Wednesday 30 November 2011

Top Notch Tuesday!

I promise I'm not doing it on purpose..................this was another one I spent with Kevin!

A good couple of hours putting the world to rights and getting approval for the Christmas table centrepiece I'm currently making/building for them for Christmas (I'll try and remember to put a photo on before I deliver it!).

Which reminds me, I really need to start thinking about Christmas, writing cards, getting decorations out (and up) buying/wrapping presents etc - all the things I'm usually well on with by now!

Buggerific!

And I've even come to a grinding halt with the Christmas book/music/film fest - must try harder!

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Tuesday 29 November 2011

Surprise Someone Day!

The only person I saw today was Helen (thank you for the curtainis!) and I somehow don't think I surprised her in any way!

I did kind of suprise myself by absolutely loving North and South (latest boxset viewing) when I've always resisted it as it never really seemed to appeal - thanks LMS!

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Monday 28 November 2011

Making Tea for Everyone Day!

I didn't make tea for everyone - everyone went out for tea!

It was Bernie's birthday celebration meal so the usual motley crew of us descended on an establishment in town and a good night was had by all! 

I'm still finding it surprsing how tiring everything is and I'm not sure I was up to my usual sparkling wit and conversation (shh - not a word) and still seem to be suffering the occassional 'disconnect' from reality/everything - bizarre.
I also got to see the specialist on Friday so now they're looking into my whole back as they have concerns about the whole area.  Referred back to pyshio again for my back (and now also my neck) so it looks like I'll be starting next year as I started this one!

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Sunday 27 November 2011

Thanksgiving!

(Yes, I'm still posting a few days behind!)

Happy Thanksgiving to The Family Pickering over in Nova Scotia!

Thanks to Paul and Paula I've actually attended a Thanksgiving (last year, when they were a little closer!) and even had Pumpkin Pie - and a lovely experience it was too!

If ever you're in the market for sending online Thanksgiving greetings (or any other for that matter) you can't beat a Jacquie Lawson card (the Christmas ones (especially the ones featuring Chudleigh!) are particularly beautiful)!

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Saturday 26 November 2011

Happy Birthday Bernie Day!

Wednesday 23rd November - Happy b'day B!

I think you (Bernie) might have been born on a Wednesday, I think I was too, and you know what they say about Wednesday's child.............lol!

It was decided to spend the evening enjoying chinese food and watching all the twilight fillms to catch up prior to seieng the latest release in the near future - happy days :-)

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Friday 25 November 2011

Get Back on Track Day!

Ah ha!  I found a way to know what day it is!  I'd totally forgotten that my incredibly organised (and not recently accessed) 'to do' excel spreadsheet lists all the diary days :-)

So here're all the ones I've missed................

Claim your extra hour in bed (technically I did this - it wasn't in a bed though (I couldn't lie down so slept in a chair for 3 nights/days))

Spooky Monday (sooo disappointed to not be able to go ahead with the party in the fabulously decorated office - I did look a fright though if that counts and shuffling around with my head locked to one side did give me a Frankensteinesque appearance!)

Pluck eyebrows (Yeah, really disappointed to miss this one ;-)

Laugh (I vaguely recall laughing during my wedding hallucination (which occured whilst I was on my knees getting intimately aquainted with the toilet bowl))

Strut your funky stuff day (this was the day I was finally diagnosed - funky stuff indeed!)

Bake a potato, big bang Saturday, oooh and aaah at the fireworks, bob for apples (the original plan was to hit all these at once on Bonfire night, as this was the night I was released from hospital I'm sorry to say that I did none of them!)

Laugh some more (I did laugh (despite the pain) when Bernie was trying to dress me to take me to hospital (I was pretty much immobile by this point) and she put my top on me back to front - I wondered why it felt so tight!)

Enter a competition (and win) day (Yes, ok, let's say that I entered a competition titled 'Be diagnosed wiith a very rare Syndrome (at a ridiculously young age for it) - guess what?  I won!)

Wear lots of colours (wear lots of colours - no, wear lots of pyjamas - yes!)

Curious Friday (For this day I was going to tell you all about my favourite gin - Hendricks! It's an unusual (and curious) gin for extraordinary minds - if you've never tried it I highly recommend that you do! )

A nice relaxing Saturday (No, no, no - the first part was fairly relaxing and was certainly enjoyable.  I had Elaine and Kevin as visitors which was lovely, then I started with a 24 hour stomach bug.  No joke at the best of times but when you're doped up to the eyeballs, can no longer take yours meds due to inability to even keep water down and are trying to throw up without moving your neck it adds a whole new dimension!)

Cheery Tuesday (I do vaguely remember Boss telling me it was Cheery Tuesday but I decided to leave it in his capable hands!)

Telling all my friends how brilliant they are day (now this one I do regret missing, so, if you're fortunate (!) enough to call yourself my friend (and/or familly)..............consider yourself brilliant :-)

Buy Nothing Day (this is most days so I'm having it - so there!)

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Thursday 24 November 2011

Super Sunday!

My Christmas overload last night (Saturday) obviously did the trick as it was a much better morning!

Pops and Olive arrived for a visit in the afternoon and took me for a short walk in the fog (I am definitely developing an addiction like craving for fresh air!) then Pops did his 'Daddy Fix It?' on my radiator in the bathroom :-)

I actually cooked a proper Sunday tea too (the first proper meal since my release (I keep saying release - I mean discharge, sounds much better and less like I was in a mental institution/prison)), steak pie, roast potatoes, yorkshire puddings, veg and gravy.  Ok, I admit it - it was all frozen (except the gravy obviously!)and all I had to do was transfer it from the freezer to the oven but it's a start!

Then I went for an action replay of the previous nights Christmas overload with bath, book and film etc.  Believe it or not I actually binned a Christmas movie (Solstice - avoid at all costs) - it was absolutely dire, luckily it was also short so there was plenty of time to watch another one :-)

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Wednesday 23 November 2011

Sucky with a Surprising Turn Around Saturday!

Oh dear, not good.  Woke up in a lot of pain and took almost an hour to actually get out of bed (this is always the hardest part of my days at the moment).  I broke my promise to myself (and this is why I don't do promises) and, for the first time in a week, I didn't bother to get dressed and spent the entire day just watching telly :-(

It got to evening and in an effort to, once again, mentally kick myself up the butt I decided to do something guaranteed to make me feel good (and what have I told you about getting your mind out of the gutter?).  On came the Christmas radio station, ran a hot bubble bath, lit candles, dug out my collection of corny Christmas romance books and poured a large Tia Maria.  A little over an hour later I was back on the sofa with a nice cup of tea, some cheese and a Christmas movie - it's a long, long time since I've felt so content!

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Tuesday 22 November 2011

Fantastic Friday!

It may be, it may not be (officially) but I'm declaring it so!

I left the house again (steady - this could be habit forming!) to go to the Doctors. thankfully Bernie took me as I'm still not fit to be without adult supervision (in the absence of an appropriate adultt Bernie'll do (sorry Bernie, I stole your line!)).

Another fascinated doctor and another 4 weeks off work but better pain management (no more Heidi off her head!) and hopefully a step closer to seeing the specialist!

Then (why, why, why) a trip to Asda for supplies - this isn't a fit place for anyone at this time on a Friday let alone someone not in full possession of all their faculties!  And all of a sudden I'm reminded of all the reasons I shop online!

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Monday 21 November 2011

Christmas Light Switch On Day!

Yay!  I am free!

Ok, so this (Thursday 17th Nov) was my first trip outside (fresh air, fresh air!) for 3 weeks - Debbie very kindly picked me up and took me into town where we met Elaine and watched the Harrogate Christmas light switch on!  Despite feeling like I was falling over and slurring my speech all the time (there's either still some swelling in my head or it's the after effects of all the drugs) I had a fabulous time!






It also put me in a festive mood so it was time to see if the holiday music radio station was available yet - http://977music.com/stations/holiday-music - if you like Christmas you DO NOT want to miss this radio station!!  Then I watched the first of my 33 Christmas movies!

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Saturday 19 November 2011

I Don't Know What Day It Is Day!

Alas, I am, so far, unable to locate the diary detailng all the days and, as I remain in seclusion at home (and have just been signed off for another 4 weeks), I can't access my Outlook calendar at work (which includes all the diary days) so I have no way of knowing what 'day' it's supposed to be! 

So, until I can be reunited with either the diary or Outlook I'm just going to make it up as I go along :-)

The title of this post could very well have also referred to how I spent my week in hospital (from which I am now having some quite disturbing flashbacks) and my first week back at home.  One of my tablets, or something to do with the combination of tablets I was taking was making me feel very, very out of it (for want of a better description) until I spent the weekend having some sort of 24 hour stomach bug (thank you whichever visitor brought me that!) during which I couldn't even keep down a sip of water (it's also very difficult to throw up when you have difficulty moving your neck lol!). 

This also meant I wasn't able to take any of my many tablets.  Personally I think this actually turned out to be a good thing as the pain is, for the most part, bearable and I'd rather have the pain and be lucid than have no pain but also feel as doped up as I did!  Being off the pills and feeling more human has definitely helped from a psychological and emotional point of view anyway and I feel much more positive than I did!

I'll try not to focus future posts entirely on my ongoing medical marvel but I don't have much to work with at the moment (I haven't been outside for  3 weeks, I've watched a series and a half of Grey's Anatomy, series 2 of Rome, series 4 of The Tudors, series 2 of The Big C and series 2 of Gavin and Stacey - if I start on Jeremy Kyle I'm going back to work no matter what anyone says!) but I'll do my best!

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Friday 18 November 2011

Embrace Cardigans!

This day (Friday 28th Oct) made me realise that I simply don't possess enough cardigans!

I do have this rather fabulous purple creation which Bernie bought me several years ago though so, in the spirit of wearing purple all week, it fit the bill perfectly!


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Thursday 17 November 2011

Wear Purple Day (week)!

(24th - 28th October, luckily I was writing the post as I went along!)

This was a last minute addition (last week) and was initially just supposed to be one day.  Due to various people being on leave on various days this week I was asked to extend it to a whole week!

I started Purple Week with some subtlety (see, I can do subtle if I put my mind to it!) on Monday with just my purple gloves....................


Showed a bit more purple on Tuesday with the addition of the purple scarf, purple stockings and purple jewellery - this was also the day Neil wore his very purple shirt (unfortunately I didn't get a photo).



Wednesday was more purple jewellery (with the gloves and scarf still), different purple stockings and a purple top.  I think I must have been sending out some sort of subliminal message, I was very impressed to see that in one of the offices (in a totally unplanned move) everyone had turned up wearing purple!  In fact there seemed to be an awful lot of purple around across the whole site on Wednesday!



Thursday was Wear Purple Day proper so I went full on purple - everything was purple, including my nails, the only thing that let me down was that I'd neglected to dye my hair purple!


Elaine matched my effort with an outfit entirely in various shades of purple and there were several other hints of purple across the department.


Andy contibuted these Purple Ronnie playing cards and Lyn wore a ring with a purple stone as they weren't able to wear anything purple!


Tomorrow (Friday) will also include some fabulous purpleness but I can't talk about it in this post as it actually fits tomorrow's day too (Embrace Cardigans)!

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Friday 11 November 2011

Not Quite Yet Day!

Just a quickie!

I'm hoping that at some time next week I'll be in a fit state to publish a couple of late posts from the back end of last month - no Halloween post though as I missed it (and I was really, really looking forward to that one!)!

Currently I either feel really sick or really high all the time and can't stand sitting in front of the screen for long so this'll have to do you for now!

As it's just gone 11am on 11th November I'm going to finish with one of my favourite Robert Service poems.

"Where are you going, Young Fellow My Lad,
On this glittering morn of May?"
"I'm going to join the Colours, Dad;
They're looking for men, they say."
"But you're only a boy, Young Fellow My Lad;
You aren't obliged to go."
"I'm seventeen and a quarter, Dad,
And ever so strong, you know."

* * * *

"So you're off to France, Young Fellow My Lad,
And you're looking so fit and bright."
"I'm terribly sorry to leave you, Dad,
But I feel that I'm doing right."
"God bless you and keep you, Young Fellow My Lad,
You're all of my life, you know."
"Don't worry. I'll soon be back, dear Dad,
And I'm awfully proud to go."

* * * *

"Why don't you write, Young Fellow My Lad?
I watch for the post each day;
And I miss you so, and I'm awfully sad,
And it's months since you went away.
And I've had the fire in the parlour lit,
And I'm keeping it burning bright
Till my boy comes home; and here I sit
Into the quiet night.

* * * *

"What is the matter, Young Fellow My Lad?
No letter again to-day.
Why did the postman look so sad,
And sigh as he turned away?
I hear them tell that we've gained new ground,
But a terrible price we've paid:
God grant, my boy, that you're safe and sound;
But oh I'm afraid, afraid."

* * * *

"They've told me the truth, Young Fellow My Lad:
You'll never come back again:
(Oh God! the dreams and the dreams I've had,
and the hopes I've nursed in vain!)
For you passed in the night, Young Fellow My Lad,
And you proved in the cruel test
Of the screaming shell and the battle hell
That my boy was one of the best.

"So you'll live, you'll live, Young Fellow My Lad,
In the gleam of the evening star,
In the wood-note wild and the laugh of the child,
In all sweet things that are.
And you'll never die, my wonderful boy,
While life is noble and true;
For all our beauty and hope and joy
We will owe to our lads like you."

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Sunday 6 November 2011

Crowned Dens Syndrome Day!

I've got quite a few posts to publish from week before last and I'm sure I'll get around to them at some point over the next week.

You may (or may not) have noticed that I have been absent for a little while, unfortunately this is not because I was sunning myself on some beach somewhere or because I was whisked off my feet by a handsome stranger.  Instead I was taking up residence at York hospital for a week where - after 2 MRI's, 2 CT's, 3 lumbar punctures, fluid drip for 48 hours, IV morphine, canulas in both arms and hands to take blood until my veins went into hiding - they discovered that I have a rare condition called Crowned Dens Syndrome.


There are only arouund 35 previously reported cases in English medical literature - the doc's were all fascinated, I just felt like I was in an episode of House!

Anyway, I've now been discharged (with lots of pain medication) and will be at home for at least the next two weeks recovering and getting back to as normal as I can ever hope to be.
 
In the meantime I'll do my best to catch up on here but please be patient with me!
 
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