Family It Is How It is Written

I have been quiet but I like the quiet I am finding truth in my own thoughts again and I really do like it and the adventures I am having and the choices I am making and oh doesn't it sound like a AA Milne Winnie the Pooh story this.But that is just it I want the innocent life and yes I know it has the twists and turns but I want and need to be me again without the

"Are you better  ?" questions ( as that really really does my head in )

Well yes yes I am when I look how far I have come and where I was.

Adventures I love adventures and you don't have to go far for the most fantastical and wonderful adventures and we have been revisiting some of our National Trust haunts now the teen is back from university. He is unburned now by study and essays and is swinging back nicely into family living and joyfully the food bill has gone back up but that is the wonderful thing about families.To know you are altogether again and to know that you're family still for no matter how far apart you're you are still family.

Raising a family is like crafting with magic you throw everything into the cauldron and hope for the best and you parent to the best of your abilities , I don't think I have ever been the draconian parent . I once tried to stop my teen when he was very small from going to football for something minor he had done and he simply answered:

"How can you stop me doing something that I love  ?"


Damn kids being smart and having a mind of their own and gosh isn't this just the sort of fearless attitude we want them to have in life ( being polite of course )

We are a unit again and we all have are own tea mugs and I have mine very clearly marked as my mug is from Ryman and is "C is for Claire" there is no clearer message whose tea mug this is ! I do love my tea it is a true love of mine and I am so so passionate about my tea. I ‘d go total bananas if I can't have my tea and that reminds me now the teen is home we have run out of milk and I must go and fetch some.





And to help keep track of my blog posts and anything else relate to my blog I have a note book as writing down any ideas has to be done there and then. I love my blogging and it has brought me many wonderful opportunities for me and my family, I love notebooks they are so extremely tactile a sort of stationary cat if you will ( ps I love cats as well ) And I love this personalised notebook that comes from Ryman as well it is so so pretty and it is all mine.





And what notebook is complete without a personalised pen  from Ryman again with my name on it so there is no arguments to who the pen belongs , and there is nothing finer than the written word either from a much loved Grandad or the wise words of your then 16 year old teenager





So if you are on the look out for personalised gifts then may I suggest Ryman as I am ecstatic with the products they went me for review and with some special birthdays coming up I know where I will be looking.

Jack Champion Hide and Seek Champion 2018

And life get back to normal with the cat well and truly better after it having a bad leg and costing £££ at the vets.And the teen returned from university complete with washing for 2 years (that could be a complete exaggeration)

“ I like to keep the vet in a style he’s accustomed to “

Which is suspiciously why I am always seeing the vet coming back from the shops with bottles of wine and of course what vert is not complete without a countryside shirt and tie ( plus trousers )

Jack however is still rubbish at hide and seek but we don’t tell him ..

“ I’m the hide and seek champion of the world 2018 “

 "And despite the challenge from my Nemesis I am the king cat of the world. "

There are many benefits to being a cat screams you're a CAT !

1. Your home is a parkour arena and YOU can sit and jump  where you like that includes the TV and laptop when the football is on.

2. Obviously us cats are exceptionally good at hide and seek and I believe the above picture captures my sheer brilliance.

3. You can plot a murder and everyone thinks you're "JUST so fluffy and cute "



4. Being a black cat if people are mean to you of course you have access to a witch.

5. I’m not really unlucky if I cross your path although I’d start to wonder why you haven’t won the lottery yet ( I tore up the ticket )

I Am Not An Anxiety Traffic Cone

I social media for me when I want and how I want , gosh in the year 2000 Google was just a mere what ever it was.Selfies didn’t exist and no one had the pressure of answering or sending emails.

I’m off with Anxiety you see the big A the one people still skirt around like you’re an “Anxiety Traffic Cone .Anxiety / Depression is a bit like roadworks you don’t know where it will be fixed . I’m winning on this but I know that my Anxiety roadworks will need constant maintenance.My Doctor just huuuuhuh and mmmmm at me so I think some way to go with that side of things!

I had a breakdown on the back of various factors 4 years ago and I’ve learnt from it and repaired myself.I think there are many important lesson s I’ve learnt in the art of self care.

1. It’s ok to not be ok and it’s ok to talk about it you’re not an Anxiety Traffic cone.

3. Don’t worry about being misunderstood everyone is ... and I was misunderstood 4 years ago leading to some right nasty stuff on the net. Friends will be there for you but it takes time to build the right ones.

4. Don’t worry what people think it’s ok to be you ~  don’t worry what 

5. Try and find yourself in a book again that’s one way to truly find yourself again

6. I punctuate my day with being rather than doing like just being with my cup of tea and not being a slave to people’s expectations.

7 Not needing flash things I’m perfectly happy with a cup tea family and cake oh and the cat and countryside. 

8 Faultless there’s no such thing ! Allow yourself failure and don’t beat yourself up when things go wrong.

9 Plan what you want as planning helps you structure and can help with how you feel, it could be tea and cake with a friend.

Things not to say to someone with Anxiety and depression and I’ve genuinely had this said to me “ if you were taking the tablets you’d be half way to getting better now.

Also people think you want to be left alone when you’ve got anxiety or depression and though sometimes this is true , please do approach people. Keep trying and trying they’ll let you know - just trying is enough for some. Don’t give up on us !

And neither is it a shame what has happened to us “ isn’t it a shame about xyz”

So I’m not an anxiety Traffic Cone !!

Crafting Happiness And Habit

Anxiety doesn’t stop at a line and go ooooh I’ll not cross that it needs to but it doesn’t. Am I winning the war with anxiety I think so but I know really know what true friendship is now.

Friendship goes in and out of our lives for whatever reason, you can’t force a friendship it’s like a good cup of tea you see friendship.Once you’ve found your strength you stick with it and yes sometimes the friendship is over milked but mainly a balance is struck.

I’ve been off with anxiety since March and one thing after another has snowballed but that’s life ! unfortunately and what has crippled me is just as things were ironing out then boom it all blew up in my face.

From having to call 999 for my mother due to a bipolar episode to my husband suddenly having to go into hospital with diabetes. And I imploded and crumbled and to the friends who have seen me through this I thank you.I am no fool in thinking that everyone is going to feel a compassion or empathy for me  .It’s not what I really want but a little nod every so often or maybe an interaction then that’s ok.

I can take joy in the fact that people are having a good time and I can feel sadness when they’re not.I try to be there for people and not spread myself thin.

I have to take social cues I’m not good at knowing when to start and finish a conversation.People who really know me understand this and don’t run away from me during a conversation.I can’t be left hanging it’s got to be clear cut or I don’t know where I stand.

And this includes writing part of this blog post again ! as it was swallowed probably by a T - Rex or something!

I believe in genarosity of self and that’s not just thinking about yourself to ensure your own well being but being genorous in your actions to others.

I’m going to practise being more genouros from taking someone’s else’s shopping trolley back when I take my own to depositing loose change in charity tins.

Happiness and habit you have to allow yourself to be habit and find something that makes you do.Think of it as a hobby as happiness is not always intrinsically possibile .Hapiness for me is various activities or actions or sounds the list goes on and is really a stand alone blog post.One thing for me is photography that makes me happy and is influential to not only me but other people who appreciate it.

I this morning have started a new happiness habit crafting prompted by my husband “ you’ve not opened your crafting magazine “

So this morning I thought about unloading the dishwasher and decided that was not going to make me happy and instead went to do a spot of crafting.

How I Am Winning The Battle on my Garden

My Garden isn't a Chelsea Flower show garden but then again what is nowadays and I don't have famous celebrities traipsing round my garden giving their views on it.The garden has been somewhat a bit of a lifeline for my husband and he has created two rockeries nothing amazing that in that you might think.But it was when he was doing the first rockery that he really thought he had a problem with his health he had been drinking loads of water , going to the toilet and other such signs associated with Diabetes.He battled through and it was on the Monday that he went to the doctors and Tuesday resulted in a stay in hospital and when he came out of hospital he recuperated by spending time in the garden.Gardens are marvellous for reoccupation and i love being in the garden it has been a hard slog to create a garden on a budget but you can do it and it helps if you have friends who perhaps have too many strawberry plants in their garden and they’re called Pam ! and they also give you a wild Garlic plant and give you a lift back from the hospital ( all for which I’m greatful for )

Mr T if he had his way would whip up the lawn and put down fake grass but no that is to something I want and so I am happy to do battle with the lawn and try and get it to look green , I know people get really fanatical over their lawns as it is this pride and joy.I have seen people cutting their lawns with nail scissors that is how extreme it gets.Why do I need the lawn well Love the green and seeing the birds hopping happily across my lawns fetching the worms out of it.

But when you’ve an an autoimmune disease which Diabetes type 1 you want gardening to be a pleasure and not a chore.And that’s where the latest range of cordless Ryobi tools come in so far we have the lawnmower, grass strimmer and pole pruner.And Mr T is out there like a man possessed mowing, strumming and pruning.

In order of the rockeries we have gone from this to this ...

All this from a random eBay purchase when I brought an old stone sink off  someone and ended up with a shed load of stone.I am random and I am a devil on EBay !