Everything's fine, I think......

What a week....

 

In the diary for Monday - walk on Malvern Hills with friend K.

At 8.15, just as I was about to leave for my friends house, Mum rang in a total panic.  Dad had collapsed and she couldn't get him up again.  We called for an ambulance and they checked him out.  His heart is fine.... it was just a combination of fatigue, a virus and dehydration.  A lot of water, sleep and some antibiotics have worked their magic over the rest of the week.

Unfortunately he knocked Mum quite badly on the way down so she was bruised (not great for an elderly HD sufferer).

I spent the day round at their house, generally looking after things and getting Dad to his own Docs later in the afternoon.

 

In the diary for Tuesday - coffee and catch up with fellow 'escapee Music Teacher' S.

Fortunately she texted to say that she had one of the bugs that's going round.  I used the day to sort out a few more things for Mum and Dad.  I also did my own food shop for the week while I was in Droitwich.  I found that I was a bit 'wiped out and emotional' after the unexpected stress of the previous day.

In the evening we went to the Marcos Motoring Club monthly meal at a pub near Pershore.  I wasn't really in the mood to be sociable... and a couple of people in the club really pushed my buttons during the meal.  I know I was just over-tired so I'm not going to hold it against them!

 

In the diary for Wednesday Evening - Saltway Quilters Meeting with friend and next door neighbour J.

My first ever visit to a Quilters Meeting.  The group are really friendly and welcoming.  We'll  definitely go again.

 

In the diary for Thursday - coffee and catch up lovely ex-colleague C.

C. texted me while I was at the Quilters meeting to say that she was swamped by work/planning and marking and would prefer to re-schedule our catch up to next week.  I made the most of the unexpected free time to do several loads of washing .... and several happy hours of quilting!!!

 

In the diary for Saturday Evening - '90 Years of Romance' meal out with Mum and Dad

This weekend is the 67th anniversary of Mum and Dad's first date AND the 33rd anniversary of mine and Mark's first date, making 90 years of romance in total!  Sadly we took the decision on Friday to postpone this meal because Mum and Dad aren't really well enough at the moment for a big meal in the evening.  We hope that we'll have a meal out together in a couple of weeks time.

In the meanwhile I made a curry from scratch for the two of us and we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine.

 

I hope that this week is going to be a little bit more like the schedule I can see in the diary......

No surprises please!!!!!

Jx



When Ella was Asleep...

We had a very 'gentle' Christmas break this year - not too much rushing around, eating and drinking, and staying up late, but lots of quality time with family and friends. 

On Boxing Day we went to Worcester Cathedral Cloisters to see the annual display of charity trees.  The low winter sun was shining through the glass and it gave an extra 'glow' to the whole event.

 

 

Mum managed very well with her walker - she's at the front in the photo below.

(Standing and reading is incredibly difficult for people with HD.. but my Mum is always super-determined in these sorts of situations.)

 

I'm always in awe of the creativity in these displays.  This tree was provided by a vintage clothing shop in the town.  It's been inspired by a fairy from a 1950s tree.  The neckline is made of baubles and the sash is made of tinsel and beads.  So pretty!

 

 

I totally fell for the romance of this tree.  It was created by the local Operatic Society and has a 'Marriage of Figaro' theme.

 

Close up it's even more gorgeous.  I'd have a tree like this in my living room if I could.

 

Wouldn't it look amazing at a winter wedding?

 

I saw these 'parcel's at the bottom of the tree created by a local mental health charity.

They'd worked with a snow-flake theme ... "Everyone's different and equally beautiful".

 

On 27th December me plodded across the snow-fields of the East Midlands to see Mark's Mum.  She lives in Sleaford (south of Lincoln) which is an awkward return journey for us to do in one day from Worcester.  Nevertheless, with her health problems, it's easier to devote one day of the holiday to a lot of driving rather than trying to deal with both Mums at this end (I hope that doesn't sound harsh..)

 

Then... for a couple of days I was laid low with the nasty bug that's going round.  Mark was delighted because it gave him chance to do some jobs in the garage on his current project.

 

Yesterday we joined some friends at the local model engineering club for their members New Year's Day event.  Here's Mark (in the hat) learning how to drive the track...

 

 

I was still feeling pretty rough but I still drove a bit and rode behind my friend...

(No pictures of me - I looked seriously ''full of a cold'!)

 

And younger niece I. joined us for a few circuits in the afternoon...

 

 

Today Mark went back to work.  Ella was unimpressed by the early alarm clock.  I don't think Mark was that pleased about it either.  I managed to sleep through the whole thing.... which didn't impress either of them!!!!!!

Jx

On New Ground Again... And We Turn Down a Cat

For as long as I can remember, my Mum and Dad have had a pre-Christmas lunch at the beginning of December with members of the Manchester 'clan'.  (My Grandma was the youngest of eleven so there are masses of second cousins etc.)  They've always enjoyed the chance to catch up with family news and hand over Christmas presents.

 

This year there was a clash of dates for everyone, so Mark and I stepped up to represent the Worcester branch of the family.  We met up with my lovely 'cousin' M. (he's actually a second cousin, twice removed...we share the same Great Grand-parents!) and his wife G.

They suggested that we meet at Denstone Hall Farm Shop and Café, which is roughly half-way between Worcester and the north east side of Manchester.  It's an area of the country that we really don't know at all so we really enjoyed the drive through the Staffordshire country-side

 

 

We ate from the Sunday lunch menu (£13 for two courses) and I can honestly say it was one of the nicest meals out that I've eaten for some time.  If you're in the area, then I'd definitely recommend it (but you need to book because it's incredibly popular).  M. thinks that he'd like to meet there again for a 50th Birthday celebration in the Spring.  The plan is that we'd drive up from Worcester with my parents and he'd drive down with his Mum.  A nice plan.

 

After we finished our meal, we explored the food hall and 'Christmas Barn'.  To be honest the shop wasn't as good value as the café but the barn had some attractive ideas and made me feel really 'festive'..

 

(All the photos in this post are taken from the internet... I wasn't organised enough yesterday!)

 

And then we turned down a cat......

 

A 'friend of a friend' rang me out of the blue on Saturday afternoon and explained that her cat needed a new home urgently.  She's moving this week into a property that doesn't allow animals.  I wasn't really prepared for this and I agreed to go over and see her today (Monday).  When I put down the phone I realised that I'd made a mistake.... we're not ready in any way and I couldn't face the stress of settling in a new animal into our home.  So I contacted her again and she's fine about it.  I think people understand the grieving process that comes with losing a pet, but I need to recognise my own feelings and allow myself the emotional space.

 

One thing that is definitely clearer............

We won't be making space for another cat anytime soon.

Jx

 

 

 

Yeah.... We did it!!!!!!!!!

Mum and Dad were super-anxious when we set off on Wednesday morning.

There were so many things that could have gone wrong... but we dealt with the challenges as they came along and had a really nice time.  I think my role as 'useful third person' contributed to this, but it's also fair to say that Llandudno is a great place to go with someone who has mobility issues.

 

We stayed at The Grand, which is right on the sea front and has fantastic views.

It's a cheap hotel to stay in and is very popular with coach parties.

(We chose it because we didn't know if Mum was going to cope with being away from home, and we didn't want to waste too much money on expensive rooms if we were forced to leave early.)

As it happens, the views from Mum and Dad's balcony were worth millions...

This was the view to the right, over the town and towards the edge of Snowdonia..

 

This was the view straight ahead across the bay...

 

And this was the view to the left, along the pier...

 

We were allocated a table on the edge of the dining room, with more superb views and plenty of space.  A seagull became convinced that Mum's hand movements were going to result in food, so it came to watch her eat at some stage during most meals...

 

The hotel keeps costs down by operating a buffet service for meals.  This is problematic for someone with HD so I got Mum's meal first, while Dad got his own, then they started eating while I quickly got my meal and caught up.  It worked ok because Mum has to eat slowly and I'm a fast eater (a teaching legacy I suspect!!)

 

On the first morning Mum managed to walk with her frame to the end of the pier...

 

 

..... then it was time for a coffee stop!

 

After lunch we even made it quite a way along the Promenade...

 

By the end of the day Mum had walked further than she had done for months.

We were all a bit bothered about how she was going to feel in the morning....

 

....To everyone's delight the gentle movement on the flat had loosen up some of her muscular problems, so we decided that everything was ok to drive up to the car park at the top of the Great Orne (the peninsular above the town).  Here's Mum with the spectacular view towards Conwy and Snowdonia...

 

Then Mum noticed the Tramway..... and the next thing we knew she'd decided that she was confident enough to tackle the steps (so typical of her fighting spirit when she's on form!).  Mum and Dad had an interesting hour riding the tram down into town and back up again, while I had a walk between the upper stations and took a few photos.

 

 I think the break/sea air did everyone a lot of good.

(Mum and Dad are very close, but they do drive each other a bit mad sometimes...

It was nice to be able to step in and 'head off' some situations before Dad's patience was tried and Mum got fractious - a difficult feature of the way HD affects the brain). 

I hope that we can do something similar later in the year.

 

AND the house was mostly in one piece when I got home!!

Jx

Door Opener in Chief!!!!

In just about an hour I'm leaving for a short break in North Wales with Mum and Dad.

Thomas was completely unimpressed with the idea that one of his 'servants' should be even considering the possibility of leaving him...

 

 

After all, who's going to fill his food bowl at 4.30???

Male servant never feeds him before 6.00!!!



 

I hope everyone plays nicely!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

I hope I don't come back to this scene when I get back on Saturday!!!

 

Basically Mum and Dad have always loved going away, and travelled extensively before this stage of Mum's HD took hold.  Last summer they had two holidays that didn't really 'work' because of Mum's needs and they lost all confidence in travelling, even cancelling a trip to a cottage with all the family at the end of October.

 

These three nights away are a kind of 'test trip' to see if we can find the right elements of a holiday for the next few years.  I'm going along to open doors for the wheel chair, share the pushing and help to keep everything calm.......

 

Will report back at the weekend.

Jx

Celebrating 50 Years...and Other Nice Stuff

On Wednesday evening last week my Mum celebrated 50 Years of Mother's Union membership.  Here she is (in the plain purple top) with the some of the other ladies of Claines Mothers Union, my Dad, me (right at the back) and my sister (second from left).

 

 

It was a really poignant evening because, coincidently, the speaker for the evening was from the Huntington's Disease Association.  This meant that the group first heard about everything that Mum had done for the organisation (in Oxford, then in Manchester and lost recently in Worcester) then they heard more about the challenges of having a disease like this in the family.  They particularly became more aware of the health issues and enormous decisions that it creates for myself, my sister and her girls...

 

But most of the evening was about celebration.

Mum received a huge bunch of blue and white flowers (the colours of the Mothers Union)

 

We all chatted.....

(Mum's HD means that she rarely smiles, but she was really happy here!)

 

...and ate plenty of cake

AND FINALLY... my silver Disco has arrived!!!!

 

 

Although a small failure of a connection piece and a hose meant that she came home on the back of a recovery truck this lunch time.  Fortunately my wonderful husband has already found the fault and will be able to fix her tomorrow morning.

 

 

I hope that you are all enjoying the Easter weekend.

Jx

 

 

Mark's Project at the NEC

Good grief... is it Thursday already?

Anyway, here's a few photos from our weekend as part of the Classic and Restoration Show at the NEC Birmingham.  The Disco 5 hire car did a great job of towing the Marcos on the trailer round the west midlands motorways and in through the doors of Hall 11...

 

 

It always seems a bit strange to be driving around these large halls on set up day...

 

It took a few hours on Thursday to clean up the Marcos (she'd collected plenty of water when we drove through several showers on the way).  We also had to off-load the display boards and carpets from the club van, and set up the whole display.  By the time we left on Thursday we were already pretty tired...

 

The weekend was fun but exhausting... three more very early mornings and long days.

By the Sunday morning Mark just wanted as much sugar as he could reasonably eat on one iced bun!

 

Younger niece I. joined us for Saturday and Sunday.  She's been working with Mark for the last two years on the project and is very enthusiastic about the cars.  However, this was the first time that she'd got the chance to come a show.  She enjoyed the chance to sit in the other cars on the stand and generally assess the engineering and design that's needed to finish our project.

 

We also put her to good work at the end of the show when everything had to be pulled apart again..

 

When Mark went to get the Disco and trailer, I sat down to eat in the middle of all the chaos.

(At events like this it's important to take every advantage for 'fine dining'... haha!!)

 

In the end it was easier to push the Marcos out of the hall than try to get the car and trailer in through the doors.  As the lightest member of our team, niece I. got the chance to steer while we pushed.  You can see that she can't wait for the day when she gets the chance to drive this car for real!!!

 

Fortunately the daylight just about held until we got home.  I think we did a 14 hour day on Sunday.  Mark took the day off on Monday so we all had chance to relax and recover..

 

Since the weekend we've been trying to resolve the issue of the damaged Disco 2.

On Monday afternoon Mark and I went to look at 4 cars that are similar or lower spec/mileage than ours, at several different garages.  All of them were more money than the insurance company has offered - so Mark is spending a lot of time having very irritable conversations with them to try and bring about a resolution.  Bearing in mind that we are completely 'blame free' in this whole episode AND we have a 'like for like replacement' policy... we are starting to feel  extremely annoyed about the whole thing.

 

There's lots of other stuff going on... but I'm running out of time today so it will all have to wait for the next post.

Jx

The New Conservatory ... and other things that shine!

The old conservatory did excellent service for almost 20 years...

But it was poorly insulated, leaked and severely restricted the light in the dining room.

 

 

Now I have a lovely light new room, with carpets that match through the whole of the ground floor.  I'm SO pleased with it. 

 

There are a few patchwork cushions and a small quilt in there at the moment that I might replace.  I've got some lovely pale purple/grey/blue/green fabrics in the stash that will make a new quilt and a few cushions.  I've also decided to move a few bits from my blue and white pottery collection onto the window sills.... I just need to have a sort out in the kitchen and decide what's going where!

 

Yesterday Mum and Dad came round for a little 'celebrating the finished conservatory' lunch.

I got out my two tier cake stand, tea plates etc. so that we could do the whole thing 'in style'.  We sat and chatted in the sun for about 3 hours.... which was so relaxed and lovely.

 

And - yesterday morning - this wee beastie arrived on the drive too!

It's a brand new (26 miles on the clock) Discovery 5.

It's the car provided by the insurance company until our old Discovery is sorted out.

(Basically we've got it because the 'normal' vehicles provided to cover periods of accident repair aren't capable of moving a full size harp or towing a 3 1/2 tonne car trailer!)

It's ENORMOUS and it took me several hours to pluck up the courage to drive it!

Now I've got used to it... I actually quite like it. 

Ofcourse 'Petrol Head Mark' has fallen in serious love!!

 

Sadly my old Discovery was declared a 'write off' this morning - so we're now in the process of negotiating a settlement and finding a replacement.  We won't be buying a Discovery 5 though... Mark told me last night that this car is currently being sold for £65,000!!!!!!!!  (Now I'm even more nervous about driving it......!)  Mark's tasked me to go up a local 4X4 garage this afternoon and see how much a similar condition, 15 year old vehicle will cost.

 

How did I ever find time to teach????

 

You are what you eat..

..and in my father-in-laws case the all the tests show that he has Vitamin B12 deficiency.

All G.'s symptoms - extreme fatigue, irritability, depression, character changes and loss of memory and understanding - have come from his very poor diet.  He's fallen into a cycle of being quite aggressive about avoiding food too.

 

Fortunately, we understand that this can be treated with injections and supplements.

We hope that the injections may trigger his appetite again and there won't be too much long term damage.  (G. ate an entire Weatherspoon's big breakfast AND apple crumble while he was on holiday with us in November, so there's hope!)

 

Mark and P. are also talking regularly, which is keeping the 'bigger picture' of family relationships calmer too.  As a result, I feel a lot less anxious and stressed about this area of our life!

 

It's been a bit of a crazy week though...

- My beloved Series 2 Discovery is ill again.  (Solution - borrow Dad's sporty old Nissan 200SX and enjoy the twin turbos... Woop, woop!)

- I spent four hours at Accident and Emergency yesterday afternoon with a friend who had major heart surgery 18 months ago.  (Outcome - the pain wasn't his heart, just the muscles/bones in the chest cavity... what a relief!)

- Dad's asthma is really bad again and he's spending a lot of time at the doctors. (Positive - he's finally working with a doctor at the surgery who seems prepared to put a more systematic review and long-term action plan in place.  Now I've just got to encourage Dad to be honest about the challenges of being Mum's carer and the correlation between her 'bad days' and his own health)

- We're having the conservatory replaced next week.  I really need to start clearing it...

 

In the meanwhile...

- I want to send niece L. back to uni with some 'pocket warmers'.   I haven't started them yet and I'm having a coffee with her late tomorrow morning.  She goes back on Saturday.  Eeek!

- I'm somewhere over halfway through the lacy knitted scarf that I'm making for my friends birthday... next Tuesday.  Eeek, eek!!!

- I've also been enjoying loads of lovely social chats.  I'm off again in half and hour to pick up the Nissan and drive to Redditch for a gossip with an ex-colleague.

 

How did I find time to work???!

Jx 

 

 

Saturday 'Show and Tell'

We've had this old footstool for years.

We bought it with a suite from the Co-op in Worcester in the mid-90s.

The suite was replaced years ago but this was too useful to be thrown away.

It's mid-90s colours looked ok with the old carpet...

but it's not looking great with the new one!

 

 

So I'm making a little quilt to cover it.

I'd been saving these fabrics for some kind of project for the lounge..

and this seems like the perfect opportunity to use them!

The main section is just 5 X panels of random 'quilt as you' strips.

 

There's going to be a narrow cream border

then the side of the quilt will be five of these floral print squares.

(The floral pattern is actually a beautiful screen print....

which I picked up for £1 a metre in a clearance bin!)

 

In the evenings I'm also working feverishly on this lace scarf.

I hope that I'll be able to give it to my friend for her birthday in 10 days time.

I love the effect, but the yarn is an absolute pest to work with!

 

On Thursday morning, niece L. and I went for a walk and lunch in the Wyre Forest.

She's doing a nursing degree in Leeds so her holidays tend to be at slightly weird times.

 

 

It was such a luxury to be out and about under blue skies!

 

The paths were really water-logged..

 

but we managed to walk a decent length loop around the forest tracks

and along the old railway line.

 

It was lovely to catch up with all her news.

 

This evening Mum and Dad are coming for dinner.

We're having Shepherds Pie (a good one for people with HD)

Tomorrow we're off to Oxford to try and tackle some of the 'in-law issues'...

Between you and me, I'd rather stay at home and craft...

but Mark would like my support (which is fair enough!)

 

I am, however, taking the birthday scarf with me to work on.

I'm hoping that I'll feel less like throttling people if I can keep my fingers occupied!!

Jx