Thursday 9 February 2012

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!!

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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…

Nanny's Little Angels 
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…

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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!

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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!!

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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! 

04 Feb 2012 001One 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!!!

Jamie 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! :)

6 comments:

karen said...

Wow,Alex has grown ! We used to keep our guinea pigs in the house as well, but in the kitchen,how hygienic.. Those bunting last for ever, I got some in a kit recently,aren't they fiddly.
We are supposed to be going to the coast tomorrow to stay in a cottage we've rented. Bit worrying watching that snow coming down. It's going to be bracing,if we ever even get there.

Sandra said...

Oh how I love what you've done with them, and in so glad they put a smile on your face. I can tell you that seeing that lovely layout certainly put a smile on mine :)

As I'm writing this, it's snowing outside :)

debs14 said...

It's been snowing here again since 7pm, it's lost it's novelty value now! Good news on the BP front, those kiwi fruit are obviously doing the trick.
You were lucky to win the bunting, and it looks great on that layout.

Paul B said...

Blimey what a lot can happen in a week! Congrats on winning the stash & it's helped you create a wonderful LO. Love the colours in the bunting. I can see why you're going to use it more often. Like, you I detest driving in the snow and ice. Sorry to hear about your pet. it is their downside. When I was your son's age I went through quite a few hamsters. Cats at least live longer. Keep up the Kiwi diet lol. Not heard of their Lutein properties before. Pxx

Sian said...

Not a snifter of snow here! Just a lot of pretty depressing freezing fog..

Kiwi fruit are supposed to be full of iron too so they are pretty good all round

I'm sorry to hear about the Guinea Pig. RIP. And I'm saying that with feeling because our hamster is a year old already and after that it starts to feel like borrowed time..

Winnie said...

Love your layout! I love the neutral colors for the background and photo and how the flowers and decorations really pop with the color. Looking foward to the class on Monday, hope to see you around!