40 years Ago........

I can't believe I'm typing the fact, that 40 years ago today, I left home (at the tender age of 17) and went off to join the Royal Air Force.  

31 October 1983.  Youth Training Scheme number 2.  Royal Air Force Hereford.

I got on the train at Liverpool Lime Street station, headed for Hereford.  The only thing I knew was, I had to change at Crewe and I'd be met at Hereford station.

After six weeks of learning all about the RAF, weapons, PE, marching and drill we "Passed Out".  Not literally but you know what I mean. 

I can't remember what our Corporal's name was, but she was scary!!

ETA - Her name was Wendy Fitzhugh.  Thank you Face Book for the info.

After basic training I went back to Hereford for my Admin training, where I spent another 6 weeks.  My first posting was to RAF Cosford in Shropshire. 

I spent 13 years in the RAF altogether.

I suppose now I should do more posts about my time in the RAF.  Unfortunately some of my photos have gone AWOL so I only seem to have a few, and most of them are from pubs and bars!!  

Hmmm.  Lets see what I can come up with later.

TTFN

Me on a Monday - 30 October 2023

It was half term week and I had quite a few jobs planned initially.  Unfortunately after last weeks episode I felt really washed out.  I had a day where I stayed in bed most of the morning, which is not like me at all.  I pottered around the house, tidying things away.  I caught up on the ironing and emptied the rest of the boxes.

I also went to see the Dr to find out what comes next.  I was worried about driving, as if the pain happens again, as suddenly as it did last time, I would probably end up in an accident.  The Dr upped my medication to two a day which should control the pain and hopefully last weeks episode won't happen again.  I'm OK to drive which is a huge relief.

ETA.  I had to phone the Dr again this morning and he is now going to refer me for an MRI scan to find out exactly what is causing the pain.  Fingers crossed it won't be too long till I get an appointment.

Hubby started taking the old chimney down off the roof.  He borrowed a roof ladder from our lovely neighbours and started chipping away at it on Saturday morning.  Once the bit on the roof was done and the tiles were fitted he started taking the bit down in the loft and then after that, he took the bit down in the spare bedroom.  The last bit was the best bit, as, the chimney in the spare room made the wall unusable as it was slap bang in the middle.  Now we have to decorate that room.

We went and ordered a carpet for the spare room, so we have to get it finished before they come to fit it. And also before December as my friend is coming to stay and that's her room :0)

I checked out some of the new Land Rovers whilst we were waiting for ours to have a service.  I think at £180,000.00 I'll just be looking !!!!

I was out with friends on Friday as two of them had a little Halloween party.  It was a really good night and Miss S is a great cook and did a wonderful buffet.  I was designated driver and ended up taking several tipsy ladies home :0)

And finally the boys are happy sleeping outside (or inside if they get the chance) hubby's office whilst he's working.  That's good for me as I can get on with things downstairs without tripping over them every two minutes :0) Please excuse the nasty carpet.  It's on my list of things to get rid of.  And the wall has since been painted!!

TTFN

Trigeminal Neuralgia

Pull up a chair.  This might take a while.

Remember that twist I mentioned on Monday?  Well!!  Friday morning of last week saw me sat in the Accident & Emergency department of the local hospital for two hours.  I had gone to work as normal, taken children to classes, spoken to parents and taken phone calls.

I had tried to get an appointment for the Dr to phone me about pain management for the neuralgia (TN) in the side of my face.  I couldn't get an appointment as they were all filled and a Dr couldn't call me back as all those slots were filled too.  My only option was to call at midday and hope to get an appointment, that afternoon, at another local hospital.

Getting back to work, I popped into the front office to pass on a message, when I suddenly felt like I'd been hit across the head with a shovel.  The pain was excruciating.  It went along my jaw, up the side of my nose, through my eye and into my head.  I yelled something rude and keeled over.  It felt like the top of my head was going to split open. The ladies in the office were naturally alarmed and managed to get me into a chair, but I couldn't think straight, couldn't speak and I was in floods of tears with the pain.  And I had snot on my sleeves.  It lasted all of a minute, but was the most horrendous minute of my life.

I was taken back to my office where my friend called the NHS emergency line.  We spoke to a lovely lady called Nicola who took all my details and said that I needed to be seen within the hour.  She booked me a slot at the hospital and my friend took me up there.  Luckily it's only 10 minutes from work.

The staff at the hospital were amazing.  I saw the triage nurse within 10 minutes and the consultant 10 minutes after that.  Dr Abdulah was an international student from India and was very good.  He listened to my symptoms and took a history of the pain.  He then related all of that to Dr Ash, the consultant, who explained that it was Trigeminal Neuralgia.  (See link for details.)   A condition that can't be cured, only managed.

To start with they give you epilepsy medication and if that doesn't work there are several surgical routes you can take.  I'm hoping that the medication works, as I have enough going on at the moment, to add another op into the mix.

The pharmacy was extremely busy, so I had a 45 minute wait.  Time for a coffee and a spot of people watching in the hospital cafe.  It brought back memories of sitting there when mum wasn't well.  I chatted to a very nice lady who hadn't been eating properly the last few days and was really looking forward to her cup of tea and buttery toast.  

The pharmacist took the time to explain the medication to me, even though they were maxed out, and I was very grateful for that.  I have, since, read and re-read the leaflet that came with the tablets.

My friend came and picked me up and I went back to work.  I felt absolutely fine, so stayed for the afternoon.  The head teacher did tell me to go home but I said I would stay.  This is something I have to live with now so best start as I mean to go on.  I apologised for saying a rude word but he said that under the circumstances he understood!!

I felt washed out by the time I got home, so I had some dinner and flopped onto the sofa to watch All Creatures Great & Small, followed by an early night.

As my mum would say.... "These things are sent to try us".  And she was right.

Me on a Monday - 23 October 2023

Woo Hoo!!  It was the last week of term.  A busy one as usual but with a twist at the end.  More about that later.

Our heating came on for the first time the other morning.  It's been so mild here recently, that we haven't needed it on yet.  If it gets chilly at night we just get one, of the many, crochet blankets and snuggle under those.  Hubby of course is nice and warm as he has two labradogs lying on him!!  Tut, tut to him, for having his feet on the table!!

This last week has seen me digging out jumpers and layering for work.

We ordered the wood for the shed and it arrived on Friday.  The downstairs loo is on hold for now.  You can't see the decking for wood at the moment, but the loft is floored and we have a new loft ladder, so we're still moving forward.

We had a family wedding invite, which was lovely.  It's not till next May but I'm already wondering about dresses and shoes.  I may have already started dress shopping :0)

I have been slowly sorting through the boxes from the loft and have a few things to pass on to family.  Other bits and bobs have been recycled, as I wondered why I kept them in the first place, and some have been sold.  The photos will take longer as they are a  huge job!!

I feel like we're finally getting somewhere with the house.  It's one of those projects that you do as and  when you have the time, AND the money.

That's it for now.  I'm off to do some shredding and do a run to the tip.

TTFN

A Little Confused

Hmmm!!  I think Mother Nature is a little confused at the moment, as our apple tree is flowering and getting ready to bear fruit!!

Me on a Monday - 16 October 2023

It wasn't a particularly busy week but we still managed to get a few things done.

Hubby went fishing and sent me this photo.  What a way to start the day.

I had a check up at the hospital.  All OK so far, but when I go back in January the nurse will phone to find out where I am on the list for surgery.  Fingers crossed it will be in the next six months.

I had a little win whilst at the hospital.  Instead of having to pay £3.00 for parking, for being there over half an hour, I managed to squeeze in for free.

I booked our Airbnb for the Great Yorkshire Show and got the OK for the time off.  Just need to update our membership next year.

I got an unexpected pay rise.  Apparently I should have had an increment in April and the council forgot!!  Thanks very much.  It will come in handy for a new carpet in one of the bedrooms.

We took the boys down to the beach.  There was only a little bit of sand visible but they still managed to get very dirty.

We heard that two of our best friends got married.  They have been together for about 15 years and decided 8 weeks ago to do the deed.  They only had their mums there on the day and will celebrate with their families later.

I had a quick garden tidy up and chopped down the yukka tree in the front garden.  It had all but died off, but had spouted from the bottom.  I'm going to leave it and see what happens.

We sorted through the freezer and planned dinners for next week.

We started watching Lessons in Chemistry.  We're 2 episodes in and it's good, but it's not the book, which was excellent.  I'm hoping that the remaining episodes do it justice.

And so ends another week.  One more week to go and it will be half term.

TTFN

Currently In October 2023

Time for another round up of Currently......

October finds me..... 

Reading - Not reading, but listening to the end of Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton, to be followed by Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools by Victoria Twead, just because it was free on Audible and I liked the title.

Watching - All Creatures Great & Small on UK Channel 5, Welcome to Wrexham Series 2 on Disney +, The Wilderness on Amazon Prime and waiting for Lessons in Chemistry to start on Friday on Apple TV+.

Wondering - Why Facebook insists on putting up posts about hairstyles, we over 50s should avoid.  Apparently we shouldn't have long hair, or straight hair, then on the other hand shouldn't have short spiky hair.  We shouldn't have our hair all cut one length in a bob or have it short at the back and long at the front.  Says who??  Who writes these things?  Ladies.  Wear your hair however you want and ignore the idiots that tell you otherwise.

Wearing - My winter boots and short skirt.  It's my go to autumn/winter outfit and I'll be in it until about March

Booking - Tickets for next years Great Yorkshire Show.  All the Air BnB are filling up already so I'm on the hunt for somewhere new. 

And that's about it for this month.  Same time next month?

Easy Low Fat Dessert

 This is a low fat dessert that tastes amazing. We've also done it with nectarines, figs and plums.

Serves 2

Ingredients 2 medium pears, halved and cored

big pinch of cinnamon, plus extra to serve

low-calorie cooking spray

2 Slimming World Hi-fi bars (any flavour), finely chopped and crumbled (or any cereal bar of your choice.)

fat-free natural Greek yogurt to serve

Method

Warm the oven up to 180°C.

Sprinkle the tops of the pears with a little cinnamon and spray with low-calorie cooking spray.

Put the pears on a baking tray and cook for 10 minutes or until almost softened.

Sprinkle the tops of the pears with the crumbled Hi-fi/Cereal bar and cook for another 1-2 minutes or until lightly golden and just starting to caramelise.

Serve with a big dollop of yogurt, and an extra sprinkle of cinnamon.

Me on a Monday - 9 October 2023

Another busy week over and done with.

It was a week where my birthday just kept on giving.  I had a lovely candle holder from a friend at work and afternoon tea with my lovely friend Miss D.  We went out to Benty Farm tea rooms at Thurstaston and even the pouring rain couldn't put a dampener on it.  We had to bring a box of goodies home as there was far to much to eat.

I was absolutely full of cold last week so there was only one gym session and one line dancing class.

There was also the loft clearing.  We hired a skip and got rid of previous owners junk, and all the old lagging.  Why there were odd pipes and bits of wood up there I will never know.  It's now all ready for new insulation  and boards.  The boxes that have been there for the last six years, since we moved in, are now in the spare room and I have the lovely job of going through each one and getting rid of things we haven't looked at in all that time or didn't even remember we had!!

Deb at Deb's World said the other week about saying yes to things.  So with that in mind we are off to the British Legion on Thursday to check out their indoor bowls.

Hope you all have a good week.

It's fall Ya'll

Nine years ago, when we first got out to Texas, our lovely realtor, Nancy took me under he wing and took me on a tour of the Fall Homes.  They were absolutely stunning and totally out of out price range, but the decorations were amazing.

This year I thought I'd have a go at a few decorations for the living and dining rooms.  Less is more for me when it comes to decorations but I like how they turned out.

Most of the decorations came from Shein, the cheapy online shop that sells everything.

The only two exceptions were the crochet pumpkins I made.  The green one in the dining room 

And the orange one in the living room. 

The ones on the coffee table are placed around the tea light holder that hubby made out of an old whisky barrel stave. 

I think they turned out OK.

Me on a Tuesday - 3 October 2023

Somebody had a birthday last week and it was a lovely day.  It started with a rainbow on the way to work, lots of cards and messages from friends and family, presents at work and home and a free treat from Costa coffee.  I chose carrot cake at the weekend. 

Exercise wise I did Tai Chi, Line dancing and went to the gym.

I went to the hairdressers to get my roots done and it only cost me £2.00, as the rest was covered by a voucher I had for my birthday from the lovely folk at work.

I had my nails done and got them cut shorter.  I just can't type properly if they are too long.

We were supposed to get stormy weather during the week but it never came.  We had a few dreich days but it was still decidedly warm.

It was our 28th wedding anniversary on Friday so we did a joint anniversary/birthday celebration and went out for meal on Saturday with the young man.  The restaurant sent me a voucher for a free starter, main and dessert so I couldn't say no.  It was a lovely meal, as always, and I'll look forward to the next voucher :0)

I did some more crochet and made a duck for one of the ladies at work, two pumpkins and started a Christmas gnome.

There was also more fencing put up.  It's funny how changing one old fence for a new one, can make the garden look so much bigger.  Next on the garden upgrade is a new shed followed by artificial lawn.

Hubby made the decision to decorate the downstairs loo (half bath).  I will be glad when all the pipework is hidden away.

And so ends another busy week in the Lee household.  How was yours?

TTFN

Summer Photo Scavenger Hunt 2023 - Part 3

 

It's the last link up for this year and many thanks, again to Mary Lou for hosting.

2023 Summer Scavenger Hunt / Search Ideas

1. A Plant/Tree With Thorn(s)
2. A  Wordless Directional Sign
3. Something Netted or Webbed
4. Something Berry Berry Delicious
5. A Bridge
6. A School
7. Something That Dangles
8. Some Shadows
9. A Crack or Pothole in The Road or Sidewalk
10. A White Flower(s)
11. Extraordinary Water 
12. Summer Tools
13. A Sold or For Sale Sign (not necessarily a house)
14. Something That Rolls

Alternate A: Your Favourite Summer Taste
Alternate B: Your Choice

1.  A plant or tree with thorns - Didn't get this one :0(

7.  Something that Dangles - A pair of ear-rings. 

12.  Summer Tools - Everything I needed to weed the garden.

13.  A Sold or For Sale Sign (not necessarily a house) - forgot about this one!!

14. Something that Rolls - A 1935 Steam Roller we saw at the Cheshire Country and Game Fair.

Alternate A: Your Favourite Summer Taste - Sometimes, during the hot days, I liked a little something different, so gave Elvis a try.

Alternate B: Your Choice - Rainbows over the windmill, on a wet walk with the boys.