October

 Before November runs away with me here is a snippet of the past month:

Some photos of Pip's paving and practice wall  taken from inside the workshop.

Dave and I managed a coffee date for our anniversary and gosh I do look tired in that photo!

October has been a month of trying to survive.  I sustained an injury to my pelvis whilst attempting to put Dave's mobility scooter in the car and the nerve pain was pretty horrendous.

  We changed our car in late August and although it is the same make since it is newer there have been amendments, notably it is higher up and the boot is an usual design.  As a result of these changes manoeuvering Dave's scooter is a challenge for me and it has taken five weeks of intensive physio - manipulation, ultrasound and acupuncture to sort things out.  We are now in the processes of trying to find a hoist that will work in the car and accommodate Dave's scooter and my walking aid.

Pip has continued plodding along with her exam prep for the mocks occurring at the end of November and it has been a major stress headache for us all.  Thankfully we have Pip's old math teacher on board and we chatted with the head of house at Kings Interhigh and all the staff speak highly of her and she is projected to do well.  I just wish Pip had the confidence to believe in herself and that is the biggest problem.

Knitting and reading continue to keep me going during these uncertain days and I'm grateful for the distractions.  

Hello ❤️

 It has been a while  and I certainly hadn't meant to step away from this space for so long.  Long Covid is a tricky beast to live with and it doesn't take much to knock me off my limited baseline.  I have missed updating here and checking in on friends so here is a short whistle stop tour of the past ten months:

During the first half of this year as you can see knitting and a bit of crochet featured heavily, sock knitting in particular!  Scrappy socks using left over yarn and birthday socks were made and this was quite an achievement since I struggled to remember how to follow a simple sock pattern!  As my cognitive functioning began to improve other items were made, some baby cardigans for a cousin, a crochet balaclava for Sara and Barbara the emotional support chicken for Pip.

We have another Grand-baby on the way due around Christmas time ❤️

Ben turned 21 in June and amongst other things a walnut and coffee cake was requested.

We visited a local military museum with Pip at the start of the summer break.

The highlight of Pip's summer was visiting Liverpool football stadium and museum.  It was a very challenging drive for me even though it is only just over an hour away, and Pip did her bit by pushing me around in the wheelchair.  It was worth every minute to see that smile on her face.

We are now back to college on Wednesdays which she absolutely loves and her last year of Inter-high and GCSEs with all that entails 😕

It's been a cognitive challenge finding my way around this space and I cannot remember how to reduce photos or put them in a folder 😂, so I guess I've some learning to do!

If you've stopped by here to wave hello then thank you x 

Weekend

 It's been a weekend of school catch up especially in preparation for a Geography cycle test on Tuesday morning.  Pip has regular cycle tests in each of her subjects and they are essentially a recap on the previous few weeks of lessons and a chance for students to encounter working against the clock as in an exam scenario.  Pip does however find them quite stressful even in the subjects she is most confident in such as geography, Spanish and STEM.  I'm hoping that with regular revision and organisational help things will be easier for her over time.  As a result of her health issues she should be allowed extra time and regular rest breaks in her GCSEs which thankfully are two years away.

Working on a revision poster.

The finished result - I forgot to rotate the image so you'll have to tilt your head to read it 😂

Our lovely neighbour and friend was having a clear out and due to health difficulties is no longer able to run the Hedgehog Hospital.  As a thank you for Pip helping and being interested in all that it entailed he gifted her his laboratory standard microscope, complete with books, slides and other paraphernalia:

We had another delivery of logs yesterday afternoon which might be our last for the year, although we might buy another supply in readiness for the autumn, for who knows if there will be further price increases!  Ben is our resident log stacking dude and I'm sure there are photos on this blog of him doing likewise in the old house - cannot find a photo of him stacking but I did find this photo of Ben helping to build the original log store in the old place ❤️

Threatening to 'lob' the piece of wood at Pip stood behind me - delightful boy 😂

Here is a video of Ben splitting some of the bigger pieces with his latest piece of joinery kit, a mitre saw.  What we need now is to reinforce the flooring in his bedroom since the ever expanding tool and gadget collection (all used on jobs I hasten to add!) has crept from the under eaves into the main area.

I thought I'd close with some funny/cute pictures of Milton sent via Anne (his fur mum) via What's App:

Milton asleep on their bedroom radiator...

... and here he is asleep on the living room radiator 😂

Shrove Tuesday Sickness

 It wouldn't be Lent in our house without someone being ill in some way shape of form.  We are currently on Covid watch with Pip, she has all the same early symptoms as per last time and I've been feeling more unwell than usual.  Her test was negative yesterday but I know from experience it can take at least three-four days before a positive, needless to say we are hunkering down and staying home.

Whatever is going on she's caught it from either being at church on Saturday evening (our first time attending in person since catching covid last December) or at bowling with her friend on Sunday.  Once again the downstairs room has been converted into a sick bay, only this time it's a little more organised and bonus points we have the stove to keep us warm 😊

Our church from the side - we park here as it is right next to the ramp for Dave,

Whilst making our main meal at lunch time I also made a batch of pancakes and some were eaten then and others saved for after tea.  I used the recipe from the River Cottage Every Day cookbook and actually remembered to let the batter 'sit' for thirty minutes before cooking.  The pancakes were really delicious and definitely worth the effort in the kitchen.

Life captured - school folders, supplements, pain relief pills, throat lozenges, my reading pile and my 'bed' to the left of the table sitting snugly under the dining room window.

My focus is off in this photo but it's such a lovely photo of Dave that I've included it in today's memories.

A stack of light and fluffy pancakes.

Vegetable, sausage, pasta and cheese bake 😋

May you be blessed this Lent ❤️

News and Pictures

 Some of us are studying and others are job hunting :-) 

Both Dave and Ben are job hunting.  Dave has linked with a charity that helps folk with disabilities find employment and Ben is looking for an apprenticeship role in the construction industry.  Hopefully both of them will be successful in their efforts.

I am currently ploughing my way through a second round of doula training with a charity that supports women and families who are vulnerable.  The course will lead to a qualification in level three perinatal care and comprises nine modules with assessments and assignments at the end of each one.  Computer access is a rarity these days so I've currently written three of my assignments and have a heap of work to type up and submit!  I've earmarked tomorrow afternoon when Pip's online lessons have finished ;-)

Pip is in her second week of InterHigh and is really pleased that she has her English teacher from last year! Mr Klappholz is a fab teacher - enthusiastic, encouraging and his lessons are always engaging.  She is slowly settling in to the new rhythm but the early starts are quite challenging thanks to a combination of the PoTS and the JHS - I don't think a day goes by where she isn't battling fatigue or pain but thankfully at the moment it is manageable.

Pip's latest creative media brief is to design a front cover of her autobiography so she decided to take photographs of some of her favourite things and then using a design programme altered them to make them appear like drawings - she's going to format them into a collage using Picmonkey  with some of her art work interspersed in between.

Last Week

Another school year and a ...

... not back to school silly car selfie and our first coffee stop since March.  We dropped off some items for Dave and our usual route home was blocked so we made it home via the motorway and a pitstop at Costa as a treat.

Elderberry Foraging

On Friday we went foraging for elderberries with Nanna.  Not only were they thin on the ground but small in size probably due to a combination of a very dry spring and a poor summer.  With a bit of luck we might manage to make one jar of elderberry syrup from our meagre pickings.

Crochet

I finished the blanket for my customer and she promptly placed an order for another one, this time in blue.  I have all the necessary colours which left over from the coast colourway bunting so I cast on immediately and have made good progress.

Hospital Number Three

My lovely dad was admitted to the High Dependency Unit late on Friday night. It was a grace of God that my brother and his wife were staying for the weekend as he had to administer CPR whilst waiting for the ambulance.  At one point there was some concern regarding a stroke but thankfully the CT scan was clear.  I spoke with Dad's nurse yesterday morning for a progress report and once Dad had his phone dropped of yesterday afternoon, I had a quick chat with him at the tea time.  The cardiologist in the local hospital will be speaking with Dad's cardiologist at Blackpool at some point today.  He does have heart failure but with careful monitoring and a possible change in medication he should hopefully be home later this week. 

 I will not lie, I had a jolly good cry yesterday morning whilst watching online mass.  I think the whole situation with Dave, trying to support the kids, my own health and concern for my parents just got on top of me. God is a very good listener and so He listened whilst I blubbered!!  I do miss mass too and I'm trying to find a way to attend, I think I'll speak with Fr Geoffrey our priest about the best day to visit. 

Update

 Dave was transferred to the Sue Ryder Neurological Rehab Centre a week today.  Pip and I were allowed to see him the day before his transfer as we were unsure whether we would be allowed to visit at the new place.  We can visit once his seven day quarantine is over which ends to today providing his second Covid test is clear.

He has settled in well and has a lovely ground floor room with an en suite bathroom. All the staff are not only very competent but very caring and at least four of the clinical support workers are Catholic/Orthodox so contact has been made with the local Parish Priest regarding Holy Communion.  Dave is now thankfully on the correct diet as a result of a visit from the dietician and head chef; not only is the food nourishing it is well presented and appetising. Most importantly of all however Dave is now accessing intensive physio rehab five times a week with additional occupational therapy support of at least twice a week.

The kids and I are bumbling along.  I won't lie my health is pretty rubbish right now and I'm using disability aids in the home and outside to help me get about.  Ben is majorly stressed about a return to college, (we have this every single year but this time it is much worse as a result of Covid)  and activities that Pip would normally attend, are either not running or it is tricky to access due to my own health inadequacies.

 My lovely friend Eva wrote a thorough and detailed list of a home school plan and I had intended to put the suggestions in place over the summer break.  Well that old saying "If you want to hear God laugh tell him your plans" certainly heled true this year!  I have however signed Pip up for a Year 7 English class courtesy of Oxford Home Learning so at least we have Maths and English sorted. Little by little we'll get there :-)

First time seeing Dad in five weeks

A room not only with a view but a place ...

... to dine al fresco!

Wildflower meadow on the estate :-)

Sarah who took Dave for a tour around the grounds yesterday :-)