SORRY.....

I have been so busy getting Fiona into college that I just haven't seemed to have the time for anything else.
BUT she is in and is going to do ART, PHOTOGRAPHY and ENGLISH LITERATURE A levels.
Thank goodness that is over for 2 years, however the stress will begin again when she applies to University!
And it doesn't end there.....we are still waiting on news of Ariel and her course in Syria.
I think the stress of it all has got to me because I am in agony at the moment, I will have to go back to the doctor for a re-assessment.
I am very grateful that Fiona is settled because I can get back to sorting out the house, very slowly of course.

FIONA AT THE EISTEDDFOD




I haven't been able to sleep due to pain so I have been on Youtube playing all my favourite videos and I am sorry but here it is again Dean and Sam and Indiana wants me.Perfect combination.


I love the music of R Dean Taylor,my first album was an R Dean Taylor

GARDEN PARTY!

I have had the most exhausting weekend that you can imagine followed by the best day ever.
I was so tired and in so much pain over the weekend that I spent almost all the time in bed just resting and I didn't even have the energy to read. But yesterday as a result of 2 days of rest I felt really good. Whilst I still spent half of the day sitting down,I managed to catch upon the washing,cleaned the lounge and the bathroom in between my many sit down breaks!
PLUS.....I managed hourly toilet training with Beauty which showed a small amount of success.
Today I am hoping for a similar amount of success, with feeling better AND toilet training!

On Saturday night and Sunday night,due to the fact that I had been resting all day,I only slept part of the night and for the rest of the night I was convinced that my back garden was inundated by visitors and no I wasn't having hallucinations!
I have a number of gnomes in my garden which Beauty loves and one of them has a sensor which produces a wolf whistle every time somebody walks past him. And that particular gnome was whistling all night!
My garden is built in such a way that the only real entry is through the gate and that makes a hideous screeching noise when opened so I knew nobody had entered the garden.
So what could it have been?
I spent my wakeful time convinced that my garden was inundated by wild animals ie cats,rats or foxes
Or even the gnomes and SnoWhite and the other garden ornaments were partying!
But no.....
Yesterday I went to see what had been going on and found the answer.....it had been very windy during the night and the old piggy hutch door had been blowing open and shut in front of the gnome all night,setting off the sensor!
Well duh!

B IS FOR BUTTERFLY.

Today I received my exam results and I am very unhappy.
I had an A for my TREE OF LIGHT PROJECT

A

TREE OF LIGHT

C for my TRUE LOVES FIRST KISS PROJECT

C
TRUE LOVES FIRST KISS

And for my exam piece I had a B.
Which means I got a B over all and I really wanted an A.
Yes there were a few tears but I recovered very quickly.
Definitely time for a hug.
I really think that the piece TRUE LOVES FIRST KISS should be marked again as a huge amount of work went into it.
I am of course happy with the TREE OF LIFE MARK .
I wasn't too happy with my exam piece so B is good.
It is just the TRUE LOVES FIRST KISS mark that I am 'fished' off about.
I can definitely see an appeal on the horizon.

AND AS FOR SEPTEMBER?
Whether I appeal or not I think I will be doing AS and A2 ART.
Like I said .....I really want an A.

I AM SUCH A COWARD!

Today are the exam results!
And I would happily leave them there.
I am such a wimp.

Yesterday I went to a Water Aerobics class at the leisure centre and today my body feels all frozen up.Even with the buoyancy of the water,I lasted less than 5 minutes into the class before my body started to slow down and at the 20 minute stage I was almost at a stand still.
And now, every muscle,joint,bone, piece 0f skin.....everywhere in fact,even my eyes, are in pain and screaming and complaining like a 7 year old when the computer will not work!
And I am on a diet so no cake to comfort me.

Photographs of Tuesdays trip on the BALMORAL

YO HO AHOY!

PENARTH PIER
DEPARTURE POINT

THE BALMORAL

BEAUTY LOOKING AT FLATHOLM

WATCHING THE WAVES


WIND TURBINE
BRISTOL



ME



GOING UNDER CLIFTON SUSPENSION BRIDGE




PASSING THE MATTHEW



BEAUTY

ME

WE ARE GOING ON A TRIP.....

BUT NOT IN A ROCKET SHIP!
We are going on a cruise on the Balmoral to Clevedon!
With the weather forecast of rain,rain and more rain it looks as if it will be a fun day.
Be prepared for rainy pictures later!

I SAW THE SUN!

A watery sun and for only a few moments but I definitely saw the sun.
Beauty awoke very early this morning, it was still dark but she stayed in bed until it was light and for that I am grateful. But first thing this morning there was definitely some watery sunshine.
Perhaps some more sunshine later on.....we can but hope.

Today I took Beauty for a ride in the car to the Bay and we stopped at IKEA to get Beauty her favorite.....ice cream! We only went to the Bistro but it certainly had to be one of our most eventful trips to IKEA! I entered the shop doors to a near constant high pitched screaming, a child had trapped their fingers in the moving handrail of the escalator.
There was blood everywhere.
Thinking about the situation I feel quite guilty really as on at least 2 occasions I have caught my fingers on the same rail and it was really painful and the reason why I didn't report it was because I thought the shop wouldn't take me seriously and they would think it was my own fault.
A few months ago we used a disability trolley in ASDA Pontprennau and the handle of the trolley came off and so I reported it to customer services and as I left the shop I saw the staff return the trolley to the trolley area. I reported the trolley twice more and now it stands in the trolley area MINUS a handle! This is how much ASDA Pontprennau cares about the health and safety of their customers.

Today I encountered A Yummy Mummy and I had the sincere desire to knock her out!
She and her bratty children needed a dose of Super Nanny.
Her way of dealing with her children reminded me of the Doctor Spock devotees of the 70's and
80's.I once knew a mother who believed that the works of Doctor Spock were the only way to bring up your children, instead of telling her children off when they were naughty she would 'divert their energies' into something else. Two of her children ended up using drugs and one resorted to serious crime to feed his habit.
Yummy Mummy's overly loud, whining daughter drove me to distraction with her constant questioning of WHY WAS THE QUEUE SO LONG.
Her son swinging constantly on the queue barriers and tipping the barriers over and Yummy Mummy telling the daughter to leave the son alone and let him play!
And Yummy Mummy seemingly unaware of the danger her son was to himself and other customers.
It was this unawareness that 'fished' me off most.
AND yes I have been there when your children drive you to distraction and you let them do almost anything so they will give you a break BUT it wasn't anything like that.
Yummy Mummy was blithely unaware and appeared perfectly in tune with the universe.
This all happened in the Bistro queue in IKEA and SnoWhite who works there has recounted many tales of the 'Yummy Mummy' and their children and how they behave and I now believe every word of the stories she comes home with about their obnoxious behavior.
Amongst many punters who use the IKEA food facilities there seems to be the impression that those who work there are stupid people and are there to be verbally abused.
From what I know though,many of the workers are doing A Levels, are in college or are in university and even so, working full time in the catering industry is nothing to be ashamed of.
We live in an age where manual work is more and more despised and not treated with respect.
I may be a qualified nurse and teacher but over the years I have worked as a cook,waitress,dish washer, cleaner, housekeeper,nanny and various forms of shop work and I am very proud to have done these things.
All my girls have worked part time whilst they have studied and because of this they were able to buy things and do things and go places that they wouldn't otherwise been able to.

Now that was good BLOG RANT.....I haven't done that in ages.
Almost as good as a bowl of strawberry Ice Cream!

NOW THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE!

Yesterday I felt grumpy and grotty and just plain 'fished' off and I just couldn't figure out why.
Being a nurse,everything had to be analyzed,so I decided int the end that I was just feeling a little depressed.It could have been depression associated to the fibromyalgia and the arthritis pain BUT NO. I woke up this morning with a slight sore throat. A mild infection, nothing interesting after all.
However,I hated having the feelings that I was having so I decided to do something about it!
Believing I was just feeling a little depressed and I know I swore I would NEVER,EVER, do it again.....I painted my living room! I thought,if I do this then I will feel like I had achieved something and it would make me feel better.And it did!
And the rather large bowl of strawberry ice cream also helped!
It may sound like a huge undertaking to paint a lounge but it is was not a very large job really.
When we moved into the house the lounge was twice the size but when Beauty started to grow and we knew she had problems, I had the 2 rooms separated by wooden doors so she could be better contained in one room. So one wall has double wooden doors, another has a front garden door , another has the entrance to the room door and finally one full wall,so not that much of an undertaking really! Anyway, I managed to watch NCSI at the same time so it was quite a productive evening really.
Oh and I forgot to mention, when we moved in the lounge was covered in the most hideous wall paper and so we removed it to find that the walls were not too fantastic so I painted it with artex paint and no matter how many people hate the stuff,it can be a godsend as it is really easy to maintain when you are doing the work on your own.
I think that I should start an Artex Appreciation society on facebook!
Just kidding!
So this morning I cleaned the room and put everything back and now I have a spring cleaned room.
I was intending to paint my porch but I couldn't watch TV at the same time!
Next on my TO-DO-LIST then.


An old picture of the walls in my lounge(and beautiful SnoWhite of course).
I think the walls look fine.
And the moral of the story.....painting a wall and eating ice cream could be more beneficial than therapy!

PIMP MY ZIMMER!

Yes, I have seriously considered a zimmer.....mostly for getting out of chairs without ending up on the floor!
I know, hardly very sexy but what the heck.
But I would definitely have to GOK it before I could use it,even for using around the house.
Plenty of flowers,ribbon and glitter in true GOK style I think.
Any suggestions for GOKING!


What do you think of this picture?
I think it is stunning
If Gok were to transform a scooter it would definitely be like this.

FAT BUT GETTING THINNER!

I HAVE LOST 2 LBS THIS WEEK.
I am so happy.
Healthy eating I'm afraid, I wish that I could say that it was exercise as well.

I went to visit a friend this afternoon and I have to say that the police are as crazy there as they are where I live!
6 cars and vans full of police showed up outside of her house,got out, looked around, chatted and then after approximately 25 minutes they just LEFT!
Now what was that all about?
They should have knocked on the door and asked if they could come in for a cup of tea.

I was talking to an old friend of mine today and I was talking over many of the things that have happened to me in my life and I realised what strong coping mechanisms I have.
I have previously thought about doing a counseling course and then again this afternoon my other friend talked about doing the same course that I had thought about doing.
I think that perhaps I should give working in this area some consideration.

A few weeks ago I surprised myself by crying over the death of my husband,it surprised me because it was a number of years ago now but I think that what upset me most was thinking about what he had lost, all those extra years living and being with his daughter.
Until I had losses in my own life,child, husband, parents ,I don't think I realised how painful and different for everyone grief and loss is. Who would have thought that I could have got upset now after so long.
But I think it was normal and right.
My mother also lost her first child and I always had the suspicion that she never stopped grieving.
When I was much younger, in my early 20's , I needed someone to talk to so badly I thought I would burst because there was no one there for me.
All I needed was someone to listen,I didn't need advice or anything, I can really see how counseling is helpful.
Definitely something to think about.

Positive news on the fibromyalgia front.
I may be heading for a respite, the first day in ages I haven't felt the desire or need to pass out on the sofa late afternoon.
Even if it only lasts a few days the break will be nice.

YOU CAN ONLY HAVE SO MUCH FUN IN ONE DAY..........

WITH IT BEING LEGAL AND FREE!
Today I spent the morning cleaning out the piggy and bunny hutches and also giving them baths.
The animals are pretty 'fished' off with me for washing them but they now are clean and smell sweet and for the zillion th time NO I DID NOT USE HUGO BOSS SHOWER GEL!
AS IF!
And this afternoon I managed to sort out some of the back garden.
AND then passed out exhausted.
So a fun day was had by all.

Summer rain (haiku)

Torrent of water
drenches the sun
summer rain

Will the rain never end?

WHERE HAVE I BEEN?

ON HOLIDAY............I WISH!

BEING PAMPERED AT A HEALTH SPA..........IN MY DREAMS!

CHILLING WITH GEORGE CLOONEY..........NOT IN MY WILDEST DREAMS!

Something so much more mundane and boring and tiring.
I have been helping to transform Pianoman's house.
We moved his mother's bedroom downstairs because the stairs were getting difficult for her to manage BUT to do it we had to move Pianoman's study to the front room so his mother could have the middle room. And to do that we had to gut and decorate both rooms and YES it was a nightmare and Fiona, SnoWhite and Ariel did most of the work but I still feel absolutely cream crackered.My hands feel as swollen as monkey paws and my back and hips have definitely packed up and gone on holiday without me and left mush in their place!
AND that is just the start of it..........
We also have to do his bedroom, hall, landing and stairs and kitchen.
In the words of the great Kim and Aggie

'YOU DIRTY BEGGAR'