October 22nd - October 30th

This period of time has proved to be a rather busy one for me. I have met up with friends, had appointments and also been out to the theatre.
Whilst all of this has been good for me mentally, I have begun to feel rather tired and am resting when necessary and going to bed earlier than usual.
This busy time began with a visit from an ex-work colleague, what a lot we had to catch up on and before we knew it we had chatted for three hours! I have to concede that this did leave me slightly light-headed and I needed to be quiet for a spell afterwards. After all this time, it is amazing that I cannot cope with the intensity of these situations.
The following day, an old acquaintance visited, but this time for a shorter period of time. I am a people person and I do miss opportunities to socialise but am not down-hearted about it.
I like to visit our weekly market and am now able to do light shopping without too much difficulty.
 (During December the town hosts a two day Christmas Market where local produce and crafts are on sale. The week-end ends with a firework finale.)
I have joined a local Chairobics class, which is a sit down low impact exercise class. This week was my first visit and it was customised to meet the needs of individuals. I coped very well and do not seem to have had any adverse effects.
At the weekend we met up with long standing friends at a town half way to where we both live. The day was gloriously sunny and after a pub lunch we wandered around the town's street market.
I had decided a few weeks ago that my next challenge was to do a supermarket shop on my own and I achieved this earlier in the week. I took a bus to the supermarket and managed to leisurely wander around all the store and look at what was on offer, this seemed to be a real treat for me and was the first time that I had done this alone since having my stroke. Once I had finished my husband collected me.
Yesterday I had an appointment at the Botox clinic. Once again a discussion ensued about my progress since the last injection. It is reasonable to say that over the last three or four weeks I have noticed that my arm and fingers are more relaxed than they have been at any other time: more relaxed for longer periods and as yet rather unaffected by the cold weather. So it was decided that this was not the right time for injection No. 4.
Each time Botox is administered it weakens the muscles and so it has to be given when absolutely necessary or it can cause adverse effects.
This period has been a satisfying one: I have caught up with friends, been out almost daily and achieved my first supermarket shop. I am not too sure what my next challenge or task will be . . I'm still pondering!