The Annual Catch-up: part one (of possibly many!!)

 So, another birthday has gone by in a flash. As has quite a lot of the past year!!

another year, another cake

Most exciting news? Well, after a regular trip to the docs for blood tests, (all OK thank goodness!), we went for our lunch at Poppyfields.

long hair, don't care but do love that lavender at Poppyfields

 But after THAT, we took the bus, yes, BUS, one stop to the big Sainsburys. Well, only Sainsburys now. I haven't been on a bus since before COVID.  It was quiet, I thought we might've mis-timed it and caught all the hooligans, (sorry, schoolkids), going home, so that made it much easier!!

Once upon a time, I'd have walked from the surgery to the supermaket, done the meander around the aisles, had a bit to eat and got a taxi home with all the grocery shopping. Now I am just revelling in the fact I could walk to the pub without panicking or tripping myself up with my 'drunken walk'. It's a nervous thing I think...I swear I must look like I've slurped several pints and am worst for wear!!

The panicking is still an issue. But gradually I am improving.

Thank heavens for the Volunteer Car Service. That's all I can say.

Halfway through last year I needed to make several hospital visits and they took me. It was a private hospital, set in the grounds of a big Mental Health facility. It was a struggle, believe me, but eventually, on the third or so visit, we staggered through the stunning grounds to a little cafe. It was heavenly. 

 

 

Even when they threw an MRI at me, (stuck in a tube that only left me room to breathe), I managed. Upshot of the visits? Well, I am trying to cope without them Botoxing me in my 'lady parts'!! What does bother me is, why, the fibroid I have, that rests just by my bladder, has grown, when at the time it was found, (several years ago), I was told "at my age" it would shrink in size. No one seems that 'bovvered' and to be honest, who wants major surgery to remove it? So, I'll live with it for now.

Another brilliant thing to have 'achieved', is that, again, for the first time since before COVID, I got to visit my hairdressers. Bliss. I have never had such long hair. Whereas I did love it, I was not up to the care it needed. Bathing has become an issue, even just standing for any length of time, to have a shower, is painful and scary. So shorter hair is easier to wash in the handbasin if necessary. Investment in a sturdy 'bath seat' has been a good, if at times, demoralising purchase.

Mr B celebrating Valentines' Day. Always there to support me. Whatever.

Exercise and diet are needing much improvement. My diet is not awful, but with no walking, all food is too much food!! I don't drink caffeinated coffee anymore. Very few fizzy drinks, and preferrably no orange or citrus drinks. Same with food, citrus is out along with spicy food. I am Missy Bland!!

Grumble just sleeps through eveything

More crafty/garden goodness to follow!

Zxx

BEDM - Day 1, ECG Whizz

As a starter for 10, for Blog Every Day in May, a little catch up and something that you bloggers don't know about me!!

The other night I was whisked off to NGH, (Northampton General Hospital), with a suspected heart attack!

Don't panic...I'm all OK; just a bit of an achy chest.

I'd put out the big brown wheelie  bin that was full of garden rubbish and although it was on wheels it was still heavy! Then I put out the food refuse bin. Big, big mistake as Julia Roberts says in Pretty Woman. Having cleared out the freezer of old out-of-date stuff, the bin was stuffed to the gills. And so much of it still frozen, it was heavier than normal. Thought "ooo" when I picked it up but carried on, as you do. Came back in and the 'ooo' turned to and 'oow'!

"Just a strained muscle", I thought.

I started the dinner and Mr B came home. Still hurty, but OK.

Went to bed and it just wouldn't go away. Mr B was so concerned he called 111 and they sent out a paramedic in a car and an ambulance really fast.

Atal, my wonderful, kind paramedic

(photo by Mr B, not me! Y'know, in case you were wondering...)

An ECG was done, bp checked, a bit high, but that's why I am on meds for that. Other checks were done and although it was probably just a strain, the only way to be sure was to have blood tests done in hospital.

When heart attacks are shown on telly, it always seem to be a gripping pain in the arm and a giant "Arrgh" and a chest clutch as the person hits the floor!

Well, for all we thought it was a strain, the symptoms I had were also pointing to an attack. The fact that I could pinpoint one place for the pain, whereas a pulled muscle would radiate pain even to the back.

So, better safe than sorry!

It was the night after the 'doctors strike'; I was wheeled straight in and dealt with immediately. Fast, efficient and supportive. Kind and caring. I had to wait a couple of hours for the blood tests results but was seen by a doctor prior to them arriving. He checked things out 'manually' so to speak, in my eyes, 'proper doctoring'.

Thank goodness, when they arrived, the results were negative.

I feel a bit of a dope at the moment, even straightening out the bedclothes makes my chest really hurt and I am scared of doing anything in case it causes more pains. I mean, I need to lift things and move stuff and it's not always lightweight!! But it will get better given time.

So, there you go, something you didn't know about me!!

Ha ha!

Zxx

BEDM - Day 3 "Self Care Sunday"

Having woken up this morning with yesterdays' make-up still on, well, I'd guess I'd suggest taking off your make-up before going to bed as a good step to looking after ones-self!

 

To be fair though, most of it was Laura Gellar stuff which is a mineral make-up and therefore not too awful to have left on.

 



 

A gentle walk through the park to Aldi was up-lifting for the soul and spirit as we were in the sunshine and missed all the rain.

 

I have a stash of daily meds to take to keep me 'healthy'. Two lots for high blood pressure, which is all over the place at the moment(!), anti-histamine, anti-depressant and something for my overactive bladder.

 

I'm think crystals are a positive force. How? Not really sure but they've been good for me. Regular heavy-duty massage for my neck/spine because of scoliosis. I quite fancy taking up Pilates, which is a fantastic thing. Working in a dance environment I was introduced to it donkeys years ago and, with hindsight, wish I'd pursued it.

 

Having been in a really rather horrible dark place with clinical depression my self care has left a lot to be desired. I don't think anyone has ever sat next to me and thought "She smells", but daily ablutions really didn't figure in my day, (not very much did), and even now it is something I have to consciously think about as opposed to doing it on 'auto-pilot', if that makes sense.

 

Even now it is a struggle to clean my teeth even daily, let alone twice a day! Thank goodness I have strong teeth and a caring dentist!

 

 

My garden has quite seriously been a life-saver and I would say grow something, wherever you live. The garden isn't very big but I cram a lot in and the excitement when, like today, my broad beans began to show...WOW!!

Then you get the good thing of eating fresh produce, which really is just the best.

 

And there's the thing - just do the best that you can do.

YOU deserve it!

Zxx

BEDM - Day 1 "A Sense of Purpose"

Well hello to the world of Pennyblossoms!

 

 

I think that BEDM has come just at a good time, (yeah, like, um, the beginning of May?).

I ground to a halt after loosing Tabby and just retreated into my shell. Either that or I was just being a grumpy git!

Think it might be time to invest in some new glasses!
What else can you do with 2 Flake Ice Cream cone plastic tops?
(Answers on a postcard please)
Me...grumpy git?

For those who don't know me or need a re-cap, I'm Zoe, not actually 'Penny' but called this blog after a storyline in an episode of The Big Bang Theory, a show I love so much that when I watch it on E4 I'll watch it again on E4+1. I am getting scarily word perfect on some of the episodes!

 

I have a long-suffering partner, who is known as Mr B on this site, because one blogger commented about 'Mr Blossom'. He isn't, but the name serves a purpose.

 

Pucker Up on the 1st May
Mwahh to Mr B

I said out loud to him "Ah, yes...Pennyblossoms; I'm fat and 50, that's my introduction", to which he replied "Not fat, fabulous". That sounds a lot more positive, but I am very overweight, due in part to laziness, mental health issues and medication (probably).

But a lot better than when I started this blog at the end of May 2009.

And actually I'm nearly 55!

Zxx

Pucker Up

link here



Zxx

On The Second Day Of Christmas...

...an angel delivered a sachet of Tanzanian Kibo Dark!

OK, a bit of a psychotic looking angel

To be fair I was in my jimmies and hoping that the bus wasn't going to go past As I stuck my head outta the door!
And I was having 'a bad head' episode.

It's all in the eyes, y'know!!

Check out my 'new' leaded windows. Neat, huh?
Zxx



Travelling In Style

Tomorrow Mr B and I will be travelling in style.

 

 

A vintage bus to the Vintage Fair!
 

 

The old buses are run over the weekend as part of the Heritage Open Days, which is held across the country; lots of places not usually open to the general public are opened specially.

 



 *****

 

Been rather 'bleurgh' recently.

 

But, on a plus point, I got to Birmingham, on my own, to see an osteopath who has worked with me before when doing his final training. That last visit was 2 years ago I guess, and now Geoff has his own practice!

 

The top cervical bones are a bit 'dodgy', for want of a better term, and it is this that caused my 'migranes'. They are if fact 'cervicogenic headaches'. But whatever name they are given, I wouldn't wish it on any one!

 

I have wallpapered the third wall in the front room! (2 years and counting, possibly?). Just who thought it'd be a good idea to put the central heating water pipes along the top of the wall???

Arrrgh!

Just the wall with a door, pipework and a window to paper around left!!

But it'll look lovely when it's finished!

 

Whatever you are doing this weekend - have a good 'un!

Zxx



Vintage Birds

To tie in my last quilty post and to bring things more up to date, but still 'old'...

 

 

 part of a 'group quilt' by the East Midlands Modern Quilt Guild, called 'Where We Live'.

 

 

The real McCoy seen a week ago when we were at the Umbrella Fair and they were a few miles away at Sywell.
They were hoping to have the last 2 airworthy Lancaster Bombers flying too but it was too windy for the planes to be able to take off from Lincolnshire, which was such a shame.

That would be such an amazing sight to see...they have flown the second plane over from Canada(!) for the summer to have the 2 together to commemorate Bomber Command; there have been several flights - Eastbourne, Newcastle and Ireland I think. I hope some of you got to see them.

 

Fast forward to this Sunday and we knew there was going to be a fly-past at the local boys brigade rugby club but no idea at what time.

Umm, about the same time as Mr B popped out to the local shop on his bicycle!
 

 

 Then, totally unexpectedly, we caught sight of this beauty, walking into the village for a pub lunch. My beloved Vulcan Bomber. I guess you know I'm a bit of a plane geek?!

But possibly the best 'vintage bird' was the one that Mr B went to watch on Friday night.

  

OMG! It's Beki Bondage

I keep saying to him, "You've seen Beki Bondage!" in that 'I'm-in-awe' sort of way!
It was actually Vice Squad with BB. Yeah, huh?
There is Youtube footage here, with Mr B dancing with his pint on the side lines!!

*****
So, I guess I've been a bit noticeable by my absence?
Blame it on the MIGRAINES!

Oooh nooo...don't let me turn into my mother(!), who suffered terribly with them basically all her life; and consequently was quite hellish to be around as a kid growing up, not knowing how awful they really were.
So, in honour of the weirdness that is 'the migraine' I am changing my header to a migraine-inducing neon-y number!
Zxx

An Afternoon At The Country Club

I've been, on the most part, walking over to our local fitness centre every month for the last 6 months to visit Judith, the sports therapist, with great success.

 

My ancient Pucca T-shirt. So old it's vintage. Probably.

But this was the first time Mr B had come along too! (The joy of him being on holiday).

Hence the 'photo shoot'.

 

 

The place used to be a private squash club, then it was leased by Fitness First and now it is back to being a family owned fitness club.

 

But as Mr B said, it has the air of being a secluded country club and reminded us of our big summer holidays at the end of the 80s when we would travel down to Newquay for the pro surfing championships.

 

Those were the days...we had a sportsman who was a world No 1, betcha didn't know that, did ya?
 

lots of love from a surfing legend...to me!

 OMG, it's Martin Potter, World No 1 Surfing Pro!

 

Homemade sandwiches, the first cappucini from the new machine and table tennis.

What more could you want or need?

 

 

My lovely 'tat' bag from Rockers England (Manchester) had an outing.

 

 

 

And I wore sandals while I had the chance.

(Did you get the amazing thunderstorms last night/today?)

 

  No country club theme would be complete without a link to the beautiful, talented and, alas, no longer with us

Billy MacKenzie.

 

 

Sorry it's the karaoke version but it was the one video that (a) had the sharp, cut off ending and (b) wasn't introduced by Jimmy Saville!

Still, it's a good song to sing along with.

(Unless you are my neighbour!!!!)
Zxx

Toothgate

Not sneering...just a numb mouth



Had my infected tooth out yesterday.

Ouch!

3 roots no kidding. Ouch!

 And 200+ quid down the drain on root canal treatment with it.

That hurts almost as much as the tooth!

 

Two lots of antibiotic have played absolute havoc with my insides which the GP said could take up to six weeks to settle down.
She also suggested that I try those live bacteria yogurt thingies. When I nearly vomited down the phone she said they were also available as a tablet. So I 'treated' myself to a pack of "Biotic Balance Ultimate Flora" by Bioglan from Boots.

Not sure what it is doing but thank goodness my insides seem to be doing well much quicker than I could ever hope for.
Do you take any form of 'live bacteria' daily?
Any thoughts?

nice stool

 Mind you, still waiting for results of a stool sample (gulp).

 

Thank goodness this fur baby's fur is much better

Anyway, our two little adopted fur babies were in the park. Hurrah!

No, Vix, it isn't Polly Piglet, but Marmite. The woman who owns her, (yes, she does have an owner!), likes her, her husband doesn't.

The same woman has 'adopted' the other one which she said was a stray, but she doesn't feed her??

(No, I don't understand either)

Who's this Polly Piglet I keep hearing about?

 Thank goodness for the lovely lady who opens the Box Office in the park; we had a great natter with her. It was her who told us about their 'home'; she had brought in food for them, as did we.

 

Yes, we took a box of cat kibbles to the dentist. Are we mad??
Zxx

Karate Chop!

Oh my...what have I just gone and done?

 

Signed up for a karate course!!

 

Am I mad?

 

Do you do karate?

 

Any thoughts?

Z xx

source

Y'know I'm just doing it for the accessories! A yellow belt for Spring - perfect!

I'm Gonna Hit The North

Off up to Manchester and am certainly looking forward to a break!

Odd gynaecological goings on saw in the New Year with urgent hospital appointments and tests. We are pretty positive that all is OK, but just awaiting test results.

I will write about it in more detail, just in case it helps anyone else!



A fine Mancunian band, whose lead singer, Mark E Smith was married to Brix Smith Start, who was also in the band at one time, but is now known more as a fashion guru-thing-a-me-bob on TV.
  (And she has the cutest pug doggies too!).

Spanish Week @ Pennyblossoms

Hola! from Euroblossoms!

Here we have another video from Mr B. Again, as with the swifty-swallows yesterday, this was filmed about 7 o'clock in the morning, after the crew had worked through the night!

I was a busy ZoZo today; had my hair cut at lunchtime, met Mr B for lunch, (he's on his summer break), and then had my Support Worker come and visit. Phew!

Off to Brum tomorrow, to see the osteopath. I missed an appointment cos' I couldn't get there and had to cancel a couple of appointments due to root canal tooth treatment, so am in dire need of a crunch! Mind you, Andrew specialises in Cranial Osteopathy, which is much gentler.

Another meeting with the SW on Thursday, doctors appointment Friday and then THIS

Still haven't download my photos from the Vintage Garden Party. I do believe that dear Margaret is probably still waiting to see her photo up 'in lights', so to speak. So...

...looking forward to seeing you on Saturday!
Z xx