Support the Arts!

Quick, grab some awesome Art, now is the time to dig deep down the back of the sofa and invest in something which will make you and the artist feel happier every day.

www.aoh.org.uk

And sorry if you are feeling a bit left out but next year you will have to buy not only knittygritty scarves but also my prints. I'm going to a print making workshop for people affected by cancer (Arts for Health).

Currently I feel like producing an enormous mono print homage to Mark Rothko.

I'm sure I'll feel more jolly by Christmas.

And don't forget:

www.vandashop.com


























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Idiopathic, me?

Warfarin is not fun, it involves lots of blood tests which take seconds and then hanging around hospital with loads of other ill people for hours catching bugs, but at least I don't have to stab myself with heparin anymore. And much to the old mans annoyance, I now have a very good reason to avoid the following foods:
• beef liver,
• pork liver,
• green tea,
• kale,
• turnips,
• Brussels sprouts,
• parsley,
• and spinach.

Ha ha!

Here's some ideas for really useful Christmas presents for anyone you know who's a bit under this horrible British weather.

You may not have such a good chum as Zelda who can get you to a Greek Island for a gorgeous holiday but you could be like my sister and get all the ironing sorted out? fantastic! Or send around a lovely man to clean your friends oven? Thank you Chitra. brilliant! And everyone needs a neighbour like Rozanne, who has dropped in with various meals. Yummy! You could be like Alexa and be a super-online supermarket, many thanks! Just call your friend if you are off to the supermarket and do an extra shop for them. Joy has given me heaps of wool, yes you are all getting scarves again, and she's made me laugh (a lot). And the old man has been the best Taxi driver ever.

So there's a few thoughts, why not give something useful this year?




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Time for the rat poison

right off we go...

Spent another morning at my new home. Royal Sussex County Hospital, being told how to take Warfarin (rat poison) safely... lah dee dah. All I have to do is stop eating anything healthy. I must avoid binge drinking so I think a life of permanent drunkenness is preferable. I should avoid anything with vitamin K in it. And I must carry a card AT ALL TIMES saying 'shoot the bitch'.

(Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin that plays an important role in the blood-clotting process. Vitamin K deficiency is rare because vitamin K is stored in fat and also produced by the digestive tract. However, if you are taking the blood-thinning medication warfarin, or other medications that Vitamin K affects, you should avoid foods that contain vitamin K, which can lower the effectiveness of blood-thinning medications and increase your risk for developing blood clots. Consult your doctor before adjusting your vitamin K intake.)

Avoid eating green leafy vegetables, such as cabbage, spinach, kale, lettuce, parsley, Brussels sprouts (hu-bloody-rah) among others. Green leafy vegetables contain high levels of vitamin K and should be avoided when possible. Although cauliflower is not green, it should also be avoided. (Again, good) Choose other vegetables, such as squash, onions, cucumber and carrots. But not too much garlic.

Thank you Mooch and Mags for cheering my day up with a new hair colour and head massage.


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The sky didn't fall in

but now I know how Daniel Craig feels. Constantly beaten up.
We never made it to Seville, or the easyjet flight. I would have exploded mid-air apparently. Instead of settling down to some serious Andalusian antics, me and the old man, yes it really is him...




opted for a fun filled day at the hospital instead, blood tests, five attempts to put a cannula in cos my veins have collapsed, x ray, MRI scan, admission to acute medical ward, MRSA test, hospital supper, no signal on my phone, AAAGGGHHH!
James arrived in time to stop Nurse Ratchett putting me into a hospital gown and giving me more drugs.
Cos they had hacked up my arm, I think they felt a bit guilty so they let me out of hospital as long as I promised to return the next day for the warfarin. They found a shadow and it is a pulmonary embolism plus infection. Whilst waiting at the hospital the next day, the oncologist sent a message to the PE (clot) doctor not to start the warfarin...
I've been given loads of heparin darts so if the man from DWP, who I'm seeing next wednesday, doubts the words of the oncologist or neurologist or the acute medical team then I will just stab him with my heparin darts.
I've been told to take it easy for a few weeks, how can I? I've got all these doctors appointments to go to.




Poor Harry, what a great half term he has had.
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Mother of the bride

Oh decisions, decisions, not sure I can cope with all the grown up clobber which MOB's are supposed to scrub up in. I was going as Harpo Marx, but then I saw Willy Wonka and he looks so fantastic, but then so does Johnny Depp, and Polly adores chocolate, so in addition to everything else, somehow I've got to find a paddleboat to take us all to the church... I'll get the Oompa Loompas to sort it out.

And apart from the bride and groom, the guests are all going as Oompa Loompas,
the false tan can be shared out and there will be no snozzberries, not on my watch.


Al and Pol, there is still time to run away, but then you'd miss all the fun.



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If you don't ask...

Thanks hub,







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Pearly King and Queen

9.10.1982 was our wedding day. Thirty years ago. To help remember the pearl anniversary, the old man might also receive some unsubtle hints.

I like lilies...

And if he needs any other ideas, this is a great website:
www.vandashop.com

In case you want to know what to give and when, here's how long you have to wait for a decent glass of wine.

Year
1st Paper
2nd Cotton
3rd Leather
4th Linen
5th Wood
6th Iron
7th Wool
8th Bronze
9th Pottery
10th Tin
11th Steel
12th Silk
13th Lace
14th Ivory
15th Crystal
20th China
25th Silver
30th Pearl
35th Coral
40th Ruby
45th Sapphire
50th Gold
55th Emerald
60th Diamond
65th Blue Sapphire
70th Platinum
75th Diamond & Gold
80th Oak
85th Wine

Flower
Year Flower
1st Carnation
2nd Lily of the Valley
3rd Sunflower
4th Hydrangea
5th Daisy
6th Calla
7th Freesia
8th Lilac
9th Bird of paradise
10th Daffodil
11th Tulip
12th Peony
13th Chrysanthemum
14th Dahlia
15th Rose
20th Aster
25th Iris
28th Orchid
30th Lily
40th Gladiolus
50th Yellow rose, violet
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Embrace the gray?

What do we think?

Fine if you can walk around with a mobile red background and a designer purple linen floaty thing and get your teeth whitened and lose quite a few Tamoxifen induced pounds, otherwise it's frequent and expensive trips to the hairdressers for the dying game.

OK, here's a plan... I'll avoid the hair dye until Christmas. Not sure I can face 2013 with gray curls but now it's October, there's always hats.



Also since the balance is still a bit questionable, I wanted something to cheer up my enormous NHS stick, which is only really useful for whacking naughty small boys. oh, I only did it once, and I missed anyway.


Now this is good, a tippling stick, for my medication only of course.

www.walkingsticksonline.co.uk have handbag sized folding sticks with stripes and dots and floral and leopard skin there's even this tartan one at www.amazinghealth.co.uk

and listen to Poetry Please this Saturday, Roger McGough dedicated a fantastic poem to me appropriately called Disobedience by AA Milne!




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Hurrah!

We raised £220.05 for Macmillan nurses.

Thanks to everyone who cooked, decorated and ate all the lovely cakes. Harry's chocolate brownies tied with Daisy's mums chocolate and almond cake for the 1st place and the yummiest, but every cake was fantastic and appreciated by all, ...particularly Glynn!

The plants and seeds were also popular with the skinny visitors. The rest of us ate and drank for tomorrow we diet.



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Quick reminder

It's going to be big!

The cupcakes are delicious so come and try one tomorrow! Free coffee and tea. There's also plants, candles and jewellery - all you have to do is give a donation to Macmillan, and that can be as huge as you like.




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