Conclusion of the Trip to Britain :-(

Alas, tis the end of our trip.  As stated in my last couple of blogs, our final stop was Stonehenge:

 

This wasn’t exactly Stonehenge, but it was on the way:

And then there it was:

This stone apparently lines up with the sun exactly once a year:

It’s almost impossible to comprehend how people moved these massive stones so far.

After checking out the formation, we decided to walk up a fairly large hill to a couple of burial mounds:

Come on, Lil Jan.  Pump those stubby legs:

Is was quite a walk and we were totally pooped by the time we made it back to the bus.

Our next stop was our hotel back in London.  Farewell, sheep!

Some more shots along the way:

Of course I got excited as we drove near the airport:

Jan said farewell to her white Porsche:

Back at the hotel.  Here is the view from our room:

Jan just love the chimneys:

I was more thrilled by the helicopter that flew over:

What an absolutely amazing trip.  We both had the time of our lives and would love to go back!

Back to normal life….well, as normal as I can be.  Speaking of which, check out the little statue I made of myself for Chuck’s dinner:

Just smile and nod….

Today’s symptoms:  Despite sleeping less than an hour last night, I felt a bit better today than yesterday.  I think the new antibiotics are starting to work on this nasty sinus infection.

 

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 11/28/2011 9:05 PM

Stonehenge – Not Yet!

I think I said that the next stop of our trip was going to be Stonehenge.  I looked through my pictures and noticed the Salisbury Cathedral photos, which was prior to the Stonehenge stop.  So, without further ado:

I’m not too sure of the details, but the cathedral was undergoing some cosmetic surgery:

Clearly many hands have touched his arm, as per the colouring and shine:

I’m proud to say I was able to refrain.

There was a really neat art exhibit throughout the cathedral.

I think I took a picture of every sculpture we saw:

People with that much talent make me nauseous!

Next trip post WILL be on Stonehenge (I think…)

I had to take little Abby to the vet on Thursday.  She is still having poopy-problems.  She has an intestinal virus that has no treatment – can only go away over time.  Here’s a shot of her while waiting for the vet:

They gave her a shot then said I will need to bring her back in three weeks so they can start her on Prednisone, which may help with her bowel issues.  I was talking to the vet and had my back turned to her assistant, who was watching Abby on the table.  I heard her laugh and turned around to this:

Neatly wrapped up and ready to go home!

While out in the waiting area, paying the bill, I noticed this little goober gnawing on the Christmas tree:

I had Abby’s case open as one of the staff was petting her.  The little tree-chewer came over for a brief visit:

I wish she wasn’t so blurred as she was really a cute cat!

Today’s symptoms:  Very drained and just feeling all out lousy.  Had a bad week, so that would probably explain why I felt like this.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 11/26/2011 7:26 PM

Birthday Blahs…

I woke up this morning, started to get ready for work, and checked my emails.  My mother and aunt both sent me really cute birthday cards, with singing cats (different from each other).  They really put a smile on my face! 

My first stop wasn’t actually work, but an eye doctor appointment in Niagara Falls.  I got there almost 30 minutes early, which was kinda silly.  The day started to go downhill when the large screen TV in the waiting room was put on, displaying a nature video.  One of the first scenes was a shark eating a seal – I almost lost it.  I have absolutely no tolerance for anything bad happening to an animal.  I was quite upset.  I started playing a game on my iPhone, making sure to not look back up at the TV.  A couple scenes later I had to listen to a baby elephant losing its life.  The tears welled up in my eyes and I had to get up and ask the receptionist if I could sit somewhere else.  I ended up sitting near the back of the office, holding back the tears!  On a bright note, the doctor said my left eye looks better, but she wants me to see my GP and get a referral to a surgeon who deals with sinuses.  Ok, well at least my eye looked good!

I drove to work and arrived before 9:00.  My friend and her son came by around 11:30 to pick me up and drive over to my apartment.  We slurped on the coffees they picked up for us and started eating the dessert my mother made me.  The phone rang – it was the Niagara Falls hospital, asking if I wanted to have my MRI today.  It was scheduled for Sunday, but they had a cancelation.  I had to cut my visit with my friend a little short so she could drive me back to the office.  I hopped in my car and headed back to Niagara Falls.  I registered and galloped down to the MRI department.  They had to administer a dye via IV, which didn’t go too well.  He missed the vein and took a few attempts to get it in the right position.  Ouch!  After the scan was finished, I waited for a copy of the images on CD.  Once in hand, I headed back to St. Catharines for a second time.  I was speaking with a co-worker about how this birthday wasn’t the most enjoyable day I’ve ever had, but glad the worst was over.  Just then, my phone rang and I noticed it was my little mother.  She said “You have to go back.”  What the heck are you talking about?  She said “The hospital phoned and they need more images, so you have to go back right away.”  I thought she was pulling a little birthday prank, but unfortunately she wasn’t.  I wasn’t too happy because the MRI is quite loud and made my sinus headache very painful.  I had only eaten a small bowl of dessert that I had with my friend at this point, too.  I don’t think that helped with how I was feeling.  Regardless, back into my car I went and headed back to Niagara Falls for the third time that day.  The technician saw me walk in and took me into the room just next to the actual MRI room, rather than have me sit in the main waiting room.  There was someone getting a scan and I waited about twenty minutes for it to finish.  In I went and was done within ten minutes.  Back to the film library to wait for them to burn my new images, then back to St. Catharines for the final time.  My head was throbbing at this point so I went home.  I had some work to do on the training I am giving tomorrow, so my Team Leader approved me to work an hour from home.  Yeah!

Too tired to go out tonight.  I think I’ll just be a blonde blob for the rest of the night.  A couple friends at work said that since my birthday was so sucky, we’re actually going to celebrate tomorrow – YEA!

On a bright note, here’s a cute picture of Boo waving:

When Jan and I were at the mall this weekend, I snapped a pic of this cute little dude in the back of a car:

Love the tongue!  Tee hee!

Oh, and here is what Lil Jan had set up for me when I walked into her house:

She’s so cute!  Cutest little candle holders EVER!

Today’s symptoms:  So drained from the running around today.  The headache tonight is much worse than it has been the last few nights, I’m sure from the pounding of the MRI machine.  Tomorrow will be a much better day!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 11/21/2011 8:23 PM

I’m Back!

Yet another big delay in bloggage – here’s why.  I’ve been feeling really lousy over the last few weeks, this past week being the worst.  Severe headaches, no appetite, stomach aches, and overall blahness.  While at work on Thursday morning, my headache and eye pain became so severe (the pain was coming from my left eye and radiating down my face), a first aider at the office called 911.  Off to the joyous hospital I went.  Hours into my stay, I was brought in for a CT scan.  I was actually booked for one next week anyway, as my Ophthalmologist ordered one for the eye pain I was experiencing.  The doctor told me he was glad I was booked for an MRI (also next week) as he believed I may be having an MS flare up.  The CT scan did show sinusitis, which would be the fourth or fifth attack I’ve had in five months.  Here’s the scan pic:

 

 

The right side of the pic is actually my left side.  You can see how the big honkin’ sinus on my right is a nice black hole, which it should be.  The left one is completely blocked.  Here’s another shot:

Again, you can see the left sinus is totally blocked.  That would explain most if not all of the pain I was experiencing!  Hopefully the anti-biotics he put me on will clear it up quickly.

Back to the Britain trip!

We left Bath and headed toward Salisbury Plain to see Stonehenge.  Stunning scenery, as usual:

Jan loves water pics, so I tried to take them whenever possible:

I had to find something that represented each one of my kids during the trip.  Here’s the one I found for Pinky:

We stopped to visit the Norman Cathedral:

As was every other cathedral we visited, this one was amazing.

Here are a few pics I took on the way back to the bus:

I think I embarrassed Jan when I asked her to take a picture of me, posing up against a billboard:

Back on the bus, heading for Stonehenge:

We had a bit of delay on the road, due to this accident:

We had to wait for the oncoming traffic to clear before heading under the centre of this bridge:

I forget what our tour guide said this represented, but rather neat nonetheless:

Next stop – Stonehenge!

Today’s symptoms:  Still a very bad headache and eye pain.  Feeling a tad bit better energy-wise today though.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 11/20/2011 10:36 AM

Roman Baths

Another favourite part of our trip was the Roman Baths.  Wow!  A few pics on the way to our next stop:

 

I snapped this one to show my youngest hairless cat Abby.  She really hates having a bath, so I thought this sign might inspire her.  Unfortunately, so far it hasn’t worked:

She told me that it didn’t mean anything to her because they spelled her name wrong.

The walk over to the Baths was quite impressive:

Angels climbing the ladder to Heaven:

This was kinda weird – our tour guide was given plastic tokens to give each of us when we were outside the door to the Baths.  As we walked throughthe door, we gave it back to the guy that gave them to her.

Here is the ceiling of the room where we were given some direction by the tour guide:

Entering the main area of the Baths was amazing:

I was going to do a cannonball off of the second level, but Jan requested that I didn’t embarrass her.

The artifacts inside were equally as impressive.  This fella kinda looks like me (pale and skinny):

Here is the 7947th pigeon I took a picture of during our trip.  Either that or the same one was following us:

After a closer look at the condition of the water, I’m kinda glad I didn’t jump in:

Stacks of stone which allowed heat to circulate under the floor, causing a sauna effect:

Jan and I each tossed in a coin for good luck:

Despite this being our last day, I still have quite a few more photos to share!

Today’s symptoms:  I slept in big time this morning – until 10:30!  I guess my body really needed the sleep.  The pain wasn’t quite as bad today as it was the last few days, which was a nice relief!

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 11/12/2011 9:40 PM

Trying To Climb Back Up

I just wanted to let everyone know why I haven’t written a blog for a few days and why I’ve been so down.  I posted about flying to Barrie a few weeks ago to have a Doppler Ultrasound.  They wanted to see if my veins were still open and flowy after my CCSVI surgery.  Bad news – my left jugular is blocked again.     I sent the results down to Clearwater, Florida where I had the surgery and they suggest that I come back and have it redone.  I’ve noticed that my fatigue levels have increased, as have many other symptoms I had before the surgery.  I decided that I would go back and give it another try.  I will be booking it tomorrow.  I’m probably looking at the first or second week of December.  Blah.

Anyway, back to the Britain trip!

Here are a few shots on our way to the ruins of Tintern Abbey:

The horsies were adorable:

The tour director had the bus driver slow down so we could look at the bridge we were about to cross:

Then she pointed out this sign just before the bridge:

Oh great!  Fortunately, the bridge held up for us.

Some more shots along the way:

Alas, we arrived:

It was raining, so I didn’t get any good photos from the outside – just from inside the bus.

It was such an amazing sight – a bit depressing, though!

I shall continue on in the next blog….

Check out this adorable couple I snapped a picture of last night:

Little Pinky and Boo, sleeping so peacefully.

On a not so peaceful note, check out the little critter Jan had running around her house today:

It’s her next door neighbour’s dog, Sammie:

Such a sweetie!

Today’s symptoms: Had more energy today than I had in a while.  My spirits were a little better too.  Lots of pain in my arms though.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 11/6/2011 9:31 PM

Britain and Wales

Sorry I’ve been lagging behind with my blogs.  I really haven’t been feeling well – physically or emotionally.

Back to the trip.  On the second last day, we were driving in and out of Britain and Wales.  While in Chester, we saw many black and white Tudor arcaded buildings called “Rows.”  They were gorgeous!

We couldn’t believe how many people were wandering around, shopping and dining at the little cafes.  It was a really nice area to visit.

I took this pic for my best friend, who loves elephants.

Jan and I tried to stuff him into my purse, but some of the town-folk started running at us with clubs.  We decided to leave him be.

Whilst on our travels, we decided we wouldn’t complain so much over the price of our gas back home.  Check this out:

Converted, that’s about twice as much as what we pay!  Blah!

Speaking of travelling, we experienced the true braking power of our bus, as the driver had to come to a very abrupt stop.  There was a massive tractor thing in front of us that was so large, it was taking down branches.  There was a bridal car in front of us.  Fortunately, we were able to stop before plowing into the back of them, as they slammed on the brakes to avoid a fallen branch:

Not only did he take down branches, but also a street light!

I wonder if he actually phoned the town to let them know how the light was damaged….hmmmm…..

Speaking of “lights” check out this four-legged lamp:

Here are some more pics while we drove in and out of Britain and Wales:

During a stop to tour the town, Jan and I went into a cafe.  While I was in the washroom, Jan ordered us a couple coffees and snacks.  I was a little shocked to walk over to the table and see these mammoth soup bowls containing our coffee!

After using the washroom seventeen more times, we left the cafe and headed back to the bus.

To be continued….

Today’s symptoms:  I’m still really down because I’m experiencing more pain than usual and my fatigue has increased.  I seem to be having a hard time getting myself out of this rut I’m in emotionally.

Posted by Lizzy McFly at 11/1/2011 7:20 PM