Plus 40 Fabulous - The February Edition

I participate with a wonderful. stylish bunch of women in a Monthly blog event called Plus 40 fabulous, as despite what people think 40 does not mean you suddenly wish to dress in beige slacks and give up hope of ever being fashionable again, unless you count the over 50 renaissance fashion seems to be enjoying at the moment with Advanced age and JD Williams having a pretty stylish over 50 range, since when did style have a age????? Any how I digress, this months rather splendid theme is:  What makes me happy?

Not to be cliched I will start with the important stuff My Family.

I live with the Hub and a rather wonderful elderly Staffrador (we think she is Staff cross lab, although at her last vet visit they said there may be some Collie, so a mongrel but we prefer Staffrador)  called Madame Beyonce.  I have to say chilling with these two is my favourite thing and I am very grateful to have them both in my life,

I have also been blessed with a wonderful family, unfortunately I no longer have my Dad but I have my fantastic Mum who is my biggest cheerleader, help, support and I am so lucky to have her.  I also have a pretty fab big brother who is big support and help to us all.  Here they are at my nieces wedding.

Friends

I am also blessed with some understanding friends as I work long hours as a carer and often am not about at weekends or when they are off, but they are always there.

And although I have not seen them all together in some time one of the things I am really looking forward to this year is my college reunion with these guys and recreating this photo,

Through Blogging I have also made an amazing group of virtual friends and one of my aims this year is try and see them a bit more in the flesh.

My Home town.

I live in Deal and although as a teenager I didn't appreciate it. referring to it as the seaside town they forgot to even open.  As a adult I bloody love the place even if it is full of expensive coffee shops and not much else it is a place of great beauty and in my opinion a bloody great place to live.

From The Telegraph

One of our beautiful side streets

Eating Out

I love good food and if I can eat out all the better.  Recently I ate a really good Vietnamese after an appointment with the eye geeks in London - that made me very happy.

Music

 I will always love Pulp, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Saint Etienne, Camera Obscura, girl bands, Amy Winehouse and the Foo Fighters.  A bit eclectic I know and I am huge Brit Pop fan and love interesting covers at the moment Postmodern Jukebox is a fave.

Books.

I have recently got back into reading and am on track for my two books a month target.  So far this year I have read Jojo Moyes, Before You and After You which I highly recommend.  A forgettable easy read called The Angel Tree and at the moment I am reading The Diary of a Teenage Girl, which is set in 70's San Fransisco which so far I am enjoying.

Authors I love are Maggie O'Farrell, Lisa Jewell and Sarra Manning, especially her new book Save the last dance,

Then there is clothes and accessories my tastes veer I guess to the quirky and at the moment I love the 60's with my latest purchase being this amazing Heart of Haute dress.

I also love prints and have several print dresses this Gnome dress is my oldest but always makes me happy, as does the fox print.

I am also having a bit of a love affair with novelty bags and the skinnydip ones are just amazing, I have just got my hands on this Ray gun bag, which my work mates declared hideous but zero effs given here.

There are other things such as Crown and Glory and Janine Basil.  TV shows like the Big Bang Theory. Bojack Horseman, Gold Rush and House of Cards that make me smile but these are the main.

Please read what is making everyone else happy and if you feel inclined tell me what is making you happy,

Cathy: http://www.southernyacht.blogspot.co.uk/
Christy: http://www.sprintingwithscissors.blogspot.co.uk/
Daisy: http://daisysays.co.uk
Kate: https://wearingmywardrobein2016.wordpress.com
Kath: https://fatheffalump.wordpress.com
Leah: http://www.justmeleah.co.uk
Lee: http://www.pinkybellesshed.co.uk/
Lisa: http://www.kitandkoboodle75.blogspot.co.uk/
Mookie: http://www.mookieslife.com/
Nikki :http://www.nattynikki.com/
Perelandra: http://www.pamperandcurves.com/
Sarah: http://www.plussizeproud.co.uk
Steph: http://www.misskittenheel.com
Yvonne: http://woosangwashere.blogspot.com

My Lovely Dad - Mesothelioma Awareness Day

I don't usually do these kinds of posts but I touched on Mesothelioma, which is a type of Cancer caused by exposure to asbestos a while ago when my Dad's came back.  Recently I was contacted by Heather who has suffered from Mesothelioma if I would do a post on my blog today as it is Mesothelioma awareness day.

Unfortunately for my Dad, despite 5 years following successful radical surgery of being cancer free but probably not living in those 5 years the type of life he would have liked to live, he died 4 months after the return of his cancer.  Leaving me devastated, raw, an emotional mess who made too many decisions too quickly and a void in my family.

The thing with Mesothelioma is you only get it through exposure to asbestos, my Dad was exposed to asbestos at 15 when he worked in the Bristol shipyard as an apprentice Ships Carpenter and they had a rush job where he had to rip out the ships lagging which was asbestos and it is my belief that everyone who worked on that job died of the disease.  So after 50 years of the spores lying dormant it materialised.

So why am I writing this?  I suppose to raise awareness during and after my Dad's illness I have met a lot of people who work or have worked labouring and many have done cash in hand jobs removing asbestos and I know that it was used in houses until the 70's so people may have it in them or their sheds and if you do please pay the extra and get it removed properly and check that it is still intact as I believe it can become unstable and leak spores.

I don't have many pictures of my Dad on my computer but I do have one of me and him on my wedding day, it is fitting as my Dad was a peacock who loved clothes and he was the one who came to chose my wedding dress not my Mum as she hates shopping.  So I will finish this post with a the picture of me and him, I am thankful for all the years I had with my Dad and the relationship we had I am just greedy and would have liked more and that is why I am writing this post to raise awareness of asbestos and Mesothelioma.

You can find out a lot more about Mesothelioma here and more about Heather here

Long Time No See

Hello, I apologize I have been so very quiet on here.  If I am honest firstly I got busy as I got a new jobbins and following that I got a bit emo following the death of my precious Dad, and since then I have a bit (well a lot) lost.  My mojo has left the building and I have to admit I have not written a jot recently.
So I thought the least I could do is post a picture of the pretty dress I wore for Emma's wedding.  It is from the rather wonderful Limb clothing,  who also provided the dress I wore for my Dad's funeral.

The dress for the wedding not the funeral.

Thanks to the lovely Fran for her help in getting both dresses and I can't wait to get another.

And here is the pic of me wearing it with my lovely Hub.  We may have drank a few glasses of vino and a couple of shots by this point.

And in case you were interested, this is the one I wore for the funeral of my lovely Papa Dave.

I think he would have approved as he was a bit of a natty dresser, never happier than in a pair of red cords or a hat.
So enough of this pity party as even in darkness I believe there is good stuff, so here is my list of good stuff that has happened since I last blogged:

1. My friend Emma got married and is expecting Baba Baldwin (number 3)
2. I may be going to Las Vegas (well I am wheeeeeeeeee)
3. I cut off my hair.
4. I discovered chocolate peanut butter brownies at The Greedy Cow in Margate.
5. I had a very nice Owl tattoo on my foot (Thanks Martin at Tribal Nation)
6. I discovered Vampire Bunnies dresses and the Hub bought me a rather spanky Care Bears one for Christmas.
7. I now appreciate my friends and family more than ever.

So what can you expect from me now, well I will try to blog at least weekly with reviews on restaurants, my adventures, perhaps a little fatshion (as a plus size princess I try to be stylish) and other random Mc Guffins that float through my head.

Accepting what we don't want to accept

In a departure from my usual postings of dresses and beachey themed gardens, I thought I would explain my recent silence.  Firstly my Nanny, died and there was funerals to attend and all that which was sad.  Then I heard the devastating news, Papa Dave's Cancer has returned.
Four and a half years ago my Dad (Known to me as Papa Dave) was diagnosed as having Mesothelioma (asbestos cancer) luckily for us the fantastic Dr's at Morriston Hospital, did radical surgery, removing one of his lungs, the chest lining, 75% of his diaphragm and a little bit of his heart membrane.  This has not been with knock on effects on his health but I have had my Dad.  Now I know in my hear of hearts that it was probably going to come back but it was still a punch in the stomach.
Dr Wonder Woman as my Dad calls her says it is treatable but not curable.  I have to admit I don't know what this means in terms of time, but it makes it more real that one day me and my Dad will no longer bounce round the room to Mr Blue Sky, that we will never go on a holiday together again, or eat elaborate feasts, wind my Mum up, that one day the funeral plans we make together on the phone in a jokey manner will be real and the only place I will get to talk to my Dad is in my head.

However I accept this as I know that one day we all will die it is an inevitable, a non-negotiable fact!  Just like I accept that my Dad will not try any of the alternative treatments, that I tell him about, that I will be sad but one day I will have to read his eulogy (yep, pops has demanded that I put my degree to some use)
So I focus on enjoying the time we have together, being a support and when he goes I know he will have a kick ass celebration of all things Dave, with hats, cheese, cigars, whiskey and the best decorated cardboard coffin you did ever see because we planned it.
As my friend Lisa Clark said on today on her all kinds of inspiring blog Sassyology: "Life is brilliant, but really shitty stuff has, is, and will still happen." and my way of looking at it is I can waste my energy being angry with the world but it isn't gonna change the facts and if I accept this I can use my energy positively to make a difference here and now!