Serene and Sleepy

Wendy has been very miserable for a few days so Caelyn is more than usually tired. I went to make some tea and when I came back to the lounge, Caelyn, Woozle and Madam Spikkeldy were all snoozing sweetly in the reclining chair.

When they woke up, they went to Lisa's as she has promised to cut Caelyn's hair. Caelyn has been asking her to do it for years but Lisa has only just agreed, and has only agreed to cut the fringe. Caelyn for some reason is feeling a bit sensitive about her scar at the moment.

Sean is in Manchester for a training course and to meet Northern members of a guild he belongs to, and it feels odd with him so far away. i don't know why I feel like that as the journey by train between our different homes is just under an hour, so he is hardly a near neighbour at the best of times. Still, Manchester feels very far away with him in it. Aren't we odd?

Does this explain why?

This is why I don't watch TV. As soon as I sit down, my animal friends come and lie all over me. They don't sit still either - they wriggle trying to get themselves comfortable, and of course that stops me being comfortable.
And if it isn't the animals, its the grandbaby. I love them all very dearly, but sometimes I really fancy some peace and quiet!

Lisa spent the evening with us

We were lucky enough to have our dear friend Lisa spend the evening with us. She is very good with Wendy.

A busy young lady

She eventually fell asleep in her Great Grandma's arms.

Wendy reading Newspaper

She has loads of toys but like a typical baby enjoys playing with pedestrian stuff such as trays and newspaers.

Girls Night In

My mum came round for our usual Friday evening Girls Night In.

Not a great week

Last week I walked the dog to Tesco because I wanted to try to be less dependant on my mobility scooter and I was feeling OK. It was a mistake - with this illness, payback time is delayed until a day or two after going over your limits.
Then I did an hours' housework. And I have been "paying" for it ever since.

I was to have seen Sean this evening, but I had lost my purse and it gave me a welcome reason to cancel. I love Sean and I know it is good for us to be together but I felt so ill.
Anyway, Caelyn came to help me look for my purse and found it under the pillow. I had left it on the beside table and the cat must have knocked it off and it got mixed up in the bedclothes.

The animals know that I'm not doing too well and they have stayed with me constantly, all curled up on the bed with me. What a comfort they are!

Explanation of God - by an 8 yr old

This ONE IS FABULOUS!!! It was written by 8 year old Danny Dutton of
Chula Vista, CA, for his third grade homework assignment. The
assignment was to explain God. I just wonder if any of us could do as
well???
EXPLANATION OF GOD

"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the
ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things
on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they
are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up
his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk He can just leave
that to mothers and fathers."

God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot
of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at
times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or
TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a
terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to
turn it off.

"God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which
keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going
over your Mom and dad's head asking for something they said you
couldn't have."

"Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are
any in town. At least there aren't any who come to our church."

"Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on
water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who
didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of him
preaching to them and they crucified him. But he was good and kind,
like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what
they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K."

"His dad God appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard
work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road
anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad
out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for
God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without
having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important."

"You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because
they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time."

"You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy,
and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God. Don't skip
church or do something you think will be more fun like going to the
beach. This is wrong and besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach
until noon anyway."

"If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be
very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like
to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're
scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into
real deep water by big kids"

"But you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you. I
figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And
that's why I believe in God"

News

Part of Mystery Solved
Wendy was coming out in blotches all over her face when she ate certain things. Caelyn thought it might be wheat as she reacted when eating brown bread. She was fine with organic Rice Cakes, so her Mum has been trying to keep her away from wheat. We had a Eureka! moment today though. We realised she was reacting to Marmite which is a yeast extract, but she is fine with Bovril which is a beef extract. As Wendy is still breastfed, she needs to eat extra iron as the stores she was born with started running low at about 6 months, and Bovril is a good source of Iron and Vit Bcomplex. Also, it is better on wholegrain bread from a nutrition point of view. I don't mind her reacting badly to Marmite as it is not an "essential" food.

She also reacts to other things though, so Caelyn is being very careful about what she gives her. I suggested food in its most natural state, meaning she can eat slices of roast chicken, but not chicken cooked in a pre-prepared sauce like Chicken Tonight which is probably full of preservatives and whatnot. No tins of spaghetti in tomato sauce, but homemade spaghetti with a homemade tomato sauce would probably be fine. No cold drink syrup, but diluted pure natural fruit juice - fine.

I don't believe in "baby food". I think a baby should grow up eating what her parents eat and luckily Caelyn prefers healthy food. They avoid fat and salt because of Caelyn's kidney trouble and Nigel's cholesterol. If Caelyn wants to put some 'dodgy' ingredient in, she takes Wendy's portion out first. Why make life complicated? It is much easier when the whole family eats the same food, provided that they eat a healthy diet in the first place.

Michelle
Michelle is going through a very hard time at the moment and prayers for her would be much appreciated. She is very "broken" right now and I hate seeing my lovely girl suffering like this. Please send her some kind and thoughtful messages - she needs them.

Faithful Hound

Where a Woozle is, a Brakkie is never very far away!

A Taste for Shoes

Little Madam WooWoo is developing a taste for shoes!

She is such a happy baby

Caelyn said earlier that Wendy is happy to be alive. I know exactly what she means. Wendy is a very happy child - and long may she remain so!

Naughtiest Face Ever?

Is this the naughtiest face you have ever seen?
It is certainly a characterful face.
She is full of character and it shows, doesn't it?

Wendy

She enjoys her food

Spare a Prayer for Carole

Carole is June's sister. I have been talking to her today, to say that I went to put flowers on June's grave. She said she was sorry she couldn't come as she is up North visiting her sick mother.

In the past year, Carole (who has a full time job and who is a widow) saw her son die of a brain tumour, then had heart surgery herself, then had to deal with June's death, the funeral and packing up and selling her house. Now she is visiting a sick Mum.

How much grief can one soul bear? Carole carries out her committments with great faithfulness, and she has a sweetness about her spirit. Even so, nobody can carry a heavy load for too long, and Carole has been carrying a load that anyone would buckle under sooner or later.

Lets pray that Carole gets a refreshing and replenishing complete break very soon. She is an excellent and gentle lady and she deserves it.

It would do my heart a lot of good to hear that something wonderful had happened for her.

An Anniversary

Today is the Anniversary of my friend June's death.
She is much in my thoughts, and I miss her a great deal.
She was a Gift to us and we are glad we were honoured with her love and friendship.

She was a lady who would do anything at all for a friend without thinking of her own convenience, and she never reminded anyone of what she had done for them. She delighted in service to others, and I am reminded of the verse "If you want to be great in God's Kingdom, learn to be the servant of all". She lived that!

I am glad that I have her little dog to remember her by, although of course we would remember her without him.

I like to think of her cradled safely in the loving arms of the Good Shepherd with no more pain, tears, illness or anything else like that. Perfectly at peace and well at last.

God Bless you with ....

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, superficial relationships, so that you will live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and exploitation of people so that you will work for justice, equality and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war, so that you will reach out your hand to comfort them and change their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with the foolishness to think that you can make a difference in the world, so that you will do the things which others tell you cannot be done.

Author Unknown

A clean baby with a full tummy

After her Bath

Auntie Michelle got her out of the bath, but then her Mum came in. Wendy likes a snack and a snooze after her bath so her Mum took her. Wendy is always lovely, but there is something wonderful about a clean, powdery, milky, sleepy baby.

Sunday Evening

Caelyn and Nigel popped in after visiting Nanna. Their hot water is only lukewarm at the moment, so they came to bath here. Auntie Michelle undressed Wendy and danced around with her before taking her to her mother in the bathroom.

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Christmas Postcard

Wendy's Grandpa lives in South Africa, and posting things is a problem because quite frequently, things sent via the mail do not get delivered. Sending something by Registered Mail from the UK doesn't help either, as SA and UK postal services do not have a reciprocal Registered Mail agreement. I have found the best way to send things with a good possibility of their being delivered is to send a postcard.

So, I have been experimenting with creating a postcard to send Wendy's grandfather. The original has come out OK, but Michelle says she doesn't like it as it is not Wendy's best photo. I like it though. Wendy's grandfather has not met her and he does not have a computer so a good way to send him photos of her is by postcard. If I knew whether he had a DVD player or access to a DVD player or a CD player that can connect to a TV, I could try to send him photo DVDs or CDs. Postcards it will have to be for the moment though.

Of course, the final decision will be her mother's. Caelyn is annoyed with her father because he has promised to stay in touch a zillion times and has never bothered. Still, he is Wendy's grandfather, and I think Caelyn should set a good example and keep lines of communication open, however tenuous. He will not reply if past form is anything to go by, but that is not the point. By doing the possible from her side, her conscience need not trouble her.

We know he has had postcards before because he was able to give Tubby Swanepoel our address when he visited England, and he gave his sisters our phone numbers and email addresses. So, some post definitely gets through, but as there is never a response, it is hard to be sure what he gets and what he doesn't. His sisters have a stronger sense of family though, and they have made an effort to keep in touch with Michelle and Caelyn, which is nice.

Caelyn and Wendy

Caelyn felt a bit better today because Wendy slept better last night. Caelyn is still feeling viral though so she isn't feeling as well as she would like.

Josie and I went to their house to get the Revo so my mum has a scooter that works. The TGA SuperSport is making a funny noise and because it is such an old machine, spares are scarce. We hope something will turn up because she loves that machine and the Revo is just not in the same class. Its like trading down from a Mercedes Benz to a skateboard! Still, it will keep her mobile and it will be used rather than gathering dust.

Michelle had to take her criminal record bureau check forms to her new job today and the Personnel girl was quite sniffy with her. She had written to ask for a photo ID such as a passport, but when Michelle got there she wanted a birth certificate instead. Then she wanted the issue number (there isn't one) then she decided to ask for an issue date instead. She was being quite difficult, but who knows why?

Michelle had an early start to the day and had a sore throat. She slept when she got back, but she made dinner for everyone tonight as at that point, I simply could not. I had a lot of pain and exhaustion but felt better after a rest.

I have been trying to improve my fitness and depend on my mobility scooter a bit less so I walked the dog to Tesco last night. It took ages and was quite painful but I felt OK at the time. The thing with this illness is that you rarely suffer on the day you use too much energy; the horrible after-effects kick in a day or two later, which makes it difficult to guess just what you ought not have done. I usually manage 'pacing' my energy fairly well, but I blow it every now and then. At least these days I have a better idea of my limits and so don't go too far generally, and when I do, my recovery times are quicker than they used to be.

Not too Happy today

Our little Woozellum wasn't too happy today.

Auntie Michelle trying to cheer her up.

Lying on her Granny's tum

Halloween Warning

To owners of cats:
Please take great care to keep your Feline Friends indoors until Halloween is over. Some cruel and vicious people look for black cats to attack around Halloween, and cats have had horrific injuries - like having their tails hacked off or their backs broken with broomsticks. All cats are vulnerable to this sort of attack, but Black Cats are particularly at risk. Keep your friends safe!

And as Guy Fawkes approaches, have a care for all your animal friends who may be frightened by the noise of fireworks.

Reading - or trying to!

My Mum was trying to read, but Fat Father Jack wanted a cuddle, and he was determined to have it! We trimmed his nails because he is very affectionate and kneads his claws into whoever he is cuddling, and it can be quite painful.
He is a very fine Cat.

Her hair

See how blonde her hair is becoming? She has quite a lot of fine fairly short hair all over the head, with a the hair on the top of her head so long that it has to be tied back.

Lots of Changes

Wendy was weighed the other day and was at the 75th percentile, which is excellent, especially considering her low birth weight. She is doing new things every day now. She loves "talking" on the phone, says Baba, Mama and occasionally Dada. She is a happy but strong willed little girl, who lets people know very clearly what she wants.
And yesterday, she was having a great game of Peek-a-Boo with Auntie Michelle, but the 'new' thing was that she was pulling up the blanket to hide her face then showing herself and laughing. What a clever little cherub!