The Simple Woman's Daybook - February Edition

I enjoy taking part in the Daybook posts.  My religious views are completely different to most of the participants (for which I make no apology - each to their own), but I do enjoy the simple, homely and wholesome blog-prompting element of it.  Particularly for the times that I have brain fog and want to blog but have no clue as to what to post! 

To see other participants' entries, go HERE  

So, "FOR TODAY"

Outside my window... It's dark now at just a little after 8pm here in the UK.  It's getting cold too and I think I need to seek out my fleecy blanket to cuddle up in.  I'm 92 yer know! 

I am thinking... that a cup of hot choccie may be in order very shortly.

I am thankful... that for the most part, I am at last pain free.  Its only taken six months!  

In the kitchen... well its finished!  The skirting board is up.  A new blind and light fittings have been purchased and I'm still revelling in the extra space we have.  I still have to sell our fridge freezer though which is sitting in the corner of the room taking up space.  We've bought a new, smaller one which now fits in the cleared out pantry with the plan that without the fridge freezer in the kitchen, it will free up space so that we can have a table and chairs in there.  I need to start advertising!

I am wearing... A purple (get me!) top, black skirt, black tights and my favourite comfy black knee boots.

I am creating... Not much at the moment and that is driving me mad!  My craft shed is full of clutter and things set aside for charity shops and I can't bliddy well get in there! 

I am going... to have a giant declutter over the course of the next few days!

I am reading... right now - nothing, having just finished The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul.  This is the first book I've actually finished in months and months.  Am proud!!   It was a light, undemanding read which is the only sort of book my simple scarecrow brain can cope with!

I am looking forward to... catching up with friends I haven't seen in a while this weekend.

I am learning... that if you don't ask, then you don't get.  Remember me ranting about work and how unfair and divisive 'they who (allegedly) must be obeyed' were?  Well, over Christmas I did some hard thinking whilst I was recovering from my op.  Things had happened in my old department which I was furious about and the more I thought about them the more I got wound up.  Life is too damned short to be feeling like that about somewhere you have to spend the majority of your life.  I asked for a department transfer back to my lovely old department where I had worked for about 13 years, prior to moving three years ago.  To my delight it was accepted and I didn't have to go back to the dark and gloomy department when I returned to work.  The work I'm doing now in the clinical negligence department is so much more interesting (although harrowing at times) and, as a bonus, I don't feel like I'm a bottle of fizzy pop about to explode all the time!  I know that if I'd have returned, then the situation would have escalated, I'd have run my gob off at the powers that be and would have lost my job.  Thank goodness that I 'asked' eh?!   

Around the house... Aw its cosy cosy!  The lamps are on.  Red curtains and cushions bring more warmth to the room.  The candles are lit.  A furry hearthrug is making short work of a huge chewy whilst keeping an eye on the football on the tv.   Man is asleep before his nightshift begins at 11.  KTT is upstairs learning the theme tune to Friends on his guitar!  Its just ours and I love it.  

One of my favorite things... coming home from work.  As much as I enjoy my job now (blimey listen to me - that feeling has been a loooong time returning!) I just adore stepping through the front door into our sanctuary, being greeted by an over-enthusiastic ball of fur who obviously hasn't seen me for WEEKS, welcome home cuddles from the man, a barrage of chatter from the Diva about her escapades during the day, and (eventually when he deems it necessary to emerge from his bedroom) being grunted at by Kevin the Teenager.

A few plans for the rest of the week:  drinks with a work colleague tomorrow evening, shopping on Saturday morning, catching up with my bestie on Saturday afternoon, a training session at Samaritans on Sunday, MAJOR sorting out of the shed on Monday (no work for two days - yay!), and hairdressers and meeting up with a friend for coffee on Tuesday.  Phew! 

A peek into my day... he's been watching the football like this now for the last 20 minutes!! Barmy animal!

A Little Lighter

The nights sure are drawing out a little. This was taken at around five fifteen this evening on my walk down to the bus stop from work.  Quite a serene scene after the gale force winds and driving rain of late. 

Nan's 'treasures'

Once again thank you all for your very kind comments.  I feel blessed that you take time from your schedules to read and comment on my blog.  You're all wondrous beings!

A few weeks ago, I spent the evening with my dear ole Mum.  We had a great time looking through some old boxes of papers and items salvaged from my Nan's house when we cleared it.   Poor Mum.  She's had a real rough time of it lately.  My brother has been going through an extremely messy divorce and has had to take some tough decisions, I have experienced my bout of ill health, and, whilst I was in hospital her beloved dog became very ill and had to be put down last Wednesday leaving her devastated.  It has been a very trying time for her and, as she worries for England even when there is nothing to worry about, you can imagine how difficult this last few months have been for her.   Love you Mum - hopefully these next few months will bring less trying times for us all now.

But I digress..... back to the subject in hand.

Nan wasn't a hoarder as such, but she loved to keep mementos of things dear to her.  We rifled through her Father's (my great grandad's) discharge papers, birth and marriage certificates from ancestors who have long departed, a lined exercise book filled with neatly copied favourite poetry which begins as very precise and neatly scribed handwriting and, rather poignantly, ends with the spidery faint scrawl of an elderly hand.

I was fascinated by these postcards which were sent by the Salvation Army to my Mum for her early birthdays.  The colours are still very strong some 70 years later.

Such a sweet little face!

Shaped ones too! 

Bizarrely - an unopened packet of my Grandpa's Woodbines!  The last packet purchased before he passed away some 30 odd years ago!

I remember seeing the little horse from the pattern made up out of scrap fabric many years ago.  I wonder what happened to him?!  The pattern pieces are all still intact, neatly folded inside the envelope.

This old shopping receipt is great!  Look at how much you got for your money in 1928!  Butter, belly draft, cheese, sugar, tea, Rinso!

'Blue' for the washing, 'Lead' for the grate.
2oz of Pepper!

And note the foot note at the bottom of the bill!

Check out these old silk handkerchiefs.  

I doubt that she ever blew her nose on Queen Liz!

I remember this one being safety pinned around her purse - for what reason I shall never know!

There were lots more 'treasures' in the box - I'll try to post more soon! 

A little light ...

Hello everyone. 

Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm out of hospital now and recovering at home. 

As you will know I didn't have much respite from pain despite having had my gall bladder out in December. I had pain almost daily since then which really did not abate despite me eating next to nothing apart from freshly made soup and bread.  After nearly collapsing on the Monday night having endured a full day at work in debilitating pain, I presented myself to A & E a sobbing mess and completely out of control. I was promptly admitted, placed on IV fluids, catheterised, put on IV pain relief including morphine, scanned, endoscoped and given IV antibiotics. Goodness me I was a mess. 

It appears that a gall stone had become embedded in my bile duct and had caused a huge infection. It had passed through and left my bile duct ragged and infected which was where all the pain was coming from. I think as all the focus was on removing my gall bladder the stray stone was missed and instead of a steady recovery post operation I was still experiencing all the pain of the infection but just assuming, and reassured by medics, that it was just my body settling down after the op. Apparently not then!

So I hope you will excuse my blogging holiday as, as you can imagine, I have been rather distracted these past few months. 

Hopefully I'm now on the road to recovery (although I'm not speaking too loudly!). It's good to be able to eat relatively normally, particularly after becoming quite phobic about eating anything at all. Resultant weight loss is now totalling 45lbs. Probably the only good thing to come out of the whole process!!

I returned home after my eight day sojourn to this lovely sight!  All my spring bulbs coming into flower!  A little light in the darkness. 

Love to you xx

AWOL

Sorry for my continued absence.  This has been my enforced vista for the last week.  The end result of weeks and weeks of mounting pain which finally broke the banks last Monday.   I will be back. I will. I will.  Love and light. Xx