It Gets Worse (by sarah)

Here is a news article about Alex that I recieved after having posted earlier

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1053151/Six-dead-flood-chaos-thousands-evacuated-homes--weather-set-WORSE.html

I am feeling so sick right now with this.

edit: another news article

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/7603417.stm

Another Friend Gone (by sarah)

With the taste of one friends memorial still in my mouth from Tuesday I came home last night to find a message that another much younger friend had been killed in an accident at work.

Alaric had already left for London when I saw the message and I hadn't yet unpacked things from the weekend so I couldn't initially find my phone. I didn't and to a certain extent still don't beleive it. I became single minded in one thing - I had to phone Al I couldn't grip on to any other thing in reality.

I found the charger but then couldn't find the phone and then found the phone but couldn't find what I'd done with the charger - I was panicking as if I could change things.

I phoned Alaric and just got the answere phone so I just kept phoning I couldn't think of what else to do. I started doing random things to try and proove to myself that it was some horrible practicle joke - but deep down I knew it wouldn't be - this was the same reaction I had two years ago over Wilson's death but with out the anger.

I looked up his work website thinking that would help - he works up at Birdlip - basically in walking distance. I don't even know why I am writing this becuase it would just embarrasse him if he read it. Alex was at uni with me in my first first year and we had done stuff like caving. He also helped out alot when we where flooded and would meet me in Cheltenham for drinks.

We hadn't met up recently as things had been hectic and we just werent being free at the same time - we where going to do something probably a meal and I was looking forward to meeting his girlfriend that I had heared so much about.

I got through to Alaric and all I could say was please come back - I said I;d got an email saying Alex had been killed. Al said, 'Oh god I'm coming back' he hadnt been able to understand anything else I'd said.

The thing is mums going in for her second partial mastectamy today and normally I would be in getting texts from him asking how it was going but thats not going to happen now and stupid as it sounds I feel like everyone is dying on me.

Alex was so nice and helpful he was even going to lend me some stuff from his scout group for mine. I just can't face that this might possibly be true and at the same time I keep crying.

Jean’s Third Birthday Party will be the 30th of August (by sarah)

Jean will be a whole three years old at the end of August so sue to demand we are celebrating it by having a party on Saturday the 30th of August. The party will start at 10 am and go on all day 🙂

There will be the BBQ's out so if you want to bring something to slap on there feel free - we will obviously be having seperate meat and veggi BBQs! There will be cake and I have a few drinkies left over from other events but you'd might want to bring something yourself aswell as budgets are a bit tight as always!

We have floor space and space to camp for those who need it.

If you could let me know wheather you're coming or not that would be helpful too 🙂

For those of you who didn't make it to the last party we have the candy floss machine, chocolate fondue, pop corn maker and the doughnut maker!

Weather and time permitting we'll get the pool out as well so bring a cosy/wetsuit or what ever 🙂

At the moment Jean is keen on Colouring in, trains and being outside for those who tend to ask.

IF anyone wants to know about B'n'B's let me know.

Infected Finger (by sarah)

My Manky finger 🙁

About three weeks ago my nervous habit of worrying the skin around my nails resulted in the area around the cuticul of my fourth finger (the one next to the little one) on my right hand, becoming red and sore - I stopped picking it but it then started to feel really saw and ooze greeny/yellowy/baige stuff. I cleaned it with TCP and washed it alot but a crusty layer appeared around the base of the nail and this would break each time it was prodded and more pussy stuff would come out.

I cleaned it with detol and Al germolined it to high heaven and plastered it as I needed to do gardening and washing up and deal with potty training and the like. I was letting it air over night and it appeared to be getting better - not being so painfull and swollen as a raised lump just under the nail had appeared but this now just looked a bit like a burned area.

Then I was due to go to London for four days and Al dressed the area as the skin had 'pulled' away from the bottom of the nail but it looked like it was getting better. On the way back from London the dressing came off and lo! An apporximatly 2 mm thick line had appeared at the base of the nail - the finger had also started to hurt again the day before but now it felt like I had caught my nail with a hammer at the same time as having a huge splinter in there!

Anyway so today I get to see the dr having phoned up Monday - the Dr was erm thats a nasty infection you need antibiotics - then she asked how long it had been infected over all and I said three weeks - she winced :/

Its most definatly an antibiotics case and I left it far to long to go the drs with it and I am probably going to lose the nail - a new one should grow back and if it becomes too flappy or loose then I might have to go and see the nurses and have them help the situation along.

So I am now on antibiotics which i have to take four times a day :/ It needs to show a stark improvement within the week or I have to go back again. When I went to the drs today there was a red aura around the white - and there appears to be a gap at the bottom of the nail where there is no nail - I don't know how clear that is on the photo!

A nice toolboard for my workshop (by alaric)

As an exercise in her art class, Sarah made some pictures by cutting out shapes in coloured paper:

Coincidentally, at about this time, I was thinking that I ought to screw a bit of wood to the wall in my workshop and hang tools from it to make them more accessible, and to store them more compactly than having them sitting on a shelf (which is the worst way of using a shelf EVER). So I was delighted when Sarah announced that she'd thought her pictures could be stuck to a piece of wood to make me a toolboard...

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