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Thursday 30 April 2015

Happy May Day

Hello

Thank you for the comments on my previous post. After saying how I enjoy the comments and replying to them I never went back. So sorry. I definitely read them.

I was thinking about why I don't post as often as I did. There is a time issue I guess and energy problems at the moment, due to the ear infection - I think. Mainly I think it is due to not having a clear idea of what the blog is about. I'm not giving it up or anything as I love being part of it and feel I have a whole new group of friends because of blogging.
Last year felt clearer, I was discovering frugal living and growing my own veg. Although I am still doing both this year.  Blogging also gave me communication with others after being alone a lot. I also thought I would use it to look back a bit at the home educating and caring I did. But I have now found I'm not so good at looking back and am enjoying moving forward.
I think maybe I shall rattle on for a while and see what happens. It will maybe be like the scrapbook I used to keep as a kid. Full of bits and pieces (but not as much Star Wars stuff I promise).  Or the diary I never managed to keep for more than a couple of days. Things can be so mundane here and yet maybe I will enjoy reading it back one day.

Mundane happenings are:
AS levels approaching
Courgettes seedlings are springing up
My ear keeps hurting.

I still find it magic to watch the seeds turn to shoots. Courgettes are such sturdy little buggers whereas the tomatoes are so fragile. I'm trying yellow courgettes as they look so tasty. I also thought I would plant a few flowers as well to encourage the insects in. Echinacea, Sunflowers, Poppies and Calendula for the companion planting. I will try for some chillies this year even though I don't have a greenhouse. Asda was selling off some potatoes so have them propped on a window ledge in an egg box as per instruction from my gardening bible. It will all be in pots again as the clay ground is a nightmare for digging and also the football would probably squash everything.

My ear hurts a bit and the nasal spray has given me cold symptoms but the hearing is maybe a little bit better. Will keep going for now and maybe look into some natural alternatives. It's not wax or anything like that and because it is behind the eardrum drops will not hurt. It is all middle ear and due to the Eustachian tube.

Elections and Exams are what May brings for us.

Take care
x

Thursday 23 April 2015

Pardon!

Hello all

Have a post I want to write but it is one I really need to take time and put thought into it. I don't have the energy to put what is in my head onto paper/pc yet.
I went to the docs again about my ears and it seems I have another ear infection. it was a planned apt due to my previous bouts of deafness. I actually refused the antibiotics this time as they make my stomach cramp. So the doc has given me a steroid nasal spray that has made my throat hurt. I don't suppose there is much more to be done yet. I did wonder if I could be referred to ENT in case they can offer more than just meds. Although I suspect that would be grommets like little kids have for glue ear.  I think I'll have to go through the meds route first which will hopefully sort this out.
I have had a low level pain in one ear whilst the other one is blocked and usually trilling away with tinnitus. I had blamed my extreme tiredness on the early mornings and late nights. However it often is a sign of infection with me and I still haven't twigged this it seems. Also I must  have adjusted to the low level pain and discomfort.
Not a big problem or illness luckily but I suspect people are getting a bit bored of me constantly saying pardon, especially poor son. Especially when I accuse him of teenage mumbling.

Have got my seedlings off to a start. Beans, peas, toms and courgette in a first batch. Is this called successive planting? I will do a second batch and hopefully avoid the gluts of one thing like last year.  I do love when the little shoots pop up.

This is about as exciting as it gets at the moment.

Take care
x

Friday 17 April 2015

Geek!




December is going to be such an exciting month.

x

Thursday 16 April 2015

Off the Wagon

Hello.

Hope you are well.

My gluten free diet has been a bit erratic recently. It all started with a nibble on a rich tea biscuit at work which opened the flood gates. The most delicious 'slip' has been a doughnut with pink icing and sprinkles at a family bbq, actually 2...no 3 just remembered the reduced one I bought a few days later. I have even had a bit of white bread.  Dinner tonight with include Chinese pancakes.
I thought to myself maybe I will be gluten reduced to match the meat reduced diet I have started. But slowly it has occurred to me that I think I am gaining the symptoms I had before. The indigestion has not returned but other things have. My tiredness could be due to getting used to the early school runs after the Easter break. In fact everything could be explained away by something else but I know when I was gluten free I felt a lot better. Will have to dig deep for some resolve and return to the gluten free. What with that and the spring fever I get due to summer being on it's way there will be no stopping me.

I had a day off from work today which makes little difference to the beginning of the morning but it's nice to sit in a traffic jam on the return journey and not panic - if you see what I mean. I always try and give Susie a quick walk every morning but it's not enough so today we set out on a mega one. She really was in the mood for it and for once ran around and had fun. She chased sticks in the brook and made me laugh. With the lighter evenings I should hopefully get her out a bit more except she was a bugger last year for refusing her walks. Jack Russell's can be very strong when they want to, even cheese wouldn't make her budge. Was it someone on a blog that said dogs please you, Jack Russell's please themselves.

I managed to walk around with toothpaste on my t shirt again all day at least it was the park and not work this time.

Take care
x

Wednesday 15 April 2015

Comments

Hello

Thought I would answer the comments from my last post in my new post.  The messages were very interesting, I have read them over many times as they gave me a lot to think about. I will take a bit from them all. Thanks for sharing and taking time.

Rachel - that's exactly what will happen, I will always be pleasant but it will remain at that. This is also due to time constraints, I can't even keep up with friends as it is some weeks let alone make new ones. I suppose friendships can be on many levels, acquaintances probably . And it is rare to find one that is spot on.

Atilla and Bridget - we share some things in common and unfortunately have been judged for them.

Pam - you have probably made such a difference to that couple, having pushed a wheelchair on many occasions.

Carol - I have to be honest and thought 'nah' when I read your comment and then the other night I realised that actually you are spot on.  'Another chance' is right because I may be able to pass on some of the understanding of dementia I have to that person. Although they won't be a buddy as such it can still be a friendship on some sort of level and promote an understanding of dementia.

Sorry if that rambled and was repetitive I am sooooo tired but really wanted to answer.Also I do not want my blogging to lapse again. I love to read and partake in comments as it's like having conversations with a wide variety of people.

Possibly years ago I would have shied away from dementia sufferers but now my heart just aches when I become aware that someone probably has it.

Thanks blogger friends you are appreciated. Now I am off to read about your lives. Take care all
x

Thursday 9 April 2015

sick as a parrot and deaf as a post

Hello

It's been a while. Hope everyone is experiencing this wonderful start to spring. What a wonderful free feeling it gives to have doors and windows open.

I haven't blogged for ages and I've not even been reading other blogs - which is something I always enjoy. It's been busy I suppose and we've had bouts of illness. No excuse really.  The sickness bug at exactly at the same time was tricky...I had the loo and son a bowl as he was unable to get off the couch properly anyway. It hit us hard and quick that one although he bounced back fairly quick it took me over a week. Oh and that was on Mother's Day. So we slept that one away this year. The deafness is coming from the pressure in my ears. I think I have a dysfunctional Euston Station tube !! Off to the docs in a week or 2 as it's becoming irritating and debilitating. As I type here is rumbling away in one ear, tinnitus I suppose and often pain in the other.

Easter has been lovely I have managed to get a few days off as well as the bank hols so it's been a relaxing enjoyable time. It feels like Christmas but without the pressure. As a child it meant a lot of time in church but I don't go anymore. Palm Sunday was always the long one although I loved getting the palm and being splashed by holy water.

Now the weather has dried out a bit and the grass is ...mowed...mown...??? Anyway I am deciding what to grow. Have bought some seeds for yellow courgettes and bush tomatoes. Shall be more selective this year but also not grow everything all at once. I shall stagger it in batches. Peas and beans will be on the list for sure. I also plan to buy a little table and chairs so that we can have dinner outside when we feel like it.

Last year was a very frugal time and I have held on to a lot of it for this year. I like having low overheads and I can hopefully look into a mortgage in a year or so when I will hopefully have more income. Also school will be finished so we can have more flexibility in where we move. I plan to not go without though, so some treats will be on the cards such as the table but I thoroughly enjoyed it all last year and learnt a lot. Now I am working it will be a different sort of summer to last year and it feels quite exciting. Potentially it will be the last in this house as well. Having a job has made me feel like I have a future with choices and prospects. And the big bonus is I enjoy what I do and who I work for and with. We laugh a lot at work.

It's more exam time as AS levels are on the horizon, next month. Then next year it's A2's. So that will be 3 years of exams. I believe the system is going back to how A levels used to be. Still cannot decide which system is best although it would have been nice to have a year free of exams.

I hope we will have a holiday this year by the sea. It's years since we have been. We did get back to London for a couple of nights just recently. We were given a free train ticket by a friend and my sis put us up. Often we see West Ham play when we do this but the prem teams were on international break. Instead we went to the Docklands museum, I can highly recommend that. It is free and full of information that's done in a wonderful style. The mock up streets are very atmospheric, not sure if they were meant to smell but they did. Next we walked to Canary Wharf. I lived within sight of it from the day it was built and even heard the bomb the IRA had planted by it but I had never visited it. Was not impressed though. Just shops. Next the Shard. Is it finished was my question when we got back to my sister's. She laughed and says everyone says that. It looks like a little chunk has been left of. We didn't pay to go up it as would have cost too much. I can also recommend Borough Market although it was rammed with people and costs a fortune but for foodies it's worth a look. Do get an Oyster card if you visit London. It saves loads of money and hassle. But always remember to clock off. The buzz and rhythm of London is wonderful but I know I don't have the energy to keep up anymore. The thought of travelling in rush hour in packed tubes exhausts me. But I am so glad I experienced it. It's an ever changing environment and wonderful to dip in and out of. It's also a good excuse to reminisce and bore poor son.

Will stop rambling now and will take some time out to catch up with blog reading (right after I've cooked dinner).

Take care x