Daily Photos: Days #241 to #250

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248 247

246 245

244 243

242 241

250/365 Stack of Pressies – My birthday tomorrow and I’m a very lucky lady!
7 September 2011

249/365 Cinema Screen – Went to the Showcase cinema to see Harry Potter 7 part 2.
6 September 2011

248/365 One Good Turn – One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson.
5 September 2011

247/365 Laptop Telly – Another day of laptop and telly.
4 September 2011

246/365 Fingers – Burnt my finger on the iron putting transfers onto a hat. Only a little burn.
3 September 2011

245/365 Turnips – Growing turnips.
2 September 2011

244/365 Stupid Game – Newly addicted to another stupid game on Facebook.
1 September 2011

243/365 Waterproof Trousers – Bought waterproof trousers for my 10k wheelchair push/walk just in case.
31 August 2011

242/365 Funny Hubbie – I dared him to put the elastic band around his head and he did. At the time hilariously funny.
t 2011

241/365 The Debt Collector – The Debt Collector by Lynn Hightower.
29 August 2011

Daily Photos: Days #231 to #240

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238 237

236 235

234 233

232 231

240/365 Beetroots and Baby Turnips – Last of my beetroot crop and first of my turnips for roasting.
28 August 2011

239/365 The Silent Gondoliers – The Silent Gondoliers by William Goldman
27 August 2011

238/365 Barely There – An odd day. Real mix of emotions.
26 August 2011

237/365 The Visitor – The Visitor by Lee Child. Jack Reacher book #4
25 August 2011

236/365 Twycross Wristbands – Went out to the zoo with my husband and enjoyed spending time out together.
24 August 2011

235/365 Frida – Watched Frida again. Great film, very inspiring. This time made me very hungry for Mexican food!
23 August 2011

234/365 If I Did It – If I Did It by OJ Simpson
22 August 2011

233/365 Magic Pony Poo – My husband spreading horse manure to create my new vegetable plot using no dig method. The manure came through ebay from Magic the Pony.
21 August 2011

232/365 Reading – Had a good old reading session.
20 August 2011

231/365 Maud - Babysitting my 20 week old niece Maud with my husband while her folks both work. Lots of smiles, lots of contented playing and baby chattiness.
19 August 2011

Daily Photos: Days #221 to #230

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228 227

226 225

224 223

222 221

230/365 Pride – My brother lent me this DVD which I finally got around to watching. Kind of heartwarming, kind of cheesy.
18 August 2011

228/365 Someone To Watch Over Me – Someone to Watch Over Me by Judith McNaught
16 August 2011

227/365 Plums – Picked plums from the tree in our garden
15 August 2011

226/365 Telly Days – More telly as weariness continues.
14 August 0211

225/365 Telly – Rather weary so lots of telly.
13 August 2011

224/365 Morphing Dad – My dad has his first laptop and discovered his webcam software has a morphing mode which was the source of much hilarity.
12 August 2011

223/365 Last Minute – Nearly forgot to take a photo so here’s a last minute one!
11 August 2011

222/365 Odd Thomas – Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
10 August 2011

221/365 Rioting and Looting – Keeping an eye on things through social media. Eventually I relied on the Police outlets.
9 August 2011

Daily Photos: Days #211 to #220

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218 217

216 215

214 213

212 211

220/365 Push It Hat – Made a hat with donation information on it for 10k Push It challenge www.justgiving.com/push-it
8 August 2011

219/365 Where I Should Have Been – I should have been at a friend’s wedding but was too ill. Thanks M.E.
7 August 2011

218/365 Summer at Willow Lake – Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
6 August 2011

217/365 Maud – Bought Maud a new toy which is apparently good for chewing. Big thumbs up.
5 August 2011

216/365 Push It for ME – Working on the web site and promoting my 10k wheelchair walk on 11 Sep 2011 to raise money for ME Research. My friends and family will be pushing my wheelchair over a 10km route around Lichfield and walking some or all the way with me. There’s no way I could cover even a fraction of the distanceunder my own steam due to my illness and so this is a great way to raise some much needed funds for biomedical research.
www.justgiving.com/push-it
4 August 2011

215/365 Shredding Privet Hedge – A bit more chopping and shredding with my husband doing most of the work it must be said.  But made quite a dent on the hedge at the front. Now mulching the border for weed control.
3 August 2011

214/365 Orpheus Rising and Hunted – Orpheus Rising by Colin Bateman (brilliant) and Hunted by Emlyn Rees (awful).
2 August 2011

213/365 Health Centre Waiting – Waiting for a blood test at my doctors. This is the nurses corridor.
1 August 2011

212/365 5th Anniversary – Me and Mr Creative on our 5th wedding anniversary.
31 July 2011

211/365 Shredding – A shredding session in the front garden chopping back the unwieldy Buddleia. My husband did all the chopping and the shredding wasn’t too demanding as it was long sections to feed through.
30 July 2011

Daily Photos : Month of July 2011

1. 182/365 maud, 2. 183/365 veg harvest, 3. 184/365 scanner, 4. 185/365 only the bath tap will do, 5. 186/365 it will never be this clean again, 6. 187/365 old cat new trick, 7. 188/365 maud, 8. 189/365 potatoes, 9. 190/365 garden shredding, 10. 191/365 magnum ice cream, 11. 192/365 garden, 12. 193/365 kiss of death, 13. 194/365 reading, 14. 195/365 garden, 15. 196/365 cream tea, 16. 197/365 golf on telly, 17. 198/365 webbs shudder, 18. 199/365 dead like you, 19. 200/365 day 200, 20. 201/365 severance package, 21. 202/365 pot and canes, 22. 203/365 mauds long nap, 23. 204/365 magic pony poo, 24. 205/365 paul versus tree stump, 25. 206/365 drawing, 26. 207/365 milk glass moon, 27. 208/365 dad and isobel, 28. 209/365 more drawing, 29. 210/365 maud, 30. 211/365 shredding, 31. 212/365 5th anniversary

Daily Photos: Days #201 to #210

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208 207

206 205

204 203

202 201

210/365 Maud – My niece Maud taking in every detail (and checking out my shiney mobile phone). 4 months old.
29 July 2011

209/365 More Drawing – More drawing.
28 July 2011

208/365 Dad and Isobel – My dad and his partner Isobel trying to figure out a ringtone problem with Isobel’s mobile phone. All sorted now.
27 July 2011

207/365 Milk Glass Moon – Milk Glass Moon by Adriana Trigiani.
26 July 2011

206/365 Drawing – Got out my pen and did some drawing.
25 July 2011

205/365 Paul Versus Tree Stump – My husband tackling an old tree stump in the back garden.
24 July 2011

204/365 Magic Pony Poo – Collected Magic Pony Poo to create my vegetable patch. A car boot full of horse manure
23 July 2011

203/365 Mauds Long Nap – Maud has a long nap during my aunty visit. Sh’s 16 weeks old here.
22 July 2011

202/365 Pot and Canes – Repotted a squash outdoors – may be a little late though we’ll see how the weather goes into September.
21 July 2011

201/365 Severance Package – Severance Package by Duane Swiercynski.
20 July 2011

Push It 10k – We Did It!

We did it! I was pushed for 10k in my wheelchair by friends and family who walked part (or in my husband’s case all) of the 10k with me. We raised £701 (plus £105 giftaid) for ME Research UK.

It was a fantastic day and everyone was brilliant. Lots of chatting, lots of smiles, quite a bit of rain!

View Lichfield 10k Push it in a larger map

My husband Paul and friend Phil walked and pushed for the first 5k which we did in about 1hr 15mins. The we started laps of Stowe Pool and I’d say half a dozen or so walked each lap with me.

My neighbour Nick pushed me for the 1st lap in under 15 minutes he was going so fast! My dad’s partner Isobel pushed for the 2nd lap a short stretch shared between her, my dad and my neighbour Hazel taking a handle each of my wheelchair (ending in hitting the grass verge of course).

The 3rd lap my sister-in-law Kate pushed and the rain had gone.The 4th lap my big brother Simon pushed with a little help for a short stretch from my a couple of my neighbours kid’s – we had a conga line of kid A pushing kid B pushing Simon pushing me.

Paul walked the whole 10k. Phil walked the 5k plus a little of the last lap and covered a lot more ground taking photos which I was very grateful for. And my dad, Isobel, Simon, Kate (and Maud my baby neice in her pushchair), my mum, Hazel, Nick and 3 of their lovely kids all walked at least 2 laps each.

Everyone was chatting as we went round and it was a great atmosphere and a lovely group of people. We had a sharp rain shower at the very start, then sun. Then as the laps started for it poured down with rain and was very windy, but it dried up and everyone stayed the distance. We’ve raised £701 for ME Research (plus they’ll get another £105 in giftaid).

I was rather tired after we finished and had scheduled an easy week to recover. It was a great day and everyone seemed to enjoy it despite the wind and the rain. I’m so grateful to everyone who walked, pushed, sent messages of support and donated. I couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you.

http://www.justgiving.com/push-it

Push It – Sep 2011, a set on Flickr.

Update on 10k Wheelchair Push/Walk

An update – I got my picture in a local news blog about the 10k wheelchair push/walk I’m doing this Sunday with the help of nine friends and family in aid of ME Research.

 http://lichfieldlive.co.uk/2011/09/05/lichfield-woman-prepares-to-tackle-her-own-10k-wheelchair-challenge/

 The article explains more about the walk and why it’s an important cause to me.  For me research into this illness is the key to treatments, diagnostic testing and hopefully even a cure.

So far I’ve raised £526 (plus about another £75 in gift aid with some more donations to come) which has far exceeded what I’d hoped for http://www.justgiving.com/push-it

People have been so kind, generous and supportive. It’s spurring me on to tackle my first 10k with a smile on my face even though I can’t do it on my own two feet! Plus although it will be a challenge for me it’s my team who have to do most of the hard work.

Please keep your fingers crossed for good weather, or at least dry weather for Sunday!

Push It for ME Research – 11 Sep 2011

I’m asking for your help with Push It for ME Research.

Push It is a 10k fundraising wheelchair push/walk for ME Research on Sunday 11 Sep 2011 in Lichfield, Staffordshire, UK.

My condition means I can’t run a marathon or do a skydive to fundraise. So on Sunday 11th September 2011 a team of volunteers will push me in my wheelchair over a 1o km (6.2 miles)  route around Lichfield. Some will walk the full distance, others maybe just 1km (3/4 mile).

Sitting in the wheelchair while being pushed might not sound like hard work for me it’s actually going to be a huge effort on my part.  Due to ME/CFS I am mainly housebound and when I do go out it requires careful planning or my condition can be worsen very easily.

I’ll be documenting what happens and keeping you all informed through live updates via twitter and facebook

I hope you’ll join me on my adventure and help me raise money for ME/CFS research.

You can donate online or in the UK text “PUSH 50 £5″ to 70070 (you can choose any amount up to £10 per text donation).

More information about how to join me and route/schedule

Quick Twenty (Drawing)

Quick Twenty. I didn’t quite finish drawing this twenty pound note before I had to pay it to the cleaners so I’m missing some detail and I had to sort of guess at the colouring.

Drawn in ink, scanned and digitally coloured.