WOYWW 505 Crochet and Kitties, Frostbite and Loos

Uploaded a day late because I’ve been having problems – again… – with Google not playing ball with Open Live Writer. I’ve been unable to publish any blog posts containing photos, until I found a workaround online.

Sorry to be AWOL for a few weeks folks. I’ve been very busy with other things and resting in between. I’ve not been feeling too well lately with my M.E., and my sleep patterns are very disrupted again which is a pain, so I’m trying to rest as much as possible. I’m going through a phase of getting a lot of headaches again, too, and it’s an absolute pain, because the only pills that really touch it have been unavailable everywhere for months, and I’ve run out now.

I’ve been working very hard on new material for the Bible study group which I am finding very fulfilling and interesting, and I’m learning a lot, which is all very exciting. My creativity has been devoted to designing lots of PowerPoint slides for upcoming sessions, which I really enjoy doing. Still nothing on the actual desk, but when I’ve had a moment, I’ve been making a bit of progress on the embellishments for the other scarf I made last year – the peacock one.

Here are the feathers so far. They are extremely labour-intensive unfortunately, so I don’t see this project getting finished any time soon!!

This is the scarf, just to remind you.

I am really enjoying wearing my striped scarf and have had some nice comments about it, my favourite being, “Oooh, it’s so YOU!!” Lol lol!

Plumbing

The plumber was eventually booked to come on Monday, which was great, because on Friday evening, the boiler broke down!!!!! The house was freeeezing so we wrapped for an arctic expedition and heated rooms as we needed them, but working in the kitchen, my hands kept getting almost frost-bitten! Out with the fingerless mittens and the hot water bottles, and really enjoying having kitties lying on me for mutual warmth during the day!

The plumber’s wife has been very poorly so he’s had to take some time off to look after her but now she’s on the mend, he’s back at work, and he said I should have phoned him over the weekend, and he’d have come, but I said I didn’t want to bother him when he had so much on his plate. We survived, at any rate!

The boiler was soon fixed. He had a look in the loo and agreed that the cistern was the problem. It is a very old high-level one. I like these because you get the benefit of gravity for a really good flush – the one in my bathroom is like Niagara Falls which is great for dealing with Kermit! Anyway, he said it needed replacing, but the trouble is, being so old, it’s incompatible with newer fittings. We’ve decided to go for a complete new loo, with a little sink on top of the low-level cistern for hand-washing – I’ve seen pictures of these and thought what a good idea it was. The room is tiny and there’s no room for a hand-basin, so we have to use the sink in the utility room. The room itself is pretty grim and in need of redecorating and smartening up – the pipework looks a mess. The plumber said we’d need to bring the loo forward and box it in at the back because the window comes down so low, so that there would be some support for the cistern, and this box would cover the bottom of the window, which doesn’t really matter. We’ll end up with a higher windowsill for putting stuff on.

Having seen some really whacky decorating in a tiny loo on a house renovation programme on TV recently, I’ve decided it would be fun to do something similar in our loo. We have quite a few visitors (including my Bible study group each week) and I’m rather embarrassed about the state of our downstairs loo at the moment as it’s pretty basic, and would like it to be nice for people to use! I’m hoping to do a jungle theme with dark green walls below the dado, and if I can find it, some nice bold rainforest wallpaper above! Possibly some stars on the ceiling? Waddya think? Would that sufficiently Shoshify it?

I’m not sure whether this idea will become a reality – my hubby pulled a bit of a face when I suggested it, but he’s always allowed me free rein where interior design is concerned, and anyway he’s colour-blind, and apart from that, he never notices anything haha!!

As this loo plan goes ahead, I’ll share some photos!

He also looked at our boiling water tap which has been out of order for several weeks after it caused a flood on the kitchen floor. He phoned the company and we’ve ordered a new tank, which should arrive in a couple of days, and the plumber will come back and fit it, and he’s going to bring me some brochures about the new loo as well. He’s a really nice bloke and we are very fortunate to have him – he was recommended by a friend from church, and they also recommended a very good electrician who we always use, too. We like supporting small local businesses and you get to know them. When we moved here and all the building work was complete, we had a housewarming party and invited all the builders and other trades, with their families! Some of them who’d only seen the early stages were really interested to see it all complete.

One of the garage doors has also broken down (electric up-and-over) and my hubby has booked an engineer to come and fix that over the next few days, too.

Then the car battery went flat. Fortunately it was just due to the cold and it’s been fixed now. The car needs new tyres, though.

Funny how everything seems to break down all at once, isn’t it. I hope this is the last of it!

Kitties

They’ve been out a few times, but one of the fence panels had got damaged by the storm and of course Ruby made an absolute beeline for the gap and my hubby had to grab her double quick! The panel is now replaced, but a combination of bad weather (cold, snow, rain and wind) and my hubby being out a lot, has put paid to any more excursions outside with them for a while. They are quite happy indoors. They’ve spent a great deal of time cuddled up in the hammock together, especially while the heating was off over the weekend.

Lily showing her pretty tummy.

Spending lots of time together keeping warm.

I do love my sister so!

A pair of spoons.

Finally, a kitty funny.

Hope you all have a great week with lots of creativity.

WOYWW 489

No change on my desk this week. I’ve been really tired all week and in between commitments, I’ve been resting, and during that time, have done quite a lot of knitting, working on my peacock scarf.

This is how much I’ve done so far. The ball is now considerably smaller and the scarf will now go round my neck, so hopefully not too much more knitting now! The yarn is fabulous – I love the way the colours merge into each other. It’s a single ply roving and in places, not very twisted, so it’s easy to split it with the knitting needles, especially working in moss stitch as I am doing, but apart from that, it’s lovely to work with. The edges are getting quite fluffy with handling, which makes me think the whole thing may be a bit vulnerable to that, but we shall see.

In the above photo, I’ve laid a few of the incomplete crochet peacock feathers on top to show and how the colours go with the scarf.

Cooking

Sourdough this week – not terribly well risen but a great texture and flavour.

I also made some more crackers from sourdough starter. These really are delicious and very easy to make. I’m not buying crackers any more. These are so tasty and are made from such wholesome ingredients with no chemical additives. They are also quite filling so you don’t need to eat so many! They are very crisp, and the bumps on them are actually air bubbles. They’d probably come out flatter if I forked them.

Fortunately I’ve got plenty of ready prepared meals in the freezer from previous cooking sessions so I haven’t had to think too much about doing a lot of meals when I am feeling so tired.

Health Update

CT scan tomorrow to check whether my hernia has returned – but I already know it has! I can feel it, and also I can see it, and it’s quite large. It’s really frustrating.

My support pants are due to arrive later this morning. Unfortunately the road is up outside our house at the moment and closed to traffic so I’ve had to arrange for delivery of the parcel (and my weekly Tesco order) to come down the garden from the road at the back of us. I spent a frustrating time of the phone yesterday a.m. trying to get through to the delivery company. They had no contact number on their website and their “contact us” section was useless – just a lot of different boxes that didn’t relate to what I wanted and I needed to speak to a real person! I googled them and found a number eventually, and then had to wait 20 minutes on the phone before anyone answered! I told them their customer service left a lot to be desired… Anyway, hopefully both deliveries will get to us OK later this morning.

My sleep patterns are all disrupted again… I get more and more wide awake the later it gets, and have to make myself go up in the small hours or I’d be up all night. Then, in the mornings, I am finding it very difficult to get going and when I haven’t had any commitments, have rested in bed till about 10 a.m. and haven’t been able to accomplish anything much until the afternoon, often suffering quite severe headaches. With ME, one’s diurnal rhythm is often disrupted, and I go through phases of this and there’s not a lot to be done about it, unfortunately! At least I am sleeping quite well once I do get to bed.

Kitties

Neither of them are doing anything terribly interesting at the moment except sleeping! They go out briefly and don’t like the weather much. Ruby is being a perfect pest at meal times – she has decided she adores butter, which she can smell at 500 paces, and I can’t turn my back on her for a second if there’s butter around! At meal times she’s constantly pestering us, woofling her nose and craning her neck, and climbing up after our food. I keep threatening to put her out!! Once temptation is out of the way, she is happy to settle down on my lap and be a good girl. Lily never bothers us while we are eating. Their characters are so different!

Here are a couple of sleepy photos for you.

Butter wouldn’t melt……. or would it?!

Lazy lot.

Meal Out

We had a lovely meal out with our friend last week and I gave her the box, which she was delighted with. Here is the pub where we had a truly excellent meal.

The food was so beautifully presented that I had to photograph it! Our three main courses:

I love how this fish is served, with the crispy skin matching the almost metallic glaze of the plate, with matching lines!

Our desserts. I had the lemon tarte and I loved the way they had served the lemon sorbet in the shape of a lemon.

We have been given a ticket for a meal for two at a local Michelin-starred restaurant, which we shall be enjoying soon. I’ve no doubt I shall photograph the dishes there, too!

As well as the box, I also gave our friend a jar of my home-made apple chutney, and I dressed it up a bit with a couple of labels that I die-cut, and a fabric lid tied on with some nice rough jute string I’ve got. Nice rustic look!

Harp Recital

On Saturday one of our church members gave a harp recital and talk. He’s only recently taken up the harp and he has already taken Grades 1 and 2 and passed both exams with distinction! It was a most interesting afternoon, and as well as playing several pieces on his two harps, he spoke about the history of the harp, and how the different types of harp work. He also showed some slides and videos. I had not heard him play before, because I was ill last time he played in church.

I particularly liked his Celtic (lever) harp (in the foreground in the above photo), with its very pretty shape and contrasting woods. It’s apparently even more difficult to play than the pedal harp.

I also took this close-up photo because I thought the pattern that the strings and their shadows made was most decorative!

This week I actually managed to get the accounts done! Whew. That’s a weight off my mind until next month.

So you can see it’s been another pretty busy week. I am trying to cut down on things at the moment because I’ve been far too busy lately, which is probably why I’m back to suffering from more fatigue than usual.

Second Pre-Assessment Appointment

Yesterday I had my second pre-assessment appointment at the hospital, in advance of my upcoming operation. This time I saw one of the anaesthetists, and I was able to go over a few points with him that I’d covered last week with the nurse.

The main thing I wanted to talk to him about was having a PICC line installed at the outset, to avoid the problems I had last time with all my cannulae failing, and me ending up like a pincushion. He wasn’t over-keen on the idea, and said they like to do the minimum of invasive procedures – in this case there is a small risk of embolism, but when I asked him how small, he said “less than 1 percent” which I said was certainly very small, and I’d be prepared to take that risk, for the sake of an easy life and peace of mind!

He said it was really up to the anaesthetist in charge on the day of the operation, and also my surgeon, and suggested I speak to them on the day. He then said that if I were to have it done, they would need extra time on admission for the procedure, to which I responded that if it was up to me to talk to them beforehand, it would already be too late – he took my point, and said he’d put it in the notes and speak to them about it himself. He said different people had different ideas about risk, so opinions varied.

He said that a year on, my veins may have recovered sufficiently by now for the cannulae to work anyway, and was I prepared to try. Reluctantly I said perhaps I would, but I would still prefer the PICC, to be sure. I told him that my neuropathy and bladder problems had not improved at all in the last year, but he said that not all effects of chemo recover at the same rate, and veins recovered more quickly than nerves, so there was a chance that I’d be fine.

I’ll just have to wait and see what they decide, and if they prefer me to try the regular cannula first, I’ll go along with that – I have at least made my preference clear, and it’s up to them now. If the first cannula does fail, then I shall definitely request a PICC, and I am sure that at that stage, they will agree, but that will be after the operation.

My hubby chipped in that each time a cannula failed, I was not getting the pain relief, sometimes for several hours, and this was most unsatisfactory.

We discussed post-operative pain relief and he said he could see from last week’s appointment that I was happy to have the rectus sheath catheters and PCA (morphine pump) that I’d had before – he said that often the rectus sheath catheters were less satisfactory than an epidural, but I said I wasn’t too keen on this, but added that this was probably because I’d never had one and didn’t know what to expect, and that I had found the rectus sheath catheters helpful. He said as long as I was happy with what I’d had before, they’d go ahead on that basis, although I may not be able to have them if my surgeon thought they would interfere with the mesh he will be inserting during my hernia repair, so again, we shall have to wait and see.

I told him that last time, after my emergency surgery, I was in a lot more pain initially, and he agreed that was to be expected, given that I was already very poorly and not as well as possible like the first time, which was elective surgery. We also agreed that this was why last year’s experience was generally very much worse than before, and why it took me so much longer to recover. He asked how long I’d been in recovery that time, but I couldn’t remember – the first time, I spent the whole night there, and went onto the ward the following morning.

I asked that they would insert the NG tube while I was under the anaesthetic, because last year it was done while I was conscious and it was truly a horrible experience. He said that they are not inserting them as a matter of course now, and it may not be necessary for me to have one at all – it depends how much my bowel will be handled. Again, my surgeon will decide, but in any event, it would be inserted under anaesthetic; the reason for it being done while I was conscious last year was that it is the standard treatment for an obstruction, which I knew, and once it was in, it did make me feel a lot better and prevented any further sickness.

He told me to stop the Rivaroxaban (anti-coagulant) two days before the operation, which is more or less what I thought.

On the subject of the ward staff being aware of the limitations imposed by my ME, I explained the unpleasant experience I had after my first operation, and that obviously my concerns had not been passed on. He said it was in my notes, but because these are extensive, not everybody might see that, and also that nurses tended to be very much procedure- and routine-driven and perhaps not so easy to convince of individual special needs, although the nurse last week said that she hated “blanket rules” and everybody should be treated as an individual! He said I should mention this concern to everybody, to make them all aware, in case they had not been told, or had not seen my notes. My hubby confirmed my low energy levels, and how I can suddenly run out of energy and need to rest. I told the anaesthetist that anyway, at home, I spend much of my time with my legs up on the recliner as this is a lot more comfortable for me and less tiring, and sitting in this position in a hospital bed is really no different. I told him that I do try to keep my feet and legs moving, and that I am normally moving around the house quite a lot, and only use the wheelchair when out and about, but after an operation it is a different matter.

We agreed that major surgery really takes it out of even normal, healthy people, and that allowances should be made when one is starting with an already low base-line. I am hoping that after this discussion, I will be given more leeway and won’t get bossed about – I told him that on that first occasion I was already feeling very vulnerable immediately after major surgery, and didn’t feel up to having to fight my corner, and it upset me that it was necessary for me to do so.

He asked what were the main symptoms of my ME and how they affected my life, and I told him that it was mainly very low energy levels, and rapid muscle fatigability, balance problems, disrupted sleep due to my internal clock being out of sync, and brainfog.

I said that before, as a matter of course, I had been given an airflow mattress and foot pumps, and was keen to have these again, and he agreed with this. Having the foot pumps should certainly help prevent DVTs especially if I am less able to spend time out of bed, particularly initially.

He also raised the subject of the coronary artery spasm I had in 2014 and asked if I suffered any angina attacks, to which I replied that they were extremely rare. He asked what brought them on, and I said in each case it had been stress! I told him that the main cause of the stress had now been removed (Mum, before she went into a care home, and how difficult it had been for me in the run-up to my first operation) and that as far as my heart was concerned, I was really pretty well. They are obviously aware of this, though, and will take it into account, along with the left bundle branch block which they are also aware of. I told him I’d been under considerable stress recently, with my hubby breaking his leg and Mum dying, and so much more being put onto me, but that things were very much better now. Thankfully none of this brought on an angina attack.

That more or less covered our discussion. Everything else had really been covered last week, but I did feel it was beneficial to discuss these matters with an anaesthetist as I had done at the pre-assessment before my first operation. I didn’t have one before the second operation, of course, because that was an emergency.

I told him that I was very impressed with how thorough they were, checking all these things in the days leading up to surgery, and how much things had improved in the twenty-odd years since my hysterectomy, when more or less all they asked was if I’d had any previous operations and did I have any allergies! I said the pain management was so much better as to be almost unrecognisable compared with that time, and he agreed that great progress has been made in these matters.

We are still waiting for a date.

Pre-Assessment Appointment before my Hernia Repair

My parastomal hernia repair operation is now imminent. I had my pre-assessment appointment today, which took 1 3/4 hours.

To begin with I saw a HCA (health care assistant) who weighed and measured me, took my blood pressure and measured my blood oxygen level, took blood, did a MRSA swab, performed an ECG… the works! She also asked me a few questions.

After this, I returned to the waiting room and then a nurse called me in to another room, where we sat together at the computer and she went through a load of questions. I told her I had a list of things I wanted to ask, and she told me to do this first, and if I asked anything she would be covering anyway, she would tell me. This way everything got covered.

I told her that when I was in hospital last February, every cannula they inserted failed, because my veins are shot by the chemo, and eventually they put in a PICC line which saved a lot of trouble. I asked whether this could be done this time as well, from the outset, to save going through all that again. She noted it, and then suggested I saw the anaesthetist to discuss this and other matters direct – she made an appointment for me, which is tomorrow week, 2nd February.

We discussed my medical history and any special needs I have now, what provisions I have at home to make things easier for me when I am discharged (I have a stairlift, electric bed, mobility aids, etc.). We discussed the problems I have because of my ME – muscle weakness and fatigue, which makes sitting out of bed for any length of time post-op more difficult for me, and I asked that this should be noted, so that the ward staff were aware of it, and allowances could be made. I have had problems with this in the past.

She said the operation will probably take longer than two hours, and depending on how I am immediately afterwards, I may go to intensive care, or the high dependency unit, or straight onto the ward. She anticipates that I will be in for about four days but again, it will depend how things go and how I am.

We talked about pain management, and I mentioned the various procedures I had had before, and how successful they were – PCA (patient-controlled analgesia – morphine pump), and rectus sheath catheter infusions (local analgesia via fine lines inserted into the abdominal wall). I told her that my surgeon had warned me that I would experience some considerable discomfort in the early days until the swelling had subsided, because the hole in the mesh for the stoma is of a predetermined size, and initially the stoma and the surrounding area will be swollen. I am sure they will provide adequate pain relief, and she reminded me to tell someone as soon as I was experiencing pain and they would deal with it.

She gave me the usual Fresubin energy drinks to take home, ready to take on the day before my surgery – I hate these awful gloopy, sickly drinks but they do build you up in advance and give you a better recovery, so needs must! They will see me again next week when I return to see the anaesthetist, and in the meantime, if anything else comes to mind, I can always phone. One of two points she told me to refer to the stoma nurse, who I have to phone anyway once I get an admission date.

As usual, everyone is rooting for me, and I feel in very good hands.

My hubby’s health news

Today my hubby also had an appointment at the hospital, at the fracture clinic. The good news is that his broken leg has healed, so they removed the cast and put him in a boot, which he can walk on without the crutches, so he is mobile again! He is still using one crutch because he feels a bit wobbly, but over the next few days he will probably be fine. He has to wear this for a fortnight, and after that, he should be able to drive again, and most importantly, he will be OK to look after me when I come out of hospital.

Already things are easier, and he is managing to do things that I’ve had to do over the past couple of months. It has not been an easy time for either of us, and I have struggled with the stress of having to do a lot extra. I can deal with my normal day-to-day life, but during this time I have had to do a lot of things he would normally have done, and in addition I’ve had to do things to look after him. Also, Mum died in the middle of all this, so there’s been a huge amount to do associated with that, including a lot of work associated with her memorial service last week, which was a great success due to the combined effort of us all.  There are still things to do – I have more letters to write. My hubby is doing all the legal stuff which is a huge weight of my mind – with my ME brainfog, I find it very hard to get my head around this sort of stuff anyway, and with him being immobile, he’s been able to sit there and work through it all, making phone calls and emails and getting hold of the right documents and so on.

Gradually things are getting done on all fronts, and soon, hopefully this period of crisis and stress will be behind us. It’s been a very difficult time.

Hospital Appointment

This morning I had my long-awaited hospital appointment to see my specialist colorectal surgeon. I had been promised an appointment before the end of the year, but this was not forthcoming – the whole system in the NHS is in a mess at the moment…

I was becoming increasingly concerned about the state of my parastomal hernia and anxious that it might cause another obstruction, as it did this time last year. This led to an emergency operation performed by a general surgeon who was not qualified to do more than a simple sutured repair of the hernia, and I knew that such repairs had a 100% failure rate. Mine did not even last the year, and my last CT scan in August revealed that the hernia had returned and was “substantial.” When I saw the surgeon before that, he discussed with me various options for repairing it should it become necessary, but nothing was decided at the time as a scan was needed first.

Today, he examined me and said that it was quite large, and he could feel the intestine quite easily. He reassured me that large hernias are less likely to cause obstructions than small ones which tend to be more restricted, and this has set my mind at rest somewhat.

He said the time had definitely come for something to be done about it, and he is going to book me in for an “urgent repair.” This is not emergency surgery, but will presumably take priority over more routine operations. I am hoping it will take place in February rather than March, but we shall have to see what is available.

He described in more detail how he will approach it. As he suggested in the summer, it would be preferable to enter at the stoma site, rather than opening up my whole abdomen yet again – this will be less traumatic for me, and will reduce the risk of causing further adhesions. He will need to enlarge the stoma wound, and also make two horizontal incisions, one on each side, to give him better access, and he will perform a sublay insertion of  biological mesh. Biological mesh (i.e. created from organic material such as pigskin) is generally thought to be superior to synthetic mesh and carries a lower risk of infection, although it is considerably more expensive. The sublay technique means that the mesh will be inserted between the muscle layers of the abdominal wall, as opposed to above all layers (higher rate of recurrence) and underneath all layers (can cause problems being in contact with internal organs).

I found this very interesting article online, which covers all the options for this kind of surgery, and the associated risks of infection, recurrence, etc.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4226750/

He said that in view of my M.E. and the weak state of my muscles, he will need to insert quite a large piece of mesh to ensure adequate support.

He warned me that because the aperture in the mesh through which the small intestine will pass in order to form the stoma will be quite tight, initially post-operatively, I will experience some discomfort until the swelling and bruising subsides. I can live with this if it means a secure and long-lasting repair in the long-term.

Also, because he will need to make additional incisions in order to gain better access, management of the stoma post-operatively may be somewhat problematic because I shall still need to attach the bag and the adhesive will be in contact with these wounds. The stoma nurse said that they would be monitoring this while I am in hospital, and will advise me on the most suitable products. The products I currently use will most likely have to be changed afterwards, and it will be like starting again with a new stoma, but at least I now have nearly three years’ experience behind me of how to manage various problems, and the whole idea doesn’t freak me out as much as it did initially!

I am very glad that this decision has now been made, and that we are definitely going ahead with a proper repair. The stoma nurse told me afterwards that my surgeon is very expert in this kind of repair, and I told her that I was very happy to put myself in his hands as he knows me, and my particular needs associated with my M.E. and so on.

WOYWW 447

First of all, I am really sorry not to have replied to the lovely comments I had on my blog last time I was on here. I shall endeavour to do so in the next few days. As you can imagine, with my mum dying, and my hubby’s broken leg, and then Christmas, I have had more than enough to cope with and time has been very short. At times I have become quite overwhelmed with everything and have lost the plot on more than one occasion. When things are normal, I can just about cope with what I have to do, but add another raft of problems and things start to go a bit pear-shaped chez Shosh.

However, over the past few days things have generally been better. We have had a quiet couple of days over Christmas with no visitors, and I was able to concentrate on the dinner and just spending time with my hubby and the kitties.

We have loved having everyone dropping in to see us, but it all takes up such a lot of time and I can find my schedule slipping alarmingly, and I begin to get a panicky feeling that things are slipping beyond my control. Sometimes I’ve just had to apologise to people and take myself off and get on with things, and leave them to socialise with my hubby, which has made me feel a bit rude but it was the only way to keep going. Another problem is that most people have no idea about not letting the kittens out into the house from the flat – they stand with the door open, and before we know it, Ruby has dashed off upstairs, or worse, into the kitchen and I’m terrified of her getting outside when people are in and out! I can’t blame them, because they don’t know our arrangements and their aim is to see my hubby and they aren’t concentrating on anything else, but on occasion this has happened when I am at some crucial stage with the cooking or I’m already multi-tasking more than my poor brain can cope with!

Once we are back to normal again and people aren’t in and out all the time, we will be able to give the kitties the run of the house as we were doing before. At the moment they are generally very content in the flat with my hubby – they have loved having him there all the time, with a nice big warm lap for them to sleep on, and I have been spending as much time as possible in there too.

Here is Lily, lying as she so often does these days – shameless hussy, everything exposed!!

She is the most soft, floppy and laid back kitty you could imagine. She’s as bad as my hubby – all she wants to do is sleep!

Here is Ruby being queen of the castle on top of the cat tree. This one’s full of life, and wriggles and fidgets when being cuddled, but purrs her head off the whole time!

Do you remember Beatrice the Computer Queen? Well, it seems that Lily is following in her footsteps! She has been helping my hubby on his laptop.

Ruby, like Phoebe, isn’t a bit interested in the computer – she is more interested in having fun and generally being a really cheerful, enthusiastic kitty with no intellectual bent whatever.

Here are the latest videos of them. Can you believe they are now seven months old?

I have been doing lots of therapeutic cooking! On Christmas Eve I cooked a new recipe after watching Mary Berry on TV and just had to try her fish pie with soufflé topping. Here is the result.

The topping is done with cubed white bread and whipped egg white with a melted butter and cheese mixture. I used a combination of cod and salmon and chucked a few prawns in for good measure, and it was the most delicious fish pie I have ever tasted! This one’s definitely a keeper, and I don’t think Mr. Tesco will be persuading me to buy his “Finest” fish pie again! Thank you Mary!

My Christmas dinner was a triumph. It was the first I had cooked since 2006. That was my swan song, and I managed to prepare everything and did my best table decorations ever, but I didn’t really enjoy eating it because I was going down with a horrible flu-like illness and by tea time on Christmas day I was feeling so rough that I went to bed and didn’t get up for a week. I never bounced back from that, and it developed into the ME which has been with me ever since.

This year I was determined to cook a proper dinner again, with all the trimmings. OK, I did buy a Lidl Christmas pudding, but everything else I cooked from scratch, just for the two of us. I thought my hubby could do with spoiling, having broken his leg and been deprived of going out and doing all the things he wanted over Christmas. Here is the table, just as we were ready to sit down and eat.

Starting top left: crispy bacon and pigs in blankets. Top right: gravy, bread sauce, carafe of the delicious red wine which was given to us by our lovely neighbour. Middle, left to right: roast turkey, carved and ready to serve; three stuffings: chestnut, mealy (a traditional Scottish recipe made from oatmeal, a firm family favourite), and date and walnut; carrots and sprouts with whole chestnuts. Front row – the best roast potatoes I’ve ever cooked, after finding a tip online to par-boil them and then freeze them, and cook them from frozen, having tossed them in semolina. Crisp on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside. I used Maris Piper potatoes, which, like King Edwards, are ideal for roasting. All laid up with my best china and silver on my favourite hand-embroidered tablecloth from my Scottish grandmother.

Here is a close-up of the decoration for the table napkins.

This is the small table centre I made.

These ribbon and paper decorations were made for my swan song Christmas table and I’ve used them on occasion in between. I can mix and match the different elements.

After we’d finished, we settled down to watch the Queen’s Christmas broadcast.

I was delighted a few weeks ago to discover that because I’d lost so much weight, I was able to get into my Afghan Nomad Dress again! I made this many years ago and could never bear to part with it. The whole of the front of the bodice is covered with hand embroidery, and it has a very full skirt, and is made of several different fabrics, all in rich colours.

A bit difficult to photograph as a selfie –here’s an old photo of myself in it when I first made it.

For Christmas this year, I braided my hair with ribbons and added some gold flowers. Here’s a back view.

My hubby was thrilled!

Mum

In view of all our current difficulties, we decided to have Mum cremated privately before Christmas, and then to have a memorial service in mid-January. This means we’ve got more time to plan something really special, and also more people will be able to attend who might have been away at Christmas. There’s still quite a bit to sort out, and plans for the service are coming together nicely now, and once the Christmas dust has settled, I shall be able to get down to producing the order of service as I did for Dad’s funeral.

Health Update

At long last I have an appointment to see my surgeon – on 11th January. I was getting desperate, having been promised an appointment before the end of the year and hearing nothing, so I phoned his secretary, and she passed me on to the appointments department, who immediately referred me back to her! I was spitting tacks after this. Since the return of Miss Piggy, my hernia, things have got more worrying – it is now in the same state it was at the beginning of the year when it caused a blockage, resulting in emergency surgery and me being really poorly for ages, something I am more than anxious to avoid repeating at all costs. I am suffering quite a lot of skin irritation around Kermit, my stoma, and he has not been settled all year really, and things are now worse, not better, which has been very disappointing after having such a good year last year. Hopefully my surgeon will agree to go ahead and do a proper repair in the New Year.

Finally, here is what my hubby gave me for Christmas: a set of Derwent Graphik Line Painter pens. I’d seen some reviews of these on Youtube and was longing to get my hands on a set! They come in a lovely box with a slip cover.

Hopefully in the coming year I shall get more time and energy to do a decent amount of art, after what has been a pretty disappointing year.

WOYWW 439

I’m sorry to have been AWOL recently, but my ME problems have been ongoing, and I’ve been alternating between busy days when I’ve kept going, and less busy days when I’ve crashed out unable to do much of anything! No change on the desk, just stuff still out for the ongoing project, the Infusions mini-album which I wonder if I’ll even get finished this year!

A week ago we had our regular cancer Cakeathon meeting, and I managed to do some baking for that, so here are some foodie photos to keep you going. I made an apple cinnamon twist loaf from a recipe I found on Pinterest and it was a huuuuge success – definitely one to make again! It went down very well.

Here is the loaf out of the oven with its dusting of icing sugar, ready to be cut, photographed on my grandmother’s lovely old bread board, together with her antique knife with its bone handle carved into a corn cob.

When it’s cut, you can see how the twists give a marbled effect.

The filling consists of a spread of apple butter and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar. Deeeelicious!

Here’s a small tub of the remaining apple butter. I’ve never made this before, and it’s really easy to make, and very tasty.

I found several recipes online, most of which are stuffed with sugar and/or maple syrup, but I made mine from a sugar-free recipe – the apples off our tree are so sweet that the healthy option is fine. At final count, we got about 35 lb of apples this year! I’ve got several large bags of sliced apple in the freezer to use throughout the year.

Kittens

Can you believe that our kittens are now five months old? How quickly the time passes! They are getting so big now, and Lily especially is getting quite a grown-up look, although to my eyes, Ruby still has her baby face! Long may that continue… I simply adore that kitty! A few weeks ago, Lily suddenly developed a really soft fluffy coat which is absolutely fabulous. My hubby is thrilled because he really misses Beatrice’s fluffiness which was legendary – she never grew out of kitten fur! Lily has definitely adopted my hubby, and Ruby is my baby.

We have moved the big cat tree back into the flat. They behave so badly in our sitting room that for now they are banned unless under the strictest supervision, and so they were unable to use the cat tree while it was still in there. Now, it is in constant use. They love it because they can be high up (as all cats like to be), and it’s nice and soft, and they can sleep on it. It has lots of interesting platforms and little houses on it, as well as dangly mice to play with, so it’s been a huge success.

Here’s Lily in one of the little houses.

Ruby being queen of the castle, right on top.

The two of them.

This latest one, taken today. Not much room for both of them on one platform – Lily’s leg is hanging down, and just after this, Ruby nearly fell off! (Note the curtains still tied up – a preventative measure against kittens climbing them!!)

They get really warm when they’re snuggled up together like that.

The other day I found them acting like two naughty little bookends on the flat kitchen windowsill. They’ve just got to the stage when they can jump up onto the kitchen worktops so absolutely nothing is safe from them now!

They continue to be very affectionate and relaxed and happy. They have now had their booster inoculations, and sometime during this coming month they will have to be spayed, or as my hubby calls it, “having their squeaks removed” – for little boy kitties it’s “having their pockets picked” lol!

I was hoping to get some art done this week but again I have failed. Apart from not feeling well, I’ve been very busy preparing sessions for my Bible study group which meets weekly – this is something I can do from the comfort of the recliner and in addition to all the research, it does involve a certain amount of creativity in the form of the PowerPoint slides I prepare, which I try to make artistically.

Diet

I have now reached my target weight!!!!! Yaaaayyy!!!!! I shall continue with the 5:2 in order to maintain it from now on, which shouldn’t be hard, as it’s a way of life for me now. Since I started in the summer of 2014 (stopping for most of 2015 while I was being treated for my cancer) I have lost 4 1/2 stone (63 lb) and lost 10 inches around my waist. I hardly recognise myself these days. It’s so lovely being able to wear some of my old clothes again, that I could never bear to part with, and also have an excuse to buy some new ones! If I can do this, especially as I can’t take exercise to burn off excess weight so it’s been by diet alone, then anyone can do it!

Health Update

I’ve been experiencing some pain from my parastomal hernia which the recent CT scan showed had definitely returned, so I phoned the hospital yesterday. My surgeon’s secretary couldn’t tell me exactly when my appointment would be, as appointments are dealt with by a separate department, but she thought it should definitely be in November, and if I hadn’t heard anything in a week to ten days, to phone again. She said she would pass on the fact that I was getting some pain – when I last saw my surgeon, he told me to phone his secretary if this happened, or if I had any other concerns. She told me that of course, if I developed another blockage, I must go straight to A&E – I said I knew to do this, but it was something I wanted to avoid because I wanted my own surgeon to deal with it and not have anyone else messing around with it like at the beginning of the year. I am hoping that when I see him, he will finally agree to fix it properly and insert some mesh to reinforce it. I’m not happy being in this limbo state. I’ve also got an oncology appointment in November, which should mark my 2-year all-clear – all being well, this will mean that for the next 3 years she will only need to see me once a year instead of every six months, and after that I’ll be discharged! Obviously as far as the stoma is concerned, they will continue to keep an eye on things and be available if I have any problems – all last year I was fine, and thought that was it, but then everything went pear-shaped at the beginning of this year which just goes to show you can never anticipate what might happen! Life is never dull, that’s for sure.

A couple of funnies I found this week on Pinterest:

This one sums up my current brainfogged state:

WOYWW 437

My desk late Tuesday night.

Not a great deal going on – all my distress inks, Infusions etc. are still out for the ongoing Infusions Mini-Album project.

On Monday I did manage to make some cards because my stash had pretty well run out. Not my favourite activity – more of a chore than a pleasure and I wasn’t terribly happy with the result but I ended up with half a dozen passable ones that will be useful for upcoming birthdays.

I’m still very up and down with my ME, alternating between busy days when I manage to keep going and don’t feel too bad at all, and then rest days when I just crash out. It means I get behind with stuff that needs doing and it’s a bit frustrating! We both seem to be quite busy at the moment.

I had a really really lovely day on Saturday when Margaret (glitterandglue) spent the whole day with me! She was coming down to Devon for a Pergamano course and arrived a couple of days before it was due to begin, and she was able to come and visit! I so value these opportunities to meet fellow WOYWW-ers because being down in the SW we are a bit cut off and not being able to travel much, I rarely get the chances others get for crops etc. Here is Margaret with some of her absolutely stunning Pergamano work.

I think she was hoping to get me going on it but seeing how incredibly fine and detailed it is, and how very time-consuming, I didn’t think it was for me, despite the beauty of the results.

The kittens are getting so big now. They are now nearly 5 months old! They weren’t very impressed with me yesterday morning and one day last week because I shut them in the bathroom for several hours while the electrician was here doing some work. They are very lively and also very loving – especially Ruby with me. She comes running to me and when I pick her up, she purrs and purrs.

Here are the latest videos of them – Ruby attacking one of my hubby’s new slippers, and then both of them having fun playing with a leaf. So much for the expensive toys we bought for them, which they never touch!!

 

Our apples from our tree have finally come to an end. We have sliced and frozen 5 big bags of them, each containing over 6 lb of apples, so this year’s yield has been well over 30 lb! I’ve got 3 lb of them in the slow cooker at this moment – I’m in the process of my first attempt at making apple butter from a recipe I found online. I want to cook an apple cinnamon loaf for our monthly Cakeathon meeting for our cancer group this Friday. I’ll try and take some photos of it if it’s successful!

WOYWW 436 A Tidy Studio and Some Zentangles

At last I have tidied my studio! As always happens when I haven’t been using it, it had turned into a dumping ground and was an absolute mess.

This is the further side of the room.

On the left, by the lamp, is my little gallery area. In the corner is my sewing zone with my sewing machine, and the storage boxes on the shelves contain mostly textile stuff. On the right is my drawing zone.

This is the side of the room looking back towards the window.

On the left is my iMac. My cutting machine is across the corner. Misc. supplies in the storage boxes on the shelves. I’ve got all my distress inks and Infusions and Dylusions sprays and paints out (in the plastic boxes on top) so it’s not over-tidy at present! To the right is my main work area – my desk, for the purposes of WOYWW! The white unit in the foreground is one of several pull-out units. When stowed away, this one would go under the main desk but it never goes in there because that’s where I mostly sit. When pulled out, it provides an extra surface and still gives me access to the shelves – this one holds card and paper.

Here’s the desk itself.

Apart from being a bit tidier than before, not much change – you can still see the current work in progress – my Infusions mini-album.

I continue to alternate between being busy with various commitments, domestic tasks and looking after the kittens, and crashing out on the recliner suffering from extreme exhaustion! I am taking a bit of a dip with my ME at the moment which is a tremendous bore because it’s preventing me from getting much creative stuff done – this is always what gets pushed to the bottom of the heap when energy is in short supply! I am trying not to overdo things on better days – I run on adrenaline on busy days and then pay for it later. My internal clock has gone all haywire again so I’m not getting to bed till well into the small hours, and then struggle to get up in the mornings – normal ME fare!

Zentangle

I was getting so fed up with not being creative that I charged up my Apple Pencil and started drawing Zentangles on the iPad again. I can do this from the comfort of the recliner or in bed, and I can also flip back and forth to look at the step-outs for the various patterns, either in my own folder on the iPad, or online. I can also listen to audio books while I’m doing it! Multi-tasking…

Here’s my experiment with Diva Dance flowing through Paradox – I’ve always found the latter pattern problematic but think I’ve mastered it at last! Full details here.

Yesterday I completed another one, which had taken me several days to do. Full details here.

Kittens

Lily and Ruby are now 4 1/2 months old – I can’t believe how quickly the time is going, or how big they are getting! As my hubby says, they may be growing, but they are not growing up! Here they are in the kitty bed, suckling on the fluffy toy.

They won’t use the lovely new kitten bed I bought for them, and they are now getting too big for it! I got the old bigger bed out for them and they wouldn’t use that either, until my hubby put the fluffy thing in there, and now they go in to suckle, but sleep either on top of the wooden cat tree my hubby made, or in the kitty castle.

Lily pending…

(In my hubby’s pending tray in his office!)

Together on the scratching post, looking like two little meerkats on a train.

They are getting on quite well with the clicker training but both tend to have off days when they won’t concentrate! Also, when I try and put what they have learnt into practice in a situation where there are distractions that they find far more interesting, they behave as if they’ve never heard of clicker training! We persevere, though.

A couple of weeks ago they discovered what fun you can have for a minute or two with a new roll of loo paper.

The latest video of them, wrestling on the scratching post.

Health update

I got the result of my recent CT scan this week and the hernia has definitely returned. The emergency repair done in February when I was admitted for emergency surgery because of a blockage, has not even lasted a year. I knew it would fail eventually. I am seeing my surgeon again soon, according to his letter, and we will discuss options then. I really hope he agrees to admit me for elective surgery for a proper repair, and doesn’t wait for another blockage…