#Blogmas Birthday in December

There is always a mad dash in December for Birthday celebrations, I have my Husband who is on the 9th and a Daughter on the 19th. And we have a Grandaughter due on the 18th.

So it’s fair to say December is a busy ole month.

Usually we have our tree up by the 9th December, but somehow the weeks have are running away with me. So so many life admin chores to do, and serious lack of mobility with energy hasn’t helped either.

But we celebrated with one daughter and her husband on the Saturday, with nibbles and cake! Loved this sparkler.

Then Sunday we visited his mum for another majestic birthday dinner.

Good ole Sunday dinner, some thing we haven’t had for a long time.

Then on Monday after lots of admin and chores to do, we knuckled down and made ( well husband the actual birthday boy made) a lovely Indian fakeaway meal. All the better to eat at home all snuggly and with our own drinks on tap.

This was me while hubby was cooking.

We rounded it off with Aldi Dark spiced rum which is DELICIOUS. While watching The Mandalorian too, as I had to see baby Yoda.

One birthday done, but not completed as we are celebrating again on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th too.

Dealing with Empty Nest Syndrome

Back when I had small children, some days I longed for this day to arrive, the day when you have no more children living at home! Man I would fantasize about the peace and quiet that would entail. As at the time I had 4 daughters, that loved bickering so so much.

But fast forward 27ys and that day arrived, and I wasn’t ready!!

I’m 43 and I’ve had children to look after since I was 15yrs old, so it’s fair to say children have been my entire life.

Yes older siblings had left periodically for their universities, but with having younger siblings at home, the mind was kept busy with them. But when the last one leaves, the peace and quiet can be deafening!!

Once you’ve seen your child safely settled in their new accommodation, you might find your home feels a little empty. For a bit of help making the transition, check out these handy tips below

Find a new interest. Having invested so much in your child or children you may find yourself with some free time on your hands. Perhaps there’s something you’ve always wanted to try, like taking up walking, volunteering for a local charity, or even going back to university yourself and starting a new business venture. (for us it’s visiting the countryside as much as possible, and going to the theatre)

Get to know your partner again. Some parents find that without their children at home they need to re-build their relationship with their partner to remember why they married them all those years ago. Schedule time together to do things that you both enjoy, or set yourself a regular ‘Date Night’ just for the two of you.

Keep in touch. You can still to be close to your child even after they have left home. You should try to maintain regular contact through visits, phone calls, emails and text, but also realise that you need to get the balance right so that they don’t feel smothered by too much contact. (We wait for her to video call us)

Don’t do it alone. Remember there are hundreds of thousands of parents in the same position as you are now. Talk to the people around you – your friends and partner – who know what you’re going through. If you’re finding it hard to shake the blues, you can visit your GP to talk about how you’re feeling and get some additional support.
Pat yourself on the back. It’s no easy task raising a child and you should congratulate yourself on your excellent work so far.
We’ve opted to clear out the clutter, and change the house from a family of six to a family of two. Slowly slowly declutter and refresh and have a positive outlook to these changing times.

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Week 35 post #hipreplacement

A quick relaxing break away before it’s all change and our youngest daughter paves her own path in life, when she starts university once we are home. So this week away is our last family holiday. So clinging onto the last second while we can.

So first aboard holiday with my hip replacement, I can honestly say I had envisioned that I would be skipping off into the sunset. And reality is, I’m still taking my walking stick, taking tramadol and ibuprofen, my splints and compression gloves. So there’s no rest or break away from health issues sadly.

I am armed with my sunflower lanyard for hidden disabilities, my first time ever using one for the airport.

Though with a splint on my hand and walking stick, I’m not sure it’s hidden!!

It helped with the security queue, though not mentioned I was ushered into a faster line, very professional. Once there though I was put into the x-ray machine is it? Then patted down, then with the wand all over, yes hip did bleep. I wore leggings so it would be easier to see that it’s my hip. They removed my hand splint, and put that through the machine, as well as my walking stick. Extremely thorough!!

Flight went ok, nothing to report, except I knew it would ache and it did, so plenty of fluids to help combat that, and moving the leg to prevent stiffness.

I will say I’m extremely disappointed that so many people will push in, shove and rush past me to get ahead. I was squeezed into a chair arm rest and this was the result.

The rush to get a seat on the bus was hilarious, and so obviously I’m slower,so I had to stand, complete with full death grip on pole and walking stick!!

But finally we arrived, middle of the night so it was a quick brew and water to drink then bed. Shattered.

But I’m determined to enjoy myself and kickback and forget my worries, if only for a week.

Catch you laters my lovelies.

#Orbital Live Digbeth 31st May 2019

Never been to this venue so it’s a new exciting experience for me, and I’m hoping it’s going to be an awesome night out.

Been really enjoying concerts lately, as our usual nights out are getting too long and hard for me to deal with, these are a couple of hours of fun, and I’m soon back to resting. So concerts are easier on me bodywise and painwise.

Off to see the Electronic music legends Orbital, hoping for some audio and visual delights!!

DIGBETH ARENA

29 Lower Trinity Street, Birmingham, B94AG

Digbeth Arena is the outdoor sister-venue to The Mill – an old builders merchant yard, situated against the backdrop of Birmingham’s Victorian railway arches.

These look amazing as the sun is going down, totally transformed it, truly magickal.

Above is when we first arrived, but later on the sun caught the arches as it was setting at 9.15pm, and it’s so golden, see below.

It is a unique and versatile open-air space in the heart of Birmingham. A 3500 capacity configuration with over 12,000 sq ft extensive outdoor space.

Because it’s outdoor, it has a real festival vibe going on, watching the planes fly over it was like a UK version of Ibiza’s space. It was glorious in weather which was lucky!!

Digbeth Arena offers an array of flexible and impressive infrastructure to producers, agencies and brands & provides the most unique backdrop for conferences, exhibitions, experiential events, live music and more.

Look at these backdrops, just amazing art all around, making it unique and adds to the visual magic.

It was such a breathtaking visual and audio concert, that nothing has ever come close too. It was an experience of a lifetime, and one I will certainly treasure forever too.

Now I’m home my head says I want to do it all again it wasn’t enough, but of course body, mainly operated hip says you ain’t moving ever ever again!! Pain is off the charts

Sting and Shaggy 44/876 Tour

The album’s title refers to the country calling code for the United Kingdom (+44) and the North American area code for Jamaica (876), Sting’s and Shaggy’s respective home countries.

Following their win at the 2019 Grammys for Best Reggae Album, Sting & Shaggy have announced their return to the UK with The 44/876 tour.

A series of intimate and exclusive shows will begin at London’s Camden Roundhouse on 19 May with additional dates in Newcastle, Birmingham and Manchester.

2018 saw Sting & Shaggy bring The 44/876 tour to North America, South America and Eastern Europe. Hailed as one of the most anticipated concerts of the year and a “reggae rock dance party that never lets up,” the show sees the pair collaborating on each other’s most celebrated hits such as Every Breath You Take, Englishman In New York, Message In A Bottle, It Wasn’t Me, Mr. Boombastic and Angel as well as new hits from 44/876

In spring 2018, Sting & Shaggy made UK headlines with a memorable performance of Don’t Make Me Wait at the Queen’s 92nd birthday celebration at the Royal Albert Hall. The pair also performed the track live on BBC’s The One Show, and in the latest series of Mrs. Browns Boys. 2018 also saw the release of Skank Up (Oh Lawd), a further collaboration from Sting & Shaggy that featured dancehall music sensation Ding Dong. 2019 will also soon see the release of the pair’s next single, Just One Lifetime.

Never been to the 02 academy before, and it was a very small intimate venue, easy to get to bar, and toilets, nice staff as well.

The music kicked off at 8.10pm while I was on the loo!! Weird as it said last entry at 8.30pm so I thought I had plenty of time.

Anyways straight into stings classics, with the crowd joining in. I needed a San Miguel, so headed to the bar, which was super efficient, well staffed and I was served pretty quickly.

Had a few tall tall people in front of us, but the odd one made an effort all night to duck and weave so us small ones could see. He was well into it!!

I think the crowd was predominantly for Sting, but behind me and including us (me and Mr moon) we were there for Shaggy, wooping and whistling when his songs came on.

Though admittedly we bopped and sang along to both sets of classic songs, as well as their collective new songs on the album. Some songs were slow at times and I personally would of loved the same reggae energy all he way through, but I had an absolute blast!! What a way to kick start the bank holiday weekend.

Day 129 post #hipreplacement Pedal Fest 2019

So here it is, never heard of it before, but hubby got tickets so why not. We planned on the Saturday at first, but weather was going to be better for Sunday, so that’s the day we planned.

Which honestly helped, as the hip needed some recovery days between this and that physio session. Man that ached my abducters and glutes so much!!

But if you lived closer you could easily do both days. As it’s Free!! Crazy right, especially when you see what’s on offer too….

It’s meant to be a family fun weekend and located in Sherwood Pines Forest. There they have live music, bike demo, bike stunt shows to name but a few things on offer.

They also offer things especially for little ones, games and activities with competitions and even freebies.

And of course if you fancy trying out some bikes, such as Raleigh, Haibike and Lapierre then all that’s needed is your photo id, get a wristband and demo bikes away.

I’d like to ride a bike again, but I’m not convinced I’m entirely ready yet. A simple level 3 resistance on a stationary bike is hard enough, for 5 mins, so I’m unsure. But I believe hubby is going to demo some bikes if we are early enough to do so. Maybe he could try out some electric bikes for me.

Hubby signed up to try some demo bikes.

We got some bunny holding in. Saw chickens, tarantula, snails, and tortoise too.

We watched #Fumbledore kids entertainer while Mr Moon rode the electric bike. I found Fumbledore was hilarious.

Ted Robbins comedian doing Man Vs Food which was good sports! Loved it .

Grove Street gave us songs to bop along too, and sing along with. Great atmosphere.

The famous Gold Burner Raleigh!!

Savage Skills entertainment, Alec and Tom riding bikes and jumping, ramps and flips.

Ted Robbins was a brilliant host, although he had no voice at all.

And lastly we heard Christina And Harry singing the last hour out. But I was sadly work out by this point, hip aching beyond belief, so I needed to get home, and a decent seat.

After today I feel that although the hip is improving, it’s still far from normal. I still get pains, and stiffness, and I feel unable to stand for long. I have a long way to go to be fixed.

Week 17 post #HipReplacement

This week I’ve been camping, we went for a few days in Cornwall. Had an event planned for the Saturday, so we decided to make the journey worth while, we set off Friday and would come home Monday.

Arrived at the most fantastic campsite just outside boscastle called Trebyla Farm it’s a simplistic working farm campsite, with electric hook up and caravans too. Idea for those wanting to escape the world for a few days. So no WiFi, no posh toilets with grand baths, or clubs and pools here. It’s back to basics camping, I love it!!

Just toilet blocks and showers available, with hot water and free so what could be better. Also available is a kitchen area with microwave (I couldn’t work it) freezer for your essentials, and dry area to wash up in.

Everything was super clean, well stocked with toilet roll and hand soap too. So I didn’t need my emergency packed ones. As some sites often run out, or don’t re stock often. These were done every morning. All bins checked each day too.

We have a large spacious tent, bought when we had 4 small children we used to camp with. But it’s size means I can stand up, so no bending to get in and out. Which honestly I’m relieved at, as I don’t think the hip would like that.

The hip coped very well with a lot of things I requested it to do. But mainly I do the kitchen stuff, I sit to make a coffee or sandwiches as I don’t like to stand too much.

And banging in pegs is not one of the things I can do, I still struggle to squat down and get up again. I’m not agile and I get stuck, so better for me not to try!

I definitely did need my pain meds, a lot more of them and my walking stick at all times. Also I needed rest stops all the time. But it coped, and I would do it again, I just need a few months to recover lol.

Weather and cold obviously made it feel stiffer to move, and I often felt seized into a position, that would take time to get out of again. But once the joint got moving, it was happier.

But look at the view we had, it’s hard to be grumbling and sad when this view greets you each morning!!

Not many on the site, so the area was super peaceful, and you are left alone to relax and plan days in leisure. Exactly what we needed. My only regret is coming home after 3 nights. I will be returning for sure.

Day 101 #hipreplacement

Well it’s the day the night before! I’m a little bit hanging as I was full of absinthe, prosecco and aperol, and Stella.

Club was ace! I felt steady on my hip all night so that was good, there was really good seating so that helped massively. I saw another walking stick there, and he had a light (like a bike light on) I think I need one!!

Small club, so not endless walking to places. It was the longest I’ve ever stood up for. I did use my walking stick most of the night. Hip held out well, just nagging thigh pain. In fact I was just tired more than anything.

So recovery mode on, out in the garden. Rest and recover time. I’m immensely stiff this morning.

Day 89 #hipreplacement

Yas!! The sunshine has returned, it’s a little nippy out, but dry, which means it’s a good day to get outside for a walk.

With a mission to go Geocaching to make it a little more fun.

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Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, I think of it like treasure hunting!!, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called “geocaches” or “caches”, at specific locations marked by coordinates all over the world.

These can be filled with little gifts, like a pencil sharpener, or pretty pebble, or just paper to write that you found it and what the date is. Really good ones have disposable cameras to take photos of you finding it.

I love Geocaching, the aim is to take you off the beaten track a bit, and show you an area that is pretty, or stunning views.

Came across a Deer bone first. Not sure it’s treasure we want, but still privileged to see it.

Aiming for the funny tree, let’s see if we can find one?

Path isn’t always easy though.

I see one!

No good gifts, but logging that we found it. Back to hiding it again. Making sure #muggles don’t see us.

Sarnie break, and much needed leg break too. Though I can feel such improvement in this hip. Hope other one stays behaved. Hand is particularly sore on my walking stick though.

Another cache to find, but harder this time and definitely prickly too. But we had success. Again no gifts as it was an old camera film container.

Hidden once more, it was time to meander home. The routes have took us on uneven grassy tuffs, and heather filled areas (bit scared of adders)

Only beast we found was a millipede.

Nice to see new growth coming through, and the dead old brambles disappearing now.

Following husband’s footsteps so I don’t stumble, though I did kick a rock which hip did not like at all.

Once home we were all shattered, I ached everywhere, especially glutes and quads.

Day 79 I think I’m back

But tentatively back, as I daren’t rush back into over training, and doing too much. The way I’ve felt over the week has kicked my butt, and reminded me it’s still early days.

I class this stage of recovery from hip surgeries the worst stage, because you ‘look’ fine, you can do most things, but you don’t necessarily do them well, in good form, or for long. And most are off painkillers too, so once they tire, the pain can easily feel all consuming again. And because you ‘look and feel’ fine it gets frustrating when the hip decides to remind you, of your weaknesses, and limits.

Today it’s been exploring and strolling kind of day, a way to get moving but gentle, all flat walking, using my stick as I’m definitely not ready to lose it. And going slow, stopping often and just enjoying some fresh air.

Where we live, we have a house that author #JRRTolkien lived in 1916 and also a serene area where the books were inspired from the local countryside. Especially where two rivers meet, so that was our aim for the day to visit these places.

Looking at the house you let the mind wander of those years gone by, with his wife here while he was in camps over Cannock Chase and Rugeley too.

Wandering down the little village, in bloom with glorious blue skies and sunshine, we embark on an amble to the canal, and river waterways. To catch a glimpse of places visited by Tolkien and places that inspired him.

We find his spot where the rivers meet, the sounds of water is soothing, and mediative. We eat our packed lunch and gaze at the running water, imaging the stories he told. Listening to the wildlife and thoroughly enjoying every moment.

For once I wasn’t chased home quickly from pains and aches, like I’ve been for years. That isn’t to say it is painfree, because it isn’t there yet. But it’s certainly manageable. I felt the hip flexor area mostly, as lower back in this walk.