Mrs Nesbitt's space

Exactly one week ago today, we actually met Denise from 'Mrs Nesbitt's Space' Blog Site. As arranged, we called in on our way home from our trip to Northumberland.

What a warm welcome we received too!

Aye, there's nowt like Yorkshire hospitality!

It was quite a long drive from Berwick on Tweed to the tiny village of Liverton, in North Yorkshire, but so worth it to meet Denise.
As instructed, I phoned Denise to say we had arrived in the village; Apparently, all the houses in the village have the same Post Code, just to confuse the nice lady on Sat Nav !
We turned into Denise's lane and there she was, standing in the middle of it, waving an enormous Union Jack. I roared with laughter as she flagged us down....I felt like royalty, particularly as close friends call me 'Lady Di'....
We met the hens, May, Bev, Margie, Eva, Olwyn and my God Daughter hen, Mabel.
Freida the Alsation was particularly pleased to meet us and gave us both a jolly good licking.
We didn't really meet the other Alsation Elsie, as she has behavioural problems and is not averse to taking a chunk out of you, when she pleases. Apparently she is a one man dog and adores Denise's husband, Jon.
Unfortunately we were too late to meet Jon but will do one day soon, when they come down to Liverpool.
Elsie was a rescue dog, I do think it particularly brave and kind of Denise and John in doing this, anyone else may have given up on her, particularly as she gave Denise a nasty bite on her lip.
We were served us a delicious lunch of Chilli Beef, Curried Vegetables with lovely large, Yorkshire, baked potatoes, smothered in butter....Absolutely delicious. To follow she had made especially, for moi, my favourite cake....Lemon Drizzle.
We sat and chatted and laughed, it was if we had known each other for ages!
Eventually, we said our goodbyes and left for the second part of our journey home.
As we were leaving Denise presented us with, six delicious new laid eggs from the hens, each with the hen's name on it, a goody bag containing two delicious hand made beef pies, from her local butcher, a bag of the scrummy yorkshire potatoes, that we sampled earlier and, last but not least, was a little China spoon rest with a hen painted on it.
Such kindness, particularly as Denise knows how much I love new laid eggs.
The china spoon rest, takes pride of place beside the kettle, in my kitchen, so each time I have a 'cuppa', I am reminded of our meeting, and smile to myself!
The Meat pies, were delicious and were devoured, with baked potatoes and mushy peas for supper, when we arrived home.
Thank you, so much, Denise, for making our meeting such a memorable occasion. It was surely 'The Icing on the Cake', after our delightful holiday in Northumberland....which I am just about to write about.....Watch this space!

Meeting a favourite blogger...at last

I have been blogging now for about four years, and Oh what joy it has brought to my life. I have made so many on-line friends and really enjoy reading their thoughts and the daily doings, of their every day lives.
Towards the end of this month, DT and I are going up to Northumberland for a mini break to celebrate our twenty fourth wedding anniversary.
Now then, which favourite blogger lives in Northumberland, you may ask?
No one, I shall answer, the person in question, lives approximately ninety miles from our destination....Have you guessed yet?
More clues...
She lives in a pretty little village, keeps hens and walks her dogs down country lanes and is friends with several horses in nearby fields.
Got it yet?
Final clues...
There's nothing she likes better than donning her biker gear, jumping on the back of her husband's motor bike and taking a glorious drive over the North Yorkshire Moors to Whitby to get Fish and Chips for tea....
Ok...I'll tell you....
It's good old Denise from Mrs Nesbitt's blog....'Not so much of the old' Denise may, quite rightly say, which was endorsed by my Grandaughter Olivia last week.
I digress...back to the plot line...
Last week, I was chatting to Denise on the 'chat corner' on Facebook, about our forthcoming meeting, when up popped a little motif instructing me look at a video that Denise had made for me, or so I thought!
I pressed the video motif, and lo and behold!....
There was Denise sitting in her kitchen, (live), talking away to me. I don't know how she did it, nor does she, I suspect, but we were talking via Facebook on the Web Cam. Unfortunately I couldn't hear her, as Web Cam stuff is all new to my simple mind.
As we were both scrabbling around to find a note book to display messages to each other, Olivia came to look at the goings on, on screen, observe the two zany ladies, and piped up with....
'Grandma, Is that lady as old as you'? 'Errm, no, I said, not at all, I think she's a bit younger than me, (Knowing full well that Denise took early retirement, from her teaching job,earlier this year).
Olivia, then retorted, 'Well, you both look the same age, she looks just like you, you've got the same coloured hair but without the walking stick'! I do hope Denise is not offended at being deemed to look like an 'oldie with a walking stick', who, is actually, a good few years older than her. Of course, I was highly flattered....
Sorry, Denise...you know the old adage...'From the mouths of babes, come words of wisdom'.
Anyway, I'm really excited about meetin one of my favourite bloggers, at last!
Hopefully, I shall meet Lelie from Vancouver, Canada, next year, when she visits the UK. Leslie's blog site is called 'The Pedalogue', you can access it via the sidebar on the right side of my blog. Her blog is full of lots of interesting things, including some wonderful photography.
Incidentally, Denise has made me the honourary Godmother of her hen called Mabel, (don't ask), but there lies another yarn or two! We have also been invited for lunch at Denise's, so I am so 'eggsited'...(get it?..eggsited?)...hen...eggs...Sorry, I just can't help, blame the weather..I just can't get out at present due to the vile weather!
Another coincidence...

We are going to stay at the Coach House in Crookam, Cornhill on Tweed, Northumberland.

After reading Cherie's (of Cherrypie blog), account of the Coach House and the area surrounding, I have felt compelled to visit...So there again, another friend made, via blogging, giving good advice of places to visit etc.
Cherie's site is most interesting, she must have visited the length and breadth of the UK. She writes most eloquently and interestingly,She is also brilliant photographer. Again, you can access her site, from mine on the right hand side toolbar.

Sorry I can't mention all of my favourite bloggers, but you all bring so much interest and fun to my somewhat, at times, sedentary life...
I thank you all, from the bottom of my heart...

Your friend in blogging,

Di..xxx

New set of wheels

Hurrah...
At last my motorised wheelchair has arrived and what a palaver it was, to actually be deemed suitable for said, 'set of wheels'
Firstly, one has to be assessed in the home for suitability and then a test drive at the Wheelchair Sevices Centre. All this stretched over a period of eighteen months. I got so fed up being stuck indoors, except when DT could take me out and push me around in the manual chair.
I hated being pushed around, particularly when people looked kindly at me, then proceeded to ask DT of my well being instead of asking me.
Why do people who hardly know you, want to know all the personal details of one's incapacity? After all, you wouldn't stop an apparently, able bodied person, passing by, for their full medical history!

Hurrah!

How things have changed...Now people smile at me and chat, stand aside as I zoom along and more importantly, don't want my medical history. I have yet to go out alone, I'm just building up my confidence. It's easy on a straight path but if there isn't a ramp to go up or down one has to adopt a particular system...For a medium type kerb you have to position the chair eighteen inches away from it, place 'joy stick' in top speed, then broom broom...up and over you go. If the kerb is more than about four inches you have to go over in reverse. This a bit scary, bearing in mind, you're at the mercy of passing motorists!
This why DT has been escorting me, acting like a pseudo traffic cop, sticking his hand up in the air, when required, to slow down the oncoming traffic, whilst I get used to operating each required manoever, with precision... I'm thinking of having a special 'DT lollipop crossing stick', made for him!
So, at present. I'm still wearing 'L' plates...So warning to all neighbours and friends... Keep your children and small animals in until the 'L' plates are removed....

May 'till September.

So much has happened during the passed few months it's difficult to know where to begin, so I'll try and pick out a few bits and bobs from each month.....So, here goes....
In May, I was presented with a new wheelchair which, although, still manual, was a much more comfortable ride and much easier for DT to manoeuvre around the ubiquitous pot holes, broken paving slabs and ridiculously high kerbs. At this time we were eagerly awaiting yet another chair, this time, an electric one which I could operate myself, with a little joystick...this comes later!
Why I couldn't have the electric chair, there and then, instead of all the 'faffing around' by the bureaucratic regimes, in the Primary Care Trust, Lord only knows...such a waste of time and money!
Any way, it's full steam ahead as DT whizzes me around the pavements, it's so good to get out and have some fresh air, We have a lovely park, about ten minutes walk from our home, called Calderstones. our dear little grandaughter, Olivia, likes to come along, with a bag of bread, to feed the ducks on the lake. when she gets tired, she likes to hitch a lift and sit on my lap, for a ride home. Poor DT huff and puffs then, because it's uphill all the way, He's such a kind and loving, Grandpa and husband, our world is enlightened by him each day.
We had a lovely holiday on the Isle of Anglesey, on th tip of North Wales.
Our accomodation was a traditional, white, rough stone Welsh cottage....It was divine, it overlooked three fishing lakes and was just a five minute drive from a gorgeous beach on Benllech Bay.
We would go daily, either to the little 'Fish shack' to buy delicious fresh Anglesey crab and lobster, or to the local butcher's for the wonderful Welsh lamb that he purveyed.
Anglesey is the place where Prince William and Princess Catherine live, sadly, we didn't see them, but apparently they did shop in the local places, also there was a great gastro pub on the beach at Red Warf Bay, where they frequently dined, sadly, again, we didn't bump into them,,,,who knows...maybe. one day we will, as we do go toAnglesey quite often, as it's only an eighty minute drive there.
Right now, there is what I have been up to, in the summer....more to follow soon.

Di...xx

The blessed back First posted on 15th May 2011

My! How time flies.
I've just looked at my last post and I can't believe how long it is since I wrote something....Many fellow bloggers have been in touch to enquire of my well being and I am so touched by their kindness and warm thoughts.
I have spent the last year by visiting three different hospital out patients departments to be prodded, stretched, scanned, x-rayed and operated on, for four, skin biopsies.
Only to be told that, the Rheumatoid Arthritis is in remission, whoopee whoo...good news!
Swiftly to be followed with the news that I have severe Osteo Arthritis in my hands and feet...Hmm! though Di, 'I can live with that'.
Then came the killer blow...several discs in the base of my spine are crushed, thus causing severe pain in my back and down my right leg.
Every cloud has a silver lining....I was referred to the 'Pain Clinic', for advice on my medication. So now, I am a registerd 'Junkie', taking Morphine, Pregablin and several other drugs to control the skin disorders etc.
I thought, I would be able to have an operation on my spine, but apparalently it is too dangerous, ie total paralysis. I am still unable to walk very far with out the 'blessed back' seizing up, forcing me to retreat to the chair again, so frustrating but c'est la vie.
So, here I am dear readers, still stuck in 'the chairs' (see previous post), and not able to drive my lovely Honda CRV, pick up my beloved Grandchildren, tend to my garden etc!
But, hey! another 'silver lining! I have got my kind and caring husband,three marvellous daughters, four fab granchildren and a lovely comfy home. Oh, and not forgetting my lovely cuddly cat, Chloe!
What more could a girl want?

I am truly blessed.


I promise, this is the last of the 'health reports', I shall go back to writing little humorous anecdotes to hopefully amuse and entertain you...promise!

Di.xx