Well I gotta admit - seeing a forum with “the room” for venting and it would have been rude not to join lol 
i am a 47 year old gal who was living her best life climbing mountains, trail running, huge gym goer (my fave class was boxing) and working hard when literally things got turned upside down in August. Having not even had so much as a blood test before, I just assumed a slightly dodgy tummy for a few months was down to overdoing it. And somehow i now have a life saving stoma (impassable stricture in the bowel) and stage 4 bowel cancer which has already spread to the peritoneal. I am having palliative immunotherapy and chemo (currently on my second cycle) and getting to grips with what life chucks at us. Being a headstrong Aussie has helped enormously …. Doing my utmost to kick this buggar as long and hard as I possibly can.
So a big hello to everyone in this group. Defo we got the short straw, but a bit of shared positivity goes a long, long way And as for a room for ranting lol yeah, yeah - I am prone to the odd rant once in a while (think we are more than entitled to that)
Hi AllotmentGal, thank you, Poppy's bonkers, but so funny, your two look amazing for their age, all that warm sunshine no doubt, and a loving family,
I've just given up, to family, 90% of my allotment, just a couple of greenhouses now, your growing list looks very familiar, add onions and spuds, and a few chickens, it could be mine. Here's a better picture of Poppy 
That is a very cute photo (I love terriers) 
The chap who had one of the allotments next to me had chickens …. They definitely add a bit of entertainment to the allotments (not to mention fresh eggs) 
I remember one year we had baby grass snakes in the compost heap too - that made the Aussie in me jump lol And one of the old boys donated me his shed when he called it a day with his allotment (I had been sharing a shed) … it was a proper woman cave when I had finished lol We moved house which is why I gave up the allotment, but I do miss it (huge waiting list for them where we moved to) Bet you are still chatting with your hens daily
I have thermals, hat, gloves, scarf and a thick winter coat at the ready lol We have some friends down for the weekend so I shall be charging up the battery for the scooter for sure 
Have a fab weekend
We are down in South Wales and I do absolutely love the coast and beaches here 
Today I am feeling pretty good so have been busy putting up this giant penguin (don’t even ask - it was a complete shock when it arrived last week - even the nurse was in hysterics
Hopefully Stella2020 you are on good form today too (albeit maybe not constructing giant penguins) lol Next week we will try and put it outside, but it can stay nice and cosy for the weekend lol
Morning Annette 
Scotland is sounding pretty brass monkeys (love that expression) lol I was defo much tougher with the weather (always been a trail runner so a bit of mud and ice was nothing), but the oxaliplatin and slowing down has definitely made me feel the cold much more … Luckily I have always loved woolly hats - so now have the perfect excuse to expand my collection
Hope you are keeping warm - that weather screams hot chocolate, good book and a cosy fire doesn’t it?! Or possibly even a mulled cider - just to roll with the festive theme (oh no - that has just seeded the idea that I need to go in search of mulled cider - I haven’t had one this Christmas) 
Have a fab weekend - and wrap up warm
