September 29th 2015 - Wizard Wand

September 29th Wizard Wand

Lil man has 2 outfits for halloween this year - his monster for school and a lovely blue wizard outfit (that I made better by adding star ribbon to).  The only thing the outfit was missing was a wand.  I had saved this pin to my Harry Potter party board ready for next year as I planned to make them for the party.

Well this has been the trial run of it - lil man wanted a blue wand with silver bits on the handle!  I didn't have any chopsticks like the pin says BUT I did have a huge hedge in the garden that has been cut down!  This emans I have loads of branches so we went out and found 1 that he liked.  We cut all the sticky out bits off, pealed the bark off it and allowed to dry for a few days.

Yesterday I started to make patterns on the handle end with  UHU glue as I couldn't find my hot glue sticks (I think they will work better and dry quicker), I did 3 layers in total building up  on the layer below so it was raised.  Again the wand was left to dry over night.  And today (after a trip to town to get the right colour blue sparkly nail varnish for it) I started to cover the wand in nail varnish.  It had to have 2 coats as 1 went patchy and wasn't as dark as me or lil wanted.  Once the blue was dry I had to go on a hunt for a thin paint brush, this was a task in itself as the kitten had knocked the tub of brushes off the windowsill and then batted them around as toys - I found 1 near the dvd shelves and cut some of the bristles so it was smaller still.  I then used a silver sparkle nail varnish to go over the raised glue on the handle, this took 2 coats as well so it was really bright and shiny. 

Lil man is really pleased with his 1-of-a-kind wand that goes with his outfit.  I just hope it still fits him for Harry Potter next year.  This was really easy to do and I will be doing 1 for all the kids for next year and maybe the adults (may not use my hedge but bamboo skewers or similar) and if  I have enough time I will make and extra load and attach a small bag of sweets to for the trick or treaters.

September 28th 2015 - someone loves you

September 28th 2015 - Someone loves you

I found this image on pinterest linked to pain and thought it was great.

The pin link can be found here Pain and love.  I'm very lucky in that I have an understanding husband and he knows what major pain is like as he was involved in a serious RTA 5years ago, had he been in a car and not a lorry he wouldn't be here today.  When he had his accident I was the one in reasonable health (my knee was no where near as bad as it is now) and I was doing everything.  He is still not 100% fit but he is able to do more than I can at present.

Therefore today's pin is for my husband who knows of sorts what I am going through with the pain.  He is the one that is here day in, day out and sees how bad I am and how much I struggle and he helps as much as he can - even if its just leaving me in bed of a morning to sleep as i've been fidgeting all night or bringing me a plate of sandwiches so I don't have to get up for lunch.

Not all people with chronic pain are this lucky.

September 27th 2015 - blood splatters

September 27th 2015 - blood splatters


Today has been a very gory day.  As halloween is now very close to us it was time to add some more blood splatters to the costumes that needed them.  My garden looks like a murder scene - there is red spray paint on the grass from where I did my shoes last week, there are halloween outfits hanging on the line all dripping with fake blood and there is fake blood on the patio.  It's all good fun!

So the outfits needed more blood splatters were my nurses dress:

It looked very "shop bought" and not very scary/bloody etc and my tights were plain white, so I made a mix of pva glue and fake blood and stuck it in a spray bottle and set about attacking the dress!


















My eldest sons chef outfit:

that was all the outfit had - the plastic mouth and plastic blood coming down from it, the trousers were just summer checked ones so again had no blood and the hat was a £1 shop chef hat so had no blood.  I hung them out on the line and used the same mix as I used on my dress. 

I can safely say they look much better now.  And because of the pva glue in them some of the runny bits have stayed as thick lines.  Here are the new amended outfits:

nurse dress and tights

chefs top, trousers and hat

Hubby and the other 2 didnt need blood adding to their outfits.

September 26th 215 - Steps

September 26th 2015 - steps


Take One step at a time and you will be there at the top in no time. Your tools are Positive mind, Hard work and determination. It may not be easy but it will be worth it in the end.

This is not just true to people who suffer from chronic pain, illness and depression but could apply to anyone!  It is very true.  However I would probably add in "I am doing it (just)" at the first step because for those struggling just getting up in the morning.  Also a "i'm getting there".


i'm sure other people could and would add others as well.

September 25th 2015 - Pumpkin game

September 25th 2015 - Pumpkin game

For Halloween my friend has asked me to sort out the games for the party.  This got me thinking of what we could do that wont involve lots of things needing to be taken with us.  I was also thinking along the lines of normal party games that we could make "halloweeny".

I had the thought on musical chairs - we don't have much room or enough chairs for loads of kids BUT we do have cushions, and from here came the idea of making pumpkins from paper for it.  I found a pumpkin template, asked my friends to help with orange paper/card as I didn't have any (2 of my friends were able to help).  I printed the pumpkin image and cut it out, and used it to draw round on the orange paper.  These were then cut out and the extra lines added, the pumpkin stalks were made from brown paper and glued on.  From here they are going to be laminated so can be re-used.

 Although this may look big it was cur out of A4 paper, and its not as dark as it looks its a real bright orange.

The idea is that of musical chairs, each child will start with a pumpkin on the floor and they will dance round them etc, when the music stops they need to stand on a pumpkin.   After the first round 1 pumpkin is removed so there is an extra child to pumpkin.  therefore when the music stops 1 child will not have a pumpkin to stand on and will be  out.  Another pumpkin will be removed and play will continue.  The winner is the last child that stands on the single pumpkin out of the last 2.

September 24th 2015 - Halloween party bags

September 24th 2015 - Halloween party bags

Yes I know there is over a month until Halloween but you can never be too ready for it.  I had a bit of  a panic the other day as there was  a poosibilty that the party was ggoing to be at my house and not friends, I wasn't going to be able to do a theme as hadn't got the time, it wasnt going to be as good as last year and I didn't know how I was going to sort it all with my knee being bad.

Well my friend rang me, she has decided she will be ok to host it this year but can I help her with preperations, party bags for the kids and the games.  I agreed as these are not major, she has said that she will cover the costs that I incure for buying stuff.

Well I know that I had pinned this pin linked tohalloween party bags with the goodies being in a glove but I am unable to find it so had to re-pin it today.   I have had a very halloweeny day today, we started off by getting EVERYTHING out of the loft and making a new inventory list as we couldnt find the 1 we had.   Then I started on the party bags with what I had.

Take 1 first aid/medical glove:

 an assortment of halloween novelties - eye patch, spinner, rubber hand (also had spiders, finger puppets etc) and a mini puzzle:

Put all bits in gloves and set aside until you get the sweets next week to shove in the fingers - we are going for the gory body parts and eyeballs etc.  Then the gloves will be tied off at the top and ready to go in the box with party bits.

September 23rd 2015 - Memory foam mattress

September 23rd Memory foam mattress

Today I have been married to my hubby for 9years.  We celebrated the other week as we had appointments and were not available to go out today.

However, our new memory foam mattress arrived and we opened it out.  We wern't sure how it was going to be as was only £69.99 but had an RRP of £199 so we hoped it would be good.  Upon opening it and placing on bed it spread really quickly from being rolled and after 2hrs it was really nice and soft.

I laid on it for  a few minutes and my knee didn't hurt (YAY!) and it didn't feel like a spring was digging in it like the old mattress did.  I couldn't wait to go to bed.

September 22nd 2015 - corticosteroid injection in knee

September 22nd 2015 - corticosteroid injection in knee

Today I was at the pain clinic about my knee again.  I can't say that it was a pleasant visit in the slightest.  I left in tears and in more pain than when I arrived.  The doctor wasn't very nice and that didn't help.

He went right back to when I first had knee problems at age 4 and how things had progressed (so to speak) over the years.  What treatments I have had and all sorts.  We talked about what I want and why I am there.  He didn't seem to believe me about the pain until he started prodding it and poking it and I yelled out as it hurt.  He tried to tell me the pain is in my head which upset me even more - I wish it was all imaginary.

Well he decided that he would do the corticosteroid injections into my knee.  The nurse saw that I was already upset and came and gave me a hug, and asked if I would like to hold her hand during the injection, she yelled out as I squeezed her hand, which the doctor said its normally the patient that yells.  And then he had to do the 2nd injection and that hurt just as much as the first.  But thats probably because of the size of the needle they shove into you and under your knee cap. 

My knee has hurt since and feels numb, i'm hoping that it does ease it.  he also gave me pain patches to use and said will see me in 3 months.

I don't like needles at he best of times but this has made m dislike them even more!

September 21st 2015 - Lip balm

September 21st 2015 - Lipbalm

Having spent today inside a very hot building my lips are very dry and cracked.  Therefore I have gotten out my hemp lip balm from the body shop.  It has a very acquired smell/taste to it and isn't liked by many people I know. 

I like it and have done for over 15years.  I really hope they dont stop making it.  Because it works very quickly, and you usually only need a couple of applications for lips to be back to normal.

I have a couple of these in different coats/bags/drawers etc.  And when I got home today my boots order was here which has a new lip balm in it :)

September 20th 2015 - from cute n fluffy to nasty

September 20th 2015 - from cute n fluffy to nasty

If you have been following my blog you will be aware of the monster feet I picked up in a chairty shop the other week and how my youngest son wanted an outfit to go with them for halloween.  I made a post about winning a cute and fluffy dog outfit that I planned to alter.

This was the cute and fluffy dog:

NOT very halloween or scary monster is it?  No, that's what me and lil man thought BUT it was brown and grey which are 2 of the colours in the monster feet, the 3rd is a dark blue which is why I started making spikes the other day to sew on it down the back.  This is what it looks like:

 It's a start on making it not so nice and cute.  The next step was to shave round the eyes so they were not so fluffy and would be easier to sew on.  Lil man said he wanted big red eyes, so out came the greaseproof paper (had no tracing paper), so I could get the shape of the eyes.  I then cut out my template and drew round it on red felt.  The hardest part was getting the eyeball in the right place.  But I didn't give up and I stitched the red felt eyes onto.  Whilst I was doing the eyes lil man asked if he could have some fangs from its mouth, so I did them from felt at the same time.  Here is the now not so cute looking dog. 

BUT it does still have a dog look about it, because of its long floppy ears, these seemed to be our biggest problem. 

I said I could try and stuff them with pillow stuffing in the hope that they would stand up slightly, so that is what I did.  BUT it didn't make it any less dog looking.  (And 1 not happy lil man as it still looks like a dog!)

SO the big question was what to do next to get rid of the last cut dog look.  My eldest said to cut the ears into a point (errrr thanks couldn't you have suggested that before I cut, stuffed and sticthed them???)   So I took my fabric scissors and just through the ears much to lil mans shocked face!  I then started to make some points for them from spare blue material and they looked like a reindeer (this was getting worse not better and I didnt take a pic of reindeer). 

I then cut the multiple points into singles and stitched them at the end of the now cut ears, inally they looked more monster than dog. (YAY!!!)

All that is left to do is to add the spike onto both shoulders and then take a pic of him complete, will do that and add later.

September 19th 2015 - Actipatch

September 19th 2015 - Actipatch

At the beginning of the week whilst watching tv 1 evening an advert came on for Actipatch, a new type of pain relief.  I had never heard of it so went straight to google to find more information.  I was disapointed to find sites in USA only......they I realised that my browser was set to .com and not .co.uk.  LOL!  So I sorted this and started searching again.

I found quite a lot of information on it and the review looked good, so I hunted for where I could buy it.  The main Actipatch website had them on it and had an offer of a free 7day trial pack when you bought the full pack.  And boots had it without the 7day trial for £5 cheaper so I ordered from boots and had to go and collect it mid week.

I didn't write about it straight away as there isn't much you can say - oh wait bought new knee pain relief, took out packaging and put it on!  What a brilliant post that would have been.

Well I have had it on for 3days now day and night (they say you can and it wont cause problems).  The biggest problem I have encountered so far is the holder that comes with it the velcro was digging into the back of my knee so I had to take it off and tape the device to my knee.  This was better but the tape went tight today.  So I took it off for a few hours.

At the moment I wouldn't like to say if it has helped or not.  Most of the reviews said a week or 2 before pain relief was fully seen.  I hope it helps, we will ave to wait and see.

September 18th 2015 - Actiderm

September 18th 2015 - Actiderm

During the 6week summer holidays my friend and her children came to stay with me for a few days.  She is an Actiderm consultant and whilst she was here she did me a couple of wraps.  By accident she left a bottle of phyto lotion on my drawers.  When I realised she said to keep hold of it as wasnt worth posting to her and use it.

I placed an order with her for both of the wrap liquids - the thermo that gets hot when used and the lipo that gets cold when used.  My friend has asked me to use the wraps and the phyto lotion and then write about them on my blog.  So here I am.

I waited for my Actiderm wraps to arrive before I started to use the phyto lotion as thought may get better results with using all together.

I will explain the wraps - both types of wrap promote long-term inch loss, target problem areas of buttocks, thighs, stomach and arms, they reduce the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks and tone and tighten the skin.

The thermo wrap works on a more superficial level of the skin, you can feel it working and see it working as it draws your blood near to the surface of skin which is why it turns red.  Thermo wraps give a quick result but you will need to do more to stablise the results.

The lipo wrap works on a more deeper level of skin, although the results don't show as quickly it does keep working for longer and still into the next day.

Both wraps work well on their own and even better if used together a few days apart.  It is personal choice as to whether you want hot or cold or both.  It is importatnt that before any of the wraps you drink plenty and it is reccommended that you exfoliate the skin the day before.

You need to apply the wrap lotion to the skin and rub in in a clockwise direction all over the area the area you doing it on.  Then you need to tightly wrap the bandages over the lotion and secure by tucking into itself.  After this you need to cover the bandages with cling film (you may need help to do this by a friend or partner).  Then the important part you need to lay down and place a towel/blanket/duvet etc over yourself to keep the warmth/cold close to your skin for them to work and then wait!  Once the time is up you can remove the clingfilm and bandages but dont wash off any residue of the gel.

On the day after doing the wraps (and all other days) I have been using the phyto body lotion.  It's regenerating ingredients restores hydration & gives dried skin the intense nourishment it needs.  It helps reduced stretch marks and scars and leaves the skin nice and soft.

Unlike many people I am not willing to post photos of me in my undies to show before and after effects of using the actiderm products.  However, I will share my measurements from before and after use.

Thermo wrap (11th Sept)	Start size (inches)	After size (inches)	Next day
Under bust	39"	38"	38"
Across belly button	44"	43"	43"
Above undies near top hips	49"	48"	47.5"
Top of Left arm	16"	15"	15"
Near left elbow	13"	12"	12"
Top of right arm	16.5"	15"	15"
Near right elbow	13"	12"	12"
Lipo wrap (13th Sept)
Under bust	38"	37"	37"
Across belly button	43"	41"	40"
Above undies near top hips	47.5"	47"	46.5"
Top of Left arm	15"	14"	14"
Near left elbow	12"	12"	12"
Top of right arm	15"	14"	14"
Near right elbow	12"	12"	12"

I haven't been able to do a wrap since the 13th as I have been in lots of pain with my knee again and doing wraps has been the last thing on my mind.  I do hope to do some more over the next few days though and leading upto halloween, especially on my arms as my sleeves of outfit are bit tight.

If anyone would like more information on the actiderm products, how they work etc please contact my friend Charlene via her link www.actiderm.co.uk/me/charlene-sharman

September 17th 2015 - Dinosaur Spikes

September 17th 2015 - Dinosaur spikes

Last week lil man picked up aa pair of monster feet in a charity shop.  He said he wanted to wear them for school halloween day at end of term.  When I asked with what he said a monster outfit!  YEA OK, you dont have one!!!

So after a hunt of the net I found a "dog onesie" in grey and brown that matched the grey and brown in the monster feet, and hoped I won it.  Well I did.  Once I knew I had won it I asked lil man how he wanted to make it more "monstery" and he said he wanted dinosaur spikes from top of his head down his back. 

I had this pin in a board from ages ago as I liked the jumper with it on.  BUT I didn't think that making each spike individually was the best idea so I started thinking.  I took a pair of dark blue trackie bottoms out of charity shop bag

I turned them inside out as it was more fluffy, then I decided that the fluffy side needed to be the finished outside bit as the "dog onesie" is fluffy, so I turned them back the right way.  Using 1 of the leg seams as the base for the spikes I started to cut through both layers of trousers to get spike shapes, which I then pinned together.

I have since stitched the points, I tried with my machine but as its only small it wouldn't go through the thick tracksuit bottoms so I have had to do it by hand.  I am in the process of starting the second set of spikes and I think I may need do more from the other leg.

September 16th 2015 - Smoking couldron

September 16th 2015 - Smoking Couldron

I have wanted a smoking cauldron for a few years to use at halloween,but they are always very expensive.  Last year I picked up a plasticcauldron that was being sol as a plant pot and hoped we could turn it into a smoking couldron but we never got that far.

Today whilst shopping I came across a smoking cauldron that isn't actually smoke but water mist.  It looks really good an will look better in the dark.  It doesn't get hot or use chemicals which is better with pets and children about.

September 15th 2015 - Bullying

September 15th 2015 - Bullying

Something I absolutely hate!  Bullying!  I was bullied at school to the extent I had to swap schools because of how bad it got.  I will not stand for it in any way.

My eldest son came home from school on the 2nd day of the new term with a huge bruise on his knee from where a lad (kid X) had tripped him over and he hit the floor.  I didn't think much to it until he rang me on monday of this week at 9am saying he could hardly walk as his knee hurt.  I asked why and he said that kid X had tripped him over again and he had hurt the same knee as last week where he hit the floor again!

I was not pleased and told him to go and tell his teacher and ask the first aider/nurse for an ice-pack and to ring me if he needed to come home.  The teacher said that they couldn't do anything about it and the school nurse wasn't in, so he couldn't get an ice pack.  He spent the day hobbling around and being laughed at by kid X.  I rang the doctors but they had no appointments left.

He was still struggling to walk today, his knee is still swollen and bruised so I rang the doctors and we went down.  The doctor said that he thought it was just bruised and muscle hurt but as he can't see through skin he cant say there isn't a chip to bone but its too swollen for them to do an xray.  He has been advised to rest, no sports for a week and to document anything and everything that kid X says and does incase we need to get the police involved.

Kid X is nothing but a bully, him and my son have had conflicts for nearly 3years now.  My son will only take so much before he hits back.  Kid X is known for picking on people and being nasty.  He was banned from the school bus last year due to fighting and picking on people.

I have spoken to the vice principal of the school and filled him in fully on what is happening etc.  He has assured me that it will be delt with as he doesn't want bullying in his school.  He has told my son that if kid X says or does anything then my son needs to go and find him to report it.

Bullies are horrible people and they do it because it makes them feel better.  Having been a victim of it I am not having my kids go through it and if it looks like i'm a grass then so be it!

September 14th 2015 - Countdown

September 14th 2015 - Countdown

So it has come to my attention today that there is only 46 days untiil Halloween.  Where has the time gone?  It doesn't seem that long ago that I posted this quote:

(29th January 2015 - When I started my spell book, which still isn't finished).

I am none the wiser as to whether Halloween is happening at my friends house like arranged last year or if it is happening at my house as she has had a few personal problems and doesn't know if she wants to face lots of people.  It's not a problem if it is at mine as I have loads of Halloween stuff in my loft.

However the fact Halloween is just around the corner is a big problem.  I still have LOTS to do for wherever it is happening.  I have no white shoes to go with my nurses outfit, and I need to cover them in red paint to look like blood splatters.  The shorts I had bought to go under my very short dress are about 3 sizes too big (even for my big bum!)  The trousers I bought for lil man to go with his Wizard outfit are a different shade of blue BUT lil man wants them and wants ribbon added to match his robe and jumper.  The middle son wants to go as a devil and we cant find the outfit we had so i'm hoping I win  the 1 i'm bidding on, on ebay.  The eldest son's knife still looks like a cheap plastic £1 item so I need to sort that out and hubby's outfit has not arrived yet.

Not to mention the fact my friend wants the food labels printed (if it happens at her house), as well as me to organise the party bags for the kids (12 of) an games to keep them amused!

Aaaaarrrgggghhhh where has the time gone???

September 13th 2015 - Potion bottles

September 13th 2015 - Potion bottles

It's not that long until Halloween now.  At the beginning of the year I started making some potion bottles for my friend.  I had loads more empty bottles to use but just hadn't got round to doing them.  I  have spent today making some more bottles and finishing off a few of the others.

I'm really pleased with how they are looking, once they are dry they will be moved up to the box in the loft with the rest as i'm not sure if halloween is happening at my house or my friends where it is meant to be.

All bottles and jars have had medicine, herbs, air freshner  or something in  and have not been bought to use.

September 12th 2015 - Save a Life September

September 12th 2015 - Save a Life September

As a member of St John Ambulance I am helping to promote SJA and our "save a life september campaign".  This is the 4th year it has been run wiith various activities taking place - from first ai demonstrations in shopping centers to the nationwide guerrilla style bandaging stunt.  

I have taken part in the bandaging stunt to try and raise awareness of SJA in my area.  My taking part consisted of Bandaging a Lamp post outside my house (on a main road):

 Bandaging a statue at Whitehaven harbour:

and Bandaging the railings down by the beach with Whitehaven Light house in the distance:

Whilst I in the process of bandaging the statue a man passing by asked me what I was doing - so I told him "bandaging a statue".  He then asked me why with a very puzzled look.  I explianed to him that St John Ambulance are doing their Save a Life September campaign again and they have asked unit members all over the UK to place bandages an stickers on things like lamp posts, post boxes and statues in and around their town to raise awareness.  He smiled (probably thinking i'm a total loony) and said he didn't know that Whitehaven had a St John Ambulance Unit.  He walked off and kept looking back me!

So it has worked, it has made my unit more aware to at least 1 person.  There were a few other people who walked past but didn't say anything, and I did notice after I had left they had gone to look at the bandage.  I really wanted to place 1 in the center of town somewhere but being a Saturday and market day it's really busy so I wasn't brave enough to do it.

I really hope that the campaign helps raise awareness of SJA across the UK.

September 11th 2015 - Android Tablet

September 11th 2015 - Android Talet

Just over a week ago on the Martin Lewis Website there was a freebie come up for a free Alldaymall 7" Android Tablet in pink.  You entered the money off code and selected free shipping on Amazon and the order went through. It turns out that this was a BIG mistake on the comapnies part, and the code shouldn't have been to get the item free.

Sadly I didn't know this until after I had ordered it, received it and allowed my children to use the free tablet that I got.  Well i'm not a cruel mother and was not prepared to take it away from my children.  I do feel sorry for the company as a lot of people took advantage of the freebie, but I will give it an honest review and write up here.

The item was packed very well and was protected and it arrived a day earlier than I was told it would arrive.   The package contained everything that it should it would.  If this tablet had to have been bought it would have been £29.99 plus shipping.

The device had no power to start with so we put it on charge for an hour and then turned it on, my first thought was how loud and clear the sound was, not bad for a cheap tablet.  It took you through a start up menu of which you could customise to suit yourself.  The colours and display were very bright and clear, the only thing was the screen didn't go fully edge to edge.

Once set up the tablet was actually quick to load and run pages, it worked well unless my children tried to open too many things which slowed it down (but this happens on all devices).  The screen is great for looking straight at but if turned or angled slightly you can't fully see what is on the screen.

It has both forward and rear facing cameras, I can't comment on the quality of pictures it takes as we have not tried this yet.  It also has room for a memory card to be inserted, again we haven't done this but probably will.

It is small and light weight and ideal size to fit in a bag.  It will be used a lot at hospital appointments as wont take up much room to take with us but is enough to keep the children amused whilst waiting.  It has a hard plastic shell around the tablet which i'm sure is strong enough to protect it but I plan on buying a rubber one just encase it does get dropped.  It is a well built little machine.

The tablet is able to connect to wi-fi which is great an it is also bluetooth enabled.  It runs on Android which is what myself and children are used to (they have use my mobile phone for games etc).  Apps install on it quickly, but as it has low memory I wouldn't advise you to add too many, unless you plan on adding a memory card to boost it.

It can be charged via mains plug or the mini usb cable.  My youngest son is happy to play on it whilst on charge from my laptop so that he can sit and snuggle with me before bed.  The battery life isn't the best and is about 2-3hrs depending on what you are using the tablet for, but I really don't want my children glued to a device for this amount of time let alone longer!

For the price the tablet is (and even better for me as was free) I can safely say it is a great little device, it does what you would hope a small tablet could do etc.  It is ideal size etc for children and slipping into a bag for waiting rooms or even whilst shopping.

I would recommend this product to family and friends.  Thank you for sending it to me an i'm sorry that I wasn't aware of the mix up and that it shouldn't have been free.  I hope that you accept my apology and review as fair exchange.

September 10th 2015 - Day trip

September 10th 2015 - Day trip

As me and my hubby are not available on the 23rd for our wedding anniversary and we needed to speak to the man we hired my wheels from 2weeks ago, we made a day trip today.

We dropped the boys off at school and headed to Keswick, just over 45minutes away.  We went and spoke to the man about the mobility scooter and he will sell it as soon as we have the money for it, so we have put in for a benefits loan so  that I can get it.  After we spoke to the man I hobbled round the market and the shops, managed to pick up a few books for me and a Christmas present for my sister.  We were going to go to the pub for lunch but they didn't serve food until 12noon and it was only just gone 11am, so we went to the fish & chip shop instead as they were open.

After we had eaten we went up to Ashness Bridge, which is where my parents ashes were scattered.  It was quite busy up there, but there again it always is, but it was still very quiet.  We got talking to an older couple that were up there about the area and how we came to live here etc.  We left ashness bridge and headed for home.

However, I decided we were going to go the scenic route - we went through Thornthwaite village, there's not much there except very big houses.  We then got back onto the A66 and just before we reached the Buttermere turning I said to hubby to go there.  So we took another diversion and headed into Buttermere village, where we bought ice-creams and sat by a stream to eat them, with lovely views of the mountains.

When we left Buttermere we headed towards a place called Mockerkin, which we had been told had a lovely tarn.  We found the tarn, but it didn't look as nice as it had been made out to be and the only access to it seemed to be over a locked gate, not much use when your on crutches with a bad knee!

We had a lovely day, saw lots of nice scenery an plenty of sheep in the road!

September 9th 2015 - rock house

September 9th 2015 - rock house

A few weeks back my lil man found 2 leprechauns in a charity shop.  They were salt & pepper pots but he asked if he could have them for his fairy garden.  I bought them and put glue in the holes, touched up the bit that was chipped with nail varnish and off he went with them to the garden.

I didn't think much more about them but last week he said to me that his leprechauns needed a house as the fairies and gnomes all have  houses.  I asked him what sort he wanted and he said made from rock like some of those outside but must be green and have a rainbow on it as leprechauns are found near rainbows.

I have an assortment of rocks in the garden that we have found as we cleared it etc so I foun 1 that was sort of rock house shaped and set about drawing bits on it - windows and doors and flowers, a roof and a rainbow on the back.  I then set about painting it.  It looks really good and lil man is pleased with it.  He asked me to put silver sparkle nail varnish over the rainbow so it looks magical.  So out came the nail varnish again (1 day I will do a post on my many uses of nail varnish lol), and I i it.  All I need to do is varnish it.

I will add a photo during day light so it looks better.

September 8th 2015 - New author

September 8th 2015 - New author

A few months back I bought a book in a local charity shop for 25p that sounded really interesting, it was Entranced by Nora Roberts. At the time I didn't realise it was part of a set.  I have since read book 1 and I am trying to get books 3 and 4.

This bargain find has got me hooked on a great author and I am now looking to buy more of her books.  From what I have found online she has written over 200 books in the name or Nora Roberts and even more under her pseudo name of JD Robbs.  I will be looking for those as well.

Yesterday whilst I was shopping I found 2 more of her books in charity shops - birthright and treasure.I bought them and I now need to find the extra books for treasure.  If I plan to buy all her books I am going to need to buy/make some more book shelves, not that I am sure of where to put them as have no room.  I do like the idea of bookshelves built around windows and doors so that they are set back. 

September 7th 2015 - What a day

September 7th 2015 - What a day

I had planned on writing a nice post about the boys starting back at school today and how smart they looked etc.  But  thing took a different route.

After school the middle son was still complaining that his wrist hurt alot.  On saturday he was playing on a space hopper, fell off and landed on his wrist, we went to a&e and the doctor was in quite an ar*e (not my fault) but after prodding n poking it, son saying it really hurt, the doc said my son had sprained it - no xray etc.  But to keep giving calpol and to go back if no better.  Well he was still in pain so we went back.

The doc we saw today was really nice and helpful.  He sent us for an xray as believed my son my have bent the bone and when we came back he said that he had, only slightly but enough to show up on xray.  As it's only a mild bend he said he didn't want to put it in plaster but would put a splint on for a week to give it support.  Well they couldn't find a splint small enough and only had tuber grip, but said that I could pic 1 up on ebay fairly cheap.  My Son is not allowed to do anything for 2 days and needs to rest his wrist and no sport for 2weeks.  he has an appointment back in a&e next week.

So now i've posted about the drama you are probably thinking that I have lost the plot talking about bending bones etc.  Well this info has been copied from a medical website - "Most  youngsters, broken bones are either “greenstick” fractures, in which the bone bends like green wood and breaks only on one side, or “torus” fractures, in which the bone is buckled, twisted, and weakened but not completely broken. A “bend” fracture refers to a bone that is bent but not broken, and is also relatively common among youngsters."

September 6th 2015 - The Grotto

September 6th 2015 - The grotto

No i've not gone mad and decorated my house and i'm not referring to Santa, i'm referring to "the grotto" at Cleator Moor in Cumbria attached to St Mary's Church where they hold the local pilgrimage.

I'm not a religious person, I never have been and I don't plan to start now.  Yes I did go to a catholic school and I had the same respect at school and for those that are religious that I showed today.  I was there as part of the St John Ambulance First Aid team that were requested to help with getting people off buses and into wheelchairs/down to the grotto area for the service.

There was a lot of people there but not as many as previous years apparently.

september 5th 2015 - Chronic Pain

September 5th 2015 - chronic pain

as you are probably aware I have chronic pain.  I have had it for ages now with my knee.  I have set up a page on facebook called "chronic pain is real" and I am adding quotes and images I find on the net and things that I have created to do with pain etc.

I made this word cloud that I have added to it:

September 4th 2015 - The Beacon

September 4th 2015 - The Beacon

There are only a few days left before the boys go back to school, and despite the fact my knee is still really sore we took the boys to the local museum today - The Beacon.

There is lots of hands on touchy stuff for them to try and use which is great for kids of all ages.  They really enjoyed the Sellafield exhibition as that had lots of things including big foam things to make a way to get rid of nuclear waste (balls).  They spent ages trying to work together (very hard for my sons) to build a track.