mysundaysnapshot

My Sunday Snapshot, Help! Stuck in a Vanilla Swarm

January 24, 2021 by Anne Sweet 5 Comments

Today I’m sitting here watching the snow fall, a vanilla swarm. We’ve had a fair bit this week but today it’s really falling and my eldest has just been out to measure it on the garden chair and it’s 6cm already. Yesterday I was fascinated with the snow that had fallen in the night and took some photos.

photograph of garden fairy lights covered in snow and ice in the vanilla swarm — *snow on the fairy lights in the garden*

Fifty Words for Snow

Kate Bush has an album called Fifty Words for Snow and on it is a track of the same name featuring Stephen Fry. ( I actually love to listen to audiobooks narrated by Stephen Fry.) It has some real strange words along some normal ones. I did write a post about it myself three years ago when we had a fair bit of snow. Just like today.

The snow is still falling here and I can see my neighbours child at his bedroom window getting very excited. I hope his mum lets him go out and play in it soon. My kids seem disinterested, but I hope my little man goes out later, I’m trying to convince him.

Trees in Vanilla Swarm

These are the trees at the bottom of my garden taken yesterday morning. On my Instagram stories you can see a short video of the snow falling this morning.

large trees in a snow storm or vanlla swarm — *snow trees*

This morning the sky is pure white and full of snow. I think we are going to have a lot more snow. I’m staying here, snug under my blanket.

Fifty Words For Snow by Kate Bush

1 drifting
2 twisting
3 whiteout
4 blackbird braille
5 Wenceslasaire
6 avalanche
Come on man, you’ve got 44 to go,
come on man, you’ve got 44 to go.
Come on man, you’ve got 44 to go,
come on man, you’ve got 44 to go.
7 swans-a-melting
8 deamondi-pavlova
9 eiderfalls
10 Santanyeroofdikov
11 stellatundra
12 hunter’s dream
13 faloop’njoompoola
14 zebranivem
15 spangladasha
16 albadune
17 hironocrashka
18 hooded-wept
Come on Joe, you’ve got 32 to go,
come on Joe, you’ve got 32 to go.
Come on now, you’ve got 32 to go,
come on now, you’ve got 32 to go.
Don’t you know it’s not just the Eskimo.
Let me hear your 50 words for snow.
19 phlegm de neige
20 mountainsob
21 anklebreaker
22 erase-o-dust
23 shnamistoflopp’n
24 terrablizza
25 whirlissimo
26 vanilla swarm
27 icyskidski
28 robber’s veil
Come on Joe, just 22 to go,
come on Joe, just 22 to go.
Come on Joe, just you and the Eskimos,
Come on now, just 22 to go.
Come on now, just 22 to go,
Let me hear your 50 words for snow.
29 creaky-creaky
30 psychohail
31 whippoccino
32 shimmerglisten
33 Zhivagodamarbletash
34 sorbetdeluge
35 sleetspoot’n
36 melt-o-blast
37 slipperella
38 boomerangablanca
39 groundberry down
40 meringuerpeaks
41 crème-bouffant
42 peDtaH ‘ej chIS qo’
43 deep’nhidden
44 bad for trains
45 shovelcrusted
46 anechoic
47 blown from polar fur
48 vanishing world
49 mistraldespair
50 snow.

Source: LyricFindSongwriters:

Kate Bush 50 Words for Snow lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Can you guess what my favourite one is?

My Sunday Snapshot – Surprising Garden Snow

January 10, 2021 by Anne Sweet 4 Comments

This week we had snow, and I took a quick picture of my garden. It’s unedited, I just wanted to show the splatter of snow and the section of my garden that I’m desperate to change.

I always love the way the snow looks in the garden, especially in the trees at the back. They are not my trees, they actually line the canal. In the summer, Boo was sitting on the trampoline and she said that looking into the trees made her feel like she was at the edge of a forest. That’s how I feel too when I look at them, even though I know that they don’t go very far and soon reach the edge of the canal.

It’s been a long time since I walked along the canal with the kids. We used to be able to walk back from their primary school and feed the ducks on the way home. Sadly, to get home there are big steps. I can find the ramps but they wouldn’t take me home. This is an old photo from 2014.

Snow in the Garden

Back to the garden. I’ve realised it needs a lot of work. We no longer need the swings or slide, and perhaps the trampoline can go too. Although they do still use it, so maybe I could just move it. We need a new net though and I had difficulty last summer finding one that would fit. Why did I get a dome trampoline?

I’d love to get rid of a lot of the grass, maybe have a little astro turf put down instead. I would love a green house or some raised beds so I can grow stuff and tend to it in my wheelchair. I can go over grass now in my chair, but it would be nice if it was a smoother ride…and nicer if I didn’t have to rely on people to cut the grass for me. I do want some flowers and colour though. So far my pot plants haven’t faired well. I have a new patio set, although we were missing a part so it’s not all put together. When it is it will be nice to create a place to sit outside. Our patio is quite small though, so maybe we could extent it.

We have a shed, but Graham uses it to smoke in. He’s not allowed to smoke in the house. It gets very cold in there but I’ve let him have heaters in the past and he’s nearly caused a fire on two occasions so I’ve banned them now. It’s just too risky. It would be nice to make his shed more cosy though. Maybe some insulation? I think it needs a coat of paint too.

It’s funny how a quick photo of the snow in the garden has sent my thoughts into overdrive. Maybe if I start planning and saving now we can have the kind of garden I want by the time the weather changes?

Have you had snow this week?

Linking up to Rachel for her Sunday Snapshot linky.

My Sunday Snapshot – Christmas Cake

January 3, 2021 by Anne Sweet 11 Comments

Nothing says Happy New Year like Christmas cake right? Ok, maybe everyone has got out of Christmas mode now, decorations are being removed, trees taken down, Christmas has left the building… Not quite. Today I will take down the decorations and the tree will come down on the 5th January as always. In the meantime we still have quite a few Christmas treats left including the Christmas cake which we only made a start on last night. We still have mince pies (Best Before 4th Jan) and chocolates (I know, unbelievable) We even have cheese and alcohol to get through.

Christmas Cake

I usually make a Christmas cake. I start in October and keep it in a tin feeding it with alcohol each week. I then decorate it the week before Christmas. This cake was bought from Sainsburys. It cost about the same but was half the size. And, even though it contained alcohol, well, my cake tastes better. (Even if I do say so myself.)

Welcome 2021

Just so you know I’m not still stuck in Christmas mode ….ok maybe give me this last day, I’m in hospital tomorrow… here is a photo of something I treated myself to this year. A 2021 Dairy Diary.

Front cover of 2021 Diary with flowers and butterflies.

I was gifted my first Dairy Diary by a friend in 1988, just before my first born child arrived. I bought one myself for the next eleven years. I still have every one. I went on to online diary keeping in 2004 and started Raisie Bay in 2011 which has been where I have kept most memories. I’ve tried keeping journals but, apart from the baby ones, I’ve not had much success. So, I’ve gone back to a traditional, fill in each day, diary. And isn’t it a pretty one. I couldn’t resist the butterflies.

Happy New Year! Let’s hold this one with great hope.

Linking up with Rachel for My Sunday Snapshot.

My Sunday Snapshot badge from Rachel Swirl

My Sunday Snapshot and Ordinary Moments – Lucky

October 11, 2020 by Anne Sweet 12 Comments

hospital infusion of IVIG, lucky to have this treatment — IVIG

This weeks photo may be a little strange but I really wanted to express how lucky I feel to be able to have my treatment and how amazing our NHS is.

For the last two months I’ve had two five day treatments of IVIG at my local hospital. I have a rare, incurable condition. No-one really knows how to treat it, but I do feel as though I have a really good consultant who listens to me. And the help I get on the NHS has been invaluable, I really do feel lucky.

The Ordinary Moments – Lucky

My life has been anything but ordinary, but usually the not so ordinary stuff has happened to family members. Then five years ago (and 10 months) I was struck down over night with a really rare condition that left me in constant pain and unable to walk unaided. Even with aids I can’t walk very far. My life was turned upside down and everything changed.

I was first told that I would recover, but later given another diagnosis which was progressive. So I won’t recover but I will get worse. Its a lot to digest, but what can I do? I have done a lot of research, I speak with my consultant. There is still one drug that he won’t agree with me on, but he’s in charge of my medication. There is still a very risky treatment that I could try which may or may not work, but I doubt it would be approved and even if it was I don’t know if I would be willing to take the risk (or agree to not be with my family for months especially with no guarantee that I would be cured afterwards, or even survive.)

So, I consider myself very lucky, not because of my crippling illness but because of the care I receive. I get care from my family who look after me, I get care from my consultant who listens to me and I get the most lovely care from the hospital staff. Honestly, the staff in the day ward I attend are really, really lovely. They listen, they care, they help and they make me feel comfortable at all times.

So, I may spend four hours a day on a hospital ward being hooked up to the machine above. I may suffer massive headaches, severe tiredness and coldness while the treatment continues. And I may have another darn side affect of intense itching this time. But it does help stop the progression of my condition. I won’t be cured, but I’m lucky that I have a way of stopping me getting worse.

Three Link ups today:

My Sunday Snapshot and Ordinary Moments, Sabrina

July 26, 2020 by Anne Sweet 8 Comments

Last week I featured Ash, my baby at only 2 years old. This week I am sharing a photo of Sabrina, taken this week when she cuddled up to our black cat draft excluder. She’s 11 years old and starting to go a little grey 🙂

Sabrina, the black cat snuggled up to a black cat draft excludor.

Yes, I know the draft excluder is upside down, but I didn’t want to disturb Sabrina just to make the photo better…she already has a half opened eye on me.

And from my older cat Sabrina I move to my youngest child for..

Ordinary Moment – Lemons

This week my Little Man had a surprise cookery box and he was most disappointed that it was lemon based. All the recipes contained lemons and my Little Man is not a lemon fan. But he turned around and said “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” So we did, and he actually liked it, a little.

He preferred it with less lemon and more ice and fizzy water, but at least he tried something different, and he made it himself. He also made lemon cupcakes which he thought he would hate, but he didn’t. We made some vanilla ones as well, just in case.

My Little Man is one special little guy. The other morning I was in pain and stuck in my bed. I’d tried to get help from other family members with no avail but then I heard him get up to go to the toilet. The bathroom is next to my bedroom and you can hear everything in there. This turned out to be a blessing as I was able to talk to The Little Man, and he was able to come and help me.

I then had a fit of guilt feeling bad that my baby (yes, he’s 9 but he’ll always be the baby) had no memory of a Mum that wasn’t disabled. He doesn’t remember the times we’d run across the playground together, always late for school because his sisters had to go in first. I stopped taking him half way through reception, when I got sick. I have memories of picnic, playing in the park, on the beach, running and having fun with him. He doesn’t, not really. It’s hard to remember the times before you are five unless they are particularly drastic. He just about remembers moving house when he was three. He doesn’t remember our old house.

He’s a lovely boy though. When I apologised for having to ask him for help, he said to me “It’s just life with an extra step.”

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