IvyTenebrae

Yes I have done nude shoots here

Over the weekend I was lucky enough to be extended an invitation to the Ice Village Mancheser to see their Ice Cavern and ice Tiki Bar events. I had seen posts online and I was so excited for this opportunity! Upon arrival the area surrounding had a buzz of festivities, the christmas markets were just a few steps away. Parking was literally a 5 minute walk if that and was easy to find a spot, for those who worry about travelling to the centre of Manchester by car. I was told to go to the box office and the staff there were super friendly and helpful, and were seeing people in a prompt and timely manner so any worries about queues were not an issue at all. I opted to see the ice cavern first. The entry way had fun little photo op places with face in the hole style polar bears and penguins. Following on from there was a foliage archway with twinkling lights, I was definitely on the way to wonderland! As you enter you get a slight shock of cold which quickly passes. The minus 10 degrees celsius inside had concerned me, but once in there it is barely noticeable and it easy to get accustomed to, even for a cold phobic like I am! Do wrap up warm though! A wood chip pathway guids you through the true sights to behold. Ice sculptures were dotted at every turn. The initial section had adorable woodland creatures such as foxes and rabbits. Moving on from there we saw a wall constructed of ice bricks with pink roses captured inside framed in intricate patterns. And then a true masterpiece. A unicorn rising up tall and majestic, highly detailed and stunning. As if that hadn’t taken my breath away enough the path led to a wonderful towering, intricately detailed dragon, one of the largest sculptures there and something truly to write home about. I stood in awe for some time at these wondrous pieces of art. The time and skill taken to construct these just boggles the mind. Just around the corner there were stocks (made of ice of course!) where you could pop your head and arms through and be transported back to medieval times. A display of a knight, huge ogre and skeleton chained (again each link made from ice) set in a dungeon made for a truly enthralling area to view and interact with. The pathway then led to another area, an ice block wall with an encapsulated flower heart inside and a Narnia style lady with an intricate lion sat next to this proudly. Another area had a fully ice constructed carriage, much like you would expect straight from a Cinderella style dream! With ice steps to enter it, wonderful ice wheels, every part was ice and it was surprisingly sturdy and comfy! There were plenty of laughs to be had with the kids as a castle wall style slide was built to one side and children were rushing to take more turns on this fantastically fun piece. There was a room with a stairway, bannisters made fully of ice, with beautiful ice windows behind and a comfortable seat which would befit any ice queen or king! Again a beautiful area for photographs. Lovely little touches such as a bright green caterpillar and red and white toad stools showcased the artistry involved in making coloured ice sculptures. Again work that must me congratulated in design and construction. This area of the ice village truly is fun for all the family, the pieces change each year and they are all something that once seen in person are memories to treasure. After exiting the ice cavern there is a gift shop and a heater so you can warm up a little after the experience. Back around the front and through the arched foliage there was a second aisle to the right to enter the Tiki Bar. Upon going inside I was wrapped in a thermal blanket, a sort of cape style to keep warm for longer whilst enjoying a party atmosphere. The music was some sing along pop classics which provided a great background for festive fun! There were various cocktails and mocktails available at the bar, all served up in ice glasses. Again an experience which was very unique! There were more fun photo ops in there with ice encapsulated bikini and swim trunks both with exotic patterns to fit the theme. I saw a pineapple and banana dotted about and an ice wall with more stunning decoration to the corner. The tiki bar itself was an amazing experience I could have stayed there all evening! The staff were really humorous and friendly, all ready to keep the party going or help with any requests. In summary, this event is a one off experience. It may return next year but every year is different so it is a new experience each time. It is worth the visit as you will not only have lots of laughs and make lots of memories but also have tonnes of stunning photos to treasure and look back on. I have so much video and photo content from the day, I have tried to condense it all in this blog post so hopefully you will get a feel of the experience before you see it for yourself, trust me you will want to!

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Hi loves

I’ve been promising some updates on my current situation so I thought I would make a quick post to write about what has been going on recently. This may explain why I’m quieter than usual and have had less time to be online.

Basically, a lot has been going on behind the scenes I don’t usually speak about for fear of being depressing or weak. But I do want to try to be more open and honest, these illnesses are not just affecting me but others too and they are not well known.

As most of you know I’ve been trying since October 2018 to get reinstated on my life saving medication after a London doctor withdrew me from her clinic and abruptly stopped treatment without warning. Since then she refused to communicate with any of my local doctors and I have been fighting constantly to get seen by the right person. I have a very rare autoinflammatory disease which takes a lot of strong medicine to control. London had some very specific test results which other centres do not do and they haven’t been forthcoming in releasing information my GP needed to make decisions in my best interests for care. Since that treatment had been removed things have been on the decline, recently my symptoms became far more serious. It was just discovered by a very helpful one in a million doctor (who I was referred to by total chance when my last consultant left) that the ulceration and inflammation in my bowel had returned worse than before. Even the colonoscopy was difficult to perform, I collapsed on the way in to theatre and ended up on a trolley waking up in a resus bed. They almost didn’t finish the test, but I begged so I could perhaps know something about the extent of what is going on inside of me. The pain has been unbearable and I have even needed IV iron infusions for the amount of blood loss I’m experiencing.

I then started once again being unable to swallow solid food and experiencing regular choking episodes (anyone who has known me for a while knows how long it took to get back to eating normally again after the last bout of illness… it was about 2 years). This has been devastating. It came to a point where I was waiting for an ENT specialist for over four months and something had to be done. It has been over a month now of only having bits of complan drinks to sustain me and then a week and half of that without any food at all due to sheer pain of trying to get anything thicker than water down. Last week I went privately to see a consultant who performed a scope down my nose and found severe ulceration and inflammation from both nostrils down through the post nasal space and going as far as by my voice box and windpipe. It’s a very scary situation to be in. Obviously this didn’t come cheap, but it was necessary to know how far the disease has spread to build the case of staying on the long term treatment I need.

A week last Thursday night I had a major flare up with difficulty breathing, a heart rate of over 170 and extremely high blood pressure. My body was burning, cold fire, the bottom half of my lungs would not expand without excruciating pain. I was put in a high dependency bed and was hooked up to all sorts of wires and monitors. I have been started on an aggressive month long treatment of a very high dose of steroids and doubled immunosuppressants. I am hoping this will return me back to some kind of normality.

I have not long moved house, which was another thing that caused a lot of stress (a lot of people know the details of that nightmare with the ex landlord). The new house has been a godsend, but unfortunately at home there was a pipe burst right as I came out of hospital which has been more stress.

I still want to and am carrying on working. I have taken on some extra work but I am now not in the position to do much more, my everyday work modeling is already difficult under the current health circumstances and even more work is impossible when I’m already supposed to be on bed rest. (Modeling has been something I realise I am so lucky to do, flexible work through this illness has been my only real option other than giving up and I do not want to do that. I used to work in law, I had a whole career change due to this illness, but I am grateful for the opportunities I have had). The costs of medical bills are partly why I am adding a few extras to the store on this site which is here

I hope this does not come across as a sob story, it is a blip in my journey. I am lucky on the whole that I have survived through this far, it’s still a pretty harrowing experience and the drugs are going to take a while to get me back on track. I have had days where I have literally begged for the end, anything to make the pain stop. Painkillers only do so much and the absolute terror of not knowing which part will flare up next (the places noted on here are only a tiny portion of what is affected by this systemic disease) I thought I could not face it. I’ve had such an outpouring of love and support from you all and honestly with that and the three main people close to me in life getting me to hospital, I am getting through.

I’m on the right medications, this current situation will hopefully pass soon. There is hope now and that is way more than I have had in years.

If you made it through all of that, thanks for sticking with it. If you want to read more about rare illnesses please check the https://www.raredisease.org.uk site out.

Love and hugs

Ivy x

I realise I haven’t blogged in a while and I since I have an adorable new addition to the family I thought this was a perfect opportunity. I saw this little guy and instantly fell in love! He was born on boxing day, he’s a Blue Merle Welsh Border Collie and is such a little dude. Going with the League of Legends names theme he is called Ekko. He joins the kitties Rengar, Jinx and Sona and my rescue mouse Twitch with his League champion name (Freyja was before League came into my life!) Instead of the boy who shattered time like his namesake, Ekko’s become bestowed with the boy who sh*t all the time since he loves to poop XD training a puppy is not for the faint hearted especially one that shows a lot of dominance like Ekko does. He is doing well in some respects, he has already leant the commands sit, wait and down but struggles a little with “come” and “off” with his very short attention span! I nearly called him Doctor Mundo and I should have since he goes where he pleases! Plus imagine all his paperwork being “Doctor Mundo”… XD

Part of the reason I wanted to post is to also share a couple of things I have found that have really helped get through the first manic days with a boisterous young pup. He is teething quite badly and loves nothing more than soothing his gums on my beautiful furniture and skirting boards (yes I am old and love my decor). I was at my wits end but I stumbled across what I can only describe as a miracle cure. This Puppy Teething Gel has great reviews so I know it isn’t just me who has seen a huge impact from using it. I highly recommend it to anyone who is facing their house being destroyed.

Another great tip is to get a XL Rope Chew Toy and soak it in water and freeze. The cold will soothe sore gums and keeps them occupied. I also found that during the night when he gets a burst of energy (despite regular long walks he is very hyperactive still) I use a Laser Pen to burn off some pent up energy. PLEASE BE SUPER CAREFUL if you use one though. Caps are necessary here because pointing it anywhere near their eyes can cause damage. However during the night when you’re bleary eyed and your pup wants to play it’s a godsend to be able to keep him busy and tire him out without having to jump up full of beans at 3am and living the just been dug up lifestyle.

Another really good item I picked up is to fill a Kong with something tasty such as Peamutt Butter For Dogs And Puppies freezing it before giving it to him really helped keep him occupied for longer.

While he is teething keeping him from chewing things that are not super expensive furniture that I absolutely treasure is a must, I use these Bully Sticks are something Ekko has fallen in love with.

Training has been a lot more testing than I ever remembered, after a lot of research I found this Puppy Training Starter Kit it’s a great place to start if you’re not entirely sure what products could help out of the thousands available. This pack includes puppy pads and spray to encourage usage of the mat, anti chew spray that actually worked and loads of helpful bits that you don’t realise you actually need.

I will add more to the list as I progress through the journey. I know this post is off my usual topics, but I hope anyone welcoming a new little fur baby will find some use out of this.

Thanks for reading and I’ll post again soon!

Ivy x

Tifa ahaego