Friday Five!

Friyay!

1.  The house on 4 acres is LOADS of fun.  It will be hard to move back home.     We have horses in a field and they come over to greet us in the morning.  A public footpath cuts across.  It just feels really special! 

2.  We really want to explore the area this weekend, but it's supposed to be HORRIBLE weather all weekend.  I'm hoping it's just drizzle and not like it is right now.  We want to go walk on the footpath and see if it leads us to the winery up the road!  So crazy that we are 2 miles from home but it's a whole new world!!

3.  The house is INSANE.  I went by yesterday and HOLY COW.  Basically the entire upstairs is just one giant room now (I left my phone in the car and didn't get a photo.  They are CRANKING through.  New connection to the water main went in yesterday so HIGH PRESSURE water!  The electrician does first fix next week, then air conditioning (yup, we love our air conditioning and going full American.... not to mention global warming is real!).

4.  They extended the red weather warning to our area so kids school is closed.  Was the last day before half term.  They are driving me crazy.  I just sent them outside to play in the storm.  "Go see if you get blown over".  Challenge was accepted.

5.  BIL is supposed to be flying over from Ireland today for the first visit since January 2020....  I don't know if that plane is going to fly!

I'll add some photos of the house... that we are paying the same price as a 2 bedroom static caravan for.   

4.  They extended the red weather warning to our area so kids school is closed.  Was the last day before half term.  They are driving me crazy.  I just sent them outside to play in the storm.  "Go see if you get blown over".  Challenge was accepted.

Brilliant! 

The temporary house sounds amazing, KFD!!

1.  Woke up to snow this morning.  Took the dogs out and Becky was so super cute trying to play in the snow... they have to stay on lead, so she couldn't run like the wanted to, but she did a fair amount of jumping and spinning!

2.  Local bakery has recently started doing cinnamon buns that absolutely rival Cinnabon after 30 seconds in the microwave. LUSH!  I bought 3 this morning; one for today, tomorrow and Sunday.

3.  Got to go to a 50th birthday party tomorrow night for one of OH's colleagues....looking forward to getting out and doing something social, but i don't know these people, so it'll probably be awkward.

4.  Oh, also tomorrow (attention KoD!!) Verdant Mary Lou is going on in our usual pub in Glasgow, so we are going for a few pints of that before the birthday do.

5.  I had a can of Cloudwater session IPA at lunch today... it's only 4.5% but i feel a bit fuzzy now after just one!  Can't take my alcohol as well as i used to.  I remember when a crowd of us from work used to go into King Tut''s at lunchtime and have multiple pints in a lunch hour, then come back to work.  No way could i do that anymore... it's sad to get old!

1. The big one: my dad passed away unexpectedly last Thursday morning. It’s been a big shock as it was so sudden - we’re still getting our heads around it. There was post-mortem done to find out what happened - it was an aortic dissection, which is when there’s a tear in the inner layer of the aorta and it ruptures. It’s rare, only affecting 3 or 4 in 100,000 people and is usually fatal.

2. Due to the events of last week and the fact that the funeral isn’t for another few weeks, I’ve postponed my tour to Ascension to the end of March (I was originally due to leave on March 8th)

3. I still plan to go to Ascension though as I need a break and a change of scenery - work has been very stressful and tiring lately, and with everything else I’m dealing with too, I think if I don’t get away for a while, I’ll go crazy.

4. After several very intense and emotionally-draining days trying to sort things out, I managed to go for a decent walk yesterday and then we went out for a meal as a family in the afternoon (it was booked before my dad passed but we decided to keep the reservation)… and it seems to have really helped - I feel a lot more ‘normal’ today than I have all week

5. I attended the interview for my US visitor visa renewal last Friday (I got the news about my dad an hour before I was due to get the train to London - it was too late to cancel so I had to go anyway and try to keep it together until I could get back home to my family). It was the easiest experience I’ve had getting a US visa - only had to wait a couple of hours and the interview only lasted a couple of minutes. The visa was issued on Monday and I received my passport back on Wednesday.


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ksand24, I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss. How sad.  Biggest hugs 

1. The big one: my dad passed away unexpectedly last Thursday morning. It’s been a big shock as it was so sudden - we’re still getting our heads around it. There was post-mortem done to find out what happened - it was an aortic dissection, which is when there’s a tear in the inner layer of the aorta and it ruptures. It’s rare, only affecting 3 or 4 in 100,000 people and is usually fatal.

2. Due to the events of last week and the fact that the funeral isn’t for another few weeks, I’ve postponed my tour to Ascension to the end of March (I was originally due to leave on March 8th)

3. I still plan to go to Ascension though as I need a break and a change of scenery - work has been very stressful and tiring lately, and with everything else I’m dealing with too, I think if I don’t get away for a while, I’ll go crazy.

4. After several very intense and emotionally-draining days trying to sort things out, I managed to go for a decent walk yesterday and then we went out for a meal as a family in the afternoon (it was booked before my dad passed but we decided to keep the reservation)… and it seems to have really helped - I feel a lot more ‘normal’ today than I have all week

5. I attended the interview for my US visitor visa renewal last Friday (I got the news about my dad an hour before I was due to get the train to London - it was too late to cancel so I had to go anyway and try to keep it together until I could get back home to my family). It was the easiest experience I’ve had getting a US visa - only had to wait a couple of hours and the interview only lasted a couple of minutes. The visa was issued on Monday and I received my passport back on Wednesday.


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You are incredibly brave. Sincere condolences.

So sorry to hear that KSand.

My condolences Ksand, I'm so sorry to hear it. If there is anything we can do to support you and your family, let us know. Sadly that's a risk factor for EDS so I'm too familiar with it.



I also realised I hadn't commented in this thread in a while, so 5 from me...

1. I started swimming/doing aquafit last month. It's really helped my mood quite significantly, and I can feel myself slowly getting stronger.

2. Husband ordered a powerchair for me so that we can finally not be limited by my terrible feet and hips in where we go. Every decision for the last many years was made based on how much walking would have to be done, now I don't have to worry! It should be here soon. Purple and neon yellow accents.

3. Going to be working on a charity album, hoping it goes well!

4. My cat loves windy days like this. My body does not. Quite severe migraine and joint pain the last 2 days, can even feel when wind gusts are coming.

5. Gym is great, but I only feel safe going first thing in the morning so I've also become a morning person. I like kids, but you can't wear masks swimming so I don't want to share a pool with them right now. They do have CO2 monitors and have been keeping it ventilated at least, and I wear my mask in the changing rooms.

Oh ksand, I’m so very sorry for you and your family. You all have my thoughts and prayers in this difficult time.

1. The big one: my dad passed away unexpectedly last Thursday morning. It’s been a big shock as it was so sudden - we’re still getting our heads around it. There was post-mortem done to find out what happened - it was an aortic dissection, which is when there’s a tear in the inner layer of the aorta and it ruptures. It’s rare, only affecting 3 or 4 in 100,000 people and is usually fatal.

OMG K... this is so awful!  So sorry for your loss... i hope you are coping ok.

I am so sorry this is the week I didn't do Friday Five... ksand, I'm so sorry for your unexpected loss.  When my dad passed, I had UK marriage and visa appointments to keep, and it was really hard explaining why my family weren't here for my low-key wedding (my dad and I had spoken in advance, and he instructed me to not alter my plans "no matter what news" I heard from home, so I muddled through it all.  I'm sorry you had to keep that appointment, but at leastit went smoothly and now it is done.  Mostly, though, I'm glad you are able to spend time with your family in this moment.  I think you're wise to postpone your assignment to Ascension, but to still go.  If there's anything we can say or do to help get through this, please let us know.   

Happy Friday!

1.) Orchestra rehearsal this weekend for a gig next weekend 

2.) Been snowing, sleeting, snizzling, raining heavy on and off again all week so it's a total slippery ,slidey mudpit out there.  Yuck.

3.) So beyond happy that my Mexican lager placed 3rd in the lager category in the Scottish National Homebrew competition.  Got great feedback and it's a really tasty beer, if I say so myself! 

4.) My husband made a gorgeous steak pie last night! 

5.) So busy at work. Have to use 3 days of holiday before the end of March. Not sure how to fit that in. 

2.) Been snowing, sleeting, snizzling, raining heavy on and off again all week so it's a total slippery ,slidey mudpit out there.  Yuck.

Ditto!  . This has been SUCH a wet winter.

Friyay!

1.  I'm SO GLAD to see the sun out today.  Without wind.  It's been awful down here.  Hoping we get out to explore our new piece of countryside this weekend.

2.  Been a BONKERS week with the kids out of school.  School was closed last Friday because of the wind.  Then off all this week.  And an inset day on Monday.  Few days of camp, few days of playdates.  LOTS of ferrying around at random times.  At some point, I DO have to work....   

3.  The kittens get cuter everyday.  And cuddlier and cuddlier.  Both with each other and us. 

4.  We reached "disaster stage" with the extension this week.  Thankfully the builder IMMEDIATELY said it would be rectified without a battle.  It could have been bad people.  I've still managed to cry 3 times this week about it all.  This is SO not what I would choose to be doing.  Ugh, it'll be over soon and holidays can recommence.

5.  Since my daughter will be able to have a birthday party this year, we are getting a bouncy castle, face painter, piñata, using the outdoor pizza oven for kids to make their own pizzas, and going to play ALL the kids party games (musical chairs, pin the tail on the donkey, pass the parcel) and NOT book a hall or entertainer.  I'm so pleased!  It's fun to have a massive garden and massive house in case it rains (the temporary accommodation). 

4.  We reached "disaster stage" with the extension this week.  Thankfully the builder IMMEDIATELY said it would be rectified without a battle.  It could have been bad people.  I've still managed to cry 3 times this week about it all.  This is SO not what I would choose to be doing.  Ugh, it'll be over soon and holidays can recommence.

Hang in there KFD, it'll be so worth it once you're finsihed.