I'd like to wish everyone reading this a very happy new year's eve
and a healthy, happy, stress-free, fun-filled 2012.
With love from me xx
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Sunday, 9 October 2011
Nothing so special as kith and kin...
Had a really lovely family day for our son's birthday. Our son and his fianceD came and so did our daughter, her partnerM and the three grandchildren and we all went out to our favourite Italian restaurant for a late lunch. Then when totally fed and watered we came home for tea and cake, yummy birthday cake specially made by fianceD's sister, a rich chocolate cake with double chocolate fondant icing and she'd also made some yummy cup cakes with a sort of pineapple cheesecake type icing on the top.
After all that sugar the children got a bit carried away with a throwing toys around the room and at people type game which then progressed into a chasing each other game including uncle who did most of the chasing and children who did most of the screaming and giggling. Eventually they calmed enough to actually play a good game of Kubb in the garden but from my safe sofa I did see them all being chased again by uncle who was holding the water squirting bottle!
And now...son and fianceD have just left, the grandaughters are on the computers upstairs, O is quietly playing and eating a sandwich and us four adults are sitting about looking exhausted!
.
After all that sugar the children got a bit carried away with a throwing toys around the room and at people type game which then progressed into a chasing each other game including uncle who did most of the chasing and children who did most of the screaming and giggling. Eventually they calmed enough to actually play a good game of Kubb in the garden but from my safe sofa I did see them all being chased again by uncle who was holding the water squirting bottle!
And now...son and fianceD have just left, the grandaughters are on the computers upstairs, O is quietly playing and eating a sandwich and us four adults are sitting about looking exhausted!
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Friday, 7 October 2011
Sitting on the see-saw...
With the good weather it has been easy to keep up with the laundry.....but you wouldn't believe the huge pile of ironing that's waiting!
Looks like all 1,000 of the chamomile seeds I'd planted have germinated.....but don't really have the time/energy/compost for all the pricking out!
The "shall we have solar panels" debate is on again - a see-saw ride all of its own!
If you have solar panels and have any advice please let me know.
Booked an appointment with a new nail technician now my previous one has given up. Always a struggle to find a good one so fingers crossed.
Caught up with some recorded TV on Tuesday but only because my usual night out with friends got cancelled.
I got two new members to join our art group a month ago, but they didn't come back again last night.
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Looks like all 1,000 of the chamomile seeds I'd planted have germinated.....but don't really have the time/energy/compost for all the pricking out!
The "shall we have solar panels" debate is on again - a see-saw ride all of its own!
If you have solar panels and have any advice please let me know.
Booked an appointment with a new nail technician now my previous one has given up. Always a struggle to find a good one so fingers crossed.
Caught up with some recorded TV on Tuesday but only because my usual night out with friends got cancelled.
I got two new members to join our art group a month ago, but they didn't come back again last night.
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Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Now th-air's a good name....
Just as a quick follow up to our holiday, today we had our Daughter, M and the children here for lunch and we gave the children the air-plants each in a little pot and some sweets and Daughter and M had some Belgian chocolates. The children loved the plants and after customising each round pot with felt tip faces they named them Airdward, Lucair and Airdwina, very clever and so cute :o)
I did notice that the chocolates didn't last long either as they all dived into the small bag.
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I did notice that the chocolates didn't last long either as they all dived into the small bag.
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The coach trip adventure....
Friday 30th September - Monday 4th October
OK before you get smart and point out that this is my fourth holiday this year, in my defense I will say that two of them have only been three nights away from home and the other two were only a week each so put those together and it's a total of a mere 20 nights.....so now you actually feel sorry for me don't you!
Hubby and I were away with two other couples, M&P and T&F. We were taking a coach trip for three nights in Lille and included a full day trip into Bruges.
We had the usual early morning pick up and a couple of changes of feeder coaches then onto our final coach at Dover then onto the ferry and off at Calais and to our hotel, which was on the outskirts of Lille but thankfully near the Metro. Our driver reminded us of a local performer we often see called 'Hat-Man' so that became his nick-name even though he never wore a hat. Our tour guide was a lady who was possibly a bit older than us and obviously very experienced in French ways and the ways of Lille in particular and she had lots of information to give us over the coach speaker....although she used 'ermmmm' as very frequent punctuation so I kept listening for that and not taking in the info!
We decided not to sign up for the additional trip into Ghent, not only because it was quite expensive but also because Hubby and F especially were hating all the hours on the coach. That turned out to be a lucky decision for M as she was really unwell on that morning so wouldn't have done well on the coach, at least her and P could spend the morning in the hotel and meet the four of us in Lille later when she was feeling better. We did a lot of walking around seeing the buildings from outside and inside if they were shops or restaurants. The weather for this time of year was amazing, 25/27 degrees C, unbelievable! I bought three air-plants for my children as it's so hard to find small gifts for them, especially as this is our fourth holiday (oops promised myself I wouldn't mention that again).
Unfortunately our hotel didn't serve any food all weekend, although they advertised a full menu, so we had to train into Lille each night, but we made good use of the hotel bar and stayed until 1am on the first night and not much earlier the two following nights! In Lille we went looking for the famous military citidel/castle but that was closed too so T and I had to take photos through a gap in the huge wooden doors! Our last morning, Monday, was free time in Lille and it also transpired that most of the shops don't open till late on Mondays! Our day in Bruges was good, with lots of Belgian chocolate to buy and waffles to eat!
I know we laughed a lot but right now I can't remember anything specific we were laughing about. Over all P made a good job of taking care of the euros-kitty and I was ticket monitor on the Metro. The down side was Hubby ended up in pain when his sciatica flared up and P has hip pain and the rest of us stiffened up each time we spent a while on the coach, so M said to me today that even though people think that coach trips are for old people perhaps they really need fit people....I said that I thought coach trips MADE their customers into old people!
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OK before you get smart and point out that this is my fourth holiday this year, in my defense I will say that two of them have only been three nights away from home and the other two were only a week each so put those together and it's a total of a mere 20 nights.....so now you actually feel sorry for me don't you!
Hubby and I were away with two other couples, M&P and T&F. We were taking a coach trip for three nights in Lille and included a full day trip into Bruges.
We had the usual early morning pick up and a couple of changes of feeder coaches then onto our final coach at Dover then onto the ferry and off at Calais and to our hotel, which was on the outskirts of Lille but thankfully near the Metro. Our driver reminded us of a local performer we often see called 'Hat-Man' so that became his nick-name even though he never wore a hat. Our tour guide was a lady who was possibly a bit older than us and obviously very experienced in French ways and the ways of Lille in particular and she had lots of information to give us over the coach speaker....although she used 'ermmmm' as very frequent punctuation so I kept listening for that and not taking in the info!
We decided not to sign up for the additional trip into Ghent, not only because it was quite expensive but also because Hubby and F especially were hating all the hours on the coach. That turned out to be a lucky decision for M as she was really unwell on that morning so wouldn't have done well on the coach, at least her and P could spend the morning in the hotel and meet the four of us in Lille later when she was feeling better. We did a lot of walking around seeing the buildings from outside and inside if they were shops or restaurants. The weather for this time of year was amazing, 25/27 degrees C, unbelievable! I bought three air-plants for my children as it's so hard to find small gifts for them, especially as this is our fourth holiday (oops promised myself I wouldn't mention that again).
Unfortunately our hotel didn't serve any food all weekend, although they advertised a full menu, so we had to train into Lille each night, but we made good use of the hotel bar and stayed until 1am on the first night and not much earlier the two following nights! In Lille we went looking for the famous military citidel/castle but that was closed too so T and I had to take photos through a gap in the huge wooden doors! Our last morning, Monday, was free time in Lille and it also transpired that most of the shops don't open till late on Mondays! Our day in Bruges was good, with lots of Belgian chocolate to buy and waffles to eat!
I know we laughed a lot but right now I can't remember anything specific we were laughing about. Over all P made a good job of taking care of the euros-kitty and I was ticket monitor on the Metro. The down side was Hubby ended up in pain when his sciatica flared up and P has hip pain and the rest of us stiffened up each time we spent a while on the coach, so M said to me today that even though people think that coach trips are for old people perhaps they really need fit people....I said that I thought coach trips MADE their customers into old people!
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Wednesday, 28 September 2011
My way (#2)...
Over the years I seem to have developed some very definite ways of doing things and usually it's for a very good reason, so I thought I'd share. What's your way?
When I open a bag of frozen food, peas or cocktail sausages or whatever, I never tear or break it open or even cut the corner, I always cut right across the top then use this strip to tie round the bag when putting the remains back into the freezer...got fed up holding wet defrosting food bags while rummaging in drawers for those blessed bag clips that never stayed shut anyway!
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When I open a bag of frozen food, peas or cocktail sausages or whatever, I never tear or break it open or even cut the corner, I always cut right across the top then use this strip to tie round the bag when putting the remains back into the freezer...got fed up holding wet defrosting food bags while rummaging in drawers for those blessed bag clips that never stayed shut anyway!
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Not staying long....
Had a lovely day yesterday seeing all my family, even though they were not staying long!
When I first came down there was already a text message inviting me to join Daughter and O for shoe shopping, So I was collected at 9:30am driven into town and also took M in for his meeting. O really wanted purple boots and we didn't hold out much hope but he came home a very happy little boy as he got what he wanted and in only the second shop. We had to go back into the shopping centre for O to have rides on the cars in there then off for coffee and cake (I didn't have cake actually had some will power instead). We didn't stay there long but long enough for M to meet us there and we all came home together.
M got dropped off then the rest of us were back to mine for lunch. They couldn't stay long as Daughter needed to pick up the girls from their friends after a sleepover, so a quick sandwich and O had a quick game on the wii and they were off.
Mid-afternoon Daughter was back with the three children as she needed to empty some of her car into our house to make room for giving people a lift tomorrow (which in fact is now today) for a day out.....but they couldn't stay long as M would have dinner ready for them. But long enough to empty the biscuit tin and play a game or two of Kubb, plus some grumpy arguments between the girls as they were so overtired and grumpy horridness seems easier when your tired than anything else. They also managed to play ball and frisbee and O had the quickest bath ever......and then they were gone again!
Early evening and we had a lovely visit from our Son. We don't get to see him often as he lives just over 200 miles away. He is really busy so got to us later than planned and couldn't stay long as he has (had) a very early start! So Son and Hubby went out for meal, but unfortunately I had other plans so couldn't join them. Daughter joined them though, once her children were in bed she joined them for dessert in the pub. She couldn't stay long though as she'd left M in charge.
Meanwhile I was in another pub with FriendH who said she could stay long as her teenage daughter was home alone and she'd promised not to be late.
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When I first came down there was already a text message inviting me to join Daughter and O for shoe shopping, So I was collected at 9:30am driven into town and also took M in for his meeting. O really wanted purple boots and we didn't hold out much hope but he came home a very happy little boy as he got what he wanted and in only the second shop. We had to go back into the shopping centre for O to have rides on the cars in there then off for coffee and cake (I didn't have cake actually had some will power instead). We didn't stay there long but long enough for M to meet us there and we all came home together.
M got dropped off then the rest of us were back to mine for lunch. They couldn't stay long as Daughter needed to pick up the girls from their friends after a sleepover, so a quick sandwich and O had a quick game on the wii and they were off.
Mid-afternoon Daughter was back with the three children as she needed to empty some of her car into our house to make room for giving people a lift tomorrow (which in fact is now today) for a day out.....but they couldn't stay long as M would have dinner ready for them. But long enough to empty the biscuit tin and play a game or two of Kubb, plus some grumpy arguments between the girls as they were so overtired and grumpy horridness seems easier when your tired than anything else. They also managed to play ball and frisbee and O had the quickest bath ever......and then they were gone again!
Early evening and we had a lovely visit from our Son. We don't get to see him often as he lives just over 200 miles away. He is really busy so got to us later than planned and couldn't stay long as he has (had) a very early start! So Son and Hubby went out for meal, but unfortunately I had other plans so couldn't join them. Daughter joined them though, once her children were in bed she joined them for dessert in the pub. She couldn't stay long though as she'd left M in charge.
Meanwhile I was in another pub with FriendH who said she could stay long as her teenage daughter was home alone and she'd promised not to be late.
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Saturday, 24 September 2011
My way (#1)....
Over the years I seem to have developed some very definite ways of doing things and usually it's for a very good reason, so I thought I'd share.
Washing on the line..
* Garments need to be inside out to save the sun's bleaching from spoiling the right side.
* Pegged under the armpits so you don't get those horrid stretched marks on the hem or shoulders.
* Pants and boxers only need one corner peg so they hang discreetly.
* Tights can be attached to the line by the waist but also add a peg to each toe for weight to save them blowing over the line and getting tangled.
* Colour coordinating your pegs to garments is (I've been told) going over the top!
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Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Typed on behalf of....
Hello I'm O, I'm only 2.5 years old but I know how to have fun. I knew I was going to spend the day with my Grandma and Granddad today as mum was really busy teaching music which I like but I do sometimes get in the way and then she was off for a long drive which I don't really like anyway. I asked if they could come and collect me instead of being dropped off and whoopee Grandma came to my house and I got to ride in her car for the first time.
As we were getting out of the car Granddad arrived on his new motorbike and I got to sit on it before anyone else......oh I really want a motorbike of my own! So to satisfy my need I had a ride round on my little bike with stabilisers instead (not the same though).
I'd taken with my recipe card for apple crumble which I really wanted to make, so that's what we did first. I weighed out the flour and butter and made them look like crumbs, and also made a bit of a mess but think most of it stayed in the bowl. Then after Grandma peeled and cut out the cores I chopped all the apples, yes all by myself. Grandma said "mind you don't chop your hand off" and I just said "silly" and giggled. Granddad opened a tin of peaches to add because there wasn't enough apple as I'd eaten lots. After I put the crumble on top I asked Grandma to put it in the oven as it's too hot for me but I did get to play with all her oven gloves for ages.
I put some music on in the lounge, of course I know how to put a cd on, then me and Grandma went dancing round the lounge wearing oven gloves, not sure why Granddad was laughing we were really cool.
Outside then to water the plants with the squirty bottle, but unfortunately did a little squirt of my own so had to go in to change my trousers! When it was time for lunch I asked to sit on the worktop, just for a change, and I ate most of my sandwiches up there - Granddad's ham was the best but I ate some of the eggy one too. Then it was time for the crumble and I got out the ice-cream to have with it just like the picture on my recipe card, it was really nice even if I say so myself!
Full up from lunch but Granddad said it was time to move some plants, he'd had 51 little trees delivered and we had to put them round the fence line where they are going to be planted. Yes 51 pots to move and I can only just about carry one at a time, what were they expecting? Well while Grandma and Granddad were getting hot I felt a bit chilly so asked Grandma to get down the basket with hats and gloves in so I could have a good sort out. I handed Granddad a set of cap scarf and his old bike gloves and he put them on, back inside and out again with a set for Grandma and she put them on too, and finally a set for me (kept the softest scarf for me obviously) and we all carried on working much better dressed than before.
When that job was done and the old people came in for yet another cup of tea they looked tired but I really needed to get another project underway, so out came the play-doh. Grandma and I had a great time with that, she's really good and making the shapes I asked for even when I kept changing my mind and doing all the squeezing for the growing hair on the people bit (too hard for me) so I can cut it all off and make her do it again. After a long time I'd had enough and said she could put it all away for me as I'd much better games to play with Granddad on his computer.
OK I have to admit to feeling a bit tired by now and Grandma had put the TV on my favourite channel so after rummaging through the biscuit tin and declaring "only more creams - Granddad buy different ones" I did take one and sat for a while but actually sitting inside my makeshift tent was much better so sat for a while longer. I'd got really into a good episode of Rastamouse when Grandma had dinner ready so she put the TV on in the dinning room and I sat with her for a TV dinner. Then just as I was starting some more of my lovely crumble mum came to get me, but I can always rely on her to stay for a cup of tea (they do drink lots of it) so we didn't have to rush off home even though daddy phoned to see where we were!
I've had such a lovely day but I'm so ready for my bed now. So thank you Grandma for blogging this as I couldn't have concentrated any longer to do it myself.
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As we were getting out of the car Granddad arrived on his new motorbike and I got to sit on it before anyone else......oh I really want a motorbike of my own! So to satisfy my need I had a ride round on my little bike with stabilisers instead (not the same though).
I'd taken with my recipe card for apple crumble which I really wanted to make, so that's what we did first. I weighed out the flour and butter and made them look like crumbs, and also made a bit of a mess but think most of it stayed in the bowl. Then after Grandma peeled and cut out the cores I chopped all the apples, yes all by myself. Grandma said "mind you don't chop your hand off" and I just said "silly" and giggled. Granddad opened a tin of peaches to add because there wasn't enough apple as I'd eaten lots. After I put the crumble on top I asked Grandma to put it in the oven as it's too hot for me but I did get to play with all her oven gloves for ages.
I put some music on in the lounge, of course I know how to put a cd on, then me and Grandma went dancing round the lounge wearing oven gloves, not sure why Granddad was laughing we were really cool.
Outside then to water the plants with the squirty bottle, but unfortunately did a little squirt of my own so had to go in to change my trousers! When it was time for lunch I asked to sit on the worktop, just for a change, and I ate most of my sandwiches up there - Granddad's ham was the best but I ate some of the eggy one too. Then it was time for the crumble and I got out the ice-cream to have with it just like the picture on my recipe card, it was really nice even if I say so myself!
Full up from lunch but Granddad said it was time to move some plants, he'd had 51 little trees delivered and we had to put them round the fence line where they are going to be planted. Yes 51 pots to move and I can only just about carry one at a time, what were they expecting? Well while Grandma and Granddad were getting hot I felt a bit chilly so asked Grandma to get down the basket with hats and gloves in so I could have a good sort out. I handed Granddad a set of cap scarf and his old bike gloves and he put them on, back inside and out again with a set for Grandma and she put them on too, and finally a set for me (kept the softest scarf for me obviously) and we all carried on working much better dressed than before.
When that job was done and the old people came in for yet another cup of tea they looked tired but I really needed to get another project underway, so out came the play-doh. Grandma and I had a great time with that, she's really good and making the shapes I asked for even when I kept changing my mind and doing all the squeezing for the growing hair on the people bit (too hard for me) so I can cut it all off and make her do it again. After a long time I'd had enough and said she could put it all away for me as I'd much better games to play with Granddad on his computer.
OK I have to admit to feeling a bit tired by now and Grandma had put the TV on my favourite channel so after rummaging through the biscuit tin and declaring "only more creams - Granddad buy different ones" I did take one and sat for a while but actually sitting inside my makeshift tent was much better so sat for a while longer. I'd got really into a good episode of Rastamouse when Grandma had dinner ready so she put the TV on in the dinning room and I sat with her for a TV dinner. Then just as I was starting some more of my lovely crumble mum came to get me, but I can always rely on her to stay for a cup of tea (they do drink lots of it) so we didn't have to rush off home even though daddy phoned to see where we were!
I've had such a lovely day but I'm so ready for my bed now. So thank you Grandma for blogging this as I couldn't have concentrated any longer to do it myself.
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Thursday, 15 September 2011
Southampton holiday....
Monday 12th - Thursday 15th September
Hubby and I had a short break with SisterM and Brother-in-lawA. We had been told about a luxury B&B in Southampton by SisterP as she had seen it on a TV program. Setting off mid-morning and stopping for a lovely pub lunch we arrived at the huge security gated property and was greeted at the door by the host who showed us our rooms and around the rest of the house too.
M&A had said we should have the Executive Suite (as it would take her too long to get to the loo in the night) which had a huge bedroom with eight windows in a bay and window seat cushions. The lights and radio etc were all on hand held remote control and a small wall panel, the TV was inside a cupboard and the remote raised and lowered it (although very squeakily) and there was a balcony with a river view in the distance. Through the large dressing room was the bathroom with double sinks, large walk in shower and enormous jacuzzi bath tub, that has its own TV installed in the wall. All very lovely but the WOW and giggles came when we saw the Caribbean Room that M&A were to have.....it had a huge plastic shark hanging above the bed and the walls were painted with sunshine and palm trees and there were large plaster shells stuck in the walls and odd model characters sitting in the bathroom, M was a bit concerned at him watching her pee!
There was also a nice dinning room for breakfast and a really good size lounge with very comfy leather suite and a bar with the worst fake leopard-skin covered bar stools - Dell-boy would have felt totally at home :o)
Add to that a heated swimming pool, hot tub, fully equipped gym, a games room with pool table and pin-ball amongst other boys toys, very well landscaped garden with huge fountain and sun decks just about covers it all I think.
During the four days we had a bit of a mixture weather wise but it didn't really stop us doing what we wanted to. We went out to The New Forest and stopped at Beaulieu and Lyndhurst and was about to go into the forest when the rain came, so we went back and sat in the lounge reading etc. By M's special request we headed into Dorset and went to Monkey World and The Tank Museum then onto Lulworth Cove to watch waves (that bit was my special request). We went for a local walk to find the marina and river side and we also took the local ferry (which is bright pink) across to the village of Hamble for a walk around, and on our way home we stopped in Winchester for a walk and to find lunch. Once, way in the distance,we saw the Marine College workers/students coming back single file over the river along a metal bridge in their bright yellow high-vis jackets and helmets looking to me just like the 7 dwarfs so I couldn't help myself singing "High-ho high-ho it's off to work we go", very funny. We found lots of lovely places to eat, apart from the lunch in Winchester which took ages to arrive and was not very nice but you cant win 'em all eh?
Our host and hostess and the two ladies of their staff that we met were amazing and full of recommendations of where we should eat and visit. Nothing was too much trouble for them and the breakfast on offer was lots and varied plus they were always checking if we wanted more. Oh and the bar, we were told, was not drinks for sale as they didn't have a licence but we should feel free to help ourselves to whatever we want, and they would appreciate if we put a donation in the box so they could restock but to go more on supermarket prices than pub prices! One day M came down for breakfast and didn't feel very well so went straight back to her room, this was immediately spotted by our hostess. Thankfully she felt OK quite quickly and we went out for the day and when we got back M&A found a large vase with fresh flowers in their room, we found out later that it was specially put there by one of the ladies to cheer her up! What a thoughtful thing to do!
So a really nice short break and great to spend this special time with my sister. A big thanks to hubby who did all the driving and more and of course a special well done thanks to SisterP for suggesting this place first of all.
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Hubby and I had a short break with SisterM and Brother-in-lawA. We had been told about a luxury B&B in Southampton by SisterP as she had seen it on a TV program. Setting off mid-morning and stopping for a lovely pub lunch we arrived at the huge security gated property and was greeted at the door by the host who showed us our rooms and around the rest of the house too.
M&A had said we should have the Executive Suite (as it would take her too long to get to the loo in the night) which had a huge bedroom with eight windows in a bay and window seat cushions. The lights and radio etc were all on hand held remote control and a small wall panel, the TV was inside a cupboard and the remote raised and lowered it (although very squeakily) and there was a balcony with a river view in the distance. Through the large dressing room was the bathroom with double sinks, large walk in shower and enormous jacuzzi bath tub, that has its own TV installed in the wall. All very lovely but the WOW and giggles came when we saw the Caribbean Room that M&A were to have.....it had a huge plastic shark hanging above the bed and the walls were painted with sunshine and palm trees and there were large plaster shells stuck in the walls and odd model characters sitting in the bathroom, M was a bit concerned at him watching her pee!
There was also a nice dinning room for breakfast and a really good size lounge with very comfy leather suite and a bar with the worst fake leopard-skin covered bar stools - Dell-boy would have felt totally at home :o)
Add to that a heated swimming pool, hot tub, fully equipped gym, a games room with pool table and pin-ball amongst other boys toys, very well landscaped garden with huge fountain and sun decks just about covers it all I think.
During the four days we had a bit of a mixture weather wise but it didn't really stop us doing what we wanted to. We went out to The New Forest and stopped at Beaulieu and Lyndhurst and was about to go into the forest when the rain came, so we went back and sat in the lounge reading etc. By M's special request we headed into Dorset and went to Monkey World and The Tank Museum then onto Lulworth Cove to watch waves (that bit was my special request). We went for a local walk to find the marina and river side and we also took the local ferry (which is bright pink) across to the village of Hamble for a walk around, and on our way home we stopped in Winchester for a walk and to find lunch. Once, way in the distance,we saw the Marine College workers/students coming back single file over the river along a metal bridge in their bright yellow high-vis jackets and helmets looking to me just like the 7 dwarfs so I couldn't help myself singing "High-ho high-ho it's off to work we go", very funny. We found lots of lovely places to eat, apart from the lunch in Winchester which took ages to arrive and was not very nice but you cant win 'em all eh?
Our host and hostess and the two ladies of their staff that we met were amazing and full of recommendations of where we should eat and visit. Nothing was too much trouble for them and the breakfast on offer was lots and varied plus they were always checking if we wanted more. Oh and the bar, we were told, was not drinks for sale as they didn't have a licence but we should feel free to help ourselves to whatever we want, and they would appreciate if we put a donation in the box so they could restock but to go more on supermarket prices than pub prices! One day M came down for breakfast and didn't feel very well so went straight back to her room, this was immediately spotted by our hostess. Thankfully she felt OK quite quickly and we went out for the day and when we got back M&A found a large vase with fresh flowers in their room, we found out later that it was specially put there by one of the ladies to cheer her up! What a thoughtful thing to do!
So a really nice short break and great to spend this special time with my sister. A big thanks to hubby who did all the driving and more and of course a special well done thanks to SisterP for suggesting this place first of all.
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Monday, 12 September 2011
Rocking it (gently)....
Myself along with FriendM and FriendH had bought tickets for the Radio 2 "Festival in a Day" at Hyde Park and it was yesterday. The funny thing is I never really did big concerts or music festivals when I was younger but really got excited about doing this.....although there would have to be some compromises!
When we looked at the trains for Ipswich to Liverpool Street we discovered that there was obviously going to be rail maintenance of some sort as every train was showing two changes and taking more than double its normal journey time, so I decided to drive in far enough to use the underground only. I packed some drinks and snack food and checked my garden chairs then put them in the boot, that's when I noticed that I had lost one on my acrylic nails (buggar but no time to do anything about it) then I picked up FriendM and FriendH and off we went along the A12. An easy run really with the added entertainment of hundreds of motor bikes going the other way, obviously on a charity bike ride of some sort.
Parked up at Newbury Park station and marveled that the car park was only £1 for the whole day. Out of the boot came a backpack and a folding garden chair for each of us to carry. Then into the station and we played with rarely used Oyster cards (we can be such country bumpkins hahaha) then onto the platform where they announced limited service on the Piccadilly line but gave no details, so we quickly re-planned our changes to avoid any possible problems. We arrived at Hyde Park Corner and carrying our heavy load walked down to Marble Arch and Oxford Street and found a Pizza Hut where they actually had a table free for us and we sat enjoying a leisurely lunch. Then loaded back up with our packs we set off for the park and tickets in hand walked through their security system......actually rubbish security as they asked each of us in turn "have you got any glass" to which we said "no" and that was it. Just outside of this barrier it was possible to see the big screens quite clearly and it looked like lots of people were going to watch from there for free!
We found a good spot, not too far back and somewhere where no-one would sit directly in front of us and hopefully easy enough to get back to if you walked off to the loos etc without getting lost, and we set up our chairs and settled in while watching Jules Holland and Sandie Shaw. That's when I noticed my nail on the grass, it must have fallen out of my garden chair! As luck would have it I had brought my little first aid bag which contained super glue, so my nail got stuck back on and I was whole again and well chuffed :o)
All this was done in glorious sunshine. Beverly Knight was brilliant also enjoyed Bellowhead who I'd never heard of before and we were even entertained by a couple who could really dance well and performed just near us, but by about Will Young time it had rained so much we were all soaked and most of the 30,000 audience were standing and with umbrellas so viewing was hard but we stuck it out through more artists than I can remember including a brilliant James Blunt. By now it was dark and the wind had picked up and our wet clothes made it feel even colder, so although we had taken chairs and raincoats and scarves we had had enough so decided to leave before the end. Most of the food we had brought but not eaten hit the bin so we didn't have to carry it back, then folded my chair and headed out of the gate, then noticed my nail had popped off again so FriendM stated I was leaving the way I arrived! Tube and car and home was just two hours later! A great day out in spite of the weather.
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When we looked at the trains for Ipswich to Liverpool Street we discovered that there was obviously going to be rail maintenance of some sort as every train was showing two changes and taking more than double its normal journey time, so I decided to drive in far enough to use the underground only. I packed some drinks and snack food and checked my garden chairs then put them in the boot, that's when I noticed that I had lost one on my acrylic nails (buggar but no time to do anything about it) then I picked up FriendM and FriendH and off we went along the A12. An easy run really with the added entertainment of hundreds of motor bikes going the other way, obviously on a charity bike ride of some sort.
Parked up at Newbury Park station and marveled that the car park was only £1 for the whole day. Out of the boot came a backpack and a folding garden chair for each of us to carry. Then into the station and we played with rarely used Oyster cards (we can be such country bumpkins hahaha) then onto the platform where they announced limited service on the Piccadilly line but gave no details, so we quickly re-planned our changes to avoid any possible problems. We arrived at Hyde Park Corner and carrying our heavy load walked down to Marble Arch and Oxford Street and found a Pizza Hut where they actually had a table free for us and we sat enjoying a leisurely lunch. Then loaded back up with our packs we set off for the park and tickets in hand walked through their security system......actually rubbish security as they asked each of us in turn "have you got any glass" to which we said "no" and that was it. Just outside of this barrier it was possible to see the big screens quite clearly and it looked like lots of people were going to watch from there for free!
We found a good spot, not too far back and somewhere where no-one would sit directly in front of us and hopefully easy enough to get back to if you walked off to the loos etc without getting lost, and we set up our chairs and settled in while watching Jules Holland and Sandie Shaw. That's when I noticed my nail on the grass, it must have fallen out of my garden chair! As luck would have it I had brought my little first aid bag which contained super glue, so my nail got stuck back on and I was whole again and well chuffed :o)
All this was done in glorious sunshine. Beverly Knight was brilliant also enjoyed Bellowhead who I'd never heard of before and we were even entertained by a couple who could really dance well and performed just near us, but by about Will Young time it had rained so much we were all soaked and most of the 30,000 audience were standing and with umbrellas so viewing was hard but we stuck it out through more artists than I can remember including a brilliant James Blunt. By now it was dark and the wind had picked up and our wet clothes made it feel even colder, so although we had taken chairs and raincoats and scarves we had had enough so decided to leave before the end. Most of the food we had brought but not eaten hit the bin so we didn't have to carry it back, then folded my chair and headed out of the gate, then noticed my nail had popped off again so FriendM stated I was leaving the way I arrived! Tube and car and home was just two hours later! A great day out in spite of the weather.
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Friday, 9 September 2011
Just a quickie.....
Not had much to blog about this week and actually not much time to blog anyway as I've been out most nights this week, a nice meal out wit the Tuesday Girls (on Tuesday of course) and Wednesday night had a lovely meal cooked for me when 7 of us sat round my friend's big round table and back to our art group and it was great to welcome two new members.
Also seems to be a bit of an art and craft week. Apart from the art group where I'm still completing the two portraits of R & E I've also had the girls sleep over when they made their own game of twister with the coloured disks and spinner, then when Os was with me and hubby for the day he wanted to be a butterfly so I had to make him antenna and wings and today the girls wanted help making rag rugs. I so love the fact that they are here often :o)
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Also seems to be a bit of an art and craft week. Apart from the art group where I'm still completing the two portraits of R & E I've also had the girls sleep over when they made their own game of twister with the coloured disks and spinner, then when Os was with me and hubby for the day he wanted to be a butterfly so I had to make him antenna and wings and today the girls wanted help making rag rugs. I so love the fact that they are here often :o)
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Sunday, 4 September 2011
Sunny for the bride and groom....
Yesterday was a really lovely day weather wise and social-wise too. We went to a friend's wedding and it was a great honour to be included in the whole of their celebrations. I know from experience how costly these events are and with budget restrictions and the restrictions on numbers allowed at the venue it is often the list of friends that has to be tapered....so yes I always consider it an honour to receive an invite.
We didn't know many people there, only bride, groom, groom's parents and some friends but we felt very welcome. The church is modern but small and friendly. The bride looked stunning of course, everyone oood and ahhhhd when she arrived in the horse drawn carriage, the bridesmaids had very summery dresses and looked great, the same fabric as the dresses was used for the pageboy/ring bearer's waistcoat and he (the bride and groom's son) looked soooooo cute at just 2 and a half years old.
Of course then follows the usual long delays for the guests while the photographer did her thing but it was a glorious day for standing about in a church yard. Then onto one of our favourite posh places for the reception, giving a lift to the groom's granny too. There were lots of nice touches that made it lovely like how they had put a balloon beside every child's place setting together with sticker puzzle books (great to keep them amused) and more appropriate chocolates for their age than the adults party favours, plus lolly pops and bubbles on every table together with the disposable camera.....plus the little box that confused us - small square box with the lid taped down, so I inspected it and shook it then turned it over to see the advert sticker showing "www.talkingtables.com" yikes were they recording everything we were saying??? We discussed and debated this around the table for some time until the lady on my left decided to actually investigate and broke the tape and lifted the lid, then possibly to our disappointment we found it was a collection of little cards with general knowledge questions and answers to "get the table talking to each other"!
The entertainment was brilliant. I loved the 'crooner' who sang lots of Sinatra, Michael Buble, Rat-Pack etc songs, there was a disco too and then as a special surprise on came a Blue's Brothers tribute duo who are always amazing and certainly get every party I've seen them at rock!
Then it was time for us to leave, not too late as we had offered to take the groom's granny home on our way. Of course I'd also brought home a piece of wedding cake for each of us as I have to confess in believing in the luck of wishing on wedding cake.......hope the bride and groom ate lots of it.
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We didn't know many people there, only bride, groom, groom's parents and some friends but we felt very welcome. The church is modern but small and friendly. The bride looked stunning of course, everyone oood and ahhhhd when she arrived in the horse drawn carriage, the bridesmaids had very summery dresses and looked great, the same fabric as the dresses was used for the pageboy/ring bearer's waistcoat and he (the bride and groom's son) looked soooooo cute at just 2 and a half years old.
Of course then follows the usual long delays for the guests while the photographer did her thing but it was a glorious day for standing about in a church yard. Then onto one of our favourite posh places for the reception, giving a lift to the groom's granny too. There were lots of nice touches that made it lovely like how they had put a balloon beside every child's place setting together with sticker puzzle books (great to keep them amused) and more appropriate chocolates for their age than the adults party favours, plus lolly pops and bubbles on every table together with the disposable camera.....plus the little box that confused us - small square box with the lid taped down, so I inspected it and shook it then turned it over to see the advert sticker showing "www.talkingtables.com" yikes were they recording everything we were saying??? We discussed and debated this around the table for some time until the lady on my left decided to actually investigate and broke the tape and lifted the lid, then possibly to our disappointment we found it was a collection of little cards with general knowledge questions and answers to "get the table talking to each other"!
The entertainment was brilliant. I loved the 'crooner' who sang lots of Sinatra, Michael Buble, Rat-Pack etc songs, there was a disco too and then as a special surprise on came a Blue's Brothers tribute duo who are always amazing and certainly get every party I've seen them at rock!
Then it was time for us to leave, not too late as we had offered to take the groom's granny home on our way. Of course I'd also brought home a piece of wedding cake for each of us as I have to confess in believing in the luck of wishing on wedding cake.......hope the bride and groom ate lots of it.
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Thursday, 1 September 2011
Zakynthos 2011
23rd August - 30th August
This won't be a fully detailed blog of this holiday as so much of it would be the same as our week here last year and in 2008, so feel free to go back through time and read those. Yes it was great to go back and with the same friendsL&K and great to see the Clio Hotel family again as they make us feel like old friends rather than just customers! Not so good is the inadequacies of Greek plumbing and the very small shower stall and waving curtain that nearly always gets stuck to my ample frame, but the power and temperature control of the shower is great so minor irritations are easily ignored.
The highlights of the week are as follows....
Tuesday 23rd
It was heavy rain when we left the UK, so we were all looking forward to our week in the sun, but getting off the plane was like stepping into a furnace and that's how it stayed for the whole week, 34-36C every day and dropping to about 25C at night....phew! We ate at the hotel and stayed for quiz night which was really daft but amusing and out of the five teams we came second and presented with two bottles of wine.
Wednesday 24th
We discovered that today is St Dennis's Day, the patron saint of Zakynthos who although he lived some 300 years ago still walks the streets daily to help the residents. So twice a year he is removed from his tomb presented with new slippers and paraded through the streets! The four of us bought coach tickets for transport into Zante town to join in the celebrations, which was really good and processions, marching bands, priests and dancers walked the streets while on the marina the fireworks kept going off and the big ships sounded their hooters very noisily. Only problem being K stepping back onto L's foot and bending back her big toe nail ouch ouch ouch!
Thursday 25th
Today we got out a hire car and ventured to Gerakas famous for the Caretta Caretta (Turtles) but we didn't actually step onto the beach as L didn't want to get any sand near her toe now sporting a couple of plasters. We wouldn't have seen any Caretta Caretta anyways as they said they are all nesting under the sand and under huge obvious protective marker frames. Then onto Argasi where we found a lovely restaurant and had lunch. Next stop was Keri where we admired the views and light house while having an ice cream break. We did try to stop at Macherado Monastery which should have been open for us to look around but unfortunately was not so we headed back along lots of tiny roads through small villages.
Friday 26th
All we did today was sunbathe or move to the shade and back again, me with my BeBook and hubby with his crossword book and L&K with their books.....we were saving our energies for Greek Night which was just as good as last year in fact probably identical to last year, even to the Ouzo dance that hubby did.
Saturday 27th
L's birthday, so hubby and I arrived before them at breakfast so I could put her card and inflatable cake on the table...she was surprised and it really made her giggle. Soon after we came back to our rooms L&K came to show us the beautiful basket of fruit and champagne that had been left in their room with a birthday card signed by the whole hotel family. I had to confess that I had emailed ahead to tell them today was her birthday, what a great present from them! We walked the short distance into Alykes, sent the men into a pub to wait for us and we went souvenir shopping while L's phone bleeped continuously with greetings from family and friends. Then for the evening we met in the hotel bar to drink champagne and then into town for dinner. I had also taken with a musical candle holder but struggled to get it to play happy birthday until hubby fiddled with it and even then it croaked quite a bit, very funny. Also while we sat there another procession went by, this time from various countries....L asked me if I had arranged this too (joke) to which I took all the credit of course.
Sunday 28th
Unfortunately L said she was feeling a bit unwell today and couldn't go far from her hotel room, so we all stayed and did little. In fact we all ate little too which isn't a bad thing although we all carried on drinking water by the gallon. L&K stayed in the hotel all evening but insisted that hubby and I went out to eat, which we did, but came back with two large bags of crisps for L as I was worried her salt levels shouldn't drop in this heat and she said she really enjoyed them and they didn't upset her stomach more which was good.
Monday 29th
L feeling much better today so after breakfast we took a slow walk from Alykes to Alykanas which takes about half an hour each way along the river. Found a lovely beach bar (run by a cheeky Glaswegian) and took about 2 hours over our lunch break, mostly people watching. The hotel dad had given us two bottles of wine per couple (as he has done each holiday) but with the quiz bottles we were worried that three bottles each would take our suitcase over it's 20kg maximum so we sat on the balcony of L&K's room to drink two of them....actually they are not the best wines so quite a bit of it went down the sink. So at least only four to carry back instead of 6.
Tuesday 30th
All too soon it's the end of our holiday and time to pack and fly home! Thankfully we didn't need to leave the hotel till 4:30pm and they kindly said we could keep our rooms till we left, so another morning of sunbathing then after lunch it was showers and throwing everything into our suitcase and backpacks then home!
The UK was bloody freezing when we got back!!!
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Friday, 19 August 2011
Packing...
We are off on holiday next Tuesday so today I spent most of the time trying to sort out what we need to pack.
The easy bit is the fact that it's our third visit to this hotel - The Clio http://www.cliohotel.com/index.php - in this resort - Alykes http://www.justzante.co.uk/alykes.htm - on this Greek island - Zakynthos http://www.zakynthos.net.gr/ also called Zante.
The hard bit is the fact that this time we are restricted to just one suitcase for hubby and I with a total weight of 20kg. We can also take hand luggage of 5kg each in a back pack, but hubby is determined not to carry more than we need.
So a day of list printing, washing, ironing, folding, list ticking and a trial of stuffing in the case and weighing which came to just 18kg. Hubby seemed relieved!
Glad I got the last bits of washing done as the weather forecast for the weekend is wet and today was gloriously sunny and warm......shame I spent lots of it inside by the ironing board.
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The easy bit is the fact that it's our third visit to this hotel - The Clio http://www.cliohotel.com/index.php - in this resort - Alykes http://www.justzante.co.uk/alykes.htm - on this Greek island - Zakynthos http://www.zakynthos.net.gr/ also called Zante.
The hard bit is the fact that this time we are restricted to just one suitcase for hubby and I with a total weight of 20kg. We can also take hand luggage of 5kg each in a back pack, but hubby is determined not to carry more than we need.
So a day of list printing, washing, ironing, folding, list ticking and a trial of stuffing in the case and weighing which came to just 18kg. Hubby seemed relieved!
Glad I got the last bits of washing done as the weather forecast for the weekend is wet and today was gloriously sunny and warm......shame I spent lots of it inside by the ironing board.
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Wednesday, 17 August 2011
Eating out...
Went to visit SisterM today and after a small DIY job for Hubby we went out to eat at their local Harvester. Great to be able to eat out with them, seems ages since we last did, very civilised :o)
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Monday, 15 August 2011
Such a busy day...
Another carb-free experiment, this time something savoury. Ground flax seed plus cheese plus mustard for flavour and eggs to bind. Rolled into balls and flattened and baked to make a substitute for the cheese straw type nibble. Family verdict was good, I liked them too but happy to try again perhaps adding a bit more seasoning and trying to bake them thinner so they crisp a bit more. All-in-all a good first attempt tho!
Made these first thing as I knew Daughter and children were coming over today but Hubby still had to do some shopping with E so we could have some lunch and R had brought her two largest beetroot that she had grown, so we cooked them to have with lunch too.
Daughter+her family of 5 more are all going to a fancy dress party next weekend so they came here to make costumes. All based on Sponge Bob characters, they have worked out who is which character and Daughter has roughly worked out what she needs to do for each one. Have to say today the girls were not in a craft mood and didn't help very much with the sewing etc but were happy to search the internet for good ideas and then costumes to copy and masks to print and colour. They also cut out and decorated the big coins that go into the money bag.
So while I'm called by each for advice or help and running round entertaining O I'd also managed to strip our bed get 4 machine loads of washing and all the pegging out and bringing in done, plus put out a lunch and make a dinner.....I kept forgetting what I was in the middle of before I got interrupted!
While dinner was cooking I played our new game of Viking Kubb with R, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubb ...and I won!
Had to eat outside to save clearing all the dinning room table as they will be back tomorrow for more costume making. Of course the children didn't actually eat all their dinner because we were outside and they caught sight of a baby hedgehog and had to spend a lot of time ooo-ing and ahh-ing right near it.
Then as it was a lovely calm warm early evening out came the badminton rackets for Hubby, Daughter, E & R to play in various twosomes, while O kept them entertained using his racket as a guitar and fly swatter and various other things that made me laugh.
So a very lovely but exhausting day.
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Made these first thing as I knew Daughter and children were coming over today but Hubby still had to do some shopping with E so we could have some lunch and R had brought her two largest beetroot that she had grown, so we cooked them to have with lunch too.
Daughter+her family of 5 more are all going to a fancy dress party next weekend so they came here to make costumes. All based on Sponge Bob characters, they have worked out who is which character and Daughter has roughly worked out what she needs to do for each one. Have to say today the girls were not in a craft mood and didn't help very much with the sewing etc but were happy to search the internet for good ideas and then costumes to copy and masks to print and colour. They also cut out and decorated the big coins that go into the money bag.
So while I'm called by each for advice or help and running round entertaining O I'd also managed to strip our bed get 4 machine loads of washing and all the pegging out and bringing in done, plus put out a lunch and make a dinner.....I kept forgetting what I was in the middle of before I got interrupted!
While dinner was cooking I played our new game of Viking Kubb with R, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubb ...and I won!
Had to eat outside to save clearing all the dinning room table as they will be back tomorrow for more costume making. Of course the children didn't actually eat all their dinner because we were outside and they caught sight of a baby hedgehog and had to spend a lot of time ooo-ing and ahh-ing right near it.
Then as it was a lovely calm warm early evening out came the badminton rackets for Hubby, Daughter, E & R to play in various twosomes, while O kept them entertained using his racket as a guitar and fly swatter and various other things that made me laugh.
So a very lovely but exhausting day.
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Sunday, 14 August 2011
Holding hands....
Sometimes we don't get the opportunities to say all we want to say and I do believe that writing stuff down is great when there isn't anyone around just then to listen (hence this blog) but big hugs or walking along holding a hand can transfer a vast unsaid conversation too!
So today the gardening, ironing and other stuff got left because I shared my day with very special people and we held hands :o)
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So today the gardening, ironing and other stuff got left because I shared my day with very special people and we held hands :o)
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Saturday, 13 August 2011
Getting the timing right...
Yesterday I went to a funeral and also got the confirmation of some very sad family news!
So today I'm looking at how my time disappears on things that are less important than others and trying to work out some of my priorities ........this is not a selfish act but truly meant in honour of those that don't have the time to consider what to spend it on!
Over the years I've always kept some sort of diary, so now you can imagine how many of them there are. I always have trouble remembering when something happened or have to ask "When did we have the extension built?" or "How long ago was that holiday in Naples?" and could often be found rummaging through the old diaries to check but more usually getting distracted by plenty of other memories. So once I'd stopped working and had time to spare I decided to create my timeline! This would be in excel so searchable and then came the long process of reading through all the diaries and converting those precious memories into data on a spreadsheet. I hadn't got very far in the past two years but I have to say the amount I had done was looking good, all colour coded rows showing things like my most important events in red, to miscellaneous entries in no colour at all, with employment, health, family events, friends events etc all different colours and of course a record of our holidays in sunny yellow!
To be honest it was becoming a chore and I often used to procrastinate on the laptop then realise I had no more time to add to it.....my timeline was taking up my time! So today I have decided to stop and I've printed out what I've done so far, (may scribble on it in pen if I feel the need) and will put it in my special folder of family history with a note to say "If you are interested in more go find my diaries". Of course I've saved the excel file in various places so I could add to it later if I feel the need.
About a decade ago I'd decided to compile the family trees for hubby's family and for each of my parent's families. I couldn't go back further than my grandparents as they were immigrants with very few records and were no longer with us to ask, in fact they had died long before I was born. My intention had been to show my children the width of our families and who their cousins were etc. Large families take a lot of data input and because of various computer changes when I was working etc I'd lost the original software and the data files I had were not compatible with other software so I no longer had the details in electronic form, but thankfully I had printed it all out and over recent years had just added more info by scribbling on the paper. As no-one else seems particularly interested in any of it I've now decided that what's there will do and scribbled updates are good enough!
Now actually that I have relieved myself of these expectations I feel a bit more free to choose what I want to spend my time on. I'll probably get to the end of the day and realise I've achieved nothing but I won't feel guilty and at least I'll know I haven't wasted time avoiding stuff either.
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So today I'm looking at how my time disappears on things that are less important than others and trying to work out some of my priorities ........this is not a selfish act but truly meant in honour of those that don't have the time to consider what to spend it on!
Over the years I've always kept some sort of diary, so now you can imagine how many of them there are. I always have trouble remembering when something happened or have to ask "When did we have the extension built?" or "How long ago was that holiday in Naples?" and could often be found rummaging through the old diaries to check but more usually getting distracted by plenty of other memories. So once I'd stopped working and had time to spare I decided to create my timeline! This would be in excel so searchable and then came the long process of reading through all the diaries and converting those precious memories into data on a spreadsheet. I hadn't got very far in the past two years but I have to say the amount I had done was looking good, all colour coded rows showing things like my most important events in red, to miscellaneous entries in no colour at all, with employment, health, family events, friends events etc all different colours and of course a record of our holidays in sunny yellow!
To be honest it was becoming a chore and I often used to procrastinate on the laptop then realise I had no more time to add to it.....my timeline was taking up my time! So today I have decided to stop and I've printed out what I've done so far, (may scribble on it in pen if I feel the need) and will put it in my special folder of family history with a note to say "If you are interested in more go find my diaries". Of course I've saved the excel file in various places so I could add to it later if I feel the need.
About a decade ago I'd decided to compile the family trees for hubby's family and for each of my parent's families. I couldn't go back further than my grandparents as they were immigrants with very few records and were no longer with us to ask, in fact they had died long before I was born. My intention had been to show my children the width of our families and who their cousins were etc. Large families take a lot of data input and because of various computer changes when I was working etc I'd lost the original software and the data files I had were not compatible with other software so I no longer had the details in electronic form, but thankfully I had printed it all out and over recent years had just added more info by scribbling on the paper. As no-one else seems particularly interested in any of it I've now decided that what's there will do and scribbled updates are good enough!
Now actually that I have relieved myself of these expectations I feel a bit more free to choose what I want to spend my time on. I'll probably get to the end of the day and realise I've achieved nothing but I won't feel guilty and at least I'll know I haven't wasted time avoiding stuff either.
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Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Experimental baking...
FriendM is having friends over this evening and making a buffet supper and as we are both trying to stay carb-free to lose some weight I said I would attempt to make some carb-free cake to bring along.
So popped to Asda and bought some of the stuff and then to Tesco to see if I could get other stuff and came back with what I thought would be alternatives to wheat flour, Cocoyam fufu flour, but later found that this is ground from the tuber of the plant much like a potato so high in carbs, also bought ground flax seed but discovered that this is good as an oil/butter substitute......yes I know I should do my research before shopping!
I managed to get some ground almonds in place of the almond flour I was really after and no sign of the coconut flour I'd seen on various recipes, so need to find some specialist/health shop but I so hate going into town if I don't have to.
I first had a go at this yogurt cake http://tinyurl.com/3nu8gsy but used the ground almonds instead of the flour and lemon extract in stead of the vanilla. It came out quite well, didn't rise much and still a bit soggy in the middle even though it had been in the oven for twice as long as the recipe suggested, but tastes good.
Also made this chocolate cake http://tinyurl.com/3f3dmpg which is made with beans! I used red kidney beans and again it stayed a bit soggy in the middle but the top looks really interesting as it went a bit craggy and looked prone to breaking up so I split it and put a butter-cream in the middle to try and hold it all together and to help sweeten it as I though the amount of cocoa made it a little bitter for my taste.
I'll try to report back the verdict by tonight's tasters but I know there is definite room for improvement!
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So popped to Asda and bought some of the stuff and then to Tesco to see if I could get other stuff and came back with what I thought would be alternatives to wheat flour, Cocoyam fufu flour, but later found that this is ground from the tuber of the plant much like a potato so high in carbs, also bought ground flax seed but discovered that this is good as an oil/butter substitute......yes I know I should do my research before shopping!
I managed to get some ground almonds in place of the almond flour I was really after and no sign of the coconut flour I'd seen on various recipes, so need to find some specialist/health shop but I so hate going into town if I don't have to.
I first had a go at this yogurt cake http://tinyurl.com/3nu8gsy but used the ground almonds instead of the flour and lemon extract in stead of the vanilla. It came out quite well, didn't rise much and still a bit soggy in the middle even though it had been in the oven for twice as long as the recipe suggested, but tastes good.
Also made this chocolate cake http://tinyurl.com/3f3dmpg which is made with beans! I used red kidney beans and again it stayed a bit soggy in the middle but the top looks really interesting as it went a bit craggy and looked prone to breaking up so I split it and put a butter-cream in the middle to try and hold it all together and to help sweeten it as I though the amount of cocoa made it a little bitter for my taste.
I'll try to report back the verdict by tonight's tasters but I know there is definite room for improvement!
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Friday, 5 August 2011
Making the best of it...
I had to have a minor op yesterday, but an op none the less so was quite nervous! Well I'm pleased to report all went well.
I do believe though that this sort of event is best coped with having a "look on the bright side" state of mind. So I'd taken my half read book and was quite happy during the long waits. I laughed when the fourth person had to come and ask almost identical questions to the previous three, all with their separate little forms that all look different and have to have all the tick boxes completed, whatever happened to having one folder that stayed with the patient, but hey what do I care if they all have to work harder than need be or if it costs unnecessarily, nothing is going to stress me while I'm here! Not even having to wear funny support stockings...very elegant.
Also had a giggle with the nurse that asked me to remove the nail varnish from one finger and all my jewellery, then asked me to sign the form stating that valuables are left in the hospital at owner's risk. I did point out that if no nail varnish or jewellery was stated on the original letter then that would have avoided this, or even mention this before they sent Hubby home. Maybe I could become a time-and-motion consultant....maybe not!
Apart from a bit of a struggle getting the canula in (I've very small veins) I then knew nothing else till I woke in recovery with two really lovely chatty nurses. I said I was desperate for a cup of tea at which point one of the nurses went into raptures of all the different cakes she now fancied, so I had to tell her off as I'd not eaten for about 19 hours. We seemed to chat for ages and laugh a lot as one had a passion for purses and the other for spangled flip flops. Think they appreciated the light hearted chatter as they said lots of people come through either still very sleepily or taking it too seriously or occasionally unwell when they have to get nursey.
Back onto the ward and watched as the other two patients were brought dinner then eventually I was brought tea and toast with jam which was heaven!
Up, dressed and a trip to the toilet to prove I could then Hubby was told to come and get me. So a stay of just over 7 hours. Had a good night's sleep (actually went to bed just after 10pm which is really early for me) and today felt totally fine!
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I do believe though that this sort of event is best coped with having a "look on the bright side" state of mind. So I'd taken my half read book and was quite happy during the long waits. I laughed when the fourth person had to come and ask almost identical questions to the previous three, all with their separate little forms that all look different and have to have all the tick boxes completed, whatever happened to having one folder that stayed with the patient, but hey what do I care if they all have to work harder than need be or if it costs unnecessarily, nothing is going to stress me while I'm here! Not even having to wear funny support stockings...very elegant.
Also had a giggle with the nurse that asked me to remove the nail varnish from one finger and all my jewellery, then asked me to sign the form stating that valuables are left in the hospital at owner's risk. I did point out that if no nail varnish or jewellery was stated on the original letter then that would have avoided this, or even mention this before they sent Hubby home. Maybe I could become a time-and-motion consultant....maybe not!
Apart from a bit of a struggle getting the canula in (I've very small veins) I then knew nothing else till I woke in recovery with two really lovely chatty nurses. I said I was desperate for a cup of tea at which point one of the nurses went into raptures of all the different cakes she now fancied, so I had to tell her off as I'd not eaten for about 19 hours. We seemed to chat for ages and laugh a lot as one had a passion for purses and the other for spangled flip flops. Think they appreciated the light hearted chatter as they said lots of people come through either still very sleepily or taking it too seriously or occasionally unwell when they have to get nursey.
Back onto the ward and watched as the other two patients were brought dinner then eventually I was brought tea and toast with jam which was heaven!
Up, dressed and a trip to the toilet to prove I could then Hubby was told to come and get me. So a stay of just over 7 hours. Had a good night's sleep (actually went to bed just after 10pm which is really early for me) and today felt totally fine!
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Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Cousins' cuddles...
Had a really lovely day yesterday, it was a 'cousins get together' and we held it at my SisterM's house all bringing food to share. SisterS and SisterP both came too which was lovely, making 10 of us round the table.
It was a very hot day and I'd been caught in a traffic jam, sitting still for nearly 25 minutes, before I'd even got a few miles from home which didn't bode well, and that's when it was obvious that my air conditioning didn't work at all yuk yuk very sweaty! But once I was there and everyone arrived it was just what we expected. Lots of catching up chat about whose children and grandchildren are doing what and CousinJ announcing a new grandchild on the way and SisterS moaning how she doesn't think she'll be a grandmother for a very long time yet! We spent ages remembering our mums, four mums between us who were all sisters and reminding each other of their very different personalities and how we all shared events and sleep-overs with the various Aunts. Of course there was the sad news that SisterM had to share (her medical treatment is not working and has been stopped) which everyone took very seriously and sympathetically but thankfully no-one dwelt on as we all needed it to be a happy reunion, and it really was.
Lots of big hugs and kisses and some photo taking and then it was all over. I was the last to leave accepting a final cup of tea, then 64 miles home in my very hot car...but radio up loud and smiling after a really lovely day!
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It was a very hot day and I'd been caught in a traffic jam, sitting still for nearly 25 minutes, before I'd even got a few miles from home which didn't bode well, and that's when it was obvious that my air conditioning didn't work at all yuk yuk very sweaty! But once I was there and everyone arrived it was just what we expected. Lots of catching up chat about whose children and grandchildren are doing what and CousinJ announcing a new grandchild on the way and SisterS moaning how she doesn't think she'll be a grandmother for a very long time yet! We spent ages remembering our mums, four mums between us who were all sisters and reminding each other of their very different personalities and how we all shared events and sleep-overs with the various Aunts. Of course there was the sad news that SisterM had to share (her medical treatment is not working and has been stopped) which everyone took very seriously and sympathetically but thankfully no-one dwelt on as we all needed it to be a happy reunion, and it really was.
Lots of big hugs and kisses and some photo taking and then it was all over. I was the last to leave accepting a final cup of tea, then 64 miles home in my very hot car...but radio up loud and smiling after a really lovely day!
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Wednesday, 27 July 2011
Be-Dom...
Went to a great concert last night. A Portuguese junk percussion group called Be-Dom. They were amazing, great 'music', rhythms and beats done on old plastic and metal bins, old tubes and bike wheels etc plus lots of hands clapping and finger clicking and stamping and included an enormous amount of audience participation, without a word being said. I don't even know if any of them speak English, there was no need, as full communication was done by hand signals and mime. Some very clever lighting too.
Only downside was I'd bought tickets for me, Daughter, E and R but R was unwell and couldn't come :o(
The concert was only an hour, but non-stop fantastic for that hour so well worth it. Then the three of us sat outside one of the dockside restaurants and had coffee and cake to round of our night out perfectly.
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Only downside was I'd bought tickets for me, Daughter, E and R but R was unwell and couldn't come :o(
The concert was only an hour, but non-stop fantastic for that hour so well worth it. Then the three of us sat outside one of the dockside restaurants and had coffee and cake to round of our night out perfectly.
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Monday, 25 July 2011
Just another week...
Well apart from the very itchy arm the week was quite uneventful. Bits of housework and bits of gardening and out with friendsM&H for dinner Tuesday night, Daughter came over with the children Wednesday and the girls did gardening and enjoyed using the loppers and a hand saw to cut down a tree, while Daughter and Hubby were sorting out the trailer tent and I was fully occupied chasing after O and keeping him busy and safe. Art Group followed by the Truck Stop was Thursday night..... so just the usual stuff.
Friday night to Saturday lunchtime was spent with FriendH, who I've known from school days! Again our usual talking till 3am, this time was all the stories that surrounded her very recent 60th. Hubby and I had celebrated with her at the special lunch her sons had put on for her, which was great for me as I had a brief chance to catch up with some old friends I haven't seen for years too. Stayed a little later on Saturday than I normally do as her son popped in and it was so lovely to see him again and have time to chat.
The rest of the weekend was quite quiet here as not only was I still tired from the very late Friday night but Daughter and Children are all away camping - actually a bit too quiet!
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Friday night to Saturday lunchtime was spent with FriendH, who I've known from school days! Again our usual talking till 3am, this time was all the stories that surrounded her very recent 60th. Hubby and I had celebrated with her at the special lunch her sons had put on for her, which was great for me as I had a brief chance to catch up with some old friends I haven't seen for years too. Stayed a little later on Saturday than I normally do as her son popped in and it was so lovely to see him again and have time to chat.
The rest of the weekend was quite quiet here as not only was I still tired from the very late Friday night but Daughter and Children are all away camping - actually a bit too quiet!
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Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Bad reaction....
Yesterday...
About 10:30am I noticed an itch on my right forearm. When it started getting more and more itchy I inspected my skin to find two raised round bumps near the wrist following the little finger line and a long irregular shaped raised bump on the inside of the arm near the elbow crease.
It definitely looks more like an allergy reaction even though it feels like I've pulled my arm through nettles, but I don't have any idea what has triggered it. I'd eaten two plums and a few peanut things this morning but I'd eaten both of those yesterday and have eaten the plums for the past three days. Very odd that it's just the one arm and only the lower half??? I did consider it might have been something on my shirt rather than ingested, so that shirt went into the wash and I put a clean one on.
I've been using Anthisan cream but the patches are getting bigger and bigger.
It's now 7:30pm and the inner arm patch is now the full width of my arm and almost round, so the diameter of my index finger. The two small bumps have enlarged enough to have joined into one and has almost reached down to join the large bump.
If it's not gone by the morning I'd better see a doctor!
Today......
Well the patches are still there and still itchy but I decided not to see a doctor as they are now flatter and not so hot so I think whatever it was is on it's way out of my system. Actually as the biggest area is calming down a bit I can see what looks like 5 pin pricks in a semi circle, so now I'm guessing it was caused by some insect or insects biting me! Little buggar!!!
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Friday, 15 July 2011
Just housework, maybe...
Turned out to be a very successful shopping trip with R yesterday, although it did take four hours! A different sort of shopping experience with each granddaughter as one is totally focused on what she wants and where she wants to look for it and the other is happy to drag in and out of every shop hoping for inspiration, the answer to most questions being "I don't know"! Only downside was the horrid rain.
Today so far I've done two machine loads of washing and some is already dry enough to come in again. Quite hot out there today :o)
Hubby has already cut back some of the grape vine, dug around some of the tree trunks and re-felted a shed roof and has now gone off to B&Q (his favourite shop) to buy some beading to repair the table in our Daughter's camper.
I've still got lots I want to do, ongoing jobs, like renaming and saving all my digital photos on this laptop then backing them up (they are in two places at least now). I'd always meant to write a description beside all my old printed photos so in years to come we'd remember who they are and where they were taken.....needless to say I never did! Also I'm some way to compiling a timeline of me! Got loads of old diaries to read through and pick the important or interesting bits out of to add to the timeline but that takes ages (cos I'm old enough to have far too many diaries). I wonder if anyone will be interested in any of this when I'm gone?
Note to self: Password protected computer or internet stuff can't be accessed when I'm gone, so either ditch the security protection or make sure the relevant people know my password!
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Today so far I've done two machine loads of washing and some is already dry enough to come in again. Quite hot out there today :o)
Hubby has already cut back some of the grape vine, dug around some of the tree trunks and re-felted a shed roof and has now gone off to B&Q (his favourite shop) to buy some beading to repair the table in our Daughter's camper.
I've still got lots I want to do, ongoing jobs, like renaming and saving all my digital photos on this laptop then backing them up (they are in two places at least now). I'd always meant to write a description beside all my old printed photos so in years to come we'd remember who they are and where they were taken.....needless to say I never did! Also I'm some way to compiling a timeline of me! Got loads of old diaries to read through and pick the important or interesting bits out of to add to the timeline but that takes ages (cos I'm old enough to have far too many diaries). I wonder if anyone will be interested in any of this when I'm gone?
Note to self: Password protected computer or internet stuff can't be accessed when I'm gone, so either ditch the security protection or make sure the relevant people know my password!
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Thursday, 14 July 2011
Neglected but not forgotten....
I know this has been a neglected blog, with the posts being few and far between, but hopefully I will make amends now and try to do so on a more regular basis.
There have been a few things stopping me from writing here one of which is yet another weight loss battle. This has to be just for me, so publicly marking achievements or lack of achievements doesn't help, so I've been writing that on a private space, listing my GABS= Good, Achievement, Bad and Stats for each day. Have to admit that that doesn't seem to help me either! The other thing that gets in the way of my jotting things down is having to be careful of what I say about whom in case it identifies them and/or causes any repercussions, much the same reason I'm hesitant to comment on the other blogs I read.
So a quick catch-up of the past few days....Hubby has been chopping down trees, 26 of them in fact. They are Leylandii that hedged around the play area but had gone completely brown on the insides so cutting them back this year made them all look a bit dead. So Monday they were all stripped of every branch by chain saw and yesterday Hubby spent nearly all day with two friends and two shredders reducing all but the thick branches to chippings in hundreds of orange sacks. Now just 26 trunks to get out of the ground. There'll be plenty of homes for the wood for burning so that won't be a problem.
Sunday night E asked to sleep over and on Monday we went into town to spend her clothes money as she was desperate to own a jump-suit or dungarees and although no dungarees we found two jump-suits in fact, a trousers pair and a shorts pair. Today I'm back into town with R who also has rather a lot of clothes money to spend. Can't believe I'm going into town twice in one week, haven't been for months!
Well they will all be here very soon and I'm not showered or dressed yet (I'm so easily distracted).
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There have been a few things stopping me from writing here one of which is yet another weight loss battle. This has to be just for me, so publicly marking achievements or lack of achievements doesn't help, so I've been writing that on a private space, listing my GABS= Good, Achievement, Bad and Stats for each day. Have to admit that that doesn't seem to help me either! The other thing that gets in the way of my jotting things down is having to be careful of what I say about whom in case it identifies them and/or causes any repercussions, much the same reason I'm hesitant to comment on the other blogs I read.
So a quick catch-up of the past few days....Hubby has been chopping down trees, 26 of them in fact. They are Leylandii that hedged around the play area but had gone completely brown on the insides so cutting them back this year made them all look a bit dead. So Monday they were all stripped of every branch by chain saw and yesterday Hubby spent nearly all day with two friends and two shredders reducing all but the thick branches to chippings in hundreds of orange sacks. Now just 26 trunks to get out of the ground. There'll be plenty of homes for the wood for burning so that won't be a problem.
Sunday night E asked to sleep over and on Monday we went into town to spend her clothes money as she was desperate to own a jump-suit or dungarees and although no dungarees we found two jump-suits in fact, a trousers pair and a shorts pair. Today I'm back into town with R who also has rather a lot of clothes money to spend. Can't believe I'm going into town twice in one week, haven't been for months!
Well they will all be here very soon and I'm not showered or dressed yet (I'm so easily distracted).
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Sunday, 19 June 2011
A very special father's day...
I know there have been lots of father's day cards from me to my dad in the time from when I was old enough to make them or buy them to the time of his death, now 12 years past.....but the only father's day card that I will always remember was 1975's. No present that year, just a simple card making no big promises of undying love and gratitude but added to that card the biggest gesture I could ever make.
Three years earlier my dad had shown his objection to my choice of boyfriend by not talking to me! As it happens this boyfriend was a lot more suitable than some had been, he was clean, healthy, polite and respectful and in full time employment - but he was not of our faith! I wasn't the first of my siblings to have a non-Jewish boyfriend, my eldest sister got very close but was then packed off to relatives overseas to "get over it", but I held my ground and that boyfriend has been my hubby for nearly 38 years so far. Holding my ground resulted in silence from my dad for three years, us having our wedding a year earlier than we would have planned (so no savings), mum coming to the wedding without dad (torn between us) and us moving into bed-sits because we couldn't afford anything else!
Actually I didn't blame him, even though he was not a religious man himself and it was more his belief that he was teaching a child right from wrong (in his eyes). He never tried to stop me but he refused to show his approval. I don't think he ever tried to stop my mum from sticking by me or coming to the wedding which was quite a big thing with his Victorian attitude to being the master of his family. It was three very long years without him but we were both pig-headed and I certainly wasn't going to make the first move to have it thrown back in my face. So the first year when I was still living at home was the hardest but then there were two more years after the wedding of knowing I had a dad that couldn't allow himself to be part of my life.
Father's Day 1975 and dad was in hospital (can't remember why but know it was nothing major) and I walked onto the ward at visiting time, mum and a sister already at the bedside and I just threw a card gently onto his legs without saying anything, he opened the card and said thank you............we were friends again and I'd paved the way for three more siblings to marry out and be accepted by him.
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Three years earlier my dad had shown his objection to my choice of boyfriend by not talking to me! As it happens this boyfriend was a lot more suitable than some had been, he was clean, healthy, polite and respectful and in full time employment - but he was not of our faith! I wasn't the first of my siblings to have a non-Jewish boyfriend, my eldest sister got very close but was then packed off to relatives overseas to "get over it", but I held my ground and that boyfriend has been my hubby for nearly 38 years so far. Holding my ground resulted in silence from my dad for three years, us having our wedding a year earlier than we would have planned (so no savings), mum coming to the wedding without dad (torn between us) and us moving into bed-sits because we couldn't afford anything else!
Actually I didn't blame him, even though he was not a religious man himself and it was more his belief that he was teaching a child right from wrong (in his eyes). He never tried to stop me but he refused to show his approval. I don't think he ever tried to stop my mum from sticking by me or coming to the wedding which was quite a big thing with his Victorian attitude to being the master of his family. It was three very long years without him but we were both pig-headed and I certainly wasn't going to make the first move to have it thrown back in my face. So the first year when I was still living at home was the hardest but then there were two more years after the wedding of knowing I had a dad that couldn't allow himself to be part of my life.
Father's Day 1975 and dad was in hospital (can't remember why but know it was nothing major) and I walked onto the ward at visiting time, mum and a sister already at the bedside and I just threw a card gently onto his legs without saying anything, he opened the card and said thank you............we were friends again and I'd paved the way for three more siblings to marry out and be accepted by him.
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Friday, 20 May 2011
My clock moments...
OK you are going to find this a bit weird, I do, but for quite some time I seem to look at digital clocks and see them at exactly 1:11, 2:22, 3:33, 4:44 or 5:55 in the night or in my car or wherever! Three numbers together, more and more frequently it's getting spooky. So I started looking at numerology sites and Angel numbers etc to see if it means something and low and behold it does. I'm not a great believer of the supernatural but like to keep an open mind. Most of the sites I've read have shown these numbers are positive signs that my guardian angel is trying to show its presence, no mention of it being anything negative or sinister, so my interpretation has been that with a lot of sickness in close people around me recently then it's a reassuring hug from possibly my mum who only died two years ago!
That's quite comforting and pleasant but this morning was very different. Yesterday I visited my poorly sister and also had two close friends having hospital treatments and they were texting me their progress. In the early hours I stirred and rolled over to see the time, it was 5:05 but all I could see was SOS......that was a bit scary!
What do you think, should I just ignore it as coincidence or look into it more?
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That's quite comforting and pleasant but this morning was very different. Yesterday I visited my poorly sister and also had two close friends having hospital treatments and they were texting me their progress. In the early hours I stirred and rolled over to see the time, it was 5:05 but all I could see was SOS......that was a bit scary!
What do you think, should I just ignore it as coincidence or look into it more?
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Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Spain holiday - 9th to 16th May 2011
Destination = Pinar de Campoverde, Pilar de la Horadada, Costa Calida, Spain.
Hubby's friend has a villa which they use a lot but does occasionally rent it out to family or friends, he also keeps a car valet parked at the airport which we rented from him too.....all at mates rates :o)
Monday 9th - Leisurely start as we didn't need to leave home till 8am, which is quite late for us when flying off somewhere. Happy to report that flights were on time and no huge queues, although we haven't really got the hang of this Ryanair, cheap flight, no allocated seats, type of flying so we didn't get to the departure gate until after we'd stopped for breakfast so we ended up not being able to find two seats together, but I read the whole journey so don't suppose it really mattered! Actually it amused me that I'd actually chosen a short story (189 pages) that took me almost the exact time of the flight to read.....how clever eh? Easy baggage collection at Murcia Airport and our car was there waiting for us. We couldn't actually get the sat nav to work but we had printed directions so got to the villa with ease. The villa was lovely, spacious, very well equipped and on two stories but as there's a double bedroom on the ground floor and a bathroom and only the two of us we won't bother using any of the upstairs. Outside there were sundecks and eating areas and planted areas and an outdoor pool. Our first toe test proved that the pool was still a bit too cold for us to venture into yet but we did have a sunbathe by the poolside. So wanting to get the lie of the land we went for a walk around the village and soon discovered it was like any housing estate but very clean and extremely quiet. Just opposite the villa was a little row of shops all designed to cater for the English ex-pats and tourists. Not totally to my taste for a Spanish holiday but would prove to be convenient, like not wanting to go far on our first night so choosing to have dinner at 9pm in The Portabello, an English style pub run by English people. I had a prawn salad while hubby tucked into gammon and chips and sat happily watching football on the big screens. Also happening back home we knew, was our daughter going off to see a trailer-camper she was hoping to buy, well she did buy it and sent me a photo by MMS to prove that she had succeeded her first ever tow with this very big trailer and it was now on our drive...Well done to her but unfortunately the MMS cost me £2 to retrieve!!!
Tuesday 10th - We both slept well in a really comfortable bed and I love it that the windows have the blackout shutters so the room was still dark in the mornings! We did get another text from our daughter who said they were so excited with their new purchase that they had decided to camp in it immediately to try it all out....on our drive! Then off we headed in the car to San Pedro beach (we'd worked out how to use the sat nav by this time) and headed first for an English breakfast. There was a long walkway alongside the beach and we saw people covering themselves in the famous black mud then lying in the sun for it to bake onto them, not sure what its medicinal benefits are but they all seemed to be enjoying it. Then we noticed a formation fly past, and hubby said we were near the military air base and these were their pilots obviously practicing their display routines, so we settled down on the beach and enjoyed an amazing free air show. We also enjoyed an ice cream (which was very green) and bought our three postcards then on the way back we stopped at the supermarket to get some provisions for breakfasts (really don't want another English fry up) so fruit for me and cornflakes for him. That evening we decided to take the long walk down to another pub that had been recommended, an Irish pub this time! Oh dear it was also quiz night! But the advantage of somewhere to walk to did mean hubby could have a few pints so we stayed and ate outside (roast chicken and chips) but didn't stay long after we'd eaten and walked back up the long hill and settled in with the TV and some Grand Designs (satelite tv with all the English channels = happy hubby).
Wednesday 11th - So started the day with fruit/cereal breakfast then off to find another beach at Torre de Horadada and Playa mil Palmeras. We did lots of walking and driving as it was too windy to sit on the sand, then back for an afternoon relaxing at the villa for a bit of sunbathing, a bit inside, a bit of crosswording and a bit of reading. I wrote and then posted the three postcards, because I do like to do them early in the holiday so they get back to the UK before we do! For dinner that evening we drove down to a restaurant called Treetops (another recommended) and that night they had a steak and wine deal for 20 euros per couple so we both had the steak and shared the bottle! Then back to watch the film Benjamin Button that was in the cupboard on DVD, it was very good but somewhat dragged out a bit. Late evening our daughter sent a text saying she was having a panic and are we near the two earthquakes that have just happened in southern Spain. We knew nothing about it, so tried to find a Spanish TV channel to see if we could get any information, but couldn't.
Thursday 12th - We had a lazy villa day and managed to find some news off the two earthquakes at Larco, which was about 60k from where we were, they said it was the worst they had experienced for 50 years and 10 people had been killed. My brother-in-lawA had also text to check we were OK, reassured everyone we were fine. We had lunch over the road at the Pasty Shack and headed out about 4pm, but all the shops were shut so we headed to the beach and marina at San Javier, very pretty place. Then came back and later had dinner in Restaurant Mary also over the road. I nearly had my paella but they said it would take 40mins to prepare and we'd heard that the Irish pub, Fibber McGees, was having a blues night so thought we'd eat something quicker and head down there. Glad we did actually because the two Spanish guys that performed blues all night were very good.
Friday 13th - We didn't get up till 9am ish and had a very lazy start so no chance of getting to the shops before they siesta! So we sunbathed/read/crosswords etc and finally left the villa about 4pm and headed to Torrevejo for a lovely walk along the beach and through lots of market stalls (all quite tacky). We stopped for an ice cream which I managed to drip all down me (hubby said it was due to the date). Then back to the villa by 8pm. We'd only bought 4 tshirts, two rings and a little train, so I was stressing a bit about having enough gifts to take home. We didn't bother with dinner that night as neither of us was hungry so stayed in and watched The Castaway/Tom Hanks from the video collection in the cupboard, which we both really enjoyed.
Saturday 14th - I got up at 7:30am (an hour before hubby) and checked emails etc online as I'd found a free wifi connection from halfway up the stairs, sitting on a cushion as they are very cold marble stairs. Eventually we went for a long walk on the beach at San Pedro all the way to San Javier (about 5k) then found a lovely beachside restaurant for lunch where hubby agreed to share my long awaited paella (they'd only cook it for two as it takes so long to cook and comes out as a huge flat pan to share) it was delicious! Then of course we had the long walk back. It was about 25 to 30 degrees C all day and I got a bit burnt on my back without realising it. Of course we didn't need dinner that night so had a TV evening again, mostly Britain's Got Talent which was very funny.
Sunday 15th - We were up early and pulled up the blinds to find a very cloudy sky and then some rain so we did nothing but a bit of reading and crosswords till 3pm ish then went for a very windy walk on Playa de la Horadada beach which totally blew the cobwebs (and my new haircut) away! A card on the fridge recommended dinner at the Rebate restaurant, it was excellent (hubby had steak and I had sea bass with garlic oil). The whole place was quite classy and the staff were very attentive. Outside there was a large pond with ducks and baby ducklings swimming and in a nearby pen was an ostrich. There was a wedding reception going on in the function room next door too. On the way back we stopped off at the Irish pub for a Rockabilly band, they were really good and had the totally packed pub bouncing. We didn't stay long though as only sitting room was outside and it was getting a bit chilly. A really lovely last night.
Monday 16th - It seemed too much time to kill before our flight home but not enough time to go anywhere, so we very slowly cleared up, emptied the rubbish and stripped the bed then because we were packed and ready to go in plenty of time we went over the road and had a proper lunch at The Portabello pub, in case there wasn't much at the airport. I even found and bought a book at the pub to take back for the children "Sophie visits Spain" for some language learning. Drove the car back to the airport car park and they drove us right to the airport doors, then took the car to keep it safe till it's needed again (such a useful and easy service). We had a good flight home and we sat together, only because we queued at the departure gate for an hour and half (stupid system). On the bus back to the car park we were saying how we'd travelled without any problems just before having a problem getting out of the long stay car park!!! Sooooo eventually got home about 7:30pm UK time.
All-in-all a lovely holiday and proof that hubby and I can survive a week alone together :o)
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Hubby's friend has a villa which they use a lot but does occasionally rent it out to family or friends, he also keeps a car valet parked at the airport which we rented from him too.....all at mates rates :o)
Monday 9th - Leisurely start as we didn't need to leave home till 8am, which is quite late for us when flying off somewhere. Happy to report that flights were on time and no huge queues, although we haven't really got the hang of this Ryanair, cheap flight, no allocated seats, type of flying so we didn't get to the departure gate until after we'd stopped for breakfast so we ended up not being able to find two seats together, but I read the whole journey so don't suppose it really mattered! Actually it amused me that I'd actually chosen a short story (189 pages) that took me almost the exact time of the flight to read.....how clever eh? Easy baggage collection at Murcia Airport and our car was there waiting for us. We couldn't actually get the sat nav to work but we had printed directions so got to the villa with ease. The villa was lovely, spacious, very well equipped and on two stories but as there's a double bedroom on the ground floor and a bathroom and only the two of us we won't bother using any of the upstairs. Outside there were sundecks and eating areas and planted areas and an outdoor pool. Our first toe test proved that the pool was still a bit too cold for us to venture into yet but we did have a sunbathe by the poolside. So wanting to get the lie of the land we went for a walk around the village and soon discovered it was like any housing estate but very clean and extremely quiet. Just opposite the villa was a little row of shops all designed to cater for the English ex-pats and tourists. Not totally to my taste for a Spanish holiday but would prove to be convenient, like not wanting to go far on our first night so choosing to have dinner at 9pm in The Portabello, an English style pub run by English people. I had a prawn salad while hubby tucked into gammon and chips and sat happily watching football on the big screens. Also happening back home we knew, was our daughter going off to see a trailer-camper she was hoping to buy, well she did buy it and sent me a photo by MMS to prove that she had succeeded her first ever tow with this very big trailer and it was now on our drive...Well done to her but unfortunately the MMS cost me £2 to retrieve!!!
Tuesday 10th - We both slept well in a really comfortable bed and I love it that the windows have the blackout shutters so the room was still dark in the mornings! We did get another text from our daughter who said they were so excited with their new purchase that they had decided to camp in it immediately to try it all out....on our drive! Then off we headed in the car to San Pedro beach (we'd worked out how to use the sat nav by this time) and headed first for an English breakfast. There was a long walkway alongside the beach and we saw people covering themselves in the famous black mud then lying in the sun for it to bake onto them, not sure what its medicinal benefits are but they all seemed to be enjoying it. Then we noticed a formation fly past, and hubby said we were near the military air base and these were their pilots obviously practicing their display routines, so we settled down on the beach and enjoyed an amazing free air show. We also enjoyed an ice cream (which was very green) and bought our three postcards then on the way back we stopped at the supermarket to get some provisions for breakfasts (really don't want another English fry up) so fruit for me and cornflakes for him. That evening we decided to take the long walk down to another pub that had been recommended, an Irish pub this time! Oh dear it was also quiz night! But the advantage of somewhere to walk to did mean hubby could have a few pints so we stayed and ate outside (roast chicken and chips) but didn't stay long after we'd eaten and walked back up the long hill and settled in with the TV and some Grand Designs (satelite tv with all the English channels = happy hubby).
Wednesday 11th - So started the day with fruit/cereal breakfast then off to find another beach at Torre de Horadada and Playa mil Palmeras. We did lots of walking and driving as it was too windy to sit on the sand, then back for an afternoon relaxing at the villa for a bit of sunbathing, a bit inside, a bit of crosswording and a bit of reading. I wrote and then posted the three postcards, because I do like to do them early in the holiday so they get back to the UK before we do! For dinner that evening we drove down to a restaurant called Treetops (another recommended) and that night they had a steak and wine deal for 20 euros per couple so we both had the steak and shared the bottle! Then back to watch the film Benjamin Button that was in the cupboard on DVD, it was very good but somewhat dragged out a bit. Late evening our daughter sent a text saying she was having a panic and are we near the two earthquakes that have just happened in southern Spain. We knew nothing about it, so tried to find a Spanish TV channel to see if we could get any information, but couldn't.
Thursday 12th - We had a lazy villa day and managed to find some news off the two earthquakes at Larco, which was about 60k from where we were, they said it was the worst they had experienced for 50 years and 10 people had been killed. My brother-in-lawA had also text to check we were OK, reassured everyone we were fine. We had lunch over the road at the Pasty Shack and headed out about 4pm, but all the shops were shut so we headed to the beach and marina at San Javier, very pretty place. Then came back and later had dinner in Restaurant Mary also over the road. I nearly had my paella but they said it would take 40mins to prepare and we'd heard that the Irish pub, Fibber McGees, was having a blues night so thought we'd eat something quicker and head down there. Glad we did actually because the two Spanish guys that performed blues all night were very good.
Friday 13th - We didn't get up till 9am ish and had a very lazy start so no chance of getting to the shops before they siesta! So we sunbathed/read/crosswords etc and finally left the villa about 4pm and headed to Torrevejo for a lovely walk along the beach and through lots of market stalls (all quite tacky). We stopped for an ice cream which I managed to drip all down me (hubby said it was due to the date). Then back to the villa by 8pm. We'd only bought 4 tshirts, two rings and a little train, so I was stressing a bit about having enough gifts to take home. We didn't bother with dinner that night as neither of us was hungry so stayed in and watched The Castaway/Tom Hanks from the video collection in the cupboard, which we both really enjoyed.
Saturday 14th - I got up at 7:30am (an hour before hubby) and checked emails etc online as I'd found a free wifi connection from halfway up the stairs, sitting on a cushion as they are very cold marble stairs. Eventually we went for a long walk on the beach at San Pedro all the way to San Javier (about 5k) then found a lovely beachside restaurant for lunch where hubby agreed to share my long awaited paella (they'd only cook it for two as it takes so long to cook and comes out as a huge flat pan to share) it was delicious! Then of course we had the long walk back. It was about 25 to 30 degrees C all day and I got a bit burnt on my back without realising it. Of course we didn't need dinner that night so had a TV evening again, mostly Britain's Got Talent which was very funny.
Sunday 15th - We were up early and pulled up the blinds to find a very cloudy sky and then some rain so we did nothing but a bit of reading and crosswords till 3pm ish then went for a very windy walk on Playa de la Horadada beach which totally blew the cobwebs (and my new haircut) away! A card on the fridge recommended dinner at the Rebate restaurant, it was excellent (hubby had steak and I had sea bass with garlic oil). The whole place was quite classy and the staff were very attentive. Outside there was a large pond with ducks and baby ducklings swimming and in a nearby pen was an ostrich. There was a wedding reception going on in the function room next door too. On the way back we stopped off at the Irish pub for a Rockabilly band, they were really good and had the totally packed pub bouncing. We didn't stay long though as only sitting room was outside and it was getting a bit chilly. A really lovely last night.
Monday 16th - It seemed too much time to kill before our flight home but not enough time to go anywhere, so we very slowly cleared up, emptied the rubbish and stripped the bed then because we were packed and ready to go in plenty of time we went over the road and had a proper lunch at The Portabello pub, in case there wasn't much at the airport. I even found and bought a book at the pub to take back for the children "Sophie visits Spain" for some language learning. Drove the car back to the airport car park and they drove us right to the airport doors, then took the car to keep it safe till it's needed again (such a useful and easy service). We had a good flight home and we sat together, only because we queued at the departure gate for an hour and half (stupid system). On the bus back to the car park we were saying how we'd travelled without any problems just before having a problem getting out of the long stay car park!!! Sooooo eventually got home about 7:30pm UK time.
All-in-all a lovely holiday and proof that hubby and I can survive a week alone together :o)
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