Busy week! Feeling much better although still struggling with a cough which is annoying. We have done some gardening - winter boxes to add colour to the garden. they look lovely. I have done lots of cooking including my first chicken pie - ever! And I have tidied - half a lounge but better than none and I have attacked some of my piles which have been accumulating everywhere!I have made a list of projects I have started with the plan to get some of them finished before I start new ones - mmmm not sure that will happen as I have lots of nice Christmas making plans.

I have a very sore arm from the flu jab yesterday. The nurse seemed to aim very high up on my arm close to my shoulder joint - not sure it is supposed to be so high up. Any way it was very sore when it went in and kept me awake in the night. At least my shoulder won't get flu!!!!

Yesterday my photobook arrived with pictures of my party - what a joy. I love looking at it as it brings flooding back the memories of the evening. I am so grateful to you all for making the evening so wonderful.

Half-term begins today - so strange not to be at work and looking forward to a week off. On Monday when I went to the cinema I felt SO naughty as if I was cheating. We were 2 of only 4 people in the cinema - very quiet and peaceful - apart from my coughing. Monday mornings are a very good time to go. We shall be going again- because we can!

Chloe's weekend in Cornwall was wonderful - she sailed with dolphins and rode 11.5 miles on her bike along the camel trail. Not such a good week for her as she has fallen off her bike after hitting a dog and now is poorly with a bug.

Josh is enjoying married life and his company have just been awarded a project for 'Stomp', doing all their anniversary advertising.

Well this blog has been rather rambling and disjointed.

BREAKING NEWS
I have just had a phone call from the new home dialysis nurse. She is coming to see me next week but just wanted me to know that we will probably be starting home dialysis BEFORE Christmas. Wow! I am so excited and scared all mixed up. It will be life changing to be able to do it at home. No more early morning trips to Reading and choosing when I do it to fit in with our lives. No more being freezing in the hospital and being able to have my own things around me. No more worrying about when it snows and we struggle to get to the hospital. But also the scariness of being responsible for all my own dialysis. Always having to get my needles in, always having to make the decisions about what I am doing - wow! Please pray that it all goes well and that all the practical stuff can be sorted - we need a sink putting in and my bedroom organised for dialysis. We will need a place to store all the stuff and a place to put all the stuff we now have in the room. So much to think about - goodness me.

I hope you all have great weekend plans. Ours will now be related to home dialysis!

http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/927053217

My party was truly wonderful. I loved every minute of it. I am so grateful to everyone who was able to come - thank you. Especially those of you who came such long distances. Also a huge thank you to those of you who sang or did readings or spoke. And thank you to those of you who helped set up, decorate and made the hall look beautiful. And a very special thank you to my bible study ladies without whom the whole thing wouldn't have been possible. I will treasure the memories in my heart.

Photos taken by my lovely photographer Zara are here
http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/927053217

Unfortunately my week since then has been a bit yuck! I have had a yucky throat infection which turned into a cold. I haven't had a proper cold for 2 years so I can't complain but i have been proper poorly. I don't seem to have any resistance to fight so it makes me feel very yuck and also makes me sick. Ugh! This then affects dialysis and I am then poorly in dialysis. Still hopefully I am on the mend now and looking forward to feeling much better next week. I think I might go back to trying to avoid bugs again - I am not ready for them yet!

The coming week holds a peaceful weekend after last weeks very very busy one. It was SO lovely to have everyone home and we all fitted in very nicely although I think the house felt it was bulging at the seams! On Sunday I cooked roast dinner for 8 of us quite an achievement after a party for 70 the night before. But it was lovely to have all my children and partners around the table and Kitty. We then watched strictly from Saturday evening - a perfect combination, roast dinner, strictly and family. It won't be quite the same watching strictly on my own this weekend. I am off to the cinema on Monday morning with a friend - purple hat thinking! I will feel very naughty being at the cinema on a weekday! Hopefully some catching up on house tidying after being ill all this week. Also some cooking - we have had make do and mend meals this week. I can't believe we are nearly at half term it has gone so quickly. Paul and I are planning some nice events for the next few weeks so that we have nice things to look forward to as it gets colder. A trip to see the Degas exhibition at The Royal Academy and a visit to The Royal Opera House to see Manon - a ballet. Lovely!

Hope you all have great weekend plans - which should include Strictly of course! My girlie is off to Cornwall - I am so jealous!

1 sleep and it is here. So much to do today I hope I have the energy to get it all done. Still feeling slightly anxious that it will all go ok. Not sure what can go wrong but you never know. I have a plan and many lists so everything should be fine!

I have now needled myself with both needles 4 times. Yesterday I managed even when the nurse couldn't do it - yippee! I just wish it wasn't quite so tricky. It certainly tests my patience - not at all sure why I am now writing like this!!!! I can't seem to change it. And now it has mended itself - oh well.

I have had a full week with lunch with a friend, shopping by myself, tidying, washing, housegroup and dialysis. I am still having headaches after dialysis which is making life a struggle on those days and I am usually sleeping 2 hours in the afternoon and then sleeping at night. My blood results after dialysis are very very good and my blood results even before dialysis are good too. This is great as it continues to mean that I don't need to change my diet yet.

Next week looks busy too. I am having lunch with a friend and coffee with a new friend. Chloe is staying until Tuesday which is very lovely. I am hoping to get on with some of my new projects which I have started and then stopped! I need to be thinking about some Christmas crafts too. All lovely! I will also have lovely thoughts about my party to hold onto to get me through the cold winter.

Hope you all have great weekend plans - treasure each day my friends.

2 sleeps and I am excited. Looking forward to seeing everyone. Hope everything is now sorted - just tomorrow to finish things off as Saturday I have dialysis. I am making lists of my lists - maybe not a good sign!

We have a full house for the weekend too so tomorrow I have cooking and bed making and bible study. A busy day. What fun. I am so glad to be able to do it. Please pray that dialysis goes well on Saturday and that I feel ok on Saturday night.

3 sleeps - it is getting very close! Very helpful flower lady wired my gerberas for the party. They look beautiful. can you guess the colour - oh pink of course!! Hoping I have got everything I need.

4 sleeps - it is getting closer. I am beginning to feel excited about it. We have tablecloths thankfully - it has been tricky!

Consultant had to go off quickly today so seeing her in a week or 2.