It`s Christmas - Celebrate Jesus` birth

A Happy & Peaceful Christmas to You

Christmas Trees

To me, Christmas wouldn`t be Christmas without putting up a Christmas Tree. Although I`ve not yet put mine up at home, I`ve been surrounded by trees since Wednesday!

And the view when it gets dark is so beautiful.....

It`s very moving too, as each of these 42 trees are all in aid of a different charity, and it makes me so aware of how much need there is for aid, not just internationally or even nationally, but right here in our own community.

Snow

We`ve got snow!

Ok, I know that most of the country has had it all week.   Even just a mile away there was snow, but our  town by the sea had none.

Last night it fell, and I awoke to a pretty white world this morning.   I quite enjoy truding through the snow when its first on the ground, all soft and white, so as I needed so milk off I went to the town, a short walk away.  The side streets were fine, it was when I got into the main street where people had been walking more that it became all slushy and slippery on both the pavements and the road. 

I safely negotiated crossing the road to get to the supermarket, got my milk, bread, some meat and some skate to cook for my dinner, turned to recross the road...... and......down I went on the slippery slush.   Fortunately I didn`t do any harm to myself other than some bruises.  

I still like the look of the snow, but won`t be in a rush to go out again!!

Time passes

I see its over a fourteen days since I wrote a post.    I suppose that just goes to show how mundane and uneventful my life is.

My birthday came and went last Wednesday, didn`t do anything special to celebrate it.   Worked in the morning, went to see my mother in the afternoon.   I was going to have tea with her, but it snowed so hard there and covered the roads in about and inch in a short time, so I came back home.  And sat by the fire and watched tv in the evening.     No birthday cake.   Infact still no present from mother, as I`ve to take her out shopping to get it and until this weather clears that won`t happen!     I did though have 19 nice birthday cards from different friends, so they`re standing on the mantlepiece and cabinets in the room making the place look nice and bright.    (the cards are standing, not the friends!!)

Other than that, nothing different has occured.   Which, I guess in a way is something to be thankful for.

Feeling sorry for myself

On top of everything else, I`ve now gone down with a cold or virus of some sort, and feel like curling up in a corner and being left alone.  

I should have been going to Norwich today to learn something else to do with my work - I`m now going to have to contact them and say I can`t go.   No way can I drive there sneezing away all the way.    My head is fuzzy and my mind won`t concentrate on anything, so to try and learn something connected with accounts would be absolutely useless.

Why did I have to get this, this week?

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak

That expression came into my mind today with how I`m feeling at the moment and have been feeling these last two weeks.   But I think more appropriate to me would be if it said "the flesh is willing but the spirit is weak" !

Since All Saint`s Day (which also would have been my Dad`s birthday),  I don`t know what`s happened to me.  It`s just over 18 years since my Dad died, yet everything seems to have come back so strongly to me these last two weeks, lots of memories, feelings and the sadness of those weeks.   I don`t understand why after all those years I should suddenly feel it so deeply again.

Added to that, I seem to have so many different things to do this week especially, I`ve had two church meetings to attend and related work following them, I`ve had to prepare items for a Christmas sale for tomorrow.  As well as my Work work and all the things I normally do in a week, including visits to my mother - all of which take time.

I`ve started jobs, very half-heartedly, put them down, tried to do something else then thought of something else I should have done, so left that and done something else.  I`ve just got no enthusiasm or drive to do things, not even tne normal things that I would do.  The house looks a tip I`ve got different bits of paper and things in all rooms, from when I`ve started something and put it down.    I feel quite down and stressed about things. - and that`s not like me.  I`m not sleeping well either so that doesn`t help.

So, although my arms and legs work ok, it`s the spirit to do the things that is lacking.  I feel snowed under with everything.

Dramatic sky

I love sunsets - and this one last night just made me get my camera out.

Just wished the telephone wires didn`t get in the way!

It`s In !

Yes, finally my kitchen window has been sorted out and I`ve a brand new window.  A full pane of glass to see out of, without the monstrosity of a big square white fan in the the top quarter of it.    The kitchen is so much lighter and brighter now.

All, I have to do now is wait for the bill ! - but the chaps (and they are ones I trust) tell me that the cost of the window will be cheaper than the cost of a new fan in it would have been.   That sounds amazing to me.

What`s that noise?

Coming out of the butchers and going to the Post office this morning, I became aware of a strange sound in the town.

It was a sort of metalic clanking sound.

I walked further along to the greengrocers and the sound became louder.   It was like the sound of the clanging of a herd of cows with cowbells on them.

People were standing and looking up the road, trying to identify what the sound was.  It appeared to be getting closer.  Then we could see a group of people walking down the centre of the road, all dressed in colourful costumes and ringing large bells as they came.

It turned out that there was a Town Crier competition in the centre of the High Street, and town criers from across the country had come to take part in it.

Very colourful they all looked in their outfits on the sunny morning.

Removing the fan

continued from yesterday.....

The workman- two of them and a young lad, came in carrying a big bag of tools and a new extractor fan to fit in the kitchen window.   Now, I should add that it was early evening when they came, so dark outside.  
Looking at the fan they said that they just needed to unscrew the fittings on the current one and then put the new one in,  wouldn`t take long.   One strapped a light to his head and went outside to hold the outside part of the old fan.

They got the screws out, but, the fan wouldn`t lift off of the window.  We just need to cut the seal all around it then it will be free to lift out I heard them saying.   So they did that.  The chap outside was trying to pull his side off, and the ones inside were doing the same, but, the fan still wouldn`t budge.   So next they tried dismantling more of it.    I went off into the other room and left them to it.  I could hear them knocking and banging away at it.  

A while later one of them came through to me,  "We`ve a problem, a little mishap - but it`s nothing to worry about" he said.  "the glass has cracked around where we`re trying to get the fan out".   We`ve found that whoever put the fan in, didn`t do it right - they`ve completely stuck it to the window with strong sealer, and we can`t get it off.   So, I went throught with him to see.  

He showed me the cracks (actually not quite as bad as I expected).  "We`ve got to get a new pane of glass for it -then it will be easy to put the new one in.   It won`t be your expense" he said.

"How long will that take", I asked, and was told 3 or 4 days, but we`ll block the fan blades etc all up so that you don`t get any draught in he said.   Then spotting that I`d got an extractor over the cooker, they asked if I really wanted a fan in the window, or just a plain window.    Now, to be honest, I`ve never liked that big monstrosity in the window - so I jumped at the chance of having the window replaced with a plain piece of glass.

So..... now I wait.

Draughty kitchen

I`ve just realised how long it is since I wrote anything.     I suppose that shows what a plain ordinary life I lead, that I``ve not been inspired and haven`t found anything interesting to write about.

I don`t really know if this is interesting - but - here goes....

My kitchen window has one of those big square extractor fans in it.  Through, I suppose the wear and passing of time since it was put in, I noticed that one and then two of the outside flaps which should close the aperture when not being used, had fallen off.   During the summer this didn`t matter so much, but with the cold winds of recently my kitchen was becoming colder than inside my fridge!    So, when the builder was doing the outside of my house several weeks back, I mentioned it to him, and he said he could get one of his electricians to sort it for me.

Weeks went by, I rang and reminded him 3 or 4 weeks ago.  He said he hadn`t forgotten and that he`d get the chap to come when he was in the town again.   Fine.   My boss popping in with some work and a cup of tea the one day last week came into the kitchen and immediately said "it`s cold in  here!  where`s the draught coming from?"   I explained what and why.   So he straight away got out his mobile phone and rang the builder (who he knew).   What happened? - the workmen came last night!

What the postman brought

Opening one of the envelopes in the mail the postman had put through my letter box yesterday I came across this from the insurance company which deals with my car insurance -  headed Birthday Offer, (although it`s not my birthday for another 48 days) I thought, Oh, what are they going to give me or treat me to.

"Birthday Offer.
Dear Ms............
We understand how, with time life insurance becomes more expensive and difficult to get.  So we`re delighted to offer you an easy opportunity to get more value for money, provided you apply before your 57th. birthday.      ....it can provide your loved ones with a guaranteed cash sum on your death from any cause........"

I felt quite depressed by the time I`d finished reading it all - not because they weren`t actually giving me a birthday gift, but (although I know a lot of people do unfortunately die young), I felt that to suggest that I should think about death as something for a birthday offer was unfeeling.  At my birthday, I would be thinking of celebrating and remembering happy times, not looking and thinking of what could happen in the future.

Needless to say, I shan`t be accepting their offer!

Why the name?

 I have "strange" thoughts or trains of thoughts and questions at times!

Doing something with different colours yesterday, I got to thinking.....
why is the colour Red called red, or Brown  brown, why is Green called green - infact why are any of the colours called the names they are?   Why isn`t yellow called blue or blue called purple??   Who decided what colour should be named what it is?

Ok, maybe you`ll say that brown stems from an old Latin, Roman, Egyptian or some other derivative-maybe for the colour of earth - but then who decided that earth should be called earth?.... and so it goes on.......

Why is anything called what it is - who was the very first person to name them???

Harvest time

Yesterday was Harvest Festival here.  It`s one of my favourite days in the church`s year, when we give thanks to God for the bounty of food which he provides for us.

A Perfect Sunday Afternoon

This may look to be just a picture of sand, but it`s one of my favourite places to walk, and I went there yesterday afternoon.   There were lots of families there enjoying it too - some just walking, some playing cricket on the sand, a few digging sandcastles, some sunbathing, others picnicing - all enjoying the open air, warm sun and the space.   And - what joy - not the sound of a single person talking on a mobile phone!   There are just miles and miles of sand and its very peaceful.  It really is a place to feel close to God in creation

I walked for about an hour and then became aware that the sun was disappearing and the blue sky had an ominous black cloud coming up, so I made my way back to the car.

Leaving the car park a short time later, it began to rain, so we drove to another village where we could sit by the water.   Whilst sitting there, although it was still lightly raining the sun came out, and I found another delight.....

..... to my right was a beautiful rainbow - so I just had to get out of the car and take some photo`s of it.  It was a perfect arc, I could see both ends, but unfortunately it was too big to get the full arc on a photo.   This is the best I could do.

Bird Watching

Sitting on a seat looking out at the sea the other afternoon (not yesterday, it was raining), I saw a starling come and land on the ground very near to the seat.   I didn`t take a lot of notice at first, but then became curious when suddenly I heard the whirr of wings of a flock of other starlings coming to join him, just a couple of feet away from my feet.

I sat very quietly and watched them, and discovered that on the concrete edge and coming up from the weeds just below the edge were hundreds of ants - they`d found an ants nest.   I quickly looked down at where my feet were!, but thankfully no ants had come that far.

As I watched, they were quickly devouring the ants, then I saw one lift its wing and peck under it.  Watching them closer others did the same, and it appeared that they were picking up ants and putting them in their wings.  I wondered why?.   Although somewhere in my mind I seem to recall a tv nature programme about this, but I can`t remember the reason the starlings do it.  They seemed totally unaware of me sitting there, they were so engrossed in the feast they had found.

A Strange phone call

My telephone rang yesterday evening, just as I`d finished watching a television programme.   I looked at the number on the display and saw that it was my mother.   I answered it as normal, and heard her say "Is that you (and my name)?"  I said "Yes"
"it doesn`t sound like you" she said and then she kept repeating my name ...  I kept saying "Yes it is me"
"what the matter?"   - "nothing" I replied
"who have you got there"   - "no-one, I`m on my own" I answered
"you`ve got someone there who shouldn`t be there"  - "there`s no-one here only me" - I again said
"You`re not answering me" 
"Why won`t you answer me?" - "I am answering you" - I said

All the time, I was answering her, but she kept on and on repeating these questions over and over and she was getting more and more agitated and not stopping to listen or wait for a reply, I got to shouting the answers but still she didn`t seem to be hearing me or taking it in.

Then I heard her saying,
"what shall I do, I`m going to get someone to come round and see you, you`ve got someone there who shouldn`t be there"
"I`ll get the police to come round"
"I`m not going to bed until I know you`re alright"
And I just couldn`t get through to her that nothing was wrong, everything was normal.

I began to think that she was having some kind of fit or turn.  
I wondered what to do.   I daren`t put the phone down, because if she heard it cut off I sensed that she`d be even more alarmed.

Then I thought, the only thing I can try is to try changing the phone I`m using and pick up another of the handsets in the house.   So, I tried that, and it worked!  she heard me on that.   Thank goodness. 

So we then experimented and I got her to ring it again and I answered on the first phone I`d been using and she heard me perfectly.  So, what had been wrong, I`ve no idea.

Following a very windy and wet Bank Holiday weekend, the sun came out today and it was so beautiful that it enticed me to leave my work (I had done my allocated hours), and leave the housework and go out.    So, I jumped into the car, drove a couple of miles along the coast and then went for a walk along the cliff top.

  It was beautiful.   The sky was blue and so was the sea.  I tried to capture all the wonderful colours and shade of blue in the sea, with my camera, but it doesn`t really do it justice.

Twitching curtains?

What will the neighbours think?

I`ve just realised, I`ve had, and got different men coming to my house every day this week!   I`m not talking about the outside workmen, because they`ve all gone.   These have all come to the front door and I`ve let them in.

First, on Monday, it was my boss - because now I`m working from home he comes up for various things.

Then on Tuesday, first a visit from my boss at 7 a.m.!   and then an Accountant about 9 a.m. who stayed the day.

Wednesday saw another man on the door step - this time the washing machine repair man, because my machine refused to work

Today, I`ve got the gas fire servicing man coming mid morning

Tomorrow I`ve a friend who should be coming

As to Saturday - that remains unknown at present

And on Sunday, I`m entertaining a visiting Minister to lunch.

What will the neighbours think of all these men coming and going from my house???!

Catching Up

I`ve been so busy over the past days since my last post, that I haven`t had time to write anything.  

So, an update - The scaffolding came down off my house one day last week, so I now have what looks in one sense to be living in a new house!   - well from the sides and back views, the front we have kept the same bricks as before, and just had pointed up where necessary, so I`m glad about that.    I don`t think I`d like to change the traditional look of the front.

I`ve now been working from home for a fortnight and it`s lovely!    I looked out of the window the other morning at the time I should have been setting out for my office and it was pouring with rain.  What a pleasure it was to just be able to go upstairs to my office here and not have to get umbrella and rainccoat out and venture out into it.  All I need to do is to get things sorted out as to the best layout for working in the room, but that will come with working there and finding out as I go, what works best where.


Today is Sea Sunday at our church, and it was my week to do the flower arrangement, so yesterday I spent several hours doing that.    Here is the result of my main arrangement.

Facelift

My house is undergoing a facelift at present. It was built around 1900, as far as I know. (I`m thinking of trying to find the actual history of it) It was, so I`m told the first one to be built in this road, and is the only one which was a detached house the ones which followed it were all semi-detached.

Being built over 100 years ago, of a softer type of brick and a sandyier mortar I suppose its no wonder that the bricks have been eroded away with the winds, the salt air and the weather. As for the mortar between the bricks, it had got so that you could run your finger along it and it would just crumble out.   Infact at times, sitting indoors at night you would occasionally hear pieces falling down in the cavity wall. 

So, although preserving the bricks on the front with pointing up, as the weather hasn`t attacked them so badly, the gable ends and sides have now had a coat of cement (or whatever you call what they put on them), and then it`s going to be painted with a weatherproof paint - so a new look!

Yes, expensive, but worth it.

A New Start

I started a new phrase of my working life yesterday. 

I`ve worked in the same business and building for just over forty years.  During that time, I have ofcourse seen lots of changes, both to the actual physical structure of the building, its frontage, door, inside layout etc have been changed numerous times.   When I started there, the first and second floor of it were a `house` and the manager lived there, coming down stairs straight into the store.  Later the stairs were closed up and made to enter from the main street to access the upper floors.  Then, for years and years the upper rooms were left empty. 

After many years of being disused, and with a change of ownership of the business the rooms became the head office, and I moved up there to work. 

Now, the rooms have been converted back into living accommodation and made into two flats.  That meant the office I work in needed to be re-located.

An office was made for me in the warehouse - disused warehouse (I should add) of another of the company`s stores.  I went over to look at it a few weeks ago, and as soon as I walked up the stairs to it I experienced a very strange feeling - I just totally felt very uncomfortable there, it felt somehow very spooky.   I just knew that I just couldn`t work there.  My boss, who was with me, took one look at me as said "you don`t like it, do you?"  and I had to admit I didn`t.     He was very good about it, and didn`t say - well this it you`ll have to get used to it, he instead said we`ll have to see what else we can find or do.

So, yesterday began the new session of my working life - as I am now working from home, and just using that "spooky office" for a base for mail, storing paperwork etc....   Last week we moved all the office items which I needed to here, and yesterday I started actually working here.     And it was a good day!

Flower Festival

Here is the Flower Festival which I was involved with last week.

Just click on the photo below and it will take you to the site will all the photos on.  - you can either then watch it as a Slide show, or individual ones, and at full screen.     Enjoy!



And, if you click on this one below, and do the the same you`ll see General Views

Flower Festival

A view of the Flower Festival I was involved with last week.

Flowers all around!

I`m in the middle of a Flower Festival this week.   Surrounded by beauty and perfume.

But, although that sounds delightful - which it certainly is - it hasn`t been without its hitches, snags and problems.  More so this year than others for some reason, maybe its the hot weather affecting everyone.

Anyway - here`s a picture of the delivery of the flowers on Tuesday evening.

Yes, the whole lorry full, was for the church!

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