manicure

For only the second time in my life, I have had a manicure!

I can hardly believe I have done such a 'girly' thing!

It was at Brenda's house last evening - pauline had told me about it whilst having a quiet drink in the Essex on Monday night - so i went along

It was a sort of get-together too - I knew almost everyone there which was good as the chat was very relaxed and entertaining - all the others seemed to be 'old hands' (haha) at the game as they had been to the 'indulgence evenings' which seem to be spreading like wildfire through all the schools in the area.

Well I must admit that my hands do look heaps better - yes even my stubby little paws!! - and if they don't look exactly elegant they are at least much smoother and the nails are painted a lovely browny type colour called 'vixen' - all the polishes had funny names like 'sin' and 'fickle' and 'precious' - I am mainly at home today so I just hope they don't get too chipped doing the housework - would rather like them to still look good when we go for the Mothering Sunday meal!!

the week so far . . .

. . . has been good . . .

Monday - 'new' sort of follow-up aywl group at liz and david's - this time we are looking at the previous sunday's gospel and pulling it apart to discuss it - very interesting - and the people in my group are really lovely

Tuesday - women's group - it was a 'music evening' at sue s's - i had imagined it would be rather high brow so, although i enjoy listening to music, i don't know all that much about it and thought i might be out of my depth - it wasn't like that at all - there were 10 of us - 2 teams and . . . this is difficult to describe . . . we had to 'play' a tune on a sort of plastic bag thing and then our team had to guess the tune. it was a fun evening - lots of jokes/laughs and the group is very friendly

Wednesday - day off - didn't do much really other than have a bonfire in the garden

Thursday - called in at Jackie's after work with photos of clara and to talk about camp reunion in april. eric phoned and spent aeons trying to sort our mothering sunday meal with o and g (help!!) - will update re that later

visiting . . .

arrived in sheffield soon after 8 saturday morning to spend the day with the 'reconstituted pies' - a lovely day!!

kezia and jago are very kind and patient with their new baby sister - and clara is adorable!!

stella seems very well and neither she nor rich appear anywhere near as exhausted as they were the first time we saw them after kezia's birth - strange that!! it's odd how the first baby takes over the whole house - usually both parents are run ragged trying to keep on top of things, life changes completely and it feels like things will never be calm and ordered again - i remember it well!! anyway the whole family is coping admirably and i can only repeat: clara is adorable!! - i held her virtually all the time i was there - just popped her in the moses basket whilst i had breakfast and lunch - and stella fed her a couple of times too - the rest of the time she just slept on my lap!! - marvellous!!! she is very cuddly!! she looks more like kezia - not at all like jago - but they change rapidly at this age so time will tell how she 'turns out'

jago is talking more and more - very easy to communicate with him now . . . . and kezia is a riot!!

there was a match on so i left sheffield mid afternoon to avoid traffic as much as poss and stayed overnight with janey and eric. had a lovely meal (pete/lorna were there too - but then they went into town for the night) and lots of laughs (as usual!!) but i was so tired i was practically falling asleep at the table

had a 'hearty' this morning and more laughs with all of them and then home

it was snowing in ashby - lots of lovely swirling 'white stuff' - but unfortunately it didn't settle and had stopped by the time i reached the m1 - wish we could have a decent snow fall at least once every winter!!

a new baby!!!

stella and rich's third baby was born at half past midnight this morning!

a little girl - clara

kezia is delighted to have a baby sister and jago has tried to give her his much loved penguin, bupp

the labour (at home but too fast for the midwife to arrive!!) was a triumph . . . but it's stella's and rich's story and i shall leave the telling to them

i am very proud of all of them!!!

johnny the razor

it's difficult to know who, if anyone, ever reads these ramblings. so when i wrote about my friend mick recently i didn't feel happy about revealing too much detail about his 'illness'. i wrote about his website and his bravery in setting it up but didn't give any more facts than that.

it was ridiculous to say so little! this is the very brave stance of a man who has been confronted with the news that he has cancer, has undergone chemo and is cheerfully and humourously continuing with his life. my admiration of him knows no bounds and the fact that he has set up a website at all testifies to his sincerity in wishing to help and encourage others in the same situation.

mick is likeable, intelligent and kind. he is immensely talented, good company and a thoroughly good friend. and his advice is just what anyone (and their friends and family) need if they suddenly find themselves battling with this horrible illness

mick's website is: www.johnnytherazor.co.uk

the 'well done' posting

liz came along to the end of the 6.30 mass so there could be 2 of us to 'man' the book swap table. quite a number of children's books had arrived at the 11.00 family mass which was just as well as we had very few children's or non-fiction. we think we have made almost £250 - and for very liitle effort too. there were 3 boxes of books left over at the end - but even those will be useful as they will be donated to the scouts for sale at their forthcoming jumble sale. plans are afoot to make this a regular event.

well done juliette !! - whose idea it was in the first place!!

had mail from stella this morning - no baby yet!! stella has been saying all along that the scan date was too early.

well done stella !! - for knowing what's what!!

busiest weekend in aeons!

and it isn't even over yet!

friday night was 'sainsbury's shop night' - so bought most of the ingredients for my 'dinner'

saturday morning - did 'remainder' shop and then buzzed along to church to help set up the book swap table - that hardly took any time at all so liz, katrina, cathy, juliette and i had a quick coffee and chat in the pc, then went home

saturday afternoon - did all my prep with lots of time to spare - just in case i had news of the baby and then spent yonks on the phone telling everyone else - (no news even yet!!) - which was just as well because as i was finishing the phone rang - stella???!!! - no it was kathy to say that she and tony were at asda and could they call in for an hour or so before they met up with friends at the harvester? it was lovely to see them and hear their news and soon after they left, lynn and mick arrived (mick sporting the most stylish of hats) and pauline and chas arrived not long after

saturday evening was great! it was lovely to get together - mick looks really well - better than he has for a long while - and is dealing with his illness most positively. he has set up an excellent website for people in the same situation which is a very brave thing to do i think. we all seemed to laugh a lot and to reminisce on times gone by

liz popped round briefly with the 'float' for me for tonight's mass and fran and alex came round when we were at the cheese and biscuits stage

fran and cooking

fran had phoned while kathy and tony were here and had asked me how i had cooked the lasagne - after i explained my method she had then said it was the 'wrong' way - although kathy assured me it was the 'right' way after i got off the phone - everyone else kindly said it was good - i thought it was jolly tasty! - but then she and alex polished off all the left-overs (so it couldn't have been that bad!!) and she still had the nerve to say she would have done it better!! - it was all very humourous however so no hard feelings!!

i had decided on toffee topped peaches as one of the puds - imagine my surprize on pulling it out from under the grill to find it positively on fire - blue flames leaping up - and all blackened on top!! pauline sprang to the rescue and together we scraped off the burnt bits and served it as a 'flambee' - we didn't tell fran needless to say!!

i would like to point out at this juncture that it's not that i can't cook it's just that i don't particularly want to - is that clear??

today - haven't done much so far - just read the papers and check for mails etc (did all the tidying last night before bed - phew!!)

i am on the last book swap at the 6.30 mass tonight - it will be interesting to assess how it has gone - we have had a good response so far it seems

first wednesday off!! (hoorah!!)

ash wednesday yesterday.

my 'lent attempt' is to get out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off - which was jolly hard when i had a day off!

went to mass at school - which was lovely but very l-o-n-g - so i didn't get up to daventry until almost 12.30 and o and g were somewhat worried. i would have phoned but thought that since mum was having her eye op and dad would be there alone it would be pointless - he wouldn't be able to understand what i was saying due to his deafness. mum's op had been cancelled after all - postponed really - but no clue yet as to when it will be

i had a great time with them - lovely lunch and then i went to visit someone they regularly take to mass and whom i had met before. we had got along really well that time and she had expressed a hope to meet up with me again. jean has a wonderful collection of old girls' story books - many of them the authentic article from the 1930s and looking at them and talking made the time pass all too quickly. we could have chatted much longer but i felt i should get back to o and g really.

i had another couple of hours with o and g - i have rarely laughed with them so much!! - we were all in high spirits - home about 8.30

stella and the pies

had a couple of emails from stella today so obviously no new baby yet!

peggy is moving out tomorrow to a bungalow in berkhamsted - i popped round with a bottle of wine and a wish for happiness in her new home - she is sad to leave - and i am sad to see her go - but it will be much better for her to nearer to more of her relatives - hope the 'new' people are as nice!!

lunch with elaine!

had a lovely relaxing lunch with elaine today at pizza et pizza.

we have been meaning to do this more or less since she came to work in the town hall - and today it turns out she has been there 4 years! anyway, it was well worth the wait!

we had lots of catching up to do, including photos of the children and g children and dara's wedding last summer - it was a great way to spend lunch time and i returned replete!

. . . and then had cakes to celebrate bev's last day today before going off on maternity leave

haven't needed any dinner!!!

quietest weekend in aeons!!

this weekend was 'collecting books and £1s' for the book swap after all masses next weekend

i did the sat evening slot with david but came to sun evening mass as well because fran had asked me to go with her as moral support for the confirmation inscription promise

we seem to be receiving far more money than books - people have been very generous and were donating pounds and taking tickets - but hardly any books arrived!!! am a little bothered that next weekend we won't have enough books to swap!! and we had been concerned that we would get loads of books people were glad to get rid of and not enough in the donation department!!

next sat/sun should be interesting to say the least!!

there were 9 candidates for the inscription promise - one of them was james - and david was there to

apart from a very quick trip to tesco's this afternoon (ugh!! nasty!!) i've only been out of the house for mass - it's been a very quiet weekend

it's a l-o-n-g story . . . .

. . . . and i can't be bothered to write it all down here . . . suffice it to say, i am very happy to report that i am going back to working a 4-day week again!! - slightly longer hours each day - but a whole extra day off - hoorah!!!!

maybe i shall get that attic sorted out at long last?

smiles . . . .

governors' meeting last night and i went straight from work which was good as i saw both fran and cat - and a fair number of the other teachers too because there was a junior disco on at the same time. fran and i stood in the dining room where they have been held since time immemorial (well . . . 1987 anyway!!) and reminisced! fran was amazed that it was exactly the same! it was still going at the end of the govs' meeting so i popped along to watch them all bopping - and yes!! it is exactly the same! nice!!

stella sent me a funny link in a mail to work today - this is it:

www.pictueresofwalls.com - didn't have time to look at all of it at work but sent it home and have laughed at it here - my favourite is:

fight apathy . . . . or don't

closely followed by:

BEWARE OF THE DOG

he is very sarcastic

hahaha!

apprehensive . . .

yesterday

stella's 26th birthday! - it's at times like this one wonders where the years have gone!! up until university days, all but her 5th and 18th birthdays fell during the spring half-term holidays so we always seeemed to be doing something to celebrate on the day - i was a little sad not being able to see her today

went to jackie's for dinner and had a truly wonderful evening - there were over a dozen of us round the table - all good friends i have known for yonks and the chat and laughter was a real treat! nearly everyone there will be going to taransay in the summer and it was time for me to tell them that i will not be able to go after all - i am disappointed but the cost of getting there is quite exhorbitant - £90 to get from skye to harris on the ferry (!!!!) let alone the cost of the petrol driving there and back - and train and plane isn't any cheaper!! - jackie did kindly offer to let me go up in their van but the 'freedom of the open road' - just me and the car - was a good part of the attraction - never mind! - another year maybe?

today

mary m had arranged a special mass for her parents - and all but 2 of her 9 brothers and sisters were there - the mass was beautiful, mary gave a lovely eulogy and then we went to the p centre for 'eats'. frances and mo and pauline came and kate was there too so we had a good ole 'natter' . . . and then i came home

fran and alex popped round for a cup of tea and then i had to dash out again for 6.30 mass as i had volunteered to explain about the book swap - i was very nervous but it was ok

p.s. i don't really know why i get so worried and apprehensive - this weekend it was about

a) the dinner at jackie's

b) the mass for mr and mrs m and

c) talking at mass

. . . and they were all fine - and my new year resolution was to try not to worry so much!!

there and back again again

zipped quickly up to sheffield yesterday afternoon to collect fran

poor kezia had been quite ill in scotland so they decided to cut their hols short and arrived back in sheff on wednesday night

i stopped at donington park on the way up for a coffee-in-the-car and stupidly sent a text to f to tell her where i was - cue the request for me to 'nip' into m & s and collect some lunch!! - so we had soup and bread with blueberry muffins for pud - or 'caaaaake' as jago called it

fran, kezia and jago were all peering out of the window when i arrived - cheery little faces smiling at me - aaahh!! - k is heaps better and none of the others appear to affected so all seems well - stella blooming - baby is due in just over a fortnight though she says she was much bigger by this stage with both others - hope it isn't born 2 days before i go away on my hols like jago was!! - i am looking forward to seeing him/her!!

fran and i left before 8 and had a good journey back down - dropped f off at her home and was home here before 11

work today not too bad but looking forward to the weekend - and a flexi day off on monday - hoorah!!!

book aid international

at one of the aywl meetings last autumn, juliette was telling us that across the developing world there are still millions of children not receiving an education. Book Aid International is an organisation working in partnership with these countries to create learning opportunites for people of all ages to help reduce poverty.

our group is now organising a 'book swap'

we will be asking as many people as possible to bring a favourite book to church and to exchange it for a £1 ticket

the following week all the books will be on display and tickets can be swapped for someone else's good book

all monies raised from the tickets will be sent to Book Aid International and used to help disadvantaged people.

liz, katrina, cathy and i were at a meeting at juliette's home this evening to iron out all the practicalities - we shall be giving a little 'spiel' at all masses this sat/sunday - not sure how successful it will be but we all feel it's worth giving it a go - will report back later

p.s. valentine's day today! - and ne'ery a one!!!

there and back again

picked frankie up soon after 11 and with only a short stop for 'breakfast' at toddington we made good time, arriving in stella's road around 2.30

mistake!!!

the house is only minutes away from hillsborough stadium and the place was heaving - i have never seen quite so many foottie supporters in one place - all converging on the 'ground' - it was like some sort of pagan ritual . . . and indeed perhaps it is! - next week when i collect fran it will be even worse though as it will be a local derby - stella says to get there early when there should be space to park outside their house before the mayhem begins

seeing the pies was lovely!! they have a tiny ikea table and 2 chairs that stella painted in bright colours and which they have in the bay window of the sitting room so they can do their 'work' and watch the people going by - they look so cute!! - and fran sat there too to do her lesson preps - really must get to grips with this digital camera lark so i can get some photos on the blog!

i stayed for dinner and then drove home - stella made the most scrumptious pudd - chocolate sauce and cream for which she gave me the recipe so i can impress p and c and m and l when they come for dinner in march

today has been quiet - phoned o and g - poor g's gout has come back and he has vowed to drink no more wine or beer - disaster!!!

working hard . . .

good week on the whole!

i have been really busy at work with heaps to do this week - which is very satisfying - had wednesday off and still managed to work more than my standard hours!!

tuesday evening: governors' meeting - went straight from work and was famished by the time i arrived home - tully looked fairly hungry too!

wednesday evening: reading group at jenny's - fran phoned just before i went out and said she and alex were coming to visit so left group earlier than usual - nice to see them both!

thursday: fran phoned just as i was leaving work to say her car won't be mended by the weekend as promised, so bothered about getting up to sheffield from whence she, stella and the pies were travelling on to scotland for a 5 day break - connections to sheffield not good from here so i said i would drive her up - jolly excuse for me to see the pies - hoorah hoorah and thrice hoorah!!! (and the car will be mended next week)

today: called in on cat, david and chillun to drop imy's bday card - 12 on monday!! - crikey!! - and i won't see them as they are all going down to rosings with janey, eric and pete/lorna - and lizzie and andy joining them for the weekend - jealous?? me??? - stopped for coffee and chat - cat looking very well and i even felt the baby move!!

so . . . quiet night in for me with 'me knittin' and an early start for sheffield in the morning

scooter

ha!!

it does sound like me - always the one chivying the others to meetings - "punctuality is the politeness of princes"

i was wondering as i did the quiz who i would turn out to be and i had forgotten all about scooter - yup!! says it all really!!

po et familiares

***You Are Scooter***
Brainy and knowledgable, you are the perfect sidekick.You're always willing to lend a helping hand.In any big event or party, you're the one who keeps things going."15 seconds to showtime!"
The Muppet Personality Testhttp://www.blogthings.com/themuppetpersonalitytest/

grand parents!

one of the few tv progs which can make me laugh out loud is 'one foot in the grave'; mostly, i think, because i could see boogs heading that way but now i can see myself hurtling in the same direction!!

and what has annoyed me this time is a sort of 'ageist' view of grandparenthood!

chatting at the annual school reunion yesterday (in the pub! - nothing changes!!) the subject of grandchildren came up. now only 2 of us actually are grandmothers so far and i heard one woman ask another if she had grandchildren? she hasn't and said so but this was then followed by a sort of general shaking of heads and mutterings about not wanting to be a grandmother 'yet' due to the fact that they are all 'too young'!!!!!

I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!

but what really makes me laugh is the fact that of all the ones there, i am, in fact, the youngest by over 6 months!! and even i am well into my 50s!!