Life Lately

Dealing - with glandular fever also known as the Epstein- Barr virus.  I had a blood test just over a week ago and the result came through on Monday.  GP will need to do another test in four weeks to ascertain which way things are going.  I have days when I hold my own and other days when I am floored and the inflammation in the glands is really bad with all out bone crushing fatigue.

We are also dealing with Pip struggling at school.  She likes her teacher and enjoys the lessons but is having difficulties with one of the girls in her class.  It got to the point last week that she broke down and sobbed for over an hour and couldn't eat her tea.  This was the same girl that was super keen that another girl was joining the year and within a matter of days she was ignoring Pip, refusing to share a map in the geography lesson and attempting to prevent Pip from playing with another kid.  I really do believe that school brings out the worst in folk. 

However we are fortunate in that the head agreed to flexi schooling as part of the transition period so Pip will be finishing at lunch time tomorrow.  Instead of taking part in the sports day she will be spending time with another home school family :-) 

I think things have been made worse as she has also been targeted by some of the girls in our local area.  They call for her then exclude her and when she stands her ground and refuses to put up with their mean spirited behaviour, they then chase her when she is trying to come home.  I have seen first hand how they are behaving as they hadn't realised I was in the garden at the time.  The whole situation has affected her confidence which is quite sad.  As is stands we are trying to make it to the end of term and will review whether or not she will return in September.

Celebrating - we celebrated Ben's 16th birthday on the 11th.  It was a fairly low key day but he enjoyed it all the same.  Ben has really grown in confidence this last year and has enjoyed his year at college.  He is also benefiting from his volunteering roles both at Wesley's and at church.  He is a real whizz on the petrol mower as he manoeuvres around the grave stones in the church cemetery!

 Opening cards and presents first thing.

 Chicken, vegetable and pesto past followed by low carb, no sugar birthday cake.

 Pouring a non alcoholic beer :-)

Thankful - for some happy mail that arrived in the post on Monday.

My friend Penelope Wilcock, author and blogger gifted me the first three books in her 'The Hawk and The Dove' series:

" The first book is written not so much as a consecutive narrative but as a series of short stories about a medieval monastery, contained within a modern setting in which a mother tells the storied to her daughter.

This structure and the somewhat naive style of the book came about not as mere whimsy but as a tribute to two particular medieval texts - Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and the Fioretti of St Francis of Assisi.

The Canterbury Tales employs the literary conceit of the frame tale, and the Fioretti gathers a sequence of short stories (not fictional) recording the early days of the Franciscan movement from which the Order began.

In writing The Hawk and The Dove, intrigued by the style and structure of these medieval texts, I constructed my novel similarly.  It also offered the balancing of the two worlds - the medieval and the modern, the monastic and the secular, the feminine and the masculine.  The second book, The Wounds of God I also crafted along the same lines.  In subsequent volumes in the series I wanted to tackle issues that did not lend themselves to this structure, so I set it aside for The Long Fall and the books that followed."

Pen's writings on her blog and her books whether they be fiction or non fiction really speak to my soul and lift my spirits time and time again.  We often have a blog conversation over on her site and she was aware that I was below par.  This gift was her way of encouraging me during the difficulties and her generosity is greatly appreciated.

I also received an intriguing package with a UK post mark and then remembered an email from my lovely friend Eva regarding a belated birthday treat.  See that cute little chicken on the right of the photo, it is keeping Our Lady of Walsingham company on our mantle piece!  Thank you Eva for thinking of me and cheering my day :-)

Sharing - some photos of this past week.

The Annual Solstice Fairy Day

The girls had fun playing the crazy golf at The Flower Bowl followed by sausage buns, fries and salad and another chocolate sugar free cake.  Pip's best buddy is a Harry Potter fan so when Pip and I saw the plushies at Aldi it was a no brainer!  It was good to see Pip smile, the first in a long time.  We have a sleep over treat organised with the girls during the summer break and they are both super excited.

A Beach Trip on A Sunday

Back in our old stomping ground, the sound of the waves, fun in the sand and the much welcomed cup of tea in The Midland Hotel.  A real tonic for us all :-)