Sisters

One of my sisters, Sandy, was diagnosed with breast cancer just over a year ago. I alluded to it in my blog at the time but I didn't say who it was because of her privacy. A full account of what we (and particularly Sandy) went through is on Sandy's blog.  She's absolutely fine now, thank goodness, though she has the hurdle of reconstruction ahead of her if she decides to go ahead with that. 

I have to say I am impressed she decided she wanted to share her experiences and we're hoping it will raise awareness of the importance of having checks and reassure others that the outcome of a cancer diagnosis isn't necessarily all bad news.

This year Reveal magazine and The Sanctuary (on Floral Street, near Covent Garden) held a free ‘Pink Friday’ party on October 5^th for Breast Cancer Care supporters who have or have had breast cancer. She heard about the party via Twitter, I think, and applied for a place. She was lucky enough to be one of the 50 invitees. It was exactly a year to the day that she was diagnosed and so was a brilliant way for her and her work colleague, Lin, to mark the anniversary in a very positive way. 

Apparently it was very glamorous the whole place was lit up in pink, she drank far too much pink champagne and there were roving beauticians doing manicures and pedicures.

Reveal magazine was also there at the event taking pictures and interviewing 4 of the party-goers. Sandy also got in on that as well and so she got her hair and make up done for a photoshoot too! Apparently the article will be in tomorrow's issue.  

The picture above is of Sandy, second from the right with the other 3 selected for the magazine. Sandy had a brilliant time but was rather worse for wear the next day (she's not used to booze!!) She came home on the train with a huge goodie bag.

Well done Sandy, I'm looking forward to reading the article. I won't make you cry again by saying how much we all love you. ;-) In the meantime, here's another picture, this time of me ....

 AMBUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now people may be wondering why I am poking my tongue out ... when we were little (there's only 2 years between us), Sandy and I used to play this daft game of sticking our tongue out at the other and then closing our eyes so the other one couldn't get us back. We'd go on for hours waiting for the other to open their eyes so we could get the last tongue-poke in (oooer Missus!) Happy days, simpler times - we were easily amused! Anyway, we forgot all about it for decades but recently it has got resurrected to much merriment.

I have had to put up with photographs of Sandy sticking her tongue out at me all over the place, she loves to play practical jokes. There was one on the windscreen of our the car going back from Martin's 40th birthday party (she colluded with DH on that one!) Another time there was one sellotaped underneath the toilet seat lid at her house when we visited! One two other occasions, DH has helped her again - the photo from the car surrepticiously replaced the photograph that I have in a plastic holder to show people on my stall how I make glass beads, another got sellotaped to the TV/DVD player that I watch when I'm making jewellery. 

 I have got my own back a couple of times, the ambush photograph above was e-mailed to Lin at Sandy's place of work and Lin very kindly printed it out and stuck it on her monitor. She e-mailed me to say You should have seen her face - it was funny she uttered some abuse about you being a bitch!!  A bit later in the day, Lin also kindly printed out this one:

and stuck it to the door of their office as Sandy was about to go home (my eyes are closed so she can't get me back!!) Thanks, Lin - I owe you one (or two!) 

I also printed them out and made the back of the photographs look like a postcard. I sent the first one to her from Northumbria when we were on holiday with news of what a nice time we were having. Chris, her partner, saw it first and left it with the writing side up so she would read that first and think it was a legit postcard. Apparently Sandy jumped out of her skin when she turned it over and saw me! :-) The next day, the eyes closed one arrived and Chris put it in a book that had arrived from Amazon, at first she couldn't work out how it got in there (thanks, Chris!!)

So I thought I was winning until Saturday, Sandy and Chris turned up to say hello in Cambridge. They came to my stall and very kindly bought me a cup of tea .... in THIS mug!

Any ideas for getting my own back gratefully received, get in touch secretly via my e-mail form on the Sooz Jewels website.

EDIT: Have seen the article and professional photographs, all four ladies look totally wonderful and have courageous stories to tell. Sandy wore a pair of Sooz Jewels earrings and so I can now tell everyone that my lampwork tube drop earrings are "as worn by glamorous people in Reveal Magazine" (ta, sis!)