Storm Warning

There have been storm warnings for the last few days  - with the storm expected last night / this morning. I cleared the garden - putting away furniture and the BBQ.
Sam received an email saying First Capital Connect were not running any services from midnight till at least nine this morning so she planned to work from home.
I woke a couple of times in the night and heard nothing. I was woken at around five by the wind howling but we missed the worst of it here in Luton.
Sadly four people have been killed by falling trees and the wind reached 99 miles an hour in some areas. Transport was badly hit and many homes were without power. The storm was nicknamed St Jude as it was St Jude's Day today. It was the worst storm in the UK for a decade.

Hospital Visiting

Dad has been in hospital since Thursday - with a suspected heart problem again. Last time it turned out to be muscular - this time they are talking about fitting a pace maker or checking he doesn't have a thyroid problem. He sees the consultant on Monday so we will know more then.
Sam sorted out his laptop so he can use that while he is a patient.

First Christmas Celebration

As Pip and Liam will be in Australia for Christmas Pip wanted to have a pre Christmas get together. Pip leaves on Friday so it had to be early!
We met up with Liam's family in Bedford and they had booked us a table at The Higgins Pantry. We had some great Italian food and it was good to catch up with people and exchange Christmas gifts with the young ones. We bought Pip a sparkly unicorn jumper which she wore for the evening - but she certainly won't be wearing it on Christmas day lol.

Slow Cooker Recipe

I made this delicious soup in the slow cooker ready for Sam getting home from Dublin - it was delicious!

Red Lentil and Tomato Soup

Knob of butter (optional)
Handful red lentils
2 tins chopped tomatoes
Small carton passatta
1 onion chopped
2 carrots grated
Pinch dry garlic (or fresh)
Pinch of mixed herbs (or fresh)
Veg stock cube
Salt
Pepper
Pinch sugar
A little water maybe 300ml
Mix. Cook in slow cooker for as long as you like but until all veg cooked and soft
Blend (optional)

There was some left over which we added meatballs to and served with spaghetti - and it made a great meal with a portion to freeze too.

Relaxation

Time for everyone to relax!

Baby's Heartbeat 18 weeks

Walk at Ashridge

A lovely walk in the Autumn sunshine. The dogs had fun exploring. I saw at least seven different types of fungi in the hour we were walking.

New Medication for Casey

Casey was due her 6 month check up at the vets. She had a blood test done and the vet also suspected she has a urine infection so prescribed some antibiotics. We chatted about her fitting and the vet told me about a new medication which might help control her fits better that the Epiphen she takes now. I agreed to try it out. It takes three months to swap from one medication to the other and is done in a controlled way. The medication is called pexion and has shown in trials to have good results and is less harsh on the dogs kidneys and liver so will hopefully give casey a better quality of life in the long run.

Birthday

I had a lovely 51st Birthday today. It started with poor Casey having a fit but then we had a nice Skype chat with Vickie and Jerry.  Lots of cards and presents - a Cath Kidston bag from Sam and a Pandora necklace with two new beads. Mum sent a fruit plum and apple pie over and Charlotte bought flowers for me. In the evening we went out for dinner with Charlotte and Ian. Altogether a lovely day!
EDIT - Sam just noticed I originally put 41st Birthday! Had to change lol!