10 things of thankful #3

Well it's been another week in the Emmaverse and there have been many goings-on, so here's the things we are particularly thankful for this week.

1.  I had a brilliant BBQ at my Dad's last night.  About time, well we've waited for summer long enough!  And the last few times I've been due to go round there and it's been a nice day there's been various reasons as to why a BBQ could not happen.  But now I'VE HAD MY BBQ!  And very nice it was too.

My Dad's cat didn't manage to eat any, but it wasn't for want of trying!

2. THE TOOTH IS GONE!  Finally, after causing problems on and off for the last few months, various painkillers, antibiotics and visits to OOH dentists, my regular dentist has taken the thing away!  And my haven't I been sleeping better!  I don't think I had appreciated quite how much it had been disturbing me.  If anyone cares, it was the lower left number 7 (in front of the wisdom tooth) which was causing the problems, as it was being bullied by the wisdom tooth behind which was trying to erupt at 45 degrees (see x-ray below).

I had to zoom quite a bit, but on the far right is the wonky wisdom tooth - the one to its left is the one that came out.

For those of a more squeamish disposition you may want to skip to number 3 now, for those interested in how a tooth comes out, read on!

I arrived in the dentist's room and they were watching Andy Murray's triumphant victory from Sunday on catch up (another thing I am thankful for by the way) but unfortunately the last point was reached before I was even numb, and the TV was not on the ceiling, so not much distraction there!  Four local anaesthetic injections later the dentist and I were both satisfied that the whole left side of my face was suitably numb and we began.  Little plastic stick, really not doing the job to dislodge (come on, this is a relatively healthy tooth here!).  Metal forceps managed to loosen tooth pretty well, but it still wasn't giving up.  So out came the drill to split the tooth so it could come out in two bits (with almighty pops I tell you) and one root was left, so cue a good five minutes of trying to get that out!  Luckily the dental nurse was petty good at understanding people who are numb and chewing on gauze, and between her and the dentist my questions were answered afterwards.

Now to wait for a referral to the hospital to x-ray and have the wisdom tooth out the other side, oh joy!  (X-ray was attempted but being so far back in the mouth, couldn't really bite down in the way they wanted without it moving before the button was pressed - dentist came back and said 'oh I made you cry' - my reply 'yes, the inside of my mouth is soft, and that film is sharp!').

3.  In my late teens in the late 1990s there was a girl group.  They were called the Sugababes.  After album 1,  Siobhan left and Heidi came in.  Then some years after that Mutya had a  baby and left.  Then a year or two after that Keisha left - and no original members were left.  And they still insisted on keeping the 'Sugababes' brand????  Not the same any more people!

But....

Fast forward to 2013....

In September the original line-up are releasing this, their debut single, and I AM BEYOND EXCITED!  As soon as the album is available to pre-order on Amazon (other music retailers are available) I will be doing so!

4.  I have been at my new branch two weeks now, and I am settling in well and liking it.  I even had lovely feedback (which is always really nice) from the branch manager I am working with that I was doing well and we're all working well as a team, so lots of warm fuzziness there :).

5.  I have a dining table.  Every few months or so I have my church group round for tea and some discussion based on a recent sermon.  My little round table gets VERY crowded in such situations, as it's only meant for 4 really, and there can be up to 10 of us and some of us end up round the coffee table.  Now, when I moved (which is nearly seven years ago!) the table did have to come apart to get out of the flat.  What I didn't re-discover or remember til recently is that the round table has a very special secret - if you slide the two halves of the circle apart there is another leaf of the table underneath to extend it which makes it seat 6 - didn't I feel stupid (although my mother could have mentioned it, you'd think she would have known it being her mother's table!).  Anyway, it was lovely Thursday to get all 7 people present round the table altogether eating and talking together, so long may that continue!

6.  In Portswood where my new branch is, there is a KFC almost right next door.  That might be good enough for most people you'd think, but oh no, I have resisted there so far and ended up for my 'naughty Friday' (a tradition whereby I don't take a packed lunch one day a week and see what takes my fancy) at Roosters Piri-Piri chicken as recommended by my staff.  Think Nando's but cheaper and in a more fast-food place as opposed to a restaurant.  I had Piri-piri chicken breast fillet in the lemon and herb dressing (I'm a wimp when it comes to spices) and IT WAS AWESOME!  I can feel a return visit coming on already ;).

7.  I twinned my toilet.  I expect the people in Africa (Uganda) where my latrine will get built might be even more thankful for this than me, but I am thankful that soon I will get a little certificate to display in my toilet and spread the news about this amazing scheme which endeavours to ensure EVERYONE has suitable facilities to stop the spread of disease etc.  I mean, I know our grandparents had outside loos maybe, but who in the west now can say they don't have a toilet?  It's a basic thing people!
http://www.toilettwinning.org/

8.  England has been having a heatwave, yay!!  But this leads me to be thankful for:

the mighty air conditioning!

Seriously, if the temperature in my shop had been the same as it has been outside in the last week, I don't think I would have been able to work, at least not without some major impact on my concentration, and looking and feeling like a sportsperson after a marathon for example!

9. I am very thankful for my lovely birthday day out, and all the lovely messages, cards and gifts I received.  I had such a lovely time, the sun shone, we got there and back okay, we didn't lose anyone and Considerer's niece and nephew even composed me a little song and made her sing it (it was so sweet!).

10.  I am thankful for weed killer, and that I used it and it did the job!  A couple of months ago, my Dad, his wife and I spent a painstaking 4 hours removing the gravel from my front garden, taking the old lining up, levelling the ground and getting rid of roots, putting new lining down and replacing all the stones.  Alas little weeds STILL started showing!  I am hoping as I have got them now, nice and early on before they take root too much, I can win the battle!

Dad in the middle of the painstaking process of putting the new lining down!

So that's this week's thankfulness from the Emmaverse, more news soon!