H

Had results today from biopsy on tonsil and now know its cancer, its all been really quick what with scans and hospital visits so not really had time to think about it now it's just starting to sink in but I'm pretty positive, I'm told its spread to a lymph node has anyone else had this 

HiAli

I am sorry to hear your diagnosis, but the first thing I would say is there is always hope. Al my friend here has the same and is currently undergoing all the treatment. He is having a six week course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy over most of the week meaning daily trips. The first thing they have to do is make sure you have no teeth that will get corroded by treatment so need removing first,. They then measure you for the mask this apparently is quite comfortable. They then arrrange the neginnings of the treatment. It will not be easy so you will need a good support system around you - family, macmillans, friends especially when you have down days. Some people loose taste buds during treatment some can find swallowing hard but if you look back on our talks there are mouth exeercises to do. 

Find all the exciting food things you love that are highly flacoured and stock up you will need to keep your weight up and need things that are exciting to make you smile. 

good luck i am here is you want to talk. 

stay strong x

morning 

quite chilly this morning which is surprising. Pedro upset i threw his ball next door my dirrection is not that brilliant!!! will have to wait until later when they are up. i hear you laugh yes i throw and the ball moves with the arm as it comes bak so it goes sidde ways lol. then imagine poor pedros face when he goes to the spot and cannot see the ball looks confused as it has gone over the fence lol. 

hubby not too impressed with the footie last night but then he said he quite expected it. he still thinks we will go through but then there is always blind faith lol. 

having a zoom talk with friends this afternoon - zoom seems to be the way but its not the same as seeing people and sharing a meal with them is it so cant wait for that to happen. At this rate it will be Christmas lol. 

well nothing really happeneing today looking forward to seeeing what flowers are out next. 

hoping everyone is ok 

keep smiling xx 

morning

checking in as usual to try and bring distractions and smiles!

the rain has caused the plants to sprout so high the nettles are now above the road sign across the road you cant read or see it any more! thankfully they re not like that in my garden!! when we bought the house the back garden had been full of the buggers! it took a year to clear completely it was like a secret garden hidden behind a gate and two massive sheds. this area is now the veggie patch. the sweetcorn have grown which is brilliant and the butter nut squash. disappointed though bought some fragrant sweet pea and they were in a bad condition and although i sent a message to the nursery i have not heard back so a little annoyed. i was looking forward to lots of smells. . i wanted them at the bottom of the drive so people could smell them as they walked past and even pick some. 

the mini mafia have got over their summer colds from getting wet the other day. there were a lot of tissues all over the place and vitamin c tablets being spent =the supermarkets ran out at one point. but that has not stopped them and they all seem to be fine now. the next footie match had to be cancelled due to the weather they were slipping and sliding all over the place the wifes were furious with all the washing. the hotel has still not progressed the builders cannot work in the rain either so again they are sitting around with their beer and crosswords. the mini mafia spies have also stopped working - they had chewed two holes in the fence between the two gardens and i had discovered them so they are now blocked up. so far so good, the birds can eat their seed in peace!! the spies are gathering round their war table and plotting over the large map in f ront of them (hoping they change direction!!). 

hope everyone is ok please let me know. 

keep smiling xx

mornng 

hoping everyone is ok. well weather sure has changed bet it is just as wet in Wales! there will be a lot of work to do in garden when the weather warms up again with all the new growth!. am annoyed the sweet peas have not recovered and no reply from nursery and it is one of the largest companies too so not impressed. 

the mini mafia have lso not been able to do much the rain has made the soil muddy and hard to move so the builders are still not working and annoying their missues by being undder their feet all the time sitting by the telveision and hardly doing anything whilst the mums are cleaning under them. the kidds are also not at school now due to the summer so they arre running around the tunnels look lunitics shouting to each other this is echoing down the tunnels that no one knows where it is coming from! in the evening the elder children are hanging around the corners with their friends trying to act cool! with the odd can hidden in a bag and a blade of long grass tht makes them dizzy! (bit like the kaolas on the bamboo) this is dug up from the far edge of the field and sold secretly for a lot so the children like all children like to experiment and got hold of a blade of this grass and shared it between themselves. their voices peeked and squeaked and they laughed and laughed at each other like being on nirtous oxidde!!! one of the mums caught them and oh dear sore heads were going to be felt by all. missie is flattering her eybrows at parkin from the fifth tunnel she is really hoping to get noticed and he ask her out. we will have to wait and see t the moment he is with a bunch of lads from his neck of the woods and not taking much notice - the rejection at the moment is quite upsetting for missie but she perseveres. 

keep safe everyone and keep smiling xx

afternoon

hope everyone is ok??

long time since i heard from peeps so i hope these stories are amusing ish!!! 

despite the loooks of the day it is actually a little warm outside so we sat outside at lunch time and threw the ball for pedro until our arms dropped off!! the flowers are coming out well lovely stocks, little yellow daisies, geraniums, begonias, etc. beginning to feel happy with the display. the jackdaws were coming down to the bird table and a pigeon nearly flew into them also trying at the same time there was nearly an air collison. 

had a hedgehog zoom today - no not with a hedgehog lol although last counts my bigfoot was swimming in  paddling pool enjoying himself. we have developed the concept of a hog nurse at our charity. the hog nurse will start at level 1 and then progress through levels 2,3 and then become a hog nurse who can become a hoglet , juvenile or hog nurse should they wish. so the food chapter has been put to one side until i complete the hog nurse training chapter. we want to be the best so we need to be as close to hospital scenarios as possible and as a trained vet nurse it is done to me lol. the hog nurse is going to have fun as well bathing hedgehogs is fun and they love it under a shower or running tap or even just in abowl of warm water tehy will easily unroll for you and lift their heads up showing their beady little eyes. it can help them feel better. 

thai rice for tea so better have a cheeck on it. 

keep smiling xx

sunny day guys time to enjoy the warm weather again and get some healing rays!!! 

a fledgling flew into the garden this morning and ended up on the ground. Pedro was not amused as he was not allowed out until it had managed to regain its breath and fly away. it was quite sweet watching it - quite chubby little thing too - black bird i think. so good to see. 

we then sat outside for a little while playing with him and his kong jumbler. he is now lying flat out on the floor. 

made some pasta this morning - quite therapuetic needing the dough - takes quite some time too but otherwise is easier than i imagined. made spaghetti the only problem was the pasta stand i had bought collapsed as i was trying to put the strandds on the branches so it got a bit tangled together and not easy to separate!! may have a bit of a spaghetti mess!! but looks good - will see if it tastes alright or if i dont message tomorrow you know why lol. 

making a little progress on hog nurse and found out a bit more for my pain in hogs paper listening to a webinar last night - actually forgot i had signed up for two so i had the lap top with one on and the ipad with the other on at the same time lol - not really listening to one just had signed up to it for cpd points!!! but was quite amusing!! think it was called brain over load. 

have also managed to do five minutes of my diy again so a little painting so things looking a little up we hope but getting a little anxious about next week already. 

keep safe and keep smiling x

morning another beautiful day and best to make the most of it before the rains come again tomorrow. 

mini mafia had a summer festial yesterday, they collected amongst the grain in the field and made a maypole for the girls to dance around - they had been practising for months and were eqgger to show of in front of friends and family. the girls were also eager to put on their new floral dresses with swing style skirts. mums were helping with makeup too and the girls thought they were the bees knees!! a good day to find a boy!! 

in a day a bit like the prom the boys also put on their best - or at least some did, there were some of the "lads" that just came out in T shirts and holey jeans but to be honest this always attract the girls a bit of "rough" goes a long way!! summer festival is also as can be gathered when a lot of couples got together and started dating. howeverf, it was strictly chaperoned and anyone doing anything out of decoram was separated straight away so that meant no sneeking away!! 

the hells angels did a motorcycle display and again there were a lot of oooos from the girls and a 'i want a bike from the lads to look cool. there were quite amazing jumping over each other, then through a ring of flowers - bit poncy but a fire would set alight the grain and the farmer woul not be impressed and they would loose a food supply and field to play in. 

next came the vintage cars whose engines purred as they were slowly driven into the stadium with their drivers wearing sun glasses waved to the audience leaning out the windows on their elbows. quite a few had girl friends in the cars who were also dressed up to the nines after all they were showing off their men as much as their selves. they did a circuit of the field then parked up in one corner letting people have photos with their posh clean cars. 

over the other side of the fiels was the food vans serving ll sorts of delicacies, candy floss, ice cream, corn dogs, sandwiches etc. this area was full with families all over the place stuffing their faces until they could not eat any more, bellies full a lot of them had settled down to watch more of the parade and the girls dancing. 

every now and then a sheepish looking lad would go over to a girl and ask if she would like a dance, talk or something to eat and the tentative beginnings of a friendship began. 

keep smiling x

morning everyone, how are you??

seems such a long time since people have replied feel iam doing this for almost nothing lol. Al hope you are ok, Judith how are things? Alli hope you are feeling bit better now and Sam hope you have almost recoverd. 

well pizza day today !! going to make. dough in my bread maker then a pizza turned out really well last time i did it so we shall see. ast time we put on pepperoni, ham, mince, onions, ssweetocrn and cheese and even put cheese in crust. yummy. dont think i will be up to much though rather tired today. 

how are people eating these days? 

flowers are doing well and the birds are still enjoying the bird table and fat squares - especially jack daws and pigeons lol. 

keep warm today its a bit cooler but keep smiling xx

Hi Elona, I'm still following and enjoying your posts but the days are so full of routine that they fly by without me noticing!  Hubby is now nearly 6 weeks post treatment and things are finally beginning to improve, he was starting to think it would never end! 
the horrible mucus has as good as gone, the tiredness is not quite so overwhelming but is still there.  He's taken our dogs out today for the first time in about 9 weeks.  His throat is still really sore but the oncology consultant is happy with him and has signed him off now to the ENT team.  Just need to get him eating now and I think then he will really bounce back.
 It would be lovely to hear how the others are getting on, I hope they pop back on here at some point but in the meantime keep posting, I love your minimafia updates and all the other animal tales too.

Hope the sun keeps shining, take care. 

Morning 

Judy so glad to hear from you and to hear that your hubby is doing well yay!!! just get that eating back as you said you must be feeling so much more relieved. could not be happier for you. 

the sun is shinning this morning and i am pleased we had the most horrendous down pour last night it was torrential and then some thunder too. lasted about an hour. 

there was a calamity at the mini mafia hotel some of the roof fell in with all the rain. underneath in the occupied rooms where there werre two families sleeping they got woken up with a huge down pour of a mixture of rain and soil on top of their heads - woke them up with a start!! the kids thought it was either funny or cried their heads of the adults had sullen faces on trying to gather together their beloingings so they could be moved into difrerent rooms. the hotel manager was woken up bruptly too and a bit grumpy shouting at people to get things down and the emergency builders shored up the roofs until such a time as the soil dried and could be fixed. (the other extension still has not been completed either so there is now a lot of work to be done). 

Little missie is excited because today she is going out with her new beau Michael. He is taking her for a walk so althouh she wanted to dress up in her nice new floral dress she put on her trousers and walking boots to meet him. she was excited and hoped he would hold her hand as they walk down the road. 

the weeds have come on well in the garden lol. looks like a day weeding is needed !!! with the sudden sprout of the other plants the garden is good - hubby would ssay cluttered as i dont do minimilist! we once had a mediternean garden with little white stones and hubby thought this meant only a couple of plants - boy how wrong he was and then the neighbouring cats thought the little stones were a huge cat litter tray !!!! so that went pretty soon lol. 

had a flare up last night mouth went sooo dry it made swallowing hard really strange but apparently that can be signs of infection. - new one on me so another thing to tell consultant wednesday. 

anyway enjoy the sun because forecast is more rain lol. 

keep smiling xx

morning 

gloomy day today but thankfully not too cold. had to whip to morrisons because am looking after next door cat and they didnt leave enough cat litter. stayed in car and made hubby wheel himself round to get the things - good for his independdence and ability. he was quite disappoionted since they are redoing our local big store they have made a smaller express and it doe not contain much according to him. 

Missies date went really well, they had a good walk and she even got lifted over a huge puddle like a gentleman - shes besotted!! they endeed up talking for ages and they arranged another date for later on this week, she came home on cloud 9. 

trying to keep preoccupied as i tell every one. so five minutes sanding is planned for the porch area. its getting there. 

pedro is learning to play football with his kong boomer ball. initially he just threw himsel on the ball with his front legs to try and move it now, he has learnt he can also move it by kicking (in a fashion) and he even gets a goal past me on more than one occasion. am feeling like a silly woman who should not be playing footie!! he is so quick!!! he absolutely loves it. he would be in a dog team if that waas possible! 

keep smiling folks!! thinking of you all x

morning 

gloomy day today but thankfully not too cold. had to whip to morrisons because am looking after next door cat and they didnt leave enough cat litter. stayed in car and made hubby wheel himself round to get the things - good for his independdence and ability. he was quite disappoionted since they are redoing our local big store they have made a smaller express and it doe not contain much according to him. 

Missies date went really well, they had a good walk and she even got lifted over a huge puddle like a gentleman - shes besotted!! they endeed up talking for ages and they arranged another date for later on this week, she came home on cloud 9. 

trying to keep preoccupied as i tell every one. so five minutes sanding is planned for the porch area. its getting there. 

pedro is learning to play football with his kong boomer ball. initially he just threw himsel on the ball with his front legs to try and move it now, he has learnt he can also move it by kicking (in a fashion) and he even gets a goal past me on more than one occasion. am feeling like a silly woman who should not be playing footie!! he is so quick!!! he absolutely loves it. he would be in a dog team if that waas possible! 

keep smiling folks!! thinking of you all x

Morning 

Hope everyone is ok sorry its been so long but was finding it hard to concentrate on anything apart from easy watching on tv it seems I like farming programs now who new, its 12 days post treatment not that I'm counting lol throat and mouth still sore but managed a little bit of pasta yesterday but next to no taste still but at least its a change from soup and ensures, just hope the weird sticky yellow saliva goes soon on the up side not as tired today, how's things with you Elona how's your treatment and what date do you see consultant, I have missed mini mafia tales nice to read about there antics

Take care

Alli x

Morning 

Yay so good to hear from you Alli - and hear your news. I am glad you are feeling on the up and not so tired. Glad your eating a bit too but hope the saliva sorts itself seems to be a general thread that. Afraid according to Judy that takes time. Keep in touch lovely to hear from you. Keep safe and keep improving the light is shinning at the end of the tunnel! 

gloomy dy here quite a bit of rain last night didnt help with the shoring up of the mini mafia hotel made the foundations hard to sttrengthen so it took the builders quite some tim The builders were huffing and puffing as they worked after all they have been sitting on their butts for the last couple of mon ths so to have to work again was a bit of a struggle - and they could not stop once started since the foundations would fall down if they did!! the manageer was going round very restless his business was in jeapody and he needed the business and the rooms filled. there were a couple of families that desperately wanted to get back too as they did not have anywhere to go and had been sleeping outside under the oak tree. 

There has been a mini mafia restaurant open down the garden in the evenings to help the homeless and also paying customers. it shuts about 3am and unfortunately this was when pedro went out last night. he noticed them cleaning up and barked much to the dismay of the hubby who tried to quiet him to no avail - oops a forgiveness pressie to neighbours maybe needed!!! 

did a little more painitng yesterday well a tiny bit so the porch is getting there may try a bit more again today. 

was talking to my next door neighbour yesterday who had the same tonsil cancer when she was younger. hers had gone into the jaw too and she had had to have some of her bone removed. i mentioned i now get really dry mouths with som difficulty swallowing and she said she does so it is amazing that my disease is similar shows how hard it can be with diagnosis. (alongside the fact they had to send my iopsies for a second opinion). she also still gets a lot of saliva but not the thick sticky stuff just the stuff that makes her dribble! she is quite amazing since hers was about 30 years ago. 

well at least despite the weather it is not cold so the sun may not be out but it could be worsee so keep smiling. xx

morning

another gloomy looking day but actually not cold so we still managed to sit outside this morning with the dogs and the neighbours popped round for a quick natter and Ferdie offered to take me to the hospital tomorrow with hubby to save me driving. 

hubby is getting a little worried about the footie this afternoon lol but i think i may just watch some wimbledon!! i didnt get any painting done yesterday so i should try to do some today but have no energy or insentive, thats the hardest thing sometimes getting motivation. 

work has been great have furloughed me for july so i have a month to get organised as i have to get back to work soon. 

no news on the mini mafia front today think they are all resting after the manic building they had to do to strengthen the foundations of the hotel before they can repair it. 

take care and keep smiling x

evening 

hope eeryone is well and doing ok. Hope to hear from some of you - just hoping you are too busy catching up on lost time thats why you dont reply. Al and Sam? 

well its been one of those days - it was another D day for me this time at the thoracic clinic. Very nice consultant quite young, had already planned before hand what he wanted to do rather than discuss with you but thats ok it was what was needed. He discussed the biopsy results and that when they stained the biopsies they didnt find any infection or bacterium which would indicate TB or other infection so they are a little nun plussed!!! what a surprise. what he said was that the granuloma had the necrotising centre so was not characteristic of sacoilides so as a consultant responsible for the lungs they wanted to make sure it still is not TB. This meant more blood tests done today, will have to go back for another more specific TB one and then i had to have a chest xray this afternoon. I am now going to go for a CT on my neck and chest because the areas are still visible and feelable! then if nothing comes back concrete they will go back to ENT and discuss with them what next. Hes hoping to get this done in the next month. My chest xray i think is ok a few nobbles i noticed but i dont have the capapbility to read these xrays well so not sure probably fine and the radiography took it of screen as soon as she realised i had seen it!!. he said he would let me know and i had a missed call whilst i was on my way home. to be honest i have given up worrying now what will be will be just want an answer if it can be cured or not. 

for now iam watching wimbledon and resting. neighbours offered to take us out but i am exhausted after everything. hahaha put wombledon down lol definately tired!! 

keep smiling xx

morning all

what a glorious day it is the sun is shinning and i am being lazy!! yesterday took it all out of me so tody i plan on nothing !! well we are due to go out with the neighbours tonight so i have to be uo for that. 

hubby is entertainng the dog in the back garden and shugs is chewing his bone. 

the mini mafia has started repairing the damage to the hotel they have no excuse today because it i dry and not to hot!! however, not too sure how much will get done but they can work hard when they want to and the manger is cracking the whip!!

Missie had another date earlier than expected he took her to the rat rock for a boogey and she enjoyed it. (secretley she was unsure because rock was not her usual type of music so she was a little nervous) but they met hhis friends there and they accepted her and made her feel at ease and she began to enjoy (some) of the music. they plan on going back next week. 

thats it for today enjoy the suns healing rays and keep smiling x

morning 

what a lovely day today i have actually got up early - goodness knows why since i am tired but there you are!! have put out some washing and got some more on - wow - energy yay!! 

going to see if i can do some weeding in the garden with the dogs whilst hubbby waits for wheel chair man to come and sort his wheel chair out. some of the sweet peas i had got before the ddead ones have come out in bloom and are lovely the sweetcorn has sprouted and so have the weeds lol. going to concentrate on the path so it looks better. best laid plans and all that we will see ...

mini mafia managed to get quite a bit of building done they oput up the roof and main supports and are now constructing the internal walls. the manageer is pleased and going around with a huge grin on his face as the anxiety eebs awway. the children are getting excited about the possibilities of a new home and running around inbetween the builders who are shouting at them to get out of the way of moving sticks and mud parcels. the children have already decided where they want theior bedrooms! 

outside a summer BBQ is being planned for tomorrow night for the neighbourhood a bit of a summer carnival. its going to have lots of lorries and procession that goes all the way round the field and up the road. There is going to be a couple of corn roasts,m bread dippers and summer cider. its all hush hush at the moment and nothing is being given away until tomorrow. 

enjoy the sun and stay safe. keep smiling xx

Morning

It must be so frustrating not knowing what's causing your illness Elona hopefully they will figure it out soon, are you still on medication, all ok here still have pain in throat and blisters in mouth but I'm feeling a lot better in myself and its only  been just over 2 wks so the radiation has only just finished working so hopefully the healing will start now, glad to hear the mini mafia are back at work and the bbq sounds lovely hope you have a fab day

Allison x

Hi 

hope eveyone is having a good weekend. 

Lovely to hear from you Alli glad you are feeling better , hope the blisters and sore mouth clear up soon. 

consultant mentioned sarcoidosis a rare disease to me there is no cure but it can go dormant and have flare ups, some people can recover and a very small percenage go to stage 4. i looked it up and fit all the symptoms to a T so i joined their face book site and it sounds more and more like me - unfortunately it is not well diagnosed - sign - one of those and is often missed out or ignored. thankfully my consultnt knew about it but seemed to think it was curable so even his knowledge is debaitable. no news fromxray so chest is obviously fine so just waiting on CT now. yes on pain killers and anti inflammatories, hvaing to keeo the dose high so that does not help with the chronic fatigue. 

mini mafia are all getting ready for the BBQ and carnival, the "boats" are looking fanbtastic and very colourful. one floral display has been pinched from the garden and consists of a lot of oxbow daisies surrounding the king and queen seats. some patches of next doors lawn has been dug up for the flooring. (not sure the neighbours are impressed with their lawn at the moment - wll we know why!). there is b oat made out of litter dumped by cars so it consists of macdonald bags blown hoisted up as parasols, tin can tables, sweet wrappers table cloths and bubble wrap chairs that are covered in moss and really comfotable. the rock dudes have of course a cool looking boat with their leather jackets, sun glasses and huge music speakers blaring out already even before theings ahve started. you can smell the start of the BBQ fires now even thought htye too are early - its not kicking of until 6pm tonight. 

we cancelled the neighbours tonight the hubby wants to watch his footie and ia m too tired so it suits us we said they could come round monday or tuesday instead. 

managed to get some gardening done yesterday and that pushed me over the edge lol serves me right!! 

well have good day stay safe and keep sminling xx

morning 

bit more gloomy today and we had a litle rain last night but not really enough to water the garden as required. 

mini mafia had the most amazing summer carnival boy they rocked!! the girls all worm 60 esk dresses with the fullest of skirts and huge waist belts to accenuate their figures!! lots of floral prints and bright colours - you needed sun glasses!!!. there were amazing floats and a surprise one hidden undder wrapps by the Americal crocodiles who made one look like a swamp with ice mist machine and creeping ivy hanging down from the ceiling. it was decreed creepy because every now and then all the rats could see was either a face and beedy eyes, a claw comng through the mist of a tail swipping down. this float was the best design so won a prize of a large barrle beer!! Grandpa was part of the judging and had the final say. there were a lot of aaaahs when the nursery float went past and showed all the families little uns in their cots and play pens laughing and gurgling happily. the fire brigade went past on their lorry and  sprayed water everywhere people screamed with delight. the food went down well the roast corn was yummy and juicy and went in seconds! strawberries were picked from the garden and given to each person with either a cream or chocolate topping. like most mafia events it went on until late - the kids didnt mind missing their bed time lol and they all went home happy to meet again today to begin the clear up.

i on the other hand am  not aiming on doing much today maybe a little painiting - feeling a little more with it today so thats promising. 

habe a good day keep smiling x

morning all

hope everyone is getting there. 

another glorious day contrary to weather forecast! managed to get ten mins gardening done with break so pleased nearly weeded the path amongst the veggie poatch - really pleased. going for rest now then may do a little painting. this porch area is taking fior ever lol. 

the jackdaws were on the birdtable have a right squabble lol they only just fit on there it was quite amusing , - makes you realise all species are really quite similar in their behaviours!!, they all have the family reactions to each other and against each other we call jealousy we think they call resource! its like us putting words into other peoples mouths what we presume sometimes. 

other good news hubby thinks he aw hedgehog poo last night that would be great if the little uns have come back to visit. 

anyway have good day keep smiling xx