Opblog #8

I feel rough today. I think when I got home yesterday I must have still had some anaesthetic floating round my system that wore off at around six o'clock. I got up to go to the loo and started shivering with my teeth chattering, even though the sun was shining. I had to wrap a blanket round myself for the rest of the night and cautiously allow Biddy on to my lap as a sort of feline hot water bottle.

Frank was stalking a mouse in the dining room. If I had been feeling a bit more mobile I would have tried to rescue it and put it out in the field, but all I could do was shut the door and let him get on with it. I found the hind quarters neatly deposited on the door mat this morning and Frank looked very please with himself.

I changed the dressing on my groin (the pads look suspiciously like miniature sanitary towels), had a not very successful strip wash (I've got some weird yellow disinfectant stuff on me that has now stained my flannel) and tottered out of the house for a walk.

It was slow going, to say the least. Each step was accompanied by an soto voce expletive but I made it to the woods and back in one piece, and Barney seemed happy at least. I found two messages on my mobile - one from work when they tried to call me in the middle of my operation yesterday, and a bizarre text message from a number I didn't recognize "Bab i dont what you to hurt me bab xxx". Answers on a postcard ...