OOPS!

We have had some misadventures on our trip so far.  A bit embarrassing really!

The day we arrived and settled in a bit before heading down to the High Street for dinner, Gordon was anxious to open the mail.  September is the month that both our credit and debit cards here in the U.K. expire and he was anxious to receive the new ones to make sure we had some way of paying for our normal debauchery.  Sure enough, there they were.  As I'm arranging and putting stuff away I walk by the dining room and see he's got all the credit cards laying out next to each other.  I thought it was odd, why would you lay all the cards side-by-side?  Isn't there danger of getting them confused?  But, okay.  A little later I hear "shit" and "oh no"!  He's cut up the new credit card.  Doh!  Miss-step number one!

Miss-step number two.  About mid afternoon on Thursday, the day after we arrived, we decided to have a cup of tea before heading out.  In the U.K. everyone uses an electric kettle for boiling water.  We do too and it takes very little time to heat up to a rolling boil a pitcher of water for tea.  So I pour the boiling water in a small stainless steel teapot with tea bags.  I've always hated that teapot because it's difficult to fit the lid on.  So as I'm trying to fit the lid, and a little punch-drunk with jet lag, I pushed the lid a bit hard and the whole thing fell into the boiling water pushed by my right hand which went in too!  Yowch!  So I've scalded my entire right hand up to my wrist. And it hurts like HELL!  This morning it's kinda a black/red and so tender.  I had to wash my hair entirely with my left hand and doing dishes is definitely O U T.....a small consolation.

Miss-step number three.  While on the airplane I used the restroom and thought, hmmmmm, that feels a wee bit like a urinary tract infection.  Nah, couldn't be.  Today, Friday, I woke up with a full blown bladder infection and a busy day. 

Gordon and I headed off to Lockerbie for our wee cars annual MOT. 

Pretty spiffy looking little Triumph in the showroom.

After dropping the car off we walked down to Cobwebs and searched the little overstuffed shop for goodies. 

Piles of table linens and bedding and dishes.

Gordon looking confused by all the kitchenware and books!

Furniture and more dishes!

And still more.

We ended up only buying three 8X10 frames to continue our collection of friend pictures in our entry.  Walking back up toward the little town of Lockerbie I'm thinking, oh geez, do I really have to "go" or is it really a bladder infection?  AND what am I going to do?  We shop at Tesco for a few more groceries and Gordon went back down the street to pick up the car.  While driving home I told Gordon that I thought I'd need to see a doctor for antibiotics.

Now three years ago Jillian came over for a week break that turned into a three week break and she left her birth control in Manhattan.  We took her to the local doctor and, at no charge, he saw her and wrote a prescription for not one month of birth control, but three months AT NO CHARGE.   So we headed to Dr. Crawford's office on the way home to see if he could see me.

In Scotland they call a Dr.'s office a surgery.  So at the surgery I learned that they were all booked up but the receptionist was kind enough to call the other doctor in town to see if they could see me.  They can at 4:40pm.  So back at home we unload groceries and experience miss-step number four.  Gordon dropped the box that held four bottles of white wine and we lost a bottle.  Oh well.  Not so bad.

We both laid down for a nap as we were feeling knackered today.  Jet lag has caught up and a slightly sleepless night for me added to my woes.

At 4:30 I headed down toward the "surgery" and awaited my appointment with Dr. McHenry.  Twenty minutes later he comes out to reception and brings me in to a shabby little office.  "Hello, I'm Dr. McHenry".  "Hello Dr. I'm Sharon Corsie.  Thank you so much for seeing me on such short notice, I'm very grateful".  "Er, um, well, I'm Dr. McHenry and you don't have National Health Insurance and there will be a small fee".  "No problem.  When you've got a bladder infection you'll pay just about anything to get rid of it and I've got a busy weekend planned!"  "Er, well, as I said, I'm Dr. McHenry".  Okay we've established that.  "I used to be a Principal but I'm only here to help out".  Eh?  Does that mean he used to work at a school and now he's a doctor?  I quickly deduce (fortunately before saying something stupid) that he used to be a principal/owner of the Dr.'s office but now he's just come to fill in while someone is on "holiday"....another funny way of saying vacation.  Anyway, he wants to know my symptoms and I present him with my special little gift of urine in a tiny little container.  "My gift to you" I say handing him the vial of urine and "symptoms are feeling like I need to pee constantly and burning while doing it!" In a nutshell right girls?  As he dips a tester in the special urine serum it almost explodes with the color of infection!  Yay!  "Oh well, you've definitely got uncomplicated waterworks."  Eh, what?  Are we talking Monopoly or urinary tract infection?  "So I'll just write you a prescription and you'll be on your way", and "there will be a small charge on your way out."  Yes, yes, I heard you, let's get on with it.  "Just take this to the Chemist (pharmacist) and get your prescription.  "Bye, bye, thank you so much for taking your time to see me.  I really appreciate it Dr."

They charged me 20 pounds and at the chemist I paid 4 pound 50 for antibiotics and I was back home in 45 minutes.  Can you do that in the U.S.?  I think not.  All hail National Health Insurance!

So Gordon and I have decided that we're all done with oops' and miss-steps.  Tomorrow's another day and I'm off at 10:30 to go shopping with Maureen in a little town called Thornhill about 40 minutes up the motorway toward Glasgow.  Tomorrow evening Maureen and Hunter are coming for dinner and a visit so we've got a busy day.  No time for miss-steps, infections or oops!