I'm a ex nurse living in Bristol UK with a mad cat Elwood. I used to work in a busy neonatal unit with sick and preterm babies but have not worked since Feb 2005 due to illness.

I love the countryside and wildlife, the architectural beauty of old houses churches, castles.. and the social history that goes with them. Everywhere I go so does my camera thank god for the digital camera it is saving me a fortune. I am good at photography even if I say so myself the one time I entered a competition I won. I am helping Mum trace out family history, it is always been an interest in but only in the last year I have really started. I think Mum gave me the protect to give me something to do a sort of occupational therapy. So far I have fallen on my feet and met online some distant cousins in both Mums and Dads family. For all the help I have received with online information on sites to people in countries too far for me to visit going and looking up records for me I have discided to put something back. I have started transcribing gravestones but as this is more a summer hobby I have also volunteered to transcribe old census records.

I suffer from depression and panic attacks, for the last 6 years it has effected my life in some way or another at times totally confining me to my home. I fight to get back to normality. My attitude to work has changed since being ill, I used to enjoy the adrenaline rush and the helping parents go from scared and timid to independent and confident and the best part of my job was seeing babies go home and teaching and sharing knowledge. Since being ill the adrenaline rush has lost it's appeal, I now prefer is in the nursery, building up Mums self confidence and watching them start to glow. I miss much of the teaching students as I am now only working nights.

This blog is sort of my progress my. Like the bear nurse on top of my monitor reminds me to be good to myself, this blog reminds me how far I have come.

Likes

• cycling
• walking
• reading
• photography
• music
• dance
• blue skys
• sunset
• sunrise
• snow
• countryside
• history
• national trust
• nature
• flowers
• fungus
• rainbows
• bright colours
• red
• purple
• blue
• potato
• tomatos
• cheese
• wine
• France
• driving
• traveling

Dislikes

• cold damp days
• having a cold
• DIY
• rudness
• slugs
• being alergic to potato
• IBS
• sweating of my head when I get stressed