Word of the week - Birthday

I turned 54 on Thursday.

Although I was in work, I had a really good day, thoroughly spoilt by family and friends. A BBQ for dinner and camping in South Wales this weekend.

It was a hard day without Stephanie, every day is.

I baked a carrot cake for my work colleagues and I shared the treats I would normally have had with Stephanie, with my students.

The flowers I've received are beautiful. The last time we had this many flowers was when Stephanie died, but these are bright, colourful and happy flowers. 

Peter and I don't tend to buy much for one another on the actual day of our birthdays, but we do buy things together that we know the other wants. So I had a leather satchel using some money from my mum and a pair of sandals and new running shoes (I don't run, but they're perfect for a dodgy achilles) 

I've enough bubbles till Christmas, I love receiving toiletries, I know many people don't, plus plenty of candles and there are lots of things to add to the garden, including this gorgeous pot from my DIL. There are also some cute signs to add to the garden.

I've got a new book and some gorgeous writing paper to keep me busy also.

Post Comment Love - 26th - 29th June 2020

Happy Birthday to me.....my last year before I turn 50, however seeing as this virus has messed up so many plans for people this year, I've decided birthdays in lockdown don't count. We had planned to go on a cruise for my 50th, but we've cancelled plans to do that, instead I will be celebrating my 50th at a friends wedding that they've rescheduled from last week to next year, however they have to find a new venue as the one they were planning on is not reopening their doors.

It's getting easier for me to return to Dubai and for my husband to visit me here, but we're not prepared to risk a 7 hour flight, no matter how much we miss one another.

I've been seeing more of my friends and family who live near by, all garden visits, things are feeling a bit more normal, not the old normal, but a new one, which we all seem to be enjoying and making the most of. Not sure what we'll do when the winter weather comes, I'll have to invest in a gazebo and a patio heater, I've even been looking at purchasing a couple of fishing tents.

I visited our eldest son, his wife and grandchild yesterday, at 10 months old they're not really aware on how much they're missing out on with family. But last week, Thing 3 had to ask who I was when he saw me after my niece told him someone was at the door for him. I've linked up to #pocolo this week with Forgetting Aunty Suzanne.


Stephanie and I would love to know what you've been up to this week.

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One Daily Positive - Week 41 Birthday, DIY and being tourists

We've had a busy week together with family and friends and have started talking more about planning our return to the UK in the next 2-3 years. Mixed feelings after turning down the opportunity to move back to South Africa, due to the contract not being as peter would've liked, but it has provided more opportunity for me to travel there over the next few years until we relocate and who knows what will happen next.

One of our plans is for me to pick up short term contract work, purchase a camper van and travel Europe, however until this Brexit stuff calms down we have no idea how that will pan out. We change plans constantly, now 2 of the children are married and we have 1 grandchild, things could change for us anyway, so all planning is just that.

I'm certainly a lot happier when I'm in the UK, because I have friends and family around me and get out and about, however, the reality is we acknowledge we're still a bit of a novelty with living so far away and things will be very different when we return, especially as we won't be living in this area.

279 Sunday Pub lunch with a few friends, the 2's and child 5 for Peter's birthday. Peter took child 5 back to the Cotswolds and the 2's came back to the flat for some Granny/Granddaughter time. We watched crap TV and stuffed our faces with snacks.

280 Monday Harvest Festival for the Things. I snook in the back of the church, late. Did random shopping, finished photo frames from the wedding and our granddaughter, went for a walk late afternoon and a pub stop. Peter spent the day working. Emails and phone calls and fitting a heated towel rail.

In Dubai we have lots of space and do no DIY. The weather is also perfect for drying clothes. We ended up at the laundrette with the bedding and towels and tripped over one another as Peter needed space to work in. Today helped us decide what type of house we would like when we return to the UK.

281 Tuesday Meeting with Child 1's care home, to address a few issues such as staff turnover, then an appointment with HSBC in Gloucester, as Premier customers in the UK, Dubai and Offshore we actually expected better treatment than we get from them, such as when we ask to make an appointment for when we're in the UK, we should be able to do so, they keep fobbing us off with expensive phone calls saying each issue is the other sides responsibility. Visited Child 1 in the afternoon for a walk, tea and cake.

Child 2 has been my step son since 2000, but we view ourselves as a family of 7. Him and 2a had a baby girl 3 weeks ago. We have no baby photos of him or any little outfits etc to pass on to his children. The best I could do was to pass on this outfit as modelled by child 3 in 1992 and a little blanket an aunt knitted.

282 Wednesday Up early to Bath to visit MIL then onto St Albans to stay with Chrissie @mediocre_mum my twitter partner in crime from 2009. Peter treated me to a pair of Doc Martins.

283 Thursday Caught the train into London as tourists, Obligatory visit to and Harrods of course, lovely pub lunch, lots of walking and visited Trafalgar Square to witness the Extinction Rebellion. It was very calm and peaceful, although we witnessed a lot of arrests.

284 Friday Coffee and a stroll round St Albans then collected 4 and 4a from Heathrow after their honeymoon. After dropping them at my mums, they showered and changed and we met them for dinner in the local pub.

285 Saturday Off to the 2's for them to meet their niece, apart from child 1 (which needs an awful lot of planning) they've all met 2b now. Dropped 4 and 4a at Birmingham for their flight to Belfast and home.

Photo to follow.

Nothing on the blog again this week.

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One Daily Positive - Week 13

One day I might write a whole weekly blog post that doesn't involve sand, blood tests, scans or dental surgery, who knows when, but it's not this week for sure.

Think it's time to get new tenants and agent, since the last agent left the company, things have run as smoothly. We found the building regulations sign off sheet after the loft conversion in 2004, to prove we had fire doors and an adequate escape route. When the tenants moved in in 2017 they removed the automatic door closers that form part of the regulation requirements, we had them put them back on, but they keep asking to have them removed which would mean replacing all doors with fire doors and now mysteriously 2 of the bedroom doors slammed shut in the wind the other week and need replacing

Also I had a new boiler installed last March and it's due a service, they've rearranged the appointment 3 times now and it will invalidate my warranty if it's not carried out soon, the agents failed to inform us the service wasn't carried out on Monday as arranged.

We had tenants from hell in 2012 and a rental agent who was scared of the tenants. Our current agents keep coming down on the tenants side, even telling me the tenants are conscientious and have always taken great pride in the properties. All I've ever had is complaints about the quality of repair work that some how is always at our expense and is arranged by the agents not us.

Alarm bells are ringing and it's time for a change, before we get into another mess that we've only just financially recovered from.

83 Sunday Swept through the downstairs and mopped after de shedding the cat and dog, then off to the gynaecologist to see if irregular bleeding is the cause of my anaemia or something more sinister. My stomach doesn't absorb iron or B12 and my levels can only be maintained by infusions and injections, I've never been anaemic when my iron levels were low. Spent the afternoon in bed, I'm so tired all the time and having cognitive difficulties processing what I'm thinking, saying and doing.

One minute it's raining then blowing a sand storm, then too hot. Guess I'll spend a lot of summer dreaming of the cold.

84 Monday Dental surgery bone grafts and implants for two teeth. 4 hours in the dental chair and £3,600 lighter in my wallet. I have a mouth full of stitches. This is phase 2 of 5. Phase 3 is next week, 2 hours and one implant and bone graft in my lower jaw. Slept most of the afternoon and didn't sleep much at night. Had some rice and fish for dinner.

85 Tuesday woke early and felt absolutely fine, face swollen but no pain other than irritation with the stitches. Dentist phoned to see how I was, I was at the dog park drinking coffee, he was surprised I was out and about and was eating and drinking as normal. Had a sleep in the afternoon after doing the ironing and sewing the lining of my winter coat, then Peter came home early and we went out for coffee, had dinner, watched TV and bed.

Meet Bob, Boris, Harvey, Jade and Geoff. Some of the regulars.

86 Wednesday Peter was at a meeting all day then out for dinner with clients, so I dropped him at the hotel and I headed off to the beach for a walk, a paddle and coffee, breakfast and blogging. I forgot my purse, it was raining so I returned home, made soup and dog biscuits and watched TV. I popped out for coffee, collected Peter and had an early night while Peter went out with colleagues.

The face of dental surgery, bruised, swollen and lopsided.

87 Thursday Woke to torrential rain again, roads flooded. Dog wanted to go out then come straight back in he's not used to this rain anymore. Took myself off to the local mall for coffee, blogging and pick up a few bits and pieces. Finally it stopped raining so Bob and I went out for the afternoon.

88 Friday Took Bob for a long walk, we stopped for coffee on route and then spent the rest of the morning watching TV back in bed. Got ready around midday and headed off to Brunch, spent the evening recovering on the sofa. The stitches in my gums are really aggravating me now and making the gum sore.

89 Saturday A lovely lie in, followed by a dog walk, weather is getting quite humid and these day time walks will end soon. Watched movies all day and persuaded Peter to pop out for a McDonald's  for the cat's birthday party.

On the blog this week:

After 16 years of owning teenagers, the last one turns 20 next month. I did however stop day to day parenting almost 7 years ago, when the almost 20 year went to boarding school. So empty nest is well and truly over

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One Daily Positive - Week 7. More dentists and a migraine

WTF are the neighbours doing at home every afternoon? The bounce, bounce, bounce for almost an hour everyday is the 8 year old playing football indoors before his parents return from work, lord knows what the maid is doing and I do wish whoever it was that plays the bannister rails would stop also.

I'm not sure they realise how noisy they are, they apologise and shut up when I complain, but that's only ever after 11pm and before 6am and mostly involves the dog barking.

Peter has agreed with me, no neighbours when we next move, even if it isolates us or costs us more.

41 Sunday Dentists at 8am and driving across the city is stressful, crown prepared, more moulds taken and plate adjusted. Head was hurting before I left home, had booked pedi and manicure and hair cut. Dropped some things at a friends and straight home to bed with a migraine.

42 Monday Migraine kept me awake from 3am, spent the entire day in my pj's, in bed, in the bath, on the sofa, slept, watched TV, ate.

43 Tuesday Off to the dog park first thing, still not feeling right so a lazy afternoon, another dog walk and an early night.

44 Wednesday Took Bob out for a coffee, swept the sand off the balcony, watched TV, sorted craft stuff and paperwork.

45 Thursday Bob's 9th birthday. We had a McDonalds and cake.

46 Friday Brunch at Nara. 2 for 1 all you can eat and house drinks for a total of £30. We of course over did it and spent the afternoon and evening on the sofa binge watching The Grand Tour. The neighbours decided to make a noise until almost midnight, not impressed.

47 Sunday A lazy day, coffee out, watched TV, carried out a few jobs, hubby cooked dinner and we watched football in the afternoon. My hometown Newport kick off late here against Man City so a late night for us.

Can I please ask if you join in with the blog hop that please find the time to visit and comment on everyone who does the same for you, it's polite at the end of the day. I read and comment on every single post that links up, every single week, even if I'm on catch up. There's a few of you here who haven't been over to my posts yet.

I might not be a baby/mum blogger or even have a job, monetise my blog or be an influencer you need to follow, but I'm here, every week, taking part and have a wide range of life experiences to share.

On the blog this week:

I guess it's because the kids have left home and I'm stuck in limbo, but it's not helped with all the ill health, family deaths and losing my teeth over the past 18 months, but I'm starting to feel old.

Animal antics - Bob needs a bath and Pushkins has been exploring the balcony.

Creating a garden in the desert - my gardening in January has been all about rain and sweeping sand

An InLinkz Link-up

Can I visit the Burj Al Arab?

The Burj Al Arab is an iconic building in Dubai. It's a dream honeymoon location and if you can afford it, it is a place to visit when you're in Dubai.

Although if you do want to visit, don't expect just to walk up and have a peep inside. With the number of visitors in Dubai every year, it's just not doable and at between £1,200 and £5,200 per night, if you can afford to stay there, you really don't want to be tripping over hoards of tourists.

But fear not you can visit, you just need to have a reservation in one of the many restaurants, can book for sundowners and of course experience one of their afternoon teas. If you're resident in the UAE you can get a discount of £400 at certain times of the year on the smaller suites.

We visited in 2016 for my 45th birthday and Peter treated me to afternoon tea in the Sky View Bar. It costs £125 per person and an additional £20 for a window seat.

Visiting the Sky Bar means you can see the whole of the hotel (minus the Suites). It is beautifully decorated with giant fish tanks alongside the escalators in the entrance lobby, the food and service was wonderful.

It was a bit strange being in the Sky View Bar with people who had travelled from all around the world, celebrating engagements, wedding anniversaries and big birthdays, while we had a clear view of our house, along the beach only 5km away.

It was difficult to choose just 5 photos, but here you go.....enjoy.

Burj Al Arab at night.

Looking back to the entrance foyer.

 1st foor, lift straight ahead.

Looking up.

Sky View Bar.

I have a million and one other photo's of various rooms, decoration, the food and the views. I took advantage of taking as many photos as I could because at these prices it was probably the first and last time I visited.

Week 158 Bluewater Islands and Dubai Eye. Man made island a 210m high Big Wheel
Week 159 Dubai Marina - Reflections
Week 160 Dubai Frame. A window between the Old and New Dubai and a 150m high glass floor.

Week 161 Dubai Marina 3 years apart.

Week 162 Dubai Water Canal Bridge Construction and reconfiguration of roads

Week 163 New Metro Line for Expo 2020
Week 164 Hoover Dam 2002 - 2010
Week 165 Dubai Opera House What a difference a year makes
Week 166 Unfinished buildings. The Pentominium
Week 167 Mixing the old and the new. Coventry Catherdral
Week 168 New Dubai Metro Station 
Week 169 Dubai Mall and Burj Khalifa 
Week 170 After the Address fire 
Week 171 The Opus Building
Week 172 District Cooling. Keeping the desert cool.

Week 78 - My Sunday Photo. Inside the Burj Al Arab

It's my birthday today, I'm 45, I'm in work  and my husband is out this evening at a function. So on Friday he booked afternoon tea for two in the SkyView Bar at the Burj Al Arab. 

                       

After valet parking we entered the foyer and were directed towards the escalators to a reception area, the lift was called and we ascended to the 27th floor. I of course stopped along the route to take photos, before tucking into sandwiches and cakes until we were both stuffed and talking about our grandparents, from Newport and Stockport, 'if only they could see us now'

Charity Cup Cakes - Making a difference to lives in South Africa

How can a cup cake make a difference to a child's life in Africa?

Very easily. 

If you visit a child in a township or informal settlement in South Africa you'd be surprised that not only do the majority of children not know they have a surname, they can't tell you how old they are either?

Very few have ever had a birthday celebrated, let alone a cake or a party and gifts.

The Viva Foundation in The Alaskan Informal Settlement in Mamelodi are changing this by sponsoring every child who attends there Early Learning Centres to have a birthday, to feel special and to feel valued.

Here is one of many cakes I baked for a child's birthday.

This little girl was so excited to have a cake she dived into head first.

Over a two year period I baked over 3000 cupcakes, I handed them out over christmas, easter, at family days, to orphanages, random people on the streets. I've baked cup cakes for several families as a donation towards a child's funeral as requested. I turned up at nearly every facility I visited with cup cakes.

I received many donations from family for ingredients, or friends baked for me to help me out with larger events.

I designed individual cakes, made red velvet and chocolate cakes. I had help from the kids and hubby with loading the car and delivering.

So can I tempt you with a cup cake? or maybe a small donation for when I return to South Africa in October for 5 weeks to help out with collecting and distributing 10,000 christmas gifts to disadvantaged children in Pretoria. To work with Dignity Dreams to fundraise for sanitary pads to enable young girls to remain in education.

If you would like to donate please click here.