A Trip to the Beach

 The weather forecast for Wednesday was good, so we decided to get up at the crack of dawn and drive 2 1/2 hours to the beach.  We chose Bracelet Bay near Swansea in Wales, mainly for the name, but also because we've been to the Gower Peninsula before and it's beautiful, as well as being within a reasonable distance for getting there and back in a day.


 This was our first day out at the beach since the childrens' diagnoses, so we had to put quite a lot more thought into food than in previous years.  Knowing we couldn't just pop into a fast food shop on the way home, we took much more food, and left earlier so we could be home in time for tea.  The beloved DS ciabatta were packed, along with lots of gluten-free snacks and cakes.

 It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining the entire time we were at the beach, and some of us managed to burn, even wearing factor 30!  It was a very rocky beach, with only a little sand once the tide was out, but that meant that it was fairly quiet even though it was only a couple of miles outside of the city.  Even the grumpier members of the family (mentioning no names...) had cheered up by the afternoon, and admitted that they enjoyed themselves.

 We arrived home to a letter from Ruth's consultant.  Her blood tests results were all good news - she is no longer anaemic, she is not iron, folate or B12 deficient.  There is no sign of diabetes or thyroid problems, and most importantly her coeliac anti-bodies have gone right down, and are now 'equivocal'.  A great end to a lovely day.