I.T. crash! No phone and no lap top!

On the mend :)  I have shaken off the nausea and started eating properly again.  Sleep remains a priority.  My mum took me to Aldi (big day out!).

My phone (which was already seriously "under the weather"), has gone barking mad!  It jumps about like someone else is using it.  The screen changes from the welcome page, to someone's address, to music download etc.  It is scarily fast, and scary to see.  For a few moments this morning, I managed to copy all my data onto my lap top.   Phew!

Short lived relief!  My laptop has now conked out.  As I am writing this, I am tensely wondering if my Blackberry has infected my computer.  I could not access the internet, and my screen said it was a problem with Norton.  Martha's laptop takes me to Norton help line number.  An hour long call later (which was free), I discover that the phone operator (in India) is not from Norton, but ESURE, and after a thorough diagnosis of my computer, I have loads of things wrong with it.  Earlier in our friendly conversation (which included me sharing that I had a brain tumour), I thought that they were Norton and they were going to fix it; now, I have been given a large bill by ESURE.  I declined of course.  Mildy satisfied to have a printed diagnosis of computer ailments, I am also really annoyed that I have wasted my time.  My computer is currently dead.  I couldn't even open microsoft word.  I do know someone who can help me.

I am dependent on Martha's computer, for now.  Do not text me or use my mobile number.  Use my email address and home phone number.  Thanks loads.

Time for bed
Good night and have a good week ahead
love you all
Sarah xxx

End of chemo

Hi there,
I am still feeling poorly, but looking forward to the nausea lifting.  I haven't done anything except sleep, and see Martha and Katy leave to stay with family.  I took the last dose of chemo yesterday, but its effect always lingers.

Hoping everything will be good tomorrow (for you and me).
Bonne Nuit
Sarah xxx

chemo day 4

From Louise's 40th :)

 
These are fallen trees

These are fallen trees after the storm.  I have lost tiles from the roof of my house, too.  The trees are on my (currently shorter) meadow walk.

 

I have started being sick again.  Being optimistic, I was hoping to avoid it, but the nausea continues to overwhelm me.

Have a good day :)
lots of love
Sarah xxx

Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple has died, aged 85.

Feeling OK.  I have spent most of the day asleep, but no real nausea yet.  Loads of anti-nausea pills instead!!!

Have a good week
lots of love
Sarah xxx

Chemo day 1

Hi there,
I had a fantastic weekend at Louise's 40th.  I couldn't stay up late - first night there and I stayed up until 10 pm, and I didn't get up until 2.30 pm the next day.  Or maybe it was just getting a night away from the girls!!!
I have started chemotherapy again today.  Fifth session out of six, so the end of the treatment is in sight.  I feel ok.
lots of love
Have a good week
love
Sarah xxx

All ok :)

Hi there,
Windows fixed - no more breeze.   Loads of phone calls about chemo, because this is when I would have been taking it.  Instead, I am packing for my weekend in Wales.   I am back to sleeping in the day again, but it is diminishing with time.

I am unlikely to BLOG for the next few days.

Chemo starts on Monday.  The fifth out of six - nearly there!

Have a good weekend.
Lots of love
Sarah xxx

Chemo all ok

Good trip to hospital today.  My bag of drugs were ready when I went to collect them, so made it out by 11.30 am.  Beautiful weather on the way in; pouring down on the way home.  I won't take them until Monday.  I will be in Wales for the weekend, celebrating Louise's 40th. 

Have a good day tomorrow
lots of love
Sarah xxx

shower and shoes

Another good walk this morning.  The snowdrops are peeking out.  This is the first one I have seen so far.

I phoned British Gas, and I have arranged for my meters to be changed to smart meters.  Given that my electrical supply to the shower is flammable, this seems like a practical way forwards.  I have nearly finished clearing the shelves that block the gas meter, in the cellar.  Installation is booked for the last Friday of half term.

I have also been able to further reduce my payments - I was in credit.

Katy and I went to the podiatrist.  We travelled on the bus, and returned home with new orthotics.  Katy's are higher density.  She has hypermobility, and the doctor recommended that maybe I should try her in boots.  I will look, on line, to search for any that also look like school shoes.  I do not want to send her to school in walking boots, or basketball boots - I want her to wear the proper school uniform.

This evening, Katy went to cubs, and returned home as a seconder.  She is very proud.  I will sew her badge on tomorrow.

Martha has completed her homework (phew!).

There is something missing from my day - can you spot it?

lots of love
Sarah xxx

All Ok:)

I made a good roast dinner today for the three of us and Katy's friend Ella.  Katy and Ella played well together - they made cakes (on their own), went roller blading in the park, (and snuck to the shop for dangerous blue stretchy sweets covered in killer crystals).

Martha - one homework left to complete.

Both girls are swimming well.  

I haven't had a proper sleep - only a twenty minute "lie down".  I am going to struggle to stay up beyond 9 pm.

Have a good week ahead

lots of love

Sarah xxx

Millionaire Shortbread

For Helen - the Millionaire shortbread, TAKE 2!

Anna's recipe.  Gert Lush!

I had the most beautiful walk this morning.  Clear blue skies, I was blinded by sun in my eyes from the sky and the river Mersey.  The frost had thawed.

Later in the day the weather was cold and wet - a terrible contrast.  My thoughts that we may go to the park were banished!

Martha has stuck to her homework timetable, written her thank you cards, and written, rehearsed and performed a comedy sketch.  Katy has been rehearsing her "In the Jungle, the quiet jungle, the lion sleeps tonight" guitar duet with Polly.  Chorlton's got Talent competition takes place on Tuesday, and both girls are excited about this.

Have a good weekend
lots of love
Sarah xxx

All OK :)

I went to the cinema today to see August: Osage County.  Meryl Streep has had an Oscar nomination for it.  It is about family relationships.  The funny part of our trip was my friend got really concerned that she had taken me to see the wrong film.  She nudged me a couple of times to say she felt really uncomfortable and if I wanted to leave, we could.  It turned out that she was worried because Meryl Streep's character had cancer.  It really wasn't something that was in my mind, and I wasn't bothered by it afterwards, either!

My window man didn't turn up today either.  My window cleaner came about 5.30 pm (for payment) and said "windows" and I momentarily thought he had come to mend my windows, and was incredibly late!  Not so, but, we both had a laugh about it.  Apparently, my window mechanic was stuck at a job in Warrington.  This has "happened" two days on the run.

My shower fuse popped yesterday.  I (luckily) had decided not to wash my hair, but I was covered from neck to toe in bubbles, and had to wash standing up in the bath.  When I removed the fuse (in an old victorian fuse box), there was evidence of burning!  I have got to call an electrician to come and help me with this.  We won't be using the shower until this is mended.

My friends from Trafford came over in the evening.  We went to Yaki Soba and had a lovely meal together.  Thanks girls!  We also swapped secret santa presents, which was fun too.

I have a morning to myself, which is nice.  I am going to cook mushrooms hollandaise (because I don't have any Spinach), and go for a walk in the sun.  We have a beautiful frosty morning.  All the cars are covered in a thick frost.

Have a good weekend
lots of love
Sarah xxx

Welly blisters

So much trudging through the mud!  I now have blisters on both feet from my welly boots.  Anna gave me a gift of thick socks today, which was very kind of her.  I finished making the millionaire shortbread :)

I attended a briefing for parents on the SATS tests for Martha.  It is all so scary!  She has to start revising from now on.  I feel sad for her because I want her to enjoy her last year in primary school, and it all looks very serious for her.  She has made up a timetable: her activities, revision and homework.  I was very pleased with her earlier.  However, I have just found a piece of homework in her bag, that she failed to tell me about (or remember).

Katy has been making Top Trump cards about tudor monarchs.

I "waited in" for the double glazing people to come and finish mending my kitchen windows.  They called me at the end of my hour to apologise for failing to attend, because the fitter was in Warrington.  They are booked to come tomorrow.

lots of love to you all
Sarah xxxx

All ok - I will blog later :)

shortbread

Hello there.  Morning walk in rain again.  With a sore ankle I wore trainers, and took a puddle free route.  It was a much shorter route, but drier to the feet.  

At home my ankle deteriorated - it was painful to walk, and slightly swollen.  Ibuprofen and Ice and Once Upon A Time DVD and it started to recover.  I can't remember who gave me the video, sorry, but I am enjoying it.

Later, and more mobile, I try to make Millionaire Shortbread.  Here is my first attempt at shortbread!

An old church friend came round to visit.  We had a good catch up.

Martha was too tired to go swimming.  Katy went and came back pleasantly tired.

Love to you all
Sarah xxx

Homework done (sort of!)

This picture sums up Katy's day.  Annoyed when came home from a school trip to a tudor house; angry because one of her other girl-friends got to dress as a knight, while Katy and Polly had to wear a dress each.

My day has followed the usual pattern - a squidgy walk in the meadow mud, followed by catching up on benefit admin and other things, sleep, shopping for a few ingredients for Millionaire Shortbread, collect girls from school.

Amongst all this, I measured a puddle all day for Katy's numeracy homework.  She tried to do it on Sunday, but after three half hour measures, it rained.  Katy has drawn a graph to show the change in size over time.  At the end of the evening, we went out for a final measure, to discover tyre marks!  A car had driven through it - no water left!  Martha has finished a report about Orangutans, but has not finished her spelling research.  Both have a note of apology in their link books.  I am not worried about it because they really have done all that they can.

I have set up this laptop to be able to print.  My laptop has been sent away, and we had no other laptops set up to print.  I found the CD, and have then followed the long instructions through to having a link between laptop and printer.  It took me a couple of hours.  Relief, when I am finally able to print the orangutan report for Martha to hand in.  Hooray!

So, I am a mixture of satisfied and drowsy.  I think I can hope for a more restful day, tomorrow.

Have a good day :)
loads of love
Sarah xxx

Birthday weekend

Martha's birthday holds the centre of the weekend.  On Saturday, we prepared for the party.  Martha and Katy made a sticky toffee pudding, as Martha's birthday cake.  Martha's idea was to have two candles - spelling "11", and to blow one out, and snuff the other with her fingers.  You won't be surprised to know that she ended up blowing them both out:).

The party was a premier of a film that Martha, Katy and friends have made together.  When they arrived, every guest was offered a glass of "champagne" and canapes.  No-one liked the canapes, but it didn't matter, because it looked good.  A premier is a good theme for a party.  They played charades and musical statues, and ate everything.  The sticky toffee pudding was delicious.

Sasha made everyone popcorn for the film premier.  Each of them had a bag of popcorn to eat, while they watched the film.  They were all watching the film, and tucking into their bag.  

Here is a photo of the girls at the end of the party.

Izzy J and Polly stayed for a sleepover.  I have to say that when everyone was leaving, I was wondering why I had agreed to have a sleepover.  However, the two pairs of children settled down well.  Martha and Izzy were watching The Voice, and Polly and Katy watched the Bridge to Terabithia.   This morning all the girls helped to tidy up, and Katy and Polly went to the shop for bread and milk.  Martha and Katy are both exhausted!  Homework has had to take a back seat.

Louise came round this afternoon.  We had a cracking game of Perudo until Dave took Martha and Katy swimming.

Health-wise, I am feeling pretty well.  I still have to sleep in the middle of the day, but on the whole I feel a lot brighter.  I nearly have a full head of hair.  I have a stripe around the top of my head that, Martha tells me, looks like a headband; this is my scar, which is hairless.  My hairstyle looks like I am wearing a head band, with high hair behind it.  The high hair is my hair that did not fall out, and although short, it is longer than the new hair that has crawled in decreasing circles, across my scalp, until it has finally met in the middle.  I will have a full head of hair very soon.  It just has to grow across my scar.

Have a good week next week.
lots of love to you
Sarah xxx

Goggles in the bath

Last night there was a thunder storm with a thick shower of hailstones.  The roads were white, like snow.  Katy and I got caught in it and got home laden with ice - guitar and trumpet, were both covered in ice.

My walk this morning was one of my shorter routes, because I was going to pilates at 10 am.  I was amazed that the grass alongside the paths was full of hail.  The hail had survived the night.  The mud was soggy and I had to take makeshift routes through huge puddles, stepping on bits of brick and hand made bridges.

Martha is eleven years old at 1.30 am tonight.  She took her chocolate chip cookies to school.  Katy went vigorboarding at 8am.

After school, Katy made a giant meringue.  It looked amazing.  Martha went to the park with her pals.  We then got ready for the party - the bunting is up!  We still have a few things to do tomorrow, but basically Martha's party is ready to go.

Bath time (three nit checks today).  I painted Martha's nails while Katy got out the bath and got herself dressed, or so I thought!  When I bob back into the bathroom, Katy was lying on her back under luke warm water, wearing her swimming goggles.  She was happy!

Have a good weekend everyone
loads of love
Sarah xxxx

More cookies

Well, it rained hard this morning.  We all walked to school together, hooded and zipped up (except Katy!).  My need to exercise was greater than the weather, so I was dressed in wellies and waterproof and ready to get absolutely soaked.  However, the weather changed with the school bell, and I enjoyed my walk accompanied by the songs of birds, who sounded like they had not been allowed to sing for months on end.  It was beautiful: blue skies and pretty birdsong.  The mud was pretty special too!  At one point, I was thinking how easy it would be to slip and fall into the brook, and I slipped!  Fortunately, I was able to coordinate and retain my balance. It did make me laugh.

Anna took me to PC World, so my lap top has been posted to someone who should be able to repair it. I took my external memory, but it turned out to be full.  I had to buy a 32MB USB pen, to have photos and documents saved.  Return anticipated in ten days.

Sleep and odd jobs, and the day has passed.

Martha has continued making cookies, to take to school tomorrow.  She now has one each for the whole class and a lolly for a boy who is allergic to milk.  Katy has homework to complete on a lap top and none of us can work out how to copy and paste a picture from the web.  It is amazing how a change in computer can throw you.  Dave had to show me how to open more than one web page at a time.  I also have to find my disk for the printer, because we do not have a computer that is set up to print.

I have had headaches again today.  They have been quite sharp and high pitched, but never for very long.

Hooray! It is Friday tomorrow
Have a good day
love you all
Sarah xx