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Waiting patiently….

Posted in family and relationships, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged adventures in london, baby layette, blogging, colds and flu, family, family london, first pregnancy, Labour, life, relationships, winter colds on January 14, 2019| Leave a Comment »

….or not. LOL Well the days are slowly but inexorably going by, one by one and still our wee Peanut has not put in an appearance. His ‘due dates’ of 5th and 7th have come and gone and he is still snug in his cosy (albeit noisy) little cocoon.

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40 weeks and looking gorgeous

I say noisy because his poor Mother (my daughter) has had the most awful cold and subsequent cough for well over a week now and it is causing her a tremendous amount of stress, pain and discomfort. She is almost literally ‘coughing her lungs out’. She is alternatively bunged up with thick mucus or streaming snot. Both of which are causing her a lot of pain and discomfort with the accompanying coughing…that just goes unremittingly on and on. The doctor checked her over earlier last week on another visit and said there was no infection, so just to keep warm and rest.

A couple of days ago, actually last week Thursday, I was downstairs cleaning and she was upstairs resting (or trying to) when I heard a tiny little voice come wafting down in desperation “Mummy, can you come upstairs please”. My initial heart reaction was “omg the baby is on the way!!” to “omg what the hell is wrong?” when I got upstairs and found her doubled over in pain. She thought that with the coughing and the very uncomfortable positions she had been lying in in bed may have pinched a nerve in her shoulder when coughing. I tried massaging the area, to no avail and with no relief, it got steadily worse till she was screaming with pain, coughing and unable to stand up. Suddenly her left arm started going numb right down to her fingers…and she started crying in earnest thinking she might be having a heart attack with the pain.

I tried phoning the GP but as usual they take so long to reply, you could be dead by the time they answer. So I phoned 999 – ‘ambulance please’ and within 45 minutes we were in A&E. Still screaming and in so much pain that they, the medical staff in A&E, were all convinced she was in labour….despite her saying that you don’t get labour pains in your shoulder!!! *rolls eyes*.

After a quick examination the doctor prescribed some morphine to dull the pain….it took the edge off but didn’t really make a huge difference, and transferred her to the maternity labour ward. *rolls eyes* again!! Pass the buck eh! Or in this case the very pregnant Mummy-to-be.

After quite a few examinations that involved prodding her ribs and facilitated a lot of screaming and swearing, they gave her some coedine and strapped her up to the baby monitor. Although baby wasn’t at all happy with the noise and discomfort he was experiencing from both the coughing and the screaming, his heartbeat was strong and healthy and he was moving around like no-one’s business. It’s so amazing how the sound of the monitor changes as he moves and the graph goes crazy. At least this room was a bit more cheerful than the others we’ve been in. This is not the first time we’ve visited the labour ward, and mostly the rooms are dull, and grim with crappy paintwork and all the horrible sterile equipment.

Mummy and Daddy

a lovely strong heartbeat

We spent a few hours there while they did various tests and checks, doctors and midwives came and went and finally after about 5 hours they discharged her and we all went home….my poor child….still in pain and feeling somewhat spaced out from the medications.

And here we are, the weekend has come and gone, Mummy is still coughing and spluttering, her ribs are still very painful, and now her whole body is aching from the strain of the coughing and still no sign of baby making an appearance any time soon, which is probably a good thing since my daughter is in no condition to take the strain of labour right now.

However, we thought for sure he was on the way last night due to what we thought might be a ‘show’ and a lot of fluid being passed. To be on the ‘safe side’ we decided to pop in at the labour ward and have them check things over…again we spent a couple of hours in the labour ward while they did a few tests and monitored baby’s heartbeat – the diagnosis is: no, baby is not yet on the way. Geez, this little scamp is taking his own sweet time. His heartbeat is strong and healthy, he is moving frequently and still breech.

And my poor child is still coughing and coughing. We have tried everything to no avail. It’s a virus and we just have to wait for it to pass……maybe Peanut is waiting for that too.

Meanwhile I went shopping again yesterday and bought some of the cutest little outfits you can imagine. I do so love the Peter Rabbit theme and even though baby really has more than enough Newborn babygrows, I could resist this one 🙂 It’s adorable. Of course if baby weighs more than 7 lbs, none of them are going to fit…. LOL

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Peter Rabbit…one of my favourite characters

My daughter gave me the most delightful book for Christmas: FAMILY LONDON with the inscription – ‘to granny for all our adventures, love Jamie’. There are dozens of ideas and places to go with children of all ages: parks, playgrounds & secret gardens, museums & galleries, grand days out, where the wild things are, and teenage kicks…as well as places to eat…..oh and we’ll definitely be buying lots of ice-creams!!

peanut is on the way, first grandchild, family london, things to do with children in london

Jamie and Granny’s London adventures

So I’m already planning ahead and bought him some gorgeous Paddington Bear pyjamas, an adorable Paddington Bear dungaree and top ensemble

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Night night Paddington ….time for bed 🙂

and a London jumper with a big red bus and a London t-shirt. All Aboard…first bus we shall ride will be the Number 15 from the Tower of London to Trafalgar Square.

All Aboard…first bus we shall ride will be the Number 15 from the Tower of London to Trafalgar Square

I Love London

These will all be kept aside for when Granny and Jamie go to London on an adventure.

I can’t wait for this wee lad to arrive now. 🙂

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dashing between appointments

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Health, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged amy johnson bronze herne bay, floods warnings for kent, https://www.laleche.org.uk/, la leche league breastfeeding on January 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Absolutely gorgeous sunrise 🌅 again today but oh my gosh the wind is freezing. The tide was well out, albeit on its way back in. Due to various maternity appointments we had today, and since I’m the nominated chauffeur, I didn’t get to walk all the way to Ramsgate and instead stopped at Dumpton Gap and then back.

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gorgeous sunrise. the calmness of the sea belies the stormy weather we had later that day

Dumpton Gap

Apparently there was a flood warning with very high tides for the east coast from Whitstable to Margate.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to actually see the tide coz we were bouncing between hospitals and other appointments and only got home at 7.55pm after leaving at 10.20am 🙄🙄😉

But we did see some of the effects while in Herne Bay where we saw very rough seas whipped up by a freezing wind. We were there for a meeting with the La Leche League lady who was advising my daughter on breastfeeding and various other related issues. So very interesting. I wish I had known about all of this when I had my baby back in 1980. They are so much more progressive and so much has changed and yet the simple basics remain the same. The young lady that we met with is an absolute delight and incredibly knowledgeable. I came away with loads of literature.

We decided to stop off there for lunch and I spotted a fab little statue of Amy Johnson. I was totally surprised to see the statue there since I had not seen it on a previous visit a couple of years ago. It seems there is in fact a conspiracy theory attached – read more about the death of Amy Johnson off Herne Bay

Amy Johnson bronze statue in Herne Bay – unfortunately the sun was behind so her face is in shadow

The Amy Johnson bronze in Herne Bay

You wouldn’t believe just how cold it was walking along that promenade; a frenzied wind whipped my hair about and froze my bones!!

After lunch we drove to Deal where my daughter had an ’emergency’ scan. We’re still not quite sure what the ’emergency’ was or why the scan had been ordered and apparently neither did anyone in the labour ward, which is where we drove to next and spent another couple of hours. I guess someone thought it was a good idea!!

I am ever so grateful that I took this time off to spend with my daughter. As it turns out she has been really ill with a nasty cold and subsequent hacking cough and would not have been able to drive herself to all these appointments, and since her husband doesn’t have a drivers license, he wouldn’t have been able to drive her either. I actually came under a lot of flak from my sister about wanting to spend this time with my daughter and was given a very sharp, irritated and frankly aggressive retort of “Why? She can cope!” when I made the mistake of mentioning to her back in May of 2018 that I was planning on taking 3 months off over January, February and March to help out with the new baby.

As it turns out, baby hasn’t yet arrived but my daughter is ill and I’ve been on hand to help out…cooking, loading the dishwasher, cleaning house, keeping the laundry up to date, shopping for odds and ends, frequent trips to the pharmacy for medication, and driving her to appointments. Isn’t that what Mothers are for? To help out!! I’ve no doubt they would have made alternative arrangements if I hadn’t been here, but how much more stressful it would have been having to rely on other people to drive them around.

Today’s walk : 5.94 kms / 9.352 steps

Viking Bay to Dumpton Gap

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The waters broke but not the right ones

Posted in family and relationships, Health, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged burst water pipe, granny in waiting, last week of pregnancy, the waters broke, waiting for peanut on January 7, 2019| 2 Comments »

Well nothing boring about life in our household. Besides the fact that we are waiting with bated breath for the baby to arrive, we had waters break last night, but they were not Mummy’s. LOL

My daughter and I were in her bedroom folding laundry and my son-in-law was in the bath. Suddenly we heard him yell something intelligible, ran to the bathroom to find out what was going on and heard the gushing of water (fortunately he was dressed by then). Initially we were like “oh it’s raining” but on opening the bathroom window we realised …nope not rain, the sound was coming from inside the bathroom. My son-in-law turned the basin tap on and the sound disappeared, turned it off again and the water gushed…but from where?

We all traipsed downstairs and to our horror water was gushing through the ceiling and into the kitchen. At that point we realised a pipe had clearly burst under the bath and as we started to look for where to turn the water off the lights blew LOL Darkness descended.

Pitch black and the 3 of us running around looking for our phones for a torch. After much confusion phones were found, a neighbour’s help secured, the electrics turned off, towels galore lined the cupboard edges, buckets under the water spouts and finally we located the stop-cock which was ironically just outside the garden gate. We also with the neighbours help located the interior tap and turned the water off. It turns out the tap is in my bedroom in the basement and I went to bed with visions of the water gushing out during the night all over my bed!!! Horrors!

Once the water flow had been stemmed to a trickle I set about mopping the pool of water in the kitchen and my daughter remarked that when she said she wanted a ‘water-birth’ this is not quite what she had in mind. I retorted that “yes, your waters broke, but not the ones you wanted”… more hilarity followed and before the ink had dried on her facebook update people were replicating the ‘waters broke’ theme.

Meanwhile once the excitement died down, the estate agent contacted and an emergency plumber sent out to determine the source of the damage and check the water was truly turned off, we settled down with bottles and jugs and kettle filled to see us through till the morrow….just in case. My daughter and I took a midnight stroll to the local hotel to use the loo LOL

Once life had settled down we watched a bit of TV and then we all retired to bed. Still no Peanut but a LOT of water. The Universe sure has a sense of humour.

On a side note, it was surprisingly warm outside when we walked to the hotel and I didn’t even need my jacket. This winter has been really weird, far too mild and a tad worrying. However I have been reliably informed that there is an Arctic Blast heading our way. I must dig out those gloves…..pronto.

We all survived the night, the floors have dried out, the water has stopped gushing, the plumber has been and replaced the culprit, the water supply is back on and the towels are being washed as I type, the waterboard folk have been to check why the valve on the stopcock is not working properly and the lino in the kitchen and the cupboards have survived the onslaught. The bathroom lino hasn’t fared so well. And my nerves are fraught.

It’s stressful enough that my daughter is so ill right on her term dates without the palaver of a burst water pipe. We had already spent a few hours at the Maternity Ward late yesterday afternoon to check that baby was ok as he wasn’t moving as much as normal and with all the coughing my daughter’s belly was very painful and her whole body aching from the strain. They hooked her up to the heart monitor and thankfully Peanut’s heart is beating strong and loud and in other good news, it appears he may well have turned from the breech position and be head down. They’ve ordered a scan for later this week to check.

If he has turned and is head down, then that means she may well be able to insist on having the water birth she wants…only it will not be from a burst water pipe on the floor of the kitchen.

Oh and we still don’t have lights as the electrics in the kitchen are still wet but thankfully we do have the electric sockets, so after 17 years in the UK we are now using side lamps for light…. just like the Brits hahahaha. The electrician is expected at 3pm.

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Day Five of 2019 and waiting for Peanut

Posted in around the UK, Health, It's my life, me and Peanut, seaside towns of Britain, walk 1000 miles 2019, walks around the UK, tagged broadstairs to ramsgate, isle of thanet, map my walk, peanut is on the way, walk 1000 miles, walking in england, walking the coastal path in england on January 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Today marks one of Peanut’s ‘due dates’…..and nope, he has not arrived. Not sure how I feel about that! On one hand I’m pleased because he will arrive when he is good and ready and not because the NHS are still working on calculations that were first established in 1744 (?) I mean seriously…..we’re now in the 21st century, we’ve put a man on the moon (apparently), we’ve sent rockets into space countless times, we sent astronauts into space to live on a space station; the International Space Station that circumnavigates the planet on a daily basis, we have invented phones that can do just about anything you want it to except eat for you, and yet the NHS are still working on a calculation made by a Dutch doctor in 1744. If you could see me now, I’d be rolling my eyes!! LOL

On the other hand I am impatient….after 34 weeks of excitement at the thought of becoming a Granny, I am now waiting impatiently. However, either way and whichever day, by at least the 19th he should be here. 🙂

Meanwhile I am making the most of every day to get out and walk. I want to be sure to have a photo of the sunrise on the day he is born…I hope it’s a spectacular one and not grey like today!! I’m making a book; The Incredible Journey of James Alexander aka Jamie aka Peanut and would really love the photo to be of a stunning sunrise!! 🙂

I left rather late just after 9.15, opting to linger a bit longer in bed with a cup of tea after peeking out the window and seeing the grey clouds. It is definitely getting colder and today my hands were red by the time I got back. I also didn’t venture very far since I am the nominated driver for when my daughter does go into labour and I do not want to panic about getting back from a walk if I’m miles away. I’ll get back to the long walks once baby is here.

Grey and grizzly as it may be, the view from the clifftop across Viking Bay is still beautiful.

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tis a grey day on the Isle of Thanet

I didn’t get to walk along the beach since the tide was well and truly in by the time I got going so I walked along the promenade to Louisa Bay and walked down to the concrete path along the sea wall and made my way to Dumpton Gap again.

the tide is in – looking back towards Viking Bay

the tide is in – Dumpton Gap : looking south along the coast towards Ramsgate

There were a couple of labrador dogs running about and investigating; they are such happy animals with their wagging tails. I should have taken a photo, they were that cute. But instead I just photographed the seas and then headed back home.

the tide is in at Dumpton Gap, no chance of getting through there today

the tide is in at Dumpton Gap and soon my footprints will be washed away

It was a bit windy today too and the seas were rough and wild. I had planned to head down to the harbour later on to photograph the waves, but with one thing and another, I never quite made it that far.

After a breakfast of croissants from the Old Bake House

the old bake house broadstairs, walk 1000 miles, walking the isle of thanet

The Old Bake House on the corner of Serene Place and the High Street is where I buy our croissants; the most delicious you can imagine, always fresh, never burned with a delicious spongy interior. My favourite are the almond fillings. Bradstow House, the building on the corner of Serene Place and the High Street, is early 18th century and was originally constructed as a single house but is now a house and the Old Bake House and cafe. The shop front that you can see was constructed in the 19th century.

and a cup of hot steaming tea, I strolled along to Toffs and Tarts Hairdresser in Albion Road and had my hair cut. I finally found a hairdresser who knows how to feather cut hair using a razor! Hoorah. It feels so much lighter now and he did a really good job.

Day 5/365 and today I walked 3.79 kms and 5713 steps and we are 5 days closer to Peanut’s arrival 🙂 Soon I hope to be taking him on my daily perambulations to Ramsgate!

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Viking bay to Dumpton Gap

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Winter walks along the Kentish Coast

Posted in around the UK, family and relationships, Health, It's my life, me and Peanut, walk 1000 miles 2019, walks around the UK, tagged blogging, family and relationships, isle of thanet, map my walk, relationships, walk 1000 miles, walks along the english coast, walks in england, wordpress on January 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Today I set off much earlier that the 2 previous days and had the joy and privilege of watching the sun rise. Sunrise was at 07:59 and I reached the promenade at 08:03. It is such a pleasure to be taking winter walks along this section of the Kentish coast, the views truly are just stunning and I enjoy it anew each and every time. When the time comes it is going to be very hard to leave this area….

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Viking Bay…….what a glorious view

Still very overcast and cloudy the colours of the sun against the cloudscape were breathtaking. The sea was almost, but not quite like pond today, the colour of mercury and because I was a lot earlier the tide was right in and I had to walk most of the way along the clifftops. I got as far as the Ramsgate Tunnels and then turned back for home. This section of the east coast is so beautiful and I feel so lucky to live here.

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a beautiful sunrise on the Isle of Thanet

stunning light on the sea

Ramsgate, Isle of Thanet

As usual most of the people out at this time of day were walking their dogs and I got to say hello to any number of happy little fellows, one of which was a gorgeous Labrador puppy…I got lots of wet nose kisses and muddy paw hugs from him. So cute I wanted to take him home with me LOL

I spent the rest of the day helping my daughter to sort out her laundry cupboard and part of her office. She’s so heavily pregnant now that any sort of exertion is just too much for her. Besides which she’s picked up a nasty cold that is making her so tired with the coughing and stuffy nose. She was at an event a few days ago and one of the women there had a heavy cold and had the audacity to say “Oh I get colds but I don’t pass them on”… Fuck. I do wish people would be more considerate and stay at home when they are ill. All they do is pass on their nasty germs to those who are more vulnerable and less able to cope with a cold. My daughter is banning anyone from visiting the baby if they have even so much as a sniffle.

Day 3/365 – Broadstairs to Ramsgate : 8.33 kms, 12823 steps

Broadstairs to Ramsgate Steps

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Walk 1000 miles

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, gratitude, Health, It's my life, long distance walks - solo, me and Peanut, photography, seaside towns of Britain, walk 1000 miles 2019, tagged broadstairs harbour, english coast, isle of thanet, walk 1000 miles, walks in england, winter waves at high tide on January 2, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Getting off to a good start yesterday, today I left it a little late to start my walk so only got as far as Dumpton Gap before I headed back home. The weather has been so mild it’s almost difficult to believe its mid-winter. However there was a storm brewing across the channel and the sea was a completely different animal today with wild waves smashing up against the harbour wall and sending spray in every direction including over the gathering observers! It’s fascinating to see how these waves attract more and more people, it seems we cant resist a bit of wildness in our lives.

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super waves

As usual I was unable to resist and so before I set off for Dumpton Gap, I walked down to the harbour to watch and film the wave action. That sounds when the water hits the wall is so thrilling….a loud wwhump that sends shivers through the ground and up your spine.

stormy weather

I spent ages just watching and filming, getting wet by a rouge wave that crept up from behind and splashed me with icy water. Not the first time and probably won’t be the last!

waves smashing against the harbour wall

A brisk walk across the beach towards Louisa Bay and as the tide was coming in I had to walk along the concrete walkway rather than continue along the beach. I love this wild kind of weather, it’s so exhilarating and vibrant and energetic…make me feel so alive!

I find the chalk cliffs along the coastline to be endlessly fascinating. It’s incredible to think that these cliffs were once beneath the seas and formed from the skeletal remains of minute planktonic green algae that lived floating in the upper levels of the ocean. It’s sad to realise how quickly they are disintegrating and wearing away from sea erosion. The lumps of chalk left behind have hardened into rocks forming an alien landscape.

chalk cliffs on the Isle of Thanet

Dumpton Gap – the rocks from the worn away chalk cliffs look like an alien landscape

Coming back the clouds had moved on and the sky was a vibrant blue with puffy clouds here and there.

reflections at Dumpton Gap, Isle of Thanet

beautiful Broadstairs, a sight that always lifts my spirits

Once I got home, my daughter and I sat on the couch chatting about the baby and the different options she has now been left with since baby is presenting as breech. Little blighter….oh well. We’ll see.

Besides walking, I’ve been finishing off some of the little cardigans and matinee jackets I’ve been knitting for my grandson. His arrival is now well and truly imminent and we are waiting with bated breath for him to start his incredible journey, the first of many.

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a cardigan for Peanut

I’ve also been reading the 2nd of the books I bought for myself for Xmas: ‘Arabia’ – Levison Wood. It’s really hard going. Not from the reading aspect because he is a very descriptive author and it’s so interesting, but rather it’s the appalling history of the area and the terrible horrors perpetrated against the Syrians that I’m finding so hard to contemplate. I won’t go into too much detail here because I want to write a proper review, suffice to say it’s mind-numbing and shocking stuff.

Day 2 /365 – Broadstairs to Dumpton Gap : 4.68 kms, 8008 steps

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Viking bay to Dumpton Gap

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New Year’s Day 2019

Posted in around the UK, cities and towns of the UK, family and relationships, Fun Stuff, It's my life, me and Peanut, seaside towns of Britain, tagged blogging, family, meeting santa, new years day swim, relationships, viking bay broadstairs, walk 1000 miles, walks in england on January 1, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Wow, I can hardly believe that it’s already 2019!! How did 2018 fly by so fast? But if I consider how much happened during the year, and because I was almost wishing the year away so that we could get closer to the date when my first grandchild (a wee boy) is due, I guess what with the jobs away, my many excursions and shopping expeditions (for some who normally loathes shopping…it was no hardship to shop for baby clothes LOL), the days just flew.

So here we are in 2019. We, my heavily pregnant daughter, excited expectant son-in-law and I, very excited and impatient Granny, saw in the new year watching the London fireworks on BBC1, had a glass of wine to toast the new year, sang a few lines of Auld Lang Syne and by 1am we were in bed. Finally I can say my grandson is due to arrive this year 🙂 🙂 Hoorah.

happy new year, london fireworks new year

Never have I been more excited about a new year’s arrival…

Starting off afresh, for 2019, I’m keen to get back to my walking since I didn’t do much after the mishap I had during my Pilgrim’s Way pilgrimage in August (in fact my walking pretty much came to an abrupt end after that), and I want to be able to make the most of my time at home. So on New Year’s Day, but not too early mind considering the hour of bedtime….I set off on the first of my 2019 #walk1000miles excursions. There were a few people about, mostly dog walkers, but on the whole the streets and beach were empty.

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Viking Bay looking stunning on New Year’s Day 2019

The scenery along this section of the Kent coast is so beautiful and I never tire of walking the same route, which is a good thing, since that is pretty much my only route except when I walk to Margate. I hope to get back to that one of these fine days, but I’m waiting till baby arrives before I venture too far.

A stunning day on the Kent coast

one of the many colourfully decorated shelters along the Ramsgate walkway

Ramsgate Royal Harbour

Walking to the end of the Ramsgate Harbour arm and back I managed a decent 9.37 kms.

On my way back, as I rounded the corner at Louisa Bay I noticed a huge crowd on the beach at Viking Bay. Puzzled as to what could have attracted so many people, I increased my pace to see what was going on.

walk 1000 miles, new years day swim broadstairs, viking bay, kentish coast

In the distance the crowds…what is going on?

At about the same time I got a whats app message from my daughter to say that they were on the beach to watch the New Year’s Day swimathon!!! Oh my gosh! I had completely forgotten about that. In fact, I had been trying to coerce my son-in-law to join me and take a dip, but he was steadfast in his refusal LOL

So I hurried up even more and with 6 minutes to spare I hit the beach only to hear the countdown, 2 minutes early according to my phone, and before I could get close enough they were running down the beach and into the water.

New Year’s Day swim in Broadstairs

A perfect day for this insane excursion, the water in Viking Bay was like a pond and the air wasn’t freezing or wet like the year before when it rained. I was astounded at the crowds…not only lining the beach, but the pier was packed as well at the Promenade.

The crowds and swimmers in Broadstairs

First time in the 4 years we’ve lived here that there has been such a turn out for the New Year’s Day swim.

Hardy souls? Or in need of therapy? New Year’s Day swimmers in Broadstairs

After most people had clambered out and we had taken as many photos as we could, as we were leaving we spotted Santa so stopped so that Peanut could meet him for the first time hahaha and for a photo with Mummy.

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Comparing girths…Peanut meets Santa for the first time LOL

After which we retired to The Old Curiosity Shop for tea and cake, and then home.

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The Old Curiosity Shop, Broadstairs – where the service is as good as the cake 🙂

A most satisfactory first day of 2019 and one day closer to Peanut’s arrival. 🙂 Hoorah

*footnote* – Apparently, and according to my daughter, we’ll ALL participate next year….thankfully that is still 364 days away LOL

Day 1/365 – 18, 209 steps : Broadstairs to Ramsgate

Map my Walk

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About Peanut

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, gratitude, It's my life, me and Peanut, tagged baby shower, family and relationships, first grandchild, first pregnancy, grandson, peanut is on the way, relationships, ultrasound scans on December 30, 2018| 2 Comments »

As 2018 draws to a close, and with less than ??? days to go I’m getting really excited now about meeting my first grandchild….it’s not as if I wasn’t excited before…..LOL

I first learned that I had a grandchild on the way in May on the 12th to be exact. To say I was over the moon would be an understatement. The scan shows him as a tiny wee round dot…

becoming a granny, first time parents, first pregnancy

still with tears of joy and disbelief in their eyes…their first scan…there’s a baby on the way

I’m going to be a Granny 🙂

how I got the news

As mentioned in a previous blog post I immediately downloaded the ovia app which allowed me to keep track of the baby’s progress. I started downloading the weekly progress images and in the space of 34 weeks baby has gone from the size of a poppy seed to a spagetti melon

ovia app, baby scan, first grandchild, pregnancy

from a poppy seed

ovia app, baby scan, first grandchild, pregnancyAC

the size of a spagetti melon

….the progress of the size of his feet and hands has been the most fascinating of all, from a tiny tiny little hand you could barely see, his hands are now almost full size.

peanut is on the way, ovia app, first baby, first grandchild

progress from 8 weeks to 38 weeks

Not long after that amazing news, on 28th May, they, my daughter and her fiance got married…a joyful occasion that one day Peanut will be able to enjoy…..he was there 🙂

Cémanthe and Simon – married 🙂

On the 28th June they had their first ultrasound and I got a picture of our wee Peanut 🙂 What a beautiful baby 🙂

28.06.2018 and yes, it’s a real baby 🙂 Peanut is on the way

On the 9th July I had the sheer joy and incredulity of seeing baby on the big screen for myself. My daughter surprised me with a trip the the Ultrasound department where we not only got to see the wee bambino on the screen but got to hear the heartbeat for the first time. It was sheer magic.

2018.07.09 My first ultrasound view of Peanut, my grandson

As soon as we got home that afternoon I set about, with help from my son-in-law to get the nursery started 🙂 It has all come together beautifully and a few weeks ago they completed the set up.

Peanut’s nursery

And on the 23rd July at the next ultrasound they announced the gender…. it’s a BOY!!! Hoorah! Oh my gosh, what an adventure this is going to be….a grandson. Oh joy! I immediately started planning our first Camino LOL

On the 13th August we enjoyed the treat of another ultrasound and 3D scan – baby is now getting bigger….baby is very active with a strong heartbeat…..all the bits are there and his organs; brain, heart, liver, kidneys etc are developing and show no health problems.

2018.08.13 hello Peanut 🙂 – look how big you’ve grown

On the 4th September, while on a day trip to Canterbury, I got to feel Peanut kicking for the first time. Wowwww….totally awesome. I think the delight shows on my face.

the falstaff inn canterbury, walking the pilgrims way, the pilgrims way from winchester to canterbury

feeling my grandchild kicking for the first time

My daughter started keeping a record of the development of her belly and although a few weeks have been missed out, it’s been so amazing to see how her belly has grown and grown as baby gets bigger and bigger…

On the 13th September, with huge delight, she wore the ‘baby on board’ badge for the first time on a trip to London 🙂 baby on board, first baby

And I….starting off the very next day on 13 May, with a blanket for the pram and I haven’t stopped since….there are still 4 new little outfits waiting to be sewn up….

I got straight onto the knitting….started with a blanket

Over the months I knitted….more and more little items…bootees, cardigans and matinee jackets. It’s been so much fun creating these little items and dreaming about my grandson wearing them.

an absolute delight

Oh and let’s not forget the shopping…..I have bought loads of outfits and this baby has enough clothing to see him through from birth to 24 months as well as items beyond… right up until he is 5 years old. One of the best places I’ve bought clothes from has been off instagram from a lady who sells lovedB4 baby clothes…some of the most delightful little items you can imagine, many of them brand new, and all for next to nothing.

The 1st October brought another 3D scan and ultrasound…I could get used to this 🙂

01.10.2018 baby Peanut growing bigger by the day

And another 3D scan and ultrasound on the 15th October with both sets of Grandparents.

2018.10.15 – 27 weeks – a beautiful little boy

The 3D scan and ultrasound was followed up with tea and cake with the in-laws and to our delight my daughter and her husband announced baby’s name; James Alexander aka Jamie. ❤ ❤ ❤ What a fantastic name.

baby shower, gender reveal, helter skelter

Jamie

In October we went to a baby show in London..wow, so much stuff!! We bought various items and got some good bargains…..they also shopped for the pram.

25th October and another trip to London; my daughter was exhibiting in a photo exhibition. The whole family were there to support her.

Jamie attends his first photo exhibition 😉

On 10th November we had the Baby Shower….and delighted everyone with the news that it’s a BOY!! They had the event at a wonderful venue in Broadstairs and with family and friends gathered round, we had a fantastic day.

On the 5th December his first coin arrived; a commemorative coin for the 40th anniversary of The Snowman.

The Snowman; a commemorative coin. The little boy’s name in the story is…..James 🙂

It’s a BOY 🙂

the theme of space was inspired by this baby grow

Jamie

6th December brought a visit to Eastry to meet with a friend and I got to practice at being a Granny

practising at being a Granny

On the 12th December we had a tour of the MLU unit at the hospital where she is due to give birth….but currently baby is in the breech position, same as Mummy was at term, so we are hoping and urging the little fella to turn head down as his Mummy would like to have her labour in the MLU (midwife led unit), but so long as he is breech, they have said no!! and she is not pleased!!

so pretty and colourful

And so the weeks have marched on. As Christmas neared Mummy’s belly filled out her Christmas jumper to perfection LOL

filled that jumper to perfection

19 December and suddenly she is considered to be at ‘term’. Wow how did that happen so fast!! It is quite extraordinary to be the Mother of a daughter who is expecting her first baby. I feel so privileged and so very lucky.

week 37: the baby bump is big and beautiful

My daughter is now so heavy and cumbersome and has great difficulty with walking, sleeping and sitting, she’s suffering from heartburn and cramps….poor child, and is now very much looking forward to the birth and having her first baby in her arms. They are both excited and trepidatious, there is much still to be done.

We are now in week 38 and the ‘apparent’ due date is 5th or 7th January, depending on who we believe…but since neither of them are correct, baby will likely arrive a bit later. Mummy got more beautiful and Peanut got some little toys from Santa and more clothes LOL. I have a serious addiction to buying baby clothes; they are all sooooo cute.

with just days to go…week 38 and looking gorgeous

I started a tradition earlier in the year whilst on my pilgrimage from Winchester to Canterbury; postcards to Peanut. I sent a postcard from each of the towns and villages I passed through. This one is of St Augustine’s Abbey in Canterbury.

postcards to Jamie

Since we are now literally just days away, I have bought a door bell alarm…the buzzer is next to her bed and the ding dong is next to mine!!! When she goes into labour all she has to do is press the buzzer and I shall be ‘on duty’!! LOL We chose the tune ‘twinkle twinkle little star’ since it is so sparky and chirpy….anything else and I’m liable to chuck it out the window.

And so we, Daddy, Mummy and Granny wait with bated breath for the day he is born 🙂

My grandson, Jamie aka Peanut, is on the way!

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Baby Shower and Gender reveal

Posted in family and relationships, Fun Stuff, me and Peanut, Uncategorized, tagged baby shower, gender reveal, peanut is on the way on December 12, 2018| 1 Comment »

Gosh, I can hardly believe it’s already a month gone since my daughter and her husband had their baby shower and gender reveal party. Finally after what seemed like months, but in reality was only weeks, of waiting, we had the gender reveal.

My daughter and her husband hosted a Baby Shower on Saturday 10th November for close family and friends.

baby shower, gender reveal, helter skelter nursery broadstairs

The happy parents; Cémanthe and Simon

They chose the delightful Helter Skelter Play Nursery in Broadstairs. It had a fantastic play area for the children ( and adults as it turned out), with slides, climbing ropes, plastic ball pool and many other wonderful play areas. Colourful is the name of the game at Helter Skelter…the walls are decorated in bright colourful paintings and children’s drawing adorn the walls.

Helter Skelter Nursery, Broadstairs

We had a wonderful day with lots of laughter, a gathering of special people to share a special day of fun and good food.

guests; family and friends

When the guests arrived they had to cast their vote on whether they thought it was a girl or a boy….interestingly it was a tie: 15 for a girl and 15 for a boy 🙂 In the corner the gifts piled up; colourful and interesting bags and packages. baby shower, gender reveal, helter skelter nursery

Tea and cake was served, introductions made and soon there was a happy buzz of chatter and conversation…some of the adults had just about as much fun on the slides as the kids.

A fantastic spread of snacks, the food provided by the lovely ladies at Helter Skelter was scrumptious, colourful, varied and mindful of various diets and allergies. We all ate ourselves to satisfaction and no-one went hungry.

an amazing spread

We had a face-painter which everyone loved, especially the grownups LOL

face painting

Teams were selected and given colour markers and plain white baby grows to decorate – a splendid array of colourful pictures onto baby grows.

baby grow decorating

The cake, a family affair, was baked by Daddy, iced by Granny, decorated by Mummy. The cake was cut by Emily and Matt…baby’s cousins 🙂

the cake 🙂

And then it was time for the gender reveal……anddddd IT’S A BOY!!! hoorah….I have a grandson on the way 🙂 Hoorah!! In just a few weeks, approx 3-4 (from today), I shall be the Granny to a wee baby boy!!

It’s a BOY 🙂

Mummy looking delighted and Daddy looks pleased

How absolutely marvellous is that. I am so excited to meet this baby boy, my Grandson. Daddy looks pleased and Mummy looks gleeful. 🙂

The guests were asked to guess the baby’s name and nursery theme to win a prize.

The theme of the nursery….space!!! 🙂

the theme of space was inspired by this baby grow

The name reveal : James Alexander McKenzie-Hoult – forthwith to be known as Jamie……what a fantastic name for a boy, so strong. Of course I shall still call him Peanut….at least until he’s 21 LOL

Jamie

The expectant parents received some absolutely wonderful gifts with a gorgeous array of wooden toys, cute books, much needed toiletries and nappies, some treats for Mum and some beautiful baby clothes.

some of the gorgeous gifts they received

We had a videographer, also a Jamie, there to capture the day for posterity and everyone agreed that it was a fantastic day and how delighted they were to share it with the happy Mum and Dad to be….and little Peanut, who will now be known as Jamie 🙂

baby shower, gender reveal, helter skelter nursery

Jamie ….. he already has my heart in the palm of his hand

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Buying vegan and avoiding plastic

Posted in around the UK, Health, lifestyle, me and Peanut, plastic pollution, tagged avoiding palm oil, avoiding plastic packaging, avoiding soya, https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2014/jan/30/kenya-turns-flip-flops-into-art-in-pictures, plastic pollution, pointless plastic packaging, supermarkets using unnecessary plastic, united nations report on plastic on November 4, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Buying vegan foods and trying to avoid dairy products and palm oil as well as plastic packaging presents something of a challenge, and requires some inventiveness for preparing meals. I’m learning a whole new way of shopping and cooking.

These days shopping takes a bit longer than in the past….I spend a fair amount of time reading food labels. If it contains palm oil I have to look for an alternative…not always available. I recently had to bypass my favourite soups while shopping; Heinz cream of Tomato, cream of Mushroom and peas and lentils (contains dairy). Instead I bought mostly tins of plain ingredients and dried products and will make them myself, sans the ‘cream‘ of course. I made my first dhal for supper with basmati rice recently… Apparently it smelt delicious 😋 😋

Despite it being the first time I had made dhal, it was actually really yummy. I had a look at a few recipes online and in my usual style, tossed in this, that and the next thing… pretty much whatever I could find in the cupboard in terms of spices…I also roasted some sweet potato wedges in olive oil and herbs which made a really interesting contrast to the dhal. My 2nd attempt wasn’t quite as successful and I burned the lentils coz I didn’t have sufficient water in the pot LOL I ate it anyway….waste not, want not and all that!!!

It’s been an interesting exercise to see how much of what I wanted/needed I could buy without buying anything in plastic. I think I was about 70% successful. It’s incredible difficult. Even if you buy something in a cardboard box, when you open it, the contents are usually packaged in plastic. urgh. So annoying.

Buying fresh fruit and vegetables is the aspect that confounds me the most….why on earth do the supermarkets still have to pack bananas, apples, oranges, broccoli, cucumber, cabbages, potatoes, peppers etc etc in plastic bags, trays or wrap. It’s COMPLETELY unnecessary and just adds more and more to the plastic pollution blighting our landfills and oceans. Apparently a number of brands have signed up to a pact to reduce plastic…..by 2025!!!! Why so far in the future? With 8 Million Tonnes Of Plastic Dumped in the Sea every Year, that means an extra 56 million tons in the next 7 years!!!. There are so many alternatives available already that I’m pretty certain they could reduce their unnecessary plastic packaging immediately.

I was delighted to learn about The Clean Kilo, the UK’s largest zero-waste supermarket; A Gap in the Market.

I recently tried a different type of milk; Oatly and it’s delicious, even in my early morning tea. I’m trying to avoid soya products due to the destruction of the Brazilian rainforests, as well as palm oil due to the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests and the orangutans that live there. These forests are being torn down for palm oil, pulp and paper plantations threatening endangered species such as orangutans with extinction. It’s horrendous. “Without proper safeguards, the soybean industry is causing widespread deforestation and displacement of small farmers and indigenous peoples around the globe”. The EU’s hunger for soy is causing destruction in Brazil.

I’m afraid I was largely ignorant of the ecological impact of my lifestyle. It was only after coming to the UK, and particularly more recently, that I’ve become aware. I do agree that the number of people, consumerism and materialism have played a massive role in the destruction of the planet. Sadly, I don’t see that ending any time soon. But, lobbying to make changes, signing petitions and raising awareness by talking about it, as well as taking daily action will make a difference. I’m always reminded of the starfish on the beach. I believe that, although our actions are tiny, they do make a difference and they set an example that other people will follow. There are a number of brilliant initiatives taking place around the world that will collectively have an impact. Even grassroots initiatives like the people in Kenya who are collecting discarded flip-flops and creating beautiful artworks. I feel for the 3rd world countries who don’t have the same infrastructures we in the western world take for granted. I just fear that the large corporations are not making enough of an effort. I’m going to start writing to every large company in the UK and urge them to take stringent actions now, rather than phase it out by…. Whatever arbitrary date they come up with.

We really do have to take urgent action NOW. On a more personal note…..my first grandchild is on the way and I want to make sure I don’t leave a planet decimated because of my lifestyle. And a major plus is that I’m saving a lot of money, my shopping bill has reduced quite a lot coz I’m not buying as many products as I did before.

In case you missed my previous post on plastic pollution

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