What’s On Your Workdesk this Wednesday?
New laminator
For months I have been toying with the idea of getting a laminator because I keep seeing stuff onlne about them and thinking how useful it would be to have one. I decided to go for it and after endless searching through hundreds of different ones and reading reviews – for each one there were both rave reviews and “don’t buy this rubbish” ones so it was very confusing! In the end I found myself returning to the very first one I looked at – a bog-standard no frills one that had lots of good reviews, so I went for that one. After all, it seemed a bit pointless spending extra money on a laminator that came complete with a paper trimmer and a corner rounder when I have both of these anyway. I also ordered a pack of laminator pouches with it, and a few days later some matte finish ones as well.
I recently discovered a delightful young lady on YouTube with a fabulous Geordie accent that I could listen to all day – she is the Laminator Queen in the craft room and has so many brilliant ideas! Ann Melvin Positively Papercraft. She’s got lots of laminating videos as well as other great ideas – she is very imaginative and encourages us to use what stash we’ve got, in unusual and very creative ways. Definitely worth following!
One thing I am particularly keen to try is laminating napkins with matte laminating folders – they come out like printed vellum! I think I might also get some interesting results with some of my inky kitchen paper. Zsuzsa has already told me she’s got her laminator out again and is having fun with it. I’m really looking forward to seeing what she does.
When the laminator arrived, due to other things intervening, I wasn’t able to get it going until the weekend.
Die storage complete – divided we stand
I have now completed my die storage with the arrival of more magnetic tape, and the laminator, which enabled me to make the dividers for the dies.
A lot of people go to the trouble and expense of using a label maker to label their dividers. I thought it would be a lot easier just to print the name on the top of a piece of printer card and then laminate it. I used my desktop publisher to place the text at the top left of a sheet of A4 and saved this as a template for future use. It was a simple matter to print off as many different category dividers as I wanted, and I can make more in future if I need to.
I then got the laminator going and laminated each whole A4 sheet. It worked brilliantly! I’m really pleased with how this laminator works – it’s just a basic one with no bells and whistles, and does the trick. It’s the first time I’ve ever laminated anything.
The next step was to trim them down to size. I experimented a bit with a piece of scrap paper to get the height of the dividers correct, and then trimmed the laminated sheets with my guillotine which cut through them like butter.
The laminator pouches I bought come with rounded corners, but when I trimmed them, the corners were quite sharp, so I went round all 4 corners with my corner rounder punch so that the curve of each corner was the same.
I am very pleased with how this has turned out. I have ordered the categories alphabetically. With all the dies and the dividers, the basket has filled up nicely, and they all stand up beautifully. If I get more dies, I can always add another basket.
The next job is to do something similar with my stamps. This is going to take quite a bit longer because I’ve got a lot, and most of them are muddled up.
What a week… it never rains but it pours
It has been a difficult week. On the day of my oncology appointment last Wednesday, my hubby took himself down to the GP surgery because he’d been complaining of increasingly severe abdominal pain. He had convinced himself it was some kind of UTI but I was unconvinced – the location of the pain didn’t add up. He didn’t come home, but phoned to say he’d been told to go straight to A&E with a suspected ruptured bowel. What followed thereafter was the usual interminable wait, and eventually he ended up waiting in the Assessment Ward. He phoned me continually through the evening to keep me up to date, and the final call was at 4 a.m. to say that he would be having a scan in the morning, and they had eventually got him onto a ward with a bed. He had not eaten since lunch time and was exhausted and hungry but the pain was diminishing somewhat. He didn’t get the scan until later the following day, and was then told he would have to stay overnight again. What we suspected was that this was a flare-up of his diverticular disease, and Thursday was spent waiting somewhat anxiously to see whether he would need surgery. He was told they would talk to him about the results of the scan on Friday morning and then we would know if he would be coming home then, or staying in.
Our sister-in-law kindly came over to help me on Thursday afternoon and was able to go to the hospital and deliver some things to my hubby and see him briefly – she was driven over by one of our neighbours so that she could drive his car home.
I continued to be in constant contact with my hubby by phone, and by Friday he said the pain was considerably less. He wasn’t seen by a doctor on the ward for ages but eventually was told he could come home, with a definite diagnosis of diverticulitis and a prescription for a course of antibiotics, with a follow-up appointment in the offing in a few weeks’ time, back in colo-rectal outpatients where I have spent many a happy hour! He was home by tea time, much to the relief of us both.
I have been doing some research online to see if there was anything I should be doing diet-wise to help him, and was reassured to find out that we are already doing exactly the right thing with the whole-food plant-based diet – the best diet for his condition and the prevention of flare-ups is a high fibre diet consisting predominantly of plants (whole grains, legumes, fresh fruit and vegetables etc.) which we are already doing. This is a disease of the West, brought on by the standard Western diet, low in fibre and consisting of too much animal fat and protein, and an excess of dairy. People living in Third World countries and orientals have virtually no incidence of the disease because their diet is largely whole-food plant-based.
I have been on at him for years, saying he doesn’t drink enough, which can contribute to flare-ups of the condition. I think after this he may take more notice of this – I am now filling bottles of water for him each day and make sure he drinks them! He is notoriously bad at looking after himself.
Once he was home, and all was OK, I was able make plans and firm up various appointments (see below in the health update).
Health update
Last week, Christine posted a picture of her computer to illustrate success at last in getting her techies to talk to each other, and on her screen she had a brilliant quote. I was so taken with this that I decided to make some digital art with it.
I could not agree more with this statement. Not just for Covid, but for cancer, too. Jesus covers all the bases, from A to Z.
For weeks I have been trusting the Lord for a good outcome from the lab tests following my surgery in early July, and I do want to thank everyone who has prayed for me during this time. During the final few days running up to my appointment I did become more anxious about what the oncologist would say, and sitting in the waiting room on Wednesday morning I heard the Lord say distinctly in my heart, “Trust Me.” I often get this, and as I obey, it is immediately followed by a sense of peace.
The oncologist told me that my Oncotype score was 21. This test examines the genes of the cancer cells and determines the likelihood of recurrence on a score from 0 to 100. For my age range and type of tumour, any score over 25 would suggest a higher risk of recurrence and therefore further intervention with chemotherapy, but under 25, there is no benefit from having it, so the answer to my question, “Will I have to have chemo?” is a resounding “NO!” What a relief!
He explained in depth the nature of the radiotherapy and hormone blocking therapy I shall be having, and it all sounds pretty unpleasant. Of course, they have to give details of all the possible side effects and their likely severity, but he explained that most people wouldn’t suffer all of the possible side effects and some people sail through with very little problem. There’s nothing to be done but to bite the bullet and face whatever lies ahead with fortitude, and just get through it, however bad it is. He tells me that the radiotherapy will probably give me sore and possibly blistered skin for a few weeks, and I am likely to suffer considerable fatigue (which I already have with my ME). It will ultimately leave me even more lopsided than I am now, and the hormone therapy, which will go on for 5 years, is likely to plunge me back into a second menopause with hot flushes etc. which I thought were gone for good. He sent me home with a prescription, and I’ve started taking these tablets – so far with no ill effect but they will probably take a while to kick in. I just hope I don’t grow a beard and end up singing bass in the choir.
I have been advised not to take phyto-oestrogens in supplement form to counteract these symptoms, despite the fact that I produced links to some studies which suggest that these can actually enhance the action of the hormone blockers while alleviating the symptoms. He said for every article in favour, there is another against, and he is not in favour of it. Oh well, I am in his hands and shall abide by his advice but it is a pain! The good news is that he doesn’t believe there is any advantage in removing phyto-oestrogens from the diet, so I can go on having my soya products – I am planning to up my intake and see if it helps! Extra soya milk and some tofu in this week’s grocery order! (I’m already eating soya yoghurt two or three times a day.) He did have to agree that the incidence of breast cancer amongst Asian women with a high intake of soya in their diet is extremely low compared with that in the West, and when Asian women move to the West and adopt the standard Western diet, their risk of developing breast cancer becomes the same as in the native Western population. When I was going through the menopause, I did hear that in Japanese there is no word for “hot flush” because they simply don’t have them!
So pass the soya beans, please!
Full details of the appointment, for anyone interested, are on my Breast Cancer Diary page.
I’ve got my radiotherapy planning appointment on Friday which will include a CT scan and being marked up so they know where to direct the beam. The actual treatment will take place in early September over five successive days.
The covid team have been in touch with me to make an appointment for a swab which I have to have before attending the planning appointment. This has to be two days before the appointment, after which we both have to self-isolate until the appointment. This is what happened before my operation as well. It is not something I relish, and I expect it will have to be repeated before I start the actual treatment. Unfortunately we have to be away on Wednesday attending a funeral about two hours’ drive from home. I was not sure what state my hubby would be in, and whether we’d be able to go or not, so I have had to leave the whole thing in limbo until we knew what was going on. The lady at the covid testing place was very understanding and said she’d be in contact with the oncology department. She said that it might be possible to have the swab the day before the appointment if it was early enough in the day for them to get the result through in time, and with the return of my hubby fit and well on Friday, I was able to contact them on Saturday morning to book this. This means that we can attend the funeral after all, and I’m very glad that my hubby is fit to drive us.
It’s been very unsettling, not only missing my hubby and wondering how he was, and whether he’d need surgery and be in hospital for some time and how I would manage without him, but also all this uncertainty about what we would be able to do during the following week. Once he was home again, proper plans could be made.
Kitties
New feeding bowls
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the kitty video I posted last week. Our own Elle of Empire of the Cat contacted me afterwards, regarding Ruby being sick so often after meals, and suggested raised feeding bowls. I’d never come across this before, but there are lots of different ones available, and sites explaining why they are such a good idea. Apparently altering the cat’s posture while eating not only makes it more comfortable for their necks (especially as they get older), but helps with digestion too. Apparently it’s quite common for cats to vomit after eating. In one review, someone said that since getting the raised feeding bowls, her cat had not vomited once. When my hubby came home on Friday, we looked at them together, and decided on one we liked – it has non-slip rubber feet, and the bowls clip into the stand so they can’t be knocked off. I don’t think even Ruby will be able to dislodge them. She is very good at getting the food bowls over the lip of the tray and onto the carpet! Elle originally suggested putting the bowls on a cat food box to raise them up, but we agreed that they’d simply knock them off onto the floor.
A proper system would be much better. This is the one I ordered from Amazon. I really hope it’s going to help, and that it will prove to be a worthwhile investment.
Silver service for kitties.
This is something I really love about WOYWW – not only do we share creative ideas, but also information on all kinds of other subjects! We are a real community and we are all here for each other and happy to help out with all sorts of things.
On Monday their new feeding bowls arrived.
(Just looking at that photo, I was thinking they would be great for me to wear, to make both my boobs the same size again!!)
Trying them out for the first time. Of course Ruby, being Ruby, didn’t understand about the bowls being set at the convenient 15-degree angle! She had to eat out of the wrong side!
Both kitties were somewhat subdued while my hubby was away, especially Lily, who has a special bond with him. When he came home on Friday they were both on my lap, and leapt off and ran for the door as soon as they heard him come in! However, Lily was quite stand-offish with him that evening and refused to be cuddled. Later, she did sit on his lap but would not purr. I carried her upstairs on the stairlift when he went to bed, and tried to get her to stay with him, but she refused, preferring to be a trolley dolly again on my trolley at the top of the stairs. She was definitely paying him back for abandoning her! Ruby was her usual self and didn’t behave any differently with him. One of our old kitties, Chloe, was very attached to me, and would pay me back for exactly the same number of days that we’d been away, pointedly distancing herself from me and being over-affectionate with my hubby just to rub it in. It happened every time! She counted the days. I’m not kidding. They know more than we think!
The “G” word
After last week’s video of the two of them coming in for their tea, here is a short one of them going out. They have learnt the word “garden” – especially Lily (who is brighter than Ruby). They can be relaxing indoors without paying much attention to anything, but if you mention the “G” word, they perk up immediately! They simply love going out. Sometimes Lily will sit by the door and demand to be let out, and I have to explain to her that she can’t go out unless my hubby is home, just in case they get out – it is really difficult for me to get them back in, as we’ve learnt from past experience. Anyway, here they are. Lily knows what she wants!
Amazon Prime kitties
When their new food bowls and my extra laminating pouches arrived, I tossed the empty box onto the floor, and the inevitable happened.
I love laminating soooo much – at school, I was known as the Laminating Queen. It’s so satisfying for some reason – I had no idea there were crafting tutorials using it, I shall have to check that out. Your labelled dividers are just the ticket, easy to see where everything is. I suspect I shall be doing much the same during my band’s music library sort out!
I’m sorry to hear that your husband was poorly and am glad he’s home now, such a worry. You have been having a time and half to put it mildly.
HUgs LLJ 6 xxx
I haven’t had my laminator out for ages so will definitely have a look at this lady. What would men do without us, good job he has you to encourage him. My mum was in hospital a couple of weeks ago but they didn’t want to keep her as the wards were full of Covid patients so they kept her over night in A+E which was okay but they only gave her biscuits to eat. I fear things are kicking off again. Nice to see the kitties doing well too. Happy woyww, Angela x14x
Loved the video of the box! I thought there was going to be trouble with that jump, but no she just wandered off. So glad you are not going to have chemo. Hope the new cat dishes are successful. Have a great week Angela #4
So sorry to hear about your hubs, but glad that he’s better now and it’s nothing too serious. Perhaps the stress of you being ill brought it out in him. Good that you don’t need chemo after all, although having to go through the menopause again doesn’t sound much fun, but perhaps you’ll be one of the lucky ones. Have fun playing with the laminator – I’ll defo try the kitchen towels, although I expect it may not work that well as they are textured – I had good results with prints on tracing paper though (see my last project on my blog today) – but everything is worth trying – you never know! When Oreo gets sick, it’s usually because he ate a mouse – I wish he didn’t do that! He’s not a fast eater and always waits very patiently for his food just staring at you (he’s good at that!) . The other day I forgot to feed him (I was going to but I got distracted doing something else in the kitchen) – and he was just sitting there next to his bowl staring at me, not complaining at all – although who knows what he was thinking! Cats are funny creatures – when my son and I were away for a week and my hubs stayed at home – he told us Oreo went around the house looking for us every night and he was visibly upset. When we finally came home he was taken aback, almost like he didn’t want to believe it like “is this really happening” but after that he was his usual happy purry self. Even when I snapped at him once for being annoying (and later apologised for it), he didn’t hold it against me. I thought he would sulk about it but he didn’t. They’re all different, I guess. Good luck with your storage quest – I need something like that for my stamps too! Have a lovely week, Shoshi! xx
Well let me start by congratulating you and being delighted that you don’t have to undergo, submit to, tolerate chemotherapy. Delighted for you. My neice calls me a tough old bird, and I don’t think I deserve the accolade so much as you…!! Am so sorry about DHs experience, admittance through A&E is desperate isn’t it, but very glad it didn’t end up with horrid tummy surgery and all that entails. It’s a man thing I think, this problem with looking after themselves properly. Your storage is wonderful, am sure it will work beautifully and I wish you many go-to the right category and no angst over which category certain things should fall into. Argh, you can see why I end up procrastinating, huh. I expect label printing is pretty balanced in cost by the time you’ve used a laminating pouch, I use our very old one a lot for work but never in my room, labels seem a trip too far for me at the mo, I mean, people would get the idea I know what I’m doing!!
Shoshi, I haven’t been by in a couple of weeks, so I really wanted to come by today and check on you, especially your health, and see how things were. Goodness with your poor hubby! I am so sorry for his experience!! I will be interested to find out the further outcome of it all being, as you said, you guys already eat a superb diet! Push that water, my friend! I KNOW I need to drink more!! I also LOVE my kombucha, which I firmly believe in! I will keep him lifted up in prayers as well as YOURSELF!! Praise report on the chemo for sure!! I just hope the rest of your treatments go quickly and not as bad of side effects as they are saying. Remember, that’s “their” report, NOT the report of the Lord! I am so, so glad that you have your faith to turn to! I KNOW form first hand experience how much of an impact it makes on your life and how it progresses you through experiences like yours with peace and strength! I don’t know where I would be today without His promises for my life!! Blessings for you BOTH!!
I almost skipped right over your little enabling diatribe with the laminator!! LOLOL You and Zsuzsa BOTH put that out there today!!! I love what it is doing for you! What a great way to get organized and I would imagine it can handle a myriad of great projects….BUT…..I will have NONE of that! I don’t need another thing to add to my collection of “crafty disease” side effects! LOLOL Laminate on, my friend! LOLOL
What a great idea for the kitties! I have not seen anything like that before, but it makes perfect sense. Our cats threw up all the time, but I just though it was because they were gluttonous!!! LOLOL Probably a little of both! LOLOL
The kitty videos are too cute!! They are so beautiful Shoshi! And I KNOW they know what we are talking about, especially with trigger words…..like “treats!” LOL The Amazon Prime Kitty especially cute! Cats and boxes to be sure! If we accidentally left one out and came back, they would have ripped it to shreds. For some reason they would chew on them or probably eating them as well! I’m sure that was some deficiency that we didn’t take care of, but nevertheless, it was anything like that! Boxes, paper, magazines……goodness! LOLOL
Take care my friend and again blessings to you and hubby on the health front!! God’s got this! 🙂 Felicia #26
oh my, what a week you’ve had! I think you’ve gone a bit wonky with your week numbering though!
I am glad your hubby was allowed home eventually without an op (so far) . Hope the kitties have forgiven him now!
Wishing you all the best for Friday and the treatment planning. Helen #2
Thank you for the link regarding the laminator on YouTube. I am now thinking of getting one. ?
Gosh what a worrying time you’ve had Shoshi. I’m glad your hubby is home without surgery.
I’m interested to see if Ruby vomits less with the inclined bowls. Our Bella sometimes sucks up after food, so I’ve ordered some as well (single ones with spare bowls). They have to be set apart or Gracie growls.
Take care and have a good week
Hugs
Lynnecrafts 8
I didn’t know what you could do with a laminator either – apart from the normal!!
What a week you have had though!
Thinking of you both…
Happy WOYWW!
Stay safe and keep well!
Susan #15
Calling All Crafters! – My Blog!
good news on the No Chemo, but every treatment is going to have some nasty side-effects I guess. Still it sucks. Sorry to hear your hubby had to endure all that. It is a worry, to have any other soert of problem now, when all the hospitals are at least a little stressed. I am averting my eyes whenever I see laminator posts – I simply cannot justify another tool! Unless I really REALLY need it….
Arrgghh!
🙂
Thanks for visiting, Mary Anne. I love your coin/ATC storage album – such a cool idea! I’m glad you managed to get your punch problem sorted to your satisfaction in the end. I know what you mean about being tempted to get stuff (yes, you convince yourself you really REALLY need it!!) – I make the big mistake of watching Tim Holtz videos and end up wanting EVERYTHING.
Had my radiotherapy planning appointment today and know that it will have some pretty nasty side effects… I’m already getting menopausal symptoms from my hormone blocker but valiantly trying to combat them by consuming soya in its various forms at every meal!
My hubby is fine now, with just the odd twinge, and I’m hoping that continuing with our very healthy diet, and the addition of the correct amount of fluids, will see him right. It was quite a week for us both and it’s great that he’s OK.
Happy belated WOYWW,
Shoshi #23
Sorry I’m so late, I can’t get into Stamping Ground at all, this will be the second week, so I’m not sure where everyone is without a link! Thank you for your visit.Thanks to Zsuzsa who linked me. (I won’t do a WOYWW this week if I can’t link) I was or will be again soon, doing the same with my A4 and A5 stamps and other things, putting them into open topped document holders and then using the laminator to cover the deviders. I follow Anne as well and she does come up with loads of ideas along with Sam Calcott, who I first saw this idea on… although I was near-enough doing it, I just needed a prod in the right direction! (they’ve both been on Create and Craft TV now.) Mr Jinx the cat has been back to the vets, just when we thought he was all better. (now waiting on tests…again!) Luckily, I only have to call Jinx and he comes, or shake the ‘Dreamies’ packet! I wonder if those bowls would help him? Have to try them! I’m supposed to be making a 70th birthday card, so I’d better get on with it… Happy Very Late WOYWW Stay safe and keep crafting! ((Lyn))#22
Glad you got your new laminator, sorry I wasn’t around to read this “live” so I’m doing a bit of a catch up. Laminators are pretty straight forward, all the bells and whistles that come with “craft” versions seem like overkill when probably we all have those bits and pieces already. Even that Mink thing that came out a few years ago, just seemed like a ridiculously expensive laminator that they tried to convince everyone that they had to have. I couldn’t arrange my stamps/dies in categories like that, I think my brain must work differently as I would never find anything, though it looks very straight forward. I have mine arranged by Brand as that seems be how I think of them.
Glad to hear your DH is feeling better, I agree with you about your diet, much better for the digestion for sure. So glad you don’t have to have chemo too! Interesting what your doctor said about the phyto-oestrogen supplements, though I’m not too surprised. It’s very telling isn’t it that there is no words for “hot flush” in Japanese, you would think people would investigate more on why that is, and then discover what we are all doing wrong, Have you ever read The China Study by T Colin Campbell?
I’m so glad the new feeding bowls are working out for the kitties. They do look really good quality too. The reason I put mine on top of cat food boxes is because I have rather expensive heavy ceramic bowls that I don’t really want to stop using, so instead of buying new bowls, I just raised the height of the old bowls by putting them on the boxes. One other thing that has helped with the being sick problem is switching to a hairball control food, that has improved them from both ends lol. Happy belated WOYWW! Elle, EOTC