The walk

While we were in Wales, Denty came down with a pretty bad case of the ‘flu. It was proper ‘flu with the fever and all, not the man-flu, contrived to get out of hiking type. Anyway, as he was unwell,  before it starts to rain again, I thought I could take a short walk into the village about a mile away to see if they have a little shop to get more paracetamol for Denty.

I had two choices, to walk the single track road or to take a supposed short cut over the hill. So I wandered out of the very long and uphill driveway…

Ruthlin, the cottage in Wales

To celebrate  the first anniversary of our marriage, Denty and I rented a little (well, not-so-little as it was a four-bedroomed barn conversion) in the middle of nowhere in Wales. The building was a barn once belonging to a nearby-ish farm called Ruthlin Mills, hence the converted cottage was named Ruthlin.

It was a mere 200 mile journey, so Denty and I thought it would be nice to make a little detour to visit Stonehenge on the way there.  You see, about 20 years ago, little Denty found a Stonehenge souvenir bookmark in church and has used it ever since. What was once a leather bookmark with the respectable amount of tassels is now a sorry piece of cow hide with 3 and a bit strands of tassel. Since Denty had never seen Stonehenge, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get him a new bookmark.

After the little detour, we continued our journey to Ruthlin.

Fluffed

[Photograph of the dog dogs playing hide and seek]

I really like my dog dogs. I especially like Jumbo Dog Dog’s considerably sized nose. I like to hug his nose when I sleep and sometimes, to make the sleep extra yummy, I fluff his nose a little.

I know that “my side of the bed” is wherever I end up, but I was woken up last night by Denty fluffing my head …

The day of the Muks

It is my day today, and Denty has been spoiling me. Denty sneaked (or is it snuck) downstairs early this morning and later woke me up with a much needed cup of coffee.

This was quickly proceeded with a round of presents… Woodstock (although Denty put him on my lair a few days ago to surprise me), a fishing rod, a cookbook on how I can cook the fishes I may catch and a cookbook on how to cook asian food (mainly curry, I suppose). There is a reason behind the fishing rod, but that will only be usable in two month’s time.

The new lawn

The old lawn was an absolute mess, with more weed than actual grass. In order to make it more Mum friendly when she visits next year, we decided to do a revamp on the garden. We dug up the concrete path that ran through the middle of the lawn…

Where’s my door?

Two nights ago, Denty woke up in a start only to find me:

• carrying my duvet;
• carrying all my dog dogs;
• standing by the window; and,
• playing with the curtains.

For some unknown reason, I was trying to go back to my old room (now the spare room) in my sleep but I couldn’t find the door.

Denty Family Values (part II)

In February 2008, I posted the original version of the Denty Family Values… to commemorate the arrival of a Mini Mr Dentette.

The core Denty Family is made up of Pop-Denty, Mommy-Denty, Veggie-Denty, Denty, Dentette and Kind-of-little-Denty. By now, they have collected a Mrs Veggie-Denty, a Mrs Denty (a.k.a. Muks) and a Mr Dentette.

Some time last night or wee hours of this morning, a Mini Mr Dentette Beta version is born…

What else could bring you so much joy
As the arrival of your baby boy!
His snuggly charms now capture you;
He’s in your thoughts in all you do.

 Nothing can fill you so full of glee
As bouncing your little boy on your knee.
His precious antics please mom and dad;
He’s a bundle of blessings, this little lad!

His boyish grin enchants everyone;
He’s just what you wanted–your boy, your son.
A baby boy is a natural high,
So have lots of fun with your little guy. 

Musing about the pergola

We have a pergola at the back of the garden. I am thinking of getting a canvas shade and a couple of deck chairs (with thick comfy cushions) for my mum when she comes to visit next year.

The pergola has a grape vine growing on it, so it should be a nice little nook for my mum to hang out in on a nice day.  She could lounge there to count the grapes, listen to the atmospheric splashes from the little fountain (note to self- must get pump repaired) and watch the vegetables grow. Hmmm… I could make a crystal windchime too.

Dad will obviously be there to serve mum.

Looking ahead

I have decided to maintain a positive outlook and plan ahead. My mum is going to get better and we are going to plan stuff for her to look forward to.

1. She will come here next summer to harvest fantastic vegetables from my garden
2. We will take her to nice cottages to enjoy walks around the beautiful English countryside
3. We will go on a white Christmas holiday with anttyk, my anttyk-in-law and my Denty.

She is going to have to wait a little for her grandchildren, so she has no other choice but to get well. So, there.

The big debate

I am confused. My mum has cancer and we have been looking into alternative medicines to complement her chemotherapy to make her feel better and to increase the efficacy of the drugs.

My parents are convinced by the “miracle cure“ Tian Xian while my aunt is adamant that Ganoderma lucidum is the “magic pill“.

According to Cancer Research UK however, “the websites selling Tian Xian claim that it has been scientifically tested.  But these claims are not backed up by any hard evidence.  There are no statistics on survival presented. Nor are there any descriptions of controlled clinical studies.”

As for Ganoderma lucidum, a research by the University of Cambridge, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, stated that there was “no clear evidence of benefit demonstrated in well-nourished subjects”.

Denty is right though. I don’t really care about which one my mum would choose to ingest as long as she is comfortable with her choice. As Denty said, the one that she believes in will be the best cure for her. Placebo effect, I guess.