Highs and Lows

I hoped you've all had a good Christmas and had a lovely time; eating lots of yummy food, catching up with family and friends, relaxing at home or whatever else has made you smile. My Christmas and New Year were good but quiet. Being sociable requires a lot of energy which I don't have at the moment, but knitting needles and fingers crossed that will improve as the year goes on!

I had another read of my New Year blogpost last year and was very relieved to see that I didn't set myself too many goals. Just as well given how 2018 turned out! But one of my goals was to raise some more money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of Mr JK, and thanks to the generosity of very many lovely yarny folk and YOU, I managed to raise over £8000 in my Great Yarn Giveaway. That was definitely a high point in my year and I feel very proud that I was able to raise so much money. I'd like to do some more fundraising in the future so will need to think of another crazy idea! 

I didn't manage to come up with a design a month using Stylecraft yarns, although I have several ideas in the pipeline. However, I did have a sock pattern, Tiptoe, published by Stylecraft and also released several other free patterns on Ravelry. 

My running goals and challenges never got off the ground unfortunately as my health issues developed. I still have the idea that Mr JK and I discussed way back on our favourite beach in Kos bubbling away in the background, and that is going to be something that I really try to work on this year. If it ever comes to anything, you can be sure that I will be shouting about it from the rooftops! I did go back to Greece too and spent a week soaking up the sunshine and remembering all the wonderful holidays that Mr JK and I spent there. 

My health issues took over my life as the year went on. Looking back, I probably started to feel unwell way back at the beginning of 2018, but it all happened so gradually that feeling like that became the norm. Once I went to see my GP in June and the first blood tests were taken, things moved along pretty speedily. I cannot speak highly enough about the NHS - every single person I have encountered has been so, so kind and nothing is too much trouble. We are so lucky to have the NHS and I will never take it for granted. I've now had 25 hospital appointments and am on so many different drugs that I must rattle! I certainly didn't expect to be having to carry around all these cards. Until 2018, I've always considered myself to be pretty healthy. Although cancer has been ruled out for now, the oncology team are keeping a close eye on me as there is high probability of it rearing its head at some point. So I'm very thankful to have such a great team of doctors and nurses taking such good care of me.

I've been very lucky to have the support of friends during this time, and one friend, Julia, has come with me to every single appointment, taking notes of what's been said and keeping me smiling and positive. I am hoping that the medication starts to have an effect soon and that I will be able to start to recover and return to work. In the meantime, all my knitting, crochet and sewing help to give my days some structure. 2019 is going to be a year of nurture and I shall try to be the best that I can be and continue to make Mr JK proud of me. Thank you to you, as always, for keeping me company over the last twelve months. Please come along with me on my journey through 2019. Happy New Year to you and I hope that 2019 is happy, healthy and peaceful for you and your loved ones. xxx