wagwaan?

How time flies

Gosh, I think it's been a month since I came here, maybe more.  I thought I'd drop by to give you an update and to let you know that I'm not moping around feeling down and in pain any more. Isn't life wonderful?!   A lot has gone on though:

- We've well and truly settled into our new place.
- The new (part-time) job is not as hard as I thought it was at first.
- I think I've got a handle on "pacing myself" at last (I know, I've said it before), and
- The bad days are a lot fewer and further between, thank goodness.  

Now if only the weather would warm up a bit and actually feel like mid-May, then life would be much brighter all round!

Claire and I managed a day trip to Bath recently. Claire had planned it and bought the train tickets in advance. There was a tricky moment on the Friday morning when I had a bit of a relapse and couldn't face the thought of it, but luckily I had a good old rest and managed quite well on the day. I have loads of photos but they are all on the iPhone and I haven't yet uploaded them all yet. Here's a sneak peek:

View of Bath... including good ol' bright red Pillar Box (=mailbox for my foreign readers!)

 

Royal Crescent (only about one third of the whole street)

 

 

Roman carvings

We had a really lovely time and both of us felt it was something we should do more often... I'm so lucky my daughter likes to hang out with me in this way, don't you think?

Anyway, that's about all I have time for now. Sweet dreams :)

Feeling sorry for myself

Ok, so I don't want this ol' blog to turn into a whine-fest, but 'tis a truly difficult time right now. I'm in constant pain due to whatever it is that is wrong with my back (osteopath says it's the inflammation from the arthritis) and no position is ever truly comfortable. Sadly, the absolute worst is sitting up at a desk or computer. Using a mouse hurts so much! Top that with a stressful job as well as emotions all over the place and well, it's not a pretty sight. So I'll love you and leave you but don't think I'm abandoning you, ok?  Laters xoxo

Nice long weekend

I don't know about you, but we've been having a rather lovely, relaxing, Easter weekend. Of course, we had to have Hot Cross Buns on Good Friday, and for some reason I bought packets when they were on special, forgetting that I'd ordered some from the milkman. We ended up with enough to feed an army!  Claire doesn't even like them much, so that was just plain silly of me, ha ha.  Anyway, yesterday I caught a Channel 4 cooking programme and they made a bread & butter pudding with the buns, so I made a version of that last night.

Otherwise, after such gorgeous Spring weather, the bank holiday weekend turned out to be rather damp, so we didn't go out much. I am also still suffering from the trapped nerve in my back so I've hardly been on the computer at all. I have, however, finished one book and am half way through another, and I've had copious cups of tea. There are worse ways to spend a grey, rainy weekend, aren't there?

People keep asking me how we are settling in to our new home. It's lovely. It feels really homely - in fact, it did as soon as everything was unpacked. We are still getting used to the little idiosyncracies such as the weird "warm air" heating system, the creaky floors/stairs, the very loud fan that comes on when you switch on the bathroom light, and so on, but all in all it's a sweet little place. The cat has only just started to sit at the front door crying to be let out, and even when you do, he comes running back in if he hears any noise. Instead, I open the French door the balcony and let him sit out there. 

Well, it's the start of a new week. I have a lot on, and I don't want to lose a minute this year. I am working towards making the most of this LIFE. I want fun and laughs, and work and play, love and friendship. You with me?

 

Slothful Sunday

Yes it's true, it's Sunday and in this household it's been a day of sloth. I know I had plans to join the nearby gym/pool but I'm still so exhausted from the move and other changes in my life that I haven't got the energy. It makes me sad, actually, to realise that I don't have the capacity to do much, but at least I walk, walk and WALK these days!  We haven't had a car since like forever, so we tend to do a lot of walking anyway, but where we live now there is no handy bus to jump on to get to town. These days I either walk 40 minutes to work (used to be a 3 minute stroll) or I walk half way and jump on a bus for the last bit. In the evenings I get the bus back to the town centre and walk the rest of the way. This also allows me to stop off at Sainsbury's to get any necessary groceries as we no longer have a corner shop over the road. All in all, I'm more active than before, so I'm not going to beat myself up about it. 

I've been doing some tidying up of my iPhone pictures and I realised that I didn't post some of my birthday outing ones. So here's a bit of a catch up - starting with M&M World in Leicester Square:

Not a great place to go when you are trying to watch your diet, but hey, it's so colourful!

One last picture: me babysitting little dude...  

Settling in

Oh what beautiful Spring weather we are having. Long may it continue!  It lifts my mood and makes everything seem happier. It's lovely to have a little balcony so we can open the French window and let the sun stream in; Lyle can get used to his surroundings without coming to any harm and I cannot wait to get some pots and Spring flowers and make it a little paradise. In the meantime, I can enjoy the flowers in the communal garden without having to do any maintenance myself (the best bit about living in a flat!). I am going to use one of these pictures to make a new banner, I think.

 

Yesterday I attended Dr C's retirement party. It was lovely to see so many old faces - he is so highly respected, people came from all over to give him a good send off. It'll be strange to not have him around but he will still be doing the odd bit of work at the hospital and I'm sure to come across him from time to time. I shed a little tear when the Chief Exec announced during his speech that they are naming the new Diabetes Centre after him. After all, when I first went to work for Dr C, one of things he wanted me to do was be the Office Manager for the centre that was supposed to be built. Unfortunately, over the years, many plans have been scuppered and it's only now that one of the buildings is being renovated and turned into a proper Diabetes Centre and he has been hugely instrumental in setting it up. It's just sad that it's come too late for him to actually enjoy it. Live long and prosper, Dr C!

So, apparently the clocks go forward tonight. I mustn't forget to change the two manual ones we have, although thanks to technological progress, most of the clocks in the house adjust automatically - I mean, TV box, computer, iPhones etc etc. 

Well, I'm going to make myself a nice cup of tea and sit and enjoy the sun for a while. Cheers!

 

 

Where do I begin?

Well, it's Friday night and I actually have a minute to sit and update this here blog.  Things have been seriously busy these past few weeks as Claire and I have moved into our own little maisonette in a fancy part of town. The run up to the move was really tough as workmen had started doing up the house and there was dust EVERYwhere. Packing was horrendous. I really thought I didn't have that much cr*p as I dejunk quite regularly, but oh no, stuff was coming out of the woodwork.  I always prefer to pack myself, however tiring, because then I can work out what I really want to keep, what I want to chuck, what needs to go to the charity shop etc. And I can make sure that things get grouped together in boxes for each room. However, this time I was getting seriously stressed and kept saying that I never wanted to move house EVER AGAIN, EVER!

I didn't take any pictures of the process as it was too harrowing, but Claire did...

Anyway, the day of the move dawned, and workmen starting ripping out front and back doors and putting new ones in. The timing was a bit off because they were supposed to have finished before the removal men arrived.... In the end, the front door was just about in place in time. Yikes.

We are truly blessed to have wonderful friends (and family of course) and dear sweet S came to pick me up to go to the new place to let the removal men in. She then took me back to get Claire and the freaked out cat so we could bring him to our new home. I had made sure I packed the kettle and things for a cup of tea on arrival, but she very generously brought this amazing lemon drizzle cake too so we had that before she left us to it. And most grateful we were too!

Next day, more wonderful friends came to take us back to the old house to collect rubbish to take to the dump, and have more cups of tea. They also gave us their old microwave and new toaster as a housewarming gift. The aforementioned kettle was a gift from another friend... My sisters also came up trumps and their help was invaluable in securing the flat in the first place.  I hope I haven't forgotten anyone, because I am so deeply indebted to everyone who helped. I don't know what I have done to deserve such amazing friends.

Two days after the move, and still aching from the packing/unpacking, I started a new part-time job as Office Manager for an external quality assessment scheme at the hospital.  Labs have to be accredited and we are part of that process - it's too long and complicated to go into and you'll fall asleep if I try!  I am job sharing with a very lovely young girl, and the other people in the office all seem very pleasant too. The difficult part is accepting my limitations since the aneurysm. I am to all intents and purposes completely "back to normal", but this is a new normal. I don't have the capacity I used to have and my brain really did feel overloaded on Tuesday. I still have some memory issues and the face recognition thing really hasn't got much better at all, in that I recognise familiar faces but I am finding it pretty much impossible to remember the faces of people I have just met.  Luckily, I am more adept at recognising when I am getting tired and I take steps to limit my activity. I also recover quicker, thank goodness - no more ending up in bed for days at a time (fingers crossed!!).  I am mostly just very grateful that I'm still here, so not depressed by these changes, although I have the odd "moment".

Anyway, it's all positive and I'm just looking forward to the new adventure. I have been taking some phone pics for my "Project Life" so I thought I'd share a few.

Our new street and the road our street leads off:

 
As you can see, we had beautiful spring weather yesterday...

The cat has been out a couple of times, but mostly he's just happy to curl up indoors.
This is him wondering whether to brave it or stay in:

Flowers that got to our new place before we did! Thank you Mummy and Steph - 

Tried to make the living room feel homely the first day, with plants and photos:

The first morning I opened my window to listen to the birds singing madly
in the trees that we are surrounded by.
Such a difference from the old place!

Well, I'm going to try really hard to come and update more often. Have a lovely weekend!

 

"Great Aunt"?? Sounds like someone in their nineties

My birthday has come and gone, and I've not been on here at all because that lurgy I came down with just went on and on and on.... I wasn't going to visit the doctor until I'd had the cold for at least a week, because I thought there was no point.  However, on the Friday I felt (and looked) so ill that I had to admit defeat and go home to bed again instead of being a guinea pig for the medical students' revision exam. That evening, Dr O called me and said she was worried about me and that I should get my chest checked out. I duly called the out of hours doctors and was given an appointment for the Saturday, where my chest was listened to and Amoxicillin prescribed.  I thought I'd feel better after a couple of days - that's what usually happens and you have to remind yourself to finish the course of tablets. Unfortunately, though, this cold had other ideas and I had to start on the steroid inhaler to stop my asthmatic cough waking up the whole neighbourhood. I had to return to the GP this morning and she doubled my asthma meds and gave me the delightful news that this type of cough can go on for six weeks. Lovely. 

In the meantime, I had a lovely day for my birthday, despite feeling so rough. Claire gave me her present early in the morning, before she went off to work, and I was so delighted because she bought tickets to go and see Mamma Mia in the West End. What a great time we had.  I have pictures but I've been so busy packing for the move and being poorly in bed that I haven't had the energy to upload them. I will, honest.

We also, the night before Mamma Mia, went to see our friends Beth and Simon compete in a charity dancing competition. They did a great job and I think they were robbed of a place. The people who came 3rd were ok, but the couple who came second were rubbish!  It was all "jolly good fun" and for an excellent cause; I just wish I hadn't felt so ill because I couldn't enjoy it as much as I would have. 

The biggest and best news of February, though, is the birth of my gorgeous Great Nephew, Joel, just before my birthday. We are all so excited for his parents, my niece G and her husband. We can't wait to meet him but for the moment we have to make do with pictures. We had planned to do a newborn shoot but what with my lurgy (I don't think I'd have been allowed anywhere near him!) and lack of funds due to the cost of moving, it's been put on hold. No matter, this Great Aunt will get gorgeous pictures of him whatever age he is when we finally meet. 

I start a new job on Monday, so what with packing and being ill, I really do have rather a lot on my plate. Not that I'm complaining, mind.  It's just that I don't have the will to come and post so often, so if you will bear with me, normal service will resume shortly. Thank you :)

 

Update

Wow, how long since I last blogged?  Sorry about that but I have a lot on my plate. I mentioned before that life has thrown me a huge curve ball and I thought I'd do a little update to tell you I'M MOVING!  Too complicated to go into on here, but I have found a rather nice two-bed maisonette in a really nice part of town, for a decent rent. I have put down my deposit for the admin fee and now all we have to do is fill in the reference check document and wait for the green light. If all goes to plan we will be moving at the end of the month. Crazy!  It's not so convenient for work but it's closer to the town centre and to the station, and there is more greenery around. 

In other news, today marks the second anniversary of my SAH. In one way, I feel like it happened to someone else, but in another way it's very real.  It also seems like a lifetime away and I am so happy and grateful to be "back to normal".  I don't really dwell on it, but I am still reminded every day of what happened purely because a) my head still does that "tick tick" thing so it's impossible to ignore, and b) when washing my face or putting on moisturiser my fingers run over the dent in my skull and the lumps under the skin where the metal plates are (oops sorry if that's a bit gruesome for some of you!!). Apart from that, no one would know because the scar is practically invisible and I was lucky enough not to have any paralysis. 

You know what this means of course? This means that my birthday is 3 days away. I'm not planning anything this year (except maybe starting a new job, of which more anon), although a couple of my friends say they want to celebrate, so we shall see.  I have, however, treated myself to a little birthday gift and ordered some Project Life pocket pages. As PL hasn't been available yet in the UK I've been doing my own cards etc in advance, but I am so glad the pockets are now available and ready to be shipped!  I already have a binder I think will work, and on my wish list remains the core kit. This is because it's only available to pre-order so I'm holding on to my cash until they are in stock.  I can't wait to get all this so I can truly start recording what promises to be a momentous year. It's such a brilliant (and fast) way to scrapbook, although I expect I will still do the odd layout when I have time. 

I haven't really got any pictures to share right now, except for a couple of pics I did to put in PL: I have printed it on 6x4 paper but I don't know yet if I'll leave it that size or cut it down into two 3x4 pictures for the smaller pockets. We shall see.

 

(The weather has since changed to absolutely freezing and a bit of snow that has been laying for days now...)

Right, well that's all I have time for right now. I have come down with the dreaded winter cold lurgy and I am coughing my guts up every five seconds. In fact, I had a bit of a fever earlier and had to call it a day and go to bed.

Anyway, watch this space!

Making stuff

You know I get a lot of support from the Community Centre, right? I try and reciprocate when I can and as we are having to do a lot more fundraising this year due to cuts in funding I have been roped in to help (I know we are not alone in this, sadly.) Anyway, we have the option of taking a stall in the local "artisan market" and have all kinds of crafty goodness planned so we can make stuff to sell.  I was playing around with some bits of felt & ribbon and some pound shop hair clips yesterday... Claire was my (rather unwilling) model:

I really should get the big camera out for pictures like this..  

Well I had such fun that I made loads and loads of the bow ones, with different ribbons, and they went down a treat at the coffee morning today where I showed them off. "Baby Anabelle", our little nearly-2-yr-old resident beauty, let me put one in her hair to see how it looked and she was so sweet I let her keep it. They are perfect for little ones so I hope we can sell LOADS!

Let's travel!

Oh my goodness!  I have just found this amazing site whilst blog-hopping. It is making me want to travel. Like, really badly!  Check it out here.