurse and very soon the doctors arrived including the elusive doctor Ana who we have been trying to contact for two weeks. We gave her a letter for her from the oncologist doctor in Valencia and said that we had shown the nurses earlier in the week, then she blew her top at the nurses for not telling her earlier and immeadiatly changed the medication. Beccie was then moved to UCI (ITU) "as a precaution" .
We saw her Thursday night and she was in good spirits and positive and seemed to have "imporved" again and although there were a few more wires and a couple more canulas, she was doing better again.
We arrived Friday Morning for our visit in reasonable spirits and were called first. However they had called us because there was a problem. Beccie was barely breathing so they had to insert an intubation tube. They said she was in no pain and asleep but wanted to warn us because it is shocking to see..... They said she may recognise us, but would it would be between dreams. They don't know what the infection is, they can't match it and because it's easter they can't do anytihing until Tuesday.
They have given her a "universal anitibiotic" which only youg people can have, then her Doctor in Valencia noticed her hemoglobin level was abnormally low. This was deficient due to the chemo and she will have another dose in 48 hours. The positive news is that she has not had another fever for 24 hours.
Today she was more concious and smiled and opened her eyes when I came in, she was totaly aware and finding her this way today was a lot easier to take. The doctors have upped her sedation to help her fight the infection so tonight she was almost asleep.
She is currently heavily sedated, intorbated and stable.
We get to see her twice a day - they seem to be more leniant than the "30 minutes" they state on the notices, so between us we have been able to be with her for over an her each tme. I picked Daniel up yesterday from Alicante so Beccie saw him whilst she was more awake last night.
We just have to wait now whilst these stronger drugs do their work. The doctor has given up her holiday to be working on this. Thier theory is that it's a "hospital pnuemonia" which has been caused by one of the chemo drugs that is toxic to the lungs, last we heard was they are checing... but they are not certain about anything.
SORRY ABOUT THE SPELLING IT's MOSTLY TYPO'S chanhe and check tomoorow - until then put up with it....
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