Chair problem

My chair wee`d on the carpet.   

Yes, I do mean the chair and not myself nor anyone sitting in it.

I was sitting on my office chair in my office/workroom here at home yesterday evening and decided to just alter the height of the seat and the angle of the back slightly.   I pressed and moved the relevant levers under the bottom of the chair when all at once I heard the sound of liquid running.   I jumped up, wondering what on earth it was and where it was coming from as it seemed to be coming from the chair.   It was, out of the bottom at the back liquid was running onto the floor.    I ran downstairs and grabbed a cloth to put on the floor so that it didn`t sink into the carpet.  By the time I got back with the cloth it had stopped running out, so I set to work to mop up and clean the carpet - it was a very acidy, oily sort of smell to the fluid.    

Then, I wondered what to do, I daren`t sit on the chair again incase it made any more come out; I daren`t move it for the same reason.   Standing there looking at the chair, I decided that the best thing to do would be to give it a nappy - so downstairs I ran again, and got a plastic carrier bag, which I`ve now sellotaped to hang below the parts at the bottom where I think the fluid came from.    I think my next move is to somehow find a way to get rid of the chair, as I daren`t use it again.

Any ideas, how?   As a woman on my own I can`t carry it down the stairs, it`s too awkward a shape and weight for me to do that safely. And then, how to dispose of it?

Business trip

I had to visit two of our stores yesterday, one in Norwich, so I set off quite early so as not to be late through being held up in traffic.    What happened?     I got there thirty minutes early.    The sun was shining and it was a beautiful morning.  So having parked at the back of the store and rather than fluster the store manager by being so early, I had the opportunity for a short walk down by the river.   As usual my camera was in my handbag, I seldom go anywhere without it, so it gave me the opportunity to take these pictures of a spot I think is very beautiful.

And, a view along the river

Stained glass flowers

For the first time, I was asked to take part in a Flower Festival at a village church.   I was nervous about doing it somewhere else, but as the Organiser always does one for the Festival I help organise, I decided to accept.   This is the arrangement I did for the subject "A day in the life of..... a Stained glass worker".  

The Festival is at Upper Sheringham parish church this weekend.

A wonderful world

I`ve been enjoying the beauty of a part of our coastline this afternoon. The sun drew me out, to leave all the housework and jobs I should be doing indoors, and to take a drive along the coast and have a walk.

 Although I passed a few people also enjoying the lovely afternoon, it was really peaceful and quiet and just what I needed after the worries of last week.   

The air was filled with the sounds of birds calling and singing.  In the stream to my right as I stood looking around me, I spotted a coot with two tiny new chicks, beyond that in the meadow a pair of geese walked along with young goslings in a line behind one parent bird with the other parent bird at the back of them.

 

And this, just a fraction of the panoramic scene, just has to be so beautiful.  Our land really does have wonderful places to walk and experience.

At a Loss

I was at a loss for what to say yesterday.   Not that I`m a talkative person at anytime, and I think that goes back to my upbringing as a child - but I digress, that`s another subject altogether which maybe I`ll write about another day

What happened was my boss brought a young man into the office with him and after introducing him the young man went off to do some work in another part of the building.   J, my boss, then told me that the young man`s daughter, aged just 8 months old, had died a few days ago and naturally the lad was very, very distressed.   

After a while J suddenly said to me "You believe in God, don`t you?",  to which I replied "Yes",  (It was the first time that anyone had ever openly asked me that)  and I knew somehow that he was thinking about that baby and the lad, and asking `why`.   I just didn`t know what to say.   All I could come out with, is  "there is a lot that happens that we just don`t understand, but I believe there is a purpose behind all that happens even though we can`t see it, and may never understand it"

I felt very inadequate, and don`t know if that was really a good enough answer to give.

I feel very challenged by his question. - not in the sense of challenging God, but in how deep my faith is.   I feel I should have given a better answer than just those few words.

Owww!

It wasn`t my day yesterday!

The morning started nice and bright although breezy, so I hung my washing out on the line.   It was getting nice and dry by lunch time, but needed just a little longer.  I needed to go somewhere, so off I went in the car.  By the time I came back a couple of hours later it had been raining, and my washing was now wetter than when I put it out!

Now, I`m in pain.  I went through to the kitchen to make myself a supper drink yesterday evening, and turning to do something in the living room on my way, somehow my slipper seemed to grip to the carpet as I turned back and..... down I went, hitting my side on the corner of a dining chair, and my hip on the floor.  Thankfully I was on the carpet and not the tiled kitchen floor.   But now I`m in pain whenever I move.  I guess it`s just bruises and maybe strained a muscle there, but ouch!   I`ve got to stop and think now before I stretch to pick something up or reach out to the right and try and find a different way to move to do whatever it is I`m trying to do to lesssen it hurting.  How frustrating.

A Day Out

The sun shone, I was on holiday from work, so into the car I jumped yesterday morning and set off along the coast road, enjoying the beauty of all the new spring life around me.   The wonderful green of the trees, the pink blossom on the almond and cherry trees, the sight of lambs in a field.    What could be more beautiful.

Stopping in a town to get myself some fish & chips for dinner, I then drove along the cliff top found a good spot to park overlooking the sea and enjoy the fish & chips.   Sitting there in the car eating them, I became aware that two ducks had waddled over and stood there watching me.  I decided to see if they liked chips!, so threw two small ones out of the window, which they soon devoured.   They stood waiting for more!   (which they duly got)   but I discovered that they don`t like fish skin - I threw a little battered covered bit of skin out to them, they looked at it and ignored it. - not so the sea-gulls, they quickly came for it.

Having finished my picnic lunch I went for a walk along the cliff top.

This is the beautiful scene that I was looking at as I walked along.   The picture doesn`t really do it justice - it was such a huge open, calm, peaceful, expanse of sea and seashore.

Bluebells

                                                                   Enjoy !

A Blue Carpet

I saw a beautiful blue carpet yesterday......

 Isn`t it lovely..... 

    ...............bluebells as far as the eye could see in all directions

                                 Nature is so wonderful.

Growing

I`ve just realised it`s a while since I wrote a post.  

It was a lovely week of weather here last week, well, until Sunday when it turned dull and showery.   Still the showers have done my garden good.  I spent most of Saturday out there, as I`d been to the garden centre on Friday afternoon and got some plants to put into tubs and pots, so spent quite a while doing that, then set all my runner bean seeds in pots to start off.  

At the moment my summer house is full of little plant pots, some geraniums and now all the pots of runner beans.   So, everytime I want to sit in there I have to move them all out!   Maybe one day I`ll think about getting a green-house, but at the moment it doesn`t really seem worth it, not just to use for a few weeks of the year as a nursery for baby plants.

The sun shone, the gardener had prepared the beds for me, so out I went with my packets and seeds, and  set my vegetable seeds for the year.

Then, to keep all the neighbourhood cats off, as they seem to love my garden, and I wish they didn`t because of all the little "things" they keep leaving behind, I covered all the beds with mesh netting.

Now I look forward to the seeds growing into carrots, beetroot, parsnips and onions.    The runner beans will go in later.

Looking up from my work, I spotted this blackbird, obviously collecting food, which set me wondering if he had  nest of chicks alreay.

If anyone has any suggestions how to keep cats away, I`d be sooooooooooooo grateful!

Happy Easter

Hope you all have a Happy Easter

Lift High the Cross

A view of Good Friday

Lift High the Cross...... the love of Christ proclaim

New House!

I`ve got a new house!......

No, I`ve not moved, I`ve just had my hall, staircase and landing redecorated and a bit of dismantling done.

Our staircase when I was a child had bannisters, and I have memories of sitting on the stairs, with all my dolls and teddy on different stairs, when my mother was hoovering in the hall, and pretending we were in a train looking out of the gaps in the bannisters as the windows, the sound of the hoover being the engine
.
Anyway - during the 1960`s my mother decided she was tired of keep having to dust all the fiddly fancy bannister posts and rails and we had a handiman come and box the whole thing in with sheets of hardboard and then it was painted.   Looked very solid, and I didn`t like it.

So, now having the house to myself, I decided it was time those awful sheets of hardboard came off.  And what a difference it`s made to the the house.   It`s given it a whole new feel and made it seem so much bigger, brighter and lighter as one comes in the front door.

What`s in an empty office?

Well, it was back to work yesterday after my weeks holiday.   Work wasn`t bad, but at one point in the morning I got a real fright!

Running out of staples I went upstairs to the office at the back of the building, which had been vacated some time ago and left empty, as I knew there were unneeded stationery items there.   I easily found what I wanted and returned down to my own office and continued working.

Later in the morning, needing to find an old personnel file, I again went up to the next floor, but this time to the unused office at the front of the building.   On opening the door something large whirred around me, making me jump.  (this office too had been unused for months and just occasionally I had need to enter it).  Once I got over being startled, I looked around and there was a pigeon.  

I quickly shut the door so that it didn`t get loose in the whole of the building,  thankful that I like birds and am not afraid of them flying round in the way that many people are.  How had it got there?   Looking across at the window, which had roller blinds pulled right down to the window sill and quite tight against the window, I spotted that one of the sash windows was open about 12 inches from the top.  Obviously that was how the bird had got in, but yet, the blinds were close to the window, so quite how he (or she) had managed it I`m not sure.

It was obvious from the state of the "little messages!" that the bird had been leaving all over the chairs, desk, filing cabinet, floor etc., that it had been in the for quite some time.   Poor little thing!

By now the bird had quietened down and was sitting perched on the edge of the filing cabinet watching me,  I went over to the window and pulled up the blind of the opened window.   After a minute or so the bird flew and perched on the top of the open window beside me then with a flap of its wings sped off out into the world again.   I wonder what tales he/she will tell the other pigeons of its adventure.

I`m just so glad that I had reason to go up into that room.   I`ll now make sure I check up there more often - just incase it decides to come back.

In the Bird House

What do you expect to find in a bird house?

..... birds.....

Well......

......look again at this one which I saw the other day

More Snowdrops

I took so many photos of the snowdrops on my walk that I thought I`d share a few more with you all.   To me they are such a beautiful flower and one of my favourites.   I marvel at the way something so small and fragile looking can struggle through the earth at this time of year and withstand the cold, frost and all that the climate gives it at this time of year. 

Looking closely at the snowdrops, there were many different kinds too- like this one with the lovely green petals and shading, which one couldn`t see unless you gently lifted its head - or as in this case, put the camera underneath it!

This to me was a good sign of new life among the old, with the fallen and decaying tree trunk and the fresh new snowdrops.   So encouraging, so hopeful.

A Walk in Springtime

Come, enjoy the walk that I enjoyed on Friday afternoon.....

No, that`s not snow on the ground, its a carpet of snowdrops

Amongst the snowdrops were some yellow aconites

Everywhere I looked there were the dainty white snowdrops, hundreds of thousands of beautiful blooms

The sun was out and it was a really beautiful peaceful afternoon

Being Watched

Sitting at my office desk yesterday, alone in the office, I got the feeling that I was being watched.   Now, I hasten to add, my office is on the first floor of a buiding, up 17 steps.  There were no workmen working on the building, and we do not have a window cleaner.

I looked across to the big bay window, and at first couldn`t see what was making me feel that someone was watching me.  Then, looking down to the bottom of the left hand side of the bay window, I spotted it.   There, standing with it`s head up tall right against the window peering in from the window ledge was  - a pigeon, looking right at me.

I sat and looked at it, wondering what it was thinking as it stood there looking in.    Did it want to come in?  Did it wonder what I was doing?   Did it wonder what all the things in the room were, so different to its ouside world?   Was it hungry, or looking for somewhere to nest?   What could it actually see, I wondered? 

After quite a few minutes of looking at each other, it flew off, and I went back to my work.   

I wonder if it will come to visit me again?!

A sign of spring

A friend brought me this lovely bunch of tulips yesterday.  Aren`t they a beautiful colour.

I carefully pierced through the stems, just under the flower, with a pin before putting them in the vase as I`m told that helps them to keep up straight and not flop over.   Will see what happens.   It`s working so far.