Add salt to compensate

A less disturbed night's sleep for a change, no obvious reason why, but I got up late to a grey overcast day and persistent light rain. Members of Clare's study group arrived for their session after breakfast before I was dressed, so I had to disappear upstairs promptly. 

I called the GP surgery for a telephone appointment follow up to yesterday's blood test, and was offered one face to face this afternoon, which I'd prefer anyway. Thankfully no hanging around waiting for a phone call at an unspecified hour.

After a veggie pasta lunch I ventured out to the surgery with brolly clad in waterproof trousers and jacket. Blocked gutters meant flooded road surfaces. At least it slows down traffic reducing the risk of pedestrians getting soaked. The blood test report showed low sodium level again but not as low as previously, as I now add sea salt to my breakfast porridge and sprinkle a little on my food, something Dr Mullaney approved of as a remedy for the harsh diuretic effect of the blood pressure medication. Is there really no alternative remedy to address the problem?

Clare made this year's Christmas puddings this morning and put them on to boil. She had to go out on an errand so we took turns to stay in and keep an eye on them in case either pan runs dry. It was dark by the time I went out to complete my daily exercise, and it was still raining intermittently. It wasn't pleasant. It's been unnerving walking outdoors in low light since I had the stroke. On top of this I've been feeling tired all day. So frustrating when neither rest nor exercise seem to make much difference.

After supper I watched a double episode of the Irish crimmie 'Borderline' with a story about people smuggling and modern slavery set in the rural frontier zone between the Republic and Northern Ireland with all the tension and complexity involved in collaborative police investigations crossing jurisdictions. This story involved international borders too with asylum seekers trying to make their way into Britain from the EU through the border between the Republic and the UK. Thought provoking.