Christmas present T shirts: the scarab beetle 2 (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
Daughter No 1 discovered these lovely sweatshirts from Arket online during lockdown. Beautifully made, their seams are firm and straight, with no twistiness when washed, and there are no hanging threads that threaten to pull or unravel. Enamoured with the clear fresh colours, she bought 2 for each child and then asked me to do what I wanted with them. Before I came back to Cheltenham I managed a brief foray into central London, mainly to visit Liberty and was delighted to find Arket now occupying the corner of the old Dickens and Jones department store right opposite the Liberty store at the Regent Street end of Great Marlborough Street. I bought 2 more sweatshirts, one for my husband’s granddaughter (in magenta, so gorgeous with dark hair) and another in royal blue for my grandson because he so loves the royal blue T shirt I embroidered with a scarlet beetle for his birthday two years ago but which truth be told was a not very nice quality T shirt (from M & S – I was desperate but choice was limited). Hot on the heels of last week’s stag beetle, here’s another – this time purple on pale blue with a bit more cut away á la Alabama Chanin to revel the pale blue underneath.
Christmas present T shirts: the scarab beetle 2 (hand embroidered by Mary Addison)
Today, Saturday, I sit beside my window feeling happier than any time during the previous week. The dentist attempted my troublesome tooth extraction on Tuesday with the aid of what they like to call ‘happy gas’. However, the minute she fitted the gas delivery system on my nose, with tubes on either side across my face I knew I couldn’t stand it and asked her to stop. I begged to have my oxygen levels taken again and this time they were well above normal. She kindly rescheduled the extraction for Thursday and was happy to sedate me as long as the oxygen reading was good. All went well on Thursday and apart from feeling my left cheek has received a punch from a heavyweight boxer, I am recovering. Thinking about it we realised my oxygen levels were low because I had spent the morning with an intermittent irritating cough which was then exacerbated by a brisk walk up the hill to the dentist in cold air. For my second and third visits we took a cab to the dentist and I spent the mornings before doing deep breathing and trying to sit up straight. Great relief and great joy. In my 20s and 30s I may have coped adequately with the birth of 4 children including an undiagnosed breech birth (child No 3; gas and air) and a posterior presentation (child No 2; much the worse, in spite of all sorts of attempts at pain relief) but in later life I have become a complete coward. Just knock me out please for any further extraction or intervention. Two students attended the aborted extraction on Tuesday and I like to think they may have learned much about all the other aspects of the job apart from the bit involving just the teeth.
10 Comments
I’m so glad you were able to have the exact pain relief you needed for the extraction, instead of one that clearly wasn’t right for you. Good that you were able to quickly recognize that the first option wasn’t for you and that your oxygen saturation levels had rebounded enough for the sedation. So…the best of a bad situation. Hope the soreness is soon a thing of the past.
The mention of Dickens and Jones brings back lots of memories. Used to shop there with my mother and often had lunch in their restaurant. Now, when I return for visits, the only shops in that area I go to are John Lewis and maybe a pop round to Liberty’s. Will be over again in March so will take a look in Arket. Always on the lookout for good clothing for my grandchildren. You certainly made the blue shirt delightfully unique with this version of the scarab beetle. So clever.
I think the one thing that age brings is the ability to say what you feel in certain circumstances. Joy and rapture that I was able to be sedated in the end. Thank you for your empathy.
I have similar memories of Dickens and Jones which is now divided up into several different shops. Arket occupies the corner nearest Liberty. It is in fact Swedish which is a shame as I like to try to support British companies but the clothes are unfussy, well made and very reasonable in price.Kind of you to say you like the sweatshirt with its scarab beetle.
Another successful scarab beetle. And as regards pain relief, I’m really glad you got what you needed this time!
Thank you for your kindness on both counts, Rachel. I’m much happier this week!
I don’t think he has taken this jumper off since he recieved it ( judging by the pics I have seen)
X daughter no.2
Well that’s lovely to hear. Thank you.
Glad you survived the dental surgery without too much trauma; I always have a serious talk with dentists especially about the fact that I do not want to feel anything – my childhood dentist believed that children did not have fully developed pain sensors and thus didn’t use any pain reliever at all. I can attest that he was sadly mistaken.
And the beetle is wonderful. I was disappointed to learn that in real life scarab beetles are not brightly colored.
ceci
Thanks for your understanding. I too think the dentist problem lies in childhood experience. I once had a dentist who said that he could see the nerve and was avoiding it which made me think that perhaps other dentists had seen the nerve and gone for it! And those old slow droning drills just got under my skin. Modern ones are faster but screech much more. Once you get the phobia, it’s difficult to shake it off.
I agree, it’s a great disappointment that in real life there are no turquoise or emerald scarab beetles!
So glad that the extraction is behind you! Lovely scarab.
I too am glad to be on the other side of that particular experience.
Thanks, Bev.