Spa Day with Gemma

On the 9th of September I went to Yorkshire Spa Retreat with my friend Gemma. We had both seen this advertised and liked the idea of it, especially because it has a wild swimming pond, and we had booked to go way back in April or something. Gemma works in Kyiv but she comes home every six weeks or so. So we had booked it for one of her breaks. But then just the day before we got an email saying that the hot tub was broken. We decided that this was one of the big draws for the place, so we postponed the trip. We booked again for the 9th of September and made plans just before. Gemma had hired a car so offered to pick me up, and we made a booking for afternoon tea in Helmsley after the spa. Gemma arrived at mine at about 9.45 and we set off to North Yorkshire!

Lee and I had gone past the sign for the Yorkshire Spa Retreat when we went to the Verbena Spa in Helmsley in June, so I was expecting to go that way, but Gemma's sat nav took us a different way which had us drive through the Castle Howard grounds, which were beautiful. We arrived at the retreat at bang on 11.30, which was when our booking started. The retreat has the spa and then all lodges around it, that you can stay in, and it's in a really tranquil setting. We walked through to the spa and were briefly shown round before being shown the changing rooms to get changed. They were gender neutral and our lockers had our names on, with a robe, flip flops, and a water bottle inside. There were four changing cubicles, each with a shower in. Four didn't really seem like enough but we didn't have to wait or anything. I got changed and was pleased to find that the robe actually fitted me!

We headed outside and found two loungers together in the sunshine. They were lovely curved loungers and I would love one of them for home, to be honest! We sat chatting and soaked up some sun. There were QR codes on each coffee table where you could order food and drinks, so we ordered some nibbles and drinks. And now here's the first problem. I ordered all of it, for both of us, to say thank you to Gemma for driving us. I didn't put anything in the special instructions for the drinks, so when it all came, Gemma's drink wasn't exactly what she wanted. She said so, and the staff member really should have said 'Oh, not a problem, I'll just redo it'. Instead she had a proper attitude with us and said 'You should have written thaton the order!'. I said 'Oh that's my fault because I didn't know, I'm sorry' and she carried on having an attitude and even when she brought the drink back she was STILL on it. Gemma stood her ground and called out the attitude but it was a bit of a dampener on the situation. 

We ate and drank and then got into the wild pool. This is the main draw of this spa but believe me when I say it is COLD. It was nineteen degrees which isn't many at all! Gemma went in first and sat on the edge which divides the swimming area from the truly wild area, and I followed her. The sun was shining so our top halves were warm but our bottom halves were NOT. We tried to acclimatise but it was too cold for me. We decided to brave it and walk to the other steps. The bottom of the pool is pretty slippery as it has lots of algae on it (which I get, because it's wild) so I basically skated to the other steps and got out. If you like wild swimming this could be much more up your street but it was a bit too cold for me. 

We got out and went straight into the hot tub, which felt SO warm after the cold pool. It has seats and also loungers in it, so we stayed in there a good long while. Gemma then went into a couple of the hot rooms but I stayed in the hot tub a bit longer. Eventually I went into the steam room, which was malfunctioning a bit, and into the saunas, which weren't too hot for me. It was nice to keep wandering about between the rooms. 

Eventually Gemma and I met up again and sat in the sunshine for a little bit longer. By this time it was 2.30 so our spa time was over, so we went back into the changing rooms. I had a shower and got dressed and we headed out to go into Helmsley. 

Before I get to that I would say that the spa isn't really worth the money. Quite apart from the staff attitude, there just isn't a lot to do and you don't get very long there without spending a fortune. The wild pool was lovely and I'm glad I got to try it but I found it just too cold - colder than the sea I've been in recently - and the other stuff didn't make up for it. It was a bit generic? And the attitude of the staff member really didn't help. I could complain but I really can't be bothered. 

Anyway! We went, we tried, we had a nice day. Then we went into Helmsley to go to the Faversham Arms. As a reminder, this is where Lee and I went to the spa on our anniversary in June, and it's a gorgeous spa and we really enjoyed it. I said to Gemma we'll have to go there one time. We booked the afternoon tea and got there about 3.30. We were taken into a room by the pool which was empty except for us, which didn't bother us too much. The afternoon tea was lovely! 

I had ordered vegetarian sandwiches for me so I got four curried egg ones and two cheese and pickle ones, which were lovely. Then there were cheese scones too, and then fruit scones with clotted cream and jam. Then there was a massive selection of cakes, which we couldn't eat so we ended up bringing most of them home! I had decaf coffee in a lovely cafetiere. We finished eating about 4.30 so paid and set off home. Traffic actually wasn't too bad; Gemma dropped me off in Wakefield and then Lee came to pick me up! It was a good day together

First of all I was really happy because the robe fitted me fully, and was nice and cosy too

Here's Gemma and I as we walked through the spa area. There were a few people there but not loads - I think they keep numbers down so it feels exclusive

Here's the nibbles and drinks we ordered; if we had known this was possible we may not have booked the afternoon tea, but no matter

The wild pond as we walked round

It is beautiful

Here you can see the mark between the swimming bit and the proper wild bit

This is the relaxation room where Gemma spent some time but I didn't, but it was very tranquil and had cosy beds and blankets

The hot tub and you can just see the amazing loungers

Next here's the pretty china in the Faversham Arms 

The afternoon tea - how does it fill you up so much?!

And my sandwiches

And finally here's my oufit, taken in the mirror in the bathroom. This yellow skirt has been in storage all year so I am really glad to see it again!

Lou and Si's Wedding

On the 6th of September Lee and I went to Lincolnshire for the wedding of our friends Lou and Si. It was a huge honour and privilege to be invited to celebrate with them and we've been looking forward to it for ages!

We set off about 10am and picked Bettie and Jen up at Meadowhall shortly after. I drove us all to the venue, which was Stockwith Mill on the other side of Lincoln. We stopped for coffee and lunch, and got to the venue just before 1pm. Si was already there, looking gorgeous in his suit, so we said hello and then went into the venue to get a drink. The venue used to be a mill, obviously, and the bar was in a barn and it was very cute. It had a terrace behind it under cover, so we took our drinks out there. After a bit the wedding coordinator came out to tell us to walk up to the ceremony area. It was in the middle of a field and SO cute, there was a wooden pergola kind of thing and then a few benches. We took our seats and more people arrived - not tons of us, though, it was an intimate wedding which was lovely!

Lou arrived not long after, preceded by her three bridesmaids in different shades of green, and walked down the aisle by her parents, which was lovely. Her dress was so gorgeous, she had bought it second hand off Vinted. I really loved her dried wildflower posey, too. 

The ceremony was gorgeous - the celebrant had clearly listened to both of them very much because it was so personalised to them and so detailed. Then their vows to each other were just absolutely gorgeous, really personal and lovely. Bettie and I were both blubbing! 

We were encouraged to take photos when the ceremony was done, and then there were lots of photos before we all headed back down to the mill itself where there was a drink reception in the courtyard. We spoke to Lou and Si and Lou's mum, who we've met before at zine fests, and got introduced to Lou's brother, which was nice. There were tons of photos and we sat on the grass chatting and stuff, it was a good time! 

The food was at 4pm so we all went into a room in the barn which had been set up for us. The food was afternoon tea, which is a really lovely idea and was so nice. For vegetarians there was pulled mushroom wraps, a different wrap, fake sausage rolls, and spring rolls. For Lee there was chicken wraps but then also red meat or pork, neither of which he eats. Lou and Si didn't know so it's not their fault, but the caterer kindly brought out some other vegetarian stuff for him which was really nice. Then there was a scone each, a donut, a brownie, and something else. It was all so yummy! 

There were speeches which were all lovely, especially Si's brother Carl's, which was tear jerking. Then we moved outside and got drinks and pretty soon the disco was set up and evening guests arrived. Lou and Si cut the cake - which was vegan, and gorgeous - and then we danced a bit and chatted and stuff. Around 8pm the same caterers did loaded fries - either chicken and salt and pepper chips or bacon and cheese, with vegan equivalents! So Lee and I shared some of those which was nice. 

We set off back about 9.30 because it was quite a way, and after dropping Bettie and Jen off again we managed to be home in bed before midnight! I do love a wedding though and I'm so glad we were able to go to this one

Lee and I before the ceremony, my lipstick did not QUITE match his hair but it was close! 

Me and Jen

And me and Bettie

Just married! 

So cute

Lou's gorgeous bouquet, I love the idea that you can save it forever

Lou in her gorgeous dress, I loved it and her make up and hair too

The venue and its stream

Looking up towards the waterwheel which sadly doesn't turn anymore

Afternoon tea

During speechese

The cake! Such a gorgeous colour

First dance

Ladz on the dance floor

A spicy margarita that had like a LOT of salt on it 

And finally the lights leading between the car park and venue

My Mammogram

So as you know from previous posts, my mum had breats cancer at the beginning of the year. This was her second time around; her first time was when I was just a baby, forty years ago. At that time, she had a lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. This time around, she had a full mastectomy but didn't need to have any further treatment. They took lymph nodes from her armpit and found them to be clear. They also tested her for the BRCA1 gene, which would of course have implications for me and her sister, but she doesn't have the gene. But because of her history, they consider me to be at moderate risk of breast cancer, and because of that, I am entitled to have mammograms as I'm over the age of forty. 

I had to see my GP to get the referral, but the appointment came through very quickly. I also spoke to one of the breast cancer nurses, who said that they would like me to take tamoxifen for five years as a preventative. There are pros and cons to this medicine, and the information I was sent from the hospital was incredibly clear and included a decision tree to help me make up my mind. This did include changing my anti depressant because Prozac interferes with tamoxifen apparently. As I'm writing this I'm still waiting to start my new anti depressant, and feeling pretty rotten after coming off Prozac, but I think it will be the best for me. Tamoxifen apparently has a whole host of side effects which mirror menopause, so that will be fun. I still think it's worth it because of my cancer risk. 

As a side note, my mum hasn't been that well after her mastectomy. She got a seroma which is where the body keeps filling up with fluid, and she kept having to go back to the hospital to get it drained. The consultant kept doing other things to help healing, and eventually she just had like two blisters which needed to heal. These FINALLY healed at the end of August. As I'm writing this she still has to go back to the hospital to be discharged and to see the prosthetic person so she can get that fitted. As cancer goes, she's had it not that bad. But it's still been terrible and stressful. 

I'm still waiting for the results of my mammogram but I thought I would write about the experience. Lee wasn't at home on the day and the parking at Barnsley hospital is terrible so a friend took me and my mum picked me up. I was waiting longer for my mum than I was for the mammogram, which was great! I was familiar with the part of the hospital, too, because it's really close to the gynaecology unit, where I've been a lot and where I actually was only a couple of weeks before my mammogram. I went down, checked in, changed my address with the hospital, and sat down. My name and the names of two other people were called, and we followed a nurse into another waiting area. That's where I took this photo. One of the other people went into a room, and I was then called in. I actually went through this door on the left - which was weird because I thought it was just a cubicle, but behind two doors was a whole other room, where the mammogram machine was. 

The medical person (radiographer?) told me to undress my top half, so I did, taking off my dress and my bra, and leaving myself with just my leggings on. I have big boobs, which I've heard is actually better for mammograms. The radiographer positioned first my right boob, and then more the nipple, and then the left breast, and the nipple. I had to sort of lean my bum out so that my boob was flat on the plate, and then there was a squashy thing that came down which wasn't pleasant but wasn't very painful either. In all, the procedure took maybe five minutes tops and very soon I was putting my clothes back on and getting out!

In all I want to say, it isn't THAT unpleasant. It didn't hurt and it didn't leave me in any pain. It's worth the five minutes of mild discomfort to screen for cancer instead of letting it grow. As a reminder, my mum's second cancer was found on her routine mammogram last November. The tumour was THREE millimetres long, barely the length of a grain of rice, and it was quickly found and treated. Way back in 1984, her tumour was 7-8 cm long, which is SO big in comparison. 

Have your mammograms, and if you have a family history of breast cancer, press for screening too!

Moving Story Part 2

So last I left off, we had moved into our new house and brought the cats home. I am pleased to report that they actually seem to be getting on better. Maybe it's because there's more room. Maybe it's because currently all rooms are neutral? Maybe they're still working out which territory belongs to whom. I don't know, but I'm glad about it. 

We also slept well in the new house, except for the fact that the bedroom curtains are really thin so the sun came flooding through early in the morning. We will get some blinds but haven't yet, so I've been sleeping with an eye mask on. Oh well! 

We got up and I had a shower in my new en suite bathroom, which has a step in shower which I'm very excited about. I was finding it increasingly difficult to climb over the side of the bath in the old house to get into the shower, so I'm really glad I don't have to. Lee has been using the shower almost daily, too, because we've been moving about a lot unpacking things. Anyway, after showers we headed off to Tesco. 

Penistone has a decently sized Tesco but it also isn't huge, it's perfect for me. It has a decent vegetarian section too. We needed a few bits for the house that we hadn't thought about, like loo brushes and a holder for the shower. We also wanted to get gifts for my mum, stepdad, and uncle for helping us so much. Oh and for the friends who looked after the cats! We were able to get everything and it was really useful. We got back and my mum and co were already there - my mum is thrilled to have a key of her own for the new house, haha. Anyway, we got to work on unpacking things. Lee and Neil had some stuff to mend and my mum and I got to my clothes which I was so excited to see! 

We stopped for lunch about 12.30, and then my friend Gillian turned up with her girls. Lee had got a chocolate cake for his birthday so we all had a slice of that and a cuppa, and then I showed Gillian and the girls round the house. Gillian helped me unpack a couple of boxes in the bedroom which was lovely of her. Then back in the kitchen diner she said did we think we could get to the bottom of the boxes that were piled on the dining table? That way Lee and I could sit there to eat tea that night! So we all worked hard on that and we did manage to get to the bottom of the boxes! Lee and I really don't like the tiles that are in the hallway, kitchen, diner, and both bathrooms (we think they look like a holiday villa in Tenerife - which is fine in Tenerife but maybe not in your actual house..) so we decided to put a rug that had been in the attic room under the dining table. It makes it a lot more cosy in there! 

When everyone left Lee and I did eat tea there - just fake bacon and eggs - and sat at the table before going upstairs to the living room (which we actually really like!). Lee unpacked the records into the big Kallax. That also used to be in the attic room but it's much better in the living room especially as it fits so many records on it!

On Saturday morning Lee's mam Bev and stepdad Gary came down to see us. They wanted to see the house of course and also wanted to help. Bev brought a huge chocolate cake and a quiche and some vegan sausage rolls for us for lunch which was really nice of her. They loved the house which I'm glad about. Gary started building a bookcase in what I am certain I'm going to call the library. Bev and I worked on my clothes a bit more (there's a lot of clothes!). We came across my wedding parasol which I still really love, I ought to use it one day. We put up a lot of hooks and pictures and such things, it was really good! I am grateful for so much family help! 

When Bev and Gary left late afternoon Lee and I went off to Ikea. We needed a bigger unit for the TV and some more shelving. Now we both really dislike Ikea, but I have to say at like 6pm on a Saturday it wasn't too bad. We walked round the entire thing and had some tea in the cafe. Then we had to play jenga to get everything in the car (our current car is not as big as the previous one) but we eventually managed it, even if I was very squashed into the back! When we got home we loaded things into the house and then Lee started building the TV unit. 

By this time we had our bedroom and the living room looking pretty good so that's really good, that plus the kitchen meant that we could move around where we needed to and could take other things more slowly. We had done a lot to say we had only been in it about 60 hours!

My mum on Friday morning getting herself into the cupboard under the stairs, which is where we are keeping coats and shoes and stuff

Later, Gillian and co in the cupboard on the top landing which is now full of things we don't use often

We had bought this mat for the new house just before we moved when we went to Meadowhall, I absolutely love it. Those are the offending tiles you can see, too

The garden - it's not huge but definitely big enough for us, I like it a lot

The dining area late on on Friday when we had managed to get it sorted and set up - doesn't it look lovely?

I got this sofa for free on Facebook a week or so before we moved - all it cost was a man with a van to bring it down to our old house. I really wanted a sofa in the kitchen and thought this would just put us on for a while, but it's actually really comfy and really good quality so it'll probably stay for a while. I brightened it up with a blanket I made though because I don't love the grey. Lee's mam brought us a couple of grey cushions down too to put on it though which is good

The huge chocolate cake she brought us

The plan eventually is to build a catio where the cats can be outside, but in the meantime I don't trust Katniss and Kiki to not try to escape, but I know Poppy won't, so she's been allowed into the garden with supervision. She likes to eat grass

My beautiful wedding parasol - we added the burgundy ribbon because that was one of our colours. The parasol itself came from Venice when we visited there in 2004

The living room when Bev and Gary had finished helping us. We plan on cat proofing the Juliet balcony too so that we can have the doors open, but that's a future project. It is a really warm house though, which will be great in the winter but is less helpful in the summer

Tidy, but this is where we've put the new TV unit and a shelving unit 

Lee's stepdad put these up on the wall, they were on the staircase in our old house too

These gorgeous wardrobes are all filled with my clothes, yep

Bedroom all tidy. We don't hate the green wallpaper so that's staying for now

The removal men had left a drawer unit here which meant that we had to roll across the bed to get to the bathroom, so I was pleased to get that sorted

Here I am hot and sweaty from Ikea and displeased to be squashed in!

Sooo..... We Moved!

We moved house! Some people in my life knew this but I had kept it quite on the downlow because I just didn't feel like a zillion questions to start off, and then it turned into quite a nightmare and remained pretty much a nightmare from start to finish, although the move itself went swimmingly. It felt a lot like tempting fate to mention it online, so I just hadn't. We had packed a lot of our stuff into boxes earlier in the year and put them in a lock up, meaning I haven't had access to most of my clothes all year. Maybe you've been thinking I've been wearing the same shit over and over again - well, that's why! I am so sick of my lilac floral Scarlett and Jo skirt - I think it'll be a while before I wear that again.

Anyway, to tell you the story. Lee got made redundant in January and his payout was good, so he said we should use it to move. So we put a bunch of things in storage to get ready to put ours on the market, and started looking around. We saw a few houses we liked, but not really enough. Then we saw this house and we LOVED it. But they wouldn't accept our offer until we had sold ours. Ours went on the market in te middle of February and sold immediately, which was brilliant. We had our offer accepted on this house, and everything was unfolding fine. The vendors of our house were buying a new build, and it wasn't yet built, so we knew it would be the summer before we could move. That was all fine, good things are worth waiting for, et cetera. It was all happening, just slowly. But then in May our buyer pulled out. It was incredibly annoying. 

Our old house went back on the market and there was interest but not enough, so we were just stuck. We thought we might lose out on our new house, which we were upset about, but then things happened and it turned out we could make it happen. So we forged ahead. In July we were told that our vendors' new house would be ready mid August. There were a few weeks of uncertainty but then we had a date of the 21st of August. Which just happens to be Lee's birthday! My mum wondered if it was sensible to move then, and we could have put it off, but we had been waiting so long that we decided to just go for it. Lee didn't mind spending his birthday moving, so it was good timing. I did tell him it was a very extravagant present and he won't be getting a new house next year!

In the week of moving itself, we hadn't quite done all of the packing, so on Tuesday afternoon my mum and Norman came to help. We got a lot done, which was good. On Wednesday my uncle came to help as well as my mum and stepdad. Lee had to work in the morning so the rest of us got stuff in the attic done. He had the afternoon off so he and my uncle went to the tip and did some other stuff, and the rest of us got loads done. My mum really helped, it was great of her. 

We had finished at about 5.30, ready to move. Exciting! My mum and Norman and Neil went home for a bit to get changed, and then we met them at one of the curry houses in our old village for food and to celebrate Lee's birthday. The food was lovely and we enjoyed it, I'm glad we went. Lee liked his birthday presents - records and some second hand Converse and some chocolate from me. We went to bed very excited for the next day!

Thursday dawned. We had arranged to take the cats to our friends' house. They have a sun room that can be separated off from the rest of the house, so it was ideal for our cats for the day. We loaded them all into the car and then there was a bit of a nightmare to get to their house thanks to roadworks, but we eventually got all three cats dropped off and we got back to the house. My mum and Norman and Neil were already there, sorting things out. The removal men arrived not long after that. They were three of the nicest, most hard working, unflappable lads I've ever met. They were so good all day, we would recommend them wholeheartedly. My mum went out to the deli to pick up toasted teacakes for us all. 

Time moved on, as it does. We were waiting on phone calls from the estate agents and solicitors. We sat in the living room about 12.30 eating sandwiches that my mother had made, right before the removal men put the sofa on the truck. As we had a lock up too, we needed the removals to go there too, so Lee went off with them and the rest of us left the old house. I came to Penistone to pick up our new keys. We've moved to Penistone and if you don't know it, it's a lovely little market town, we are so happy to live here! Just as I was picking up the keys we were told the vendor had left, so I could come straight here! My mum and Norman and Neil turned up too, so I got to let them in and show them around.

My mum would have come to see the house on our second viewing, but it was just after her mastectomy and she wasn't able to travel, so she hadn't seen it. It is a spacious house, it is all painted cream with some green, so it's a bit boring, but it's fine. All the carpets are cream too. But it's liveable. My mum loves it, so that's good!

Lee and the removal trucks arrived not long after us so we started unloading. There was stuff everywhere. We all had a few things in our cars too - things too precious to go on the trucks, like Lee's guitars and my dolls house. It had been so long since we saw the house that I was worried we wouldn't like it, but fortunately we both did still! We love it. 

We got a lot done; the removal men left about 5.30pm. We ordered pizza for the five of us, and ate that in the kitchen diner, which was piled high with boxes. My mum and Norman and Neil left about 7.30 I'm guessing, and Lee and I went to pick the cats up. We got them home and brought them up to our bedroom and shut them in. They all started exploring, climbing up all the boxes, and were fine. After about an hour Poppy and Kiki got bored and wanted to see the rest of the house, so we let them out. And they've been fine! They all seem to really like it and are getting on really well, which is great. 

This is already a realllly long post, so let me just share my first lot of photos:

All our stuff loaded on the truck at our old house

Keys in my hand at the estate agents'! It would have been nice for Lee and I to go together but the timing just didn't work, and in the scheme of things he didn't care. I felt a bit bad though!

The estate agent gave us this gift basket, which was lovely

About halfway through unloading

Here we are outside our new front door - which we had forgotten had stained glass! The garage is on the right, at the front of the house. It's three storey - at the back of the ground floor is the kitchen diner. On the middle floor are the living room, a bathroom, and a room that will be a spare bedroom and is Lee's office too. Him needing an office is one of the main reasons to move! Then on the top floor are two bedrooms, and our bedroom with an ensuite. We love the layout but I get it wouldn't work for everyone