Today was pretty easy and painless, so I get to do a light post with some observations, which is nice because I’m sure there will be some heavy ones to come….
The guest house we’re staying in does a Full English Breakfast (which, apart from the proximity to the hospital and the free wifi, was a deciding factor for me!) and every morning we rouse ourselves well before we are ready to get up, and stumble (or in my Master’s case, hobble) over to the breakfast room for our eggs, sausages, (proper English) bacon, grilled tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and of course toast and marmalade! Then, most mornings since we’ve got here, we just lurch back, replete and perhaps a bit rounder, back to bed to sleep off our morning excesses! (This is all part of my plan to help him heal fastest, of course!)
The English do this odd thing, where they make toast, but then they put it in what I call a “toast cooling rack.” The concept of butter melting as you spread it over hot toast seems entirely foreign to them.
Since I’m allergic to wheat, I always have to bring my special bread with me, and usually they bring it toasted on a plate, which suits me because I’m quite fond of warm toast. Today, the server very proudly brought my special toast in a toast cooling rack, and after smiling and thanking her for this special inclusion, I quickly yanked my toast out, buttered it with alacrity, and then stacked the slices so as to keep warm the longest time possible, shoving the poor neglected toast cooling rack to the side of the table.
I love the British, and it didn’t take very long at all for me to “go native,” in any number of ways (tea with milk being a panacea for all ills, beans on toast, calling trash cans “rubbish bins,” enjoying watching rugby, etc.) but I simply cannot take to cold toast. I don’t care how horribly American it makes me … and as sad as it makes me to disdain the adorable little toast cooling racks … it’s just too late to change that taste for me!
Today we didn’t get our post-brekkie-gluttony nap because we had to get my Master ready for Sunday with the family (or at least a small bit of it’s rambling endless third-cousin-twice-removed extent). This involves various amounts of prep, since if it’s not a bandage-changing day, he can’t take a shower and so I scrub him all over with a washcloth, carefully avoiding the multiple bandages. Then it’s helping getting dressed, and finally fitting the huge leg brace over the right trouser leg.
By the time I’d gotten both my Master and myself ready, his father was here to pick us up, and whisk us off for a nice roast lamb supper out at his home in the beautiful English countryside. (I will add that mint jelly is another Brit-thing I haven’t quite gotten the hang of, either….)
After my second huge meal of the day, I needed both air and exercise, and so I grabbed the camera and went for a long hike on a local beautiful long-distance footpath. To ensure that I managed to get any exercise, I didn’t let myself start taking pictures until I was on my way home. I think I walked out for about hour, and then took two hours to return!
I really wished my Master could have come with me. I love both hiking with him, and shooting with him. I don’t want to have to be exploring the English countryside without him! 
I actually managed to be hungry again by the end of this, and my Master was up for trying a short walk to the local pub, so when we got back to the guest house, off we went. He did amazing! Perhaps he’ll be hiking with me in not such a far future…! The pub, sadly, was a fail. They didn’t have what I first ordered, I didn’t like my second choice, and his dish of gammon, eggs, peas and chips consisted of a really fatty ham slice, flavourless peas, and chips that were the opposite of “crispy.”
Ahh well, two out of three meals were lovely! And there’s another pub two doors down, so we’ll try that one next!
This wasn’t quite the vacation we had planned, but I am glad we are still managing to enjoy life despite such a serious set-back.
Tomorrow’s a holiday, so we can’t do anything with doctors, lawyers, or police (all on the table for Tuesday!) so we’re planning to have the best holiday we can have, despite all odds….
