Of Grandchildren and other matters

I had three days annual leave to take before retirement ~ which equates to six half days looking after Kpip (yay!).  All the days are Fridays which is a good kind of end-of-the-week day to choose.  One time we collected Kpie from school which was even better as they had a great time together and Kpie shared some of the cous-cous snack she had made in Food Tech.  This photo was taken after we got back from a short walk to post some cards. 
The rest of the week has been busy at work plus meeting on Monday evening, 'small group' on Tuesday evening and trying to catch up with paperwork the other evenings. Oh yes . . . and the end of both the Broadchurch and the Wolf Hall series.  Whaaaaaa!
Lpip and Dpip are coming tomorrow evening to stay the night ~ always fun!  I always have to read a bedtime story from Lpip's favourite book at my house: 'My Naughty Litle Sister'.  This is a lovely book but really why they like it is because the picture of the little sister on the front is exactly like Cpie when she was little ~ although Cpie was never as grumpy looking as the poor child on the cover. 

Retirement!

Yup!
I gave my retirement letter in just before Christmas and I 'go' on the 31 March.  
26 working days to go . . . . and counting!
My life has changed a lot ~ the past six years particularly ~ and I can hardly recognise how it was before 2009!  Hope to get back on track from April onwards!

another day ~ visiting ~ yay!

Frankie, Lpip and Dpip stayed overnight (they always call it a 'sleepover' ~ I really dislike that term!)
(Very!) early croissants/milk/ coffee with Pips
Alex and Kpip arrive to take F,L and D home
Janey and Eric arrive
Coffee and scones
Visit with G ~ worryingly tired and listless
Visit with Cat and Arthur ~ mug of tea and chat
Visit with J and D ~ another mug of tea and more chat
Visit with JW ~ no tea (already awash!) and even more chat
Home
Reading, stitching, 'Trading Places' on TV
Bath, bed and 'Home' by Toni Morrison

Have to clear Stella's old room tomorrow ready for decorating ~ hoorah

Will be off the radar for a few days but back after that

Po xx

my day . . . .

an hour's quiet reading
carrying on sorting out the library
call from Eric about G
call to P to discuss changed work arrangements
sorting guest bedroom to get ready to start decorating etc
bank
building society
present buying for Lauren (having decided that the present I originally bought was not a good choice!)
Laura at Addiction (wash and blow dry)
to sainos to get some odds and ends for G
bumped into Joyce and ha a chat
visit with G ~ chat with staff, chat with G, card game, cup of tea
load of washing on
tidy house ~ found book I had lost ~ yay!
stitching birthday card
bath and change to go to Lauren's birthday meal
lovely meal ~ super company and food ~ and a splendid cake!
home 
chat with Stella on facebook
bath
bed
cup of tea and P G Wodehouse!

I like my job but this 'holiday' was great and I would never have had time for all this on an ordinary working day!

back soon 

Po xx

time for an update . . .

so much has happened that it is difficult to know where to start . . .

Book Club at Anne Wo's house where we talked about Pat Barker's 'Toby'sRoom'.  This was another WW1 tale which is a period of history I find very interesting (early input from G!).  This book was beautifully written with powerful imagery although I found parts of it uncomfortable reading.  We had read 'My dear I wanted to tell you' by Louisa Young very recently which covered much of the same ground: some of the characters suffered facial injury and were treated at the Queen's Hospital in Sidcup and the surgeon Gillies featured in both stories.  On the whole I preferred the Louisa Young as I disliked most of the characters in the Pat Barker and Toby was downright unpleasant.  If you would like to know about facial reconstruction during and after the First World War, then 'My dear I wanted to tell you' would be a splendid choice but if you can't get hold of it 'Toby's Room' is a good alternative.

G went into Care Home G almost two weeks ago and decided he would like to stay ~ good news!  Unfortunately, however, he became ill last Friday and was admitted to hospital.   Discharge came today and I collected him and took him back to the Care Home.  I so hope he settles in again.  

Lpip was in a ballet show.  In fact it was a celebration of 90 years of Chorleywood Memorial Hall in which all the groups who use the hall took part.   I went to watch it with Frankie and Dpip.  Dpip was lovely!  His little friend A was there too as her sister was also performing.   The two littles sat together and chatted and watched the show and were very good (even in the one bit that really was exceptionally boring!).  Lpip was in the toy shop dance and she made a perfect little Native American Indian!  We only stayed for the first half as it was quite late for the small children by then so we went home and had nice warm mug of tea.

Quiz Night at the Colosseum on Monday night ~ Cat and David had invited me on to their table.  It was quite the largest quiz I have ever been too ~ 48 tables with 10 on most tables.  We acquitted ourselves well coming 5th!  Hoorah for us!!

I have taken yesterday, today and tomorrow as leave since I have to use it all by end of March.  Stella and the Pies came yesterday for lunch and then Stella took Kpie and Cpie to their violin lessons and J and I visited G in hospital.  We went home and while we waited for Stella and the girls to come back I taught J to play rummy ~ and he beat me 6 games to 2!  He is obviously a chip off several male relatives' blocks! 

I am having trouble with my computer ~ well more trouble with the anti-virussy thingy really.  I can't access loads of stuff I used to be able to and I can't comment on blogs ~ all of which is a darned nuisance and is more than likely something that a reasonably computer literate bod could sort in a jiffy ~ but sadly, not me!

Back soon

Po xx

busy week . . .

At some point in the future I may have a good old moan about John Lewis and how they have messed up with my blinds, my carpet and now my curtains . . . but in fact I just don't have the energy to do that right now

On to nicer things  . . . 

On Wednesday I was on a course at work in which we all had to do the Myers Briggs Test. It was a good day and a really great trainer.  And lovely to reconnect with people I had worked with before my current job and to get to know 'new' people.  It was fun!

After work visited with G.  Stella and the Pies were there too.  They all played their instruments.  Here is Kpie on recorder and Cpie.

Friday I took a day's annual leave in order to look after Kpip.  I wish I could do it more often!  She played with the dolls' house, we did a jigsaw and here she is playing with the blocks.  






Sat for the Pips last night.  They all make me laugh so much!  Lpip wanted to play the 'Going to Buckingham Palace Game' with Dougie ~ which we did but not sure that either of them have quite got the hang of it!  they went to bed and I watched 'The Talented Mr Ripley' and then an episode of Desperate Housewives from the first series. 

Visited with G today.  Frankie, Alex and the Pips were there too and then I zoomed off to Jackie's for her birthday meal (cooked by Brian).  Lots of people I was really pleased to see so had nice chats and a superbe Banoffee Pie.  

A good week all told (for me).  Sadly it has not been good for many here in England.  The flooding has been dreadful in the south west and my heart goes out to all the poor people who have been flooded out, have no electricity and are suffering in so many ways from the terrible weather.  Parts of Watford were under water over the weekend and one enterprising couple went shoping in the Lower High Street in a canoe!  Long delays on the roads (Stella and Jpie had to abandon J's viola lesson as the traffic was so bad it took them 40 minutes to travel less than a mile). Here on top of my hill I am counting my blessings!

Back again soon

Po xx

'hook ups' . . . .

. . . with family, friends and old school pals

The weekend started well even before I finished work!  Worked at home on Friday morning and then arrived at the office after lunch and opened my phone to find a request on facebook from a family member we had lost touch with a few years ago.  To say I was excited is putting it mildly!  More the girls generation than mine ~ it would be lovely to catch up properly soon. 

In the evening we were at the Elton John Suite at Watford Footie Club for a surprise!!!!! party to celebrate Peter's 30th birthday.  He was suitably aghast (fortunately!) and it was a great party and wonderful to chat with lovely family and friends some of whom I hadn't seen for a while.

Saturday: school reunion which started (as ever) at the Scotsbridge.  Only 6 of us managed to get there but again it was lovely to meet old chums.  Fran and I were the only ones to actually go to school and we had left it so late I could only stay a short while before zooming off to Frankie's to babysit for the evening while she and Alex went to London for the 'Jack the Ripper' tour (which was tr'iffic apparently!)

Babysittng: The Pips are great company and make me laugh till my sides ache!  Once they were in bed I watched 'The Nutty Professor'' (which was truly awful) and had just started in on the Pilot episode of 'Desperate Housewives' when Lpip sneaked into the sitting room.  She had been reading and was then unable to sleep so we talked and I taught her the 'I'm going to the Moon' game to great hilarity on both sides.  Fortunately she had gone back to bed before F & A arrived home!

I don't know why it is that I can't seem to sit still long enough enough to watch TV at home but really enjoy looking at it when I'm babysitting . . . .

I visited G this afternoon and managed to catch Peter and Emma there before they left to go home. We are hoping it will not be too long before G can spend a few weeks at Care Home G to see if he likes it.  We played a few games of Rummy after P and E had left ~ I was on a winning streak which doesn't happen too often with G!!

A great weekend! and only four days at work next week!

Back soon

Po x


 

well you would never guess . . .

this morning I went downstairs and into the sitting room and . . . one of the new curtains looked very strange! It looked as though it had lost some of its hooks so that not all of the heading was attached to the curtain track ~ sorting of bulging off the wall!  And another curtain had a bit of metal sticking out of the end of the heading.  These curtains have only been up for 11 days!  Admittedly the curtain hanger did say there was 'something wrong' with the hooks and tracks (am assuming that was it) and John Lewis has agreed to put that right when they bring the correct width curtains for the dining room ~ but really! whatever next?  

It's not as though I actually closed the curtains last evening as I went with Stella to the Palace to see a live streaming of Giselle from the Royal Opera House.  I'm sure we were in a better position than those at the ROH as we could see the expressions of the dancers so much more clearly. And Natalia Osipova in the title role was superb ~ I found myself holding my breath through all her solos and duets! She was magnificent ~ and seemed to hang in the air at each jump . . . and her extensions!  She is also a tremendously talented actress and her poignant portrayal of her emotions on discovering Albrecht's deceit was heart breaking.  Carlos Acosta's powerful dancing in the part of Albrecht acted as the perfect foil for Giselle's naivity and there were equally talented performancs from those in the other leading roles.   Our only criticism was the Interval interviews ~ we could have done without them as they were really rather boring, in truth told us nothing new and I would rather have spent that time listening to Stella's views.  A wonderful night though!

. . . it was good once the weekend arrived!!

On Friday morning I was still rightly angry over G's treatment so rang Travel Line, the Scheme Manager at the Flats and the Orthotics department at Watford General ~ Travel Line umpteen times as they kept recommending I speak to 'someone else'!   Their story was that the van had gone to the flat and the personnel had 'knocked' at the door and there was no reply. Since there is no knocker but an array of buttons which one presses to buzz the required flat and since G had been waiting downstairs next to the glass screen beside the buttons (approx 18 inches distant!) since 10.45 and the van's tracking device apparently 'proves' that it arrived at 11.16 I rather doubt this tale.  Call me an old sceptic but I think they may very well have gone to the wrong place!   

I have made another appointment for him for this coming Wednesday and one can only hope that they have a more competent team on board this time around.  

Saturday was good!  L had invited me round for a 'Fillum' Night ~ we had a good ol' chin-wag, delivery pizza, cheesecake and cokes and watched 'The Color Purple' ~ which I have seen a number of times but it still never ceases to move me.  Nice evening!

Today was Visiting G Time.  Frankie and the Pips came too and Alex after his footie game.  Frankie cooked a great lunch and then we watched a little bit of a 'Catherine Cookson' drama while the children played (G fell asleep).

Home for the evening now and Mr Selfridge beckons.

Night

Po xx  




and as a ps here at Cpie and Lpip at the Palace waiting for The Little Match Girl to start

murder!

Monday
Stella and Kpie and Cpie came for dinner ~ well it was just pasta and then an unusual interpretation of Eton Mess: pastry instead of meringue, blackberries instead of strawbs and evap instead of cream ~ but it was a 'scratch meal' and actually very nice!

Here we are in the conservatory: Kpie, Cpie and Moi





 
We finished the jigsaw! ~ the murder mystery that is!  It was quite hard since we had no picture of how it should turn out but it did get really exciting towards the end.  All four of us were rushing to complete ~ great team work and great fun.  (I wrote about this on 6 January ~ I would do a link but that's a bit too techy for me haha)


Today
I feel like murdering someone!  G had an appointment at the hospital and, since I have hardly any leave left this leave year and it would have been difficult anyway, I had booked with Travel Line on Monday for them to collect him, take to the appointment and then take him home.

The office phoned me to confirm arrangements on Tuesday.  The chap said:
' . . . and the address is 11 R . . . . R . . .'
I said 'No it's 11 H . . . . . . which is in R . . . R . . .'
'Oh ok, and we will collect him after 11.40'
'No, his appointment is at 11.40'
'Oh yes that's right we are picking him up at 9.40'

Yesterday a woman phoned and said 'are you sure he is going toWatford General?  We can't find the Princess Michael of Kent Building on the map'
I explained that PMofK was the main outpatients' department, it has A&E and is where almost everyone has to go for virtually anything.

When I visited G this evening he told me what had happened:
He saw the mini bus going up the road and then he saw it going down the road but it never came to him.
Fortuately the house manager was there and phoned someone (the office I suppose)
It was confirmed that they would come back for him.
No-one came so he didn't get to the appointment.

Last time the lift was so late that he missed his appointment and had to hang around for ages waiting to be slotted in.

A shambles!

Another day, another moan haha

Po xx

Cpie and Lpip came to stay

We had a lovely time.

We watched Button Moon on Friday evening which, although really much too young for them, they really enjoyed ~ I suppose on a different level to how Stella saw it.  I have a Nursery School photo of Stella aged 4 wearing the Button Moon badge that Boogy bought for her when they went to see a 'live' version at the Palace.  I got the photo out and showed the girls ~ neither of them recognised Stella!

Today we went to the Palace too ~ to see The Little Match Girl.  I hadn't realised quite how the story would be tackled ~ in fact it was a song, dance and mime production ~ no speech and all the songs were in Italian.  The ballet and the mimes made it totally understandable though.  All three of us really enjoyed it although it was a little dark in parts and Lpip, who is very sensitive, did hide her face a couple of times.  

Then we went to visit G.  Frankie and Kpip were already there when we arrived.  It is Kpip's second birthday today and she was in fine form.  They only stayed a little while after we arrived and then G and I chatted while C and L played 'hide and seek'.  Which was ridiculous in G's tiny flat but hilarious too.

We went home after that and had tea and Frankie arrived to collect L and Stella to collect C.  So I guess I am in for a quet evening.

Oh the curtains . . . . Well the ones in the sitting room are fine although there is a sight problem with the track but that will be sorted that out.  The dining room end is only having 'dress curtains'.  They should have been two widths each.  They are one  width each and look ridiculous!  John Lewis are having more made up.

I told you!!!

back soon

Po x

State of Wonder

Tuesday:  Eric came down and took G to see Care Home G which we felt deserved another look as G really hadn't seen it at its best on Sunday.  The day went well, they met the manager and some residents, filled in the assessment and G even had lunch.  The day seems to have been a success and there is the distinct possibility that he will go for a few weeks' stay with the option of staying on permanently.  

In the evening I went to C's for Women's Group ~ good evening.  It turns out that H's mother is in Care Home G and H was very complimentary about it.  H was a nurse and Health Visitor so I value her opinion.  Her mother sadly has dementia so her experience will be different from ours but hopefully G will be happy there.  

Wednesday:   Book club last evening at Mair's house.  We had been reading State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.  Not one of my favourites.  This book was very well written with some well executed descriptive and moving passages.  I found the first quarter, set in Minnesota, interesting but once the main character travelled out to the rain forests of Brazil I became rather bored and had to force myself to read it.  An interesting, but to me totally unbelievable, concept but sadly I felt unable to engage with or care about any of the characters and was so bored by it that I found I was reading the words with my mind on other matters.  I was in a minority of one, however!

Tomorrow:  long awaited curtain fitting day and I have taken a day's flexi leave.  Given all the problems I have had in the past with John Lewis I am not expecting it to go well!  I was somewhat surprised to arrive home yesterday to find a note through my door from the woman 3 doors away, with I had never spoken, to say that she had a parcel of mine.  I had not been expecting a parcel but it turned out it was the curtains.  I didn't get them out of the box but at least they are the right fabric and colour.  I phoned JL this morning to make sure that the fitter will come tomorrow and said that I had expected him to bring the curtains with him.   The JL woman said she was very surprised, that wasn't supposed to happen: they should have been delivered to the store but confirmed that someone would definitely come in the morning to hang them.  

The Glass-Half-Empty Woman says 

'something is bound to go wrong' 

Po x

spoke too soon . . .

. . . about it being a successful weekend!

email from Eric today detailing how he had got on with phoning the two care homes we liked:

There is actually a waiting list (!) at Care Home R ~ we were not told this on either of our visits (why??) ~ we were lead to believe that there would probably be a vacancy in early February.  Eric gave G's details yet again and asked for him to be put onthis waiting list.

There are now no rooms at Care Home G although we are pretty sure we saw two yesterday!  Eric hopes to speak to the manager tomorrow and firm up on the details.

As Eric said: it is a bit like swimming in treacle! 

I am now wondering if we should think again about Care Home L.  This had a couple of features which the others didn't have but which I think G would really like.  My reservations, however, were that the bedrooms were rather a funny shape and also that it had fewer residents than the others so in a sense less chance of finding like-minded 'pals'.  Also the nurse who appeared to be on reception duty (she was the only staff visible anyway) was a bit impatient and said she couldn't help us as she was 'going home in a minute' so a very nice relative of one of the residents went off and found another member of staff to help us.  Which was very nice of her but was really the duty of the woman at the desk I would have thought but hopefully not indicative of the rest of the staff.  (The one who showed us round was lovely!)

Ho hum

Po xx

Fifty Sheds of Grey

I woke suddenly at 3.15 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep (this is happening more and more frequently!) so I read this book which Eric had lent me last time they were down. 

It is subtitled 'a parody'.  I'm sure it is although since I have never read the 'shades' version I can't confirm.  

I did find it funny though and it only took about half an hour to get through. Some very nice black and white (well grey obviously!) photos of various sheds ~ hahaha.

Needless to say it has not inspired me to read the 'original'! 

Po x

A great weekend with Janey and Eric

Let's be honest: Weekends with J and E are always great. But this weekend was successful as well!

G seemed very keen on the care home we visited on New Year's Eve ('R') but we wanted to have a look at a few more to get a balanced view so  we visited another one ('G') on Saturday morning which we liked very much and then zipped back to mine for lunch of bread and cheese washed down with coffee.  Then out again in the afternoon to see two more ('A' and 'L').  We 'scored' both G and L very highly although none of us were too impressed by A. 

L is very close to where Cat lives so popped in there for a visit afterwards which was lovely.  Then back to mine for a Chinese takeaway and a long and in-depth evaluation of all the homes in order to decide which would be best to show G.  In end we decided that the two we liked best were R and G. 

Needless to say we also had 'some' wine and lots of laughs along the way!

Today we collected G early-ish and zoomed over to R.  He loved it!  Lunch at the Essex: very nice as usual!  Then off to G.  I was very hard pressed to chose as they both had lots of really good points: lovely staff, lots going on, comfortable rooms, excellent amenities, friendly residents, nice gardens and good atmosphere.  G stuck with his first decision though so it looks like R will be the one!

This is a home in Watford and quite near to where G grew up.  He will go for respite care first as soon as a room becomes available and then see what happens after that.

I have rather enjoyed going round the homes and seeing what there is but lord! I am so so grateful that Janey and Eric were there to 'bounce' ideas and views on the matter.  Not a 'job' for one person!

Back soon

Po x
 

moaning . . . again!

I had a call the day before Christmas Eve to tell me that G was being picked up by ambulance and taken to Watford General with a suspcted blood clot.  I met him there, at the Ambulatory Care Unit, where he was diagnosed as having DVT and asked to return the following day for a scan. 

The scan showed that he did indeed have a clot in his leg and he was prescribed with Rivaroxaban. 

Happily, the swelling subsided pretty quickly and he was asked to go to the Anticoagulant Clinic yesterday. 

Unfortunately, none of us could take him (Frankie and I were working, Stella's car is temporarily out of commission waiting for repair, Cat can't drive and Eric was on the Naughty-Boy-Speeding Course) so I organised transport for him. 

I don't know what happened but the transport didn't arrive.  I couldn't quite work out what did happen but anyway he managed to get to the clinic and also get home safely.  

In the afternoon the nice nurse at the clinic phoned me because she was concerned that G had not understood all the instructions / warnings she had tried to give him.   (G is now profoundly deaf).    She explained that he had that morning taken the last of his Rivaroxaban and the clinic had prescribed a further course.  She impressed on me that it was vital that he take these every day starting today.  When I asked how I could get the prescription she said I would have to phone the surgery and request them.  

I phoned the surgery; they said they couldn't take instruction over the phone (fair enough!) and that the hospital would have to fax over the presecription.  

I phoned the hospital back and asked them to do this.  They said they would do this straight away.

I phoned the surgery 40 minutes later to check but the fax hadn't arrived.

I phoned the clinic again and was promised that they would do it straight away.

I phoned the surgery and they had, this time, received it but when I asked about collecting the tablets they said I would have to phone the pharmacy to make arrangements.  

I phoned the pharmacy and they confirmed that they collected prescriptions from the surgery every day and that they would deliver to G next day (today).

I have been terrifyingly busy today so didn't phone the pharmacy until just after 5.00 to check that the tablets had been delivered.

They didn't have the prescription!

I then phoned the surgery and, after what seemed like a lot of hunting about, the receptionist told me that the prescription was still there and unfortunately, since collection had been missed, would not be ready until Monday. These are the pills that he must take every day!  When I asked whether I could collect them she said that I could and that the surgery was open for a further hour.  Phew! Just as well I work only about five miles away! 

When I did get to the surgery the receptionist apologised and said that this vital prescription had been 'put in the wrong box' which was why it had not been collected!

Fortunately the pharmacy was also still open so I got the meds (only half actually, the rest to be delivered on Monday) and took it round to G.

So All seems to be Well and has Ended Well!  But if this sort of treatment is general one wonders how the elderly manage when they do not have friends or relatives to help them? 

End of Moan!

Po x
 

Ten a.m. on a Tuesday morning . . .

Thinking of the quiz last evening caused me to remember the only other time I have been to that particular 'quiz night'.  I went last September with both Stella and Frankie and it was on the anniversary of mine and Boog's wedding day ~ so a bit of a celebration too.  

The quiz always features a 'picture' round and one pic was of a chap playing golf (it turned out to be Hugh Grant).  I am always useless at recognising people in photos so made a deduction and said 'could it be Tiger Woods?'.  The daughters looked at me in amazement and Frankie said 'but Tiger Woods is Black!!'

Did I say that I had no interest in either sport or 'celebs'? 

The men are here from JL putting up my curtain tracks right now.  Hopfully not long now until the sitting/dining room is finished ~ hoorah!!

Have a nice day

Po xx

Mealtimes

a good few days:

Tea with G:
visited G onSaturday afternoon.  He had read the brochure for the care home which we left the other day and liked the sound of it ~ so much so that he wanted to go . . . tomorrow . . . for a week . . . or a fortnight . . . or maybe even a month . . . or he might just stay there! Phew!  Whoa: let's just take this s l o w l y !  G is not usually so impulsive but it's nice that he is keen.  J and E are coming down next weekend and we will look at a few more homes and then see ~ we really don't want to rush this.  The family visit often but I think he is sometimes a little lonely so this could be a good move.  Will wait and see  . . . 

Anyway we had tea and a game of cards and read the newspapers and all in all it was a nice relaxing afternoon.

Dinner with many:
Saturday evening I went to Jac's to finalise the camp accounts and have supper. Except that supper turned into a Dinner Party (which I have to say was preferable to doing the books!) with lots of really lovely peeps: there were thirteen of us altogether and then Ma and Ke arrived at around the Cheese Stage!  It was lovely to catch up with everyone : an enjoyable evening!

Lunchy type Tea with the Pies:
Stella, Rich and the Pies came round on Sunday afternoon and I rustled up a pasta-ish meal which was lovely and sociable and then the Pies watched a film while Stella and I did some more of 'The Jigsaw' which we had started on Boxing Day.  I am not normally a fan of jigsaws but this is something else!  Stella found it for a pound in a charity shop and it's a murder mystery!  There is a little pamphlet inside the box which gives a very short scenario and then the finished jigaw will show the solution to 'who dun it'.  The picture on the box bears no relation at all to the jigsaw ~ in fact we did the outside edges without even knowing which was top, bottom or sides and then had to piece it together from there.  It is 1000 pieces and we didn't finish it and still don't know the answer.  Very intriguing and good fun!

Pudd'n with Stella:
Stella and I went to the King Harry for the Monday Night Quiz.  We were useless!  I mean really useless!  although to be fair there was a preponderance of sport and celebrity questions and neither of us have any interest at all in sport and even less (if that's possible!) in 'celebs'.    It was a very relaxed evening though and we did have a drink, a coffee and a really nice pud each . . . and nice chatty company!

Back soon I hope with photos ~ Stella recommends just buying another plug thing ~ which sounds like the best idea!

Po xx

back to work . . .

. . . wasn't too bad!

It was fairly quiet as most people had extended their hols to the start of next week.   I rather like it when the office is fairly empty and quiet but it was good to catch up with those who were in and hear about their various Christmasses.  In our little section it was just P and J and me in.  We took all our decorations down ~ it looks somewhat sparse in there now!  Still have to do the ones at home.

My poor neighbour Ly has finally been admitted into hospital for investigations into her suspected slipped disc. She has suffered with this for many months now and has been in agony for much of the time.  I visited on Thursday evening and have to admit to finding it very depressing!  She mentioned it on fb and called it 'a very dark place'  ~ I can see what she means!

The weather has been deplorable!  Severe warnings of floods and high winds throughout the country and some fatalities.  Hertfordshire has not been too badly 'stung' so far but is is very wet: the ground is saturated and in many places the drains seem unable to cope.  I am writing this sitting in front of a window which looks down the road and there is an enormous puddle outside one house which cars are unable to avoid ~ so huge splashes every time a car comes down.  There are no children playing out and it is all very depressing and grey ~ even the cars are mostly a grey or silver colour ~ and no prospect of sunshine for the next few days.   We are the lucky ones, however: many places in Britain are under water and people are having to take precautionary measures. 

Now that my new furniture is in and the sitting room is comfortable again (curtains still to be hung and sofas recovered but I am getting there!) I have taken to looking at  TV in the evening and knitting!  I have been making a pink hoodie for Kpip for ages ~ she will be 2 this month so I hope it fits, I started it before she was one! ~ and it is finally nearing completion.  No doubt the sleeves will be half way up her arms and the buttons not meet!  Ho hum . . . .  If I find my camera plug thing  will take a photo . . . . maybe

Po xx

2014 . . .

The year has started well!

Janey and Eric came to stay and we went to look at a care home for G ~ for respite care at the moment but possibly long term in the future.  G stayed in a lovely home in Watford back in November but at the end of the fortnight we were all agreed that it was not quite right for him.  Whilst he is certainly getting more frail, his mind is good and he is generally able to care for himself with a little help morning and evening from a lovely support worker.  The home we visited yesterday, however, seemed to be more suited to his needs.  We will see . . . 

E, J and I spent New Year's Eve in usual fashion ~ ie at the home of lovely friends who made a splendid meal (9 of us in total plus B, the lovely black Lab).  2014 was ushered in with the singing of Auld Lang Syne, quaffing of Champagne and phone calls and texts to absent family members.  Home to mine tired but very happy.

Annual New Year's Day Visit to the Essex for lunch though sadly no pre-lunch walk as the weather is just dire (There was no possibility of taking a walk that day).  All the usual suspects from the Night Before plus a few other family members.  Then E, J and I visited G to tell him about the home ~ he seemed quite impressed ~ and have a cuppa then back home and E & J have now departed for home.  

A New Year ~ time for resolutions!  I have given up on making them but I am hoping that 2014 will be better than 2013 ~ nothing dreadful has happened but it has been a tiresome year (boring is what I really mean!) so I have high hopes for this one.

Po xx