Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who's left comments, e-mailed or sent me a card.  I really appreciate all your kindness and good wishes.

Thursday started well - the hospital rang at 10 saying where was I - having told me to get there for 11!  Anyway, we threw ourselves into the car and got there at 10.30.  Then I waited in the ward - fortunately with two other delightful ladies who chatted and joked and filled me in with all the systems - until  3.30 (starving and thirsty as the others ate their rather good smelling lunch) when various people came and drew arrows on my plastered arm, asked me questions I'd already answered several times, and eventually about 4.15 took me off to theatre, where they had the usual problems putting in a drip, gave me a dose of some very strong pain killer (which I later found out was morphine) and sent me asleep.
Something in all that was not my body's liking and I eventually woke up feeling as if I was in a furnace and shivering so they kept wrapping me up in blankets.  They had hoped to send me home that evening but I'm glad they didn't as poor H would have had too much to deal with wth me and M.
The good news is that the arm is fine and doesn't hurt at all, but it's taken me two days to get over the anaesthetic - I came home yesterday and slept most of the rest of the day, and today started off still wobbly.   I've still got a sore throat from the breathing tube and terrific bruises on both arms.  Anyway, if all goes to plan, the upside of having a plate inserted is that the plaster will probably come off in 10 days as the plate does the job instead.  I've still got a slightly numb thumb but I'm sure that will go in time.
I must say, though, despite the administrative muddles, the care and kindness shown was terrific.  Everything was clean and in good order, all the staff from ward sister to cleaner were chatty without time-wasting and the doctors were efficient without making you feel that they were in a rush.   I've never had a problem with anaesthetic before so there was no reason to think I would this time - it was very strange, I had a bright red face all day yesterday.   Anyway, thank you staff at the Worcester Royal Hospital, you were great.   Fingers-crossed now that everything goes smoothly.

Quick ? update

Monday - 10.35 appt, arrive hospital having starved since midnight.  Wait 2 hours in totally packed trauma clinic where appts have been now replaced by number system.  12.45 see Dr.  Arm must have plate inserted to stop the break compressing, no beds today - 6 people before me needed to be admitted.  Go for blood tests and routine ECG.  Allowed a cup of coffee at last.  Return to clinic to see SHO to sign consent. Told to ring to confirm bed at 7.00 on  Tues - starve from midnight.  Eventually leave and get longed for sandwich at 2.00.  Daughter, also weak with hunger, drives me home - having spent a lot of time on Friday with me at Community Hospital, she's now lost the bulk of two days leave, but offers to be onstandby for admission on Tues.

Tuesday - ring at 7.00 am no beds but they will ring at 9.00 - don't eat or drink.   9.30 confirm no beds, ring again tomorrow.  Starve from midnight.  Alert Daughter who goes to work, spend day trying to sort out cover for M so  H can take me in on Weds.

Wednesday - ring at 7.30.  Admission unlikely, but don't eat or drink anything until confirmed.  Wait with splitting head, dying for a drink until confirmed at 11.00. 

Progress!  Go in tomorrow at 11.00 to be operated on in the afternoon, may or may not be in overnight.  (caveat - may get there and be sent home if too many emergencies come in overnight - don't eat or drink after 6.00 a.m.)

I know it's just a set of unfortunate circumstances, but I wish they'd make up their minds about when you have to stop eating - H had three different instructions when he went in twice last year, and it seems very unfair to give an appointment time then change it to first come first served when you get there.  I sympathise with the sheer numbers they were trying to deal with - I was number 40, the numbers went up to 50 then started again at 1. They were back up to 18 when I left with only two Drs.on duty.  They'd obviously decided on Friday when they got my Xrays from Malvern that it needed a plate or I wouldn't have been told not to eat, so I could have just done pre-admission tests locally.

Anyway, fingers crossed for tomorrow - temporary cast is no longer very secure as the swelling has gone down so I shall be glad to get rid of that.  I've already had to master taking a shower with it wrapped in a polythene bag!

August 2 - Oops

August had been going rather well.    A school friend I hadn't see for 27yrs came to stay, and we had a lovely girly night out with daughter in a good local restaurant.

I went to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC (plenty of photos on other blogs, mine are stuck on my camera at present) and bought a new sewing machine which is a delight to use and I anticipate it giving me lots of fun and inspiration. 

H and I went to an organ recital - not usually my thing, but he had a spare ticket and, as it was part of Three Choirs Festival, they were too dear to waste.  The player was a young Italian called Paulo Oreno and it was a most mind boggling performance  - even if, like me, organ music is not your thing, you must admire his technical skill, and sheer exhuberance especially when improvising.  Here's an example

His impro on 'God Save The Queen' at our concert brought the audience to its feet in a long standing ovation, and we all left the Cathedral slightly dazed and completely in awe.

We finished the Postman's Knock project this week - see the blog for our last efforts.  It's been great fun, sometimes taking each and every one of us out of our comfort zone, and producing an incredible varied response to each theme.  It's been great pleasure to meet such a talented group of fellow bloggers (some in person) and it's certainly made me dust off my rusty skills (and my rusty brain).

But... it's just as well that I made and posted my last card (on the subject 'Taking Fight' for Lesley), because  on Thurs I fell over on a badly patched area of pavement and broke my arm (ouch).  It's temporarily in a backcast, but on Monday I have to go and have it pulled into place and a proper cast put on :-(.   I'd already arranged to go away for a couple of days in three week's time with a friend, so we're hoping we can arrange alternative transport as I was the driver!  I'm typing this onehanded - using the shift key is very irritating.

Poor H is going to have a lot more to do, but fortunately, we're going to have a lot more help from Daughter - but that's for another post.

August

Having spent much of my adult life working (and sometimes living) in academic institutions I've always loved August as a time when the normal routine lets up and one can do a few different things.  Sadly, these days M's routine is relentless so some of my August treats can't happen, but I still get that feeling of lazy days to be followed by the new year excitement of September.   

We've more or less put the house back in order now, and H is heavily involved in going to summer organ recitals and the Three Choirs Festival which starts in Worcester today, so there's a sort of holiday feel.   There was something to do every day last week so I used the time when it was my turn to be the stay at home person to catch up with some making and finishing off UFOs.

I got the needle felting stuff out to make a Scottie for Judith at Relatively Retiring (you can see him on her blog as I forgot to take a photo and I can't find the photo of the one I made before, either), and having made one dog, I made another - a St Bernard inspired by the lovely ones we had many years ago.

I've kept the needle felting tools out in case I feel inspired to do some more!   Taking the scottie round to Judith was a good excuse to spend time sitting in her garden in the sun drinking coffee, too!

Knowing I'm going to see an old school friend soon,  I knitted a little sweater for her new grandson - hope it fits!  And having got the knitting basket back out,  I finished off the cardigan I'd knitted for little E.  Hope this will now fit as I've been ages getting it sewn up - it hasn't got funny buttons all over it, those are the pins I've used to block it!

And now, as promised, Here's the lovely Little Cotton Rabbit I bought from Julie - you can find out more over on her site here.  These are so delightful - look at his little trainers and cute face.  They are so much in demand and Julie is not overwhelmed with spare time (to put it mildly) so she runs a sort of lottery each time she has a batch available and this time my name came up against Harper.  I was thrilled, and daughter is jealous.  They are beautifully knitted and have such character.

Several nice things are happening next week (dv), and I'll tell you about them in due course.  But I must just mention that I am going to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC on Thursday (11th), by myself this time as I want to look at buying a new sewing machine.  Anyone else going that day?

During my day at Art in Action I spent some time wondering whether or not to buy a print from the illustrator, Paul Kidby. ( I also looked longingly at Jackie Morris's prints but I've contented myself with ordering a calendar)  In the end, despite daughter's encouragement, I came away without on the basis that they were quite large and I felt I needed to ask H his opinion- after all he'd have to live with it too and it would be too large to hang in my study or to ignore if hung somewhere prominent in the house.   With everything else going on, I didn't actually forget but I didn't get round to it - daughter did not forget and went into secret consultation with H, so that on Friday I thrilled to be presented with this lovely griffin 'Nemesis'

Mine has gone for framing so I've borrowed this from Paul Kidby's online site.  Click to see some of the beautiful detail - it's wonderful.   The body of the print is 55x45 cm - about 22 inches by 18 and the mount adds about 4 inches all round, so it's quite impressive.   H likes it as much as I do, which is nice, so we're looking forward to hanging it on our nice pale blue wall in the hall.   There are several others in the series - the dragon and the winged lion are especially nice, and they all come as greetings' cards too.

As always, there was some wonderful work on show and being created at Art in Action.  We especially liked the textile work of Soon Yul Kang (above) - such wonderful tranquil tapestries, and Graham Muir's breathtaking wave form glass (photos are from artist's websites, as I forgot my camera).

Despite the rain, I had a peaceful, relaxing birthday with lots of good things to eat  - very satisfactory.  M is buying me some sewing things I've been fancying - when I get round to finding them on the net and ordering them.   Australian Brother-in-law sent great flowers  - he's so good at remembering.

Weather Warning

Tomorrow is my birthday - one more year to go until I would have got my pension if they hadn't changed the rules.   I'm issuing the usual warning - it always rains on my birthday.  This as been a family joke for as long as I can remember - especially as my mother's birthday was also in July and it was usually hot and sunny.   Apparently, I was born during a spectacular thunderstorm after several days of brilliant hot weather.

I got a letter asking me to go for breast screening - on my birthday, I ask you, so I altered it and went yesterday instead, but I still have to go with daughter for her hospital appointment so we've decided my birthday will not officially start until lunchtime!

Back by popular request.....

Well, not exactly, but thank you to those lovely people who emailed to ask if I was OK.    I have been having blogger/computer problems, but the biggest reasons for my absence have been the decorators, and family visitors.

We've lived here for about two and a half years now, and for that time the ground floor rooms and the hall stairs and landing have looke like this:

Wall-to-wall off-white and a fetching 1980's border inherited from the last owners.   Following on from the success of the red study, we really felt it was time to brighten ourselves up - life here can be tedious enough without off-white walls (especially grubby off-white walls).   So having already got the house in a complete muddle thanks to the water leak, we got the decorators in - lovely Adrian and Sharon whom I'd be glad to recommend to anyone locally - and armed with the Little Green Paint chart we did this:

Changed the whole of the centre of the house to a lovely summer sky blue, (Gentle Sky)

Went bravely sugar almond pink in the kitchen, (Secret Shell)

and yellow/cream (Stargazer) in the sittingroom - where the light doesn't give a good photograph, unfortunately. (All the colours are brighter than the camera shows).  Apart from the fact that I now, desparately, need to do the main bedroom, the house feels transformed.    Into the middle of this came H's nephew, his wife and new baby (well 4 months,s o new enough).  It was great to see them - they are only in England briefly once a year at the moment -and the baby, a boy, was a joy, but it was a bit hectic to say the least.   Just to add to the chaos, we also had a wasps' nest up under the roof above the front door so had to get 'a man' out to deal with it.

My latest card for Postman's Knock was a bit done by the skin of my teeth as Daughter and I were going to Art in Action for the day, and I forgot to photograph it (or take the camera to Art in Action).  You can see it (Coast /Seaside theme), and the one on Water which I received from Chrissie, over on the Postman's Knock site with all the others.  We had a great day out but I've spent the weekend putting the house back together and catching up on washing, cleaning etc, so it already seems a long time ago!   

I haven't time to catch you up with everything that's gone on over the last fortnight or so, so you'll have to wait in anticipation to hear about the Little Cotton Rabbit that  I was able to purchase from Julie at this site - I've wanted one since I first found her blog!,