I Forgot To Remember To Tell You Something

Posted on July 13, 2021 by rosie

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Maybe it’s happening already, lol. I think we need to talk about the big one that we all avoid. Let’s talk about dementia. Wow. The “D word”. But the fact remains dementia is a strong possibility for all of us as we get older. It’s more of a blanket term for age-related issues like forgetting things, diminished mental capacity, and language problems. But I think you will agree that dementia is an essential subject to discuss.

It’s a terrifying subject, and if you want to avoid talking about it, I understand entirely. But it’s not wise to avoid the real issues. But as French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu once stated, “Happiness is not the absence of problems, but the ability to deal with them.” Corny, I know, but together we can help each other face real issues like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

It Might Happen to You

Currently, there are approximately 50 million people globally with dementia-related illnesses. I think you will agree with me that this is a shockingly high figure. Even more shocking, though, is projected to increase by 204% to 152 million by 2050. This means that if you are in your 40s or 50s now, you could potentially be a part of this statistic. This is because dementia is more common at the age of 65 and above.

The effects of dementia-related illnesses are pretty severe. You’re probably aware of the memory problems caused by Alzheimer’s and the uncontrollable shaking of Parkinson’s. But there are lots more serious symptoms that might put you in a home care situation. For example, the blood vessels to the brain can become restricted, causing vascular dementia. This causes stroke and impaired cognitive function to the point of constant care requirement.

Can We Avoid It?

I can give you some good news, though. New studies have shown that the effects and illnesses related to dementia can be reduced. Basically, we need to look after ourselves. That’s it. This means regular exercise, a healthy diet, and NO SMOKING. Yeah, the big one. Smoke. I shouldn’t have to tell you how bad smoking is for your health in this day and age. Oh, yeah, and the health of others; In the United States alone, second-hand smoke accounts for 41,000 deaths and over 7,000 cases of lung cancer each year.

Seriously though, the Alzheimer’s Society has some great information. While there is no guaranteed way to prevent dementia, doctors can see a correlation between a poor lifestyle and related illnesses. So I want you to be as healthy as possible, ditch the cigarettes and alcohol, eat less harmful sugar, eat more fresh fruit and vegetables and stay active. Literally, get your skates on.

Going Mental

In addition to a healthy and active lifestyle, the onset of many of the cognitive issues associated with dementia can be delayed by regular mental exercise. I know you’re probably thinking, “what does that mean?“. Mental exercise is simply anything that stimulates the brain. This can be completing puzzles, writing crosswords, solving arithmetic riddles like Sudoku, or learning a new language.

I know some of those might be a little on the nose, so reading a book or playing a game like Scrabble are also viable options. Recent studies have also found that playing video games can help with dementia-related illnesses. Of course, I’m not suggesting that you go and steal your grandkids’ PlayStation. Still, smaller smartphone apps provide games designed specifically for memory and logic puzzles.

This Is How To Save Money In 2021

Posted on January 13, 2021 by rosie

I don’t know about you, but saving money is pretty high on my list of priorities right now. Especially right after Christmas. Not to mention the fact that when all this Covid-19 stuff is over, I want to make the best of travelling and seeing everyone I can – which also costs money. The good news is I have found plenty of tactics for preserving the pennies and saving them, and other things such as coupons, up for fun things to do, once lockdown has lifted. Keep reading to find out what they are.

Shop with coupons

Coupons can help you save a fortune on your weekly shop, and believe me, this can really add up over the year! It used to be that the best coupons are only found in the free flyers that came with magazines. However, this is no longer the case. Instead, now you can shop online and print multiples of the same great coupons allowing you to create a stockpile of food and households good for a fraction of the usual price.
Find the best deals

Of course, there are some things that you will need that coupons won’t cover. In that situation, it’s best to shop around and find the best deals that retailers are offering, both IRL and online. For example, folks looking to switch to vaping will find plenty of cheap vape deals online. Something that can help them save a huge amount on what they would pay for these devices and liquids in store.

Choose preloved items

Another way that I have found to save a pretty penny is to opt for preloved instead of brand new items. The great thing about this option is that you can get almost anything preloved from clothes, to electrical devices.

Of course, with things as they are with Covid-19 at the moment it is important to stick to the local guidance, wear masks and wash hands when you pick up good and even properly sanitize them before you bring them into your home. After all, no saving is worth the risk of getting sick!

Sell things you do use anymore

The great thing about selling old, unwanted items is that you profit twice. First from the money that you make by selling the item itself, and secondly, because you save on storage space and the time and effort it takes to stay organized and keep your possessions clean!

Of course, I’ve found that the best way to get top dollar for any unwanted items is to use a platform that caters specifically for the niche they fall into. That means if you have some old collectables or record your best off finding a site like eBay that allows people to search by these key terms or by using an independent dealer that specializes in these items.

However, if you are looking to make money fast that using local selling pages and social media groups is the best approach, Just remember to attach photos, as this can really boost your chances of making a sale and every little helps when it comes to increasing your saving for a good blow out once things get back to normal!

The Sexual Smugness of the Young

Posted on February 5, 2020 by rosie

Disgusting! Stomach Churning! Makes Me Feel Sick!

80-year-old Iris

Just a few of the instant reactions I’ve read in response to the startling news that a man and a woman are enjoying an intimate relationship. What’s all the fuss then you may well ask.

Well, the couple who seem to be offending so many people with their sexy fun are just a little unusual in that the lady is 80, and her beau is just 35 years old.

The lovely ‘Iris’ quite understandably, is shouting loud and proud that after a 35-year dry spell, she felt like a virgin all over again, and after her free advert for KY Jelly on prime time telly, she could justifiably request free supplies for life from Boots.

Her toy boy doesn’t have much to say, but he is pictured with his arm proudly round Iris, and I’m sure we will hear more about him in the not too distant future.

Yes all this maybe just a little too much information, but unlike the smug detractors, I’m not in the least bit offended by this story, and unlike some deluded ladies, who travel to far off lands to find some fun, only to be fleeced out of thousands of pounds in the process, Iris seems to have her head screwed on and isn’t going to be handing over her pension any time soon.

How lovely that this lady isn’t sitting at home on her own, with only memories for company. Not many women her age would even think to get on a plane to Cairo, let alone have a fling with a man 45 years her junior. Bloody fair play to her, she’s having the time of her life. Being interviewed by Holly and Phil, making headlines across the world, it’s her time to shine and she is.

Iris and her ‘beau’

The couple met on Social Media and although 80-year-old Iris had virtually given up on finding love again, fate dealt her a winning card, and now at a time when many ladies are spending much of their time home alone, and the highlight of their week is a trip to the Bingo, Iris is swinging from the chandeliers and making headline news without a hint of embarrassment. Much to the disgust of many!

But they aren’t hurting anyone else, they are conducting their relationship privately, nobody has to see what they are getting up to, so why do so many people feel the need to be negative and make hurtful remarks.

Children of any age find it offensive and distasteful that their parents are still having sex, but fail to acknowledge that if those same two people hadn’t had sex, then those same (offended) children wouldn’t be alive in the first place.

Even on TV and in Films, whenever there is a scene of mature parents getting up close and intimate, there is inevitably a counter shot of their screen children screwing up their nose, or turning away in disgust.

It seems that anyone under the age of 40 thinks sex is the prerogative of the young, and that parents and Grandparents, you know those ‘old’ people of 60, who have the audacity to even kiss and cuddle their partner is an affront to their own sexual behaviour.

As in, FFS they are OLD, and still doing the same things with each other at their age, that I am doing with my girlfriend. UGHHHHH, that’s disgusting.

So it’s disgusting behaviour for one age group, but not the other.

And recently, Social Media has been flooded with comments about 80-year-old Iris, and her toyboy. Some young people I even personally know have passed judgement with a smug attitude, ironically forgetting that one day, they too will be offending their children and Grandchildren with their own sexual misconduct!

I think that before we start educating children in school about gender issues, we should teach them that intimate relationships aren’t restricted to a particular age group. You might start having sex in your teens and still be having sex in your 80’s, there is no right and wrong way.

But one thing for sure, I’d much rather see 80-year-old Iris and her peer group, being loved and cherished by anyone than see them spending long lonely days by themselves, with nothing much to look forward to, and only memories to cling to.

When He is a Vegetarian and You Are Not.

Posted on January 30, 2020 by rosie

My occasional other half is a Vegetarian.

He’s not occasionally a vegetarian, he’s always a vegetarian and I am not, and honestly what a faff this causes me in the kitchen. And to be fair, I should have known just by looking at him. The long hair, the leather bracelets, the truck adorned with buzzard feathers, the age difference!

The alarm bells should have rung and said, ‘You are NOT going to be eating Chateaubriand with this one, stop, look, and listen to your cooking skills. Yes whilst I’ve occasionally lunched AT the Ritz, the nearest he’s got is lunching ON some Ritz – crackers.

But when cupid knocks for you to come out to play, it would be churlish to refuse, and despite us looking like the odd couple, it kind of works.

I’d like to say ‘he was working as a waiter in a cocktail bar‘ when I met him, but he wouldn’t have got past security, so the truth of the matter is I actually met him at a car boot sale.

There I was selling my designer cast off’s, and there he was selling well, just cast-offs! But a weird connection was made and through a mutual love of music and dogs, with a very large sprinkle of humour over our inability to ‘conform’, and DESPITE a heavy shower of adversity we’ve managed to stick together. Occasionally!

He comes, he goes, but on a fairly regular basis and the relationship suits us both, neither of us wants to be fenced in, but neither of us wants to be with anyone else. Weird? yes completely.

But him being a fully paid-up member of the Vegetarian Club is a right old hassle for me, I’m not going to lie. Call me old fashioned, but I feel a meal is incomplete without meat, real meat, not some tasteless protein substitute masquerading as meat.

I want Chicken with my roast dinner, I want Steak with my chips, I want Lamb in my Mousakka, and Minced Beef at the bottom of my Cottage Pie, and today I want real Sausages in my legendary Sausage Casserole. But my ‘occasional bloke’ doesn’t, and to coin a well-worn phrase, I just can’t get my head around it. It’s worse than one person being on a diet, and the other person trying to put weight on. Meal preparations are like his and hers, or more like hers and oh FFS…. HIS!

Today I had 3 meat-filled sausages to use up, and as I knew I had a busy afternoon, I wanted to get all ahead of myself and made a Sausage Casserole. BUT it didn’t end there, as I also had to make a meat-free version of a Sausage Casserole for himself.

So cue a special trip to buy meat-free Sausages, ( which in my book doesn’t make them sausages at all ) which added to the cost of my ‘using stuff up’ meal, then two different trays to actually cook the Sausages, then two different saucepans to make the casserole in, plus one chicken stock pot cube, and one vegetable stock pot cube. Not to mention the stress of remembering which pot is which. And correct me if I’m wrong, but the Vegetarian Sausages look the same after 30 minutes at 190 degrees, as they did when they were raw!

Before they are cooked.

Oh my days, sometimes I wonder if he’d know the difference if I got it all muddled up anyway, but to avoid a guilty conscience I do my best.

The Veggie Option.

So, double the washing up later, two pots of Sausage Casserole are ready, hers and his. But in my mind whilst I totally get it’s a moral decision made by meat-free eaters, I do sometimes wonder why.

If it’s a protest against eating living/dead animals, then why do so many of them still eat fish. It would take a heck of a lot of Vegetarians to rid the world of breeding animals for food. To me, in the simplest of terms, it’s like one person making a stand, and going to gaol for NOT paying their Council Tax, hoping that their solitary refusal to pay, will somehow mean that Council Tax is abolished for everyone Never going to happen.

Meanwhile across the world, there are people like me, preparing the same meal, in two different ways, or trying to make a thick slice of Turmeric coated, grilled cauliflower, enhance a roast dinner the same way a thick slice of roast beef does.

And let’s be honest, a 3 bean chilli will never, ever taste as good as an unctuous, spicy hot, ground beef one, and…. ‘ Vegetarian Tofu Chow Mein is tastier than a Chicken Chow Mein’ said nobody ever.

And which looks better now they are both cooked.

Full on Sausage Casserole

Don’t get me wrong, I’m respectful of anyone’s choices, but to all you Vegetarian’s out there, do spare a thought for the cook at mealtimes.

For most of us, it’s hard enough throwing together one vaguely edible meal, but two variations of the same meal can be a saucepan too far!

The Uninterested Man in The Flasher Mac

Posted on January 4, 2020 by rosie

As we all enter a new decade, it’s a great time to clear out not only the clutter from your home, but also to say a permanent ‘See you later’ to those dead end relationships that only make you huff and puff and question your own sanity.

Why, I thought to myself, are you still friends with any man who doesn’t leave you smiling, or who has no positive effect on you whatsoever. So now in 2020 I’m taking steps to end those toxic relationships that drain the life out of you, and this one was the first to go.

After another ‘you couldn’t make it up’ lunch with this gentleman acquaintance, I took the easy decision of blocking him from my phone and ending all points of contact. Sounds harsh, but here’s why…..

I’ve known, (let’s call him) Jim – surprisingly not his real name, – around 10 years. Quite an attractive man, tall, carries himself well, and wouldn’t look out of place in an East End car lot.

In a different life, he might have been a would be member of a Kray type mob. Back in the day that is.

An ex publican, plenty of chat, with a mouth that makes appointments for ‘mature man’ fisticuffs, that his body wouldn’t ever actually be able to keep.

But nevertheless, we shared a passion for red wine, warm climates, and long discussions about deciding what to do in our retirement.

But unfortunately for ‘Jim’, over the years, at times he’s not been a very nice friend, and whilst I’ve given him several second chances, this time, there was no point.

The last time I even spoke to ‘Jim’ was in 2015. He had promised to collect some furniture for me, and I was relying on him to deliver it to a new place I was renting.

As you can imagine, the actual moving part of all this was stressful enough, but to have him let me down quite spectacularly at the very last minute, tipped me over the edge.

I didn’t contact him again, or return any of his calls or texts. Until December 2019.

Out of the blue he text to ask how I was, and that he’d like to buy me lunch to catch up. And being the nosey bird that I am, I DID want to know what life had thrown at him during the 4 silent years. But nothing more than that. So I accepted the invite.

Lunch was arranged for 1.30. My heart sank at his choice of venue, a fast food pub, but I didn’t intend to stay there too long. Quick drink, quick lunch, quick catch up, done. Maybe for another 4 years!

‘Jim’ arrived in the car park at the same time as me. A vision approached me, in a long gold coloured Colombo style (flasher) Mac and hugs were exchanged. I grabbed a table, he went to the bar to order drinks. So far, so good.

But, it went downhill from there. Without even exchanging pleasantries, my lunch date ceremoniously plonked 2 G & T’s on the table and launched into a mega speech, which should have come with a warning.

The opening statement was ‘well, I’ve been thinking,… we aren’t getting any younger, and what I think we should do is………’ it was as if I’d only seen him the day before, not 4 YEARS before!

For all he knew, I could have met the love of my life, and got married. Unlikely, but he didn’t even wait to find out if I’d even had any meaningful relationships in all this time.

The diatribe continued for many minutes, with him telling me how we should pool our resources, and go off to Spain together and run a bar.

Oh and if it had rooms above it, I could maybe run an Airbnb. ( as I’m already an Airbnb Superhost, this was the most sensible part of his suggestion). He had it all worked out, and I really couldn’t get a word in edgeways. He was on a roll.

Within all this, we had ordered some ‘fast’ food. As I’d looked at the menu, I’d mentally made a note of what he would order, and I wasn’t wrong, the cheapest item, as always.

As an ex publican, he knows exactly where the food has been bought from, and his choice is dictated not by what he likes, or fancy’s, but what HE is paying for it, simply because he knows what the pub has paid for it. But he thinks I don’t know this!

I listened patiently, he didn’t pause for breath, whilst he put a price on all the belongings he would sell, and instructed me to start saving, so we could make our escape. At last he stopped, and threw an uninterested ‘ So how have you been…..’ in my direction. Ah, I thought, my turn to talk, your turn to listen.

With that, ”Jim’ turned and took his mobile phone out of his Flasher Mac pocket, and proceeded to scroll through it, as only uninterested people do, and became completely engrossed, occasionally glancing my way and giving me a cursory, ‘Yeah, I’m listening’……..actually mate, you definitely are not.

It was the most bizarre lunch date I’ve endured in a long time, and trust me, I’ve endured quite a few. A man who was nothing more than an occasional ‘friend’, who I hadn’t seen, or spoken to for 4 years, sat in front of me virtually dictating what WE should do, without pausing for breath. No niceties, no catch up, no verbal foreplay, just straight in wham bam……..but actually, NO THANK YOU MAN!

How arrogant, how presumptuous, how rude and completely oblivious to what he was doing.

Normally, I’d linger over a coffee, enjoy the chat, and be interested in what someone had been up to in the 4 years since I’d last spoken to them. But once I could see that this was just a load of self centred clap trap, I made my excuses, thanked him for a lovely ( it was not) meal, and left.

To give you some idea of how quickly I made my own escape, I arrived at the pub at 1.30pm, I was back home with a cup of tea at 3.00, and 15 minutes of that was journey time!

Quite some ‘speed date’ then…..!

73 Questions About Me

Posted on August 22, 2019August 26, 2019 by rosie

73 QUESTIONS ABOUT ME

Well someone at Vogue thought it would be a good idea to ask some celebs these 73 questions, https://video.vogue.com/series/73-questions and whilst I can’t aspire to the dizzy heights of celebdom, I was asked by http://www.suefoster.info to take part.

So grab a coffee and if you have the time and inclination, here are my answers!

1. What is your usual Starbuck’s order?
I don’t ‘do’ Starbucks, but in a café, it would be a one shot flat white. Strange how I hardly ever drink coffee at home, only when I go out!
2. What does your workstation look like right now?
My workstation is my pine kitchen table, sitting on a bright pink painted kitchen chair, with big soft cushion as I spend so much time here. My puppy is asleep in his bed under my ‘workstation’!
3. All-time favourite food?
Roast beef dinner with all the trimmings, but only a home made one.
4. Favourite author?
Caitlin Moran
5. What do you think of open relationships?
I think it has the potential to be very dangerous, it’s not for me.
6. Favourite video game?
I have never played a video game and feel no overwhelming desire to ever do so!
7. Guilty pleasure treat?
Crips and Hummus dip with a glass of Barefoot Merlot
8. Favourite film?
I’m stuck in a time warp, I still love Love Actually
9. Favourite book?
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
10. Twitter or Instagram?
Instagram, but I still don’t ‘get’ how people make fortunes, someone tell me how to do it. (more…)

Happy House Sharing Anniversary to us.

Posted on November 1, 2018 by rosie

It’s exactly a year today that two arguably sane females took a leap of faith and decided to share a house together. One of them was me, and it could all have gone horribly wrong, but thankfully it didn’t. And I’m here to reassure any ‘mature’ female, who through either choice or circumstance is thinking of doing the same thing, that house sharing ticks so many boxes for so many reasons.

Tea for Two

I found my housemate on a website called http://spareroom.com. She had recently bought the house that we now share, and with plenty of space, it seemed a good financial idea to advertise her……well…. spare room!

After our initial website contact, we began texting, a phone call followed, and then I popped round to see her one Saturday afternoon. She was friendly and easy going, but obviously needed to be sure that I was someone she would be happy to share her space with. Not only that, but I had baggage in the shape of a large 4 legged, scruffy pooch.

But a deal was struck and a year ago today, while she was at work, I moved my life into her house and we’ve never looked back.

Our neighbours have commented that we are always laughing, which is true, and there is also a lot of swearing. Always nice to have a living life balance!

House sharing with anyone is all about consideration and being flexible. My housemate and I are very different, but it is those differences which makes us compatible. We dance around each other in the kitchen, she drinks shite Chia tea, whilst I make a proper brew. I make one pot dinners affectionately referred to as ‘coddles’, while she faffs around making home made turkey burgers. TURKEY BURGERS, I ask you, what fresh hell are those?

That’ll be mine on the left then.

We oversee each others laundry, clearing radiators and folding up as we go. I load the dishwasher and she unloads it, we play to our strengths. She kindly turns a blind eye to the trail of clothes and shoes I leave laying around and she regularly hoovers up a Dyson’s worth of spare dog hair. Whilst I smile to myself at the way she uses the biggest baking tray in the history of cooking, to bake 10 sweet potato fries. I’ve introduced her to ice cubes, she’s converted me to Molton Brown.

My boy Buddy!

The one thing we are totally united on though is my dog Buddy. I couldn’t wish for anyone to be more loving and caring towards my dog than my housemate. She looks after him at weekends while I go to work, and from being a complete stranger to me a year ago, I now trust her implicitly with my most treasured possession.

So if you find yourself without a roof over your head, for whatever reason, house sharing might just be the answer for you too.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AS A NEW PUPPY MUMMY

Posted on October 24, 2018October 24, 2018 by rosie

Dogs are like children!

When you get a pet, your life changes. It’s kind of like having a baby but instead you are a new puppy Mummy. Sure, you aren’t awake all through the night, and you don’t have to take this little one everywhere with you, but when you have a puppy, there is some work involved. And it’s handy to know both what you should expect and what you can do to make things easier on yourself. Taking care of a dog is a lot of work. But it’s also a lot of fun too. As long as you know what you do and you’re focusing on what keeping your puppy happy, you’re on track. So, to help you with that, let’s take a look at five things you need to know when you become a new puppy Mummy!

Training

First of all, there’s training. And you will want to start this right away. Because not only do you have toilet training to do, but there’s also the idea of working on training their behavior too. Now, with toilet training, they will get there. Yes, there will be accidents, but you need to let things go and just persist. But, when it comes to behaviour training, you may want to take them to classes for this if you’re not too sure what you should do.

Products

Now, when it comes to the products you need, you need to make sure that they will be happy and comfortable in your home. Whether you want to go for luxury pet products or something budget, it doesn’t matter. Whatever suits you best is fine. But you will need a bed for them, bowls for food and water, grooming products, toys, and a lead too. These are the basics, but you could also look to get treats or other fun extras for them too.

Puppy Snuggles

Care

From here, you will then want to make sure that they are cared for and that their health is perfect. You will need to find a vet, like www.easipetcare.com, near to you that you like and trust. Make sure that they get their initial checkups and that they have yearly check-ups from then on in, just to keep them healthy.

Food

You should also try to get the balance right between feeding your pup enough and not over feeding them too. This is where your vet can help, as they can make sure that they are always in a healthy weight range.

Exercise

But then also, it’s really important for you to be thinking about what kind of exercise your dog needs. Because they all need to be walked, yet some breeds will need more and others will need less. You can do a ton of research of this online, using sites like www.rover.com, to find out what will work best. But you can also speak to your vet and get their personal recommendations too. And then, you should start to get a sense of the kind of exercise that they need personally too.

WHY YOU SHOULD SAY NO TO THE FLU VACCINE

Posted on October 16, 2018 by rosie

I’ve never had a flu jab in my life, and I never will. But does my decision make me a potential burden to the NHS, if I succumb to the flu through my own negligence, and consequently need to see a Doctor, or even worse, be hospitalised. Frankly, I’ll take my chances on that one, but here are just a few reasons why you should say no to the flu vaccine.

Here are the scenes at my local surgery at around 11.00 am last Sunday, where people were queuing to have an injection to prevent something that will probably not happen.

There they stood confirming their support to the NHS, and on exiting, almost courageously fist pumping their bravery, albeit with a slightly sore arm.

The Flu Jab rush.

By the law of averages, I’d hazard a guess that within the queue, there may have been more than one person who might describe themselves as allergic to pollen as it gives them a runny nose, perhaps one or two who couldn’t eat dairy as it upsets their stomach, some who wouldn’t touch shellfish as just looking at a prawn makes them feel sick. Yet, whilst all of these people won’t go near these perfectly natural things, they were still happy to offer their body up to be injected with some of the following chemicals.

Formaldehyde
Aluminium
Aborted Fetal DNA
Fetal Bovine DNA

I think you’ll agree it’s a heady mix, and the above is only the tip of the iceberg. However every year when the banner goes up outside the local surgery, offering free flu jabs, people put blind faith in what they are told and can’t wait to be first in the queue.

Doctors recommend that people get flu jabs to boost their immune system and prevent getting them flu. However, flu vaccines have been shown to be highly ineffective and toxic for humans.

Such reassuring ingredients

AND WHAT ABOUT SHEDDING?

Viral shedding means that those who are vaccinated breathe out more influenza virus and spread it more than the unvaccinated. So when your surgery offers the vaccine by telling you “the vaccine protects you and those around you,” it is simply not true.

What they are actually doing is ‘selling’ the vaccine to you, which generates vast income for the giant pharmaceutical companies.

Viral shedding also means that those who are vaccinated are spreading more virus into the air around them just by breathing compared to those who have not had the vaccine that same year and/or the flu vaccine from the previous year.

The implication is that those who are vaccinated are a greater risk to the vulnerable, such as cancer patients, the elderly and the very young, AND that the unvaccinated spread the disease LESS and protect others better!

I know which side I’d rather be on!

DESIGNING A BEDROOM FOR YOUR GRANDCHILDREN

Posted on October 4, 2018October 4, 2018 by rosie

Create a special bedroom for your Grandchildren

If your grandchildren frequently stay with you at your home, then designing a bedroom to meet their specific needs is a good choice. Your grandkids will be able to enjoy a home-from-home experience and a space that feels like it’s ‘theirs,’ and you’re provided with the perfect opportunity to indulge a love of interior design as you seek to create a wonderful space.

You will soon discover that designing a bedroom for your grandchildren is very different from creating a bedroom for your children. As a grandparent, you don’t need to worry too much about educational elements, or hunt down boring storage ottomans to hold their entire toy collection: you can create a room that is functional, yes, but also beautiful and fun. To aid you in this quest, below, I’ve gathered together a few ideas that you might want to try.

#1 – Go all-in on a theme

If a child is going to be sleeping in a room every night, themes can be rather limiting and can begin to get old relatively quickly. However, if your grandkids only stay over occasionally, themes retain their charm for far longer and can look absolutely spectacular for as long as they are in place.

If you’re going to go for a theme, commit to it wholeheartedly, and put it first and foremost when you consider anything about the room. This includes obvious elements such as artwork and decor, but also essential furniture options; you should be able to browse a kids wardrobe collection or find storage furniture options that perfectly align with your intended theme.

#2 – A DIY mural

Murals are a great choice for a child’s bedroom, but can be made all the more personal if you let your grandkids get involved in actually creating the finished art themselves. Sure, it might not have the most professional finish in the world, but that’s part of the charm.

In addition to the above, one of the great benefits of creating a DIY mural is that you can choose to do anything. This is particularly useful if you’re working to a theme, as you won’t be restricted by the choices available in store. There’s plenty of inspirational ideas available for DIY murals online, or you could take a more freestyle approach if you’re feeling adventurous.

#3 – Fun novelty lighting

The modern world is full of novelty lighting, so you should have no shortage of options to choose from. Lighting can bring a room to life, and can help to create a fun, relaxed atmosphere that your grandkids will love.

In terms of what novelty lighting you should choose, the only limit is your imagination. If you’d like to achieve an educational element, you could opt for lighting that produces a replica of the night sky. Alternatively, keep things light and go for the standard fairy lights – they’re a classic for a reason.

In conclusion

Designing a bedroom for your grandchildren is a great choice if you’re a fan of interior design, as it gives you the ability to indulge and put fun and style at the forefront of your thoughts.