I think it comes as you go along your journey. It makes you appreciate life so much more and you have to become a warrior, pick up your armour and go into the battle. Xx

Hi ladies
Gosh its been mad busy here, what with return to work full time my mother has also been in hospital, she was really quite poorly and kept having complication upon complication so, in a sad way, am happy to report that she died this week.  I'm the more practical one out of me and my sister (who is over from Taiwan, thankfully) so we will now be in full-on clearance/admin mode to sort out whatever needs doing, I've never done this before but luckily Adrian knows exactly what needs doing so is effectively project managing us!  So much paperwork...
I am fine otherwise and enjoying being back at work, though it is curtailing my keep fit regime somewhat! No more 3 hour bike rides during the week...boo!  Probably as well as will wear out my knees soon...My training for the MacMillan walk is going well and I've been on some beautiful walks around the New Forest (where the mother lived), only one problem down here (am there currently), no blummin hills...its like Holland!
Am glad to report that I managed to get up north last weekend to see a pal, see my Father, and help the economy by spending far too much in teh shops in Leeds...its been far too long since my credit card had such a good thrashing. I actually felt quite emotional being back in Yorkshire after 7 months-far too long indeed.  The father was on good form and we had a good couple of days together, he's getting very tired now though, to be expected given his prognosis I guess.
So now we've got me, having had BC, my father with his kidney cancer and the mother's PET scan showed she most likely had lymphoma...what a bloody bunch eh?  Have told my sister (the only other member of family) to be on the look out!  Poor her.
Am going home later on today (my sister is going up north to see our father) so get to have a rest, which will be LOVELY! I think my hanging baskets and window boxes need some attention over the bank holiday.
I'll just end by telling you how utterly useless my plastic surgeon's secretary is.  I contacted her for dates on 22 April and but for one mail telling me she was on it I've not heard anything re dates for phase 2 of boobs/stomach...good to see that going private doesn't confer any advantage! As I'll need some lipo to the natural boob (as had a lumpectomy there) and no longer have enough stomach fat (thankfully) they need to use thigh lard (nice) so will have to wear compression cycling shorts afterwards, deffo not one for the summer..am thinking December now, the anniversary of the original body changes.
Anyway I do hope you're both really good and not having similar challenges to me.
Caroline - I hope your niece is settled now and is flourishing in her new home. Are you enjoying the gym again, I certainly am, even though now I'm working 9-5 means going early doors in the morning as working from home means when it comes to 5pm its quite an effort to get on the bike to go there (plus there's more traffic).
Christine - hope you're staying clear of Bolton! You'll be glad to know that I am now on my second set of compression gloves/sleeves and its 6 months since first lot and by heck they were quite grim at the end with not an awful lot of working elastic in them.  Hope your lymphodema is also OK, I was reading something on cancer research website about exercises specific to areas of lymphodema that someone had put on facebook, not sure if you've seen this? Are you enjoying your garden, I'm loving wandering round and seeing what's happening, my neighbours are on baby blue *** watch as have some that are starting to fly, the watch consists of watching the cats more than the birds I think...there will be trouble if either of mine intervene...

Enjoy the warmer weather ladies XX

Oh Sam! I am so sorry to hear about your mum but at least both you and your sister were with her. I worked with the bereavement team during Covid where we gave out information about what to do following the death and it can be very overwhelming so glad to hear that Adrian is project managing. 
Good to hear you got up to Leeds to see your dad. I had a sneaky trip to Doncaster in Feb when hubby went up for a meeting but not got back there for a proper visit yet. I have managed to persuade my parents to come down here at the end of June as they have been very worried about going out after staying in for so long. 
My niece is doing brilliantly. She is losing weight albeit slowly and has been offered a job as a classroom assistant. She has had some hypnotherapy sessions which have turned her around! So no longer as needy or low mood. 
Im back at the gym twice a week which I don't really love but feel better once I've been! 
Anyway have to shoot off - we are off away in the motorhome for the weekend and hubby is moaning at me to get sorted!

Take care ladies and hope all is good with you Christine

xx

Hi Girls, 

It is always good to hear from you, but sorry for your bad news, Sam.  I understand how you feel, sad but glad that your mum isn't suffering any more. I well remember the huge amount of red tape to go through. It was up to me to handle it all when we lost our parents, a year apart. How many death certificates you have to get!  I was about your age when they died and twenty five years later I still shudder when I think of it but being so busy that week before the funeral does get you through it. I wasn't particularly close to my mother or father but I moved in with them to care for them for two years when they were ill and l learned more about them and had more real conversations with them during that time than ever before.  My dad went first then after my mum went I ran away with my new fella to Central America for six months!  So beware, losing your parents can have weird effects!!! 

 I live in a little village equidistant from Bolton and Blackburn so I'm going nowhere!

I watched "Botched" yesterday, it has become a guilty pleasure seeing people who have been disfigured by bad plastic surgery get fixed and see the idiot plastic surgery addicts being refused their request for bigger boobs and bum than they already have  Anyway, the point of that confession is to tell you there was a lady on who had been butchered by the surgeon who did her DIEP(?) with scars like a road map. Her tummy tuck scar was way too high and her new boobs were like a jigsaw puzzle.  They managed to correct it so all was well in the end but I hope your surgeon does a better job than hers. She had a double mastectomy to start with.  

Caroline, I knew your niece would thrive in your care! I'm so glad for her and you! Have a fabulous weekend, you are going to have good weather, I think.

While it is lovely to have good weather for a change, I have to mow month long grass that has been well watered by all the rain. I was talked into doing the "No Mow May" thing for the sake of our pollenising flying insects. My lawns are not very big but my little battery operated mower will have a huge job to do, not to mention my poor old muscles!  

I hope everything goes well, Sam. At least you will be allowed a funeral.

Lots of love

Christine xxx

Hi Sam, Hi Caroline,

Don't panic, I'm just checking in to say hello.

All is well with us, here, although it's a bit disappointing that we are now back to typical British Summertime with cold, wet and windy weather after that brief period of   hot sunshine and balmy nights.

I hope you and yours are all well and happy,

Christine (and Archie the demon dog!) xxx

Hello there

This is sooo annoying, my iPad, which I usually access this site through (and is from the 1920s) has given up living..and doing this on mobile is pants...why can't I start a new paragraph . Can, maybe, add emojis though??

All fab here, work, although full time for some time, is good and am now soooper healthy (reckon the fittest I've ever been) thanks to gym, cycling and training for the McMillan hike I did early July (we had ALOT of fun). Following Yorkshire dales hike spent some quality time around Yorkshire seeing pals and family..it was LOVELY!!

think the bulk of the mother's stuff is sorted...and it's only resulted in 3 official complaints to banks and credit card company so far...bl99dy ridiculous! Luckily I like a fight with these faceless institutions whose procedures fail spectacularly when you really need help and support.

My current challenge is integrating my mother's cats (Tom and a Molly, like my 2). It's now week 2 and we're all being very patient so all going well so far, I think I've finally become the crazy cat lady that I was destined to be..hurrah!

Sorry Christine but am loving the current weather! And will finish by wishing you both 'happy Yorkshire day'!

Xx

Hi there,

I'm so pleased that things are going so well for you, it's brilliant to hear you are so well.
Crazy cat lady eh? You're a few short yet, you need at least a dozen to deserve the title fully.  I feel I can hardly call myself Sheltie Lady anymore as I rarely have Smudge here since lockdown so I only have Archie now.  My daughter has been joyfully working from home and Smudge will not be a happy boy if she goes back to the office.  She leaves him with me if she has to go somewhere for more than a couple of hours but I swear he would be happier if she left him at home. He loves me to bits when I go to theirs, drives Archie mad with jealousy, but makes it very clear that he would prefer to be elsewhere if he's here without her.  Little so and so! I hate to think about all those lockdown puppies when their owners go back out to work, they will be devastated. Having said that, Charlie, my son's little terrier had to go back to her day care while my son was doing the Land's End to John o' Groats Motorcycle ride on midsummer's day, (which raised over £55k for Cancer Research) as his partner had to go to work for a couple of days. She said Charlie couldn't get in there quickly enough to see all her pals, didn't look back, and she must have played all day because as soon as she got home she had her dinner then fell asleep until morning!

Did you really prefer the cold and wet weather? I know it got a bit too hot the week before but what shocked me was the speed with which it went from very hot to cold, not warm, and the rain was unbelievable!  Today has been nice! Got my washing dried on the line, did some weeding and went for a long walk with Archie. Now it's feet up until bed time :)

Glad you have nearly won the battles with the banks etc, they really are a pain when you are not the person who is named on the account, even though you have supplied the documentary evidence they asked for!

Isn't it nice to know we have come through our cancer battle successfully for now.  I am quite resigned to to the fact that it could come back but so what?  We all have to go from something and I'll be 75 at New Year so I'm having a good run.
I went through a couple of months of the blah's recently, I might have already mentioned it, I phoned the doc and she sent me for a blood test. It turned out I was suffering from a deficiency of Folic Acid. Since taking the supplements I am great. I've had more injections in my knees so I can walk pain free.  I am still getting problems from the Letrozole, I've got carpal tunnel syndrome and a trigger finger and tendon problems but I just keep taking the tablets! My doc has kept me pain free! 
 
I'm out tomorrow to meet the girls at the park, we are going to walk there instead of meeting on FaceTime. It will be my first social outing for weeks! It will only be a sedate walk, there will be other dogs for Archie to ignore but it's a big park so it will do us good.

Keep smiling, stay away from any Covid germs, and have a lovely summer with your cats!

Christine xxx

Good to hear you are doing well.  I too had my second year mammogram just over a week ago and had the result within days - all good.  No abnormalities found.  Also had my bone density test done the same day.  Appointment also received for my mammogram next year!!  Hope your results are clear too.

Hi Pandy,

that's good to hear. It's the waiting that's always the worst! 
caroline x