Heads Up . . .

Hello Friends!

Tomorrow, December is upon us! 

I shall be attempting a short, daily blog for Advent.  I'll post the Advent calendar image of the day, rather Treasure will post the Advent image of the day, and there'll be some old photos reshared, and a sprinkling of Christmas related snippets.

Typing is not easy so they will probably be short, but I wanted you to know there will be a small deluge of posting from me.  Call it the Blogging equivalent of the Icelandic Jólabókaflóðið   I know many of you appreciate the difficulty I am having keeping up with this blog and I am grateful for your patience and support.  I truly am.

I hope you'll drop by to see what I'm sharing!

See you tomorrow!

Stay safe, stay warm,

Debbie x

You've Got To Laugh . . .

Hello Friends!

You've got to laugh or you will cry.  Couriers get either a bad rap or a good rap.  It varies from region to region, and from courier to courier.  Some can't fault Evri, others think they are the worst ever, repeat for Yodel, DHL, DHS, UPS, Royal Mail etc.

On the whole, in my region Evri are good, at least on the ground.  Our Evri courier is of the sort who will go the extra mile.  We all think very highly of him.  If there is a problem, it is generally caused by the system, not him.  The only time things go radically wrong with Evri is when he goes on his  holibobs and we get a relief courier who simply hasn't got a clue.  Poor chap spends a week sorting out the mess made by the relief courier when he comes back to work after his time off.

Recently, problems have begun to happen in the system.  I've had a few issues with parcels going astray, but today takes the biscuit.

Yesterday I ordered some goods from a major store and I paid extra to get next day delivery.  I received the usual confirmation emails and sat back to await my delivery.  Eventually, much later than usual, I received an email telling me my parcel was out for delivery and would be with me between 4:00 and 5:00 p.m. Great!  I left the porch light on.  I waited . . . and I waited . . .  and I waited , , , 

No parcel.

Then, shortly after 5:30, a tad late, it arrived.  Relief!  

Shortly afterwards I received the following advice of delivery.  Please take note of the last three lines.

Well if that doesn't confuse you or put a smile on your face, nothing will.  As someone told me, UN delivering a parcel takes some skill.

Here's a little painting I did from Eunice J Friend's Watercolour Wednesday's group paint along.  It is going to become a special Christmas card for my Godmother.

The weather outside is fierce again as Storm Conell makes its presence felt.  Heigh ho! Here we go! Wind, rain,and cold.  

Until next time

Stay warm and stay safe

Debbie x

Another Win!

Hello Friends!

I won another Giveaway!  This time on YouTube and you can see what I won 

HERE 

on Shirley's video

I am especially excited about the Tim Holtz Distress Crayons wallet and the Strawberry Thief ephemera.  I must wait patiently for it to arrive!

It's been a strange and sad week for reasons I cannot share as it's not my story to tell.  At least the weather has been better today.  Cold and sunny, mostly dry, and some beautiful rainbows. 

There have been horrendous floods across the United Kingdom.  I am pleased to say the idiot responsible for THIS has been arrested.  What on earth was he thinking?

Thank you all who commented on my last blog. I am still trying to get answers but will keep you posted.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay warm and well

Debbie x

Is the NHS Dysfunctional or Simply Non Existent?

Hello Friends!

I am in total disbelief. Furious doesn't even begin to cover it.

I last saw my {so called} Parkinson's specialist in October 2023. Whether or not I should call him a specialist is a moot point for reasons I won't go into right now.

What I will go into is this.

I am supposed to see a specialist at least every six months. Over the past twelve months I have had one postponed appointment after another. After the October 2023 appointment, my next appointment was scheduled for May 2024. Shortly before it was due, I received a letter that rescheduled it to June. Within a few weeks, the June appointment was rescheduled to October 2024. Then in September 2024 I received notification that the October appointment was rescheduled to February 2025. A letter has just arrived to tell me that the February 2025 appointment is cancelled and now the responsibility is upon me to contact them if I wish to reschedule.

Our NHS is beyond broken. It is non existent. There are no words. I have yet to decide what I will do next. I will take the weekend to consider my options, if I actually have options to consider.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well

Debbie xx

I Won . . .

Hello Friends!

. . . a £20.00 Amazon gift voucher!

On a page I follow on Facebook they asked the following:

So….at its most basic level - how do you “winter”? Do you do anything in particular to keep yourself feeling brighter at this darker time of the year?

Here's my reply:

I don't think of myself as enjoying winter yet somehow it is my most self pampering season. I withdraw, like the year, as if preparing in hibernation to blossom the following spring. I complain loudly how much I loathe the darker days, the longer nights, and the clocks changing, but then I dance for joy on the Winter Solstice and celebrate the returning of the light. My cottage becomes a cocoon of comfort, with blankets and throws, scented candles, hot chocolate and mince pies, fresh picked greenery decorates my door and vases, books wait their turn on the table by my easy chair in front of the fire and I prepare to indulge as I recharge and restore my aching body.

I feel like I've won a Pulitzer Prize!

Anyone who knows me will know that this is me, not some romanticised, inspired scrivening in a vain effort to win a voucher, but really and truly me.   It's how I roll.  It is my true being.

At one time, I would have declared it my favourite season, but in recent years this changed to reflect my love of Autumn.  Now, my thoughts change again and I find beauty in each season in turn.  Having Parkinson's also impacts as it changes what I can appreciate, or how I appreciate it.

As the days close in and night falls earlier with the passing days, so the candles appear in greater numbers.  I have loads of tea light holders and my favourite tea lights to burn are these Prices Sentinel 8 hour tea lights.  

They burn cleanly, no sooting, and burn for at least 8 hours.  They can be put out and they relight well, unlike many that once extinguished that's it.  I recall the original version of these "nightlights" when I was a child.  I had one in my room every night and for safety they came in a cardboard outer which was placed to burn in a shallow dish of water!

They are very useful for tabletop food warmers to keep food and drink warmer for longer in the winter when temperatures drop quickly.

I recently found these even bigger, longer burning ones

I

I think I might spend my voucher on this

I like the brand, and they are a fraction of the price of Yankee Candles at around 30% less!  Additionally, they are a British company, established in 1830 {although they went into receivership in 2003 and were bought out by an Italian company} and they hold a Royal Warrant.

On the other hand, I need a corner punch for my latest crafty makes, blog following in a few days.  Oh! I have choices, and choices is not a good thing for a Libran to face.

Other things that bring me comfort in the months of hibernation are plates of delicious home made food and treats

A bowl of nourishing, warming soup

A yummy cake

A bowl of porridge topped with fresh homemade cranberry almond relish

A mug of  Spiced White Chocolate with Pumpkin

Bara Brith and Butter

Irish Soda Bread

A Chocolate Brownie

and my newest love, a gift received this week for a belated birthday present, a tall tin of Fortnum & Mason's Toffolossus biscuts!  They are scrumdiddliumptious!

There are stacks of books aplenty in my cottage, some like this one a charity shop find!

or a stack of interesting titles

Some of my favourite blankets

A parcel in the post!  Beautifully packed . . . 

A favourite pair of socks

Pinecones and candles

A comfortable armchair

the list goes on!

of course, I used to go out gardening and walking, but no longer, however I shall shortly share some of my library of winter photographs which I know you will enjoy!

How do you survive winter?

Until next time

Stay Well

Debbie x

Top of the Pops

Hello Friends!

I don't know how much longer I will be able to type. It really is an effort now but I intend to keep going as long as I can. Good days, bad days, and they can't find the balance needed in my medication. I have an appointment to see the doctor in February. I found out he is a general doctor not a neurological specialist. If I see him in February, it will be 16 months since my last appointment. This, my friends, is the state of our NHS, once the envy of the world.

Anyhoo, all day long I've been encountering messages from the Universe nudging me with little reminders of my favourite things. I think she's trying to get me to focus on something positive, given all the events of recent days, so I have drawn up my Top Ten Favourite Things List. In no particular order:

Bees

Lavender

Umbels

Sunflowers

Fungi

Pumpkins

Starry skies

Moonlight

Dandelions

Raindrops

As I was going along, I realised there are so many more favourite things I could have included but will save that for another gloomy day!

Until next time

Keep swimming!

Debbie xx

November

The month when Autumn brings all her glorious colours to the table, the last hurrah before we slumber through the Winter that is yet to be.  The bright and vibrant reds and yellows and oranges we see across the forests in the trees are echoed in the colours of birth month flowers of chrysanthemums, the rich yellow birthstone topaz, the burning embers of the fires we light to keep us warm . . . everything is painted in warm colours, as if we need reminding of the cold blue that will soon be upon us.

Until next time

Stay safe, stay well, stay warm

Debbie x