OH...

... and Christina has had another really good day today. She coped brilliantly with the extended family. Really proud of her!

HAD A LOVELY EVENING...

... with Helen, Bill and the girls. Tex came to visit his cousins and is looking forward to looking after them at his house next weekend.

Had a good meal at the Anglers, apart from the treacle sponge which was something of a disaster and, even after two complaints, was still inedible and therefore deducted from the bill.

Now everyone's gone home and we're all feeling pretty shattered. So it must be time to turn in for the night.

Big day tomorrow. 1.30 kick off, so Charles and I will leave home about 11.30 in order to get parked, grab a light lunch and get to the ground in plenty of time. Really, really want to get a result from this one.

Have heard little snippets from the boys (who are apparently operating a text-blackout, with forfeits to be paid by anyone who breaks ranks. So far only Jake has been punished so far as we are aware!!) - they seem to be enjoying themselves and will no doubt have tales to tell when they return. (Or maybe what happens on the Stag stays on the Stag?)

GOING OUT...

... for dinner tonight with Helen, Bill and the girls.

It'll round off another really good day.

Went into Newcastle this afternoon. I bought a jacket for the wedding which I will be taking back on Monday. Absolutely gorgeous jacket, but foolishly I didn't actually take the dress with me and it just doesn't look right with it.

Never mind, still got nine weeks to find something suitable.

HAD A MAJOR CLEAR OUT...

... of the kitchen cupboards yesterday. Not a job for the faint-hearted! I kept thinking of Michael Macintyre's store cupboard gag - "I'm FIVE spice!!"

I'm ashamed to admit that the entire boot of the Merc is now full of stuff that's being thrown out. What a dreadful waste - but how blissfully tidy and neat are my cupboards now. Logically arranged, easy to see what's in there. All the baking stuff I use for Kevin is together in one place and quick to access.

All I need to do now is clean the oven, so need to go to Lakeland for some of their amazing oven cleaning gel stuff. (Wonder if Dannymatt's 'friend' ever cleaned HIS oven - perhaps I should buy TWO kits!)

Right, Charles is up and about now. He's taken the girls out, so they're happy. Still no sign of Christina who seems to really struggle to get going in the morning. Probably the effects of her meds.

Things are still going surprisingly well. No anxiety or agitation. No cross words. I know it won't all be plain-sailing, but it just shows what a huge improvement there's been since she went into hospital.

OH WELL...

... that's the lovely weather gone then.

Shame, I'd just about relegated the winter clothes into the back of the wardrobe. Looks like they'll be hanging around a bit longer.

Apart from the girls, I'm the only one up in this house. We're supposed to be having a pretty hectic day with trips to the tip, the hospital for more meds (they didn't count the tablets out properly and have left Christina one short), Morpeth and then Newcastle where we are going to do coffee, a bit of mooching and possibly meet up with Helen and Bill who are up for the weekend.

Keep thinking about James and the boys who are on his stag weekend in Edinburgh. Actually, maybe it's better that I DON'T think about James and the boys at all!!

GOOD DAY TODAY!

Christina is doing really well. We're all a lot more relaxed than we anticipated we would be.

It's been helpful to research the condition - Bipolar 1 - and we've found the Mind website particularly informative. If you have a few spare minutes, have a look.

SO...

... as my car needs fuel pretty urgently, do we risk taking it to Jesmond this morning in the hope of being able to fill up, or do we take one of the other cars, that have full tanks?

CLOUDS?

Is this the beginning of the end of the heatwave?

It's just gone a bit hazy really, so maybe not.

Having a bit of a panic about Easter weekend when we're travelling down to Brum for a family wedding. Will there be any fuel I wonder? Would hate to get stuck there!!!


(Only because of the girls. Nothing to do with Birmingham itself. She added quickly, in case Elizabeth and John are reading this!)

WHY IS EVERYTHING...

... getting a new look these days?

Blogger, facebook...

... everything apart from ME it would appear!

#lookedinthemirrorandsawmymum

OKAY...

... we're doing alright so far. Christina seems fairly settled this evening so that's a relief.

Going to bed now.

See you in the morning!

HANGING AROUND NOW...

... and waiting!

Not good at this.

Charles is picking Christina up and bringing her home ans, as I've done all the jobs I can think of, I now have nothing to do but await their arrival.

Twiddling thumbs...

FEELING A BIT...

... apprehensive today.

Essentially this is the beginning of Christina's discharge from hospital and a lot depends on how the next few days go.

Hopefully we can all hold it together and get through it.

At least Charles breaks up for Easter today, so there will be two of us around to deal with any problems.

I've tried to get ahead with all the coffee shop baking so that, in theory, I should have a lighter couple of days ahead. Of course, this all depends on Kevin - he has been known to throw a few curve balls before now!!

"ANOTHER WARM AND SUNNY DAY"

How good is it to listen to the weather forecast these days? "Not a cloud in the sky."

Love it!!

TA DA!!

Behold...

... The Stack of Books Cake!!

I HONESTLY CAN'T REMEMBER...

... EVER HAVING SUCH FABULOUS WEATHER IN MARCH!!

Ooops, forgot to take caps lock off. There that's better. Didn't want you to think I was shouting.

Seriously, the last few days have been as warm and sunny as some of the best summer days. What a difference it makes to everyone's mood as well!

Put the car through the car wash today and then drove home with the top down (looking the part, or looking a fart as James would no doubt say.)

Tomorrow sees Christina return home pretty much permanently, providing all is well between then and Monday. I think we just have to take her back to hospital for a formal discharge meeting and then she'll be good to go. Just hope we can all manage together - it's a long, long time since she lived at home!

CAR LOADED UP!

JUST managed to get everything in. It was a bit like doing a jigsaw though!!

So the plan is, Gosforth first, then into Morpeth to replenish supplies, back home for more baking...

Oh, a day like any other then really.

Beautiful start to the morning. Warm and sunny - absolutely glorious.

I KNOW, I KNOW...

... I should have taken five minutes at the start of the day to write the blog, instead of getting started straightaway with kitchen stuff.

But, having received a mega-order from Kevin, and knowing that I still needed to spend a couple of hours on the "Book" cake, it just had to be done I'm afraid.

Everything's sorted now. The cake is complete, but I'm pretty worried about how it's going to be transported as it's huge!!

Going to go out in the sunshine for a walk with the girls, then need to make a chocolate cake to go in the freezer.

Once that's done, that'll be me finished for the day!

JUST WANT TO SAY...

... I've really enjoyed this weekend.

Thank you t everyone who has helped to make it so good - and that includes Hatem Ben Arfa!!

WHAT A DAY!!

Glorious weather.

Good win for the Toon.

My 'pile of books' cake is stacked and looking okay so far. Not as straightforward as you might think!! Just need to add a bouquet of Spring flowers for the top and the lettering to the spines and I'm done.

Mind you - how on earth we're going to lift it I do not know!!

No delivery to Radcliffes tomorrow - Kevin's okay until Tuesday, so I have an extra day to get sorted for that.

All's good!

SUMMER'S HERE!!!

how gorgeous is the weather today?

Spot of gardening perhaps? Or even sunbathing?!

Unfortunately not! It's going to be another day in the kitchen for me.

Hopefully by the end of play today I'll have a stack of four 'books' just waiting to have titles and authors added.

Hmmm. We'll see...

WE'VE HAD...

... a really lovely Hen Day!

Thank you Lucy for organising everything.

From the minute we all met up at 8am it has been fab. I hope Claire enjoyed herself as much as the rest of us did.

The train journey to York passed on flash, helped along by the champagne and bacon butties and the hat making activity.

Plate painting was brilliant and I could happily have stayed there all day instead of the two hours we actually spent there. Can't wait for our creations to be fired and sent out to us.

Betty's was just perfect. More champagne and the most wonderful afternoon tea. Divine.

The boat trip along the Ouse was great. A little chilly going downstream, but nothing to worry about. Really interesting actually. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

travelling home first class was another little treat, as was listening to Claire's responses to the "How well do you know James?" quiz! She knows him pretty well actually!!

So - a brilliant day spent with some truly lovely people.

Loved it!

SETTING OFF...

... in a minute, for Gosforth, ready to start the BIG HEN DAY with Claire.

Tell you all about it later.

Cluck, cluck, cluck!!

TIRED OUT!

Absolutely knackered to be frank.

We had the Discharge Planning Meeting this afternoon and it looks like Christina will be coming home to us from Wednesday till Monday and then, if that goes well, she'll be discharged into our care.

She's spent the evening arranging her room. Ian brought some of her furniture round this evening, so at least she'll have some of her possessions around her.

Charles and I are tired and a bit irritable to be honest. Hopefully a day spent doing different stuff (me henning with Claire and Charles trying on his wedding suit and taking the girls for a walk in Jesmond Dene with James) will help us put stuff back in perspective.

MMMMM!!

Indian takeaway tonight!

(At my request, as the oven is currently full of Madeira cakes and will be for the remainder of the evening.)

Tomorrow, it's Claire's hen day. To be honest, I've never been on one of these before, so am not sure what to expect really. Sounds rather lovely though - going to York for the day, lunch at Bettys, shopping, a boat trip and plate-painting. With all that going on I bet it will be over in a flash, so hope Claire enjoys it!

OH POOH!

Another house escapes our grasp.

This is annoying actually, as we had said we would meet the asking price and had agreed to take on the services of the estate agent to facilitate our sale. We asked to be kept updated, but only found out this morning when we called into the office that another offer had been accepted.

A little bit underhand, I think.

DANNYMATT - THE GRUMP!!

Morning Dannymatt. Can't imagine what your face is like today. Oh hang on a minute - a quick look at facebook should tell me!!

Well, we're up and raring to go, putting all of yesterday's disasters and anxieties behind us, ready to move forward with hope and ...

Christ it's exhausting!

OKAY. HANDS UP...

... I know I haven't blogged today, but it's just been a bit frenetic. In fact this is the first chance I've had to sit down (apart from in the car earlier, but that doesn't really count.)

Have given up on Craig the Mouseman. He's useless. We ended up going out to buy a ratbox ourselves. Mind you we haven't seen any sign of it today I'm pleased to say.

Been shopping, picked up Christina, did loads of coffee shop baking, made the first of the four cakes for the "Stack of Books" cake and then disaster struck.

I decided to bake another cake this evening and started weighing out. Charles was right next to me when I was weighing the sugar and so he distinctly heard me comment that it appeared to be much more than 500gms - and yet that is what the scales were reading. I should have trusted my judgement, because I've ended up with something that resembles an undercooked biscuit. So, 500gms butter, 10 eggs and probably about 750 gms sugar all wasted. Oh and the flour of course.

So, I'm not as far on as I'd hoped to be.

Need to do the delivery tomorrow first thing, call in at the cake decorating shop for cake cards, flowerpaste and some different fonts, the quickly whizz over to see James at work, before heading home to pick up Christina to take her to the discharge planning meeting at the hospital.

Oh - and then I've got three cakes to make.

WORRY BEADS?

Where can I get some?

STRESSED AGAIN!!

This stuff with the rat isn't doing me any good at all. Lily has been on rat watch all day and is glued to the window all the time.

James is coming round in a while, so maybe that'll act as a bit of a distraction!!

Going to see Christina at some point tomorrow, in fact I think she'll be here overnight.

Just found out that the recipient of the stack of books cake is expecting each of the four books to measure 10 x 12 inches. That's one HUGE cake. I'm going to have to check those dimensions before I make a start!!

Tomorrow we need to a)sort out the rat problem, b)go to the cake decorating shop c) get some food and baking supplies in d) POSSIBLY buy a new top for the Hen Do I'm going to on Saturday!!!

PLANNING...

... the next celebration cake, due to go out next week. This will be an interesting one - a stack of four books topped with a spray of spring flowers. Going to take a while to get it done. I've started the flowers already, but can't wait to begin the books!!

Hanging around now, waiting to hear from Kevin. With luck, we'll be able to do a Friday delivery instead of one tomorrow. We'll see...

NOT GOOD!

Looking out of the window and seeing an enormous RAT, just slightly smaller than the girls, was NOT a good thing to happen this morning.

Am now absolutely petrified. The girls are on high alert. Craig the Mouseman (soon to be promoted to Ratman) can't do anything today because he's busy and I'm stuck inside afraid to put a foot out of the door.

Where the hell has THAT come from?

There's no rubbish around, so why is it around MY house?

UUURRRRGGGGGGGH!

TODAY HAS BEEN...

... so bad, I really don't want to write about it, other than to say I've chased my tail since the key incident this morning - and have never managed to catch it.

Hoping tomorrow's a better, and somewhat calmer, day.

OOOPS!

Charles has just rung from school, to say that he's gone off with my car keys this morning!!

And no, I don't know where the spare set is - and yes, I do need to go to Jesmond in about half an hour.

He's on his way as I write!

He's not a happy man!!

HAVE JUST REALISED...

... that ALL the crates that I use for the coffee shop deliveries are actually still AT the coffee shop.

Tomorrow's delivery could be VERY interesting then.

BRIGHT, SUNNY MORNING!

Lovely!

Makes you think of...

... a certain summer wedding that once seemed to be ages away and will now be here in only a couple of months.

Aaaaaargh. Need to think about cakes...

... and shoes (preferably NOT ones that look like Mother of the Groom)

... a jacket for the daytime

... and a lovely little bag

... and something to put on my head - hat? fascinator?

... and, most important of all - WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH THE GIRLS?????

LOVELY...

... brunch at Loch Fyne. Champagne, pastries, big brekkies, endless refills of coffee. Fab.

Company pretty good too!!

Thank you to James and Christina for my lovely gifts. I am really touched both of you (In a gratitude sense, not in a bonkers sense!)

MOTHER'S DAY BRUNCH...

... coming up at Loch Fyne! Yum yum!! There will be a few of us - Christina, James, Charles, Helen, Bill, Rachel, James R and Hannah.

Then the Oggies go their separate ways and we drop Christina back on the ward, whizz up home to blitz the house and walk the girls, then return to Newcastle for the match!

Oh, how I wish we lived in Gosforth!!

KING'S SPEECH

At Theatre Royal.

Absolutely first-rate performance. Try to get tickets if you can. You wont regret it.

GOOD MORNING!!

As in, "We had a good morning." Not in the greeting sense, which would be rather silly at 2.45pm.

Took the delivery to Jesmond, drove round Westwood Road in Gosforth to show Helen and Bill the house we're interested in, went to the cake decorating shop, had lunch at the tapas bar in Morpeth. Now we're all settled in front of the telly watching the rugby and in various stages of soporificness!!

Looking forward to the Theatre Royal tonight.

HOW ANNOYED AM I???

The answer to that would clearly be - EXTREMELY!

WHY?

Because we spent a total of four hours at the RVI this morning. My first appointment with the optician proved to completely contradict the advice given during my previous visit a month ago when I was reliably informed that my contacts were fine and didn't need replacing. Now - after the first consultant brought on a second opinion, who then brought in a student "Because he'll never have seen this before" it appears that I DO in fact need a new lens because the scar tissue on my cornea means I need a bespoke lens (I thought that technically they were ALL bespoke) that can cope with the undulating surface better than the one I'm wearing now.

How can things change so much in a month?

Of course the big man himself was nowhere to be seen, but a very nice, but extremely tall, thin man wearing a turban, just read through my notes and said pretty much everything the optician had said an hour previously (Yes I had to sit around for an hour in the middle of it all, getting more and more frustrated as the morning sped away leaving me in it's wake)

All I could think about during this enforced wait, was how much stuff I should have been getting on with and worrying that the girls would have their little legs crossed because we'd been gone so long.

Eventually, after Charles had to move the car twice, we escaped and drove to Brunton Park where a) we've found a fab house, viewed it yesterday, forgot to mention it, belongs to Jan Forster the estate agent her very self!!) and b) I discovered a little row of shops within easy walking distance of said house, on of which just happens to be, believe it or not, a CAKE DECORATING SUPPLIES SHOP!!! How brilliant would that be??

Anyway, we rushed into the shop to buy cake boxes, then popped into the estate agents where we expressed our interest and the staff practically fell over themselves to offer to sell our house so we can make this move happen.

The we were off to Croftway to deliver a birthday cake.

Whizzed into Morpeth for Mother's Day cards and boring old food shopping. Charles paid a very quick visit to Christina while I was in Morrisons.

Then back home to complete the coffee shop order for tomorrow.

Have told Kevin that I will NOT be delivering on Monday next week. What with our family brunch at Loch Fyne AND the match in the afternoon, I'm not going to have time to spend in the kitchen.

HELEN AND BILL...

... are coming this evening - along with Tex of course. They'll be here for the weekend. Helen has two tickets for "The King's Speech" at the Theatre Royal tomorrow night - and I'M going with her! Yay!!

James did say the other evening that he would run us into town and pick us up again after the show. We might just take him up on that offer if it still stands!

But, before they arrive we've got the double appointment at the RVI, some cake boxes to buy, a cake to deliver (two actually, but one's just going next door), baking to do for Saturday's delivery and some shopping to get.

Better get dressed then.

HAD TO TAKE...

... Christina back to the ward a day early.

Very disappointed.

NOTE TO SELF...

... next time you have an appointment with the optician to check your contact lenses...


DON'T GO WEARING YOUR SPECS!!

I have just trekked into town for my appointment, only to realise at the last minute that the contacts that were supposed to be being checked were in fact still on the shelf at home.

Brilliant!!

(Mind you, amazingly, I can now have a consultation tomorrow, just before I see Mr Fig - which is what I wanted in the first place!!)

HAD A...

... good day, relaxed evening and peaceful night with Christina, who is still asleep this morning.

Got a bit of a mixed day ahead, with the annual boiler service later this morning and then an appointment with the optician at the RVI at 3.30. (Probably won't been seen till nearer 5.00 though, knowing the way things work there.)

Annoyingly, we've got to return tomorrow to see Mr Figueredo. Pity they couldn't coordinate the two appointments on the same day!

QUITE A GOOD DAY ACTUALLY!

Managed to pick Christina up around lunchtime. Everything's been fine this afternoon. She has amused herself while I've finished five cakes and now we're just waiting for James to arrive.

DON'T IMAGINE...

... for one minute that just because this is my first post of the day I've only just got up.

Nothing could be further from the truth!!

I've been up, done the cleaning, washing and ironing, made five little Madeira cakes and cut out dozens of daisies ready for Mother's Day cakes.

Now off to Jesmond and Morpeth. Will return with Christina later on.

IT WOULD APPEAR...

... that Christina is coming home for two nights from tomorrow. Good job I've got most of my jobs out of the way! The staff are still trying to get her meds right, so we could be in for an interesting time.

Did the Jesmond delivery, only to discover that Kevin had omitted to order some of the best-sellers and now needs another order tomorrow.

#getagripandgetyourselforganisedkevin.

Looking forward to a quiet night in front of the telly.

NOW YOU'VE REALLY...

... got me thinking dannymatt #notasdaftasitsounds! Our house as a cake is a brilliant idea. Wonder if Homemaker would feature it!!

NOT A SAUSAGE...

... Dannymatt!!

In fact, bugger all!!

PLANS FOR TODAY?

Apart from the delivery to Jesmond, I'm not altogether sure what's on the cards.

All was quiet from Christina yesterday, so I may call into the hospital to see her for a while or take her into Morpeth for coffee perhaps.

Just not sure yet.

DISAPPOINTING RESULT...

... last night, especially with the winner coming as late on as it did. Still, at least it wasn't a thrashing.

What's happened to Cabaye recently? He seems a bit of a non-entity at the moment. Would love to know what the history is between RVP and Tim Krul!!!

Looking forward to Sunday's game at home. Hope the lads pick themselves up for it.

QUITE PROUD OF MYSELF TODAY!!

Doesn't happen often - but I feel pretty pleased with what I've managed to get through.

I had the two celebration cakes finished by 10.30, then had to wait around for the coffee shop order, but decided to try and second guess Kevin, so made a start on some of the staples.

Finally got the firm order around 4.00 and had a couple of big cakes to do, along with brownies, bakewells and fruit scones.

Managed to persuade Kevin to try a lovely lemon sandwich cake today instead of the carrot cake he usually has. It's a lovely lemon sponge,drenched on lemon syrup, sandwiched with lemon curd and lemon buttercream, topped with lemon glace icing. Mmmmm!! (Only good if you like lemon though.)

Everything's crated up ready to go in the morning and now we have the delights of Arsenal/NUFC to look forward to. Won't be relaxing for a while then!

LISTENING TO THE SOUND OF...

... lawnmowers makes you feel like summer's not far away!

BEEN BUSY WITH...

... two cakes this morning, but they're both completed now. very different styles, but I've enjoyed assembling both.

Charles went to work... and then came back again, straight to bed complaining of nausea and headache. Sounds a bit like a migraine to me.

Just waiting for word from Kevin about the next delivery. And while I wait for that to happen, I may just take my coffee out into the garden!! #lovelyday!

WHERE HAS THIS WEEKEND GONE?

You may imagine that it should make no difference to me, now that I'm technically retired, but it DOES. I still look forward to Saturday and Sunday and the more relaxed feel to the days. Except that there has been little in the way of relaxation for us THIS weekend.

Christina has been okay, although she was clearly struggling this evening and seemed to be absolutely shattered. I'm guessing she'll sleep well tonight. She finds it impossible to relax or to be still and I think that has an impact on us as well.

It was lovely to see James and Claire and even lovelier to watch them enthusiastically chowing down on their roast chicken dinner and apple pie!!

Right, I've got to get some peeps now. Can't stop yawning!!

Night, Night.

BEAUTIFUL MORNING!

Charles has gone to the hospital to pick up Christina. He's going to take her and the dogs for a long walk while I get on with cake decorations this morning.

(To be honest, if I had a choice, I'd rather be going with them on a day like this, but hey ho, these things need to be done.)

Thought I'd won a small fortune on the lottery last night when 4 numbers came up - but sadly this was not the case and a mere £16 is my massive payout. Still, better than a kick in the teeth as they say.

AND NOW I'VE GOT TO MAKE...

... dragonflies, frogs and a hare.

Interesting combination for a birthday cake!

Actually when I say "now" I really mean "in the morning" it's just that I've started to think about it now.

I've got two cakes to do this week, the other is a fairly standard flowery cake for a 70th birthday. I'm just hoping Kevin doesn't need an order on Monday, so I can spend tomorrow making all the components.

James and Claire are coming round for a late Sunday lunch tomorrow. And we've just had Christina on the phone asking if she can spend a couple of hours with us too, so it would make sense to have her round at the same time. Should be good to have them all together again.

JUST BACK...

... from the hairdressers. Had a lovely morning with Christina. Went to the Cafe des Amis, a sweet little coffee shop across the road from where we have our hair done and she had the brilliant idea that we should look for a little coffee shop with living accommodation above.

Not sure how easy it would be to find something like that in Gosforth, but it's a thought.

WE'VE HAD...

... two really lovely days with Christina. She's been calm and responsive, happy to engage in some pretty challenging conversation. We've noticed an enormous change in her since the last time she was here.

Charles is taking her back to hospital now, but I'll be picking her up again in the morning as we're going to the hairdressers together. I'm looking forward to it.

HAVE JUST DISCOVERED...

... Adriano's Deli in Gosforth.

What a little gem!

Yum yum!!

CRIKEY!!!

Made a huge delivery to the coffee shop, including carrot cake about an hur and a half ago.

Just had text from Kevin, saying they've sold the whole cake, can I get another one to them ASAP!!

And some flapjack if I've got some lying around!

Okaaaaaaaaaaaay...

THANKS GIRLS!

I'm sure you thought I'd appreciate getting up at 6am - but to be honest I could have done with a bit longer in bed this morning. The morning greetings were, of course, lovely. I loved getting my face washed with licks and having you jumping round my legs, pummelling me for attention.

But now that you've got me up I think it's just a little unfair that the pair of you have now decided to go back to sleep.

No sign of Christina or Charles yet.

Yawn.

MIND YOU...

... what I didn't mention in the last post is that Charles and Christina returned from her old room with enough washing to keep a Chinese laundry busy for a week. However, with my obsession for never ever accumulating an ironing pile we have, between us, managed to get through the lot this evening.

Sean came for dinner and stayed for a couple of hours. he and Christina have such a lovely relationship. It was almost like old times. Sigh #bittersweet.

OUR LOVELY GIRL...

... has been an absolute joy today.

Calm and caring. Relaxed and looking fabulous.

Such a good day.

WAS JUST ABOUT TO SAY...

... it's been a manic day, but under the circumstances that might not have been the best choice of words.

Christina is home for the day - and possibly the night. She and Charles have spent all afternoon up at Rennington where they are sorting out the room she used to rent and starting to move things into her room here.

In the meantime, I've been working on Kevin's order for the morning and throwing a meal together for this evening, including a vegetarian option as Sean (Christina's ex, but still very good friend) is coming round.

Am about to get a bit (well probably more than a bit in fairness) narky with Charles who has still not managed to put up the "For Sale" sign despite it being delivered over a week ago. His latest mad idea is to get the builders to make the post and put it up for us. BUT THAT COSTS MONEY CHARLES!!! I thought all this do it yourself stuff was supposed to be saving money. What can possibly be so difficult about buying a stake and some supports, attaching the sign and malleting the whole lot into the ground?????

THIS KITCHEN...

... could be yours...

... if you buy the rest of the house!!!

For more details check out: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-22029198.html?showcase=true&premiumA=true

MILLIONAIRE SHORTBREAD...

... and tiffin were the new coffee shop goodies getting a bit of a trial today. No doubt Charles and James (who's coming round for "Parents Evening" in a while) will enjoy sampling these!

Knackered now to be honest. Back aches, legs ache, feet are sore - must be time to stop.

MORNING!!

Yes - it certainly is!

Feel absolutely shattered today. Again, I guess it's partly the result of the stress we're going through at present.

I probably won't see Christina today, but we'll be bringing her home tomorrow for a while. I think she's hoping to stay overnight again, but that will depend on how things go.

Looks like it's going to be a pleasant day weatherwise. It seemed to rain all night, but is bright and sunny, if a little chilly, now.

I'll be going to Jesmond shortly, then Morpeth, then home to bake. Bit of a pattern developing here.

And - just a thought - Why has nobody bought our house yet??!!

VERY MIXED DAY TODAY.

Christina has been pretty unsettled and as a result, so have I. We did manage to go into Morpeth at lunchtime for a while, but it was pretty tense and distressing at times.

Still, we have to remember the good days and accept that there are going to be ups and downs for a long time to come.

Either side of seeing Christina I've been in the kitchen - of course. Kevin wants a delivery tomorrow, which has taken me a bit by surprise as I thought he had enough to see him through to Thursday. Must have had a couple of busy days!

Looking forward to an evening in front of the telly!!

CHOCOLATE CAKES...

... in the oven. I'm making double quantities of everything today, so that I've got enough to take as samples to Bar Luga.

Christina has just rung and is wanting to know if I can go and see her today, so I'll need to adjust my plans a little. Hopefully I'll have a chance to talk to the staff as they've been having a meds review this morning.

The girls are in a feisty mood today apparently and are bickering at each other in the sunroom having that funny sort of niggly conversation they have from time to time. Hope there'll be time to take them for a long walk later as the weather is looking pretty good again.

WENT FOR COFFEE...

... with Christina this morning. She was looking absolutely stunning in her new Lulu Guinness specs. Seriously fab!!

Dropped her back at hospital and am now home trying to decide what to do. Should I have a lazy afternoon, or should I make a start on the next batch of baking?

Right now the thought of 40 winks is most appealing!!

CHILLY START...

... to the day. But bright and sunny.

Off to Jesmond shortly.

Need to stock up on ingredients again, especially as I've been asked to take samples in to Bar Luga in Morpeth this week. This could be interesting!

OVERALL...

... a fair result I would say.

We really didn't seem to turn up until the second half, and in my opinion bringing ben Arfa on proved to be a game changer.

Should Shola have started? With his record against the Mackems, maybe.

JUST WANT TO SAY...

... that it was really lovely to have the family together yesterday.

Mum and Helen can now picture Christina in her hospital surroundings and are both reassured by that.

Had a delightful afternoon with the cousins, talking about engagements, weddings and house-hunting. Looks like we could all take over Gosforth if plans come good!!

DERBY DAY!!

ARRRGGGGHHHH!!

No nails left!

Not looking forward to this one!

LINK FOR DANNYMATT>>>

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-21844275.html

Photos were taken by the 'agents' - Colin Hoe came to do them - also did the energy certificate and floorplan.

LOOKING FORWARD TO...

... a day with the family - in its extended sense. Helen, Bill and Mum are coming up from Yorkshire this morning and we're meeting them in Morpeth with Christina for coffee, then we're taking Christina back to hospital where Mum can have a little look round the ward so she can picture the environment her Granddaughter is in at the moment.

Lunch will be a selection of coffee shop fare - soup and quiche followed by a selection of fruit tarts and Bakewells.

During the afternoon we will be joined by James, Claire, Rachel, Hannah and Jake. Should be lots of chat and laughter, hopefully topped off by a Chinese banquet this evening.

Hopefully all will go well as I think Charles and I could do with something to take our minds off the current situation for a while.

AND JUST TO CONFUSE US FURTHER...

... we viewed a terraced house in Gosforth today. It overlooks the cricket ground, is a five minute walk to the High Street (through the park), has a lovely kitchen/diningroom, three/four bedrooms, three bath/shower rooms, loads of storage space, plenty of parking on the drive and a garage.

Only thing is...

... it's only ten years old!

So, hasn't got the same sort of character as a Victorian terrace, but has all the advantages of a new property in a fab location.

We love it!

SO...

... diagnosis is almost certainly bipolar, with long period of stabilisation before learning how to cope with the condition.

Progress towards stabilisation doesn't appear to be as good as had been expected by the hospital staff and meds may need to be increased accordingly.

At least we've managed to have this conversation and, however grim the news, at least we have some idea of what we're going to be dealing with.

It's a funny old life isn't it?

AND TODAY'S TIMETABLE IS...

9.00 Meeting with nurse

11.30 Viewing house in Gosforth

2.00 Meeting with doctor

Home for coffee shop baking!

OKAY, SO WE HAVE ONLY LOOKED AT...

... two properties, but it's hit us really hard that we may not be able to find a property that has everything we want. The one we saw today needs major refurbishment and ideally an extension over the garage to create an extra bedroom and bathroom. The kitchen was dire despite its fab appearance on the photos and needs to be replaced and the layout completely redesigned. And the driveway was only just wide/long enough to squeeze a tiny little car on, so we'd need to knock the wall down to open the space up a bit.

And it smells - of students!!

My first reaction was of disappointment, but Charles was much more enthusiastic and is going to take our builder along to have a look and hopefully to give us some ideas as to how we could improve it.

So - looks like it COULD be a bit of a project!!

(Mind you, it won't be anything at all until we sell ours!!)

THINK...

... we're beginning to get our girl back.

And, unless you've been in our position, you can not imagine what that feels like.

SHHHHH!

Christina is still asleep.

Had a good night.

Absolutely delightful yesterday!