Recent Important Dates, Medical Mutterings, And Random Happenings

I missed mentioning both my bookerversary and bloggerversary this year.

 

April 22nd was the 11th anniversary of when I published my first book.  It was "Mr. Pumpkin-Head And Other Poems" - in case you don't know, but are interested.  I've published more than 50 titles since then.

 

And May 3rd was the 15th anniversary of when I published my first blog post, which was on this very blog.

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Also, Ostara (the Spring Equinox) and Beltane have both come and gone, with only minimal celebration, and no acknowledgement on here.  For those who don't know, and are interested, Ostara is generally celebrated on March 20th (though the astrological event that marks the equinox may not actually fall on that exact date) and Beltane is celebrated on May 1st (or, in some cases, April 30th through May 1st).

 

I'd just damaged my hand when Ostara rolled around, and still wasn't feeling too great from the issues with the jab come Beltane, so I didn't do much for either.  However, they weren't completely ignored.

 

On the afternoon of March 20th I attended the monthly crafting Zoom I've started going to.  I couldn't do any crafting, but figured I'd go along for the company and a chat anyhow, and still managed to enjoy myself.  That evening I attended a live Facebook concert by a Pagan musician named Damh The Bard.  If you'd like to check him out, his YouTube channel can be found by clicking here.

For Beltane I attended a Zoom Beltane gathering an online friend was hosting.  Patty - the host - was a little surprised I did manage to make it, since it started at midnight here in the UK, but with my sleep pattern I'd actually woken up from a nap not too long before.  I'd said I'd go if I was up, and I was up, so I went.  And we had a great time.  OK, so it technically wasn't Beltane any more with me by the time it was happening, but never mind.  It was something I did to celebrate, I enjoyed it, and that's what matters.

I'd also attended a Zoom book club on the evening of April 30th, which is a weekly thing also hosted by Patty.  I had a great time with that too.  I've never been in an actual book club before.

 

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There's also been one more important date: Kelly's 50th birthday.

His birthday was on May 2nd.

We'd hoped all restrictions would be lifted before his birthday, so he could avoid having another lockdown birthday.  Especially with it being a big one.  But with some restrictions still in place, and my poor health and dietary issues causing even more restrictions, it ended up being a quiet birthday at home again, with take-away: Chinese for me, and pizza for him.

 

My Mam arranged some chocolate cake for him for me though, and he had a few cards, as well as plenty of money, which he spent on some figure gaming stuff he wanted, including the newest codex for the army he plays for Warhammer 40,000, and a set of files to help with putting the figures together (since we can't find his existing set... We assume it's among the things not yet unpacked).

 

Anyway, here are the cards he got from my Dad and Grandma:

And here's the one I made for him:

 

 

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Making Kelly's card is the only crafting I've so far done since damaging my hand, but I hope to get to do more soon, since I have an ever-growing pile of craft kits, a couple of projects of my own on the go, and a few projects of Nan's I'd like to try and finish up for her.  And that's if you only focus on kits and partial projects, without thinking about all the potential options all those craft supplies present.

 

Soon.  Very soon!

 

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For now though, Kelly wanted to show you all some of the figures he's been putting together.

 

They're some of his figures for his Space Marines army for Warhammer 40,000, and here they are:

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For anyone wondering: I'm still struggling with recovering from the effects of the Covid jab.  In fact, last Friday morning (April 30th) the doctor sent me to the hospital for tests, since it had been five weeks since I had my Covid Vaccination, and I was - and still am - still suffering badly.

 

Amazingly, though I ended up with a nasty bruise, and my arm still hurts like mad in that spot (despite it being done a week ago) the nurse taking blood from me managed to get blood first time, which was a relief, and a welcome change from the usual fight to get my veins to co-operate.

 

Anyway, according to the results (which I got yesterday) my kidney function is  on the low end of the normal scale, but not a cause for concern right now,  which is fantastic for me, since I've had kidney problems literally since my conception.  And pretty much everything else is clear/normal for me too.  So, that's excellent news.

 

The only cause for concern is a slightly low platelet count, which could be just that we caught it at the point in its cycle where it's naturally low, could be a sign of a compramized immune system, or could be something worse.  With it only being a bit low, the doctor is thinking one of the first two options, but I'm to have it checked again in five weeks (six weeks from when it was done before) so he can see what it is then to get an idea of if it's staying the same, or see if it increases or decreases, and if so which direction it goes in, and by how much.  He's not overly concerned, but does think it worth checking to be sure, and I'm inclined to agree with him.

What this essentially means is that my body has finally - despite me still feeling otherwise - decided to step up and finish fighting the effects of the shot like it's meant to, but was slow enough doing so that I'm not recovered yet, but I should, in theory, go back to my normal in a few more weeks (apart from the now worse asthma).  I sure hope so.  It's so far been six weeks since I got the jab, and I have yet to do so, but that's hardly surprising with how bad of a reaction I had.  Fingers crossed it won't be much longer, because these headaches especially are really getting to me.