Sharing some love xx

Recently a very dear friend of mine told us she had breast cancer. We met on the smo board and she came along to my runboard when i set it up for all of us to have somewhere where we could all go to chat about anything and nothing without being moaned at for being to off topic oe personal. When she told me i was in shock as she is such a loving giving lady who was always joining in exchanges and competitions and always there to chat and i have to say it hit us all very hard there were a lot of tears shed.
Rose and i chated and we decided that it may be a nice idea to make her a quilt so it would feel like when ever she needed us she could just wrap the quilt around her and we would all be there for her keeping her warm and strong through the difficault days. I pmd everyone on my board and Jacky,Louise,Sarah,Sue,Nicky and her daughter Lyn all joined me and Rose in making squares for the quilt. Lyns friend Lorna who has recently also become a member of the board did a fantastic job in making up the quilt and we are all very grateful for the wonderful job she did as you can see.Here is Joan with the quilt and i know she loves it as she left a very heart warming thankyou message for us all. Joan we are all here for you and we hope that stay with us for a very long time to come. I would liuke to thank all the girls involved in making this possible as it was worth every minute to make you smile Joan xxxxx

A busy week and a sick child and hubby

I have been so busy this week its really hard to believe its just wednesday!! I have managed to fir in four days of ecercise since sunday and even though my legs are very sore im really quite enjoying it!! I started on saturday morning and did a kick boxing fitness dvd with Leon we are trying to get us both fitter by the time we go to Ireland for him its to help for me its to get back into some of the jeans i have folded at the bottom of my wardrope lol!!! Jake had his friend Sean stay over again saturday night that was fun there was four of us to have a bash on sing star and the karaoke machine that was better as the teams were more even that usual!! I should of thought then when Donny went upstairs to watch tv that something wasnt right with him then again when he watched the grand prix up there all afternoon on sunday leaving me to stitch and watch the notebook (which i would really recomend if you love to watch a fantasic love story i really enjoyed it). Well he got steadly worse through sunday night he has a really bad chest infection he is coughing really bad and breathing worse and looks awful even walking short distances is wearing him out. I have told him i think he needs to go to the drs but he is insistant he is taking enough medication so i just have to keep a very close eye on him and see how he goes i guess.

Monday i was busy again did another dvd when i got up well some of Davinas new one until i got inturupted i was kinda glad i have to admit as my legs where still aching from the kick boxing one!! I managed to get a whole lot of cleaning done this morning you know sometimes i think i make work from nowhere when it really doesnt need doing!! I also managed to get somemore done on my firy who is starting to take some shape at last. I went to collect the boys from school and then we went up to town to finally go collect my pool cover which at long last had been delivered into wilkinsons it seemed to take for ever. Here is my current photo of my wip..

Yesterday morning i got up and when the boys had gone to school i had a go of yet another fitness dvd i just hope i can keep this up!! I then did all the cleaning, washing and ironing

and then sat and watched a dvd and stitched for a little while. When the boys came home from school Jake helped me cut down the hedge in the front garden and then we went down to the local recycling place with the branches and other stuff we were clearing from the garden. When i got back i was having a cuppa and i looked across at Leon who was sat on the sofa on the laptop chatting on msn to his friends and he really didnt look right i asked him if he was ok and he said no within minutes he has running to the bathroom to be sick. H e then went to bed and slept right through from 5.30pm untill 7.30am this morning needless to say he is home from school for the day today. After food i decided to go out the back and start trying to cut down the trees in the back garden i was out there until 10pm lastnight i have cut down 6 huge black bag fuuls and id say there is at least another 20 if not more to do you can see a slight difference but not very much at all they are now waiting for me to take them to the recycling place too.

Well with Leon home today and Donny still not doing great i think i will have an easy day today i think i may need it lol. I have told Jake i need to go shopping later and he will prob get a text from me to meet me after school.

What a wet day

We have been having such lovely weather the last week it seems starnge and unusal to have it so wet here!!! yes i know im in Wales ut still lmao!! Here is a photo i took of the sky last night before the rain came in isnt it beaautiful it was so pink i had to take this to show the boys as they were at cadets I have been so lucky this week when it comes to stash arriving in the mail fisrt was this amazing package that arrived from Kathy on the smo board i was just trying to help move along her contest whan i was choosen as the winner i was so pleased!!!! i was even more pleased when i opened the package yesterday morning and i seen all the lovely floss inside i feel so spoilt thankyou so much Kathy it was much much more than i ever expected to recieve!!!I also recieved thsi morning my exchange parcel from Sandra for the summer exchange i have been running for Helga on her yahoo group trying to help her out since she made me a moderator. I was amazed to see what Sandra had stitched for me it really is beautiful and i have never ever seen anything llike it before its like a stitched pencil case with a zip its beautiful!!! i love it so much i really do and all the goodies you have sent me i do feel really really spoilt thankyou so so much!! i also love the magazine you sent me too xxx

We have a really wet miserable day as i said its still so warm but yuck. Jakes friend is staying over with us tonight Jake was going to be going there but it was easier for me to have him this time which is fine as he is a lovely child he really is it will be great to have a forth to play sing start with us for a change lol at the moment he is in Seans house with him and they will be returning later this evening. Leon is upstairs playing ufc on the 360 so its nice and peaceful for the time being i am making the most of it listening to my cds!!

Here are a couple of photos i took of the boys in the sun they are just growing far too quickly for my liking so im trying to make the most of them while i still can :-) I hope you all have a lovely weekend!!

At the beach today

The boys were back at school today and so Donny and I decided to go for a walk down to Llanelli beach which is something we havent done for a while it only takes about 10-15 minutes to walk there and it was still so hot and lovely we thought it would be nice even though his poor eyes are paying for it tonight the hospital has said he needs to try go out in the sun and he has very strong sun glasses but its still so painful for him and i bet he will be paying for it worse tomorrow but it was still nice to get out for a little while just the two of us. We have had a lovely weekend in the garden in the sun and enjoying the pool we had a bbq last night first one for this year and it was really lovely although playing truth or dare with a 12 and 13 year old can seriously be scary if not so funny!!!!! it was brill!!!!

I thought it maybe nice to show you how fantastic it is to have a beach at walking distance this is where Leon was all day on saturday with his friends.

Its a shame the tide was out maybe next time i can show you the sea too!!!

This is where i met Donny 17 years ago just a few days ago wow its quick how time flies i guess thats why we should all stop and take time to remember where we used to spend our time when we were growing up if we can as places get changed so much these days its a shame sometimes.

What a nice suprise

This is what came through my letterbox this morning it was such a lovely suprise!! I had no idea i had won another prize from the needlework show this year i have been very lucky to win two wonderful prices it was a fantastic suprise and i love it!!!this is the first prize i won well acually it was a $20 gv from scarlet quince but this was the chart i choose it really spoke to me and i had to have it :-) I have also been lucky enough to recieve some wdw two from my very dear friend Tonya and one from Lisa on the smo board thankyou both very much :-) xx

There has also been some good news and i can now show you a finish that i did a few weeks ago as Sandra has now recieved it, It was a summer exchange that i am runing for Helga on her yahoo group Sandra said she loved it which was great :-)

And last but by no means least at all here is my lastest wip it is the halloween trick or treat fairy from the magazine Louise kindly got for me from the us last year see i have finally started her!!! i havent got too far as its been nice and ive been in the garden with the boys lol but i have started!!!

And they couldnt wait.............

To get in !!!!!!!!!!!!! Leon and I spend a good few hours putting this up this morning it was a whole lot bifgger than i thought it would be and they just couldnt wait for it to finish filling they had to get in!!! I shall be waiting until tomorrow when its full . Its been beautiful here today hot and sunny and we are to have it for the whole weekend which will be fun!! I dyed my hair this afternoon so i am keeping out until tomorrow sorry to bombbard you with all the photos i couldnt help myself lol!!!

Remember.......

When i said i was making my own vodka for the first time? Well here are the results i have to admit there is a whole lot more than i thought there was going to be as almost all the bottles you see here are litre bottles!!!We also made some flavoured ones in these bottles are tequila, blueberry vodka and apple vodka

in these bottles are marshmallow banana shots,blue cuaraco and peach shnaps

and in these last bottles are coconut vodka and justvodka

so now it just leaves the tasting lol!!! i have already given a bottle to a friend and i am waiting to her her verdict i can bet it wont last long with her and her hubby!!! so i should know by tomorrow!!

We decided to show the boys the pool we have bought them for the summer today too we are hoping to put it up for them tomorrow as we are supposed to be having a very warm few days but if it stays anything like today they have no chance as its been quite cold and over cast all day long they were very excited when they seen the pool though as i had been telling them we werent going to be getting one this year.

The great outdoors

Last night the boys decded after a very hot sunny day that they wer going to camp in the garden last night so as Jordan had been with Jake and Leon all day he decided he was going to join them. They had a great time after we had all been playing pass the parcel with a machine shaped like a rugby ball with a water bomb in it that bursts when you dont expect it which was great but the managed to work out when it was going to happen i swear as it always seemed to get me!!!! i made a curry and they went into the tent with thier gameboys and psps they were still awake just before one i could hear them giggling!! and they were up quite early this morning but they all really enjoyed in fact Jordan is still here Leon has gone to meet his girl friend for a bit though so they boys have been playing on the 360 upstairs at the moment they have gone for a walk to lidls.

I was very busy yesterday gutting the lawns and my hedges i even had to go into next doors garden and cut down thier side as they cannot be bothered and it had grown upto over 15foot it was blocking all the light by my front door it was very scary climbing up on a ladder so high and trying to balance to reach Jake was holding it for he and helping but boy am i feeling it today my arms ache and my legs are hurting too but i think thats more to do with walking the kids to town around and back this morning the sun has gone today and its colder which is great for Donnys eys as he has been struggling in the bright sun poor thing

I had some very sad news this weekend about a very dear frined who i have made over the last few years on message boards she is a very big part of my board and my heart goes out to both her and her son and daughter and thier families i am thinking about you all xxx

also when i went to kick boxing with Leon i had a very big shock!!! i thought it was just a contest that he had won in kick boxing but no!!! it was qualifing for the Welsh team and the gold medals he had were just that he is a double welsh champion and when we go to Ireland in october it will be the world championships we are so pround of him!!! its just a shame that its going to cost so much to go im starting to save now i need to lol im going to be cutting back on any stitching shopping and trying to do special offers in my shop to help fund raise to watch this spot!!!

Two new finishes

I just wanted to share with you my two new finishes its been a long while since i posted anything stitching so its most definatly about time!!! I do have another two done but they are both on thier way to people so they need to be kept secret for a little while still the first is from last years JCS halloween orniment addition that Louise got for me form the USA which i am very grateful for :-)

the second is my pheonix dragon by enchanting lair which i had planned on finishing a while ago but a lot of other things got in the way .

Leon did it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes he came home with two gold medals!!!!!!! which means he will deffinatly be representing wales in Ireland later this year.This was who be fought in the first contest and this is the second contest

i found out that i will have to go with him to Ireland which got him a bit upset to think of Donny and Jake being left home he was wondering if Donny would be ok but i have some wonderful friends who have already offered to help out.

A quiet week

This week has been very quiet for me i managed to get a chest infection so i havent been to good i went to the drs and have been on antibiotics but i have felt so tired i guess its my body telling me to take a break as i have been so busy with the house and the garden and Donny has had a relapse so ive been taking care of him too along with all the other stuff with the children. On the bright side though i have got some stitching done well started anyway i wanted to do something easy and not too much detail because i really havent been in the mood to concentrate too much so here is what i started its by lizzie kate

Leon also passed his latest belt he is now orange he is at a competion today wher if he does well he will be going foward to represent Wales in Ireland in the summer he hasnt been going for very long so i have told him not to worry if he doesnt do well this time as by next time he will have had a lot more experience and it hasnt helped as they were away camping last weekend and he missed out the chance to practise his sparing he didnt want us there he has gone with Jake he finds it easier if we are not there watching and i have to be honest i dpnt really want to see him fighting either!!!

Jake also has started something new he has decided he wants to play guitar so we went out and bought him one this week and he loves it im not sure i love the noise he is making but im sure he will get better at it fingers crossed!!! LOL
We also had an eventful week when we had workmen arrive to put up scafolding around our house and nobody seemed to know why but its been sorted out now they were changing our guttering and faciers and it looks so much better!!!

On one last note i would like to send birthday wishes to my dad who turned 60 yesterday i hope you had a great day dad!!!

Making vodka

Yes we have decided to go from making wine to trying something new!! to be honest it isnt much stronger than the wine really but we just wanted to take that one step further to see if we could get it to work this was the first step after three weeksand this is the second step i didnt realise it would look so dark!!!

What a weekend

My boys left on friday night Jake at 4.45pm and Leon at 5.45pm after kick boxing of course!! to go camping with the cadets for the weekend they will be home in just a few hours and it will be lovely to see them and catch up on all that they have been doing but its been really lovely to have the house to ourselves too this is only the second time they have both been away at the same time since Jake was born almost 14 years ago so its a well deserved break for us i think!!!

I have felt sorry for them as there have been strong winds up to 50miles an hour here on friday and saturday but it has been mostly dry with just a few showers and the sun is shining beautifully here this morning and its lovely and warm so at least today it will be a lovely last day hopefully they were shetered even though they are almost right on the beach where they have been we will have to wait see as they are not allowed phones on this trip .

We have had a lovely time relaxing and watching dvds i did feel a bit guilty sitting watching my ghost whisperer dvd eating chocolate and drinking a glass of my home made wine just after 6pm last night while Donny was watching the footie because it seemed a bit early but it was lovely to have a bit of quiet to do it!!! we also made some peach schnapps and southern comfort which there is still plenty of but tasted really nice!!

Well im off to try and get organised because they are due home anytime after 4pm i hope you are all having a lovely weekend where ever you are and would like to wish all the american ladies a very happy mothers day xx

Watching tadpoles

Boy its been so long since ive stopped by i guess my life has more than halved the amount of time i leave myself for pc time these days with taking care of Donny and the boys and trying to get the house redocorated and the garden done before summer i guess im just too busy the only reason im sat here now is the boys have just left for school and im catching up on last nights 90210 i havent even done stitching in weeks and i feel awful as i have commitments to be met so im really going to have to try today.

This weekend was busy what with the bank holidays and the boys being home one extra day we had a busy night friday unning around from one activity to the next and saturtday while Jake was out with his friend i took Leon fishing for a while it was warm and nice to sit around the pond there was no fish caught just a million tadpoles which i have not seen for years!!!

On sunday i tried to get some flowers planted in the garden while the boys were power boating with the sea cadets which was nnice to try and get something finally done out there just hard work!! but i know it will be worthwhile. When the boys returned they helped which was great and well deserved after i had a room full of thier friends here wednesday night to watch the champions league game!!

Yesterday i continued to paint in my kitchen and its really starting to come together now at long last wont be long now i dont think!!

We were back at the hospital on wednesday too and it wasnt good news the condition is back in both Donnys eyes as we had thought so now its bac to medication in both and we were back at the drs thursday morning and he is now also on oral medication too but so far so good he is coping as best he can but the sun really isnt helping and i really feel for him and i am trying as best i can to keep his dpirits up.

Well thats me caught up for a bit i guess lol oh the boys are camping this weekend with the cadets so we are really looking foward to a child free weekend weather permiting so keep your fingers crossed for us!!!!!

Monday blues

i got up drove the kids to school as it was pouring then when i came home i managed to pick up my stitching for half an hour as i watched last nights desperate housewives im trying to get a summer exchange out its tiny but im getting nowhere at all then i changed all the beds after my dad called down to use my phone and have a cuppa then i glossed the kitchen not my favourite job i can say.

Then it was time to go back in the car to meet the boys in town after school to get Jakes glasses repaired again **sigh** i got home and had to finish the painting and then i made a chick pea curry from scratch for tea after that i put the bins out for collection in the morning then got my latest home made wine bottled.

Ive just had a bath and im going to taste my wine lol i need to relax all this work done around taking care of Donny i deserve it!!

The only bad thing is Donnys condition has now spread to both eyes again it hasnt been confirmed yet but we know we are back up the hospital on wednesday so if they give him treatment in both eyes he is going to need me more so i wont be able to get as much done but thats ok im here for him and im sure we are all strong enough to get through this together again.

Not good news

The both conditions are back in Donnys right eye along with the pressure build up and we are back to hourly meds with a cream before bed and the eye widening drops fou times a day we had a really hard time getting an appointment in our local hospital again and when we did get there we had to wait an extra 1 and a half as the person who told us to come didnt tell anyone else so the boys had to come home to an empty house im so lucky they are old enough to look after themselves they did have our next door neighbours watching over them though and my friend lives at the end of the road if they needed anything so anyway it looks like hes in for a rough time again as this is for the next two weeks at least and we are waiting on a new appointment to go back in the next week too they also have told him that this is most deffinatly a perminent thing now he will never be truely rid of it he has been going down hill slowly since friday night but when he got up yesterday morning his eye was full of blood so i knew it wasnt good. Just as it had seemed o be starting to improve too his vision was accually starting to get a bit less smudby he has now gone back to being unable to see it that eye again he was grateful it was just in one eye at the moment but its a great big come down espcially as Leon and him had both been disscussing going fishing at some point this month again .The sun has been very difficualt for him as he now and will always have the survier weakness in his eyes as the medication causes thining but they could of tried to go on a dull day now he is on the widdening drops he will be more or less confined to the house for that period and as the meds are hourly i cant go to far because i will need to rush home.

On a different note i am still working hard on trying to get my garden sorted out and trying to get the decorating done too with two exchanges needed out soon i really should think about stitching but now i cant even do that in the night as the lights need to be off and in the day im so busy at the moment it seems though it will never get done but i really need to try to find more hours in the day.

Jake got back ok from his yaughting trip tpp and had a fantastic time he loved it hasnt changed him at all though i thought it may help him grow up a bit wrong lol ah well i guess the time will come eventually!!! they are off camping again in 2 weeks with the cadets so we have a peaceful weekend with them both away. Right im off to get them out the door Liam will be here soon and at least then i wont have to watch anymore of Leons TNA lol.

Only another four days

Last monday we got a call from the sea cadets asking if Jake would like to go on a sailng trip from saturday to friday with one other boy from the unit they were to set off to Weymouth on the train from here making several stops along the way and them spending the week on a yaught sailing the english channel during the day and moaring up during the night spending the whole time on the water well he wanted to go so we let him!!! he has been gone since saturday morning we know he got there ok as he phoned saturday evening and he called again last night and it was so lovely to hear from him. I have been so good this time i guess im really getting used to seeing my boys go off on trips there was no tears but i did get a little upset hearing him last night knowing he is quite far away but he sounded fine and he will be back on friday afternoon they are leaving Portsmouth at 9am Leon is missing him and the dog is looking for him all the time but he has to make the mostt of every thing that comes his way as he may not get this chance again.

We had this years presintation on friday night too and Leon has earned two new skills he has had his certificates and once he has his badges i will be uploading the photos to share with everyone. The two boys both took part in presintations Leon did comunications and Jake did first aid all very cool to sit and watch.

I have spent the last few days with Leon we bought him guitar hero on the xbox and it has ben a whole lot of fun and we have also been having a bash at the karaoke machine i bet our neighbours are sick of hearing us lol!!! but its been so much fun and i have spent so much time with Leon which has been great and i hope its helped him deal with his brother being away.

I have also had a night out with my friend and she has been back over with me for a few drinks and a nice chat which has also helped pass the time and with the champions league on tonight and mine and Donnys team still undecided whos going through it will be a fun night at ours tonight as my team beat him last week there will be fireworks who ever goes through tonight!!!!

Well Leons just got up im suprised he wasnt up earlier with the noise of the work going on here it was way to earlier for me to be getting up at 8.30am after not going to bed until after 2am oh well i guess i will sleep tonight!!!!!

A quick update

Im jumping on quick just to try update you all with whats going on at mine so here goes here are the photos of the works so far as you can see there is still lots more to be done and everything is still such a big mess made worse today by the fact that the electrictions are here and everything has been moved and pulled apartduring all this going on Jake has decided to get the flu it started on sunday with him he got up for fundraising in cadets and was sick went back to bed at 8.30am and i was shaking him awake at 5pm he then went back to bed at 9pm and slept right through until 10am the night morning he has been coughing sneezing and looking awful ever since he has seemed to pick up today and we have been out for a walk he wants to go back to school tomorrow but we will see as he only 2 days left now before the easter half term holidays anyway