I know, small things amuse small minds.  This afternoon I bought a new grown-up comb to replace the baby-comb I've been using since my hair was adequately returned to justify combing.  I noticed this morning that my hair is just long enough to get mind-blown, so having a comb in my bag begins to be useful again.

So I bought this one:

The Kent Pocket Comb!

I'm sure it's really meant for men, but it was the best the local multiple chemist had on offer (I really did not want a candyfloss pink curl comb which was the only suitable women's comb they had).

And when I treid it there was actually enough resistance from my hair to make it feel worthwhile.

Oh happy day!  (And the angels have an easier job keeping count now too!)

As there was no exercise class today due to the place catching fire the other day, I did an hour's Wii Fit yesterday and my "double housework" instead today.  Double housework meant sorting out my bedroom in order to transform it back from being a miniature hospital ward (how it's felt for the last nine months) to a proper bedroom and then going through the heaps in my living room to sort out all the books, DVDs, jigsaws and other things that people so kindly lent me for my post operative recovery time.

So, there's a big heap of stuff in the hall waiting to be returned to its owners, along with two large bags of rubbish and several empty plastic containers for recycling.  The bathroom cupboard has ridiculous supplies of antiseptic and antibacterial wipes, painkillers, gut medicine, throat sweets, microporous tape in three widths, and enough burns dressings to supply a small specialist unit.

Strangely I can see surfaces and floors once more!

It will be lovely when I return from my hols to see the place looking like home again.

(Now I just need to restock the skincare products... shares in E45 set to rise again!)

Yesterday I stumbled across the blog of a young woman (aged 27) who is sharing her journey with breast cancer with courage and humour.  "Annie" was diagnosed after me but her cancer is so aggressive it makes my story a mere stroll in the park.  She has just posted a poem that is stunning in its simplicity and truth:

The oddest and best excuse ever!  I have no exercisxe class tomorrow because there was a fire in the place where it takes place.  Kind of odd to come home to find a message from them on my phone to this effect.  Bit of a shame, I was looking forward to it having missed the last two for good reasons.  Ah well, I'll have to do double housework instead.

Photo from BBC news website.

This morning I have been undertaking a bit of a review of some ideas I put together for church life at the start of 2010.  As well as being a useful exercise in seeing how much has been achieved - both from the list and beyond it - I have found myself wondering where all the time has gone!  I am now writing things like 'we should consider this in 2012' by which time I'll be well into my third year up here.

The reality is that 2011 has been a bit of an odd year for me... I still feel like it's just beginning when in actual fact it is half way through already.  Although I worked all of 2010, the final quarter was at a reduced level with no strategic thinking going on.  Time flies by so quickly anyway, but having a chunk effectively missing makes that even more so.

It has been a very encouraging review of what has been achieved and useful to note some possible ways forward for the next year or so.