Welcomes and farewells...

These few days since my last blog have seen some comings and goings, some welcomes and farewells for our wee family unit.

Last weekend we welcomed a puppy "Pippa" into our family and she is definitely here to stay!  Worth her weight in gold, she has been such a good girl for only 12 weeks of age - she is incredibly placid and loves to 'flop' and cuddle which is great for me when I'm resting.  Toby loves her too, and she is an excellent source of laughs with her silly puppy behaviour!

On our wee pretend farm this week we have welcomed back one of our hens who has been AWAL for some weeks... with 14 babies... we were recently talking about purchasing some more hens for laying but now I guess we don't need to!  Talk is that the roosters will go into the freezer (hopefully for long enough that I might have forgotten how beautiful they were) for eating and we'll have to see about the hens... will need to fast forward chicken proofing the garden now I think!  Problem being is that now another of the hens is missing and I just KNOW that she will come back with her brood... don't know where they are hiding but I know that our egg-count has diminished drastically so we are possibly in for a surprise!

Last week brought the passing of a dear old Aunty.  She had battled cancer for quite some time and was ready to leave us I think.  She wanted no fuss, no funeral, but to be cremated as soon as possible and in time we were to have a garden party to remember her and say our farewells.  This will be on the 30th of this month and I shall look forward to remembering a lovely vibrant lady (with pink in her hair!) who was open minded and accepting of everyone who walked the earth alongside her.  I am grateful in a purely selfish way that there was no funeral to attend... I think it would have been a terribly difficult one for me to attend - although I absolutely would have out of respect.  The garden party idea is great, a good way to remember without perhaps the solemness (is that a word?!) of a structured service as such - as well as a funerals tendency to be fairly soon after the loss of said loved one.. it can be a rather rushed affair to organise and I think letting some time pass enables the grief to subside enough that the life can be celebrated.  That's my theory anyway!

This week has also brought the passing of something else... the hair follicles in the radiation treatment area on my head... I am just about 1/4 bald with half my forehead looking red and sunburnt - an excellent look for out in public I thought!  My last blog was meant to be a bit of a giggle about 'breaking up' with my hair and I really did laugh writing it, however as it started to fall out even more post-breakup blog, I have shed tears...my hair was more important to me than I think I realised.  The 'shedding' has slowed for now but I'm unsure of how much more might go - hopefully not too much.  I'd like to think that the hair loss means that the treatment is working so it's all got to be a good thing, right?!

On a bright note, come Monday after treatment I will be exactly half way and only 15 more to go!  The lady on the desk at the radiation oncology department said that some people are sad to leave at the end of their treatments and I can totally understand why.  The staff have been amazing - so helpful, compassionate and informative... I can honestly say apart from the fact they put the mask on me and strap me to the table each time I see them, I have enjoyed their company and the fact they accommodate my needs (cranking the stereo up while I'm being treated, offering advice for symptom management, and providing a listening ear for my ramblings for example!).

On an even brighter note, we had a lovely visit this weekend from a wonderful 'uncle' - a family friend (from forever) from down south happened to be up in our area so came to stay for the weekend which was great... we look forward to his return - bringing 'aunty' next time too!

We're gearing up tonight for the semi final... hope the boys can do it - I'm not much of a rugby buff but I am feeling nervous.

Into the second week of the school holidays without too many grumbles or exclamations of boredom from Mr 6 - I guess Pippa has helped!  The big boys are being collected tomorrow and will be with us until next Monday so the three should entertain themselves quite nicely.

Until next time, take care, keep smiling (and pedalling!), and sending those good vibes into the universe. 

I'm off to cuddle my fur-baby (puppy). xxx