A better week for Coco

 Our dog has caused more than her share of drama in the last 10 days. After I published last Monday's post I discovered that she had been given the wrong strength medication.  Three times what it should have been!  No wonder she had felt better quickly. Fortunately it wasn't too drastic, it just meant that she had been on the highest level of 300g rather than the normal level of 100g. It just means we have to wean her off them a little slower.  She will have her last tablet tomorrow and then we need to see how she is. 

There's been much excitement in the family as Rosie celebrated her 7th birthday.  She was SO excited, and was awake at 4am ready to start the day with a bang.  She was soon sent back to bed to try and get a couple more hours sleep!  She had her party at a local craft centre on Saturday with the theme of KPop Demon Hunters which meant that our daughter had to spend much of the morning weaving in a very thick, long purple plait into her hair and then spray dying her own hair purple.  It looked fab and she looked great in her fancy dress outfit.  So, now the next exciting thing is Christmas!

Are you organised?  I am not at all.  I have only bought two presents so far.  I need to get in the zone and decide what I'm going to buy everyone!  Maybe I'll begin with getting some wrapping paper and cards to start the ball rolling. Or maybe my first job will be to start making list of what needs to be done/bought/cooked, I do like a list!

What a week!

 Have you heard the expression 'that was a game of two halves'?  Where a situation changes quite dramatically in a short space of time. Well that sums up my last week.

First the good part where I met my pen friend in London. We had such a lovely day and the weather could not have been more perfect (and unlike a typical British November day!) We met at the Eros statue in Picadilly Circus, then walked down to Trafalgar Square.  Had a gluhwein at a German Christmas market, walked down to the Millenium Bridge, enjoying the sights as we walked from one side of the Thames to the other. We found a lovely traditional British pub for lunch.  Then we went through Borough Market and wandered around that area in the afternoon before reluctantly saying goodbye and going our separate ways.  It was SO lovely to see her and her husband and the hours just flew by.  I even got to see some places I'd never visited before, like China Town!

But the next day was definitely not so good.  Coco had us awake at 4am trying to go downstairs but unable to manage the steps.  I had to go and pick her up and in my half sleep and without wearing my glasses I stupidly tried to carry her downstairs.  I got about four steps from the bottom when I overbalanced (it's not easy carrying 10kgs of dog when you're not really awake) and slipped down the rest of the stairs.  I let her out in the garden but something was obviously wrong with her.  We made an urgent appointment with the vet as soon as they opened and rang Rachel to let her know that we were seriously worried about her.  She immediately got in the car to come over - Coco was originally her dog - and the three of us drove to the vets.  

The vet said she was in a lot of pain in her back but she seemed otherwise to be in good health so would we like to try to medicate her to see if it were nerve related.  She couldn't say what was causing it and to find out exactly what it was would require an MRI which she would not recommend as it would require anesthesia which you want to avoid in an elderly dog. By now all three of us are in tears as we honestly thought we were going to have to make a big decision that we didn't want to make. If the medication didn’t help we would have no option but to make that decision.

So she is now on a couple of strong painkillers and anti inflammatory pills and thankfully she seems to be responding to them.  It has been a hell of a weekend desperately hoping to see an improvement.

Here’s hoping she continues to respond to her tablets and that her poor back feels better soon. It’s been a horrible weekend, watching her every move and we must have cried pints of tears on Friday. Keep improving, Coco 😘

An exciting week ahead

 I have something really good on my calendar for later this week.  When I was 10 I belonged to The Monkees fan club - I loved Davy Jones!  There was an article in the fan club magazine asking if people wanted a pen pal and I signed up straight away.  I was matched with a girl called Cindy who lived in Chicago and we are still in touch today, 57 years later!  We have met three times and on Thursday we will be meeting up again.  She is visiting London on her way to join a cruise ship in Southampton and has a day free when Paul and I are going to go into London to meet up with her and her husband.  How exciting!!! 

In other news, I finished the sweater I was crocheting

So I am now starting a new project which will be a blanket for Rosie.  The chenille yarn is ordered and I am keen to get going on it.  One of the great bonuses about joining my Knit and Natter group is that as well as making new friends, it is encouraging me to always have a project on the go.

I ordered some new glasses a couple of weeks ago and they are now ready to collect so I am looking forward to that.  I haven't needed a new prescription for four years so I am kind of fed up with these frames, I have definitely had my money's worth out of them!  Glasses are so expensive around here.  I need to have varifocals and the actual lens costs about double the cost of the frames.  Every time I go they mention the fact that I have the beginnings of cataracts but they aren't bad enough to operate on at the moment.  I'm in no hurry as I am squeamish about eyes.  You know the test they do for glaucoma where they puff a jet of air into your eye?  I cannot stop myself from jolting backwards when they do that, it's a good job the chair isn't on wheels or I'd be bouncing off the wall!

I hope you have a good week planned.  I'm already thinking about what we are going to do in London, I'm sure the time will fly by and don't want to waste a minute!  I'll report back next week.

It's been a while ...

 It's been many a week since I've written anything other than book reviews here and I'm tentatively writing a new post with good intentions to get back into the swing of blogging.

I've withdrawn into hibernation mode for various reasons and have spent more time that usual supporting our daughter who is going through a very stressful time at the moment.  That of course is shorthand for increased child care duties!

October included the half term holidays in this area and as our daughter's new job involves working in London for a couple of days a week, those child care days started early and ended late!  Then of course we had our other grandchildren for a whole day together.  By the end of that week we were shattered and in need of a day out on our own to Cambridge.  John Lewis is already in the Christmas spirit and I must confess to getting a few stocking filler presents.

There was a birthday celebration for our youngest grandchild, Olive, who has hit the dizzy heights of four.  She is very proud of that fact and will tell everyone she meets that she is not three anymore.  Her birthday party on Saturday had a halloween/Moana theme to it as she couldn't decide what she wanted to dress up as.  The cake was definitely on the side of Moana, look what a lovely design our daughter in law made for her.

Leo is fanatical about his football now and I can't resist his little face when he asks me 'will you be coming to watch the match on Saturday Nanny?' so we seem to be standing on the windswept sidelines for every home game.  That takes me back to many a cold morning watching our son 25 years ago!

My 'knit and natter' group organised a night out a couple of weeks ago.  We met for a meal at an Italian restaurant and then went to see the 'Jersey Beats' show at our local arts centre.  It was such good fun.  Meanwhile our husbands met up for a curry at an Indian restaurant in town. I always forget how many hits Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons had and must confess to singing along for most of the evening.

Talking of 'knitting and nattering' - or in my case - crocheting and chatting, I started making a ripple cardigan a while ago as a project to take with me on Fridays and it is nearly finished.  All will be revealed when it is finished.

Here is the video of October, 1 Second Everyday

My book list for October

 I started off the month with the book chosen by my online book club

The book is set in 1963 and introduces us to Barbara Feldman who is bringing up two children single handed following the death of her husband two years earlier.  It has been hard to come to terms with her widowhood but she is finally feeling as if things are settling into a new normal.

That is, until her mother in law turns up on her doorstep, suitcases in hand, and announces that she has come to 'help'.  Barbara feels she has no alternative but to invite her in but it soon becomes clear that Ruth is intending to stay much longer than a couple of weeks.  Barbara sympathises with her as Ruth is widowed herself and has now also lost her son.  But sympathy can wear a little thin as Ruth decides to stamp her own mark on the family.

Barbara decides that the only way to entice Ruth out of her home is to find her a husband, but it seems that this idea is also on Ruth's mind - no one will ever replace her son but Barbara would surely be happier with a new man in her life.

The story was a bit predictable and you do have to remind yourself that it is set in the early 60s when a woman's life was quite different to how it is now but it was amusing to see the relationship between Barbara and Ruth evolves.

Of course I then found myself missing the Seven Sisters series and before I knew it I had downloaded the third book which tells the story of Star.

Star has always lived in the shadow of her overprotective sister Ce-Ce, to the extent of losing her independence and Ce-Ce assuming that Star will always want what she wants and that they cannot be separated.  But the loss of their father has affected Star in a way no one would have expected.  She doesn't want to have Ce-Ce deciding where they will live or where they will work. Who knew that there would be a tiny rebellious streak about to unfold.

She plucks up the courage to read the clues she was left and finds that her story begins in England.  The first part of her story involves an old bookshop which just happens to be very close to where Ce-Ce has bought their first apartment together.  Star quickly develops a friendship with Orlando, the owner of the shop, and is introduced to his brother 'Mouse', sister Marguerite, and nephew Rory.

When I learnt that part of Star's story would involve the Lake District and associations with Beatrix Potter, I just knew it was going to interesting and I like it when I have been to a location in the story as I can vividly visualise the setting.

By the end of the book I viewed the relationship between Ce-Ce and Star in a very different way.  I had always had the impression that one of the girls was heavily dependant on the other but as I learnt more about them, I realised that this was not the case at all.

The different strands of Star's story were very cleverly entwined and naturally I now want to read the next book in the series. Each book can be read on its own so you don't need to feel that you have to read them all after you have read the first, but I am now so invested in the individual stories of the sisters and want to know them all!

My book list for September

 We went out for drinks a couple of weeks ago and my friend was telling me about a really good book she read on holiday. As she explained it, a dim and distant memory came back to me that I thought I had heard of that book before.  Next day I checked my Kindle contents and sure enough, I had downloaded that book to take on holiday last year and never got round to reading it!  So that became my first book of the month.

This is the first in a series of books involving seven sisters - none related by blood, but adopted over the years by a billionaire who they knew as 'Pa Salt'.  Maia is the eldest of the sisters and is the first to learn of Pa Salt's death.  She returns to the luxurious castle she has called home on the banks of Lake Geneva to find that her father's instructions were for him to be buried at sea as soon as possible after his death and that he wants none of the girls to be there.  Far from returning to arrange a funeral, Maia is tasked with the unhappy task of telling her sisters what has happened and to let them know that they will be unable to say a last farewell to their father.

When the solicitor arrives to discuss Pa's last wishes he hands each daughter a letter with clues to where in the world they were born before he adopted them.  Further clues are found on a sculpture in the garden which gives them the coordinates of that location on a globe, along with a personal quote for them all.

So this book is dedicated to Maia whose clues lead her to visit Brazil and whose family is linked to the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio di Janeiro.  She is also given a soapstone tile, which she goes on the discover is identical to those which adorn the statue.

I really enjoyed this book and am pleased to find that each sister has her own book so if the others match up to this one, I know I won't have any trouble deciding on a book to read next. This one definitely ends on a cliffhanger!

So onto the next in the series!

This book concerns Ally who was on a boat off of the Greek coast at the time that Pa Salt died.  By a strange coincidence, she saw her father's yacht moored at sea and in hindsight, assumes that she had inadvertently been close at the time that his body was 'buried at sea'.  

The letter that Pa Salt had left for her suggests that she look at a book from his study suggesting that her history may be found in Norway.  There is also a small model of a frog in the envelope which Ally finds confusing.  She has never seen it before and cannot think of any significance to it being passed onto her.  

She realises she has fallen in love with Theo, the yachtsman that she was with in Greece, and is thrilled when he asks her to join his crew for the Fastnet race.  But tragedy is not far away and Ally finds herself having to completely rethink the future she thought she would have.

She decides to visit Norway, seeking the significance of the hints that Pa left behind as clues to her history.  So we step back in time to learn about Anna, a farmer's daughter with a beautiful voice who is given the opportunity to sing in the famous Christiana theatre where she meets Jens, a talented musician with a reputation for being unreliable and unfaithful.  

How will the love story between Jens and Anna lead to Ally's adoption? 

I can see that I'm going to end up reading all of the books in this series!  The author takes historical facts and weaves interesting stories into how this very unusual family was formed.

I tracked down another in the series in our local library

The Sun Sister tells the story of Electra, possibly the most troubled on the sisters.  A famous model with the world at her feet on the outside but inside lies a number of addictions and a very unhappy woman.  

Rocked by the death of Pa Salt and the break up of her relationship with a famous musician, Electra relies on drugs and drink to lift her up.  Friends and family are concerned for her mental health, then one day she receives a message from someone who says they are her grandmother and who can tell her where she came from before she was adopted.  This tips her over the edge and she is booked into a rehab centre.

On her discharge she decides to talk to her grandmother to find out more of her history and so we embark on a journey to Africa to discover exactly how Electra's family lived through the war and how her grandmother came to live in America.

Only by confronting her past can Electra turn her life around and try to ensure that the future is brighter for women who find themselves in her birth mother's predicament.  

I enjoyed this book just as much as the others!

My last book for the month is one that doesn't have a front cover, and I can't share any details about it I'm afraid!  My friend Dani is an author and she has kindly let me read a draft of her new novel.  I will reveal more when I can. 

#WBOYC in August

 

What's been on my calendar this month?  Not very much!  It's school summer holidays here and so with four grandchildren we've been kept busy with helping with childcare.  How do families with both parents working manage if they don't have family nearby to help out?  

Watching and reading

Destination X sometimes had me wondering why some people apply to go on shows involving different places in the world when they admit 'I'm hopeless at geography'.  They all start out as a group 'of course we will share any information or clues we find, we're in this together'. Seriously?  Only one of you can win the £10,000, it's going to be each man for himself!

We enjoyed The Hostage on Netflix.  Suranne Jones was very good as a prime minister having to make some huge decisions.  

The Sewing Bee has been good to watch and it is interesting to see how creative all the contestants are, especially under a tight timescale.

My reading list is here - as you will see, it is somewhat monopolised by one author!

Eating

We went to dinner at our friends' house and they had cooked Sicilian sausage ragu with the meat coming from a nearby Italian deli.  Oh boy, it was absolutely delicious.

Leo and Rosie helped with the design and decoration of their mum’s birthday cake 

We took our son's children out for a McDonald's lunch as a birthday treat.  This was I think the second time they have been there as their mum and dad try hard to avoid processed foods.  The last time I had a McDonalds was in 2008!  I remember it as we were on our way up to Sheffield to collect our daughter from university.  I have to say, it tasted better than I remembered but boy are those french fries salty!

Self care

A whole month with no normal pilates or zumba classes!  The hall we use for zumba is having air conditioning installed (and about time too!) and the pilates teacher decided that she would not hold classes for August as so many people had holiday commitments.  I signed up for a month of online classes via my zumba teacher but am ashamed to say that I have only logged on three times.

I'm not sure if it really qualifies as self care, but I went to my 'knit and natter' group on Friday for the first time in a few weeks and it was so nice to just sit, do some crafting and chat.  My blanket is finally finished!

Days Out

Any days out seem to have been related to child friendly places, crazy golf, cinema trips and a birthday trip to McDonalds.  But last weekend we went to the Gibberd Gardens which is a six acre site in the grounds of Sir Frederick Gibberd's home.  It was a gloriously warm day and it was lovely to wander around the gardens and woodland with Coco.  I think I am right in saying that Harlow was the second 'new town' to be built in England back in the late 40s, and Gibberd was the architect and designer of the town.  It holds an interest to me as I grew up in that area and the secondary school that I went to was on the outskirts of Harlow New Town.

So, here is my 1 Second Everyday for the month