Another Mis Diagnosis!

Oh the joys of having a sore throat and head cold, and no immune system! I had been somewhat unwell for almost 3 weeks. Things eventually turned to custard and I eventually ended up in hospital. I'm home again and although I am now ok, I am very tired. While in hospital I was (once again) diagnosed with something I actually don't have! This is the 2nd time in two years I have been (wrongly) diagnosed with this issue. I won't go into detail, but I knew 100% the diagnosis was incorrect. I had all the ED Doctors coming into my room telling me I had to be urgently transferred to another hospital to have surgery. Knowing the diagnosis was wrong and having proof, I did my best to tell the Doctors/nurses they were incorrect. Oh boy! Have you ever tried telling a Doctor they are wrong?! They didn't appreciate my input at all, and refused to listen to me. I was harassed by them for several hours. I wasn't allowed to eat/drink. However, no-one stopped me eating lunch and having a cup of tea. (I was very dehydrated at this time, due to no-one coming to connect my IV line. I had let them know several times over 3 hours but nothing had been done. eventually I was whisked off to a Ward. It was a very strange Ward, one I hadn't been in before. My medications were taken off me, basically snatched from my hands without any explanation. I have always taken my own medications with me due to one of them not being easily available by the hospital. It's the one medication that keeps me alive. Without it I would die. It's a medication I must take regularly at specific times of the day/night. They Dr's know I always have my own medications, and I always let them know when I have taken them. I asked for my medications to please be returned to me as it was now 45 minutes past the time I was supposed to take them. I was stressed and frustrated and a bit panicky at the fact that I wasn't being heard. No-one was listening to me. No-one wanted to hear my explanation (and give them proof, of how I knew I didn't have what they diagnosed me with! Each time i tried to explain what I knew, I was told "well a SENIOR Radiologist had diagnosed me!) Well guess what?? He was WRONG!! Dead WRONG!! No, I am not a Dr and I have no medical diploma's or anything like that. (I have a degree in Psychology and that's all!) Eventually I'd had enough and told a different nurse that I was leaving and to return my medications. They were now due an hour ago. A doctor came and asked me do I know the consequences of my "mis diagnosis" and that I could become severely unwell and would need rushing to hospital for urgent surgery...etc etc. Yes, I was well aware of that, was  HE  aware that I had been mis-diagnosed and could he give me five minutes to explain why the diagnosis was incorrect?? Sadly he didn't have the time. I was becoming panicky because I felt like I had no control over what was happening to me. So I packed my bag, and once my medications were returned to me, I signed the papers, discharged myself and came home. I have nothing against Doctors/nurses, 99% of them are great, and I am very grateful to them for their help. It's just that I had proof that I had been misdiagnosed, and maybe they felt challenged by me disagreeing with them, I don't know. But what I do know is, I know my health issues VERY well. As Dr. Phil said, 'this ain't my first Rodeo!  'I've  been managing my health issues (and yes they are complicated)  for most of my life! What annoyed and frustrated me the most was, I HAD PROOF of the mis diagnosis! Just BTW the 2 Ambulance crew who whisked me off to hospital, asked me my age. I told them and said I'm having a 'Champagne and Donut themed 70th Birthday party, and invited them both to come! As it turns out, that day is their day off, so they said they will pop in! They were so nice and knew I needed to get to hospital that day to get things sorted out. And they had time to  give Romeo a pat and a cuddle, which he enjoyed! Anyway, I am managing a sore throat/Asthma at home. I'm slowly getting better day by day. I see my GP tomorrow just  to get a few things sorted out. I haven't done any crafting due to being unwell for awhile, but...I have some NEW Lavinia Stamps on their way, woohoo! A new release and I have to say, they are gorgeous! I am in love with  the oh-so-cute Raccoons! I wonder what interesting they are 'stitching' up?! (Subtle  clue there folks!) Ok, that's it for now! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!

Happy Birthday!

 Happy Birthday to my niece Julie (Nicola)  Your biological father is my older brother. I hope you have a fabulous fun day! With love and best wishes from your Aunty Shona! (Sunshine) xxx

A Little Crafting and A Couple of Photos.

These are a couple of tags I stamped with my home made stamping tool seen in a previous post. I am waiting on a delivery of coloured tassels to arrive so I can attach them to each tag. I will use coloured thread/ribbon and then the tassel. This will be threaded through the punched hole. I bought the tags about 2 years ago, bought them home ad forgot about them until recently. I will also colour the stamped images. The cat and mouse images are both from AAL & CREATE stamp sets. The Cat set number it TP1405, and the mouse is from set number #11.

The photo of the Autumn (Fall) trees below is one  I took just on sunrise. The next photo is the same tree taken as the sun was setting. At sunset the tree literally glows, as you cab see. 

The tree now has no leaves at all, and when the sun hots it at the right time, it looks 'ghostly' with it's almost 'white' branches. This view is what I see from my kitchen window. It's a lovely view, and is forever changing as other tree's grow up and around it.

I've had a few health issues lately and haven't done a lot of crafting. In case I haven't mentioned it before,(lol) or maybe you are a new visitor to my blog - welcome if this is your first visit - I absolutely HATE Winter. We're only a few weeks in to Winter and I am over it already! We have had some absolutely stunningly sunny days with beautiful cloudless blue skies, but oh boy it has been cold. It was 6c when I got up this morning. It will get warmer as the day goes on, but I don't like the cold. So far we haven't had too many rainy days. Ok, that's it for this post. I hope everyone is well and enjoying whatever crafting you are doing! Always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

 

I Made A Mini Stamping Platform!

 I am getting bored not having my reading glasses, but I have not been idle! (Another 3 days to go until I  get them... Woohoo!) I wanted a small stamping platform and couldn't find one online here in NZ. Being in a small country at the bottom of the world means finding the craft items I want or need can be challenging. The only small 6x6 inch platform  I could find here in NZ was out of stock:-( Typical and so frustrating. So this is what I did...I found and empty DVD case.

Below, I cut 3 squares of fun foam to fit in the case.

Trim off any of the foam that is too big because you need to dvd case to close.

In the photo below you can see on the right is the tag I was stamping on to, and on the left hand side of the dvd case is the tiny mouse stamp I was stamping on to the tag. All I did was ink up the mouse stamp and close the lid, which then stamped the mouse on to that casts head. I took did use low tack tape to hold the tag in the right place but had removed it before I took this photo.  This size stamping platform works well and I had no issues with it. The DVD case I used measures 5 1/2 inches by 4 3/4 inch. Depending on the depth of the case, you could add more fun foam if you needed to, or if the case was very flat you may only need 1-2 pieces of foam.

Let me know if you tried this idea, and how it worked (or not). I have a Tim Holtz stamping platform, but it's much bigger and so takes up more room on my desk. Because I was stamping tags (which I will show you in my next post), I wanted a smaller platform. Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

K.Mart Aftercare.

My microwave recently conked out. Time for a new one, so I ordered it from K.Mart. Before I get into it, I apologize to anyone who may work at K.Mart. I love the place, but I don't love their aftercare. I also ordered a couple of other small items. So 3 days ago my order arrived just after 5 pm.  Two large very heavy looking boxes. "Wow" I thought, "there must be a lot of  packaging inside." One of the items was an Induction Plate. Upon opening one of the boxes I discovered there was 4 Induction Plates not one!

It was after 5 by now so no point trying to call K.Mart to sort out a return/refund as they close at 5 pm. So I have spent the 2 two days trying to sort it out. Unfortunately, no matter what I tried, I could only get and AI chatbot which didn't help at all. No matter what I did, or what phone number I rang, all I got was AI. Feeling soooo frustrated this morning, I called my local Citizens Advice for help. Eventually the lady was able to direct me to an email site where I could ask about a return/refund. I am partially sighted, which would be obvious if you met me. So I sent an email and explained I was partially sighted and told them my issue and asked how to return and get a refund for the 3 extra Induction Plates. I gave them my order number, my phone number and my email address. I am now waiting on a reply.

However, I am frustrated that the only "help" online is an AI chatbot, and there is no way to speak to a real live human being.  If I had a basic question the AI chatbot would have been fine. To not be able to speak with a real live person is not good enough K.Mart. I know AI is everywhere these days, but in this situation it's a waste of my time. Yes, I know it's my fault I ordered 4 of the Induction Plates, but K. Mart's  Aftercare is not up to standard. Ok, I've had my rant now! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE  day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

I Know What I Said, But...

 I cannot sit and do nothing! Even without my reading glasses I just have to do something crafty! I have these two stamps which were mounted on wooden blocks.  They measure 4 /14 x 4 inches and were always hard to create a nice solid image. 

So I put the stamps (1 at a tine) in the microwave and nuked it for about 14 seconds. This was enough to soften the sticky stuff that held the rubber stamp on to the wooden block, and I was able to carefully peel the rubber stamp off the wooden block. Does that make sense?! 

I attached the images to some foam cushion read to use as cling stamps. I will use my stamp platform to stamp the images when I am ready. Once u had done that I put the wooden blocks back in the microwave for about 10 seconds and was able to remove the stickers with the pictures on. While the stickers of Minnie and Mickey Mouse were still sticky, I put them on to a sheet of clear window plastic and carefully cut around each picture. This means it will be easy to see where I want to stamp each image.  There will be no guessing and oping that I have the image in the right place. I bought these stamps when I was in Sydney one time. Now I just need to make a card using them! (When I  get my new reading glasses...)

I'll tell you a funny story about Mickey Mouse...when I was at Disneyland I had my photo taken standing next to Mickey Mouse. "Now is my chance", I thought...

So I asked Mickey Mouse to marry me! He put one hand over his mouth and the other hand on the  side of his face, and the girl taking the photo quickly said, "Oh he can't marry you, Minnie Mouse would be so upset"! So that was it, Mickey Mouse and I did not get married! But I did get some nice photo's of me standing beside Mickey! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self, and shine bright each and every day!

I Discover Simon Hurley Solar Paste!

 

I know I said i wasn't going to be posting anything for 2 weeks because I am waiting to get my new reading glasses but...I just had to post this! I embossed a piece of black card using one of my embossing folders. 

Then I used some Simon Hurley Solar Paste (Golden Hour is the colour) to 'colour in' the flowers/leaves. To apply the paste  I used a thing that looks like a paint brush, but instead of a brush it has a very small sponge tip. I also used Solar Paste in the colour of Cross My Heart, which is a pink colour. These are so shiny when they catch the light! I love them! You only need such a small amount as it goes a long way. I did all this before my glasses broke. I really can't see up close without them, and if only you could see how many mistakes I have made typing this! It's taking me ages to get this typed. I added a small bit of the Gold to the center of each flower. You really need to see it in the sun, it shines so nicely! To finish the card I will die cut a Butterfly to add on it. (When I can see properly!) Ok that's it for now! Thanks for dropping by! Have a SUNSHINE day! Remember to always be your authentic self and shine bright each and every day!