After the Break

 

To be totally and transparently honest my break from blogging for the last few days was not just because of our weekend away, but also due to a health scare.  

Once again my blood pressure has gotten totally out of control and lots of changes have to be and are being made.  Signing myself out of hospital last Thursday so that we could go on holiday was the best thing that I could have done, as with Alan doing all the driving and me being able to mostly relax and having new higher dose tablets the readings on my blood pressure monitor started to dip consistently.   As requested by the consultant I returned to the hospital for a check upon Monday as soon as we got back, and this saw me being signed off and handed back into the care of my GP.  

Last night I got a telephone message from the NHS Portal informing me that an telephone consultation appointment with a cardiologist has been made for me for a follow up.  The date of the appointment ... 30th April 2024.  They must have quite the waiting list if they are booking in phone calls over a year in advance!!

Hardcastle Craggs from the viewing point just up the road from our lovely holiday home.  As you can see from the top photo we also had a similar view while we were washing the pots each evening.

We stayed in a National Trust holiday home, Widdop Gate Barn, a converted barn in West Yorkshire.

Oh I saw alright ... drinking in the views and thinking on how lucky we were to be able to be there.

As you stepped into our holiday home the kitchen still has the old stalls for the cattle, with the table and chairs in the largest and a washing machine and a dish washer in the two smaller ones.

The vast window in the dining area, which really let in the cold at night.  The curtains were drawn straight after tea to try and keep things cosy.  Alan loves barns, and this was a good example of one that had been converted very sympathetically with hardly any full interior walls or false ceilings ... which made it very chilly!!

The photos on the National Trust website make it look a lot smaller and cosier than it was in reality.

The main bedroom, even this large king-sized bed seemed dwarfed in the space.

We had a large log burner in our Welsh house, but although this one was twice the size it still seemed dwarfed by the room it was in, and we went through a LOT of logs.  We sat wrapped in fleece blankets watching the television, wishing we had brought binoculars as it seemed so far away,

We went into Hebden Bridge on both the Saturday and Sunday, and the vibe on the two days was totally different.  On Saturday it was full of visitors dashing around taking photos and bustling through the shops and the market.  On the Sunday there was a large contingent of motorbikes parked in the square, with all the owners sat outside the many pavement cafes drinking coffees and chatting happily away.  There was a busker playing his heart out, and everything was just so much more chilled and laid back.

The dogs both loved the break, and once they mastered all the stone steps in the barn were relaxed and happy to be away with us ... but they were even happier when we got home.

This time, unusually for me, I bought my self a few souvenirs, but of course you know me ... they had to be useful things too.  

The wooden 'flour' box is actually lovely old wood and if I turn it around the other way on my shelf it will just look like a beautiful wooden box and the cockerel will be my little secret.  I was in the pottery shop making my rather excessive selection, when the 3pm emergency alarm practice went off on everyone's phones, causing much confusion to some people who had no idea what was going on.  It did get us all talking to each other and we had a good laugh as some phones were slightly late to the party and rang five minutes later.

Back soon.

Sue xx