It's been a long hard week, following a long but very productive month. I've made a lot of progress with the house. We've got 2 insurance claims being fixed, the bust drains under the house are definately covered, a pleasant surprise. The second claim was made for storm damage with a large "ingress" of water flowing down the former exterior wall inside the kitchen where the kitchen extension is attached to the original structure of the house. Damn, that's wordy. Long story short the "ingress" was caused by a leaking overflow pipe from the header tank for the central heating system. We are not covered for the leak but should be for the damage caused by the leak. No story shorter, we fixed the leak together, at no cost as Geoff's dad had a spare ball valve, and there are now 2 industrial dehumidifiers drying out the kitchen and living room, having first checked the ceiling did not contain white Abstestos, which was appartently used in Artex (the funny plaster shaped/used to decorate ceilings)until 2000. The drains are on a 4-6 week planning permission delay and the walls will take at least that long to dry out before any repairs can be made.
Otherwise the grant work/restorations to sort out the roof amongst other essential jobs should be starting on Monday, the scaffolding has been up for a week now.
However the drain from organizing all of this; cooking most meals, cleaning, taking over most of the laundry, and arranging entertainment for the kids, birthday parties and more, all of this has wiped me out. I've dropped club and lost most of my garden time to keep up with it all. Also, my volunteer helper has only come once in the last month and losing that 2 hours of help/chat/advise each week has hurt. I have been trying to take breaks ever 30 min, with mixed success, but it does make a positive difference. I am very much looking forward to seeing the consultant who leads the CFS/ME clinic in a few weeks.
I'm tired now, so God Bless you all
Chris
Saturday, 12 July 2008
Monday, 7 July 2008
Tardy party
This year things were so hectic that DD,5's Birthday Party was about 3 weeks late. Clare brought paints and together we did nearly everyones face. It was a first for me and I really enjoyed it. DD,5 loved the party and had a great time.
Muncaster rounds and Owl Center
Geoff's parent's challenged him to have a picnic on the next nice day. He was very anxious about this, but after some thought he decided to face his fears. I was proud of him when he invited me to picnic at Muncaster. He did most of the planning and packing, and we reserved the motoriaed scooter so that I could do the walks with the kids. It was a great day that I want to blog more about, but it will have to wait as I'm falling asleep.
God Bless!
ps. WE would appreciate prayers for our Uncle Ron and Aunt Pat. Thanks
God Bless!
ps. WE would appreciate prayers for our Uncle Ron and Aunt Pat. Thanks
Friday, 27 June 2008
Christening
Irma's Christening. I was very lucky because I got to cuddle her for ages and then I went around and "introduced" her to everyone. Pretty much everyone knew her, bu not me, but she gave me the courage to go up and talk to strangers.
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Monday, 2 June 2008
More Blackpool
11:25 am Wed, Blackpool
Well, I had a slow start after getting up several times through the night, then waking up sharply with the rain around 5:30 am. I got a bowl of cereal then tried to relax with Pride & Prejudice (my sleeping pill ;'} ) Eventually I fell back to a restless sleep. Mom did breakfast again and Dad tidied it up while I got myself mobile. Ruth, after some fuss, sat on my thighs for a bit and eventually we tried a touch of exercise, at her insistance, but sadly I wasn't strong enough. However, I'm now moving, my bed is tidied away, and we should head off to Pleasure Beach within a half hour. I havn't needed a wheelchair yet and I hope to keep it that way. This laptop is bounced on my thighs as my they're twitching so badly, so hopefully getting out and moving will help them out.
23:51 pm Wed,
Wow... It has been an amazing day. Thanks to G. we had wrist bands ordered and paid for at a discount and waiting for us at Pleasure Beach. We got there without too much effort, though it was rather confusing figuring out where exactly to park and how to get in. Pleasure Beach is rather like any amusement park in the USA. The map was cool, with the standard cartoon/picture top view of the park on one side with a metro style map on the back with family rides/white knuckle rides/food routes that were amazing easy to follow.
Following the down pour of the morning the rest of the day was very overcast with the barest of drizzles occasionally touching us. This meant lovely short lines for all of the rides. David was nasty to Grandma at the very start and so lost his first ride, instead getting to watch Ruthie travel a Cheshire Cat through Wonderland. This impromptu choice of mine turned out to work very well and David improved for some time, though he is still testing Grandma and Grumpy to see what he can get away with and acts out even more when they discipline him. They are doing very well with both kids, I would just like them to stop giving the kids soda pop and salt.
David seemed a bit dubious about many of the rides, but definitely wanted to go on them, and certainly enjoyed the day. Ruth had fabulous fun, but I think that Dad and I may just have topped her. Together we hit 5 white knuckle rides and we had a blast doing it. We started with the Pepsi Max, while Grandma took the kids to Burger King for lunch. Later, bless her, she took the kids on a series of rides while Dad and I hit Space Invaders II, Avalanche and The Zipper. The $22 (10 lbs) That Dad paid for the picture was soooo worth it. What do you think? I pray that I never forget the fun and excitement, sharing those rides with Dad. Unfortunately the Wild Mouse nearly broke both of us. It was a very rough ride and we were both moaning and limping away from it, like a couple of cranky old farts after a fender bender. The Impossible, a family ride was a fascinating maze of optical illusions and physical tricks that ended with us piling into a large suspended "tram"ish style car. Then we got inverted... actually the room rotated around us. I had been warned by a lady, whose 2 year old was left in tears, about it after it was too late to go back, so I preped him and talked about closing his eyes if he didn't like it. Well... David loved it and I got so ill that I had to close my eyes and could barely walk afterwards. All in all however, a great day. Ruth says, "Brilliant, fab..." David says, "Mommy, it was great fun" (with just a bit of prompting as Grandma has just given them bubble wands)
Now it's 11:49 am Thurs, the place is tidy - ish and we are heading out for the nature reserve.
Well, I had a slow start after getting up several times through the night, then waking up sharply with the rain around 5:30 am. I got a bowl of cereal then tried to relax with Pride & Prejudice (my sleeping pill ;'} ) Eventually I fell back to a restless sleep. Mom did breakfast again and Dad tidied it up while I got myself mobile. Ruth, after some fuss, sat on my thighs for a bit and eventually we tried a touch of exercise, at her insistance, but sadly I wasn't strong enough. However, I'm now moving, my bed is tidied away, and we should head off to Pleasure Beach within a half hour. I havn't needed a wheelchair yet and I hope to keep it that way. This laptop is bounced on my thighs as my they're twitching so badly, so hopefully getting out and moving will help them out.
23:51 pm Wed,
Wow... It has been an amazing day. Thanks to G. we had wrist bands ordered and paid for at a discount and waiting for us at Pleasure Beach. We got there without too much effort, though it was rather confusing figuring out where exactly to park and how to get in. Pleasure Beach is rather like any amusement park in the USA. The map was cool, with the standard cartoon/picture top view of the park on one side with a metro style map on the back with family rides/white knuckle rides/food routes that were amazing easy to follow.
Following the down pour of the morning the rest of the day was very overcast with the barest of drizzles occasionally touching us. This meant lovely short lines for all of the rides. David was nasty to Grandma at the very start and so lost his first ride, instead getting to watch Ruthie travel a Cheshire Cat through Wonderland. This impromptu choice of mine turned out to work very well and David improved for some time, though he is still testing Grandma and Grumpy to see what he can get away with and acts out even more when they discipline him. They are doing very well with both kids, I would just like them to stop giving the kids soda pop and salt.
David seemed a bit dubious about many of the rides, but definitely wanted to go on them, and certainly enjoyed the day. Ruth had fabulous fun, but I think that Dad and I may just have topped her. Together we hit 5 white knuckle rides and we had a blast doing it. We started with the Pepsi Max, while Grandma took the kids to Burger King for lunch. Later, bless her, she took the kids on a series of rides while Dad and I hit Space Invaders II, Avalanche and The Zipper. The $22 (10 lbs) That Dad paid for the picture was soooo worth it. What do you think? I pray that I never forget the fun and excitement, sharing those rides with Dad. Unfortunately the Wild Mouse nearly broke both of us. It was a very rough ride and we were both moaning and limping away from it, like a couple of cranky old farts after a fender bender. The Impossible, a family ride was a fascinating maze of optical illusions and physical tricks that ended with us piling into a large suspended "tram"ish style car. Then we got inverted... actually the room rotated around us. I had been warned by a lady, whose 2 year old was left in tears, about it after it was too late to go back, so I preped him and talked about closing his eyes if he didn't like it. Well... David loved it and I got so ill that I had to close my eyes and could barely walk afterwards. All in all however, a great day. Ruth says, "Brilliant, fab..." David says, "Mommy, it was great fun" (with just a bit of prompting as Grandma has just given them bubble wands)
Now it's 11:49 am Thurs, the place is tidy - ish and we are heading out for the nature reserve.
Blackpool
I'm back and it was great. I took my laptop but as usual, I didn't' get to spend much time on it typing blogs. The good side of that is that I spent that time having fun with my family. So Below is what you get and if you would like more you need to type your questions in a comment and I'll do what I can.
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1:00 am Wed 28, May, Blackpool
Today has been a fun and interesting day. I really have to thank my mom for paying for this trip as I really needed a mental holiday from everything at home.
We are staying at Marton Mere, a caravan park just north of Blackpool, a UK equivalent to a cross between Ocean City and Kings Dominion. We've got a very nice caravan with a double and twin (2 small beds) bedroom a spacious, open plan, Kitchen, dinning, living room; including TV gas fire and microwave. I'm sleeping in a fold out bed in the living room. There's a decent pool complex, packed and the usual activities found in family holiday parks hidden in a large fun arcade complex.
Today, mom and I were up and chatting by 8:30. I tidied up my bed while mom sorted out breakfast. Then before I managed to sneak off for a shower (over an hour later, we were having a good time chatting) the kids were up so we had some fun playing together and sharing cuddles. David had been in bed with me following a restless night and then a bad nightmare sometime after daylight; so he was understandable cranky when he woke and needed a lot of attention. He wasn't very happy that I also cuddled Ruth and talked with Mom. Eventually I managed to get in a lovely shower, and after I got Dad up for breakfast. We all had a relaxed morning,tidied up and finally got moving by noon. We had a great time a the Sea Life Center, with the kids getting a short play in a climbing/play area at the end while we three pooped adults rested.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1:00 am Wed 28, May, Blackpool
Today has been a fun and interesting day. I really have to thank my mom for paying for this trip as I really needed a mental holiday from everything at home.
We are staying at Marton Mere, a caravan park just north of Blackpool, a UK equivalent to a cross between Ocean City and Kings Dominion. We've got a very nice caravan with a double and twin (2 small beds) bedroom a spacious, open plan, Kitchen, dinning, living room; including TV gas fire and microwave. I'm sleeping in a fold out bed in the living room. There's a decent pool complex, packed and the usual activities found in family holiday parks hidden in a large fun arcade complex.
Today, mom and I were up and chatting by 8:30. I tidied up my bed while mom sorted out breakfast. Then before I managed to sneak off for a shower (over an hour later, we were having a good time chatting) the kids were up so we had some fun playing together and sharing cuddles. David had been in bed with me following a restless night and then a bad nightmare sometime after daylight; so he was understandable cranky when he woke and needed a lot of attention. He wasn't very happy that I also cuddled Ruth and talked with Mom. Eventually I managed to get in a lovely shower, and after I got Dad up for breakfast. We all had a relaxed morning,tidied up and finally got moving by noon. We had a great time a the Sea Life Center, with the kids getting a short play in a climbing/play area at the end while we three pooped adults rested.
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