My Life in Yorkshire

Goodbye sweet Sindie

2009-10-30T12:21:00.000-07:00

I can find no other words than to tell you that my sweet daughter Sindie passed away on 15th October 2009.

She was not just my daughter, but my best friend.

I love and miss you so much.

Sleep tight Sindie

XXXXXX

Be Aware!!!

2009-04-08T06:56:00.000-07:00

My husband decided to give the growing grass a 'first cut' after the long winter months months of it lying dormant.

He happily mowed away until the large grass box was full, and then set about emptying it. As he pulled out the grass box, there, sitting stunned underneath it, were four large mice! The poor things must have been terrified with that loud motor sound in their ears, and being sandwiches between the mower and the removable grass box. After a few minutes, three of the mice managed to get themselves together, and run out of the grass box, but the third, smallest one just sat there, still stunned.

My husband carefully lifted him out and put him in the bushes, and was pleased to see it shake itself and run away, non the worse for wear apparently.

Perhaps you had better check your machinery for mice or other small animals before you do your first cut of the year. We live in the country, so there are always little mice running around in the gardens. We would never dream that they would make their home inside a lawn mower. There is absolutely nothing that they can eat in the shed where it is housed. I was so pleased to see them all run free again. It could so easily have been a messy outcome. Please remember to check.

Absence

2009-03-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

I would like to apologise for my absence to whoever normally reads my blog, but I have had a lot going on lately. Namely hospital visits and radiotherapy for my daughter Sindie. Each time I think I will have a go at a blog, my mind just goes blank! All we are thinking about at the moment are hospitals, scans and tests.
We have a couple more scans on the horizon, and with some pain management, hopefully things will settle down a bit for Sindie. Meanwhile she is her usual upbeat self.

A Little Bit Of Art

2008-11-01T12:29:00.001-07:00

I was leafing through a Van Gogh book when I came across a painting that I had copied when I was much younger, back in the early seventies. I decided to compare the two after all this time, and must say I was a bit disappointed to see that my copy wasn't as good as I remembered! What do you think?

Portrait of an Actor - Van Gogh My Copy

I was closer when I took the picture of my copy, so it looks larger, but it is actually the same size! It is also behind glass so the colour looks less intense.

I also drew this picture from a photograph of a statue called 'Ecstacy of Saint Theresa', but amongst the hundreds of books I have, I can't find the picture I copied it from. There are plenty on Google, but taken from a different angle.

Again, it is behind glass and done in pencil in 1976, and was very difficult to photograph without a flash. (At least for me it is!!) They can all be seen more clearly by clicking on them.

And there you have it. Two bits of art done many years ago!

Rummaging

2008-09-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

I have three large boxes in my huge attic which houses a lot of memories. One has everything to do with my son in it, one for my daughter, and one for me! I was rummaging around in them today having the occasional tear at all the lovely mementos I have collected over the years. I came across a couple of poems. One I had written when my first grandchild was born, and another that I had framed and on the wall of the retirement home that we owned. I thought I would share them with you:0)

My new grandaughters name was Emily who is now 17 years old, and this was written to her parents:

When you wake up this morning,
A new feeling will be there,
Of unbelievable happiness
The two of you will share.

That tiny little bundle,
So warm and soft and new,
Is not anothers baby now
This one belongs to you!

She's totally dependant,
On your gentleness and love,
This little miracle of life
From someone up above.

You'll proudly watch her gathering strength,
Her crawling - that first tooth,
Her faltering words and footsteps,
Her schooling and her youth.

And as she slowly blossoms,
And starts venturing from home,
You'll realise that your daughter
Has a lifestyle of her own.

Her need for you will lessen,
As she finds friends of her own,
And finally settles down with one,
Who will always share her home.

You'll feel a little strange at first,
Somewhat like a 'spare',
But suddenly life is full of joy,
Your grandchild will be there!

Again you'll share the feeling,
Of this first day again,
As you hold the tiny baby,
Emotions are the same.

But this time the lovely feeling,
Will be yours to share around,
With three other happy grandfolk,
In who this joy abounds.

The time will pass so quickly,
You must savour every day,
Of this lovely tiny new born babe,
To whom you both gave life today.

* * *

Now at the other end of life, a poem that speaks volumes. This was found in the locker of an old lady in a geriatric hospital by the nurses clearing it out after she had died:

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

What do you see nurses, what do you see?
What are you thinking, when you look at me?
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes;
who dribbles her food and makes no reply
when you say in a loud voice 'I do wish you'd try'.
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
and forever is losing a stocking or shoe;
Who unresisting or not, lets you do as you will
with bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.

Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, you're not looking at me!
I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I move at your bidding, as I eat at your will.

I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters who love one another,
A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet,
Dreaming of soon now a lover she'll meet.

At twenty five now I have young of my own,
who need me to build a secure happy home.
A woman of thirty, my young now grow fast
bound to each other with ties that should last.

At forty my young now will soon be gone,
but my man stands beside me to see I don't mourn.
At fifty once more babies play round my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look to the future, I shudder with dread;
For my young are all busy, rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love I have known.

I'm an old woman now, and nature is cruel,
'tis her jest to make old age look a fool.
The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart,
and now there's a stone where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcase, a young girl still dwells,
and now and again, my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again.

I think of the years all too few gone too fast,
And accept the cold facts that nothing can last,
So open your eyes nurses, open and see,
not a crabby old woman, look closer - SEE ME!

All done!!

2008-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

At the risk of boring you all senseless, here is a final video clip of the fence all finished! You have no idea what a mammoth job that was for one old aged pensioner to do on his own. Thank goodness it is all over. The whole job was made worse due to the fact that the garden is on quite a slope! Now he said he intends to take a week off to potter, then start on the transformation of the dressing room into another guest bedroom. He has until Christmas to get that finished, so can take his time if he wants to, but knowing Lennie, he will go at it until it is finished!

Moving on!

2008-09-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness for a break in this nasty weather! It has been pouring down, and making everything very muddy, and uncomfortable to work in. Lennie has managed to work outside all day today, and things are moving on.

Thankfully, our next door neighbours have gone to France for a week, so we do not have to worry about intruding on their privacy. Pickles is being very good, and has not attempted to go into their garden once, so that is one less worry.

I must admit I am going a bit 'stir crazy' because we usually manage to get out once a day, even if it is to visit my daughter Sindie. She and her family have gone to Kent for a few days to attend the funeral of her father-in-law. I don't like driving, especially by myself, and we live in such a hilly place that I am sure I would have a heart attack if I decided to go walking round here! And of course, Lennie has no time to go off jaunting about!

He is working so hard, as I have probably said before, but hopefully things will ease up a bit now, as he is on the shorter concrete posts, which only weigh 84lbs, whereas the others weighed 126lb! Still very heavy as they are such a dead weight, but a little easier on the arms and back. He is also moving on to earth as opposed to concrete, so the digging will be easier as well.

I have attached a video to show you how he is getting on.

More news as it happens:0)

Getting there!

2008-09-03T08:01:00.000-07:00

Lennie is gradually getting the fence up, weather permitting! He had to have a day off yesterday due to back strain, but he is back out there today, dodging the showers! The posts and gravel boards weigh over 9 stone each, and that is a lot of dead weight to keep shifting about! As you can see, some of the posts are in, but we are waiting for Gary, our son in law to come and help put the panels in, as they are very large and have to be lifted above head height to get them in the grooves. I did one with Lennie, but my daughter Sindie was not happy about it! Here are a couple of pictures taken between showers.

Once Lennie gets past the patio and on to the grass, things will become a lot easier and faster for him. At the moment he is having to dig very deep holes through rocks and concrete to set the posts in, but once on the grass it will be mainly earth. He thinks the digging of the holes on his knees was the main cause of his back problem.

The weather for tomorrow seems a little more promising, so we shall have to see how much he can get done then.

Injury!

2008-08-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is what happened to Lennies arms shifting just one concrete post. At this rate he will be in shreds when he has shifted all 20 of them!!

More as it happens:0)

Our New Project

2008-08-28T03:49:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know us, are aware that we live on a very windy corner, and are always having trouble with our fences blowing over and crushing our neighbours plants and solar lights! After a couple of embarrassing years, tying the fence to the other side of the garden using bright blue towing ropes to try and hold the fence up during gales, we decided enough was enough, and we would have to lay out for new fencing. This is what the fence looks like now.

As you can see, it rests directly on the grass and if one part gets blown over it takes a lot more with it!

The fence is 90 feet long, and we have decided to buy the sort of fence that has panels seperated by concrete posts, so that if there is any damage, we just have to slide the broken panel out and replace it with another, rather than dig up the huge wooden posts and replace them as well. The fence will rest on concrete gravel posts, all of which have been delivered now, and deposited in various parts of the garden by Len and my son Chris. It was thought that while he was here visiting for a while, he would help Len put them close to where they will be needed, as they are extremely heavy, and Len is no spring chicken!

Work started this morning, digging the hole for the first post. As this is the one that is adjacent to next doors gate, it was the one most worrying Lennie. He says once this is sorted out he should be able to get on with the rest of it okay.

Thank goodness this will see an end to poor Lennie, on his hands and knees in icy, windy conditions, digging holes and mixing cement to replace broken fence posts!

I will update this project as it moves on.

As usual, one post in and rain stopped play!!!!

Dear Old Tom

2008-08-16T08:48:00.000-07:00

I was sitting thinking of years gone by, when my late father-in-law, Tom, came to mind. He was a lovely chap, and was always smiling. His wife totally and absolutely spoilt him, and all he ever did in the house, apart from DIY, was wiping up and making a pot of tea! Of course, when his dear wife died, he couldn't realistically look after himself, and as we owned a retirement home in Kent, he came to live with us there. We lived on the top floor for a while, and on Tom's request, we gave him his own room amongst the residents. He loved looking in on them to say goodnight, and thoroughly enjoyed the weekly parties we held for them all. He adored the homes dog, Pickles, and they were inseperable. He also had his girlfriend, Doris, a resident. He was very much loved by residents and staff alike, and had his little jobs that he liked to do to help the staff, like helping the gardener, and seeing that all the kitchen waste was securely tied up etc.,.

After he had lived with us for 5 years, he sadly got prostate cancer and died. This is a poem that I made up and gave out to the staff.

TOM

He always had a smile for you,

He always had a joke,

Happy in his own small world,

With his home, his wife and 'smoke'.

For miles around they knew him,

That kind and helpful man,

He'd clean their windows, mend their things,

And often an errand ran.

He always helped the old folk,

The helpless and the poor,

He had his wife and children,

And would never ask for more.

As years passed by he slowly aged,

But was a familiar sight,

Carrying peoples bags for them,

(But now his hair was white!).

His world it fell apart one day,

When he lost his treasured wife,

Suddenly she wasn't there,

He'd lost part of his life.

He needed looking after,

So came to live with us,

And tried to settle down here,

With the minimum of fuss.

The tables began turning,

He was 'useful' once again,

As he helped the ladies and the staff,

In his own little domain.

He had his faithful Pickles,

Doris, and the staff,

His garden and his rubbish bags,

He always liked a laugh.

You made him feel so needed,

You made him feel so proud,

As he helped you in the kitchen,

And joined in with 'the crowd'.

At parties he would hold the mike,

And sing with all his heart,

I think he was his happiest,

When he heard the music start.

But sadly Tom became unwell,

And illness took it's toll,

He couldn't help us any more,

He couldn't play 'his role'.

His garden patch grew weedy,

The rubbish piled up high,

His strength it fast was fading,

To see him made us cry.

But Tom was totally unaware,

Of what lay in store for him,

He relished all the love you gave,

And returned it with a grin.

Tom didn't suffer any pain,

You gave him so much care,

And when time came for him to leave,

Again, you all were there.

Our lives are all the richer,

For knowing dear old Tom,

And we owe so much to all of you,

For making him 'belong'.

I know he's not too far away,

I feel him everywhere,

And when next we have our party,

Don't be fooled, 'cos he'll be there!

And in all our future summers,

If you would like a treat,

I'm sure you'll feel him sitting,

In his 'personal' garden seat.

You show love and understanding,

In everything you do,

So from Lennie, Sandie and Pickles,

Our heartfelt thanks to you.

This is a picture of Tom and his lovely wife Flo.

Garden visitor

2008-07-17T11:07:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would show you this photograph of one of our regular garden visitors:0) This squirrel is now being joined on it's forages by a baby. They are digging little holes all over the lawn and burying the peanuts! Click photo's to enlarge.

Twitterings

2008-07-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

It is quite a while since I posted, because, as most of you know, Sindie has been poorly and has been staying with me. However, she was well enough to return home at the weekend, so I thought I would sit at my computer and update my blog.

Firstly, the diet is going well, and I have now lost a total of 1stone 1 pound. Sindie has also lost this amount, but unfortunately for her, the steroids she is on have made her face balloon out, and the weight loss is not so evident until you look at the rest of her! Thankfully, she is now cutting down on the steroids, so we have high hopes of her facial swelling going down, albeit slowly.

Now, I haven't mentioned this before, but we are very keen amateur bird watchers (in our garden, that is!) We feed them constantly, and have a lot of regular birds visit us. One day we had a Jay, a blackbird, a mouse and a squirrel, all eating together on dry porridge oats that we left out:0) We have a very scruffy blackbird that is always fighting to protect his territory. Whenever I put food out, he is there, chasing off the other birds! We call him Sid, and he was here last year as well, making his home in the large bushes in our front garden. The lady next door calls him Scruff. He always has disheveled feathers, and feathers sticking out! Hence the name given by the lady next door:0) He is not at all nervous of us, and has three babies in the front garden, and although they try and chase him off, he still feeds them regularly. When they were very young, he used to dive bomb us whenever we went on to the drive!

We were looking out of out kitchen window into the back garden, watching the birds, when we saw what at first glance, we thought was a Jay. It was half hidden behind a shrub. We noticed it was eating strangely, and on closer inspection we saw that it was a beautiful Merlin! But he was busy eating one of my garden birds! All we could see of the bird he was eating were the skinny black legs sticking up in the air, and our first thought was of Sid:0( After our initial shock, we got the binoculars out, and studied it more carefully, and prayed that it wasn't Sid. The Merlin stayed in the garden, eating this bird for at least 15 minutes, then it picked it up an flew away with the remains. It definitely looked black.

We went down the garden and inspected the feathers, and they were dark grey. We still were not sure what colour legs our blackbird had, and were on edge for ages, until, who should we see come hopping into the back garden, but Sid! We have decided that the unfortunate bird was probably a young starling.

I have attached a phot of a Merlin in the middle of a meal, and you can see what a beautiful bird it is. http://www.peregrine-foundation.ca/raptors/Merlin.html

I now spend ages scanning the sky in case he returns. If he does, I hope I see him in time to warn all my little feathered friends! (Click photo to enlarge)

Diet Week 3

2008-05-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update on my diet. Things improved this week with a further loss of three pounds. That's half a stone in 3 weeks! I really have a good feeling about this Rosemary Conley diet. I have spent years starving myself and going without, in an attempt to lose weight, and was always being told that I needed to eat more if I wanted my diets to work. I scoffed at this idea, frightened to eat properly for fear of a ballooning weight.

Anyhow, after being recommended this diet, I thought I would have a go, and honestly, I have never eaten so much for as long as I can remember! I was very nervous about it, but after my 4lb weight loss the first week, I was rearing to go! Tonight I had chicken curry with rice, and I was only able to eat half of the rice because there was so much. Two ounces of Basmati rice cooks up to a huge plateful. Far too much for me to eat.

We had our first BBQ of the year yesterday, and it was very easy to stick to the diet. I had three low fat apple and pork sausages, a 175g jacket potato, and unlimited salad with lettuce, peppers, mushrooms, beetroot, celery and tomatoes. I was drinking sugar free bitter lemon, which is all I ever drink anyway:0) This was followed by my usual baked apple and yoghurt. Yes, I can heartily recommend this diet:0)

Let's hope next week I have another weight loss. Sindie and Leeta are doing really well as well.

Diet week 2

2008-05-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

I weighed myself this week, and I had stayed the same:0( I know this is entirely my own fault, and not the fault of the diet I am following. I have been having more than my quota of skimmed milk for a start. I am allowed three quarters of a pint, and I love my milky coffee. I also have 150g pot of home made natural skimmed yoghurt as part of my milk allowance, but haven't been cutting my milk allowance down to half a pint! The other thing I have been doing is sucking on sugar free sweets, as my medication makes me very dry, but I didn't notice that they had fat in them, so that's another mistake.

I am going to show you what I ate last week, just this once, as I don't want to bore you. This was what my meals consisted of:
MONDAY

Breakfast
I had a slice of wholegrain bread, spread with brown sauce and topped by two turkey rashers, followed by half a grapefruit, but this could have been any piece of fruit really.
Lunch
Slice wholegrain toast, topped by two low fat sausages plus some baby plum tomatoes. (The diet called for a tin of tomatoes, but I don’t like them cooked). This was followed by an orange.
Dinner
Three low fat sausages, 175g new potatoes, plus unlimited other vegetables with low fat gravy. This was followed by one baked cooking apple and 150g low fat plain yoghurt.
Evening
Milky decaff frothy coffee and one piece of fruit.

TUESDAY

Breakfast
Slice of wholegrain bread, spread with brown sauce and topped by two turkey rashers. I also had some dry fried new potatoes left over from my portion last night. (Verified with Rosemary Conley site) This was followed by an orange.
Lunch
I was out at a class so didn’t have anything, but I did have a grapefruit when I got back.
Dinner
Lentil and potato pie from the recipe book, with unlimited other vegetables, other than of course, potatoes. I also had one baked cooking apple with 150g low fat natural yoghurt.
Evening
Milky decaff frothy coffee and a piece of fruit.

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast
40g wholewheat cereal (I happen to like mine with hot water). Piece of fruit
Lunch
Pitta bread filled with a mixture of Romaine shredded lettuce, sliced baby plum tomatoes, 1oz tinned salmon, 1 tablespoon 100% fat free Greek yoghurt and one teaspoon of tomato ketchup, with plenty of pepper! One orange.
Dinner
Summer Vegetable Bake from the recipe book, follwed by one baked cooking apple and 150g low fat natural yoghurt.
Evening
Milky decaff coffee and a piece of fruit.

THURSDAY

Breakfast
40g whole wheat cereal. Piece of fruit.
Lunch
Two slices of wholegrain bread spread with low calorie dressing and filled with unlimited salad, including two ounces of thin sliced ham. One orange.
Dinner
Chicken Korma and rice followed by one baked cooking apple and 150g low fat natural yoghurt.
Evening
Milky frothy decaff coffee and a piece of fruit.

FRIDAY
Breakfast
Slice of wholewheat bread, spread with brown sauce, and topped with two turkey rashers. A piece of fruit.
Lunch
Pitta bread stuffed with mixed salad, 1 tablespoon 0% fat Greek yoghurt, 1 teaspoon tomato ketchup and 10z salmon, followed by one baked cooking apple and 150g low fat natural yoghurt.
Dinner
Three WW apple and pork sausages, 175g new potatoes, unlimited steamed vegetables, followed by baked apple and natural yoghurt
Evening
Milky coffee and one orange

SATURDAY
Breakfast
One slice whole wheat bread topped with 150g baked beans
Lunch
Same as yesterday
Dinner
Lentil and potato pie with unlimited vegetable and followed by baked apple and 150g low fat plain yoghurt
Evening
Cup of milky coffee and piece of fruit

SUNDAY
Breakfast
40g whole wheat cereal and half a grapefruit
Lunch
Two slices of wholegrain bread, spread with low calorie salad dressing, and filled with unlimited salad, including 20z thin sliced ham and one fruit.
Dinner
6ozs chicken, dry fried, 100g new potatoes and unlimited vegetables, followed by baked apple and 150g low fat natural yoghurt.
Evening
Milky coffee and one apple.

The two weeks I have been on this diet are much stricter than the rest of the diet, so I will be introducing a much more varied menu. If I don't lose any more weight by next Monday, then I will stick to the kick start menus of the first two weeks. Sindie is doing much better than I am, but then she is half my age! My age counts against me when looking for big weight losses, as I can't excercise much, and it is harder to lose weight the older you are. As I am 65 now, that is counted as being old, even though I don't think it is!!

I will hopefully chart a weight loss next week:0)

The Little Sack

2008-05-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

I came across this liitle poem that goes into a tiny little drawstring bag that I made for a chemo buddy a few years ago. It would make a lovely gift for someone you wish to cheer up for whatever reason. Sindie made my sack out of blue gingham, and put a pretty little blue ribbon drawstring in it.

You need:

A little home made draw string sack about 4" x 3"
A small eraser
A cake candle
One penny or any small coin
A small marble
A short piece of string
And a red heart made out of anything you wish

All these little things are put inside the little sack, and on the outside hangs a piece of card with this message:

We all have those days
When we feel a bit blue
But this bag contains things
To help see you through
An eraser to rub out
Mistakes with one swipe
A candle to light up your gloomiest night
Cash when you feel that
Your backs to the wall
A marble to make sure
You don't lose them all
String to stop everything falling apart
And a hug full of warmth
That comes straight from the heart

I thought you may know someone out there that could be in need of this:0)

My Diet

2008-04-30T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have started the Rosemary Conley GI Jeans diet and thought it would help me if I blogged about it!! I have been on it one week so far and have lost 4lbs! I am thrilled. My daughter Sindie, and my sister are also doing it. Sindie lost 4lb the first week as well.

I am going to list what I have eaten for the day, and then chart my weight loss each week. I have checked with the Rosemary Conley website, and they have given me permission to do this:0) I think this will be the incentive I need.

I am allowed three quarters of a pint of skimmed or semi skimmed milk a day, plus an extra piece of fruit mid morning and mid afternoon. I am also allowed an extra salad portion. This is in addition to the days meals of course!

This is for the first two weeks, but after that I can either stay on this part of the diet or move on to part two, which has a lot more recipes!

So far I am finding this diet fantastic, and seem to be eating much more than I usually do. It would be nice if some of you decided to buy this book as well, then we could swop notes and recommend recipes:0)

I will announce any weight loss, and the menus throughout the week that led up to it, each Monday. I feel very positive about this diet, so wish me luck.

2008-04-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

I am participating in the million blog list to see how long it will take to get a million blogs signed up. I am number 574 on the list. Why don't you participate? Just copy and paste this link.
http://millionbloglist.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

2008-04-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Cowell Family Portrait

2008-04-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

This photo is the first family group we have ever had taken. Chris took it with his new camera just before the end of their two week stay:0)

Jo

2008-04-04T07:25:00.000-07:00

This is Jo, our two year old grandson on a recent visit to us.

2008-02-12T12:25:00.000-08:00

I just did a lovely long blog, with lots of photographs, but when I clicked Publish Post, it said there was an error, and I lost the lot! I will now try again, but it will be much shorter!

As it was such a lovely day on Sunday, we decided to take Livvie out for a walk around the grounds of Wortley Hall. As usual, our first stop was the Wortley Tearooms. Livvie had a nice big slice of chocolate cake, with a drink of orange juice, and Lennie and I had a cappuccino. ‘Would you like cream and marshmallows’? the waitress asked us. I immediately said yes, despite my diet, but Lennie declined. ‘Grandpa would like marshmallows’ Livvie said quickly. A little later the waitress returned with our drinks and the cake. Much to Livvies delight she had put Lennies marshmallows on the saucer and said to Livvie ‘ I thought this would make it much easier for you to pinch them’!!

After we had finished our little treat, we took a nice stroll round the grounds of Wortley Hall. I had loaned Livvie my spare camera, and she spent a long time happily snapping away with it! It was a beautiful sunny, warm day.

On the way home Livvie said that she wanted to go to Sheffield to meet her friends, so I told her that if she would like to vacuum the inside of the car, and dust it, we would give her five pounds to take with her. She jumped at the chance, and made a very good job of it too!

Here are some of the photo’s of our very pleasant day.

SPIDER REPELLENT UPDATE

2008-02-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

Look what my son Chris just sent to me. He took this photo in his garage. I am gutted!! It looks as if they are even living behind it:0(

SPIDER REPELLENT!!

2008-02-01T08:31:00.001-08:00

Spider Repellent

Those of you who know me, will be aware that I am absolutely petrified of spiders! I feel sick with dread everytime August/September comes around, because that is the spiders mating season, and the time the huge ones all appear at different times, crawling through different rooms in the house.

The ones that freak me out the most, are the ones that appear in my bedroom! The thought that they could have been crawling over the bed while I am in it makes me feel sick. Anyway.......I saw an advertisement in a magazine advertising this 4 in 1 Pest Repellent machine. It works by emitting ultrasonic pulses which create a 'noisy and hostile' environment which repels pests, whilst remaining absolutely safe for humans and household animals (cats, dogs and goldfish). The appliance is not safe to use if you have the following household pets: Mice, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs, chinchillad, minks and TARANTULAS!!!

It also emits Electromagnetic Waves. Pests hiding in the cracks and walls are repelled by the use of these waves, safely emitted from the appliance throughout the wiring of your house. It also has a clean air ioniser, and an automatic night light. It is effective in an area of 250 square meters (average three bedroom home). Now as I have a larger 4 bedroom house, once I have proved this works, then I shall need to buy another one for downstairs I think!

Now this is the part of the instructions that has really freaked me out!!

'Soon after the appliance is installed, you will probably notice more pests than usual as they are repelled from their hiding places!!! This is normal, and after a period of time will disappear.'

I am now totally on edge, waiting to see all these spiders evacuating their homes and looking for other houses to invade that don't have this super duper pest repellent!! My sister Leeta has said that this is probably the best time to install it, because the large spiders haven't come in yet for mating, and by the time they are ready, they will be put off because of these pulses and waves.

I just had to share this with any other spider hating people. For those that love them, this won't harm them but will make them scamper away quickly from whence they came!

I have naturally plugged it in in my bedroom to ensure that they go first, but when the light comes on at night it is very spooky, and has me scouring the carpet for spiders wishing to evacuate during the night, unseen!!

This is the best picture of the light I could manage, because without a flash it was just a bright blue light.

So come on then, I am dying to hear all your witty comments:0)

Well, it's over!

2007-11-01T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have at last had my tooth out! I have had an abcess caused by a broken root, and the hospital insisted I had to have it out. About a week before I went to the hospital for the dental surgery, I visited my dentist to ask about having a bridge, as it was the tooth next to my front one, and I have a tooth both sides of the one that had to come out so could support a bridge. He told me that I couldn't have a bridge for three months, to let my gum shape settle down, but as he was talking to me I noticed he was getting the blue gungy stuff that they use for impressions, ready. You will have to wear a denture immediately after the tooth is pulled, he said. A denture!! I was horrified!

Anyway, a couple of hours before I was due to have my tooth pulled, I went to collect 'the denture'. It was such a diddy little thing that I didn't mind.

At the hospital I had to have a blood test as I am on Warfarin, the blood thinning drug, and they wanted to make sure that my blood was thick enough to stop me making a mess of their floor! I had to wait for an hour in the dentist chair until the machine was available, getting more and more nervous by the minute. The tutor came over to me and said that it would be a difficult extraction because the root was in two or three peices, and they would have to 'dig around' to make sure that they were all out. She also said that it was going to be hard to actually extract the tooth because the crown was loose so they didn't have a 'guide' for their tools:0( I would also need packing and stitches.

By this time I was very nervous indeed, as I am petrified of dentists anyway! I then found out that a student was going to do this 'difficult' work. He seemed very nice, and finally started work. After the injections he proceeded to try and guide the tools correctly into the socket, and when at last he got a grip he started to pull. The pain!! I yelled out and the tutor said 'Poor you, did that hurt up inside your nose'? (It sure did)! 'I am sorry' she said 'you have such a lot of infection around the root that the anaesthetic doesn't always work first time, we will give you some more'. Fancy having my tooth pulled out without anaesthetic:0( I was now shaking quite violently and unable to stop myself. They had called Lennie in for moral support, and I heard him telling them that I had a history of dry sockets, and of going into shock. (All very true!)

Anyhow, he eventually pulled it out, dug around a lot to make sure all the bits of root were out, packed it out and stitched it up. They couldn't fit the little denture in so sent me to another department to have it altered a bit. It was no joke putting the thing in and out with blood pouring all over the place, and stitches getting caught, I can tell you. I was then sent on my way, with the denture firmly in place, after being told to take it out before I went to bed, then put it back in the morning. Easier said than done!!

When I woke the next morning, my face was swollen, and my top lip was huge! My son in law Gary had been warned not to poke fun of me over my swollen face because I was embarrassed. As I walked into the kitched he said 'You look like a turtle'!! I couldn't help laughing though!

It took a couple of days for my face to get back to it's normal shape, and after regularly using a special mouth wash for a week, I now feel completely fine! I thought I would never be able to tolerate a denture, however small, but I am getting along fine with it. After the three months of wearing it in preparation for a bridge, I may well decide to keep it instead. This one tooth tiny denture cost £200.00 on the NHS, and if I want a bridge, that will be another £200.00. The teeth either side of the gap are crowned, and I am afraid that once they start messing with them to make a bridge, I may have further trouble.

I hope I have not made anyone nervous about visiting the dentist, because this was not a straight forward extraction. The extraction I had about a year ago, again in the dental hospital, was very straight forward, and I had no problems at all!

Our Thai Meal

2007-10-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

What a lovely evening we had!

Everyone arrived from their far flung destinations, and it was so lovely to be all together again. When we went into the dining room we saw that Anne had given all the females a lovely box of chocolate truffles, beautifully presented. You can see them in the photo of Sindie and I. I thought that was such a nice touch:0)

Bill and Anne treated us all to this meal, and I have never seen so much food on one table! It was beautifully cooked and presented, and the proprietors are such lovely people. Nothing is too much trouble for them. They even offered to take Lennie and I and Tina and Leeta home, so that Lennie could gave a drink. Of course we declined, but it was very nice of her. Last year when we had our meal, the proprietors wife was expecting a baby, and it was so nice to see this little one year old girl running around! What a sweet little girl she was. She seemed to attach herself to Lennie for some reason:0)

As we sat around the table, I couldn't help noticing how young and healthy my whole family looked, even though they are all getting on in years now. Everybody was laughing and chatting so much, that when we all started to eat the gorgeous sweets that were on offer, it fell a little silent obviously. The proprietor came in and stated how quiet we all were!!! We were all busy eating, but the silence didn't last long I can tell you! I loved it so much being surrounded by my happy family, and even Sindie's hubby Gary and Tina's daughter Leeta were here this time, as it was held in the evening instead of the afternoon.I am sure mum and dad were looking down very proudly at their family!

I have put a lot of photos on this blog just to give those of you who weren't there some idea of the lovely time we had. All my photos can be enlarged by clicking on them individually:0) (By the way, Leeta blogs as Grannygrimble, Babs as Beetle, Tina as Spider and me as Weechuff).

My sister Babs

My sister Mo

My sister Leeta with hubby Arthur

Me with my hubby Len

All of us!

Bill's wife Anne

Billie

Tina Mo and Babs

Sindie and Gary

Billie Arthur and Leeta

Tina's daughter, Leeta

Sindie

Me and Sindie with the chocolates

The little Thai girl

Everyone had a really smashing evening, all thanks to Billie and Anne, and we all look forward to the next family gathering:0)

My big sister!

2007-10-05T04:06:00.000-07:00

This is a photograph, as promised of my sister Leeta, who, unbelievably will be 76 years old next month! And several people said I looked young for my age!

My Birthday!

2007-10-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

I finally reached my 65th Birthday on 27th September! And it was one of the best birthdays I have had. My friend of 42 years, Kay, arrived on the day and bought me the biggest basket of fruit I have ever seen! It had a huge pineapple, a melon, oranges, apples, pears, grapes, and bars of Cadbury's chocolate sprinkled about! All the fruit was very over sized.

In the evening I cooked dinner for 9 people which consisted of a huge dish of hot tuna pasta with a crunchy cheese topping, and another dish of vegetable crumble, accompanied by tomatoes and red onion in a herby dressing, and a rocket and watercress salad with home made croutons and a gorgeous dressing, all made by Sindie. I also cooked two large Norwegian apple cakes that were eaten with ice cream and double cream. I have put my picture on here to prove I was at my birthday, as I am missing from the group because I was taking the photo! All my photos will enlarge by you clicking on them.

My 65th Birthday Portrait!

The end of the meal!

After the meal came some surprise presents! Sindie and Gary had already given me theirs. It was a HUGE electric cooking pot with a lovely glass lid that you can also use as a serving dish on the table, thus keeping the food nice and hot. I will use this so much and am thrilled with it! Sindie also made me the lovely picture that she showed you on her blog:0)

Leeta and Arthur bought me an owl string holder to replace the cat one I had broken earlier in the week. It is a really lovely colour, and goes perfectly with my kitchen colours. When the scissors are put in the holder, it looks as though the owl is wearing specs! (They also bought me a fun present of a wind sock to put in the garden, and it is already up).

And Babs and Mo bought me, not one, but two books to read which I love. They also bought me a vegetarian cook book, as they know I am always on the lookout for new veggie recipes! I have to stop Lennie grabbing them before I get a chance to read them! (not the cookery book I might add!!) I am a constant reader. They also got me two boxes of my favourite wipes for cleaning my specs. I can't do without them!

Chris and Sarah gave me the money to treat myself, which I will have great fun doing.

I would like to thank everyone for their lovely birthday cards as well. Even the one from Tina in Spain arrived on time!

Everyone was in a happy mood, and we had great fun with the camera trying to find the right angle to take photographs that make us look slimmer than we are! My 65th portrait is one of them!! Poor Sindie cackled and laughed so much, that she had almost lost her voice the next morning! Great fun was had by all:0)

While my friend Kay was here, we went to Holmfirth which is The Last Of The Summer Wine country, and Kay was thrilled to find 'Sid's Cafe'!! I never watched the series, so didn't recognise anything, but the village was very pretty.

We also went to York for Kay to have some retail therapy! It looks a smashing place, and Lennie and I shall go back again to take in some of the sights of York. There is a museum there that apparently takes all day to go round, so we will have to make an early start! York is a lovely place with some really quaint streets.

The next thing I have to look forward to is next Friday. My brother Billie is coming to Yorkshire from Buckinghamshire to treat 12 of us to a Thai meal!! He did this last year as well, and we had a fantastic time:0) It is so nice being in the company of lots of people that you care about, all at the same time:0)

I am sure that one of us will blog about the meal and post photographs!

John the horse!

2007-09-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

We have discovered that John, (the horse we feed when we take Pickles for a walk), is mad about Polo's! We were told by a local that he would 'climb trees for a Polo', so we tried them out. He absolutely loves them, and seems to prefer them to carrots, although I shouldn't think too many of them would be good for him! Here are a couple of photo's as promised:0)

Just click them to enlarge them for a better look!

I was looking at the new service on Blogspot, that enables you to look at hundreds and hundreds of bloggers photo's that have been posted on a public blog, (ours will probably appear on there), when I came across this which I thought would interest you.

One other thing. I went to the dental hospital today, and they have informed me that I have to have my tooth out, (the one next to my front tooth), as the root has cracked and is causing an infection. This has caused the abcess. I have to have a one tooth denture made first, and then they will put it in the same time as they extract my tooth!

I can't believe I have reached the age where I have to have dentures, even if it is only one tooth:0( I am not looking forward to it. It should happen in about a months time.

Today

2007-09-12T08:56:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to go to Pot House Hamlet which is an area round Silkstone Garden Centre. On arrival, Lennie suggested we have a drink before we explore. We sat at a table overlooking a river with all sorts of ducks and geese on it. I waited outside while Lennie paid. 'That was the most expensive cup of tea ever' he said. For one tea and one cappucino it was £5.10!

We then went outside and found a track which we followed. We wondered what all the stones were, until we came across a little wagon filled with flowers. This had been a small track that coal wagons used to run on!

We followed it for quite a way, then decided to return and have a look at the garden centre. When we got back, we discovered that the garden centre was really just rows and rows of overgrown, very untidy tangled flowerbeds, set amongst lots of paths. What a waste of time!

A wasted journey as far as we were concerned, and we wouldn't recommend it to anyone:0(

Oh well, you can't win 'em all! We then took Pickles for her usual play around, and fed the horses. That reminds me. I must take a photo of 'John' our favourite horse. We always take him a nice bag of carrots and he always comes to us when we call.

Wentworth Castle Gardens

2007-09-11T11:45:00.000-07:00

Today, instead of a cache, we decided to go to Wentworth Castle Gardens. It was a perfect day, and it took us about 1.5 hours to walk round them. The paths were all newly laid as they are in the process of renovating a lot of the buildings and gardens. There wasn't much to see in the way of flowers or flowering shrubs, but the distant scenery was lovely.

We came across Stainborough Castle, which is a Gothic Romantic Folly. Lennie climbed the tower to a veiwing platform which is 600 feet above sea level. It was a spiral staircase which frightened me! Far too strenuous for me. I waited in the grounds below:0)

The picture above is me waiting below for Lennie!

We also saw the conservatory, famous after featuring on the BBC TV series 'Restoration'. This elegant cast iron glass house remains derelict, but restoration will begin as soon as enough money has been raised. I couldn't get a photo of this as it was behind a high wire fence, and supported totally by scaffolding. Trees were growing through the roof, and glass was missing. You could see the complete errosion of the ornate cast iron framework.

There was a very nice tea room there, but we were not at all hungry, so we had a drink on arriving, and another one just before we left. Lennie is pictured sitting on the wall of the tea room patio where we had our drink and looked through all the leaflets we picked up. We will be visiting a lot of these, although some of them are in North Yorkshire. All in all another lovely day, and I must say, that although this walk around the gardens was all uphill, I am beginning to feel better for all this excercise!!

We have not yet decided where we are going tomorrow, but go somewhere we will. This weather is set to continue, with the only hiccough on Friday when we may have a little light rain, but Saturday the sunshine will be back!

PHOTOS

2007-09-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Just thought I would show a few of the pictures that we took when we went for a walk with Chris and Sarah. Again it was along the river Don, but this time we walked in the opposite direction. It was lovely:0) The one of the lake is just to show you the size of the fish in the water!! All my photos are clickable to enlarge.

HOLIDAY WIPE OUT!

2007-09-04T12:08:00.001-07:00

Chris and Sarah set off for their week in The Lake District, and they were all very excited and looking forward to it. They couldn't go anywhere for the first three days because it was Sat, Sun and Mon of the Bank Holiday, and of course the roads in the Lake District were jammed. By Tuesday, when they should have all been able to enjoy the rest of their time their, they were hit very hard with what they thought was food poisoning. First the youngest, Jo who is just over 18 months old vomited and had diarrhea, a couple of hours later it was Sarah's turn. Sarah is expecting her baby at the end of November, and unfortunately only just made it out of their people carrier before she was sick all over the path. She went inside, where it continued. Then I am not sure if it was Aaron, who is almost six, or Chris, (the daddy) who was next. They continued like this until the day they had to come home, when they seemed better. Chris was taken ill again on the journey to us, with a bad headache, and when they arrived, he looked awful! Still they thought it was food poisoning, so were not worried about passing anything on to us.

Sindie came round that evening, and cooked us all the best vegetarian meal we have ever tasted! It was vegetable paella, with a lovely side salad that had the most yummy dressing and hot croutons! I had to take these photos for you.

We had a lovely evening, and Sindie had even bought two different kinds of cheesecake for dessert:0)

The next day, I was sitting with Aaron in the lounge, and Sarah and Chris were having a rest upstairs. All of a sudden, Aaron threw up all over the settee, (which is fabric). Chris came rushing down, and it took me and him to clean Aaron down, while Lennie was frantically trying to remove the seat covers and cushion covers! Thank goodness the settee was an expensive one and had removable covers.

We thought that was the end of it, but by the time Chris and Sarah were ready to go home on Sunday, I was feeling exhausted, hot, cold and ached all over. I don't know how I kept my eyes open for the last hour of their visit. I didn't want to tell them how bad I was feeling, because I had promised to baby sit that morning while they went to Meadowhall to get some maternity clothes. And I had to prevent Jo from having his afternoon nap so that he would sleep on the way home.

Anyway, once they had left, I literally collapsed on to the settee, and I was shivering with cold, and had a thick fleece and a fluffy blanket over me. I was feeling very sick, and all my bones ached. It couldn't have been food poisoning, and must have been a bug. I didn't eat anything for two days, but as soon as I was well enough to get up and shower, Sindie was throwing up and felt awful, and Livvie her 12 year old, has passed out in the shower!

Poor Sindie has been feeling very 'tender' today. Apparently they also had the shivers. Livvie went back to school, as it was her first day after the summer holidays, but she felt a little shaky apparently.

So that was the last week of Chris and Sarah's holiday.

The first week they were here was grand, and we went out and about. Sindie will probably blog about the walk they all did, while I baby sat again.

We may not see them again until Christmas, when they will have just had another addition to the family. Chris asked if we could go and see the baby when it is born, but whilst I was explaining that it was too near to Christmas, and they would be coming anyway, Sarah said 'And where do you think your mum and dad are going to stay if they come. We will have an extra cot!

Dear me, space is at a premium at the moment. We have decided that when they come for Christmas, we will have Jo in our room in the travel cot, Sarah will have the baby in her room, Chris will sleep in the spare room, and Aaron will have a bed made up in the computer room again. There isn't enough room in Chris's room for the travel cot, but our bedroom is quite large and we have plenty of room. I know he wakes up most mornings before 6.00a.m. but we will have to cope with that:0) I am sure we will have lots of fun!!

DENTISTS!

2007-08-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

I didn't blog about it, but just before Chris and Sarah came to visit, I found a lump on my gum. I went to the dentist and she said it was an abcess and gave me three days antibiotics. No one could understand why I wasn't in any pain, other than being aware it was there. I was told some horrific tales about abcesses, and huge swollen faces with agonising pain, so was a bit apprehensive waiting for the pain to hit! The dentist has referred me to the dental hospital, to either have the crown and tooth removed, or drill into the root to drain the infection, which ever they decide. She said I will not hear from them for about three months!!

By yesterday, the abcess was still there so I went back to the dentist for some more antibiotics. She was about to prescribe some until I told her that I wasn't really in any pain with it. 'If you have no pain then I won't give you any more antibiotics' she said. She then proceeded to squeeze it and mess around with it in general, telling me I had to do the same to get the infection out. I also have to hold warm water in my mouth to encourage it to burst:0(

I have been quite successful with the squeezing, but I need a bit of help. Do you think it would be okay to steralize a needle and give it a helping hand? After all, dentist do lance them sometimes I am told.

Fancy having to carry on like this for three more months. And supposing I had been in agony like most people are? It is right above to my front tooth, and really feels annoying. I just hope it doesn't suddenly come to life and cause my face to swell up like a football like my mother-in-laws did:0( She was in absolute agony.

PROBLEMS

2007-08-27T13:04:00.001-07:00

Can you please use this space for comments? I have corrected the problem I had:0)

Geocaching

2007-08-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we decided to take Livvie on a 'treasure hunt'. It is called Geocaching. There is a site dedicated to this and people all over the world join in!

http://www.geocaching.com/

You have to have a GPS, and you download coordinates into your GPS. (The coordinates will guide you very close to the where the 'treasure' is hidden), then you scrabble about looking for it! It involves a walk which could be of any length, so you get to see some lovely countryside as well.

Anyway, Livvie was looking forward to it because we had done one the day before and failed to find it:0( We think some children must have come across it by accident, and trashed it.

We set off and soon found ourselves in Green Moor, Wortley. It took us a little time to find the footpath we were to use, and we had a lovely walk following it. The clues called for another footpath to be picked up at a certain point, and we took what we thought was the correct one. Fortunately for us it was the wrong one, and meant that we had an extra walk all along the embankment of the River Don. It was beautiful, but I couldn't go all the way with Livvie and Len because it became very slopey and slippery due to the recent flooding of the river Don. Here are a couple of photos taken on that walk.

They left me alone for probably 15 minutes at the most, but surprisingly I felt very vunerable standing in the middle of the woods alone, unable to move in any direction in case I slipped and fell into the river! It was deathly quiet and I kept imagining all sorts of scenarios!

However, back they came and we retraced our footsteps to eventually find the correct path. The scenery all the while was lovely. We live in a very beautiful county. The final part of the walk was up a steep stoney hill. We sent Livvie ahead to have a good look for the treasure. The final clue was 'under some flat stones by a stone gatepost'. She was rummaging around behind a dry stone wall when she lifted a stone and spied the treasure box. This is a photo of it before we removed it. Then one of the box when she opened it.

This is a picture of the hill we had to walk up, plus a photo of the walking boots that I gave to Livvie. She was so thrilled with them that she insisted I took a picture of them:0)

Anyway....Livvie exitedly opened up the cache and began to rummage through it. The idea is that you take something out of the box and then put something in to replace it. Livvie took a funky ruler, which I will show you, and a compass. She replaced them with a very nice keyring torch and a small ball. We filled in the log book and carefully hid the cache again. If there is anybody around at all, (non geocachers are calle muggles) then we don't go near the cache. We must make sure that we are completely alone before uncovering or replacing a cache, because unfortunately there are some rotten people about who just love to ruin everything. The first picture is of Livvie spoils, and the others are the workings of her 'funky' ruler! Anyway, we had a lovely afternoon, and we are already lining up some more caches to do.

Just one more thing that I thought I would tell you, which has nothing to do with the caches or walking!

On the first Saturday Chris and Sarah were here, they had a wedding to go to and so I was baby sitting. Everything was going fine, and the boys were very happy. I put Jo up in his cot for his afternoon nap, and as everything went quiet immediately, I was feeling very pleased with myself. About 30 minutes later Jo started screaming, so I went upstairs to see what was wrong. You should have seen the sight that greeted me! Jo was standing in his cot with lots of red and black all over his face, clothes and duvet. I thought, in the semi darkness, (the curtains were of course drawn) that he was covered in fresh and dried blood! I could see nothing at all wrong anywhere else. I opened the curtains in panic to see where he was bleeding from, and thinking that Chris and Sarah would never trust me again, when I realised he was covered all over in lipstick, mascara and foundation, not to mention other creams. The crafty little boy had opened a drawer where I keep spare make up and had undone and used everything, before carefully closing the drawer again! This is a photo of the drawer. I was in such a panic initially, that I didn't think to take a photo of him. I wish I had!! I had a mammoth cleaning up job, and the lipstick and mascara would only come off by using baby oil, gently and persistently rubbing it into his face! All the photos will enlarge with a click.

Fish Hollandaise recipe

2007-08-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

For those of you who wanted the Fish Hollandaise recipe, here it is:

INGREDIENTS

8 ozs fesh or frozen broccolli florets
Salt
4 cooked cod (or other fish) fillets (simmer with salt, pepper and bay leaf)
10oz can condensed mushroom soup
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons DRY white wine
4 tablespoons thick mayonnaise
Freshly ground black pepper
1.5 ozs fresh breadcrumbs
1.5 ozs mature cheddar, grated (I use a little more breadcrumbs and cheese than the recipe calls for) .

METHOD

Heat oven Gas mark 7/220C/425F

Cook broccolli in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, drain and arrange in a greased, shallow ovenproof dish. Arrange the cooked fish over the broccolli.
Combine the soup, lemon juice, wine and mayonnaise and season well with salt and pepper. Pour evenly over the fish.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the cheese and sprinkle evenly over the surface of the prepared dish. Cook towards the top of a pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

I served this with steamed potatoes, peas and carrots.

I am sure if you like fish and you like cheese, you will enjoy this lovely dish, and it is really very quick to prepare and cook.

On my own for two hours!

2007-08-24T15:20:00.000-07:00

Chris and Sarah moved out today, to continue their holiday in the Lake District. A couple of hours later Livvie moved in to escape her house for the weekend! Sindie and Gary are clearing out their shed, and there are likely to be some huge spiders marching about. She asked me this evening if she could sleep tomorrow as well, so that she wouldn't be near them:0)I don't know if I will have any time to do a blog before Chris and Sarah return on Friday, but I will try. Unfortunately, Chris took all the photos because I kept leaving my camera behind, so we will have to wait until he is back home again before he can send them to me via the computer:0(I cooked some really lovely vegetarian meals this past week, and one of them was Fish Hollandaise. It was so quick and easy, and tasted divine! If anyone is looking for a really nice fish recipe, I will put it on my blog:0)

My Visitors

2007-08-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, I have had Emily staying with me for a few days while Sindie is on holiday. (Emily wouldn't go away in a camper van for all the money in China!). Well, she has gone to stay with her friend for the night after going to the cinema together, and she will be moving in with Babs and Mo (Beetle blogger) for a few days until her mum returns.

*****

I have been busy stripping and making up beds for my next lot of visitors who arrive tomorrow evening. My son Chris, daughter in law Sarah, and grandchildren Aaron and Jo are coming for 8 or 9 days, so we are really looking forward to it. I will have all my spare bedrooms in use, and have made up a bed in my computer room for one of the boys. Just because I have nothing else to show you, I have shown you the result of all my hard work today:0)

The washing machine has also been going non stop, getting the bedding and towels washed that Emily left behind.

*****

My son Chris says that these blogs are just another way us girls have found to natter to one another! I think he is right, but I am enjoying it, so there!

*****

I will be taking plenty of photographs while they are here of course, and hope to have a super duper blog at the end of their stay. Until then, I won't be publishing any more blogs, naturally. But I will be popping in from time to time to see what you have written:0)

My Lemon Tree

2007-08-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would show you how my lemon tree is getting on. The first picture is the one I put on my blog a few weeks ago, and the second one is a photo I have just taken. If you look carefully, you will see the first one was only really covering the tips of Lennies fingers. The second one is considerably larger. I have also noticed that it is flowering again!! I am not sure now if it is a lemon tree or a lime tree!!

Much ado about nothing

2007-08-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

Because my big sister has been bullying me into writing another blog, I will attempt to do so, but nothing really interesting has happened to me over the past week.

*****

A few days ago I popped in to see sindie and just had to take these pictures of her handsome pussycat, Arthur. He is a huge, soft, cuddly lump of a cat:0)

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Last weekend Emily stayed with us because she doesn't like going away in the camper van. She was eating her lunch in the garden, and I took this picture of her. She was mortified! No make up on and her hair not done! I think she looks very nice, not posing for a change!

This Friday Livvie came to stay for a couple of days, and as it was so hot, we set up the garden shower on the lower patio, for her and Pickles to play in it. Livvie had the brilliant idea of giving Pickles a bath in the garden, which is the only place we can bath her due to the humungous amount of hair that she sheds. I was all for this, so Livvie set about doing it. She made a really thorough job of it, and here are a few pictures that I took for my blog.

Now Pickles is shiny and clean, and smells of nothing worse than lovely shower gel!

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Livvie then decided she wanted to make a huge Giggle Cake for Sindie to take on holiday with her. It is the type of cake that keeps very well, but usually gets eaten before it has had a chance to prove itself!! I have a constant supply of Giggle Cake in my house, because Lennie loves a nice big chunk every evening about 10.00p.m. with a cup of tea. Livvie's turned out lovely, and she then said she wanted to make a Feather cake. This is just a light sponge, but she likes to put mixed spice in it. Both her and Sindie won't eat currants or sultanas, which the giggle cake has an abundance of:0)

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Livvie then learnt a very convincing magic trick, which is very clever. We are still not sure of how she does it! I won't tell you about it because she will want to show her aunties the trick.
Sindie's friends, Dawn and Glen arrived last night for the start of their holiday, so Livvie wanted to go home lunch time to see her 'Uncle Sausages' as she calls Glen. We took her home, proudly carrying two lovely cakes, and all the ingredients for her magic trick. Unfortunately, they were all out shopping, and only Emily was at home, so she had to bottle up her excitement until they arrived home. I hope the trick went okay for her:0)

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By the way, I am a very lucky bunny. As I am writing this blog, Lennie is busy shampooing the hall and lounge carpets for me, and he has just bought me up a nice hot milky coffee to boot!

Well I told you I didn't have much to report. Sindie and Co., are leaving for their holiday on Sunday, and Emily will be moving in until Wednesday, (when she will spend the night at her friends house) then she will move in with Babs and Mo on Thursday until her mum comes back home on Saturday, because I have Chris, Sarah, Aaron, Jo and lumpie arriving that day. Who knows what next week may bring? We are in charge of Sindies cats, so I suppose there is always the chance of a story there!! And I am sure we shall be doing all sorts of nice things when Chris and Sarah come.

Sunshine!

2007-08-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day it was yesterday! I managed to get out in the garden in the afternoon, and it was so hot that all I did was lounge around and read:0)

Sindie and Gary came round in the evening, after their return from a weekend away, and we had sausages and mash with onions in the garden! We sat out there until quite late, even after they had gone home. We could smell barbeques all around us!

Today was much cooler, with quite a stiff breeze. We live on a windy corner, so it was just too breezy to sit out :0( We popped in to see Sindie and the girls as usual, and also went to see Leeta and Arthur.

Leeta and I have what we call a 'slimming club'. We try to weigh in regularly and each week put £5.00 each in a cash box. (This is the money it would have cost us to go to Weight Watchers) By the end of the year we have about £250.00 saved towards Christmas expenses! Sindie also does this with us, but she weighs in at home. This week, Leeta and I both lost two pounds, so are quite pleased! Sadly, this is not the 'norm', but we aim to make it so, don't we Leeta?

Next week I hope to take a photo of Leeta and Arthur when we go for weigh in, and I will put it on the blog:0) You have never seen two people who look so young for their age! (Mind you, you won't be able to tell, because it is not my place to tell you how old they are)!!!

Tomorrow we take Pickles to the vet for her second lot of injections. She gets so excited when she gets in the car, thinking she is going for a run, and all she gets at the end of the ride is a needle stuck in her neck! We will have to do what we did last time, and stop off at the football field so that she can have a game with her ball!

I have tried to make this into seperate paragraphs, but each time I publish it, the words all go together again. Sorry if it makes it a difficult read!

Click for charity

2007-08-02T11:46:00.000-07:00

Please don't forget to click the link on the right, 'Click for charity'. Every time you click it, it helps pay for mammograms for the needy. If you look on the top bar of the mammogram page, you will see other organisations that would also benefit from a click:0)

New Poll Feature

2007-08-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

I tried to add a little poll for a bit of fun. It is a new feature. Unfortunately it isn't working, and I am left with this white box with the message in it. I have been on to a discussion forum, and everyone is complaining of the same thing, saying there is no way to delete this white box, so I am stuck with it. Who knows? It may spring into life all by itself one day!

Len's birthday cards

2007-08-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would show you two of Lennie's birthday cards that he received. The first one is from Sindie, in the form of a magazine. Isn't it a good idea?

The second one is from Chris, and is sooo funny!

2007-07-31T15:07:00.000-07:00

Emily has shown me how to put a slide show on here! Thank you Emily:0)

My weekend in Wales

2007-07-31T11:47:00.000-07:00

I will just brush over my weekend, because as Sindie came with us, she is, as far as I know, going to do the blog on it!

The weekend was wonderful, but went far too quickly:0( We were blessed with beautiful weather after all that rain, and had a lovely walk with everyone, ending up in a cafe that sold the same cappucino as the one sold at the Savacentre in Gillingham. The best in the whole, wide world, and the one, I am sure, that was to blame for my steady weight gain.

We also spent some time in the garden, and I will post a few photographs.

The food was scrummy, and it was lovely to have someone else do the cooking for me. We were totally spoiled!

Chris and Jo

Jo looking sullen!

Jo on his swing

Aaron being busy!

Makin' bubbles!

My day

2007-07-31T10:27:00.000-07:00

As we woke up to another lovely sunny day, and we were at a loss what to do, we decided that we would pay a visit to a local garden centre for some grass seed and some plant feed. On our way, we stopped off at Sindie's to deliver some glitzy material and a 'smashing' pen from Leeta.

I was very pleased to see that both Emily and Livvie were getting stuck in, making their own lunch, while mum got her teeth round a roll! I didn't see what Emily was making, but Livvie's smelt delicious! She had spread some tomato sauce on two slices of bread, covered that in grated cheeses, and then sprinkled a liberal helping of Worcester sauce on top of that, before grilling. It really got my taste buds going, despite the fact that I had just had my lunch of tuna pasta!
When we got to the garden centre I thought I would take a couple of photos for your perusal.

Just had to take a piccie of these!

After having a good walk round, we popped in for the obligatory tea for Lennie, and cappucino for me:0) Tina, this is the garden centre that we took you and Dave to for a little snack.

The little outdoor cafe where I have my cappucino

We decided that the grass seed was far too expensive there, and that we would go to B&Q for it some other time. We are taking Leeta and Arthur to Morrisons tomorrow, so Lennie will probably pop in then.

The lovely veiw
On the way home we stopped to take a picture of the magnificent veiw! It was a very pretty journey.
We then called in to see Babs and Mo, but Mo was out so we had to make do with just Babs!!! We spent a pleasant half hour there, (with no sign of a cuppa!) so we made our way home to lounge in the garden.

Leeta had phoned me this morning to tell me to watch the TV because they were going to talk about a biting spider in England. It is called the fake widow spider and on some people can have a nasty effect. The woman in question had been bitten, and within minutes her thumb had turned black and she was having difficulty breathing. She had lots of other symptoms, but the one that gives me the eebie jeebies is not being able to breathe. It is a long standing fear of mine, (amongst others, I can hear Sindie saying!)

Anyway, I lay on my sun chair in the garden, and was just dozing off, when I got stung or bitten on my arm! It felt like a cigarette burn, and I could clearly see the site of the actual sting, which had left a little wheal. Lennie wanted to take Pickles for a walk, and despite my pleas to wait and make sure I wasn't going to die, he went!

Anyhow, I am fine, and will try and do another blog tomorrow.

Sunshine at last!

2007-07-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

How nice it is to see the sunshine again! We had to take our dog Pickles to have her vaccinations this morning, and it was quite a long car journey. She thought she was going out for a run, only to be ushered into the vets to have a needle stuck in her. Then another long car journey home! We couldn't take her straight back indoors, as we felt that was unfair so we stopped of at Townend Common, (known locally as 'The Football Field' to give her a run. All this rain has left it looking very lush, and I couldn't help but take a photo of it to show you. All this, and only 5 minutes walk from our home! Moving to Yorkshire was the best move we ever made. It is beautiful! For those of you who may read this blog and not know, I have my daughter Sindie and her family, (husband Gary, and daughters Emily and Livvie) living within 5 minutes from us as well as two of my sisters with their families. That makes this whole Yorkshire experience even more enjoyable. I am looking forward to visiting my son and his family in Gower, South Wales next weekend, which is another lovely place to live. I will take some photos, (weather permitting) and post a couple when we get back.

Other plants

2007-07-22T08:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of other plants from my garden. I am amazed that anything at all has grown this year after all the rain and flooding that we had in South Yorkshire!

Today has been a lovely day, with beautiful warm sunshine. Such a change for everyone. People have thrown open their windows and French doors to let some long awaited fresh air into their homes. I really do feel deeply for all the hundreds of people who have had their homes and belongings ruined by the flood waters. I can't think of anything worse than smelly, dirty water everywhere. How on earth do they ever get rid of the smell? While most of England has been suffering with this awful weather, my sister Tina, who lives in Spain, has been putting up with a heat wave!! Let's have some photos on your blog Tina of the beautiful sunshine!

I tried to put a small video on here for you all, but the site won't accept wavs so it didn't work!

Lets hope next time I can include photographs of a barbie!! We will be going to South Wales to see Chris (my son) next weekend, and I will be taking my camera. Would you believe that now South Wales is also flooding:0(

My Lemon Tree

2007-07-22T08:02:00.000-07:00

Hi again, I thought you would like to see how my lemon tree is getting along. This was sent to me by my friend Ria after I had fallen down a lot of stairs and was in considerable pain. I was having to sleep in the armchair as I couldn't lie down, and she felt sorry for me! It was just coming into flower when she sent it, and now, despite all this torrential rain (or maybe because of it), it has lots of lemons on it. I have cut off dozens of them to try and get the plant to concentrate on the few that are left, and make them grow.

Beautiful Yorkshire

2007-07-21T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is where I live. Isn't it breathtaking?