Some of my crafty makes

This is the front cover of a mini book I recently made.  I really enjoyed doing this - it is the first time I've ever attempted something like this.  It measures 6" x 3.5", so it really is mini.

These are the internal pages. 

 

I really enjoyed making this, and look forward to putting photos and journalling when I make up my mind which ones.  Hope you like it.

Sheila

I can't believe it's almost a year since I last wrote on my Blog.  Wow - what a year it's been!! We moved house on the 23rd August 2011, and absolutely LOVE our new home, we've been sooo much happier than we were in the old house!  In September Paul's condition deteriorated very quickly and he was told he needed dialysis as soon as possible.  We then had to attend hospital every month to see consultant.  They started to test me very quickly to see if I could donate one of my kidneys, but a couple of weeks before Christmas they discovered my kidneys don't work 100% and while I have 2 kidneys I'm fine, but if I lost one, I could end up on dialysis as well.  Then Paul went into hospital 3 days before Christmas and had his CAPD catheter inserted into his stomach and he came home on Christmas Eve.  A month later he started his CAPD dialysis.  The following day it all went wrong and he had to go back into hospital 4 weeks later and have tube re-located as it had moved during the night and got lodged up on one of his kidneys and the fluid would not drain out!!!  Anyway - to cut a long story short - every 2 weeks something went wrong with his treatment and he wasn't feeling very well at all, and they decided they needed to do a fistula in his arm so he could go over to haemodialysis instead.  The week he was due to have this done, we got a call from Addenbrooks.  Upshot of that was that on the 10th July, he had a transplant.  He is so much betterand is now having to go to clinic every week to Cambridge at the moment, but it was such a relief when it happened.  This picture of him was taken 3 days after the operation, bless him.

I've been doing a lot of crafting recently and every week I'm going to try to come on here and show you what I've been doing.

Sadly we lost out little Pickles back in April, so now Honey is a one cat family, but she's enjoying all the cuddles and not having to fight for her food.  We've buried Pickles in our back garden and have brought a plaque to put where she is - also our vet sent us a card with a packet of forget-me-not seeds in which I'm going to plant where she is.  We've been doing a lot of gardening since we moved but because I was in Cambridge for about 10 days, all my hanging basket plants died - would you believe - we had a drought after weeks of constant rain - it had to wait until I wasn't at home to dry out!!!!  I'm not going to bother to do it again this year, but will make more effort next year and make sure I look after it all properly - typical!!!!

Today we went to Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge and met our friends Liz & Tim (who I stayed with when Paul was having transplant) and had a lovely day walking around the grounds.  Paul was shattered by the end of the day, but he got on brilliantly.  He's hardly done any walking since the op, so I'm very proud of him.

See you again soon.

Sheila

We're on the Move

Hi everyone,

Well, things have been really happening since I was here in June. Our house sale has finally gone through and the contracts were signed yesterday (19th August). It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride with hold up, and delay all through. I was thinking it would never happen, but now it is, and I am soooo looking forward to next week when we actually move into our new home.

We went to hospital on the 2nd August for Paul's appointment and his kidney function has dropped to just 15% now. They also had the results of our blood cross-match. He said it was ok and he would let the transplant team know and they would start getting other tests done on me. I then had a call from the transplant co-ordinator to make appointment for me to see her - which was last week. That was to talk about what lies ahead for us, and what tests I need to have and all the risks of surgery for both of us. She also took my weight, height, blood pressure and water test, all of which are fine. I've now got an appointment to see my own Kidney doctor who will examine me and go through my families medical history. The other tests will be done in due course but could take up to 6 months to complete. We will also have to have some counselling both together and seperately.

We had a lovely week in Cornwall at the beginning of July. We were there for my Birthday, and we went to the Eden Project, which I really enjoyed. In the evening we went to the restaurant where we were staying and because Paul booked a table for us and told them it was a special occasion, the table was decorated with balloons and happy birthday confetti, which was a lovely touch. They had entertainment most nights, and the singers on my birthday asked why we had balloons on the table & we told them why. He then made everybody (including bar staff) sing Happy Birthday to me.

Honey & Pickles don't seem very settled lately because we are packing everything and they don't like us changing their world. Hope they settle ok when we've moved. There are a couple of other cats in the close we are moving to, so I hope there won't be too many cat fights. We've got to keep them in for a few days when we move and then hope for the best.

When we first move, we will be without phone or internet for about 8-10 days, which is a bit of a nuisance, but never mind. Just one of those things. Luckily we've got our mobiles lol.

Anyway, thats all the new for the time being, so be good and take care,

Sheila

Good News

Hi everyone,

I can't believe where the last couple of months have gone since I was here last. We've had some lovely weather, but looks like the rain is now making up for the lack of it up to now.

In May we went to Cyprus for 7 days, courtesey of our Kleeneze business. Every year they hold prize draws for the distributors, and this year we won 7 days in Cyprus. It was a brilliant holiday and we really enjoyed it. We'd like to go back if we can in the future. We had a fabulous apartment, hired a car for 6 days and travelled all over southern part of the island. Brilliant!

We lost the house we fell in love with as we couldn't find a buyer in time, but since then we have found an even better one, and we've sold our house. There is no chain on either the buyers side or for the people we are buying from so we could be moving soon. The girl buying our house is hoping to complete in July, and we are very nearly there. It's really hard work, but soooo exciting.

There has been a complete turn-around with Paul and transplant too. We had a meeting with a doctor from the Addenbrooks transplant team towards the end of May. When we got there the waiting room was quite full, and all the people were waiting for there dialysis. They were chatting amongst themselves and we saying how unwell they felt between treatments. After the doctor examined Paul, he said he didn't think he would need to have his left kidney removed to make room for the transplant, which is a huge relief. While we were in with him, I asked him if I were to be tested etc. and I could donate, what would be involved for me. He told me all about the tests, the op and the recovery. It isn't as bad as we'd both thought, and we had a long talk about the different options. Paul confessed he really didn't fancy going through dialysis or CAPD and he kept thinking about his poor Dad and how much he suffered when he was on both options. In the end Paul agreed to let me go ahead and be tested. We have had the first test done now, it was blood cross-matching where they put some of my blood with Pauls to see if there is any reaction. We've probably got to wait about 8 weeks for the results, then they will carry out further tests on me. I know I said I was relieved that I didn't have to go through it now in my last post, but I've been feeling really helpless knowing that Paul was going to become so ill, and I really didn't want him to suffer, so I'm glad it is all going ahead now. I just hope that I am a good match and we can go ahead with the transplant.

In a couple of weeks we are off to Cornwall for a weeks holiday. We are really looking forward to having a break (Paul called it the calm before the storm) because we'll probably be moving soon after we come back, so it will be a very hectic month.

I will pop back to give you all an update on the progress of the move etc. some time after our holiday in July.

Love

Sheila xx

Spring Is Sprung

Hi everyone, Happy Spring. Hope you all had a good Easter, we did. On Sunday we went and found some Bluebells to photograph, (see pic)!

Since I was here last, a lot has been happening, we have put our house on the market, and found our dream home so please keep your fingers crossed that we can sell this and buy the ideal home for us. Half of our possessions have ended up being put into storage in a garage we have rented until such time as we move LOL. The only trouble is that now I can't find anything ha ha!!!

We've been really lucky with some beautiful weather lately, so I hope we have a good summer.

We went to Hospital for Pauls regular check up on the 5th April, and were told that his condition has deteriorated since December, and he now only has 16% kidney function. He has told me that he definitely doesn't want me to donate one of my kidneys to him and he would rather me be fit and well to carry on with our work and be his carer, so he will now be put on the transplant list, and go onto CAPD as and when needed. I have mixed feelings really, I wanted to prevent him having to suffer, but I also feel relieved not to have to go through a major operation in the near future. I have, however promised that if he becomes unwell, I will step in to donate if I'm a suitable match. We shall wait and see! We had to go to the hospital today (26/4/11) to see the chief staff nurse of the Renal Unit at the N&N to discuss treatment etc. and we asked him lots of questions. We've now got to ring the Transplant Co-ordinator and ask to have a meeting with the transplant team from Addenbrooks to see what happens next in case Paul needs to have a kidney removed.

I've been losing weight (intentionally) but the last 2 months I've been quite down and blown it all. To cap it all Paul bought me 3 easter eggs - and I've been eating chocolate like never before. I think I'll be sick of the stuff by the time they've all gone. Once that has happened, I'm getting back to losing the last few lbs to get to my target weight.

Well, that's about all the news I have this time around, and I will be back with more news in a few weeks.

Bye for now, Sheila

Sorry I've been away soooo Long

Hi to all my friends who follow this blog. I really owe you an apology for having been absent for such a long time. We went to Lancaster for the second time in September, after which we were inundated with work. From Sept. - Christmas is our busiest time and we were extremely busy. Paul wasn't very well on and off for a couple of months during this time and he was unable to work on his own, so I took on a lot of the legwork to give him some much needed rest. We were quite worried about him, so moved his January hospital check up forward to December, which we were told to do if he wasn't well. He had his usual blood test beforehand and when we went to see consultant, he said Pauls condition has remained stable since september, so he has no need for concern and could remain stable for some time. We asked him why Paul had been feeling so bad but they couldn't say why, only suggesting we buy a blood pressure monitor and when he has a bad day to take his BP and keep a record of it for his next appointment. We've got one now, but he has been fine. I'm still helping him a lot so I think he is not getting so tired, and has been ok.

Hope you all had a fantastic Christmas, as we did - it all seems such a long time ago now, and it takes months of preparation, just for two days, LOL! Happy New Year to each and every person who reads this xx

Well, since Christmas I have done a lot of soul searching, and decided that 2011 is going to by MY YEAR! What does that mean? Let me tell you:---

I have been losing weight steadily thanks to the help and support of Tesco e-diets. When I joined in June I was 10 stone, and when you're only 5ft tall, that is not pretty!! I now weigh 9stone 1 lb. I have a goal weight of 8st 10lbs, so that just leaves 5lbs to go!

I am going to get the house de-cluttered, once and for all. I started about 10 days ago, thanks to a brilliant US website Flylady.net and it is already looking a bit better. It is a long term job, as the website makes you do it very gradually, but that suits me just fine, I know I'm doing it, which is a big thing for me.

I'm going to get myself fit as well as lose all this excess weight.

I'm going to do my utmost not to keep getting stressed out about Paul's health, as that only makes me feel unwell, which is no good to Paul, so we are going to face the challenges it throws at us WHEN it happens and not a day before. We are going to enjoy ourselves every day in the meantime!!!

We've booked a holiday for the summer in Blighty. We are off to Cornwall for a week and will be there for my Birthday. Really looking forward to that, we went there years ago and I've always wanted to go back, so this is the year we do it. Just hope the weather will be ok.

Last week we had an email from Kleeneze to say Congratulations - before I realised it was from them, I thought oh no - more junk mail. Anyway - the upshot is that we are one of only 5 distributorships to have won a 7 day holiday, with hire car, to Cyprus. It says in the email that somebody will be in touch soon with more details - we are sooooo excited!! I'll let you know more when we hear from them.

That's really all the news I have a the moment, but I PROMISE, I will post more news very soon! I've decided to come back once a month, regularly to update this blog!!!

Bye for now,

Sheila x

Long time not blogged

Hi, sorry I haven't been on here for a while. Been very very busy. On my birthday Paul took me to Wells Next The Sea, where we had lunch then we went off to Hunstanton, which was really lovely. I love the north Norfolk coast. We had a game of crazy golf, and I actually beat him - a very rare thing indeed. It was a genuine win - he didn't lose just because of it being my birthday. We had such a giggle. It was altogether a really lovely day.

After that, we were very busy with our work because we had a weeks holiday planned for the end of July, so had a lot of work to do so we could afford the time for the break away.

We are now back from that holiday which was really lovely. We stayed in a place called Thurnham Hall, near Lancaster. When we arrived and went up the driveway to the Hall, we both said WOW. It was beautiful. Our studio apartment was on the first floor of the Hall and was in the oldest part of the building, dating back to the 12th century. As you can see from the pictures, it was pretty amazing - definitely had the wow factor.
They had a programme of activities all week with a daily quiz just for fun, but then on Friday there was a quiz which had to be submitted for a prize, which Paul & I won - a bottle of wine!! They laid on walks, trips in to Lancaster and much more. One Wednesday evening in the chapel (on right of picture) they had a talk all about the history of the Hall and he took us on a short tour. We really had a lovely holiday and would like to go back there some time in the near future. We couldn't go on the walks they did because you needed walking boots, and we didn't think to take ours with us, but if we go back we will definitely take them and join in.

I promise I won't leave it so long before I post again, and hope you like the photos.

Sheila

During the week we explored all over the place, having one day in Morecambe, another in Blackpool, we went up to the Lake District another day, and on Friday we popped across to Yorkshire. It was a lovely week and at the end of the week there was a quiz, and we won 1st prize of a bottle of wine. Yeahhhhh!!!!!!!

Since we came back, we have been just as busy as before we went, so this is the first chance I've had to come on and really concentrate on doing a new post. Hope you like the photos.

Another good thing that has happened: I joined an online diet at the beginning of July, and I've finally started to lose some of this blubber I've been carrying around with me for too long. I've alread shed 6lb, and on track to be able to wear some of my lovely clothes I've not been able to get into for a long time. I'm feeling much better in myself already, and can already wear some of my size 12's. I'm very pleased this one is working and I'm also making some new friends on the site's forums and circles of friends.

Hi again, I've not been on since the Norfolk show because I've had such a busy busy week. On Friday I took a friend shopping followed by sorting our deliveries out, then delivering to all our customers. Saturday we went to Skegness - a 6 hour round trip, then on Sunday we went to our friends in Cambridge for a BBQ for Liz's birthday which was on Wednesday. A fun time was had by us all and we were so lucky with the weather. On Monday I had my WI in the morning, came home & did some housework then went to another WI in the evening. Today I picked a couple of friends up to take them to bead group and they gave me some beautiful flowers for my birthday which is tomorrow. They are gorgeous - as you can see from the photo. Thanks girls, I really appreciate it. See you both Friday. Tomorrow, as it's my birthday Paul is taking me out for the day to the coast. Really looking forward to it. I will put some more news and photos on in a couple of days. Just want to get this week out of the way!

See you

Sheila xx

Here are some of the photos I took at the Norfolk Show yesterday. It was a lovely day and the weather behaved itself. There was so much to see and do and we must have walked miles which - in the heat was very tiring. But despite that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There were a lot of animals - here are just a few, a flower show and lots of craft marquees, which I especially enjoyed.

The owl on the left was huge and as you can see has the most beautiful striking orange eyes. I'm pleased with this photo as she kept moving - but I caught her right in the end.

We got the bus at arount 9.20 am and the return bus at 4.20 pm so it was quite a long day. We watched some horse carriage trials (hope I've got that right), and 2 military bands in the main arena and some gun dogs put through their paces around an assault course, which was a lot of fun.

I will add some more photos over the next couple of days, so keep watching this space.

Hi - Firstly let me apologise for my spelling mistakes on my last post. I must have been having a senior moment he he! This time I will promise to use the spell-check.

This photo is of a page I did recently of my Grandmother on my mum's side. She died when my mum was only 8 years old leaving Granddad with 5 daughters. I love this picture of her and I think the paper goes so well with it all. We had a very social weekend this week. On Saturday Paul's sister Yvonne and her hubby Doug came round for a meal, then on Sunday we went to our friends Angie & Roy for tea and had a lovely evening. Silly me - I left my handbag round there and didn't have my mobile on me so we got all the way home to find a message from Angie on the answerphone. Roy very kindly brought it round tonight when he finished work - thanks Roy! Got a very busy few weeks coming up and loads of photo oportunities so look out for the results on her in the weeks to come!

Over the last few days I've been listening to a cd in my car to try to motivate me and get my life back on track and be positive. This cd really surprised me what I heard today and I already feel different. I've decided NOT to play any more silly games of Facebook as they keep me up till 2 - 3am because I can't switch off. I have followed my Tesco Diet meal plan to the letter and feel really pleased with myself. Maybe this butterfly is going to emerge - slimmer and more focused.

The above picture is of a page I did a couple of weeks ago. It is of my mum who sadly died in 1980 at the tender age of 51. These photo's were taken on mum & dad's Honeymoon in Clacton, Essex in 1951. I'm creating an album of my life and family. I love this page - it had to be done in pink cos that was mums favourite colour.

I will put some more pictures on in a few days, have a good weekend.

Sheila xx

Last night I enrolled on Tesco Diets as I'm really struggling with my weight. I refuse to buy any new clothes in the larger size - I want to fit the clothes I have got, so I joined them to see how I get on. I've been like a womas posessed with my camera, taking lots more phoos of my garden. I'm really pleased with them -

hope you like them too.

The top photo is of my beautiful Peace Rose and the middle one is a lovely Dahlia growing in one of my pots and the third picture is of one of my many hanging baskets - all of which were planted by me.

Hi, me again, just been taking photos in the garden of some of my lovely flowers and thought I'd share them with you all. Hope you like them!

At the weekend Paul & I were supposed to have done a fete but the weather was sooo bad. We wrestled to put our gazebo up to protect us in case it rained, but the wind was so strong it kept nearly blowing across the field, then we had such heavy rain it was coming in the sides and front and would have ruined all the stuff we were selling, so we packed up and came home again. What a wash-out!! Never again! Could have done with it being more like today. Never mind - put that one down to experience.

Tomorrow Paul and I are having a stall at Sprowston Parish Council fete. Hope the weather keeps nice for us as it is outdoors. Hoping to sell some of the stock I've still got from when I had my craft shop many moons ago. We had an information evening at the hospital on Thursday night and learned a lot, so feel more positive now about the whole situation. I took a load of photos a couple of evenings ago, and silly me didn't have a card in the camera so didn't get any pics. I'm going out again this afternoon and will post the photos over the weekend. Watch this space

Good news in a way - Paul & I spent 1 1/2 hours at hospital yesterday with the Transplant co-ordinator. Very nice lady explained lots of things to us. Too much to take on board at once but don't need to panic yet - rate of deterioration could be about 12-15 months before he needs to go on transplant list - so breathing space available. Time to sort house out in readiness. Sorry for no photo's this time will post some over the weekend.

I love these two pic's of Pickles - she is so cute and funny, you can't help but love her to bits (well we can't). It's a real treat to get some photo's of her keeping still.

Sorry I've not posted anything for several days - had a lot going on. Paul (my husband) is on the verge of needing a kidney transplant and it's been a lot to try and get our heads around. It's quite stressful knowing what he's got to go through. The next stage comes next thursday when we're seeing the transplant co-ordinator. I'm hoping once he is on the list, I can be tested to see if I would be a suitable match for him. On a lighter note, here are some more pictures. The one of us together was taken in April on holiday in Turkey. The others are of Honey and Pickles - I actually managed to get some decent pictures of her. Paul says she takes after me inasmuch as I hate having my photo taken. Every time she hears the camera turn on she runs away lol.

Today we went out for some retail therapy and I got myself a new toy in the shape of a breadmaker. I've recently been told I need to avoid Gluten. Very hard when you love bread and all things made using flour. I am getting there but find I can't give up bread. My new breadmaker is brilliant because it has a gluten-free programme, so I can make my own gluten-free bread - yipppeeeee!!!!!!!!!

Really busy day today - did some hand washing first thing, then I've been helping Paul hang wallpaper on our stairs and did 35 mins keep fit on my Wii Fit. This afternoon I've got to try and do some movie editing from our Turkey holiday. I thought I'd lett you see our two adoreable girls - Honey (ginger) and Pickles (Torty).

These are some other shots I took today, aren't they lovely - one of my favourite subjects to photograph.