Sometimes life throws you curve balls. We can be happily swimming along the river of life, and suddenly the waves start battering us, rocks stand in our way, crocodiles eye us up for dinner. Life is hard for a while, we struggle to keep our head above water, we desperately doggy paddle to avoid the … More An Unexpectedly Strong Summer
I like to think I am the Queen of the Courgettes. Every year, without fail, I have managed to produce bumper crops of the produce. Our fridge overflows with the vegetable, I spend hours inventing dishes so they can be eaten at every meal, and I give them away to all and every summer visitor. … More Gardening with Dodgy Lungs
Like everyone, I love holidays. However, life is never simple, especially with an illness, and our intended vacations this year haven’t really gone to plan! So far we’ve planned four week-long trips away.. and have had to cancel all four at the last minute. 2016 has been a crazy year, with more than my fair … More Changing Holiday Plans
I love camping. My happy place involves a tent, a glass of wine, my husband and some stars! Unfortunately since getting ill, I’ve had to do away with the first two! Nowadays, I have to be slightly more inventive.. I get my wine fix from sniffing Phil’s wine (!), and amazingly we’ve found a solution … More A New Way to Camp When Ill
I feel like I’ve been on a treadmill for the whole of 2016. I’ve had to keep continuously plodding along in life, despite having some interesting curve balls thrown in my direction. Life has not allowed me much time to stop and think, instead I’ve been forced to keep going, to move forward and to … More The Wobbles
We met at university. Both of us were members of the Canoe club, spending our weekends throwing ourselves down scary whitewater rivers, and our evenings socialising as a large group. We were friends first, before we eventually got together in my final year. So we entered the adult world together, and grew up together. Over … More Our Wedding Anniversary
Growing up, my siblings and I had our own friends, our own hobbies, our own bedrooms. Like most families, we rarely hung out together- when you’re young, two years seems like a huge age difference! However the one time of the year when we played with each other every day, the one time we all … More A Family Holiday in the Forest
June has been a mad month. I’ve been frantically trying to juggle the balls of life. With the slightest hint of summer rays and improved health, I’ve been filling my diary with activities and making memories. However the lovely NHS has also been filling my diary with weekly hospital visits and doctors appointments. For the … More An Auto-Immune Problem
I’m a list writer. I write kit lists, shopping lists, lists of worries, lists of jobs. I’ve always loved sitting down with my head a muddle of ideas, and then having clarity as I write them all down. Mainly though I love the pleasure of ticking items off the list as I tackle them. It … More The Bucket List
I sit there on my sofa knowing a decision is being made about me at this very moment. A room full of people who’ve only briefly met me (if at all) have the power to make the biggest ruling about my life. To them it will be about facts and results and statistics. It will … More The Decision
We Can Adjust The Sails 