I have a blogpost prepared about our Parkwood Seekers' trip to Sydney (undertaken before Easter), but it's waiting for the photos and I've had laptop/phone not talking to each other issues - they have been in the too hard basket.
But this morning, I'm making feijoa (1.6kg) and date (400g) chutney - plus it's also got 4 apples, 6 onions (oh how I cried), grated green ginger, a chopped chilli and 2 tbsp of cumin seeds, demerara sugar (no brown sugar in either pantry), and apple cider vinegar.
 | |
| Once my crying had stopped and the dates & apples were added, in went the sugar and cumin seeds. |
 |
| And once I'd stirred it, this is what is looked like. Now after 20 minutes or so, the dates are disintegrating and spreading their colour. Smells yum! |
It's got a good half- three quarters of an hour to simmer, and then I will jar it. And it has to be left for a week. How will I keep David away from it?
And in other news: David's poorly foot. Some time ago (back in January, so I blame Julia) David tripped up some steps at Coastlands and grazed his lower calf and the top of his foot. All was well, nary a moan, until a few weeks ago before we went to Sydney and he got me to look at his foot. It looked infected and I was sure I could see pus under a scab - why was there a scab three months after the original fall, I ask you?
Long story short, I had a poke with a needle and got some pus out, put a kawakawa leaf on it, a pad over the that and then a couple of lengths of plaster. We thought it would be a good idea to check with the Parkwood nurses. They suggested going to the Weekend Clinic in Paraparaumu where David was give some antibiotics.
Then when we got back from Sydney, it was no better, so it was off to the Wound Clinic - sounds impressive and serious, eh?
Once again, it seems as though David's extreme healing response (remember the anterior phymosis in his eye back in 2019?) had kicked in, and instead of growing new skin with a healthy blood supply, his foot was growing fibres (fibrinogen - I remember 6th form biology) across the wound. These had formed a hard scab, that I described as a carapace.
After a couple of attempts by chemical means to soften and loosen the carapace over a number of days, one of the Medical Centre nurses very gently pulled off the carapace. Since then we (I) have been dressing it with Inadine patches (iodine infused cloth).
I know the carapace (which has grown back) is smaller, but what's meant to be new skin growing around it looks very white, i.e. no visible blood supply that new skin would get.
I have the backup plan though - I have sharpened the axe and am ready to amputate when/if required. Adair, a very dear zero degrees friend with extensive nursing experience, is happy to come and help me. We have history - many years ago at a dinner party when a few of the other guests were under the influence of inhaled indimica, she and I had offered to perform a vasectomy on one guy who was being rather obnoxious. He thought we were joking until we started to clear the table ...
So watch this space.
