wagwaan?

Friday night.

Still enjoying taking pictures, mostly with the iPhone, every day.

1. 11. Detail. A present from a dear friend. #fmsphotoaday, 2. 10. A place. The beach at my mum's, in Normandy. It's been our special place for 30 years and it's where I go in my head if I need to chill out. #fmsphotoaday, 3. 9. Tiny. My tiny little Momiji dolls that are swamped by the "normal" sized ones. #fmsphotoaday, 4. From my Easter basket this year :) #hellokitty, 5. 8. On my plate: toast & marmite. Mmmmm! #fmsphotoaday, 6. 2. Blue. Working in the NHS I am surrounded by blue... #fmsphotoaday, 7. 3. A is for ambulances. At my place of work. #fmsphotoaday, 8. 31. Stuff. This is just some of my crafting "stuff". #fmsphotoaday, 9. Happy Easter! (Shrink wrapped eggs thanks to #Tiger)

And listening to music. I don't watch American Idol but I pick up bits and pieces reading other blogs. This girl? Gave me chills....

 

 

Enjoy!

Olympic Fever

What a fantastic weekend!  Team GB is winning so many medals, it must surely be the best tally we've ever had. Saturday night we watched as Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah all won Gold within less than an hour, then yesterday afternoon (having missed an epic Tennis final where Andy Murray beat Roger Federer to Gold) we watched Andy and team-mate Laura Robson take Silver. They really dominated in the first set! After that, we watched the athletics and saw Christine Ohuruogo win Silver as well.  

The finale of the night, of course, was watching the magnificent Usain Bolt retain his title of fastest man in the world, with team-mate Yohan Blake a close second. No Team GB member in that race, of course, but what a line-up.

I think it's just fabulous that all Gold medal winners are being given their own commemorative stamps:

I must say, when it was announced we'd won the Olympic bid for 2012, I was not looking forward to it - only thinking of how awful it would be to get around London at the time. I now happily admit I was wrong to not think about how fantastic it would be for sport and for our city!

We all have a calling

Oprah and I know it for sure - see here. 

 

Blah

Not a great title for a post, but I really don't have any imagination these days. I woke up feeling blah so that's the word that came to mind.  I've been catching up on Kate Davies's progress on her blog and, although I didn't suffer the same physical effects as she did, I can totally relate when she talks of fatigue and even bereavement. Being a writer and academic she has a way with words that I can only dream of. I wish I could really express just what is going on inside this noggin of mine, but it's as if the words are just outside my reach...

Anyway, moving on: I bet you'll be glad there was no photo of the yucky nail, and I'll spare you the details, but it's really looking good now. Well, not good exactly, but much healthier and on the mend. Rather like my brain then.

Otherwise, I keep meaning to tell you about the series called The Young Ones that I watched on catch-up. I loved it but it did stir some emotions in me. Rather than have me try and explain it, check out the description here. I thought it made very compulsive viewing, and I totally fell in love with Dickie Bird, bless him! However, seeing the participants hobbling around made me feel rather uneasy: with my arthritis, this is what I look like sometimes.... and I'm 27 to 39 years younger than them!!  Since the aneurysm I have not been allowed to take some of my arthritis medicine, and I am much stiffer than before (my Consultant Rheumatologist did say to me once "arthritis makes you feel like you're 95" and it's so true).  I know exercise is supposed to help, but for one thing, getting out and about when you are stiff and in pain takes some effort, and for another, I'm supposed to be "pacing myself". Then this programme comes along and shows (if not completely scientifically) that it can be a case of mind over matter.

I have been worried since I came out of hospital that if I didn't push myself, would I not seize up even more? And how would I know how much I could do if I didn't try? It's been the biggest issue and continues to be so. I've probably mentioned it a million times, but they talk about "pacing", which means stopping before you get tired, but I often don't feel tired until I stop, at which point I'm exhausted. I now know that this means the next time you are supposed to do a bit less and to stop before that point, but it's harder than it seems.

I've been signed up to a Chair-based Exercise Programme over at the Community Centre, and so far I've been to two sessions. I am horrified by how out of shape I've become and I aspire to be like the instructor one day. It's never too late, so I'm told. You always hear of pensioners who take up running and end up doing marathons, don't you?!  One of the things Kate mentions is how unpredictable the fatigue can be. You plan to do something but by the time it comes around you could be good for nothing except bed. And so it was yesterday: I probably should have skipped the class because I was very tired but we are short of people and if numbers drop any more they'll stop funding it. So I pushed myself, with the obvious result. Oh well, at least I have some chair exercises to do at home to help building up my strength. Unfortunately, this clashes with the only day my friend could see me at her gym, so at the moment I'm not able to go, but I hope to go back when I'm better.

Well, it's taken me a while to do this post today, so I'll end on that note. Sorry there aren't any pictures this time :( 

Photos

I completely forgot to upload this when we had raspberries the other day - Claire doing her best Amélie impression:

Delicious!

Also, as part of my "therapy", as I'm a trustee of the local Community Centre and they are building a website, I was asked if I'd like to take pictures of our area. I've taken a few, but I got rather tired traipsing round so I'll go out another day and take some more. I took them over to the CC this morning and Vanessa absolutely loves them and said "doesn't it make our neighbourhood look lovely?" which we laughed at because apparently we are classed as a "deprived area"....

This one is the old building that forms the original part of our hospital and it's really nothing to look at IRL, but in this photo I must admit it looks rather grand!

And nearby is the football stadium, so I took an arty shot, with sun flare:

And then there's the cemetery. I know, not a particularly touristy area, but the trees are so lovely and so is the little chapel... 

Anyway, that's some of them for you. There's one of the closest shopping "precinct", that is really not particularly nice, but boy it looks darling in the photos! Weird!

What else? Well, I'm keeping my promise and resting, so there's nothing else to report round these parts. I have a newborn shoot on Sunday which I'm really excited about, so keep your eyes peeled for that. I'll sign off now - dinner (chicken risotto) is done and it's all kicking off in Albert Square this week, so I'm going to watch the Enders. Nite all!

Baking delights

Claire and I are delighted that the Beeb have a new programme called "The Great British Bake Off", the first episode of which we watched last night.  I apologise to any overseas readers that they won't be able to watch it by clicking on that link because I understand the BBC iPlayer is only available in UK.

Sue Perkins testing the delights of The Great British Bake Off

Anyway, as you can imagine, it's a programme all about baking, and unlike Masterchef which leaves me cold, watching the efforts of these aspiring bakers was great fun. I really felt for the contestants whose cakes collapsed, were overcooked, undercooked, too dense, etc....  I certainly wouldn't put myself through the mill like that! We're really looking forward to the next episode, and in the meantime Claire reminded me that it's her birthday on Friday and that, what a thought, I Could Bake Her A Birthday Cake!  I must admit I used to make her birthday cakes when she was little, but then when we moved to the UK and found such an array of brilliant birthday cakes on sale in the supermarkets, there seemed little point.  I haven't yet tried any of the Hummingbird Bakery recipes despite owning the book, and I have one in mind. Watch this space :) 

In other news, the neuro psychologist is continuing with her assessment of the effects of my brain haemorrhage. Yesterday she really seemed to up the ante, and I had to copy a (very complicated) picture, remember words that had been read out to me, match photographs of faces, do some maze puzzles and, at the end, draw the aforementioned picture right at the end of the session to see how much I remembered of it.  A rather bizarre thing happens when I concentrate like that: I get intense pain at the site of my surgery. I mean, every second of our lives we are using our brain without even realising it, and we don't experience pain when the neurons are transmitting their millions of signals; but it would appear that, as my brain is still in the process of healing, I can actually FEEL it working!  I don't know about you, but that blows my mind (literally lol)!  I think I have one more assessment session next week, and then a final recap session where I understand we will work on coping strategies.

Well, that's enough from me. The head is throbbing slightly right now as it happens. Not in a headache kind of way, but in a way that tells me I'm overdoing it right now.  That's my cue to switch off then.  Nite nite all!

Where has the week gone?

I don't know what happened to this week. One minute it was Monday, and now it's already Saturday night! Weeks like that make for boring blog posts, I'm afraid. I haven't even uploaded the picture of the lovely narcissi I have growing on my kitchen windowsill - a bargain from Tesco recently.  This week has just flown by - long work days followed by evenings as follows:

Monday - Chanel makeover (oooh we both looked gorgeous but there was no light to take pictures) and then it was off to Slimming World (not brill; stayed the same)

Tuesday - Supposed to have a trustees' meeting but two of them didn't turn up so it ended up being a cuppa with the lady who runs the Community Centre while we tried to track them down. We never did...

Wednesday - Supposed to be Pilates but Dr O was running late and I ended up having an hour's meeting with her to run through all the messages and problems with clinics, followed by 2 hours typing at home.

Thursday - Dinner with some medical reps and nearly the whole Ophthalmology Department at a nearby Spanish restaurant. Yummy but not particularly low calorie. Great company though.

Friday - NOTHING!  My mind is blank and I can't remember what we did last night apart from flop in front of the final of Celebrity Big Brother, which I hadn't even particularly been following anyway!

Hmmm. A rather full week I think you'll agree, so apologies for the lack of interesting gossip. In my spare time I've been watching old episodes of thirtysomething on Youtube. It was my most favourite programme EVER when I was living in the UK back in the 80s. Sigh. I always wondered if it would come out on DVD and it finally has, but I'm enjoying it in 10 minute snippets on my iPhone in the meantime.

I'll finish with a picture that Claire took of our gorgeous Lyle. This version was uploaded from my iPhone as you can see!

 

Aww, love him!  Well nite nite everyone. 

Back to normal

It's nice to feel human again!  The cold is (more or less) gone, and so is the tiredness, and the week ended on a high because Claire and I went out to have a Slimming World dinner with our outgoing SW consultant. That's "outgoing" in the sense that she's leaving the role, but it can also be in the sense that she is bubbly and fun too!  We had a lovely time, it was us, Beth, another lady from SW called Trish, and Beth's husband. Well, he had to be there really, seeing as it was his house and he did half the cooking lol.  We enjoyed ourselves so much that we decided we should rotate and have it at someone else's house next time. 

Saturday was spent mostly doing many loads of laundry - I am not sure how dirty washing multiplies so fast, but it does. Then Claire and I popped out to Boots for a few necessities. When we are in Boots, Claire always wants to go past the Chanel counter for a quick squirt of perfume. My signature "parfum" is No. 5, which I absolutely adore, and Claire loves it too because it reminds her of me. She's sweet like that.   While we there we spied the brushes and paraphernalia of the make-up artist and I asked how much for a makeover. Imagine our delight when the lady said it was free and that the Chanel person would in fact be there this coming Monday!  I signed up for a "do over" first, then the lady asked Claire if she'd like one, so now we are BOTH having our faces done tomorrow - Claire in the morning and me at 4pm. How exciting! 

I've just finished watching Dancing on Ice, and I'll be tuning in for the skate-off later. It's only early in the competition and there are already some very good skaters. I used to skate. I was taking figure skating lessons when I damaged my cruciate ligaments when I was 18. My knee has never been the same since! I still enjoy the sport immensely, but what with the arthritis and being overweight I'm really hesitant about falling and hurting myself.  Can't wait for the Vancouver Olympics in February because there'll be plenty of skating then - and it's around my birthday too so I get to choose what we watch mwahahaha!

Talking of my birthday, this year it's a BIG one. One with a zero on the end.... And the other half's birthday is exactly 11 days later, and his is also a BIG one, albeit with a lower  number if you get my drift. He keeps me young.  I hate parties but I do like family get-togethers and I'm just sorry we can't afford to get over to France for one this time. Oh well, maybe later on in the year? We shall see. Now I just have to think of what to get the OH. Yikes!

Well, that's enough waffle.  Hope you are having a peaceful Sunday wherever you are, ready for the week ahead. I'm going to try and post some actual photos tomorrow *smile*  Nite nite all! 

Day Eleven

I'm really pleased I prepared my December Daily before the month started. I might have said that already, but it's great because I just have to scribble a few lines and maybe print out a photo and I'm done. Today my photo is going to be of these beauties I bought in the 99p shop!

"Festive washing up gloves" it said on the packet. I call them my Mrs Claus gloves. Claire says I'm bonkers but I know she loves me really. Talking of Claire, she's off having her work Christmas do; they've gone to Ali Baba for a curry, and before she left it was all "I don't know what I'm going to eat, I don't like curry", but while I was out at work finishing some typing the boyf obviously had a chat with her because she said she was going to have Tandoori chicken. Now, I just texted her the result of the X Factor semi-final because I knew she'd want to know, and she texted back that the food was "sooooo goooood" (or something - don't shoot me if I got the wrong number of "o"s Claire, ok?).  I'm glad she's enjoying herself. Me, I'm sitting here typing up this post listening to what's happening on the British Comedy Awards. One of our favourite shows (that I blogged about recently), Outnumbered, just won Best Comedy Series.

To see why they won, I'm treating you to one of my absolute favourite clips (note to family: is it just me or does Karen the little girl remind you of Lena when she was younger?). Click HERE.

Well, I'm off now. Must do the washing up with my Mrs Claus gloves... nite nite!

ETA: Joan - Claire brought the menu back with her "for when N&J next come to stay". Also, forgot to say it was Celebrity Watch in our local town today: Lisa Snowdon was doing promo in Clas Ohlson that opened this week and then when walking home I nearly bumped into that guy from The Apprentice "I got accepted at Sandhurst you know". Remember him??

Shopping

This week has gone so quickly. I've been busy every day doing stuff for the business, and on Friday the OH and I went out for a breakfast meeting in our new PositivelyMAD polo shirts, which never fail as a conversation starter, or at least they make people smile. We started by popping over the road to the Community Centre to book the room for next week's workshop. One of the ladies there started asking the boyf what our shirts were about while I was doing the booking, and this led to a couple more contacts, which is great news. Then we went over to the hospital because just at the entrance there is a little cafe run by volunteers, so we sat there with our coffee and went over some of the procedures we are setting up. It's important to sometimes go somewhere neutral to do work like this because there are no interruptions and you don't think "oh dear, I didn't do the washing up" half way through the brainstorming...  After lunch we walked into town, with no jackets on by the way (it was that warm), to pick up my medicines at Boots. Right next door, this is what I spied in the window of John Lewis:

 

I knew they did a small red sewing machine, but they evidently now do a pink one; also, I love the "Make do and Mend" book - I must get both!  Next, look!  Cath Kidston goodies!

 

And more sewing machines: 

More colours!  Which sewing machine shall I get? I'm overwhelmed!!

Talking of Cath K, this afternoon we went to Borders and Starbucks with our friends, and look what Claire bought me:

 

There was a big "£3" sticker on it so we thought she'd bagged a bargain. Sadly it actually read "you save £3" lol. Oh well, I love the book and all I need now is a machine (see above lol) and I can start making stuff. It'll be home-made Christmas presents this year then...

Oh, I nearly forgot: I got some gorgeous apples the other day: some big fat cooking apples and a couple of "hearty" red apples the same size. We decided we'd like some stewed apples. I forget where I read this tip, but I now use a melon baller to scoop the core out.

 

I actually usually peel them first (trying to get one long, curly garland of skin), then cut them in half and scoop out the core. It's really easy and quick.  By the way, the end result was so tasty there was no time for a photo before it was eaten up.

Ooh, mustn't forget: have you caught that new TV programme called "Modern Family"?  It's a hoot, and we are picking up lots of new cool quotes. My fave part of the first show was one of the characters, Phil, explaining how he's such a hip and with-it dad: He knows all the text speak "LOL - laugh out loud; OMG - oh my God; WTF - why the face".  I can't stop saying "why the face" every time something annoying happens now!!

I keep meaning to get a good picture of my tatt now it's coloured in, but the light in here tonight is dire, so you'll have to wait a while longer.  So that's me: the tattooed, middle-aged (yikes!) lady who likes vintage and Cath Kidston, soul/r&b, classical music and pop, text speak and her iPhone. And who lives with her toy-boy and 19-year old daughter. The "modern family", who all sit there looking at their iPhones during commercial breaks on the TV* 

*that always makes me laugh, but we do communicate the old fashioned way too, I promise!