A BELATED FAREWELL TO A NOT SO GOOD YEAR

Hello everyone

Sitting here putting the final touches to Saturday's event and reading the posts on a couple of blogs that I follow, made me realise that it really is about time I pulled my finger out and blogged.  I have often said that I love blogging, yet it is five months since my last post.  Five months!

I am glad 2015 has been put to bed - it was not a good year.  Early in the year my sister was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease (PD).  Although she had a feeling for some time that it was a possibility, we were hoping she was wrong.  Although we have been told it is not hereditary, that is not always correct: our grandmother had it and an uncle has it, so it has travelled through three generations.  It has been very hard to watch someone who was full of beans, here, there and everywhere, become someone that has had the stuffing knocked out of them.  Life for her has by necessity become calmer and slower; like all PD sufferers she has good days and bad ones, in fact she can have a good hour, followed by a bad one.  If she has a good day and does too much because she feels well, she will pay for it with one possible two or three bad days.  How cruel is that?

 A few months after this a good friend had a stroke - it was a minor one, but enough to make her
and us realise how something can just kick you in the teeth when you are least expecting it and cause you to make major life-changes.  She is healthy, plays golf two or three times a week, gardens whenever possible and the very last person we would have expected this to happen to.  How do you plan if you cannot see what is around the corner?

My turn next.  I, like lots of people, have IBS (apparently 1 in 5 people suffer from this) and at the beginning of the year it was particularly bad, but I put it down to life being very stressful at the time.  Around mid-year it became so painful that I had to go to the docs's.  Tests were carried out, one of which threw up something that prompted a speedy colonoscopy (oh, boy, a never to be repeated 'exercise' - I hope).  The diagnosis was (is) Diverticulitis - thankfully not as bad as we had originally thought, but not great.   Interesting really because apparently I still have IBS and one requires a high fibre diet but the other requires a low fibre diet - very challenging.  (Research tells me that diverticular disease is very common and most people have no symptoms).  I know people will wonder why I am writing about something relating to 'that part of the body', but, hey, we all go to the loo and if I meet you and suddenly have to run off, it's nothing personal, I just have to go.

So a year of life-changing events all round.  These together with the dishwasher packing up, swiftly followed by the washing machine doing the same and then one oven on our 'just out of guarantee' range deciding to join them, meant an interesting end to 2015 and an expensive start to 2016.

Well, 'they' say everything goes in three's so three health events and three kitchen disasters must mean we have had our quote for a long time - please.

Lots more to write about, but time to get back to finalising Saturday's event.

Have a good week everyone.

Jill

MOVING FORWARD AND, YES, STILL CATCHING UP

Hell everyone

Hard to believe we are rushing towards another Bank Holiday weekend.  Although I no longer 'go out to work' (I work from home) I still look forward to weekends, and Bank Holiday ones are just as welcome as they were when I was a wage-slave.  Hope the weather is good as we are holding a birthday BBQ for a friend of ours - nipping in and out between rain showers to do the cooking is never that much fun (but I do seem to be able to delegate this job to Richard).  But then isn't that what Bank Holidays are for?  Dodging the rain, hoping for sun and getting a mix of both?

Earlier this year, I held a Vintage Bazaar in the Merrow Village Hall.  Vintage events are becoming more and more popular, but there do not seem to be many taking place around this area.  With that in mind and with bags of enthusiasm, Fee Fraser of Thimble & Thrift, and I have begun a joint-venture to create events for vintage enthusiasts (both stallholders and customers) and our new venture is called Village Vintage.  A new venture is always full of excitement as well as 'oh goodness me, will it work'.  I hope so, we both have lots of skills and experience to bring to the pot, so if you are around for our first event (19 September 2015) or you are interested in having a stall, do get in touch.

My moving forward and catching-up has involved lots of changes in my life; not all good ones.  My sister was diagnosed earlier this year with Parkinson's Disease - she is a very lively, fit and active person so this has come as a blow to her and our family.  Not long after this 'news', a good friend had a stroke - a minor one, but still life-changing.  It is hard when you really do not know what tomorrow will bring; we can plan as much as possible, but the future is definitely not in our own hands.

Because of the changes around me and changes in my life, I had to make decisions to give some things up.  Sadly, I decided I had to give up fostering kittens for Cats Protection.  It was a very hard and difficult decision and I really do miss having them here, but it became harder and harder to fit in the viewings, vet trips, the support they needed, and it also often felt unfair to my own furry gang.  I still support the Woking Branch in ways that I can, but I do miss those kittens.  I also had to give up managing the accounts of a friend's church - again a hard decision, but necessary.

Now I think I am bang up-to-date with life in Christmas Pie-land.  I am off to Chelsea tomorrow - really looking forward to it.  I go every year with a good friend who like me loves to garden and it is the highlight of our gardening year.  I get to meet my favourite Heuchera people again, Plantagogo, and this year I also want to check out Euphorbias - lovely structural plants.

Have a good week everyone, and enjoy the Bank Holiday no matter what the weather does.

Jill