cpie's baptism and christmas

sadly i don't have any photos of cpie in her lovely dress - this is the dress which o made for stella when she was baptised - this is mainly because i was too caught up in the actual ceremony - and then she changed into 'ordinary attire' for the drive to the restaurant where we had a meal - never min! - hope you like these:

the star of the show:

oma with lizzie and f'ster:


cat and janey:


g and me (looking typically stressed!!):




. . . and then it was christmas:

this is our crib - we have had the figures well over 20 years - most of them are a bit chipped now and poor old joseph's head has fallen off a few times and been glued back on - boogs made the stable 8 years ago when he was recovering from his throat op:


christmas eve: me, g, o, kpie and rich:


jpie:


and cpie:


and last of all: my tree - this fell over just after i had finished doing it the first time and i didn't have the heart to start all over again so just chucked the dec on after that!! - still it doesn't look too bad - though there is a decided tilt!!

cpie

i did say i would post december pics - but i'm a bit pushed for time tonight so i'll do them next bloggins

i will just add this pic of cpie last march: she was just 2 days old . . . and it was the first time i met her . . . in the words of stevie wonder 'isn't she lo- o - v - ley?'

look!! photos!!

Yay!! Cracked it!!
now to update with photos of the last few months:
LAST JUNE: we went to Austria:

It really IS this beautiful!


g, janey and eric in berg

We also went to Helen and Geoff's Pearl Wedding Celebrations - I forgot to take my camera but a friend mailed me this shot of eric in his weskit:

JULY:

F'ster as we first knew him

David and Becky's Wedding:

In the chapel

Tony, Kathy and Anna with Jess

and here are anna and jess with claire who was one of the bridesmaids.
claire also has the honour of being my one-and-only god-daughter . . . and she is LOVELY!!

SEPTEMBER: Anna and Ricky's wedding:

Anna and Ricky at the Reception

anna and claire with kpie

stella concentrating on her camera, kpie concentrating on? mischief?

my kpie! . . . and if this isn't mischief personified . . . .

back next time with photos of cpie's baptism . . . and christmas

more luck than judgement!

i'm not sure which of the photos i have uploaded here - it should be (l - r) cpie (in the customised t-shirt Auntie Mary made), jpie, kpie holding lpip
hope you like it - if i have been successful, more to follow!

my news since last time . . .

it has been an exhausting and emotional 2 weeks!!

stella and the pies are still here - rich travelled down by train to help out with jpie and cpie for a few days (kpie nipped off to cornwall with jackie and company for a week's hols) when stella went down with flu - and then i caught it too which didn't help!!

little lpip is doing well - she was transferred to the brompton hospital when she was 4 days old and frankie and alex stayed with her there for a week. but now she has been discharged and they are all home - hoorah!! - stella and the pies called in on them and kpie, jpie and cpie were all delighted to meet their new little cousin - with f'ster included, that means 5 cousins born within 4 years - what fun for them all as they grow up!!

pipkin has arrived safely!

and she is doing well!
weighed 7 lb 14 oz
real name: lucia-rose collette
mummy daddy and all the family thrilled to bits!
another instalment some time soon . . .

this life, this week

I have hardly touched base this week - it has been very busy

but briefly:

wednesday: met pauline in the essex for chat and drinks - really enjoyable evening!

thursday: zoomed up to luton after work for tutorial -it's ahassle getting there but well worth the effort

friday: party at liz and david's to celebrate OFSTED - another great evening

saturday/sunday: to janey and eric's - arrived for coffee, then after lunch we went for a good walk around the grounds at calke - cold but beautiful sunshine - janey cooked a fabulous dinner of duck and trimmings . . . and we sat around the table (peter joined us) and, as usual, we laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed! more laughing and talking this morning . . . and eric made a terrific 'hearty'.

frankie: is still bearing up - only one more week of work. spoke to her this evening and she sounds well but looking forward to finishing work next friday and (hopefully) a well-earned rest before the baby

this is what is says about a canna!!
"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

i am this flower!

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

Burns Night

had the most fantastic evening at the rose and crown, rickmansworth, with a group from work.

this was the first Burns Night i have been too and, lord!!! what fun it was!!

this was the programme of events:

piper outside to pipe us in

first course of salmon/or scotch broth (i had salmon)

piping in of the haggis - with poem!!

toast to the haggis (with whisky)

main course: haggis (yumm!! - this was totally delicious!!)

toast to the lassies

toast to the laddies

pudding - not sure what this was but it was marvellous

then a space was cleared and we had a tutored ceilidh - which was HUGE fun

at some point people from different tables got up and read a burns poem each but i forget when, exactly, this happened - david was the brave soul from our table!!

we all had such a terrific time that we resolved to come again next year - hoorah for matt who organised it all with such enthusiasm!!

if i were clever enough to know how to put links, i would do one for the pub as it is well worth a visit: fantastic atmosphere, welcoming staff, lovely old building and wonderful food! - please go if ever you find yourself in the area - i'm sure you wouldn't be disappointed!!

grrr!!! car parking!!!

i have just written a very moany entry about car parking in watford

but then i read it through and it really was so very boring that i felt it just didn't deserve to be published

so i deleted it

and all i can say is:

don't attempt the shrubbery car park by the town hall

today it took my money, let me through the barrier and then: there were no spaces!!

it's rubbish!!!

wheeeeeee!

phew! well what a week that was for weather!!

stella phoned on thursday to say that a tree in the park over the road from their home had fallen towards the houses, just missing the windows of next-door-but-one and blocking the road. fortunately no one was hurt though it did cause disruption for some hours and missed s and r's car by inches!!

fran and alex's area lost most of their fences and numerous twigs and branches came off my trees though everything else survived intact. there used to be 3 large pine trees in our garden but 2 of them were damaged in the hurricane of 1987 so the previous owner had those 2 chopped down to stumps. i was a little worried about the remaining one - it is too far from the house to do any damage but didn't fancy all the clearing up!! but it's a sturdy old thing and is obviously good for a few years yet.

other than that it has been a quiet week:

went to janine's on wednesday - and then as soon as i came home, started to make myself a cheese roll - and sliced through the top of my left thumb!! (it is only a little cut - that was a bit over-dramatic!! - lol!!)

eleanor phoned on thursday to say tutorial was cancelled because of the storms and disruptions on the roads - so spent a cosy evening in front of the fire with a mug of hot chocolate, a blanket and a book - mmm - bliss!!

a temporary (january-related) low

well it's been an absolutely dire week at work - totally totally dreadful!

thank heavens for lovely friends:

book group on wednesday: which was here and we discussed 'the abortionist's daughter' by elisabeth hyde

women's group on thursday: which was at cathy's and we decided on the programme for the year

evening with the neighbours on friday: which was at tess and richard's - and lara and ricky came too and so did tess from no 10 (whom i had not so far met)

and thank heavens for lovely relatives too:

stella, frankie, janey and eric who all (wittingly or unwittingly) managed to cheer me up when i was more than a little despairing

oh yes we did!!

no prizes for guessing where i went yesterday evening!!

janey, eric and lizzie came to stay and we went to the aladdin pantomime at the palace. kezia, jago, rich and most of rich's family (almost the whole of the front 2 rows!!) were there too - and a jolly time was had by all!!

it's years since i last went to a panto - since the girls were small in fact - and i really enjoyed it!! - it was a lot of fun!!

both thomas and daniel (k and j's cousins) were invited on stage to sing, mime and (in daniel's case) tell a joke!! and it was lovely to see kezia shouting and doing the actions in audience participation

we were supposed to be going to 'much ado about nothing' at the novello but, because i stupidly left it too late to get tickets, decided to say nothing and just turn up 'behind you!!' at the panto. i think james and imy were suitably aghast at the sight of us there!!

and then we all went back to jackie's and had a cup of tea and saw stella and clara, who can now walk (!!) - at least she does when she feels like it!

janey, eric and lizzie left around 10 this morning as they had to get back to ashby, load lizzie's stuff and take her back to sheffield

ricky came round and made short work of digging up the stumps of hedge along the front of my garden

and i've been doing my latest assignment most of the day

. . . and now that 2007 is here . . .

. . . this is it so far:

new year:

the meal at jude and john's was super - the whole evening was great fun - and we watched the 'fireworks on the green' from the back garden to the accompaniment of yowling foxes in the undergrowth

i dobbed out on the new's day walk and lunch at the clarendon as i really had too much to do at home - but called briefly on fran/alex on the way back and met alex's younger brother patrick who had stayed the night with them

wednesday evening:

met pauline in the essex - and saw the photos of sophie - she is lo-o-o-ovely!! babies eh?? they're just so-o-o exciting!!

yesterday (thursday):

to london after work to see the 'alice in wonderland' ballet at the coliseum. as a small child i had a book with the 'tenniel' drawings and at that time i found both the drawings and the story itself rather frightening. the plot was difficult to convey in dance and i think that if one had not read the book it might well have been confusing. that said, it was very enjoyable with some superb balletic sequences and i was impressed by the way the costumes and the make-up were so true to the original drawings - very clever!!

today:

stella, rich and the pies arrived this afternoon at jackie's - hoorah!! but i haven't been round to see them because

a) i woke very early this morning after a late night and have double vision from tiredness and

b) i have to get all the decorations and christmas tree down tonight . . .

altogether now . . . . aaahhh!!

final thoughts for 2006

post-christmas has been for me a quiet and peaceful time:
friday: went for meal in the evening with jackie and trisha to the 'windmill' at chipperfield - very pleasant!
saturday: lots of 'course' reading - French Revolution - and general tidying up - and watched 'The Hours' in the evening - excellent! - knitting too - have almost finished my scarf
today: stella phoned to say she rich and the pies were at luton on their way home - and then 30 minutes later they turned up in my driveway!! - they had forgotten jago's bupp - disaster!! - quick coffee/milk/ christmas cake and then they were off again
had text message from pauline to say tim and debbie's baby girl born at 10 this morning - hoorah!! - sophie may - lovely name!!
new year's eve dinner . . . is at judy and john's this evening - janey and eric, jane and dave and denny and jonno will be there too - and then i am going back to denny and jon's to stay the night - this is a great tradition!!
and so for all my readers near and far . . .
i wish you all a very
happy and healthy 2007
may all your trials and tribulations be small
and all your joys and triumphs be great
onwards and upwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

away in a manger . . .

. . . is possibly my favourite christmas carol

when eric and i were little we lived next door to a lovely couple called nan and cecil pollett and every christmas eve we would go and sing a carol outside their kitchen door and they would invite us in for a hot drink and mince pies (nan pollett had the best hand for pastry that i have ever known!!). every year we would sing 'away in a manger' and every year o would say 'oh sing something different this year'. we never did!! children are such little traditionalists - we never needed even to discuss it - we just stood outside the door and sang - and it was the same very year.

this year, stella taught kpie to sing it - which she did beautifully of course!! - on christmas eve we had a little ceremony of jpie putting the baby in the crib while we all sang - kpie had a 'solo' on the first verse! prior to this, i had put the baby in the cupboard the crib stands on and got him out to hand him to jago. kpie and jpie spent much of the evening hiding him back in the cupboard when they thought no-one was looking - hahaha!

CHRISTMAS 2006:

christmas eve:

frankie and alex collected o and g and brought them down to bushey and stella, rich and the pies came over too. we had a lovely meal all together - we had lasagne, salad and crusty bread - and it was just great to have all the generations together - the great-grandparents (o and g) in their 80s, then me, then stella and rich and frankie and alex all in their 20s, then the pies:kpie, jpie and cpie all under 4 and last but certainly not least, pipkin! terrific atmosphere!!

christmas day:

o and g and i were up for 'quick breakfast' and then early mass - stella, rich and the pies were there too - and janet and geoff came as well - an added bonus!!

back to our house for salmon and brioches and coffee and/or milk and then communal present openings

frankie arrived while we were 'presenting' and then stelps and co left for lunch at jackie's

alex and malcolm came soon after - it did feel a bit like victoria station!! - and we had a (very) late lunch and just generally sat around talking and relaxing into the evening - very pleasant day for most of us - poor frankie was unwell again with a recurrence of the 'bug' she had a couple of weeks ago

(footnote: she is ok now but has passed it on to alex!!)

boxing day:

we were up late today for a day of 'doing nothing'

stella came round just before noon and so we all had lunch together which was nice and relaxing and then stella went back to jackie's

watched a bit of tv and played cards in the evening - thinking of boogs who used to love a game of cards!

yesterday:

i took o and g home and was back here mid afternoon

frankie and alex popped round - f had been to the mid-wife: all well.

today:

stella, rich and pies round for lunch - more left-overs!! - and kpie and jpie had some of the 'special' christmas cake we made back in the autumn - they enjoyed it - yay!!!

jpie went for a little sleep after lunch and kpie, stella, rich and i played a game of ludo - i must say they play a very peculiar version which consists of building 'barriers'!! which made it last for ages!!

so that's christmas 2006 - and it was lovely!!!

and this did stress me out . . .

. . . although i'm laughing now!! - almost!!!

i decorated the christmas tree tonight:

foil over the little table that it always stands on

trailed the lights from top to bottom and then checked that they were nicely distributed

decorations placed on the tree starting at the top and then proceeding downwards with military presicision

and then i started to push the whole thing into the corner between the two sofas where it always stands

and then the whole darned thing fell over!!

about half the decorations fell off

the lights became all twisted and tangled

and lots of the needles fell off and made a mess on the carpet!!!

hahahaha!!

well i got it up again but didn't have the heart to take everything off and start again

so it doesn't look at good as it normally does - the lights aren't really very well distributed now - and there is a decided 'lean' !! towards one of the sofas which i can't seem to correct

and i am a little bit worried that it may all fall down again in the middle of the night

but actually . . .

i think its quite funny really

hahahaha

christmas is coming . . . .

. . . and i was almost stressed about it!!

thursday before last:

infants' nativity play - aaahhh!! - was lovely and funny too with lots of topical bits (watford supporters, ofsted inspectors etc) as well as all the traditional parts - don't you just love the way the wise men always but always have to have a 'page' each so that every child gets to be in the play? - this felt like the beginning of christmas for me!!

last wednesday:

christmas lunch at school - which was lovely! - i sat with some wonderful children and monique - who is the school bursar - and a good time was had by all!! this was followed immediately by:

christmas shopping: had been starting to feel a bit panicky as i thought i had done so little - but when i looked at the stash i have been collecting everytime i see 'something-i-think-someone-would-like' i found i had done at least half of it!! so i only needed to finish off - managed that pretty sharpish so that now i think i really have finished the present shopping . . . and then that evening it was . . .

book group: at catherine's house where we had biscuits, mince pies and seasonal drinks and talked about tracy chevallier's 'virgin blue' which we had all enjoyed - but which still provoked quite a bit of discussion

friday:

collected the christmas tree after work then out in the evening for the p & t christmas 'do'. we went to the 'rose and crown' just outside harefield . food was excellent and then a space was cleared on the floor for scottish dancing - hoots mon!! - i have to say that mel, matt and i did very well (kath, chris and sarah declined to dance!) but guests at other tables (some of whom were 'drunk as stoats') were rubbish!!

today:

christmas lunch with the p & t team (yes i know we had christmas dinner on friday - this was christmas lunch - ok?) at '143' was very pleasant

the house is now all tidy so i am just about to go and decorate the tree, put wreath on front door and do rest of the decorations - and then tomorrow it is christmas lunch with the income team - i really am getting into the christmas spirit!!!

clara's baptism . . .

. . . was lovely!!

it was during the 10.30 mass at their local church so a very early start for all of us hertfordshire folk!

kezia and jago behaved beautifully . . . and so did the other children: freddie, thomas, jessica, toby, eve and isabelle all came too . . . and james and imy were great at looking after them - at 15 and 12 they were very grown-up!!

brian and fiona were the god-parents - and it was lovely to see other of stella's friends from school too - as well as heaps of relatives!!

clara was an absolute star!! i was in fits laughing when the water was poured over her head - she didn't mind the water at all - but she struggled in stella's arms so she could turn around and look to see where it had come from and where it was going - she is a very inquisitive child!!!

sadly, frankie was unable to come as she had a really bad case of what we think is gastro-enteritis - we all missed her and alex - it was the only blot on an otherwise perfect day!!

wildlife

when we first lived in this house, there was a huge pile of rubbish in one corner of the garden which a family of foxes had made their home. eventually we cleared it and the foxes had to move elsewhere - next door i think it was because i still see them about - they come through our garden when it is quiet - early morning or sometimes i see them just at dusk - and sometimes i see them crossing the road if i look out the window late at night

and we have a fair number of squirrel visitors too - they run along our back fence and leap across to next door's tree - i find it endlessly amusing to watch them chase each other and to skitter up and down the trunks of trees. for the first few years we lived here there was a totally mental squirrel who used to chase his own tail. we all loved him - he was crazy!!

we had a little hedgehog too at one time - we would put cat food just outside the back door and would hear him rattling the bowl on the path when he was feeding

today i was in the library at lunch-time and read an article in a newspaper which suggested that scientists' research appears to confirm that animals can have what we would take to be 'human' emotions like 'love'. i recall that some years ago boogs and i watched a tv prog about altruism in animals so i don't find this research so surprising.

and i remember one summer evening some years ago now when i was in the kitchen and heard a strange sound outside - rather like a mewing or squeaking sound. i went out and found 2 hedgehogs - one was quite plainly unwell and the other was quite obviously distressed. the ill one was making his way slowly across the lawn and the other was creeping along beside him making these snuffly noises. they appeared to be about the same size. i have often wondered what became of them - i have not seen a hedgehog in our garden since.

over-dramatic claptrap

i buy the 'mail on sunday' because i rather like the 'you' magazine - and the tv pages are useful - although i only ever watch about an hour's worth a week - but mainly i get it because

a) we always did (!!) and

b) there isn't a b) !!

so the truth is i don't know why i get it . . .

however . . . the front page headline this week made me realise that enough really is enough!!!

this was it:

'Police arrested me at dawn and threw me in a cell' !!!!!

i read the article and according to this 'Des Smith', he was awoken at his home in London at 7.20 a.m., taken to Stoke Newington police station and 'thrown in a cell alongside violent criminals'

now my understanding of 'dawn' is 'first light' which, as anyone who has ever seen the sunrise will know, occurs a good half hour before then. sunrise in london on 13 april this year was 6.09 a.m. not really 'dawn' then!!

and having read how he was 'dragged from his bed in a dawn raid' can we honestly believe that he was 'thrown' into a cell?

and what of the 'violent criminals'? slapped him with their hankies did they?

Little Pip

today. as promised, i shall write about pip!

which is the best news in ages!! (well since freddie was born in fact!!)

frankie is well but getting somewhat tired now - and looking forward to the end of term in just over a fortnight

she and alex have moved into a lovely little house with a south-facing garden which is just over a mile from here - they stayed with me for a short while before they moved in - which tbh was rather a strain for all of us!!

last thursday frankie went for another scan - and this time she saw pip's little face!!

pip's 'due date' is early march - although frankie so soo big now one wonders if she will be earlier than that!

we are all looking forward to pip's arrival!!

. . . and just a short note on the name . . . which won't really be pip! . . . although i do know which names have been chosen i shan't write them here!! - pip is just a sort of 'in utero' name and short for 'pipkin' - frankie's favourite from 'watership down'!!

E for exciting

I have exciting news!
Well . . . it's not 'news' at all really . . . but it IS exciting!
Frankie and Alex moved into their house last Friday
They are expecting their first baby (Pip) in March
They are getting married Christmas 2007
All this is 'old' news for family and friends - I just haven't written about it here yet - mainly because it was hard to set it down coherently!! and even now I don't really know where to start . . . so . . . instead here is:

OneWordMemeNoExceptionsandNoCheating
1. Yourself: Cross
2. Your boyfriend/girlfriend (spouse): Unique
3. Your hair: Short
4. Your mother: Demanding
5. Your Father: Patient
6. Your Favourite Item: Car
7. Your dream last night: Forgotten
8. Your Favourite drink: Coffee
9. Your Dream Car: Morgan
10. The room you are in: Library
11. Your Ex: Forgettable
12. Your fear: Rats
13. What you want to be in 10 years? Wiser
14. Who you hung out with last night? Self
15. What You're Not: Humble
16. Muffins: Blueberry
17. One of Your Wish List Items: Books
18. Time: Tide
19. The Last Thing You Did: Read
20. What You Are Wearing: Brown
21. Your Favourite Weather: Frosty
22. Your Favourite Book: Novel
23. The Last Thing You Ate: Sandwich
24. Your Life: OK
25. Your Mood: Anxious
26. Your best friend: Omnipresent
27. What are you thinking about right now? Studying
28. Your car: Blue
29. What are you doing at the moment? Thinking
30. Your summer: Stressful
31. Your relationship status: Solitary
32. What is on your TV? Nothing
33. What is the weather like? Rainy
34. When is the last time you laughed? Today
35. Who do you tag? Tag?

Back another time with updates!

silence reigned . . .

. . . and we all got wet

it has been a fairly quiet few days . . .

friday: fran and alex moved into their house

saturday: stella, rich and the pies were in watford so i went to see them at jackie's where they were staying.

kezia could hardly wait for me to get through the door before taking me off to see the wonderful shirt-folder she had made - she made it out of an old cardboard box and it will fold all shirts and t-shirts to EXACTLY the same size - brilliant!!! stella had cut her (kezia's) hair so it is just above shoulder length - looks very cute!!

jago is still intent on raising a laugh at every opportunity - if silence falls he just makes funny frog noises to make us chuckle

clara was having a quiet day

today:

morning: zipped to shopping centre as soon as open to get belt for the dyson - was only there about 20 mins and the place was heaving by the time i came out - but i had finished and could go home - phew!!

afternoon: stella phoned to say they were all home safely in sheffield - and again in the evening when we chatted for ages - for far longer than i actually saw her while they were down - she made me laugh so much my sides ache!!

brain in over-drive!!

it has been a challenging few days in the brain department!!

friday: admissions policy meeting in the evening - tortuous!!

saturday: my friend berny is going to peru for 3 months in the new year to teach special needs children. in order to raise money for the charity with which she is going she held a quiz night. I had organised a team (Team Freddie) - and it comprised:

Janey and Dave

Judy and John

Cat, David and Freddie (although Freddie was asleep all evening under the table!!)

Trisha

Moi

We had an entertaining and very funny evening

. . . and . . .

HOORAH!!

we won!!!

sunday - remembrance sunday: janey, eric and i visited with o and g and took them to mass -and then drove to nether heyford for sunday lunch at the old sun. we arrived at the village green just before the wreath laying so we heard the binyon poem and also the buglers playing the last post - which made g very happy - for the last 2 years i have marched in the procession with him but he is getting a little too frail for that now - so he was glad not to miss out altogether!

monday:

work: dire straits in the cash office due to staff absence so i was drafted in to help - some quick-thinking required!! very busy!!

evening: meeting at liz and david's where we looked at the second reading from sunday mass (which had been read at o and g's church in POLISH!!! - i haven't a clue why!! - maybe Daventry has a large Polish community now??). It was jolly hard going and my little grey cells were working over-time!! very pleasant group of people though and nice informal chat afterwards

today: philip called just as i arrived home so had a cup of tea with him and then frankie and i took some stuff to the house (i think she is actually moving in there tomorrow - yay!! - calm returns to the wassell house!!)

philosophy: and as if my brain hasn't been working hard enough . . . i have been wrestling with a philosphy essay to boot!!

pies and cakes

yesterday was the best day i have had in yonks:

collected stella and the pies and had quick coffee at jackie's

back here around 11 and made my christmas caakes - with stella's kezia's and jago's help (clara 'helped' by crawling around the kitchen floor investigating tully's dinner and pulling bottles out of the winerack!!). since kezia has a nut allergy i made the mixture without almonds, then piled it into 2 tins - one a little smaller than my usual one and the other a tiny loaf tin which is especially for k and j. i shall marzipan and ice the bigger one but only ice the little one. kezia was terribly excited to see her own special cake when it was baked. they both had a stir and made a wish

after lunch, k and j had a little nap while s and i had coffee and washed up and clara dozed a bit

we had a little time to play when the pies woke up and before i took them all over to cat and david's

had a coffee there and measured clara and freddie together - believe it or not they are EXACTLY the same length!! - clara is 8 months old today and freddie will be 4 months the week after next!

book group in the evening at jan's - 'lighthousekeeping' by jeanette winterson - excellent book which i can thoroughly recommend

quicksticks!!!

. . . because i really pushed for time tonight!!

. . . but soo much has been happening!!

thursday: frankie sent me text to say its ofsted for them on wednesday - just one day but enough to start a major panic by the sounds of it!!

friday: stella rich and the pies arrived in the evening - nipped round briefly - they are all well

saturday: frankie and alex got keys for their house so fran and i went round for start of cleaning process - stella and c visited - left around 3.30 for home as i had stuff to do here - fran went into school then - still hadn't come home by time i left for fireworks in the park. i always find the fireworks stressful - every year another reason!! - this year was no exception!! nice to see everyone though - and had nice chat in kitchen on our return which helped!! fran and alex home when i returned - tired!!

today: have been working almost all day on my music essay (sigh!!) - fran and alex went to the house and then on to school - it's just gone 8.00 now and they are only just leaving!! stella phoned not long ago re tomorrow (which i haven't written about so far but will update soon i hope)

barnaby bear (if you know what i mean)

the past few days have been busy . . .

monday ( flood in the office):

back to work after my hols. not an awful lot of work had been done while i was away due to the fact that the offices had been closed most of the week due to a mammoth flood which had occurred the week-end prior to my trip to cornwall. so it was all fairly hectic. much of the town hall decoration has been ruined, ceilings have come down, computer systems had been disabled - heaps of disruption in fact. it is all well under control now but there is still a lot of catching up to be done. VERY busy!!!

met pauline in the evening at the essex which was nice

tuesday (hallowe'en!!):

it's a sad fact but most people in england are very disapproving of trick-or-treating - and yes i know it is an idea imported by the colonials (lots of people say 'oh well it's an american thing' in a very dismisive way) and of course most of us still haven't forgiven them for the boston tea party (lol!!) but i think it is fun to dress up and call on the neighbours - when the girls were small we always made orange squash, mixed it with food colouring and served it to our visitors and called it stupid names like 'bat's blood' or 'spider juice' - it was just a bit of harmless fun. nowadays there seems to be far too much tsk-tsking going on!! kill joys!!!

wednesday (mass and grass):

all saints mass at school in morning - which was lovely although i found it more than a little emotional!! - cut the grass in the afternoon - i hope it will be the last time this year but as it is still quite mild and wet i suspect it will need at least one more - alex came home while i was mowing and not only finished it off but mended my lawn-mower as well - hoorah!!

kernow

well, i arrived home from my cornwall holiday about an hour ago - took almost 9 hours driving time as the roadwork delays were so bad - but well worth it for the fantastic time i had!!

tuesday: left just after 4 a.m. in pouring rain (which fortunately ceased around bristol) and arrived in time for morning coffee - yay!! - janey, eric, james, imy, david and i walked and peter, lorna, cat and freddie drove (boo!!) to the new inn for lunch. it was soo warm and sunny we were able to sit in the garden. rest of the day spent relaxing.

wednesday: we all went to st. ives. rotten weather - rained all day but still managed a good time. lunch in the 'onshore' - then back home for fish meal by cat and david. sadly i was so exhausted i had to go back to my b and b early and consequently missed it!

thursday: good weather today! janey, eric and i went to local farm shop and then on to helford for couple of drinks at the pub. back to tregartha and sat in garden until jude and john arrived when we walked over to nare point. good walk but VERY muddy and slippy. back for lovely lasagne meal and then: FIREWORKS!! in the garden. we all yelled 'ooh' and 'aah' and 'hoorah' and so did a motley collection of other people in the area who had obviously come out to watch them from their gardens. so lovely to see fireworks in a sky with so little light pollution!!

today: after i had tidied my little cabin i went to pay and return the key. chatted to john whale (the owner) who invited me to see his paintings and the book he is currently working on. so interesting - particularly as it is a subject i know absolutely nothing about - so now i do know a little more about ships in and around oman.

freddie: it was freddie's first (of many i bet!!) trip to cornwall. it was lovely to have him with us. he was very good - when he wasn't eating he was smiling, and when he wasn't doing either he was sleeping. it was lovely to see james and imy so obviously happy with their baby brother - and good to see the way they helped to care for him. they are a super family!!

48 Things

It's been an interesting and varied week - so varied in fact that i can't coherently put it all on one blog . . . so, instead I give you:
48 Things You Could Care Less About. . .
1. FIRST NAME? Rosemary
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? I cry so often I can't remember - over a fortnight ago though!
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Mostly
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCHMEAT? Liver sausage - in a crusty roll
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes!
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Only my blog
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Lord!! No!!!
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? My mum's home made Bircher Muesli
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Of course!!
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? No. Though it is surprizing what one will do when one has one's 'back to the wall'
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Toffee
14. SHOE SIZE? 5/6 - it depends
5. RED OR PINK? Red
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I . . . er . . . umm . . . procrastinate
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Boogy
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I would like to know 48 things about You, too!
19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Blue jeans with a white polo-neck, blue ballet shoes and stripey socks
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Hot cross bun
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Computer humming
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? brown
23. FAVOURITE SMELL? Fresh cut grass
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Frankie
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Smile
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON you stole THIS from? I pinched it from someone's blog - I have never met her but she seems really nice
27. FAVOURITE DRINK? Strong coffee
28. FAVOURITE SPORT? Sailing
29. EYE COLOUR? Brown
30. HAT SIZE? Same size as Einstein!! I discovered this when I measured up for my Tilley!!
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No - I tried but failed!
32. FAVOURITE FOOD? Butterscotch Angel Delight - it's been my favourite for almost 40 years
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs
37. FAVOURITE DESSERT? Still Angel Delight!
38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? What?
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Evidently this started out as an email thing
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Frenchman's Creek by Daphne DuMaurier (going to Gillan Creek next week) and Jane Eyre by Chrlotte Bronte (for my OU course)
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE Pad? I don't have a mouse pad - they just get in the way
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? Nothing
43. FAVOURITE SOUNDS? 'Mummy'/'Avie'/'Avia'/'Stinker'
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Caribbean
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Remaining modest
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Watford, Hertfordshire, England
48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? oops! I pinched it from Marguerite!!

the m1 car park

spent far too long this week on the m1!

last saturday: travelled up to shrewsbury for tony's 60th (60th!!) birthday party - which was great fun. we all had hot butternut squash soup while watching fireworks on the lawn and then congregated inside for buffet-style eats. it was lovely to see everyone again and to have a good look at david and becky's wedding and australia photos. drove back with danuta and were stuck for over 2 hours on the m1 around luton due to roadworks - drat!!

tuesday: early morning mass for boogs. frances and trish sent cards, stella phoned and frankie and alex came round for dinner and then stayed for the evening. 3 years and i still half expect to hear boogs' key in the door, to see him walking down the road or smell his baccy as i come back to the house.

wednesday: had verification frame-work training at work - very interesting and now, at last, i know what all the numbers on my driving licence mean!!

thursday: to luton for my first tutorial. it was a bit strained to begin with but i guess we shall soon get used to each other. the other people (8 of them plus tutor) seemed very pleasant and i did enjoy it and didn't find it as difficult to follow as i had feared. another traffic jam on the m1!!

today: going to lynn and mick's for the evening and, hopefully, calling in at the knit tin in olney on the way - i have no doubt there will be yet another jam on the m1!!

i love weddings!

and what i really really love about them is how they are all so different and all so special in their own way

anna and ricky's wedding last saturday was no exception

it was a beautiful mass made even more beautiful, i thought, for the inclusion of 'i watch the sunrise'

the reception venue was super: converted stables surrounding a courtyard where the children could safely play, a wonderful meal (with sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce - yumm!!), and as much coffee as you could drink - bliss!!

and the wedding party!!

anna looked stunning!! the most wonderful dress - i have never seen her look so lovely!

clare was as pretty as ever and the flower-girls, kezia and isabelle, as cute as could be

elizabeth was a truly elegant mother of the bride

the men were all dishy mcdish in their tails - barry gave a lovely 'father of the bride' speech and ricky and the best man were jolly good too

both stella and family and frankie and alex were guests and the other guests included heaps of my very good friends

it was a very special day!!

. . . but i wouldn't be a proper grandmother if i didn't just say how proud i was of kezia!! - she looked adorable and she behaved impeccably all day - every wedding needs a kezia!!

and i owe i owe i owe

yesterday someone at work remarked that it was exactly 3 months/13 weeks to christmas

yay!!! was my reaction

groan!! came from most of the others

followed by grumbles about the presents that 'have' to be bought. and then they went into 'moaning mode' with their lists of who has to be bought for!!! and how much they 'have' to spend on their children!!

is that all christmas is, then?

what about the good will to all men, the nativity, cards from friends and relatives, decorating the house and the tree, special food and drinks, wreaths on front doors, excited children, traditional carols and corny christmas songs, black and white films on tv, christmas parties, mistletoe and holly . . . anything i've forgotten?

oh yes!! presents are a part of it too - it's lovely to give and to receive and i'm sure i enjoy it as much as the next woman - but i don't like to think of people stressing as though presents are the most important part!

. . . and this is the answer . . .

oh well!! this is the answer:
a) there are just more in my house than anywhere else in the known universe
b) this is because i leave the windows open (but it's hot!!)
c) and the light on (but it's dark!)
d) and i haven't used a spray to kill them
e) nor have i swatted them
f) tully hasn't killed them either
g) it has been raining and they have all come inside
h) i am obviously not taking enough care
thanks frankie!! so now i know!!
any other ideas, anyone??

a plague!

For 2 summers we lived in a house miles from anywhere in the middle of fields in rural Lincolnshire and I remember that in the Septembers of both years I noticed huge numbers of daddy-long-legs. I assumed these 'swarms' arrived because there were fields and fields of crops all around us (unlike now when i live more or less in the middle of a housing estate). But it was never something that bothered me.

Well it bothers me now!! Last evening I was sitting reading at the dining room table and there seemed to be hundreds of them flying around! (It was only dozens really!!) But they really were a darned nuisance - buzzing and flapping and getting in my hair and dive-bombing my hands and shedding their legs (!!) and getting trapped in my book and flitting past my face and fluttering around the lamp - I almost began to wish Tully would come and 'seek and destroy'.

So what I would like to know is: has anyone else noticed that there are more around this year or am I only imagining it? and is there a point to their existence?

sociable!!

last few evenings have been good:

tuesday: trisha came round for coffee and chat

wednesday: reading group at nicky's - 'destiny' by tim parks - i'm still struggling with it!!

thursday: to london with the unison trip for 'the producers' - it was ok - i didn't really enjoy it as much as everyone else did - elaine took sue van d for a 'birthday treat' - so had my pre-theatre sarnie and coffee with them and caught up on the news - home very late

today: it's been so busy that i haven't really looked properly at my mail - and there's LOADS of it!! - that's what i shall be doing this evening!

'how wonderful it is to do nothing and afterwards to take one's rest'

is how i feel about last week-end!

i went camping with eric, janey, cat, david, james, imy and freddie at aston cantlow . . . and we did NOTHING!! it was WONDERFUL!! barbecue friday night, leisurely breakfast sat morning followed by a 'hike' to the pub (about 10 mins), pub lunch and then back to the tents for doze/chat/reading the newspapers, another barbie on sat evening while we listened to last night of the proms, lazy breakfast sun morning, pack up and set off for home by early afternoon. it was a hugely enjoyable week-end

sadly, today has been Stressful with a decidedly capital S! and i don't even want to think about it!! going for a relaxing bath now methinks!

it's been a fairly memorable few weeks

and that's about all i want to say on the subject right now!!

lest i forget . . .

a quick update of the last couple of weeks:

week-end of 22/23 july:

fran and alex came to stay friday night, as did stella, rich and the pies - fran and alex decided to sleep in the garden but had to scuttle indoors when the heavens opened for the first time in yonks

stella, clara and i visited cat and freddie on friday evening and everyone seemed to get at least one visit in over the w/end

eric and janey were also down - planned in any case because of the battle proms - but mainly to see their first grand-pie

battle proms were very exciting with all the cannon, fireworks and horsemanship displays - but the best was the traditional bits with the flag-waving at the end - and the lovely company of course: john and denny, sheila, dave and jane, john and jude and e, j and me

week-end of 29/30 july:

david and becky's wedding on the sunday at hoole hall was very enjoyable - the wedding party looked wonderful - loved the colours!! - and it was good to meet with friends for a chat - all of us 'oldies' sat in the reception area well away from the disco and caught up on our news

i stayed in a marvellous b and b - lucky choice as it was only one i had found on the internet - but i thought it the nicest place i have ever stayed - greenlooms cottage about 6 miles from chester gets my vote for b and b of the decade!!

it's my birthday!!

and it's been . . . not too bad!
. . . working birthday . . . but not too bad!
i was on last turn at the counter - the 'graveyard shift' as they call it - and so had some time to think about birthdays i have known
and then i thought maybe this would be a good time to record all the birthdays i could remember having
so this is likely to be very very boring
it just seemed like a good place to record it so that in years to come when i really am losing my marbles, i could read this and remember
but for everyone else . . . stop reading now . . . or read it and sleep . . .

1st birthday was in austria but can't remember it
2nd birthday, 3rd birthday can't remember
4th birthday was in austria again but still can't remember
5th birthday can't remember
6th birthday the only birthday i ever had at school - we had a tradition that the child having a birthday got to wear the special sash - but it was the last day of term and the teacher was far too busy - despite my almost constant reminders and nagging - what a little pain-in-the-neck i must have been!
7th birthday in austria again and yet again i can't remember what we did that day
8th birthday my grandparents had gone on their hols so my parents took us round to their house so we could decorate their kitchen - oh joy!!!
9th birthday in austria - but this time i can remember - dad and i sittting gazing across the valley and chatting - nice!
10th birthday can't actually remember the birthday but i know we were on our hols - in the midlands!! - exciting places like mansfield, rugby and retford!! - wow!!

11th birthday on hols again - this time we went to south wales - pontypridd, usk and tintern - and we never booked anywhere - just turned up in a town and tried to find somewhere - and lord!! the peculiar, awful b and bs we did stay in!! - so although i'm not sure exactly where we were i'm sure it was somewhere truly grotty

12th birthday - back to austria again - on my birthday eric and i went swimming with some other children at a local gravel pit - i remember it being a lot of fun

13th birthday was a saturday we travelled down to bournemouth for our annual hols - bournemouth!! i ask you!!

14th birthday stayed at home reading in the garden

15th birthday clothes shopping

16th birthday shopping for last minute things for my hols in zurich - then at just before midnight setting off with o and g and eric for gatwick - this was exciting!! - my first hols travelling by myself - made even better by the fact that there was no-one to meet me and i had to find my own way to the zefferrer's apartment

17th birthday - helen's parents had taken the 3 younger sisters on holiday and had agreed that frances, leslie and i could stay in their house to keep helen company - we thought it was great to be 'independent' (lol) and on my birthday all 4 of us went to visit o and g - we had a lovely lunch and good time - and i remember leslie saying how enjoyable it was and how she wished birthdays were as much fun in her home!

18th birthday helen came to 'tea' at my house and in the evening o and g and boogs and i went to see 'the sound of music' at the carlton

19th birthday i vaguely remeber it being a sunday but all else lost in the mists of time

20th birthday the second monday in my first job - very boring - went to see 'ned kelly' in the evening with boogs

21st birthday work again - i was living in the ywca by now - dinner at mill way with o and g, eric and jane and boogs - it rained almost all day

22nd birthday eric and jane gave me a card which said 'happy birthday on the last birthday before you get married' - we married 6 weeks and 2 days later

23rd birthday hassle over getting our car fixed! - it was a honda s800 which could only be mended at a specialist garage - what a nuisance!!

24th birthday this was a nice one - o and g celebrated their silver wedding anniversary with a party at their house - it was a lovely party - everyone enjoyed themselves - and they had even had little birthday cakes made specially for me and for uncle les whose 60th birthday had been the day before

25th birthday a sunday - we were just about to move to lincolnshire and o and g came for lunch - although we were rushing around getting ready for this 'special' visit, boogs managed to completely forget that it was my birthday until o and g arrived! he never forgot it again!

26th birthday one of the best! boogs took me out on his 'round' - it was a beautiful sunny day and we seemed to be laughing all day long!

27th birthday everyone seemed to give me book tokens this birthday - great!!! went into spalding and bought loads!!

28th birthday can't remember

29th birthday another good one! i was just pregnant with stella, it was late night opening at the library and whilst we were having the special birthday dinner boogs had made, frances phoned to wish me a happy birthday and also to tell me she was expecting their first baby (christopher) in november!!

30th birthday a sunday - stella was 5 months old and a delightful baby - o and g came for lunch - we were house hunting and went to look at a school house somewhere north of holbeach

31st birthday we had recently moved into rose cottage and i had even more recently sent off my specimen to confirm that i was expecting another baby - it took ages in those days - and even longer because i had to wait an extra day as everywhere was closed to celebrate the charles and diana wedding - i was exhausted and went to bed early on my birthday that year and missed the pre-nuptial fireworks

32nd birthday boogs was working in rickmansworth and i was living miles from anywhere with stella (2 and a bit) and frankie (4 months) - we were trying to sell the house so i suppose i was looking after the children and packing - can't remember the actual day

33rd birthday all four of us went for a picnic in the country - beautiful day and very enjoyable

34th birthday can't remember

35th birthday a saturday - boogs and i went to odi and brian's house for dinner - this was to celebrate odi and i having the same birthday - odi was 28 though!

36th birthday sunday - odi and brian came the night before for dinner - eric and jane were staying with us - a wonderful and hilarious night!

37th birthday monday - another one lost in the mists of time - i do know that eric jane odi and brian all came for dinner around that time to clebrate together

38th birthday no recollection at all of the actual day - but we celebrated on the saturday - a fantastic 'australian barbie' at our house - everybody came in some form of fancy dress - boogs had constructed a shelter under the apple tree and that's where we all sat during a torrential rainstorm - marvellous party!!

39th birthday no idea!!

40th birthday a friday - joanne came over with francesca (about 4 months) - had a good day - frankie having a lovely time playing with francesca - stella returned from guide camp in the late afternoon and chas and pauline came round in the evening

41st birthday a saturday - not sure about the day itself - the following day boogs and fran set off for winchelsea for their hols and on monday 29th stella and i flew out to zurich with o in order to celebrate switzerland's 700th birthday on 1 august

42nd birthday ??

43rd birthday i think we were on our hols in winchelsea

44th birthday on our hols in winchelsea - we spent my birthday at sissinghurst - lovely day!!l

45th birthday everyone was out bar me - boogs at work, frankie with a friend and stella was in basle - kathy phoned in the afternoon - to talk about staying at our house over camp i think it was!

46th birthday another one i can't remember

47th birthday we were having the kitchen alterations done so it was all fairly chaotic

48th birthday boogs had recently had an op for his throat cancer and i think he was still in hospital at this point

49th birthday took the day off work - stella and rich were home from uni, boogs just about recovered and looking for work again - fran and i went to battlers green for afternoon tea

50th birthday at work - i found the cash office all decorated with ribbons etc when i arrived and i had to wear a badge all day to let the customers know i was 50 - boogs and i had had a joint party a couple of weeks before

51st birthday had the day off work and relaxed at home - went for a drink in croxley in the evening with boogs, stella and fran

52nd birthday a saturday stella and rich came to stay - had a barbecue in the evening with celia, noel, rachael, brian and the haywards

53rd birthday sunday - boogs was in watford hospital determined to live life to the full while he could - he had organised one of the staff to go out and get me a card and then got all the ward to sign it

54th birthday fran arrived home from hols in ibiza at 6.00 a.m., trisha popped round at 6.45 a.m. and eric arrived at 7.00!! coffee in the kitchen!! work - but it could have been worse

55th birthday at work - quite a good day considering

56th birthday today!! work again! i don't know why i go to work on my birthday - i must be mad - next year will be different!!

13.29 today!!!

. . . is the time cat's and david's baby finally made his appearance!!!

a 9lb 6 oz little boy whom they are calling freddy (or freddie??)

we are all thrilled!! including everyone in the P & T team!! we were in a meeting when eric phoned me and they were all just as excited as i was!!

after eric called i found it difficult to concentrate, so left a little early and nipped round to jackie's to congratulate/shout hoorah/jump about etc

both james and imy were there - and we all (with ruth) sat in the garden and drank a celebratory mug of tea!!!

i am looking forward to seeing him!!! (my first-ever great-nephew!!)

what is 'success'?

a question prompted by a co-worker who quoted jeremy clarkson as saying that all those who have dreadful school reports tend to be 'very successful' in later life

she then enlarged on this thought and i find that i disagree with her apparent definition of 'successful'

it would seem that for many, success is quantified by measurable achievements, high earnings and by material possessions

i would say it is being able to do a job (paid or unpaid) that one is happy doing and realising a sense of satisfaction in what ever one has done to make the world a better place for others

and a p.s. : we are all still waiting for cat's baby to be born!!