Worst Christmas Ever?

I'd like to thank everyone for your lovely comments and thanks to the few people who emailed me too.

Since my last post I have had a further surgery. Something called ORIF which stands for Open reduction and internal fixation. I was unconscious for this operation and it lasted for just over 7 hours. I didn't do very well and they monitored me for 2 days. By the second day my vitals were stable and I saw the Doctor and physiotherapy. As my health got better they decided it was time to discharge me. I left the hospital on 4th of December. I could not walk and had to hobble with a zimmer. The hospital gave me some other aids for the house, but not many. They said I didn't need calcium, but I decided to order it anyway as calcium is essential for bones and I am dairy free. I struggled the first few days and then my partner decided to walk out on me and my daughter. More heartbreak. I honestly couldn't believe it. He said he would help where he can and we are trying to work things out just now. I am hopeful.

I've had a few appointments at the hospital, an ambulance has had to take me as I cannot get out my house due to stairs. The doctor showed me the xray and it turns out I have several plates and at least 19 screws in my ankle and leg. I am sick and tired of nurses, doctors and specialists telling me how serious and traumatic my injury is. At one of my appointments they removed the cast and I am wearing a moon boot now, which isn't at all comfortable. I cannot put any weight on my left leg. So hopping about on my right is tiring. 

I have another appointment in the middle of January. I am hoping for good news that I can put weight on the ankle and learn to walk again.

Between my injury and partner, this has been the worst Christmas I have ever had. I still cannot walk and need the zimmer and crutches.

I have lots of photos so will get back to posting. My Blogging hope for this year was to post ever day, which I didn't manage, so I am hoping for that for 2026 and a good recovery too.

If anyone has had a similar injury advice is welcome and hope too. Thanks everyone.

Update

Had an operation on Friday afternoon. They put pins into my leg to try and hold the ankle into place. I need to get more operations.

It is very sore!

Thanks for all the lovely comments.

In Hospital

Hi everyone. I am in hospital with a broken ankle. Waiting on treatment. Hoping to get home tomorrow. Will keep you posted.

Scottish Game Fair 2025

We went to the Scottish Game Fair at the start of July. Here are a few photos from the day.

A good day was had by all!

Big Kid Circus 2025

We went to see the Circus recently. It's called Big Kid Circus. I hadn't been to see the circus since in late 1980s and this was the first time for my daughter at the circus.

We all really enjoyed it and it was so well done. I was impressed with the stunts and the team worked really hard. If they come here next year we will definitely be going again. Well done Big Kid Circus.

Happy 80th Birthday Ron Mael

I am a huge music fan and went to see Sparks recently in July when they were in Edinburgh. I posted about the last gig HERE.  Not many of you knew Sparks from that last post. They were big in the 70s and their most famous hit is probably This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us. Ron Mael turns 80 today so thought this was a good time to post about the gig to wish him a happy 80th!

Ron was even sporting a tartan tie! What a great gig, so full of energy for 2 old guys! The singer, Russell is 76 and it didn't show! I have been into Sparks since the early 80s. My dad was a fan and used to play them a lot and I enjoyed them as a kid and listened to them growing up. Even managed to get my 6 year old daughter into a few of their songs!

All the best to Ron and we hope to see you in Scotland again real soon.

Glasgow Mela 2025

I have been going to the Mela for many years now. It's usually held at the end of June in Glasgow. I posted about it last year HERE. 

This year it was held on Sunday 22nd June. And it was very wet due to the heavy rain. Just have a look at these photos!

We all got soaked and only stayed for about 30 minutes. Not as may people this year, as before, due to the weather!

Famous Glasgow Scene

 

This is a very famous scene in Glasgow, a statue with a traffic cone on the guy's head! Read here about it: Equestrian statue of the Duke of Wellington. I remember seeing it in the early 1990s! The building behind the statue is The Gallery Of Modern Art which I have been to several times. It's free as well! Most Museums in Scotland are free, which is good I think. Over the years the colour of the cone usually changes and sometimes the horse has one too, as can be seen in the Gallery link!

Someone Sees You

 

We went to the beach a few months ago and I saw this Spiderman Hat on a bench. He's watching us!

Random Crap

 

The random crap people leave at ponds! This stool was left at the pond a few years ago and someone had put it on the wooden post! People leave the most random things in nature! I would guess someone used it to sit on while fishing perhaps? 

Remembering Jimmy

I made a post back on 11th November 2024 to say that our friend Jimmy had passed away on the 7th of November 2024. He was killed on his Motorbike. Today would have been his 68th Birthday. So I would like to post photos from our 2 trips to Amsterdam and remember him.

First from our trip in 2023.

And a few from 2024.

The stairs in the hotel were very steep!!

And finally Jimmy with the biker jacket be bought when we were there.

RIP in Jimmy. 

Getting My Daughter Into Photography

A few weeks ago when the schools were off for a few days I took my daughter down to Blackpool. We visited a few places and Sealife, which I posted the Starfish photo from last week. I am really into photography and want to share this passion with my daughter and teach her about the importance of nature. She has my old Huawei P20 Pro phone which has an amazing camera. It is really good for macros and I used it a lot for photos. So when we are out she takes lots of photos. Here is a photo of her at Sealife taking a photo. The phone doesn't have a sim card and she only uses it for a few games, some music I put on for her and photos. 

One Year On

 

This is a personal one! Last year on the 5th of March I decided to quit coffee. I did it cold turkey as well, cutting it out completely. It was hard, really hard. I think it had "coffee flu" the first few weeks. I had also cut out caffeine completely as I stopped drinking black and green teas, I was just drinking herbal teas and Chicory (which is a coffee substitute). After 2 weeks I started to feel better and my stomach was a lot better too. The acidity of the coffee had been killing my stomach. I reintroduced black and green teas about a month or so later and did enjoy them and had no issues with the caffeine. BUT over the Festive Period I noticed that black tea was causing me similar issues with my stomach that the coffee had been. So in early January I quit black teas too. I now only drink green teas and herbal teas. There are so many tasty green teas that I have: Gunpowder, Jasmine, Sencha, White Tea and various others. Since quitting the black teas I haven't had any issues whatsoever with my stomach. Black tea is acidic too so my body was telling me to stop it! Greens teas are alkaline and better for the tummy and down right tasty! I have also been trying to eat more alkaline foods and avoiding acidic ones too. I really cannot believe I had my last coffee on the 4th of March 2024! I really thought coffee defined me! I used to drink 4-6 a day and it was the real stuff, none of this instant rubbish haha! I had a fancy bean to cup coffee machine, various fancy coffee cups and lots of beans and ground coffee. After giving up I gave it all to one of my friends who is a huge coffee fan and he loves the machine. The cup above is an Espresso Cup from Ikea and I found the beans at the back of the cupboard, so thought I'd get a photo of them before I binned them. 

I feel that quitting coffee was the best and worst decision of my life!!

Littering

 

I have made a few comments on other blogs about littering and it got me thinking. Littering is such a HUGE problem here in Scotland. Everywhere is plagued by it. I often collect the rubbish when I am out on my nature walks and this is one example. I find it heartbreaking that such lovely forests and green areas are like this. There is also something called "fly tipping" which is illegal over here yet it still happens. People dumping rubbish in places they shouldn't for instance: the forest, housing estates and on the streets. You see all sorts, furniture, beds and lots of other junk. There are signs all over the streets warning people of dumping rubbish and they will be fined, yet I see it all the time and nothing is done. The local authority are slow to remove it and their approach to waste management is shocking. They don't care!!! They would rather the area looking like sh*t than spend a budget on tidying it up. The rest of Scotland is just as bad. I feel ashamed that the people of this country do not respect it! Is littering a problem in your country too?

Leaky Pipes

 

So about 2 weeks ago we started to experience issues with our boiler, it started losing pressure when it was off and we had to keep topping it up. My partner's friend is a gas engineer and he came to investigate. After a few days of detective work, they both came to the conclusion that there was a leak in the pipes. Oh dear! After pulling up the hardwood floor and digging into the concrete, we found the source of the leak. As you can see from the pipes, it looks like there was a leak before and they just patched it up. The pipes are also very old and damaged. So at the weekend new pipes were fitted and we have our heating back up and running again. There is still a few pipes and radiators to sort but the majority is done. And the good news, our 5 year old boiler is still in good condition!!

Trip To London In May 2023

Been meaning to post these for a while now! We went to London in May 2023 to see Sparks. I absolutely love Sparks and had seen them a few times proir to this. Here are a few photos from that trip.

 

The gig was at the famous Royal Albert Hall, as you can see from the photo it was very busy! It was a great gig and considering how old both Ron and Russell are, both were amazing. Russell was jumping and dancing about the stage like a 30 year old! I think they are still very talented and still manage to produce clever material. Do any of you like Sparks? What is your favourite era or album? Have you seen them live?

Things People Leave In Nature

 

These are some odd things people have left in nature. First is a packet of cigarettes inside a tree. second is a clothes peg on a tree stump and lastly one shoe in the forest. Aren't humans weird!!

The Stone Has Eyes

 

I think this stone looks like it has eyes! The moss looks like hair too!

Glasgow Mela 2024

Something a wee bit different today. At the end of June we went to the Glasgow Mela. The Mela celebrates Asian culture in Glasgow. Asian in the UK is Indian, Pakistani and surrounding areas and not Chinese or Japanese. It is a wonderful event and I have been going for many years now. There is a lot of dancing, singing, plenty of good food and lots of event for the kids. Here are some photos from the event this year.

The 3rd photo is a little Aphid that landed on my hand, of course I had to get a photo of him before he flew off! And the last photo, I somehow ended up with the official photographers and got a good shot of these dancers