December 1st seems to come around faster and faster each year! I usually like give the house a good clean and put my decorations up on the 1st but for the last few weeks I've been so busy trying to get the decorating done on the hall that It didn't happen yesterday, well except for giving the bedroom a deep clean and putting the Christmas bedding on, the rest will have to be done over the coming week.
The papering and painting in the hall has been taking up a lot of time and my hip and butt cheek, (sorry to be frank, lol) are still giving me some gyp, some days I've been in so much pain I've been close to tears. I thought my visits to the chiropractor were doing some good, but now I feel like I'm wasting my money, I've tried heat, cold, various rubbing ointments and pain killers but nothing is getting rid of it. We have a physiotherapist at our doctors and I've got an appointment for this coming Thursday, hopefully they will be able to shed some light on what's causing the pain and suggest some exercises, I've been like this for over two months now so I'll try anything! Sciatica was dismissed but doctor google suggests that it could be just that, apparently the pain/ burning sensation does not necessarily extend down the leg. Fingers crossed I get some relief soon because I'm like a bear with a sore head most of the time and not very good company.
Anyway, enough moaning. There have been a couple of outings recently to cheer me up, It was our monthly Birmingham Stitchers meet up a couple of weeks ago, it was the Saturday that storm Bert hit so the day was very dark, wet and windy.
Outside the Library of Birmingham opposite the cafe where we meet they have a pop up ice rink and a ferris wheel, there were some braving the weather to ride the wheel and the two other rides, I was just happy to watch them while I waited for my bus home.
The cafe was once a bank, built in 1933 it was the headquarters of the Birmingham Municipal Bank, a savings bank which was created by Lorn Neville Chamberlain for the workers of the city. The bank closed in 1998 and the building was vacant until it was purchased by the University of Birmingham in 2017 with the aim of repurposing the space for both the University and community. The Exchange opened in 2021 and in addition to the cafe there is event space, meeting rooms and outdoor courtyard and roof terrace.
It's a lovely open space with plenty of light, perfect for stitching.
I took Margaret Mary along with me again and did get a good bit of stitching done this time.
I did hope that I might be able to get a finish on this by the end of the year, and If I just concentrated on this one thing I could probably do it, but December is a busy month so I'm being realistic and saying that It will most likely be the end of January, and that's ok.
After the disappointment of my Bristol Christmas Market trip a few weeks ago we had an outing to Worcester Christmas Market, It's been about six years since we visited last and remembering how busy it was on the weekend that time we decided to go on Thursday with daughter's no's. 1 and 3. We had a wonderful day out, the things on offer were good quality, there was also a craft market in both the Town Hall and the Cathedral, both with amazing sellers. It was the first day of the market and although there were still a lot of people around we were still able to see what the stalls were offering without all the pushing and shoving, and we enjoyed a lovely pub lunch too.
The stairs and landing carpet was fitted yesterday, thank goodness, I was fed up having to try and avoid treading on the gripper rods! Also the last of the two radiators were replaced. The radiator guy didn't finish until gone five and by the time I'd cleaned up the mess (such a mess!) it was late so I had an early night. I put my Christmas tree up while the carpet fitter was here but no decorations yet, just the lights. I'll get it trimmed in the next couple of days.
I wanted to try and post a bit more leading up to Christmas so I'll hopefully be back in a few days and share some of the things I've been working on.
-X-
10 comments:
I love your Christmas bedding, very festive. I find it hard to get anything done in the house while there's decorating happening, all the detrius seems to spill over into other rooms, especially if it's the hall that's being decorated, so it's hard to keep anywhere clean. You'll be glad you've got the carpet down and you can get back to normal before Christmas. There's so many Christmas markets and craft markets, some are definitely better than others. Nice to have a day out with your daughters. We got our tree and decorations up on Sunday, though we'd been out earlier in the day and then spent a bit of time at both Daniel and Eleanor's houses so it was quite late by the time we'd finished.
It certainly sounds like sciatica. I suffered with something similar myself, and the only thing that offered me any relief was some gentle yoga.
I'm glad your second visit to the Christmas markets was more successful. These events can get incredibly busy.
We've not yet put up the big tree, but I brought the little tree indoors now, it's going in the dining room this year. Xx
Lovely to see your winter Christmas. We didn’t go to Birmingham or Worcester on our trip but I am decidedly envious of the Christmas Markets. Of course we have them here in New Zealand but in temperatures in the high 20°C it isn’t quite the same atmosphere. And currently the sun sets at around 9:30pm where I live!
So pleased your visit to Worcester Christmas Market went well.
Take care with your back, hope it will not prevent you from enjoying your December days.
All the best Jan
I have bedding envy! Could your hip pain be bursitis I have that and its a burning pain.
After seeing all the bedding that bloggers are putting on their beds for Christmas I am thinking that I just might need to find some of my own during the sales after Christmas... Or perhaps make my own.
God bless.
I've never done a crafting retreat, I have done a few crafting holidays, where whilst the men play golf there are loads of new crafts to try. You always enjoy them so much, shame about Bert throwing so much at you.
Oh, your Christmas bedding is such fun, Maggie! I'm not sure I could sleep--I'd be too busy looking at each pretty building! So glad the Worcester Christmas Market was more enjoyable than the precious one. Everything looks so festive and pretty. Having work done around the house is hard any time of year, but especially before Christmas. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to have all the workmen gone. I've been sick for the past 10 days and haven't even gotten my tree up let alone decorated :(
As for your pain... check into Piriformis Syndrome (Google it). It sounds a lot like the symptoms I had when I had this a few years ago--very, very painful, but there are exercises you can do to help it go away. Hope it feels better soon! ♥
Yes I love the Christmas bedding to
I am way behind , to many outings for us but we are enjoying it .
I am only doing a small amount of decor this year, for Christmas ,
We are out most of the time , but home for Christmas dinner , and my daughter is coming , so looking forward to it. And a rest the day after . Have fun hugs June.
What a lovely blog post. Your bedding is way cute!!! Love it.
I would love a coffee shop like the one you went to. One of our local-ish Starbucks is in a 1700s building. It was a roadhouse (tavern), a bank, and now Starbucks. The safe is still in the front entry area. LOL
As for your pain ..........sciatica doesn't always go down the leg. Sometimes it is just a big pain in the arse. I know. Been there, done that. PT did not help mine, but I found that naproxen sodium (Aleve here in the states) helps a lot. Hope yours gets solved soon so you can enjoy your Christmas decorating.
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