Hunt the.........

.... no not Hunt the Thimble, but we`ve been doing something similiar to that old children`s party game this afternoon and evening....

....I`ve been playing "hunt the mobile phone"!

I went to take my phone out of my handbag when I got to work this morning, and it wasn`t there. It must be at home, I thought, not unduly worried. Going home at lunch time, I went to the obvious places where I sometimes put it, but it wasn`t there either.

I couldn`t remember when I last had it. I knew I`d definitely had it on Friday, and think I`d had it Saturday or Sunday evening, but wasn`t sure. So we started to look for it. We searched high and low in the house, even in the most unlikely of places too, including the paper recycling bin outside; the summerhouse and garden shed; the laundy basket.... and so on. Perhaps it fell out in the car, so the car was turned inside out too, but to no avail. I began to think I must have lost it out at one of the Flower Festivals which I went to at the weekend, so rang up people we knew connected with both the churches, and they said they`d have a look round and ask for me. I rang the shop I went to yesterday morning to get a loaf of bread, but no luck there.

I thought, ah!..I know, if I dial the number it will ring and I can locate it from that if its in the house - so I dialled the number..... but..... I`d, as usual, turned the phone off, so that idea didn`t work.

It`s not that I use it a lot, I seldom ring anyone from it but I do like to have one when I`m out and when in the car, so I began looking on the web at prices and ideas for getting a new one as I thought that was what I`d have to do.

Now, a few minutes ago I went into my bedroom, for the umpteenth time..... and.... moving a chair, which I`d moved before, there on the chair sat my mobile phone!

One of the activities I enjoy is visiting flower festivals, and this weekend I found two churches to visit.
So here are some pictures from one of them for you to enjoy too.

'Red sky at night, shepherds delight`..



`Birds of a feather flock together'

Favourite beauty

Having posted a photo of a beautiful flower in our garden last week, I just have to follow that up with a picture of my favourite flower. Also in the garden.

Of all the flowers there are, the Lily of the Valley is my favourite. It`s so dainty, its bells all so perfect and so pettily shaped. It looks so fragile, yet is so strong.


And, it has a wonderful perfume. So amazing for the size of the flowers is the strength of perfume which exudes from it. I put just 6 stems of it in a vase and it has perfumed the room, and it`s not a perfume that quickly fades, it lasts for several days.

Lily of the Valley is top of my favourite flower list. Wonder what tops others lists?

Brill

I`m going to tell you about the brill meal I had today.....

It started by taking some large red potatoes, peeling them, carefully cutting them with a knife into slices and then into strips before plunging them into hot fat, where they sizzled away nicely for several minutes until they came out like this.






Next, I took the lovely fresh whole fish, washed it, dried it and put it to drain. Flour was mixed with water and a little bicarbonate of soda to make a batter. The fish was then immersed in the batter to get thoroughly coated and dropped into the deep fat fryer, and cooked until the fish was succulent and the batter light and crispy.



Result - a plate of beautiful Brill and chips.
A Brill Meal !

Beauty

I just had to take a photo of these flowers in our garden today and share them with you. They looked so beautiful with the sun shining on it. What an intricate work of nature they are.

Red or White?

This jug and the colour of the curtain behind it, got me thinking about the first miracle of Jesus when he turned water into wine.

Whenever that miracle it portrayed in film, or in illustrations, the wine is always shown as red wine. But, I got to thinking - was it red wine, would it have been red wine or white wine? In the Bible story, afer Jesus told the disciples to fill the jars with water and take them to the master of the banquet to taste (John 2: 7-9) the water had been turned into wine.

It seems more logical to me to think that the when they poured the water out for the master of the banquet to taste, that it still looked clear like water, and that the water had actually became white wine. After all, wouldn`t there have been more written about the servants reaction if they`s poured the wine out for the master to taste and it had come out as red, and not as white?

I know that for film/illustrations it`s more dramatic to show red as the contrast - but which would it really have been?

Surprise find

Looking at this shrub in my garden the other day, which is one I use quite a bit for cutting when doing flower arranging, I was alarmed to see it had a lot of black on it. Had the wind caught it, or was it damage from the snow and frost we`d had at Easter, I wondered, or had it got some kind of disease?

Going closer for a better inspection of it. I found that it wasn`t the leaves that were black, as I had at first thought, it was infact tiny flowers! I hadn`t realised that this shrub had flowers. It was a delightful find. Another wonder of nature to me. Isn`t that beautiful.

Fort Knox?

I really felt in the mood to be outside and do some gardening the other day, so got to work on setting my vegetable seeds. Not a lot, but I do like to try and grow some carrots, beetroot, onions and runner beans.

Our gardener had made a raised bed for me, for this year, so having raked the soil and got it as level as I could (I`m not very good at that), I first set 3 rows of onion sets, then the carrot and beetroot seeds. I`ll do the runner beans a bit later on.

Now, we have a number of cats who like to visit our garden, and as much as we chase them off they still keep returning. It`s so annoying when you have just set seeds or done some work in the garden to find them come and use it for their loo, and dig amongst the seeds. So, I had to try and find a solution to it, to at least give the seeds a chance of growing. I hunted round in the shed to see what I could use....

Here`s the result of trying to protect my seeds...... will it work..... I wait to see.

Going quackers!

Meet the new additions to "the family"!


We couldn`t resist giving them a "home" when we saw them at the garden centre yesterday.

A Free Day

I really must catch up on my blog writing. My mother had another fall last Thursday evening coming out from a meeting at our church, again she was very lucky and didn`t badly injure herself, but just bruises and feeling very shaken. And, she wasn`t the only one feeling shaken by the experience, so too was I for several days.

Still, onto more cheerful things. I got a nice text from my boss on Saturday, to say that as today was a Bank Holiday, I didn`t need to go into work if I didn`t want to! So, I`ve had an unexpected day off. And what a beautiful day it`s been.

It`s been really like summer here today, warm and sunny from sunrise to sunset. It made me feel like wanting to get some plants for the garden to give it a splash of colour, so I got mother into the car (as she loves a ride) and off we went to a garden centre. Enjoying the sight of all the fresh green growth on the trees and shrubs as we passed, in a couple of woody areas we spotted carpets of blue.... yes the bluebells were out. Unfortunately there was no handy spot to stop and take a photo of them, so here instead is a pcture of the plants I got to put into pot in the garden.

Now, all I`ve got to do is get some bags of compost to set them in and pot them up. Why didn`t I get the compost at the garden centre you may ask..... well, how do you fit a wheel-chair, two people, trays of plants, bags of plants, bags of other shopping, coats (taken by not needed!) etc.... all into the car along with the size bags of compost would be!?

Spring?

It seems as if spring could be here at last. On Saturday, for the first time this year, it was pleasant to walk about outside without a coat on - what a lovely feeling that is, I always find, the first time I do it each year.

And the wild-life seem to think its spring too, judging by the way we`ve got four Greenfinches darting about our garden, from feeders with sunflower seeds in to feeders with bird seed in. And, what joy it was to spot a rarer Goldfinch flit across the garden and perch on the fence for a short while too.

Driving up a road on a housing estate in the town, I had to stop the car to let a squirrel cross! it darted out from one kerb, then sat in the middle of the road looking at me, so I just had to wait and let it finish crossing the road.

Then, yesterday as I came away from a churchyard, a rabbit decided to do the same thing! jumped out of the hedgerow and got in the road, again making me stop until it got to the other side. Looking at the playing field and grass nearby I saw that there were a lot of them all enjoying munching on the grass in the sunshine.

And the final sighting of wildlife in the sunshine, was as I drove towards my house, (in a built up street), a toad was slowly making its way across the pavement. I had to stop before I could reverse the car into my drive to let it get out of the way........ well, I think it got out of the way!

So, I think spring is definitely here.

Retail therapy

Last Friday, after taking my little car to be looked at, to see about curing the scratch and dent that the poor thing had suffered, I decided as I was near the city, to have a wander round the shops and do a bit of shopping.

I needed some more skirts and tops, now that I don`t have to wear a uniform to work, I felt I should treat myself to a bit of a smarter, new look. So off I went to the clothes shops. The first one had nothing I liked, nor had the second, or the third or the fourth nor the firth .....nor......
Everything of reasonable price, just didn`t look like me, it was all for young slim girls. A lot of the "fashion" for this summer looks like it needs a good iron. Yes, I know its meant to look like that, but I don`t like it, and it certainly wouldn`t suit me. Skirts were either too short or way too long, blouses had necks that were almost indecent, and were all in a creased, crinkle fabric!

Why is it, that I can see other people wearing clothes and think I like that, yet I can`t find anything suitable in the shops??

Am I really so difficult to please with clothes? Or do others find the same.

I did however enjoy my unexpected browse round the shops in the city on my own, something I`d not done for a long time. So, it was good in a way, even though I came home with only a couple of items.

Award

I`ve been given an award.

Thank you Leigh

It`s cheered my week up.

All say Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrh

It`s not been a good week for us. First Mum had a fall, and now I had a slight mishap with my car this morning.....

I was trying to park in a space along the road between two cars (I always like to find an end space, but there wasn`t one). It was big enough to get in, but somehow I couldn`t get the angle right, and on deciding to give up, and find another space, as I was trying to get out onto the road, from being halfway in the space, I just caught the corner of the0 back bumper of the car in front of me. I got out, (ofcourse, no-one about at that time of morning, so I left a note under the windscreen wiper of the car, to say that I was sorry and left my phone number to ring me after 5p.m if they wanted, but no-one has yet.

Looking at my car, once I`d got into a bigger space further down the road, I found I`d got quite a scratch down the passenger side of my car. I was so mad with myself. So, it was off to the garage after work. Anyway, I saw the chap that I always deal with, and he said well it`s only a lump of metal! (why do we get so sentimental over our cars?..... or is it only me that does?) but he was helpful and he said I`d be better to do it through my insurance, so I then went and saw that chap there and he made a phone call and sorted it for me, now I just have to wait for a call in the morning from the garage who are going to deal with it.

I`m still mad with myself.

Picking Mother up

I seldom go out to an evening event, but last night a couple of the "girls" I work with planned a surprise dinner out at a local restaurant to celebrate the 60th. birthday of another work colleague. So I had accepted the invitation and went.

I had a lovely time, and really enjoyed it. The meal was good, and the fifteen of us were all old friends, so we had plenty of laughter and fun. Looking at the clock I saw it had got round to 11.30 p.m., so, said to them, "I`ll have to be going now, as I`ve got to pick mother up, I`ve left her round at her friend`s, and he`ll probably we wanting to get to bed now". Little did I know how true those words of mine would be. So, I said my goodbyes to them all, got in the car and drove the short distance home. (No, I`d had nothing to drink, so I was quite ok to drive!)

I collected Mum from her friends, drove home, got her walking aid out of the car, opened the front door and took my bag and various bits indoors, leaving her to follow. A few seconds later I heard her call my name, going to do the door I couldn`t see her, but I saw her walking aid running down the pavement, then I saw her, she`d fallen over onto the drive and pavement.

Now, she`s too big and heavy for me to pick up, and with her arthritis couldn`t get herself up. It`s now about 10 to midnight, no neighbours have lights on to show they`re still up, no-one was walking up or down the road. What to do?

After a minute or two of indicision I went to the phone in the hall and dialled 999. The helpful operator of the Ambulance who answered asked me quite a few questions, and said she`d send help, but the ambulance could take up to 45minutes to arrive, if it got diverted to a more serious emergency.

So, there I stood out in the cold with my parent laying on the concrete. Eventually after what seemed an age, but was about 15-20 minutes, flashing blue lights appeared and a medic in a car arrived, assessed the problem and decided that he couldn`t lift her on his own either, he rang through to find how long the ambulance crew would be as he needed their assistance. They were still about 20-25 minutes away! Whilst he was doing this our neighbour came up the road, we called to him and he came to see what was the matter, whilst he was coming, a neighbour opposite got into his car to go and collect his disabled son from the same event that I`d been at. I didn`t see him get in the car, but was aware of his car going very, very slowly past looking to try and see what was happening at ours, he drove very slow and hesitantly down the road, then turned at the bottom and came back to see if we needed assistance.

Between the three of them they managed to get Mum up and into the house. She fortunately hadn`t done any damage to herself, apart from bruises, but the medic thoroughly checked her before he left.

What an end to an enjoyable evening, but how thankful we were to have such good neighbours, even at past midnight!

Old?

I was made to feel really old when I opened one item the postman had brought yesterday.


A leaflet address to me, (ok, it was from an organisation I support), but, for Saga holidays! Saga holidays are for old people I thought, I`m nowhere near old enough for that. But, out of curiosity I began reading the small print, not that I have any intention of going on one of their holidays, and I discovered that I am within their age range - and not just at the start of the range! What an alarming thought.

I don`t think of myself as old, although I guess people younger than me think I`m old,
and people older than me think of me as young.

I certainly don`t feel old - or at least I didn`t until I opened that envelope.

Shopping Trip

I took Mum shopping again on Saturday as she wanted a new radio/cd player, and one with a remote control to save her having to get up to put it on and off etc. We went to a biggish store and after looking round were unsure which machine had the necessary functions we needed so we found a young salesman and asked him about what we were looking for.

After reading the boxes, he pointed out a couple on the shelves which he said had remote controls, so we chose one of them. We got it home, unpacked it and set it up, only to discover that the on/off switch on the actual machine is located on the back of it, which isn`t really a very clever idea is it?, and that the remote control only operates the CD player part of the machine and doesn`t work for the radio, nor to turn it off and on, nor to adjust the volume. Not exactly what we wanted for ease of use.

So, that will mean another trip to the shop to change it. Isn`t life difficult? Surely it would be common sense to put an on/off switch on the front or top, and make a remote control that operates the whole machine. Or, is that asking too much?

A Host of Golden Daffodils

The snow was falling heavily here at dinner time today and covering everything with a soft white blanket.

An hour later - it was spring again! The sun was out, the snow all melted, so off we went for a drive in the countryside... and this is what we found.....




....beautiful fields of Daffodils. I just had to stop and get my camera out to capture them.

It`s Going Well

I`ve now been working in my new office, at my new job for just over a week, and am thoroughly enjoying it. The work at present has been similiar to quite a bit of what I am used to doing, as we catch up on a backlog of it from other places. But, then I look forward to learning to do new and different items too.

After years of working in a dark space with no window, I now have daylight! A huge window which the sun streams through, and an outlook onto the world below. It`s amazing the things you see too when no-one knows you`re watching them!

I still can`t believe my luck in getting the job.

The only problem.... if you can call it a problem, is my parent!..... whilst everyone who knows about it is pleased for me and congratulates me, not one such word have I had from her. All she keeps saying is about me working slightly different hours, and will I get all the housework etc., done for her that way. Can`t I have a life of my own??

National Friendship Week

I received this from a friend, and so I thought I`d share it on here with my Blogger friends........


READ THIS VERY SLOWLY....IT'S PROFOUND.

Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to 'cut back the calories'. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible !!

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Who wants to be a millionaire' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said, 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain.' And my personal favourite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because we cram so much into our lives, we tend to even schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process The other day , I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy. Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will understand why I sent this to you

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry go round or listened to the rain lapping on the ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or gazed at the sun into the fading night? Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask 'How are you?' Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed with the next hundred chores running through your head? Ever told your child, 'We'll do it tomorrow.' And in your haste, not see his sorrow? Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die? Just call to say 'Hi?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it is like an unopened gift....Thrown away. ... Life is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before the song is over.


It's National Friendship Week.
Show your friends how much you care.
Share this with everyone you consider a FRIEND.
If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

To those I have sent this to... I cherish our friendship and appreciate all you do.

'Life may not be the party we hoped for... but while we are here we might as well dance!'