Random

I have been unwell these past few weeks but I have remembered to take photos, so I thought I'd dump them here and give a brief explanation where necessary!

 Saint Catherine Laboure is our Little Flowers saint of the month.  The above is Pip's notebook page and on Monday of this week her craft was a foil replica of the Miraculous Medal.

 During a particularly bad week whereupon the kids fought like cat and dog, we were granted a reprieve in the sibling squabbles and spent a peaceful afternoon at The Midland Hotel for tea and biscuits.  Our usual spot in the main foyer was taken so we made our way to the Rotunda Bar instead.  The area is reminiscent of the 1950's, even the tea pots are bright red!  The mural on the wall was originally painted in time for the hotel's official unveiling in 1933, however since the plaster work had not sufficiently dried the paintwork crumbled and flaked as the years went by.  Two local artists were commissioned to restore the mural in time for the hotel's second unveiling in 2008.  If you want to know more about the history of the place then you can read about The Midland here

 I first came across this book whilst waiting in the audiology clinic with Pip.  It was given rave reviews in the national deaf society magazine so imagine my joy upon finding it on the shelf in our local library!  The author herself has a hearing impairment and some of the characters and experiences chronicled in the book are an account of her childhood.  El Deafo was her alter ego and by creating the super hero she was able to work with and accept her deafness and subsequent difficulties in daily life.  The book is set out in comic book style and outlines  the difficulties faced by those within the deaf community, it appeals to both adults and children alike. 

 

 We spent a lovely morning with Dave's Aunty Judith.  She has a whacky sense of humour which was just what we needed, having been told earlier by a not-so-friendly neurologist that Dave was not eligible for any MS treatment.  In his opinion folks with MS have a fifteen year shelf life post diagnosis after which its a case of shut up and go away!  Thankfully our regular neurologist is a man of woolly pullovers, compassion and a penchant for recycling :-)  He too is limited by way of helping as a result of the NICE guidelines for MS but at least you feel that he listens and cares.

 One Sunday after mass we made a trip to Barton Grange and bought a planter of flowers and a butterfly to place on Aunty Maureen's grave.  It was the first time that the children had visited.  Benedict was subdued and Pip in between crying hugged the ground and wanted to leave her teddy for Aunty Mo.  She is buried in a beautiful village church yard and her place over looks the hills beyond.

 Last week we managed a trip to Holker Hall to meet Dave's mum and dad.  The kids spent the afternoon up and down on the scooters and in the adventure play area.  It is quite expensive to visit the house and gardens but we did decide that next time the gardens really would be well worth a visit.  Dave's dad is famous for telling a yarn interspersed with an old joke or two, the kids have as much fun watching him trying to keep a straight face in the process!

 Last Saturday we had our usual make and cake gathering and I had offered to make the refreshments one of which was this paleo friendly strawberry cake.  The cake itself is made from almonds, eggs, coconut sugar and butter.  The cream topping is in fact whipped coconut cream!  Even if i say so myself it was a lovely light cake :-)

 Since the beginning of this week we have been chasing very unpredictable blood sugar readings.  On Monday lunch time Benedict encountered a very severe hypo with no warning, he started to fit and began to lose consciousness.  We weren't with him at the time but Shein managed to bring him round and stabilise his blood sugars.  Thankfully I had a spare sensor which has enabled me to track his blood sugar readings even when he is sleeping.  As you can see by midnight on the Monday his bloods were crashing so it was a case of pump suspension and me on duty until 2am.  It's been a long while since I have done a middle of the night stint and I had forgotten how awful the night shift can be.

My bed is currently topped with items ready to be packed as we are spending the week not far from Uncle Mike in Gloucestershire.  Dave's brother Uncle Andy is hoping to stop with us for a few days and it will be lovely to spend time with them both.  We even have wi-fi in the cottage, so with a bit of luck I'll be able to update here throughout the course of the week :-)

Thanks for reading, San xx