A week on

Hello everyone!!!
This time last week I was under the knife, so to speak! This week I am free of pain and now managing with just one crutch as opposed to the 2 I came home with. I am due to have the stitches out on Monday and I hope to be back driving next weekend!! I had hoped for a successful outcome but this, so far, is more than I could have wished for!!!! I have not taken any of the painkillers I was given on leaving hospital and apart from the initial day or so of feeling under the weather it has all been very plain sailing and good progress. I had physio on tuesday and had a good response from them - I have already got 50% bend back into my knee and I think I have improved on that since then!! I was scared of the end result but so far, so good!!! First thing I asked when I was back on my feet was how soon can I get back into my heels, LOL!! I am now bored with being at home and want to go back to work........I have been signed off for 4 weeks (1 down, 3 to go) but I seriously think I can go back to work in a weeks time - I am a quick healer so that is probably why I am thinking that way, but I will see how things go in this coming week - besides I can't go back to work until I am okay to drive!!!!

The sun is glorious today and we have turned the heating off which is a plus.....no doubt it will go back on briefly later on to take the evening chill away ........looks like Spring may be just round the corner. I have a window open and the fresh air is very spring like, no hint of the snowy smell we had for weeks - I just may go and sit in the garden for a short while when I have finished this.

I have 2 interviews this week coming - one on Monday and another on Tuesday - fingers crossed one of them is successful!!! I need a permanent job with all the benefits - being a temp has other benefits but if I am ill or have a holiday I don't get paid,,,,,,,,,another reason to get back to work before the 4 weeks is up - we are close to being skint, LOL, not really but things are a bit tight without my wage coming in!!!!! A  little win on the lottery would be just nice at the moment, not a big amount but just a bit to help us till we get back on an even keel!!

I am off to go and sit in the garden for a short while now; hopefully you all have the same sunshine we have here in Northants. I will catch up with you again soon. Love to you all....

Another Sunday!!

Hi, hope this Sunday is proving to be a nice one for you!! We are having a lazy day today and enjoying the sunshine that is coming in through the living room window - despite shedloads of snow still on the ground!!! Rob had a busy day yesterday shampooing carpets so the sun is finishing off helping dry the last damp bits out!!

I have been asked what the problem is with my knee and what the surgery is that I am having; well, basically I am having keyhole surgery (arthroscopy I think it is called) on my knee to do some remedial work - tightening the muscle round it I believe - following a lifetime of dislocations from the age of 7 when I ran in from Brownies one night, jumped in an armchair and dislocated it for the first time. When I dislocated it again in August that was the first time in 14years that I had done it badly and subsequently the team at the hospital decided it was time (with a bit of pushing from me) to do some preliminary work. I cannot, apparently, have a replacement until I am in my 60's but I have a sneaky feeling that they will find more damage in and around my knee than they are expecting when they get that jolly old microscope in there on the 27th!! I am on edge about it but it has to be done so I will be trying to counteract my nerves as much as possible before next Saturday!!!!

On that subject.....of next Saturday.....I am a little unsure of what is happening after that; at the moment only the outcome of the surgery will tell me how long I have to be off work and what my work situation will be as at present my current post ends - in theory - at the end of March but I won't be returning to it so I am leaving this friday after 27 months. I have been told not to worry as there will be other work ready for me when I am fit to return to work but my main worry is that I end up being off longer than the maximum 6 weeks they suggest at the hospital - I am hoping it will only be 4 weeks maximum .........but I won't know until next saturday when I come round after the surgery - I am not the best after anaesthetic so I just hope I am coherent enough to understand what they tell me!!

I've coloured my hair again today!! Supposed to be Morello Cherry but never comes out the colour they suggest on the box but then that would be too simple wouldn't it???Just hope the colour it is finally does not clash with my clothes, LOL!!! I've also booked to have it trimmed and restyled on friday cos it is just too long again.......well the top layers that is!!! A girl needs to look good when she is going under the knife, LOL, especially as this one will not have any make up on!!! On that subject as well I look real pasty faced without makeup - pale is not the word, LOL!!

I am off to cook our dinner now......roast beef but no yorkshires cos I have run out of eggs so Rob not impressed, LOL!!! So on that note I will say ttfn and catch you again later in the week!!!

love to you all.....

Long time no see!!!!

Yay, I am back!!!!!! Been wanting to get back for a while but kept putting it off - why I don't know....but possibly cos I spent too much time on facebook, LOL!!!

So much to say but not sure where to start!!! It seems like forever since I was last here so forgive me if I repeat anything that was said the last time I dropped in.......blame it on my age, LOL!!!

As I type I am sitting patiently waiting for the plumber to arrive!! We have not had heating for over a week now......well the central heating that is.......since the boiler decided to stop functioning fully!!! We have got hot water thankfully and a gas fire in the living room but that has been it - you don't realise how much you rely on the central heating to keep you warm until it malfunctions!!!! It has not helped that we have had a considerable amount of snow fall in the last 2 days so it is more than a bit cold!!!!

This time next Saturday I will be having surgery on my knee, albeit keyhole surgery but I am hoping it will be a success to improve the problem with my knee until I can have the major stuff done in a few years time!!! I am nervous but then I always am when it comes to surgery so I just can't wait until it is all over........hopefully home again on the same day!!!

I am about to leave the job I have been doing for the past 2+ years with the local Community Mental Health team; I am sad to be leaving but have no choice.......the funding has run out for the post and the job will cease to exist once I leave so I can't even apply for the job that has been mine for 27 months.

I think when I last wrote our Sascha was just a wee puppy of a few months, well she is now a bouncy 2yr old with so much energy!!!! She has the intelligence of her German Shepherd daddy and the energy and willfullness of her Border Collie mum - an intriquing combination and we definitely cannot outwit her, LOL!!! She is definitely a daddies dog though...does not give me the time of day at all when Rob is around!!!

Anyway, time to fly as it is Saturday and shopping day!!! I am so pleased to have got back into the blog......still not like J-land but nothing ever will be!!! Will catch you later!!! loads of love to all my friends (if you are still reading!!!).

Joan

xxxxxx

Finally got back into the blogspot!!!!!

Hello peeps!!!!

Yep, its me again....finally!!! I've been trying to get back into blogger since changing internet providers a month or so ago; damn websearch kept telling me that I did not exist, LOL!!!

We had a lovely week in Scotland at the end or March/beginning April; the weather was glorious and we did not want to come home!!!! We are definitely going back next spring as the accommodation was wonderful and Sascha loved the garden.....it was huge and definitely Sasha sized!!!

Now back from our holiday, 1 month on and I am feeeling the need for another holiday, LOL!!! Got to wait till the end of September though when we are off to Devon. I used to go there a lot as a child......annually up until I was 15, then a couple of times since but not for the last 20 years so I am really looking forward to going back to see a lot of old haunts........no doubt a lot has changed but we shall see, plus it will be nice to take Robbie to a lot of the places I have visited in the past!

We were going to be going out for the day today, but Rob was offered overtime so work comes first as overtime is a rareity these days!!! I don't mind cos it is raining so we would not have been able to do much after all, so I am doing some washing and catching up with the husework..........once I have finished this entry of course!!!

The weight loss is still going on and now stands at agrand total of 4stone which has been achieved mainly through Slimming World!!!! I have such a great consultant, she is so helpful and inspirational which is a great help, some consultants are only in it for the money...........K just wants to help us all lose the 1lbs and she has certainly done that for me!!

I am relieved cos my plum tree is beginning to show signs of life again, thank heavens!!!! At the end of the last season after we had loads of plums, I asked my dear husband just to prune it back a bit (the branches were going over the back fence big time and overall was getting straggly), I did not bargain for him pruning the tree back within an inch of its life........daft man had chopped it back that far that I had visions of the poor tree not surviving!!!! Fortunately it has sprung back into life but sadly there will not be any fruit this year I don't think..............shame because the plums are the best I have ever tasted, but I am sure the ones next year will be worth the wait!!!

I did a car boot sale with our Kevin yesterday, the forecast was for sunshine, what they failed to omit was the fact there was likely to be a cold wind!!! So from 6.15 yesterday morning the day got gradually colder despite the sun coming out, and I went home very, very cold at midday and could not get warm for the rest of the day and combined with being very tired, I just vegged on the sofa for the rest of the day; I felt bad 'cos Rob and I were due to have gone to a local vintage transport show in the afternoon when I got home but sad to say it did not happen - there will be another one at the end of May so we will no doubt go to that one....weather permitting!!!

Anyway, I am off to find some lunch before tackling some ironing, it is like a chinese laundry here today!!!!! I will definitely be back sooner this time, now I have got back into the site.......which is now bookmarked with this server now!!! Take care everyone and I will be back soon.

love

Joan xxxxxxx

Its Saturday again, LOL!!!

Well, here we are again on the eve of another Month!!!! Where does time go.....?? I have never known months fly by like this - perhaps it is because I work full time now (for the past 14 months and still not a permanent member of staff!!!) and time does go quicker because of that....I don't know!!! All I know is that before we know it we will be in April and we will have Easter, LOL!!! At least I am now in the 4wk countdown to our holiday in Scotland and I can't wait!!!

We have finally got cheesed off with bt and sky....well mainly bt because of their extortionate prices, it is all in the small print that no-one reads, LOL, and as for sky we have got so fed up with paying crazy prices for a poor content - paying for the movies yet it is all rubbish!! We have ordered Virgin's hd package and with phone and broadband we will still be better off by 56.25 a month and that is including a 2nd set top box; we used to be with NTL and had no problems with the service but left because we wanted to go wireless and in the early days you could only do that if you had a bt line, but now you can go wireless with Virgin so we are going back (NTL by a different name) so to speak!!! Not sure when it will be but hopefully soon! Will no doubt have a major row with BT but bring it on cos we have spent more time offline in the last year, thanks to them, than we ever were in the 12yrs with aohell!!!!!

Since my last entry I have lost another 7lbs, and am now down into another stone!!! A few people did not think I would keep to the plan or stay off chocolate but I have proved them wrong!!! The only drawback is that I cannot keep buying new clothes to keep up with the loss so the washing machine is working overtime to keep up with me with what little stuff I have for my current size!!! The main thing is though I am feeling good and beginning to feel very happy with myself!!

I have decided to start a new jigsaw today; i've been threatening to for weeks now and had sorted my edges out but things have happened and I just did not get any further with it, but I will surprise Rob when he gets home from work (he has been moaning at me to get it started!!) with it - plus it will be better as the days are brighter which will make it easier to do it in natural light as opposed to electric light!!

Anyway, time for me to go and empty the washing machine as it is beeping at me big time!!! I'll catch up again very soon......!!!

loads of love to everyone

Joan xxxx

Saturday and new hair!!!

Well, here I am again, and enjoying the sunshine we have at the moment - hopefully it will last for a while!!!

We have a hectic day today, the band are doing a fundraising gig tonight and I am worn out already.......it is only 1.15pm and I am stressed over it even though everything is in place - in theory, LOL!!!.........!!!

I have a new hair colour - well highlights to be exact, it is quite radical and different but as I have only just had it done this morning there are no pics yet.......no doubt there will be a few photo's (well......loads to be exact) taken tonight so watch this space!!! Robbie likes it, but then he gets used to me coming home with different things done to my hair..........this is the most different I have ever, in a million eons, had done!!! I only have one problem in that I don't know what I am wearing tonight now.......I was going to wear purple but it may not go well with the new hair colour!!!!

Oh, I forgot to say, I finally got my Landrover in the middle of November.........damn insurance brokers really took the P........but I finally got it - the garage owner was very patient - I am so happy with it and it is so cheap to run!!!

I cannot believe I have managed to get through the last few months without a cold or flu.........perhaps it is because I am eating healthily now and not run down!! Fingers crossed it stays that way!!

Heyho, thats my sit down time over for today, LOL, all 1 hour of it!!! Time to get things ready/sorted for tonight and most importantly to figure out what I am wearing.........which means I will probably still be deciding 5 minutes before I need to go!!!

Take care everyone, love to you all and I will catch up with you all again very soon with a photo or two!!!

Joan

Hiya peeps.........yep, I am still around but fast becoming a shadow of my former self!!!! I am currently 31/2 stone lighter than when I last posted, LOL, and feeling pretty good!!! Still a way to go but not giving up this time until I get to my 'desired' weight!!! Plus I am not missing chocolate......which as many of you know I used to love with a passion.....I have not had any since middle of last summer!! Panic not though, I am still as ditzy as ever and plan to stay that way.......I am more confident with myself and I am actually beginning to like me!!!

Our little sweetheart Leah had her first birthday on January 14th, plus she took her first steps on that day as well!!!! She is such a little beauty......I will post some pics next time I post (promise I am back regularly now!!!)

Sascha is almost 1yr old now (1st February) and has turned into a lovely dog - still a puppy as such but a lovely doggy if you know what I mean!!! We still miss Sam as much as ever, but we are sure he is still around.....at least it feels that way sometimes!!

We are heading to Scotland at the end of March for a week, I made a vow towards the end of last year that we MUST have a holiday this year!! So I went a head and booked 2, LOL, Scotland at end of March and Devon mid September!!! I am so looking forward to it.....we need a break to unwind from all the hassle we had in 2008.....it was not a good year for us at all apart from Leah's arrival and Kevin and Lucy's wedding!!

I am definitely giving up the contract with BT as soon as the 18months are up!!! It is a nightmare.....and way too expensive - as usual the small print hides a multitude of sins and the home hub deal we got is not a wonderful as it is made out to be!!! I hate to say it but AOL is looking very good in the equation at the moment despite the problems I had........but I will be investigating big time before I finally change us over this time!!!

Well, time to go and get some lunch - not sure what I am going to have but possibly a salad of some sort!!! Yes a salad on a cold day - my tastes have changed that much and I have given up chips as well - in fact I have hardly eat potato at all now!! TTFN everyone, love to you all

Joan xxxx