Shed Warming

After weeks of planning and Keiron running himself ragged in the garden we had our shed warming party at the weekend. It was great, good friends all coming together to catch up and to celebrate my shed. The windy weather in the morning had us all wondering if the party would end up indoors, but thanks to my new fire pit which poor Keiron ended up in my back seat so we could get in home , and some blankets we were all cosy.

All the' hunter gatherers ( the men) ended up outside - poking the fire !!,  and us girls ended up snuggled in blankets and forming our new group 'The Deff Tones' or '3 girls R loud' inside the shed singing along to selections on Dens ipod. God knows what the neighbors thought, but we thought we were great.  Must be thanks to the coupious ammounts of special singing juice we consumed. Anyhow it must have been quite toxic because my head was pounding on Monday morning. All in all a great night, thanks to you all !!

Now trying to catch up on Ironing and general stuff before my Summer of Learning commences on Thursday, just in case I wake up feeling shit on Friday....

Fec 'in Hell

OMG time is running away with me, I have been so busy. I am now the proud owner of a personal space- my shed has been delivered. Its great I love it. From its position in the garden I have a panoramic view and can watch the various wild life that comes in. And today I should get my furniture delivered ' yippee' - good ole IKEA.  It is going to be the perfect place for my Summer of learning. I am having a Shed warming party this weekend so everyone can come to view it and fill it with positive energy in preparation, its going to be fab !!

Spent must of the morning yesterday back at the hospital, had a meeting with the Lymphodema nurse who told me all the things I cant do anymore - like- shave under my armpit ( done that)  put perfumed products on my arm ( done that) lift things with my arm ( done that) change bedcovers ( done that) - the list goes on  and on  and on. Anyhow then had meeting with Jenny Smith ( my consultant) she is very pleased with my progress. My back X ray came back ok ( just arthritic stuff ) and took more photos for her teaching class. ( she asked if I would allow her to do that ) anything for science I say. Then  went to the Macmillan suite to get a date for my Chemo. It starts next Thursday. They wanted to start sooner but when I explained I had a party going off and a Botox top up planned for Tuesday - they asked if I could fit them in on Thursday !!
Never one to disappoint I agreed so Thursday 2nd June it is. Baldness totality shall be reached around the 21st in time for midsummer solstice. She then went on to explain the side effects of the first 3 treatments which has a very long medical name as you would expect but she told me they call it FEC for short. Now imagine my reaction, FEC this FEC that, it was like an episode of Father Ted , I couldnt keep a straight face.

So there you have it - my Summer of learning commences 2 pm Thursday June 2nd .......

Bring it on

Flipping heck its been days since my last blog !! In this time I have learnt Transcendental Meditation, had a weekend in Matlock. Bought shed loads of stuff for my shed (its gonna be somewhere between a Turkish brothel ( never been in one) and a Hippy nest ( never been in one). Have bought loads of Kaftans and Tye Dye trousers - I blame that on the Transcendental Meditation, and generally had a good time. I have had confirmation that said shed is going to be delivered on Friday and the furniture arrives on Tuesday. So hopefully brothel/ nest shall be complete in time for shed warming party on 29th. Dont you just love it when everything goes to plan ?
I have been back today to have a touch up done on my semi permanent make - up . I tried to get away with settling for what I'd got but Angie was having none of it. I'm glad she got me to have the touch up because it looks brill - Thanks Angie. She also very kindly let me and Collette have a play with a few wigs. Its amazing because the one which I thought was fab and deffinately me - was awful. I looked about 20 years older. It just shows you need a bit of time and proper advice. Anyhow have settled on one for now, which Angie will order for me. It will at least keep my head warm. 

Saw the Oncologist yesterday. He showed me the image of my skeleton- it was really interesting. Any probs show up black - and I have a few arthritic bits - but I know about them. Found a little black mark on my spine which he decided needed more investigation so ended up back in xray dept. Havnt had results of that so another period of waiting. He was pretty confident that everything was ok and made the point that I no longer have cancer. The chemo is to stop cancer cells re-occuring if they decide to have another go.
Well they can bloodywell try it if they think they are hard enough... must go got a party to organise !!

You look ever so well !!

It dont rain but it pours. One of our girls is off sick. She cant help it and she is definitely not well. Dennis and I manned the shop as planned yesterday afternoon and now today he has gone in to cover the morning shift. I felt really tired yesterday I think its probably the stress of more tests. This one was quite easy. Firstly you are injected with a radioactive gunk, then they send you away for a couple of hours telling you to drink plenty. Then when you return you lie on a very small bed thing whilst a Gamma camera scans your body. It comes down very low. When it started at my head it was just above my nose and it stays there for about 3 minutes before it moves down  the body. Definitely not good if you're claustrophobic ( obviously I'm not )- thankfully. Now another wait - I have an appointment with consultant on Monday so I will hear the results then.  More bloody waiting.

Funny thing yesterday. Whilst I was waiting for my body to become radioactive I decided to visit a few garden furniture shops. In one of them I thought I recognised one of the staff. She thought the same as she asked how we knew one another. Anyhow turns out she was a customer of ours - but we havnt seen her for a while.  The first thing she did was comment on my new hair cut, and then said the words ' you look ever so well' . This sentence gets repeated to me every day. As it never happened so much before this I have decided that the Universe is sending me a positive affirmation  of its own every day. I shall now embrace this comment every time I get it as a sign telling me that all is well.

Am hoping to go to Matlock tomorrow to attend introductory talk on Transcendental Meditation ....

More scans

At hospital for hours with Den. Bottom line is no tumours which is great, but they warned him that it could take up to a year for his face to regain full use. Obviously not what he wanted to hear, but at least we know that there is nothing serious underlying all of this.
I have been advised that I shall have two different types of Chemo. The first shall make me feel nauseous and tired and cause hair loss, the second can give me joint pain and cause my finger nails to fall out as well as possibly causing a miriad of other side effects. Oh happy days. But I know I have no choice in the matter and that I have to grin and bear it. I also have recieved an appointment for a bone scan on Monday, so I guess someone thought they'de better check I dont have the big C there.  I am already getting sick and tired of hospital, how am I gonna feel by Christmas ??
Den and I manned the shop yesterday afternoon- it was manic. Really busy. And of course our customers all wanted to talk to us. It was really nice to catch up with them, but we were both shattered by the time we got home. And we have to cover Sunday and Monday afternoon as well as one of the girls is on holiday. Still it gives us something else to focus on I suppose. It was really funny too , as some of our customers obviously dont know about me. They were all expressing concern about Dennis and telling me how well I looked. We didnt have the heart to tell them the truth ( or the time).....

Dens Scan

Back at hospital later today - this time with Dennis to find out his MRI scan results. He has Bells Palsy and they want to rule out it being caused by a tumour. Bloody Hell its just too weird. Up until this we have both been really healthy, then bam we hit the wall together. I guess this should serve as a lesson to everyone reading this. Dont  put things off. Go out and grab life. Follow your heart and make sure you have no regrets. Its unbelievable how quickly it can be all taken away from you. I'd heard all those old cliche' before too. But believe me from where we are standing they hold true today.

Patio is just about finished. Had a hickup when I realised the slabs were different to the existing ones, but heyho life's too short to worry bout that. This morning it looks all ok. Now just have to trust shed arrives on time as have mad party to arrange.

Back to shop later to top up my tan so that I look fantastic for my Summer of Learning, hopefully after finding out that Den's scan is clear, then a nice walk along the front at Cleethorpes followed by a celebratory glass of wine then home. Remember Boudica ?? Well if you are interested about finding out more about this spectacular Norfolk queen who terrified the Romans watch Time Team at 9pm this evening. Go B go ....

Bra or Bra Less

Jeremy my hairdresser came round yesterday and has given me a haircut that makes me look like GI Jane. Except I'm not such a good looker as Demi Moore.  I decided to get it done in preparation for my Summer of Learning. I decided to do it sooner rather than later as it gives me the opportunity of not having to fuss over my hair or have bad hair days when Ive more important issues. I've had it short before but I think this is definately the shortest ever. Anyhow its done now everyone can get used to it.

Am having difficulty finding a comfy bra. My new booby is quite full at the top- my old booby is quite full at the bottom. I require a feat of engineering in the foundation department if I am to attain any sort of comfort. I have identified a market for haute couture bra making, if anyone out there is looking for a new project.   What is required are two completely different cup sizes and shapes. The one for my new booby should have a gel implant in the bottom to help balance it with the other one and should be a bit wider at the top.  I have tried ' bra less'  but find 'the bounce'  on my new one a bit painful, and anyhow it ends up disappearing under my armpit !! I am willing to put myself forward as a guinea pig for bra trials should anyone be interested.

Dennis and I went to the shop yesterday after it had closed and had a mini spa session. We had a fish pedicure, a sunbed session and a collagen bed session. I was a bit worried in case it brought on Lymphodema but I'm fine this morning so thats brill. I now have three weeks in which to get lovely and brown before my SOL ( Summer of Learning) starts. I have also arranged to attend a free introduction to Transcendental Meditation talk in Matlock next week, which if all goes to plan shall enable me to actually attend the training course the following weekend.

In the meantime work is ongoing on my shed, and am intending to hold a shed warming party on Sun 29th May so please pencil this in your diary.

Wonders of Nature

Woke up this morning to hear announcement that Bin Laden has been killed by the Americans, cant make up my mind whether this is a good thing or a bad one. Looking at some of the comments on my facebook page a lot of people are not happy with this result. It does make you wonder about repercussions. I cant help thinking they shouldnt have killed him. They should have captured him and put him to trial.
On a much happier note my workmen turned up a day early to start work on my patio extension for my shed, which means we are on target for 23rd. Kieran and Dennis spent nearly all day yesterday cleaning the existing patio and the front drive with a powerwash. It looks really nice. I managed to plant all the tomato plants into growbags and set up hanging baskets ready for my shed. We later went round Collette's and Christian's for a few drinks an nibbles. All in all a really good day. Really pleased that the garden is beginning to take shape. All the sickly/ dead plants have been removed and the new ones are already beginning to grow and some are even in flower, quite a change from a few weeks ago. Nature recovers so quickly, it is amazing. As for me, I am like my garden. All the crap has been removed and I feel like I am beginning to flower too. I feel really good, my arm is getting stronger by the day and I am getting very little discomfort from my wounds. As I said nature is a wonderful thing ......

Happy Beltane

Didnt quite make dawn this morning, but did a few rounds ( dressed) and took off a piece of Rowan branch and hung it over my front door - for luck.For those of you who dont know,  Beltane is a pagan festival celebrating the mother earth, fertility and rebirth following Winter.  It is halfway between the Spring Equinox and the Summer Solstice. Rowan trees figured quite strongly in the various rituals as it was believed that spirits lived inside them.

Anyhow enough of culture. As I am writing this Keiran and Dennis are busy outside cleaning our patio in preparation for my shed. Keiran and I spent a happy day yesterday shopping for all the essentials that you need for a glorious summer of learning, and I met a couple of friends at the shop who gave me the most beautiful Begonia for my patio. Later when patio is finished I am going to plant out my tomatoes and courgettes in readiness for a great big glut of fruit that we can share with everyone come late summer.

Am thinking that it would be an excellent idea to hold a shed warming party at end of May as a way of saying thank you to everyone who has so wonderfully supported me - and a last chance to get gloriously drunk before Chemo- hey ho happy daze .....