So that's what it was!

It is good when you see something and wonder about it and then find out on the news exactly what it was.

When I was taking our youngest home (or it might have been when I picked her up) on Tuesday, we saw this HUGE plane coming into land at what's left of the runways at the old RAF Woodbridge.
Then at the beach hut, there it was again circling low inland from Felixstowe, disappearing from sight and everyone saying "what on earth!"

Watching the Anglia ITV News on Wednesday I found out

An Airbus  and  Here too 

or maybe HERE
or there might be a video below

Depending which link actually works!

Great excitement for plane spotters

Mentioning our youngest reminds me that she has written her story of surviving cancer HERE. Colin has shared her story with several women coping with ovarian cancer that he's bumped into (not literally obviously!) while staying on the Oncology ward and he says it makes them smile. Seeing it all written down I realise how much I'd forgotten or wiped from memory. Our youngest had already moved out from home and it all seemed to happen quite quickly without her ever being really ill. She even moved flats during that time too which is a strange co-incidence with us and our house move in the middle of Col's treatment.


Back soon
Sue

What's Happening at Number 9

I loved watching the Olympics on TV this year. Despite our TV, with it's built in Freeview, being too old to get Red Button and my lap top connection too slow to watch on-line, I still managed to watch a little of most sports and more of others. It's puzzling that we don't play handball in this country, it looks a pretty simple sort of game, not a lot of equipment needed. Or maybe it is played here - who knows.

Now it's back to normal viewing for a couple of weeks before we get another dose of sports with the Paralympics, after that there is Strictly to look forward to. I do hope Col is home before the Paralympics start, things were looking hopeful but another blip with the line (inserted in a vein in the chest for the stem cell transplant) makes me wonder if he'll be stuck there for weeks more. They decided that the line had been in too long and he had to go down to surgery to have it removed, under local unaesthetic. All the time he has been having high temperatures, that come and go randomly and they can't find the reason so it was probably the line. It was January when we first knew what was wrong and here we are nearly at the end of August and this time he's been in hospital for 3 weeks already. Some days I wonder if we will ever get back to normal then I have to give myself a kicking!

 After sorting out all my craft papers, odd bits of fabric, spare curtains and pictures over the weekend, I found enough to fill 4 bags and took them round to the charity shops yesterday morning. Then, because her OH couldn't get away from work early, I picked up our youngest and brought her back to Ipswich for another ultra-sound on dot-the-bump. However the small unborn was laying in such way that she is still not 100% sure that Dot is definitely female so we still might be in for a surprise in 8 weeks time, and the sonographer said she couldn't get a good photo either. We then went up to Col's ward to visit him before I took her home through awful traffic.There seem to be roadworks everywhere round Ipswich and East Suffolk at the moment.

 Today, according to the local weather bloke on TV, was the hottest day of the summer so far. Luckily I was down at the beach hut having a swim to keep cool. The worst thing was getting in the car at the hospital after visiting Col on my way home........Phew

 Has anyone else been watching "Britain's hardest workers", it's all about low paid jobs, an eye opener. I wouldn't want to work for Approved Foods for a start, or on any of the other companies featured. (Just editing in to say that its on all week I think so look for Mondays programme first)

That's what's been happening here at number 9. Not a lot really.

Thanks for comments

Back soon I guess

Sue

English?

Why have so many words had 'ized' added to the end?
So casual workers are now casualized workers.....really?

And when did "gonna" become part of the language .......it's "Going to" "GOING TO"!

Feel better now :-)

Back Soon
Sue

Getting Better + Library Book Photo and Book warning!

What a difference a day makes :-)
All your positive vibes, kind wishes and prayers have worked and our little fella was able to go home, he is now feeding well and not being sick. Col is still feeling exhausted but is drinking more and eating again so that's the first step on the road to recovery.

 My Penny Pincher pen-friend S said she really misses the library book photos, when I would bike home from the library van once a month with a lovely bag of books I'd ordered and take a photo for the blog.
So specially for S I waited a few days before going to the library so I could pick up several of my requested books rather than just one or two at a time.
Here they are

From the top down - Mrs Miniver to re-read after reading the other Jan Struther last week.
The Lanimer Bride by Pat McIntosh, the 11th in the crime series set in 15th Century Glasgow.
Ruth Goodman - she of odd clothes on TV! - How to be a Tudor - A Day to Dusk guide to everyday life in Tudor Britain. I Think I borrowed How to be a Victorian, also written by Ruth a couple of years ago but can't remember reading it so maybe I didn't.
Josh Spero - Second hand stories. Not sure how I heard about this, it's about a man who tracks down previous owners of his second-hand books.
Signal For Vengeance by Edward Marston, the umpteenth book in his railway detective series. They are becoming  a bit same-y so I might read it or not.
Sandlands by Rosy Thornton. These are short stories inspired by the "sandlings" - Suffolk's coast and heaths Area of Outstanding Natural beauty, which we lived on the edge of for 23 years.
The New Homesteader by Bella and Nick Ivins...............see below.............


I soon looked through this book and here is the Book Warning! -
Only read this if you are a wishing for a smallholding/ homestead and have pots of money!
Lovely new book, Gorgeous pictures, but Oh My Goodness, this Self Sufficient family are not short of a penny or two.

Here's the description from the library website -

Ten years ago, Bella and Nick Ivins left the city behind and relocated to Walnuts Farm, high on the Sussex Weald. Inspired by the Modern Homesteading movement, they decided to embrace self-sufficient way of life. 'The New Homesteader' tells the story of their family life on their home farm and provides all the knowledge necessary for anyone thinking of embracing self-sustaining lifestyle and starting their own homestead or urban farm - or even just tending their own little plot to provide a supply of fresh ingredients throughout the year.

Reading this could leave you green with envy.
We had the smallholding but never had the spare cash, now we have the spare cash and no energy for a smallholding!

Such is life :-)

You need a £20 note to buy  this book but if you are hard up borrow it from the library and spend your £20 on something edible, like an apple tree for instance, for the smallholding or garden!

Back Soon
Sue
PS welcome to 2 new followers - Elizabeth and Kitkat
Extra PS Our youngest has started a blog HERE, Wonder if she'll have time once Dot-the-bump arrives! :-)

 

Not a fun week

Our little grandson at 11 weeks old had to have an operation to correct a narrowing between stomach and intestines. We thought things were not right when they stayed a few weeks ago and H has been back to the doctor with Jacob several times in the last few weeks and finally got referred straight to their local hospital for tests. They then had to wait for nearly 2 days for a bed  at a bigger hospital.
 Apparently quite a common problem for babies, mainly boys, and is quickly sorted. But another thing to worry about and being a distance away makes things worse.
And how do you tell an 11 week old that he is nil-by-mouth!
He should be able to go home in a day or two and fingers crossed that will be the end of it and he will start to feed and put on weight properly.

Meanwhile Colin is still not feeling any better, he has been on constant drips of saline, blood , antibiotics or platelets, one after the other or two at a time.

I'm just trying to keep on an even keel and not fall off the tightrope - mixed metaphors there but you know what I mean!


I think I will be glad to see the end of August
Back Soon
Sue

Half of August gone and links to old posts

August days are creeping by and Col has now been in hospital for 2 weeks. We hope by the end of this week  a lot of the nasty chemicals will have worked their way out of his system and he will start to feel much better. As well as not sleeping, stomach ache, sickness and diarrhoea, he now has sore mouth and throat and not even enough energy to write on his Facebook page. So  it's one thing after another just as the cancer nurses told us - they've seen it all before.
He's been trying to avoid infection by keeping all visitors, except me, away, but a text from him this morning say's he has a temperature so it will be antibiotics and all their nasty side effects added into the mix now. No wonder this is the worst part of the treatment.
 I've been plodding along at home trying not to worry and watching lots of Olympics .

On Friday the beach hut tempted me away from the TV and I spent over 4 hours down there including a swim in the flat calm sea. I read most of this while I was there.


Jan Struther is more well known for her book Mrs Miniver, but this is a collection of very clever and witty essays and sketches. Although written in the 1940's by a "upper middle class, lower middle age woman" the humour in the stories hasn't dated at all. You just have to love the writing of someone who says ".....and there are people to whom making lists is an end in itself, a pure, abstract and never failing delight". Oh yes!

Saturday saw me biking to the library, but going the long way round so I could call in at the  Emmaus Charity shop where I  found a pack of 3 Pairs of M&S pants - Col's Size - for £2 - handy. ( Question - in the States what we call trousers you call pants so what do you call the items of underwear that we call pants? )
Then I spotted this for £4,

  I'm a sucker for baskets,( I wrote about baskets when we were still at the smallholding) as long as they are cheap, I have no idea why I'm so tempted and the problem is .....................now I've got it what the heck do I do with it? I already have a smaller one with dividers for 4 bottles that I used to use standing in the upstairs bathroom for cleaning stuff etc........here it's in the kitchen holding shoe cleaning bits. Then I have a small hamper that I begged from Col's brother after he won it in a draw last Christmas. That's standing on the TV unit holding all the chargers and other bits and bobs. 2 big storage baskets are up on top of the wardrobes holding shoes and winter wear. My favourite from that old blog post is in the kitchen holding potatoes (on newspaper and covered over with black fabric to keep out the light).
I'm really an idiot for buying it as we are so short of space here and a bargain is only a bargain if you actually need it! I'm thinking it would be more useful if I took a pair of secateurs to the 6 canes holding the dividers in place and made a nice big oblong basket.

Sunday I did a bit of tidying in the garden, re-potted the thyme, shopped at Asda, visited Colin and watched more Olympics........ even the finalé of the golf was exciting!, then in the evening things got more and more enthralling with medals being won all round. Andy Murray's tennis medal was real fight.

Yesterday apart from a visit to Colin, I took a few more bits to the charity shop and started on unpacking and sorting another box from the shed. I didn't find anything we needed indoors but chucked a couple of bits in the dustbin and others into the charity shop bag and re-packed most into a sturdier box.

Thank you you for all the interesting comments about housed deeds and house prices. We've always been so lucky with buying and selling houses. I wrote about all our house moves HERE.
So many house moves in our married life, I can't imagine staying in one house for life like many people did in the past and a few do now I guess - Col's Dad is 85 and has only ever lived in 2 houses!

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Sue






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Deeds

Finally - after 4 and a half months - we've received all the deeds and land registry stuff back from our solicitors. The hold up due to the Land Registry Office being really busy because of so many people buying and selling during March before stamp duty changed. It's fascinating to see old house deeds and just like Fareacre we have deeds going back to the nineteen-thirties. The odd thing is it seems that this bungalow was built in 1955 exactly the same at Fareacre, but using better quality building materials.
 We've got maps with all the field sizes before this huge estate was built bit by bit over 80 years and I guess still on going, as a house and bungalow down the road both sold off part of their garden to make room for a new bungalow just last year.

There is even an old Building Society Book to show where a mortgage was paid off in the 1970's.
 What did surprise me is we seem to be only the 3rd people to have owned the bungalow. The original owners had it built and then the lady lived on here after she was widowed until she died aged over 90 in 2011.

Now how things have changed - no more deeds with beautiful copperplate writing, tied with ribbon and sealed.............. just a piece of paper telling you your property purchase has been registered with the Land Registry.

  Looking through everything I came across the survey done for the people who were here before us and it mentions all the ceilings were covered by polystyrene tiles - Thank Heavens they were removed before we got here!

Back soon
Sue


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