Krampus, Happy December, let’s start #Blogmas

​*So its 1st December already and I’m attempting #Blogmas however although I will try to blog each day, I won’t beat myself up about missing one or two, I will do my best.*

So to kick off Blogmas, let’s learn something Christmassy.

There is a mythological tale of a monster that appears at Christmas, and no I don’t mean stressed out harrassed parents, an actual beast, a true nightmare! Dating back as far as the 11th century, the legend of Krampus began.
Its said he is goat like, or more accurately satyr like, such as Pan, a pagan god. Or perhaps better described in this day and age as Devil like in his appearance.

A huge mythological supernatural beast, that I thought was St Nicholas’ opposite, however that’s not true, in European folklore he’s more like a dark enforcer for #Santa his mere appearance of cloven feet, long red snakey tongue struck fear into all the children. For he would punish the naughty children until they agreed to be good. (That’s why Santa has a list!!) 
And he punishes good too, whipping the children with birch twigs, some hung in cages in trees, some just chained up. With the worse being thrown into first pits ( I see this is where Christians get the Devil/Hell story from)

So you have St Nick. Father Christmas or to use his official name Nikolaus going from house to house giving presents to all the good boys and girls, and those that hadn’t saw the Krampus instead!

So where does #Krampus come from, I believe its Nordic and the son of #Hel (again Christian belief systems being taken from Pagan mythology) Krampen means ‘Claw,’ and his appearance is similar to the Norse god Loki, and Greek god Pan.

With his close connections with pagan times and witches, we can clearly see why he was demonized and made into the bad guy. When really if you were good, you had nothing to worry about. Birch is a sacred wood to witches, one of the mine sacred woods, and its representation is for spirit realm and the dead. And its a wood used in pagan rituals, so it makes sense for Krampus to use it. He also rattles chains and rings bells, most witches know that this too is associated with rituals, but now I think that’s where Sleigh bells came from??

And because he’s goat/satyr like he’s depicted in red, going with his red tongue that snakes about, I definitely think this helps the devil association. Though he predates it. People in Germany. Hungary, Italy etc they have a Krampus Night (Krampunsnacht) which falls on 5th Dec, and Nikolaus day follows on the 6th Dec. The tradition is for men to dress as Krampus and scare the village kids, like Halloween or I should say Samhain. Girls too dress up as the female counterpart the Nordic goddesses such as Freya, Frig, or Germanic goddess Frau Perchta.

So will you be visited by Nikolaus or Krampus? Is it a tradition that’s making a comeback? Did you know about Krampus?

*special thank you to my husband who inspired this post with his Krampus meme this morning!!*

Chester Christmas Market

Following the exciting day at #ChesterZoo and the evening #TheLanterns guiding the letters with lantern light, for Santa. So all the animals could get their letters to #Santa we decided to visit Chester’s town, and Christmas market. 

Of course we had to have MacDonalds Spiced Cookie Lattes to keep us warm, its biting cold, even hailed too. Definitely feeling like winter now.

Just starting to go dark, all the fairy lights twinkling, make the place feel cosy, welcoming and pretty. Best thing about Christmas is the lights for me. They brighten any dark miserable night. 

Just a pure Christmas feeling, pretty, quaint and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Definitely need to go back, probably warmer weather, so we can explore the more historical side of Chester.

Tiny gallery, so many nooks and crannies to discover and explore.

We even found #Paddington he’s my favourite bear!! 

Chester Zoo and The Lanterns

My second eldest daughter now works at #ChesterZoo as a zookeeper, and had moved from Bangor to Chester, so we had a plan to visit her new place, and pop in the zoo, and finish off the day with the Christmas Lanterns event which is held at the zoo in the evening.

Excited did not cover it!! We were so excited we barely slept, which did ruin our original time to set off. Ended up leaving at 9.30am in the end. Arrived by 11.30am and had some faff around her building, no parking. So we grabbed her for extra instruction. Woohoo we have arrived. Fastest pit stop, drop our overnight bags, as we decided to stay the night. And off to the Zoo we go…..

We got our tickets scanned, collected a map and off we went! It was super quiet, almost had zoo to ourselves, bar a couple of school trips, which gave us ample time to view, gaze and be in awe at each of the animals. Sam chatted away at each enclosure, how things had changed, future plans, and if she’d worked in that department. (She’s on small furries, and nutrition at mo)

Some animals just did not fancy coming out to show themselves, which was disappointing, but they are free to choose where to be, which I like. We spotted some lanterns for the evening being set up, and even the film crew for #SecretLifeOfTheZoo how cool is that!?

Once we had covered the zoo, with plenty of painkillers, a coffee and sarnies to power us through, we sat down, gathered our thoughts to ready ourselves for the twilight evenings show, #TheLanterns a gentle stroll with Magickal lights to help Santa find his way to each of the animals, to collect their letters. It was truly Magickal for small children, and there was performers, ballet dancers and acrobats too. 

We ended the evening by 6pm and the cold was biting by now. So we handed in our lanterns and picked up a gingerbread biscuit (delicious) and headed off to Sam’s place, then to find some tea. It had been an incredible day, I loved every second of it, it was great to see where Sam works, to see this years babies, and then this wonderful Magickal festive event later on. 

#Wetherspoons #OriginalGourmetChickenBurger with fries and beer battered onion rings, and topped off with #ShipyardPaleAle what a meal, what company, how epic!! Felt incredibly spoilt, good quality time spent with loved ones.

So this was my crazy action packed weekend, first #Goldie then #Zoo we slept the night and visited #Chester town on the Saturday. Starting to feel ‘normal’ though that could be the copious amounts of painkillers took to cope with the adventure. And as always my trusty crutch gave me much needed support. 

The Journeyman… #Goldie

To mark my 9week post op milestone, we had an epic date night seeing #Goldie the drum n bass artist live with an orchestra. This was going to be immense!

Drinking prosecco, getting dressed up and going off to our date night, I was a collection of nerves and excitement. 

Arriving to the Wolves Civic Hall we walked to the box office queue, got searched quickly first and ushered through swiftly, so far so good. Collected our tickets, quick scan then off to see the room, and locate our tickets. Grateful we were near the front and seated. Although many opted to stand in aisle’s so they could bop away.

We had special guests, and one was a Beat boxer, and for the life of me I can’t remember his name (so ashamed) but he was amazing, always been in awe of such talent. 

It was a puzzle to me how an orchestra could bring the electricity and atmosphere of drum n bass to this concert hall, but they sure did. The bass line was intense, fast paced, pure lightening. It had the intensity of an actual rave, while being comfy on seats. (Just what I needed while still recovering from hip surgery. What a way to celebrate 9weeks post op! Though)

The eclectic mixture of soulful singing, balearic beats, and shamanic rhythms, this concert was art in its purest form, a self expression of #Goldie’s journey. From his days in 90’s Brooklyn, street beats and b-boys to present day. The music was a journey from past present to future, and we had special guest Tyler Lee Daly. 

We watched #Goldie bounce around the stage with pure energy and excitement, it was infectious. The cello was at home with a snare drum, kick drum, along with rainmakers and wind chimes, not something I would of ever guessed. Watching Goldie gave me Bez vibes, and was proper entertaining. And the audience was enthralled, and soon joined in, not many stood still. Barely anyone sat in their seats. We did, but more due to circumstance, if I didn’t have crutches, I would of liked to have joined the dancers at the front. We still moved to the beat in our seats.

All too soon it came to an end, such a shame, we were hungry for more. I definitely could of watched double the amount of time. We were buzzing, and full of electric energy. Its amazing what good music can do for the soul. It was an incredible venue, incredible night and I was sad it was over!!

I tweeted about going and @MRGOLDIE himself retweeted and replied. How cool is that?! I know totally fangirling but I don’t care, I thought it was cool to get a reply. 

Stafford Christmas Lights Switch On….

Starting the festive feeling, last Saturday. I know its still November, and usually I wouldn’t care about feeling festive, until after Hubbies birthday in Dec. 

But our youngest daughter is literally ELF, and gets super excited, and she had arranged to go with her bestie, we tagged along, because we are addicted to fireworks!! And it would be a giggle.

Packed at 4.45pm we crammed in our MacD’s and sipped on spiced cookie latte, and the countdown started at 5pm with fireworks (and a lot of fallout, burning fallout this year, bit scary but I don’t think anyone got hurt) and the tree came to life! 

No photos of the fireworks, as it was better to actually enjoy them, be in that moment. They were better than the previous year too, such beautiful colours lit the skies, that moment I felt Christmas is coming. 

After the fireworks, the 80’s music was giving the crowd confidence to join in, sing along, dance or swag. Collectively the town rejoiced, and loved it. Classic Christmas songs were added, superbly sung and once #FairytaleOfNewYork came on, everyone was thoroughly caught up in the moment, loving life. What an epic night.  

Homework, yep I have homework!

I talk frequently about Physio I have to do at home, without really explaining what, how and why. I guess why is self explanatory but I will stress its importance. After any surgery, for a good outcome, you must get active and movement back as soon as possible. Not only does that help prevent blood clots (horrendous, I’ve had one!!) But mentally its good for you, as you soon go stir crazy feeling dependent, useless, bored and trapped!! So a bit of ‘you’ time working on getting strong, fit and healthy really helps the brain deal with the stress of suddenly becoming quite disabled overnight, and it stops scar tissue becoming thick and seizing the joint up. So get some movement, some lubrication in, stay healthier. Secondly the surgeon has done a world class job on you, but that’s half the battle!! You actually have to work on it yourself. And what No One really tells you is, ‘Surgery is NOT a quick fix!’ 

So I have a small routine, this surgery is far more strict on protocols than previous surgeries, and I think its due to the unstableness of the joint afterwards. And how much soft tissue is affected. Before I’d been screwed and plated together, and once weight bearing I was free to move as pain allowed. This is not the case with this one, specific movements are still restricted to allow soft tissue to calm down, and settle. But the restrictions are slight and I have no desire to move hip in that way ever! 

My routine consists of

• Supine Hip Abduction 20sec hold 3 reps x 2
• Slide wall squats 10 reps x 2
• Side step ups 10 reps x 2
• Stand leg Abduction 20sec hold 3 reps x 2 
• Hip bridges 10 reps x 2 

• Knee Flexion 10 reps x 2

• Straight leg raise 10 reps x 2
• Side leg raise 10 reps x 2
• Clam leg raise 10 reps x 2

The idea is to do a few reps such as 10, and do it a few times a day, so not all at once, you will benefit greater doing it morning, noon and night. I struggle honestly to fit it in 3 times a day, so aim for 2. Some days I avoid them all together, depending on activities done on that day. As I say this, please let me add, I HATE it too, as much as I like it, it hurts, it wears me out, I get cranky, sometimes tearful. But its all worth it eventually. You will need to take painkillers as you increase your activities, this isn’t a step backwards!! Its normal. But although I say it hurts, it should never be pushed through the pain, shouldn’t be sharp pain, or pre op pain. I’m saying it hurts as in a worked out muscle, fatigued body. Not bone, joint pain. These are two very different things. And please note some days you can easily do 10 reps x 3 in a day, the next day you can manage 5 reps just once, but that’s ok, you still moved. Or even have a day off to recovery. You be your guide, but always keep your physiotherapist up-to-date with how you are getting on.  

So there you have it, my actual homework routine. Its hard, its exhausting and I feel like revolting sometimes, but its definitely a way to optimize your surgery success rate, and could be a start of the new you. 

8 weeks post op! #hiparthroscopy

A busy ole week at the start. Monday I was at the dentist, my worse place ever. (I’d definitely have hip surgery over dental work) so nervous and anxious, but I got through it, ended up with Bridge prep which was injection, then filed down old tooth to re-cap temporary, ready for permanent one with bridge. And molds took as well to ensure, correct fit. I’ll be so glad to see the back of this partial plate I’d had for months. The only reason I’m seeing this phobia through. Back in 2 weeks time.

While at the dentist I took this photo, and saw how swollen my operated leg was, this knee is huge!! So after the dentist, it was rest rest rest. 

Tuesday came all too fast, but this was a nice day planned, coffee and chat with my friend Kelly. We gossiped and put the world to rights, windowed shopped and got clothes for her daughters school trip. A lovely gentle day, that exercised the hip well but not to exhaustion. A few twinges by the time I got back, so back with hot water bottle and rest. Back ache has been the worst this week, feel like a plank of wood!!

Wednesday saw hydro being the theme of the day. I was very very stiff this morning, so while I waited for my appointment I took ibuprofen and had a hot water bottle on my back. Seriously how am I not sponsored by #HotWaterBottles yet??! I did the same routine. 

• Walk up pool Forwards x 2
• Walk up pool Sideways x 2
• Hip Flexion 20 reps x 2
• Hip Abduction 20 reps x 2
• Hip Extension 20 reps x 2
• Hip Flexion Rotate in/out 20 reps x 2
• Squats 20 reps x 2
• Calf Raises 20 reps x 2
• Cycling 60 cycles x 2
• Forward step ups 20 reps x 2
• Side step ups 20 reps x 2

We discussed pain flares, my surgeons diagnosis, (I’ve come to terms with it now) and my Therapists enthusiasm and positivity of getting me stronger and fitter helped lift the dark cloud I’d been carrying since last week. As the pool helps enormously I am having at least 1 more hydro session, but they may continue afterwards, I found out in my Physio review in 2weeks time. 

So here we are, its Thursday and its 8 weeks today post op. And its been weirdly my hardest week. The progress is harder to see or feel as its micro! In fact some days I felt like I’d gone backwards, but the truth is, I’m doing more, being more ‘normal’ trying to get out and visit people, going to appointments, helping out more, which means pain levels go higher, and I need longer to recover, so you feel deflated and like a failure, but honestly you’re not!! Its just up and down, forward one step back two steps. Hips are being tested everyday, and its exhausting. I used a walking stick instead of crutch to this appointment, perhaps not my best idea, as I came out shattered. But it was a progress test. One day I’ll be more confident to do more with the walking stick.

#30plusblogs #healthblogger #30plusjackfrost #hiparthroscopy #spoonie #physio #hydro #hippie #pao #tpo #periacetabular #triplepelvic #ehlersdanlossyndrome 

November #Glossybox what did you love??

#Glossybox #November box was and is my favorite this year so far!! 

Inside we have #GreenfrogBotanic Natural Bodywash Relaxing Geranium & Peppermint. A plant based bodywash with a dose of Ayurvedic wisdom from the Himalayas. Calming as it cleanses, making this perfect for sensitive skin like mine, or eczema, or dry skin. Contains Mexican aloe vera to hydrate and soothe. RRP 8.95 for a full size product greenfrogbotanic.co.uk

* I loved this, used the same day I got the box, the scent is heavenly, a proper luxurious feeling too*

#BeautyUkCosmetics Contour Powder Brush. Soft short bristle brush that makes blending easier, buff that contour in, feels super sturdy but soft. I like it a lot. Full sized product RRP £6.99 beautyukcosmetics.com

#SportFX Candy Floss Lip BalmThis was designed exclusively for glossybox and I think it was meant to be in the October box? However its here now, and it is so cute, easy to wear, glides on due to the dome shape. Leaves a soft delicate pink tint that is packed with SPF15 vitamins and antioxidants. Yes I love this also!! Soon packed into my handbag, Full sized product RRP £4.99 shopfx.com

#CollectionCosmetics Define and Perfect Eyebrow Powder BrunetteI like the thought of it, and the colour, but I think I need practise with this one, each time I pull it out, the powder poofs everywhere, all over me. But the brush is sharp pointed for easy of use, to draw and define in depth. Once I get the hang of it I’m sure to love it, Full sized product RRP £4.19 collectioncosmetics.co.uk

#Boots Charcoal and Willow Bark Sheet MaskNow I love sheet masks, but I’m not so sure my skin does, or my allergies do. Shame as I used this immediately too, same time as the first product, the bodywash. And around the chin and cheeks it was slightly stingy and itchy. The itch remained all evening, but was gone the next day. Could it be the cleansing and purifying action, or just sensitive to products? Full sized product RRP £2.50 boots.com 

What do you like? Did you like it this month? Would you repurchase anything? I’m thinking I’d love the #GreenfrogBotanics again, its definitely my favourite item. And possibly the #Boots sheet mask, as skin was baby soft the next day. 

#30plusblogs #30plusjackfrost #bblogger #fblogger #beautybox #glossyboxuk

7 Weeks Post Op #HipArthroscopy

How time is flying by so fast!! Feeling much more like ‘me’ and I’m progressing reasonably well. Still struggle with abduction of the hip. That activates groin pain, is that arthritis? Or weakness? Can I exercise it away? Things I clearly need to ask when I next see Chloé on the 28th Nov. I’d also love to ask about back ache, its plaguing me daily, and badly. 

I don’t remember feeling such back ache pre op, well not as severe as this. So a bit of guidance would be nice, so I can’t wait to see her. In the meantime this week I’ve been back to making my #Tpo (triple pelvic ost) #Pao (periacetabular ost) and #Thr (total hip replacement) bracelets. These make me happy, as it unites us #Hippies put there.

My shop can be found here I can do most colours of faux suede vegan friendly cord. I usually use purple for the charity ribbon colour of #invisibleillnesses #spoonie funny to think that, I personally could have each of these charms throughout my own hip saga, a #Tpo then bilateral #Tpo then eventually a Right #thr then Left so I’ll be ending up as a Bilateral bonic lady. (Sinking in slowly, still kind of freaking out if I’m honest) 

Hydrotherapy, Christmas Shopping and bad (or good) news!!

Following my flare up Friday, I had a relaxing recovering weekend, it did me the world of good, and perfect timing too. As I’d planned a rare mum and daughter day with my eldest daughter, we were Christmas shopping

Nicer to do some while shops are just starting out festively but not busy with too many customers. And the shopping went well, I loved it. My ibuprofen 400mg really helped, and though tired, I didn’t feel like I had at the weekend.

So on the same day it was hydro, and I knew after a tiring day shopping, hydro would be doubly hard. I saw Chloe my physiotherapist who advised me to be gentle as I’d only just started to feel better, and do what I felt I could.

• Walk up the pool forwards x 2
• Walk up the pool sideways x 2
• Hip Flexion 20reps x 2
• Hip Abduction 20reps x 2
• Hip Extension 20reps x 2
• Hip Flexion Rotate in/out 20reps x 2
• Squats 20reps x 2
• Calf Raises 20reps x 2
• Step up Forwards 20reps x 2
• Step up Sideways 20reps x 2
• Cycling 60cycles x

Soooo all this is great right?? So what went wrong. My 6 week post op appointment was today, and it didn’t exactly go as well as I’d hoped.

I wanted to know what went on in there, and its confirmed the tear was not anchored, it was wholly removed. Being unfixable it was better to remove. But that worries me, gone has the cushion between ball and socket. And the ball is dreadful, it’s lot worse than they thought, ravaged with arthritis its no longer smooth like glass, its pocked and rough, and damaged beyond saving too much. A follow up revision scope is took off the table. Its a full hip replacement, and not just that right hip either, nope its both!! And the punch keeps coming, it will be custom made #Symbios here replacements, which are made specifically for complex difficult abnormal hips. I fit the bill totally.

Here’s the inside of the joints, see lack of blood supply, and smooth bone. I think they look like planets.

Just as I hear the news, I feel a bit sucker punched for sure. But then I have to remember. I’m feeling better and less pain than I have for years and years. This could carry on for years yet, so why dwell on future news?? Instead see it, as a win. At least its in place for when I’m ready to admit pain has took over life again. So that’s a plus. And my instant silver lining is that I have excellent physiotherapists that can help me build strength, stamina and hopefully get me a few years between now and replacement.