Happy New Year!

 Well, I attended my appointment with the optician yesterday afternoon and it seems that I have a Chalazion which is a stye on the inside of my lower eyelid near the tear gland.  It's made me look as if I have a black eye and has given me a daily headache as well as a painful eye.  The optician did the puffer eye pressure test, as well as looking into both eyes through the machine.  He then dropped orange dye into both eyes for a closer look and pressed into the area around both eyes to feel for any more lumps, thankfully none.  He also turned my upper lids inside out to look at them.  This was not an easy job as I am extremely squeamish about eyes!  👀 I had to keep apologising for pulling back!  He said I can use Golden Eye Ointment, which has a bit of anti-biotic in, to reduce infection but that hot compresses will help.  He also said that if it worsens dramatically to go straight to A & E.  I sincerely hope it doesn't come to that 😨  All in all, I felt I had had a thorough examination and he didn't charge me although he mentioned on the way out that they do NHS eye tests...hint, hint!  When I got home I realised that I had orange Panda eyes from the dye!! Luckily I didn't have to use the bus....😏

I can't believe it's the last day of the year.... although good riddance to 2022, I say....

Happy New Year to you all

May it be happy, healthy, and safe 

God Bless

xx

NHS failures and More Covid....

 Yesterday I took down all the Christmas decorations apart from the door wreath and the cards.  I usually leave the wreath until 12th night anyway but the rest could go.  It's not been a good festive season for any of us this year and a video call with our Son in Australia on Christmas day (which was his 50th birthday too) revealed that his wife had contracted covid for the second time this year and our 7 year old Granddaughter had caught it and now P has it too.  Our GD was ill for just a day and then perked up but our Son didn't look well at all.  His big birthday bash was cancelled and I felt so sorry for him. 

DD has now got a sore throat and cough too....

My visit to the GP was not successful either.  I spoke to the receptionist, explaining the eye problem which began on Christmas eve and she just said " we have nothing to do with eyes". What??..... She gave me an optician's phone number to call for an appointment.  I asked if they would charge me and she said " I dont think so" so I got back to my car and rang them. It turned out that they were miles away and didn't even have an available appointment for several days.  Luckily, the kind lady I was speaking to arranged an appointment for me this afternoon in my own village.  I had to suffer for yet another day though......

To be perfectly honest I can't wait to see the end of this year. Let's hope 2023 will be better for everyone. 

Stay safe and well x

Christmas, a Non-event and a Sore Eye

Well.... Christmas didn't exactly go as planned.  We went to our Daughter's house on Christmas day to find that our Granddaughter had a severe sore throat and cough.  We had been forewarned that morning by DD but covid tests had come back negative so we risked it anyway.  Our daughter cooked a lovely turkey lunch but GD barely ate anything then fell asleep in the chair.  After lunch our son-in-law also declared he didn't feel 100% and went to bed 😕 We did suggest we went home early but DD was glad of the company, I think, so the TV was turned on and we, and our Grandson, relaxed watching a daft film (Hocus Pocus 2)  After a tasty buffet tea we left around 8pm.

For obvious reasons, our Boxing day get together was cancelled leaving me with lots of food we were never going to eat so I froze what I could and we've been eating up the rest as best we can 😋

One of the nicest presents I received was made for me by a little girl who lives across the road.  It was very special and will be kept in my treasures box and brought out every year.....

On Christmas Eve I noticed that my right eye was feeling sore and it seems to have developed into what Google says is an internal stye.  Wow...is it painful?...yes!!  We managed to find a pharmacy open on Boxing day afternoon but all they would sell me was a box of moisturizing eye drops, of the sort used by contact lens wearers, at a cost of £15.  I am very squeamish regarding eyes so it's been a real struggle to get them in and they haven't helped in the slightest.  I might try a walk-in to the surgery today to ask advice.

New Year 2023 will spur me on to a new challenge, especially as we have all this food left over from Christmas.

A low spend/no spend January is calling, especially as energy bills are so very high and with a small increase due in January.  I have vouchers which I won, G has a Morrisons voucher from work and I have accumulated Nectar points to use, so I'm hoping to spend very little actual cash in January.  I'll post details in a few days.

My heart goes out to everyone affected by the storms in Canada and the US.  Praying that it will resolve very soon.

Thanks for popping in, I hope your Christmas was a good 'un. 

Take care x  

Happy Christmas To One And All !

 

Wishing you all a very happy, safe and peaceful Christmas.

God Bless

I'll be back in a few days.

xxx

News Catch Up! Good and Bad....

Thanks so much all of you who left kind and considerate comments on my last post.  I still feel heavy of heart but you are all so very kind.  I do need to pull myself together so here's a roundup of the last couple of weeks......

A week ago we woke up to no hot water. Not cold water running from the hot tap but NO water AT ALL from the hot tap yet plenty from the cold tap 🤔 It was a real mystery.  Everything was fine the night before and, thankfully, we had heating. I spent 40 minutes in a queue on the phone to the boiler insurance company and a repair was booked for 5 days hence 🥶 You don't realise how much you depend on hot water on tap until its not there!  Carrying hot kettles about at my age is not a great idea either.  We were so lucky that I received a text informing me that the appointment had been brought forward a couple of days to Sunday last, although even 3 days without a shower was too much! Anyway, back to normal at last 🙂

In other news:

TV licence renewed for another year £159

Christmas haircut in the village £16 (much cheaper than the £32 my last hairdresser charged)

(Daughter says I look miserable in the photo but my excuse is that I was really tired  😂 I'm not sleeping well right now)

 

Gifts are all wrapped and labelled, ready to be taken to DD on the day.

Sainsburys food delivery arrived this afternoon.  There were a couple of substitutions which were not suitable so we popped to the local Sainsburys to try to get the items. It was manic, hard to find a parking space, and the store full to bursting at 2pm.  Apparently, a queue had formed by 5.40am with the store opening at 6am!  There was not a single egg to be seen 👀  I'll have to make do with the half dozen I already have.  That's the very last shopping trip this side of the big day.

Are you receiving cards through the post this year?  I posted mine really early due to the postal strikes and most have arrived (although not all) but I've only had 1 card through the post.  Postal workers are striking again today and tomorrow so nothing else will be delivered until well after Christmas.  There are at least 4 cards in transit to us.  It's so sad to think that some lonely, housebound people might not get the cheer of a card this year.

In addition to that, the NHS workers have been striking.  Firstly nurses and then Paramedics/ambulance drivers.  The Government response has been " Don't do anything risky whilst the strike is on! " In some areas they won't even attend women in late stages of labour or stroke victims.  Our NHS is definitely broken....

Happier notes:

This little penguin group has appeared in the village 😀 So cheerful!

I took a big tin of Heroes chocolates and a Christmas card to the staff and volunteers at the Hospice charity shop in the village.  I have donated 127 handmade cards over the year and last week I also took in 5 little knitted stockings with a wrapped chocolate biscuit inside for them to sell. I must do much more next year if I can....

I was stunned to receive an email a few days ago saying I had won an Iceland gift voucher with Topcashback.  I excitedly picked it up from the post office on Wednesday and...YAY!!...2 x £50 vouchers were inside 😀 

 As I've finished my Christmas food shop, I can feel a 2023 challenge coming on.  It will be the usual low spend/ no spend January but I want to extend it to February as well and record it on my blog for posterity.  Anyone interested in the nitty gritty of what I buy?  You might be thoroughly sick of reading about these things so:

Vote NOW!!

😂

Reasons to be thankful:

The weather is very wet but much milder so the heating is not on so much

For DD who is cooking for us on Christmas day

For a well stocked fridge & freezer

For the good fortune to win £100 in vouchers

Thanks so much for popping in and stay safe and well wherever in the world you happen to be x

Crying Quietly

 I had some really sad news yesterday.  My best friend's sister, whom I've known for many years, lost her eldest son on Saturday.  He was in hospital and must have been known to be seriously ill because they arranged the wedding to his fiancee last Friday at the hospital.  He passed away the next day.  My friend is too upset to tell me any more details and I'm upset because Matthew was at the same school as my own children.  He's just a little older than my daughter.  His mum is just recovering from an operation herself, and having radiotherapy.  Once gain, I can't believe how cruel life can be.  It has knocked me for six so I will be taking a break from blogging.  I'll still be reading and commenting but not posting until I feel stronger.

Take care of yourself and enjoy Christmas just as you like it my bloggy friends.  You've earned it.

Big hugs,

Angie

xxxx

Village Affairs at the Weekend

After a pretty boring week, during which the highlight was a visit from DD on Thursday, I was quite looking forward to going into the village today as there was a craft fair going on at the council Chambers from 11am.  I slept badly again last night. I fell asleep easily at 11pm only to wake at 3am and be unable to drop off again. I made a mug of tea at 5.30am and took it back to bed with a book, then turned out the light to get another hour or so before finally getting dressed and starting the day. 

By 10am it was bright and sunny so I took the opportunity to load my shopping bag with Christmas cards to post, library books to return, and a big tin of chocolates for the girls working in the charity shop where I donate the cards I make. Once my bag was empty, I went off to browse the craft fair stalls. There were some beautiful makes; glass tree decorations, felt animals, fabric table mats, cards, calendars etc but I had to resist and limit myself to £1 worth of tombola tickets (none a winner) It was lovely and warm in the building. All that was missing was the chance to buy a coffee ☕

Outside, in the high street, the local care home had a stall selling soft toys and homemade biscuits. They were just 50p each so I bought 2....

I also splashed out £1 for a homemade cake raffle. All in all a very cheering couple of hours out of the house and my purse only £3 lighter 👍

We're only 3 days into December and my pocket money is already dwindling. However, I think I have bought all the Christmas gifts I need to, money is put aside for the GC, and food is being paid for from a different budget allowance.  This leaves me with £53 to last until January 😱 I need to buy petrol for my car out of that, maybe £25 worth, so £28 left for incidentals. Its a jolly good job I have no parties to attend!

Tomorrow evening our Granddaughter is performing in a dance extravaganza at school and I'm really looking forward to seeing it. She's very talented and DD is picking me up in her car so I don't have to worry about driving in the dark.

Thanks for popping in and stay safe wherever in the world you happen to be x