Father’s Day! (by alaric)

Yesterday was Father's Day in the United Kingdom.

Now, Jean doesn't know this since she only just approaching ten month's old, but (perhaps due to recovering from illness) she was very affectionate today and always seemed to want me to pick her up and hold her, then was all fun and happy when I did. So I felt very loved 😉

Doing the Veg Patch! (by sarah)

Today we did some more clearing of veg patch and planted out the garlic and the celeriack, unfortunatly in the process we found an ants nest - so I was face with the moral dilema yet again of commiting genacide with a boiling kettle so that our food may grow. I'm sad especially as they had all their eggs and stuff which they were moving - so we made show we disturbed the ground lots to give them warning of the impending doom and hoped they moved and got the egg with the new queen in/recued the old queen out of their 🙁

I also potted up some parsley (yes more of the stuff I want to make parsley honey at some stage 🙂 ), coriander, and some globe artichokes 🙂 Then put out some more of the cherry tomatoes out into grow bags and some into pots - I still have excess which need potting out but I was having compost issues!

We also have wild strewberries growing and ordinary strewberries 🙂

In future if we have lots of a plant then we will happily let people have them for 10p a plant/pot when they visit or you can put in requests for Al to bring into London when he goes 🙂

Unfortunatly I also decided to pick nettles today not realising the gloves I was wearing werent stinging nettle proof 🙁 then I got attacked by flying insects and I found the ants nest becuase they all started bitting me and then I decided I had to recue all the poor worms they were attacking!

Laryngotracheobronchitis (by alaric)

Poor little Jean! She was well recovered from her past viral infection, but a few days ago she started to drool excessively, went off her food, and became generally unhappy. We thought at first that she was just having more teeth break through her gums, which would have those effects, but she then started coughing, sleeping lots, she'd lost her voice, was hardly drinking any milk or water, and some spots that had begun to appear on her lower lip (where all the drool was running down) turned into nasty big red ones.

So today we phoned NHS Direct, who said that she sounded like she had croup, so we should expose her to steamy atmospheres. They also said they would contact the local out of hours doctor (our local surgery not being open today), who would ring us back soon.

So they rang back, and said they'd like us to bring her down to them to be looked at, if we could; after all, various other things have similar symptoms to croup, that can be a lot worse.

After a short wait, she was seen by a doctor, who summoned a colleague who specialised in children, and they said that it did indeed appear to be croup, but the one thing they couldn't safely check for was Epiglottitis since, if it was that, poking around in her airway to take a look might cause it to spasm, choking her. So they sent us off to the children's unit at a bigger hospital.

After some form-filling with a nurse, having Jean weighed and her vital signs checked, we were seen by a specialist who gave her a thorough examination, and pronounced that she almost certainly just had croup. He then had to go because of a shift changeover, so after a bit more waiting, another specialist came and said that he agreed, and that the nasty spots were probably Herpes. Sarah panicked a bit at this since she'd only heard of herpes as a sexually transmitted disease, and didn't realise it was the common coldsore, but that was soon cleared up!

So after even more waiting, they gave her some steroids to help reduce the swelling in her throat, and packed us off home.

Phew.

The NHS doctors and nurses we spoke to were lovely; noticeably different from the experiences we'd had in London! From the NHS direct phone people to the out of hours doctors at Stroud Hospital (which, alas, is currently fighting potential cutbacks), and the Children's Centre at Gloucester Royal Hospital, even though we did have to wait a long time for the senior doctor to come and see us!

Wiggly Pets Need a Home (by sarah)

Ok guys as many of you've been waiting ages for this - let me tell you that we have over 100 wiggly pets instock there are £2.50 to friends and family but if your getting them for other people (ie not as presants) they are 3.50!

I'll get the website and comic strip sorted and up as soon as possible too 🙂 🙂 🙂

Stupid NHS (by sarah)

Da Grrrrrr!!!!!

I've been waiting for an appointment - as I always am - first of all they sent me a letter saying they could now offer me an appointment but that I had to phone within two weeks of getting the letter - this was over Easter when they werent taking calls for like a week and then we were on hooliday etc..... So I finally got through and they said they had taken me of the list but that I hadnt yet been refered back to the GP so they could just put me on the list again.

I get a letter last week from them - finally - I phone today thinking I should have time still but no! The letter was sent out on the 31st of May apparently. I suppose I should have checked the date on the letter instead of just going by when it arrives - I bet it sat in the out tray for a week before it actually got posted 🙁 Fortunatly they hadnt refered me back to the GP so have put me back on the list - sigh - and around we go again!

On top of that I mis read the number and phoned the wronge number initially (sarah blushes)

Also the Water board have been muppets! I phoned them up when we arrived and said that it was us here now - blah blah blah and I got a bill and payed it - since the autum though we havent had a bill - now I didnt really pay much attention to this assuming that the bill was an annual one (yes mI know I should have checked properlly and kept a record and all the rest but I was doing all of this whilst breast feeding with laptop and phone being the only things in reach). Anyway it turns out they have been sending the bills to Babara and the reminders which of course she thought was for her bills so has been phonign them up saying she's payed etc...

Anyway they then sent her a thing saying they were getting solicators out - this was a couple of days after she realised the address on the bill was the Bakery and had bought it over - I had just sent it off that day but now after having phoned up and been assured no solicitors will show up and that the account has been zeroed (for credit check stuff) that check is no good to them so they have to resend everything - fortunatley they are not going to make us pay spring and summer together but splitting it for us.

Grrrrrr - bloody admin!!!!!

Ok rant over sorry it was a bit longer than I intended!