Nayu's Craft Time #237 A season of illness hopefully over

I've been quiet the last few months as I kept getting ill, more than usual. It was very annoying and I still have an ongoing situation I can't talk about that affects everything too. I haven't done much craft, I'm slowly doing a little more although on a few project I can't show in public for a long time, but I am doing some craft which helps distract me. I'm gaming a fair bit too! Needed to take life slower than normal but truly hoping I'm over the worst for now. 

I recently got a Hobby Craft kit for a guinea pig, which is super cute and very appropriate since I have two, Tulip and Snow. This one looks more like Tulilp, and with a plastic needle was definitely for a younger age group but was fun to make over a few hours. The stuffing puffed up so much from the vacuum packed bag. The felt was easy to work with and I'm hoping to maybe create one for Snow one day. The back was just plain orange (for some reason the photo file was huge, no idea why so not including it). The front orange stripes were meant to be black but that looked too much like their droppings (and therefore odd) so I switched it to orange and almost ran out of orange thread as a result but had just enough to finish up. It's so cute! Hope you've all had a healther autumn/winter season than me.

Nayu's Project Progress #42 Gorjuss Winter Friend

 

Previous progress

It's been a long week and a bit of me still recovering from the cold that started 2 weekends ago. I haven't fully got rid of it, i cough throughout the day and I can tell the germs haven't left yet. So I am resting lots, mostly gaming but I have done some cross stitch and the polar bear now has an outline! 

 

It's coming along nicely and is going to look so cute when it's finished.

 

The weather is sunnier than it has been for a long time which is a mood lifter. Lately my rose bush has begun to bloom and i love opening my back door as I instantly smell the traditional rose scent which is just lovely and makes me smile. It's the little things which can make quite a difference. 

Nayu's Craft Tme #235 Medical Mayhem

 

Mikuru from Aikatsu! anime

Feeling sleepy today(nothing new)  so not quite in the mood to take pics of my latest craft projects so I will do that in the next post but wanted to do a little catch up. 

The other week I had a routine hospital appointment for my contact lenses. Upon arrival I was a bit a anxious as the waiting area for the covid screening was busy and almost everyone in front of me was given a pager to wait. Thankfully I wasn't. I was instructed to go to the purple waiting area. Usually it's the green area, so I double checked in green and yes they were full so it was purple. Off I went to the pretty coloured chairs in purple. I waited a while, nothing new there. My phone rang, I felt bad I had turned it off but it turned out that was a good thing: the caller was the hospital reception asking where I was as they were searching everyone for me. I had become a missing person!!! 

Madoka from Aikatsu looking horrified

It turns out there were two purple waiting areas in that section of the hospital. How stupid!!! I apologised, and all was fine they were just relieved I was ok as the doctor knows I'm super reliable and don't usually wander off without letting someone know. If i'm directed to a different coloured section I will double check I'm in the correct. 

Mizuki collapsed in Aikatsu 

 

 

The second medical drama was far less pleasant and partly my fault. I'm not naming the provider who I get my medication from, but the short version is due to the app not having an automated system to catch double orders I was without my opiate medication for almost a week. It was extremely unpleasant and I felt awful. I thought the situation was sorted, until the Saturday I got a message and of course it was a bank holiday weekend so I had to wait until the Tuesday to sort it out. I thankfully had a few tablets spare so simply halved them as half was better than nothing, although a quarter of my usual dose made an unpleasant few days. I have been recovering from that drama, medication arrived safely, and life is back to what counts as normal for me. Going to be playing a lot of the new Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom once it releases tomorrow but plan another post next week with craft updates so be sure to tune in then! 

Sora from Aikatsu

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #31 Getting there slowly

Tiffany, Sakura's friend from Cardcaptor Sakura (French ver)

Head over to my other blog to find out where I've been the past few months. I am doing a lot of  craft, will have some posts soon!

Nayu's Craft Time #234 October 2022 Update

 

It's been how long????? (Madoka surprised in the anime Aikatsu!)

Massive apologies as I thought I had posted sooner than April this year. Life is happening, albeit it slowly. I mostly chat on my Twitter feed. I will be back here with craft posts hopefully soon. There's life stuff ongong that I can't talk about which does affect my daily life a lot. I hope one day I can talk about it, and it's why I'm sporadic with blog posts. While technically I am anonymous here I could say what's going on but I feel until the issue is resolved (no clue when that will be) I don't mention it online.

However, I do have some upcoming posts I hope to share soon. I have started a new weekly (if the next issues turn up soon) crochet project, it's a Disney Crochet magazine with weekly magazines providing yarn and pattern for squares in a crochet blanket. I also finished a cross stitch project of an old fashioned looking girl (think sepia tones) and started a cute hamster which reminds me of a guinea pigs.

My girls Tulip and Snow are doing wonderfully. We survived the heatwaves this summer much better than I expected. My flat stays relatively cool, I only used my fan twice to keep the temp down. I did wrap ice blocks in fleece and pop them in the cage but they mostly ignored them. Snow kept having haircuts since she is long-fur, she looked rather funny at times! My two zebra finch males, Tomoya and Hibiki are both doing great too.

I am gaming as much as ever, trying to read more, and relaxing as much as possible.

Unfortunately due to the Queen dying, my intended ketamine infusion on 19th September couldn't happen. My next one is in a few weeks, it is much needed now and dealing with extra pain is not fun but I'm managing.

Hopefully the next update will be really soon! Take care until then. 

Nayu's Craft Time #323 Explained Absence

 

Mimi Citron from the French version of Strawberry Shortcake series

Hello! Part of my not new year resolutions is to blog a bit more. I realise we are halfway through February and this is the 2nd post of the year - sorry for that. Life was a little busy, but then recently I haven't been well. A mix of it being winter, and, sadly, me needing my next ketamine infusion. It was due on 7th February, then for reasons I do know but am not explaining here it got rescheduled to 11th March, and as of Friday pushed back to March 21st. The rescheduling is for an understandable reason, I am just thankful the clinic is fitting me in vaguely soon as if I'd waited for my usual consultant clinic I'd be waiting until at least May. 

I'm not looking forward to a whole month and bit before getting that important pain relief, as the wait after a few months makes matters worse and me feel rubbish. I can't do anything though, I have gone through a similar wait last year so I know can survive. Just might be quieter than planned. 

Not today, but soon I will post as I have some fun craft things I'm making and stuff will be happening in my garden too! I'm loving living in my own little flat ^u^ 

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #29 Book reviews & other things

 

Morning! It's an overcast Thursday as I type this but you are reading it on Friday. The above lettuce is home grown on my window sill! Full growing image at the end of this post.

Here is a catch up with the latest book reviews on my other blog, Nayu's Reading Corner. In just a few weeks hopefully I can say more of what's been going on in my life. Last week I was meant to have ketamine but unfortunately that didn't happen as my heart rate was too high to give it safely. Probably anxiety about life stuff, as well as the usual travel to London during covid anxiety. It's so frustrating as I really need the relief ketamine gives me, but I understand why for safety reasons they have to stick with the limits as most people don't have a naturally fast heart rate. Going to be a very long wait until mid november but hopefully I can get through it sane. Will be trying a few things to try help calm my anxiety including speaking with my local doctor to see if medication can be an option for me.

I'm slowly catching up with book reviews - what's going on in my life has affected production a little but I'm trying to get back into a good routine with them. So here's the latest batch! 

A sort of zombie invasion happened How I Saved the World In A Week by Polly Ho-Yen and George Ermos (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10E)

Shark fest happens in Swim, Shark, Swim! by Dom Conlon and Anastasia Izlesou (Children's, Picture book, 9/10E)

 

 The world isn't always as scary as it seems, or is it? Lily Takes A Walk by Satoshi Kitamura (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)

 

A book about Spring and all it entails One Hundred and One Daffodils by Malachy Doyle and Denise Hughes (Children's, 5 years +, 10E/10E)

 

That's it for this week, hopefully there may be more next week! Until then have a good one! I was the idiot who planted all the seeds which resulted in a lot of lettuce in the small pots so I had to transplant them. I'm only not transplanting the current batch because I am scared I will stress the plants out, so I will eat this batch and then grow some more.

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #28 Time to catch up!

 

A windmill (no idea where or who took the photo) because I like them!

Well life has ticked along for me, I know I haven't been regular in updating but hopefully I'll be more frequent in posting. I know it's been a while because Blogger has changed how some elements of my blog are posted, which is a bit weird and will take time getting used to but doesn't affect anything I post. 

Time to catch up with links to recent reviews and posts on my other blog Nayu's Reading Corner! These are in order that they appeared, not sure if it will be forward or backwards yet. 

Mizuki from Aikatsu!

Some major news that explains a big stress I've had over the past 18 months is looked at here.  

 

 

A guest blog post from an author about their book: Guest Blog Post: Children of the Periapt: Escape from Elmsmere by Cimone O'Byrne (Children's, 9 years +)

 

 

A blog tour stop where I review a fun and interesting new novel Blog Tour: Listen, Layla by Yasmin Abdel-Magied (Children's, 9 years +, 10/10E)

 

 A very cute picture book gets reviewed Blow, Wind Blow! by Dom Conlon and Anastasia Izlesou (Children's, Picture book, 10/10E)

 

 

A review for a sweet and uplifting tiny book that everyone needs in their life Little Bunny's Book of Thoughts by Steve Smallman (Poetry, non-fiction, 10E/10E)

 

 

Finally a book about a sibling's viewpoint of gaining a sibling with health issues Perfect by Nicola Davies and Cathy Fisher (Children's, Picture book, 10/10E)

 

That's for now, hopefully I will have more catch up posts for you next week :) 

Akari from the anime Aria

 

 

 

Nayu's Craft Time #320 Let's keep hibernating!

Credit to whoever took this photo online. The clock is gorgeously pretty!

Despite the deceptively sunny days and the changing clocks at the weekend, my body still feels it is winter due to the temperature so I am cosily hibernating away. Staying in due to a certain pandemic isn't too different for me, as I am mostly home and have plenty of hobbies to stay busy. Once the temperature starts increasing more reliably (it is the minimum temperature which I have to pay attention to) I will blog a bit more with what craft projects I have on the go. I can be found on Twitter daily @Nayuleska

I pray you are all staying as safe as you can, staying home where you can and only going out when you absolutely have to. The world is crazy but we will get through it. I expect it to be like this for a while. Take care and let's hope April is a bit kinder to the world than March has been.

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 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 #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