Good News from the Empress.... Not So Good from ME

Hello Dhaaarlings...

By this time of the program with opening night rapidly approaching...

Princess should be as busy as a one legged man in an arse kicking competition! 

But I'm not!

I'm feeling more like a Snail slowly drowning in a bucket of stale beer.

It has been a very busy week here at the Palais or.... I should say.... 

Would have been had I not needed to take regular breaks throughout the day by getting horizontal and taking to my bed... but not in a pleasurable way!

The Empress had a review with her hip surgeon last Monday. 

The trip... of 3 hours each way via public transport played merry hell with my back... All the jostling a jolting aboard trains and tramcars and miles of walking through crowded city streets takes its toll.... let me tell you! Let alone on the Empress...

And as you probably know the hours of sitting around waiting-rooms on the most uncomfortable of chairs in public hospitals is never fun and even less with a crook back!

The news for the Empress however was very positive. She does not require another surgery at this stage and she has been referred for a course of physiotherapy (Locally thank goodness) as her Surgeon thinks that the pain she is getting is coming from tendons and muscles that are rubbing over the prosthesis in her hip. He wants to review her progress in February after a course of physio so see if her pain levels have decreased from some targeted exercises and activities...

So that is fantastic news!

My news... it seems... is not so good...

I'm feeling like my back is getting worse and have as yet... not had any investigations organised. I'm hoping to hear form my Surgeon's rooms this week to shed some more light on when things might start moving in regard to investigations as an outpatient.

I am feeling very very frustrated....

Laying down regularly I've discovered is the only way that I can get any real relief form the constant aching pain.... 
Pain that feels like someone has hit me right in the centre of my back between the shoulder blades.... with a hot axe.... and then tied a 10 kg weight to both of my arms.... 
And now add to that constant sensation.... stabbing pains starting from between my shoulder blade's that shoot out over my shoulders and up the sides of my neck to my ears when I try to turn my head past a 45 degree angle to either side. It makes driving the car somewhat of a challenge!!!


Well.... it pretty much makes everything a challenge... and not only that... It is becoming bloody expensive!
I have to pay someone to come in and clean the house... and do the yard as well. At present I can't push a lawn mower, pull weeds, swing a mop or vacuum the floor...

It really pisses me off! 

 I can only manage about an hour at a time.. sewing at the phaff... before it all gets too painful and I have to lay down again.... The pain killers help dull the pain a little but also make my brain all foggy which pisses me off even more as I'm tending to make silly stupid fucking mistakes and then spend more time having to unpick the work and re sew it. 

Which is (as you have no doubt gathered by now if you are a regular reader of this drivel).... screwing up my usual prolific productivity!

I'm still battling on with costumes for the show despite all this... and learning to trust that other people can do just as good a job as myself... I've found a wonderful volunteer to assist me... She has a daughter in the show and is  very capable competent and confident in her sewing abilities  

She is happy to do the bulk of the putting together of the garments... (And there have been many) This week she delivered back to me 15 completed party frocks ready for me to just add the embellishments and finishing touches consisting of collars, laces, buttons and ribbons to tizzy them up a little bit...

She has been a great find is a fantastic help and is a lovely lady to boot.

Despite my increasing levels of frustration I have been able over the past few months to make some positive inroads into what could have been deemed as a rather "prickly" relationship with the Head Costumier.

We met for lunch at the beginning of the planning stage for this show and threw a few ideas around, divvied up the workload and exchanged patterns for costumes. Since then she has maintained regular contact with me and has organised several progress meetings. To "show and tell" where each of us are at in regards to costume progress and throw about suggestions or discuss alterations to the costumes that still need to be made.

 She also offered to make some of the collars for the Orphan's party dresses which was something that I was not expecting from her and has really helped to decrease my workload.

 This time around, I have found her to be very supportive in our interactions.... even quite amicable... with a willingness on her part to a sharing of ideas and a preparedness to consider suggestions that I make regarding designs and colour combinations for costumes. She has also been open to trying more difficult costume designs and genuinely asking for my opinion and input on some of the more technical aspects of the costumes.  Which you will agree is a major shift... given our history. 

So to mark the progress...Here... Try on one of the Orphans Party Dresses and feel pretty for a while...

3 down with only 22 to go! 

And Darlings... 

Here's another little something to distract you from my woes and continue with celebrating 

"The Year Of The Arse"






I'd would feel so much better if I could just do this myself... even if only just for a fleeting moment in time....

Anyway Darlings... It's time for me to take some more drugs and have another little lie down... 

In the meantime darlings... Bottoms up!