Back Again

Hi All. Long time no post. I apologise to anyone who has tried to contact me, apart from occasionally checking in on a few blogs I've had a long holiday from most things blog-related. So much has happened over the past few months, lots of family medical stuff, and me battling as always with the ups and downs of depression I've had zero motivation to write anything at all. Simply getting out of bed has been a major victory on some days.

I'm not going to go into too much depth with all the medical stuff but here's a summary...

DD3 is still recovering from her hip operation but is doing much better. She and BF are currently sunning themselves (I hope it's sunny) in Majorca.

DD2's heart issue is ongoing. The op she was hoping to have is currently not available on the NHS but may be reinstated after a review and until then she's on blood thinners to prevent any more clots from getting through the hole. 

My hip has been okay lately (touch wood) after needing more manipulation from the chiropractor at the beginning of August, and DH hasn't had any more trouble with sciatica.

I've also had a hospital visit with DS2 who had a badly bruised and swollen knee after banging it on railings. He's still wearing a supporting bandage, but is off to the USA on Sunday to visit his new American girlfriend.

But, the big medical-related news is that DS1, at the age of 28, finally has a diagnosis of ASC, meaning he's on the autistic spectrum. We always suspected he was but testing back when he was younger was inconclusive. He's now been assessed by 2 clinical psychologists (the first one quit her job and didn't leave all her notes behind so he had to have a second assessment) and both came to the same conclusion. It's taken 15 months of waiting for his first assessment and another 4 months waiting for the official report before we discovered he'd need another assessment, but finally today we've received the written report. As the assessment service only does the diagnosis and not referrals to other services we now have the task of digging out info and discovering what services, benefits etc. might be available for him.

There have been a couple of other minor hospital/doctor related events but those are the main ones. I'm so fed up with hospitals, doctors etc. It's really just been one of those years. My hope for 2017 will be good health for all my offspring and, of course, for DD3's wedding to go off without incident.

Apart from all that, the other main news is DH is teaching at yet another school, but fortunately this time it's a permanent, full time position. We've been without income since the end of July when his last supply post ended. It's fortunate that I budgeted for it and I stashed enough money away to pay all our bills over the summer, but the pot is decidedly low now and I can't wait for his first payday next Friday. I am so looking forward to having regular income again and him getting paid over the holidays so I don't have to budget for days and weeks he doesn't work so doesn't get paid. 

The other noteworthy event is DS2's band, Alastria, have released their first cd. It's a 4 track EP that we partly funded, and if you enjoy power metal music it's one to listen to. They have t shirts too and here a pic of me supporting the band. LOL!

I'm still doing what I always do, trying to stretch the pennies and making meals without spending too much. Not much crafting going on. Depression robs me of motivation, but I have knitted a blanket for DD1's doggy and I've another blanket on my needles for DD2's second kitty but it's been far too hot to knit for the past week. 

I'm hoping to start blogging again at least once a week and more if I think I have anything worthwhile to relay. And if anyone's still interested. I will update on the family from time to time but will mostly concentrate on food, budgeting and the odd crafty things I manage to knock up. 

I just want to apologise again for going AWOL for so long and I love you all.

Hugs and kisses, Helen xx