Thursday 18 January 2018

I'm Back! Snow, Rainbows & Praying For Spring...

Disclaimer:  I haven't been paid to promote any products, but have included links for a product that's helped me during the current snow & ice in case it can help other fellow spoonies too. Stay warm and safe honeys x

Hi Honeys
Happy new year dear ones ๐Ÿ’‹ I hope you had a great time over the holidays and that your 2018 is off to a fabulous start already. 

I'm back! catching up and looking forward to a better year honeys.

I'm so sorry I've been missing for so long honeys.   Last year for me will go down in memory as the year the battle against my various health issues (almost) became too much.  They nearly beat me, a few times if I'm honest, and I hate that. This might be a long post so it might be worth fetching a coffee and maybe a cookie.. I'll meet you back here in a few minutes....


Back again?  Me too ๐Ÿ˜Š  Good grief, even with the central heating on, that kitchen is cold and I almost expect to see penguins playing on the stairs whenever I venture out into the hallway ๐Ÿง๐Ÿง๐Ÿ˜Š

At work I've been called "PollyAnna" (quite a few times) over the years because of my constantly (I'm told) upbeat and "too positive" attitude.  If dear workmates only knew honeys, some days it's only that positive attitude that allows me to keep going.  Mostly too, it's a bit of a sham.  Just a smiling mask that lets me get through my shift.

I spent the last months of last year battling a chest infection that just wouldn't let go.  I had two courses of antibiotics and one course of steroids and still it wouldn't let go.  So, after fighting the worst chest infection I've had in a very long time, for far too long (it had by that time been tormenting me for over four months) it was arranged for me to go to the hospital to have a CT scan on my chest (which you can read about here.)

By the time I was given an appointment though, thankfully my chest pain, the almost constant coughing and not to mention the being unable to lie down at night to sleep because my breathing kept trying to... well... stop! Well, it had started to ease.  Until that is I had to sit in the waiting room at the hospital for a couple of hours.

Guess what?  I came home and had caught a horrid cough which quickly (because my system was so run down my Dr said) turned into another chest infection ๐Ÿ˜ฉ  Yep, as you can imagine honeys, it wasn't fun and it just felt never-ending.

Late November and through December of course brought the holidays and working in retail as I do well that was it's usual crazy busy, noisy, exhausting time ๐Ÿ˜Š

Like most of the country we have snow right now.  I took this photo last night...
 Yet more snow! I never thought I'd see the day when I would wish so much for rain :)

This is the third visit snow has made so far this winter and I have to admit I'm hoping it'll be the last.  It's all very pretty to look at but having to go outside in it is terrifying.  I get so scared of falling and doing any more damage to my spine or maybe breaking something.

Whenever I've had to go to work in the snow, as I will have to tomorrow, I've been wearing lots of layers, a warm scarf, a hat and gloves.  I also wear rubber (or silicone?) shoe covers which have little spikes all over their base to help avoid falling in the ice.

My cane, which I rely on, also has a similar little bolt-on device to help it grab hold of the ice under the snow.  It's such a clever idea and it really makes me feel so much safer.  It looks like this honeys...

Ice grip for walking sticks/canes

It screws firmly into place and really grips when outside and then folds up and away when no longer needed, such as when back in doors again.  When the weather gets better (oh please, soon!) it can be removed, placed into it's little box and stored away till (hopefully) next winter.  I have no idea who thought of this idea but I'm so grateful to have one.

It hasn't been all doom and gloom these past few months honeys, mostly maybe, but not all ๐Ÿ˜Š  On a very (really very) rare shopping trip with Hubby to finish up our Christmas gifts, we went to a (huge) mall.  A trip which I instantly regretted the second we got there!

It was so busy.  So much pushing and shoving and since I was already a tiny, bundled up in so many layers I could hardly move, very fragile feeling person it just seemed like hell itself to me to be honest.  We very quickly grabbed what we needed and made for the exit again, heading for the safety of home.  As we were (trying) to leave the car park I snapped a photo of a gorgeous rainbow through the windscreen.... 

A beautiful rainbow was a rare highlight of a very busy day spent Christmas shopping...

It was the brightest point of a very hectic, very noisy and bitterly cold, miserable day and it made me smile ๐Ÿ˜Š

Of course that rare day out of the house, out of my comfort zone, also made me promise myself that no matter what else we're doing,  I'll try to get organised (much) earlier for the holidays this year. Seriously honeys, I'm thinking maybe get my shopping done by July to avoid all of that pushing, shoving and pointy elbow prodding that seems to come from shopping in December ๐Ÿ˜Š

We're now in the third week of January and here in the UK we have just a little over nine weeks until the clocks change.  We lose an hour as we move into spring but oh my I'm praying that we are blessed with much warmer temperatures to make up for that lost hour.  I really can't bear the bitter cold any longer.  Even with lots of layers on, the chill bites my face when I go outside to go to work.  I'll say it again, if anyone wants to (and I so do!) I believe that we should be able to hibernate till spring each year.

Sometime around early to mid October each year I'd gather my hot water bottle and our furbaby Jade (she adores naps with her Mum) and wander off upstairs to hide under a few feet of lovely cozy blankets and duvets and then around mid to late March (depending on the weather of course) Hubby could wake me up with a nice cup of tea so that I could start working my way through lots of lovely laundry and pegging it all outside ๐Ÿ˜Š  Heavenly!

So, what have you been doing lately honeys?  Do you ever secretly want to hibernate through winter too?  How were your holidays?  I hope you had the best time ever.  I just glanced out of the window and it's snowing again.  Is it awful that I'm wishing for lots of lovely warm(er) rain to wash all of the ice and snow away before I have to go to work tomorrow?

Till next time dear ones, stay warm, however many layers you're wearing add another one just in case, smile lots and hug even more, huggles always x

Hugs Always, Rosie xx

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