Ukulele and me

My good friend Nicola and I have taken up the Ukulele. I'm rather excited about it and even though I've only had it a few months I'm doing ok.

Nicola has a distinct advantage over me as she is a fiddle player, but then I have played a little bit of guitar and have more time on my hands for practise.

Now, I'm not saying that after 3 days I'm as good as Mr Formby, but I can rock a mean version of Sweet Child O' Mine. If you've never heard a bit of Guns & Roses played on the ukulele then you haven't lived!

On a serious note, I'm actually rather surprised at myself. It's been a long time since I felt like playing music. I've forgotten so much that I haven't really bothered over the last few years.

A few months ago I sang at an open mic in a pub (it's the pub where we go knitting on a Thursday so I know a few of the regulars). I got a great reception. Comments like ' I didn't know you could sing' and 'you're a dark horse' and my most favourite comment was, 'are you a professional?'

That afternoon I was reminded that I've spent most of my life mastering a craft that I'm very lucky to have. A lot of people tell me how they would love to be able to sing and that I have been given a gift. (I wonder if it was Gods way of making up for the RA!)

I always thought that everyone could sing and that you could teach anyone to discover their own voice but maybe I'm wrong. The voice is an instrument that we all share but we can't all use it. I think that some are born with something that makes a singing voice extra special. In the same way others are good at cooking or art or sport or French. (I'm rubbish at ALL of those things by the way!) Maybe it's all programmed into us before we're born.

Mmmmm food for thought me thinks!

A catch up...



My 10% Keyring



So I'm still amazed everyday with how much weight I've lost.

After last Friday's weigh in I've lost 40lbs and I got my 10%. I can't quite believe it. I'm going to be so excited when I get to 50lbs and then 60...and so on...and so on!

I promise there will be photos soon.

Dieting

As you know I've been losing weight. My reason for writing about it on here was because if I wrote it down, I had to do it.

People who start to lose weight have what they call a trigger, this could be one trigger, or several triggers that kick start them into losing weight. I'm guessing the people who stick to it are the ones who remember those triggers and keep them in their mind throughout the journey. I had several triggers that motivated me to diet and I wanted to share them with you.

1. I looked like shit. There is no being nice about it, I did look... like... shit. I've always spent a lot of money on clothes, hair etc but when it got that I spent a fortune and still looked rough, then I needed to do something about it.

2. My second was my friend, she suffered a stroke at 32. She's absolutely fine now and it has done nothing more than given her and the rest of us a massive shake up. She ended up losing 3 stone and I decided that I needed to do it too. I also wanted to support her and the only way I could do that, was to do it with her.

3. I was fat at 30, I'm not going to be fat at 31.

4. I was putting more and more on everytime I went to the hospital. Discussing your weight with someone is just horrible, even if it is a nurse and they've seen it all before it still makes you feel like shit.

5. I was 16 and a half stone, size 22-24 and I couldn't fit into my old clothes.

I did really well on my own at first, losing around 16lbs. I wanted to lose it quicker so I joined Weight Watchers. It's been the best thing I've done. I've lost another 20lbs in 10 weeks on the plan and am really enjoying it. The people are friendly and I'm loving the meetings.

I learned a lot about portion sizes, I'm eating the same amounts of some things, some less but with some foods I'm actually eating more. I was having 25g of cereal and a Weight Watchers portion is 30g so now I'm eating more in the morning which is obviously why I'm not so hungry.

I've given myself lots of small goals to work towards which I think is really important. Before this morning's weigh in my goals were;

1. Lose half a lb and I'll have lost 2 and a half stone altogether.

2. Lose another 2lbs and I get my 3rd silver 7 on Weight Watchers.

3. Another half a lbs and I'll have lost 10% of my body weight on Weight Watchers.

To achieve all these goals I only have to lose 3lbs altogether. Yes the bigger picture is always in the back of my mind. I have another 4 stone to go but that's not a massive problem when you set yourself more obtainable targets.

It's not all about the numbers either, you can get all caught up with numbers and I don't think it's healthy. Clothes and confidence can tell a bigger story.

1. I've bought some size 16 jeans and I can do them up, but they're a bit tight so I'm looking forward to wearing them.

2. I've also got into to nearly all my old clothes.

3. My Mum has taken in several tops and dresses. Around 4 inches of material has been taken off each item.

4. I wanted to buy a top from the New Look Inspire Range in a size 16 only to be told 'I'm sorry madam, the smallest the Inspire Range goes is a size 18!' Well that felt good!

The thing with losing weight is that you have to really want to do it and believe me, I really want to.

Danger, knitters about!

I know I haven't posted for a while. Arthritis, weight loss and knitting has taken over my life but since we last spoke a few things have happened that I wanted to tell you about.

You already know that I dislocated my hip replacement.  Well less that a week after the hip incident I was out with some knitters at a Weatherspoons.  I went to use the disabled toilet but as I was walking back I fell over.  I'm not sure how it happened but I think I caught something slippy on the floor and went flying onto my front.  I had to put my elbows out to stop me as my hands would never stop me from falling, they are far to painful.  A few came to my aid and I was most grateful.  I had no idea how I would begin to peel myself up of the floor, having no strength in my arms means that I can't push on them.  Then I heard someone say, 'don't worry I'm a paramedic'.  Some poor man was eating his steak and chips and came over to look after me.  He managed to get me up and I was so greatful.

A few weeks later on Easter Tuesday, I was again out with knitters and I decided to drop a very hot black coffee all over my legs.  The first aid person was very quick to act as were all my friends but a special thank you to my friend Sylvia who, I'm pretty sure if she hadn't move my leggings away from my legs so quickly, things might have been a bit different.

Now I know what you're thinking. All three incidents are related to knitting.  You would be right in thinking it was a gentle pass time, but I'm here to tell you that it is a dangerous sport with serious consequences such as addiction, gossip, sore hands, wrists and fingers and of course with any good addict, the hoarding!

Heads, shoulders, knees and....hips!



I thought I'd give you an update on how things are progressing joint wise.

Well, the scar on my shoulder has been quite sore.  It's felt like a graze and the skin feels as if it's stretching every time I move my arm, which is pretty uncomfortable.  I was advised by my practise nurse to use bio oil which would help to soften the skin.  I used twice daily for about a week and I felt it made it worse.  I used bio oil when I had my knee replaced and the same thing happened so I should have known not to use it but I gave it a good go any way.

This all resulted in me going too see the Dr on Wednesday of last week.  He said it was an unusual complaint but gave me some hydrocortisone cream to try.  It made the skin feel better straight away and by Friday I was able to wear a proper bra again.  Up until now I've been wearing strapless bras therefore wearing a proper bra for the first time in two months has been awesome.

Physio is going slowly and is difficult. I saw the physio again on 28th February and she's really pleased with me.  I have to start lifting a light weight such as a half filled bottle of water to build up my strength.  My arm has been completely useless for so long that I need to build my muscles up to help regain the use.  Physio is progressing quickly and I'm finding I can do more and more for myself each day. 

Dressing myself is still difficult for me and I'm still requiring help in the mornings.  I'm told that a shoulder resurfacing is a massive operation, far more invasive than any other operation I've ever had before.  I was also told that it is a long operation so I suppose it takes longer to recover from.

I feel fine in myself, I've been back driving for about 7 weeks.  I don't drive if I don't feel well enough so I must feel ok.

In other news my left elbow keeps swelling up.  I've have had problems with it since last summer and the pain in it is pretty intense.  I have to be careful how much I'm using my arm when using it so it doesn't swell up.  I've been having a few problems with my hands too, they are swollen again and I'm struggling to use them.  I'm trying to keep them moving with my knitting but I can't do too much of that either at the moment. 

Anyway, it's not all bad news as I had my tocilizumab infusion last Friday and so my bones should be feeling better soon.

On Sunday I was turning to pick some knitting up and I felt my hip twist out of it's joint. It wasn't too painful but I knew that if I didn't do anything about it that it could be serious.  I straightened myself up and heard a large click and felt my hip go back into place.  It felt rather uncomfortable and the pain was quite bad over Sunday night and Monday.  I decided, with a little push from my nurse friend, that I would ring the surgeons secretary and she gave me a an appointment for Wednesday morning.

My dad came to the hospital with me where I had an X-ray to check it was all ok and I'm very pleased to report that everything is fine.  He said that it sounded like it had dislocated but that it's gone back in and that I haven't done any damage to it.  My dad and I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

This just reminds me that I have to be really careful of my hip and that I must look after it as it has to last me quite a long time.

Feet, shoes and insoles

My new insoles.

In February I had a podiatry appointment at Stafford hospital.  I met a lovely lady called Helen who asked me all sorts of questions about my arthritis and how I cope with daily life.

We then got on to talking about my feet and she asked me if they were painful, to which I replied 'they're fine'.  She laughed and said that I would be surprised how many people with arthritis say that, but in reality they're not fine.  I told her that I have pain in my ankle but that could be from my right knee which needs replacing and has done for quite some time now.  She told me that my right ankle is leaning over to one side therefore I have a high instep which could be why it's painful and swollen.

So she wants me to try some insoles in my shoes but impressed upon me that the insoles could undo the good that my joint replacements have done.  She also said that if they cause lots of pain then I can stop wearing them.

They arrived in the post last week.  I haven't tried them yet but I will let you know how I get on over the next few weeks.

Photography - 16th February - Museum of Cannock Chase, Staffordshire

Yesterday my Dad and I went to the Museum of Cannock Chase in Hednesford for the second of our weekly photography course.  The Museum of Cannock Chase is another place I haven't been to before but is only a few miles from where I live.

The museum is an old colliery which closed in the mid 1980's and it describes the rich heritage in the area.  Cannock was a mining town and the landscape is due to mining in the area.  Even the hospital where I go for my treatment boasts ward names of some of the old collieries, such as Hilton Main, Hollybank, Fairoak and Littleton.  Many of the minors donated some of their pay to fund the building of the hospital and the names are a tribute to that.  I still remember Littleton when it was a working mine, I remember driving past it on the way home from the hospital and seeing all the minors coming up after their shift had finished. Now, unfortunetly, it's a housing estate.

When we arrived at the museum the lecturer Steve came over to tell me that my picture of the Blackpool skyline (if you can call it that!) was fantastic BUT and it's a big BUT, I caught a girls head in the picture.  I knew I'd done this but I wanted to ask him if the basic composition of the picture was correct and he said that it was.  He then asked me if he could show the rest of the class my pictures and discuss how he would have taken the picture or if I could have done anything differently, he also wanted to show me how to crop extra bits out of the picture.

Here are some of the pictures he changed:

My photo of Blackpool with this girls head became.....

The idilic landscape of the Maldieves became...

My pool pic became...

and the reason, because I chopped the tow of the flip flop off!

And the picture we all want to walk in and take a seat became...

After this we went for a look round but unfortunately we lost the group because we decided we would stay in the warm and have a cuppa before we went.  My Dad and I ventured out on our own merry way which, to be honest, was better because I can’t walk as far as the others.  This was the first time in about 20 years that I had set foot on Cannock Chase and it felt amazing.  I drive through it all the time but I hadn’t actually be able to walk on it and although I only took a few steps it felt good.

Here are some of the photos my Dad and I took.

Here is my Dad walking through the chase.

Everything is so gloomy this time of year.

I wonder how long this has been there.