Dolly's Dreamings

Oops again

I am not doing well with blogging.

In fact I am not doing well with a lot of organisational things.

 

I am now resorting to putting a reminder alert on my phone so I remember

• my CT commitments
• My blog
• My UKS commitments (missed my facebook post again)
• My CTM days

 

Trouble is I have no clue what day of the week it is. If asked I am likely to say - retirement. I mean that's a day isn't it?

 

I am turning over a new leaf. I will be more organised. For goodness sake I used to run a  school. I can do this. I can work out what day of the week it is.  I can!

 

Anyway - we have had lots of fun. We have been out. We went to Compton Acres, we had a picnic, we have been to the forest. We have layed int he garden in the early hours of the morning watching shooting stars.  So at least I have missed these things because I have been chilling not because I am too busy.  And the good news is my wrist isn't broken! Yey. I just wish the lump would go down and it would stop being painful to the touch.

 

I have a new page to share - made for a SLYMI challenge on UKS. This time it is about our trip to Wales and had to be about a lesson learnt. My lesson was that I learnt I was scared on a very narrow path up very high with a wonky rail and people passing you whilst it was windy!

 

 

 

It also fulfilled a challenge for one fo the classes with Shimelle on using stamps I had never used. Those lettering stamps have to be 10 years old at least, if not 12!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• being so chilled I forget days ... it's a very novel feeling for me.
• fun with Pokemon Go (Yes I caved!)
• one of the nicest staff in nay store I have encountered - Majestic wine in Parkstone. We were trying to track down a particular wine from Beringer - the vineyard we visited - and he was lovely. He helped us find something similar, explained the rationale, didn't make us feel like wine numpties (which we are) and gave us two at the bulk buy price to try. We tried one last night and it was nice. Not as nice as the Beringer but still nice. We have the second to try at some point.

 

 

 

Maybe over the worst and a new class

Better news - after a night of no sleep due to the pain I am a little easier today.

Fingers crossed.

 

However I have been reading - one shouldn't - about atypical Odontalgia which I have to confess sounds awfully like what I am experiencing - and have experienced on and off for years.

Let's hope it is NOT that and that the root canal work fixes everything. However, the fact I get pain - a lot - where the wisdom tooth was removed and I subsequently had all the issues witht he dry socket is worrying. I have had the dentist check that area to see if anything was left behind - nope - but that empty gap at the back of my mouth frequently hurts - as it is now in fact.

 

Shimelle's new class started today and it was just what I needed to perk me up.

I really enjoyed the video and it did inspire me to try and create this page in 20 minutes.

I would have made it - even with the stitching - if I hadn't struggled with something to use for the title and finding the stamps took me over the time.

However - I am pleased it galvanized me to get on with the Welsh pages.

I am keen to point out that the title Moody does not refer to Nigel but rather to the weather. The weather in wales was rubbish but the ethereal mist and drizzle did add to the feeling in Snowdonia. Well that's our story and we are sticking to it.

 

 

 

I stitched the patterned paper on and the stamped letters are Banana Frog Pharmacy stamps - one of my go to favourites.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a new class to focus my mind
• Filing away finished pages - not like me to leave them unfilled
• some sunshine - always cheers the soul
• less pain today

HUGE Happy Birthday

Today sees the 10th anniversary of Pickleberrypop and there is an amazing party going on.

 

 

You need to visit HERE

 

There are amazing amazing Lolly Bags to snap up and I have been lucky enough to play with so many of them.

 

They are $5 each and absolutely stuffed full of loveliness.

This ius one of them I worked with by mel Designs and I am totally in love with it

 

 

 

 

This is what I made
with it - of a photo from Wales

 

and there are freebies and games and things to snag and things to win

 

 

 

 

 

 

so go and check it all out. It is such a  friendly forum and there is so much going on this week.

 

And Dawn Inskip also has new releases at The LilyPad and special offers.

You can snag Harmony at a reduced price and Free Spirit and THIS is her new collection Life is Good.

 

 

I will be back tomorrow with more lolly bag news and pages - but don't wait till then - go shop now!

 

Today I am thankful for

• being a Pickle Princess
• Being on dawn's CT
• not being too sick from the medication though I have had to stay lying down all day!

 

 

Back on the hard stuff

So we had a bad night here and a bad day - the pain is unrelenting and nothing is touching it.

I haven't had a flare up like this for years

 

Having had the dentist rule out anything teeth related we went to see the GP today. It was a new GP at the practice and she was quite shocked by how much movement there was in my jaw. She asked me to open my mouth wide (something I try and avoid where possible) and it performed well, slipping right out of alignment completely and then snapping back with a huge crack like a gunshot.  Twice!

 

She was absolutely convinced it is TMJ and is referring me to the maxio-facial team again, but int he mean time has given me stronger painkillers plus good old ora-morph again. Let's hope that and the painkillers do the trick! Because to be honest I have had enough at the moment. It is jolly jolly painful.

 

Thank you Gloria for the tips too. I have been actively using the acupressure points and they do bring some relief. I will persevere witht hem 

I helped Nigel with his work today and I loved it. He is the rep for all the cards sold in stores like Poundland, Toys R Us and B and M and so we go round all the stores in the area and re-stock the cards and helium balloons and make it all look pretty and order any replacements needed. When I was a little girl I loved playing card shops with my nana. Who knew eh! He only works one day a week and it was fun to do it together and apparently I was 'a big help'.

I do have new scrapping to share though ... made for the weekly on UKS

 

 

It was a scraplift (it had to be) and it documents how we rescued one nice trip on our week weekend in Wales. The visit to Betws-y-coed was lovely and the rain stopped for our trip which was a bonus.

Today I am thankful for

 

• a referral. I would like to be free of this pain forever
• pain relief - fingers crossed. Only just taken them
• Playing card shops ... for real!

 

 

and this one ... no-one puts baby in the korma!!!

 

Visit completed - no further on

Those of you who know me well know I hate the dentist. Actually that is not strictly true.... I love my dentist as she is truly wonderful, but I am terrified of the dentist.

I have terrible jaw and mouth issues and so dentists visits are never a lot of fun. Plus the fear and the nerves and it is a recipe for disaster. Also I seem to have a lot of stuff go wrong. The root canal filling that was left with an air pocket (different dentist), the dry socket (different dentist) etc.

Anyway I have had a major flare up of the TMJ - this one lasting for almost a month. I have always assumed it is down to stress but as I am stress free at the moment that doesn't work. I have suffered badly for weeks now and the pain radiates through one side of my jaw and teeth and is unrelenting. I felt sure it was TMJ not a tooth problem but I have had it all checked out and there is nothing wrong with the teeth. Had several x rayes which we then looked at together and whilst it has not helped the pain at all it has helped the worry.

I am sure it will die down in its own time and I will just up the pills I take and hope for the best.

 

The sad thing was they were out of red berry fraps and that was to have been my dentist treat! Bother!

 

I have new scrapping to share today and this was made for a challenge at ATDML to use a long title.

 

 

We did see a lot of empty beaches in Wales - largely because the rest of the world was not so stupid as to venture on tot hem in such grim weather. I mean - it was July for goodness sake. Why did we expect nice weather? Oh yes - I remember now ... that's summer!

Anyway -t here was a beauty in the isolated beaches and the luxury of having them to ourselves.

 

Today I am thankful for

• xrays all showing good stuff
• pain killers
• muscles relaxants
• being retired and having time to do things

 

And she is back

I have been away for a few days to sunny Wales. OK I have been away to windy rainy overcast wales but we can pretend!

We started off with a visit to my cousin Joyce in Liverpool. I have precious few family int his country and so it was lovely to see her and to see some of my extended family too.

From Liverpool we headed off on our Welsh adventure. We always knew booking it in advance was a bit of a risk. This is England - well actually it is Wales but let's not split hairs - and the weather is often bad.

We have always been very lucky when we have been away. I guess we ought to have seen this coming!

 

The weather was not as good as it could have been and so we changed our itinerary a little. We planned to do all of the north Wales coat but this was Prestatyn - in the rain. I suppose the good thing was - the beach was deserted ... we were the only idiots there,

 

 

We were going to go to Rhyll and Towyn and other places I remember from being a little girl and having every single holiday until I was 6 in Wales. We had a static caravan at Aberdovey and Daddy used to take Mommy and I there on a Friday, stay the weekend with us and then come and get us the next weekend.

 

So rather than beach hop and see every resort looking like this we went to Anglesey as the weather was meant to be a little kinder there. It was - for a little while.

The first place we visited was the place known for having the longest name

 

 

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (lan-virepoolguingithgogeruqueerndroboothclandusiliogogo-goch)

 

 In English it translates to "St. Mary's Church in the hollow of white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St. Tysilio near the red cave."

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was fun to see and at least it wasn't raining there.Plus they had shops! Always a bonus. North Wales does not boast a single Starbucks and no Prezzo or Pizza express either. It truly is an alien country!

 

 

 

 

We then stopped at a view point over the Menai Straights and we could see the beautiful Menai Bridge with the mountains in the background

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was warm - just grey and ... as Bill Bryson says - Tupperware!

 

We carried on round Anglesey

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw Beaumaris Castle and then we got well and truly lost and ended up really high on the tiniest roads and tracks we have ever drive on in the drizzle and hating it. Bad navigation from the navigator - but in my defence the roads we were on were not even on the map and we had no clue how we got on them! If I say so myself I am usually pretty good at navigating - this was an absolute fail. The only road worse than these that we have been on was Cottonwood Canyon Road in Utah. And that was a zillion times worse. I actually was quite hysterical on that one until Nigel turned back as he realised it really was very dangerous to be on a road that was really only for off road driving when we had no phone signal, no water (it was desert) and we were in a Nissan Almera. We met a 4 x 4 coming the other way who told us to turn back NOW and waited to escort us the half hour1 mile journey back! I suppose Anglesey wasn't that bad after all.

 

Eventually we escaped onto huge huge roads, some of which even had a white line down the middle, they were so wide!

 

We continued our tour round Anglesey - we are nothing if not tenacious!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 until we ended up at Holyhead on Holy Island - where the sun came out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We continued round the island - seeing the windsurfing beaches

 

 

 

and finally ending at Caernarfon for the night.

 

After a bottle of our favourite wine, not normally available in the UK - Berringers Founders Estate Chardonnay - we were lightly tiddled (we are such light weights ... all it takes is half a bottle of wine each - and we wandered into the town to see the castle.

 

 

 

 

 

The flags were at half mast after the terrible events in Nice the evening before.

 

Lovely breakfast with a view over the marina and then off to Snowdonia National Park

 

Snowdonia was actually all the nicer for the mist and the ethereal effects that gave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The car has an altimeter and at our highest we were at 1050 feet (when you think that Cedar Breaks was at 10000 feet and the Grand Canyon is at 7500 feet it is pretty low really. But then that is England - just gentler and less extreme somehow.

 

 We then headed to Betws-y-Coed to see the falls which we had never managed on a  previous trip.

We pulled into a car park and we waited and waited and waited int eh hope that someone would be moving soon. In the end I got out and decided to walk to the bed to see if there were any spaces down the bit we couldn't see. Just the odd thirty or so!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now if I could just figure out where to look when we are taking a selfie we would be pretty much set!

 

 

 

Then on to  Pontcysyllte Aqueduct ... another of Nigel's 'finds' from seeing something on TV. I laugh at him for these bizarre places on his bucket list like the Angel of the North, the Falkirk Wheel, the Middlesborough Transporter Bridge etc but actually they are always really really good places to go visit and this was no exception.

The rain had stopped and the sun even braved a couple of fleeting appearances.

 

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct crosses the Dee Valley on nineteen cast iron spans at a height of 126 feet/38.4 meters: a structure recognised internationally as a masterpiece of waterways engineering and a pioneering example of iron construction. 

 

It was fabulous and so utterly scary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is an amazing feat of engineering and I have no idea why but it was utterly terrifying to walk across. There was a barrier which - apart from a couple of loose struts (Yes I clutched all the way alomg) was sturdy but the wind picked up as you got to the middle, there were a lot of people so you had to cross over each other ... I was terrified. No way would I have wanted to do it in a boat where there was no barrier on the side.

 

I have since found out a friend canoed down it. Mad - totally mad and incredibly brave.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oh there were ducks too!

 

 

 

 

 

Just as a point of interest, as soon as we lft Wales, I mean literally as we crossed the border, the sun came out and it was far more like July should be. Ah well! We did still have a good time on our mini Welsh foray.

 

 

Anyway I said I was going to share another fab collection by Dawn Inskip and so here it is.

 

It is the Recycle Collection and is fabulous and so very useable.

 

 

and this is the page I made with it

 

 

I love these photos. They were of the ocelots at Amazon World on a school trip to the Isle of Wight a few years ago. The girls had to literally drag me away from the enclosure. I was hooked.

 

Today I am grateful for

• a lovely few days away