Dieing and Punching - bring it on!

At least it's still Thursday so I'm not technically late this week with my DT card for Cute Card Thursday!   We are sponsored by Katharina at Whiff of Joy - stop by the CCT blog to read all about it and see the DTs inspirational creations.

For my card I found this cute Christmas Bunny I had printed out ages ago - he's by Sylvia Zet for Wee Stamps and you can get him as a digi from here.  I've coloured him with my Copic pens and added Stardust Stickles to the snow and falling flakes.

I have made a relatively simple card this week (it's not been a great week for me) and have just used some of my Marianne Design dies to create a mat for my image and to decorate the card.  The patterned paper is from my stash - no idea where I got it, probably a magazine freebie.  Here's the list of Marianne dies I've used:

pretty square blue mat for my image cut from die in LR0234
snowflakes from CR1225, CR1226, LR0123
text and banner both from COL1325

As I've not been around much to check on the blogs I'm not linking up to any other challenges - if you know of any do let me know.

Now for a bit of a moan - only read if you want to feel as stressed out as me! After a couple of days enjoying the sunshine and pottering about in the garden, I ended up with the most horrific headache last evening and have been taking every medication in the cupboard to get some relief .. .. finally it has eased but I feel like a rung out dishrag.  My own fault - I decided to tidy up a corner flower bed outside my bedroom window, just that little bit of bending and digging and moving a small paving slab or two ... ... it has messed up my neck again big time, every time I move I hear crunching and grinding and the neck muscles are in spasms of protest!

There was good news from the Inland Revenue yesterday regarding my tax mix up .. .. they aren't going to pursue the matter for the moment (probably waiting until Mum pops her clogs and I inherit so they can get hold of the house), however, I had a letter from the DWP who want me to be assessed for returning to work - ha! I am now 60 years old but under the new pension rules have to wait until I'm 63 to officially retire and claim my state pension - so in theory they could squeeze a couple of years hard labour out of me.  I have been medically retired from the Civil Service for the past 7 years as I have a degenerative spinal injury, collapsed vertebrae in my neck (hence the headaches if I try and use my arms too often), spondylosis (curvature of the spine so I walk a bit wonky and one hip is higher than the other) and loss of lordic curve (lower spine giving back ache if I sit or stand in any position for more than a minute or two).  All this was confirmed by x-rays and a Consultant Rheumatologist back in 2006. The consultant doctor appointed by the MoD to review and make a decision for or against medical retirement said I would be crippled in less than 5 years if I continued to work. The DWP seem to think that they are better placed to say if I am fit to work, or not!  

Plus there is the Chronic Fatigue/ME that I was diagnosed with at the same time as the neck problems arose and after a bout of pneumonia.  That gives me memory loss problems as well as exhaustion at the drop of a hat, but it is unpredictable as anyone with the condition will know - but CF/ME isn't recognised as a disease by the DWP, and ME can only be diagnosed by a brain biopsy and that's not something that can be done whilst you are still alive and kicking!  Some days are good, others you can hardly remember your own name let alone any other details about life.  I had the top ME specialist in the land as my Consultant and although my symptoms are relatively mild, and therefore only treated with rest, my immune system is easily knocked for six so getting an infection as simple as the common cold can be debilitating. Mixing with 'the public' is a risky business especially during the cold/flu months of the year - hence trying to avoid doctors surgeries and supermarkets as much as possible!  When my consultant moved on to pastures new just before my father died, we decided that I didn't need any further reviews unless my symptoms deteriorated significantly, thankfully they have not although there have been times when I have been battling an infection that I have definitely felt like death warmed up!

And more recently there is the weird rash that the doctors can't figure out, and increasing tinnitus and deafness from the constricted nerves in my neck caused by the collapsed vertebrae.  Oh, and to be on the safe side I've made an opticians appointment just in case there's something more unusual going on there. Two years ago my eyes were being affected by high blood pressure but then it went the other way and now I have low blood pressure so who knows what will be revealed!  So, all in all, with the stress of looking after Mother, trying to get this place done up (will it ever be fit for company to call), keeping the garden tidy, figuring out what the hell is going on in my relationship with DH, and generally getting through a day without something falling in on me - I'm doing ok!