Unsurprisingly to most I’m very into Christmas. I love to go the extra mile, call it getting carried away if you will. I have spent a fair amount of time decorating for this one.
This being our first year as grandparents I wanted to make it extra special.
Our grandson is coming to stay soon so I wanted it all ready for his visit.
My love of Christmas isn’t particularly unusual I’d say.
When Sam was going through treatment for cancer we went full on Christmas cheer, I bought Christmas themed blankets to decorate his and my hospital beds, I bought a mini tree for his table in there. And tins of chocolates to share with everyone.
Far from being a miserable time it was as joyful as we could possibly make it.
Admittedly we were one of the lucky families because Sam did make it home Christmas Eve, so we spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day together at home, with just the build up in hospital, and straight back in after Boxing Day.
This Christmas build up has been a tad stressful, Sam has lumps behind his ears again, although having paid privately to have them looked at earlier in the year Sam’s new GP, who is a wonderful doctor wasn’t satisfied with the first lot of investigations into the lumps and referred him as an emergency to an oncologist.
Sam had Nasopharyngeal carcinoma at 13, his secondary was a lump in his neck.
As you can imagine we have all been in a state of high anxiety, my poor Sam, no 23 year old should have to be fretting about a lack of life insurance to provide for his partner and their baby should the worst happen. The stress he must have been under is unimaginable, but he has been his usual stoic self.
(He can’t get life insurance due to his medical history).
Not only was my mind in a blind panic, so were my bowels, they are intrinsically linked as we are finding out more and more.
It did my brain and more so my bowels no good at all, at times I thought they were going to burst right out of my body, Alien style!
Thankfully Sam was seen by the oncologist last week, and he feels the lumps are not cause for concern (although he doesn’t know what they are). They will perform a needle biopsy soon but the oncologist feels this isn’t going to show anything to worry about and will simply tell them what is going on in them.
It is a great relief. A cloud has lifted and life can move on again.
We are an incredibly lucky family.
Christmas decorating has yet again carried me through a very distressing time.
The house is decorated. The presents are bought and wrapped, the cards written and posted. God I’m on fire!!
I’ve made some Christmas door wreaths over the past few weeks, I find it extremely relaxing. One of Ben’s friends, Leonie saw them on my Instagram and wanted to come round and make one.
So she did, I said to her that we needed to go and forage for greenery in my neighbour’s garden (don’t worry, I had permission of the homeowner hahahahaha).
I put my garden shoes on and Leonie threw forty fits at the absolute hideousness of them…they are my putting the bins (trash) out shoes, I did try and reassure her there was no cause for alarm.
She replied ‘I bet they won’t ever make it on your blog!!’, So in the spirit of full disclosure;
I’m Suzanne, I’m disgusting, I do indeed wear ugly plastic clogs to go and put the bins out…
And to prove it I’m publicly publishing the series of extremely unflattering photos that Leonie took while I foraged for plants for her wreath. It’s a bit of luck I adore the girl really! Hahahahaha
With a bit of guidance, and in between her photography she made her first ever Christmas door wreath. A beautiful job she made of it too!
The trousers I’m wearing in the delightful photos above are a new pair I bought in Next last week, my tummy was really tender and I just wanted something soft without having to wear a track suit.
These trousers fit the bill perfectly. I bought a size up even though I don’t think it was necessary. I just felt more comfortable in a looser fit.
I can assure you skinny jeans weren’t going to go anywhere near me with my bowels feeling so hostile.
I really would recommend them.
On the matter of hostile bowels, I’ve been taking that D mix that I mentioned last week, twice daily for while and although it’s had its work cut out with the sheer stress of Sam I do believe it’s helping.
The last few days I’ve had little or no gripe or cramps at all. My output is steady, and my bowels seem unusually comfortable.
It is quite expensive but if it works to soothe my belly I’m all in.
You chew half a spoonful after each meal 30-40 times. It’s full of fibre, which is good for you anyway but it also teaches you to chew your regular food properly. A lot of my troubles are probably caused by the fact I pretty much swallow everything whole, I’m such a lazy chewer! Hahahahaha
Sunday morning Chris and I went over to see our friends (my boss’s) new Neptune store in Cambridge, which opened on Monday…oh my goodness it’s a beauty! I love the Colchester store I work for but Neptune Cambridge is very cosy and even more like a home.
It’s utterly gorgeous, I have a minor addiction to the stuff admittedly, I wanted to come home and redo every room in the house again…cue Chris fainting. Hahahahaha.
Then Sunday afternoon Chris and I headed off in to London for an evening out. We went and looked at the Christmas lights on the shopping streets as they are all on now.
I had intended to wear my new coat/cape that Chris had bought me for Christmas but just after I put it on and took these photos it started raining and I decided I needed a waterproof coat with a hood.
I’m absolutely in love with it, and I was really pleased Chris said I could wear it (just to clarify, I don’t usually need Chris’s permission to wear my own clothes but I do if it’s not meant to be mine until Christmas) ;)
Dress from Primark, Shoes from Christian Dior.
I love this dress, I bought it a while back now, on the way to an appointment with a dietician, it was bulging at the bust back then, but I have lost 5lbs since then and it’s now no longer gaping. (Thank you very much Sophie Medlin, @sophiedietician, you put me on the right track, now all I have to do is stick to it. :0)
We had such a good walk round looking at the lights and absorbing the Christmas spirit. Despite Friday’s horrific incident in London it was as ever full to the brim with people enjoying themselves.
A walk, a meal in the little Thai restaurant we found last week and then on to our first Christmas treat of the season…
“Love Actually” in concert. It’s a concept that has confused and baffled some of my friends. It’s very easy though, you watch the film on the big screen as normal but the soundtrack of the film is played by a live orchestra.
We went and watched Home Alone like it last year. It’s a really wonderful experience. One of my friends asked me if the orchestra is distracting? It really isn’t, don’t tell the orchestra this but at times I forgot they were there, only remembering when occasionally one member stood up to bang the cymbals together. Hahahahaha
We met up with our friends, who had unbeknownst to us had booked to see it way back in January. We had only seen an Ad for it a few months back on an underground train.
It was good to meet up with them for a second weekend running. It was an absolute treat.
The film experience was amazing too.
We both love “Love Actually”, we watch it every year at Christmas.
Then on Monday I headed up to London again, but this time for a meeting at Bowel & Cancer Research.
Dress from Oliver Bonas, Boots from LK Bennett.
Coat, £50 from Sainsbury’s, Scarf from Burberry, Bag from Goyard.
No I didn’t take a photographer all the way to London with me, but I did catch the Park & Ride bus with my son Ben’s girlfriend who I asked to take photos of me, and bless her heart she obliged, I bet she was so happy to get off at the Uni to get away from me and my camera! Hahahahaha
We had a fabulous meeting, I already know Neil, Liz and Lesley from other committee panels I’m on for B&CR. But it was wonderful to meet Ellie, a clinical nurse researcher in bowel incontinence, which is something that I had experienced pre bag and pre finding out I had a massive tumour up my bum.
I can very much empathise with anyone that suffers from it. I only had it happen on a couple of occasions but it was enough to seriously damage me emotionally.
My vomit phobia actually stems from it. It made me fearful of life outside the home to be honest. I can’t imagine what it must be like to suffer from it on a regular basis.
I want to help with any further developments in research in all areas of the bowels, in fact the week after next I’m back up there again for a session on polyps, I’ve only ever had one…but believe me, one was enough, and it certainly did enough damage.
Any one wishing to join Bowel & Cancer Research to voluntarily help with research and developments should take a look at their website or social media, first hand experience is invaluable to the researchers.