Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to one and all......... Samhain Blessings to all fellow Pagans. :0)

On this special celebration in the Pagan calendar I thought I would share a pic of the Sampler Girl ornie that I finally finished off a few days after getting out of hospital. It had a long wait for those buttons and taught me a valuable lesson about not putting things off until tomorrow because you just don't know what unexpected things tomorrow will bring! LOL

So here it is, complete with the fab little Halloween buttons I found on eBay:


The pumpkin tealight holder has now been joined by a Trick or Treat bucket of goodies - unfortunately I forgot to take a pic before the kids started calling, so it's looking sadly depleted at the moment:


The sweeties have spooky images on them and yes, that's a pair of eyeballs there too........ though they are made of chocolate with a fondant filling rather than squishy eyes. LOL There were also some gold coin choccies in there but most of those went into the candy buckets of the cutest pair of toddlers ever - it made my night when they came knocking with their Daddy. :0)

So now I am off to place my offering outside for the wandering Spirits, then light a candle in memory of my Ancestors and departed loved ones. As DH and DS are out at the LTC's Quiz Night I shall be rounding off the evening by watching tonights Most Haunted Live Halloween special: The Eight Faces of Evil (all that screaming seems appropriate somehow LMAO) whilst listening to someone's celebration fireworks. :0)

Thank you for visiting and may you all have a happy, fruitful and Blessed new year. :0)

Get Well Wishes

A big thank you to everyone for the lovely Get Well messages you've left, I can't tell you how much they've been appreciated....... especially as I seem to have gone into a minor low at the moment, mostly brought on by the frustration of not being able to do everything I want to. You know, those ordinary things you take for granted, like being able to stand long enough to prepare a meal or whatever (card making is a definite no-no at the minute) or walking down the street to the Clinic and back without feeling like I've just run a flippin' marathon! As for meditating...... it just turns into an instant snooze fest, with my head falling towards my knees every time. LOL To try and counteract some of this I've been eating baby spinach leaves with my dinner every day (instead of salad leaves), on top of my usual healthy eating regime, to try and boost my blood iron levels after all those blood thinning jabs and am now off all the drugs and back on all my herbal meds, so feeling a bit better for that too....... am also desperately trying to cultivate some of that much needed patience. I bet you can guess how that bit is going. ;0)

Especial thanks go to several online friends who have very kindly sent some lovely cards and gifts - I just had to share, as they really did give me a boost. Julie sent me this fun Get Well card and a fab little Healing Angel card that I love:

In case the pic isn't clear enough, it reads: Your guardian angel walks with you ~ they've been sent from above ~ their loving wings are open ~ to enfold you with love. And if you see a snow white feather ~ resting on the ground ~ it's from your angel's wing to show ~ health lost, will soon be found. Thank you again for your kind thoughts Julie: I certainly called on the Angels whilst I was in hospital and actually felt them around me on one particular night - and have had a white feather appear since coming home. The card is propped against one of my Angel ornaments in the living room, where I can see it every day. :0)

Before going into hospital Karen had agreed to make a couple of crystal bracelets for me. Imagine my surprise when, just a few days after getting home, a box was delivered to my house. First thoughts: flippin' heck - that's a big box for three small bracelets! Here's what I saw when I opened it:


Inside the green tissue paper were the lovely bracelets:



The one on the left is howlite, top right is lapis lazuli and clear quartz and bottom right is malachite and clear quartz. They all have a wonderful feel to them and I shall enjoy wearing them. But the voyage of discovery wasn't over........ there were all the other wonderful goodies to look at too:


The two magazines helped to pass an hour or so. That wasn't all though, as there was all of this:


Plus all of these goodies as well:



Boy, did I feel spoilt rotten! Thank you again Karen for your kindness and generosity - everything will come in very useful and I shall have lots of fun using them........ once I've got my standing stamina back. :0)

I was already thinking that I was extremely lucky to be the recipient of so much kindness when another package arrived. This one was from Clare and had these lovelies inside:


There were originally two Lush bath fizzers but one got used before I took the pic. LOL That was my first ever Lush bath and it was wonderful..... am looking forward to another such treat shortly. :0) Thank you again Clare for your kindness.

There were also Get Well cards from Barb (no blog) and family. When I put them all out in the living room they certainly brightened the place up:


I am very grateful for all the kindness and generosity that has been shown to me - all by wonderful people I have never met in person (yet!). I feel honoured and truly blessed to have their friendship. Thank you. :0)

A Fun Weekend - Not

Well things took a decidedly painful turn on Friday morning when I woke up to what started out as minor abdominal pain........ which got gradually worse and had me phoning DH at work and asking him to come home a.s.a.p. Thankfully he did.

A quick phone call to my Herbalist to tell her about the symptoms had her recommending that we get in touch with my GP immediately. I'd had fish and chips Thursday night, a quick meal before going to the theatre to see The Shellseekers (our DS was Stage Manager for it), which Jan suspected may have caused a gall bladder flare up.

Phone call to GP: it might be an emergency but a GP wouldn't be able to come out until the afternoon - could he take me into the surgery...... I couldn't wait so, clutching a bucket because I felt really nauseous by this time too, off we went to the surgery. Of course it was full....... of course everyone was curious about the woman who was bent double over a bucket whilst gasping with pain. Thankfully it wasn't too long a wait.......... though it seemed like ages at the time.

One painful abdomen examination later and the GP had phoned the hospital to tell them to expect me and written a letter for us to take with us. One drive to the hospital later and what seemed like the longest walk ever from the car park and up to the ward and I was quickly put into a side room and had people coming in and out to take all my details and check my abdomen again. By this time it was agony and I couldn't get any ease no matter what I did. Thankfully my bucket had been exchanged for the proper receptacle by then....... it duly got used. And so did another one. I'd been given some painkiller by now but it didn't seem to be working.

Next was a trip in a wheelchair to have an ultrasound scan done. I filled another receptacle for them whilst there but I was aware enough to know they'd found more than they'd expected to on the scan. Back to the ward, another receptacle used and a chat with a doctor and some real painkiller was given - a morphine jab. Finally, some relief!

So I spent several more days in various stages of pain that were occasionally relieved by a blessed blissed out session after a morphine jab. A BIG thank you and much Kudos to the genius who discovered this was a really good pain relieving drug. The scan had revealed that I had some gallstones - the surprise being that I also had a 5cm ovarian cyst. The surgical people were confused because my symptoms didn't quite fit a typical gall bladder/stones attack - the pain wasn't in the right place - so it took them a bit to catch on that, actually, whilst the gall bladder had had some part to play, it was probably more down to the cyst...... so they'd better get the Gynae people involved. Don't you just love how quick they catch on? LOL

By Monday the pain was finally easing right back and I actually managed to eat something at tea time - once everyone had caught on that being dairy intolerant and having other foodstuffs I had to avoid meant phoning the kitchen and getting the Special Diet Chef to send up some plain cooked food. NHS menus cover: Gluten free, diabetic, kosher, halal, another ethnic diet I can't remember, high fibre, low sodium and reducing diets - it seems they don't cover other food intolerances yet. They were very obliging though, I have to say that, but it involved some hassle - not just for me but for the already busy ward staff - so added stress that I could have done without. On the bright side: I have a feeling the scales will be very kind this month! LOL

Monday afternoon a very feisty female Consultant led the rounds and told her staff that my problems were obviously more to do with the ovarian cyst, therefore she wanted one of her team to contact the Gynae people and tell them (note: tell, not ask) that she expected someone to come to see me that evening and if not, she wanted to know why not. Much Kudos to her too: a chap came that evening to chat to me and take a few details.

Then Tuesday morning the hospital vampire came to take yet more blood for the Gynae lot to test (the third lot I'd had taken) and the Gynae Consultant, Mr Roberts, arrived a little later. The upshot of that: an explanation of what a cyst is/how it develops; that everything seems to have settled down now, so it may well be that the cyst will resolve itself and I may not have any further trouble; then again I may, so he wants me to go back as an outpatient in four weeks time to have another scan, so he can see what's going on; by then he'll also have the blood results, which will also give him a better idea of what's happening; that without the blood results he couldn't say 100% that it was benign but, from all the details he had, including the scan, and his experience he was fairly certain it was.

After hearing that I burst into tears: I hadn't realised until that moment just how worried I was. I apologised and explained that I'd lost my SIL and Dad to cancer in 2007 and that I hadn't been able to avoid having that on my mind.... and that it seemed that I'd just got my life back on track again after all that grief when Wham! this hits. He did the typical Consultant/man-thing - avoided meeting my eyes, looked uncomfortable and muttered a few unintelligible things. The two nurses who were there, on the other hand, nodded and knew exactly where I was coming from...... we are all sisters under the skin. :0) So Mr Roberts said that, as the pain was well and truly under control and I was eating OK, I could go home and the scan appointment would be sent to me shortly. Thank you, lovely man. :0)

Yay! off to pack my bag. Except no, I couldn't go yet....... the staff, as well as myself, had all assumed that the Surgical mob had signed me over to Gynae but they hadn't. I had to wait for them to come back and sign me off before I would be able to go. So I got another free meal and a long wait. DH arrived for afternoon visiting but we still didn't know when I'd be seeing the Surgical folk so we'd decided he'd go back to work then go home and have his tea then come back for evening visiting and hopefully be able to take me home then. Just in case I walked with him to the front desk, to check with the staff if there was any reason for him to stay. No, don't go was the reply - the doctors were on the ward and were currently in the Treatment Room with someone and they'd be with me soon. Not long then thought we. Wrong! They saved me right until last, really making me sweat for it! LOL They said they were happy with how the pain had decreased but that there was one gallstone that had potential to give me further problems and they'd be happy to take it out for me. Nope, that's OK says I - if I get any further problems we'd get the GP to refer me back and take it from there. (Be buggered to that was what I told DH later: I'd heard the story of one of my fellow ward companions, who'd come in for gall bladder removal keyhole day surgery and ended up in Intensive Care and almost died because they'd ruptured something they shouldn't). With that they said I could go home. Yay!

It took a bit longer to get all the paperwork and medications together but by that time I was dressed and fully packed and ready to go and DH had already ferried a couple of bags out to the car and moved the car a bit closer, so there wouldn't be such a long walk. Paperwork, meds and instructions handed over we were off and it was so good to be outside, even for that short time, and breathe some fresh air again...... well, as fresh as it gets round here. LOL

So now it's a case of gradually weaning myself off the last of the meds, getting them out of my system and settling down into a routine whilst I recuperate and regain my strength. It's amazing just how weak I feel at the moment. There are a couple of things I've discovered though: my ass does not enjoy feeling like a pincushion; my belly goes a pretty colour when it has blood thinning jabs zapped into it, and so does my right arm, where the bloods were taken from; the human body can cope with way more than you think it can and has an amazing capacity for healing; you meet some really nice people at unexpected times........... Oh, and eating fish and chips when you've been on a very healthy long-term diet is a really bloody stupid idea! LOL

So you've probably gathered by now that there's no stitching to show. I didn't get chance to add the buttons to the Halloween ornie, as that was planned as Friday's job. Hopefully there'll be something to show you once I feel a bit livelier and up to doing a bit more..... and I'll also start to have a gradual catch up with all your blogs. :0)

Hope you all had a waaaaay better weekend than mine and are all feeling fit and well. :0)

Another Lovely Surprise

I had a lovely surprise in the post at the weekend and, though it isn't craft related, it's such a lovely gift I had to show you all.

I'll admit that, once again, until I saw the address on the back I did wonder if I'd had another one of those brain fart moments and forgotten about something I'd been buying on eBay..... as you do. ;0) But the address immediately revealed that it was from the very kind and generous Barb (no blog). Here's what I found on opening up the bubblewrap bag:


Two books that I will definitely enjoy, as they are just the kind of thing I like to read, a fabulous postcard - just look at that dragonfly brooch on it! - and an intriguing tissue wrapped box. On unwrapping and opening it I found this stunner inside:


A fabulous geode with the loveliest feel to it. That pic just doesn't do it justice - it's waaay nicer in real life, with lots of sparkle. Barb found it in a crystal shop while she was on holiday in Dartmoor and says it said "Send me to Karan" so she did - after first cleansing it in the River Tavy. Such a lovely thing to do. :0)

And the geode looked so totally at home in the spot where I took its pic that it's now living there, alongside my House Angel.

Thank you again Barb for such a fab surprise..... and I love my geode. :0)

Thank you for visiting and for the lovely comments you leave. May you all be Blessed with good friends and kind deeds. :0)

Still Alive & Kicking!

Yep, I'm still in the land of the living (although some would argue the finer points of that on observing me emerging from my bed first thing of a morning! ROFL) - have just been busy doing updates on my other blog, going out and about, doing jobs and stitching. Yes, that's right: some stitching..... but more on that a little later, just to keep the suspense going a bit longer. ;0)

So what have I been up to? Let's see if I can remember (always a bit dodgy, is that). Well I had another wander down my local High Street last week, as I had another package to post, and because I just plain felt like it (anyone who reads my other blog will know this is a major improvement, as I'm recuperating from agoraphobia and panic attacks). It was an enjoyable outing and also productive, as I scored big time at the Hospice charity shop. No, no craft related goodies but some wonderful Ltd Ed Egyptian style plates that were sat in the window shouting "Buy Me!". LOL There were four plates and I decided I couldn't really afford them all at that time, so opted for these two:

The one on the left is entitled Isis, Mother of the Sun God and the one on the right is Hathor, Goddess of Joy and Love. I thought they would look good on the wall in my new craft room. :0)

Thursday night I wasn't a happy bunny: around 10pm there was a sudden problem with getting on the internet....... as in: I couldn't - at all. Aaaaarrrrggghh!!! The modem lights were on, so it was working, but a quick Microsoft diagnostic revealed that the server couldn't be found. OK, that sounds like it's their end not ours. Not according to Virgin Media it wasn't, when DH rang up to enquire - they'd send an engineer out on Monday to have a look at the modem, claiming they couldn't "find" it or the box at their end. It was very tempting to say: well they were sat on top of the TV last time we looked, missus. ;0) They knocked a tenner off the bill as a goodwill gesture - I'd way rather they send the engineer chap out asap, thank you very much.

Ever the optimist (hah! in denial, more like!) I hoped it would be OK when I got up on Friday. It wasn't. So what do you do with yourself when you don't have internet access? That's after you get over the bit where you run around the house screaming like a banshee and tearing your hair out, thinking OMG if it ain't back by tonight I might actually have to sit and talk to the OH.............. and after you've been round the house with the Dyson for the third time in a week, getting close to wearing out the carpets and taking a layer off the laminate......... well, you go and get a good case of Stitch Ass of course. LOL

Yup, I decided it was as good a time as any, especially for the state of my mental health, to whip up the flagging stitching mojo by starting a new piece which would give me the chance to try out the new magnifier lamp. Here's the piece I chose:

Design: Ghouls Night Out

Designer: The Sampler Girl, internet freebie

Fabric: 28ct evenweave Dusk Blue, unknown make

Threads: DMC 310 - 947: stitched 1 over 1

Finish: as an ornie - not decided yet

I haven't finished it yet as I can't decide whether to leave it as is, or add another orange zigzag line at the top........ because it will probably bug me left as it is. I can't help it, I just like symmetry and it isn't looking that way right now. BTW, that magnifier lamp is the best thing ever since sliced bread - it's the bees knees - it's the dogs dangly bits..... well you get the drift: it made the 1 over 1 stitching look like it was 14ct aida, not even the smallest hint of eye strain..... and I got to watch TV too because the specs didn't have to come off so I could see the stitching. Yay!!!!! There might just be some progress on my HAED Mother Earth this side of Christmas after all. :0)

To put the icing on the cake: internet access came back just as suddenly as it had disappeared around 10pm that night, so it was all systems go for emails, checking of Forums and Blogging. Thank goodness - that was the longest 24 hours ever! LOL BTW, we've since had a morning of being unable to access emails: Hhhhmmmm, could that mean they've actually been doing maintenance/updating on the system but failed to notify us about it and wouldn't admit it, then? I reckon so. Never mind, I'm just glad to have it back again. :0)

I've been pottering around doing jobs and things the rest of the time. This weekend we were out and about for much of it. Saturday DS went to Brigg Farmers Market whilst DH and I went out shopping, with ports of call at Dunhelm, The Range and Poundstretcher for various household bits and pieces we needed, followed by a pub lunch and then a trip to the Pink Pig and Uncle Henry's for some food shopping. That night DH and I went to the local Spiritualist Church - more about that on my other blog. Sunday we went to the Harrogate Health and Healing Festival for the day (more on my other blog about that, too) and followed that up with a pub meal - it was a good day. I now miss the JA/S&S UFO Night on Tuesday evenings as that's the night of the Development Circle meetings (see other blog) so no progress on any UFO's to show - though am hoping to get into a new routine of stitching some time during either Tuesday or Wednesday daytime to make up for it.

Today was my monthly visit to the Clinic to see Jan, my Herbalist (will do a write up on my other blog about this shortly). Whilst down the street I finally managed to venture further down to have a wander around the regular Thursday market - something I haven't done for years, thanks to the agoraphobia etc. It used to be a great, thriving little market - my Mum and Dad, and my DSis when she wasn't at work, used to enjoy coming over for a visit for the day, specifically to shop there - but I found it sadly depleted today. It was the oddest thing: as I was walking round I got a really strong sense of my Dad beside me and I found myself mentally saying "Yep, you're right Dad - it certainly isn't as good as it used to be". Reckon he came for a look-see for old times sake. :0) It's such a shame the market has been allowed to deteriorate like that though.

Heading back up the High Street, on my way home, it was a different story though. As I got to the Hospice charity shop and looked in the window what did I see? Yes, the other two plates were still there. I saw it as a sign so, as I'd now got enough money, I went in and bought them.


The one on the left is Ma'at, Goddess of Wisdom and Truth and the one on the right is Nepthys, Goddess of the edge of the desert. They will look fabulous displayed together, in a diamond shape, on the wall. I also plan on stitching an Angel - probably one of the Just Nan ones, for the JA/S&S JN SAL in January - for in there as well........ if I can decide on which one, as they are all equally as pretty. LOL

Thank you for all the lovely comments about the ornies in my last post. They have safely arrived with Donna, who had a great post week as several more packages full of ornies arrived for her tree. I am so looking forward to seeing pics of the tree - it is going to look fabulous with all the different ornies decorating it. :0)

And as it's in full bloom and such a sunny colour for this end of the year I thought I'd leave you with a pic of the rogue sunflower that sprouted in my garden earlier last month:

Pretty, isn't it? I plan on collecting the seeds and having a go - deliberately, this time - at growing a couple next year. :0)

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to leave comments - they are all very much appreciated. Hope you all have a good Friday and an even better weekend, whatever your plans. :0)