Flu, Christmas & Oxlea Woods

Hi,  I ended up with Flu so bad that I didn't get out of bed for 2 days and it sucked.  I went to work on the Wednesday and worked till 1pm and just had to go home, then I came in to work on the Thursday and by the afternoon I was a zombie.  I hadn't slept the night before, coughing and throwing up, absolutely no appetite for two days and by 3pm on Thursday I told my boss I was going home.  I went straight to bed and on Friday morning the Flu had hit hardest.  I rang my boss at 06:45 just barely speaking and spent the rest of the day in bed.  My son Ross was really good, he panicked when he woke up about 8.30am because he noticed I was still in bed and said 'Mum, your gonna be late for work' but I told him I was rough.  He then brought me up drinks through the day, tidied up and by 3:30pm I got up and came downstairs.  I spent an hour or two downstairs, no appetite and I couldn't even take Tammie out for her walk which I felt really bad for her.  I then went back upstairs because I had the terrible chills and stayed in my dressing gown and thick socks and went back to sleep.

Saturday morning came along and I felt so rough and was crying (I know so stupid of me) but I felt so miserable and low.  I wanted to see Frank because it was the first weekend neither of us were working and I couldn't go out.  I just didn't have any energy for anything.  I had the shakes because I had not eaten for almost 3 days now and tried a bit of toast but that started me coughing and the toast came back again.  I spent most of the day in my pj's and just could not focus on any of my crafts.  I had to get Frank's scarf finished and was hoping to pick it up on Sunday.  

Sunday came and went in a blur and I did go back to work on the Monday.  I honestly needed a week off work but  not getting sick pay, I just couldn't afford to be off.  I managed to get some knitting done on Monday evening and by Tuesday night I had finished Frank's scarf.  Here's a picture of it.

I wanted an easy and quick scarf to knit that involved a two tone effect so I used some black and a greyish acrylic and casted on 400 stitches.  I knit every row and changed colour every row leaving a length of yarn for tassels.  I ended up doing 20 rows to complete it and then just trimmed the tassels to the same length and wrapped it up.  

On Christmas Eve I went to work still not feeling that great and thought I would get out early but unfortunately, stress levels were so ridiculous and I promised myself that next year I am not working Christmas Eve.  Every year it gets ruined by the stress at work so if I am still working there next year, I may have to re-think it.    I eventually got out at 4pm and went straight home.  Frank had been waiting for me at Dagenham Heathway and we went back to the house, got Tammie and my clothes and went to his Mum's for four days.  It was absolutely brilliant.  His Mum wouldn't let me do anything and I felt guilty but it was so nice to relax and to be with Frank.  We ate loads, got loads of presents and I will be showing them on my new year post, and on Boxing Day we went for a walk to Oxleas Wood right near Shooter's Hill, Greenwich.

The first two pictures were taken about half way through, the colours of the leaves on the floor and the colours of the trees were breath taking.  I just love walking through areas where you can hear the birds and just enjoying the peace and quiet.  We were chatting about different things, and people walking past were saying 'good morning' which was really nice.  No way would that happen in Dagenham!!

The picture below is at the top of a hill and you can see for miles and miles.  It was so cold and Frank knew there was a tea hut so we got a hot chocolate and coffee and just looked at the view.  I wish we could have stayed there for hours but it was getting rather nippy so we headed off to see a castle that is hidden.

The next photo is of a tree that Frank call's 'The Ghost Tree' and you can see why.  It look's lonely to me and I guess it must look better when the springtime comes but if you look close enough you can see faces.  Can you spot the green parrot on the left side of the tree at the bottom.  He's got his back to us.

We then came across Severndroog Castle and it is small and has had a lot of refurbishment done to it.  Frank read the sign outside the gate and it actually has a tea room that is open from end of January so that might be another place to try.  Here's a few pictures of it...

I love the shape of the windows and the main door has studs all over it which makes it look really old. Although, I think that's classed as a modern design now!!

Anyway, we carried on walking and Frank showed me a walled garden with loads and loads of rose bushes and we then carried on through towards Shooter's Hill.  We then put Tammie back on her lead and walked back to Ma's for a lovely dinner.

By the afternoon we were both tired and Tammie was absolutely knackered.  Here's a photo of her saying to me 'Mum, you've worn me out'.

That's it for now.  I will be posting pictures of my pressie's in the New Year so for now, I am going to leave you with a photo of Jane, one of Ma's jack russell dogs who would not get out of bed.   Don't be fooled by those innocent eyes...