June was worth writing about.....

.......but I just didn't. Guess nothing was amazingly, instantly, worthy of sharing. But there was a mix of highs, lows and just the normal plodding along.

M's Creative Computing Club moved into its very own premises and we had helped where we could with the building refurbishment to get it lab ready for classes (hubby far more useful than me). We were invited to the Grand Opening event, lots of people there and all saying lovely things about M and I even saw a couple of people I know. So very proud of M and Daughter too and all they've achieved so far, although I've a feeling there will be bigger dreams M wants to achieve. He was also honored by a BAFTA award for best UK mentor to young games designers! WOW

We've had the usual coffee morning and I've attended my monthly craft day where I've taken this black knitting for quite some time, well I finally finished the knitting (but sewn together in July).

With Daughter E has been doing uni visits. Some have needed sleepovers with friends nearby and that often means sleepover here too for O. R and Tilly like to spend their daytime here but we can't have the dog overnight so we take them home mid-evening.

I needed a third op for bladder cancer, thankfully this closer look found nothing that needed removal but they took biopsies anyway and they gave clear results. 😀

I've been playing with boro/shakio visible mending. This is a very old (and comfy) tshirt I sleep in.

Also in my bid to save throwing stuff into landfill I made some kitchen scrubbies from double thickness old towelling and the netting bag that satsumas come in. They seem to work quite well and regularly get thrown into the dishwasher so no chance of getting smelly.

SERV as a charity mostly using bike riders, have now decided all their riders need to be advanced level, so Hubby is now doing advanced rider lessons. Apparently he has a few minor bad habits that need correcting hahaha

Now summer events for SERV are in full swing I'm often alone at weekends when he's standing in a field/fete/supermarket entrance and some of Fridays when he's out filling the van or setting up mostly with M&S (not the store) hard working local volunteers and friends. Along with others he does talks and attends presentations too.

Daughter had 10 days at Kentwell, so we go into child+dog care mode. Daughter started the first four days with O as E was staying with friends. On the Monday Hubby took E to Kentwell and brought O back to stay with us. Meanwhile the whole time R and Tilly were picked up every morning and taken home every evening, and some days she was working at Red Rose Theatre so Hubby was constant transport and I was constant cook. Love having them here. Discovered our garden isn't totally dog-proof as she got out twice! Tilly likes a lot of attention

I had a lovely catchup lunch with friends made some 23 years ago when we did the art A level course. Two students and the teacher.
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Ends and beginnings......

Although there was the tricky (medical) start to December and I had to cancel some social events the rest of the month saw plenty of friends, family and celebrations.

Two lots of meeting friends for lunches. Our Wednesday group of friends celebrated twice, we had our posh hotel dinner as an annual usual but this year we ended the night back in the pub to see a friend who couldn't make it to the meal and of course so the men could play pool. Us ladies felt a little overdressed for the pub hahaha. The following Wednesday friendM cooked at home for us, we were told to dress in a suitable fashion hahaha, it was a delicious three course roast. Yummy!

I went with neighbours to our annual Eastern Angles Christmas performance, Fenland Screamers, and I've been with Daughter and O to see Alice in Wonderland. Both brilliant.

Hubby and I had a last minute trip into town as he had fundraising money to pay in, and the bank teller kept a cheery smile on her face as we held up the queue and she dealt with a mountain of coins. Then we had a mad dash throughout town looking for vegan jelly crystals and with so many shops telling us they sell it but we're sold out we eventually got what I believe were the last four packets in the whole of Ipswich!

Christmas day was at our house with Daughter, M, R, E and O. And if I say so myself dinner came out really well 😆 even the vegan trifle. It was of course a day of eating, unwrapping, board games, more eating, tv etc.

Boxing day was just as good with Daughter&co plus Son&fiancé here too! Yep lots more eating 😅

Sadly early in December one of our neighbours died. She was in her 80s and mostly stayed at home but she was always the first to arrive at coffee morning, sitting at the head of the table and enjoying all the conversations. I hadn't heard from her after I'd been in hospital and alerted another neighbour who holds a spare key and he went in and found her. 😔

New Year's Eve was also the morning when another good friend lost her battle. She had been in hospital for just a couple of weeks but had deteriorated quite rapidity. Sad times! 😔

The year ended on a very big high. Our house was open for....
Family day/NYE party/Daughter's 40th!
Starting about noon family arrived, think the total count was 25 including 3 teens, 3 children, 1 toddler, 1 baby and a dog! Have to say Daughter's dog Tilly was so well behaved considering how different it must have all been for her.
Most of the family had to leave early evening although Son&fiancé and sisterS&bilK stayed to soon be joined by 60+ of Daughter's friends to see in the new year and celebrate her big birthday. We were even joined by dinosaurs!

A fantastic party and lots of help with the clearing up which was fantastic. We played host to some sleeping over guests and Daughter did the same so breakfasts and brunch with extra company to start the year off.
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Comes around every year.....

Yes I've had another birthday 😊
Lots of lovely presents including another me

from Hubby, so no excuse for clothes that don't fit properly because I can't pin them on myself. I need to spend some time getting her to my size. Think she needs a name too. 

This birthday seems to be a continuous eating out celebration. 

Last Tuesday was a Mexican birthday dinner with my girl friends. 

I eat out every Wednesday night anyway.

Friday lunchtime we had a birthday lunch with Daughter, M, R, E and O. That pub was chosen mainly because it had a great outside play area but unfortunately it was raining so O nerve got to use it. 

Saturday (my actual birthday) Hubby took me out and after a couple of rainy days all day Saturday was sunny and very warm. 

We started at Thorpeness and had a good walk around 

Lunch was by the boating lake watching ducks, swans and the various techniques of the rowers.

We then took a drive to Aldeburgh (normally we could walk from one to the other but my knees were objecting). As I'd said it was very sunny and warm and Aldeburgh is a very popular place so nowhere to park! Driving on we made a stop at Snape for another walk around, along the river, shop, gallery and museum.

Last stop was into Woodbridge and a walk along the High Street and bought a few bits including the last two fresh scones in the bakery so just had to supermarket for some clotted cream and had our own cream tea when we got home. Well you have to have cake in your birthday right?  Half was cream then jam, the other half jam then cream so as not to offend either the Cornish or the Devonians.

Sunday (today) lunch was another pub with Son&fiancé.

And amazingly I've lunch Monday and Thursday and dinner Tuesday and Wednesday at different venues with different friends still to come this week hahaha. 

Birthdays are fun! 

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All a matter of time......

Time is such a relative thing!

For Daughter and E it was Tudor time and as usual R moved in with us. For the first time O really really didn't want to go back in time as all his techy interests are very much in the here and now, so he moved in with us too. He's only done one or two nights sleepovers before so fingers crossed for 10 days!

I thought I would bring some craft stuff down so I could be near and handy when needed but not bored and idle when O spends lots of time on ipad/laptop/atari/etc. I'm playing with plastic bottles to upcycle into a garden.

After a whole week I'd achieved very little as time is never your own when there are children in the house. 

There were games to play. This one was a super-mega-noughts-and-crosses that O invented.

We managed a trip out to the beach. This summer's national trend is painting rocks/stones to hide and find. So we joined in although limited on time.

These were our finds that we rehid after our icecream/tea break.

These were the ones we painted (I'd taken sharpie pens) during our icecream/tea break and hid these too. When we got home O and I posted these photos on the "Felixstowe Finds" facebook page like everyone else does.

Hilarious at the time, the tide was right in, O took off his trainers and had shorts on so he was fine, R didn't! Unfortunately she mistimed the waves more than once and was soaking wet up to her knees. Clean dry trousers at home but no other shoes! Got back in time to plonk a dinner in front of her while I spent the whole time with kitchen roll and the hairdryer. I didn't succeed so managed to find her a pair of my black boots to wear that night. 

Apart from her brief beach trip one day and a hospital visit the next day (D was taken back into hospital)  R's time was spent in bed, or trying to eat two meals in less than four hours and spending a minimum of seven hours each day in the forest. Saturdays have a matinee too so over ten hours, 12 hours on the day they ended with the wrap party! I did a couple of runs but Hubby was her taxi service most of the time. 

O and I found a new recipe for bubble mix that worked really well in his machine, they were stable enough to rest on the grass for a while before popping. 

O said my pancakes have definitely improved since he gave me cooking tips!

D was discharged from hospital Friday but will still need a bit of time to recover. He went home with his mum, so M was free for a while in the afternoon and O was thrilled to go home for a few hours to show his dad what he'd been making (stop frame animation, remix music, his own recordings mixed too) and to collect a bit more kit. 

The apple tree was more than ready to be relieved of a good crop, then O helped me for a while chopping for the freezer and an apple crumble. This was Saturday and as M had no other commitments from 2pm for the rest of the weekend O decided to go home, so we boxed up crumble mix and stewed apple for them to cook at home. 

O also had to quickly finish programming his game on Atari Logo to show his dad too. He had been an absolute pleasure to have here and good company.

R goes home after dinner today and Daughter and E will be back in 2017 and home tonight too. So love spending time with my wonderful grandchildren, precious time they may be too busy for in the near future. Probably take me some time to get the house back to normal though! 

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Another mixed bag.......

And on the subject of bags here's the latest one I've made

Totally free as the beige fabric front and back is the two back pockets of old jeans, the brown is some leftovers after making lounge cushion covers which was from my stash anyway after making trousers with it about 40 years ago lol, the zip was cut down to size from an old mac and the handle was once a belt, even the lizard and starfish I've sewn on to show me which is front were given to me as a gift.

Also had a crochet play and made myself a fedora style hat that can screw up in my bag but pull back into shape. I was really pleased with myself as I still find crochet patterns completely foreign so just made this up as I went along and only had to undo half and try again when the increases didn't look right. I'm hoping it won't be warm and I can wear it as a sun hat too.

As you can see I'm still into all my crafting and always look forward to our monthly gathering at Acorn Village at Mistley. Although most of us do more chatting than crafting lol.

This Monday was also our monthly coffee morning at home, yes they are still going, think there were 12 of us round the table. Lovely to have one of our old neighbours pop back to catch up with us too. Unfortunately Hubby hadn't been feeling well since Saturday afternoon so he stayed upstairs in case he had anything contagious.

That afternoon Hubby was still feeling rough enough to go and see a doctor who diagnosed suspected food poisoning and gave him antibiotics. I'm not convinced that's what it was but happy to report by the end of this week he is feeling about 80% better.

I've got a bit of a medical issue going on as my recent CT Scan showed a little something on my left kidney and because my right kidney was removed four years ago they want to further investigate. Not urgent so could be ages before I mention it again here.

More fun and games to report, as we had a rough evening and night Tuesday night as M's son D got rushed into hospital and had surgery to remove his appendix at about 10pm. Of course everyone was in different places and poor Daughter drove miles and miles all on the same roads getting different people where they needed to be and take food too. Op went well, and Wednesday morning Daughter was back at the hospital, I had O and he's a live wire as he is the only one who went to bed before 1:30am. Hubby did of course as he wasn't well so he was up before 6am which woke me so I was quite tired yawwwwwn. Op went well and D was discharged Wednesday, amazing!

While O was here he was showing me what he'd learnt about freeze frame animation then went off to make his own. I'm amazed at the understanding and knowledge of use by an 8year old. This one was my favourite.
https://youtu.be/3DxQmeMbI-M

And now my birthday which hasn't turned out to be the quiet day I thought it would as gradually it included a little childcare, catering for extras,  courier service, taxi service and barber! So many cards and social media good wishes, some lovely gifts and lots of them floral. All rounded off with a meal out with Hubby, our children, their partners and our grandchildren (all bar one). I'm very lucky!

Did you notice the candles?
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Medical avalanche........

Been a very busy time of late and calander booked to stay that way till just passed the new year.

R and O performed for the last time with their Saturday drama group, a fun performance as always. Unfortunately this drama group has been ended by the County Council as they only want to run Saturday school for music in future so this was an emotional end of term and end of an era for the children and also for Daughter who started coming here for her own music as a child and now as a parent has helped with registration and tuck shop for years. Sad farewells all round.

Last week seemed to be dominated by medical things too, and none of them involved my health for a change.
     We are both fine, which has been no easy task in fact, as Daughter then O and now M have all been ill with a sickness bug and we haven't been able to avoid seeing them.
      Our next door neighbour has a very serious medical condition diagnosed 40 years ago (told back then she only had six weeks to live) and she now needs stronger magic so has been in and out of Papworth Hospital and sometimes Addenbrooks over the last few weeks. Her husband has been asked to take in various bits of her medical supplies when he visits every day but midweek he phoned Hubby urgently asking him to go into their house and find some tubes in her medical supplies and get them to Papworth as he was there already (as the hospital had the wrong ones) so on his bike more than an hour's ride away! The staff were so grateful.
     Wednesday night I was out with my friends and before dinner had arrived friendM had a really funny turn, acting so weird that we were all concerned and I thought she should get checked out so took her and her partner to the local A&E. They decided she needed an ambulance to the main hospital about 11 miles away. FriendsT&F met us at the local hospital then went to the pub to tell another friend we should have met what was going on, then met us at the main hospital. Meanwhile I took her partner home and we gathered up what she might need if they kept her in overnight, then as he hadn't even had time to finish his first pint we could take two cars and ended up following the blue lights into town. It was nearly 1am when I left them there as having checked her thoroughly they suggested maybe a CT scan, but by the time I got home they had text me to say "no scan needed on our way home" so I was relieved and slept well. The think she'd had a TIA or mini-stroke! Very scary at the time and there will be follow ups but thankfully she's feeling fine now.
     While we were in the hospital friendM got to see her daughter as she was there with a sick baby, thankfully they'd just been discharged and I caught her just in time before they left for home.
     Heard from friendLW too who is totally drugged up as she has horrid sinus problems so she can't breathe and makes her sick and made her eyes really swollen.
     Also I went to visit friendHM to tell her about friendM and she is still unwell having one infection after another and now has a nasty rash on her face and in her eye.

My mum always said that winter needed a really cold snap to kill off the germs but even that wouldn't help for most of this!
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Where does all the time go?........

Will try to remember what's happened since our holiday but too much to write in full so excuse the jumble of short memories, but I'm quite relieved I could remember as much as I did to record it at all (head been quite fuzzy lately).

Inevitably after a holiday follows laundry processing! Along with what was left in the laundry box it was three machine loads, lovely weather so all pegged out for a very full line, and just as I was adding the last few socks the line broke and I caught it then had to hold it up off the ground while Hubby did a quick knotting fix. Our line is the longest retractable cassette line that also hooks onto an extension. It was very heavy! Before the holiday Hubby had planned to reclad the shed as it was taking in water, however a lot of the frame turned out to be rotten so a much bigger job than expected. So after being interrupted for line fixing Hubby continued to rebuild the shed.

Hubby has also been busy with SERV Bloodrunner events. He always comes home amazed at how generous people have been......then has to count it all up and get it to the bank.

As an update about our friendDJ, while friendM was on holiday then we were on holiday friendDJ had been moved out of the hospice and into a nursing home in another town, because his first floor flat was no longer suitable. So friendM and I met for lunch then to visit friendDJ. Sad seeing his deterioration and his world reduced to that small room at the nursing home. We wheeled him out to sit under the trees by the pond. The staff seemed really friendly. On our usual Wednesday gathering this time we took fish and chips to the nursing home and took over their dining room so with DJ there were eight of us. We lifted his spirits. We also lifted the spirits of a few other residents who passed through or entered and stayed, possibly more entertainment for them than normal too. One lady looked fitter and a little younger and was totally intent on getting us recruited to help her put on a Christmas show. When she left the room briefly to get her dolls to show us another lady who was old, frail but bright as a button, laughed and said "take no notice of her  (the first lady) as she's totally bonkers".

Another update on a long story, this time my ongoing bp and joints problems. Early May my GP sent a referral to the hospital, this week I checked with them again to be told that appointments had now extended to 24.5 weeks waiting from referral, which means I'm unlikely to get an appointment before mid-November! So I phoned the surgery who had no doctors appointment so booked me in with the Nurse Practitioner. She actually couldn't help as it was such an ongoing problem that she made me an appointment with the Doctor for the next day. Doctor has now sent a letter asking the hospital for an urgent appointment. She also doubled the dose of my beta blockers so I'm back to taking my bp often and recording it.

Wow M had been nominated for a BAFTA (not the film one, the gaming one) so Daughter&M were invited to London for  the awards. Have to say he didn't win but we were all so proud of him even being nominated :-)  We were having the children here for the day, some of which E was at rehearsals with County Youth Orchestra (for their imminent tour in Germany). End of the day they all went home except O who had asked for a sleepover.

It was another very warm night and all the windows were open, and we could hear really loud music. At first we thought a neighbour was having a garden party then realised it was much bigger than that. It was the first of two nights of Jimmy's Farm festival. Jimmy's Farm is about four miles away from us!

Poor O nearly had his sleep over, all settled into the middle of a double bed, having had a long story read, then we had to go round the house shutting all the windows to reduce the outside noise......but he couldn't settle so mum came to get him.

Sunday was another lovely hot sunny day. Son and fiancé had arranged to come for lunch and O wanted to come back early (as if he'd really slept over) to make our desserts, Daughter and R came too after taking E to another rehearsal day and staying to help. So food on the table inside but all sitting outside for a real summer lunch, followed by afternoon tea,  and sat there through to the evening in the garden, lovely!

And today we have come full circle by doing three machine loads of laundry and pegging it all out on the new repaired washing line. While Hubby continued to rebuild the shed.
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Busy and stressy......

This week has seen a busy house although it mostly wasn't me.

Wednesday was M's birthday so Daughter and children were here Monday and Tuesday customising his present and making a very elaborate cake (have to say she didn't get much help from the children). And on the day we had a party lunch here for everyone.....which actually ended badly when O trapped his fingers in the back of the treadmill while it was running and Hubby drove him and Daughter to A&E where they spent nearly four hours! Thankfully nothing broken just very sore from friction burns on his finger tips, poor boy. We are always telling him to wear the safety clip and only go on there when an adult is in the room but at nearly six years old he thinks he knows better.  A very tough lesson to learn.

I've been out every night this week and out again tonight which is lovely,  however,  the stresses come when the dear dear friends I've been out with are suffering from bereavement / cancer / depression / relationship issues / surgery  - none of which I need go into detail about here - and all need lots of support and extra hugs.

Hopefully their problems won't affect my blood pressure as I've just been booked in to wear that awful BP cuff and monitor for 24 hours starting 10am on 1st April.....no joke,  so who's the fool 😉
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Castles, Tudors, friends and relations....

Make a coffee first this is a long one  :o)


Friday 6th - Hubby and I had planned a day out with SisterM and her hubby. Sadly SisterM's cancer is progressing and she is now feeling a bit too weak in the legs for much walking around so we borrowed a wheelchair from our local Community Charity Shop. The weather was not good so there was no rush but hubby had assured me it was going to clear later and if we headed into Kent we had a better chance of staying shower free, so that's what we did, choosing Hever Castle as our destination. Still raining when we got there so had a lovely pub lunch first then as forecast the sun came out, the puddles dried and we had a really lovely afternoon in the castle and the gardens and even sat outside for afternoon tea. Got them home and didn't even stay for a cuppa as Friday evening traffic is always terrible coming east. We all really enjoyed the day.

Saturday 7th - When FriendsL&K wanted to arrange a day to meet up I told them of our plans to visit Kentwell Hall for the Tudor re-enactment and they jumped at the chance to join us there. We picked up M and D at 10am then met our friends in the carpark at Kentwell at 11am. Hubby changed up some money to Tudor groats and pennies so we could buy things inside then we walked through the time tunnel into 1556. I've been there a few times now and still totally amazed at being immersed in living history with every resident  having so much knowledge to pass on, we talked at length to the washer women and the alchemists and the woodchoper and watched the players rehearse which was so funny. We stopped in the alehouse so the men could have some ale and of the games drawn on the table I played Nine Men's Morris and Horseshoe losing both games to a Tudor maid expert. We ate in the modern cafe but sampled Tudor marshpane, biscots, sweetmeats and men-of-ginger. O had been a Tudor all week but had missed his dad so changed back to modern clothes to be with his dad and come home with us, this also meant that Daughter, R and E could really enjoy the last night party and pack up their camper without the help of a 3 year old. It was so hard to be there and not hug my daughter and grandchildren as they had to stay in character which they all did really well. Again another dry day for us thankfully. The day ended with the fair which was brilliant. D won a candle on the hoopla stall, lots of Tudor children took part in the play dressing up as chickens (ours included). There was wrestling for the boys and 'arse pushing' for the maids and musicians and dancers too (including daughter) while the gentry walked around admiring the show.
When a very tired O flopped on granddad's shoulder we decided it was time to leave. We dropped off M, D and O at their house and went home to meet again with FriendsL&K who were staying the night. After a very much needed cup of tea we relaxed a bit then out to the pub for dinner. Late(ish) to bed and so lovely to have plenty of time for a good catch-up chat.

Sunday 8th - Up for breakfast but no-one was rushing although they had to get away before lunchtime. Very soon after Hubby's brother M and his partnerJ arrived bringing back hubby's laptop that they had borrowed and telling us all about their planned house move. Out to the pub for Sunday lunch which was yummy and all the nicer when bilM paid the whole bill, thank you :o)
They left quite early and hubby didn't have bowling for a change on a Sunday which was lucky as Daughter turned up about 8pm still costumed and with the girls all looking really tired, wanting help with the trailer camper to leave here before they could head home.

Monday 9th - Daughter arrived with the children to open up the camper and clean it and dry it out and to scrub all the children and their very muddy Tudor shoes. Unfortunately she is now full of cold and aches and pains and is very tired, not surprising after working hard all week and being out and camping in some horrid weather for 9 days. Slow going but all achieved. I fed them all both lunch (bacon butties) and dinner (lasagne)...definitely not potage!
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