Shake, rattle and roll

Good morning

I hope everyone has recovered from the storms? I think we were very lucky here at No6 - lots of leaves in the garden and some low flying apples but otherwise ok. Fences secure and the few bits of debris in the garden have been cleared up by the boys.

I had an interesting journey to make yesterday but more on that later.

Have you heard of the Oxjam music events or even been to one? Last weekend there was an event in Bury St Edmunds and I was lucky enough to spend the whole weekend there thanks to friends who invited me to stay. They were doing the sound for the event so we went over to the venue Friday evening to lay what seemed like miles of cables and connect these all together. Obviously this all needed testing and one of the event organisers also plays/sings in one of my favourite groups so we were treated to a wonderful sound check :)

A very late night was followed by an early morning - rest of the venue needed setting up and the artists needed sound checks. Then the main event - loads of bands - some I'd heard before and others that were new to me.

 

 Not just music but Morris dancers too. Our side were dancing on the Sunday but of course I was outside on the Saturday to watch the others;

Am hoping someone has pictures of us dancing on the Sunday.

Sunday was much the same - more music, my turn to dance and of course more cider - well all the proceeds went to Oxjam so it would have been rude not to partake ;) I had a wonderful weekend - listened to lots of new music, met some lovely new people, boosted my CD collection and generally had a good time.

I went home after the music finished on Sunday - I needed an early night as I needed to be up early on Monday. The reason - Papworth appointment day. We were heading east to west as the storm headed west to east - we met at one point and it was pretty hairy - swirling leaves and bits of tree flying about and trying to hit my Dad's car. Luckily he is always calm and cool in a crisis and we made it one piece and only took one wrong turning!!

The appointment went well - the radiographer was lovely and put my mind at ease and explained everything that was happening and the likely side effects of the cocktails of drugs I was given.

When I got changed into my gown, I couldn't resist a quick picture;

Such a first world problem - I don't think the gown goes with my boots!!

Right its half term here - and there are plans for some decorating to happen this week. Today I need to don my old clothes and fill holes and start painting what will become a wardrobe in Little Son's room - am sure there will be pictures to follow!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Lifes little twists and turns - down the snakes but up the ladders

Good evening

Again apologises for my blogging absence - no real excuses - lots happening but I am not good at remembering to take photos and even worse at remembering to sit down and blog!!

Regular readers will know that 15 weeks ago a routine trip to hospital turned into a bit of a nightmare and I ended up spending almost a week in hospital and then was allowed home and told to rest and wait for a series of follow up tests and appointments.

I spent many hours at the hospital being prodded, poked and scanned. The other week I went back to see the Cardiologist and was expecting to be signed off and sent on my merry way.

Instead he told me that one of the tests had shown there is potentially a problem with the flow of blood to my heart. Therefore instead of being signed off, I was being referred to Papworth for another type of scan. However they though it unlikely I'd hear from them before December.

Today I had an appointment with the Surgical team at Ipswich - they needed to check I'd healed ok and sign me off. They were lovely - I saw the surgeon and room full of med students - my case is now part of their teaching as it was very rare. They will be copied in on the heart results eventually too. I am happy to say they have signed me off - no more appointments with them :)

When we got back home the postie was just walking down the garden path and my Dad joked he'd probably just delivered another appointment for me. I laughed. Well when I got in - there was a letter from Papworth and I am very lucky - the appointment is in a few weeks time - on a convenient day which doesn't clash with anything else! It's supposed to be a 2 hour visit but I am taking no chances and will packing an overnight bag!

Earlier in the summer I pinched the following picture from a friends facebook feed;

 Apart from a brief period at the beginning of the year when I was on the downward spiral and I have spent most of it on the upward spiral - despite the best efforts of life and whoever is sticking the pins into the Vicki voodoo doll! Every single one of the negative things that have happened this year have been eventually balanced out by a positive. 

Becoming single meant I forced myself to take up a new hobby - Morris dancing and that in turn lead to a wonderfully positive summer - time spent outside with friends and having fun.

Having to sell the family home and move - well that's a huge positive. The boys and I love our new house - more central to town and it means that our social lives have improved greatly.

My gallbladder going manic and making me ill meant I lost my liking for the wrong sorts of foods and that in turn has lead to the positive of me finally losing weight and dropping nearly 3 dress sizes.

This selfie (I know how teenage is that) was snapped the other weekend before the boys & I headed out to a wedding reception. Proof that I can do grown up clothing occasionally;

Oh dear that almost reads like a sermon !!

Thanks for reading.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

 

All creatures great and small

Good afternoon

Not sure I could love all creatures - especially this one that decided to hide under my pillow the other night! I'd been away for the weekend and left the boys in charge - they'd been good and got washing in and I guess this must have smuggled itself into the house in the washing basket;

I might have squealed like a girl when I spotted it but then I calmly deployed my insect catching kit (junk mail and a plastic Latitude cup) and put him downstairs to deal with in the morning!

I said I'd been away - I stayed with friends and we went to an birthday party on the Saturday night - it was 80's themed - and I knew what I wanted to wear - the jacket & accessories date from my mid teens in the mid 80's and the t-shirt was a treat to myself;

Obviously back in the mid 80's it wouldn't have been a pint of cider ;)

The party was for one of our dancers and we were asked to dance just once for everyone - such a lucky girl that I am, I finally got to dance with Adam Ant ;)

After a very late night and not a very restful sleep - I managed to fall out of bed!! Perhaps the 4th pint wasn't such a good idea!! The next dance we headed to a gig in a pub garden - us lot dancing for half an hour and the rest of the afternoon spent sitting in the sunshine, listening to music, chatting and maybe drinking some more cider!!

This week has been busy - even though the boys had one day off school due to the strikes. This morning was quiet and in order to put off hoovering for a while, I bashed some more picture pins in the wall and added to my wall of family photos;

I can now see there are some family members missing and I've been asking for copies of photos to add to this collection.

This afternoon has been spent with two wonderful creatures both very small and both very new. One of my sisters has recently got a puppy and kitten - they arrived within days of each other and and slowly getting the hang of each other. The kitten gives as good as it gets and has the advantage of speed and being able to hide under the sofa when the attentions of his 'brother' get too much!!

Meet - Foggy the border collie puppy;

and Douglas the kitten;

Both adorable and crazy and I could have happily brought them both home with me!!

Right I'd best be off - having a girls night with my sisters tonight to celebrate a birthday and draw names for our Not-so-Secret-Santa we do every year.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xx