trisha and company

had an enjoyable 'girly' supper at trisha's yesterday with danuta, jackie and ruth - it was lovely to chill out with them - ALL my friends are such fabulous cooks!!! had to leave early-ish as i was the only one having to go in to work today - boo hoo!!
work dragged! went out lunch-time though and collected my new specs - its been 2 years since my last presciption and i hadn't realised quite how much my eyes had deteriorated in that time - ah me!! tempus fugit!!

you say you wanna a res-o-o-lution . . .

2006 already and no time for resolution-making!
so here's mine - hastily decided upon as the clock struck 3 this morning: no more time wasting, no more procrastinating and as little worrying as i can reasonably get away with . . . and now it's public i suppose i had better at least start . . .
but before i do . . . just a quick update on yesterday and so-far today:
fabulous evening at jane and dave's: super meal, great company and plentiful laughs; a grand a-singing of auld lang syne as the clock struck 12 to welcome 2006; back to den and jon's where i stayed over along with janey and eric - lovely time and d and j so very hospitable; lunch at the clarendon and then home to find frankie and a cup of tea, a message from o and g and catch up with on frankie's news.
so now for my resolution: i'm off to read '365 ways to change the world'.
see ya! . . . .

to 2006 and beyond

another christmas . . . another new year . . .
looking back on 2005 , well it hasn't really been too bad
my extension is still not built, my garden is still a wilderness and i am still several stones overweight
on the plus side however . . . stella rich and the pies continue to thrive rather splendidly and pie no 3 is expected in the spring, fran finished her degree, started as an NQT and graduated with aplomb in November and i am finding life sans boogs is getting easier
christmas with kezia and jago in the house was certainly different from anything i have experienced before - it was the best and most relaxing yule i have spent in YEARS!!! i had some great times with them and laughed more than i have in ages - they are just so amusing at that age. Yes, it did get very (VERY!!) untidy but it was that sort of untidyness that takes about 5 mins to sort out after they went to bed so totally negligible. crikey! i miss them now they've gone back home!!
we managed to nip up to o and g and had a lovely time with them. they love to see the great-grandchildren especially as they are so very well behaved and charming
had dinner with danuta, john and nusia last evening (good to catch up on all their news) and just as i was leaving had a text message from rich to say they were safely back in sheffield - just as well as the weather is truly nasty today
today i am catching up on jobs and then having a cosy night in in front of the tv
all in all, i am actually looking forward to the new year!!!!! can't remember EVER having done that before - oh dear almost bound to be a 'counting your chickens' situation!!

good-bye

this all seems remarkably pointless now

boogs

everything that has happened since last time seems to be about boogs!! . . .
friday
looked at s's blog . . . boogs missing all this
saturday
t and r wedding reception - a barn dance!!
sunday
quiet
monday
anniversary - say no more - mass for boogs - kind message from e and j, card from trisha and co and long phone call from frances - very kind very much appreciated
tuesday and wed
not at work
friday
e and j arrive for week-end . . . did loads of jobs - lovely meal with p and c . . . no boogs!!!
hope next week is better

long time . . . no sea either!

such a long time since i wrote anything on here that i couldn't even remember my password!
far too much has happened to update in one post . . . so guess what? . . . yup! just have to start again . . . tomorrow (well it IS another day)
ok! . . . here's hoping i can remember how to publish . . .

sunbathing

sunday

this sunday was apparently the hottest june day on record so i am pleased to report that i had enough spare time to sit under the apple trees in the garden reading and also enough time to do a spot of sunbathing!

mass in the evening with edna.

it was so hot at night that i considered sleeping downstairs in the dining room with the french doors open but then couldnt be bothered to blow up the air-bed - i think i may invest in one of those full length chair things for the garden and could then use the cushions to sleep on at night - and it would be handy for sunbathing as the blanket did get very warm after a while!!!

monday

dreadful rains in north yorkshire where the rivers flooded their banks and many homes completely wrecked - stella and co had heavy storms but of course being so high up were not troubled by floods

walked along the colne valley walk and through the munden estate with jan, tassa and 'bob' - had a coke at the old fox and then back home - probably about 4/5 miles - i have a pedometer - must remember to take it next time.

frankie phoned to let me know she has passed her on-line english test - yay!! - now she is completely finished and ready to start teaching in september.

today

very hot again - cut the hedges when i came home this evening - frankie came to visit - but only to use the computer really - despite heavy flooding further north it is very dry here and i have put the sprinkler on the lawn tonight - before we get the inevitable 'hose-pipe ban' - i would not use the hose if i thought it would make any difference but truly believe the water company make the ban every year as a matter of course.

must try harder!

was what was always written on my school reports - along with 'erratic worker'!!
Years and year and YEARS later . . . and not much has changed!
I have been ignoring this blog to such an extent it becomes difficult to catch up - so once again!!! - I shall just concentrate on the last few days . . .
friday
Had a day's annual leave and managed to turf out a load of things from the garage, took it all to the dump along with the old mattress from Frankie's room - having just had a new single bed delivered with a great big drawer in the base
Went to the haircutters and left my car to be valetted in the Harlequin car park - fantastic job!! - will do that again - highly recommended!!
Stella and the pies and Frankie came over in the pm and we sat on the lawn and had tea while K♥ ran about gathering pine cones and J♣ crawled after her to join in the 'game'. They are lots of fun at this age. K♥ is very funny and makes us laugh - she is a little comedian!! and Jago is just the cutest cuddliest babe in the world. Rich had gone to the funeral of his Great Aunt Ivy - she of the blunt remarks!! Lovely lady who 'spoke her mind' - telling us that she thought J♣ was a strange name and and he 'should have been called Michael or Stephen or something sensible'. Then she compounded her out-spokeness by asking 'oh isn't he the one with the sister with a funny name'! Ha haha !
saturday
Very warm!
Drove up to Daventry in pm in order to stay the night and then take aged ones to bus station to catch their holiday coach to Germany. We went to mass and then gave lift home to one of the neighbours, Jean, who was very pleasant - she and I had very animated chat about books and reading. Quiet evening and early to bed. Couldn't sleep but fortunately Dad has blocked out the glass panel at the top of the bedroom door so at least I could read until I was tired enough for sleep. Last time I stayed, they told me I had to turn the light off as it was keeping them awake and I had to stand at the window and read by the street light!!!
today
Up early - breakfast - set off for Northampton bus station
I had to set them down in the taxi rank which was a shame as I had wanted to park and then wave them off - but I couldnt find a car park open nearby - so had to leave them trundling off in anticipation - hope they have a good time. They are going to the Rhine but also going on a couple of trips to towns which I stayed in when I went with the German class in 2000 and 2001.
Home just after 8 - sat and read paper in garden, cut grass - hope to do lots of 'jobs' today

catching up

It has been so long since i have blogged that it is now quite difficult to catch up so i shall start with this holiday week-end and skip the last month

Friday

Well the best news is that Frankie got the job she applied for!! So starts as an NQT in September. Hoorah!! She has worked hard and deserves her success and we all wish her well.

Went to a concert at St. Michael's in the evening - a trio of horn, oboe and piano players who had come from our twin town in USA. I had heard of none of the composers (apart from one section where they played a medley of songs from Britain) which I found most refreshing. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience - the trio were excellent musicians who gave interesting insights into the music and composers, the church has quite wonderful accoustics and I met a couple of people whom I know, which was nice.

Saturday

Bought a bed for Frankie's old room in a sale - very much reduced and has a large and very useful drawer in the base.

Spent much of the rest of the day clearing out cupboards which is always satisfying if a little scary - so much stuff in the kitchen was well past its sell-by date!!!

Sunday

More clearing out cupboards and then Mass with Edna in the evening.

Celia was there selling the white armbands for 'make poverty history' and encouraging people to sign the white sashes which will be presented at the G8 conference in Edinburgh on 2 July.

Monday(today)

Was still awake when the birds began their dawn chorus this morning - if I'd had enough brain about me I would have gone out to see the sunsrise!! Cut the hedges and the grass which took ages but it always looks so good afterwards. Whilst I was cutting the hedge, my neighbour popped out to tell me she has her house on the market. I shall be very sorry to see her go as, quite apart from her being a super lady, it will be the end of an era. She and her family were the first people to move onto the estate (but in another, smaller house) and after the birth of her 2nd son, they moved into the house next door and she's been there ever since (52 years!!). Tempus Fugit indeed!!

And finally . . . . .

Oh dear! It's that time again . . . BB has returned. and well may I say oh dear! I had, in fact, forgotten all about it until I returned from the concert on Friday evening and then thought I would just turn the tv on so that at least I would know what everyone was talking about. It is, sadly, the programme I love to hate and as such find it addictive. It becomes more sleazy and sordid every year and the 'house mates' seemingly more degenerate year-on-year. But I expect I shall be turning on from time to time - it is my secret vice. Oh dear oh dear oh dear!!!

testing testing!

it has been so long since I "blogged", that I thought I might not be able to find myself, so to speak - so this is a test and if it works I shall be back tonight with some updates - ciao!

flash ari(ston)

i am now on my fourth washing machine - seem to need a new one every 10 years or so - although this one has lasted a little longer, largely due to the fact that i had been so tardy about shopping for a replacement long, long after i needed to!

anyway the new one has arrived and been plumbed in and it works!! and, lord!! what a flashy litle number it is!!! i am still coming to grips with it, having to consult the manual each time i use it. well in fact it's a washer/dryer and has all manner of flashing lights, 'personalisation'(!!) options, rapid functions, super washes, delay timers etc. etc. and when it starts up, honestly it looks like a space rocket with all lights blazing! still it is very quiet - even when it spins - so i expect we shall settle down together very well by-and-by.

pies pies!!

it has been wonderful having the pies and stella and rich around for the last few days - it has been a good week with many a laugh and i have been lucky to see them almost every day

k♥ is becoming a very kind and caring little girl - and very very funny!!- with an astonishing memory and j♣ is just a little dear!! - he always seems to be smiling and is the most cuddly baby one can imagine

stella lent me another home ed book - this one is heaps better than the last - which i am zippping through fairly rapidly and even agreeing with most of it - although i am still not convinced that school is really so bad - although i didn't like my primary schooling too much, my secondary school was pretty good. one of the points the home ed people seem to be at pains to demonstrate is that it is not such a good place to learn to socialise but actually that was the best bit about my secondary school - great girls, very supportive, friendly and heaps of fun - we still meet up every year and i value their friendship as much now as i did when i was a teenager

a good week

the high-lights:

saturday:

pauline and chas came round and we drove up to bozeat for dinner with mick and lynn - jane and eric drove down too - so that was a good evening

sunday:

cut the grass - always a satisfying sight once it is finished

monday:

met the 'knitting ladies' in the pennsylvanian - discovered i had been at school with one of them so had a fine time reminiscing! then popped round to see p and c and had a stir fry with them - yumm!

tuesday and wednesday:

eric came to stay so we went out to the southern cross on tuesday, resplendent in our gaudy caribbean shirts and had chinese take-away on wednesday whilst watching 'fargo' - hahaha!

thursday and friday :

were quiet - well i can't remember what i did so i suppose they must have been

today:

the long-awaited camp reunion at lees wood!! - the place is magic!! - no sooner had i arrived but the familiar sights and sounds brought back memories of all the happy, exhausting, fun-filled times we have had with our friends over the years - this year it will be the 20th parish camp!! - hard to believe boogs and i were only 36 when we first went, the girls were 6 and 4 and rich was 7 - now stella and rich will, hopefully, be bringing their own 2 little ones to join in the fun

have to admit to finding it a smidgionette more tiring these days - energy levels depleting somewhat now i have reached the dreaded 50s - but hopefully, since i will be sharing celia's trailer tent, we might just be able to get up to some decent 'mischief' - have to keep up with the old traditions!!

this year's theme is 'pirates' - hmmm??!!!!!?

Tall Ships Top Ten

Tall Ships Top Ten: (in no particular order)
1.Red Watch (of course)
2.Stars at night
3.Watching dolphins playing under the bowsprit
4.Barbecue Night
5.Kind and helpful people (that means everyone!)
6.The Last Evening's Outing in Antigua
7.Easing Team (YAY!!)
8.Anchor Watch
9.Gangplank Watch
10.Trip to Montserrat

Things I didn't like:
1.Not making it to the top of the mast
2.Cleaning under the bunks
3.Chain locker (phew!)
4.Only having 15 minutes in total at the helm
5.Feeling useless (I WAS useless!!)

The things I did like far outnumber the ones I didn't - and I still keep thinking of other good bits - like swimming off the side of the ship, mooring up at Antigua on the return trip, Bret's 'confession' Ha ha!!, mess man duty, Lizzie's track chart, all the laughs, rum punch and Carib, Iles des Saintes (wouldn't mind going back there), sitting on the fo'csle while Lizzie did her chart, people appearing from nowhere for a chat, smiles, zipping into shore at high speed in the rib and getting soaked, sailing and boating instruction in the ward room, getting to the upper topsail (well it was better than nothing!), eating huge quantities and not putting on any weight, red shirts, the return flight from Barbados and most special of all - Lizzie's company - what fun!!

x rated

well lizzie and i did manage to return from our tall ships adventure all in one piece - though bruised and drained!

it was jolly hard work, we met some lovely people and saw some amazing places - the trip round montserrat was one of the highlights of the voyage for me - but who on earth would want to go to st. maarten's???

on the whole it was exacting, exasperating, expensive (!!), exhausting, extraoardinary, excruciating but, ultimately, exhilerating

and i rate it x out of x

back home

hello!

i am home!

really i need to get my thoughts properly in order before i say too much - there is much to do before i can simply sit and relax

will be back with thoughts another day

pampered chefs

tonight i went to a pc party at carol's house (it's a bit like tupperware - but not plastic and the gadgets are to help with cooking rather than storing)

it was the first one i have been to - think it may well become quite 'big' over here (it's american!)

i thought it was very expensive - so you'd have to go to a lot of parties and buy things gradually - but the stuff did seem of excellent quality

stella has been to a few of them and likes the goods - which was handy as i was able to get her a belated birthday present that i know she will really like

sadly, i had to miss my reading group - this month's choice had been 'star of the sea' - joseph o'connor - this has been on the bestseller list for ages but when i looked at it briefly in borders i thought it looked a bit of a hard read - i couldn't have been more wrong! - fairly whipped through it - very well written, excellent 'story' and full of interesting detail of life in ireland, england and life on an emigration ship in the 1840s - it was the sort of book that could be reread a number of times and find something you hadn't considered before (i'm sure i've missed heaps of clever references!) - only sorry i wasn't at the meeting to find out what everyone else had to say

mothering sunday

had a really good day!
fran arrived soon after 9 with a lovely card and beautiful gifts (including a super pair of jim-jams from marks and sparks - just what i need for my hols!!) - and while i'm on the subject i must mention the beautiful card kpie made and the dodo travel log which stella sent yesterday - all these holiday requisites!! how lucky am i to have such super daughters!!
then fran and i collected cat and zoomed up to o and g's - eric jane and peter had already arrived - and we all went out for a special mothering sunday lunch for oma at the romer arms - splendid!!
we were a jolly crew - making more than enough noise for 80 let alone 8! - then quickly back to o and g's for a coffee and then home
fran had to go home to do preparation for tomorrow and i had minutes to type up so have been on the computer for the rest of the evening
but here's the funny thing . . . stella came on messenger and i was 'chatting' to her - and she was telling me about a forum she is part of in which the women tonight were complaining because their husbands - that's right their HUSBANDS!! - hadn't bought them anything for mothering sunday!!!! - if boogs had ever given me a present on mothering sunday i would have been INSULTED - i was his WIFE not his MOTHER for goodness sake!!!
no!! - it's an attitude i can't even bgin to understand!!

a bit about work

i have been in my 'new' job for a few months now - 3 and a half months mornings only and helping out in the 'old' office in the afternoons - but since tuesday it has been full time in the new place

it's very different but i am beginning to feel more 'at home' - the other staff are friendly and lively - and the old place is just round the corner so have popped in every day to see them - and help finish off the munchies from the 'close down' party on monday evening!!

the entire service is in a state of change - many offices are moving location - its a bit like musical chairs - well!! quite a good simile actually because each section seems to be convinced that if they don't grab a room somewhere - anywhere!! - they will find themselves camping in the corridor!! - am not too sure where our little team of 8 will end up but i hope we get it sorted soon - will keep you posted!

busy busy busy

this last week has been soooo busy that it has addled my brain!
some good things have happened - like trisha coming round for a chat last friday evening and staying till almost 12 - trish and i haven't done that for ages!
and aywl at liz and david's was interesting - lovely people!and certainly lots of thoughful insights!!
but having arrived home from l and d's at gone 10 i then had to help fran write her essay on maths (i think it was maths - like i say my brain addled now) and then last night it was help her write an assessment on science! - so some of my 'busyness' has not been a bundle of laughs!! - and anything else i can remember doing has been home or housework related - ah me!
it has been very cold too - snow every day but mostly not settling - i managed to cut the grass sunday afternoon though it was FREEZING - then just as i had finished and went back indoors it started to snow - what happened there? - not usually so fortunate!!!
i went to the bushey wool shop (having been inspired by some jolly good knitting blogs - though all in canada and the states - come on english women get yer needles out!!!) and was impressed by the really interesting new types of wool which is being produced nowadays - didn't buy anything as i had other business to conduct but i will be going back so watch this space
that's it for now - i'm sure other things have happened too but like i say my brain somewhat poorly at the moment!!!