Z delegates

I've got a sheet of exercises from the physiotherapist. Some of them are to do standing, a couple standing on a step and a few more lying on the bed. Two or three times a day, I should do them. I've managed one of them once today, I was busy. I feel guilty already, especially as I assured the nice man that I was highly motivated and would do whatever would help. Anyway, he gave me some lovely ultrasound and another appointment for a fortnight hence.

This afternoon, I got the Sage to do the hoovering. I just kept pointing him at another room and he politely kept going. He's not superb at it, admittedly - if there's a magazine lying on the floor, for example, he'll hoover round it and when it's picked up there's a pile of gubbins underneath, but this is a small fault and easy to overlook. I don't believe in being critical when someone is helping me. It's discouraging and ungrateful. Better to give total praise and then, next time, remember to mention in advance that it's a help in doing a really good job if you move stuff about a bit.

Ro helped me with dinner. We've got a friend staying and so I chatted over a glass of wine and was a bit late starting on a slightly complicated dinner - not elaborate, a simple fish pie, but there were a lot of separate parts to it. I asked Ro to mash potatoes and he didn't know where the potato ricer is kept. Evidently, he doesn't do quite enough in the kitchen normally. However, he did a lot to help and I was, again, grateful and appreciative. For a pudding, I meant to poach pears but Squiffany went to sleep so I had to babysit next door instead of getting on with some cooking while the children were here, so I made them into a crumble instead with a jar of quince preserve, which worked well.

I've been told again that swimming would do me more good than anything. I don't quite like to explain that I'm too timorous to take both feet off the bottom unless I'm holding on with at least one hand. I am very capable of floundering helplessly at the bottom of the pool, even when I'm not out of my depth. I hardly ever even lie back in the bath as when I relax I have been known to slip under the water and panic.

Ooh, the dinner must have been all right. I thanked Ro for his help, again, and he kissed me goodnight. This doesn't often happen. The Sage always kisses me when I make him a pudding, too. Isn't that splendid?