Some Lovely Things

 I had hoped to pop by sooner but I was floored by a vicious virus in late November, which required two emergency hospital visits before Christmas (signs of either a stroke or heart attack) and from which I haven't as yet fully recovered.  So much so I have engaged the help of the nutritionist that I have worked with these past six years.  I'm currently dealing with ongoing persistent viral reactivation and horrendous GI issues but I'm hopeful with a few minor diet tweaks and a change in supplement regime things should hopefully settle.  

Without further ado here are the lovely things from the past few months:

After years of making St Nicholas biscuits I finally bought a proper biscuit cooker and not only did they taste lovely they looked lovely.

You're never too old to make a den.

Mum H made a lovely sofa quilt out of some of Dad H's old shirts complete with squares of cat fabric and edged in the signature black and red associated with his motorbikes.  Poppy declared it 'her' quilt and who was I to argue.  I will take a proper photo of the quilt as it really is lovely.

Our third granddaughter Everlie Elba was born on the 19th December so another birthday to add to the December list ❤️

Pip was 16 on the 23rd and she had another fun day with her best friend Beth.  Thanks be to God I was manageably well enough to drive them to a local retail park.  They had a lovely time shopping and chatting.

Mary with Everlie

Ottilie with Everlie

 

Watching the Liverpool football match on Boxing Day with Pip, thankfully they won!

A cafe trip with Dave and Pip on the 2nd January, our first trip out since Pip's birthday on the 23rd.  I was able to buy Ollie's birthday presents in the sales 😊. He loves all things soft and fluffy so i bought him a pair of fleece pyjamas and an oversized 'oodie' that resembles teddy bear features.  His hood has ears and a cute face ❤️

I'm hoping that 2025 will be the year that I return to regular blog posts.  I've ditched the distraction of Instagram and I don't bother with twitter or facebook, so it's looking hopeful.

All good wishes to you x 

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 

Thirty Five Years and A Book Surprise

 Dave and I celebrated 35 years of married life today but dang it neither of us could remember the exact time we said, 'I will' 😂. I've got a feeling it was late morning or over the lunch time period 😁. To celebrate we visited our favourite place which is a five minute drive down the road.  I had my usual 'safe foods' which was chicken goujons and fries and Dave had chicken caesar salad.  We both shared a plate of nachos and some gluten free onion rings.  He also enjoyed a mahoosive dessert of which I had some of the cream but my treat was an almond milk latte and very nice it was too.

Feet up cos yeah Pots doesn't stop 🤪

An anniversary silly selfie.

Pip had fun choosing the card and the lovely cyclamen plant in her lunch break at college.  That lovely lass has really blossomed since starting Myerscough.  She's had to deal with all sorts of issues but in turn has developed a shed load of resilience and resourcefulness.  We are really proud of her ❤️

The wonders of book loving blogging friends 😊. My lovely blogging friend Kezzie sent these brilliant reads and they arrived first thing this morning.  I love the Kate Shackleton mysteries but they are often hard to find at our local library.  Once Kezzie knew that I was a fellow fan, she offered me her collection ❤️. I think it's safe to say that these will be my next round of Long Covid recovery reading over the next few months - once I've finished my current war time trilogy 😂

This Week

 We've had more rain than sunshine and so warming soups and casseroles have been made:

Lancashire Hot Pot for our tea this evening, followed by home made lemon rice pudding.

Speaking of the rain our garden is looking rather lush and when I checked up on the raised bed, this is what I found this lunch time:

Looks like I'll be making a whole heap of soup, cakes and quiches with this hefty bounty 😂. 

Note to self - remember to check on the courgettes on a regular basis!!

Pip had her monthly physio visit on Friday which was very productive and she has begun a weights based training programme.  Babs her physio started her with 4kg and 8 kg Kettle Bells and then she tried lifting a 15kg weight using the bar with weights either end.  Whilst she was working with the kettle bells she was also doing squats, needless to say her legs were more than a bit sore yesterday!  Thankfully she was feeling much better today and very kindly helped with weeding in between the paving slabs on the patio this afternoon.

A well deserved post work out/break the fast brunch.

The drive home took way longer than expected due to a road traffic accident on the motorway and I was exhausted and struggled to walk from the car to the house.  Driving is really hard on my legs these days and it doesn't take much to set them off.  I declared it a no cook tea so we had a breakfast bowl of cereal, nuts, fruit, flaxseed and nut butter for our tea 😊

I've finished another shawl and this one is for a permaculture friend who is facing a very tricky and challenging operation at the end of August.  This person loves the sea and I though the combination of the plain blue and alternate variegated yarn resembled the waves breaking against the shoreline:

I'm calling this 'The Sea Breeze Shawl.'

A fellow doula friend who has a soft spot for Our Lady shared this on her Instagram this morning and I thought it was so lovely I would share it here:

The large and lovely lessons

You taught with little breath

In the Liturgy of Labour

In the house of Nazareth

Are such fantastic simple things

That mortals may presume

To call the Queen of Seraphim

Our Lady of The Broom

For you who rule the angels

Built up our legacy

By living a life of little things

That we do every day

You cooked, cleaned, washed and mended

Scrubbed the kitchen floor

Teaching a world the woman's way

To worship and adore

How beautifully you taught us

Where all perfection lies

By seeing all salvation in

The work before your eyes

Immensity in little space

The world in the humble room

You swept and kept and cared for

Our Lady of The Broom.

Hope you've had a good week, off to check up on you all ❤️

Making Things

 That scrunched up piece of knitting became this:

Its official title is 'Quiet Journey' but I've renamed it The Hope Shawl.  I made it for my Instagram friend Fran who has Long Covid, I shared her story and photo here a few posts back.  She is now suffering from very severe ME as a result of that Covid infection and has been bedridden since December - even opening her eyes for more than a few moments causes severe concussion like symptoms and vertigo.  I knit love and prayers into that shawl and my hope is that some day soon she will be well enough to sit up in bed and eventually be out and about in her wheelchair.

Pip has also been busy making a 'thing'

We have had the decorator in this week.  Both of the kids bedrooms are being decorated and Ben was first on the list.  He has chosen a grey, black, check/stripe theme for his room and Pip enjoyed making his new bedside table.  She had no help from an adult, read the IKEA instruction booklet and got on with the task at hand.  

All construction work was done with this in the background:

The Women's World Cup 2023, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.  This match was Spain versus Costa Rica and Pip was over the moon that Spain won 😊. I think it's safe to say that it will be back to back footy for the next few weeks!

Tea Time Treats and Mindful Making

 Two posts in two days, that's a record!!  In between Pip finishing for the school year and everyday life stuff we've managed some local cafe stops - they break up the monotony of an otherwise 'ground hog day' life.

Pip and Dave frequently travel into the village for a Booths cafe stop, shopping and library visit.  Dave buy the Independent Newspaper and he reads the main part whilst Pip tackles the puzzles.

On one particularly hot day we drove eight minutes down the road to Barton Grange and enjoyed tea and ice creams.  I know that might seem a weird combination but it was utterly delicious ❤️

I've been fortunate enough to take part in an eight week course "mindfulness for stress" which is organised by the breath works foundation, and they also run the mindfulness for health one too.  Last week's homework was based on acts of kindful-ness towards oneself - to undertake activities that bring about contentment and peace, and the library book, 'The Mindful Maker' drew my eye.

I really enjoyed trying out the Japanese technique of visible mending known as Boro stitching.  I have a pair of boyfriend jeans that are super comfortable but the factory made holes were proving to be too draughty 😂. Placing a patch behind and stitching over the top has lengthened the life span of the jeans, and I'm hoping over time to add more decorative patches.  I used the net and spiral permaculture designs to remind me of the interconnections I've made through the web and that abundance can occur in the smallest of spaces - the Winter. Jasmine in the garden is living proof of this.

The simple act of repairing incorporates the 'produce no waste' permaculture principle as well as the people care (my wellbeing) and earth care permaculture ethics.  It also means I can avoid the shops for a while longer, as I cannot abide clothes shopping at the best of times, let alone doing so in my current health state 😂.