The Heroes in my life.

Growing up my little brother and I weren't exactly the best of buddies. He'd go to the biscuit jar and get one for me and one for him and I would repay him by hitting him with my toy bunny rabbit. This happened a lot. He would always be nice and I would be annoyed.

I am not sure if there is a rule about annoying little brothers and horrid big sisters, but if there is, we were a totally perfect example of the  rule.

As the years went by we just didn't get any closer and it wasn't until we had kids (6 months apart) that we hung out again.

Two years after I had my son I found out he has childhood cancer and around the same time, my brother found out that his son had Nephrotic Kidney Disorder
It wasn't an easy time for any of us..many years passed and they were the hardest years of our lives.
My son was treated with chemo for four years and became healthier again (I never say better because it just makes me feel like I am tempting fate) and his cousin was very unwell with his kidneys but coped.

After eight years of coping, late last year my nephew had to have his kidneys removed and he began dialysis. It was a life shattering experience and I could not believe how this little guy just got on, un-afraid, had the operation and just coped, played, smiled and laughed..in fact, the day after he had his kidneys removed he was up playing ping-pong!!!

So, to cut a long story short..today, my brother, my annoying little brother..was totally my hero

He went under the surgeon's knife for six hours and donated his kidney to to my nephew so that he could get back to...no, begin, having a normal life. I am so proud of them both. They are so much braver, and my brother, so much more selfless that I can explain.

So I wanted to share it with you, to get it off my chest..to sigh a breath of relief. My dad just text and said my brother just came out of surgery and he looks like shit and it is hard not to cry..butI just feel pride..and of course tears but they are of relief and pride and hope for the future for them

My son is my hero for fighting off cancer and being such a lovely, cool kind of a guy. He's braver than anyone I have ever met but now...

But my little bro..what a dude. And his son, how brave.

And the surgeon's and nurses and everyone in Guy's Hospital and Great Ormond Street..THANK YOU. Thank you so much.

Winter Blues

Gosh..I've really come down with it bad.

The Winter Blues.

Why does it happen? Is it not enough light? (probably not as it has been very sunny indeed - stupid sun)

Is it the blistering cold weather? ( yes..humph - stupid cold weather)

But mostly it is because I am ill a-g-a-i-n    (stupid bloody illness)

excellent... I'm so pleased.

This last week or so I have been trying everso hard to make myself perk up by making and doing various things.

I have made a good start on a baby blanket for one of L's old friends

I have made 40 lovely bright circles in squares and stitched them all together to make a new cover for the ottoman window seat in Baby F's room (which is nearly ready for him to move in)

I have travelled the short distance to Oxford to go on my first date of the year with L. We visited Pitt Rivers Museum (I will write a whole blog about that later in the week as it deserves its own blog) Which I must say was tremendous, even if we did get scolded by a scary pop-up-out-of-nowhere guard, for sharing a sneaky cookie in the darkened corners of the museum. Even though it would seem you can't park in Oxford unless you are a bike or a discarded sandwich or a limping pigeon. EVEN if we only had five pounds for the entire day..we had an excellent time.

Here is a picture of a tree stump to prove it!

We saw many, many A-mazing things..but that's for another blog.

I have also found, bought and tarted up a grandad cardigan which was purchased from my local charity shop. It cost £1. It only had a few measley holes in it and so I bought it and fixed the holes. I cut out some heart shapes from felt and attached them to the pockets and elbows and I rocked myself a new grandad-chic cardgian. Yes!

Fixing on hearts

There, all done :)

Then, on the same trip, I found a wonderful tea/coffee set for £3.50 - It absolutely had to be mine as it was:

A, totally my style

B, the right colour for my kitchen

and

C, the perfect size to sort-of hide where I ripped the tiles off when I moved in and then couldn't afford to replace them (still a problem)

So of course, the set came home with me and now sits in my horrid building site of a kitchen, radiating some 1960s sexy about the place.

Sexxxyyyy, everything about you's so sexxxyyyyyy, you don't even know the wordddss..blah blah blah blah teaaa pottttt..oohhh.

So yeh, anywayyy....

I am also ill...AGAIN (as mentioned before)

This is really annoying me. I have had such terrible tummy ache and headaches for about a week and have spent nearly all week on the sofa with my hot water bottle exhausting Netflix of its crime/mystery dramas.

I have watched all the Poirot, all the Cracker, all episodes of Above Suspicion and now I'm on to Lewis.

It has to be said

"Hello, My name is Nelly and I am a TV murder mystery junkie''

sad but true

Sadly I am nearly out of bad tv dramas to watch and I miss Poirot :( - It's a problem, I know.

So my friends, me and my pathetic feeble immune system are off to fill up the ol' hot water bott and get into bed with Inspector Lewis or DI Anna Travis and feel mighty sorry for ourselves all night.

~ until the next time ~