Yes I am cold 24/7!

How do you feel about cold weather?

As someone who always has felt the cold. Remembering planting icy feet on husbands back many years ago to warm up. I’d say I have always felt the cold.

Yet curiously having been born during one of the country’s worse winters on record I do sort of feel an affinity with it.

Could never really ignore the chance of a snowball fight & more lately trying to capture frozen landscapes.

Still little did I know that life had a somewhat nasty surprise waiting for me in the form of a condition called scleroderma with a side order of Reynauds phenomenon.

For those not in the know. This form of Reynauds seems to present in conjunction with an autoimmune condition.

Unlike primary Reynauds which tends to be limited to the winter months. This is something I now live with all year around. Indeed I almost crave the cold conditions as at least if I am wrapped from head to toe in warm layers no one notices.

At the Top

Once you start going out on a warm day with your winter coat & gloves you start to attract the wrong kind of attention.

I am now in possession of the most impressive range of warm gloves, thermal tops & other ingenious garments with various thermal properties.

Currently I love going out on the back of the motor bike as again I can layer up & no one seems to think a heavy warm bike jacket on a warm day as odd as an ordinary coat for some reason.

It’s bizarre to think that the cold can potentially cause my hands to reach a level of numbness that renders them useless yet in some ways it’s easier to manage than in the warm weather because layering clothes is so much more difficult.

It’s also harder to avoid the staring & judgy questions when in a thermal top & hoodie when the temperature is high.

Over the weekend we camped in a small tent having ridden to the site on the bike. Careful clothes juggling meant my hands were fine. Came home & was doing the chores the weather still warm & made the mistake of touching washing out of the machine & bang my finger tips started to go numb.

So I am left with a kind of love hate relationship with the weather. The jury is still out on whether I prefer the hot to cold.

For me the battle to keep my hands from becoming numb & increasing the risk of me losing the blood supply permanently is a daily battle. I am resourceful though so currently working on many ways of trying to keep this under control.

If you spot someone who is wrapped up on a warm day maybe just try to be kind & not make them feel any odder than they already do.

Meanwhile I’m getting ready to go to the pub so the main question is what gloves to wear with my dry robe!

Yes I am cold 24/7!

How do you feel about cold weather?

As someone who always has felt the cold. Remembering planting icy feet on husbands back many years ago to warm up. I’d say I have always felt the cold.

Yet curiously having been born during one of the country’s worse winters on record I do sort of feel an affinity with it.

Could never really ignore the chance of a snowball fight & more lately trying to capture frozen landscapes.

Still little did I know that life had a somewhat nasty surprise waiting for me in the form of a condition called scleroderma with a side order of Reynauds phenomenon.

For those not in the know. This form of Reynauds seems to present in conjunction with an autoimmune condition.

Unlike primary Reynauds which tends to be limited to the winter months. This is something I now live with all year around. Indeed I almost crave the cold conditions as at least if I am wrapped from head to toe in warm layers no one notices.

At the Top

Once you start going out on a warm day with your winter coat & gloves you start to attract the wrong kind of attention.

I am now in possession of the most impressive range of warm gloves, thermal tops & other ingenious garments with various thermal properties.

Currently I love going out on the back of the motor bike as again I can layer up & no one seems to think a heavy warm bike jacket on a warm day as odd as an ordinary coat for some reason.

It’s bizarre to think that the cold can potentially cause my hands to reach a level of numbness that renders them useless yet in some ways it’s easier to manage than in the warm weather because layering clothes is so much more difficult.

It’s also harder to avoid the staring & judgy questions when in a thermal top & hoodie when the temperature is high.

Over the weekend we camped in a small tent having ridden to the site on the bike. Careful clothes juggling meant my hands were fine. Came home & was doing the chores the weather still warm & made the mistake of touching washing out of the machine & bang my finger tips started to go numb.

So I am left with a kind of love hate relationship with the weather. The jury is still out on whether I prefer the hot to cold.

For me the battle to keep my hands from becoming numb & increasing the risk of me losing the blood supply permanently is a daily battle. I am resourceful though so currently working on many ways of trying to keep this under control.

If you spot someone who is wrapped up on a warm day maybe just try to be kind & not make them feel any odder than they already do.

Meanwhile I’m getting ready to go to the pub so the main question is what gloves to wear with my dry robe!

You me @ six

What was the last live performance you saw?

YMAS

You me @ six or YMAS for those in the know are an English band who by next year will celebrate 20 years in the music business. In my view they are an awesome band & whilst I am sad they have announced their retirement I fully respect this decision. In fact I think they are setting an example others should follow ( & in some cases are many years overdue)

It’s a tad controversial pov but it’s evolved from standing in the crowd listening to some big names churning out ‘same old same old’. The danger with hanging on to old music is that it comes with a message that may no longer be appropriate.

Again there were bands whose music as a young person I loved but seeing them live some many years later realised how dated & misogynistic the lyrics were. I walked away really wishing that I hadn’t gone & in some way it spoilt my memories of the tunes.

It’s not saying they are bad musicians indeed many were exceptionally talented however if they have not moved with the times creatively then maybe their moment in the sun should come to a graceful end.

Move over & let the younger newer musicians come to the for & take their place in the spotlight.

My contemporaries may roll their eyes when I mention I’m off to a gig involving a band they have never heard of & wonder why. The answer is simple. Music for me is linked to memories & for me listening to new music at gigs from modern bands is about creating new memories.

Meeting The Hunna
Vienna 2023

I have had some amazing experiences at recent gigs with my daughter & complete strangers alike.

For me not all music memories from the past are good ones.

Enjoy your music for sure just don’t expect to find me sat in a corner reminiscing or even worse paying good money for ‘look a likely bands’. My feeling is this – if you are talented enough to mimic a well known band why aren’t you writing your ow? Controversial perhaps but that’s just how I see it. Don’t expect anyone to agree particularly. If you don’t well that’s all good too because I respect your opinion & we agree to differ.

Happy listening what ever it might be too.

Who said that?

Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often?

I’ll be honest for most of my years on the planet I have dodged the use of meaningful quotes like a word ninja.

However the handing down of life changing diagnosis meant I did a bit of re thinking recently.

I was mid workout with Jillian Michaels shouting out words of encouragement when she said something that has subsequently become my go to mantra.

Jillian Michaels

The saying was this ‘if you fight for those limitations you get the keep them’.

When the doctor gave the diagnosis they pretty much implied that it was ‘game over’ for most things giving rise to a potentially bleak future.

For a short moment I was nearly taken in by this until I heard Jill. In what could be described as a light bulb moment it occurred to me that if I started to think I couldn’t do things pretty soon I wouldn’t be able to.

Obviously I can’t control the speed at which the disease will progress or how it will ultimately impact my life but I can definitely not impose premature limitations on myself.

It really was a game changer mentally & it’s set me in a path of trying to work out how I can still do things rather than just accepting I can’t. It’s meant some adjustments for sure but I am looking at it from a different perspective.

I may not be able to do Taekwondo training in the open sea anymore but I can still get to class twice a week and spar with folk forty years my junior. I may not be able to spend a week in a tent at a festival but I can get day tickets & stay in a hotel.

My thermoregulatory system may well be shot but I can still tog up well & ride pillion on the back of hubby’s motorbike.

So on the odd dark day when living with a rare & challenging condition gets a bit much I think of JM & her words. They do inspire me & make me determined to live my best life.

I may not have them in a frame on the wall or embroidered on a cushion. They are not in a meme or giff or inspirational format to share on social media. However they are imprinted in my cortex & now silently underpin almost everything I do now.

So if I was ever lucky enough to meet Jillian Michaels I would really like to shake her hand & say thanks for her wise words.

Yes!

Have you ever been camping?

Some of my earliest memories stem from being cold & wet on holidays in the U.K.

As a family we went with extended family & shared what I think was an ex army bell tent. Made of heavy tarpaulin & had a central pole. One year I ended up asleep in the car with my parents as it rained so much the tent flooded. Happy days.

Over the years I went on various camping trips. A memorable trip was to complete the Three Peaks of Yorkshire. Still have the pin badge somewhere. I joined my then boyfriend ( now husband of 40 years) on a ‘exped’ with some of his Navy chums who were less than impressed I was coming too.

Determined I traipsed up hill & down dale knocking back pint for pint in the pub until we got back. I think I even took my turn with the rucksack too! We got back to the tents & the next day it had snowed. Crazy days.

Camping then sort of took a back seat until I took up Taekwondo in my 40’s.

One year in a small tent sent me shopping for one you could stand up in. This led to the purchase of what became known as ‘the Ballroom’. This worked while son & I participated in camp but later when it was just me I downsized from a 12 person tent to a 4 person one. Sadly don’t seem to have photos of these older tents now.

Then came the chance to go to some festivals & even both the 4 person tents were too big.

4 person tent

Out came a the two person tent that I had not been keen on as it was a bit poky. I was even less impressed when the thing leaked & I had to go buy a new one.

Second 4 person tent

So the last bit of camping was completed in a 3 person tent. This really is only suitable for 1 really if you don’t travel light. Having said that it does fit in the top box of the motorbike. It has been to a festival with us on the bike.

3 man tent

Not sure if my camping days are done. Best never to say never.