an invitation . . .

. . . arrived this morning for anna and ricky's wedding in september (the wedding where kezia will be a flower girl). this was such a lovely surprise - i am excited already!!

other news:

went to cwl 'independence day supper' yesterday evening - which was good fun though i'm not too sure we should be celebrating these colonials gaining their 'freedom'!!!

man came this morning to mend my gas fire - it has NEVER worked properly since we've had it and now it is PERFECT!!! hoorah!!

had a coffee with cat and david - cat still looking in excellent shape - though i think the baby still has at least a week to go - but what do i know? (g and i have a £1 bet on - g thinks it will be a girl so i'm going for 'boy' - watch this space folks!!)

stella has initiated a brilliant on-line calendar for the family to use - well done stelpsie!!

. . . and it's been raining - but at least the lawn is greening up nicely!!

brilliant weekend

had another fantastic week-end!
saturday:

collected cat and whizzed over to the scotsbridge and were soon joined by peter and lorna and then frankie and alex and shortly after that stella, rich and the pies arrived. we were meeting to celebrate g's 86th birthday - he and o with eric and janey fetched up not long after us. the meal and setting were lovely and afterwards we went outside to the little children's play area for kezia and jago to have a run around. it's always great when we get together - i really love my family - they are such good fun and they make me laugh so much!! everyone dispersed around mid afternoon and i took o and g home. g really enjoyed this birthday!!

arrived back in watford early evening and joined stella rich and the pies and frankie and alex at the st. ants barbecue disco - another great get-together! - met up with a number of people whom i haven't seen much of since i left there 8 years ago - good atmosphere and more tasty food!!

sunday:

would have been boog's 56th birthday so had the early mass for him - and stella and clara came too - clara very good - of course!!

mary and kevin had their engagement party in the afternoon - at jackie's house - it was a beautiful day - very hot - but nice to be able to sit out in the garden and chat and watch the little ones playing - jackie had just bought a really super sand pit for them all and it was great watching them. mary and kevin looked very smart and seemed very happy. it was a lovely party - and i stayed later than i had intended considering it was work the next day!!

today:

spent almost all morning on the counter!! but had the afternoon off as leave - too hot to do very much so mostly sat in garden reading and enjoying the sunshine while it lasts

the weather:

gad it's hot!! - hotter than the caribbean i'm sure!! if there wasn't a hose-pipe ban i'd be standing under the sprinkler right now!!

this week . . .

. . . has been good so far!!

Tuesday: our book group had been invited to an 'event' at Watford Library - a talk and reading of extracts from her latest novel, 'The Alchemist's Daughter', by local author, Katherine McMahon. I was interested to hear how she researches for her books and was intrigued by the heroine - based on a seventeenth centry French woman who, unusually for those times, was a scientist - searching for the elixor life. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening as Kate is an excellent speaker and was hugely entertaining. I didn't buy the book though - a fact I rather regret now. Back to Anne's for coffee and chat in the garden - a good evening!!

Wednesday: my 'day off' but had to go in to work to attend a Health and Safety meeting (never mind - bumps up the 'flexi-time!!). Called in on Cat and David afterwards for tea and cakes. Cat seems very happy and relaxed and she showed me the baby's room and all the 'bits'. It's beautiful!! Aaahhh!!

Today: has been REALLY good. Can't put my finger on WHY exactly. Received confirmation of my room booking for Julia's and Nathan's wedding and sent e-mail to book a place to stay for David and Becky's. All these weddings!! And then I heard that Kezia is to be a flower girl for Anna and Ricky's wedding in September. How lovely!!!

fabulous!!!

. . . is the only way to describe this week-end!
from:
picking lizzie up at the junction
to
coffee and croissants in the kitchen
and . . .
the drive to chelmsford
and . . .
getting lost! (thanks lizzie but no surprise there)
and . . .
the fantastic luncheon to celebrate helen and geoff's pearl wedding anniverary
along with . . .
a marvellous get-together with lovely friends
and . . .
speeches, laughs, drinks, tea and cakes and relaxing at the ivy hill
and . . .
erics amazing weskit
and . . .
nipping round to helen and geoff's this morning for coffee, juice and crossaints
and . . .
popping round to cat and david's on arrival back in watford
and then finally:
dropping lizzie off for the train to falmouth
. . . it doesn't get much better than that!

i have been to austria . . .

. . . with o and g and janey and eric . . .

we all had a wonderful time . . .

we stayed in the best gasthoff in the world

we drove to berg to visit anni and lois - and had a meal and a walk round the village

went up klippitzturl in a chair lift - nippy round the knees!

revisited st paul - and looked lovingly and nostalgically at the 'swim bad' and walked round the monastery and the little chapel at josefsberg

went to mass in st margarethen

visited with lots and lots of relatives including 5 out of 6 of the cousins, 2 of whom i hadn't seen since 1962!!

. . . and we ate cake . . .

busy!!

no blogging for almost a week - been so busy!

tuesday - women's group at monica's. mainly chatting and looking at photos: liz brought the ones of michael's passing out parade and ball and monica had ones of her visit to margaret and jim in washington - lovely jolly evening

wednesday - reading group at karen's. we had read 'atomised' by michel houellebecque. i had read this on hols in devon and almost gave up several times - it was DIRE!!! - but in the end (at the 'epilogue') realised why it had needed to be so dreadful - it was all a sort of propaganda. i was the only one who thought so, however, so maybe i got the wrong end of the stick after all!! I gave it 1 out of 10, Tassa gave it 2 and everyone else gave it 0!! not a popular choice then!!

catherine - went into school to do some govs work. saw cat who is v large now - looking very well and eager for the start of her maternity leave so she can have a rest for a few weeks

saturday - svp quiz night at church - jackie invited me on thursday to be part of their team and then liz phoned on friday also trying to get a team together. svp quizes are always great fun and this was no exception - and liz's team won!! - drat!!

gardening - apart from cutting the grass a few times, i had done nothing in the garden so far this year. inspired by a trip to homebase on saturday (only went to get some sturdy bags for the grass clippings) have been weeding, edging, digging and planting for a couple of hours every day - and have not only enjoyed myself but the garden really does looks a lot better. perhaps it isn't as difficult as i always thought it was!!

nothing better to do?

last week at work, tracey asked us all if we knew the answer to a puzzle she had found in the paper:

if a farmer has 11 sheep, 10 cows and 20 chickens, how many goats does he have?

the answer was 11

based on: 3 animals for every consonant and 1 animal for every vowel

as the granddaughter of a very successful farmer, i would ask what agriculturalist worth his salt would employ a method of animal husbandry like that?

and what would happen if you had a platypus and wanted some more?

or a hippopotamus??

the mind boggles!!

boring and uneventful!

strange week, really: because it was so boring and uneventful!

work was truly tedious, despite the fact that there were only 3 days of it!

no evening outings - though that did mean i could spend time on the computer and managed to add a number of people to our family tree

frankie has not been well - though i think it is only due to extreme tiredness - but it meant she didn't pop over at all and i missed her! shall be glad when she and alex find a flat together as it will be much easier to visit with them then!

yesterday (week-end! - yay!!) i went up to o and g's arriving early and staying until almost dark. they were both very well - g sporting a slight tan from having sat out in the garden for much of the previous afternoon. we spent ages looking at the print-out of our family tree - he was so delighted to learn of his grt- and grt-grt grandfather and families - it's very exciting putting all the pieces of the jig-saw together - and interesting to note that the family have lived in watford for generations (i always thought we were gypsies!!)

we went to evening mass, picking up a friend on the way (and another one on the way back), got back and had tea and a chat. and then dad got his 'box' out and we looked at old photos and documents of family for a while and then i came home.

today - have a fair bit to do housework-wise and bits of paperwork that needs sorting - and then this evening eric is coming and we're going out for a meal at the southern cross - hoorah!!!

not boring or uneventful at all!!

sausages but NO pies!

Stella Rich and the pies were going to come down for the holiday week-end but then they all caught a flu-type bug and were unable to make it - happily they are all on the mend now and are planning to visit for James's confirmation later this month

Prior to this, though, I had invited Jackie and Ruth for a family barbecue on Sunday afternoon. We missed S and co but had a good time anyway. It was rather too chilly to cook and eat outside, so we weedily stayed inside and had our sausos, beans and burgers in the warm. Tsk! Can just imagine what Boogs would have said to that!!!

Haven't done an awful lot today - couldn't seem to get started on anything - what a waste of a bank holiday - drrrr!!

family tree

Last Wednesday in a moment of boredom, i logged onto the genes reunited site. I had been half-heartedly meaning to do this for aeons but felt defeated before even starting, thinking it would be a mammoth, impossible task. I had previously been to the registry place in London and also Bushey Museum and found some info there but didn't really know where to go next, and had more-or-less given up at that stage.

Imagine my surprize! I found some names which seemed to tie up with the dates I had and, alongside them, names of people who had them in their tree already. All I had to do was mail these people! So I did and they really were most helpful, mailing me back with info and then allowing me to look at their trees. One of them (the daughter of a third cousin never even dreamed of before!) has info on my grt-grandfather: where born, siblings, where lived, his ancestors etc; and all I had known previously was his name and date of death. So many 'gaps' are being filled - its like a jig-saw puzzle.

I am only hoping that I will be able to to return the favour and help fill some of their gaps.

I am now busily filling in our tree and can hardly wait to print it all out and show g!!

and speaking of 'worlds' . . .

g used to have an autograph book from his army days and one of the entries read:

the world is like a mirror
relecting what you do
and if your face is smiling
it smiles right back at you

someone ought to tell m!!

stupid expressions - ii

what is all this business with 'worlds'?
i've seen 'office world', 'pc world', 'world of fish' (!!) and the never-to-be-forgotten
'OLDE PINE WORLDE' which stella and i once spotted in ashton-under-lyne!
but on sunday in sheffield . . .
i saw . . .
'fireplace world' !!!
isn't that hell?

sausages and pies

saturday was 'annual parish camp reunion' in lees wood. we were lucky and had beautiful weather: warm and sunny. not too many people came but those who did thoroughly enjoyed themselves and it was good to chat and relax amongst the trees in the sun. about 10 of us remained for late afternoon sausages, burgers and beans on the barbie. home soon after 7 and an early night for an early start tomorrow.

sunday - seemed to spend almost all of it driving: to sheffield, then derby, then asbhy, back to derby, on to sheffield and then home - almost 500 miles all told. whilst stella, rich and clara were at motorpoint, i took kezia and jago to visit with janey and eric where they had lunch and then fed the fish. as we drove away, kezia said, 'thank you very much, avie. i had a good time' - what a polite child!!

was exhausted and almost falling asleep driving back down the m1 so decided to stop for a coffee at watford gap - place was heaving with football supporters from the west ham game - it always seems slightly ludicrous: and the mock footie kits are so hideous - and they never seem to fit!!! don't know why these people don't save their money for something that looks good on them!! and why don't they just stay at home and wait to hear the result after its happened? impatience i call it!!

stupid expressions - i

"mustn't grumble"
i should think not indeed!!
a full blown rant is much better - good for the body and the soul, a good rant is!!

robin hood, prince of thieves

i taped this the other night when it was on and have watched it over a couple of evenings

it's very funny - which i hadn't expected - so am glad i did tape it so i can look at it again

and of course it has the wonderful Alan Rickman playing the part of the evil sherriff of Nottingham - what a gem!!

also i couldn't help recalling the story of the bride who had asked for the 'theme tune from robin hood' for her walk down the aisle . . . . and instead of 'i will always love you', the organist played 'robin hood, robin hood, riding through the glen'!!!

hee hee!!

instructions

i don't know why it is, but my family are absolutely useless at reading instruction manuals - ie we just never do it - eric and i seem to find it a bit of a joke to press all the buttons of any new appliance and then be astounded when they don't work - though i must admit that since losing boogs and not having him on hand to put me right, i have been forced to read them sometimes - but only as a last resort you understand

but o just about takes the biscuit!!

fran, alex and i visited yesterday and during the course of the afternoon, o was demonstrating how wonderfully clean and shiny her microwave is - and of course, despite being 86 and having no help at all in the house, hers is the most immaculately clean house i have ever known (she's a bit conceited about it though!!!). but after we had all been dazzled by the silver coloured outer casing nd lectured on how it was still in pristine condition 'after sree years', she then told us how annoyed she was at having found a 'spot' on the top which she had wiped off and then discovered that the vinyl coating had started to peel away! this is the vinyl coating which one is supposed to peel off before ever using the machine!! i pointed out the large white notice on the top which states this fact twice (!) to which she replied that she never reads manuals or instructions because she doesn't 'need to'!!!

and then . . .

she told us how 'stupid' the microwave is because she could only cook food at 180 degrees C which is 'not very good' - she then showed me how she uses it and where the display for the temp is - it was lucky i was there really beacuse i was able to point out the 2 little buttons side by side just under the temp display one of which says '-C' and the other, '+C' - which magically alters the temp by 10 degrees a time!!

and she's only had the darned thing 3 years!!

barking!!

more holidays??

june should be a good month for being away!

yesterday i booked a room for the night of helen and geoff's luncheon party - yay!! - had intended to go to the local premmy/lodgy place but after kath telling me on thurs that i was a 'manic depressive' and that i would be 'a long time dead' (cheery soul!!) i decided i would 'blow out' and book a room in the hotel along with everyone else - hoorah!!! - ivy hill here i come!!

tante edith phoned this morn - mainly to wish me a happy easter i think, though she did ask me about the austria trip!! - she's a dear old biddy but i do so hope she doesn't try to muscle in - e j and i were hoping to keep it a fairly low-key holiday but once the relatives get wind it's always possible it will turn out like last time when they either:

frogmarched us around the countryside making sure we kept to our 'schedule' (!!)

or:

invited us to their houses, manoeuvred us into corners and then attempted to kill us with cake!!

killing us with kindess really!

. . . or even be a manic depressive . . .

which is what someone at work described me as today!!
which is, i feel, is a little excessive!!

sometimes one can feel a little down . . .

. . . for really no reason at all
it hasn't been a bad couple of days since last i wrote:
had pleasant evening yesterday at liz and davids's . . .
fran and alex came round tonight . . .
. . . but feeling somewhat browned off and can't put my finger on why?
never mind! - i expect normal service will be resumed shortly . . .

fast forward to april

it has been some while now since i last blogged - mainly because i haven't been at home very much over the last couple of weeks

sheffield - spent a wonderful few days with stella, rich and the pies - didn't do an awful lot really - mainly talking (no!!!) with s and r, playing with k and j and holding c. had hoped to be able to take the bigger pies out for a walk in the park or such-like but the weather was dreadful all the time i was there so mostly we stayed in though we did manage a trip on the tram into the city to visit the children's library (very good on the whole but access is down a longish flight of stairs - with small children and buggies/prams????!!!!!)

had enjoyable mothering sunday meal with all 5 pies plus o and g, janey ,eric and peter and fran and alex brought cat up too - some day i shall write about it and everything that went hilariously wrong but i don't have the time right now

ruda - great hols with the 'usual suspects' - again didn't do much - trip out with janey and eric to lynmouth, walk up the river to watersmeet then super meal in the rising sun - visited dottie en route to collecting lizzie from taunton station after her interview at oxford (she's had an offer!! - also i went to exeter station first as arranged but an accident on the line meant i had to re-route to taunton - hahaha - it was quite a palaver!!!). the rest of the time was spent walking to billy budds and baggy point, talking, reading, drinking, eating, walking on the beach, the annual barbecue and generally relaxing - oh yes! and we had a great game of rounders - 'oldies' versus 'the young ones' in which we olds well and truly thrashed them young'uns!!! (history will be learnt from those who write the histories!)

vowley farm - called in on lorraine on the way home and had a chat, a mug of tea and a tour of the farm. saw most of the animals: cows, pigs (gloucester old spots), horses and the poultry - obviously well cared for and they are using no chemicals for their meat production. still its a hard life i think for anyone who is not sufficiently dedicated despite the idyllic surroundings and i admire them for all their hard work

lasagne - when i arrived home i found a lasagne in the oven which fran had made for my dinner - it was really tasty - much better than mine - darn!!!!!