Wednesday 21 September 2016

Snakes and Ladders


Life this last month has been like that childhood board game, where reaching the goal depends entirely on the throw of the dice. Landing on ladders didn't help because there were too many snakes to send us right back down again. A few 'miss a go' squares would have been welcome to give us some breathing space, but time rushed by so fast it was more like 'advance three squares' when we really weren't ready for it.




Our goal in this case was a return to Mallorca, where we went for some much-needed R&R back in May. At the time of booking we were busy but life was uneventful. Then one of our clients hit a problem and Harry was drafted in as troubleshooter. That was all very well but it meant he was working all hours because he couldn't abandon the jobs he was already running. My own plans went pear-shaped when I took my mother for an ultrasound scan for a minor problem that mushroomed into something more serious, requiring four more hospital visits in a little over a week. Two days before the start of our holiday, she was admitted for a procedure under general anaesthetic and was terrified she wouldn't wake up again. We were there for a gruelling nine and a half hours. I'm taking her for an MRI scan tomorrow, with a follow-up next week. I hope that will be the end of it, for her sake. She is nearly ninety and the anxiety of not knowing the outcome is overshadowing her life.

Spending so much time with my poor mum meant that I was way behind with my work and had an important deadline hanging over me. I hadn't had time even to think about packing and didn't know how I was going to get everything done. To add to the pressure, we had a booking at an event in London the night before our departure, made long before the holiday was mooted. I could have done without it but Harry insisted we go. Somehow, we got it all together but I was still fretting when we were getting ready to leave for the airport. Harry said there was just one thing left to do and pointed upstairs. I protested we didn't have time for that, we were running late. He said he only needed five minutes, and what a difference those five minutes made.

There was one bright spot amidst the chaos that I was determined not to miss. Ella and Sam were coming to town all the way from the USA and she had invited a group of bloggers to lunch in a London pub. I was so excited to  be meeting Ella, Ami, Ronnie and Del Fonte and to catch up with Jan again. As you will know from Jan and Sunny, Ella was feeling poorly but she was a real trouper and kept the party going. We talked nineteen to the dozen into late afternoon, exchanging gifts after the other diners had thinned out a bit. Anyone watching would probably have thought we were a group of cooks.

I managed to do some catching up on readings blogs whilst we were away, though I must confess I was mostly a lurker. Hopefully, life will return to uneventful again over the next couple of weeks and I shall have time to keep up with you all again. In the meantime, I'm sure you'll be glad to know that my itchy-palmed husband is taking good care of me.



Rosie

25 comments:

  1. When I read what some of us are doing I feel my life is very dull and slow and ordinary - and I'm thrilled about that!! What a sweet, observant husband you have to think of you in the chaos and take the time to take care of you. I envy you getting to meet the bloggers too. I hope live hits a relaxing point for you soon.

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    1. Life here is usually uneventful and I am hoping it will return to that state very soon! I never imagined meeting any bloggers so to meet a whole group was amazing. They are a great bunch of women and I hope we will get together again.
      Rosie xx

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  2. Hope life is slowing down a bit, Rosie...happy and envious that you got to visit with everyone. Sending lots of healing energy for your mom.

    Hugs and blessings...Cat

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    1. Life is still hectic but there is a chink of light at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to write an update on my mum at the end of the comments, rather than respond individually. Thank you for the healing energy.
      Rosie xx

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  3. How nice meeting some of our blogging friends. Hope life gives you a break soon....hubby does know how to keep you focused..
    hugs abby

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    1. The afternoon at the pub just rushed away. I don't think there was a single moment of silence the whole time we were there.
      Harry certainly keeps me on my toes, it's amazing how our dynamic keeps growing.
      Rosie xx

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  4. I'm so glad you were able to meet and talk while exchanging cooking tools! ;)
    I'm sorry your mom has had challenges. It's so hard when our parents are going through medical troubles. Hope she improves and stays healthy!
    Glad your guy is loving you the way you need!

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    1. I needed to get a bigger utensil jar to contain the cooking tools I received. :) These days, I don't always want what Harry thinks I need but there's no denying it works!
      Rosie xx

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  5. Rosie sorry to hear your mum is poorly, hope she is on the mend. Sending positive healing vibes her way.
    That would have been so good catching up with all the other bloggers and exchanging gifts. Would have looked funny to anyone around.
    Hope life settles down for you again but sounds like Harry is taking care of business and keeping you nice and rosy. LOL!

    Hugs Lindy

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    1. We waited until most of the other diners had left before unwrapping our gifts. Jan stopped me just in time from unfurling the spanky towel. I think that might have given the other customers a clue that we weren't sharing cookery hints!
      Rosie xx

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  6. Hi Rosie, glad you are back, hope mum is picking up now, bless her. I hope Ella is okay now, I haven't heard anything yet :(
    love Jan, xx

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    1. Mallorca was great, I wish we could have stayed longer. I hope Ella is okay now too, must check up on her.
      Rosie xx

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  7. Hope your mum is feeling better.
    Is was lovely meeting you and everyone else, and one of those cooking utensils has been used, but not in the kitchen :)
    hugs
    DF

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    1. It was a great afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and the other spanky ladies. Thank you for the book. I took it on holiday but haven't had chance to finish it yet. Glad to hear one of those utensils has been used for a non-culinary purpose.
      Rosie xx

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  8. Rosie, so sorry to read about your mum. Hope she is getting better.
    Hope you find time to catch your breath but happy to hear hubby is taking good care of you.

    It was lovely to meet you.

    Love,
    Ronnie
    xx

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    1. It was great to meet you too, Ronnie. It was amazing how well we all got on. I was glad to see on your blog that you had a good holiday. I don't know about you but I could do with another one already!
      Rosie xx

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  9. Rosie,
    I had the biggest smile on my face when I saw your post in my blogger feed. Isn't it amazing when life gets hectic and our men know what to do to calm us down! A few minutes "upstairs" is all it takes. I do hope your mother is doing better and the work schedule is better. I owe you a long email and one will come your way soon. Glad you had a wonderful getaway.
    Meredith

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    1. It's certainly amazing how Harry knows, it's hard to believe how far he has come from the dedicated spank-no he used to be! I look forward to receiving your email but I know you are busy too.
      Rosie xx

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  10. Glad you are being well cared for. Hope things with your mother is all good news.

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    1. Thanks Leigh, Harry is looking after me very well. I'm writing an update on my mother in a comment below.
      Rosie xx

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  11. Update on my mother:

    Many thanks to all for the good wishes for my mum. Unfortunately, when I went to collect her to take her to the hospital for the MRI scan, she had worked herself into such a state that she had made herself physically ill. I was expecting her to be in a bit of a tizzy, so I allowed plenty of time to calm her down but she was way beyond that, even after taking anxiety meds. I had to cancel the appointment and rearrange it for a week later. The hard part was getting the follow-up appointment re-arranged, an appointment in a consultant's clinic can take months. Her condition is urgent so she was squeezed in for next week somehow. I know she is terrified that she may have cancer and that is driving all logical thought from her mind. Harry has volunteered to help me get her to her appointments, he is really good with her and she takes more notice of him than she does of me. I hope to have good news at the end of next week.
    Rosie xx

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  12. I so hope your mother is going to receive good news. I am sending lots of prayers and positive thoughts your way.

    I loved reading about the 'five minutes upstairs'. Amazing how it helps the tension. Snigger.

    It was so great to meet up and I do hope we will be able to do so again in the not too distant future.

    Hugs
    Ami

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    1. That five minutes was certainly memorable!
      As the new blogger on the block, I was thrilled to be included in the London lunch. It was so good to meet you all after reading your blogs for so long. Yes, let's do it again before too long.
      Rosie xx

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  13. Sweet Rosie,
    I know this note is very tardy, but I wanted you to know how wonderful it was to meet all of you. There are not that many good memories from that trip, but meeting you was one of them.

    Hope your mum is doing better.

    Hugs Across the Pond,
    Ella

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    1. Ella, we were all so pleased to meet you and sorry that you were ill. I hope you'll come back another time.

      Glad we had those hugs on the same side of the Pond.

      Rosie xx

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