Still hibernating

Wish I knew who the artist was for this image.

Hi guys! Apologies for almost a month of silence, I am sorry but winter is never kind to me. I am still hibernating, resting up as much as possible. I have read a few children's books, but mostly gaming. I am to write a few posts next week if my body permits me. I wanted to touch base and reassure you all is as well as it can be for winter. Just had a lot of low temp days which my body doesn't like at all. Please bear with me!  

Nayu's Craft Time #319 Random Online Grocery Info

Generic grocery bag

This is probably a random post, but then a lot of my posts are random so it doesn't matter! I want to talk about the online shopping. I have only used Sainsbury's, so my experience doesn't extend to other supermarkets/companies. I started using the service this summer when I was too ill to go shopping. It is super convenient, I love being able to pick a time that suits me and, on most occasions, pay less than £1.50 delivery charge, 50p if I am really lucky.

Photo source unknown

 Random observation #1

99% of the drivers are super friendly and helpful. I had one who was a bit odd, but I put it down to them having a bad day. The majority are more than happy to take my shopping to the kitchen which is a bit of a way from the front door. Some help unpack, some don't. I honestly don't mind either way. 

I have had all these Sainsbury's bags for life!

Random observation #2

If you don't like something you can send it back! This applies to any item, if it has too short a useby date, if it is bad, if it is damaged. Best part you then get an online coupon for money off your next shop! I used 2 coupons in my recent order because I had forgotten about them. I got some frozen strawberries for free because the bag had burst in transit. I still accepted it as they looked safe and I only had the one packet. Haven't got sick so it was the right decision! 

Every shop I pray my bread doesn't get substituted as I am very particular about it. Unless it is part-baked bread

Random observation #3

Having items switched to another of a similar type due to the original not being in stock doesn't happen that often. Once I had several items swapped, some I didn't keep as I had specifically wanted the original item. You will be notified of substitutions by email...although if like you me you don't always check your email you can then get a big surprise. Related to this is...

The yummy white stuff! All bottles are plastic though.

Random observation #4

Store brand milk allegedly isn't always in stock. This is a bit hard to believe, that Sainsbury's own milk is not available to order online. That was the case this week for the 1 pint organic whole milk. I ended up choosing a different brand that I had never had (but is delicious) and it was cheaper by volume too! I know which Sainsbury's my order gets chosen from, and I know they always have that milk. Maybe they have a set amount they have to keep in store, so say no to further online orders. 

Love!

Random observation #5

Favourites become your friend! Putting items you regularly buy into favourites is so useful, makes it rather quick to make a subsequent order with your usual yogurt/bread/frozen fruit already set aside so it doesn't have to be manually searched on. 

Those are all the observations I have for the moment! I am recovered from my 4 month summer illness, but I am still using Sainsbury's online shopping because it saves me going round a large store and carrying heavy items. While being ill all summer sucked, something positive came from it. I'd love to hear about your experience with online shopping!

No idea who the artist is but love this silhouette swing image!

Nayu's Product Review #12 White chocolate Kellogg's Coco Pops

I always have some frozen fruit after my cereal in my Eeyore bowl

I can't remember where I saw this delicious sounding cereal advertised, but I knew I had to have it. Coco pops is a longstanding personal joke with a friend who lived off them a lot during university deadlines, so I got her a packet too. Okay so my family picked it up because I forgot to add it to my Sainsbury's order, but my friend still has one. How are they? 

This isn't a sponsored post, sadly!

I had heard prior to eating them that they didn't make the milk go chocolatey, which was a little disappointing but didn't put me off trying them. My family tried them first, without milk and gave the verdict they are sweet (despite having less sugar in). Me, they are a tasty cereal. With the milk it is easier to taste the white chocolate flavour (they are NOT coated in white chocolate), and they are highly enjoyable. Would I buy them again? Yes but there are many cheaper cereals so this will probably be my only box, unless Sainsbury's does their own brand. 

I would give them a go, you can always use them in baking if you aren't that keen on them!  

Nayu's Craft Time #318 Necessary flu jab & lots of gaming

Not got wellies but my boots will keep my feet dry today

I am around! You can find me on Twitter most days. I had the flu jab which affected me sooner and stronger than it usually does, that was last week. I have been a bit busy, I am about to head out to town and a car service but here is a gaming post over on Nayu's Reading Corner to find out what I'm enjoying at the moment, if you miss my tweets/aren't on social media. Craft is happening slowly too, no update photos yet but hope to do some today. Have a super day! 

This is hilarious!

Nayu's Product Review #11 Snowdrop Lantern from Glasspirations

For at least a year I have admired the beautiful work Tracy from Glasspirations has created on Twitter. The other week I saw this stunning lantern which gave me a magical fairytale vibe and I had to get it. At just £15 it is such a bargain! I am useless with imagining dimensions so thought it was smaller than it was (10cm by 6cm) but that didn't matter as it is a decent size. 

Just look at the snowdrops! Snowdrops are one of my favourite flowers, they seem full of hope and simplicity. 

Picture source unknown

I have always admired the tradition of glass work, creating masterpieces big and small with glass is talent that needs to be nurtured and preserved in the modern world. I hadn't realised it had a tea light in - yes I really did just see it and buy it straight away! I am not a massive candle fan so probably won't use it for that purpose. 

 Tracy is gentle to the environment by reusing boxes to package the lantern with packing stuff too. She makes it look like a gift despite the obvious recycling! 

. Do check out the rest of the Glasspirations products on the website and follow Tracy on Twitter.

Nayu's Craft Time #317 Sunlight and squirrels

It is so grey and dim outside I have had to put my main light on, which I almost never use. It looks like my own personal sun! 

Today I really would rather not be schduling up blog posts, but with a major hospital appointment on Thurs in London and the weather not improving until after that I really need to do this today. Making some orange juice in an hour or so: got the oranges precut in the freezer, just need to whizz with icecubes and water. The appointment is a fun one - I am not being sarcastic. I love my specialist team, they are really supportive and their can do attitude is refreshing. It will still be mega tiring but that's okay. 

So cute!!!

Squirrels are adorable, aren't they? What's even cuter is squirrel ears that change colour with your hair, out today for 1 month in Animal Crossing Pocket Camp on android & iPad!

My ears are blonde!

 Whoohoo! Hope I can have enough for a squirrel tail too, but the ears come first. 

I love my fairy wings but would switch out for time to time.

I had something super cute arrive at the weekend, but I am doing a dedicated post to it so not including it here. It is on Twitter though! 

Mostly been gaming lots, as I was blessed with both new games from Boomerang of the new Zelda game: Link's Awakening 

 and Ni No Kuni on Switch. Ni No Kuni is getting more play time now as it isn't one I can relax with before bed (can be weird in a nightmare inducing way), apart from yesterday when I did just that and thankfully didn't have crazy dreams. It's winter but I am trying to do a bit more jigsaw puzzling etc. Will keep you posted on any progress on Twitter! 

Magic is rather cool! (my own gameplay photo)

I hope however your weekend has been that you have some happiness in it!

Nayu's Craft Time #316 What happened at the pain clinic in August.

Hoping rainbows are in my future (not my photo)

A few weeks ago the scene from my window of blue sky with no cloud could easily have been a balmy heatwave day which I enjoyed without the need for blankets Today the same scene requires blankets to keep me warm and I am totally getting a hot water bottle when I get some lunch within the next hour. It is cold! Yes it may get to a high of 18C today, but it started a lot cooler around 8C which my body is very aware of. This is why I hibernate as much as I can in winter. The day may get warmer but my body won't be fooled. 

Anyway, this afternoon I will be gaming! Had to sort emails and a blog post this morning, got 2 minor chores to do before lunch then I will relax with a mix of My Little Pony  Friendship is Magic and gaming. I would do craft, but I have to go out tomorrow so the less concentration I do the better, to help save my energy for when I need it. 

I'm going to give the short version of what happened at the pain clinic in August. I take my mega meds, ketamine, at home, under the tongue for pain relief (I spit it out after 10mins. It tastes foul if I get it on the wrong part of my tongue. I have been doing this for years, it means I can have pain relief whenever I need it, for instance if I have a flare up. Before I had it I was in agony and felt suicidal on a daily basis. I don't talk about my mental health issues either online or offline, as they are personal. However I need to demonstrate what happened before the magic of ketamine. It was bad. Very bad. I never wanted to go through that again. Unfortunately that could be my future. 

I knew my consultant at the pain clinic had retired and I had a new one. I have always felt uncertainty about how long I would be able to continue my ketamine treatment - it is just the impression I got as it just takes the edge of my pain and it isn't originally used for continued pain control that it could get stopped as a pain treatment in the future. 

I got dealt two big blows at the pain clinic. The first is no one is allowed to have ketamine at home. Ever. There were a few incidents with other patients, not me. No one died, but whatever happened made the highest level of authority in the hospital trust decided that ketamine can only be given in a medical setting. I don't live close to the pain clinic. It would cost so much money to go every 5 weeks or so, a little less in winter, which is how often I have ketamine. I wouldn't be able to have it in a flare up. I possibly would have to wait longer than 5 weeks depending on space in clinics. 

I was absolutely devastated. It takes away my pain relief Independence. It brings back memories of a time in my life I don't want to revisit. There's a lot of fear about my pain relief in the future. However there is hope. The pain clinic in London is going to try and get me transferred to my local pain clinic, which does ketamine infusions and is under 30 minutes away from my house. I have to wait to hear if I am accepted, then presumably have consultation appointments to find out the details of my continued ketamine treatment. I have a few doses left so I won't be out of ketamine until next year. Until I get transferred to the new pain clinic my old pain clinic are giving me an infusion early November to help prolong my supply until I am fully transferred to the new one. 

The second blow was discovering that unfortunately there is currently no other pain medication that I can try for my condition. I always thought there were stronger meds if the ketamine had to be stopped. 

So yeah, the pain clinic appointment sucked beyond belief. I won't talk about it after this post, other than to say when (hopefully not if) I am transferred to my local pain clinic, as that will be a happy day! I am doing my best to stay distracted from how rough life may get next year if the worst case scenario plays out. Terrifying is an understatement. 

I do have coping mechanisms now that I didn't have when my severe pain first started, as I did see a pain psychologist to help with the situation that until it was under control made me suicidal. I do still have depression but I won't talk about that online or offline apart from with God and my doctors. I wasn't going to say anything online, but some of you may have wondered if I did have depression, given I was suicidal a few years ago which I feel I had to mention in this post to explain how devastating the August appointment was. That is why I was offline for a few days as it took time for it all to sink in. The situation sucks. The waiting sucks. Thank God for gaming, craft and dvds!!! Thank you for being patient for me to be able to tell my story for those of you not close friends and family. I appreciate all the support.

Working on staying balanced with what I love

Nayu's Craft Time #315 Cornflakes, Game reviewing and Other Stuff

It has rained a bit lately

Feeling a bit uninspired with titles, so hopefully you'll forgive me for that, and as usual for the longer than liked time between posts. Those who follow me on Twitter (link to the right of the post) know what's been going on with the pain clinic. I'm afraid of you who didn't see the news will have to wait a bit longer. I am still recovering from being ill over the summer, it is a slow recovery, online groceries are a must and I am waiting to be well enough to go visit friends again.

I know it isn't fair, but at the moment all I can think about is Hurricane Dorian. I am praying for all those caught up in it, as I would any disaster I hear about, but it has me extremely worried because a dear friend lives on the West coast of Florida. Her house was wrecked by hurricane Michael, there have been months of delays and she was due to move back in after nearly 1 year in various hotels later this month, and then Dorian appeared. I am worried for her safety, for the inevitable memories from last year, and superficially I don't want her house to be wrecked again. 

I am aware of my slightly selfish prayers, but believe me natural disasters are completely different when you know someone who is likely to be affected by them. It is all I can think of. I am trying to stay distracted but I check updates at least every 2 hours, sometimes every hour, although at the moment I am not sure why I bother because Dorian is moving at one mile an hour so change won't be fast. It is terrifying watching Dorian grow from a cat 3 to a mega strong cat 5 hurricane (cat 5 is the highest, although personally they should now make a cat 6 on the hurricane scale).

My dream house would have a gorgous swing like this!

I don't currently have the emotional capacity to talk you through the disaster of a hospital appointment. Let's just say for now it didn't go at all well and I am concerned about my future pain relief. Although I really am trying not to think about it because there are so many directions the situation could go, unfortunately just like Dorian which needs to start shifting north ASAP. My body hates stress and it means I have to try and rest more so I don't get sick.

Dorian has taught me a few things though: that storms have various speeds they pass by places - 1 mile an hour is super slow, which means the Bahamas are enduring Dorian for far longer than initially expected. 

I've learnt that scientists (albeit slightly nutty ones mean in the nicest of ways) take planes and through through hurricanes into the centre to gather vital scientific data which helps predict where the hurricane will go. I have to point out that weather prediction even in the modern world is still unpredictable and I do think the flap of a butterfly wing could change it's course, that's how fickle it is. I had the honour to speak on Twitter with an ex air force mechanic who explained about negative gravity: it is complex but the simple version is when winds are so strong planes look as if they are flying backwards. Yup, crazy. 

Time for some good news: there is enough doom and gloom in the world that I don't want to put you off reading my blog posts. Again this has been said on Twitter  - I really do post daily there because it is easier than a full blog post. I am officially a reviewer for the website Cubed3! It is a video game and anime review site who approached me the other week and asked if I would like to review for them. I checked them out and then said yes! I am currently playing my first review title, which is enjoyable although I am only playing when I have enough brain power to concentrate as I will need to pay more attention than normal because I am reviewing it. 

The review will still have my style, albeit a little more professional and without random anime/other gaming thoughts. Writing for a professional site is quite different to writing for my blog, but everyone on the team is super supportive and eager to show me the ropes. I expect it will take a frew reviews for me to find my feet, but I am thrilled to have been asked to join the team, and can't wait to share yet more fun games with you all. 

Those of you who still remember this post's title are probably wondering what cornflakes have to do with anything. I eat them for breakfast! Okay and this is a non-review because I feel something has to be said. I am enjoying Sainsbury's basic cornflakes which are 55p for an extremely large bag. They taste so yummy! 55p guys, it is a mega bargain. 

My point for mentioning this at all is that well, as some reviewers have pointed out, when you open the bag there is a musty smell which honestly is yucky. However, I generally do not sniff my cereal, and it doesn't taste as it smells at all. That's the point I wanted to make. 

I hope everyone has some happiness today at the start of a new week, despite the major life hurdles we all face. 

Credit to Princess Sassy Pants and Co.

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #23 I am getting better!

Artist unknown

Head on over to my other blog, Nayu's Reading Corner to find out how I am doing!

Apologies, new posts coming soon

love this cute fanart someone did for the browser Firefox which I use!

I'm sorry for the break in posts - I am still not well, and been busy trying to recover. It's going to be a slow process, I do now have some iron tablets which may or may not help me improve faster. Thank you for bearing with me, I hope to post in a few days. My body is throwing the biggest trantrum ever. Yay. I am resting as much as I can, and hope to improve soon.

Nayu's Craft Time #314 Summer snacks!

Seems appropriate in the current heatwave

So I am kind of still ill, not really shaking whatever I'm fending off. I'm giving it a few more weeks then will get my blood tested, just to be sure it is nothing that can be fixed with medicine. I have been gaming as usual, I've read quite a lot too. I've also embarked on an online adventure! It probably isn't all that exciting in reality, but being able to order groceries with a few clicks of a button is pretty magical in my view. My first order the other week was super easy. Realistically shopping will make me a lot worse at the moment, so I am saving my energy and using Sainsbury's online. I do make sure I hit the £40 for lower delivery costs, and it lasts me about 2 weeks. Something weird happened when making this order. 

I put my food in the virtual trolley, went downstairs to check with my family if they needed anything, and when I came up my £1 delivery slot had changed to...

...50p! Yes, you read it correction. My delivery cost for this order had reduced to fifty pence!!!!! Didn't realise it could go that low. I have asked Sainsbury's why the price dropped out of pure curiosity. Will definitely try to get that price again in the future! I've opted for a midweek delivery, in the afternoon. I have some treats which I can chat about here. 

Tasty! They are as single fingers, not 9 lots of 2 fingers

First up is the white chocolate Twix! Someone on Twitter said they'd eaten it, and it happened to be one of the few tweets I'd read so I knew I had to hunt it down. Originally brought at Morrisons, my family bought it from Sainsbury's. It is very tasty, and I agree with the person on Twitter it isn't as sweet. After having a few I can say I prefer the standard milk chocolate, but the white is nice for a change. I have family in Australia who adore Twix so some will be heading down under soon.as we get some. There were none in the Sainsbury's store when my family went back for me, so I've ordered some in my delivery. 

The second delight that I've ordered on line is a new fruit cordial by Robinson's: crushed lime and mint flavour. It is divine! Absolutely love the combination, and my family used soda water (which I hate on it's own) but tasted yummy altogether. There are quite a few other flavours: Pear & Elderflower, Raspberry, Rhubarb & Orange Blossom and Strawberry, Cucumber & Mint. I smelled the strawberry one but it's not for me. I would be interested in the others, but they aren't super cheap and I would hate to end up with a bottle of something I don't like, so I probably won't be trying them. It's nice to have something new for summer though! I generally just drink water (with lots of ice, super cold water tastes so goood!) but this will be a tasty treat. 

I'd love to know if you've tried any of these treats! Time for me to go rest some more (aka gaming). 

No idea who put this together, found it on my laptop picture files from online

Nayu's Craft Time #313 Hazy June

& germs really love me!

I'm posting! Given it's a short one but it's still a proper post!!! I am finally on the mend from being rather unwell most of this month, with  relapse last week (clever me). I've mostly been gaming, with reading and watching stuff thrown in the mix too. Most of the time I couldn't have told you what the date was - last week I thought it was later in the month than it was. Being extremely careful in what I do so I don't relapse again, hence the extreme shortness of this post. I just wanted to say I am doing much better than I was, and will have more substantial posts up soon. I am active on Twitter most days if you want more frequent updates. 

This will make you think!

Recovering from being unwell

My cactus no longer has flowers but it is still spikey and beautiful!

Hey, so I've been unwell most of this month and only just starting to recover - yay! Please bear with me, I will try to post in a few days. Not been ill for a solid 10 days in a row before so the recovery time will be longer. Got some fun things to share with you though! 

These guys always make me smile!!!

In recovery

 Just to say currently getting over being very unwell at the weekend. Please bear with me a little longer (fevers take it out of me an insane amount).

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #22 Thriller Review The Heart Keeper by Alex Dahl

 Life's been life (yay, living with chronic illness is so much fun) so I've mostly been gaming an awful lot (I tweet about it too), doing a jigsaw puzzle and some crochet. Hope to get a 'proper' post in a few days, for now you can check out the review I did of a great thriller on Nayu's Reading Corner.