looking back - and forward

My life is great [knocking on wood as I type]. I am so happy, apart from a few niggles large and small, but I am hoping they will resolve themselves eventually. One small niggle being trying to make ends meet around here.

All the bills seem to have gone UP, arrived all at once and are just generally trying to swamp us. Everything is self destructing out of spite. Amazing how inanimate objects can gang together when you're not looking. The fan in the convection oven just started making the most monstrous clonking noise [that's it! BBQ for the rest of the year! I refuse to even hear it again], the back windscreen wiper on the [supposedly indestructible] Beemer has conked out, the service date has passed ages ago and the garden gate is falling apart. Literally. I need to build a new one. Quickly! Before the Fairy Cake in the Garden fundraiser. Or people will be getting whacked on the head by the cross strut.

The front of the house [the charming 300 year old cottage - humph] has decided it would like to take leave of it’s moorings...sigh. The FH has spent the last two weekends doing repairs to the window sills and the render. Rather like putting ones thumb in a dyke, but what else can you do? Hey ho, KBO eh? Here's the offending structure.

Apart from that [and a few other things that don't bear mentioning] I am in the midst of a mad frenzy of fund raising. It's quite fun [in a scary sort of way - 4K?? OMG] - all the Cycle Kenya girls are getting together on Facebook, which is a nice way to get to know people before you meet them. We are all swapping fundraising ideas, and trying to hook up with people near to us for training. Training by oneself quite probably sucks. I really need to get into a spinning class!

Plus of course I am doing the garden - this year is the first time since I was diagnosed that I am actually really able to get going full tilt at it. It's fantastic! I am like 'jumping for joy'!! And it's so satisfying. I was really diagnosed on Wednesday 30th January; inadvertently. But it took a while to get the REAL diagnosis. But personally, I go from the January date.

The combination of gardening and Chalet Whacking is definitely helping my strength and stamina. Talk about things happening for weird reasons. When I worked in Portugal all the time, everything got so neglected. I sat on my butt in front of the computer most of the time, and when I was away, things just grew out of control. Not this year! I have been staking and potting up like a crazy woman - digging? Bring it ON! Next: hanging baskets.

And I'm planning lots of fund raising stuff - it's a tad chaotic, but I am hoping to get there eventually!! Really must make a list of my Forthcoming Events. Keeping things in my head is NOT a good idea! Do you know, someone actually told me recently that there is no such thing as Chemo brain? No, you guessed it, they haven't had chemo. Pah.