Cabin Fever

Stuck at home in this with a dodgy knee............

It has snowed non-stop this morning and must be close to 6" deep now. MB and I are holed up with two freaky felines!

Added to which I am frustrated with waiting for my knee surgery. My knee hurts almost all the time, plain and simple, and I am faced with a possible six-week wait. It has also meant I can't go out of the house because I am unsteady on my left leg and the snow is an added hazard.

On the plus side, the little boy next door is getting his parents' moneysworth out of his shiny red sledge.

Today I got out of the house for the first time since Wednesday when MB took me to the supermarket. I found out where the local kids are sledding!

Just around the corner from our house there is a sloping farmer's field which is currently empty. I tried to walk there to take photos, but slipped almost immediately, so had to make do with the back window and full zoom on my modest camera. The dots are people enjoying the snow :-)

Update 1; I have just checked the weather for next week and more heavy snow is forecast on Monday night and Tuesday for the South of England.

Update 2; Sunday afternoon and there are white flakey things dropping from the sky again.... :-(

Yay - snow turned to rain. Just the freezing temperatures tonight....

This weekend has been an opportunity for me to get everything ready for my blogparty next weekend.....it's gonna be HUGE!! :-)
Everyone is, of course, invited!

cq

High School Meme

I saw this on my sweet Missee Bug's blog and blatantly stole it.......not that England had High Schools in my day....

1. Did you date someone from your high school?
Unlikely! I went to an all-girl grammar school - we dated the boys from the boys' grammar! Those girls who were cool enough to date, of course!
2. Did you marry someone from your high school?
No, I'm not that way inclined (see Q1)
3. Did you car pool to School?
I don't think we knew what a car pool was in 70's Britain - I cycled 3 miles to and from school every day. Of course, being a teen girl, I dreamt of horse-riding it!
4. What kind of car did you have?
[rotflmao] we didn't have cars! We couldn't get our licence until 17. The first girl with a car was Samantha in my 6th form, her dad bought her a Honda Civic.
5. It is Friday night then; where are you?
Homework...
6. It is Friday night now, where are you?
Housework...
8. What kind of job did you have in high school?
Job? We didn't have jobs - too busy having fun.........yeah right!
9. Were you a party animal?
I had a curfew - so that would probably be 'no'.
10. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
Choir. I remember how hard 'The Boxer' was to sing in harmony. I was learning the viola, but never got into the orchestra. Boring instrument, the viola.
11. Were you a nerd?
Nah, I was more Sherry or Terry than Martin Prince.
12. Did you get suspended or expelled?
Nope - but my brother did! But then he was always in trouble - I was too scared to cause trouble. I just ran away from school a lot.
13. Can you sing the school song?
Can't remember it, let alone sing it!
14. Who was your favorite teacher?
Mrs Rangeley, my English mistress and house mistress. She was SO sweet.
15. Where did you sit during lunch?
Alone. I have always been tall and when I was in the First Form (somewhere around 6th grade?) I was mistaken for a sixth former (senior) and sent back to have a late lunch with them.
16. When did you graduate?
Er- technically, I didn't. Tech-ni-cally the school and I agreed to part company on bad terms in 1982.
17. What was your school mascot?
I don't think we had one. We played hockey and netball and swam - the Brits didn't do mascots in those days.
18. If you could go back and do it again - what would you do?
Good god no!! I hated school. Misery!
19. Did you go to the Prom?
My initial respoonse would have been 'What's a Prom?' - but on reflection we had the 6th Form disco.....and boys were actually invited. I had a horrible night as my mum made me wear an old fashioned black frock and all the other girls wore jeans....
20. Do you still talk to the person you went to the prom with?
I didn't go with anyone except my immediate girlfriend. I think she left with a boy though - and I seem to remember kissing a boy there, but I don't know who. My dad came to pick me up at 10pm.
21. Do you still talk to people from your school?
See Q18 :-)

Just for fun, tell me some of your favorite high school memories or better yet, copy and paste this meme and answer it on YOUR blog!

cq

Snow Garden

When it snows here in the UK (which is happening more regularly in these days of global warming - go figure!) the country does have a habit of grinding to a halt. This is mainly due to the fact that our public transport system is not designed for harsh weather and people are not trained or experienced in driving in snow (or rain or fog or ice, for that matter!).

This is my camellia bush, which is on the grave of our beloved boy Ambrose Cat (killed in a road accident), all covered in snow!

I tripped yesterday and pulled my bad knee, so I was 'in the box' for today anyway. I spent the day battling with the work training system on the internet. But I sat and watched the snow fall...... and fall.....and fall....

My boss and his boss are working from home tomorrow due to the bad forecast and he has recommended I stay home if it snows again. Heavy snow is forecast for us tonight, so I may be at home again tomorrow.

The spectacular trailing ivy from next door - which I am loathe to cut back - all snowed up!

As for the felines, Charlie is blase about snow, having seen it a few times, but William is still relatively new to snow and he got very anxious during the heaviest snowfall.

cq

Knowing that there is damage to my knee is comforting, but it doesn't stop me hoping for a prompt surgery date. Everything in my life now has the codicil 'unless my hospital date comes through'.....

Tomorrow is the first Battle Practice for the lads in the re-enactment company, opportunities for them to practice their sword skills

and bill drill

before we go in front of the public in the Summer. The women have started accompanying the men in kit, using the event as an opportunity to publicise the company and the events. I won't be joining them this year as the Battle Practice takes place at a location with a steep hill access. I really don't want to go to sit in the car park for two hours!

So it's a quiet weekend for me - the usual rest and elevation of my damned knee, and gentle housework. I am not on the laptop much, as the weight and heat makes my knee worse and using one leg is uncomfortable.

cq

Big Day

Today is my hospital appointment to find out what is wrong with my knee. It is still prettily swollen and painful after two months on crutches and four months with it elevated whenever possible. So I am guessing some sort of injury is still there.

I am working from home this morning, wading through paperwork so I can get ready for my appointment in plenty of time and to comfort my nerves - thank you, my thoughtful boss!

I had a terrible dream the other night which made me think realistically about any treatment on my knee. I'm not nervous about surgery, although I am not a huge fan of it - obviously......but I just want the constant pain to go away.

BUT if there is something wrong with it that requires fixing surgically, then it is possible there will be a six to eight week wait for surgery. Add in the recovery time for knee surgery - worst case 2 months on crutches - and my maths shows this eating into my medieval re-enactment season with huge golloping bites.

Update - yep, I have torn the cartilage in my knee. The orthopaedic surgeon says it is a clear tear and he can repair it with keyhole surgery. He is also hoping to get me fixed in time for the re-enactment season! The only drawback is the torn cartilage is aggravated by some arthritis in my knees.

cq

Shoes

It's time to begin thinking sensibly about this season in the world of medieval re-enactment. I need shoes and I need authentic ones - my current ones aren't 100% authentic, so I need new ones.
Shoes are expensive and authentic ones are hard to find, so my idea this year is to make my own.

Today was one of the scheduled Company of Chivalry Skills Days and I went hoping to have a lesson with our resident cordwainer (aka Gary, who is our esteemed Lord Hungerford these days) on how to make shoes. I had no idea it was so simple! I have learnt how to make the patterns of a simple shoe for myself and how to cut them out and put them together. Obviously, I know the actual sewing of the shoes will be hard work, but I have now learnt how to do 'hidden stitch' and 'flesh stitch' - the two main stitches of shoe-making in the 14C.

I'm actually pretty bad with my hands and am notoriously awful with crafty things, but my practice stitches came out looking quite good :-)

Now I just have to buy some leather, an awl, beeswax and get going - roll on market day!

cq

Alphabet Meme

I found this meme over at Bobkat's blog and couldn't resist having a go. Then she gave me the letter 'G' and my mind went blank! So I Facebooked a request for words beginning with 'G'. And now I have some good words....

Green - this is an important word today. My car has been off the road with some fairly serious work needed doing. MB has worked hard welding and repairing and today my car passed it's MOT (Ministry of Transport) test - and the paperwork is green! (A fail is red paperwork - nuff said!) I never liked green, but today it's my favourite colour! Not only that, but my trusty little car is green too! Not only is my car fabuloso, but it means no more grotty buses, getting to work in a fraction of the time, my own music, my own company.......LUSH!

Gorilla - I love gorillas. To be honest I love all apes, but gorillas have had a place in my heart since learning about Dian Fossey and the work she did in the Congolese mountains to protect the gorillas that became family to her - Digit, Peanut and the rest :-) Look into the big open face of a gorilla at rest and tell me that it ain't the most beautiful sight. The film 'Gorillas in the Mist' was good, but nothing comes close to the original film of Dian interacting with wild gorillas.

Gadgets - I don't do gadgets. I have a mobile phone, a laptop and an MP3 and in my kitchen I have a coffee machine and a moulinex mixer on a shelf - but that's the lot. I don't see the point in covering my kitchen counters with gadgets. When I make bread, I make it by hand, I grate cheese by hand - I don't recognise a lot of kitchen gadgets in the shops. I don't have a palm pilot, a Wii, an iPOD, a XBox, a satnav, hair tongs, curlers, straightners. I just don't do gadgets.

Gold - As I was walking back to the garage tonight to get my car's test result, I noticed the sun had just dipped behind the local hill and the sky in the area was lit up a bright gold colour. One of the things I love about doing my medieval re-enactment is the golds and pinks of sunset and sunrise. The wrongs in the the world pale Mother Nature provides us with such beauty.

Gang - well, this is no surprise. I have a gang - not bad for a 'not so young any more' woman. The Crazies is a bit of a weird gang, some of us blog, some of us facebook and all of us like silly films and getting together to argue and laugh, drink and eat and spend some quality time as a group.

Gaunt – as in John of Gaunt. English soldier and statesman the fourth son of King Edward III of England and brother of Edward the Black Prince. John of Gaunt inherited the Lancastrian land by marrying into the Lancaster family, John’s son Henry deposed Richard II and became King as Henry IV. Our rallying call in the medieval re-enactment is 'For God, King and Lancaster!' the main men in order of importance in 1370.

Update - extra one!

Grot/grunge/grime - a week or so ago, david (our man in the mountains!) asked about medieval re-enactment; 'do the smelly soldiers have a smelly sachet that they wear to simulate the stink or do they have to stop bathing to recreate the odor?' This made me smile and I remembered it today and grot/grunge/grime jumped into my head! By the end of a weekend re-enacting, most of us are getting a bit odorous! What with sleeping on the ground, canvas tents, wearing filthy clothes, living around a real fire, dirty hands and dirty faces - washing is a bit redundant while we are in camp. Most of us wait and then shower when we get home. So, david - the smelly soldiers are most definitely really smelly....along with the rest of us!

And finally, Ginger - had to have this one! Charlie is a dark ginger Maine Coon, William is a ginger and white shorthair and even MB is ginger, being a redhead! Perhaps I love surrounding myself with golden beings :-)

If you want to have a go, ask me for a letter.

cq

Eh? What's a blogparty...?

Blogparties are the ultimate social event, bringing people together from across the world to a single place during a single time. All you have to do is ensure the guests know the time differences!
A couple of years ago blogparties were all the rage. It's hard to believe we have some new bloggers in the blogiverse that have never been to a blogparty!

In this time of financial insecurity a blogparty is a great way to have a party for nothing. All you need is an imagination - the wilder the better.
The clothes are free, the food is free, the drink is free - not even a babysitting bill! The host doesn't need to worry that there is enough food, drink, chairs, room to move around.
There is no expense to get there (other than your broadband or dial-up) and while you are there you can still do chores, keep an eye on the family or even watch your favourite TV show!

In addition, there is no sense of over-eating, diets can be forgotten and there is no hangover. All the guests and staff are virtual, so pretty much anything goes - in tune with the 'rating' of the blog (family-friendly, modest, adult).

The Palace used to hold some fab blogparties, and in this era of uncertainty, I decided it's time to blow the cobwebs with another one!

[click] Open Invitation

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Hearts and Flowers Party

You are cordially invited to

A 'Hearts and Flowers' Party

from 8pm UK time

Friday 13 February 2009

until 12 midnight UK time

Sunday 15 February 2009

Yippee! A blogparty in the style of blogparties of time gone past!

I have made sure there is plenty of time for you to choose a nice party frock or tux, post pictures on your blogs, invite all your blogpals and pick out your favourite cocktail...and, being the Palace, there will be a surprise or three for the guests!

Make a note in your diaries.

cq

So tired...

Well it's finally the weekend!

The first week back at work is always the hardest and this one was particularly busy. I knew it was going to be and I have made good progress on the jobs waiting for me.

But I'm tired now. So tired. And my knee is giving me pain.

I was supposed to go to a living history workshop today to practice my medieval skills, but I have sent my apologies. I have plenty here to keep me busy before I go back to work for another crammed week.

And my friend Bobkat has been in hospital, and I have been worried sick about her. Apparently the surgery went well and she is hoping to be out this weekend, and I want to be here if she wants me to visit.
Update: She came home today and is sleeping a lot!
If you visit here, please go to her blog (linked above) and say hello.

So, too much for my little bear brain to cope with...

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 16th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 16th day of Christmas
my chores list is done...
It's the last day of my long leave
off to work tomorrow!

Well, that was a nice long leave over Christmas, mind you I am already getting stressed thinking about work tomorrow. I know I am going back to a horrendously busy time of year.

Also, we have received our medieval re-enactment event schedule for 2009 and it is a BUSY year, starting in January with workshops, battle practices through February and March (mostly for the smelly soldiers) and then running right through until August!
With a council meeting on Wednesday, I have also started to get my membership and publicity stuff ready for that.

My depression has been terrible this Christmas with regular bouts of tears, but I discovered that candlelight is very restful and eases my mind. MB calls it 'dark'.

As for the old knee, as intended I have dumped my crutches and been tottering gently about. I managed shopping and gently walking a mile or so into town - albeit with a pronounced limp by the time I got there. The pain is still there but reduced, and increases with exercise, so whatever is damaged is still damaged and I have an orthopaedic appointment on 28 January which I am hoping will solve the problem, whatever it is.

Update: I can definitely confirm the injury is still there - since William kindly stood right on it and wouldn't get off! Ouch!

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 15th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 15th day of Christmas
my chores list sent to me...
Christmas is nearly over
and time to take down the tree.

So, our Christmas tree came down today. The Christmas miracle is that it stayed up, despite the efforts of my two boys, Charlie and William.

William (above) developed a taste for electrics and Charlie finally realised, after three years, that he is too big to sleep in the tree!

So the tree is down and the room looked so barren that I got quite low. As the daylight faded, I began lighting candles rather than the electric light and bathed in the soft glow of the candelight.

So if you're feeling low - light a candle or three.......and think of those you love.

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 14th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 14th day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
an unexpected invitation
and time with a friend.

I have a friend.
Well, being a Crazie I have a gang of Crazie friends, but I have one which is not in the gang.
Today I got a surprise phone call from the Kat to have lunch with her and browse through our favourite local garden centre (which is SO much more than just a garden centre!).

Bobkat is my beloved 'galpal' (to quote Rachel from our fave TV show Friends) and I treasure every moment spent with her.
She was my boss originally and we worked so well together. She gave me the strength of my convictions and enabled me to get myself promoted and move on to bigger and better things. After we moved apart, a deep friendship grew.

Bob is a fab woman and I truly love her. She accepts me - many warts and all - and makes the world so much a better place.

A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths;
Feels your fears but fortifies your faith;
Sees your anxieties but frees your spirit;
Recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.
(William Arthur Ward)

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 13th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 13th day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
More laundry
Back at square one....!!

Everyone has a sleepy, weary day on New Year's Day - luckily it is a Bank (public) Holiday here in the UK.
So here's a lazy post - more Morecambe and Wise; in my opinion the funniest pairing in British TV history. The story behind this sketch was the men and their wives stayed in this old Bed and Breakfast where doors were falling off hinges etc and they began banging the kitchen cabinet doors. Also Eric, the tall one with glasses, had a standing joke about desperate comedians who saw the light when they opened the fridge door and did a 30 second spot!

Whatever you do in 2009 here are some simple words of advice;

Dance like no one is watching,
Sing like no one is listening,
Love like you’ve never been hurt,
Live like it’s heaven on earth.

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 12th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 12th day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
Nothing to do today
Except to celebrate the New Year

I've been thinking about resolutions.....but with me it's a bit difficult. I have given up smoking, drinking (mostly), biting my nails, gambling - there's nothing left to give up!

Oh, I do need to lose weight and start cycling again - once I have the hoped-for all-clear from the hospital.

So, perhaps I need to add to my life......but how......?

I could, to quote my re-enactment friend Master Simon Atford, '...spend a good chunk of 2009 pretending it's 1370.' Now that sounds like a superb resolution!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 11th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 11th day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
Some repairs to my tent,
Using an old pair of shoes!

Well, as I had the tent out anyway and MB is away at his parents, it seemed a perfect opportunity to have a crack at repairing the small tears and holes in the canvas. It has had a mouse hole in the roof for ages, so that was my first try, and a couple of the door ties had frayed through. I found an old pair of canvas shoes that could be cannibalised for patches. As Naomi points out (below) it is a big tent and sewing it was handful and a half. But here is my patched mouse hole.

Not too bad for someone who is still not brilliant at sewing. Now that with new waterproofing should mean my tentmate Kate should be able to sleep without her raincoat next season...

And, of course, lay anything out on our floor and it becomes an instant playground for certain people......

Also, I am working my way through my Christmas present DVDs - so far today I have watched Forbidden Kingdom (ooh, fun!), Amazing Grace (marvellous film of a true story) and Demolition Man (one of my all-time faves!). I also got Equilibrium, which I will watch another time. I also got music (Katie Melua, Seal and the Hoosiers) and books (Alan Bennett, Dawn French, some cat stories and Life in a Medieval City).

Tomorrow cyberkitten, bionicdwarf and sleepypete and me are off to see Twilight at the cinema - nothing like a vampire movie for Christmas!! :-)

cq

The 16 Days of Christmas - 10th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 10th day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
A cold sunny day to air my tent
And a warm empty house to dry it!

As regular readers of this blog will know I am a medieval re-enactor. It's an addiction and today I got out my tent to check its condition and see what repairs are needed. I was relieved to see its condition hadn't deteriorated during the time it has been stored in the shed and the repair tally stands at one mouse hole to be darned and three broken door ties to be repaired. I must also fashion leather flanges for the poles to stop the rain coming in!
Today I emailed two local firms to see if they could clean and reproof the tent at a reasonable price. At least a dirty tent looks authentic!

This picture of the trial by combat shows the size of the tent - big isn't it? It sleeps three of us women with room to spare and even medieval women have a lot of 'stuff'!

It also provides a playground for mischevious felines :-)

Update: I spent the last hour watching a programme on the 15 century Gutenberg printing press and reading the 14 century Forme of Cury (first ever cookery book!) - definitely a medieval re-enactor!!

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 9th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 9th day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
A trip to the supermarket.

Today is the Crazie Christmas - a day when the whole gang get together for the evening. I still pinch myself to remind me that I actually have a gang! We're a strange but loveable bunch of humans.
:-)
We all even have internet personas - Craziequeen, Aginoth, Mrs Aginoth, Cyberkitten, SleepyPete, Bionic Dwarf, RCA and KatGirl. Even the children have nicknames; Master Aginoth (aka Jnr), LMB and LMD.

Anyway, today's message is a British Christmas tradition. The comedians are, sadly, no longer with us, but the treasures they left us are priceless :-)

Thank you to Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise - you are legends and we still love you.

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 8th Day

(the 16 days refer to my long holiday leave)

On the 8th day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
some items to return to the store.

I was going to post something sparkling and very funny today, but as I was logging on I had the news on the TV in the background and I saw this story...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7800663.stm

I sat with my jaw dropped as the news replayed the 911 phone call from a distraught woman, who had just seen an eight year old girl shot in the face by 'Santa' (her own father) and then 8 more members of her family shot or burned to death.

OK, so I know we're all used to seeing bad news at Christmas, life and death doesn't stop for the holiday season, and we have the usual battles around the globe but somehow, this news makes the celebrations seem hollow and the lights on my tree are a little dimmer now.

So no jokes today. Good luck and prayers to the survivors of the ultimate betrayal.

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 7th Day

(the 16 days refer to my extended holiday leave - to rest my knee and nurse my depression)

I don't like the Christmas hoopla, which is why MB and I lock ourselves away for a couple of days. I don't do big family do's and I don't do parties - except the Crazies; but they are special, like me :-)

Christmas was weird this year, I started the day in tears and pretty much ended it in tears. I was inconsolable and have been periodically weeping through the last couple of days.
So, today I am tired. I am very grateful for my wonderful gifts but I am very tired.

My picture today is William, discovering the delights of wrapping paper!

Oh, and there is video too - after I hastily grabbed my mobile phone!

More tomorrow, dear readers.

cq

ps - for those of you who have followed the trials of my tree, it stayed up and decorated this year - although William is deadset on chewing the lights.

16 Days of Christmas - 6th Day

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

from all at the Palace :-)

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 5th Day

(the 16 days refer to the long break I have taken to rest my knee and nurse my current depression)

On the fifth day of Christmas
My chores list sent to me..
A tree to decorate.

Pretty picture - ok, obviously not the real thing.

This is our tree and decorating a small tree is not a challenge...

In this house - KEEPING a tree decorated is the challenge! Actually, just keeping the tree erect is a challenge.

Here's to Charlie not wrecking the tree this year - and that new boy William is not a destroyer of Christmas trees.

cq

16 Days of Christmas - 4th Day

(The 16 days are the long holiday I have given myself to rest my knee and get over my increasing depression)

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me...
changing the bed linen.

This is the bedspread I bought for a song in Victoria, BC earlier this year, pretty isn't it?

Thought for today; as I visit your blogs and spend time on Facebook and see everyone turning their lives upside down for the huge get-togethers being planned for Christmas I feel the spirit through you all. For all of you opening your homes and spreading the love to your families and friends, I offer you a simple wish - Have a Wombling Merry Christmas!

Wombles are pointy-nosed furry creatures that live in burrows, where they help the environment by collecting and recycling rubbish in useful and ingenious ways. Their motto is 'Make Good Use of Bad Rubbish'. This "green" message was a reflection of the ecology movement of the 1970s. Although Wombles live in every country in the world, the stories focus on the life of the burrow in Wimbledon Common in London, England.

As a child in the seventies, I believed in Wombles - much like a child believing in Santa. When life is hard a child will cling to any good thing they see. My hero was Orinoco, singing the lead, and I also adored Wellington (cap and spectacles) because he reminded me of me a little bit.

Every Christmas I dig out the old Christmas pop songs and sit in reverie, feeling the joy and energy they infused into their audience, or sing along with gusto not felt for years. YouTube is an added bonus as I can watch the old footage and revisit old 'friends'.

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16 Days of Christmas - 3rd Day

On the third day of Christmas,
my chores list sent to me....
a trip to the supermarket.

And what a challenge that was! After two days of rest I was surprised to find my knee is still very weak and painful - which meant I still needed crutches for long periods. We went to the big supermarket thinking we could get everything in one go - and found that a lot of the stuff wasn't available in the big store, so MB has now trucked off with another list to the little store to get the leftovers.

Anyway, to today's subject - Bojangles. Nope, not the singer, the dog :-) And he is in charge of guarding the gifts...........

This is our first Christmas without the much adored Pandora, who went to the Rainbow Bridge in March after sharing our lives for 18yrs. Bojangles was the stuffed dog which she adopted and slept with every day as she grew older.Pandora (Pandy to her friends) enjoyed Christmas; the long days with Mum and Dad staying at home and making a fuss of her. Turkey trimmings, toys and snuggles made Christmas her favourite time of the year - sometimes she took things a little far!This is her waiting for Christmas breakfast - I think she fancied bacon and eggs! We have our hooligans this year, Charlie and William, but we still miss our grande dame Pandora.

(NetChick is hosting the 'Holiday Meet and Greet' this week, so if you have five minutes this holiday season pop on over and say hello - you never know who you'll meet!)

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16 Days of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas,
My chores list gave to me...
laundry to dry and shirts to iron.

It's Sunday and a day of rest. MB has vacuumed and I will be doing the ironing while watching my soap opera - which will, no doubt, be building to the ludicrous annual Christmas drama/tragedy. We have strung up all our Christmas cards and the presents are piled in the corner. The cards for our immediate neighbours are ready for thrusting through their letterboxes.

Recently I had a lovely evening out with my darling Bobkat and we went to see Inkheart. The credit crunch was reflected in the half-empty restaurant (normally full to bursting the week run-up to Christmas) and the almost empty cinema screen. Bad luck to those who decided to save their money for another bottle of wine or the latest computer craze - Inkheart was wonderful! The story was cleverly crafted and the characters were magically brought to life by some inspired acting - best performances were Helen Mirren and Andy Serkis, but the whole film was stolen by the maturing genius that is Paul Bettany!

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16 Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas,
my chores list gave to me...
one, two, three, four loads of laundry.

Day One of my magnificent two week break over Christmas. It is eating up all my holiday time, but will be worth it in the end. Obviously, I have stuff to do - Christmas food shopping, put the tree up (every day if Charlie lives up to his reputation), cleaning, cooking etc - but I am ordering my body and brain to slow down............

Lots of rest, junk TV, Christmas food, Christmas Day with MB and the Crazie Kittehs, the Crazie Christmas Party, some time alone with mah kittehs - and lots of time to rest my knee and get over the endless stream of colds and flu. And imagine my delight at getting a modest parcel all the way from the beautiful Hollywood Hills and our magical friend Naomi :-) It will be placed under the tree for the Day. (Other modest parcels will be distributed)

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Not Enjoying This Life

Some days you wonder if there is any point....?

Today I was nearly hit by a double decker bus while crossing a zebra crossing. I looked before stepping out, saw a decent gap in traffic, and as I got about a 1/4 way across I heard squealing tyres and looked up to see a bus about ten feet from me - brakes on hard, burning rubber. There was someone standing by the driver, so he was obviously chatting and not paying attention.

I feel sick.

I had my MRIs on my knee yesterday and the only clue the nurse gave me was that it was 'very swollen' - nah, you think?????

Now it's a waiting game until end of January, unless my orthopaedic chappie takes sympathy on me.

Update - the staff would not tell me if there was anything on the MRI or not - they refused to give out information and just said the MRIs would be sent to the originator. I have had several people (including the nurse at the MRI) tell me of torn ligaments and cartilage not diagnosed for months.

I am not a happy blogger.

cq

Ready for Christmas? er - no...!

So - how are things at the Palace....?

I have an appointment for an MRI scan on Tuesday - hopefully that'll be the step in the right direction to sort my knee out. Currently I am hearing all sorts of horror stories about people who it took months or years to diagnose torn ligaments/cartilage. I'm hoping this won't be me!
I can tentatively totter about the house, but anything more ambitious than that still requires crutches - and after two months I have just worn out my first pair!

I have had my second bout of flu in 6 weeks - which resulted in a touch of bronchitis. So I have been rather poorly lately and felt quite sorry for myself what with temperature and sickness and crutches!

I have managed some gentle Christmas shopping, and started wrapping gifts. I am meeting Bobkat on Monday for an evening out and her gifts are all ready to go. Follow the link in bold, go visit, say hello - she'll love the company!
My parents' gifts are almost ready, except the online orders. I just need to get the rest of MB's gift and I'm set.

The Christmas decorations are down from the loft, but we're not decorating just yet. It'll be a disaster with the hooligan cats we currently have; Charlie is infamous for wrecking the tree every year and William attacks everything. We will decorate, but are leaving it til Christmas Week.

I am tired. I am unhappy. I am disillusioned. I am worn out from being 'cheerful' at work and not letting people see how desperately low I really am.
This weekend I intend to chill with some movies - between doing the laundry, cooking and housework, of course!

Update - no movies today, MB has discovered a M*A*S*H Day on Paramount TV, so it's Hawkeye and Radar all the way...!
2nd update - the great Michele has retired from blogging! No more Meet and Greet!
3rd update - And just when things are at their darkest I find out the Meet & Greet is being continued by NetChick, a blogging legend - an excellent way to spend the weekend!

cq

Medieval Banquet

Master Caunsfield (my friend Matt) has given permission for me to use his photos here, so you can all see a cool medieval banquet...

We all came together one by one in a local parish hall in a small Somerset village. We laid tables, hung flags and then got into kit...

Once the candles were lit and the lights went off, it magically transformed into a medieval banqueting hall...

The villeins (filthy peasants!) waiting for their dinner - our Lord Hungerford is a kind, magnanimous lord...inviting the general villeinage.....

The other end of the class structure - the table laid ready for Lord Hungerford and his guests...

who included his son, Thomas Hungerford the Younger and Lord Berkeley (in red)...

The banquet is an opportunity to petition for training as a Knight - such as the potential Lord Burley here (aka John)

It's a time to promote villeins to yeoman (to offer them their freedom) such as my friend 'Maud'...

and my 'husband' Billy Brambles...

Mrs Aginoth gained promotion to Retainer (step up from Yeoman) and gained the keys to her own domicile....

Much was made of the fact that Lord Hungerford promoted Mrs Aginoth before Aginoth - so she technically outranks him...(she got to keep the keys to the new home!)..

After the ceremonies and the banquet proper, things relaxed....in some cases a little too much! This is my other 'husband' spark out after a few brews while his friends bury him in bread....

cq

Bad to Worse - with some Good thrown in...

Hi diminished readery,

I know, I'm a bad blogger but my trick knee and trials with the hospital, not to mention still working, is making me sink deeper into my depression.

I finally got hold of Hospital Two to find they haven't even had my referral letter from Hospital One, so I offered to fax my copy to them.
I couldn't get them again for another two days when they cheerfully told me the letter was useless without the referral 'form' which would have been attached to their copy of the letter - if they had had it!
So now I have to go back to Hospital One to get them to fax a copy of the whole paperwork to Hospital Two before the radiologist will even look at my case. But Hospital One only takes phone calls between 10am and 12 midday - which is my busiest time of day!

The words 'who is running the asylum?' spring to mind.....

Is there any good news? Well, I am still working, with an occasional working from home day to rest my leg. This week has been exhausting with two days teaching - which meant being on my feet for most of them.
Day One was basic training, with 30 staff being trained to use defibrillators in the workplace and to perform basic life support (CPR).
Day Two was a skills day for qualified First Aiders with a lecture on Anaphylaxis, Asthma, Diabetes and Epilepsy (the hidden conditions), a forum for them to talk, and an afternoon of playing with bandages and CPR dummies.
Both went well and I got good feedback from the participants.

And tonight I leave all my troubles (if not my crutches) behind and toddle off to the Company of Chvalry Banquet. It's officially the last event of the year and a biggie this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Company! :-)
[packs camera]

cq

My Week

What a week!

I am still discovering things I can and can't do on crutches.

Still no word from the hospital - I will be phoning them tomorrow to tell them it's been three weeks without any information.

This week I hosted the planned Road Safety Day at work with the Ministry of Defence Police. They brought speed cameras, breathalysers, number plate recognition system and even sniffer dogs. My stall was of the information type, with dozens of leaflets and posters for staff to take away.
Best bit of the day was when the drug dog decided my crutch was a threat and bit it, taking the end of the handle in his mouth while I had my arm in it. Me and the handler struggled to open the dog's jaws then I took my arm out and passed over the crutch (with dog attached) to the handler. He lifted the crutch, with dog attached, and continued to try and get the dog to let go with the rest of the officers screaming with laughter and the visitors giggling and chuckling. Finally the dog relinquished his deathgrip and I got my crutch back - and a legend of the workplace was born........amazing how quickly news travels on that site!

Yesterday I got restless and hobbled off to catch a bus to the local shopping mall to start my Christmas shopping. A big step for someone who needs help with grocery shopping!
I managed to buy my mother's present sneaking into the queue in front of an understanding woman. The Mall was heaving - mostly with people who didn't look where they were going.
While there I decided to have lunch as I wasn't going to be cooking dinner, so I decided to treat myself to a pizza. Pizza Hut was heaving - literally! Customers were queued down the stairs. I hobbled in from the elevator and begged a chair to sit down while waiting for my 'table for one'. They treated me very well finding me chair to wait, even putting me on a table for four all to myself. When I saw a little table come free I suggested I move - to make room for a bigger group. Another solo woman turned up and we agreed to share a two-person table, and it turned out we were both of the 'read while we eat' type so a pleasant peaceful lunch was had by both. I was pleased to see my big table went to a frazzled mum and two small kids - gratifying!
And, because I forwent my big table for the little one, I got a superb deal on my lunch!! Good old Pizza Hut! :-)

More later - laundry beckons.....

cq

Never Forget

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

'Sorry' 'Thank You'

The word I have used the most over the last three weeks is 'Sorry'...

'Sorry' because it takes a while to negotiate the unfriendly steps on the bus...
'Sorry' in shops as I try to stow stuff in my rucksack and pay and stop my crutches falling to the floor....
'Sorry' everywhere as I attempt to negotiate swing doors...
'Sorry' as I struggle to get in the car as whoever is volunteering to drive me waits patiently....
'Sorry' as I try to shop solo and fail miserably....
'Sorry' as other staff at work help me to move things, set up stuff or pack it away....
'Sorry' as I had to deliver a presentation sitting down...

The second most used words in the last three weeks have been 'Thank you'...

In Marks and Spencers today I found out how difficult it really is to buy one pair of jeans and one pair of slippers - normally a task that takes about five minutes.
Slippers - easy; little hook thing to carry them with in one hand with crutches.
Jeans - not easy; I struggled to check sizes with crutches as I would have to take them off to look towards the the back. I found a couple of possibles and then realised I couldn't carry them, the slippers and use the crutches all at the same time. As I detached the hangers caught in the adjusters on my crutches for the second time a woman staff member passed by and I grabbed her 'I don't suppose you could help me, could you?'
She carried my stuff to the fitting rooms, got my room (the disabled one with the grab bars), took my stuff in and left me to it.
When I came out I grabbed another passing female who then carried my stuff to the desk and sorted it all out for me.
When I arrived at the till with my chosen jeans thrown over one shoulder, slippers and an impulse purchase top, the original lady helper was on the till and she came out to help with 'all' the stuff, and even packed them into the smallest possible bag for me. Total time - 1 hour.

What I have found as a person with a temporary disability is that the current disability law seems to have confused people.

On the one hand they don't help - because, after all, I should be treated equally like anyone else, even though I am armed with two extra metal legs and no spare hands, and I find that means ignoring me.

On the other hand - they offer help with some measure of guilt, thinking perhaps they are patronising me....

PLEASE help....or at least offer....

cq

Big Bad World

It's a big bad world out there - here..........this may help.....

cq

My Week, My Day

Today is my birthday...

Happy burfday to me
Happy burfday to me
Happy burfday to cq
Happy burfday to me....

I have the day off work - I make it a point never to work on my birthday! I had a modest pile of parcels and envelopes to open in bed this morning which was nice :-)
On Friday all the Crazies are getting together - even Katgirl and RCA are coming up from London to help celebrate a threeway birthday; me sleepypete and bionicdwarf. Should be a good night!

I got a copy of the hospital letter to the next hospital in the chain. The physio's suggested diagnoses are torn anterior cruciate ligament or meniscal tear - but I am still thinking torn cartilage. I met a woman last week who had had all the same symptoms and pain and she had a torn cartilage. Now we wait for an appointment for the MRI scan.

Meanwhile, I spread my currently clipped wings on Sunday and went out to watch my Company of Chivalry re-enactment friends take part in our annual archery competition.
I braved my car and swore every time I changed gear - which involved flexing my bad knee!
It was worth it to see the guys and gals - even though they teased me unmercifully about my temporary disability, which was only to be expected :-)
I had a wonderful afternoon out and enjoyed every minute - except the driving!

Work is going all right, I am getting about ok thanks to the crutches given to me by Southmead Hospital. I'm not driving (see above!), and the local bus service is getting my commuter business at the moment.
But I do work at home the occasional day when my knee is bad - like yesterday, after my exploits on Sunday!

cq