Sunday 17 March 2013

Catching Up

It is 1am and it is raining and I'm currently on insulin pump suspension duty.  Benedict has had yet another awful hypo and despite treating him with apple juice, his blood sugars are still dangerously low.  Makes a change from them running dangerously high which they have done the past two mornings, cue sick bowl and ketone test monitor!  In fact since my last post, I've been lucky if I've had three full nights of sleep!  Never a dull moment round here!

Thanks be to God and homeopathic medicine, I think I am at last turning a corner in my own health.  The flu symptoms lingered longer than I would have liked, but hardly surprising since sleep has eluded me these past few weeks!  First it was Pip with the norovirus and then Benedict got sick and since then the diabetes has been totally whacky.

The middle of the night duties have afforded me plenty of quiet reading and pondering time and this has been a much needed balm fro my soul.  I'm currently reading this book:

 
 
I filched the picture from amazon but the quality is not great, so just to clarify the book is titled "Landmarks, an ignatian journey" by Margaret Silf.  I've read up to chapter two and it is essentially a modern day interpretation of the spiritual exercises as laid down by St Ignatius.  I ordered this book from the library late last week and  it is interesting to learn that our new Holy Father is a Jesuit and so he'll be more than familiar with this type of personal prayer journey! 
 
 
The learning zone has been very quiet these past few weeks; I have had not the wit, enthusiasm or energy to undertake such a task, so Benedict kept himself amused with reading and more reading.  Trying to find books that would interest and challenge him is becoming increasingly difficult.  Some of the material on the library shelves even I would not wish to read!  Our choices for this week are as follows:
 
The Machine Gunners ~ Robert Westall
The Kingdom By The Sea ~ Robert Westall
The Mystery Of The Spiteful Letters ~ Enid Blyton
Boudica, The Secrets Of The Druids ~ Caroline Corby
Sparrow, The True Story of Joan of Arc ~ Michael Morpurgo
Twist of Gold ~ Michael Morpurgo
Not Bad For A Bad Lad ~ Michael Morpurgo
 
Benedict has already finished the Machine Gunners, which as the title suggests  is based on the conflicts of the Second World War.  At first glance the book seemed reasonably "harmless" but there was quite a disturbing account of the main character finding a dead pilot in the woods, interestingly enough however I think this part of the story "went over Benedict's head" and he did not realise the full ramifications of what he had read.  So there's a lesson for me here and that is to either use the books as a read aloud platform or for me to read them first and vet accordingly.
 
We actually managed a trip to see Kathryn on Thursday, she was looking well and cooked a lovely lunch for us all.  "Midge" is also doing well but the little tinker is lying in a very awkward breach position and so a c-section is on the cards.  We should know within the next week or so, the date for delivery.
 
Pip continues to enjoy her time at pre-school and forest school.  She has made some lovely friends and enjoys contributing to all aspects of learning wether it be in group discussions, free playtime or problem solving. On Tuesdays and Fridays, Pip is only there until lunchtime so Dave takes his computer work and sits in the local tea rooms!  I think he enjoys the peace and quiet ... oh and also the cake!
 
Well, I'm off to make a warming cup of tea, so I'll leave you with some random pictures of these past few weeks:
 
 
Painting the inside of the daffodills for St David's Day.  We had potato and leek soup and Welsh Cakes for tea that day.
 
 
 
 

Benedict's God Father came for supper and the two of them had fun playing with jigsaw book.
 
 
 
We have found a lovely art teacher, who visits on a Friday after lunch.  She is a friend of Kamila, who is our friend in the Czech Republic.  Erika is Slovac and is an accomplished textile and mixed media artist.
 
 
 
Working on the planning stage of his shield design.
 
 
 
A spotty shield for Pip!
 
 
 
A coconut and lime cake for Mother's Day lovingly hancrafted by Benedict.
 
 
 
 
 
Eau des Jardins
 
Kathryn bought me this perfume and a miniature size bottle of beauty balm and hand cream.  Sara and Pip were absolute stars and cleaned the whole of the top floor and tidied the downstairs.  I also spent the afternoon with my friend Debbie, knitting and chatting.  She bought me a bunch of daffodills and we all enjoyed eating the cake and drinking tea.
 
 
 
 
My quiet place!  Yes it is the greenhouse!  Despite the temperatures barely hovering above freezing I was cozy and snug with my hot water bottle and blanket.  My intention was to pray and I did but I also benefited from a much needed "cat-nap"  Our now deceased cat Holly was not daft, she could often be found snoozing in between the pots and plants.
 
 
 
  

5 comments:

forties@heart said...

Glad to see you back up and running, was worried about you all, glad you are feeling better. x

Eva said...

So nice to read about your days again, San! I love the picture with you taking a nap! It's too snowy to do that here! So many great projects in spite of all the sickness. The Landmarks book looks good! What is St. David's Day? I've never heard of it.

Is there no way to turn the baby? Chiropractic or otherwise?

Sandra Ann said...

St David is the patron saint of Wales and like St Patrick it is a cause for big celebration. You can find out more about the day here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_David%27s_Day

My acupuncturist friend said it might be possible to turn using moxa and acupressure points; also the consultant had offered to turn Midge but there was a significant risk of fetal distress and this would have then necessitated an emergency c-section. Kath has had such a lot of worries this pregnancy that, in many ways this seems the best option for all concerned.

dorinalouise said...

hello san, i agree with eva, i love the pic of you resting in your greenhouse . . soaking up the beautiful sunshine.

i'll have to look up st. david's day. the girls have some welsh ties in them from greg's side of the family and it would be fun to explore that. his family has been in the states much longer than mine, since 1636. my family (both sides) came over around 1911/1918. my german grandfather had a tavern on fourth avenue and 12th street and we pass the area often where it was. i like to think of him working there 100 years ago!!! if i could just jump back in time for a little while, i could pop into the bar for a beer, pickle and sandwich and say hello! he also had a bulldog named jack . .

anyway . . i digress! i'm sending you lots of love and hugs for those not so easy nights. i hope things have calmed down for a respite for you now. it's good benedict can do lots of wonderful reading on his own. the sparrow book by michael morpurgo interests me! thanks for mentioning it. i'm going to look it up. i've had the same experience with books as you have had. korrina read her way through everything, just as i did when i was her age. but i found that books are dfferent in these times! too much goes in for the young ones . . there are wonderful historical fiction novels for the pre-teen girls which i love called the dear america series, but they also deal with very serious subjects. in one of them a young pregnant mother is shot at along the trail of tears . . it shocked me when i read it . . korrina was only 11 and i hoped it went over her head. reading isn't as graphic as movies and sometimes if you're not ready to deal with situations, i think it can pass you by. i've been much more solicitous with morgana and chanda and often ask them to wait on a book for a year or so. one time we were reading a fun adventure novel (nick of time) and then it suddenly turned too violent for us. we put it down. we had been reading it aloud.

keep us posted about kath. i'm sure all will be well. even if the moxa and acupressure points don't turn the child, they might be nice to do just to help with tension. my friend used moxa for me once and i loved it. it was so relaxing, and i liked having the attention and having someone physically working with my body. greg would massage my feet too. i loved that!

lots of love,
dorina

Eva said...

Is this only a catholic day of celebration or also an anglican day? Too bad for Kath, we will keep her in our prayers!