Two Steps Forward…One Step Back…

…but I am getting there!!! Thank you so much for all your ‘Get Well’ wishes. To bring you up to speed…

My surgery went without a hitch! My Consultant even commented afterwards, that it was a very gratifying procedure for him, because it so badly needed to be done!

I arrived at the ‘Day Ward’ bright & early at 7.30am on the Tuesday, along with a bevvy of fellow day surgery patients & was immediately taken through to the female section of the ward, where, we women did what women do & found out all about each other & what we were in for!! We weren’t kept waiting for long & I was given second slot in theatre, so by 10.30am I was gowned up & in the Anaesthetic room.

This is my least favourite bit of the whole process, that feeling of letting go…not to mention all the needles it involves!!! I was firstly given a local anaesthetic in the left side of my neck, which involved an ultrasound scan, to make sure they didn’t hit any arteries or nerves (gulp!)…this felt so weird, I was numb from my scalp to my waist on my left side!! Once they were happy with this I was allowed to drift off & the surgeon worked his magic!!

Next thing I knew I was coming too…whinging & complaining about the oxygen mask that the male nurse replaced as fast as I kept removing it!! My shoulder was throbbing, in spite of the local anaesthetic, so I was given morphine & that shut me up! When I finally woke up properly, I was back on the day ward & it was almost 3pm!!

I was allowed home in the evening, once I’d eaten & drunk something & been to the loo!! Still numb on one side, arm in a sling & clutching ‘Big Guns’ pain relief, I felt I’d come through the day rather well!!

On Wednesday I slept ALL DAY! By the evening my left side was back to life with just a few remnants of numbness in my neck & jaw…although the puncture marks & bruising on my neck make me look like a cast member in a ‘Twilight’ movie! 

Thursday I slept till 2pm…got up to eat some porridge & wash, then I got back into bed again!! I have to say at this point just how blissful it is to be sleeping IN BED again & for such long stretches of time!! Friday I had to get up to have my dressings changed & quite enjoyed my walk to & from the GP’s in the sunshine…but yes…when I got back I crashed out on the sofa & slept till 6pm!!

Saturday, I slept till 10am but then got up & pottered about & although I watched two movies back-to-back in the afternoon, I stayed awake all day! Yay! Progress…I thought!!

As the weather has been so glorious, on Sunday Lee suggested a trip out to a local garden centre. Good idea, thought I….but even the car ride there was uncomfortable & once in the centre, I felt as if I could keel over at any moment…needless to say it was a very quick visit & I was exhausted!!

So that’s how it’s been…two steps forward, one step back! I had my sutures removed yesterday & two of the three wounds are healing nicely while the third is still a little ‘sticky’. My pain relief holds off the soreness of the wounds, & I have none of the awful pain I had before.  The only time I wince is during my daily exercises to keep my shoulder mobile…I’ve yet to start physio’ proper, but am determined not to allow it to set back immobile!!

One silver lining from the whole process is a total lack of appetite, so in two weeks I’ve lost 6.5lbs! My challenge now is to hang onto that loss once the anaesthetic is fully out of my system & my appetite comes back with a vengeance!!

I apologise for the poor showing of photo’s in this post…I’ve nothing creative to share either! I have a couple of projects to knuckle down to before April 1st (!) & I think I should be OK with those… if I can just stay awake….!!!!

Thanks so much for stopping by & do come back soon!

The Power Of Positive Thought!…

Thank you so much to everyone who sent positive thoughts & vibes my way for Friday’s pre-op assessment!! It worked!! Not only did all the necessary boxes get checked but they offered me a surgery slot for next Tuesday!! Result!!

so, at 7.30am I will arrive on the Day Surgery Ward & then wait to be given my theatre time! I am so pleased that I will be getting a full ten weeks recovery before my holiday in Turkey…physio here I come!!

The one thing I’m so looking forward to is a full, unbroken nights sleep...in my bed, as opposed to the recliner sofa! That & being able to swim again!! Can you tell I’m a happy bunny…I’ll be even happier when the pain is gone…even with extra scars to show for the experience!!

Maybe I can trouble you to hold onto those positive thoughts for Tuesday too? Just in case!!!

I can’t believe I neglected to mention in my last post that one of the first things I did when we regained our internet connection, was to sign up for Tim Holtz’s first ever online class, called ‘Creative Chemistry 101’…

“In Creative Chemistry 101 Tim Holtz teaches the “science” behind it all. This class will give you the confidence to experiment with an abundance of techniques and give you ideas for ways to use all the creative mediums in your stash. This jam-packed online workshop is your front row seat to 100% technique know-how.”

…it looks right up my street as it’s all about techniques, rather than specific projects.  I’d rather learn ‘How to’ & put that knowledge into my own designs, than take a class where I end up with an album full of someone else’s designs!! It always feels a bit like painting by numbers!

I’m looking forward to cracking open some of the Ranger products in my stash that I’ve never got around to using, simply because I’m not sure what I can do with them, other than the obvious!!

So watch this space…although I’ll be in catch-up mode from the start with my surgery being on day 2 of class!! Ah well…needs must!!

I’m off to finish the laundry & take a batch of jam tarts out of the oven! I’m in overdrive trying to make sure everything is up to date, so I can afford to be ‘out of action’ for as long as I need to be post-op!!

Thanks for stopping by & do come back very soon {{HUGS}}

Enforced Silence!

What a week & a bit it’s been!

Hubby had a birthday & treated himself to a new laptop. All well & good you might think, but with it came a ‘light bulb’ moment!! What if he used his old laptop to replace the stack of my desktop, thereby speeding up my internet connection. That led to using my old stack to update Nathans desktop computer too!

Who was I to argue? Faster internet was certainly worth a day off-line while all the re-programming took place….wasn’t it?!!

All went well until about 4pm on the Saturday when a communal cry of “Nooooo!! I’ve lost internet connection” came from various rooms in the house! Hubby inspected the ‘Live Box’ & made a phone call to the help desk, but to no avail….& we were without internet for a whole week!!

It’s fixed now…phew! The boys were beginning to have withdrawal symptoms from X-Box Live deprivation!! I’m sorry to all of you who I’ve not been able to visit, email etc & I will endeavour to catch up asap!!

As mentioned, Lee had a birthday on 5th March & it was another time to play the cupcake game & restrict my pro-point intake!!!  It’s all worth it…I lost another 1 1/2lb this week!

Along with other gifts I gave him a guide book to Beijing & some Chinese currency in readiness for his trip in July!

We’ve been having fun with the ‘phrase book’ section of the guide!

I also received some Australian Happy Mail from the Lovely Shazza over at ‘Soul Scrappers’.

During the recent ‘Sense-ational Summer’ contest I had won a few prizes & they all came in one package!

When I opened it up I had all these wonderful scrappy goodies…

 

…I’d actually forgotten about them, which made the surprise even more enjoyable! Thanks Shazza! It’s just great fun to play along anyway!

On the subject of Scrappiness…I have one LO to share! The lovely Julie Jeavons left me a comment & asked with a ‘pretty please’ if I’d play along with her recipe challenge, also over at ‘Soul Scrappers’…how could I refuse?!! Here’s my LO…

You might recognise the photo from a previous post…Pikachu, making himself at home in the rubbish basket in my scrap room! he knows his place!!

I did have one fabulous surprise this week, which was perfectly timed by my sister, Rosemary.  The Accident Investigator had just left (here to record a ‘Statement of Truth’ in connection with the collision that took place in November…can you believe the old bat is still trying to claim Personal Injury for herself & her passenger after she drove into me while I was stationary?!!…but I digress!!) when the phone rang. 

It was Ro to tell me that she was going to book a holiday for us & it was her treat! I had not expected to get any time in the sun this year, so it was a wonderful surprise!! We are going to Turkey (again!) but not our usual haunt of Olu Deniz, but Icmeler, a bit further west!  So, we’re off for a week on June 1st & I am so looking forward to it…I just hope my surgery is done & dusted before then so I can get the full benefit!!

Which brings me to this Friday &   my trip to the hospital for a fresh ‘Pre-Op Assessment’…my GP is happy with my BP level now & I just hope that the pre-op unit finds nothing else to hold things up!

So…with faith in the power of positive thought, I ask you all kindly to send positive vibes my way this Friday & hopefully I’ll be given the OK & an early ‘Op’ date!! Many Thanks in anticipation!!!

Thanks for dropping by, I’ll get around to visit everyone soon! Meanwhile, have a great week & come back soon!

A ‘Woo-Hoo’ Kind of Wednesday!

Firstly, can I say a HUGE Thank You to all of you who take time to leave such lovely comments, they really are appreciated & help me keep things in perspective.

Secondly…WOO-HOO indeed!!  Yesterday was such a good day!!!

In the morning I went along for my first weigh-in at Weight Watchers & to my joy had lost 4lbs!! :)

Then off I went to the nurse for my BP check-up & all three of the tests showed by Diastolic number (the bottom one!) in the eighties…so I’m now officially safe
to have a General Anaesthetic!! :)))  I now have to wait to hear from Admissions as to when I can be fitted in for my surgery…even my shoulder seemed a little less painful yesterday..for a while anyway!!

As it’s the first of a shiny new month, I have some scrappiness to share. Firstly this months poster challenge over at ‘From Screen 2 Scrap’. The poster for your inspiration is ‘The Day After Tomorrow’.

The added criteria were…

1. to use only one photo
2. to keep it monochrome with a touch of blue
3. to use a white title


…& here’s what I did with it…

 
The photo is of Alex, taken when he & I had our walk around the village on that wonderful snowy Sunday at the beginning of last month.  What doesn’t really show up in this LO photo is that each snowflake & stamped sparkle is glittered! But hey, you get the idea!! 

I did find this poster more challenging than some…but what would you do with it? We’d love to have you play along with us this month…pop over to ‘From Screen To Scrap’ & join in!!!

 

It’s also time for another LO for the lovely Dawn’s ‘Chinese Whispers’ & this month Jacky’s LO for me to lift looked like this…>>>

 

 

& this is my ‘lift’…

Again, my muses! This time enjoying the giant inflatable slide at last years ‘Beds County Show’.  I had fun gluing down all that twine into swirly patterns…I made a template first to pencil onto the page & then glued as I went along…I’m pleased with how that turned out!

I do hope everyone gets to enjoy a bit of sunshine this weekend & I’ll leave you with something else that made me smile yesterday…

 

Thanks for stopping by & come back soon! :)

The House Of Two Teens!!

I have to say that being recently prescribed medication to reduce my blood pressure could not have been more timely!!

Saturday saw my baby boy turn thirteen & it was almost as if his older brother saw fit to ‘show him the ropes’ of being a terrible teen, throughout the entire day!  interspersed between card openings, breakfast, gift openings, a very pleasant trip to a local outlet centre (to spend his ‘burning-a-hole-in-my-pocket’ birthday money on clothes) & a birthday tea, were bouts of bickering, abuse & general wind-up sessions in varying degrees of intensity & volume!!  Is it just boys that do this?

  
That said, all in all I think Nathan enjoyed his day & did very well in the gift department! It really was a pleasure watching him choose a selection of T-shirts, a hoodie & some high-top Nike trainers, always attracted to bright colours & of course the ‘right’ brands! Thank goodness for T.K.Maxx & being able to find five items for the original price of one!!  I wish they’d been around when I was a teen!!

I was very canny when it came to his birthday cake & suggested that instead of the usual large cake, that I bake a batch of cupcakes. My ulterior motive being that it’s easier to ‘Pro-point’ an individual portion that way!! A slice can be….well a slice…or a s-l-i-c-e!!!! If you know what I mean?!!!! So, I was able to enjoy a birthday cupcake (or two!) & still stay well within my daily allowance!! :)

As far as ‘Move More Eat Well’ is concerned, February has proved, not unexpectedly, to be a bit of a challenge! I’m certainly moving more but the eating well hit a glitch just after I was told that my ‘Op’ had to be postponed! The good news is I haven’t gained any weight, the bad news is up until last Wednesday I hadn’t lost any more either!!!

BUT…a much appreciated outcome of my last BP check-up was a GP referral to Weight Watchers, funded by the NHS!!  So, last Wednesday I went along to class & have been so ‘In Control’ ever since! I have negotiated an evening out with the girls as well as Nathans birthday without a single slip! Weigh in is on Wednesday mornings, so I can’t wait to see what the scales will say this week!! Maybe February’s ‘Move More Eat Well’ album pages won’t look like such a disaster after all?!!!

I also have my next BP check-up on Wednesday afternoon, so keep everything crossed for me!! I so want my BP to be low enough for my shoulder surgery to go ahead & for life to return to some semblance of normality!

I’ve nothing scrappy to share this time, but I did take part in a photo project, called ‘The Meal’ & set up by the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn NY. The idea was that all participants, worldwide, prepare a meal/snack at 12pm EST (5pm UK) & photograph it, including themselves to some degree, & post the print off to the Brooklyn Art library. I can’t wait to see how all the photo’s are to be used!! I opted for very English toasted crumpets & jam…no butter of course!!!

  

I’ll leave you today with a picture that came in an email…how great would it be to have one of these?!!!

Although I don’t think my ample rear would fit in that slide (!!) it would certainly make it easier getting the boys downstairs for breakfast on a school day!!!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you’re all feeling refreshed after the gloriously sunny weekend we’ve just had in the UK! Come back soon! :)

I think I blinked & missed it!!

Half Term, that is!! One moment it was Friday the 10th & the boys were excited about a week without school & the next the alarm is going off & it’s this morning & time to get back into routine!! How did that happen?!!

But…the week did hold some high points!!

Firstly, I have to echo some observations that the lovely Deb made in a recent post over on her blog, about how wonderful it is that the internet can bring us together with like minded people whom otherwise we’d probably never meet in real life!

As you know, I’m taking part in Cathy Zielske’s ‘Move More & Eat Well’ class over at Big Picture Classes & through the forum & the gallery, have come across several classmates with who I feel a connection. One of these is a super talented artist called Paul Browning.  His digital album pages just jumped right out from the gallery & his ‘story’ was one I could relate to as well!!  I’ve started following his blog & have been blown away by his ‘shabby chic’ paper craft creations!

I left a comment for one particular item…a tag…& before I knew it I had a message on facebook asking for my postal details, as he wanted to send it to me!! How generous was that!

It is every bit as gorgeous in real life & it now has pride of place, on its own little easel, in my scrap room!

Thanks Paul!

I’d recommend a visit to Pauls blog, The Artsiders for some creative inspiration & leave Paul some love too!

 

Of course, we had St Valentines day this week too. I think I may have traumatised the Interflora man by answering the door, still unwashed, unbrushed & in my PJ’s at 10am!!! 

 
He brought a gorgeous bouquet of Red Roses from my lovely Hubby, totally unexpected & still looking fresh a week later!!  I had asked for NO CHOCOLATE & he obviously got the message! We did go out for dinner too…but not until the Friday…neither of us can see the point in paying inflated prices just for eating out on ‘The Day’!!

The day after St Valentines, we had the most amazing sunset! I almost missed it!! I was working at my scrap desk & happened to glance up & out of the window…I grabbed my camera & just managed to get a shot before the sun dipped below the horizon!

 

….& what was I working on at my scrap desk?  It was a LO for a Soul Scrappers challenge. Another ‘Quest’ challenge where a little package of goodies arrives in the post & you have to use ALL the items on your project!

 
This time the theme was ‘seeing in the New Year 2012’…I had to cheat a bit, as I spent the New Years Eve in question curled up on the sofa in a drug induced stupor, thanks to my new pain relief prescription not agreeing with me!!  So I chose a photo of Lee & I taken at a Christmas party instead!! Well, needs must!!

  
I managed to use everything…down to the very last sequin & bugle bead!! The tinfoil was a challenge, but I ended up scrunching it & using it to cover the alpha’s for the title!

I had another Blood Pressure check-up on Thursday & I’m glad to report, it’s coming down nicely! Nurse Barbara thinks it may well be possible for her to sign me off for the anaesthetic when I see her again next Friday, so please, keep everything crossed for me!!! Then I just have to hope for a ‘soon as possible’ surgery date!!

So that’s all from me for today!  I know some of you will only just be starting Half Term holidays & I hope yours lasts longer than ours seemed to!!! I saw a post on facebook today that said ‘Only ‎30 more ‘get up's’ until the Easter holidays’  Love it!!  Not that I’m counting or anything!

Thank you so much for stopping by & come back soon! :)

The Ups & Downs of Day-to-Day Life!

I had no sooner finished posting about how disappointed I was not to be having my shoulder surgery last Friday, when I heard from the lovely Sandra over at ‘Gotta Craft’ to let me know that I had won the recent Prize Draw for a pack of American Craft ‘Flutterbys!!

it was just what I needed to make me smile!…& not only that, but they arrived in the post the next day!! So I got to play with them straight away!!  Thank You so much Sandra!

I had been working on a ‘Grandma’ LO challenge, set by Jami over at ‘Soul Scrappers’ & had no trouble incorporating them! In fact the whole colour scheme ended up being built around the colours of the bunting!!  What a pleasure the ‘Flutterbys’ are to work with & I’ve barely made a dent in the pack so look out for them in forthcoming LO’s!!! & on the subject of LO’s, this is the one I mentioned earlier…

 
This photo of ‘Nanny’ Pat (MIL) & the boys was taken back in 2002, when they still could be described as Nanny’s little angels!!

Like most parts of the country, we woke to a white world on Sunday morning…


I was glad that I wasn’t expected at work as I detest driving in icy weather conditions. But I couldn’t resist getting out for a walk around the village & even persuaded the ever reluctant Alex to leave the sanctuary that is his tech’ filled bedroom & come with me for a breath of fresh air!

  

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

We were only out for about half an hour but both of us glowed when we returned to the warmth of home!  Nathan, on the other hand, was out all day! Sledging, building snowmen, snowball fighting!! He came home for regular changes of clothes & finally for a hot shower to regain feeling in his fingers! I’m informed that to make the best snowballs, gloves are a no-no!! Boys!!

I had a trip to the cinema & to be frank, I rather wish I hadn’t! We went to see ‘The Descendants’ starring George Clooney. This is the second film I’ve seen with Mr Clooney that has been a real disappointment.

I always think if the cast is good, the film will be too & this film had had rave reviews on everything from it’s storyline to it’s location & was nominated for no less than five Golden Globes! In fact the only negative thing I’d heard was that George didn’t wear a Hawaiian shirt too well!!!

So, forgive me if I say it did not live up to my expectations, it was depressing & just didn’t get off the ground! Yes, it was a sad story, but I was far from moved to tears & I am by nature such a sentimental blubber. All in all, it left me cold! Sorry George!!!

My trip to the nurse on Thursday held good news! My BP had reduced from last week, my Diastolic reading was down from 103 to 93, so almost there!! Apparently, once it’s under 90 & stabilised, she’ll call the hospital so that my Op’ can be rescheduled!  Yay! 

One thing that might amuse you…someone mentioned that Kiwi Fruit contain an anti-oxidant called Lutein, which is supposed to help reduce blood pressure, so I have been eating at least three every day this week!!! I don’t often buy them, but they are quite delicious!!

I’m also on yet another Pain Relief medication & so far, so good!!  I can only take two a day & nothing else (other than the BP meds) so there are ‘gaps’ where I really feel the pain, but it’s amazing what a hot water bottle can do to mask it for a couple of hours!!!

A sad thing happened on Tuesday.  Mr Nibbles, Alex’s Guinea Pig, died.  He seemed fine in the morning, eating & drinking as normal, but by the time we got home from school at 3.30pm, he was dead.

RIP Mr Nibbles!

So we are down to just one piggy, Nathan’s…called Jamie & seen here >

We have brought him indoors as Piggies are social creatures & I didn’t like to think of him all alone in that great big hutch at the bottom of the garden! However well insulated & sheltered it may be!  So he’s in an indoor cage, situated in front of the French Windows in the living room & seems to be enjoying our company…although the cat’s nose is well & truly out of joint!!!

Well, that’s me done for today!  We’re waiting on more snow tonight…& the boys are again hoping there’ll be enough to close school, but I’ve told them not to hold their breath!!  Keep warm, wherever you are!  Thanks for stopping by & do come back soon! :)

Storytelling Sunday…A Tale of Consequences!

I don’t normally get to join in with ‘Storytelling Sunday’ (hosted by the lovely Sian over at ‘From High In The Sky’) as Sunday is the one day of the week when I go out to work! But, as today see’s me resting at home, & as Sian’s prompt of a ‘story about chocolate maybe?’ struck a chord, I thought I would play along today!

Christmas 1996 is where it all starts! Alex is 4 months old & his first Christmas gift to me was a 10lb Toblerone! Yes! you read that right!! I think he had a little help from his Dad, but the boy got it right!! I LOVE Toblerone & was delighted, when I opened the box to see it was actually a solid bar with ten triangles, each weighing 1lb!!

Now, any normal person would think ‘My goodness, this will last me until next Christmas!’ but me? No…with a little help, it was all eaten by January 31st!! Five weeks to eat 10lb of chocolate! Now that is what some would call excessive…& they’d probably be right!!

Moving forward a couple of weeks & it’s the day before Valentines Day & I wake up with a grumbling pain in my abdomen. By 11am I have severe pain & can’t even sit up! The Dr is called & I’m sent to hospital straight away & kept in overnight. The problem? Gallstones!! I wonder why! I guess they’d been there a little while but the excess of all that chocolate in such a short space of time must have been the final straw!!  Believe me, passing a Gallstone is the MOST painful thing EVER!!

My Gall Bladder was removed a few months later & I still have my Gallstones in a little pot to remind me of the consequences of gluttony!!!!

Do I still enjoy Toblerone?  Of course, but just a small one please!!

Thanks for stopping by & I hope you’re all keeping warm & safe in the wintry weather! :)

So Disappointed!

Today I was supposed to be having my shoulder surgery but it has had to be postponed because my blood pressure is currently too high to undergo a General Anaesthetic.

I’m no stranger to moderately high blood pressure, for most of my adult life I’ve been advised to keep an eye on it. My reading is usually around 140 over 85, but at my pre-op assessment the best reading they could get was 167 over 103!! It is so scary because my last BP test was only six months ago, so that raise is very recent & with no symptoms at all!!

I guess that even though I am now losing some weight & have been taking more exercise through January, the last few months, with the car collision, Alex in Hospital & my very painful Christmas have all built up my stress levels to this end!

I am now on medication & I’m feeling a bit woolly headed & ‘top heavy’!! I have stopped drinking coffee & am diligently checking all food labels for salt content! I’ve been told to rest & report back to the nurse on Tuesday for a progress check. As soon as they are happy that it's stable at a more acceptable level, they will reschedule my surgery.

Meanwhile it’s plodding on with the painkillers, following Dr’s orders & wishing I was here…

…on a beach in Turkey, soaking up the sunshine…what better way to relax & de-stress?!!  **Sigh**

Keep everything crossed for me, I would so love to be able to enjoy a pain free & active Summer, but I need that Op first!! I’m off now to chill!!

Thanks for stopping by! :)

A Quick Bit Of Scrappiness….

Here we are…the FIRST of February!! Where did January go? I’m looking forward to getting stuck into the new prompts for ‘Move More Eat Well’ & I’ll share January’s progress as soon as it’s documented!

But for now I can share two projects with you. The first is this months challenge over at ‘From Screen 2 Scrap’ where the inspiration comes from the movie poster for ‘Valentines Day’. The added criteria for this one was a) a black background, b) two hearts & c) use at least ten small photo’s.

I wanted a romantic theme to fit in with the film, but what did I have ten photo’s of that fit the bill? Then it it me! The garden party that Karen held to commemorate both the Royal Wedding & her own Silver Wedding Anniversary! What’s more romantic than That?!!

 

So, this is what I put together…

  
…do you know, that really was a truly wonderful day! Thanks again Karen!!

Why not play along with us over at ‘From Screen 2 Scrap’ this month, you have until the end of the month to link up your project.  As always there are some great prizes on offer & I’d love to see you there!! :)

Secondly, my LO for the lovely Dawn & her Chinese Whispers!! What a great idea this is! On the first of January, a group of us, organised by Dawn, chose a sketch, created a LO from it & then emailed that LO to the next person on the list. Dawn will keep the original sketches & a copy of each persons LO each month & at the end of the run, put them all together so we can see how each sketch ‘evolved’ with each persons interpretation! I love it!!

 
For this months inspiration I received a LO from Jacky (her interpretation of her chosen sketch) & did a near total ‘lift’ from it!

I particularly liked the two photo’s set off-centre, the wording strip at the bottom, the journaling tag & the bunting, so all of those are included in my ‘lift’.

 

That’s it for today, well I did say it was a quick bit of scrappiness!!

Thanks for stopping by & come back soon! :)

A Daily Round-Up!

This week was one of those that had something on the calendar every day! The only clear day was Monday until my good friend Amanda asked if I could lend a hand die-cutting some shapes for her sons Art homework! So my housework was put on hold while we searched for the right kind of images & Amanda had a ‘quick’ tutorial on how to reassemble the cut pieces!!

On Tuesday I worked all day reorganising my scrap space…Lee had moved my tall bookshelf into Alex’s bedroom in preparation for the arrival of an additional ‘Expedit’ bookcase from Ikea  (they really must have been designed by a scrapper, they’re so perfect for a scrap room!) & moved an unused computer desk from his study into my scrap room too.  The cat supervised as I rearranged books, boxes, gadgets, tools & stash!  But he waited until my waste baskets were back in place before claiming the ‘Rubbish’ one as his chosen place to settle!

Wednesday was a bit of a worry! Alex had a dental appointment & was to have ‘Happy Gas’ (basically good old gas & air) for the first time. Because of his Diabetes & ADHD he’s always had work done with a General Anaesthetic, but his excellent dentist suggested we try this method to administer a local anaesthetic, as the work needed was just a couple of fillings!

He always gets so anxious about anything new, but settled quite happily once he was in the chair & although he was fully awake & kept saying he still felt the same, it was easy to see that his body was getting more & more relaxed!  Before long Helen was able to administer the local anaesthetic & Alex was totally oblivious that any needle had been near him!!!

She managed to get most of the drilling done, but once she started using the vibrating drill…I’m sure you know the one I mean!…Alex began to protest! So the job was completed as best she could & it was decided that he will be needing a ‘G.A.’ for the rest of the work after all! :(

On Thursday I set off to meet a friend for coffee. We have been texting one another for almost twelve months saying ‘let’s get together soon!’ & at last we did!Robynne looked so well & it was so lovely to hear how well her kids are getting on & just to generally catch up on each others news!

I’d even done my homework so that I wouldn’t be tempted ‘off track’ by all the goodies Starbucks have to offer! I chose the ‘Light’ Lemon & poppy seed muffin with my black Americano!!!  Delicious & very ‘affordable’ in Weight Watchers Pro-Points value!!!


On Friday my car had to be left at the garage for a new hose to be fitted to the radiator, so I dropped it off after the school run  & walked home! It took me half an hour & it’s mostly up hill, so I was glowing nicely when I got through the front door!!  One thing I’m enjoying on my daily 30 minute walks is seeing more closely those things seen fleetingly while driving!

Late last summer, a cottage in the village was re-thatched & the Thatcher left his trademark pheasants on the roof.

I’ve admired them ever since, but as it’s a busy stretch of road, never stopped to photograph them. Well, I snapped one on Friday! 

Saturday was blissful!  Off I went to the ‘Merly Impressions’ crop at Renhold from 10am –5pm!

This was my first real crafty day this year & it felt so good! I caught up with the lovely Dawn & Sharon, & although I declined the kit, I managed to complete my LO for the Soul Scrappers ‘Sound of Summer’ challenge!  I went armed with a sketch from ‘Creative Scrappers’ & a pile of stash & just went with the flow!  The criteria to include were… 1. paint… 2. sewing… 3. distressing…4. fussy cutting… 5. tree(s)…6. cloud(s)… 7. strip journaling & 8. Rub-ons! 

I managed to tick all the boxes & here’s my end result…

I went with that lovely sound of honey bee’s buzzing on a lazy, hazy, sunny summer afternoon!! Strange to think that the sound of those little guys working so hard to collect nectar can be so relaxing!!!

Finally I’ll leave you with this weeks cinema visit! We chose to see ‘W.E.’ which is the film co-written & directed by Madonna, about Edward Vii & Wallis Simpson. I had my reservations about it, not sure how Madonna’s style would come through, but all I can say is ‘Way to go Madge!!’

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the story unfold alongside a modern day relationship drama! It cut easily back & forth between the 1930’s & the present day, wasn’t sugar coated in any way & really gave a different perspective on what is often thought of as a fairytale romance. Think again!!

Thanks for stopping by, do check out my ‘365+1in 2012’ collage for the week via the tab at the top, or go to Suzie’s blog via the link above to see everyone’s!  I’m really enjoying my daily prompts & checking out how everyone interprets them so variedly!

Hope you can pop back again soon! :)