Ankle trouble

The night was not great because it was mostly punctuated by my subconscious time clock based on the Illis travel arrangements.
I was awake before 03.00 which was when they were due to depart in their taxi, for Heathrow.
I was awake again around 06.00 when they would be boarding their flight to Frankfurt and again around 10.00 when they were boarding for their 10 hour flight to Miami. And there they have a three hour wait before taking a flight to Lima. Not that I was asleep at 10.00.

They are due in Miami soon. They will arrive in Lima around 22.30 local time. This is a good time to arrive if you have been stuck on planes for 24 hours. It means a taxi ride then bed. And hopefully a good start to the next day. It also means that the 13/08 has overstayed its welcome.

Apart from all this, I had a tricky night. My ankle was incredibly painful so I arose and hobbled to the bathroom to apply some cannabis cream and to down some paracetamol. It was painful lying still and walking. Pure pain.

But, as I type this at 19.17, the pain is easing
and it is feeling more like it’s old wonky self.

The two dogs were really good considering they had to wait for their walk. My ankle needed time and I had chores to deal with. The washing up of bigger vessels stacked in a wobbly tower after last night’s feast , was imperative.
I briefly wondered about finding my crutches but that would have meant going on a walkabout looking for them.

T had a good, cough – free start to the day and was cooperative enough to get up and come out with us.
We headed for Pangbourne, so we could bench hop if life with the ankle proved too tricky. The dogs were glad to run free and we headed for a handy bench. Thwarted! Some utterly inconsiderate people, who should have known better, beat us to it. We limped on down river and plonked ourselves .

Walking with Minnie involves a fair bit of ball throwing to keep her exercised as we don’t walk as far as the Illis. And certainly not today. The wooden bench up stream became free so we moved to that. And sat there enjoying warm sun, dogs, people, boats, river people etc.
We play this game with Minnie of rewarding her with the smallest ever bit of biscuit if she drops the ball. She loves chasing it and is beginning to drop it without the bribery. H just gets her teeny reward for doing nothing but look pretty.
It all must have worked because the dogs have been utterly silent since we returned. But then so have I. Something to do with my eyes being closed I suppose.

The river bank was home to about 15 two man canoes. Some sort of training appeared to be going on. Followed by participating in an expedition.
We limped back to the car and home.

I tidied up the dry big crockery vessels and made us a sandwich with some delicious sour dough bread we had picked up on the way home.

T has mainly been in good spirits and was not griping on our walk and seemed happy to enjoy the sun.

Our dogs were quite funny. Minnie ‘owns’ the ball and knows what to do with it, (chase it) and stores it between her clenched jaws . Just rarely she lets it go, then H dives in and picks it up and drops it repeatedly. Until she gets bored. Both dogs were keen to roll on the ball. Not sure why! Possession control?

Lest you think I’m mean making them share a ball, I have more on order. They are fairly indestructible but also prone to being abandoned. Though that is rare.

I decided to rest my ankle which led to total shut down. It’s odd, despite being painful, my foot is not swollen but the pain was radiating towards my toes, across the top of the foot, as well as in the knobby bit of bone. It’s troubled me for years. And the inconvenience is passing. I think.

I think this is roughly the Illis route over the next few weeks / days….