Have blown off the cobwebs

At last I have found my log in details for this site.  Luckily I had a link to here from my Wordpress otherwise it would have just disappeared into the murky depths of '' I wonder what happened to that' and mingling with odd socks and lost keys and all that change down the back of the sofa.
Cannot promise to be here much because it's easier to use WordPress as it has an app but Blogger has not so it means a tarradiddle signing on everytime I want a peek.  Plus the page print is tiny as are all the editing symbols because it shows as it would on a pc, so a bit tiresome.
Anyway, for all you lingerers on here that have not completely given up I hope I find you well, alive and kicking.
With so much social media options about now we are spoilt for choice and all drifted our separate paths.  I am so lucky to have reconnected with most of you on Facebook but it's just not the same as a good old natter and comfiness of a blog is it.
Not sure how I will use this blog yet. Don't really want to be repeating myself from the Wordpress one. The lure of the WP one is that it has all my history on it like a diary from day one of this venture into blogging so I don't really want to lose that, whereas this one is newer and not as easy for me to use.
We'll see how it goes, watch this space 😉

Hello old friends

I would like to blog here again but unfortunately it's easier on Wordpress so that's where I've been. I'm sure there is a link to my site there on here somewhere. 

Here is another 

http://curiosityabounds.wordpress.com/2014/07/14/i-am-far-from-patient/

Trying other hobbies.

With many a dismal winter of bad weather what with rain, wind, floods and dull dark days I have been indulging my spare time with my hobbies. The dollhouse got a makeover and was re- wired with lights and redecorated entirely, still a work in progress and I may blog the end result when it’s done.
I’d been making clay model animals for the dollhouse but wanted something a bit softer and realistic to use. Thats when I discovered Needle Felting. A couple of ‘How to’ YouTube videos and a trip to craft shop for necessary materials and tools and I was ready to give it a go.
It is quite fiddly, more so because I make such tiny models and patience aplenty required, no good rushing.
Here are a few of the steps to the finished article.
A wire frame is covered with wool roving and layers are added. It is secured by being stabbed with a many barbed needle that binds the fibres together. The more an area is needled the more compacted it gets. Shaping the piece is rather like sculpting.

The sleeping dog my 3rd attempt, is my daughters dog Winston, he is always asleep. My last needle broke so he is not quite finished yet.
The Jack Russell my 2nd attempt, is Jack, my parents dog.
Here they all are living it up in the dollhouse lounge with the collie, first ever attempt, and a couple of the clay cats.

Has it really been that long!

Goodness, I had nor realised how long ago I last blogged.
I have resolved to do so more often and wean myself from facebook a bit. I have just blogged on Wordpress ( there is a link to it on my page here somewhere) and until I have worked out all the bells and whistles again that is where I shall focus on. Its just a case of finding how to share etc from my iphone rather than use the ever failing pc.
I promise to give my blogs more attention from now on 😉

A coincidence or helping hand?

 

Oh deary deary deary! The scene set on Sunday.

A spur of the moment call to mum and dad, are you up for a visit today? Yes that would be perfect.

Arrived to find Karen, Ava and Owen already there for quick half hour visit. The purpose of which was to impress Great Grandad with Owens outstanding (still to be confirmed) skills on his new trumpet for the school band. Alas the trumpet had been forgotten to be put in car and was still sitting on table at their house.

All hushed whispers and giggles between them all. Aha! thought I, something is afoot. "Go on then, tell her".....

….The children all excited inform me that "Grandmum, Nanna and Grandad are getting a dog today."

"Yeah that'd be right" says I with a feeling of uncertainty seeing as they had all just had a raucous time laughing at me because I was impressed with budgie Bluey and his new birdsong which turned out to be his new toy that had a recording of said birdsong that played when the plastic lifesize budgie was moved. Well it fooled me!

……anyway....off went Karen and Co to take Owen to football.

"Are you really getting a dog?" I asked, warily for fear of getting my leg pulled again.

"Well, its all dads idea. He wants one and I told him it is up to him to take care of the thing. It is coming from  a dog sanctuary. They are bringing him at five this afternoon. All we know is he is a Jack Russell about 2 1/2 years old and was taken from a police dog pound by an elderly lady who finds him too much. We do not even know what he looks like."

All afternoon after a lovely roast chicken dinner it was 'only two hours to wait' 'only one hour to wait' 'wonder what he will look like' ' he'll be here in a minute'.......oooooohhhhh here they are!!!!

Dad of course is first out the door to greet him. Mum looks out of window and an instant cloud of lovehearts and bluebirds fly above her head. She gushes "He is lovely, oh look at him, he is gorgeous". All apprehension evaporated. How she transported herself to that front door from the window in a flash is beyond me.

In scampers Jack (formerly known as Jacky), all white with little tan patches over ears and eyes, completely nonplussed and soon investigating every nook and cranny indoors and outdoors. A slight worry when he refused to leave Bluey alone. For a fleeting moment it was touch and go as to if he would stay or not as Bluey is very loved and cherished and briefly was first priority but that soon changed as Jack endeared himself with each passing minute.

Jack has a lovely temperament, he loves sitting on laps, he asks to go out, he is well mannered and gentle. He formed an instant bond with dad and stands by the door waiting for dad to come back in the room.

I spoke to mum on the phone this morning and she is besotted with him, as is dad.

Jack slept soundly on their bed and when out he walks well enough on the lead and pays no attention to other dogs.

Bluey is relegated to the breakfast room and cage hung high up from ceiling.

The difference in Mum and her lifted spirits is amazing. She and dad both agree that the sadness and lacklustre they have had these last couple of years has partly been because of the gaping hole left by dear Sam the last Jack Russell they had. Mum says the house feels right again with little stocky Jack ensconcing his four little paddy paws under the table.

So there you have it. Another family member.

.......the coincidence or helping hand...............The sanctuary is called Green Wicket...........the very green wicket gate that animals enter heaven through as mentioned in the prayer/poem read out at Kaths funeral. Kath always did say they ought get another dog, looks like she may have had a hand in it!

A day away from troubles and cares…..

is exactly what was the order of the day when I was reluctantly dragged along to grandson Joshs new youth club for young carers fund raising fete in the grounds of our worldwide tourist attraction Leeds Castle.  I really couldn’t be bothered, but when my other daughter said that Clare was really hoping I would go if only to push the pram I was held to ransom, so I gave in.  Oh my, what a wonderful day I had. It was brilliant, the weather perfect, the scenery stunning, the company and event very enjoyable.

Here are some photos of the day.

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So as you can see, it really was a welcome break and now for those of you who do not know yet….the good news is………………drum roll please……………..Clare is at long last free from any of the cancer in her body.  She and the three grandchildren came and lived with me for three weeks while she recovered from her op which left her unable to tend to the baby Isobel.  She is such a brave daughter and I am so proud of her.  For all that she has endured with the chemo, losing her hair, her toe and fingernails falling off, the lethargy and sickness, she has never once complained or bemoaned her plight. The only time she cried was when they said it was gone and then she cried because she said she could never ever face having it again.  She only has a month of radiotherapy to go through and then hopefully that will be that. 

Isobel is coming on in leaps and bounds and astounding the doctors with her progress at things they thought she would never be capable of.  She will be one year old in a couple of weeks!

I would tell you about Kath who is now 94 and not long for this world but I find it hard to put in words, so if you will excuse me I shall not.

Rest assured, you are not forsaken....

....I am still here don't worry I have not forgotten you all.  Real life interferes sometimes when all you want to do is sit at the pc and idle away a few hours in good company of online friends.
Not a lot of positives in my life at this moment in time and rather than get morbid and ramble on about misfortunes I would prefer to keep things on a lighter side with all of you my wonderful friends.  Yes yes I know you all care as I do about you as well but sometimes the doom and gloom is a bit soul destroying. Maybe you can understand more if I just let on ablut one of the all consuming heartaches I have had laid at my feet now which is.........
Sadly my very good friend Kath has very little time on this earth according to the doctors who say her heart and arteries are too furred up.  She is in very good health otherwise and none the wiser that they have decided not to admit her to hospital to deal with her health but instead feel there is nothing they can do even if they identified her exact condition.  The risks of an angiogram are too dangerous to do.   As I said, she feels fit and well and it is likely she will just go to sleep and not wake.  The doctors cannot be sure but indicated maybe a week, possibly a few months, no one can predict nature taking its course.
One thing is for sure and that is that that precious lady is going to have some good times each and every day if I have anything to do with it.

All on the up : )

What a lovely feeling it is when things start to resolve themselves and just for a while before the next round of blows you can sit back and enjoy feeling positive and happy again.  It is quite right that when you reach the lowest of the low that the only way is up!

The emotions of despair pale into insignificance  compared to the lift of a brighter future for those you love.

My daughter Clare is responding well to the chemo and it has not been as debilitating as we imagined.  The two tumours in her breast have significantly reduced already but she has to continue the full six months treatment.

Grandaughter Isobel is blossoming since her last heart op and catching up fast.  She is such a happy little girl and always laughing and smiling.  Thankfully a lot of the fears we had about her mental health and disabilities have not been as severe as they could have been. 

These photos were at Evie’s 4th birthday party.

               

Meanwhile, I have had a bit of time to myself as Kath is much more settled since I decorated her house and have more carers tending to her during the day.  She is contented and happier and instead of the usual 10+ phone calls to me on top of my daily visits she has only rung me 3 times since she went home from the Carehome and she has not called the doctor or ambulance at all compared to 25 times in one month each midnight!

Kath holding Isobel. 

Mo my dog is happy too, I am at home with her a bit more.  She has been somewhat neglected of late because of all the running around I have been doing. 

       

Blog cut short, no time to tweak,  just had a call for taxi service to take Clare and Isobel for blood tests…….ttfn

Just to let you know

For the time being I shall only be posting over on my Wordpress site.

But please don't abandon me, pop over and see me sometime!

http://curiosityabounds.wordpress.com



Happy photo in more than one way!

 

Hello folks,  lots of other stuff has been taking up my time of late so I do apologise if you are feeling a bit neglected by me.  I do peek in at your goings on and stuff on my mobile but I am unable to make comments from it easily.

 

Isobel is now 6lb 6oz and doing quite well, not perfectly well but quite well.

 

Anyhow….I thought some of you may be happy to see this picture of Evie with her little sister Isobel. 

 

How gorgeous are these two, or am I just a bias Grandmum!

This was their Great Great Aunt getting her first ever cuddle of Isobel at 6 weeks old.

Your prayers, wishes, support and reassurances have helped bring this about…

How very pleased and happy can you imagine I am feeling as I write this to let you know that at long last little Isobel has been taken home to live with her family.

There are going to be some issues in her life and complications because of the DiGeorge Syndrome that she has but they will be bridges to cross as they occur over the years as well as probably having more heart surgery as she outgrows the artificial things they have used in her. The doctors are happy that she does actually have some albeit small immune system and the thyroid may not be as much of a concern as originally thought.

My little grandaughter is astounding in my eyes as are the many surgeons and medical staff that helped her survive these last five weeks since her fraught birth on the 9th September 2010.

Here are a couple of pics and a recap of events……..

         

and the last couple of days………..

My first cuddle.

My youngest daughter Karen with her Owen and Ava.

   

Evie and Josh with sister Isobel

 

 

And the best till last……………….Isobel and mum Clare on her way home from the hospital this morning Saturday the 16th of October 2010

I really do thank each and every one of you for your positivity and well wishes. It has meant so much to me to be bolstered and lifted from the dismal days of worry lately.  Here is hoping the next chapter is all smiles and laughter.

Thankyou from the bottom of my heart x x x

Getting there with baby steps one way or another…..

First and foremost I must say what a godsend Technogran is.  Every thing just falls into place so easily in her simply explained blogs that take us step by step through the maze we find ourselves in both Wordpress and Blogger.  Is there nothing that phazes Super Technogran!

I am venturing now into using my Live Writer to blog on both sites, so this is yet another experimental blog.

Oh, when will the days of satisfaction and familiarity to sit at the pc screen, coffee or cuppa tea to hand with the Hob Nobs and have a catch up with all our mates be.  I know it is getting closer and we shall soon all be old hands at this.  Just our luck if it all goes pear shaped like Spaces!

Good news on the Isobel front….she is continuing to improve and today they are planning to take out the 3 drains in her body and start to revive her to a more conscious state and hopefully remove the temporary heart pacemaker.  Isobel will likely be at that hospital for at least a month before consideration to move her to one closer to home. 

They have been using her as a test case for a new insulin treatment which has shown to improve recovery and get the babies home sooner.  I am pleased she can help with research for all the babies in the future that can benefit, as she has benefited from the skills acquired by the surgeons from those operated on before her.

They say she has an under active thyroid but I have no idea what that entails and not looked it up yet. 

I shall keep you updated in futture as and when milestones are reached.  But I must thank you all for your support, concern and prayers on behalf of myself and family.  What a great bunch you all are. x x x

Just a random pic to put in as a tester

of Mo and a happy Josh that he is big enough to manage her on a walk.

Well, having been unceremoniously uprooted from my one and only site over at Windows Live Spaces I find myself actually seeking out a new place to settle. 

I followed my blog over to Wordpress but am not that impressed with it.

A couple of my friends made it over here and I do quite like the appearance etc of what they have been able to do.

So I thought I would give it a go, any way I can't comment on their posts unless I have an identity over here apparently, but then I may have just curiously clicked the wrong buttons and made a pigs ear of it as usual.

This is just a practice blog so do excuse the shambles it may end up as while I see how to put photo's etc into it.

My new Grandaughter Isobel Sienna last night, before her first of many operations she will need to repair two holes in her heart today 1st October 2010, she was born on the 9th, induced a month early.

Video of Isobel from a week ago.

Well the video took a while to process but appeared just as I was about to give up.

Now to find out how to link this to my Word Press site, gather up and find some of my Spaces friends that have scattered.

Take care, Anne