February Already?!!

 Must admit I’m glad to see the back of January. It has been another month of me mainly on the sofa 🙄. My heart rate is reasonably steady if I do very little which makes daily living a bit of a challenge 🤪. Other post covid problems have appeared such as terrible abdominal pain which has thankfully eased due to a low FODMAP diet, the effect was almost instantaneous ie within 24 hours, Praise God!  I have an appointment with our nutritionist as I’m sure there’ll be some additional supplementation needed for the time being.

The swollen glands have been constant but the scratchy throat and vocal changes occur the more fatigued that I become.  Alongside that is the headaches, word finding problems (calling the washing machine the fridge 😂)and inability to complete a sentence or deal with conversations.

I’ve been using the permaculture principle of observe and interact and have kept a bio time diary since the start of the month tracking heart rate variability, symptoms, sleep, food and drink and any activities either physical or mental.  If I sit down to make a meal and wash a few pots then I am wiped out for several hours afterwards.  

Despite all of this we are bumbling along reasonably well and I know for sure that things could be a whole heap worse!!  I think I’ll try and pop by over here a bit more regularly and post a snippet of daily life in the mundane 🙂

Here are some pics from my phone, which I’m also using to write this blog whilst lying down:

Dave and I managed a short outing to a nearby cafe on Saturday, the first non medical outing in nine weeks.

My brother’s school yesterday was closed due to the strikes so part of his day was spent in the kitchen making this yummy concoction ❤️

My symptom log lay out that is helping track what is going on 👍🏻

The lovely Milton ‘helping’ in the kitchen 😻

Poppy resting on my legs whilst I had a much needed lie down yesterday afternoon ❤️

Ollie was tasked with making a dinosaur den as part of his ‘homework’ so he devised this elaborate structure on Minecraft- he’ll be five in March.  Mum and Dad have printed his efforts and stuck the design in his book.  Well done Ollie 🙂

Arts Award

 The past few weeks we have returned to our Arts Award classes at The Civic Centre and it's lovely to be back with faces old and new.  This year Pip is working on her Silver Award and she has set herself a challenge of drawing different poses of her characters as well as developing different colour combinations.  Here are some photos from the past few weeks:

Gathering together and sharing work from the previous weeks.

Having a go at making your own paint using powdered paints and linseed oil.

Last week's session was all about pixel art.  Callum shared a workshop on creating a Minecraft pig character which we all tried and then for the remainder of the session we worked on our individual pixel creations.  Pip found an image of Pikachu courtesy of Pinterest and enjoyed creating it on squared paper. It's really uplifting to be involved with something almost normal, but for how long is anyone's guess as Covid cases are rising quite sharply across the UK.

Bits and Bats

 Ben is finally back at college after thirteen weeks away - three for the Christmas break plus ten for this recent lockdown.  He still hasn't had his first vaccine although he is in priority group 6 so hopefully it won't be too long.  Thankfully all of his work is outside so his risk of catching Covid is somewhat reduced. 

 Dave and I both had our vaccine last Tuesday, he was perfectly fine thank God but true to form I was the one with the reaction!  Within hours I was suffering from the chills followed by awful flu-like symptoms and then abdominal pain, which has only just subsided.  I'm not looking forward to jab number two, so grateful there is a twelve week gap in between :-)

Pip has continued to work hard with her online lessons and homework.  She finally finished her protest art which is now ready for submission:

Pip's design brief was to research and choose a cause which could be made using at least two stencils.  Pip chose to highlight child slavery in the cocoa industry and the final design is meant to encourage the observer to, ask questions and understand why Fairtrade is more than just a symbol.  This bag has gone through several changes from the original design ideas to the mediums used ~ she explored spray paints and acrylics before settling upon fabric paints.  This project took six weeks from start to finish and she has gained not only knowledge but really good grades.  Well done Pip :-)

Ben has also been very busy and this shed is proof of that :-)  The only help he needed was me holding the sides whilst he positioned the back.  He really enjoyed the whole process and he too has gained some valuable skills.  Well done Ben :-)

Half Term

 This means I actually have access to the computer!  It's been a crazy six weeks but worth it and Pip has really enjoyed her lessons, as well the online interactions with her teachers and peers.  She has had homework assignments to complete this half term but with prudent planning she is making good progress.

Soda Bread for St Brigid Day.

Pip's protest art concerning the exploitation of children in the cocoa industry.  She had originally wanted to use this piece, but her challenge is to make at least a two layer stencil and we realised this would be too difficult to achieve.  It was back to the drawing board and so she came up with this revised plan:

Thanks to a You tube video she was able to learn about lettering and with the help of squared paper planned her design.  Pip has had a go at cutting out some of the letters but her finger joints pop out of place due to the pressure exerted and therefore Dave or I have been helping.  I think I've seen finger splints online and will be giving them a go to see if they will help.

Since we are in lockdown 3.0 and Ben is currently not in college, we have had to find various household projects to keep Ben busy.  He has installed an outside light, re-pointed the paving slabs on the patio, replaced electrical sockets in several rooms and has painted the new bike/tool shed before he pieces it together.

A little purple bike and tool shed, who knows there might even be room for a fold up chair for me (I do miss my 50th Birthday Shed which was left behind in the move two years ago) Either way, I'm sure it'll be decked with some crochet bunting cheer :-)

Dave and I are enjoying the break and aside from having a well earned rest we are managing to catch up on various admin and cleaning jobs in the home.  It's also the start of Lent and whilst I was enjoying a read of Eva's Lent posts, she reminded me of the Lent Calendar.  It has been years since we did one of these and I had great fun putting ours together for this year.  We are using The Church of England, #LiveLent resources this year as we always do well when we have a focus to work towards.  In addition St Nicolas Church are doing daily prompts and today's was calculating your carbon footprint and ours is 31st May ... insert horrified facial expression!  We do recycle, compost and our energy is 100% renewables but alas a car is a necessity.  However we can make changes with regards to meat consumption and excess packaging.

A Valentine treat for Ben and Pip

Shrove Tuesday pancakes, savoury and sweet.

Live Lent thankful feet.

Our carbon footprint result and our pledge as a result.

Thanks Eva for the timely Lent reminder and a chance to journey with you and Jesus this year x 

 

Epiphany

 In an effort provide some cheer against a backdrop of another national lockdown, an NHS that is on the verge of collapse and later chaos over the pond, we attempted to celebrate three kings day.  I made mince pies as dessert for lunch and then later in the day wrote 20C+M+B+21 Christe Mansionem Benedicta 'Christ Bless This House.'

I've made a good recovery from my accident save from the original low back damage done on a previous fall eight weeks earlier.  I'm not surprised we are on another lockdown but I am weary of it and have struggled to remain focused this week.  I have another commissioned cot blanket that needs finishing as well as my Doula training.  I have recognised that I don't do to well in spreading myself thin, so I've decided to focus on the blanket first in the hopes of being a bit more organised.

Ben is missing college and the challenge has been to find practical DIY jobs for him to complete at home.  Pip is really missing her regular activities and we have therefore decided to trail ban online secondary classroom for a six week period to see if that may help.  All in all we are doing our best with the circumstances we are in :-)  

Here are some random photos of the past few weeks:

We bought tickets to 'visit' The Old Vic in London for their Zoom performance of A Christmas Carol not only was it very well done but they also encouraged folk to donate for a food bank charity.

Poppy's face says it all!  

One very exhausted ICU doctor asking people to do the right thing, follow the rules and not to gather in groups at New Year.  Unfortunately we have COVIDIOTS that actually believe the whole thing is fake! It's so upsetting to hear reports that doctors finishing a shift are met with abuse outside the same hospital where people are dying in large numbers from this new highly infectious variant :-(

Dave and I saw the New Year in against a backdrop of Pink Floyd in concert.  Little did we know that in a matter of days a stay home order would once more be given.  Hoping that this vaccine programme will work - they've even deployed the armed forces in logistical manoeuvres regarding transportation of the vaccine, as well as any other required services.

Keep safe x 

Solstice :: Birthday :: Christmas

 On Solstice eve Ben and I sat around the fire pit with a mug of hot tea in hand:

Pip was twelve on the 23rd and I made it home from collecting our Booths Chicken and Veg Box order just in time for the usual, Pip was born here birth photo:

Our present to Pip was a grey desk for her bedroom and both her and Ben had fun constructing it, I must take a photo to share as they did a fab job.

In the afternoon we met Beth and her family outside and enjoyed a very cold, socially distanced catch up and picnic :-)  Beth and Pip took a walk along the canal and fed the ducks.

The Number 12 with more smarties added later, couldn't let them go to waste!

Hot Vimto drink, "Cheers!"

Cosy Christmas Tree Lights

"Happy Birthday To Pip"

No pictures from Christmas Day as I fell on the ice outside the back kitchen door.  Not only did I land flat on my back but I also hit my head and had a cracking headache for the rest of the day.  The Government changed their minds last minute, due to the new Covid variant sweeping through the country and you were only allowed to meet with one other person outside your family.  We were blessed to have a short visit from Fr L and so we sat in the kitchen with our coats on and the door open!  

Hope you have had a blessed Christmas regardless of the restrictions :-) x