I finally have some Good News!

I have sadly neglected this Blog for too long, I wanted it to be a positive thing in my life, and didn't want any doom and gloom to enter it, and so to avoid that, I avoided the Blog.


The past weeks have been a roller coaster here in Nova Scotia. However, I did spend 10 days in Toronto with my sister, our mother was there visiting for her 87th birthday. Our mother has dementia now of some form, so we treasure any time we can with her.

We had a wonderful time together, even went to a spa for a facial, and I had my hair chopped, do you see Dianne Keaton before you?

And to the Good News! Regarding my health saga, I did have my follow-up Ultrasound and I just got the call that there is no change, and that I am good for another six months.



After tears of relief, I am back on track here, getting refocused on my Job Hunt.  Gemma Shoebridge means business.

Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

That all sounds terribly grand, most people will still refer to them as Will and Kate.  

The dress was amazing, very much Princess Grace, the style suited her perfectly, and the train being a part of the dress worked very well.
The viewing coverage on the CBC was excellent, but unfortunately the main commentator, along with others at various locations were not a well informed. There were many annoying errors, which stood out with being British and all.  I am in the process of downloading the BBC UK coverage which has a Welsh presenter of good standing,  having had years as a news reader, and hoping that will make the reviewing more pleasurable. It was frustrating to have the presenter fluff badly over quite important royals titles, and while watching famous people entering Westminster Abbey, some were totally missed, obviously not famous in Canada, and not worth a mention. For such a big event, I think more effort could have been put into researching the guests so that they could be mentioned.

While all this went on, I made a piece of french knitting for the commission I have had for the Celtic Knotwork necklace, and a very nice bracelet with a nice cable.  I have a busy weekend ahead, which may mean no pictures will be added until next week.

Happy Monday!

Well here we are at the beginning of another week. I feel more positive this week, set off by a beautiful day yesterday,  we had sunshine and it was warm enough to sit outside. This was instead of the promised snow and freezing rain.  And this week includes the wedding anniversary of our civil ceremony, 16 years since in Croydon, United Kingdom. 

But the week start with a baby shower / luncheon for my ex boss, who has just become a grandmother, and this is to thank her truly for working tirelessly, so that the company gets a new contract, in order for us all to get back to work again. I have a baby blanket which was waiting for a baby, so I am planning to give that to her.

And then this evening, we have been invited to dinner with good friends, who have been there for us when we have been in such dire straits this winter. 

Thursday is our anniversary, and I have been instructed to be ready to go when my husband gets home from work.  We are going to our favourite restaurant in town, and the last time we were there in early March for my husband's birthday, was the first time we had been there in almost a year. My sister had given us a gift certificate so that we could treat ourselves, and the people thought maybe we had gone home to England. On the contrary, we are here and still fighting to stay on our island. 

Here and Here are links to Cape Breton Island, a small piece of heaven, that reminds me of my home in Wales, and and here is a photograph of the Cabot Trail.

Click Here for the Wikipedia information on the island.

Good and Bad News!

Spring poked its nose out for a few days, but last night we had freezing rain, and snow flurries, but fotunately the snow did not stay, however there is still a lot of ice around this morning. 

I have been distracting myself since my CT Scan last Thursday, and was expecting a call from my Doctor with the result, but this time he wanted to see me, having not seen me in over a year.  A nervous breakdown was developing, but rescue remedy calmed the situation down again.  It seems that there is possibly something at the inferior side of the Right Liver, which was not there on previous scans. The technician may just be covering themselves, as it may be an artefact, which it is to do with the equipment and not physical. I am not due to see my consultant for a few weeks, and he may recommend an MRI to clear up what this may be.  I think until we know more I have to stay positive, because I feel very well, which must count for something. Other things that had been picked up on previous scans show no change, which is all positive news.

Having had my work permit through having waited almost six months, I have been told that I will now start receiving unemployment. So the winter of discontent is almost over, I can't begin to say how tough it has been, never experienced such a difficult time, but things can only improve now.

I wanted to show a bracelet I made recently using the spool knitter, and then knotted into a celtic heart, along with some friendship bands I made.

Click here to see how to tie the knot.

Possibility of a table at a Farmers' Market in Sydney..

I have had some of my items listed on Kijiji, the free site, without any sales. But today I got a response from a lady that manages a Farmers' Market, so this is a possibility for me to try and sell some of my stock, as she said that there is no one else selling these kind of things.. which is good news for me. 

I am home from having the abdominal CT Scan, which is usually twice a year. This is a follow-up to my Kidney Cancer - two years last October.  My own Doctor is closed on a Friday, so I will have to wait until next Monday to hear what the report states.  Contacting my own Doctor is just me not wanting to wait until I go to see the consultant early next month.  By getting the result, I don't have to worry about it for that much longer. 

So now I have to keep busy for four days, to avoid focusing on the waiting..

The new Chicks are like having a new baby in the house!

I had forgotten what it was like to have baby chicks in the house, the lack of sleep.  The new chicks seem to be fine until the small hours, and then when the temperature drops they cheep incessantly. I check the thermometer on my bedside, and decide whether to get up or not.  Last night I got up no less than 5 times to adjust the height of the lamp, and the temperature persisted in being too low.  By this morning though it did start to rise, and they become calmer.

This morning the plan was to sleep in a little, but then my cat Freyja was insisting on breakfast, I desperately tried to ignore her, closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep: Freyja put her nose on one of my eye lids, as if to say 'I know you are not asleep'.  This is Freya:

And this is Loki:

They have survived a move to France, and then a move to Nova Scotia, via Toronto, as did Oliver.

So what did I do, I got up and fed Freyja and her sister Loki, and then I was up, with no hope of getting back to sleep even if I did go back to bed.

On the crafting side I have made more of the celtic knotwork necklaces, and several friendship bands. Oh and I found a pattern for wristlets, and have made a few pairs of them. On the latter, it may be the wrong time of year to be making such things, as who will purchase wrist warmers when Spring is here.

It is sunny here, and have for the first time in days left the pop hole of the Chicken house open for the grown up hens and rooster.  I think that is the hardest part with living in Nova Scotia, we can deal with the snow and the cold, but we can still go out, but for the chickens they were inside for so many months, with the snow outside two feet and more deep. I had dug a path down to the house which was more like a trench from the war, so the chickens had no chance of getting outside. I feel for them having been inside for so long, and almost forgetting what it is like to go outside again.

And look at what the right type of snow does to my dog Oliver, he is a snowball magnet :-)

I came across a photo of something I made in early February: A French Press Cozy -

I adore coffee from a Cafetière (which is what we call one of these - both in England and in France), but we found that by the time we finished the coffee, the last of it was not not enough, hence the making of the Cozy.   The Coffee remains hot to the very last.

I realise that it would be remiss of me not to include a photo of Branwen our Siberian Husky, who only travelled from Antigonish to get to us, and simply adores the snow, and would sleep outside in winter, but has now got used to sleeping inside on our bed if there is room for her.

And this is the usual winter view of Branwen:

Good News on our Status in Canada!

Our Work Permits that were applied for in November have finally arrived.  And there is additional good news in that I was not 'Out of Status', which is what a lawyer told me, which changes the picture a little regarding my not receiving unemployment all this time off work. Whether I will now be paid back the unemployment I should have received, has not been answered yet. But Immigration are refunding the 'Restoration Fee' which will see us through the ongoing shortage of money.

Because we had not work permit, our social insurance cards expired, as did our health cards, so things could have got tricky, if I had had any health issues in this interim period.  And the timing could not have been more perfect, I received my new Health Card, and the next day received a call for my appointment to go for a CT Scan.  The background to all this, is that I was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer in August '08, and my right kidney removed in October '08, and other than follow-ups like this, I have had no other issues on that score. So with the CT Scan due on Thursday, I have in theory no time to build up and worry over this, and hopefully will hear from my family doctor in a few days time on the report. I will be going to see my surgeon in Halifax in early May, where we catch up on how I am doing.

I find that I get on with life in between scans, and really for the most part do not dwell on what could happen, but of course with having been out of work, and not getting unemployment, and really financially we have been and still are in dire straits, I have had far too much stress and worry this winter.  It is fine for people to say that there is no point in worrying about something you can't change, but if the phone is ringing off the hook with non-payment issues, what can I do but worry.  And the one thing they tell you in regards to any Cancer is that you should avoid stress and worry, so this will be on my mind going for the scan, and hoping this winter has not had far reaching implications on my health.