The Cathedral and A Tailor

Gloucester was on the itinerary today; we visited the Cathedral and The Tailor of Gloucester Shop.

 A rare moment, Dad actually managing to eat his yogurt and granola in peace :-)

 Breakfast phase two, an almost full English!

 Bacon, egg, tomatoes, baked beans and a slice of toast.

After a quick tidy round we sallied forth on a supposed to be short car journey into Gloucester.  As you may have guessed the time was anything but short, factor in an unpredictable Sat Nav and interesting one way system and you have an almost recipe for disaster!  After another twenty minutes of driving around I was just about to lose my sanity when we spied a designated disabled parking bay, hooray!  The cathedral was a short five minute walk, phew :-)

 The stained glass windows along many of the walls were breathtaking and I don't think any photograph would truly do them justice.

 The stone work from floor to ceiling were a range of architectural styles from Norman to Medieval.

 Remember this one, Eva?!

 I loved this door.

 Jesus washing the feet of his disciples.  This image was placed above the altar in the small blessed sacrament chapel where the bread and wine are consecrated before mass.  This cathedral is known as a High Anglican church and although many of the rituals are similar to those within the Catholic faith, they do not share an unbroken line of succession from St Peter to the present day and therefore are not in full communion with the Catholic church. 

 

 Kyneburga, Abbess of Gloucester.

 We did not manage to look around all of the cathedral, some of the places were difficult to negotiate with Dave's mobility scooter but to be fair they had installed ramps where possible.  I was also having trouble walking and was grateful for the use of Dave's walking pole, what a pair we make at the moment!  Our next stop was Pip's promised treat, a visit to The Tailor of Gloucester:

 Past college green and through the alley way lies a quaint little shop.  Keep your eyes wide open for one blink and you will miss this tiny place so loved by the mice of Gloucester:

 Pip's Peter Rabbit saying " Hello" to this blue bunny in the little upstairs museum.

 The tailors notes about the garment for his worship the mayor.

 The tailors waistcoat which Dave's mum very cleverly borrowed for a 30th birthday gift for Dave twenty years ago! I will have to take a picture of Dave's waistcoat when I get home. Just writing that makes me think where has the time gone?!

 That rascal Simpkin!

 "Mum, you can buy this really big Peter Rabbit in the shop!"  Her pleading fell on deaf ears, I think one rabbit in the family is quite enough :-)

 Bye, Bye, Simpkin and friends.

Saturday Sunshine and Tewkesbury Abbey

We were greeted with beautiful blue skies and sunshine this morning and our morning coffee was enjoyed from the patio just outside our front door!  The only neigh-bours were two beautiful horses in the opposite field :-)  Pip enjoyed the freedom to roam and collected a small handful of wild flowers for the kitchen table.  Over and over she repeated, "I really, really love the countryside."

 This gal reminds me so much of Sara, sure footed and thrives in the outdoors.

 After lunch we made our way to Tewkesbury to visit the Abbey.  Dave took some lovely photographs but we have left the connecting cable for the DSLR to the laptop at home :-)  Our stay however was short lived as the Philomusic Orchestra were practicing for this evening's concert, the music undoubtedly wonderful was also especially noisy and since Pip's hearing loss certain noises cause pain in her ears :-(  Even without the hearing aids she found the noise unbearable so we beat a hasty retreat.  I think we might consider buying those ear defenders that kids wear at rock concerts to block out the noise!  Once outside she had fun joining in with the touching souls statues:

Evening tea was a simple salad followed by strawberries and cream.  

 A quick iphone shot of the pink and purple sunset from the bedroom window.  The DSLR would have taken a better image but as in all things it is a case of shoot with what you have :-)

Happy St George's Day!

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

Easter Catch Up

Easter blessings from our house to yours and I hope you are still celebrating since Easter-tide lasts until Pentecost!

Due to health constraints we were unable to attend the triduum services at our church but we did manage Easter Sunday Mass.  In addition to hearing the Hallelujah once more we also renewed our baptismal promises, it is quite something to hear a church in unison rejecting Satan and his lies and to make a stand for God :-)

Once home the Hoppity Bunny had left an Easter trail for Pip and then she, Tom and Sara had some fun painting the eggs:

We have had a higher than usual round of hospital and clinic appointments these past few weeks.  On the Monday of Holy Week both Dave and Pip were at hospital appointments twenty miles apart!  I did a fair bit of driving that day :-)  Dave's appointment was first around lunch time for an MRI scan.  Pip and I went in search of drinks and a snack and when we returned we could hear the machine making a banging noise.  Dave was in the mobile scanning truck which was parked in the car park.  I must admit I felt for him being inside such a noisy and claustrophobic machine.  He doesn't mind confined spaces but is needle phobic so the injection part is the worst :-(  

We had time to snaffle some lunch parked in a shopping area car park before travelling to the next hospital for blood and urine tests for Pip.  I was more than apprehensive since Benedict has had some really bad experiences in this department.  Thankfully the anaesthetic cream worked a treat and Pip was suitably distracted with a game on the ipad!  

On Thursday of this week, we travelled another twenty miles to a specialist clinic so that Pip could be fitted with her hearing aids.  She did really well throughout the whole procedure but it was a bit daunting taking her into a restaurant on the way home for some lunch.  We managed to find a quite spot and thankfully the place was not overly busy.  The hearing aids are meant to self adjust according to the background noises but still it was incredibly overwhelming.  After all Pip was hearing sounds she had probably not heard in quite some time.  Only yesterday she remarked that the keys on the lap top make a clicking sound when they are pressed.  As with a lot of medical conditions we were given a heap of information including the contact details of our local children's deaf club.  I think it is important that she meets other kids with hearing loss as only another person in the same situation can truly understand.  

 A gluten free goats cheese and red pepper pesto tart, with side salad and chips.  I asked the waitress three times to check that the dish really was gluten free!  I did not want a repeat of my hospital stay from a few months back but in all honesty it is the first time I have ever seen a gluten free pastry dish being offered on the menu.

It is interesting to read that hearing aids help to magnify sounds as best they can but they cannot ever truly replicate the fine balance between the ear and the brain.  Crowded and noisy public places will always be a nightmare for her as she is unable to filter out the background noise and concentrate on one individual speaker.  Pip is really good at lip reading otherwise her work at school would have suffered but that too comes with a price to pay and the level of concentration required is quite exhausting. Also hearing aids are no good in traffic situations since they are unable to pick up the required sounds and on her favourite bike ride on Morecambe prom, she is totally oblivious to people or bikes behind her, so it is pretty useless another cyclist dinging their bell for her to move out of the way!  I have seen a high visibility jacket that has " caution deaf rider" emblazoned across the back, it does make me feel a little uncomfortable that her disability is being drawn attention too, but in reality the safety aspect wins hands down.

Despite the difficulties of the past few weeks Pip has still made consistent strides with her home school programme and Benedict has finally shown an interest in a history project, which is all good.  I did however spare them the onerous task of dissecting this poor creature:

 We have lived in this house since 1992 and never once have we encountered a rat!  Field mice yes but not a rat.  I think it might have been poisoned and had some how made its way into our garden.  Our compost bin only consists of vegetable peelings and grass cuttings and since we do not have any pets there is no food source for vermin.

As for dissection, I remember our science teacher at Our Lady's Convent Grammar school keeping rats preserved in formaldehyde in the science lab fridge!  That classroom always had a peculiar smell :-)

Never a dull moment at this end, eh?!

  

 

Outside and Inside

We have been blessed with some good weather in these parts, mostly dry with some sunshine too :-)  As a result we have made a good start in the garden and enjoyed some park days in between home school and household chores:

 Spot The Ben Bird ~ a rare breed that only surfaces once in a while and that is usually on a hunt for food ;-)  A sociable creature however that takes a keen interest in supporting those younger than himself.  Most happiest in trees.

Inside:

Pip has completed both a Singapore maths textbook and workbook in just under three weeks, maths is her favourite subject.  She is also motoring through a series of English textbooks as well as working towards a World Cultures badge for Brownies.

I haven't a thought in my head for writing!  By the end of the day, my intellectual abilities are zippo, so that ebook that I was encouraged to write is well and truly on the back burner.  So, back to the crafting then, apart from the fact that my back and shoulders are mashed and "pain again" is my middle name :-(  Heat packs, analgesics and you tube documentaries are my evening companions these days!

We have been blessed with some lovely family days, managing to see both Kathryn and Mary Grace this past weekend.  Sara and Tom are resident weekend fixtures as they have denoted St Joseph's as their home parish and so make the 40 minute journey each weekend to attend Sunday mass and stop for lunch afterwards.  In fact the past  two weekends they have stopped over and also helped with the gardening.

I have perfected the art of gluten free Yorkshire pudding making and these fluffy concoctions are a welcome addition to the Sunday dinner.  We also enjoyed a vegetable pie on "Pi" day!  Edible maths which was appreciated by all:

We formally made our goodbyes to Aunty Maureen on the 12th of March and I think of her at some point each and every day, whether it be from items purchased by her as gifts, books passed on or the innumerable notes serving double duty as book marks.  She was a prolific note card and post card writer and I am pleased that we have kept some of her jottings. 

We are well and truly in Holy Week.  No tomb garden this year but I am hoping to organise an Easter egg hunt for the kids after church on Sunday.

Hoping to pop by soon and also catch up with you all x 

Art and Cooking

In addition to the usual round of daily tasks, both kids had fun in the kitchen.  Benedict made some yummy Glamorgan sausages with salad for lunch and Pip made healthy nut and banana flapjack for after tea:

 Lovely Lunch

 Mixing

 Finished Product

Pip also  enjoyed her impromptu art session this morning.  We used the Usborne art skills book as our guide, the instructions were clear and concise and each project page contained a list of necessary art supplies:

Drawing the outline

 Adding the paint one block at a time

 Pip's finished picture on the top and the book illustration underneath

 Ta-Dah!