...................Has escaped from the cupboard under the stairs!!
She promised me she would be good.
But as Mary Poppins would say - a pie crust promise - easily made and easily broken!!!
The boys are away to Kielder again. 2 1/2 hours on the train, then getting picked up at Newcastle.
I am a tad annoyed this year.
We decided to book Journeycare, so that the boys would be helped off the train at Newcastle, the staff are meant to come and help them get the luggage and off the train. No one arrived. Ok, i don't need to PAY for this, but i decided to book it after the hassle last year at Newcastle coming home. Train running late and rude staff ignoring Paul's request for help.
Will be doing something about that at the weekend when they get home.
I'm also a bit annoyed at the pick up to get them to the centre. I phoned on saturday morning to let them know what train they would be arriving on. I was rather surprised that they hadn't phoned earlier in the week - they did last year.
At first, the girl said they weren't on the pick up list.
I asked her to check, cos i had booked it (and paid for it!!)
Oh, yes, she said - they weren't put on the list.
She said that the pick up from Newcastle was 1.30 - i explained that the train didn't get there till 1.35 - it was the same train they got last year.
She said that it would be ok, since someone else was getting off the same train and that the pick up would wait for them all.
So Paul phoned to tell me they got to Newcastle ok and about the lack of help off the train. They were waiting at the pick up point.
And no one arrived.
So an hour later, he phoned me.
I said i'd phone the centre, explained the situation and she said she'd try to sort it out.
Try??? My boys are 150 miles or so away from home, i have no way of getting to them and you are gonna TRY??? Eventually she gets back to me and asks if i have Paul's mobile number - gave it to her.
A while later, Paul phones - they are going to get picked up at 4,30 - 3 hours after the original time.
Paul phoned tonight - he told me that they had said they had been at the station on time, but they were not there!!! Peter and Paul). No thought to finding out if their train was on time, or putting out a call.
Now - i know they have a timetable to keep to, but puleesssseee - a bit of sense goes a long way.
SO yoiu can imagine worry wart mamma by now - stress thru the roof!!
Promise, she is getting pushed kicking and screaming back into the cupboard ASAP!! If not sooner.
And don't get me started on the SAGA of getting Lou's car fixed , which has now put the kybosh on any plans we may have made to do things over the next few days. It was eventually delivered to the house about 5pm - they had suggested her work, but at that time of day, you'd need to have hiking gear to get from where you left the car to get to the hospital!!! And that's on top of the phone calls they'd need to make beforehand!!!
The only good thing is, i managed a long lie this morning. It was nearly 9.30 before i got up. Mind you - the cat was in a double sulk by then - missing the boys and starving!!!!
Mind you - our days have not all been like this!
On the 16th of June, i met up with some of the families from the support group we are in (Unique). Just before Christmas, i met one of the mums. We started kicking an idea about meeting up and having a chat.
So i posted on the Unique FB page and wrote a bit for the newsletter.
2 or 3 people said it sounded good.
Then a couple of emails.
Reminder just before the day.
So in total, 16 of us met up at the Art Galleries here in Glasgow. A couple of families had to drop out at the last minute and one family we missed tho i'm sure not by much.
We sat behind Sir Roger the elephant and beside the Giraffe. Had a great time, chatting, delving into our packed lunches, watching the kids enjoy themselves.
Then a typical jobsworth came over and told us "you're not allowed to eat here". Mmmm - did our sandwiches offend him? Did we have better fare than him ?(most likely). Was he jealous that our company was having more fun he and his mates could ever aspire to? (probably)
Maybe he thought we'd feed the elephants and giraffes!!
Can we tell him something - said animals are DEAD and STUFFED!!! He wouldn't need to clear up after them and he didn't need to after us - we took our rubbish with us! (tho i'm sure the giraffe had a longing look at the choccie biccies i had!!)
We went to the slightly posher cafe downstairs - mainly because it had more room and continued our chat.
The bit i loved was Peter with Morven - Morven is 5 and was gooey eyed at Peter - SOMEONE LOVES MY BOY!!
Or it may have been a look of sympathy that said "poor you - having a mum like her!!!
But it was a good afternoon and one which we have all said we should do again
Lilo
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Friday, 15 June 2012
Back in the grown up world again.....................
................... And a little funny football story, just for Jazzygal!!
But more of that story in a bit!!!
We had our day in court for Peter's Guardianship Hearing.
All the reports had been submitted and considered and we had to go along to see what the Sheriff would say. We had asked for a 10 year order for the Welfare part, which we were confident we would get and 5 years for the Financial element, in the hope that he would maybe, possibly give us 10 years.
So we arranged to meet the Lawyer at court. We were a little early and had a giggle at the Lawyers going around with their gowns on!! Last time i saw that many gowns was @ Lou's graduation!!!!!!
Lawyer arrives and told us where we were going. She said she would meet us outside the court, telling us she was going off to change her shoes - there she was, smart suit on and trainers on her feet for comfort!!!
That's my kinda girl!!
The actual hearing doesn't last that long - about 10 minutes, because the papers should have been read thru by the Sheriff beforehand and he should have come to some sort of decision. But he just wants to hear for the Lawyer and sometimes the people making the application.
So Lesley was up giving our info, explaining why we wanted the additional powers, i explained that the financial side would be helpful if Peter was ever to be in his own place that we could sign tenancy agreements for him.
So the judge said we had welfare AND financial powers for 10 years.
I said nothing going outta court, because i really wasn't expecting to get both for that length of time. I looked at Lesley and said "he DID give us BOTH for ten years??"
Yes - he did, She thought that since there had been no problems for the past 5, that it would be ok.
Well - no probs except for Social Work and i suspect that at times, our legal system has given up with them!!!!
Now the fun begins.
We have paperwork to fill in - a financial inventory.
We have to state how much money Peter has, what he gets in benefits, how much he spends on clothes per year, presents, if he gives us money for gas/electricity and so on.
We have a couple of months to get it filled in and back.
I now find i have to account for money that we spend - not on little things like bars of chocolate, but if we buy clothes, dvds and so on.........
Will just need to get used to it!!
My other foray into grown up world was another conference.
Peter and i going off and telling the known world about his support...........
It is good fun, but man - if i see that dad again - i'll scream!!! I am getting better at listening to myself tho. Jenn was away on holiday this week, so Caroline was doing the presentation with us. She thinks she was rubbish, but she was good. And i'm getting a bit blasé!! I told them to sit down the front, cos that was where i'd left the rotten eggs to chuck at us!!
So now on to the footie story!!! Jazzygal blogged about how she had been converted to football many years ago. I told her one story about my youngest and football (who remembers the Scotland v Brazil Match at the World Cup in 1998??? Yes, us gallus scots in the opening match - with Brazil and we were gonna hammer them!!! Well, if cheers and faces painted with the Saltire and thistles were gonna help we would have trounced them - but we didn't!!)
Any way -fast forward to 2010.
Me, Matthew, Peter and Paul in Barcelona for a long weekend. Barcelona, like Glasgow, is a football mad city. Bars were packed to watch the World Cup from South Africa.
On this particular saturday evening, Spain were playing. We went off to have some dinner (and watch the match!!). After, we went for a walk to find the place we were meeting our tour bus the next morning. You could here the good natured shouts from the pubs and at one place, there was a guy, who i swear was the human version of Sleepy from the 7 Dwarfs!!! He was small(ish) maybe about 5 feet 4 or so, typically spanish look guy, maybe in his late 50's.
But the best bit was, he has a furry halo on his head!!! Now, i'm not sure if he was a bit tipsy and didn't realise he was wearing this creation, or if he had worn it for a dare, but he looked lovely!!
Out of the corner of my eye, i saw a rather tall person, dressed up as Snow White.
Maybe, i mused, that in fact, this was sleepy and the other dwarfs were inside the bar watching the match!!
I said to Matthew and the boys "that was Snow White wasn't it??"
Matthew replied that he suspected it was a GUY dressed up!!!
Well, each to there own - but more unusual than a match at home!!
On our way back to the hotel, we ascertained that it WAS a guy dressed up. Matthew and I laughed as he blew a kiss to Paul!! YOu can imagine a 17 year olds response to that...................
..........................Yeah - legged it back to the hotel quick smart!!!!!
My only gripe was that the guys legs looked much better than mine and he walked better in high heels than i ever could!!!!
We went to the Bar in the Hotel to watch the last moments of the match. I think only one other girl was in the bar with me. There was a collective groan from about 40 guys as one player kicked the ball and it landed between another player's legs. Just at his groin.
An even bigger groan went up when they saw the slow motion playback. This other girl and I just laughed.
Oh - and Spain won that night.
We went on to the rooftop terrace on the hotel and even half an hour after the match ended, there were people out on the streets celebrating.
But you're still not going to convert me to footie!!!
But more of that story in a bit!!!
We had our day in court for Peter's Guardianship Hearing.
All the reports had been submitted and considered and we had to go along to see what the Sheriff would say. We had asked for a 10 year order for the Welfare part, which we were confident we would get and 5 years for the Financial element, in the hope that he would maybe, possibly give us 10 years.
So we arranged to meet the Lawyer at court. We were a little early and had a giggle at the Lawyers going around with their gowns on!! Last time i saw that many gowns was @ Lou's graduation!!!!!!
Lawyer arrives and told us where we were going. She said she would meet us outside the court, telling us she was going off to change her shoes - there she was, smart suit on and trainers on her feet for comfort!!!
That's my kinda girl!!
The actual hearing doesn't last that long - about 10 minutes, because the papers should have been read thru by the Sheriff beforehand and he should have come to some sort of decision. But he just wants to hear for the Lawyer and sometimes the people making the application.
So Lesley was up giving our info, explaining why we wanted the additional powers, i explained that the financial side would be helpful if Peter was ever to be in his own place that we could sign tenancy agreements for him.
So the judge said we had welfare AND financial powers for 10 years.
I said nothing going outta court, because i really wasn't expecting to get both for that length of time. I looked at Lesley and said "he DID give us BOTH for ten years??"
Yes - he did, She thought that since there had been no problems for the past 5, that it would be ok.
Well - no probs except for Social Work and i suspect that at times, our legal system has given up with them!!!!
Now the fun begins.
We have paperwork to fill in - a financial inventory.
We have to state how much money Peter has, what he gets in benefits, how much he spends on clothes per year, presents, if he gives us money for gas/electricity and so on.
We have a couple of months to get it filled in and back.
I now find i have to account for money that we spend - not on little things like bars of chocolate, but if we buy clothes, dvds and so on.........
Will just need to get used to it!!
My other foray into grown up world was another conference.
Peter and i going off and telling the known world about his support...........
It is good fun, but man - if i see that dad again - i'll scream!!! I am getting better at listening to myself tho. Jenn was away on holiday this week, so Caroline was doing the presentation with us. She thinks she was rubbish, but she was good. And i'm getting a bit blasé!! I told them to sit down the front, cos that was where i'd left the rotten eggs to chuck at us!!
So now on to the footie story!!! Jazzygal blogged about how she had been converted to football many years ago. I told her one story about my youngest and football (who remembers the Scotland v Brazil Match at the World Cup in 1998??? Yes, us gallus scots in the opening match - with Brazil and we were gonna hammer them!!! Well, if cheers and faces painted with the Saltire and thistles were gonna help we would have trounced them - but we didn't!!)
Any way -fast forward to 2010.
Me, Matthew, Peter and Paul in Barcelona for a long weekend. Barcelona, like Glasgow, is a football mad city. Bars were packed to watch the World Cup from South Africa.
On this particular saturday evening, Spain were playing. We went off to have some dinner (and watch the match!!). After, we went for a walk to find the place we were meeting our tour bus the next morning. You could here the good natured shouts from the pubs and at one place, there was a guy, who i swear was the human version of Sleepy from the 7 Dwarfs!!! He was small(ish) maybe about 5 feet 4 or so, typically spanish look guy, maybe in his late 50's.
But the best bit was, he has a furry halo on his head!!! Now, i'm not sure if he was a bit tipsy and didn't realise he was wearing this creation, or if he had worn it for a dare, but he looked lovely!!
Out of the corner of my eye, i saw a rather tall person, dressed up as Snow White.
Maybe, i mused, that in fact, this was sleepy and the other dwarfs were inside the bar watching the match!!
I said to Matthew and the boys "that was Snow White wasn't it??"
Matthew replied that he suspected it was a GUY dressed up!!!
Well, each to there own - but more unusual than a match at home!!
On our way back to the hotel, we ascertained that it WAS a guy dressed up. Matthew and I laughed as he blew a kiss to Paul!! YOu can imagine a 17 year olds response to that...................
..........................Yeah - legged it back to the hotel quick smart!!!!!
My only gripe was that the guys legs looked much better than mine and he walked better in high heels than i ever could!!!!
We went to the Bar in the Hotel to watch the last moments of the match. I think only one other girl was in the bar with me. There was a collective groan from about 40 guys as one player kicked the ball and it landed between another player's legs. Just at his groin.
An even bigger groan went up when they saw the slow motion playback. This other girl and I just laughed.
Oh - and Spain won that night.
We went on to the rooftop terrace on the hotel and even half an hour after the match ended, there were people out on the streets celebrating.
But you're still not going to convert me to footie!!!
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Houston, we have a ....................
........................ Named Social Worker!!!
Now, please - don't all fall off your seats laughing!! He does exist and i have met him!!
We were meant to meet him on the 11th, but i got a call to say that he wasn't well and wouldn't be able to get to us. My thoughts were "here we go -again!!". Been here, done that and we're always let down.
I was told he would phone on monday to rearrange.
No - i didn't stay in all day - i do have a life! Maybe not exciting or high powered, but it is MY life and i quite enjoy it, thank you very much!!!
Monday came and went - no phone call.
So did Tuesday.
And wednesday!!!
By this time i was getting a tad fed up. I grumbled that i always had to chase them up and i didn't really have the time or energy to do it.
So Thursday comes along and i planned to phone them at some point.
But you know how the day goes - you get caught up.
So the phone goes - right in the middle of me trying to clean up the cat sick and load up the washing machine.
It was the Social Worker!!!
Couldn't have timed it better if he'd been watching me!!!!
When was a good time to come out??
"never???" came my hopeful reply!!!!
Well - there's me, up to my elbows in cat vomit and dirty clothes - it wasn't a good day and we still had the vet visit to do.
Ok then - what about tomorrow morning about 11 - is that ok??
It was.
Man - he must have wondered just WHAT he was letting himself in for!! Scary situation, given that the last time we saw each other we were 12 and it was the last day of Primary School!!!!
It wasn't that bad to be honest. He did apologize for his no show the week before. We sat and went throught the guardianship order we have just now and what we have requested for this one. He did admit that the SW department had been very lax about keeping in touch and he couldn't understand WHY the duty workers hadn't been concerned - especially when we were always flagging it up to them. They seemed to think because we were "coping" they didn't need to come and see us.
So he's coming back to see us in 3 months, when we have the new order in place.
Court is the 7th of June.
(that'll be another experience!!!!)
So that is now done - and if he even THINKS of leaving the job, or dying in post, he'll need to get my permission and make sure a new SW is appointed before he goes!!!
The nice bit of the week was getting paid for doing the presentation in Aberdeen. We'd already been paid for the Glasgow one, and we had happily spent the money!
So i have ordered some new DVDs - Titanic - the 4 part series that was on tv recently. And Merlin series 3 +4. I also bought myself new jeans. Yea!!! new jeans that i like, that fit me and i had the money to pay!!!!
Peter has his eye on a Dumbo ornament. I think i may take him to get some new jeans as well.
It's been nice to have a little bit of unexpected money. Peter would have prob got some of the ornaments for christmas/birthday pressies, but not all of them at once. And much as i try to save some money to treat myself to DVDs once in a while, often the money gets spent on something else.
So along with the Merlin DVDs, i have Les Miserables and War Horse to watch as i do my ironing.
Should keep me happy for a while!!!
Now, please - don't all fall off your seats laughing!! He does exist and i have met him!!
We were meant to meet him on the 11th, but i got a call to say that he wasn't well and wouldn't be able to get to us. My thoughts were "here we go -again!!". Been here, done that and we're always let down.
I was told he would phone on monday to rearrange.
No - i didn't stay in all day - i do have a life! Maybe not exciting or high powered, but it is MY life and i quite enjoy it, thank you very much!!!
Monday came and went - no phone call.
So did Tuesday.
And wednesday!!!
By this time i was getting a tad fed up. I grumbled that i always had to chase them up and i didn't really have the time or energy to do it.
So Thursday comes along and i planned to phone them at some point.
But you know how the day goes - you get caught up.
So the phone goes - right in the middle of me trying to clean up the cat sick and load up the washing machine.
It was the Social Worker!!!
Couldn't have timed it better if he'd been watching me!!!!
When was a good time to come out??
"never???" came my hopeful reply!!!!
Well - there's me, up to my elbows in cat vomit and dirty clothes - it wasn't a good day and we still had the vet visit to do.
Ok then - what about tomorrow morning about 11 - is that ok??
It was.
Man - he must have wondered just WHAT he was letting himself in for!! Scary situation, given that the last time we saw each other we were 12 and it was the last day of Primary School!!!!
It wasn't that bad to be honest. He did apologize for his no show the week before. We sat and went throught the guardianship order we have just now and what we have requested for this one. He did admit that the SW department had been very lax about keeping in touch and he couldn't understand WHY the duty workers hadn't been concerned - especially when we were always flagging it up to them. They seemed to think because we were "coping" they didn't need to come and see us.
So he's coming back to see us in 3 months, when we have the new order in place.
Court is the 7th of June.
(that'll be another experience!!!!)
So that is now done - and if he even THINKS of leaving the job, or dying in post, he'll need to get my permission and make sure a new SW is appointed before he goes!!!
The nice bit of the week was getting paid for doing the presentation in Aberdeen. We'd already been paid for the Glasgow one, and we had happily spent the money!
So i have ordered some new DVDs - Titanic - the 4 part series that was on tv recently. And Merlin series 3 +4. I also bought myself new jeans. Yea!!! new jeans that i like, that fit me and i had the money to pay!!!!
Peter has his eye on a Dumbo ornament. I think i may take him to get some new jeans as well.
It's been nice to have a little bit of unexpected money. Peter would have prob got some of the ornaments for christmas/birthday pressies, but not all of them at once. And much as i try to save some money to treat myself to DVDs once in a while, often the money gets spent on something else.
So along with the Merlin DVDs, i have Les Miserables and War Horse to watch as i do my ironing.
Should keep me happy for a while!!!
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Calm after the storm!
It has been reasonably quiet this week.
Tho please don't tell the "keep Julie busy Gods" - i'm enjoying catching up on my sleep!!!
We did the presentation again at the Enable Conference on Saturday. It was at Stirling University and again we had a good time.
Peter and i joined in another workshop - about labels. We had to think about getting rid of negative labels and think of new ones that were positive.
We had to decorate a t shit with our positive labels - some of the t shirts were brill looking and even in a short time, there were loads of positive things.
And our presentation went well - i think!!!!
So i've been catching up on sleep this week.
And waiting for the social worker to phone me to rearrange his time to come and meet us.
Mmmmm............... he was meant to be out last friday, but didn't come. To be fair, we did get a call saying that he couldn't make it and he would phone back on monday.
It's now wednesday evening and no call.
So i may call tomorrow to chase them up.
So to cheer myself up, i baked some cakes and scones this afternoon.
Well - it was that or do the ironing!!!
So we have some cherry scones and some cupcakes - yum!!!
Tho please don't tell the "keep Julie busy Gods" - i'm enjoying catching up on my sleep!!!
We did the presentation again at the Enable Conference on Saturday. It was at Stirling University and again we had a good time.
Peter and i joined in another workshop - about labels. We had to think about getting rid of negative labels and think of new ones that were positive.
We had to decorate a t shit with our positive labels - some of the t shirts were brill looking and even in a short time, there were loads of positive things.
And our presentation went well - i think!!!!
So i've been catching up on sleep this week.
And waiting for the social worker to phone me to rearrange his time to come and meet us.
Mmmmm............... he was meant to be out last friday, but didn't come. To be fair, we did get a call saying that he couldn't make it and he would phone back on monday.
It's now wednesday evening and no call.
So i may call tomorrow to chase them up.
So to cheer myself up, i baked some cakes and scones this afternoon.
Well - it was that or do the ironing!!!
So we have some cherry scones and some cupcakes - yum!!!
Friday, 11 May 2012
Give a girl a good pair of shoes...........................
.........................And she can conquer the world!!!!
Well - it's true girls isn't it?!?!?!
I'd better explain myself.
I've been back in the world of the grown ups again with Enable, doing another conference.
It was in Aberdeen this time.
Peter and I travelled up with Donna on Tuesday late afternoon.
Yes - Donna, whose shoes are often mentioned in my blog, so i suppose the title of the blog is really a nod to her and her shoes!!!
Told ya the shoes would get a mention Donna - and nice ones they were, but we did get a few crazy looks when we were having this conversation!!!
Anyway - we had a good journey up and had decided we'd have dinner with the others who had arrived there earlier.
Mind you - we nearly brought some road kill for dinner!!!
Man - pheasants and pigeons - must be the ditsies of the bird world!!!
A pheasant decided to fly low over the road as Donna was driving and we nearly killed it!
Then a pigeon flew outta nowhere!!
I could just picture the scene at reception.....................
Two rooms and could the chef please prepare these birds for our dinner?!?!?!?
Dinner was good. We sat and decided what we were going to have. Some interesting choices.
I opted for Smoked Wild Boar for my starter.
Well - i've never tried it, so here was my chance!!!!
Later on i texted my friend Sue (who was meeting up with us in the morning) to tell of my choice of starter.
Her reply wondered if i'd had half a woolly mammoth with a side order of sloth for my mains!!!!
You can tell we have watched too much Ice Age, can't you!!!!
Back in the room, Peter enjoyed watching UP on the dvd player we'd brought and eventually we decided we needed sleep.
Wednesday morning after breakfast we went to the main building. Peter and I decided to give the first part of the day a miss so we could catch up with Sue. We haven't seen her for ages and it was nice to sit and catch up. E mails and letters are nice, but there is nothing to beat sitting with a cuppa and having a chat.
Sue came to our 1st workshop. It was nice (but a bit nerve wracking) having someone who knows me well sitting there listening to us. But she said it was good and she enjoyed watching the DVD and putting faces to some of the names we have mentioned.
Alas, Sue couldn't stay for lunch - she had to get home, but it was so nice to have the chance to catch up.
2nd workshop went well, but Jenn and i were a bit stunned. We'd either managed to answer all their questions in the presentation, or it had all gone over their heads - nobody asked anything at the end!!!!
Even now, we're still not sure!!!
3rd workshop good and then time for tea.
Now - what i didn't tell you was that more people came along than expected. That was great, but the team didn't have enough of the packs. Donna took mine off to photocopy - i actually told her to keep it as long as i could at some point get the info for Sue to pass on to people.
During the day, a couple of people came to me asking about packs and if they could get one. Eeeekkkkk - maybe they thought i was gainfully employed by Enable!! (sorry if i lowered the tone girls!!). But i managed to direct them to someone who might be able to do it.
A guy came over to me at the tea break and asked if i had a spare pack. When i said no, he asked if i could get the stuff to pass on, so i got his address. He chatted away, but really, it seemed more of a rant about lack of services and money for services. But since i've been in that position, i just lent him an ear, because people have done it for me.
So we went off for our Q+A session.
This guy gets up again and has a bit of a go. (well - a LOT of a go)
He, to be honest, was howling a bit at the wrong people. We were on his side!
He complained again about lack of money for services for people with Learning disabilities. There was one guy there representing the council, but he wasn't a politician - he was a council employee. He did try to explain a few things,but it didn't seem to wash well with the ranter.
Couple of questions later, he was up again. He said it was alright for us, coming up from Glasgow, where there was obviously loads of money for SDS, but didn't we know that Aberdeen spent all the money tackling drink and drug problems?!?!?!?
By this time i was MAD. I had been patient with the guy. I had told him earlier that this was not a political event and council employees are often as fed up as those who care for people with disabilities . I said we really should keep on track
Mind you - for one who could rant for britain and get gold, silver and bronze solo, hands down, this cause a few chuckles from the Enable team!!!
But by this point, i just about pulled poor Donna's arm out of its socket trying to get the Mic!!!
Did this gut REALLY think Glasgow had more money??
Did he think we had no problems with drugs and drink???
As we say in my part of the world AYE RIGHT!!!!!!
If we really had the money in Glasgow, why then did it take me soooo long to get services for Peter??
The grass isn't always greener!!
I wondered if he thought that the streets of Glasgow were paved with gold.
No, Mate - just streets littered with roadworks for the 2014 Commonwealth games.
That's where all our money is going!!!
Meanwhile, up at the back, Laura and Jenn were wonder just where all this had come from!!! They're used to me being,well ,not really prone to outbursts like that with people i don't know!!!!
So the day ended and Jenn got Me and Peter home safe.
Knackered mind you but safe!!!
No almost road-kill, but we did see a guy paragliding close to the roads (don't know that paragliders are really all that tasty! Think i'd prefer woolly mammoth!!!)
And a great conversation about what we thought a cloud looked like!!!
(An anvil with a large snail stuck to the side!!)
Now do you understand why my blog is called My Crazy life?!?!?!?
Grab my hand and enjoy the ride with us!!!!
Well - it's true girls isn't it?!?!?!
I'd better explain myself.
I've been back in the world of the grown ups again with Enable, doing another conference.
It was in Aberdeen this time.
Peter and I travelled up with Donna on Tuesday late afternoon.
Yes - Donna, whose shoes are often mentioned in my blog, so i suppose the title of the blog is really a nod to her and her shoes!!!
Told ya the shoes would get a mention Donna - and nice ones they were, but we did get a few crazy looks when we were having this conversation!!!
Anyway - we had a good journey up and had decided we'd have dinner with the others who had arrived there earlier.
Mind you - we nearly brought some road kill for dinner!!!
Man - pheasants and pigeons - must be the ditsies of the bird world!!!
A pheasant decided to fly low over the road as Donna was driving and we nearly killed it!
Then a pigeon flew outta nowhere!!
I could just picture the scene at reception.....................
Two rooms and could the chef please prepare these birds for our dinner?!?!?!?
Dinner was good. We sat and decided what we were going to have. Some interesting choices.
I opted for Smoked Wild Boar for my starter.
Well - i've never tried it, so here was my chance!!!!
Later on i texted my friend Sue (who was meeting up with us in the morning) to tell of my choice of starter.
Her reply wondered if i'd had half a woolly mammoth with a side order of sloth for my mains!!!!
You can tell we have watched too much Ice Age, can't you!!!!
Back in the room, Peter enjoyed watching UP on the dvd player we'd brought and eventually we decided we needed sleep.
Wednesday morning after breakfast we went to the main building. Peter and I decided to give the first part of the day a miss so we could catch up with Sue. We haven't seen her for ages and it was nice to sit and catch up. E mails and letters are nice, but there is nothing to beat sitting with a cuppa and having a chat.
Sue came to our 1st workshop. It was nice (but a bit nerve wracking) having someone who knows me well sitting there listening to us. But she said it was good and she enjoyed watching the DVD and putting faces to some of the names we have mentioned.
Alas, Sue couldn't stay for lunch - she had to get home, but it was so nice to have the chance to catch up.
2nd workshop went well, but Jenn and i were a bit stunned. We'd either managed to answer all their questions in the presentation, or it had all gone over their heads - nobody asked anything at the end!!!!
Even now, we're still not sure!!!
3rd workshop good and then time for tea.
Now - what i didn't tell you was that more people came along than expected. That was great, but the team didn't have enough of the packs. Donna took mine off to photocopy - i actually told her to keep it as long as i could at some point get the info for Sue to pass on to people.
During the day, a couple of people came to me asking about packs and if they could get one. Eeeekkkkk - maybe they thought i was gainfully employed by Enable!! (sorry if i lowered the tone girls!!). But i managed to direct them to someone who might be able to do it.
A guy came over to me at the tea break and asked if i had a spare pack. When i said no, he asked if i could get the stuff to pass on, so i got his address. He chatted away, but really, it seemed more of a rant about lack of services and money for services. But since i've been in that position, i just lent him an ear, because people have done it for me.
So we went off for our Q+A session.
This guy gets up again and has a bit of a go. (well - a LOT of a go)
He, to be honest, was howling a bit at the wrong people. We were on his side!
He complained again about lack of money for services for people with Learning disabilities. There was one guy there representing the council, but he wasn't a politician - he was a council employee. He did try to explain a few things,but it didn't seem to wash well with the ranter.
Couple of questions later, he was up again. He said it was alright for us, coming up from Glasgow, where there was obviously loads of money for SDS, but didn't we know that Aberdeen spent all the money tackling drink and drug problems?!?!?!?
By this time i was MAD. I had been patient with the guy. I had told him earlier that this was not a political event and council employees are often as fed up as those who care for people with disabilities . I said we really should keep on track
Mind you - for one who could rant for britain and get gold, silver and bronze solo, hands down, this cause a few chuckles from the Enable team!!!
But by this point, i just about pulled poor Donna's arm out of its socket trying to get the Mic!!!
Did this gut REALLY think Glasgow had more money??
Did he think we had no problems with drugs and drink???
As we say in my part of the world AYE RIGHT!!!!!!
If we really had the money in Glasgow, why then did it take me soooo long to get services for Peter??
The grass isn't always greener!!
I wondered if he thought that the streets of Glasgow were paved with gold.
No, Mate - just streets littered with roadworks for the 2014 Commonwealth games.
That's where all our money is going!!!
Meanwhile, up at the back, Laura and Jenn were wonder just where all this had come from!!! They're used to me being,well ,not really prone to outbursts like that with people i don't know!!!!
So the day ended and Jenn got Me and Peter home safe.
Knackered mind you but safe!!!
No almost road-kill, but we did see a guy paragliding close to the roads (don't know that paragliders are really all that tasty! Think i'd prefer woolly mammoth!!!)
And a great conversation about what we thought a cloud looked like!!!
(An anvil with a large snail stuck to the side!!)
Now do you understand why my blog is called My Crazy life?!?!?!?
Grab my hand and enjoy the ride with us!!!!
Monday, 7 May 2012
T'was the night before.....................
....................... Well, not quite Christmas, but a trip to Aberdeen to help do our presentation on Self Directed Support and the Family.
We did this presentation a couple of weeks ago and it seem to go well.
I think most people enjoyed it and i even managed to answer some questions and sound like a normal human being!!
(me - normal? Nah - who wants normal!?!?!?)
So this time we're heading off to Aberdeen and staying overnight.
Our bag is packed and if Lilo the cat lets us, we will set off tomorrow afternoon.
Lilo has a habit of sitting on bags you have packed.
Almost like "well, if i'm sitting on it, they can't go".
The logic of cats - wonderful!!!
As for Matthew, Louise and Paul - well, they tell me to take our keys, lest they are not at home on Wednesday evening when we get in!!
At last - i have found out who really loves me in this family - the cat!!
But only because i feed her and clean out the piddly bits in her litter tray!!!
I had so many plans of tidying up this weekend, but never quite managed it.
Paul's birthday yesterday. Then Lou and i escaped to go shopping for a while.
Home to order pizza and have birthday cake.
Then today Lou and i went to our friend Lorraine's house. It's her son Jamie's birthday today, so we headed there with pressies from us. It was nice to catch up with them.
Then home to pack our bag, make sure my phone and e reader are charged, Peter has new music on his MP3 player............................
The plan was to have an early night, but i can't see that one happening!!!
Ah well - i will let you know how it goes!!!
We did this presentation a couple of weeks ago and it seem to go well.
I think most people enjoyed it and i even managed to answer some questions and sound like a normal human being!!
(me - normal? Nah - who wants normal!?!?!?)
So this time we're heading off to Aberdeen and staying overnight.
Our bag is packed and if Lilo the cat lets us, we will set off tomorrow afternoon.
Lilo has a habit of sitting on bags you have packed.
Almost like "well, if i'm sitting on it, they can't go".
The logic of cats - wonderful!!!
As for Matthew, Louise and Paul - well, they tell me to take our keys, lest they are not at home on Wednesday evening when we get in!!
At last - i have found out who really loves me in this family - the cat!!
But only because i feed her and clean out the piddly bits in her litter tray!!!
I had so many plans of tidying up this weekend, but never quite managed it.
Paul's birthday yesterday. Then Lou and i escaped to go shopping for a while.
Home to order pizza and have birthday cake.
Then today Lou and i went to our friend Lorraine's house. It's her son Jamie's birthday today, so we headed there with pressies from us. It was nice to catch up with them.
Then home to pack our bag, make sure my phone and e reader are charged, Peter has new music on his MP3 player............................
The plan was to have an early night, but i can't see that one happening!!!
Ah well - i will let you know how it goes!!!
Friday, 4 May 2012
Karma................
............................What a wonderful thing it can be!!
And even better if i get to watch it bit at someone's rear end!!!
He he he.................
The continuing saga of our journey to get a named Social Worker for Peter. After "getting" the Deputy Director of SW services last week, i got a call last friday from a team Leader at our local SW office.
(he must have done the optional module on "making phone calls"!!!!)
He was profuse in his apologies about the hassles we'd had. He said that the other Social Workers we had spoken to should have taken matters more seriously, especially when we started mentioning legal stuff .
He gave us the Council policy on overseeing Guardianships - we SHOULD have had a named contact and they SHOULD have been in touch at least once a year, possibly twice. (I KNEW all this - and i don't have a SW qualification - how come they didn't?!?!)
Anyway - the outcome was that we were to be assigned Named Worker within 2 weeks and i had this guy's name and number if things went pear shaped - again!!!
Yesterday afternoon, i was getting ready to go out to vote in the local council elections.
The phone rang.
The voice at the other end introduced himself as our named worker and told me who he was.
My brain was busy taking in this info as he talked.
Then i realized that i KNOW this guy!!
SO i stoped him and asked if he had been to the primary school i went to.
Yes, came the reply.
So, i said, you should remember me - and i told him who i was.
EEEEKKKKKK - He DID remember me and then said that he remembered his brother (who worked at the primary Peter went to) telling him we'd met.
See what i mean about Karma!?!?!
Mind you, time will tell how it goes.
He's coming to visit next friday.
Heck - they can wait on us for a change. And the next few days are busy. Peter and i had the dentist today and i had an ASDA delivery.
It's Paul's birthday on sunday.
Tuesday we're going to Aberdeen and doing our presentation on wednesday.
Thursday is art class
As i've been writing, i've had a call from Jenn to fill me in on arrangements for wednesday.
Sounds like a good time will be had.
And i've promised Peter we'll take the dvd player and some dvds to watch in the evening.
But before then, i have Birthday cards to write, pressies to wrap (not for Paul, but my friend's son whose birthday is on monday)
Goodness know when he'll get the pressie, but he WILL get it.
And even better if i get to watch it bit at someone's rear end!!!
He he he.................
The continuing saga of our journey to get a named Social Worker for Peter. After "getting" the Deputy Director of SW services last week, i got a call last friday from a team Leader at our local SW office.
(he must have done the optional module on "making phone calls"!!!!)
He was profuse in his apologies about the hassles we'd had. He said that the other Social Workers we had spoken to should have taken matters more seriously, especially when we started mentioning legal stuff .
He gave us the Council policy on overseeing Guardianships - we SHOULD have had a named contact and they SHOULD have been in touch at least once a year, possibly twice. (I KNEW all this - and i don't have a SW qualification - how come they didn't?!?!)
Anyway - the outcome was that we were to be assigned Named Worker within 2 weeks and i had this guy's name and number if things went pear shaped - again!!!
Yesterday afternoon, i was getting ready to go out to vote in the local council elections.
The phone rang.
The voice at the other end introduced himself as our named worker and told me who he was.
My brain was busy taking in this info as he talked.
Then i realized that i KNOW this guy!!
SO i stoped him and asked if he had been to the primary school i went to.
Yes, came the reply.
So, i said, you should remember me - and i told him who i was.
EEEEKKKKKK - He DID remember me and then said that he remembered his brother (who worked at the primary Peter went to) telling him we'd met.
See what i mean about Karma!?!?!
Mind you, time will tell how it goes.
He's coming to visit next friday.
Heck - they can wait on us for a change. And the next few days are busy. Peter and i had the dentist today and i had an ASDA delivery.
It's Paul's birthday on sunday.
Tuesday we're going to Aberdeen and doing our presentation on wednesday.
Thursday is art class
As i've been writing, i've had a call from Jenn to fill me in on arrangements for wednesday.
Sounds like a good time will be had.
And i've promised Peter we'll take the dvd player and some dvds to watch in the evening.
But before then, i have Birthday cards to write, pressies to wrap (not for Paul, but my friend's son whose birthday is on monday)
Goodness know when he'll get the pressie, but he WILL get it.
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