tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27300366443813493462024-03-12T22:20:57.483-07:00 The Sherbet Patch.The Sherbet Patch.
Designing cancer gifts and cards, alongside quirky home items.
Diary of a cancer survivor.
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheSherbetPatch
TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.comBlogger173125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-86251375227362141222023-03-10T02:30:00.006-08:002023-03-10T02:30:43.455-08:00Talking hair. Slow, slow, S L O W!<p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"> Hair....oh my goodness, my hair!</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Chemo, a chemically induced menopause, and my hair has never recovered.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: medium;">August 2018, and I was finishing my last cycle of chemotherapy.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: medium;">I was wiped out, emotional and my veins had just about given up , after six sessions of toxic intravenous chemicals being pumped in.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: medium;">It took four attempts and three nurses to find a viable vein, and it was pretty traumatic.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: medium;">But the plus side was that my hair had started to grow back , and I had a faint fuzzy white covering under my headscarf.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I couldn't stop touching it!</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: medium;">After the initial shock of the new hair being white, it grew steadily over the next few months, a mix of white and grey fuzz.</span></p><p><span style="color: #741b47; font-size: medium;">Gradually it developed a fuzzy kink to it and the grey became interspersed with brown, a coarse texture, but it was growing!</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">Fast forward a year, and, although quite thick, it was growing upwards and outwards, like Worzel Gummidge, but not doing very much lengthwise.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">I also had a bit of a bald patch and a combover on my crown, which took another year to fill in.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">While on tamoxifen my hair stayed quite thick, albeit coarse.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">However, when I switched to exemestane it began to thin.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">A combination of exemestane and a chemo induced menopause, and I'm mourning my pre cancer hair.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">The texture has finally returned to normal and lost the coarseness and kink, but it's much thinner than it was, and growth is painfully slow.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">At more than four years out of chemo, and exemestane still ongoing, I've given up on ever being able to rock a shiny bob again.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">As a woman, our hair is so important.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">A bad hair day can negatively affect emotions, and I have a lot of bad hair days!</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">When it fell out during chemo, the anxiety that it wouldn't grow back was real.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">But I wasn't prepared for the change in texture, the thinning, the S L O W growth over the next few years.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">Bald was definitely easier to deal with than the hair I have now.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;">Contemplating going uber short.</span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-4271911399056998252023-02-23T04:46:00.000-08:002023-02-23T04:48:02.043-08:00<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>Winter blues and the hope of Spring.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>I have really struggled with winter this year.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>I'm not sure if it gets harder to deal with the older I get, or it's a build up of many things, but January seemed to go on forever!</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>The low light levels, dark at 5pm, grey skies and drizzle, interspersed with hard frost and wind.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>My mental health definitely suffered this winter.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>I've been unmotivated, anxious and distinctly lacking in oomph.</b></span></span></p><p><b style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;">Insomnia is my nemesis.</b></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>Insomnia that seemed to ramp in those dark nights, while nocturnal Lily-the-cat was wandering around outside, oblivious/deliberately ignoring me calling her, whilst I also wandered around outside, dressed in pyjamas and a big hat and setting off various light sensors as I searched for her in the village!</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><b>2022 was a tricky year for selling, and the cost of living was - and still is - spiralling.</b></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>My ongoing battle with exemestane isn't helping either.</b></span></p><p><b style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;">What is it with this single solitary pill that causes such awful side effects?</b></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>Each one on its own is probably not too bad, but all thrown in together is hard to deal with.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>Five years on from my breast cancer diagnosis and I'm probably skipping more than I'm taking now.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b> I've found the lack of support from the oncologist post treatment quite shocking really.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>Impossible to get an appointment with and my lovely but unhelpful breast care nurse on the other end of the phone, just reiterating that I need to take it for a decade!</b></span></p><p><b style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;">Sometimes, I wonder if tamoxifen was the lesser of three evils.</b></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>At the crux of it all is being immediately thrown into a chemical menopause with chemo and the exemestane just ramping up the side effects with a vengeance.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>Perhaps male oncologists just don't appreciate the severity of menopause symptoms?</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>BUT, here we are, nearing the end of February.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>The days are longer, the daffodils are nearly out and my windowsills have become plant nurseries.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>The insomnia is still rampant, the low level anxiety ever present, but my mood has lifted.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>Lily the wanderer is staying inside more at night, and the windows are firmly closed.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>Sometimes, it's the small things that can make all the difference.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>I had a long overdue lightbulb moment that maybe I wasn't motivated workwise in winter because my north facing workroom barely caught the sun.</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>Impossible to move my large desktop computer, and there's no way around moving my sewing station, but having a new, shiny, present to me laptop in the sunny, south facing front room has made a huge difference this month!</b></span></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b>I had originally replaced my old laptop with a desktop to do precisely what I'm not doing now - keeping work behind one door - but, for now, this is working for me.</b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrrB7JlWpSJjkcM4y0qatkqspNSUa0h41WhfJQGDxy3PbV8WZrluQqJBH1lkKzDzBprIR56O3jRWB-5Yw_2ZYHBlN8a8kL_2CjknZjCrQqwkWKHFsHlNj9P9UFCRIGWrCJ0b6-mvdzBg9TcjHevbkbKnv274HlzwA2qurPRtGrURPR7RrUiWxcww3AA/s2048/lilylou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="384" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZrrB7JlWpSJjkcM4y0qatkqspNSUa0h41WhfJQGDxy3PbV8WZrluQqJBH1lkKzDzBprIR56O3jRWB-5Yw_2ZYHBlN8a8kL_2CjknZjCrQqwkWKHFsHlNj9P9UFCRIGWrCJ0b6-mvdzBg9TcjHevbkbKnv274HlzwA2qurPRtGrURPR7RrUiWxcww3AA/w413-h384/lilylou.jpg" width="413" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></p>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-74516369185227162882022-07-20T07:42:00.001-07:002022-07-20T07:45:22.570-07:00<h2 style="height: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;">Musing on hormone therapy, nearly four years in.</span></h2><div><br /></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>October 2018.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>I remember the apprehension I felt, after meeting with my oncologist and picking up my first packet of Tamoxifen, from the hospital pharmacy.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Just one little pill a day, it should have been the easy part of treatment, after two surgeries, chemo, radiotherapy and booster rads.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Fast forward nearly three years and nine months - yes, I'm definitely counting - into a ten month plan - and discarding Tamoxifen and Letrozole in favour of Exemestane, it's not been easy.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Everyone reacts differently to these drugs, but for me, I've been plagued with hot flushes with all of them.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Some days my whole body aches, and the weight gain associated with these drugs has all accumulated around my middle.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>I feel like Humpty Dumpty.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>As a positive, the initial hair thinning I had has finally slowed down during the last year, and it no longer looks as if I have a combover on my crown.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Many times over the past three years I have contemplated quitting, and self prescribed myself week long breaks at various times, when the side effects get too much.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Definitely not something I'd recommend, but for me, it was the difference between quitting completely or carrying on.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Fatigue has been cumulative with the exemestane.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>I've learned that if I have a relatively busy day I'll be wiped out the next. </b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>I used to beat myself up about being lazy, but now I just accept that I need to take things at a slower pace.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>Being thrown into a chemical menopause with chemotherapy, aromatose inhibitors seem to exaggerate the menopause symptoms that may have appeared naturally.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>There was no gradual buildup of side effects, no option available of using HRT to control the symptoms, just wham, bam - hello menopause.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>I do feel that oncologists are quick to gloss over the side effects of aromatose inhibitors.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>And while I can't fault the care I was given during active treatment, there is a definite lack of aftercare - and understanding - of the impact of aromatose inhibitors on everyday life.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>In February of this year I took part in a podcast with the wonderful Victoria Derbyshire and three lovely ladies, discussing the side effects of hormone therapy.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>I will admit, I recorded the podcast with my feet in a bucket of cold water and a fan on standby for an impending hot flush!</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><a href="https://futuredreams.org.uk/get-support/breast-cancer-and-hormone-therapy-episode-14" target="_blank">And Then Came Breast Cancer.</a><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>And Then Came Breast Cancer is a series of podcasts by Victoria Derbyshire, each focusing on a particular angle of breast cancer and its aftermath.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>I love the format of these podcasts.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b>They're great to have on in the background, and so relatable.</b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="color: #800180; font-family: Comfortaa;"><b><br /></b></span></div>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-82496886138722934352020-07-04T02:32:00.004-07:002020-07-04T02:35:23.914-07:00A pill a day helps keep CANCER at bay...<div><span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: verdana;">It's been a while since I've updated this blog, and it's changed a lot since it got hijacked by a cancer diagnosis, two and a half years ago.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Cancer changed me.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">A year down the line, I didn't think it had, but fast forward another eighteen months and it did.</font></div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">It made me stronger.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">It made me appreciate the things that really matter, </font><span style="color: #7b1fa2; font-family: verdana;">but it also toughened me up.</span></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">I'm mentally tougher, emotionally tougher, but physically...physically, I'm struggling.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana" size="5">Whoever would have thought just one little pill would be such a tough treatment to swallow?</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">I've been through Tamoxifen - the hot flushes and weight gain were horrendous - Letrozole - well, I lasted just eight weeks on that one, due to the bone pain and insomnia - and now Exemestane.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">For the first month I thought Exemestane was the wonder pill; side effects decreased considerably, and I felt like me again.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">But the honeymoon period was short lived.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Gradually the stiffness, the joint pain, the insomnia crept up, along with the hot flushes, just for good measure.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Exemestane is steroid based, and considering I was bouncing off the walls with the chemo steroids I should probabbly have expected the insomnia and bursts of random energy, followed by a crash of fatigue.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Not sleeping has become the new normal.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">An industrial sized, menopausal fan has become my favourite room accessory.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">But the joint stiffness...ooffttt!!!</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">There have been times when I've been kneeling in the garden, and am suddenly unable to get up.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">This usually happens when the garden is overlooked, I'm wearing a dress and the only way to stand is to huff and puff and swear a lot and gradually hoist myself onto all fours to lever myself up!</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">If I'm moving around, everything is fine, it's stopping moving that's the problem.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">I've always been able to contort my limbs all over the place, and that hasn't changed, which makes it all the more frustrating when I suddenly seize up.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana" size="5"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana" size="5">Sometimes, I feel twenty years older than I am.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Being flung into an overnight menopause after my second chemo didn't help.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">I've toyed with skipping tablets, taking a week off, restarting daily with good intentions, only to skip one again.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">It's tough.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">My cancer scored 8/8 for oestrogen and was grade 3, lymph node positive.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Just two positive nodes, with one being a single solitary cell, but enough to make the risk of recurrence high enough to make stopping the sodding pills risky.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Going through chemo I was part of The May Ladies, a forum group set up in May 2018, of ladies going through chemo for breast cancer at the same time.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">We kept in touch.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Last month one of these wonderful ladies died of secondary breast cancer.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">It came back in her brain. </font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">Less than two years after completing chemo.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">It shocked me to the core.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">And that night I restarted the Exemestane tablets.</font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana">But I'm struggling.</font></div><div><br /></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div><div><font color="#7b1fa2" face="verdana"><br /></font></div>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-76017886065764520572019-11-22T09:49:00.002-08:002019-11-22T09:49:49.722-08:00Like a homing pigeon on a mission...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyJuRfwo3BIy2gvOZceJwTIcw1KdFsF6LcVQiezBF1_EN23_bpMykhmqWfcL8GVvDb1GFbErmTMYILkoZKXDzJFk5At63TahEKDAN3jzRpYnBbyic4LQV_NTdsM9m0KqWydPBS7Ttxppc/s1600/73324622_10156574251098053_4977772881661394944_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1073" data-original-width="1073" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyJuRfwo3BIy2gvOZceJwTIcw1KdFsF6LcVQiezBF1_EN23_bpMykhmqWfcL8GVvDb1GFbErmTMYILkoZKXDzJFk5At63TahEKDAN3jzRpYnBbyic4LQV_NTdsM9m0KqWydPBS7Ttxppc/s400/73324622_10156574251098053_4977772881661394944_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Two weeks ago I rediscovered London.<br />
It was the first time I've been back since that fateful first mammogram, in January 2018.<br />
<br />
Amazing weekend with my son...tennis, dumplings, Puma and Liberty!<br />
As he's currently living in Germany I don't get to see him very often, so these times are special.<br />
<br />
Ahhh, Liberty...<br />
When it comes to Liberty, I'm like a homing pigeon on a mission!<br />
An obsession that started in the 1980s, as a sixteen year old at Art School, and continued throughout the decades.<br />
<br />
I love Liberty, and my bank card took a hammering in the fabric department.<br />
So now my shelves are groaning under the weight of all the fabric, my head is full of ideas, but my body is distinctly lacking in oomph.<br />
<br />
I blame winter.<br />
Love winter layers, the feel of tactile wool, the glow of fairy lights, but I have a definite aversion to the cold, the Welsh drizzle and five o'clock darkness.<br />
<br />
Completely unmotivated this week.<br />
It's a combination of the bitter cold outside, the excitement of rediscovering London and starting letrozole.<br />
<br />
London marked another cancer milestone for me.<br />
(There have been many!)<br />
This was the first time since chemo<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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therapy that I felt my hair was proper hair again.<br />
That no one looking at me would think of it as chemo curls, just hair in need of a good cut!<br />
Looking at my unruly curls growing out in all directions and my too long and wispy fringe, I started to remember chemo baldness fondly.<br />
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I haven't had a short hairstyle since I was five years old, but the positive thing that came out of losing my hair last year was that it opened up hair options that I'd never considered before.<br />
So...short as short can be! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkHQ7C_x2ukSJFMksVQTTD7Snpg0tJ0t0oCSveSR65uFAANay5vzQPA7E7aqHEEw8WB8c3Z-QatHKCeuP7hv9HqzufACEsXoymcAFtAb9pBwzoLaHkSltKaYobrV2ZrDPgK3RSaNnz8Ij/s1600/76650771_10156599709313053_8662532574528143360_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1125" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfkHQ7C_x2ukSJFMksVQTTD7Snpg0tJ0t0oCSveSR65uFAANay5vzQPA7E7aqHEEw8WB8c3Z-QatHKCeuP7hv9HqzufACEsXoymcAFtAb9pBwzoLaHkSltKaYobrV2ZrDPgK3RSaNnz8Ij/s320/76650771_10156599709313053_8662532574528143360_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIKgM-J2enfJlzhePJtghBpvbbwaXq0FYQn4-cX7ISaD5JLd2GJBHCpPgRcoVrGbFzkyuHgumFDmXZPM7BBm5ReTFaZyjhG5IKw0PNbeED2lqJHzzih9dapSEzx1_hQyR6vjaOI4pO4VQ/s1600/75635859_10156597180878053_4939302236820865024_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYIKgM-J2enfJlzhePJtghBpvbbwaXq0FYQn4-cX7ISaD5JLd2GJBHCpPgRcoVrGbFzkyuHgumFDmXZPM7BBm5ReTFaZyjhG5IKw0PNbeED2lqJHzzih9dapSEzx1_hQyR6vjaOI4pO4VQ/s400/75635859_10156597180878053_4939302236820865024_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liberty sunflowers, Liberty camera strap.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kHh5RPCHQ1mUmiNlxpubW5Z5pX65yxwWgCiWS2L6HAj_eoM00OFgex8ELyObmTdT3FhWoe3fWUvFehRDqshqrd9ci1aE4XoqLDiXS9irNRQUZygiTn6A-bQHdKXYZosXFDcX6G2QHaot/s1600/76650771_10156599709313053_8662532574528143360_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5kHh5RPCHQ1mUmiNlxpubW5Z5pX65yxwWgCiWS2L6HAj_eoM00OFgex8ELyObmTdT3FhWoe3fWUvFehRDqshqrd9ci1aE4XoqLDiXS9irNRQUZygiTn6A-bQHdKXYZosXFDcX6G2QHaot/s1600/76650771_10156599709313053_8662532574528143360_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<br />TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-46689390591287631742019-09-26T05:24:00.000-07:002019-09-26T05:24:04.266-07:00Marking cancer milestones.<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-large;">Cancer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-large;">I have to admit, nineteen months post diagnosis and eleven months post active treatment, it is still something I think about every day.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Not in a constant, brooding sort of way, but it is always there, at the back of my mind.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">A nagging doubt.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">And I'm not sure if it will ever go away.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">There will always be that fear of recurrence; </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Every time I pop one of the dreaded tamoxifen pills, when I'm wide awake in the middle of the night and find myself tip tapping on Google...when I'm fighting lower back pain.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Always there.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">But one of the positive things to come out of the past year and a half - and there were a few - was that it's helped me to focus my business more on something I am passionate about.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Cancer.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">We may be in 2019, but cancer still seems to be something that is whispered about, not discussed openly and referred to in vague tones.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">Yet nearly half of us will be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><span style="color: #351c75;"></span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">There appears to be a distinct lack of cancer cards and gifts available on the high street.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">A get well soon card just doesn't seem appropriate, so this year I've started designing my own, marking cancer milestones.</span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">These are two from a range available at my Etsy Shop, </span><br />
<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;">https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheSherbetPatch</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzTeLOIJmhYY7oH_XyY6Cw4zTrXWM1CRSpOqSzRaBSG_AcS5dBEl-yZNblxCLtF6w5L4ZGo3E12fHUhYXGQu9R_OOK_OZ2GV0Obc3mJf8QVMwU2AH_HEghRz7r5-JzeqYfmHg3yZepUXC/s1600/chemotough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="794" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzTeLOIJmhYY7oH_XyY6Cw4zTrXWM1CRSpOqSzRaBSG_AcS5dBEl-yZNblxCLtF6w5L4ZGo3E12fHUhYXGQu9R_OOK_OZ2GV0Obc3mJf8QVMwU2AH_HEghRz7r5-JzeqYfmHg3yZepUXC/s320/chemotough.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/552318150/chemo-card-cancer-card-chemo-is-tough?ref=shop_home_active_19</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1bjwUyiQjw3Z0X2VX82y61I8wxHU4yS8fPcrpJORtC8hE-XzCVf65LR4ZI5U-RSh-P9LfR760HskD6gbk8a29gorpgpElb2lpEu0i_Ix34sKEkUALsYqTy6L9wPY7jYLbmJhoZJ2Dr5o/s1600/losinghair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="794" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1bjwUyiQjw3Z0X2VX82y61I8wxHU4yS8fPcrpJORtC8hE-XzCVf65LR4ZI5U-RSh-P9LfR760HskD6gbk8a29gorpgpElb2lpEu0i_Ix34sKEkUALsYqTy6L9wPY7jYLbmJhoZJ2Dr5o/s320/losinghair.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div>
https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/290553063/cancer-card-chemo-card-bald-brave-and?ref=shop_home_active_18</div>
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-75365522140772838022019-08-04T10:53:00.001-07:002019-08-04T10:53:08.886-07:00Hot, hot, hotter. Flushing my way through the menopause.<span style="font-size: large;">Menopause.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Growing up I had no real concept of menopause.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">If it was talked about at all it was in hushed tones and never in public.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And definitely not discussed with men.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">By early adulthood, my view of menopause was that it was something all women went through; an end to periods and a few hot flushes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No big deal.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">How wrong I was!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">A year ago I was flung in to an immediate menopause after my second chemo. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Boom!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No more periods, immediate hot flushes.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And fatigue...oh my goodness, the fatigue!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Two months later I started on Tamoxifen, which just cemented this sudden menopause.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">No gradual decline of oestrogen over time, this was instant!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Now, the hot flushes and fatigue were joined by intermittent back pain, weight gain, disturbed sleep, and aching joints.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">There is a definite roundness around my middle.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It has expanded alarmingly.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I find myself oohing and aahing as I unfold myself in bed in the morning.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Or getting up from a chair.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And brain fog. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Finding myself mid sentence, only to get distracted and forget what I was saying.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Concentration is not one of my strengths.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Menopause is not for the faint hearted.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Whatever I had expected, it isn't this.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">My new must have/can't leave the house without item is a folding fan.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I go through one a month before it starts to fall apart from overuse.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Duvets....oooft!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's a 4.5 tog duvet or nothing these days.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And an open window.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My whole wardrobe has had to have an overhaul.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">As a former freezer I have a cupboard full of sweaters.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">However, within minutes of wearing one I'm having to wrestle it over my head as the hot flush hits.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I now live in summer dresses all year round.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And the icing on the cake?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">These symptoms could last a decade or more!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-9188702943891580202019-05-16T06:38:00.000-07:002019-05-16T06:41:52.856-07:00Survivor. Reflection and Moving on.<span style="font-size: x-large;">A year ago today I was nine days past my first chemo.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I was anxiously clinging onto my hair and the unrealistic hope that I may defy the odds and not lose it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I lost it, and had it shaved off on 4th June.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Today, I am reflecting on a year that tested me both physically and mentally.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Eight and a half months of gruelling treatment; baldness, nausea, mouth ulcers, joint pain, bone ache and crashing fatigue.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The fatigue and back pain continue today, joined by random hot flashes and a definite roundness around my middle that wasn't there before...thank you, Tamoxifen!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">The fear of it returning is ever present, at the back of my mind.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">BUT...I survived!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So often I read that a cancer diagnosis changes your life.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">I wouldn't say it's radically changed mine, but what it has done is change my outlook on life and appreciate the important things.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Family, nature, the changing seasons...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Last year I wondered if I'd see the daffodils bloom again.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">This year, I have immersed myself into the garden, my happy place, with my mini allotment, visiting hedgehogs and special cats.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It grounds me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Emotionally, I'm back on an even keel, but no one emerges from chemo unscathed.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Both physically and mentally, you take a battering.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And it's the mental battering that takes longer to recover from.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Every niggle or pain becomes a ''what if''</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Anxiety rears its head at unexpected moments, and a complete nights sleep is now just a distant memory.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">But on the plus side, having my head shaved was liberating.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Despite it being one of my biggest fears I quite liked bald.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It grew on me, and I never wore a wig.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">And you know what? I may just keep it short!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">G<span style="font-size: medium;">oing through chemo and coming out the other side...it makes you stronger.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Tougher.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">A survivor.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw8FFdJzcEJhdWGaSaw7i9zHXXQBApvLcPu152fCaHHP-DsMmrc97sh0BkI5U82DqUgnCSnK8onfXa-8ggJLlTB6hca9U4iOAe9u6yh7XTMDLaHWT8FCaQA2ZJZq4vLpzxRLGmf4QiTql/s1600/bald1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; clear: left; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 16px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1142" data-original-width="1142" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw8FFdJzcEJhdWGaSaw7i9zHXXQBApvLcPu152fCaHHP-DsMmrc97sh0BkI5U82DqUgnCSnK8onfXa-8ggJLlTB6hca9U4iOAe9u6yh7XTMDLaHWT8FCaQA2ZJZq4vLpzxRLGmf4QiTql/s320/bald1.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_cf5Rs8pTqjnx8lHVs767drnNy0dOkkV81Klfp_sW5CP1UippvWgkeFs1uHZiia-mAOPDDeTesXRkDKk_-i4aqIREgsI26HYOw6sLF27VTZ7qlE2C_HgYjzc5hkHSmlYhDnMCwOhbqyM/s1600/45614093_10155763384533053_8688996152961400832_o+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1444" data-original-width="1440" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_cf5Rs8pTqjnx8lHVs767drnNy0dOkkV81Klfp_sW5CP1UippvWgkeFs1uHZiia-mAOPDDeTesXRkDKk_-i4aqIREgsI26HYOw6sLF27VTZ7qlE2C_HgYjzc5hkHSmlYhDnMCwOhbqyM/s200/45614093_10155763384533053_8688996152961400832_o+%25281%2529.jpg" width="199" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">June 2018 September 2018</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf_cf5Rs8pTqjnx8lHVs767drnNy0dOkkV81Klfp_sW5CP1UippvWgkeFs1uHZiia-mAOPDDeTesXRkDKk_-i4aqIREgsI26HYOw6sLF27VTZ7qlE2C_HgYjzc5hkHSmlYhDnMCwOhbqyM/s1600/45614093_10155763384533053_8688996152961400832_o+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: #0066cc; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-left: 16px; margin-right: 16px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">February 2019 April 2019</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-52772057022144176222018-05-26T07:20:00.000-07:002018-05-27T05:23:21.006-07:00FEC T. One down, five to go. <span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">''What did you do on the bank holiday?''</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">''Oh, I spent it on the chemo ward.''</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">And this bank holiday?</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">Same again!</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Chemo.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I had so many preconceptions, yet little idea of what it would actually entail.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">My first reaction to the initial cancer diagnosis was sheer terror.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Am I going to die?</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">People die of cancer!</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Followed swiftly by </span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">''If I don't have to have chemo I'll be okay, it can't be that bad if I don't have chemo.''</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">''I can't go bald, I can't cope with bald, everyone'll know I've got cancer, I'll look ill!''</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">I'm having chemo.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">And my hair is starting to shed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Strangely enough, I feel quite calm about the whole thing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Having a plan in place, a timetable of treatment, is a huge help.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">It's the not knowing, the endless waiting for results, that causes the most stress.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">As soon as I learned that my sentinel lymph node had tested positive for cancer I knew that chemo was going to be offered.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">And that was when an inner calmness just seemed to kick in.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Chemo is doable.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">It's not easy, and I'm sure it'll get harder as time goes by, but with two good weeks out of every three, I can cope with that!</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Gentle exercise and fresh air is key.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">And sunny weather.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">My veggie patch has never had so much attention!</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Entering the chemo ward for the first treatment was emotional.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I felt I was signing the death warrant on my hair with the first red syringe.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I cried a few silent tears.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Two hours later I was leaving the ward, no more tears and armed with a bag of medication and the dreaded box of seven syringes, along with a shiny yellow sharps container.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The only instructions I had received for self injecting were </span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">''grab a piece of tummy fat with one hand and inject with the other'' </span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I was apprehensive.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Google brought up some dubious sites, but I figured it out and the thought was worse than the reality.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">And they worked...I had more energy than before chemo!</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The mouth ulcers, now they were painful.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I wasn't expecting the mouth ulcers.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">But Difflam mouthwash eventually worked its magic there.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">And then there's the hugely emotive issue of the hair.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The oncologist had told me I'd be bald by my next session.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Day 11 and it started to shed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Just the odd strand here and there, but a definite loosening.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Every morning I check my pillow, expecting to see large chunks of hair that have migrated from my head.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The hairbrush collects so much I'm surprised to still have a covering.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">It's resiliant, and to the outside world my hair looks no different, but I can feel that it's thinner.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Today is day 19, and the shedding has picked up the pace at an alarming rate.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I'm having to wrap orders wearing a hairnet.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">A headband in the wind.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">And this morning I was picking stray hairs out of a tea cup.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I want to prove the oncologist wrong and still have a covering on Monday.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I'll be happy if my hair is still there on Monday.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">But I think I'll be bald within a week.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">Bald is going to be emotional.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">While I still have hair it's a bit of an abstract concept.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">The wig voucher is still sitting in an envelope, unused.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I'm not sure I want a wig.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I've seen some lovely wigs, but what I want is my own hair, and not an imitation.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I can't get my head around wigs, so will probably stick with an extensive selection of headwear, but never say never!</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;">I'm sure by the end of chemo I'll be sick of scarves and ready to embrace a wig whilst my eagerly anticipated and frustratingly slow growing new hair is bedding in.</span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: x-large;">Two days until chemo number two.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggV1S3EyNOoCg5lnL5kTNyxGJgRu14xt_i2f3OSexYJTbklFpfO_m11RPVdqunCp2ZiBMFs3eQvZuOPn2TwhWNdlvh5LK3qTKREpD81CpAfzX0c5eULPl8hwuuuL87UEMFyh6OJYWUHONe/s1600/chemohair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1298" data-original-width="1298" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggV1S3EyNOoCg5lnL5kTNyxGJgRu14xt_i2f3OSexYJTbklFpfO_m11RPVdqunCp2ZiBMFs3eQvZuOPn2TwhWNdlvh5LK3qTKREpD81CpAfzX0c5eULPl8hwuuuL87UEMFyh6OJYWUHONe/s400/chemohair.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My favourite hat by<br />
<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/homegrownhat" target="_blank">https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/homegrownhat</a></td></tr>
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TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-50475843498619461732018-04-24T13:46:00.001-07:002023-03-13T00:22:25.008-07:00Still Me.<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">18th January 2018.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13;">A date that will be forever etched in my mind.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">The date of my first national screening mammogram.</span><br />
<br />
I remember the morning vividly - crisp, cold and sunny.<div>I was wearing a red and white striped jumper, with my favourite bell bottom jeans.<br />
My only concern?<br />
That I must be officially old to have received that particular invitation through the post!<br />
<br />
Fast forward three and a half months and I am sitting here, two surgeries later and twenty lymph nodes lighter, contemplating the start of chemotherapy in thirteen days time.<br />
It's a scary step into the unknown.<br />
<br />
My world has been spun on its axle and breast cancer has appeared out of nowhere.<br />
Small and early, but grade 3.<br />
<br />
Each set of results was an emotional body blow.<br />
Words like lymph nodes and oestrogen and calcifications acquired a whole new significance.<br />
FEC T has become shorthand for my weapon of choice to obliterate any rogue cells still lurking around.<br />
Cancer has suddenly become very real but I won't let it define me.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Still me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<br /></div>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-75721536139987006082017-12-27T10:48:00.002-08:002017-12-27T10:53:02.763-08:00Clouds of grey.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHz94sKLAekZhU05GtSDtZzIp3pePxxMYqWDnIDKdykrarq2QLczsp4c50kf7yUNlODLjIa-xDdqQHd-pYVeZ7SDDNUlJ8tx_2QdQRc9O8ejPDqRX0ExyMqja0ZWL1vyZ_DAIPOYEBUoC/s1600/PADDINGTONSEW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFHz94sKLAekZhU05GtSDtZzIp3pePxxMYqWDnIDKdykrarq2QLczsp4c50kf7yUNlODLjIa-xDdqQHd-pYVeZ7SDDNUlJ8tx_2QdQRc9O8ejPDqRX0ExyMqja0ZWL1vyZ_DAIPOYEBUoC/s400/PADDINGTONSEW.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sewing by fairylight.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">For the past five days my sewing machine has remained in an unused and hidden state.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Today I reclaimed it for a retro Paddington coffee cosy, but only after I'd braved the grey clouds to mooch in the veggie patch, abandoned for most of December.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I'll use the term veggie patch loosely, as in December it tends to resemble a mud bath.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Although this morning, due to the compost bin upending itself and splaying the contents across the mud it looked practically tropical!</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I love my veggie patch.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The perfect antidote to hours on the sewing machine.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greenfinch</td></tr>
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TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-82511813818170133182017-12-23T10:47:00.001-08:002017-12-23T10:52:06.508-08:00Winding down for Christmas. The twitchiness of adapting to the post orders lull.<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">For the past month or so my life has revolved around the daily post office dash, interspersed with the odd fabric crisis and packaging alarm calls before the sun has risen.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">On the plus side, those early alarm calls meant the daily serenade of bird song.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And for the cats it meant an extra breakfast and extended snoozing, while I wrestled with cellotape, cellophane and the temperamental printer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And then it stopped.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Thursday was my cut off date for sending before Christmas; the orders whirlwind has ground to a much needed halt.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And today I'm twitchy.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The sewing machine is packed away, and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Twitchy.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The garden's soggy, no distraction there.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">By tomorrow evening I'll be fine, but for now...it's taking a lot of willpower to maintain a distance between me and the fabric!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">On the plus side, the machine free table, newly beeswaxed and bedecked with gingham, is looking rather wonderful.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Yesterday it was used for my first ever sit down meal for six.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">A pre Christmas family dinner, and the perfect opportunity to dust off an ever growing vintage glass collection.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Cut glass bonbon dishes, delicate shot glasses for mini desserts, vintage trifle bowls...everything I love.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Christmas is family time, more than ever this year as my son emigrated to Austria a few months ago, so family time is precious.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And I love any excuse to bake, to cook...to rock a new apron!</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">(This one is blue and white whales)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">Merry Christmas!</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Family.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-59400412843670026852017-11-05T09:25:00.000-08:002017-11-05T09:25:21.840-08:00Measure, measure and measure again!<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">This week, at the grand old age of fifty, I made my very first pair of grown up-lined-and-complete-with-header-tape curtains.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Many things surprised me - that I'd never done it before, that header tape is cheaper now than it was 20 years ago - that my slapdash measuring wasn't accurate.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Ah yes - the measuring.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">After a brief and approximate flurry of a tape measure, when it came to seam allowances I decided my eye would be fine.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Ha! </span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Fine meant one curtain hanging a good inch longer than the other.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And a hurried repair job resulting in a double seam on one curtain.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Luckily I love the fabic enough to overlook this minor failing.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Afterall, it's flamingos, backed with pink and white polka dots.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I have my eye on more fabric, this time for the bedroom.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Having recently gone sofa free I now have the space I've craved to spread out with reams of fabric.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I've had a love hate relationship with the sofa.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Sometimes there's nothing better than being sprawled under a blanket on the sofa, chocolate in one hand, remote in the other.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">But it was making me lazy.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And taking up valuable floor space.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Suddenly, I was resenting the sofa.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Glaring at it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">So, last week, as a victim of my recently acquired decluttering frenzy, it was unceremoniously ousted to the pavement, enroute to the local recyling centre.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And I haven't missed it at all.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/03/how-to-sew-lined-curtains/" target="_blank">https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2015/03/how-to-sew-lined-curtains/</a></span><br />
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For anyone interested in making their own curtains, I found the Craftsy blog post above very easy to follow.<br />
And my tip...measure, measure and measure again!<br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-28134320973758890712017-07-29T02:12:00.000-07:002017-07-29T02:12:04.134-07:00F-F-F-fifty. Clearing out and starting afresh.<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">Fifty.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Well, two weeks in and my world didn't spin on its axle.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I didn't suddenly find my inbox innundated with Saga offers and Plan your own Funeral promotions.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I didn't suddenly wake up feeling morose.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">But what it did give me was a sense of restlessness and craving for adventure.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Which is a bit tricky when I struggle to stay awake past 11pm and have a tolerance for alcohol that fails after a two glasses of wine!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">When I think back to the alcohol consumed from communal blue jugs during my backpacking, kibbutz hopping days...</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Or the partying till 3am and still up for work by 6...</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Now, I have an out of date passport, an over stuffed coalshed and get excited by branch loppers!</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">And an urge to streamline my accumulated clutter and chuck out anything that isn't useful or beautiful.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">It's amazing how much clutter we accumulate over the years, all that ''just in case'' stuff we keep for a time when it may be useful.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Layers upon layers of STUFF.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I'm still working my way through to the darkest depths of the coalshed, through the coal blackened cobwebs and dustballs hiding decades of accumulated clutter destined for the skip.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Inside, I've thrown out so much clutter that if I ignore the shop stock it's looking practically minimal :)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Strangely satisfying and definitely a knock on effect from reaching fifty.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-34420097718258281712017-07-03T03:40:00.001-07:002017-07-03T03:40:41.716-07:00Suki. Diary of a cat with hyperthyroidism.<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;">So, a week in from the first diagnosis and I would say my pill giving technique needs some improvement.</span></span><div>
<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: large;">A combination of me still learning and Suki being wise to all the tricks.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: large;">''Just mix it in with her food'' the vet said.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ha!!! Suki just nibbles around it.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">''Coat it with something sticky, like cream cheese, and the cat won't notice it'' said the forum post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Well, notice it she did!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">So for now we're perservering with the pill-down-the-throat technique.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">And eight times out of ten I'm sure it goes down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Although today, after Suki dutifully made all the swallowing actions, I later discovered it on the outside mat.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: large;">We're getting there, but she's upset with me today, and hiding under the raspberry canes.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;"><span style="font-size: large;">And I feel suitably guilty.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">''I'm sure there's a hedgehog here somewhere...''</td></tr>
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TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-26689797872354368592017-06-27T04:02:00.002-07:002017-06-27T04:02:51.637-07:00Suki. Diary of a cat with newly diagnosed hyperthyroidism.<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">Suki.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">Age 14 and two thirds.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Skitty, faithful and a mini diva, yesterday diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">It's a big responsibility, knowing a pet is totally dependent on you for daily medication for life.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Daily administering of a pill, twice daily.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The first went down on attempt number 3.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The second I went for the gentler approach of hiding in food, but cats aren't stupid, and she ate around it!</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I'm going to have to get creative/devious with the tablets.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">This is a fortnight where Suki turned my hair grey with worry and putting off the inevitable visit to the vets.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">There was the audible breathing, hours spent sleeping under the raspberry canes, cystitis, and finally a lump the size of a broadbean on her neck.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The lump worried me.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Terrified me, with thoughts of cancer.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And then the vet heard a swooshing sound whilst listening to her heart.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The words ''heart murmur'' were mentioned, and she was kept in for tests.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And I had to walk through a packed waiting room minus a cat.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The waiting was awful.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Not getting results over the phone sounded ominous.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">But the heart results were clear, kidney disease was clear and hyperthyroidism suddenly didn't seem so bad a diagnosis.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And Suki's home.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-7137023689968720772017-06-23T04:00:00.000-07:002017-06-23T04:00:00.420-07:00Formica. Oozing retro nostagia. <span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: x-large;">The humble formica table.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">As a child of the seventies I grew up with formica.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">It was a staple in cafes, along with sugar lumps in glass bowls and plastic ketchup bottles.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">It had pride of place in my grandparents back room, where I remember it laden with sliced eggs, bread and butter and battenburg every Sunday visit in my teenage.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">I was fascinated by the plastic egg slicer with the lethal metal blades.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">And my dad remembers playing submarines with the accompanying chairs, with their pop up plastic seat pads.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/jan/17/formica-turns-100" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2013/jan/17/formica-turns-100</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">Now I have taken delivery of my own formica table, and it has pride of place in the kitchen.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">It's been a long time since I've seen these tiles, which lurked behind a not-so-lovely coal burner and later a quirky 1940s cabinet.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">And seem to be missing vast chunks of tile under the newly banished cobwebs and dust...another project!</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">Originating from the 1950s, with beech legs and matching chairs, it is wonderfully solid and retro.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">I love the chunky Formica top, with its extendable leaves and powder blue finish.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">I love the puffiness of the plastic seat bases, with their gently curved beech wood frames.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">And it's carried me into a wave of nostalgia.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWejuzkN-ZDkHQgIFUXg3dVIMXUF6vZ-Uvn1DE5kVWyv3xm_852XKAhy3XWcikz28LjNDc9FlkCbsaZQ-mWttKDh65Dzhh9lAGPTkTPhcrLmJakYMlH5Flc98UtCY3PYfkA9N-3hvCefVh/s1600/formicatable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="924" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWejuzkN-ZDkHQgIFUXg3dVIMXUF6vZ-Uvn1DE5kVWyv3xm_852XKAhy3XWcikz28LjNDc9FlkCbsaZQ-mWttKDh65Dzhh9lAGPTkTPhcrLmJakYMlH5Flc98UtCY3PYfkA9N-3hvCefVh/s400/formicatable.jpg" width="385" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">A vintage treasure from my favourite shop in Swansea, </span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;">The British Red Cross, with their ever changing, quirky, eclectic mix of vintage furniture.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-58094706066715848042017-05-27T04:32:00.001-07:002017-05-27T04:43:53.339-07:00Roses are pink, Sugar Skulls red.. <span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Well, as I don't seem to be in imminent danger of distraction by sunshine, Sugar Skulls it is then.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBl0XL0KJMvjDQGMIWH90dESWwY605A5DIRdtLNjNnveNxxlIh3AyJdhdcGXtBTO23NwD5owmuO_P_udr0LuxLPcu0xTFwVhwPPLVMEAnoA4VXTzMNDOxee8gBe8Dz_yN0wT4FfhsMAYoE/s1600/IMG_9951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBl0XL0KJMvjDQGMIWH90dESWwY605A5DIRdtLNjNnveNxxlIh3AyJdhdcGXtBTO23NwD5owmuO_P_udr0LuxLPcu0xTFwVhwPPLVMEAnoA4VXTzMNDOxee8gBe8Dz_yN0wT4FfhsMAYoE/s320/IMG_9951.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/532370145/a-tea-cosy-sugar-skulls-a-medium-sized?ref=shop_home_active_16" target="_blank">https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/532370145/a-tea-cosy-sugar-skulls-a-medium-sized?ref=shop_home_active_16</a></td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTyIp31MqE29BoP4T5hn6Dq5fBhNsyjHZ9Gg6WEjSXg4QESgh7R2Rn3V8u-LxhQWr93xu4YADrIjJ1VzIKRNe6x_iCIrjoy7pjE9TIF4qEbdWzIFcTSmNHnwP8WXeS8UnbxcsQva3lDun/s1600/sugarskulls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJTyIp31MqE29BoP4T5hn6Dq5fBhNsyjHZ9Gg6WEjSXg4QESgh7R2Rn3V8u-LxhQWr93xu4YADrIjJ1VzIKRNe6x_iCIrjoy7pjE9TIF4qEbdWzIFcTSmNHnwP8WXeS8UnbxcsQva3lDun/s320/sugarskulls.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://folksy.com/shops/thesherbetpatch" target="_blank">https://folksy.com/shops/thesherbetpatch</a></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I do have a particular fondness for this fabric.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Both colourways pop, and it's a versatile fabric.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I've surprised myself with this new found penchant for skulls fabric!</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">This one will be a coffee cosy.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Surprising how quickly you get used to wall to wall sunshine.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">In a week which saw temperatures rivalling Southern Europe rather than the usual welsh spring bathed in grey drizzle, this morning came as a bit of a shock.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">And it's cold!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">On the upside...and I'm grasping at straws here...it means less distraction from the lure of the garden, a good book and a recliner, but that's not much of an upside!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">So...bad TV and a solid day of stock building it is then, with the backdrop of my favourite garden rose through the window.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I've never been particularly good with flowers, but this is a fifteen year old rose bush that just seems to look after itself.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">And, unlike me, it thrives in the rain.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRrY3vzwnxkzKK6hbnReMyVaC709iQL1aLNjJwnRvrU3i3Kgu9sXQ1R_fydvSHQkHiSc6acro0nBv82FBoyziGf35l_WPqzNRn5eN9HK3BgtV2c1Z7CEjGUSd0-Y2DIeI0PKCmXA7ANFd/s1600/IMG_0038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1600" height="457" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRrY3vzwnxkzKK6hbnReMyVaC709iQL1aLNjJwnRvrU3i3Kgu9sXQ1R_fydvSHQkHiSc6acro0nBv82FBoyziGf35l_WPqzNRn5eN9HK3BgtV2c1Z7CEjGUSd0-Y2DIeI0PKCmXA7ANFd/s640/IMG_0038.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Unlike the hedgehogs, who certainly don't take kindly to getting drenched of a night time.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQNupHLCjYPGpKb7jVgxYMWkyTxq8OOLMISs7rrYYmndaayC27JbJHkw9Tfs6S7IR9rJEW9tPRmvysJ8qXhCRoOYBNw-ITTfu4vOFGi9rP4Xf1s-Us7Vw0YPg68iXoMYrisSuc6-U66Ya/s1600/IMG_9728.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQNupHLCjYPGpKb7jVgxYMWkyTxq8OOLMISs7rrYYmndaayC27JbJHkw9Tfs6S7IR9rJEW9tPRmvysJ8qXhCRoOYBNw-ITTfu4vOFGi9rP4Xf1s-Us7Vw0YPg68iXoMYrisSuc6-U66Ya/s320/IMG_9728.JPG" width="314" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Boris, making his nightly visit through the garden fence.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CBvCATYVSQNIZG4JS1vVODczOjRSZWR5AfLBDJhGpEwmnb6YyfG7tfh4VGfnsozUVIQ7E2gupnK4lfPY0Zc_aCd0rMGat7tleDszYG-Y8KuqQ3FdgaJgNPf44mIH_D6SH4615fwSh5Pw/s1600/IMG_9920.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CBvCATYVSQNIZG4JS1vVODczOjRSZWR5AfLBDJhGpEwmnb6YyfG7tfh4VGfnsozUVIQ7E2gupnK4lfPY0Zc_aCd0rMGat7tleDszYG-Y8KuqQ3FdgaJgNPf44mIH_D6SH4615fwSh5Pw/s400/IMG_9920.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Tiggy, seemingly pregnant!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1L66DpNEKXN-HuKOZI4SOFZ7mbQXSKqnIJOs2zKhXFkGepdeKt3YJIuSkb8xru3W7SonNukQQtVJLJMnFiDJDxo6bnsKexOv8AnuwLMEdJ0547bBP4hF9mJhfW4mO5K1qbxntyZ7x0PX/s1600/IMG_9960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1158" data-original-width="1600" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx1L66DpNEKXN-HuKOZI4SOFZ7mbQXSKqnIJOs2zKhXFkGepdeKt3YJIuSkb8xru3W7SonNukQQtVJLJMnFiDJDxo6bnsKexOv8AnuwLMEdJ0547bBP4hF9mJhfW4mO5K1qbxntyZ7x0PX/s400/IMG_9960.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Alfred, a juvenile hedgehog who first appeared in the Autumn.</td></tr>
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TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-62672117703597241662017-04-30T05:46:00.001-07:002017-04-30T05:49:24.821-07:00Solace in a tin of wax.<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Well, did I blink and miss summer?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Woken today to pots blown about the garden, courgettes wilted in the cold and bedraggled potato leaves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">And reflecting on a week which stirred up so many long forgotten memories and what ifs.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">So, in an attempt (largely unsuccessful) to banish these thoughts I have thrown myself into painting.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">There is something very therapeutic about waxing furniture.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: large;">Which is probably just as well, as I have six unloved little side tables arriving on Thursday, along with numerous pastel hues of paint.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5Q9KCZYRsz2iSMhg4kpb4q5m0_rrqQPoFp3ixFhcGbIb2fygORyMQzFxuoBSgFCVh_uVDFLQmFzhJNOyqAVIpf5AddHlZEKqhw2hH2a7nDYyc1ej7tnf07_KyJT-YqD_U0qqkrAx5UcE/s1600/table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji5Q9KCZYRsz2iSMhg4kpb4q5m0_rrqQPoFp3ixFhcGbIb2fygORyMQzFxuoBSgFCVh_uVDFLQmFzhJNOyqAVIpf5AddHlZEKqhw2hH2a7nDYyc1ej7tnf07_KyJT-YqD_U0qqkrAx5UcE/s400/table.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-35071217475903867922017-04-27T04:40:00.000-07:002017-04-27T04:58:40.369-07:00A new perspective. Making peace with my past, 6 years on.<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">2011.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">A year of change, a year that spun out of control emotionally, financially and every which way.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM4eDjsNvB2Q8x4p7hu1d5-Q0VRvKnc0ctEgNix2mdNhePkbkRmAwLGdlYdwhFwEaMsU_C3QP9ZztesltcbUK3FKYah5aAz53UZRjqG1Vdc_wXbfuI4E6FBBZHVRLP7GsZ3WRZFH71YhH/s1600/boat-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxM4eDjsNvB2Q8x4p7hu1d5-Q0VRvKnc0ctEgNix2mdNhePkbkRmAwLGdlYdwhFwEaMsU_C3QP9ZztesltcbUK3FKYah5aAz53UZRjqG1Vdc_wXbfuI4E6FBBZHVRLP7GsZ3WRZFH71YhH/s400/boat-001.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">2011.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The year my son left home for uni.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The year the rug was well and truly pulled from under my feet at work.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The year that Gibraltar got caught in the crossfire, when I pushed away someone who was getting too close.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Everyone has a defining year, for good or bad, and this was mine.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">It had a snowball effect on every aspect of my life, and only now, with the benefit of hindsight, can I look back objectively.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And make peace.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And to Jan and to Josh, I could have handled things differently.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gf8NJG4QdjEwIfYQ09nZi9xBzTk2Y9liU6GlCZA3HygPxN_6YIj8ck3UEwb03JTYXYnBVwWKGXGv5h0N8l5hTGNyBfJoriUF701z8RFA264HVRQwMxgh7MtrNOYpnQ5fAmE1OoqsGGeW/s1600/janborlace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4gf8NJG4QdjEwIfYQ09nZi9xBzTk2Y9liU6GlCZA3HygPxN_6YIj8ck3UEwb03JTYXYnBVwWKGXGv5h0N8l5hTGNyBfJoriUF701z8RFA264HVRQwMxgh7MtrNOYpnQ5fAmE1OoqsGGeW/s400/janborlace.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-57333746753422486442017-02-11T11:57:00.000-08:002017-02-11T12:11:35.729-08:00Like a homing pigeon on a mission. Hello, Dulux mixing machine, it's been a while!<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">The wonderful thing about Facebook is the memories it holds.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">And this was the month it threw up a blast from my past in the form of a toiletseat painted in the 1990s.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">A toiletseat that reignited a love of paint that has lain dormant for more than 15 years.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">In 1998 those toiletseats funded my first trip back to Israel since leaving seven years previously.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">They enabled me to share with my seven year old son my past, his dad's past and the places, people and kibbutz that were so important to me.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">These were very special toiletseats!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-Gn2VGJOFke1MKFp1bphTiAMW3PS6icBDnGnWeN3iJXQBD-XmSvoQQSlo3vZtw6nR92fAQEQd2iJuOw4_6bRgz4LtGjV_YxIdqnsraSc7rYvQx3GBAFtAWEN4ymcqrAgzuPJkXtq8t06/s1600/frog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-Gn2VGJOFke1MKFp1bphTiAMW3PS6icBDnGnWeN3iJXQBD-XmSvoQQSlo3vZtw6nR92fAQEQd2iJuOw4_6bRgz4LtGjV_YxIdqnsraSc7rYvQx3GBAFtAWEN4ymcqrAgzuPJkXtq8t06/s400/frog.jpg" width="316" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Seeing this toiletseat on the screen sent me scurrying to unearth long forgotten and dusty albums.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And made me yearn for paint beneath my fingernails and the smell of fresh paint once again.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">So, like a delayed homing pigeon, I once again found myself eyeing up paint charts and lurking by the Dulux paint machine.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Three times I've found myself at that mixing machine this week.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Three times I've impulse bought those sweet little tins of Carribbean colour.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And once again I have paint under my fingernails.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">But this time it's furniture.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IZo6Hlp9N5hV0-945EF6N1OvuNrYiEc9rfSxOH4ATDQHgqARY846AqOULne9ynvZaJccClBTy3cOpFHxXOdS0kBPXg01uG89KsaYDcHB4fFCvPppU9BS13tTY2N2jsuqHaZjrXEBvfub/s1600/bananayellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6IZo6Hlp9N5hV0-945EF6N1OvuNrYiEc9rfSxOH4ATDQHgqARY846AqOULne9ynvZaJccClBTy3cOpFHxXOdS0kBPXg01uG89KsaYDcHB4fFCvPppU9BS13tTY2N2jsuqHaZjrXEBvfub/s400/bananayellow.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">A banana yellow writing desk, and a £2.50 bargain table...I'm thinking Carribbean pink with a daisy border and apple green legs!</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Maybe...</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEoOBoQp0hBIGp90hm1jY2j1CMnN5-9jv-4LyQPbxFMq0pjD8bnFkWi0H7eY-heUI172ODYOvlax93srJ8HG2vQb3vKnXH7_fGJs9ejNk_hZoU-jVYGP3tCM0_snSCMkakJDHj3iC0qFr/s1600/tablewood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAEoOBoQp0hBIGp90hm1jY2j1CMnN5-9jv-4LyQPbxFMq0pjD8bnFkWi0H7eY-heUI172ODYOvlax93srJ8HG2vQb3vKnXH7_fGJs9ejNk_hZoU-jVYGP3tCM0_snSCMkakJDHj3iC0qFr/s320/tablewood.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-8910698220261537782017-01-24T11:25:00.002-08:002017-01-24T11:29:54.933-08:00Of times gone by to bones of bling. The versatality of the vintage suitcase.<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">The vintage suitcase.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">A reminder of a different age; </span><span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">when travel was special, an event in itself.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">Whether by train, plane or boat everything had its place and appearance mattered.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">Hat box, vanity case...leather bound suitcases of varying sizes.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">Travel was romantic, exciting - suitcases buffed and polished, owners the same.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: x-large;">And a world away from the travel of my youth. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">The travel of my youth involved an overstuffed rucksack, well thumbed travel book and an abundance of lycra and frayed shorts. They were probably a lot shorter than my parents would have liked.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">And not a hat box in sight.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Now, I have rediscovered vintage suitcases to repurpose as pet beds.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Although they all have their individual quirks and appeal, my absolute favourites have got to be the battered and bruised, brown leather bound suitcases of the 1940s.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">So much hidden history!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I have recently upcycled a 1940s suitcase into a dog bed for a family of four dachshunds.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Buffed, polished and coated with dubbing, it was incredibly satisfing to bring a dusty, grimy suitcase back to life again.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">Complete with a golden bone for some added bling!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh113OOlJ2QrCXfzid9Mz0yZ9XJhZZ6zqB2hZcn1IKgtSPnRQ9QFixlSahGtrbUsBao-xMjvkNTXhh_Zg7vBv47dajx8Toi8KxrXJfEV_WVwBUtBttlT1ejH-GIZdDnrdp0ZPr8AHVemuxO/s1600/IMG_8000.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh113OOlJ2QrCXfzid9Mz0yZ9XJhZZ6zqB2hZcn1IKgtSPnRQ9QFixlSahGtrbUsBao-xMjvkNTXhh_Zg7vBv47dajx8Toi8KxrXJfEV_WVwBUtBttlT1ejH-GIZdDnrdp0ZPr8AHVemuxO/s640/IMG_8000.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">I am also working on a handbag dog sized bed, made from a 1960s vanity case.</span><br />
<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">This one is going to be gingham and floral, with a silver bone and tiny pillow.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcR87rDMVBy2UYMTCzifBUubaxeAJTfyNpzXmvtIKKfS8s41d6vefTO7P9V-XXuGoOgKRA5poJy-fFkLOsawy9lfnbNcFQ5Pk32ThisQqe6aHaCtS2CIMzdPVh-WW_dbibZ1xTiINCB3S/s1600/vanity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTcR87rDMVBy2UYMTCzifBUubaxeAJTfyNpzXmvtIKKfS8s41d6vefTO7P9V-XXuGoOgKRA5poJy-fFkLOsawy9lfnbNcFQ5Pk32ThisQqe6aHaCtS2CIMzdPVh-WW_dbibZ1xTiINCB3S/s400/vanity.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;">There is so much satisfaction to be gained from upcycling old items, and this year is going to be the year of the suitcase for me, although storage may be a problem...and with three currently awaiting upcycling and another winging its way via Ebay, how many suitcases is too many???</span><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheSherbetPatch" target="_blank">https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheSherbetPatch</a><br />
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<a href="https://folksy.com/shops/thesherbetpatch" target="_blank">https://folksy.com/shops/thesherbetpatch</a><br />
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<span style="color: #4c1130; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-80847909976668405032016-11-15T06:14:00.000-08:002016-11-15T06:14:33.972-08:00Yes, yes, yes - no - maybe - yes :) Taking the plunge on a long established dream.<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">A month ago I completed a craft fayre at the local Temple.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">I took the grand total of £5 in two days.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">Not entirely unexpected, as it was a craft fayre I did every year out of loyalty, but definitely my last.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Furtively leaving the hall on the second day, I stumbled upon a beautiful gift shop I'd known about but never actually ventured into.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The biggest surprise was that I already knew the lovely owner, but then, this is the backend of Gower, where everyone is connected in some way!</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I left the shop having secured three shelves to rent for stock, which more than compensated for the craft fayre with no footfall.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Two weeks later, I was offered the shop as a buyer!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">For many years I have dreamed of owning my own shop, but dismissed it as a pipedream.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">This had the potential to be reality.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I fell in love with everything about the shop, from the quirky potential to the weedy garden and the Belfast sink serving as a hand basin.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I measured the door and in my head I can see workshops and whicker and signage and a large oval table that may have to be forced through the door frame like an elephant through the eye of a needle.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I've made a cursary search of the mundane things like surveyors and solicitors and insurance, all things I've manage to avoid for a lifetime.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And while my heart screams yes, yes, yes, my head occassionally whispers no - maybe - yes - no - maybe!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Maybe I can really do this.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Maybe.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">It could be a very interesting month.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And maybe, just maybe, dreams can become reality...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><br /></span>TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-4240863681476074302016-10-14T04:56:00.000-07:002016-10-14T13:22:25.008-07:00Sales nil, caffeine high. Pineapple cream and pensions.<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="background-color: white;">When it comes to rash decisions to spend hours upon hours skulking in a draughty temple for a craft fayre that no one attends, I wonder at my judgement.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="background-color: white;">And why I ever expect it to be different.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="background-color: white;">Next year, I get tough.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #20124d;"><span style="background-color: white;">This year, I'm jaded.</span></span></div>
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Day one....sales nil, footfall fickle.</div>
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Footfall aplenty for the free buffet and wine, only to dissipate to nothing after the last mince pie had been consumed.</div>
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Thank goodness for the free wine.</div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Day 2.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Today is the grey brigade of lovely old ladies looking for coffee, company and gossip.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">But not lovely old ladies wishing to spend.</span></div>
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Looking around, I am opposite jewellery for a pound and decoupage cards reminiscent of the 1980s.</div>
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The stall next door is selling hand crafted wooden bowls for £5 and another has cross stitch toilet roll covers.</div>
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I had no idea people still cover toilet rolls.</div>
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More to the point, WHY do people cover toilet rolls?</div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">The 79 year old man on the next stall has spent a full 15 minutes standing in my space peering at me stitching a fox.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Before that he was putting my tea cosies on his head.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">I'm ignoring him.</span></div>
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Thank goodness for coffee on demand.</div>
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Today I will be free wheeling on caffeine.</div>
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And as an added bonus I have discovered that pineapple and cream makes a fabulous cake and will be pilfering the recipe.</div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Will I do it again?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #4c1130;">Absolutely, definitely not!</span></div>
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TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2730036644381349346.post-33268338316206266142016-09-11T01:24:00.003-07:002016-09-11T01:25:05.080-07:00Hedgehogs welcome - the whimsical charm of the hedgehog. <span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">The past two weeks has brought the welcome discovery of new garden residents - hedgehogs!!!</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: x-large;">Having had hedgehog envy for years I now have resident hedgehogs of my own, oozing with prickly charm and completely captivating.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">My nights now include nocturnal wanderings and skulking in the back garden, observing my mealworm munching visitors.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I had no idea hedgehogs were quite so loud!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">The first regular visitor appeared under the bird table one evening.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Small and sweet, she is a regular 8.30pm muncher, and is called Tiggy.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvXPuRvkLCe1lBz8BkSghgnitVwkBXgmDADBK9XzZtOuN4KP_aEN2iiYXe0uGrpqv0he1u3sqRKLwzzm9NU0keHrppsxB_5reaBXmTq1ZKnxn1w_1qLjTXyrBqrvqDEIEB-yMtOCkpUsE/s1600/tiggy1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZvXPuRvkLCe1lBz8BkSghgnitVwkBXgmDADBK9XzZtOuN4KP_aEN2iiYXe0uGrpqv0he1u3sqRKLwzzm9NU0keHrppsxB_5reaBXmTq1ZKnxn1w_1qLjTXyrBqrvqDEIEB-yMtOCkpUsE/s400/tiggy1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Closely followed by tubby Mabel, who makes a beeline for the food station within minutes of it being filled.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And as midnight approaches, Big Boris makes his appearance, snuffling through the undergrowth.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_G8pMf4slLc8EGJ0a5O_OcFf_6xX6pHrXCA_toxe8jymTFU223UMpQI9g4AgA4Fa1n6KWZrXd-eH6vMuleQ5UIwW2Dcp5wJbQjnJg1jByUJj-YNiWg5z4WDTF7WYE0RoT74H2SBBficK/s1600/IMG_5873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP_G8pMf4slLc8EGJ0a5O_OcFf_6xX6pHrXCA_toxe8jymTFU223UMpQI9g4AgA4Fa1n6KWZrXd-eH6vMuleQ5UIwW2Dcp5wJbQjnJg1jByUJj-YNiWg5z4WDTF7WYE0RoT74H2SBBficK/s640/IMG_5873.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">I feel honoured to be sharing a garden with these prickly residents, who are sadly in decline in the UK, partly due to over tidy gardens and fences replacing hedges.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">Iconic and charming, I will happily leave a (large) corner of the garden to go wild and have now added hedgehog food and houses to my Amazon impulse buys...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2013/sep/18/hedgehogs-gardens" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/gardening-blog/2013/sep/18/hedgehogs-gardens</a></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;">And these cute, prickly residents are going to be my inspiration for a new range of hedgehog decor, including Hector below!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/261703247/hector-a-tactile-tweed-hedgehog-cushion?ref=shop_home_active_14" target="_blank">https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/261703247/hector-a-tactile-tweed-hedgehog-cushion?ref=shop_home_active_14</a></span><br />
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<br />TheSherbetPatchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11389632389679741346noreply@blogger.com1