P.S. To Previous Entry

How lovely!

I would like to thank Sandra & Jim, Jan & Maurice, Jean, Debbie, Jeannette and Christine for the lovely Birthday cards that arrived through my door and also thank Ally, Lynne, Linda, Kathy Joan ,Jules and Helen for the pretty e-cards.  You have certainly brightened my morning.

I received a super present from Mike.  A new monitor  - my old one was pretty good but did not match the computer.  This one is also bigger and I feel like I am sitting in front of a giant cinema screen.  Mike knew I would like one and has been saving his pennies. Bless him, I have the best husband in the world.

Here are some of the cards, the rest are dotted around the room

Sandra sent me a new little companion.  His name is Beano

Looks like this is going to start a whole new collection. Thank you Sandra, he is adorable.

Well, the family will be coming over later to help me celebrate my birthday.   I am looking forward to that because Birthdays these days make me feel so old!  I am very blessed by a wonderful family and such very good friends.

Thank you all once again and have a great weekend everyone.

P.S.  If  you have not seen the previous entry, please do go and see the lovely graphic Kath made for me and visit her journal to see the poem she also wrote for me.  Thank you.

Birthday Surprise!!

What a wonderful surprise I had checking my computer before I headed off to bed.  A dear journal friend has made a framed  graphic photo of me.  She did it without my knowing.  I feel so special and so honoured that Kath has done this.

Not only has she made this graphic, she has also written a poem for me for my Birthday.  So please go over and have a look and read her rhyme

KATH

It is certainly sending me to bed with a smile on my face. I have a present waiting from Sandra of Sandra's Scribbles and a nice little pile of cards.  I shall be spending the day with the family but, no doubt, I shall be on my trusty computer sometime during the day or evening.

This gesture by a journal friend has really touched my heart.  Thank you Kath, you are a star.

Birdhouse

Hello friends

As you know I purchased a new bird feeder last week.  I liked it so much I decided to go for the matching bird house, more like a miniature dovecote where birds can shelter and nest if they wish.  It has two floors and is very attractive.  Thought that you might like to see it

It has openings all around it so there would be no fighting to get in.  It would be wonderful if a little family was raised in there next year.  Here is a snap of the birdhouse and feeder together.  They are not as close as they look in the picture

We think they look elegant and add something a little different to the garden.

Him indoors took a couple of autumn type shots, the first one is of berries on the Rowan tree we have in the back and the other is apples on our miniature tree

This was taken looking upwards. The berries are all in a ring at the top, like a crown.

I am very pleased with the Hibiscus.  I bought it at the beginning of summer.  It was just a bare-rooted stick. An outdoor variety that will tolerate the British climate.  The instructions said that it would do very little this year but should at least have some leaves on it.  Well, they obviously did not tell the plant that.  I put it in a very large pot, gave it good compost, plenty of water and it has around a dozen flowers on it.

Nathan had his first visit to nursery school this morning. Becky had to stay with him, of course, and he kept checking to see if she was still there.  He played with the sand and then made friends with a little girl and went into the garden there.  At first it will be just the once a week but when he gets used to it, he will go twice and Becky will leave him.  They grow so fast but I am glad that he enjoyed it and it does give Becky some special time with Daniel.

Hope alerts are working again now. I have been away from journalling and commenting for a couple of days because I have been working on a project which you will get to see in the near future.  Take care everyone.

Anniversary and Answering Your Questions- Part Two

HAPPY 13TH ANNIVERSARY TO BECKY AND DEAN!

Our wonderful daughter and son-in-law are celebrating thirteen years of happy marriage today.  Dad and I wish you both  a wonderful day and countless happy years ahead.  We love you!

Now, on to answering the remainder of your questions.

Randlprysock asks: Have you ever been able to travel to visit the states or any other countries abroad and did you like your visit and where did you go? She also asks if I would prefer to see Charles become the next king or one of his sons?

As I answered in a previous question, no, I have never been to America. I have been on holiday to Switzerland and loved my stay in Interlaken and all the excursions I made, particularly my trip to the top of the Jungfrau. Switzerland is a beautiful country. I spent several days in France and saw many of the WW1 and WW2 cemeteries which was truly heartbreaking and the memory of those thousands of graves has remained with me. I have also had two holidays in Spain and really loved it but that was in the days before all the huge new hotels were built and everything was geared totally to tourism. We stayed in a small fishing village on the Costa Brava and I have great memories. I would not like to go back and see how much it has all changed and become commercialised.

My own views on Charles becoming King? I think that because of all that went on in his “marriage” all the scandal about his mistress who is now his wife and the fact he is getting on in years, I personally would like to see the Queen reign all her life and then the crown pass directly to Prince William. I think the monarchy needs a younger approach these days with a King who is more in tune with his people and as William is so like his late mother, I think he would be a good monarch.

BobandKate asks: Did you ever have long hair in the past and if so why did you cut it?

My hair never grew past shoulder length. Do not ask me why. My hair has always been thick and always grown extremely fast but it stubbornly refused to grow longer than that. I would have loved to have really long hair reaching down my back. My mother got tired of combing out all the tangles so took me to have it cut short during most of my school years. Later on I wore it shoulder length and had it permed. I had the best of both worlds wearing it either down or pinned up. However, as I got older and the aches and pains set in, I could no longer cope with all the perming, having to put rollers in my hair several times during the week and all the fuss that goes with hair styling. So, one day I asked my hairdresser to cut it all off, as short as possible. In fact I asked that she used clippers like they do on men. I have never regretted it. It takes no maintenance at all now. Just wash it every day when I am in the shower and it is done. I have also stopped colouring and I am just growing old gracefully and naturally.

Astoriasand asks: If you were able to get out more, where would you love to go on a regular basis and who with?

As in a previous answer, I would love to take regular walks on the beach or in the countryside and also visit many of the historic places that I still wish to see. I would want to be with my beloved Mike. Another thing I would like to do is attend night school and do a course in PSP and learn how to make graphics.

Z7snowflake asks: Where do you get your pretty graphics? Do you make them?

As above, no I do not make graphics but I greatly admire the talents of those that do. Some I collect from the web, others are made for me by people like Donna and Angel and I also belong to a graphics group where we exchange graphics. Sometimes friends just send me graphics knowing I will like them.

 

Colleen and Chris have both asked this question: Do you and Mike have a special song, maybe one you danced to at your wedding or one that is special for you both?

No, Mike and I do not have a special song. We did have a DJ at our wedding but he just played his own selection and he never asked us if we wanted something special to dance to. Mike and I both like romantic country and western songs though but we have no particular favourite.

Chris also asks: What type of camera do you have?

Mike and I each have a digital camera. Mine was originally his and it is a Nikon Coolpix 2000. I took his camera when I bought him a new camera last year for Christmas. His is a Fuji FinePix S7000. So sometimes I take the photos but often he does. Glad you think the pictures are good.

 

jmoqueen  asks: What book have you read that you feel changed your life and how?

There are two books that I can say changed my life. The first is “Self Help For Your Nerves” by Claire Weekes. When I was in my twenties I used to suffer appalling panic attacks many times per day, so bad that I was frightened to put the light out at night or be left on my own. Drugs did little to help. Then my parents bought me this book. I learned that the more you fight against panic attacks, the more you hang on to yourself, the worse they become. The secret is to let them do their worst, they will reach a pitch beyond which they will not go and then subside. By trying to stop them, by tensing yourself against them , you worsen them - “fear breeds fear”. I learned to see them through, to accept them, however unpleasant and understand that I would come out the other side. I still have panic attacks from time to time. I can cope with them now.  They are still unpleasant but no longer scare me as they used to years ago.  I still have and treasure that book. I have read it over and over and it has stood me in good stead.

The second would be The Bible. I did not have a particularly happy childhood either at home or at school where I was bullied. I found my solace in the church by joining the Girl Guides (Girl Scouts), joining the church choir, the church drama group. I became a Sunday school teacher and loved teaching the little ones. I was very involved in the church. I found that my faith helped me through many a difficulty and many an unhappy time. I know that my faith helps me to this very day. It has been tried and tested many times, sometimes I have been tempted to cast it aside but it is so firmly part of me, I was never, thankfully, able to do that.

My faith is still helping me through hard times.

Wldconnie asks: As a grandmother, how do you handle things going on with the way your grandchildren are brought up if you do not agree with it? Do you keep quiet or say something?

I have no qualms with the way my Grandchildren are being brought up. Becky and Dean are excellent parents who love their boys very much and do everything they can for them. From time to time I have had concerns about little issues but I have always spoken up and aired my views or worries. My daughter has always taken what I have said in a a good way. She knows that if I do raise concerns it is only because I love the boys so much. We have a good mother/daughter relationship and there is practically nothing we cannot discuss with each other. Yes, I would always say something should there be a problem.

Stevie asks: If you could be anyone and go back in time, where would you go, who would you be and why?

I found this very hard. I mean how can you pick one period of history or one person from all those centuries?  I have always been fascinated by Egyptian history and mythology, the Elizabethan era and Victorian times. I  much admire strong women so maybe Queen Elizabeth the first or Florence Nightingale. Then on the other hand I so admire Charles Dickens, the wonderful characters that he brought to life and the names he gave them. I really do not know. I suppose that it would be nice to make such an impact on the world that you were remembered centuries after your death. To invent something, to find a cure for a disease, to write a great piece of music to pen wonderful books or paint something beautiful on canvas. Stevie, there are just so many people I admire I simply cannot choose, one person, one place or one time.

Finally, Monae asks two questions: What is the one thing you would like people to know about you and with all the talk of terrorism on the news how is your life affected by it and is your area affected by terrorism?

Err, well people know so much about me from my pet hates and these two postings on answering questions, I cannot think of anything. Oh yes, I am five feet, five inches tall but my weight is a state secret.

We are all affected by terrorism these days. I think we all worry about it. The world has changed and will never be quite the same again. We have had no terror scares in our area. However, it does no good to live in fear. If you do, the terrorists win and achieve part of their aim which is to demoralise us. We can only live our lives to the best of our ability, pray for peace in a better world and strive for better understanding between our different nations and religions.

Well, folks, there you go.  You have probably learned more about me than you knew before.  I have enjoyed the questions very much, got me really thinking.  Maybe I learned something more about myself.  I hope you have enjoyed reading my answers and that I have not left anybody out.  Thanks for joining in and making it so worthwhile.

Have a great week my friends.

 

 

Special Extra Entry - Re Journal Awards

A second posting from me today, but I just had to do this one as soon as possible to spread the word.

Vivian has posted  a poll to ask people if they want Journal awards to go ahead this year.  Apparently someone is volunteering to run them.  At the moment, the majority seem to be in favour of the awards.  To vote please visit Vivian to read all about it and how it works. Everyone has the chance to participate no matter if they have been journalling a long time or have just begun  recently. It is also a good way to get to know journals you might otherwise miss. 

Vivian

Donna has already made a superb graphic for the awards as you can see.  She is happy for you to snag.  This is her link:

Donna

Please do not forget for those of you who have not yet seen my other posting today, I have started answering all your questions.  You never know, yours might just be there.  I will finish the others off in my next posting.

 

Answering Your Questions - Part One

 

Glad you liked our new bird feeder yesterday. What a change in the weather today, from hot and sunny to gloomy, chilly and a strong wind.  You just never know what Mother Nature has in store.

Well, it is time to start answering your questions.  I cannot do it all in one entry otherwise it would end up as long as "War and Peace".  I am enjoying them, so thank you.  Here we go then:

Lisa asks : Do you think your health care system is better than here in America and do you think you would have a better standard of living here in America?

This is difficult. Our health care systems are totally different. Ours, of course, is “free” but that can mean long waiting lists for consultations and operations. However, everyone is entitled to free treatment under our National Health Service. In America you have to take out health insurance which can be costly. On the plus side that probably means you can be seen very quickly but it also means that those on low incomes cannot afford the insurance which must be a terrible worry.

So I suppose, it is swings and roundabouts. We are used to our system and it would be hard to change but whether American health care is actually better, I cannot say. As to the standard of living, I have no idea how American salaries compare with British ones. I know that housing is cheaper in the States, or rather you can get more for your money and food is also cheaper. I can only imagine that if you had a reasonably good job, yes the standard of living would be better in the U.S.

Mary asks: What American City would you like to visit and on a deeper level how do you deal with hurts and bitterness?

Had I been able to come to America, there are so many cities I would love to have visited. New York, of course -that would be a must. Also to go to Memphis and see Graceland. I always had a strong desire to go to New Orleans, so badly devastated by Katrina. New Orleans appealed to me for the music, the buildings, the food and all the hauntings. But I truly cannot pick one city. Mike and I always had a dream and that was to hire a camper and travel across America stopping wherever we wanted and taking in as much as we could, including cowboy country. The US is an amazing pace with so many different things to see. So, I truly cannot pick just one city.

As for hurt and bitterness, I am a person who gets hurt very easily and have suffered a lot of it during my lifetime. However, I have always tried not to be bitter. Bitterness does not solve anything, it just eats away at you. I cannot change my personality and I have always been ultra-sensitive. However, now I think if people hurt me or destroy our relationship, the loss is theirs. I also believe that, as my mother used to say, “God pays debts without money” and that if people do bad or spiteful things it only comes back to them in the end. To actually deal with hurt I usually have a very long, hard cry and then try and let it go and forget about it.

Brodietrish asks: If you could live anywhere you wanted where would it be?

Well, I am proud to be British and so I would not want to reside outside the UK. However, I would like to live somewhere with much more countryside, somewhere I could look out of my windows and see hills or woodland, maybe a river - that would be nice. So I think my choice would be either Wales or the Exmoor region of Somerset. Or my other choice would be somewhere looking over the sea.

Joyce asks: what is your all-time favourite romantic movie?

This is easy. For me no romantic film has ever compared with “Wuthering Heights” starring Merle Oberon and Laurence Olivier. I have watched that film countless times. I always cry although I know it so well. Superb.

Jan asks: When IS your birthday and what is your earliest memory?

My birthday is the 9th September, Jan. The ninth day of the ninth month so, not long to go now. My earliest memory is being in my pram and hurtling down a hill out of control. My “dear” brother who never wanted another baby in the house decided to let the brakes off my pram and see it roll. It gathered great speed on its downhill flight but luckily a person grabbed the pram before it came to the bottom and overturned.

Laura asks: What do you really think of the Royal family, especially Diana?

I have no particularly strong views on the Royal family although I wish the Queen had smiled a lot more throughout her reign like the Queen Mother used to. I like the fact that we are a monarchy and we have lots of tradition and ceremonial. It does cost a deal of money but also brings a lot of tourists into the country. It has also prevented Tony Blair from becoming the president I feel he would loved to have been! As for Diana, I loved her. She was not without her faults but I feel she was very badly used by the Royal family, particularly Charles who never loved her from the very beginning, I had my doubts right from the start when I saw their engagement interview when he said “love, whatever that means”.  He obviously had no love for her. She was purely breeding stock and nothing else. Charles should have realized what a treasure he had in her and what a wonderful Queen she would have made, popular, beautiful, caring and doing good works.

Jae asks: If you had one entire day, just for yourself, to do anything you wanted, what would you do?

I found this one hard because now Mike is retired we can do what we like everyday within reason. But I think it would be having a facial, nails done, legs waxed, pedicure, then go shopping for absolutely anything that I wanted followed by a lovely lunch in somewhere posh in London like the Ritz or the Savoy. That would be followed by a drive out to the coast and a long walk along a quiet beach, paddling in the water, investigating rock pools, throwing toys for the dogs and then finishing the day up with a lovely dinner in a very old country pub followed by a couple of drinks and a romantic drive home. That would be luxury and pampering to me. My other choice would be a day spent with my Grandsons.

Caff asks: Is being a granny/grandma/nanny better than being a mum?

Well, being a granny - Nanjay in my case, means that you can hand them back when you are tired and you have had enough. It means no sleepless nights with them crying or sitting up with them when they are sick. On the other hand being a nanny means that you are a lot older, have aches and pains and quite often other health issues and, at times, it does make you feel old. Sometimes you long to be young again, sometimes you wish they were YOUR children. You wonder where the years have flown. But on the whole being either is equally wonderful. So, being a Grandmother only brings another dimension to your life, it is yet another phase on  life's journey and it does bring great happiness.

Mandy asks: What does being happy mean to you and how do you cope with everyday living and the stress?

Being happy to me means having no really bad health issues, having no pressing money worries, having a roof over my head and food in my stomach, having my wonderful family around me. As for everyday living and stress - well, I just get on with it, we all have to. I am not good at handling stress but I have Mike and my family to support me and I count myself blessed because not everyone is lucky enough to have family around them. I turn to music often when I am really stressed, usually light classical in that instance and I lie on my bed and listen to it and whilst listening I count my blessings and make mental notes to myself that stress does nothing but make you ill, and so I try and programme positive thoughts instead.  I often fall asleep during these times and then awake feeling more able to cope.

Cindy asks:  If you were given one chance to wish for anything you wanted, what would it be?

Perfect health and to live to 100 years so that I could see my Grandsons married with families of their own.

**************************************************

This week I have had two lovely postcards, one from Linda showing Skagway, Alaska and one from Lisa with a beautiful red Cardinal on the front.  Thank you both so much.

I shall answer the rest of your questions in my next posting.  I hope I will not leave anyone out, if I do please remind me. Take care everyone.

Something New In The Garden

Hello my friends,  I shall be answering your questions in my next entry when I have had the time to print them off and go through them.  From what I have seen there are some quite interesting ones and I might well have to run to two entries to answer them all.

In the meantime I thought you might like to see a new bird feeder that I purchased and which arrived today.  It looks so nice out in the garden and I am so impressed with it I am going to order the matching birdhouse which is like a miniature dovecote where birds can either shelter or even nest should they so wish. 

Of course, no bird has actually used it yet.  They are creatures of habit and do not like change.  It will only take one brave bird to try it and soon it will be smothered.  I do not think they were best pleased that we moved our original feeder over to put the new one just where we wanted it.

It took them several hours to even use the old one.  They sat in the trees and shrubs looking very suspicious (if birds can) but a short time ago they started to come down again as you will see.

Anyway, here is our new acquisition:-

And, finally, here are some of our feathered friends.  At least the pigeons cannot get on these feeders.

Now I am going to print off your questions and after I have sorted out the evening meal and eaten, I shall type up my answers ready for my next post.  If anybody still wants to add a question, there is still time so feel free.

Happy weekend everybody.