Well, I still think it was a good idea but it ended in disaster, of course. I attempted to bag things up but the ingenuity and relentless energy of 3 little boys defeated me. By the end of the day I had, for all my efforts, only made a small dent on the chaos of the dining room. The boys had been busy elsewhere…. While I toiled away in one room they had been doing what they do best in every other room of the house and the results were not pretty.
Once I had stopped crying and Rob had administered the hot tea and chocolate therapy customary on these occasions, we sat down to think out what our options were. We scooped up the worst of the debris in the dining room, but it didn’t really get clear until about 5 minutes before our guests arrived on Easter Saturday. But these things we now know:
As fast as I can put ‘stuff’ away back where it belongs, our boys can pull it out faster. Much faster and more of it.
We just have too much ‘stuff’ and too many toys in particular.
Clearing up and putting away (not to make a Martha Stewart worthy house but just to make a house that is SAFE to live in) is taking up far too much time – time that we could be spending on much, much more enjoyable, fun things.
Not clearing it up isn’t an option either (though for a moment I fondly hoped it might be). It is taking a toll on my mental health and frustrating the boys no end. It is very difficult to play in chaos – even if it is your own proud creation.
We have to do something radical (but obvious - no rocket science here).
The answer is to purge and that is what we will do. We have explained to the boys that over the next few weeks we will be ruthlessly culling their toys. Ruthlessly. Without pity. Well, we didn’t tell them that. But here is the kicker. We also told them that WE would be the ones to decide what stays and what goes. I know that it is supposed to be good to involve ones children in decisions like this but trust me, it would not be good here and we know this from experience.
To my surprise they took it very calmly. Their only request (plaintive plea) was that we keep the train set and the Brio construction kit, to which we could readily agree. I am hoping that they are, in their hearts, relieved that they will have more space and opportunity to play and that they are glad not to have to be making the decisions themselves over what to keep (I would rather like it myself).
Perhaps.
Or maybe they just don’t believe us.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Panic Room
I walked into our dining room this morning and began to hyperventilate at the chaos before me.
It isn’t the first time that I have had a reaction like this to this particular room. It has caused me to weep and despair many times. Actually dining room is a misnomer – we hardly ever ‘dine’ there. Play room/learning room/laundry room/resting place of discarded objects that have no other home would be a better title.
I always feel bad about getting upset over the domestic chaos that reigns in our home. It seems so very shallow to get upset over mess even though I know it has the power to plunge me into depression. It feels faintly embarrassing to blog about it, not because I am ashamed of the mess (well I am really) but because what, in effect, I am complaining about is having ‘too much’. “Feel sorry for poor me. I have too many possessions and no where to put them all” Ugh.
We are expecting visitors this weekend and so I have decided to take drastic action. Or rather, drastic delaying action. It is all going into plastic bin bags and boxes to be stored in our bedroom (with the door firmly shut). The plan is to then maintain sweet order and harmony while at the same time sorting through the detritus in the bags and boxes. Humour me.
My sister arrives from Australia in 4 weeks time and she is a decluttering whirlwind. As the Koala Brothers would say: “Help is on its way!”
It isn’t the first time that I have had a reaction like this to this particular room. It has caused me to weep and despair many times. Actually dining room is a misnomer – we hardly ever ‘dine’ there. Play room/learning room/laundry room/resting place of discarded objects that have no other home would be a better title.
I always feel bad about getting upset over the domestic chaos that reigns in our home. It seems so very shallow to get upset over mess even though I know it has the power to plunge me into depression. It feels faintly embarrassing to blog about it, not because I am ashamed of the mess (well I am really) but because what, in effect, I am complaining about is having ‘too much’. “Feel sorry for poor me. I have too many possessions and no where to put them all” Ugh.
We are expecting visitors this weekend and so I have decided to take drastic action. Or rather, drastic delaying action. It is all going into plastic bin bags and boxes to be stored in our bedroom (with the door firmly shut). The plan is to then maintain sweet order and harmony while at the same time sorting through the detritus in the bags and boxes. Humour me.
My sister arrives from Australia in 4 weeks time and she is a decluttering whirlwind. As the Koala Brothers would say: “Help is on its way!”
Saturday, August 08, 2009
The Wisdom Of Teddy Robinson (on books and blogging)
Deborah looked up and saw him ...
"What are you doing up there?"
"Writing a book," said Teddy Robinson.
"I don't see you writing," said Deborah.
"No," said Teddy Robinson. "You know I can't write really. But I'm thinking, and it's the thinking that counts."
'Teddy Robinson Is Put In A Book' by Joan G Robinson
Thursday, April 02, 2009
The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936: Table Decorations For The Month Of April
1. Flat green clouded glass bowl, planted with primula malacoides, with the soil carpeted with moss.
2. A rustic basket spilling over bunches of lightly tied polyanthus, of different shades but all to tone.
3. Japanese garden planted with a sprig of fresh cherry-blossom to impart a fresh touch.
4. Bowl massed with wallflower, arranged so that each different shade forms a ring.
5. Flat silver or iridiscent glass fruit-dish lined with damp moss and planted closely with either pale pink or mauve tulip heads, with sprigs of forget-me-nots spraying up between.
6. China shoe, or "bachel" filled with water and a little shot. Arrange in it sprays of varying lengths of flowering currant, fruit-blossom, etc.
7. Low oblong earthenware jardinière, overflowing with a green growing carpet of "Mrs. Gossip," planted with any garden flowers that tone with your colour scheme.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
2. A rustic basket spilling over bunches of lightly tied polyanthus, of different shades but all to tone.
3. Japanese garden planted with a sprig of fresh cherry-blossom to impart a fresh touch.
4. Bowl massed with wallflower, arranged so that each different shade forms a ring.
5. Flat silver or iridiscent glass fruit-dish lined with damp moss and planted closely with either pale pink or mauve tulip heads, with sprigs of forget-me-nots spraying up between.
6. China shoe, or "bachel" filled with water and a little shot. Arrange in it sprays of varying lengths of flowering currant, fruit-blossom, etc.
7. Low oblong earthenware jardinière, overflowing with a green growing carpet of "Mrs. Gossip," planted with any garden flowers that tone with your colour scheme.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936: Tea Breads For The Month Of April
Pastries: Eccles cakes; apricot cheese cakes; cream puffs.
Biscuits: Oatmeal; almond shortbread; jam fingers.
Buns: Oatmeal; coco-nut; ginger.
Layer cakes: Marble, with apricot jam filling; Victoria sandwich with rum butter; spiced chocolate cake with vanilla custard filling.
Large cakes: Slab raisin gingerbread; Genoa; walnut; ribbon.
Sandwiches: Kipper cream; sieved cooked chicken; veal or pork, moistened with butter and seasoned to taste, then used with brown bread and mustard and cress; shredded lettuce, moistened with mayonnaise, strongly flavoured with Gorgonzola cheese, and mixed with a little minced walnut, used with brown bread; split toast, thinly buttered and filled with tuna fish mayonnaise and a little minced cucumber.
Note: Any of the fillings suggested for sandwiches can be used for filling oblongs of cooked pastry, or bridge rolls.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936, Chapman & Hall, London)
Biscuits: Oatmeal; almond shortbread; jam fingers.
Buns: Oatmeal; coco-nut; ginger.
Layer cakes: Marble, with apricot jam filling; Victoria sandwich with rum butter; spiced chocolate cake with vanilla custard filling.
Large cakes: Slab raisin gingerbread; Genoa; walnut; ribbon.
Sandwiches: Kipper cream; sieved cooked chicken; veal or pork, moistened with butter and seasoned to taste, then used with brown bread and mustard and cress; shredded lettuce, moistened with mayonnaise, strongly flavoured with Gorgonzola cheese, and mixed with a little minced walnut, used with brown bread; split toast, thinly buttered and filled with tuna fish mayonnaise and a little minced cucumber.
Note: Any of the fillings suggested for sandwiches can be used for filling oblongs of cooked pastry, or bridge rolls.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936, Chapman & Hall, London)
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
The Housewives Monthly Calendar 1936: The Cook's Guide: April
1. Give rhubarb fool - equal quantity of stewed sieved rhubarb and cream or custard - for dinner.
2. Buttered boiled spring greens, turnip-tops or hearting and sprouting broccoli, go well with grilled or fried steak or chops.
3. Why not a prawn and new potato mayonnaise for lunch or supper?
4. Start breakfast with orange juice or tinned figs.
5. Soak salt fish in cold water, and boil rice, ready to make kedjeree, for to-morrow's breakfast.
6. A South African granadilla or two added to your fruit salad is a great improvement.
7. If you want a bird for dinner, why not a casserole of pigeons, well browned before placing in casserole? But don't forget to add some tinned or bottled peas just before serving.
8. Pickle some herring for to-morrow's lunch or supper, and either make or buy potato salad to go with them.
9. Stuffed roast shoulder of English or Canterbury lamb sounds good to me for dinner, but put mint in the stuffing instead of making it into sauce.
10. Make a salmon loaf with egg sauce the principal course at lunch, and give it mashed potatoes for company.
11. Fried rabbit, browned in bacon fat, then cooked with a little stock, in a covered pan, might appeal to you for dinner. Serve with a green vegetable.
12. If you do not like tripe and onions, try Tripe a la Nicoise—cooked in equal quantity of stock and white wine with plenty of sliced carrots and onions and well seasoned.
13. How would you like a slice of fried or grilled gammon and a slice of fried pineapple (tinned) for breakfast?
14. If you serve a shrimp omelet for lunch, give it an endive salad for company.
15. I think it's time we had a mixed grill, with mushroom sauce or grilled tomatoes, and latticed potatoes.
16. Try a crown roast of pork for dinner, with apple and onion sauce flavoured with sherry.
17. Turn the remainder of pork into a mayonnaise for lunch, but give it a little minced pimento for seasoning, if you can.
18. Let's start dinner with a grapefruit cocktail.
19. Make cream cheese, moistened with cream, seasoned and mixed with a little chopped pimento and walnuts, the filling for brown bread sandwiches for tea.
20. If you are calling on the poulterer, take a look at the guinea-fowls. Cooked on a bed of sliced onion and bacon, after flouring and seasoning, in a casserole, with or without mushrooms and chipolata sausages, they are delicious. But give them half a glass of stock and wine before serving.
21. I want grilled herrings and mustard sauce for lunch.
22. What about curried prawns and boiled rice for breakfast?
23. You must have a roast of beef (I insist on Scotch!) with horseradish sauce, and a green pea pudding in place of Yorkshire.
24. If tired of biscuits and cheese, have a Welsh rarebit or cheese soufflé for dinner.
25. Make some lemon and orange marmalade, as long as lemons and oranges are cheap.
26. Devilled eggs and lettuce salad make a good luncheon dish, if followed by a substantial sweet.
27. Should you want a small bird for two, try a hazel-hen and roast and serve like a partridge.
28. A fish pie, made of sea bream, which is so inexpensive, may appeal for lunch.
29. I would like ham and cress rolls and an orange layer cake for tea, but you can also
have hot tea-cakes or cinnamon toast if you want.
30. Say "Good-bye" to April with chicken pie made from boiled fowl, neatly cut up, and moistened white sauce, and flaky pastry, followed by gooseberry fool. You can start with smoked salmon or Scotch broth, if you please.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
2. Buttered boiled spring greens, turnip-tops or hearting and sprouting broccoli, go well with grilled or fried steak or chops.
3. Why not a prawn and new potato mayonnaise for lunch or supper?
4. Start breakfast with orange juice or tinned figs.
5. Soak salt fish in cold water, and boil rice, ready to make kedjeree, for to-morrow's breakfast.
6. A South African granadilla or two added to your fruit salad is a great improvement.
7. If you want a bird for dinner, why not a casserole of pigeons, well browned before placing in casserole? But don't forget to add some tinned or bottled peas just before serving.
8. Pickle some herring for to-morrow's lunch or supper, and either make or buy potato salad to go with them.
9. Stuffed roast shoulder of English or Canterbury lamb sounds good to me for dinner, but put mint in the stuffing instead of making it into sauce.
10. Make a salmon loaf with egg sauce the principal course at lunch, and give it mashed potatoes for company.
11. Fried rabbit, browned in bacon fat, then cooked with a little stock, in a covered pan, might appeal to you for dinner. Serve with a green vegetable.
12. If you do not like tripe and onions, try Tripe a la Nicoise—cooked in equal quantity of stock and white wine with plenty of sliced carrots and onions and well seasoned.
13. How would you like a slice of fried or grilled gammon and a slice of fried pineapple (tinned) for breakfast?
14. If you serve a shrimp omelet for lunch, give it an endive salad for company.
15. I think it's time we had a mixed grill, with mushroom sauce or grilled tomatoes, and latticed potatoes.
16. Try a crown roast of pork for dinner, with apple and onion sauce flavoured with sherry.
17. Turn the remainder of pork into a mayonnaise for lunch, but give it a little minced pimento for seasoning, if you can.
18. Let's start dinner with a grapefruit cocktail.
19. Make cream cheese, moistened with cream, seasoned and mixed with a little chopped pimento and walnuts, the filling for brown bread sandwiches for tea.
20. If you are calling on the poulterer, take a look at the guinea-fowls. Cooked on a bed of sliced onion and bacon, after flouring and seasoning, in a casserole, with or without mushrooms and chipolata sausages, they are delicious. But give them half a glass of stock and wine before serving.
21. I want grilled herrings and mustard sauce for lunch.
22. What about curried prawns and boiled rice for breakfast?
23. You must have a roast of beef (I insist on Scotch!) with horseradish sauce, and a green pea pudding in place of Yorkshire.
24. If tired of biscuits and cheese, have a Welsh rarebit or cheese soufflé for dinner.
25. Make some lemon and orange marmalade, as long as lemons and oranges are cheap.
26. Devilled eggs and lettuce salad make a good luncheon dish, if followed by a substantial sweet.
27. Should you want a small bird for two, try a hazel-hen and roast and serve like a partridge.
28. A fish pie, made of sea bream, which is so inexpensive, may appeal for lunch.
29. I would like ham and cress rolls and an orange layer cake for tea, but you can also
have hot tea-cakes or cinnamon toast if you want.
30. Say "Good-bye" to April with chicken pie made from boiled fowl, neatly cut up, and moistened white sauce, and flaky pastry, followed by gooseberry fool. You can start with smoked salmon or Scotch broth, if you please.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936: April's Table of Work
If Easter happens to fall in late March, and you manage to finish your spring cleaning before it, April should be an easy month in the home. But if, when Easter happens to be early, you have to leave some of your spring cleaning until after the holiday, then finish it at once, or as soon as you can.
1. Hang up clean or new curtains.
2. Clean or wash winter curtains and other soft furnishings, and store them away in a moth-proof bag or cedar-lined chest.
3. Plan your spring wardrobe if you did not refurbish it for Easter.
4. Look over your bottling equipment, and renew anything required.
5. Prepare for egg pickling and early jam making, and if short of preserves, make lemon cheese and orange and pineapple butter.
6. If you did not make grapefruit marmalade when you made Seville orange, make it now.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
1. Hang up clean or new curtains.
2. Clean or wash winter curtains and other soft furnishings, and store them away in a moth-proof bag or cedar-lined chest.
3. Plan your spring wardrobe if you did not refurbish it for Easter.
4. Look over your bottling equipment, and renew anything required.
5. Prepare for egg pickling and early jam making, and if short of preserves, make lemon cheese and orange and pineapple butter.
6. If you did not make grapefruit marmalade when you made Seville orange, make it now.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Announcing with great joy ...
(but shamefully overdue - the announcement not the baby, that is) ... the birth of Caleb Luke. He weighed 7 pounds and 13 ounces and arrived on November 5th 2008, just four days early. The latter part of my pregnancy developed into somewhat of a trial, the horrid details of which I will spare you. For a combination of medical reasons we were denied a homebirth, although as circumstances worked out we very nearly had one. Indeed we very nearly had a 'backseat of the car, parked in the middle of the woods' birth. Caleb arrived just five minutes and five pushes after arriving at the hospital. The midwife hadn't even time to put on gloves and was actually still trying to attach one of their pesky fetal monitors to me as Caleb made his entrance into the world. Ah, hospital protocol.
The birth although blissfully quick was not without its complications. I hemorraged badly (amongst other things) and my blood pressure spiked after the delivery. It has taken a fair while to recover and I am still on medication although we are trusting God that this will not be a long term thing. But we are full of thankfulness to God for His amazing mercy and goodness in all of this. Caleb is such a precious little baby and has brought us all such joy. The boys are totally in love with him and show him such gentleness and care. It is so sweet to watch. Thank you everyone who prayed for us during the pregnancy. Rob and I really were blessed by it.
Here are two photos: one taken within minutes of his birth and the other a more recent one. He is 15 weeks old today. I can hardly believe it.
The birth although blissfully quick was not without its complications. I hemorraged badly (amongst other things) and my blood pressure spiked after the delivery. It has taken a fair while to recover and I am still on medication although we are trusting God that this will not be a long term thing. But we are full of thankfulness to God for His amazing mercy and goodness in all of this. Caleb is such a precious little baby and has brought us all such joy. The boys are totally in love with him and show him such gentleness and care. It is so sweet to watch. Thank you everyone who prayed for us during the pregnancy. Rob and I really were blessed by it.
Here are two photos: one taken within minutes of his birth and the other a more recent one. He is 15 weeks old today. I can hardly believe it.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Have I ever mentioned ....
... how much I hate, loathe and detest going to hospital? Or how nervous I get encountering medical personnel, on whatever level? Lots of things come into play here - past medical experiences, the attitude of doctors to non-doctors, the culture of passive, non questioning dependence on the judgement of medical staff encouraged by our National Health Service. Many other things too. A routine appointment is bad enough but if I am in a situation where I have to question or challenge medical opinion my anxiety levels soar. I am in that situation - or at least will be tomorrow morning.
Here it is in a nutshell: at my last consultant's appointment my blood pressure measured 120/80. Absolutely normal. The consultant announced that she was placing me on blood pressure tablets and a low dose aspirin straight away. She told me that I was at risk of a stroke and developing pre-eclampsia. I was in such total shock at this that I didn't ask a single question or raise an objection. I am kicking myself for this. Her words came directly after she dropped her pen in shock upon hearing that we declined the Nuchal Fold Scan which assesses your risk factor of having a baby with a chromosonal abnormality. She wanted to know exactly why and was clearly astonished that, having had a baby with Edwards Syndrome, we would decline it. I can't say she was interested in hearing my explanation, she just wanted to register her surprise and concern.
I am assuming she put me on the medication just in case there was something wrong with the baby, something that would cause my blood pressure to rise suddenly and sharply. When I was pregnant with Esther my blood pressure did shoot up and we were told that that was probably due to the placenta and cord being affected by her condition. The high blood pressure was controlled by the medication and I never had any of the other symptoms of pre-eclampsia. I've never had blood pressure problems or symptoms of pre-eclampsia in any of my previous pregnancies. I don't have them now!!!! Even worse, I found out (thank you Dr. Google) that the medication she put me on is a high strength beta blocker. It is used in pregnancy, but only usually in those cases where other types of blood pressure medication have failed. If I continued on it until the baby was born, the baby would have to be monitored very closely afterwards. It also enters breast milk.
Tomorrow when I visit the hospital I am going to ask all the questions I should have asked at my last appointment and unless the doctor can come up with some compelling reason why I should continue taking the medication I will explain to her that I will stop taking it. I am having my blood pressure checked weekly at my doctors surgery, I take it daily at home and have the testing sticks used for detecting protein in the urine (protein in the urine is one of the pointers for pre-eclampsia). If my blood pressure does go up over the danger level, I'll happily go back onto a different medication and see how I fare. I do not think I am in any danger, but I don't want to be reckless.
Some people relish encounters like this. I do not. I don't like upsetting people, and in my experience doctors do not take kindly to having their decisions challenged or even questioned. Your prayers for courage, wisdom and favour would be greatly appreciated!
Here it is in a nutshell: at my last consultant's appointment my blood pressure measured 120/80. Absolutely normal. The consultant announced that she was placing me on blood pressure tablets and a low dose aspirin straight away. She told me that I was at risk of a stroke and developing pre-eclampsia. I was in such total shock at this that I didn't ask a single question or raise an objection. I am kicking myself for this. Her words came directly after she dropped her pen in shock upon hearing that we declined the Nuchal Fold Scan which assesses your risk factor of having a baby with a chromosonal abnormality. She wanted to know exactly why and was clearly astonished that, having had a baby with Edwards Syndrome, we would decline it. I can't say she was interested in hearing my explanation, she just wanted to register her surprise and concern.
I am assuming she put me on the medication just in case there was something wrong with the baby, something that would cause my blood pressure to rise suddenly and sharply. When I was pregnant with Esther my blood pressure did shoot up and we were told that that was probably due to the placenta and cord being affected by her condition. The high blood pressure was controlled by the medication and I never had any of the other symptoms of pre-eclampsia. I've never had blood pressure problems or symptoms of pre-eclampsia in any of my previous pregnancies. I don't have them now!!!! Even worse, I found out (thank you Dr. Google) that the medication she put me on is a high strength beta blocker. It is used in pregnancy, but only usually in those cases where other types of blood pressure medication have failed. If I continued on it until the baby was born, the baby would have to be monitored very closely afterwards. It also enters breast milk.
Tomorrow when I visit the hospital I am going to ask all the questions I should have asked at my last appointment and unless the doctor can come up with some compelling reason why I should continue taking the medication I will explain to her that I will stop taking it. I am having my blood pressure checked weekly at my doctors surgery, I take it daily at home and have the testing sticks used for detecting protein in the urine (protein in the urine is one of the pointers for pre-eclampsia). If my blood pressure does go up over the danger level, I'll happily go back onto a different medication and see how I fare. I do not think I am in any danger, but I don't want to be reckless.
Some people relish encounters like this. I do not. I don't like upsetting people, and in my experience doctors do not take kindly to having their decisions challenged or even questioned. Your prayers for courage, wisdom and favour would be greatly appreciated!
Monday, June 23, 2008
The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease...
... For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:22-23)
Today we had our 20 week scan. As I have shared previously, when you have had a scan that brought very bad news before you never quite approach them again with the same easy excitement. I was not looking forward to today's visit to the hospital. It is not that we feared learning that our baby had a condition that would affect it for the rest of its life. What we feared was hearing again the news that our baby had a condition that would take its life.
But today we heard good news, and nothing but good.
According to every measure that the hospital takes to ascertain development, our baby is doing fine. The scan took quite a while because our little bean was bouncing around so much. I remarked to the technician how odd that was as I have felt very little movement from the baby. "That's just as well" she said "considering how much it is moving around". The detail of the scan was astonishing. We saw our baby's face full on and in profile, the little lips, the mouth opening and closing. Amazing.
We are so grateful to God for His mercy to us. I was in tears during the scan and have been like it for most of the day. Every concern we had regarding the scan has been answered. Even a fairly minor thing, God has taken care of. I was concerned that because this was a 20 week scan and not a 24 week one, they would not be able to see everything they wanted to. I dreaded being told "You'll have to come back in 4 weeks time" partly because I knew I would spend the next month in high anxiety and also because of the sheer difficulty we have in arranging for someone to look after the boys and for Rob to have time off work. This has happened to us in 2 previous pregnancies. But this time the scan was so clear and the baby so cooperative that we were told no, we didn't have to return. In the grand scheme of things this is so inconsequential, but it was really preying on my mind. The Lord took care of it for us. We have been abundantly blessed.
"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,
"Therefore I have hope in Him."
(Lamentations 3:24)
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Good News
The wonderful, amazing, glorious news is that, at the hospital visit yesterday, I heard a heart beat. Can there be a more wonderful sound?
The bad news is that my consultant has put me onto blood pressure medication (beta blockers) and aspirin because she believes I am at high risk for pre-eclampsia. I have my own feelings as to the wisdom of this but I have to get them into a more coherent and less emotional form before I blog about it more. It looks like there will be a lot more hospital visits in my immediate future. Ugh!
The bad news is that my consultant has put me onto blood pressure medication (beta blockers) and aspirin because she believes I am at high risk for pre-eclampsia. I have my own feelings as to the wisdom of this but I have to get them into a more coherent and less emotional form before I blog about it more. It looks like there will be a lot more hospital visits in my immediate future. Ugh!
Six Unspectacular Quirks
Deputy Headmistress over at the wonderful Common Room has tagged me for a bit of internet whimsy: Six Unspectacular Quirks. I'm reminded of the picnic at Box Hill in Emma: only six at once?
The rules are these:
you have to mention who tagged you and link to them
you have to mention the rules
you have to nominate six other bloggers by linking to them.
I like to break the rules where I can (without harm to others) just for the sheer fun of it, so I will not be nominating six others. Well actually, I don't know six others well enough to nominate them. British reserve and all that. But if you are reading this and would like to participate, just leave a comment and I will link to you.
Six quirks were embarrassingly easy to find. My husband on the other hand hasn't any. Really, he hasn't. We racked our brains to try and think of one, but we couldn't. Maybe that in itself is a quirk?
1. I have to take a hot water bottle to bed with me every night. Every night without fail or I can't sleep. It doesn't matter what the temperature is or even if it is too hot to sleep with covers, I have to have it. Even in a hot Australian summer. It isn't about feeling cold (although I do feel the cold very easily) it is more of a comfort thing.
2. I don't read very much fiction and what I do read tends to be 'old favourites', but when I do read something new I always, always, always have to read the ending first. If I don't like the ending then of course I don't read the book and for me to like it the ending has to be happy. I get attached to fictional characters and I want the best for them. I know that I am excluding some of the greatest works of fiction by this practice but I really don't care. I know it is shallow but life for me is too short to read sad fiction. Just give me happy, happy, happy. The same holds true for films (fictional not documentary). It is almost physically impossible for me to sit through a film I don't know the ending to. Too much uncertainty. Thank goodness for moviepooper.com.
3. I can't eat a whole chocolate ( the kind that comes in a box) all at once. I watch in awe as someone makes their selection and then pops it whole into their mouth. What if there is something 'unsuspected' in there? What if you don't like the flavour? What if it is so delicious that you regret snaffling it in one mouthful?
4. I can't eat crisps/chips, nuts, snacks straight from the packet. I have to decant. I don't know why. It is just something about putting my hand into a packet. Odd because I've never had a bad experience doing this (or a bad experience eating a chocolate come to that).
5. I don't mind going to the dentist but I really, really, really don't like going to the hair dressers. Consequently I'm always in need of a hair cut. I feel intimidated by the whole hair cutting procedure, by the salon 'ambience' and I loathe having my hair washed (or even worse, my head massaged) by someone else. It is not a relaxing or enjoyable experience for me, even when the resulting haircut looks good. If I could cut it myself, I would.
6. Not sure if this last one is so much a quirk as good prudent common sense. I can only cross at a pedestrian crossing if the signal is 'Go'. Here in the UK that is indicated by 'The Green Man' which sounds deliciously pagan, but isn't. Well, of course, you are only supposed to cross if you have the green man, everyone knows that. In some countries, I believe, you can be fined for crossing a pedestrian crossing at the wrong time. You would be amazed how many people take the most unbelievable risks, however, crossing when the sinister 'Red Man' is showing. Even mothers with children. Even police officers! Even elderly residents with walking sticks who invariably make the traffic screech to a halt! I want to yank them back with a hook on the end of a big stick. Even if the road is completely clear in both directions I just can't do it. Who knows what may appear out of nowhere. I've had people actually smirk at me for waiting and waiting and waiting until the signal changes. Hah! I care not a jot. This has rubbed off on the children. Isaac has recently had to be reminded that it is not polite to reprimand complete strangers, very loudly, for crossing at the wrong time. It does give them a surprise though!
The rules are these:
you have to mention who tagged you and link to them
you have to mention the rules
you have to nominate six other bloggers by linking to them.
I like to break the rules where I can (without harm to others) just for the sheer fun of it, so I will not be nominating six others. Well actually, I don't know six others well enough to nominate them. British reserve and all that. But if you are reading this and would like to participate, just leave a comment and I will link to you.
Six quirks were embarrassingly easy to find. My husband on the other hand hasn't any. Really, he hasn't. We racked our brains to try and think of one, but we couldn't. Maybe that in itself is a quirk?
1. I have to take a hot water bottle to bed with me every night. Every night without fail or I can't sleep. It doesn't matter what the temperature is or even if it is too hot to sleep with covers, I have to have it. Even in a hot Australian summer. It isn't about feeling cold (although I do feel the cold very easily) it is more of a comfort thing.
2. I don't read very much fiction and what I do read tends to be 'old favourites', but when I do read something new I always, always, always have to read the ending first. If I don't like the ending then of course I don't read the book and for me to like it the ending has to be happy. I get attached to fictional characters and I want the best for them. I know that I am excluding some of the greatest works of fiction by this practice but I really don't care. I know it is shallow but life for me is too short to read sad fiction. Just give me happy, happy, happy. The same holds true for films (fictional not documentary). It is almost physically impossible for me to sit through a film I don't know the ending to. Too much uncertainty. Thank goodness for moviepooper.com.
3. I can't eat a whole chocolate ( the kind that comes in a box) all at once. I watch in awe as someone makes their selection and then pops it whole into their mouth. What if there is something 'unsuspected' in there? What if you don't like the flavour? What if it is so delicious that you regret snaffling it in one mouthful?
4. I can't eat crisps/chips, nuts, snacks straight from the packet. I have to decant. I don't know why. It is just something about putting my hand into a packet. Odd because I've never had a bad experience doing this (or a bad experience eating a chocolate come to that).
5. I don't mind going to the dentist but I really, really, really don't like going to the hair dressers. Consequently I'm always in need of a hair cut. I feel intimidated by the whole hair cutting procedure, by the salon 'ambience' and I loathe having my hair washed (or even worse, my head massaged) by someone else. It is not a relaxing or enjoyable experience for me, even when the resulting haircut looks good. If I could cut it myself, I would.
6. Not sure if this last one is so much a quirk as good prudent common sense. I can only cross at a pedestrian crossing if the signal is 'Go'. Here in the UK that is indicated by 'The Green Man' which sounds deliciously pagan, but isn't. Well, of course, you are only supposed to cross if you have the green man, everyone knows that. In some countries, I believe, you can be fined for crossing a pedestrian crossing at the wrong time. You would be amazed how many people take the most unbelievable risks, however, crossing when the sinister 'Red Man' is showing. Even mothers with children. Even police officers! Even elderly residents with walking sticks who invariably make the traffic screech to a halt! I want to yank them back with a hook on the end of a big stick. Even if the road is completely clear in both directions I just can't do it. Who knows what may appear out of nowhere. I've had people actually smirk at me for waiting and waiting and waiting until the signal changes. Hah! I care not a jot. This has rubbed off on the children. Isaac has recently had to be reminded that it is not polite to reprimand complete strangers, very loudly, for crossing at the wrong time. It does give them a surprise though!
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Thank You And An Update
Thank you all so much for your sweet comments and prayers. We really appreciate them. I'm sorry it took me so long to upload some of them - and to update this poor, neglected blog. I am now officially 17 weeks pregnant and the baby is due on or, more likely, around 10th November. This Wednesday I go to the hospital for a check up. This would normally be done at my GP (General Practitioner) surgery but the midwife who booked me in at the hospital wanted me seen by the consultant 'just in case' because of my history of high blood pressure. Later this month I go for my 20 week scan and from then on in it is just the usual round of blood tests and midwives' appointments, hopefully the fewer the better.
Well, those are the bald facts. I've seen on a number of blogs a jolly little widget that displays your mood for the day. 'Today I am mostly feeling ...' or something like that. I'm not sure such a widget could handle the range of emotions I am feeling at the moment. Overjoyed at being pregnant again without a doubt, elated, excited, hopeful, thankful, privileged, fearful, tearful, anxious, stressed ... The list could go on and on. That so many conflicting emotions can exist simultaneously is surely testament to the amazing flexibility of the human mind. Pregnancy after loss is a tricky thing. I know that many of you know this far better than I. I don't think you ever approach it with the same degree of relaxation or joyful anticipation as in those pre-loss pregnancies. The pregnancy books and sites speak calmingly of how the risk of miscarriage is much less after 12 weeks (and praise God this is true) but when you have lost a little one in your second or third trimester, you are not likely to gain much reassurance from this. At the moment I am battling anxiety and fear on a daily basis. On some days it threatens to overwhelm. I know from experience how destructive such anxiety is to me. Apart from anything else it prevents me from being the joyful mother of the children God has already blessed me with - and it isn't much fun for Rob either. I know with the Lord's strength we can make it through any eventuality. It isn't that I doubt. I just don't like the not knowing what will happen and my anticipating mind has a default setting that anticipates the worst.
So what have I been doing to counter this. I turn to things that have helped me in the past. I read Scripture passages that speak of God's faithfulness and goodness, verses that talk of the strength and joy that the Lord imparts. I meditate and pray these through. I listen to sermons and Christian broadcasts that focus on these things and I read inspiring Christian books, articles and (of course) blogs. I do all of these things fitfully and imperfectly and the Lord in His mercy does the rest.
I hope this doesn't sound too whiney and dreary. We are both truly overjoyed to be expecting again. It is very exciting and at the grand old age of 43, not something I had taken for granted would ever happen again. Rob and I can say with total confidence 'The Lord has blessed us!'. The awful vomiting (some days after every bite of food or drink - much, much worse than ever before) has stopped. Yippee! I still have the all day nausea but you cannot believe how bearable that is without the actual throwing up. I am anaemic - but have a good iron supplement. My blood pressure, according to our home monitor, remains out of the danger zone - despite the worries of the hospital midwife who managed to be both over zealous and utterly ineffectual at the same time. My cervix is showing no signs of its previous incompetence - so I am looking forward to avoiding bedrest. And, despite the nausea, I can even sit up for long enough to write a rambling blog post! At this rate I may even get some ironing done!
Well, those are the bald facts. I've seen on a number of blogs a jolly little widget that displays your mood for the day. 'Today I am mostly feeling ...' or something like that. I'm not sure such a widget could handle the range of emotions I am feeling at the moment. Overjoyed at being pregnant again without a doubt, elated, excited, hopeful, thankful, privileged, fearful, tearful, anxious, stressed ... The list could go on and on. That so many conflicting emotions can exist simultaneously is surely testament to the amazing flexibility of the human mind. Pregnancy after loss is a tricky thing. I know that many of you know this far better than I. I don't think you ever approach it with the same degree of relaxation or joyful anticipation as in those pre-loss pregnancies. The pregnancy books and sites speak calmingly of how the risk of miscarriage is much less after 12 weeks (and praise God this is true) but when you have lost a little one in your second or third trimester, you are not likely to gain much reassurance from this. At the moment I am battling anxiety and fear on a daily basis. On some days it threatens to overwhelm. I know from experience how destructive such anxiety is to me. Apart from anything else it prevents me from being the joyful mother of the children God has already blessed me with - and it isn't much fun for Rob either. I know with the Lord's strength we can make it through any eventuality. It isn't that I doubt. I just don't like the not knowing what will happen and my anticipating mind has a default setting that anticipates the worst.
So what have I been doing to counter this. I turn to things that have helped me in the past. I read Scripture passages that speak of God's faithfulness and goodness, verses that talk of the strength and joy that the Lord imparts. I meditate and pray these through. I listen to sermons and Christian broadcasts that focus on these things and I read inspiring Christian books, articles and (of course) blogs. I do all of these things fitfully and imperfectly and the Lord in His mercy does the rest.
I hope this doesn't sound too whiney and dreary. We are both truly overjoyed to be expecting again. It is very exciting and at the grand old age of 43, not something I had taken for granted would ever happen again. Rob and I can say with total confidence 'The Lord has blessed us!'. The awful vomiting (some days after every bite of food or drink - much, much worse than ever before) has stopped. Yippee! I still have the all day nausea but you cannot believe how bearable that is without the actual throwing up. I am anaemic - but have a good iron supplement. My blood pressure, according to our home monitor, remains out of the danger zone - despite the worries of the hospital midwife who managed to be both over zealous and utterly ineffectual at the same time. My cervix is showing no signs of its previous incompetence - so I am looking forward to avoiding bedrest. And, despite the nausea, I can even sit up for long enough to write a rambling blog post! At this rate I may even get some ironing done!
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Homemade Soup, Rhubarb Pie and a little bun in the oven.
Today I made some celery soup and a rhubarb pie (with the first of our rhubarb from the allotment). No big deal you are no doubt saying, but these are the first things I have actually made from scratch in the last 5 weeks or so. It is testimony to the resilience of the human stomach that we have survived so long on ready meals, sandwiches, cold chicken and cereal, but survive we have. I am recovering nicely from what ended up being pleurisy but still feel somewhat on the fragile side. I had thought that the horrid pain in my chest and back was just a pulled muscle or possibly even my imagination, but pleurisy it turned out to be. No treatment as due to an (ahem) underlying condition I am unable to take the antibiotics usually given for it.
Which brings us to the little bun in the oven. . . .
Which brings us to the little bun in the oven. . . .
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Just a quick update
When I posted last week I confidently expected to be fully recovered within a couple of days.
Ha!
The boys are fully well and Rob too (except for a niggling cough). Praise God for that. I, on the other hand am still doing a passable impression of a Victorian invalid. I am feeling pretty rough. On the menu this week are painful sinuses, coughing and vomiting. I am comforted by the thought that it is only a virus and it will go, eventually.
Probably just in time for the next family reunion.
Ha!
The boys are fully well and Rob too (except for a niggling cough). Praise God for that. I, on the other hand am still doing a passable impression of a Victorian invalid. I am feeling pretty rough. On the menu this week are painful sinuses, coughing and vomiting. I am comforted by the thought that it is only a virus and it will go, eventually.
Probably just in time for the next family reunion.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Cometh the family reunion ...
... cometh the virus!
For the last 10 days or more we have all been sick, sick, sick. Nothing serious, thanks be to God, just a thoroughly nasty viral infection. In fact it is the nastiest I can ever remember having. Even my poor husband, who is normally incredibly robust, succumbed and had to take time off work. Cue sore throats, runny noses, infected sinuses, aching limbs, throbbing heads with a side order of nausea and vomiting and a mild chest infection to finish. For four days I was unable to even get out of bed, except to stagger to the bathroom or the couch. Too sick to read, can you believe, and way too sick to look at a computer monitor. Even when I had pneumonia, I don't remember feeling this bad.
We are all on the mend now, however, and I am anxious to gather up the reins of my household in capable hands. Ha! The 'household' looks as if it has been sacked by every ancient tribe that ever indulged in sacking as a recreational sport. It will be a while before even a semblance of order is restored. Rob has gone back to work and the children are in fine fettle. It is 10.30 in the morning and I have wilted already. Back to the couch, I think.
For the last 10 days or more we have all been sick, sick, sick. Nothing serious, thanks be to God, just a thoroughly nasty viral infection. In fact it is the nastiest I can ever remember having. Even my poor husband, who is normally incredibly robust, succumbed and had to take time off work. Cue sore throats, runny noses, infected sinuses, aching limbs, throbbing heads with a side order of nausea and vomiting and a mild chest infection to finish. For four days I was unable to even get out of bed, except to stagger to the bathroom or the couch. Too sick to read, can you believe, and way too sick to look at a computer monitor. Even when I had pneumonia, I don't remember feeling this bad.
We are all on the mend now, however, and I am anxious to gather up the reins of my household in capable hands. Ha! The 'household' looks as if it has been sacked by every ancient tribe that ever indulged in sacking as a recreational sport. It will be a while before even a semblance of order is restored. Rob has gone back to work and the children are in fine fettle. It is 10.30 in the morning and I have wilted already. Back to the couch, I think.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
March Meanderings
March, it is said, comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Nothing is said about it creeping around like a cold, wet and miserable slug in between times. Yet this March has been, weather wise, definitely on the slug-like side. The weather has been uniformly horrid: mediocre and horrid for most of the time with the occasional exciting but horrible interlude.
Fortunately the month has had other compensations, chief among which was the opportunity to meet, a couple of weekends ago, with The Head Girl, who blogs at the ever wonderful The Common Room. The HG is an utter darling and all of us here were left wishing she could have visited with us for longer (and brought her entire family too). The boys are often a little wary of female visitors (odd, I'm not sure why) but they took to her immediately and have been most vocal about how much they liked her, both at the time and since. We met initially at the British Museum and it is amazing how many glorious treasures you can see in a very short space of time without too much cultural indigestion. The following day she ventured out to our corner of South London/Kent to explore the charity shops, which I am relieved to say yielded up some bargains. The weather for her visit was of the exciting but horrible sort - lashing rain, howling wind etc, but it didn't daunt her intrepid spirit!
This past weekend (ah, yes, I'm sorry about the absence of anything Easterish on this blog - we do celebrate it, just not very well) Rob's parents joined us for a visit, to the delight of all. We managed to get a day out by ourselves - something which usually only happens once a year and is always greatly appreciated. The weather was astonishing - hailstones practically on the hour every hour for the best part of the day. The rest of the holiday it snowed almost continuously, but never producing enough on the ground to build a snowman or even fashion a respectable snowball. Dismal.
Fortunately the month has had other compensations, chief among which was the opportunity to meet, a couple of weekends ago, with The Head Girl, who blogs at the ever wonderful The Common Room. The HG is an utter darling and all of us here were left wishing she could have visited with us for longer (and brought her entire family too). The boys are often a little wary of female visitors (odd, I'm not sure why) but they took to her immediately and have been most vocal about how much they liked her, both at the time and since. We met initially at the British Museum and it is amazing how many glorious treasures you can see in a very short space of time without too much cultural indigestion. The following day she ventured out to our corner of South London/Kent to explore the charity shops, which I am relieved to say yielded up some bargains. The weather for her visit was of the exciting but horrible sort - lashing rain, howling wind etc, but it didn't daunt her intrepid spirit!
This past weekend (ah, yes, I'm sorry about the absence of anything Easterish on this blog - we do celebrate it, just not very well) Rob's parents joined us for a visit, to the delight of all. We managed to get a day out by ourselves - something which usually only happens once a year and is always greatly appreciated. The weather was astonishing - hailstones practically on the hour every hour for the best part of the day. The rest of the holiday it snowed almost continuously, but never producing enough on the ground to build a snowman or even fashion a respectable snowball. Dismal.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936: Sandwiches and Fillings for the month of March
1. Bridge rolls, put together with liver sausage mashed to a paste with cream or salad dressing, and flavoured to taste with lemon juice. Use with thin slices of radishes.
2. Mix ½ cupful of picked shrimps with ½ cupful chopped fried chicken livers, and minced onion or shallot and pepper to taste. Season with salt if required. Moisten with mayonnaise. Use with thinly buttered white bread.
3. Stir ¼ pound ground dates, ¼ pound minced figs or raisins, and ¼ pound ground mixed nuts together. Mix in the strained juice of half a lemon and half an orange. Use with thinly buttered brown bread.
4. Wash, drain, and mince enough watercress to fill half a cup. Moisten a cream cheese with cream to taste. Stir in watercress. Spread on small rounds of wholemeal bread. Sandwich with a slice of scalded, peeled tomato.
5. Mix salmon and shrimp paste with chopped olives to taste. Use with white bread and butter and cucumber
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
2. Mix ½ cupful of picked shrimps with ½ cupful chopped fried chicken livers, and minced onion or shallot and pepper to taste. Season with salt if required. Moisten with mayonnaise. Use with thinly buttered white bread.
3. Stir ¼ pound ground dates, ¼ pound minced figs or raisins, and ¼ pound ground mixed nuts together. Mix in the strained juice of half a lemon and half an orange. Use with thinly buttered brown bread.
4. Wash, drain, and mince enough watercress to fill half a cup. Moisten a cream cheese with cream to taste. Stir in watercress. Spread on small rounds of wholemeal bread. Sandwich with a slice of scalded, peeled tomato.
5. Mix salmon and shrimp paste with chopped olives to taste. Use with white bread and butter and cucumber
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936: Table Decorations for the month of March
1. Flat bowl of mauve and yellow crocuses growing in pebbles.
2. Specimen vases of scarlet anemones.
3. Short sprays of almond blossom, arranged in black Wedgwood bowl or vases.
4. Daffodils arranged in a flower holder in a green bowl, stalks hidden by moss.
5. Bowl of primroses, fringed with violets (very flat bowl).
6. Basket of Cape fruit, arranged on a lining of geranium leaves.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
2. Specimen vases of scarlet anemones.
3. Short sprays of almond blossom, arranged in black Wedgwood bowl or vases.
4. Daffodils arranged in a flower holder in a green bowl, stalks hidden by moss.
5. Bowl of primroses, fringed with violets (very flat bowl).
6. Basket of Cape fruit, arranged on a lining of geranium leaves.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
The Housewives' Monthly Calendar 1936: Tea Bread for the month of March
Pastries: Lemon cheese cakes; Bakewell tarts; Mille feuilles.
Biscuits: Chocolate; Ginger; and Coco-nut pyramids.
Buns: Cherry; Chocolate and walnut; and Hot Cross Buns.
Layer Cakes: Orange; Chocolate with butter cream filling; and George Washington.
Large Cakes: Madeira; Dundee; Seed and Ginger.
Sandwiches: Puree au foie gras; cream cheese and walnut; Tunny fish moistened mayonnaise and flavoured with minced pimento, used with bread toasted on one side; bridge rolls covered with chicken, or tongue salad and cress.
Note: To make toast sandwiches, cut toast in half, butter inside thinly, and put halves together with filling.
(The Housewives' Monthly Calendar by Elizabeth Craig, 1936 Chapman & Hall, London)
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