Pillow Thoughts

Tuesday.

We went out with Sue and Pete for lunch at The Goose at Gamston. We avoid the city at this time of year because its chaos. 

While we don't mind a walk round on our own, going for lunch is a nightmare. So we try to find different places to go. The Goose is a little more pricey for a regular meet up, but, the food is good, and the actual pub is lovely. So in the end you get what you pay for.

It was lovely to see them both as it always is, and we laughed until our sides ached. 

They dropped us off back home afterwards, we had to negotiate the workmen etc as they seem to be doing something to the path and the area surrounding the car park. Looks like they are lowering the curbs for better wheelchair/ mobility scooter access. Which as we know from our own recent experience is needed. Most of us that live at Thurlbeck have some sort of mobility issue, Kev being the exception, so it will help everyone. There's been a couple of falls even by one of the posties, so perhaps that's prompted them to come and sort it out. I finally got to play with the 21st Birthday stamp set and stencils later on in the afternoon,while Kev watched the football. They should be very useful 



Pillow Thoughts.

Monday.

Rest day. Even then I woke early. I got up and sat quiet for a bit, then I did my exercises and set too at my desk. 

So happy our Cure tickets have come... Looking forward to that gig is what got me through all that time healing with my leg... I've loved Robert Smith since I was a teen, and this will only be my third time seeing them.

Kev has booked the coach, I booked the hotel back in January so all is good. Its the first time we have been away since the accident. We've had days out, but not stopping somewhere in a another city. I'm a bit nervous naturally but the Lord God Robert Smith...

I will shower at home where I have confidence and all my aids to make me feel safe. It will save time in any case giving me time to goth up fully for a change.

Pillow Thoughts

Sunday.

Well what a day, smart shop went down so all the customers who use that had to come through the tills. Not a good start. 

I don't know what was up with people either. You'd say hello etc as you do, half of which either totally ignored you or said hello back begrudgingly. Christmas spirt too early? I never understand,if you don't like shopping do it online. It costs nothing to be pleasant and don't get me started on the ones on their bloody phones all the while they shop. Drives me nuts. Its beyond rude. You don't know whether to just point to the screen when the total comes up or what. I get as I just wait, one young woman who was on her phone throughout the transaction, said "how much?" When I just stopped and waited, and I just smiled and said, your conversation was obviously important, so I didn't want to interrupt. She sheepishly paid and said, softly "Sorry that was rude of me" to which I replied "Yes very". The guy behind nearly spat the sandwich out he was eating before he'd paid for it. After he composed himself and paid for said sandwich he said "Good for you"... 

I'm so glad I only work two days now. My patience is not what it was...

Pillow Thoughts

Saturday.

Busy day at work. Slightly more pain in my leg, not sure if that's the new tablets, the cold or a bit of both. Its quite easy to blame everything on these pills so I'm also trying to look objectively at other causes. 

In other news the weight I gained during my sojourn in bed and not moving much is gradually coming off. So the nurse who got my back up by saying that they weren't expecting me to go as low as I did in 2019 can go boil her head, I'm not that much heavier than I was then. They obviously don't know me when motivated, sanctimonious bitch. I wouldn't mind if she was stick thin herself. Practice what you preach love.  

Other than that, not much else to report. 



Pillow Thoughts

Friday. 

We went into town because we needed food for the weekend. We usually shop Thursday but as Kev was at work it made sense to do it today rather than when we finish work tomorrow. 

The city was busy, you can tell that everyone is trying to get the presents done, and of course is Black Friday so people are trying to grab bargains. I've got one or two online at afth and Amazon, nothing amazing just craft supplies that I'll need when my other stuff has run out, so it will save me in the long run.

Pillow Thoughts

Thursday.

Kev went to work on overtime and I got up not long after 8 I exercised, had breakfast and got changed. Did a bit of prep for my Christmas dyalog along with my pages for this week. 

Charlotte came round and we had coffee and a natter, she bought her own lunch so we sat and eat together. Kev got back home around 2.45pm. The trouble is you can do a 5 hour shift but with three hours to get there and back added on it makes it an 8 hour day. 

My earrings came, just little solid silver sunflower studs that I can leave in. I had worn some little wooden bats but the posts weren't silver and my ears went funny. After a few weeks of not wearing any while I cleaned the lobes with TCP daily and let them sort themselves out I put these straight in. They should be OK now. 

Pillow Thoughts

Tuesday. 

We had a lovely day. The weather was a bit iffy, so we dressed up like Nanook of the North, and headed to the city. We didn't need anything, but we did need to get out the house. 

We went to Victoria Centre and had a look round John Lewis at the baubles, very beautiful, but very expensive. But it certainly puts you in the Christmas mood. 

We looked in The Works, and Tiger, and even that Japanese shop across from it. We came out of the centre and went to TKMaxx, where we found another couple of astronauts to add to our window display, something we started last year with the cat astronaut ornaments. We have a spaceship with cat in it bauble, a couple of planets and a earth bauble... the lights are moon and star shapes that stay up all year round. 

After we got those we had lunch, and then made our way to the Winter Wonderland for a look round. It was nice to wander through, though the inside was dominated by the bar, and there are more stalls on the outside than in. But we very often don't bother looking at all. Today seemed like a good day to nose round. 

We got home and we had a footspa with a cinnamon swirl bubble bar ( well part of one) smelled lovely. My feet feel great. 

Kev booked the bus tickets for the Cure gig next month and the hotel has been booked since I got the tickets, I'm so looking forward to that. 





Pillow Thoughts

Monday.

Productive day. We finished a few projects like the snowman canvas, the wooden tree and the atc coins. As it was a miserable wet day it was nice to be cosy and warm doing our separate crafts. 

I love days like these. Simple pleasures. What we are about these days a more relaxed way of life. We had our days of hectic non stop work, both in the supermarkets and our pub days too... Even holidays at Whitby were full on. Now we are content with slower paced adventures. A couple of days out here and there, but lovely to come home and do what we please. I couldn't do that when we were at the pub, You were always 'on' you couldn't even have a row with each other without the whole pub being involved. As much fun as it was, we couldn't do it now, our energy levels aren't half what they were. I sometimes even then wondered how we did it. 

Pillow Thoughts

Sunday. 

Nice to stay home, sounds daft after six months off, but they weren't really relaxing. Even now my day is based around moving my legs and exercises to keep them moving. 

Once that was done I started working at my desk. I started prepping my next dyalog. 

I have no more cards t9 make and no more tags. So I can concentrate on doing my own stuff now like my Dyalog. 

Pillow Thoughts

Saturday.

Kev went to work and Willow and I snuggled back down and slept until 9.30 am. It was like when I was home recovering, she did pad gently at my leg to see if it was covered in plaster bless her, then lay with her head on my knee and snored gently. I got up and showered, cleaned the bathroom, and set to at my desk. I finished my cards finally, and did the pages in my dyalog... I should be done now hopefully, baring any random requests. 

I can now make other stuff like Kevs Birthday card, a welcome baby card and start those disks for the atc holder. 

Kev got home eventually at six thirty pm after two buses went awol... its a bugger that he finished at four and walked in here two and a half hours later. Trent Barton are a bloody joke. I think NCT should take over the Cotgrave route as while they are No Charm Transport, who cares how ignorant the drivers are if the buses run. I wouldn't mind but they charge the highest fares for here and Calverton which is just as bad off for service as we are... I hope he gets on better today, Sunday service is bad enough without any going missing... 

Pillow Thoughts

Friday. 

After getting soaked we decided to stay in. We set to and did more wrapping of gifts. We still have a few more to wait for coming, but I'm thinking we are done. 

Projects on the go, all tags are now done and I will make cards tomorrow being as I'm home alone with Willow. Both of us seem to have a bit of a chill, so soup it is. If you saw my reel you will have noticed we have replaced the bats with angels on the mobile hanger... Very pretty and a good price, at the moment. The rest of the decorations will remain as the are until the first week in December... 

Pillow Thoughts

Thursday.

Wet, wet, wet... We couldn't put going into town off any longer, I needed pain meds, and we needed food. So we wrapped up in asmuch waterproof stuff as we could and I donned a hat in order to stay as dry as we could. It was all to no avail by the time we got home we both had to change. Bearing in we did most of it in Vic Centre to be out of it. 

Travelling on the buses was like riding on the log flume or the rapids at Alton Towers... The lying water on the road jetted up the sides of the bus sides as we drove through the puddles.

Thankfully that means we won't have to go far tomorrow so if the weather is poor it won't matter. Charlotte got me some sushi from Lidl for the weekend. Ian got the heavy stuff or stuff we struggle to find at a reasonable price. So we are all set. 

Pillow Thoughts

Wednesday.

Dark dull day, we were planning to go out after Kev finished the washing, but we decided against it. 

I set too and made the last of the tags I've made 50 in total that's two sets of 20 for orders and then mine. I cheat a bit with mine as Kevs tags I keep and reuse until they fall apart and Kev does the same with the ones I made him. Everyone else gets new each time so will probably need more but we shall see... I still have cards to make... I'll get them done over the weekend.

Pillow Thoughts...

Tuesday.

It absolutely poured with rain, so much so that we decided not to meet Sue and Pete in town for lunch. However, instead of having to miss out on our catch up they picked us up and we went to the Goose at Gamston. 

We've been there with Andrew and Adam a couple of times and the food has always been good. Today was no exception. Throughly enjoyed it and it wasn't heaving like town pubs would be, so we could have a relaxed meal and decent chat. 

Sue and Pete bought us home and we had a few deliveries come. Presents in the main. One of which I didn't choose the right item but its just too much hassle to return. I felt a bit deflated as I went for what I thought was the best option. Oh well, you live and learn. Maybe next time I just buy a voucher so they can choose their own. 

Watched the Bake off final, the winner wasn't a surprise if I'm honest. Very predicable which is a shame. I think like a few others in this genre of programmes it might be time to stop now. 

Pillow Thoughts...

Monday.

Well I'm back, Blogger seems to be up and running... Never sure with technology why it stops working or if it will stay working.

I'm off work this week, Kev isn't, bit mine is the backlog of holidays from while I was off sick. 

While I wasn't posting I had a memory come up on Facebook, as you do from 9 years ago. It was just as we were made homeless, and how I was coping, which on the surface I was chipper, optimistic and undaunted. Underneath that I was a mess. I was scared, heartbroken and disappointed with people in general, I hid it well, but also drove people away by lashing out because I didn't know who to rely on so I decided not to rely on anyone. That caused a lot of people to turn their backs on us, which was understandable. What I didn't know then that a couple of years later I would be in a much better place. At the time, I thought I was at the end of of the line. It took all my strength to continue, There were so many times I nearly shut my eyes for good. Noone knew this I kept it to myself I withdrew and it took me a long time to come back. Now I see it was all to clear the way to better things. We moved to stay with friends in Nottingham. I got to reconnect with my sister. We moved in to a place of our own after a while, I moved to Arnold Sainsbury's and for the first time actually enjoyed going to work, sure its like every supermarket it has its share of the multi faced and backstabbers, but in the whole it welcomed me and I felt a part of the team that I never felt at Burton.

When we moved to Cotgrave ( against advice, from some) we found our peace. Again it has it challenges, bullies and control freaks that want to know when you fart, but we mainly keep to ourselves, and it's worked out well. We are happy, we have friends good ones who chose to be around us because of who we are rather than what we can do for them. People who we can rely on. 

So my reason for hashing this all out in my blog is this, no matter how at rock bottom you feel you are hang in there. At some point things will improve, things are never perfect, but we can find happiness again and sometimes it comes good far better than it was before. Both of us still face challenges but, in general this is probably the happiest I have ever been. 

Silly Season Begins

Thursday.

Thinking ahead, we went in to the village to our local Sainsbury's and got the food for the weekend... After which we had lunch at The Pig and Pudding. It was very busy and there was a couple of reserved tables which made it harder to get a table. The food was lovely as always and they are very generous portions. I only eat half of mine but, I enjoyed what I had. 

When we got home we started to wrap presents and put them in the sack. A couple more to get and make, and I'm done. 

Friday.

We had a crafty day, I finished that card order, and then I stamped and coloured in images for more tags. 

Kev painted the new discs for the holder in the hall. I will decorate those next week. It works well for us having a rest day before work, rather than getting the food on a Friday. Earlish night after watching I'm

a celeb... 

Silly Season Begins...

Wednesday.

Wash I day I woke up early and so did Kev so he got the washing in. First day we had this week for a lie in and it didn't happen I did however have a pj's day, we weren't going anywhere. I started to batch make Santa's wish cards for an order. I need to do 20, so it was like a little production line... I cut out the background papers first the the individual pieces of the dies... That kept me busy, and now all I have to do is assemble. Which takes time but they look great when they are done as you will see from the picture below. I still have more tags to make and I could do with starting some of the wrapping of the gifts I've bought so far. Busy busy busy...

Silly season begins...

Tuesday.

After my rant yesterday I feel better. Good job as I know it annoys some people when I am brutally honest about how I feel. Speaking the truth has always got me into trouble, but, I've never let that deter me. It always reminds me of the movie A Few Good Men, and the line from Jack Nicholson "You can't handle the truth" 

Anyway, we had to drop something to the doctors before heading out to Arnold for our flu jabs. We started out early in case of missing buses, Good job, as the one we did get was late, but we got there in time to shop before our appointments, so we bought a few Christmas gifts... As silly season gets underway I want it done, I don't want to leave it until the world and his wife are hunting down that perfect gift. I can't be arsed with the crowds, they are ignorant at the best of times, all in their own universe, but it gets worse as Christmas approaches.

Silly season begins...

Monday.

Had to be up early to go the doctors for my annual diabetes checks and blood test. So we walked down and back. Of course it was more of the same shit as before, you've gained weight, well yes, I have, but I have just spent 6 months not moving far and I'm still only just regaining my ability to exercise like before and I'm still only allowed to do so much. Eating healthy has to be combined with exercise to lose weight, and being in bed for 12 weeks will cause anyone to put on some. It's not tons and it's coming off again now I'm moving. I know they are only looking at one bit of my health, but my records are there just join the fecking dots. I didn't lie in bed eating junk, I eat as normal, well actually I eat less as my appetite has never truly come back since my stay in Durham hospital. I rarely eat a full meal. 

So I have this battle of them peddling their drugs, and me wanting to do it my way. They didn't even ring me once during lockdown or the two years of the covid outbreak. I didn't get a text to sheild like some, with months off, I didn't die then, I stayed in my weight range, I worked all the way through unlike some. I had my vaccinations when they were rolled out, and I managed to not get covid, until I was in hospital and then they said I had it. I never had symptoms and when I did tests at home they came back negative. I'm convinced they put positive so that if I died during surgery they could blame that and not their incompetence. Sorry to rant but I'm peed off. Sometimes they have an agenda and I don't always buy that you are deaths door, but while they weren't seeing anyone face to face, these problems disappeared... 

All Souls and beyond

Saturday...

Heart in mouth as we went for the bus in case ot didn't show, lad stood at the bus stop said the 6am didn't turn up. Poor kid said he was late for work and the place he works for are getting fed up with him being late because of the buses. 

Anyway ours did come and we got the tram up to the Royal Centre. It takes the pressure off me getting up that steep climb.

Work was busy, big queues all day, and lots of cash too... 

Got home OK, buses were supposed to get bad after 5pm, but we managed to get the 20 minutes to 5 which meant we got home quick as the Forest match was still going on so we avoided the traffic thankfully. 

Both of us were shattered, so by 9.30 we went to bed. Fireworks were going off until the early hours, Willow doesn't seem scared of the regular ones but the loud bangers make her jump, so I wasn't surprised to to find her on my legs snuggled in tight. I really didn't think that there would be many with the cost of living as it is right now, after all they are expensive and basically your money is just going up in smoke. If everyone is worried about fuel, food etc why would you waste money like that? Its beyond me. 

Sunday.

Another busy day, despite the hammering rain at one point it was as though a cloud had burst. 

I was grateful for the extra sleep the night before as it gave me a bit more stamina for the day. 

I finished at four, took some tablets to ensure I wasn't in pain on the way home. 

We got the buses fine and got home around six.

Later we watched the start of I'm a Celebrity get me out of here. Supporting Boy George at the moment, providing he participates, because if last night was any indication he might turn out to be one of these that can't do certain challenges. He got a very easy transition into camp when you see what others had to do. Very disappointing. 

All Souls and Beyond.

Thursday. 

The day started grey and rainy so it put us off going out.

So we started to sort stuff out  like the airing cupboard we got rid of some of the old bedding we had some we had from Grafton Road all that time ago. So that's taken care of some of that rubbish and then put the outside decorations back in the shed and loft. 

After that I started making tags. I've got a few done 

All Souls and beyond

Wednesday.

Horrible stormy day, Kev took down the outdoor decorations the indoor ones will stay as they are with a few tweaks on the run up to Christmas but not until December. Sadie and the crew will get Santa hats, the trees baubles will change and the haunted houses will be replaced by the haunted Christmas village, but that's it. We still have Halloween at Christmas just like Jack and Sally... 

Talking of all things spooky the figure that Lee found at a car boot last week came. She posted it in a vans box and for a minute I was confused because I hadn't ordered anything. Then Kev said  'dolly' and the penny dropped. I quickly opened the box and among the bubble wrap there she was. She is cute, we had a debate as to what her name should be but, Kevs idea won. Amberlyn, a clever play on words because she's lost her head she's Anne Boelyn... She is now in the living room and the mummy has gone into the hall with the other mummies...

All Souls and beyond...

Tuesday.

We went into the city a bit earlier in order to shop before we met Sue and Pete for lunch at the Loxley. Glad we did too, because as we went to meet them it started to rain quite hard. 

We had a lovely meet up, as we always do. And we managed to get some bargains in M&S on the Halloween food. We also found some tiny lanterns that can go along with the others next year. 

We got home and got dry and cosy. Kev watched the football while I watched bake off. Right one went I think. I'm betting Shabyra will win it, she annoys me, but is a good Baker. They are obviously looking for another Nadia on channel 4... 

When Cats prowl and pumpkins gleam...

Monday. All Hallow's Eve...

We had a quieter day, no party, just a cozy day watching lots of spooky TV and movies. We finished off the leftover party food. In the evening Kev did a special meal with the cooking pumpkin which he stuffed with veg and rice... 

We had one cute little trick or treater dressed as a fairy. She was very sweet. And one big trick or treater in Charlotte. She was easily pleased with a coffee and a cupcake...lol

We watched Elvira's Haunted Hills dead cheesy but funny... And we did a quiz and played other games too... We stayed up until the witching hour passed before heading to bed happy and content with another well celebrated Halloween.