Following on ....

OH's health is improving beyond any hope we could have had after a terrible start to 2015 and mine has seen an improvement as well.  Back in April 2014 my besties decided to form a weightloss group.  Each chose to follow one diet plan or other but would report in once a week following their weigh in.  As every one of the group of friends was doing it I decided to join them but not with any real expectations.  I'd never dieted in my life and was convinced I'd not shift any weight.  I was just over the 30 BMI so technically obese.  I decided I wasn't spending out on joining any weight loss club and would just be more careful what I ate, both in the type of food and the quantity, and try to increase my activity level.  Increasing my activity levels hasn't been too hard ... with decluttering, reorganising and running around while OH was in the hospice I didn't really have time to sit down much.  Anyway, much to my amazement I started to lose weight and, to date, I've lost just under 3 stone.  It's slow and steady and sometimes it plateaus but I'm now back into the 'healthy' BMI range.  I'm not quite where I'd like to be but if I don't go any lower I'm happy.

This year's annual medical MOT has shown that I am no longer borderline diabetic (after 5 years of being so) and my lung function is the best it's been since I was diagnosed with COPD back in 2007.  It's still not good but any improvement is better than none.  Considering it's a progressive disease, improving that function can only be everything good as it will delay the progression for a while longer.  I feel better, healthier and fitter than I've done for a good while. I'm hoping that by mid 2016 I will have reached where I'd like to be with my weight and, hopefully see a further improvement in my overall health.  Keeping everything crossed *wink*

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It's about time ...

... I showed the blog I've not forgotten it - oops!  November 2014, the last post.  That's over a year ago.  The longest I've ever gone without posting.  It's been a bit of an eventful time, starting not long after my last post.  It went from bad, to worse to even worser (???) and has ended up pretty good .... following what was, some would say, a miracle.

OH's health took a major turn for the worse before Christmas last year with fluid retention, requiring hospitalisation over the Christmas period.  Unfortunately it didn't resolve anything and his health just got worse.  He was on the fast train outta here!   In April a District Nurse called who finally listened to us, our concerns and what we thought the problem was.  Within a week, after she'd listened, OH was taken into the local hospice where he stayed for 3 months.  In all honesty, there was nobody who thought he'd be coming out alive when he went in.  He was that ill.  Over time he ballooned, literally, and put on 5 stone in weight. It was all fluid.  It affected his whole body - arms, face, legs, stomach.  Nowhere was immune from it.  The medics at the Hospice were like dogs with bones.  They weren't letting him out of there without getting to the bottom of the problem, one way or another.  Eventually one doctor asked more in depth questions of the results from tests done over the Christmas period and discovered what the problem was.  Targetted treatment started and results were soon obvious.  In July OH came home.  His weight was dropping rapidly as the fluid disappeared and he's now 2 stone lighter than he was before the fluid came in ... and gradually losing more ... so his 'fat' weight is going now.  The fluid has all gone :)  Since June, when he was at his heaviest, he's lost 7 stone in weight - fluid and fat.

If that's not enough 'pretty good' .... rewind to July, when OH came out of the hospice.  He found it difficult to settle at night.   Third night home and he spent it in the living room.  In the morning he said he had something to show me and wiggled his toes.  For around 25 years OH has had no voluntary movement in his legs.  He's had muscle spasms but he's had no movement he's been able to control. He'd had a massive pain overnight that he thinks 'knocked him out'. When he came to he had some sensation in his legs and he could wiggle his toes.  By the end of the week he could do leg raises and this .......

He still can't walk unaided, and is never likely to.  He still relies on his wheelchair except for the very shortest of distances, but even this small improvement is massive.  On top of all this the oncologist is satisfied that his cancer is controlled and no longer needs to see him unless OH wants to.  He's had a cataract op within the last 2 weeks so is in the process of getting his sight back clear enough to drive again (he stopped driving sometime last year) and we can finally see him getting his life back come the spring of 2016.  It's been a long time coming.  

As I said at the start of this post ...an eventful year, from bad to worse and a rapid improvement - and the improvement is not just OH's domain *grin*

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Nothing of ...

... note this week *sad*  It's not that there's nothing happening.  Just nothing much worth mentioning.

Car was collected for repair on Wednesday and returned, all done, on Friday.

Had a bit of a scare with OH as he'd started getting a lot of pain from his left elbow, the replacement joint.  Got him to get in touch with the consultant surgeon who asked for him to have an xray so off we went on Thursday for that.  Friday we were told that the results were clear and that he was likely suffering from soft tissue irritation.  Relief, or what???  Anyway, I'd been getting him to rest it as much as possible and since the xray it's actually been getting easier.  It's so scary when he has problems like this as it's his mobility at stake.  Most of us would cope with an arm out of action.  It would be difficult but not impossible. With him, it's more than difficult - it becomes impossible.   Anyway, scare over and he'll just have to make sure he doesn't overuse it for a while.

In the meantime I'm trying to reclaim the bedroom.  Part of it became a storeroom some time ago and the cupboard/dresser tops became shelves for boxes that had 'stuff' in when we were having the living room renovated.  I want a proper bedroom back!  Living room is done, kitchen is done and now I want the bedroom .... done!  I've got a new fitment for OHs wardrobe to make things easier for him but don't want to put it in until I've sorted everything else out.  It's half done ... and a few thousand dust bunnies made homeless (I kid you not!) and hoping this coming week will see it finished.  I can then get on with the rest of the house and I can sort of see a very faint glimmer of a possibility that I may actually get my craft room next year ...... Now how long ago were those cupboards put in with that in mind???

I've done no crafting, other than putting most of 2 cards together from the Christmas workshop - not completely together so nothing to show yet *oops!*  I think I will put a day aside for them otherwise they'll never get done.

No photos - unless I go back over blog to see if there's any historic 'catch ups' I could do.  I'm sure there must be seeing as I barely blogged at all last year ..... maybe too late.  We'll see, but none for this post!

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So it wasn't ...

... ready, that is, for last Monday posting and not sure it really is for this but hey, some is so I'll go with that *grin*

On the 4th November I made another trip to London to see the poppies.  I wanted to see them as finished as possible without too many crowds on the final weekend .... right, got that wrong but guess was always going to!  Anyways, I decided to take the train to London Bridge station and walk along the river from there.  I had contemplated taking a trip to see the view from the Shard as well and, when I realised that it was right outside - well, attached to - the station I thought it an opportunity too good to miss so, up I went!  This trip I was lucky with the weather early on however, it was not so good for photographs (OK, no pleasing me) as the sun was so bright.  The photos facing north were fine, impossible facing south.  A bit of cloud cover would have been good *wink*

Note the red of the poppies

St Paul's Cathedral

London Eye, Houses of Parliament & Big Ben, Buck House.

Should warn, before going further - this is going to be photo heavy *wink* (click on them to get a better view)

Have to say the views were amazing, even if the southern ones weren't at all clear and I didn't bother trying to photograph them.

From the Shard a leisurely stroll along the river, over Tower Bridge to the Tower ... and those poppies.  

HMS Belfast

Tower of London

The Shard

Tower of London & Tower Bridge

Could really have done without the crowds.  This visit there were barricades, some of which stopped me going where I went before so couldn't get comparison photos, hoardings stopping the view from the street and marshalls controlling where you could enter and exit.  You couldn't access from just anywhere like you could when I went before (posted HERE for comparisons).  

This was actually pretty amazing!  The whole of this southern moat of  'field' of poppies were shimmering gold.  I should have video'd it but was trying to capture the effect in a still and took quite a few trying to get it.  It was only after I'd got home I thought about the video option - too late!  What was happening was that the sun was shining directly onto the poppies giving them a golden hue and the crowds were putting them into shadow.   As people moved around the shadow was moving and giving the effect of a golden shimmer.  It was mesmerising and I soooo regret not thinking about video.  OH saw the photos and made comment of 'hearts of gold'.  Very apt considering what they're there for .....

Traitor's Gate

My aim to visit inside the actual Tower went out of the window as it took all afternoon to get round to see the full extent of the poppies.  By the time I'd done that and stopped for a meal there was no time left to do a tour of the Tower justice.  I left the restaurant and it had started to rain.  It rained heavily.  Light was fading.  I wanted some evening/night photographs so I got wet and hoped for the best *LOL*

From part way across Tower Bridge

I'm glad I went again.  Just one small patch of green was left to fill.  Areas that were just 2 rows of poppies when I went before were full.  The last poppy was 'planted' at 11am on 11th November.  On 12th November volunteers started pulling them up.  By the end of next week there'll be none left. My poppy should be with me sometime in January.

Since then hubby has had his nuclear bone scan, results will be had in a week or so.  Saturday was a full day Christmas workshop held by Clair.  I spent the day prepping the 9 cards on offer.  Not one made, that is still to do, but it was a much more relaxing day than the previous all day workshops I've been to.  Think I've sussed it now ;)  Actually had time to sit back and chat, which was good.  Will do all future ones the same way, methinks *wink*   Photos will follow on that one when I've got some of the cards made.

Oh, and I damaged my car.  Got the angle wrong coming into our driveway and scraped it down the coping stone of our wall.  It's going to the body shop on Wednesday!

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Thought I'd ...

... posted on Monday but seems not!  There's nothing on blog and nothing in drafts so must have dreamt it *grin*  There's been a bit going on but will post as if it were last Monday ...

The finishing touch was made to the kitchen deep clean.   We had a professional oven cleaner in and have to say, it was worth every penny!   We'd been waiting for a Groupon deal but gave up and booked a local guy.  As it happens, a Groupon deal arrived a few days later and, it was only £5 cheaper so we wouldn't have saved much by waiting.  We're loving our spice and herb drawer ... and our new cupboard internals.  There's even an outside chance I may actually start to enjoy cooking as life is so much easier now but I don't want to overdo it - ROFL!  Have some before's and after's ...

We shall be using a professional on a regular basis methinks.  No nasty fumes, not a chemical in sight, although the chrome bits were taken out to the van and put in a bath of something so that could have been chemical but no smell when they came back and oven was immediately usable.

I finished scanning the old black and white photos of Mum's and got the disc done for my brother.  He received it and said he was glad he was alone when he looked at it.  He thinks he finally released his grief and said he really misses them.  Without wanting to sound too harsh (right!) he might have thought about all that while they were still alive and visited them a bit more often, other than the obligatory couple of hours, a couple of times a year.  He didn't see Dad at all while he was in hospital, where he died after being in there for over a month.  I think the 'grief' may be more 'guilt'!  Regrets?  I think he's got more than a few and if he hasn't, he should have!

On the family research side I finally found out what my sister died of.  I never knew her.  She died, aged 6 months, before I was born. Mum always said that she had been force fed and it had killed her.  Obviously there was more to it than that.  She died from gastritus and pyelitis.  Today she would probably have lived.  Sheds more light, perhaps, on why Mum was the person she was.

Circa 1956

Moving on .... Thursday and eldest grandchild was 23.  A Halloween baby and he loved his card.  Think it might have been a touch front heavy though as he said it kept 'sinking' (a tent fold) - oops!  I posted the card on blog here - the googly eyed bats *grin*

Thursday was also the last fortnightly card workshop of the year (there's an all day Christmas one in the near future though) and Clair came up with a beauty.  This is the 2nd time that we've used this stamp and die set and I fell in love this time.  Shame I couldn't make the 'false' tails of the bow actually match with the bow but hey, have to make a c*** up somewhere on a card.  One day I might actually do one that's perfect - ROFL!

Stampin' Up Apothecary Art stamp set and Labels Collection Framelit dies. SU butterfles stamp and punch.  Prismacolor pencils for colour  and flower sprays found in a charity shop - from Clair's stash.  Not sure what the ribbon is but it works *wink*

This last week has been quite busy but will post about that when I'm supposed to ... Monday!  Always assuming that what I'm preparing is ready, of course.

October is now done, clocks have gone back, nights draw in at some stupidly early time and even earlier if it's been a dull day.  Winter is fast approaching, breakfast with Santa on Christmas Eve has been booked and it's all downhill from now.  I don't like Winter!

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Nothing to ...

... post about this week. Not of any worth anyway and no pictures of worth either!  We're on the downward slope to winter with a vengeance now.  It's been wet, miserable and cold and worse ... the clocks went back this weekend just gone so it's dark VERY early - so depressing.

I've finished the kitchen at last and a professional oven cleaner is coming on Wednesday to deal with that for us.  I can't use chemicals (fumes affect my breathing badly) and hubby finds it difficult from his wheelchair because of the drop down door.  Need to get one of those 'slide and hide' doors. Perhaps the next oven we have - lol!  The only thing remotely close to crafting was designing and printing labels for the new spice and herb jars - oh, and scanning and sorting old black and white photos from the tiny collection Mum deigned to save.  Yep, for those that have followed from the beginning in 2008 - the lack of photos I found still bugs me 6½ years on! .  Normal exercise class on Tuesday and all boring household stuff - sigh.  I'll have to find some photos of previous stuff I've not posted about ..... or shall I show a few of the oldies???  Decisions, decisions.

Here's a pic of my newly organised herbs and spices - ROFL!

Here's an oldie .... Mum, Dad and me circa 1953-ish

.... and here's what I was doing Saturday evening *grin*

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