No place like home!

Thanks to 21st century medicine and all your wonderful thought and prayers I am home safe and in pretty good nick! I have some new best friends, namely my crutches, a raised toilet seat , shower chair(with handles - deluxe model!!) and my favourite, the long handled picker upper grabby thingy! I am currently supporting 29 staples in my right thigh which I will lose on Monday! My new enemies are few but boy do they pack a punch -a daily blood thinner injection into my tummy with a sting like no other! I have new found respect for my son and others like him who have to endure needle stabs of one type or another every single day of their life. I have also discovered a new form of torture -  being made to lay on your back for 8 hours plus and not be allowed to move. Combine this with a cat sat on the upper chest or bladder and I would happily divulge name , rank and number!
My dear Mum is here being a star and the husband and children are adapting to me moving a lot slower than usual!
So, so far so good. Now I just have to be patient and wait for things to heal - at least another 4 weeks with no weight on my leg - chance to catch up with Bones series 1, a stack of books and try crack Angry Birds on my I pod!

A sense of normality

Despite the fact that I am facing a 3 hour hip operation first thing Monday morning life has to go on! The washing hasn't quite mastered the art of sorting itself and climbing into the washing machine and no matter how many times I open the fridge door it hasn't restocked it's self! Blood sugar still has to be checked and to ease the pressure somewhat we have been blessed with a week of almost perfect numbers! Thank you!
So no time to dwell on what may be even though I took 5 minutes to 'put my affairs in order' - not long really to put all the necessary stuff on a bit of paper! I feel I am in very good hands with the surgeon, whom I met on Thursday  and who patiently answered all my probing questions - well a physiotherapist/patient needs to know all those things!
I have even put my felting skills to use and made myself a bag - a ' help I have no hands free, walking on crutches and  have shed loads of stuff I need to carry' bag.  Felting update on the Aliens - now safely in their new home, Crewcuts, 50 Hudson Street, New York - if you are in the area please go say Hi for me!
So here goes the next step, albeit on crutches and with a tin hip!.............................

Lapland

Time to catch up with our trip North!
New years eve sees us not wildly partying but playing musical bunk beds on the overnight train! The children are not impressed at having to share a bunk bed but decide that the one in the heavens actually makes a good den! Midnight finds us all fast asleep somewhere in the middle of Finland.

We are jolted awake as we arrive at Kolari station and despite the fact that it is well past 9am it is dark. Olli goes to fetch the car which has travelled with us.

The scenery is amazing, due to the fact that the light is so low and everything is coated in snow. It gives everything a monochromatic look. We also spotted reindeer roaming around, digging in the snow for food! 

On Sunday we headed for the Snow Village, which is built every year from snow and ice. It is basically a hotel, with rooms made out of snow, like igloos and beds and chairs carved out of ice. It is beautifully lit and there is even a small chapel!

We opted for supper in the ice restaurant - amazing. Ice table and chairs, food on wooden plates that don't cool as quick. You need to eat with your coat and hat on and you don't dawdle over your meal either.

Monday saw us hit the slopes, the children into ski school, Olli up to the top in the gondola and I, due to dodgy hip, wandering around taking photos and drinking coffee! How did Diabetes manage with all this? Well we were prepared for lows, big time,especially with  90 minutes ski school for 3 days. But no, high, high and higher! We made sure his pump was well insulated, tucked in pants, long johns, ski trousers and no dangling tubes - no frozen insulin thank you. We didn't quite anticipate the pounding the quick set plaster would take on his bottom due to wipeouts! We have now discovered that quick sets and also the CGM sensors do not like skiing and sledging that involves bouncing on one's bottom!!

Tuesday night promised to be a clear night so I set off at 9.30 pm on a mission. I have always wanted to see the Northern lights and here was my chance. I really didn't know what I was looking for but headed off up the hill,found a lay-by and parked the car. Armed with hot juice and camera I waded into thigh deep snow to find a good look out spot. The sky was so clear and there were thousands of stars. I sat in a little snow hole I had made  and waited. The sky changed and suddenly there appeared to be a cloud in the sky.  I took a photo and only when I looked at the screen realised the cloud was green! I had found them! I spent the next 30 minutes mesmerised and pretty chilly, not daring to move too much due to said dodgy hip and the fact that I was sitting on a slope and couldn't see the bottom! What an experience - the photos say it all....

The days were short, dark by 3pm and also cold, minus 25 degrees Celsius on the Wednesday but that did not deter us from enjoying a fun week. Friday saw us head home on the overnight train, mobile pharmacy in tow! Helsinki beckoned at just after 6 in the morning.  The cars were promptly offloaded and we were home by 7 - a fascinating trip in many ways, to be recommended!

Gordon's Alive!

Thank you Brian and may I introduce Gordon!

 Standing 2 feet/62 cms tall and weighing in at 328 grams/13½ ounces! Go Gordon!

Dodgy hip update

Well it is official I do have a dodgy hip - Chondrosarcoma to be precise. It means I have to have surgery to rmove it and they will put in a metal implant to replace the bit they remove. It is a bit like having a hip replacement - I am going bionic!
It is a relief to have a diagnosis and now I have almost ready for anything that is thrown at me! Having 3 monster aliens to make has been a welcome distraction and I was cheered up no end this morning by the arrival of 1.5 kilos of bright green wool. Now I can finish Gordon and send him on his merry way.
Knowing my friends in cyber space(and not just the green wooly ones!) are looking out for me is a huge comfort - just look out for the bionic woman hopping your way!

 My little guys are featured in Cuteable too! Go Aliens!

Alien invasion in New York

I would never have thought 10 years ago that I would be married with 2 children, living in Finland and making Aliens for a living. But I am! Now my guys are off to New York - I have an order for 13 Aliens, 10 of your average little green guys plus three who are a bit bigger, 1foot (30 cms), 11/2 feet(45 cms) and 2 feet (60 cms)to be precise! They will be residing in a new children's clothing store - Crewcuts, part of the J Crew store group -  in New York - how exciting is that.
Off to do a lot more needling as I have now had my coffee break!

Don't put your 'son' on the stage Mrs Worthington!

With thanks to Noel Coward and my son!
Also available on You tube!