Sunbathing in the living room














I had such a busy week. It is Sunday and I only just feel like my mind is letting me relax.

Work has been throwing some curveballs at me, nothing new, just the usual palaver that you might find in any academic environment. Expanding student numbers and no front-end investment in staff make it difficult to put the student experience first. The workload is ok but I feel anxious because there is nobody to catch my fall, or cover my classes.

Alistair continues to suffer from excruciating tummy pains. It is upsetting to see him in pain. A warm cherry stone pillow and hugs is the best I can offer. It is not constant and evenings are worst, I am not sure why. Maybe a lack of distraction? So far all tests have proven to be normal, which is a relief but also a puzzle. We have one more test scheduled before going back to see the paediatrician.

The weather has been truly atrocious....I ordered and returned two light weather proof jackets for running. I went through the trouble of measuring myself and comparing the size guides with my measurements. One jacket had ridiculously long sleeves (big bottomed women don't have Orang Utan arms). The other jacket I couldn't get the zip to meet despite ordering a size larger than the size guide recommenced. Can I just say that I am pissed off?

On the bright side, the weather is glorious today, I have seen cute puppy photos and I have finished the body of my Polaris jumper and half a sleeve. I do not enjoy knitting sleeves but I really want to wear the jumper soon. I have also sewn up all of my tiny squares into neat rows. It was most therapeutic. I chain-stitched to save thread and to speed up the process (sew pairs, then sew the pairs into rows of four, rows of eight and finally rows of sixteen)

The snow drops are popping up around our two fruit trees in the front garden. A sure sign of better things to come. Days are getting longer noticeably. I measure day length with the need to use lights for my bike commute to and from work and I can't wait to leave my assorted lights at home.

I am now also the proud (temporary) owner of a microscope (at work). I need to document our parasitology slide collection over the next six months. I am so excited!

I just finished listening to David Nott's War Doctor and I now know more about war injuries in civilians and desperate attempts to save lives in the most hostile war environments than I thought possible. It is an upsetting memoir but I was left with a little hope because there are people that care, even in the most horrendous situations. I am now listening to Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner. What a contrast to War Doctor! I must admit, I find it oddly fascinating to hear Lady Glenconner talk about the weird and not always so wonderful but incredibly privileged ways of English aristocracy.

My beginners running group continues to be fun. We are encouraged to go out in between the weekly sessions and I have. I also helped out with one of the junior packs. This was not entirely voluntary but the result of Alistair being disruptive. In such instances, parents are asked to come along until such a time when their child's behaviour improves. I can't keep up with kids, they are fast and agile. Lots of standing around in the cold also, when they are doing drills. James has been going out running by himself, too. He loves the Strava app that I installed for me to keep track of his runs. I don't use Strava myself, I am a firm ZombiesRun supporter, I find it more fun because it doesn't just record runs but also entertains with story missions, or radio mode.

I have been marvelling at the many different ways Alistair says "mum". Entire sentences can be in just this one word. For example, when he comes home from school and finds me at home he drops his bag and comes running towards me saying "mum" in a way that makes it sound as if he didn't expect to ever see me again and finding me in the house was the most marvellous thing ever. It is rather sweet.

I made myself take more photos last week. I took the camera with me yesterday when walking Jack but the battery was flat. The bird photos are taken through the windows because to avoid frightening them away. There is a flock of at least eight sparrows that monopolises the front garden feeder. They are a noisy bunch!

Right now I am enjoying the warm sunshine in my just cleaned living room. The noisy critters are out on a hill walk with Richard and it is blissfully silent. Perfect for knitting a few more rounds. Have a lovely day wherever you are. Thank you for stopping by xx




Comments

  1. A busy week here too, or does it just seem more busy in the new year? Our warm spot is our south facing dinning room where we have 2 big comfy armchairs looking out into the garden. Our lounge is north facing and can feel very chilly even with the heating on. I hope Alistair is soon feeling better. Best, Jane x

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  2. I am sure you have already thought of this for Alistair's stomach pains but...My daughter gets stomach pains from eating anything with gluten and dairy. She is 30 now and did not seem to have food sensitivities of any sort growing up but certainly does now. She has been tested by doctors without conclusive results. She is very careful of what she eats and reads labels thoroughly when buying her food. Luckily, gluten-free and dairy-free items are becoming more popular in stores and restaurants so she is finding many options to maintain her diet requirements. Hope your Alistair gets some relief!

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    1. I was going to say the same thing about sensitivities to dairy. My 16 year old daughter never had any problems with dairy until about 2 years ago. Avoiding dairy has helped her stomach issues alot.

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  3. Sounds like a good day with extra helpings of sunshine too. I think the whole of the British isles are basking today. Poor old Alistair, hopefully his tummy pains will disappear soon. Well done on the running although frustrating with the top. I need to buy extra running gear as it seems to get soaked with rain every time I go out and I can’t keep up with the washing lol! Looking forward to seeing your jumper finished. Have a good week. B x

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  4. Aah, blissful silence in a sunny freshly cleaned living is a wonderful thing indeed. So sorry about Alistair's tummy, I hope you get to the bottom of it very soon and that it can be remedied. Sorry also that work is manic, but yay for the telescope. Annoying about the running jackets, I hope you find the right one soon. Have a good week and enjoy the rest of Sunday. CJ xx

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  5. I love your enthusiasm for a microscope - it really comes across! I have had a relaxing day today because I decided to go on strike and I rather enjoyed it. No one knew, just me, but I was avoiding things on purpose and taking ages to do other things so that time would run out or another member of the family would do it - it was rather fun!! Hope you and Alistair find some answers soon. Love Jo xx

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  6. I find it very difficult to photograph birds. By the time I get the camera ready, they are gone.

    What type of microscope did you get?

    I hope you have a wonderful week.

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  7. Ahh, snowdrops. We have had snow drop but alas.

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  8. Beautiful pics especially the wren.. and very lovely your son greets you in such a way, shame they grow up I sometimes think.

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  9. Hope you get some answers/a solution about Alistair's pain soon. It can be distressing when there is uncertainty around health.

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  10. The photos made me think that spring had made an earlier appearance there than here as we had our first snowfall of this new year, about 5-6 inches over the weekend. Hope that there will be a solution/remedy for the stomach pains, which sound very unpleasant for Alistair (or anybody). It's always the case that there's more work to be done and less folks to do it, but good news on the new microscope; little things can excite.

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  11. I love your photos. That's too bad about the jacket. At least you can knit your own sweaters and they will have a custom fit. That's what I do. I don't even wear jackets, just layers of sweaters, shawls, and leggings. The biking sounds great. I am enjoying it here, too.

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  12. I've just closed the curtains and blinds because the sun coming through our living room was burning us to a crisp and making the air conditioners work harder. It's a bit like a cave in there now but the kids don't seem to mind. Poor Alistair! Rachel suffered from periodic stomach pains for years but they could never work out what it was. She's been fine since she got her appendix out last year which was a bit traumatic at the time but she's much happier now. xx Susan

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  13. Your photos are lovely. I find mine consist mostly of our pets. I need to take more outside pictures. Usually I don’t think about it till after I’m home. I hope the pediatrician is able to give some insight into Alistair’s tummy aches. It’s so difficult when our children don’t feel well. Thank you for the information about the Kitchener stitch on Knitty. Between that and the video I am feeling a little more confident.

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  14. Your poor boy with the stomach issues. My second oldest had horrible stomach trouble as a child and as soon as we restricted dairy he did so much better. I think he was on a lot of antibiotics as a little one and it just got his stomach in a bad state. We loaded him with good probiotics and did not let him have dairy for several years. It got sorted and now he is a cheese maniac. Hope you boy feels better. Doctors don't think in terms of sensitivies to food. As you know gluten can be really hard on people too. Love your pictures, happy weekend.

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  15. Lovely catching up with your week... even if it was the previous week! I’m on a marathon blog reading catch up... displacement activity instead of doing housework!

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  16. I love the photo of the patchwork squares!

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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