ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 13TH OF 2023

 Hello lovely people tis Friday time for 

Well it has been a funny old week if I'm honest, the weather hasn't been great, awesome for the gardens (April showers have arrived early), but not so great for wanting to get out and about if I'm honest. 

Thankfully I had a spring wreath class booked with my Mum, my sister, my niece, my future daughter in law and my future daughter in laws Mum.  There were three others in the class, one of which was an old school friend, one was her daughter and the other was a Mum I knew from my son's primary school so it was a lovely class. 

Future daughter in law and her Mum

My Mum and me, my Mum rocking the new hat as her hair was on its way out again with the chemo treatment, she has had her second lot today and she never ceases to amaze me.   

my niece

all of us including my sister with our finished wreaths

mine hung on the front door, I was so pleased with it, it is on a moss base which was harder to do but I loved the process. 

Sunday and the clocks went forward and to be honest I'm still missing the hour and then back to Monday again. 

We've all been pretty much holding our breath this week with said 22 year old's fiancee and her health. 

She had a meeting yesterday which confirmed that they didn't believe it was a brain tumour but there was a mass behind her eyes, but with a missing MRI report they were working a little in the dark, so they decided to admit her onto the emergency day care ward but she was presenting with no symptoms (she has been symptomless throughout), so they were stumped and said that the pictures they'd seen were clear (you can tell by now we were somewhat frustrated), so we were surprised for her to appear on family chat yesterday evening, albeit that it was a lovely surprise.  They told her to call them at 9am this morning when the MRI would be back. 

She rang and the MRI is clear - which is good news, but there is still pressure in her brain and they really don't know why.  So she's back on the emergency day care ward this afternoon for a lumbar puncture to see if they can fathom out what the hell is happening. 

Thank you for all your kind words and prayers (they are absolutely working in the right direction), if you can say a few more until we find out what is what that would be amazing. 

I hope you've had a lovely week.

Biggest hugs

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 12TH OF 2023

 Morning all, I hope you are well, it is Friday already so time to count the blessings and silver linings

Well last Thursday night we went for fine dining at the local college restaurant prior to heading off to see School of Rock at the local theatre.

Unfortunately, all didn't go according to plan, which meant that we were a wee bit late for the theatre as the dessert ran over (but you've got to expect this, they are learning after all). 

The show was fabulous, a youth theatre group who really were amazing. 

Over the weekend I had a table full of white pom poms that really needed using up so I created these for the cabinets at work

I also created a spring wreath which I really enjoyed making

and two further albeit smaller sheep wreaths, one of which I gave to my Mum on Mother's day

Said 22 year old and his fiancee bought me a plant, a lovely card and a tiramisu (which I didn't photograph).  I have two of these plants in my window in the TV room which they use as their own private greenhouse, so I'm guessing that is where this one will flourish.  

My sister also bought me some beautiful flowers, which was most unexpected and they have genuinely got better as the week has progressed and the irises have come into full bloom. 

The rest of the week has been wall to wall work, including a 14 hour day when I needed to complete a hefty funding bid, which genuinely didn't leave me with much room for anything else and resulted in a very sleepy evening the following day. 

Said 22 year old and his fiancee attended several medical appointments this week, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as a Mum seeing your child and his fiancee going through such a tough time is proving incredibly difficult and I'm very teary at the moment about it all as you can imagine.  I just hope that it isn't anything or if it is that they can do something quickly and that it can be sorted, I'm sure you understand where I am on this one. 

I hope you've all had a beautiful and blessed week. 

biggest hugs 

xxx

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 11TH OF 2023

Afternoon all, I'm running late but let's be positive that this is a Friday.  Time to take stock look back and note the last 7 days.

Well it has been another hard week, but there have been glimpses of positivity in amongst the week. 

I managed a few catch ups with my Mum this week which has been good.  She had her first chemo last Friday and as is normal has felt more poorly as the week has worn on, so I've tried to keep in contact to keep her spirits up.  She now has additional pain relief which has made a small difference and I'm really hoping she starts to turn a corner soon.  This was the poor tete a tete daffodils in the garden this week.  

As I mentioned last week, we had snow on Thursday through to Friday, so our planned trip to the theatre was postponed until Saturday.  The weather was still 'dodgy' but we managed to get there albeit without my sister present as she was working.  It was Calendar Girls the Musical, I saw the film years ago and really enjoyed it, it felt a wee bit raw at the moment, but despite that it was really good, the ladies on the stage were incredibly brave and with some sensibly placed props they managed the calendar scenes with great professionalism.

I also did another Spring based wreath, Kate was complete correct last week in that it wasn't an Easter wreath, I'm sure I wrote the word 'egg' afterwards but my haste missed this as I think it is a more of an Easter Egg wreath with the bunnies and the decorated eggs, this one is definitely a spring based wreath and has raised a smile every night that I see it as I walk through the door. 

Last night we booked to see another show, this time with pre-theatre dining, it wasn't the most successful of nights as the pudding was that late, we were late to the show (don't ask you have to laugh).  This time a young theatre group doing School of Rock, they were very good and it was nice to catch up with my sister and my Mum, albeit that she was struggling somewhat. 

I hope you've had a good week and thank you so much for your kind words last week, they mean the world to me xxxxx

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - (AHEM SATURDAY THIS IS GETTING TO BE A HABIT) 10TH OF 2023

 Morning all tis Saturday (sorry) time for 

Well it hasn't been the easiest of weeks if truth be told, but lets focus on the positives.

Last Thursday proved a tough third day for hubby at work, so we decided to treat ourselves to a pub meal on the way home.  I was driving, which meant he could have a beer and we shared a lovely meal together in this fabulous pub in the next village along.  

The weekend arrived and I really wanted to make an Easter wreath, I'd browsed pinterest and found some interesting looking pattern pieces albeit written in a different language and with no instructions.  I went and bought some bits, but then went rummaging and got my sewing machine out 

and created this, I wool wrapped the wreath, sewed the body, feet and ears on my machine, created a pom pom and hand stitched the felt eggs

I also created this one, which is larger using the same pattern pieces but with more eggs.  I decided to keep this one and display the one above at work in the cabinet as we have some Easter bunny trips coming up soon. 

On Monday night the tutor we use for creative classes let us know she was poorly and wouldn't make it to the Tuesday class.  So Monday night was spent buying supplies and then creating this by hand.  I actually think the hand made one with blanket stitch is superior to the machine stitched one. 

and here are all three on my stairs to show the difference in size, I had to shrink the pattern pieces for the handmade one but that meant less materials needed to make it. 

As we are gearing up for Easter bunny trips at work, I had to giggle when I spotted said 22 year old at his desk with this (apologies for the yes closed it was either that or the back of his head). 

The rest of the week tripped along, we were due at the theatre on Thursday night but this happened, so we didn't manage to get anywhere. 

And then for the difficult part of the week said 22 year old's fiancee was referred urgently by the optician to the hospital before Christmas, urgent should have meant within 2 weeks, but alas Thursday was the first time she was seen, they aren't happy and have booked her in for a raft of further tests to rule out brain tumour, so if you are someone who prayers, please offer some up for this wonderful young woman, at a time when she should be focusing on finishing her teacher training and looking forward to her wedding in 4 months she now has this to deal with.   So why share it here, well because she is amazing, I love her to bits and I'm so grateful she is in our lives. 

The two of them, her and said 22 year old have been quite matter of fact about things, in a 'we will make the best of the time we have' make memories etc if things don't play in their favour, but honestly my heart absolutely breaks at the moment for the two of them. 

On top of that my Mum started her chemo yesterday, she woke to snow and really didn't think she would get to the hospital, we couldn't get off our estate and her appointment was at 9am and then like the two amazing people that they are, said 22 year old and his fiancee (who been at the hospital only the day before) managed to get close enough to walk my Mum to the car, one stood in front and one behind on the steps and then arm in arm down her very steep hill, long way around in the car and then finally to the hospital in time for her appointment.  They then stayed in the hospital, found a coffee shop, said 22 year old's fiancee did her online lectures and said 22 year old had his computer with him and then they got my Mum home safely.  I mean absolute stars the two of them. 

My sister has split recently from her long time on off relationship and life just feels tough at the moment.  So she's going through the trials and tribulations of life and then overnight I dreamt of my Dad.  I rarely dream of him these days, I struggle to visualise him and I struggle to hear him in my head, as we don't have any video of him with sound. 

In my dream he had jet black hair like he did when he was young, I kept hugging him and saying I couldn't believe he was here with us as we are going through such a tough time and he said he knew that and that he never left that he was always with us, he showed me ways that I could see him even when he wasn't visible, little things he did to let me know he was here and as I started to wake, he started to disappear and said he was off to see my Aunty who is also suffering illness wise and he told me to tell her that he sometimes phones her, but gives a name she doesn't know so she hangs up, but she mustn't hang up and to also keep an eye out for the signs he'd shown me.  I know it probably seems so mad to write this level of detail here, but it was so real and made me feel incredibly comforted at a time when life is feeling incredibly challenging. 

Much love. 

So if you can send some positive vibes, love etc that would be most helpful. 

I hope your week has been a positive one and sorry for my tardiness.

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 9TH OF 2023

 Good morning lovely people tis Friday time for

Ok so I know I touched on this last week but I thought I'd document it fully today.  So last Friday was the official moving day of said 22 year old, technically they'd had the keys

since Wednesday and slept on airbeds for two nights, but last Friday, me, hubby said 22 year old and from mid-morning my sister were available to move the items from the said family homes of son and fiancee to their new abode. 

Said 22 year old's fiancee hadn't actually seen the property in person before they moved in (work commitments simply did not allow), so I was concerned (because we had seen it), that she might not like it, however she sent me this picture post lots of tears of happiness, which genuinely made me smile

it didn't take long before they were cleaning

so on Friday we had a van booked for 11.30am (earliest they could do) and so we spent the first few hours at home moving furniture items and packing some more items.  One of the items was a Harley Davidson plastic toy, which his grandad had been given and which said 22 year old commandeered when his grandad passed away, it has buttons on it that play a revving engine and then the words 'ride to live, live to ride' which has been stuck in a cupboard for some time.  As he packed it he pressed the button and despite it not being used for years, the words came out and then the tears flowed.  I think it was like having a bit of his grandad here with him saying good luck on his moving day, so we all got a bit teary and as I was too far away (boxes in the way) hubby gave him a hug.  

Afterwards we continued moving the boxes downstairs, before the lads set off for the van, collecting ratchet straps on the way.  Once they'd got the van, they collected the bed settee they'd bought for the second bedroom (as a guest bed) from said fiancée's family home and dropped that at the flat before heading to us. 

We worked tirelessly stacking bed, headboard mattress, three bookcases and their doors, two sets of drawers and box after box until the van was full and then the three of us set off on our adventure to the start of said 22 year old's life as a fully fledged grown up. 

We then decanted the van and as there new place is up a flight of stairs this was hardwork, thankfully my sister came to help and soon the bed was in position, fastened back together with headboard and mattress on.   Chest of drawers in place and lots and lots of boxes in the flat.  

Then back to our place in the van and my sisters car for the next lot (we genuinely weren't sure how many trips it would take).   We were surprised that it actually only took one more load over to the flat and again my sister helped decant (we genuinely could not have managed without her).  

Now this sparked the second 'wobble' of the day by said 22 year old, in that the prepacked boxes filled the second bedroom and the living room which they'd made look quite homely when they'd got a sofa delivered now looked like a furniture shop.  I think if I was reading his mind correctly, he genuinely wanted it back to 'homely' state when his other half arrived home from uni, which alas that was not to be and I also think he thought he'd got too much stuff (which he might have) but the issue was that we had lots of empty furniture and full boxes and like I said to him, it wouldn't take long to make a dent. 

Then his other half arrived home having had a similarly difficult week at uni and I think she felt that the flat was full and a little overwhelmed.  She also said there were things at her family home still to collect.  So being the wise Mum that I am I sent them off in the van leaving me and my sister to have a 'fettle' a very strong Yorkshire term meaning to make things better through tidying and sorting. 

First of all, we managed to get fresh clean bedding on the bed, which meant we found lots of bags with pillows and duvets and sheets etc.  So that was the first positive, then we moved the clothes rail into the bedroom and made a walk way down the second bedroom which was great, because this meant that they could at least get in there.  This was purely down to restacking boxes rather than making a dent. 

Then we set to in the front room, we found a lamp, moved furniture laid out a rug etc and again we soon started to see it make a dent.  By the time they landed back with the remaining items it was looking homely and they were all smiles again. 

We headed home for a shower and hubby collected a Chinese, my sister had left but 30 minutes earlier, also picking up a Chinese and said 22 year old collected his all from the same Chinese 5 minutes after us, the man at the counter confused as their were two orders for the same surname, thankfully they didn't get the orders mixed up. 

Saturday we woke and our only goal was to return the van, which we did, but we were mighty broken, everything ached from head to toe and we were very sore and stiff.  We certainly aren't as young as we used to be and it definitely took it out of us, so you can imagine our giggle when we got the 'can you just' request on Saturday which was a firm 'no'.  We can Sunday but today we are staying put as we are broken.  So we enjoyed watching rugby and I got lots of much needed sleep and a slow day was had.  

In the meantime they had said 22 year old's future mum in law who came to help, you can see her sorting the cupboards in the background

they also completed the drinks trolley

Sunday we collected up a pile of things we'd found (I think this is going to go on for some time), collected my Mum (as she hadn't been over) and went to the flat.  Hubby fitted an additional front door lock and said 22 year old fitted a bathroom lock and we sat drinking tea and chatting. 

When they bought the flat, the boiler had zero pressure and they'd left a cooker, a fridge freezer and a washer. 

On Wednesday when they got in there they realised the cooker was no good, so when I was there on Sunday we pulled it out and I cleaned down the grease on the sides so they could transfer it next to the bin, I told said 22 year old that the scrap man would collect it (and low and behold I was right as it has now gone).  

On Thursday they discovered the light on the fridge freezer was the only thing that worked, so son's other half's step-Dad organised them a new fridge freezer and arranged for the old one to be taken. 

On Sunday morning said 22 year old discovered the washer had a major leak (all over the kitchen floor) and so they have a new washer being delivered tomorrow. 

Monday and they had a boiler man out who managed to get it up and running and remove the old gas fire, they also need one radiator replacing but apart from that all is good and they are now at least warm again. 

Whilst we were there on Sunday he also asked his Dad if he could help him break into the other door next to the front door.  Having walked the neighbourhood he had discovered that the cubby hole opposite the front door which he already knew was theirs was replicated in neighbouring properties but so too was the tall locked door for which he had no key.  So they managed to get into the space and what a space it was, well it will be when it is emptied as it is absolutely chock full of stuff.  Grumpy a little, but the joy of finding another space they didn't know they had and that it is sizeable that it can take things like lawnmowers and bikes and tools etc is going to make such a huge difference to their space. 

You can guess what our job is this weekend can't you - yep tomorrow is empty the cupboard day!

The rest of the week has flown by, lots of work if I'm honest and I suddenly find myself at Friday again, my beautiful niece sent me a photo of her world book day outfit from her going into school yesterday, as you can see she went as Cruella and the kids loved it!  

I hope you've had a grand week too, apologies for the length of the post, but genuinely wanted to document it in detail. 

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY (AHEM SATURDAY) - 8TH OF THE YEAR

 Good morning and apologies for my tardiness, yesterday was an exceptionally busy day and I simply didn't get chance to sort my post, but nevertheless let's see what the last seven days brought in the way of positive moments and silver linings. 

Well after a busy half term week including a jaunt to the RSC we had a planned trip out last Friday night for my Mum's birthday at a Turkish restaurant. 

Said niece and her other half

Said 22 year old and fiancee

Lil bro and Mammy

Sister and Lil bro's fiancee

Whole group shot including my Mum's hubby, me and hubby. 

 We had a lovely evening and the food was nice, but the restaurant was soooooooo loud, we literally couldn't hear each other think, so I invited everyone to come over on Saturday for pancakes and a proper catch up.

So my niece, said 22 year old, his fianceee, my sister and my Mum as well as me and hubby and had several hours catching up and having a good old natter which was wonderful. 

Sunday we had a kick back day as I was due back to work on Monday, there was no rugby on but we enjoyed watching SAS Rogue Heroes which we had recorded pre-Christmas and I managed some scrapbook layouts. 

The working week was busy as always and I was on mass catch up after my week off, however, we did unusually for us manage not one or two but three evenings out. 

Tuesday night we were at the Cast theatre in Doncaster watching the Imitating Dog company and their re-telling of Macbeth, it was jaw-droppingly amazing, still using some of the original Shakespearean language, they incorporated music and digital imagery to bring the bard up to date, set in a Blade runner come Manga type setting with guns, blades, drugs etc.  It was a perfect showcase for the fact that Shakespeare's plays are still as relevant today as ever. 

Wednesday night and we saw the 'comedy' A perfect likeness, now I've put comedy in quotes because I genuinely didn't laugh at all throughout the play, it is a fictional piece of writing about a meeting between Charles Dickens and CS Lewis and to be honest I found it incredibly disappointing, not the actors they were great but I found the storyline difficult.  Charles Dickens was made out to be a philandering individual who had affairs with actresses despite having a wife he didn't love irrelevant of a large number of children and I know there is some truths in this.  CS Lewis was apparently besotted by an 11 year old Alice Liddell in an uncomfortable way and talked about taking nude photos of girls which I found most odd and perhaps marrying Alice at some point despite the fact she was still a child and a huge age difference, I found the whole discussion uncomfortable and unethical and definitely not humourous.  My Mum also came with us and totalling agreed that it was rather an odd play, rather than describing it as enjoyable.  

Thursday and we were at NT Live to see Othello, the first half was tedious, the stage set was poor, the costumes non-descript and the whole cast played out their characters in mean ill feeling ways, I know it is Othello and a tragedy but there is usually a degree of humour. 

Then the interval with an interval film with the Director and it all made sense, he took the tragedy element seriously, kept everything serious, played out the racial inequalities and misogynistic attitudes including domestic violence to be the back drop to this the saddest of tails, the second half was as you can imagine compelling, engaging and nothing like the first half because the context in which the play had been produced made so much more sense, the moral being the interval film should have been at the beginning, nevertheless another fix of Shakespeare is never something to grumble over. 

Wednesday said 22 year old and his fiancee finally got something that he has been waiting for for what felt like forever, a set of keys to their own place.  They've entered the property ladder and bought themselves a 2 bedroomed flat, although I think it is referred to as a maisonette, I always thought maisonette's were on two storey, however this is on one level having said that it does have an outdoor space and garden.  Nevertheless they finally got the keys and despite a lack of furniture they insisted on staying there on Wednesday night sleeping on a blow up mattress. 

Yesterday was moving day, so we had a rather busy one hence the lack of post, but I will fill you in on that next week. 

Have a great weekend and week ahead. 

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 7TH OF 2023

 Morning tis Friday time to clock the silver linings and positive moments over the last 7 days

So last Friday signalled our first day of annual leave, it didn't bode particularly well when we both woke to a cold, but we continued on regardless.  I still had areas of the house needing a deep clean, the dining room cupboards and the bathroom being the remaining two. 

I managed to do some of the cupboards in the dining room but as we didn't feel a hundred percent we broke the job into several days to make it easier. 

Saturday arrived and we continued on with the dining room, for a while now I've not been able to lay my hands on our wedding DVD, weirdly I woke at 4am and my brain told me that the DVD wasn't actually marked up.  I started to sort the cupboard with the random DVD's in and put a couple on to check their contents, you can already guess that I'm going to say the second one I tried turned out to be the one I wanted I was (quite rightly) overjoyed and I definitely shed a tear or two it has to be said.  I then continued to sort the cupboard and found several in video format that I really need to try and get transferred onto DVD if I'm honest, but it was a positive start to the week, despite the lurgy getting worse. 

By Sunday we headed to YSP to blow off the cobwebs but we were both decidedly unwell, so a shorter walk for us than normal.  We walked past the giant rabbit on the hillside next to the Camelia house 

wandered down to the boathouse

enjoyed the snowdrops on our way

then home dosed ourselves up and settled on the sofa for the rest of the day. 

Monday came and it was deep clean on the bathroom, we were both unwell and I think hubby would have bailed given half a chance but it is the last of the rooms we can do for the time being so we ploughed on, doing an OK job it could have been better but we really didn't have it in us, I think my body was just saying stop if I'm honest, so that's what we did. 

Tuesday arrived and Valentine's day, but more importantly both my Mum and my hubby's birthdays.  I genuinely wasn't well enough to see my Mum and I really didn't want to pass on what we had.  My sister called up and we kept her at arms length and she came bearing gifts which was lovely. 

These are my beautiful flowers from hubby which are still going strong.  We tried to enjoy our meal deal that we'd got but to be honest I was struggling to taste anything.  In the evening hubby found tickets to see the Tempest at the RSC in Stratford, he has been searching for weeks and I had a feeling it would have to be last minute ones if he was to find them at all.  Before I knew it, he'd booked the tickets and a hotel room overnight, despite us still not being 100% 

Wednesday and we were set off to Stratford late morning, my Mum had contacted to let us know that her latest scan had shown that the current treatment regime was not controlling the tumours in her abdomen, therefore they have offered her a new treatment which will be more invasive and chemo based which may result in a loss of hair.  My Mum had chemo many years ago and always swore she wouldn't have it again as it made her very poorly, but she wants more time with us all and so has accepted the treatment, I'm praying it has improved somewhat since the last time, but I have friends who've gone through it and it sounds just as tough, so keep in her your thoughts. 

We continued on our day and got down to Stratford around the time we were due to check in so straight to the hotel.  Grabbed a cuppa in our room and then browsed places to eat before we went to the theatre.  We chose Zizzi's restaurant which was close to the theatre. 

I had crab filled cannelloni which was delicious albeit very filling

and hubby had a spicy calzone. 

Then across the way to the theatre

The set as always was amazing and got more elaborate as the play unfolded, with the two pieces either side lowering during the play and the white curtain at the back revealing a forest behind in the latter stages. 

The play itself is always what I feel hard work, but it is one that hubby loves, I perhaps find it hard work as I haven't seen it often.  We picked up a programme and I bought a book on the history of the play, its interpretations which I've started. 

We travelled home on Thursday afternoon, had a simple tea and settled in to some binge watching on the TV as we were still not 100% and very tired.  Hubby put on the remainder of Trigger Point which he'd recorded early last year.  Then we binge watched the entire series of SAS Rogue Heroes which was also very good. 

I hope you've had a grand week, have a good weekend and week ahead. 

Hugs