Our March 2023 Garden 🙂

The first thing to say is my blood results are all excellent. Pristine, I'm told. Phew! I've been feeling really off colour, a friend has covid and I've had something close to Sinusitis, even though a nurse told me I wasn't in enough pain to have it. Thankfully, with some codeine I managed to get through it. It's a worry as TTP is an autoimmune condition.

Anyway, I've been away to spend some time with family and am home again. Always a delight, and hard to leave, but they have their own lives. I’m grateful they’re all doing so well 😊

Our garden has begun to awaken and I'm relieved to see some real signs of spring at last. The frog spawn has unfortunately vanished. Possibly heron breakfast, we've had visits before. Such a shame, all that effort on the frogs' part and now no tadpoles. Nature, of course, but harsh.

Here are a few signs of spring in our garden 🙂

Primroses in between old sleeper steps

Cyclamen amongst a Shamrock

Grape Hyacinths in an old sink

Red Dogwood breaking into leaf

The Camelia looks a bit battered by the recent weather.

There are tiny blossom buds on the pear tree that was moved in the autumn. I wasn't sure it would take and am so pleased that it has. Hopefully we will have home grown dessert pears later this year.

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31st October 2024, I'm A Halloween Grinch 🎃

I don't like Halloween. It's origins or the 21st Century version. Right from it's beginnings it has been about death and spirits of the dead. I always say I'm not superstitious, but somethings shouldn't be messed with. Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, has been turned from a Celtic tradition to ward off evil and spirits, to a commercial nightmare. I know that many will say that nowadays it's just a bit of fun, but like my fear of spiders, its maybe instinct. Maybe its the near death experiences that TTP survivors have, a little too close to home. Winter in this part of the world brings darkness and cold, something that the Celtic people took seriously. If any misfortune befell them in the winter, they likely didn't survive. For a while the Christian form of All Hallows Eve became a time when the poorest folk would beg at more wealthy folk’s doors for food, in return for offering prayers. Now children are encouraged to trick ...

23rd September 2024 Apple Pies, Not Quite How Grandma Made Them 😉

I get a lot of recipe videos on my social media feeds. Many claim to be just how someone's Grandmother showed them. I often doubt it's true. I'm older, of course, so possibly I'm thinking of days from long ago. My Grandma, Nanny we called her, was born more than 100 years ago. She had a large family and undoubtedly did make pies, but I don't think they had desserts. She would have made pastry, she didn't have a fridge, and I have seen her cooker in a museum 🥰. Nanny had access to fresh veg because Grandad had an allotment and she kept her own hens and rabbits. She didn't leave a recipe book, but she left a healthy brood of children. The old apple tree in our garden has withered this year. Although it had buds, it didn't produce any blossom so no apples. We couldn't bring ourselves to remove it, and we'll give it another chance next spring. I do know it will be something of a miracle if it fruits again. My nei...

21st October 2024, Newcastle, Gateshead, Angel of the North

This weekend away was not my choice but my husband's. To be fair I've had my weekends away and it was his turn. Of course, it involved football. BHA v Newcastle. It's on his list of dreams. What would my grandfather, a supporter, think of us flying to Newcastle to watch a match? We flew with Easyjet, cabin bags under our seats, and limited amount of cloths. I've never travelled for a weekend before knowing that I would need to wash undies. My meds (not TTP related) took up more space than my toiletries! We arrived exhausted, but driving would have been so much worse. We ignored our own travel tip and landed after sunset. It's disorienting to land in the dark when you have no idea where you are. Flight delayed at both ends, we took the Metro from the airport to the city centre, it was delayed en route, and then we left the station by the wrong exit. It resulted in us walking more t...

Porridge for Breakfast, The Ordinary Life of a TTP Survivor

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