High Street Trail

G spotted an advert for the Trail in the local paper recently and since I have been meaning to go for ages, we went yesterday.
I have done a little family history research and was fascinated to discover that G's father's family have lived in Watford since at least 1685 when the town was really just one long street with farms and meadows surrounding it.
Sarah from the Museum was our guide and, despite having been born and lived in the area for most of our lives, both G and I learnt some very interesting new facts.
My photos are, sadly, never as good as I think they are going to be . . . but here is a selection of places of interest:


Having a 'clean' river running through it, Watford was until quite recently a brewing town ~ and had innumerable pubs. This is one of the two which claim to be the oldest. I love the look of this building ~ never been inside though!






The High street is a mile long and St Mary's. the parish church is just about in the middle ~ mediaeval but flint-faced more recently, it is one of the two Grade 1 listed buildings in the town.

The Free School, founded 1704 and the fore-runner of both Watford's Grammar Schools. I used to do my ballet exams here.











Part of the graveyard and the Almshouses ~ again very old and in a fairly quiet backwater near the Free School.











The 'Compasses' window. Apparently, Shakespeare passed through Watford on his way to London. I bet he stopped for a stoup of ale here!








This is Monmouth House built for Sir Robert Carey. He was the chappie who, on the death of Elizabeth I, rode to tell James VI of Scotland that he was now King James I of England as well. In thanks James gave him the title of Earl of Monmouth. It's a beautiful old building ~ shame about all the modern shop fronts!
There is a little sign which you have to look quite hard to see which is the fire-sign mark. This meant that in the event of a fire breaking out the fire service would come and put it out.





This is the sign.


We ended at the pond ~ a walk of about a mile, taking just on two hours ~ and excellent value!!

Book Club Night!

Second Wednesday of the month is always Book Club. I really look forward to these evenings!
Last night it was at Cat's and we had read 'How to Kill your Husband (and other handy household hints)' by Kathy Lette. Eight of us were there and Jo, who couldn't make it, had sent her comments. The title had made me smile and I had thought that it would be a humourous book ~ I couldn't have been more wrong! This book was the most awful drivel!! No-one liked it: badly written, poor 'jokes', feeble plot, unlikeable characters, vulgar, distasteful, totally unbelievable ~ these were some of the kinder comments! I would never read anything by this author again and I find it hard to believe that she is a 'best seller'.
The evening was most enjoyable, however. FI was still up when I arrived though just about to go to bed assisted by Im; and RP stayed downstairs where we could all admire him. Cat had made the most scrumptious carrot cake ~ and we were all staggered at the fact that she had time and energy to make it whilst looking after two children under 3!! Oh yes! and we had a jug of Pimms too. Cat really knows how to entertain!
Today was quiet at work so I finished at mid-day and came home ~ where I found G beavering away in 'his' ~ used to be 'Boogy's' ~ shed. He was just about to stop so we had a coffee and I drove him home. Came home and got the Camp Accounts right up to date and then went back up to O&G's for dinner.
My exciting news is that I have just reserved a place on a trip to Rome ~ wwhheeeeeeeee!! The company is sending me the booking form in the post and I won't believe I'm going until I'm actually on the plane! My trips have a habit of falling through: last autumn I was going to go to Paris and then fell and broke my wrist! Hope I have better luck this year . . . .

A Republican??

Ja is the Pies' other grand-mother and I was telling Kpie about Ja getting her MBE. I didn't think she would really understand so I told her it was like a rare badge with a red ribbon that you were given if you were really really special. And you had to go up to London to receive it. And someone very very important gave it to you. I asked her who she thought this really important person could be . . . .
'Gordon Brown . . . . ?' she asked.

Seven Twelfths of a Counting

Yesterday both Kpie and Jpie were still slightly under the weather so just St, Cpie and I nipped up to see O&G and checked out how the rest of the family enjoyed their Counting. Everyone except Ma had gone to Ca and Da's house. They had stepped magnificently into the breach created by us being poorly. O&G had had a very good time and loved seeing the little ones. It was a shame we missed being with them too but better that than cause more illness!

Here are Cpie and G in the new flat. We stayed for a coffee and a chat and then went back home.
Despite all the illnesses it was a lovely week-end ~ families eh? who'd be without them?

Five Twelfths of a Counting

Every year our Family have a get-together which we call 'The Counting'. This year it was going to be at my house.
I arrived home from work around 10 on Thursday to find St Ri and the Pies had arrived. Yay! Pies fast asleep in bed and St and Ri hanging about relaxing. We sat around eating caake, drinking wine and chatting until mid-night and then toddled off to bed. Followed a night of sickness . . . Half of us were sick, a third of us mopped and sponged and stripped beds and tended to the patients . . . and Cpie, luckily, slept through it all.
It didn't seem fair on anyone else to run the risk of catching it ~ it was really horrid! ~ so decided it would be best to cancel. So it was just the six of us until Fr, Al and the Pips arrived late afternoon. We had a great time nonetheless. Ri did the barbie, St bossed us all about a bit . . . and the Pies and Lpip played in the garden.
I'm not sure if all children do this although I suspect they do . . . . certainly St and Fr and the Awks cousins did. But when ever they got together they always had to put on a 'show' of some sort. On Saturday, for the first time, Kpie organised a little playlet: a dramatic rendition of Jack and Jill utilising the slope outside the kitchen. It was hilarious!! Someone managed to catch it for posterity on my camera ~ the first of many I'll be bound.
Here are some photos:



Cpie, Kpie and Jpie playing bowls.





Jpie ~ always smiling!


Cpie doing the 'splits'



races ~ Kpie and Lpip












Lpip, Jpie, Cpie and KPie







St helping Lpip with 'ballet'













. . . . and . . . . how could we forget . . . . Dpip!

a funny thing happened at the supermarket . . .

Have just returned from a quick visit to Sainsbury's.

I had almost finished my shopping and was pushing my trolley down the last aisle but had to stop because a man was bending down picking something off the shelf. He straightened up, looked at me, smiled and put a bottle into my trolley. He then glanced at me again and I suppose I must have been looking somewhat bemused because he stared into the trolley, smiled again and said, 'Oh I thought you were my partner. I wondered why we were getting mayonnaise'. !!

I didn't hang around to see if his partner was my dopple ganger although maybe I should have done!!

Oh dear . . . . I hope he isn't gay!!

Is everyone deaf in the Summer?

What is it about warm weather that makes people turn the volume of their radios up to ridiculous levels? It's almost as though they are proud of the hulla-baloo they are creating! Pitiful deluded creatures!
As I write this I can hear a veritable cacophany blasting from next door.
The poor soul who lives there is only about 17.
He is 'listening' ~ he must have cotton wool in his poor ears to withstand the racket ~ to some dire clamorous row I can only describe as hell-ridden.
And it happens where-ever one goes in the summer-time ~ in built up areas at least.
Oh for the peace and tranquility of Gillan Creek!

chicken run!

Number 12 has been somewhat bedevilled by vagabond birds in the last week or so!
Firstly Fr came over to use the computer and discovered she was not alone in the library ~ a robin had somehow managed to find his way in and was fluttering about over the top shelf ~ the one which has all my files on it. It took some time to persuade him he would be bettter off outside but eventually he left . . .
And today as I was up a ladder painting the very top of my shed I looked down and saw that number 11's three chickens had escaped into my garden and were hovering around in a very shady fashion. It was a bit of a blow to find that the neighbours were off out somewhere ~ didn't want to have to catch them myself! But La knew where they were, quick phone call and Ri came back to rescue them and take them back home. Shame really as I rather liked the idea of chickens wombling about in my patch. Now if it weren't for the foxes who live in number 13's garden . . . . .

An easy post . . .

I found this on another blog ~ and since it was an easy option . . .

The things I've done are in red.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (not land, but Disneyworld)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke shameful . . . but true!
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business ~ how could I have forgotten the R.I.P. ?? (my 'insurance scheme' in third year at secondary school ~ oh dear!)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Guide Cookies (actually Campfire Girl candy)
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a cheque
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem*
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

I think I may be supposed to tag people but always feel embarrassed to ask! If you read this and would like to do your own list, please let me know and I can look at your blog!

it's been a good week for . . .

babies!
I spent three days with fr, lpip and dpip ~ which was lovely. I thought I would be 'of use' but, honestly, fr is doing so well that basically I was redundant!! (although made welcome!). Still, I had a very nice time and had lots of cuddles with Dpip, lots of laughs (and cuddles) with Lpip and lots of cups of coffee.
Then yesterday I managed to get over and see RP as well who is just as beautiful as Dpip! It was lovely to see Ca looking so well. RP slept on my lap for a good long time while Da and I toasted him with a very welcome glass of vino (poor Ca had to miss out sadly!)
photos!
I have been promising myself for ages that I would get all my photos in order ~ boring but hopefully ultimately satisfying! ~ and spent quite a lot of time doing just that yesterday. I am amazed at the sheer quantity of photos we have managed to amass over time but have now sorted most of them at least into 'year order', set aside loads of duplicates to give to other people and even binned a load of stuff like fireworks (!), bonfires (!!), sunsets (!!!) and waves (!!!!). I mean, honestly !!! Seen one seen 'em all!!
ageds!
I must say I am really enjoying having O&G living closer. Took them to Mass today and then back to their's for lunch. We had to come over here to collect a saw and chuck key for G and then at G's request went to look at the site of the allotments which he and my Grandfather used to have back in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. And the 20s too probably in my grandfather's case. It was encouraging to see the numbers of plots still being used. Although I don't like gardening myself I am always pleased to see a well tended plot of earth and there were certainly plenty of them to be seen. G and I went for quite a good walk arbout and right in the very far corner was a man keeping bees ~ he had three hives altogether. I don't know exactly what he was doing but I was very pleased to see it! ~ beekeeping always seems such a nice traditional country pursuit!
videos!
I'm always videoing stuff which I then forget to label (duh!). Last evening I decided to watch one of these poor labelless articles which had been knocking around in the cupboard for ages. Imagine my surprise and delight to find it was 'The Importance of Being Earnest' with Judi Dench, Rupert Everett and Colin Firth! Hoorah! I have seen it before but to my mind it's one of those plays one should watch at least once every couple of years!

what are the chances . . . .

. . . of having two great-grandsons born on the same day? and just 3 hours 36 minutes apart? gosh! I wish I were a statistician!

O&G managed to see both RP and Dpip this week-end ~ and were delighted with both of them.
We all had a lovely, but very busy, visitor-full, week-end. It was GREAT!!

an exciting day . . .

. . . because both Fr's and Ca's babes were born today!
Ca and Da's arrived 10.01 this morning ~ a little boy weighing in at 9lb 2 oz
and Fr and Al's at 1.37 this afternoon ~ another 'little' boy weighing 10lb 14 oz
both mothers and both sons doing well
I wish I could blog their names as they are both really nice ones ~ Ca's babe will be referred to on here at RP and Fr's will be know as Dpip ~ a brother for Lpip!
I think I can truly say: the entire family will go to bed tired but happy!

poor tully

my poor cat tullus has been poorly
he was limping a little on thursday night when i arrived home but he didn't want to show me his paw and then he seemed better friday morning, and when i came home from work and then bad again at bed time.
i took him to the vet on saturday and he stayed in overnight while they had a look at him (he wasn't at all happy with any of us!)
i was able to collect him early sunday afternoon by which time he had been sedated and x-rayed, had his paw shaved and been bathed and medicated.
i brought him home, opened his basket and he shot off into the shrubbery ~ very very speedily despite only being able to run on three paws!
poor tully, not the most sociable of cats where non-residents (ie everyone bar me) are concerned so he didn't come back until all my visitors had left.
i managed to bathe his foot ~ though he really didn't like it and gave him his medication (mixed in with his supper so he didn't mind that!!) and he passed a peaceful night.
i'm pleased to say he seems very much better now, the swelling has almost gone and he is walking on the paw again.
tomorrow we go back to the vet's for a quick check up ~ but i think he will be ok
poor tully ~ and he's such a timid cat!

with a bing and a bong and a buzz buzz buzz

whenever st sends me an e-mail she doesn't put in a subject line ~ just gets a random one. i don't know why ~ i don't get them . . . maybe she has signed up for them? . . . i don't know . . .
anyway, they are usually funny ~ here's an example: 'the ants are my friends, they're blowing in the wind' hahahahaha!!
the title of this blogging is the one i received the other day and it's my favourite so far. it makes me think of hugh laurie in 'blackadder goes forth' ~ and maybe it is a direct quote? i don't know that either but i like to think it is an example of typical brit humour . . . but perhaps it isn't . . .
lots of good things have been happening lately ~ ma and ke celebrated their first wedding anniversary and ma's birthday with a party in their garden, im had a super-duper confirmation and celebration and i had a lovely afternoon with fr last week. st, ri and the pies were down last week-end and we visited with o and g and went to a little park just over the High Road where there is a duck pond. o and g are settling in very happily. they had to buy a load of new furniture as most of what they had in the house was far too large for the flat. but they managed to get some good stuff including a very posh sofa and chair. i went shopping with o and i must say it was lots of fun watching o spending on herself!!
no news yet on either newbee or c and d's iminent arrival ~ fr's 'due date' is today and ca's some time later this week . . . . EXCITING!!!!!

it is about time . . .

I wrote on here again!
life has been very busy.
Fr has finished work and is waiting for Newbee to arrive. Lpip is as excited as a big sister who has something to be excited about and is practising being gentle with splendid results! She went to stay with St and Ri and the Pies for a few days soon after Fr finished work and had a lovely time with them.
O&G have moved! yay! They moved out and took possession of the flat on Friday but are staying with me until Er Ja and I have decorated the sitting room and kitchen for them. We having been working like billy-oh up there, have very nearly finished and are hoping to move all the sitting room bits in tomorrow while O gets in and stocks up the beautifully-cleaned-by-Ja kitchen. It has all been a huge laugh with the usual barrage of insults bandied about between the three of us (E J and me I mean!)
Not a great deal of stitching or knitting has been going on as the new job, whilst continuing very enjoyable and interesting, is quite a few more hours per week and I don't have as much spare time as previously. And I don't want to lose any of the social bits!!
And the 'book pile' is growing into a veritable Great Wall on China on my bedside table!

since last I blogged . . .

. . . quite a few good things have occurred . . .
O&G's move to Bushey would seem to be going ahead at the beginning of May ~ fingers crossed!
Mothering Sunday was great! O&G, Frankie, Alex, Lucia and I all met up at the Lily Lounge for Afternoon Tea ~ which was lovely!
I went to the Civic Awards and hob-nobbed with the Great and the Good ~ which was exciting!
Today Alex and Malcolm came and put up my new garden gate and Fran and Lucia came to play and Ricky came and cut my grass and tidied up the garden for a couple of hours. Then Alex, Fran, Lucia and I spent an hour or two in the garden chopping up (mainly Alex) and burning (mainly me) the old interior doors (HOORAH!!!). So today was ~ satisfying!

This was on Do's facebook and I thought I would give it a go:

BBC Reading List

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions:
1) Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.
2) Star (*) those you plan on reading.
3) Tally your total at the bottom.

x 1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
x 2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
x 3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
x 4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
x 5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
x 6 The Bible
x 7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
x 8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
* 9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
x 10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
x 11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
x 12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
x 13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
x 15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
x 16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
x 17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ~ x
x 18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
* 19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
* 20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
x 21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
x 22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
x 23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
x 24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
x 25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
x 28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
x 29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
x 30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
x 32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
x 34 Emma - Jane Austen
x 35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
x 37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
x 38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
x 39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
x 40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
x 41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
x 42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
* 43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
* 44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
x 45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
x 47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
* 48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
x 49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
x 50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
x 51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
x 53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
x 54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
x 57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
x 58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
x 59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
* 60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
x 61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
x 64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
x 66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
x 67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
x 68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
* 69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
x 73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
x 74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
x 78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
x 81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
x 85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
x 92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
x 93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
x 94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
x 97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

57 read and 8 that I would like to read!
A triumph of age over 'well-readness' tbh!

it has been another good week . . . .

. . . though very busy!
work continues good and very interesting although 2 evening meetings plus one govs' meet has meant I haven't seen an awful lot of my home this week!
and then on Friday instead of going home and putting my feet up I zipped off up to Yorkshire and spent the week-end with St, Ri and the Pies. Arrived in the evening after a l o o o ng trawl of four and a half hours up the morotorway ~ due to road works and the usual Friday night traffic ~ triffic! The Pies were in bed but not asleep ~ I think they had been waiting up! ~ and then I had supper and sat around talking. To bed very late ~ or very early!!
Saturday was Kpie's Pre-primary Ballet so St and I nipped off there soon after 11. Kpie looked very sweet ~ and she got her certificate so that was good. Back home for lunch and then St did about 2 hours digging in the garden (there is a lot of digging to do!!) and I went with Kpie and Jpie to the little park with their scooters. Quiet evening chatting with St.
Today I played 'Escape from Atlantis' with the Pies and then went with St and Kpie to Dunelm Mill (yay!) and then back for a quick lunch. Just before setting off for home St took me to see 2 new developments of houses. It's hard to believe the prices up there!! About half the cost of similar down here. I'm obviously living in the wrong place!! LOL

I wish I had taken my camera . . .

. . . because my blog looks boring wihout photos I think . . .
This week-end has been good although it started sadly . . .
On Friday I went with my friend F to the funeral of a friend from a long time back. We have known Jim since we were 17 ~ a long time ago now ~ and he had been a very good friend of Boogy's for years before that. The funeral was very sad, but it was good to meet some other old friends and good that quite a number of people were able to stand up and say a few words in tribute. He will be much missed.
F and S had asked me to stay the night at their house and as an anti-dote to the sadness of the funeral we went to a small local theatre/club for an evening of music and poetry (Rhythm and Muse!). It was wonderful! and just what we needed!!
On Saturday, after a leisurely morning and lunch we walked along the tow-path to Kingston for a talk on 'Sculpture between the Wars' mainly featuring Dora Gordine (who I had never heard of before ~ I am making it sound like I am very cultured aren't I?). I enjoyed that too and I certainly learned a lot as I know virtually nothing about the subject!! Back for a quick cuppa and then I came home.
Today has been productive in that I have had a good sorting out of my wardrobe. Lots of things have been 'slung'. They always say you shouldn't keep anything you haven't worn for a year as on that basis you aren't likely to wear it again anyway. I don't actually believe it but I did manage 2 bin bags and the wardrobe looks much better now!
It is still very cold although we have had some lovely sunshine on and off all day . . . and my daffodills are looking very jolly in the garden! I will try to find my camera and get some good shots of them.

The Hallowed Halls of Handyman Heaven

What is it about men and tools?
We have a shop in our town called 'Simbles' ~ I know it fairly well having been forced through its portals more times than I care to remember. Apparently it is the best shop for handymen in the world ~ and I have to admit that if you want anything in the d-i-y line it must be pretty hard to beat. Inside it is like an Aladdin's cave with every square inch (or cm) packed with screws, nails, g-clamps, screwdriver, hammers, spades (I like to call them spades), bits, rulers, hods, drills . . . Lord! . . . I could go on and on infinitum! I mainly know all this because Boogs was forever in and out of the place and Eric, when he visits, insists we drive past just so he can drool a bit (though tbh it is on the way from town to my house and it's a bit of a joke anyway!! (Once when we walked into Watford he made us go in and wander ~ actually it's impossible to 'wander' as the place is so packed with stuff ~ about and we were 'lucky!(!!) enough to be able to watch some video thing about a rotor tool. Wow, you must think, what an exciting life we live!!)

Anyway . . . where is this leading us? Well last evening Frankie phoned and we chatted a bit and she happened to mention that Alex was looking at the Screwfix catalogue ~ I mentioned Screwfix to Eric once and he said it was 'Ok, but not like the real thing' (he meant Simbles). then she phoned again a bit later . . . and he was still reading it!! . . . and then I remembered something a bit later and than that and guess what? He was still reading the Screwfix catalogue. And that's what I mean . . . What is it about men and tools? Now a nice Next catalogue . . . or M&S . . . or Laura Ashley . . .

phew!! what a week!!

It has been so-o-o busy that I don't have time to tell all . . . so here are the 'main' bits . . .
Last Saturday Er and Ja brought O & G down to look at the flat that Stella and I had seen and liked the week before. Fortunately O & G liked it too . . . and during the rest of the week . . . they have accepted an offer on their house, had their offer on the flat accepted and it's all systems go go go!!
Sunday was fairly quiet ~ except for mass with Edna and the Confirmation Inscription Promise.
Monday: work and a quick visit to Fr and Al in the evening to drop off Lpip's present and card for Tuesday.
Tuesday was Lpip's 2nd birthday! Crikey!! TWO!!! Where did the time go. Sadly I couldn't see her on the day as I had work first and then a Govs' meeting in the evening.
Wednesday: Book Group in the evening at Jenny's. Good time was had by all though none of us had enjoyed the book all that much.
On Thurday nothing much happened.
Friday evening I had Berny over for a meal . . . which was lovely. Haven't seen Berny for quite a while so it was lovely to chat and catch -up.
Saturday: Went, fairly early, to the flat for a measure up, noting plugs and all the stuff we didn't take in too well on our other brief visits. Back home and had calls from Er and a very-nearly-2-hour chat with Stella who had been away for a week with the pies. Went to evening mass with Edna and then over to Fr and Al's for a very pleasant and jolly evening.
Today: Fr, Al and Lpip came over for the day. Al has almost finished putting up my fence and it looks great. We had to go to Wicks to get more wood and managed to get a gate too. Hoorah!! Nice private garden for me this summer!! I had a lovely time with Lpip ~ she is very funny and made us laugh and laugh. After they left I tidied up and did a bit of stitching and listened to my Satie cd. Rich told me once it is the most depressing piece of music he has ever heard ~ it is a bit I suppose but in truth most of the music I like is a tad dismal.
Finally: I would like to say how much I enjoyed reading other peoples' the 'Random things'. I have been 'tagged' before and didn't know what I was supposed to do . . . so I'm sorry if I didn't exactly ' play up, play on and play the game' before but I really am game for any other tags!

I have been tagged by St and these are the rules:

1. Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

5. For the recipients, leave a comment for the person who tagged you, so they can go and read your answers.

Here are mine:

1. My favourite flowers are: poppies in a field of waving corn, snowdrops peeping out of the snow and purple croci growing in a bright green lawn.

2. I hate my curly hair. When I was young I would have loved to have had dead-straight flame-coloured hair. Now I would just like it not to be grey!

3. I hate to feel hemmed in and always want to be able to see as far as I can ~ the horizon if possible. I don't like being in a room with net curtains at the window.

4. I never go out without my swiss army knife ~ so useful!

5. The furthest north I have travelled is Dundee, Scotland and the furthest south is Montserrat. Montserrat is also the furthest west I've been and Slovenia is the furthest east.

6. When away from home I like to unpack and put away all my baggage ~ even if I am only staying one night.

7. I could worry for England! If I get temporarily distracted, I then worry that I won't be able to remember what I was worrying about!

8. I would like the can-can played at my funeral.

I'm tagging 4 people:

Sarah

Kim

Patti

Jen

and it continued to snow . . .

I went to work ~ stupidly I went in the car as I was convinced the roads would have been gritted once I got out of the estate . . . but they hadn't been. I had a scary few minutes going up Orphanage Road where several, much bigger, cars than mine had been abandoned. But my trusty little Fiesta managed to make it up to the top!
Not a lot of peops made it into work and then just before mid-day we heard that the weather and roads were going to get worse so it would be wise to go home a.s.a.p.
The homeward journey was much easier (DG!!) and I decided to risk the estate roads and did in fact get onto my driveway without any probs.
The afternoon has been great!! Lots of neighbours and children have been out in the road (schools all closed!) playing and having snowball fights. It has been fun to watch them. I brought some stuff home to read and gen up on the new job and have been sitting toasting my toes, drinking hot chocolate and watching the snow falling. Mmmm! Fabulous!!

it's snowing here!

yay!!!!!!!!!!!!

pies for the weekend

St, Ri and the pies arrived Friday evening . . . and we have had a wonderful week-end! We had a quick casserole when they came and then the pies went to bed and St, Ri and I sat around mostly chatting until gone one . . . much too late!! LOL!!
Saturday: St and I went to see four different flats for O and G. Three of them were 'reet manky' but the fourth was quite nice and may be a 'goer'. Fr, Al and Lpip came over late afternoon and we all had a meal together ~ which was fun. The pies and Lpip get along so well it is a joy to see them ~ especially Cpie and Lpip who are only 11 months apart and have a lot of fun together. I always felt a distinct lack of cousins when I was young as I rarely saw mine, so it is a delight to watch my daughters and grandchildren and their cousins enjoying each others' company to the extent that they do!
Today: Lovely morning! Had the pies to myself for most of the time and they were very good drawing and cutting and sticking at the kitchen table. Now they have gone home, calling at O & G's en route and I am getting ready for tomorrow . . . and my NEW JOB!!

a question from last night's quiz!

This foxed us all:
If every one of a certain animal were to be exterminated, within a few months there would be more. Which animal is it?
?? does any one know the answer??

more photos . . .

I went to the Annual Catenian Quiz last evening and amongst those on my table were Ka and To K . . . which reminded me of this photo:

This is moi soon after my arm was plastered. I was rather proud of my 'different' green plasterings ~ until Ka told me it was only the NHS types who have colours ~ all the 'privates' have white!! So here's me looking decidedly plebbie!! LOL!!
It was a good quiz and a great evening: nice company and lots of fun!! ~ even though we didn't win!!

I recently blogged a photo of Lpip and the inside of the front door I had put in last Summer. Here's a pic from outside (I like this photo because you can just see Tully's tail at the bottom). I love the fact that it is dark green ~ looked lovely at Christmas with my wreath on it ~ and I now longer feel so exposed in my hallway! That's the old white door below it (yeuch!).


I have had a lovely week off; I have visited with very nearly all of my immediate family and have had a pleasant time pottering around at home sorting and slinging. Back to work tomorrow . . .

mugs!

What is it about mugs that they just seem to multiply almost of their own volition? I've got heaps ~ far too many to use and sadly some of them have been stuck at the back of a cupboard because they are too precious for me to want to use them!
Today I had a good sort out and decided to put all my favourites on the high shelf in my conservatory. These are generally the ones I am too worried to use in case I break them.
Here they are all together: (as you can see I still have my Christmas lights up ~ because I think they look cheerful!)
And here are the left hand ones in a bit of a close up:

The first one is Stella's baptism cup which I keep meaning to give her and keep forgetting about . . . maybe next time they are down . . .
The second is one of a pair Boogs and I used to use and has pigs on it. They were a present from Boogs. And the next one is a mug commemorating Holy Rood's Centenary in 1989 ~ a good year and lots of fun in the Parish!!
Then comes one which Jackie, Danuta and Trisha and families brought back from Poland for me when they went on their Grand Trek in 1996.
The next one was Boog's because he worked for London Underground ~ it has a map on the back.
Then one of my favourites ~ here it is in close-up:

Ha ha!! Boogs was Maggie Thatcher's greatest 'fan' ~ he took this mug to work and used it always!
Next to the Big sister mug is one from Scotland which Jackie gave me after one of their Scottish hols.
And the next one is my lovely Godmother mug that Freddie gave me at his baptism.

Here are the next lot:

The first two are a pair I bought just before the Millenium. The handle is made in such a way that it actually says 2000. I think they are lovely but the girls think they are awful (!!) so I suppose they are better up there really.
And the next one commemorates the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977 and Er and Ja gave us two. They came to stay for the 4-day Bank Holiday week-end and we had the most tremendous fun. Boogs and I used to use the mugs all the time but then one broke and I'm a bit nervous of losing the other one.
Stella brought the Hertfordshire Girl Guide mug back from camp in Cheltenham in 1990.
And Frankie gave me the next Eyeore one. Piglet is actually my favourite Pooh character . . . but it is generally accepted that I am more like Eyeore than any of them. In fact, another time, Frankie gave me a little toy Eyeore who lives on the dashboard of my car!
And finally, the two mugs at the end were presents from Ja and Er and are both dated 22 August 1985 which was the 500th year anniversary of the Battle of Bosworth. Poor Richard III, my hero, and much maligned in history due to the devious lies of that William Shakespeare chappie.
I think they look very nice up there and I'm so pleased they are now out on show!!

oh dear!

i went to my second weightwatchers' meeting tonight. i have put on two pounds! obviously too many good dinners and too much caake!!

wombling about . . .

i start a new job very soon so am taking this week off to use up my hols allocation before the end of the council's 'holiday year'
it's been great so far!!
saturday early morn i set off for south yorks to visit with stella, rich and the pies. i had a lovely lovely time. they are all so welcoming and the pies are so funny and always pleased when i come. we didn't do an awful lot other than drink gallons of coffee and chat and play with the pies and read stories. stella and i went to the garden centre to buy some of the good organic meat they sell there . . . and then we popped into dunelm mill because . . . well because it's dunelm mill and we love it! i stayed for 2 sleeps and kpie kindly let me have her bed and she 'topped and tailed' with cpie.
monday afternoon i set off south and visited with er and ja. we popped round to see em and pe in their home. it was the first time i have been there. it's a lovely house and very cosy. then back to e and j's for dinner. li had arrived home by then so she sat and chatted for a while and then went out to meet some girlie friends. it was a lovely relaxing evening.
this morning after breakfast i continued south and called in on o and g who seem very well. o was going out with some friends to a 'talk' so it was nice to just sit and chat with g for a while and then go and collect o and bring her home. quick cuppa and a slice of caake and then travelling on down the m1 and so home.
tomorrow i will be looking after lpip for the penultimate wednesday as my new job is full time and the wednesdays will be 'lost'. boo-hoo!! i will enjoy it while i can!!

i have found my camera!!

hoorah! although, in truth, the photos are really rather boring . . . and since the last one I took was in october, rather old too. however, as i haven't published any photos for ages and my blog looks somewhat bland i am adding these: they are all of lpip, who actually looks quite different now . . . but anyway . . .

i changed my front door in the summer. here is lpip trying to 'escape' ~ early september. she has grown since then!!



frankie and lpip in my kitchen ~ early autumn

lpip loves her little car! here she is in my garden mid october

that's it for now ~ all the blurry ones are nice and all the clear ones aren't ~ mostly! ho hum!

it's been a good week so far:
saturday: pa and ch and ly and mi came round for a meal.

sunday: frankie and alex and lpip came round for sunday lunch. frankie cooked (fortunately) so it was edible!!
wednesday: book group at my home. we had been reading 'the vanishing act of esme lennox' and scores ranged from 8.5 to 10. we all loved it and had an interesting discussion on psychiatric care in britain over the last 50 years an enjoyable evening!

addenda . . . and life so far in 2009 . . .

this is very bad indeed . . . but i completely forgot, amongst all the lovely events over christmas to write about 2 very kind acts by members of my family
firstly:
stella made the most delicious christmas pudding for us! boogs used to make 4 each year: one for us, one for e and j and family, one for jackie and family and another 'spare' . . . and how we have missed them! it would seem, however, that stella really is a 'chip off the block' because hers was every bit as good! I do so hope it will become a tradition!
secondly:
g nailed on and undercoated the skirting boards in the conservatory whilst he was here over the christmas break. at the time i was really wishing he had left well alone as it just seemed like work that could have been done some other time ~ not when i was trying to keep everything 'tidy' ~ but in truth it was very kind and i'm jolly pleased now!!
the annual panto trip:
stella, rich and the pies were in watford for richard's family's annual visit to the palace for the panto. they came round for lunch on saturday which was a hoot. the pies were very lively and funny and i had a lovely time with them all. after they had left janey, eric, and lizzie fetched up and after we had sat around talking for a while we headed off for the palace. almost all rich's family were there including cpie and fredster who, being now 2, were going for the first time. we all had a great time with lots of shouting, singing and laughter. freddie shouted out that the man was 'silly' at one point (LOL ~ he was!!). it finished quite early and j, e, lizzie and I went home, ordered a chinese and feasted . . . and drank wine ~ hoorah!! up very late in the morning, late breakfast of croissants, tea and coffee and the 'awks went off home and i sorted myself for work the next day
this week:
back to work ~ which after such a very long break i wasn't looking forward to ~ but it hasn't been too bad . . . it has, however, been very cold. it has snowed several times but not enough to give much cover. but it has never quite disappeared and the temp is well below freezing. in lincolnshire they used to say ' it's hanging around waiting for more' !! i can but hope!!

101 things

i am trying to complete a list of 'things' before I am sixty . . . and to be honest i'm not progressing as rapidly as i had anticipated!
here are some of the 'things' i have achieved this year:
No 19: see the sunrise
yay! did this with jackie and danuta on ivinghoe beacon at this year's summer solstice
No 21: walk on the beach at least 4 times
given that no-where in england is very far from the sea, one would think this would be an easy one! sadly not! time is the problem mostly but at least i managed to walk by the sea at bournemouth last november. having done sligo last year, that only leaves 2 to go!
No 28: knit a scarf for alex
managed to do this in time for christmas
No. 29: frame my old long-stitch piece
am really pleased with how it looks ~ it is in my bedroom and if only i could find the camera i would take a photo!
No. 30: knit 3 items for kpie
have finished 2
No 32: knit 3 items for lpip
started a little ballet cardi back in may but now i think i will have to unpick and start again
No 33: knit 3 items for jpie
just finished a 'froggie' scarf
No 43: change my front door
i have hated that door since we moved in on 22 jan 1993 - a long time to hate anything!! - but in july i changed it for a lovely dark green one which is far more in keeping
No 44: change all internal doors
i have hated the internal doors even more than the front one if that were possible. early last month they were all changed to lovely old-looking ones to match the front door - now all i've got to do is paint them!
No 61: see 3 shakespeare plays one of which i have never seen 'live' before
again not too difficult one would think but again time is the problem. this year i saw 'much' and last year is was 'r and j'. so this year it will have to be one i've not seen before ~ hmm!
No 74: read wordsworth's 'the prelude'
i am trying to re-read all the texts i studied for 'o' and 'a' level ~ this was one of them. we only did boook 1 for 'a' level but i am reading all of them ~ and both the 1805 and the 1850 versions. i must be mad ~ it's a jolly long job!!

i sometimes think i have set myself too difficult a challenge ~ given the time i have awailable