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

christmas 2008 . . .

. . . was lovely . . .
tuesday before . . . i finished work at mid-day and zipped up to collect o and g for the hols. we were back early evening and had a fish & chip supper (hoorah!! as it's something I rarely have) and then a quiet - but very jovial - evening
christmas eve . . . i was up and to the butchers soon after 5.30 to collect our capon and the rest of the festive meats, then to sainsbury's for the 'last minutes' and home and all put away by 7.00 (well done me!!) the rest of the day was really busy with lots of jolly visitors: cat, david, imy and freddie for morning coffee, frankie and lpip soon after lunch and then barbara and clive for afternoon tea. oh yes, and alex nipped in for a while too. in between i was doing all the prep bits - and o spent ages making breadcrumbs for me: heaps and heaps of them it seemed although they were all used up in the stuffing-making in the end! i was fairly late to bed after all as i kept finding extra jobs to do!! and i thought all this late-night stuff would stop once the chillun weren't chillun anymore!!
christmas day . . . fabulous!! it was just o and g and frankie, alex and lpip and moi. so quite quiet really. we have a tradition that the youngest girl always hands out the presents one at a time so that everyone else can ooh and aah at them too whilst they are being unwrapped- makes it last ages but fun to watch of course. lpip, helped by frankie (who has obviously had years of practice!) got to do it this year. the dinner was really delish - and then g , frankie and lpip had a little sleep and alex and i talked to o. we were all so full that we never managed 'tea' so the christmas caake is still (!!) un-cut. it doesn't sound like a busy day but i for one went to bed tired but very happy.
boxing day and the rest of the hols . . . i have had a cold - pah!! started feeling a bit under the weather boxing day afternoon and so it has continued. eric and janey took o and g home on sunday. it was lovely having them here such a nice long time but but then i was feeling so grotty that all i really wanted to do was wallow a bit. which is what i have been doing since. tonight (new year's eve) i was supposed to be at denny and john's for the annual new year dinner but had to cry off since me sneezing violently thoughout the meal didn't seem like too good an omen for 2009!! so i stayed home and watch chocolat and another film and then jools holland welcoming the new year. as i sit here i can hear fireworks going off all round. i have 'talked' to stella on messenger which seems like a pretty good start to the year! and also to frankie who is at home with alex and lpip and newbee! . . . . and that's my Good News for 2009: Frankie and Alex and Lpip and . . . Newbee who is due on 25 May 2009!!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

A Quiz I found

rosy took the free ColorQuiz.com personality test! "Needs a change in her circumstances or in her rela..." Click here to read the rest of the results.

Well, I'm not convinced!
Whilst it is fairly accurate, I rather think it would be about right for most people.
Still . . . it was easy to do . . .but . . . 'works well in co-operation with other people' ? ? ? as if!!

a lovely l o n g weekend . . .

yay! was i the happy one last weekend!!
i spent it with eight lovely friends (who included janey and eric) in a barn conversion just outside wimborne. it was soo relaxing ~ and the place itself was fabulous!
we went to poole on the saturday and went for a one hour trip round brownsea and the other islands in the harbour, went to bournemouth and walked along the beach for a while, went into wimborne on the sunday morn (what a fantastic little town ~ like somewhere out of a period drama!) and had sunday lunch in the local inn.
the rest of the time we were mostly at the barn, laughing, doing the crosswords and jigsaw, laughing, reading, chatting, laughing and watching strictly come dancing ~ oh and did i mention laughing? - it was that sort of a weekend! everyone brought foodie-type things they had prepared earlier - yumm! we certainly didn't starve LOL!! it was all just brilliant!!
tomorrow i go to fracture club and hopefully see the last of this darned plaster!

hallowe'en . . . whoooo-o-o-o-o-o!

when the girls were very small we were blessed to live next door to a lovely family with one small daughter a few months younger than stella. kathie and i soon became good friends and stella and jenny became inseparable.
they only lived in england for just over a year before moving abroad but we had a lot of fun and kathie, who was canadian, showed me what i can only describe as 'the proper way to do hallowe'en' - and believe you me this is a much much better way than most of us do it here in england (though it has to be said we are improving!!) what i mean by that is that it appears to have become the custom for younger teen-agers to dress themselves - very half-heartedly! - in outfits very vaguely resembling witches, ghouls and ghosts and then roam the streets throwing raw eggs at house doors and windows and at cars. so it is little wonder that many english people dread the night and pretend to be 'not at home' to the trick-or-treaters.
well i'm pleased to say that is definitely not the case here in north bushey!!
i had bought a candle, looking like a pumpkin, from the hospice and placed it in the front window raised up on 'harry potter and the half-blood prince' - which i thought a good prop as it's not only in the spirit of the night but is also a jolly thick and weighty tome! i had a little basket of sweets and bounty bars and then sat and waited.
4 sets came altogether which i thought a good 'score' . . . and they were all lovely! trisha came round for coffee and cake when i was one set 'in' so she saw most of them. the first 3 lots were mainly teenage - and lovely - but i have to admit the last lot were the best. they were 7 really little children - all neighbours and aged between 4 and 7 - and their mummies and daddies waiting at the end of the drive. they were wearing great costumes which were very diverse. 2 of them were m and a from next door who promptly invited trisha and me round to watch their fireworks!!
so we went. there were quite a number of us as m seemed to have invited a few other unsuspecting neighbours on his travels
it was jolly cold but lots of fun watching the children get excited. tess brought out wine both mulled and un-mulled and crisps to nibble.
i was talking with stella this morning and they had a great night up in yorkshire too. they had 15!! sets of visitors - but stella was saying that may have been because the pies dressed up too and then sat and looked out of their bay-window. i suppose the trick or treaters knew to call!!
anyway it does seem that we are finally getting into the right way of doing hallowe'en
it was a great evening!!

expressions

i am endlessly fascinated by words . . . and accents . . . and expressions.
and i am constantly intrigued by the way people in different walks of life use them - in ways i would never think of myself.
for example, my lovely niece, whilst on her media journalism course once memorably said 'i'll have to take a different camera angle on this one'
but yesterday, when talking about a rather dim figure currently in the media spotlight, alex said, 'well, he's not the sharpest tool in the box'.

any other expressions, anyone? tell me more!

what i have done . . . and what i can't do

DONE:
i have adjusted to my life as the 'one armed bandit' - though this is very frustrating! - and am just about coping with taking life at a slower, more sedate and, hopefully, more dignified pace.
the plan for last saturday was for me to drive to cambridge with frankie and lpip where i was to do my end of course assessment (ou - but only level 1 so far!) and then drive to ely for the cathedral - which both f and i love - and then onwards to south lincs for nostalgia trip and lunch. since i was still in a state of very mild shock i felt it better to postpone the eca so frankie came over with lpip and did some useful household chores for me.
(i phoned the ou and did the eca on wednesday by phone - i think it went ok - phew!)
sunday, monday and tuesday were mostly spent reading - yay!! - making the most of it while i can!!
wednesday: couldn't have lpip as i realised i wouldn't be able to change her nappy one-handed so had another free-ish day until evening when i did the eca and then cat and david picked me up for book club. what excitement!! (details to follow another bloggings). we have been reading afterwards by rachel seiffert. it was an orange nominee apparently - why??????? - i haven't finished it yet - it's a real struggle to get involved with either the characters or the plot and the writing is not the good - scoring ranged from 3 (mair) to a 6 (anne)
thursday: jackie took me to fracture clinic (fracture club we call it) where they took off the old plaster and 'installed' a most marvellous (and much lighter) emerald green one - wow do i look the bee's knees!! in the evening liz collected me for a women's group dvd night at her house. we watched sex and the city. i have never seen any of the series but have heard enough about it in the media to have some idea what it was about (well the title gives it away a bit - hahaha). it was a bit rude but very funny. we all laughed a lot - a good evening.
yesterday: boogy's anniversary. i had to miss mass as the buses just don't run early enough to get there and i wasn't sure i would make the walk so went in later, did a bit of shopping, had a coffee and caught the bus back home. i had forgotten how much i like public transport! watched a dvd of diane keaton and jack nicholson's 'something's gotta give' in the evening.
today: it's a beautiful day such as we often get here in october - blue sky, fairly warm with just a slight nip in the air. alex is here putting up a fence for me (more details later possibly!) and frankie and lpip are coming to lunch. hoorah!!

CAN'T DO:
(what a darned nuisance this all is! however . . . it is being an interesting experience!!)
i) the ironing ~ i do actually like ironing! doing simple things is ok - only i can't put the board up but frankie does it for me - thanks franks
ii) driving ~ like driving too. solution: kind friends,dd and public transport
iii) shopping ~ ugh i hate shopping but it's a necessary evil. on tuesday, stella asked me if i would be in between 3 and 5 because she had arranged a delivery from tescos. how kind! i have done this myself but hadn't had enough wit to think about it at this time

iv) changing nappies ~ real nuisance this one as i can't now look after lpip on wednesdays

v) hanging out the washing and changing the sheets ~ really can't manage this one handed
but frankie kindly did them both
vi) knitting ~ i get very bored and fidgetty watching tv with nothing to do with my hands
vii) straightening my hair - oh dear! that's vanity for you lol!! - and washing it is a bit of a problem too what with kneeling in the bath with one arm hanging over the edge so as not to wet it - lol!
viii) feeding tully was a problem since i didn't have strength or mobility in my fingers to hold the can - ricky and lara helped out there but thankfully i can do it now this lighter plaster is on
ix) emptying the kitchen bin - i did manage this but it was a real struggle - amazing what one takes for granted
x) stitching - i really miss this! ~ i did manage a birthday card but got awful cramp
but all-in-all i think i am managing well enough, finding humour in the situation and being grateful that it wasn't my right arm!!

i have broken my left wrist . . .

. . . and i am typing this one-handed!
i was so-o-o happy it was friday and the end of the week that i was doing a little ballet in the kitchen, my foot slipped from under me (no shoes/slippers etc - only my socks!) and as i fell i put out my hand, fell backwards onto it - and that was that!
fran and alex came and took me to a & e where they plastered me up. fortunately the hospital staff thought it was as funny as i did - at least i think they did! they were certainly laughing along with me - probably thought i was just a mad old lady!!
hahahaha
this may be my last post in a while as this one-handed lark is almost more trouble than it's worth!!! maybe this will give me the chance to catch up on some reading - i won't be driving for a while - that's for sure!!!

driving miss stella

I used to do a lot more driving than I do now. Stella was at University in Scotland for four years and I drove her up and back at the beginning and end of almost every term and a few random other times in between. St Andrews is over 450 miles from our home - and about 500 with Stella in the car since we always had to do a detour to visit Rich at Sheffield!
So it's just as well that I love driving!! The prospect of the open road stretching before me, listening to the radio or cd and stopping as and when I want is a joy that never palls. I love travelling alone but having Stella's company was fun too. We would always stop at Tebay Services at Appleby in Westmoreland - our favourite services! - and somewhere else as well. We managed to visit Durham one freezing January day and struggled up the hill through the snow to see the cathedral - would have been worth it if it had been twice as far, twice as steep and twice as much snow!. One April we turned off the motorway to drive over the winding hills and through the sleepy little towns of Northumberland to see Hadrian's Wall and another time we went right off the beaten track to see a deer farm in the Border country. Trips back down south were always quicker and more direct as we were both keen to get home but they had a different type of charm. Stella would spend almost the whole journey telling her news - which was always hilarious - the time went very quickly!
It was great while it lasted but, of course, not so easy to organise these days. But last evening Stella nipped round and it was just like old times. Stella has a fabulous dry sense of humour which I really enjoy. I put the coffee machine on and we drank coffee and talked until almost mid-night. It was a lovely evening and it has set me up for the Autumn!
Hoorah for daughters!