Moroccan cotton.

For some time, Ben's been searching for good-quality T shirts, like those he saw in Germany last year, and like Bonds tops used to be before manufacturing went offshore. Today, the postal courier rang our doorbell twice; first with a parcel containing a hoodie and three T shirts made in Morocco and then, five minutes later when he realised there were two parcels for us, another package containing two books from Booktopia. The clothes, though made in Morocco and bought online, came from a supplier in Clayton, about 5km away. The books: a medical book to help us better understand what we're struggling with, and a sci-fi novel to help us take our minds off what we're struggling with.

Kitchen theatre.

The old TV has been replaced by a modest-sized flat screen but we hardly ever watch. Kiki's Delivery Service took five sittings and as many weeks to view from beginning to end. For several weeks we didn't know if Kiki would regain her lost magical powers and it was an anxious time, for the carer that is. Ben has regained some of his non-magical powers; now comfortable to sit and write for an hour or more and, recently, spending an increasing amount of time searching the internet for medical information. Kiki recovered her witch's magic, rescued a friend from a stricken airship in front of an admiring crowd and her delivery business flourished, an ending that made us both smile. (Apologies for the spoiler if you haven't seen it already!)

Torsades de pointes.

(web image)

Sound exotic? In French it means 'twisting of the peaks' but it's not a mystical location somewhere in the alps. It's the name of a potentially fatal heart arrhythmia which happens to be the worst-case side effect of the latest medication. For this reason Ben's having a precautionary ECG today, the third ECG since starting on the new meds. The unpleasant side effect of the old medication is gradually disappearing. The potential worst-case unpleasant side effect of the new is far worse, but thankfully rare. Thus far, the new meds are working well and ECG results show no cause for concern.

Music in the kitchen.

Music has returned to the kitchen in many styles and on all kinds of media. Weekly guitar lessons continue.