Co-ordination and Balance

Somehow I think this is fighting a losing battle trying to improve this in my case.  All the exercises won't reproduce what has already gone.  The others at tai chi manage to stand on one leg and move the other foot up and down, round and about, back and forth but not me - unless I am hanging on to the wall.   So far I haven't had any falls or mishaps but in case things get worse I have decided to reduce the clutter of furniture somewhat  so there is less chance of tripping over the surfeit of furniture.  Last week I sold a couple of bentwood chairs, one more with a slightly warped seat, to go. I never actually sat on them just used them to put things on. So my next task is to find places out of the way for these things, or get rid of them too.

I had a week or so out of action with a terrible cold but managed to do a few little jobs around the house and sorted through papers from yesteryear, chucking them in the recycling bin before I changed my mind.  

To take my mind off things I practiced my hand-eye coordination by finishing a jigsaw that had been cluttering up the dining room table for a couple of weeks.  It was only 500 pieces and not too difficult as the pieces were big. The subject matter  was flowers and old china, both things  dear to my heart so I did enjoy doing it, put off only by the winterery conditions in that room on the south side of the house.  Getting back to coordination I found I avoid using my right hand, the side affected by Parkinson's  and have become ambidextrous doing a very good job thank you very much with my left hand.  Better keep using the right hand though so it doesn't become completely useless.

Pain in the Neck

Have been suffering from headaches over recent weeks and have decided it is probably a postural thing from sticking my neck out somewhat.  Have resolved to stand up straight, get plenty of fresh air and try not to worry.  Hopefully they will go away.

Had my annual appointment with the neurologist recently and apart from my rather awkward gait caused by my gammy leg and glute muscle I think she thought the status quo was Ok as far as pills go.  The main thing she said was to avoid fluctuations and suggested having my sinamet three and a half hours apart so as I keep on an even keel throughout the day.

Also went to a coffee morning at Kings Plant Barn last week and caught up with some of the women I see there, all looking fit and well.

Have taken a break from the choir during the last few wet and cold weeks but will start up again. As well as being good for the voice it is uplifting to sing and something I wouldn't otherwise do on my own.

The speech language therapist visited this week too and she thought my voice was sounding loud enough.  She is going to put me through my paces of the Lee Silverman method for maintaining volume.  It is an intensive 4 week programme four days a week for an hour, with an extra 20 minutes of practice.  

I have been trying to find out a bit about the artists of these pictures which belonged to my mother.  The top one is a small watercolour, not sure if it is a print or original by the Austrian artist Faistauer, painted in 1924. The lower two are Swiss scenes , lithographs signed Marc, which was the name Nicholas Markevitch used for his lithographic prints.