urgh!

So, as brief as I can make it I shall try to explain my absence!

Apart from being generally manic...
My beautiful niece is very poorly, she has been transfered to Bristol Children's Hospital (over an hour away from home) and although she is making very good progress we still don't know what it is.
Up until Sunday, she was wheelchair bound...just couldn't walk or put any weight on her legs at all. They were totally 'numb' with no reflexes at all. She can walk a very small amount now, but still needs her chair. She has lots of other weird things going on as well (wont go into all that just now). She has had biopsies, needles galore, mri scans, lumbar puncture, and the list goes on, poor lamb.
She has had one diagnosis so far, vasculitis.
She has had consultants, toxicologists, opthamologists, neurologists, physiotherapists, again the list goes on.
Apart from all the horrid painful things they are doing to her, she is in really good spirits. The biggest request has been for Auntie Rena's homemade meringues in assorted colours!
So travelling back and forth to the hospital has been the main part of my life for the last few weeks. Poor kid had only started secondary school a couple of days before being admitted too (she has been in three hospitals over the last couple of weeks!)

I have seen my consultant, and shall be having surgery within the next six weeks too. Have to go to Cirencester to have it done (not sure how long it will take to get there, about 45 mins I guess- but I have my pre op assessment two weeks before so will time it all then) but there are bonuses to me having surgery there rather than Cheltenham. If I have it booked in for chelt, my bed will get bumped for someone else as they do a lot of surgery on cancer patients, so they will take precidence with my bed (and so it should be)- so going to Ciren will avoid that. I will be in for less time if I go to Ciren too- that was the clincher! Mart has been just gorgeous about it all, so reassuring and loving and wonderful. Love that man x

Managed to drop my mobile in my mug of tea yesterday and it is not happy- so if you try to get hold of me and I ignore you that is why!



Lost the second koi :(
Managed to save the remaining koi- fish are all doing well now after two rounds of treatment, took koi over to see my nice chap for a scrape and scope, and he is doing good :) On the way back some pillock smashed into the back of the car. Thankfully no real damage, but a mammoth headache, neck and back ache for me! Koi was fine though thank God!
Spent ages watching the fish this morning and counted NINE babies! Seriously gonna have to extend the pond if they carry on breeding like that!
Bought lots of new stuff for the fish, a pond vac, new pump, new filter, uv light...skint much?!



So our new mantra- one on my mirror that I look in every morning to brush my hair...






One in a frame on the windowsill,





and Mart has one in his van (where he spends the majority of his time!)



ATF went live last week, I can't be arsed to find mine just now so you can see it there lol!
So other than minor stuff, such is my life just now! *See* you all when I can x

for the 'shabby' girls! Image overload!

****edit**** Not sure why but the left edges have been cut off the pics- I didn't do it, it happened when they uploaded...you get the idea though!

I will do a proper blog post soon...let's just say the last couple of weeks have been not only busy but a bit of a 'mare too!

So for the shabby ones!

Here we go- a bajillion pics for you to look at...if you nod off I don't blame you! They are a bit random- I just wandered round snapping some of my faves! A lot of my trinkety bits come from a garden centre called Blooms (part of the wyevale group of garden centres). I like to get bargains so most stuff will have been fairly cheap! You will probably notice that I have a major obsession with birds, birdcages and birdhouses!
ok- just for Maria- the tardis...aka my bath...I had to stand outside the room/on the toilet to get these pics lol!





This hangs in my studio and was from Maria- I totally love it and it inspires me all the time


Also in my studio- Tallulah, who sits on top of my clock which used to be a boring cheapy black plastic horror of a timepiece!


Collection of trinkety bits (birdhouse prettied up by me- it was plain pine before)








This was a mega bargain- in John Lewis/Waitrose, filled with miniature pink rose plants, I took the pots out and am gonna use the basket for something else- cost me about £3


Sewing for those who asked (fabric from the range store, less than £4 a metre)- my doorstop, which is a funny shape at the mo, until tomorrow when I can get some weighty beans or something to stuff it with properly!



One of the draught excluders I whizzed up last night- the other one is the same but over double the length


I don't know what I love about this dove! I really don't! But love it I do, I bought it at a yard sale when I was in the States some 20 years ago! And it has always been out on show ever since!


Onto my bedroom...
Now, this has been a mammoth project. The bedroom before was a horrid mismatched cluttered tiny mess. I wanted to get rid of all the furniture and start again, with the aim of creating something light, airy and a place to be able to relax. I started by choosing the floor (a gorgeous whitewash effect laminate) then everything else kinda followed. It is mainly black and white with the odd bit of colour dotted about. I LOVE IT!
Some of my fave bits...

This was a seriously cheap jewellery box from ikea in plain wood. A lick of paint and a bit of work on the computer to make a bird decal and voila


The matching jug- this was a quid in asda, originally silver, painted with black hammerite, crackled with white emulsion over the top and another bird decal


A few trinkets on my shelf, some were gifts, some from sales (need to get my pics in the frames!)


This was from a fab shop in Worcester called Rhubarb (the earlier pink birdcage came from here too)


Gorgeous birdcages from Blooms (one was a gift)


Doorhandle from B&Q for a couple of quid- it is meant as a cupboard handle but with much swearing I made it work!


The bird collection from blooms- They were a bit too cream coloured for the room so I slapped some paint on them.


This the is actually a soap dish but I use it for reciepts and stuff!




Also from Blooms and again stippled with white paint


Cake stand from homebase about £6, again too cream so painted with white gloss paint


These units were from lidl (about £25-30 each) and were brown wicker with green paint, I redid them with black hammerite and white emulsion


Matalan £15 (I adore this)


The piece de resistance (if you have made it this far!)- my mural. Now the original plan was to buy the same design, which was very expensive, as a decal...I was fully prepared to pay out for it, but they only did it in pink and it was facing the wrong way. So I adapted it and painted it myself on the chimney breast. This makes me happy :D