After all the fuss and waiting Christmas is over and it's getting back to normal - ish.  Chel and Andy have the week off so it won't be back quite to normal yet, then Andy starts his new job.  But anyway, Christmas was brill.  Chel got me six bags of my fave crisps and wrapped them in various packages.  Boy, did I laugh.  Then I opened a pretty box.  Inside were eight packs of Big Red gum.  Again, what a laugh.  This young lady has the most fantastic sense of humour.  I loved it.  I also got some serious gifts that I love, including two CDs that have DVDs with them. 

I've been stitching a bookmark for Chel since she asked for one for Christmas.  It will be finished when it's finished.

The pc died yesterday so that is the third big thing to go.  I think it needs a  new graphics card.  I hope that's all it is but it's still about £100 or so with labour.  But still, it is only two years old so it shouldn't need to go in yet.  I also got a new wireless keyboard/mouse combo today in the sale for half price.  It's good to work with so far.  The old wired set was pretty ancient and I had to click several times to get the mouse to work.  Now all I need to do is get my fingers typing properly again.  Good tools do make any job go better.

Depression.....I saw the doctor last week, at last.  I saw the one who helped me so much with the asthma.  He was very kind and helpful again.  He gave me that same tablets I'd had before and said they'd take six weeks to work.  Fair enough.  He also said I could have more pain relief, and we settled on what I'm currently taking but three times a day every day instead of two and a third when I need it.  (But I have been forgetting the third one most of the time :(.  And I have some codeine to take as well for top up when I need it.  So far that has really helped a lot though I've only taken about two or three of them.  I did take one when I was shopping today and once it kicked in I was far better off.   I slept for most of two days after I saw him - probably because I was finally pain free for a while.  Whatever the reason, I'm really pleased.  Chronic pain is no joke.  I also got myself a RADAR key for the disabled toilets.  No more going up or down stairs for a wee in a pub/restaurant.  I thought you had to do more than just buy one!  It's a big bruiser of a think but that's okay.  I got mine at a disability shop but I don't know if other places do smaller ones.

My birthday.  Yes, I had one the other week when it was all snowy everywhere.  We went to Milton Keynes on the Saturday as planned. We would go see the decorations, do some shopping,  eat, then go to the ice hockey game.  When we were eating Chel looked on the internet and found the match was cancelled.  Half the shops were already shut and more were closing early so the staff could get home.  The trains and taxi's had quit due to the snow.  NO, we did not think to check before we set off even though we knew the other team was from Manchester and they had had 10 inches of snow!!!

So we decided to head home about 4.45 or so.  Once we got out of the car park - everyone and his brother was doing the same thing - we crawled along achieving two miles in two hours.  Why some stupid people think it's okay for them to block the entry to a roundabout I don't know.  Not everyone wanted to go where they were headed but they did hold everyone else up.  We finally got free and could go cross country so made it home after about three hours.  We did all stay happy and had a pleasant time together.  We were glad we had the new car radio though. 

On my actual birthday I did what I love most - read the Sunday papers with a cup or three of coffee and peace and quiet.  Just chilled all day as I was pretty tired.  But it was good.  I had a nice meal cooked for me as well.

I haven't been stitching much as I've not been able to concentrate for long and my vision has been pretty blurred at times.  Sometimes it's really clear and good, other days I struggle to read anything. The break from it has probably been a good thing. 

I hope that anyone kind enough to read this had a peaceful and happy Christmas or whatever you celebrate, if anything.  And if I don't write more before the New Year, may 2011 be the year your dreams come true.

The dreaded depression is back with a vengeance.  I'm doing all I can to fight it, to cope with it, to take care of what I need to take care of, and to ride it out.  I'm doing all the right things and am trying to get an appointment to see my doctor about it.  I've been here before but it has been at least 18 months and I think over two years so I'm not worried about it.  It's been building for a while but is now at a stage where we all recognise it and think it's time to give it the attention and meds that are needed.

My doctor is pretty good about it, he knows it comes and goes, and he knows that we know about it too.  It's not fun feeling like this and being like this.  Not nice at all.  And it's the feeling of being helpless to 'cure' it myself that is also upsetting.

I'll write more when I'm a bit more settled mentally.  For now, I'm going to bed.

I have a new great granddaughter, Brenna.  She is in Saginaw, Michigan and I wish her and her mother well.

To start with the heating......on Weds am I noticed some water under the boiler again....not a lot but it shouldn't have been there.  I was off to London and didn't have time to mess about with it.  Can you see where I'm going with this one yet?  On Thursday I was too tired to have noticed if the ceiling had fallen in, but there was some water so I kept an eye on how much and when, and tried to work out where it had come from..... at bedtime I made a coffee and went to put sugar in it.  And found the sugar was floating in water.  A right soggy mess.  And the reason I hadn't seen much water.  Friday am I did find more water, quite a bit and rang the company who were here on Monday.  The man who answered said something like ' Hey wasn't I at your house to change a gasket on Monday?'  'Yes, and now I have a leak again.'  'But you can't have.  I fixed it.'  But there is definitely water coming from the boiler and it's on the countertop.'  He said he'd come out but I planned to be out so asked him to call late afternoon which he did.  He found the problem quickly and fixed it.  He said he'd come back if that hadn't worked and he didn't charge me for the visit.

Now for the happy stuff.  I went to London on Wednesday and had a fantastic day with my daughter.  We did all our fave Christmas things, Hamleys toy store, Oxford Street, Regent Street, Leicester Square, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square.  It was all good.  Thank heaven for Starbucks where I could rest my very painful hips. It's so nice to be able to sit and not feel rushed.  I used my stick all day and was glad I had it.   At Covent Garden we saw the fully lit CocaCola lorry and that was a real treat.  Then Chel's former flatmate met us and took us for dinner before the pair of them saw me onto my train home.  She was spending a few days crashing at his flat so she could mooch around the city, going whereever she felt like.  She seems better for having had a break from work and the normal routines.

Today hubby and daughter decorated the tree.  I sat in a chair and watched as one of them got a bit tangled in the longest string of lights we own.  Her dad said to ask me for the trick as 'your mum in an expert with the lights.  She does it so easily.'  I snapped that being an expert comes from years of practice and I had to learn once.  AND that I only did it because no one else would.....  So they worked as a team and did a really lovely job of it. I don't mind admitting that it was nicer than I could have done it.   Then I did the rest of the stuff.  Andy can do his ceiling stuff tomorrow or whenever.  I'm not getting on a ladder to do it when he can stand on the floor and reach up to do it with ease.

I've been struggling to eat enough lately and really don't feel great most of the time.  It is hard to breathe and I tend to get back pain when I'm on my feet for long - I end up doubled over the worktop etc.  No idea what's wrong but we shall see how it goes.

Stevie still gets excited when I get a Satsuma to eat.  I shared one with Andy earlier and Stevie looked quite put out.  He did get a share though and then pulled the peel out of the bin before he remembered that he doesn't like it...:) 

Stevie 'buries' his bones in the house.  Yep, you read it right.  It's an effort to nose nudge a carpet to cover one. (Those hide knot things are what we call his bones.)  So he found an area rug that he could hide it under last night.  Late this morning he wasn't getting attention - when I'm buried in the Sunday papers he has no chance - so he 'dug' it out and had a good old chew!  Of course we were in fits of laughter at him.

I'm really happy with my new cooker and have enjoyed using it to bake again.  Yummy stuff.  And some nice meals.

We settled down again and we rolling merrily along and then, and then, and then....I came downstairs Friday morning and went to put the kettle on.  Water all around the kettle.  First thought..."damn kettle's leaking already.  It's not that old."  Then lifted it and found that the base it sits on wasn't wet at all.  Ummm.  Look harder at the black/green mottled worktop and saw a lot of water.  Like it was all over the countertop and on the floor and just creeping into the hall.  Oh Joy.  I didn't notice it sooner because I always get slippers with the soles you can go outside in.  (I'm always nipping out to the bin or something and forget about footwear.  How often do I come back in with wet socks because my slippers are under my chair?)  So I look for the cause and find the 6 year old boiler leaking.  I was a tad upset so switched it all off and started calling repair people.   With the arctic weather that was an easy job.  Not one rang me back on Friday so on Saturday Andy picked one at random from the phone book. Well, he tried a few who didn't want the business.  They were too busy already.

He finally got a nice man who came out - callout fee £110 which would include one hour labour.  Ah well, he found we had a broken gasket.  He asked when it was serviced and I honestly admitted it was 18 months.  He said whoever did it never did it fully and that is why we had a problem now.  The type of gasket was changed in '06 and if they had done the job right there could not be the one on there that was etc etc. They are not used any more since then.  So he had to get the part and come back today.  He said he'd be here between 9 and 11 am.  Yep.  At 1.30 I phoned and he said between 4 and 6pm.  Rang at 8.30 pm and was told I was next on the list.  He rolled up with the part at 9pm.  His face when I said that he had promised to be here in the am.  Priceless.  Total bill.....£24.48 for parts, £220 for labour and with taxes it was a lot.  But we have heat.  It was okay since we have an electric water heater as well that we don't normally use.  And we have a gas fire in the lounge and a small electric one we can use if we need to.   We definitely needed to over the weekend.  It was cold.

And Chel and I were going to London on Saturday to make up for the market being cancelled due to weather.  On Friday evening I came down with a tummy bug - and how.  So Saturday was out of the question, and it was cold in here and  and and.  So as Chel is in London for a few days I might go join her for a few hours on Weds. I do love London at this time of year.

I'm still here and not doing much writing.  I've been doing other small things but nothing to write about and am trying not to think too much.  It's that depression time of year for me and I'm fighting it all I can.  But I am happy as well and am enjoying every day to some extent.  This depression has nothing to do with being happy.  I know that sounds strange, but it isn't.  There isn't the energy to care much about anything and even less to do more than I have to.

So now I'm heading off to bed and will try to come back here soon.