New Look

This is not Leo but it is such a beautiful graphic and so like him.

The winds have abated but left us with a very strong breeze.  The sun appears now and again but it is mostly thick cloud. More rain is supposed to be sweeping in again tonight to give us a very wet day tomorrow and more rain is forecast in the areas already hit by flooding.  It was so sad to hear that two men died whilst trying to pump out a flooded basement, most likely it is thought,  being overcome by petrol fumes.

Well, I promised to show you  the bedroom when it was completed. The blind arrived a couple of days ago and is now in place.  The photos do not really do it justice.  The rooms are small here so wherever you stand you cannot get in the whole view but it will give you some idea.  I have to say we are very pleased with it.  I was wondering at first, how my choice of chocolate brown and yellow would pan out.  Need not have worried, the colours look wonderful together.  Even on dark days now and we have had quite a few of them recently, it looks like the sun is shining in there.  In this shot, Mike had not fixed the curtain properly at one end.  Never mind.  It is the colour and pattern that count.

The Spider plant is really too big for the top of the t.v. but I hate it being bare.  Ideally I want to find a small bunch of bright yellow or gold artificial flowers to put in a vase there.  It is difficult because nobody sells artificial flowers around here anymore and the ones I have looked at online are ridiculous prices.  So the Spider plant will have to do for a while until it starts to take over completely like a Triffid.

I have no idea why the walls have a greenish tinge in this next photo because as I told you they are yellow. The bookcases were painted as well.

The bedding alas, is one of those materials that creases easily.  Yes, it had been ironed but you only have to sleep in it and it looks as though it has not been pressed.

So now you have had a little glimpse into the new boudoir.  Mike worked very hard.  The ceiling was painted and all the woodwork including the insides of drawers. Even a mirror and the handles got the treatment.  They have always been gold but we decided on silver this time as a contrast to the yellow.

I am hoping the weather will improve as Becky and family went away for a week yesterday.  They are staying near the coast in a caravan.  Becky has said that if the weather really is awful then they will come home which would be a shame.

Mike has managed to get the lawns cut and the hedge trimmed down between all the rain but it is still not really warm enough to sit outside, the breeze has quite a chill to it.

Continuing on the yellow theme, Becky sent me some photos of Sunflowers in her garden.  I always used to grow them but have not done so for a few years.  When the seeds ripen she will be using them as bird food.  They have stood up very well to the high winds. As you can see she managed to take the photos on one of the rare days that the sky was blue.

I shall be watching "Baby Ballroom - The Championship" on t.v. tonight.  From the preview I have seen it looks very good.  The dancing of those small children amazes me.

I have also decided to take a week away from journalling.  I really spend far too long on my computer and it is not goodfor me.  When you come to the end of each day and realise that the majority of your time has been spent in front of a monitor and keyboard.........................well it makes you think. I need to put my mind on other things for a while and also try to be more active.  They say the weather will improve next week.  If so then I want to be outside not stuck in these same four walls.  I want to enjoy the garden, I want to get some fresh air and sunshine within reason.  I cannot do that sitting here.  So I know you will understand.  We all need a break from routine now and again. I will be turning off alerts during that time.

In the meantime, have a great weekend, stay safe, be happy and wishing you a good week ahead.

Love,

 

Wild Thursday

It is blowing an absolute gale here and the skies are growing ever darker.  Never known winds like this in July.  The papers mention the fact that many people are suffering from winter illnesses such as colds and flu. The weather is hitting seaside traders very hard.  More rain is forecast in the areas already hit so badly by flooding and now Oxford has been affected as well.  Many people have no fresh drinking water and to read of people fighting over water bowsers and people charging others £15 for a drink of water is appalling.

My heart goes out to all those that are affected, many are not insured. Some insurance companies are now saying they will not cover people whose homes are in areas likely to flood. Thankfully, there have been few fatalities unlike the terrible floods of 1953 when so many died.

It is all so depressing.  Let me lighten the mood a little. Although this cartoon is obviously set in a much bigger flood, it is very funny, at least I thought so.

It was lovely spending the afternoon with Becky and the boys yesterday, they seem to develop more each time I see them.  They had some Madiera cake which they both love. Then every time Mike left the room Daniel ran after him shouting "cake Grandad".  He certainly has a healthy appetite.

I received a lovely present a few days ago.   Lots of you will know that our friend Sandra Sandra`s Scribbles recently had a holiday in Russia.  She sent me a little gift on her return.  Now, when I showed this to Nathan and Daniel, you should have seen the joy on their faces.  I told them that I was going to show them some magic.  Here is what Sandra sent me and what I used

As I produced one doll from inside another, their faces were a picture of amazement and wonder.

Nathan keep saying "again Nana" all the time laughing and clapping his hands.  There is nothing like seeing that sort of joy on a child's face.  It reminded me of my own youth when, as a very small child, my beloved Grandmother would show me things from her precious china cabinet, curiosities that my uncle had brought back from all over the world.

So, thank you Sandra.  You not only made me happy, you made two little boys very happy as well.  I am sure they will always want to see "Svetlana" every time they visit.

It did stay dry enough for the boys to spend time in the garden and Nathan spent his time kicking a ball around.  Wonder if we have another David Beckham in the making.

Daniel was much more interested in playing with some clothes pegs.  They also loved talking to and watching the rabbits which you can see in the background and also climbing on top of the run.  It kept showering lightly but that did not put them off.

Jack does exactly what our Pip used to.  He likes to sit and "guard" the rabbits.  Now he has backup, Leo lays and watches them as well.

Considering the atrocious weather we have been having, the plants are not looking too bad.  Trouble is we cannot really sit out there to really enjoy them, but at least we can see them from the house.

Lastly, Mike got a very nice photo of Leo.  He is really growing up now.  We must contact the vet soon to see about getting him neutered.  He is a very loving cat who actually thinks he is a dog!  He runs to the door with the dogs when anybody knocks, he loves to go in their dogbeds, he sits in line with them at mealtimes and tries to go for walks when Mike takes Jack and Jesse out! 

He was so funny yesterday.  When Nathan was kicking the ball around, Leo kept shooting out from behind bushes and having a go himself.  You should have heard the screams of laughter from Nathan.

Well, this is turning into a book rather than a journal entry.  I must get off the computer.  Every day I promise myself I will cut down my time on here but somehow it never seems to happen.  Going to get a few jobs done and then, because of the weather, I will settle down with a book.

Love,

Follow On

After putting on the video of that amazing mare doing her dressage routine on my last entry, I really could not resist this little bit of nonsense that follows on quite nicely.

 

It appealed to my sense of humour!

Family will be here in a very short while so this is a short entry from me today.

Hope everything is going well for you all.

 

Stunning Horse!

I have always been a great lover of horses.  When I was young I spent many happy hours riding myself.  I never had any training.  I got a weekend job at a stables where I would groom the horses, muck out, feed and water and, of course, could also ride whatever horse I wanted to.  I had loved horses since I was a tiny child.  We were never in a position to own one so this was the nearest that I could come.  Hard to think back now that I used to do something like that.

Anyway, a friend sent me a video of an amazing horse.  What perfection, what training, what skill on the part of the rider. 

Judge for youselves, as I am sharing it with you on this chilly and dreary Monday morning. 

Please sit back and enjoy the whole video to see this marvellous animal in action.

I think you will agree it was worth watching.  Still waiting for my roller blind to come, had a spot of bother with the suppliers, but when it is up I will put on pictures of our bedroom.  Also something else but you will have to wait and see.

Have a great week my dear friends and readers.

 

Anniversary

                      

                   

Today is the 3rd Anniversary of my journal.   Three years ago since I glanced at "Blogs" which was then on the welcome page of AOL and  was intrigued to find out what blogs was or were.  I read a couple then decided to have a go for myself.  Nathan was less than a month old then.

I thought maybe I could manage to keep it going for a month or two if I was lucky.  I never imagined it was going to be a long term venture.

Since then our second Grandson has been born.  I have shared with you many things from tales of my ancestors to ghost stories, jokes, poems, family life etc. etc.

I started very small, had no readers to begin with and then only a few but it gradually built up.  I had no idea of how to paste graphics, I was not really aware that graphics existed.  I was helped by so many people who explained to me, sometimes more than once, what I needed to do.

During the three years I have seen some good journals disappear, sometimes people said they were leaving, sometimes they just vanished without trace and left me wondering what had happened.  On the other hand I have seen many new journallers start up and become regulars with marvellous blogs.

Now it is my turn to thank all those people who helped me in the early days.  Not only them but I want to thank all of you who have read and commented over the last three years. I have come to know you through journals and consider you to be my friends. 

I particularly want to thank you for the love and support you have shown to me in the recent few months when my life has been turned upside down by surgery and treatment.  Each of you has helped me.  I felt that you were all there beside me, willing me on. Forthat I am grateful from the bottom of my heart.

None of us can foresee the future.  By this time next year I hope to have been told I have the first year "all clear" but nothing is certain in this life.  I can only continue to hope and pray and continue to take encouragement from all the lovely comments that you leave for me. God willing, I shall be completely cured and be able to share that news with you and also give encouragement to anyone who faces the same thing.  I am in His hands.

So, Happy Birthday to my journal and may I continue to write in it for years to come.

Thanks to the lovely Donna for making this graphic for me to put on my sidebar.

I hope you are all having a good week.  Our decorating the bedroom is almost finished but we are both very tired now as you can imagine and we did have a little disaster but I will write about that another time. 

Thank you again for all your loyal readership and God bless you all.

Sunday Smiles

We were woken by a tremendous thunder storm this morning and we have had a couple of heavy downpours since then.  It remains fairly humid.

O.K.  There were a couple of eagle-eyed readers who commented under my previous entry.  They wanted to know what was in the bags in our sunlounge. They had spotted them from the photo. Honestly, you do not miss anything do you?  Now I wonder what YOU thought was in them.  So to answer those two people..........................................in the bags are....................................... newspapers!  Yes, as boring as that.  The council collects our newspapers once every two weeks, so we save them up.  Obviously we do not want them decorating the rest of our house so we put them out of sight, or we thought we had.  Forgot they would show on a photo.

The council bag provided is never big enough but him indoors puts what he can in that and takes the rest to the large council bin for newspapers which is not far from us.  There, now you know lol!

Him indoors thought the vanilla was a good idea to put into the paint.  However, he had already changed into his painting clothes and commenced before I told him of all your advice.  He said he would get some later.  Needless to say he never did - men!   Anyway I have got used to the smell of paint now and hardly notice it but it is a handy tip to remember for next time.  Thanks to all who suggested it.

I am going to be quite busy for the next couple of days, not only have I got to put all the books back on the shelves but there are two chests of drawers in the bedroom and I have decided I want them painted to match.  That gives me an excuse to empty them out, go through everything and be ruthless in throwing things away.  My energy levels are still quite low so I will take my time.

Also the new curtains have to be taken up by about six inches.  I knew that when I ordered them but I wanted that particular set so it was worth it.

As there is not much else to say I thought I would give you some Sunday smiles.  Hope that you enjoy them.

No, this next one is not him indoors, although it could be.  He is great at mowing the lawn but I dare not let him near a flower bed, he does not know a rose from an artichoke and he positively hates weeding.  He does get grumpy now and again if I ask him to do anything out in the garden.  Not bad-tempered just grumpy so maybe this is him after all!

I will leave you with a couple more. 

Lastly, I think we can all relate to this one..................

 

Hope your weekend is going well and wishing you a good week ahead.

Love,

P.S. Today is St. Swithin's Day, my late Grandfather's birthday.  They say if it rains on St. Swithin's Day it will rain for forty days thereafter .......let us hope not!

At It Again!

The weather finally eased up enough for him indoors to finish the painting of the outside of our property.  As you all know, between rain showers, he was able to do all the front and the side.  This last week he finally finished the back. It was a big job but well worth doing.  That should last for a few years.

Now he has commenced decorating the bedroom.  Hang on I hear my long time readers say, did you not do the bedroom just a couple of years ago or less?  Yes, we did.  If you remember I chose the colours pale lilac and mint green and very nice it looked with matching lilac bedding and curtains.

However, through circumstances I have had to spend so much time in there this year.  I became sick and tired of it, thought I would scream if I had to keep looking at those lilac walls.  The green paintwork had discoloured.  It had been washed down a few times but made no difference.  I wish they would make a paint that would actually hold its colour and remain the same as the day you put it on.

Anyway, I happened to mention that I was so fed up with the colours and my lovely him indoors said that he would re-decorate for me.

I decided as it has been such a dismal year, to go for something really bright and sunny.  So the walls will be a colour called Pale Citrus.  Well, three of the walls already are. The paintwork will be Pale Chiffon which is a white with just a hint of yellow, not a brilliant white.  A new bedding set arrived this morning which is..................wait for it.............. chocolate and beige which has some yellow patterning on it.  I am waiting for a new yellow roller blind to arrive. 

This is a complete departure for me.  I have normally gone for quieter colours in the bedroom.  Originally it was pink, then blue, then lilac.  However, I wanted brightness.  I wanted something that lifted your spirits when you walked in there and something sunny to open my eyes to in the mornings.  As you know I have been through a very depressing time and still get very bad days because I still have a long time to wait to see if all my treatment has been effective.  The radiation burns I suffered were very bad which is a worry in itself as that can cause problems farther down the line.  My skin went almost black before it started peeling off.  I still have very dark patches in some places.

When the bedroom is done, I shall put a photo on.  However, you can imagine the mess we are in at the moment.  I keep all my books in there.  The bookcases have had to be emptied out and all the books are stacked in the hall.  It will give me a chance to go through them again.  I have kept some for many many years for sentimental reasons.  They are now so dog-eared and the pages so yellowed, they really should go. The dressing table had to be cleared so all my bottles and my mother's crystal tray and accessories are boxed up.

We simply do not have space to empty out the room completely which is the proper thing to do.  So the bed has to keep being pushed from one side to the other.  All a bit of a nightmare really but there is no alternative.

The worst thing is the smell of paint.  It is horrible sleeping in there are the moment.  If we had a camp bed I would sleep in the lounge but we do not and I am certainly not going to spend money on one just for a couple of days.

I have heard that putting a bowl of salt in the room helps with the smell.  Others say that you should cut an onion in half and place that in the room.  Both are supposed to absorb the smell of paint.  At one time you could buy a product called "Petal" which you tipped into the can of paint and it gave it a more flowery smell.  Apparently this is no longer available.  The assistant at the paint shop told him indoors to try adding a couple of drops of floral disinfectant.  We tried that - useless!  It would need a whole bottle I think and that would probably affect the paint.  The petal stuff used to be oily and I suppose clung to the paint but disinfectant is watery so will not do as good a job.

Do any of you have any tips that you know work?  If so, let us know please.

It has not been all work.  The boys have been over for a couple of days this week and what a joy to see them.  Yesterday Nathan did a picture for me and when I asked him what it was, he said........"a mess."  You can imagine how I laughed.

Here is a photo of my big man with our little man

Nathan is looking so happy because he is carrying a bag of goodies!  Grandy had taken him to the pick-and-mix sweet counter at our local supermarket.  Daniel cannot walk that far yet so he remained here.  But the minute they got back, Nathan, bless him, gave the very first sweet to Daniel and then carefully gave one to each of us before he had his own.

Oh well, back to the grind.  I suppose I had better start sorting some of those books out and making cups of tea for the worker.  I had hoped to sit in the garden today as it was forecast to be nice but it is very overcast with a chilly breeze.   Also I have got to put some lamb in the slow cooker for our evening meal.  Actually it will last us for two days.

Have a nice weekend dear friends and readers.

Always In My Heart

Today is the 6th anniversary.  I will never forget that terrible day when a knock came on our door to inform us that you had left us so suddenly, so unexpectedly, giving us no time to say goodbye.  Years pass but memories do not dim.

Buddy (Keith)

This is how I will always remember you.  You were nineteen when this photograph was taken, you had just met the girl of your dreams, the person you would spend the rest of your life with.  You were always so full of life, so active, so kind and gentle.  A friend to everyone, so liked and loved by those that knew you.

I will never forget all the glorious afternoons with you, rowing on the lake in Valentine's park, fishing for Sticklebacks, stopping off at the sweet shop.  All the times you took me to the pictures, the times we went to the fair and spent hours on the dodgems.  The time I burnt my hand badly and you were the one who cared for me until Mum came home. Seeing you in the Scottish play where you played Banquo's ghost.

When I was so desperately ill at the age of four with Whooping Cough, not expected to live.  You spent hours sitting with me and reading to me.  I still have a book you bought me.  I look at it often and the inscription that you wrote.  I will never forget your humour, the wonderful paintings that you did or the poetry that you penned.

Destiny was to separate us by thousands of miles but I treasured those trips that you made home to see us.  I eagerly awaited the long letters that you wrote me.

Then came that dreadful day. Etched on my mind forever. I could not take it in.  I still find it hard to take in at times.

Buddy, time has moved on.  You now have grandchildren that you never saw.  I now have grandchildren that you never saw.  Life has dealt me a terrible blow this year.  I know you would have been there for me, supporting me, keeping my spirits up, worrying about me. 

The tree we planted in your memory has grown big and strong and the plaque we placed underneath it remains for all to see.  This year I cannot get to the cemetery to lay flowers for you, so I have given you a red rose on here.

Thank you for being the best brother in the world especially when I was so young and you were my protector.  You were my guardian against the bad things in life.  Only you and I know what I mean by this.

It broke my heart the day you left and sailed away as Mum and I stood sobbing on the dockside, but it broke my heart even more the day that knock came at our door.

I have your funeral service on tape.  I could only bear to listen to it once.

It is hard to believe it is six years already, it still seems so fresh.  Part of me went with you that day. My health suffered greatly after that probably due to the shock and most of all the fact that there was no time for goodbyes or to tell you how much I loved you.

I am glad you went quickly and suddenly with no pain.  The pain was left for the rest of us to suffer.  The pain lingers but the wonderful memories endure.

Buddy, I miss you.  I will always miss you. God bless you my dear Brother.

Remembrance is a golden chain
Death tries to break,
but all in vain.
To have, to love, and then to part
Is the greatest sorrow of one's heart.
The years may wipe out many things
But some they wipe out never.
Like memories of those happy times
When we were all together.
~ Author Unknown

 

What the heart has once known,it shall never forget. ~Author unknown

 

Your loving sister,

For Them

It is hard to believe it is two years since that terrible morning when innocent people on their way to work became the victims of terrorist bombs.

People who had chatted to their families over breakfast, maybe had arrangements for the evening, holidays to look forward to.  Ordinary people who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Time inevitably moves on but for the relatives of those who perished, the memory of that awful day will never fade.  Their  lives will never be the same again. They are in my thoughts today.  Also those who were injured and live with the scars both physical and mental.

Sadly, the threat goes on.  Once more we are on security alert although it has been stepped down a degree.  We know it will happen again, somewhere, sometime.  We can only walk tall and refuse to be afraid.  We owe it to those who died, we owe it to ourselves and to our nation.

Let us never forget

The memorial  in the Victoria Embankment Gardens, London.

The memorial plaque in the gardens.

God rest their souls, now safe in the arms of our Lord.

 

My sincere thanks to Donna who made the graphic at the beginning of this entry.  I told her what I wanted and she did a beautiful job.  Thank you my friend.

July???

It is hard to believe it is July.  I lay in bed last night listening to the wind screaming around our property.  It was more like October or November.  Today remains the same with the trees whipping backwards and forward and the sound the same although I can drown that out with the radio.

We have not had a day in the last two weeks when there has not been rain, some of it torrential. Our lawn is like a bog, the grass is getting so long the dogs are practically disappearing into it.  Leo will not go out at all.  This was, we were told, going to be the hottest summer for 30 years!  Well, I suppose there is still time.  The forecast is better for tomorrow and Sunday before more rain sweeps in next week.

It is so annoying not being able to at least sit in the garden.  I have been spending time reading.  Currently "The Life And Times Of The Thunderbolt Kid" by Bill Bryson.  I love his writing, he is always so amusing.  It is about his growing up in Iowa during the 1950's onwards.  I guess really about small town life in the U.S. during those times.  He is very witty and on a couple of occasions I have laughed out loud.

Apart from that, we both have some bug or other.  It is nothing you can define really.  Sneezing a lot and yet not really having a cold, feeling under the weather, stomach cramps.  Nothing you can do much about except wait for it to pass. There is nothing you can really do to treat it.

However, him indoors is not one to be deterred.  He has been trying to get the outside painting finished for three weeks but the endless rain has prevented him.  So, every dry patch we have he runs out and does a little more until the skies open.

I grabbed these two shots this morning.

The first one is taken down the side of our house

The second one is taken at the back where he is painting the outside of the sunlounge

I do not envy him being out in the wind. I can hear buckets being blown around plus other things.  Even the windows are rattling.  Still, he wanted to do it.  I have not pushed him in any way.

He still has to do the garage yet.  Normally he can paint the whole of our property within a week.  By the time he finishes it will be nearly a month.

I am still getting over the affects of radiotherapy. Still have a lot of burning on the breast and it is starting to peel in places.  My doctor said that the six weeks  recovery time given is the minimum but it takes a lot longer in many cases  and my diabetes will probably slow things.  So I did not need this vague bug on top of everything else.  But, as my dear Father used to say, "these things are sent to try us."

I try to occupy my mind with others things and not dwell on it although I do get very down from time to time as you can imagine.

I want to WARN you all.  There is an e-mail going around that looks like an official one from AOL.  I have heard of several who have received it, even Dean has. Luckily, he was suspicious and phoned AOL.  They told him it is absolutely nothing to do with them and thanked him for reporting it.  It looks totally genuine and says something to the affect that a problem has arisen and they are unable to access your account.  If payments are not received then your account will be terminated within 48 hours.  You are asked to provide your bank details again.  THIS IS A SCAM.  Sorry to "shout" but I need to get the point over.  If you receive this e-mail I urge you to report it to AOL and, of course, totally ignore it.  It would be helpful if you could pass this warning on to your friends.  Not everybody reads my journal and many of you will have readers that I do not. 

I hate to think there are people who are going to have their bank accounts cleaned out.

Love,

 

For Our American Friends

Wishing our friends across the big pond a very happy 4th July.

However, you are spending the day, whomever you are with, have a wonderful time.  May your day be filled with happiness.