More preparations

Holidays really seem such hard work. As I wrote yesterday there are so many jobs to be done before one goes, and then when one comes back there`s another lot that have piled up in one`s absence. I ask myself - is it really worthwhile?

I think at least that I`ve got all sorted out for my parent to be looked after in my absence, meals are going to be delivered, someone`s coming in in the morning to see she`s up and dressed ok, an aunt has offered to sleep here if required, another person will be most of her for all of each day, friends have promised to collect her to take her to church and a concert. It makes me really appreciate the good neighbours and friends we have around us. And, if you were to start counting them what a lot there would be on the list.

So, now all I`ve got to do is - the packing, checking my map route, washing my hair, charging up my mobile phone, sorting out my parents dinner for the day I go, ..... and many other little odd jobs..... I suppose it will all get done in time.

Holiday jobs

Today, I`ve collected plants that someone was going to give me; tidied and filed all the papers from all my worktops here; written some letters; defragmented my computer files; and done lots of jobs that have been sitting about waiting to be done. Why have I done all this today – because I`m shortly going on holiday.

It seems to me that holidays are good for making one get organised and do all those jobs that keep getting put off – or so I find. I`m not meaning that I do the jobs when I`m on holiday, what I find is, that when I`ve got a holiday booked to go away, in the week or so before it, I suddenly find myself thinking, I really must do this job, and that job, and the other jobs, all before I go. They may have been sitting there for a few weeks and wouldn`t hurt to sit there until I came back. So why is it, that I feel I must get all done and leave everything clear before I go off? Is it just me, or do others find the same? Odd isn`t it – it happens every time.

Do we do it, incase we don`t come back, so that it doesn`t look a muddle to others? Is it so that it gives a nice feeling of a new start after a holiday? Or why is it??

Or is it just me?!

Cloud

Thought I`d share my word cloud with you today, so here it is.

Nursery Rhymes

Having written about May Day customs yesterday, whilst trying to find the background to what I`d written about, but without success, I came across this nursery rhymes quiz. Now, you might think, oh nursery rhymes that`s for children, maybe it is – but having tried the quiz and not been able to complete the course of questions yet, despite 3 or 4 attempts, I though others might like to have a go at this. Hope you know your nursery rhymes better than me! I wonder too, if different parts of the country are more familiar with different nursery rhymes to others?

May Days

Has anyone jammed (stamped) on your foot today?

If so there`s probably a good reason for it …. its because it’s the first of May !

I wonder how many remember this from school days:

First of May – Jam Toe Day,
Second of May – Petticoat Day

Or was it the other way round?, and I`m fairly sure there was something for the third of May too, was it pinch-punch day? I can`t remember for sure.

If you don`t know what Petticoat Day is– well on that day you lifted the hem of girls and ladies skirts to see if they were wearing a petticoat! (That, of course, was in the days when females wore skirts rather than trousers).

I wonder if these were just Norfolk children`s games or do others know of them?

Killing Chickens

I guess that anyone reading this today will probably think what an old softie! –

but hearing on the news the other day that due to a few chickens dying of a suspected bird flu, they killed about 30,000 at the farm. To me, it was heartbreaking to see the way they were tipping dumper loads of them into trucks, all dead. All those chickens had lives, they were young living creatures, the majority of them weren`t ill, what right did we have to take away their lives. It seems a crime to do that.

Following that logic if someone in a town gets an infectious or contagious disease does that mean in future they`ll slaughter everyone in the town incase someone else get it???

Too tired

Having just spent three and a half hours looking at someones holiday photos of Turkey, I`m too tired to write anything tonight.

Oh, and update on the chair saga... we now have chairs! I went to a local garden centre and found just what we were looking for. Why is it that we never look at the nearest place first!

Garden Chair Saga

Our two garden chairs were worn out, so last week on a shopping trip I went to buy some new ones. I just needed some padded foldable garden chairs, eventually I found the ideal item in a large store on the outskirts of Norwich. There it stood on display, the perfect item. Unable to see where to pick up a couple from I caught a passing assistant and asked him, he took me to where they where located in their cellophane packs, and at my request carried two of them to the check-outs for me to collect when I`d completed my shopping. After paying for them another member of the staff kindly carried them to my car for me.

I brought the chairs home, and eagerly started to unwrap one ready to sit in after my shopping trip. I thought it felt heavy and looked rather long, but assumed that was how they were…. until….I got the packaging off and discovered it wasn`t a chair, it was a lounger. It would probably have been alright for me, but no way could my elderly parent sit on one of them.

Next day a phone call was made to the store. Yes, they`d got some chairs and would keep us two.

Yesterday I went to exchange the chairs. When I got there and they brought them to exchange for me - I looked at the size they too looked big and then at the label and.... yes.... they were loungers too! Oh no insisted the salesman they`re chairs, but it says loungers on the ticket I said. He still insisted they were chairs, and then said (I think to prove himself right to me), shall I open one to show you? Yes please, I said. He duly opened one…..and…yes it was again a lounger!

After a lot of sorting out they discovered that the wrong barcode was on them so they`d been ordering what they thought were chairs but they were all loungers. and they hadn`t any chairs. They could probably get me some. I said what about my expense of petrol coming back and forward to change them and now having to possibly come back yet again. It`s about a 50 mile round trip. They said they`d see if they could get the chairs to me or else reduce the price a bit. On asking how long it would take, I was told at least 14 days or so. Too long I thought, we need to be sitting on them!, So I asked for a refund, and said is there any chance on compensation for my petrol for this journey. The chap went to find out and said they couldn`t give me cash but would give me a £10 gift voucher if that was acceptable. I said yes.
I was quite pleased and am amazed now with myself for being brave enough to ask about that!

But, I`m still chairless. Everywhere I`ve looked today only has loungers. Is it the fashion? Do they not consider that less able people need something to sit on in the garden too?!
Who would have thought it would be so difficult to find two padded garden chairs.

Changes

I`m again `thinking aloud` as I type this today, to try and sort my thoughts and feelings out.

I`ve got a feeling that change is in the air for me. Several things seem to be going on and linking up and causing changes. But the thoughts of change also brings a lot of questions - what`s the right thing for me to do, dare I make a change etc..etc...

Firstly there`s a big change taking place where I work shortly. In one way it will make things different, yet in another it probably won`t affect what I do too much.

Secondly and perhaps more important is that several things I`ve found out, seem to give me more hope of the possibilities of giving up work or of reducing my hours still futher than I have already done. This is something I feel I should do to look after my parent more, plus it would give me the bonus of having more free time. Time to do what I want to do instead of working all the while.

Yet, is it the right move? The right thing to do for the right reason? I know I need to find out more definite information, but I somehow feel that`s what I`m being "led" to do. But how can I test if that is so?

Sitting Pretty

Another sight of spring. I wonder how many hours this bird will sit on that nest and what is actually under her at the moment - eggs or baby chicks. She certainly wasn`t going to move to let us see!

Quandry

I`m going on holiday soon, and am looking forward to it. It will be good to have a break from the routine of work and especially of home. But I`ve now got something on my mind, so I`m going to write it down. Writing things down always seems to help me think them round somehow.

My problem is that my parent is now starting to get worried about me going on holiday, says it’s a long way on my own. (I`m not I hasten to add, a youngster or teenager going away for the first time). I`ve gone before and got there and back safely. It`s not even out of this country! I surmise that her worry is really more to do with the fact that she`ll be left on her own while I`m away, rather than about my travelling but I`m now starting to worry because I`m making her worry.

So, do I go or do I stay?

Made Round to go Round

They say its made round to go round – what is? A coin.

Looking at a coin in my hand today set me thinking and wondering, where had it been, where had it come from, where would it go?

How interesting it would be to know where it first went from the place it was minted. Who had it next; and who after that; and after that; and after that. Where in the country had it been; How many miles had it travelled before getting into my hand; Who had held it in their hand; Where would it go next, who would hold and touch it after me; where would it end up?
I wonder how many years it would be around for too. And how many hands would touch it in that time.

Wouldn`t it be interesting if everyone that handled it had to place a mark on to say where and when they`d touched it?!

Rodent taming

I`ve been trying to tame a rodent today. It`s obviously a young one, because it keeps darting about all over the place. It`s very quick and lively in its movements and just scampers away from where I am trying to get it to go. My rodent is free, its not tied to anything or caged up, so perhaps it’s the freedom its enjoying. No doubt with perseverance I shall get it to behave itself and do what I ask it to do.

What am I rambling on about?... I`ve just bought myself a new Mouse and it’s a cordless one.

Optical illusion

Thought I`d share another optical illusion with you that I was sent.
What do you see in this picture?


If you look closely you should see a man playing an instrument, a person in a doorway, a person carrying something on their head, a bottle, a goblet.....
Clever isn`t it.

Kamikaze Pheasant

Can someone please teach pheasants the road drill to cross a road – to look right, look left, look right again and if there`s nothing coming to cross straight across. (and, don`t stop in the middle!)

One day this week I was driving back along a slightly winding but fairly main road in the early evening, it was just beginning to change from dusk to dark, when I saw a shape of something in the road ahead of me. It didn`t move. As I got closer I saw that it was a pheasant. It was on my side of the road a few feet from the grass verge and facing that way, but not making any effort to move.

What should I do? I didn`t want to run over it and kill it – I`d hate to do that to any animal. I`d got another car close behind me, I slowed and slowed but still it didn`t move, yet I could tell that it was alive because it was standing up. Panic – do I risk stopping and letting the other car run into me, because obviously he(or she) wouldn`t have a clue what I was doing they wouldn`t be able to see the pheasant.

In the split seconds I had to decide, I thought no, I daren`t stop that could cause an accident, sorry pheasant, I`ll try and get so that you hopefully go under the middle of the car and not under my wheels. I got, within about a foot of the bird when suddenly it must have realised itself what was going to happen and it flew up and just out to the right of me, thankfully alive and missing me.

Thinking about it afterwards, I wonder if perhaps it was mesmerised by the lights on my car which caused it to not know what to do? Either that, or it was very depressed and trying to commit suicide!

All Change?

Having worked in the same establishment for over 35 years, during that time I`ve seen many changes. The company when I joined had just a few outlets, it was then bought by a larger company, and has since then changed hands about six times. At times its difficult to really know who one works for! Now it looks to be about to change yet again.
When I started it was small and like an extended family, as it grew we still knew each other well and were a friendly bunch, but that gradually changed with the changes of management and attitudes and big business ideas. I`m not saying the `old hands` have lost the friendliness, we haven`t, but there seems a split between older and younger, but maybe that`s the way of the world now.

So will this be a change for the better? Since the news was given to us this week all the staff naturally keep coming up with lots of questions – what about our pensions? our discount? we`ve been told our jobs are safe – but will they be the same? Although probably with this change over we sense that us “lower down” may be safer than the management – after all, it could end up with too many chiefs and not enough Indians!

Am I worried about it? No, I don`t think I am – I`ve seen too many changes in the past, have put up with a couple of managers that haven`t been easy to get on with – and I`m still there, but they`ve gone! So, I`ll wait to see what happens, but I do think that this time it could be totally different.

Plant

I seldom buy myself plants, but walking round a garden centre today, admiring the beauty of so many different colours, shapes and sizes of plants, not really intending to buy one, my attention was caught by the sight of a miniature size - well miniature against the ones I`d normally seen - Peace Lily. It was so dainty, its flowers so white, dainty and pure, that I bought it, and it`s now residing on the top of my bureau.

I wonder how Peace Lily`s got their name? It certainly is quite a calming plant to sit and look at, so maybe that`s the reason? Incase you don`t know what I`m talking about, here`s a picture of one (not the one I bought though, I haven`t got my camera out on it yet!)

Seeing things!

Look hard, is this what it appears to be?

I like optical illusions, and a friend passed this on to me today, so I though I`d share it.

An afternoon with the birds

I`ve just spent an enjoyable afternoon walking round a wildfowl park. There is so much beauty in the different colours and patterns of feathers and features of the different ducks and geese. As well as the very brightly coloured Ibis`s. But then, sitting beside the window in the restaurant having a slice of delicious cream cake and a cup of tea, I saw something move on the ivy growing up the outside of the building, looking closer it was a little blue tit and in its beak it was holding some strands of moss. It just sat and looked at me for a second or two, then hopped a bit further and disappeared into the hole of a nest box, which I hadn`t noticed there before. During the time we sat there eating our cake and drinking our tea the blue tit kept flying back and forth, each time to a nearby roof where it was collecting the bits of moss to make its nest with.

It was lovely seeing all the ducks, and other birds, but what really delighted me was seeing that blue tit so close to and what he (she?) was doing just made my afternoon. I know I could probably have seen one in my own garden, but somehow seeing this one, so busy and so oblivious or so trusting of all the people that were around it, really was special. Sadly though it was too quick for me to get a photo of it.

I wonder too how many other people there spotted it, no one seemed to while I was there.

Easter Day

It`s Easter Day. Happy Easter to you who are reading this.

For me, the best part of Easter Day is going to the early morning service.
To be able to walk there in the early (well, fairly early!) morning, hearing the sounds of the birds chirping and singing in the trees and bushes along the way, seeing the cheerful yellow of daffodils in gardens that I pass, the occasional tulip and other spring flowers, the new life bursting from shrubs, blossom of the trees. Then to enter the quiet church, and to sit in the quietness. (Yes, at that one service people seem to respect the want of silence and don`t chatter and talk beforehand in the way they do at so many times of worship.)
To take in the beauty and stillness of the place, the joy that seems to radiate from all the bright daffodils that are decorating the church. To hear a powerful sermon, one of joy and hope, to really think about the true and real meaning of Easter, and then to walk slowly home again thinking about what I`ve heard and seen.
To me, that`s Easter.

Easter Saturday

It`s Easter Saturday, and I really can`t think of anything to write about. So, I won`t bore any readers by rambling on about nothing. But to keep up my entry a day, have written this!

Good Friday

There is a green hill far away
Outside a city wall
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

Wood carving

I came across this wood carving of The Last Supper on here the other day, and found it had a lot of interesting information and the ability to look closely at sections of the carving. The expressions on the faces of the disciples and Jesus, and the details of the items on the table are so intricate that the more I look the more I find I see. I greatly admire the skill of woodcarvers and craftsmen who can do work like this, they are very gifted and talented.

Palm Cross

Sitting on my desk is a palm cross, and as I look as it I`m trying to imagine the hands that made it. Were they old, or were they young; were they male or female or maybe even a childs; where they smooth skinned or gnarled and twisted with the years. It looks to be so carefully made, so perfectly shaped, I imagine it being done with care and thought. How many miles has that cross travelled, how many people have touched that cross?

I wonder too if those who made them think about us and wonder about us in the same way, do they imagine the person who is going to hold that cross, and look at that cross that they`ve made.

Why have buns?

I`ve just tried this Easter Quiz or trivia questions, but only got 60% correct. And even these questions didn`t come up with one that I`ve been wondering about, and I guess I should know the answer too, but I don`t!, and that is Why do we have hot cross buns on Good Friday? I know on Shrove Tuesday we have pancakes because of the tradition of using all the fat, eggs, milk etc up before fasting for Lent. But what`s the significance of the hot cross buns? Anyone know?

Cloaks

Listening to the Bible reading in church yesterday of the day that Jesus rode into the city of Jerusalem on the donkey and people laid their cloaks and palm branches on the road for him, in the way that one would roll out a red carpet for royal visitors today. My practical mind came to the fore, and I`ve found myself wondering since then – what happened to all those cloaks on the road?

Imagine the state they`d be in after donkey`s hoofs and many, many people had walked over them, muddied, dusty, crumpled, maybe torn, perhaps stained with the green of the palm branches. Did the owners of the cloaks just go off and leave them lying there? Did they wait until everyone had walked over them then pick them up and take them home and wash them? Were they left there for others to pick up, and if so who and what did they do with them??

Strange isn`t it, how something from a familiar reading will suddenly make you think of something like that!

So Be It

I said it automatically and I`ll guess others around me did too, but then something made me stop and think about the word I`d just said. What was it`s real meaning, how many who say it really know what it means? It was an old word, but a translation of it I have heard. The thought that came to me after attending a service the other day, was why do we still use the old familiar word and not occasionally change it to use it`s meaning. The word I`m referring to is “Amen”.

I found that by substituting in my mind the meaning I`d heard of it as “so be it” made the prayer which preceded it so much more relevant.

Rainbow

I saw this beautiful double rainbow last Sunday afternoon, so thought I`d share it with you today. It was a perfect arc with both ends going into the sea, unfortunately I couldn`t get far enough back to capture it all. The colours in it though were really stunning.

Natural healing

In my blog a fortnight ago today I wrote about my poor finger that I`d stupidly burnt. Well for about ten days I`ve been going about with it wrapped up in a white hanky taped down, to keep it clean and so that I didn`t burst the big blister that had formed. (not one hanky the whole time, I hasten to add). How difficult it has been to keep it dry, and to do things with a bandaged index finger. And with my parent being unwell, it didn`t even get me out of doing the washing up!

I`ve left it uncoved these last few days and I can now see new skin forming as pieces of the dried scab come away.

Isn`t nature wonderful, I did nothing to it to make new skin grow, but it`s done it all on its own. What a wonderful thing the body is when you really stop and think about it.

Seasons of Colour

Thinking about all the beautiful spring flowers that there are, starting with the snowdrops, aconites, daffodils, primroses, I realised that the vast majority of flowering bulbs and plants at this time of year are either white or yellow. In the summer there are poppies, roses, and others that are red and pink.

It seems to me that there are seasons of colour, and that set me wondering why? For instance, why aren`t there pink flowers in spring?

Another sign of Spring

I saw some primroses the other day, another of the beautiful spring flowers. They were not in the easiest of places to take photo`s of as they were on the side of a deep ditch in a country lane, and not wanting to fall headfirst into the ditch, not get muddy, I reluctantly didn`t manage to take any photographs of them.

But then saw this similar although slightly paler plant growing in the border of my garden. So, out came the camera to capture it with the raindrops still sitting on its petals, and here it is.

Resolution Update

I said that I`d review my new year resolutions in three months, so I guess I`d better do that – but I know I`m failing on many of them, and we`re only a quarter of the way through the year. So to remind myself and try to stir myself up here they are – with the way I`m doing so far:

To have more patience with my parent – better some days than others, so neither success or complete failure

To make more time for myself – not very successful

To make more time to pray and read my bible – regretfully not very successful

To complete a needlework picture I started a few years ago – failed – but maybe in the summer I`ll get this done

To be more organised – partly successful

To keep things tidier - trying, but not too successful

To have more exercise – still trying

To try and talk more to people, to try and make friends – failing

To overcome the nerves I get at times about going anywhere – haven`t had to tackle this one yet this year

To find time and space to sit and read - failed

To write my Blog earlier in the day - failed

Wonder if I`ll do better by the half year stage – look out for the next report in another three months.

Can you see it?

I like experiment putting photo`s in my blog, and discovered the other day this way of doing a string of moving pictures, which I`ve experimented and put beside my Blog title. But I`d love to know if it appears when others read this blog. (that`s ofcourse assuming it is read by others? I don`t seem to get many comments, so maybe no one bothers to read it?)
But, to satisfy my curiosity on the picture strip, please just say yes or no that you can/can`t see it.

Pedestrian Pavement Code

Here`s my idea of a pavement code for pedestrians...

THE PEDESTRIAN PAVEMENT CODE

1. ALWAYS walk on the Left.

2. Look where you are going.

3. DO NOT stop suddenly (e.g. to look at a shop window).

4. Pedestrians are NOT PERMITTED to stand in the middle of the pavement to chat or for any reason, you MUST stand to one side.

5. DO NOT stand so you obstruct doorways.

6. If walking with others, pedestrians MUST NOT fill the width of the pavement, a path MUST be left clear for others to overtake.

7. Children MUST be supervised at all times, and NOT ALLOWED to wander aimlessly.

8. Pedestrians walking dogs, MUST have them close to them, not on a lead at arms length causing a tripping hazard to others.

9. It is PROHIBITED to walk along holding a mobile phone conversation.

10. GIVE WAY to wheelchair pushers and mobility scooters

11. DO NOT step off the pavement into the road, without stopping to look around and for traffic.

12. When needing to cross pedestrians going in the opposite direction, you MUST give way to them and not barge across.

Now, I wonder - how can I get that brought into force?!!

They`re back!

The grockles are back!

Yes, they`re wandering all over the place in our town today. Stopping dead in front of you without stopping to think that there just might me someone walking behind them. Spreading out across the pavements but not leaving enough room to get through and, if you are so brave as to think of passing and overtaking them they somehow meander across the same way, try to get round the other side and they aimless veer that way too!

Maybe pavements should be made like roads – keep left! and how about a pedestrian HighWay Code?

Annoying change

It irritates me and I wonder if it does anyone else too, the way that when out shopping the cashiers now-a-days just shove the change into your hand in a heap. Why can`t they take that extra second and count it back to us the way it used to be done? - Guess I know the answer to that – they couldn`t do it ! If the till didn`t tell them how much change to give they couldn`t work it out for themselves, so we can`t expect them to count it to us, but why don`t they count out what they`re actually giving us and do it that way? How many of us actually stop to check and count what they give us, to make sure they`ve given us the right amount?. They could give us anything! It just seems to be a case and feeling of `right, I`ve had your money, now I want to get rid of you`.

Why too, do they insist on putting the notes in your hand first then dumping the change on top, so that it all slides off?

No common sense there at all, is there?

Who`s Living in the 21st. Century?

Are you living in the 21^st. Century?
I came across this check list ……
YOU KNOW YOU'RE LIVING IN THE 21st CENTURY WHEN...

Your reason for not staying in touch with family and friends is because they do not have an email address!

Every commercial on television has a web site address at the bottom of the screen.

You buy a computer and 3 months later it`s out of date and now sells for half the price you paid.

Leaving the house without your mobile phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you rush back to get it.

Using real money, instead of credit or debit cards, to make a purchase would be a hassle and take planning.

You just tried to enter your pin number on the microwave.

Your dining room table is now your flat filing cabinet.

Your idea of being organized is multiple-coloured Post-it notes.

You get an extra phone line so you can get phone calls.

You disconnect from the Internet and get this awful feeling, as if you just might be missing something important.

You get up in the morning and go online before getting your breakfast.

You're reading this.

Is it all true? Are there other things we could add to the list?

Important Fingers

A bit more about hands…. Writing about the difficulty doing things without one finger, brought back to mind a story told to us as children in church, so it was many, many years ago.

I`ll retell it here:

The fingers on the hand were having an argument as to which was the most important.
“I`m the most important said the first finger, because I can point to things and show people the way, and I usually press the buttons to start things working”.

“No, you`re not the most important”, said the middle finger, “I`m bigger than you and stronger then you, and taller than you, so I`m the most important”

“You`re both wrong”, said the next finger “I`m more important than both of you because I show people`s love, they put their important rings on me”

The little finger was very quiet for a while, and then said “You`re all wrong, I`m the most important, because when we pray, I`m the one nearest to God”.

The Thumb then spoke up “You`re all important he said, because you all have a purpose and use, and none of you could work without the others or without me, so we all belong together and are all equally important as we work together.”

Obviously the preacher that morning certainly must have had a way of telling it which makes me remember after all these years this story that she told. Wonder what children will remember of stories in church in years to come.

Index finger

How much do you do with one finger?
I didn`t realise quite how much I used the index finger on my right hand until I had to bandage it up this week (to save a blister from my burn breaking - see Friday`s posting) and keep it dry. How can you wash your hands and not get it wet?
I`ve found it difficult to use a pair of scissors as that`s a finger you put through the hole; I can`t sew because that`s the one to hold the needle with; my writing isn`t as neat as I have to hold the pen differently, alright, I admit my writing`s not always neat, especially when I`m in a hurry but this is worse than that; and to type thiks I keep hjitting two keys at once!
So I`ll not write any more tonight.
I might write more about a hand tomorrow.

The Wise Owl

Driving through some country lanes yesterday, I suddenly caught the glimpse of the silent flight of an owl swooping low over a field to my right. It`s a sight that always thrills me. So rarely do I spot an owl. Until about three years ago I`d never seen an owl in the wild before, in its natural habitat. I remember clearly the first one I saw, it was sitting on a branch of a tree which reached out across the narrow country lane I was driving along. It just sat there watching. So beautiful a sight.

I don`t know what the fascination for them is, maybe it goes back to this childhood rhyme about an owl:

A wise old owl sat in an oak,
The more he heard, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke, the more he heard;
Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?

And what a lot of good sense there is in that!

Rose Sunday

Today can be known as Rose Sunday. No, it`s not the day for planting roses, nor for pruning them.
I`ve just discovered that Mothering Sunday, can also be known as Rose Sunday. I rather like the sound of that title, because for those of us who are not mothers, the events that take place today in some worship can leave one feeling rather left out. This alternative title in fact comes from the fact that in some churches the purple robes of Lent are replaced by rose coloured ones and also refers to the tradition of posies of flowers being collected and distributed to all ladies in the service.

Another name for today is Refreshment Sunday or Simnel Sunday from the practice of baking Simnel cakes to celebrate the reuniting of families during the austerity of Lent. That makes me wonder – why do we not see Simnel cakes on sale in shops? Is it one thing that manufacturers actually haven`t thought of?

So, Mothering Sunday, Rose Sunday, Refreshment Sunday, Simnel Sunday are all vastly different from the commercial Mother`s Day, (which originated in America) which most people seem to know today as - a time when the shops try to persuade us to buy everything under the sun as a present for our mothers.

Garden question answer

I guess it`s time I gave the answer to my garden question that no one has guessed or knew. There was another type of clue yesterday.
The Answer is pencils and crooks are stages of the daffodil.
Pencil when the buds stand up straight, and crooks when they bend over before opening.
Simple really isn`t it?!

Calamaties!

Well, after a good morning, it turned out to be "not my day", calamaties have occured.

First I was reversing into a space on a carpark in the town and someone backed out of the space opposite me, and despite me hitting my horn he backed straight into the front of my car. When he got out he turned out to be someone from the same church as me! He admitted he hadn`t looked where he was going. Consequently I then spent time this afternoon how I hadn`t planned, in taking my car to the garage to get an estimate for the cost of the work. Thankfully the damage was not too serious.

Now, after making a cake and cooking my tea, I`ve burnt my finger and may have damaged one of the hot plates on the cooker. I set a tray on the work top while I took the cake out of the oven, went to move the tray and ouch! I got hold of hot melted plastic, or some such substance. The plate was still on slightly and had melted the underneath of the tray on to it. I stuck my hand straight in cold water. But, being the coward and squeamish as I am, especially with hands and fingers I`m now sitting here trying to type with one finger wrapped in a piece of kitchen paper because I daren`t look to see what damage I`ve done or if there`s a blister forming, (of course it had to be the index finger on my right hand, didn`t it, the one I use most),

Anyway, to cheer us up after reading that, here`s a photo of some daffodils that I took in the garden this afternoon.

So, it`s been a "funny old day" as they say.

It started with a typewriter

About twenty years ago, I was asked to type out something on a duplicating skin (the way to do copies before photocopiers became an everyday machine), and to do this I needed a different typewrite to the little one I had. There was a spare one at the church, which I could borrow, but it weighed a ton weight to carry, we had no car, so someone was asked to deliver it here for me. I naturally invited him in when he came with it, and that was the start of a friendship between him and his wife and my parents and myself.

Over the years they became very good friends, the sort who would do anything for you – and did.

I`m so grateful to them, especially for during the time my Dad was ill they used to take him to his hospital appointments and help in any way they could. Ivy would come and keep my mother company, would go with her to various appointments she had. She kept an eye on my mother for me whilst I had my first ever holiday away on my own, and on subsequent holidays. Nothing was too much trouble for her. When I was organising a sale or event at the church she was always willing to help, and did so so cheerfully too.

She didn`t treat me just as my parents daughter, but as a person in my own right. And that meant a lot.

We visited them a few months ago, and she took me to see a conservatory they`d had built and the chairs they`d bought for it, and as the two of us sat in there, she said to me, “we thought we`d have it built, so that we can make the most of what we have”. At the time I sensed there was something behind her words by the way she said it. I wonder now whether she knew then that she was ill.

Now, today I`ve attended her memorial service. I usually shy away from attending funerals and that type of service, but I wanted to be there today. It was a very moving time, and I found tears rolling from my eyes several times during the service. But, I am thankful for having known her.

And it was all through one typewriter!

Windscreen update

It didn`t rain yesterday after all!, so I finally got my windscreen replaced.
I quite miss looking at the crack now, it seems to have been there so long. But, I don`t want another one, its too expensive for that to keep happening. Especially when I hadn`t done anything, it just appeared overnight so to speak.

It`s Spring

It`s the first day of spring today, and I saw a big patch of primroses the first I`ve seen this year, so that must be a good sign of warmer weather coming, mustn`t it?! I also saw crocuses in purples, white, yellow and gold these early flowers really seem to brighten and cheer me after winter.

If you still haven`t worked out the answer to my question of Sunday, I`ll give another clue, the pencils and crooks are all stages of the same flower – but which one?

Store stacks

What am I going to write about today?.... I don`t really know. It`s been a pretty ordinary day. I suppose I could tell you about the “smashing” time I had on Saturday.

Why is it that now-a-days all shops and supermarkets try to cram as many stands and stacks of goods in all the aisles, so that one just can`t help but knock into them or trip over them? Is it in the hopes that something will fall into ones basket as you walk past them, and then you pay for it at the till and don`t notice it until you get home?
No, that`s not what happened to me, but its a thought.

As I was walking down the stores aisle carrying items in my arms, I turned the corner to the right to get to where I had to be when my arm just brushed lightly against something, and the next second, myself and a lady coming the other way just stood transfixed as we watched a pack of 10 bottles of beer crash to the floor and smash! As it hit the ground we both managed to jump back so no glass hit us, but for the rest of the day there was an unsavoury smell of drink coming from where it had splashed on my skirt and shoes! As I don`t drink alcohol, what anyone who didn`t know me and came across me that day thought, I daren`t think!

Yes, there had been an unstable stack of them on that corner, in a ridiculous place for bottles to be. But I noted today that the message must have got through, because they`re not on the corner now!

Garden question

Looking out of the window into the garden this morning, I said to my parent, “I see we`ve got some pencils and crooks out there”. She didn`t know what I was talking about, do you?

Food Handling

During the last few weeks, I`ve been watching on television a programme called Masterchef, in which people have been competing to achieve that title. During this last couple of weeks those heading towards the final have been cooking in various places and situations; for the army in the arctic; on the QE2; at top restaurants; for a film crew and actors; as well as producing test dishes in the studio.

One thing that I`ve notices in all these programmes, and which really appals me is the way that so much of the food handling is done with their hands. Not just the competitors, but those instructing them in the top establishments too, were teaching them to arrange the food on the plate using their fingers. Fair enough, we all handle uncooked food like vegetable which are going to be cooked, with our hands, but I was always taught, both at home and in domestic science lessons at school, that you just DID NOT touch with your hands food that other people were going to eat.

So how is it, in these days of strict hygiene regulations in food shops and outlets, that in restaurants the food put onto the plate for people to eat, is allowed to be done with bare hands?

What`s in a Name?

What`s in a name? House names always fascinate me, and when out walking I find myself looking at the name plates on people`s houses, bungalows and cottages. On some I can see why it has the name it has because of physical features, like Lilac Cottage which has a large lilac tree in the garden, Sea spray on a house a short distance from the beach, or Tides Reach - don`t think I fancy living there! Those type of names aren`t particularly out of the ordinary, neither are those like Dunroaming, or The Retreat, but the ones that I like are those that are out of the ordinary and that make me stop and wonder why they`ve called it by that particular name, and those that have a sense of humour about them. There used to be a house in our town called Idunno and on their garage they had Nordoi – that I thought was clever. One I saw today, at the end of a cul-de-sac also particularly struck me as witty it was called Outter Way.

I would be interested to hear too of other out of the ordinary names of dwellings readers of this have come across.

(Now whether you need a Norfolk accent to make sense of those, I don`t know – but if so, leave a comment and I`ll translate)

Rain stops play!

Want to know why its been a damp rainy day where I live today? I guess it`s my fault!

After more phone calls all was arranged for the man to come and replace my windscreen today, all week every day has been dry, cold, but dry and sunny – what happens today when he comes? Yes, it rains, so yet again he couldn`t do it, because its got to be done outside. He can`t do it in the garage I use because its not wide enough in there to open both the car doors at the same time. So, we wait again.

Want to know when the next wet day will be?.... guess it could be next Tuesday, that`s when he`s due to come back again!

A Dog Hotel

If you`re looking for somewhere to go on holiday, I`ve found just the place to stay, a dog hotel !

Now by the sound of it you`ll no doubt think I`m going to some kennels, or else talking about putting a canine friend in kennels while I have a much needed holiday and break away. (I have on my travels seen a kennels called The Dogotel, but this isn`t it). This is a place for humans to stay, but would you fancy it?.... I`m not sure if I would.

And, no, I`m not on commission or involved in it, I just came across it.

Country chickens

Out driving in the countryside on a sunny day at the weekend, I came across this lovely group of chickens and cockerels just on a grassy bank. I wonder where they are now, whether they lived on the patch of grass or whether they belonged to a house or farm nearby. They seemed to be totally on their own when I saw them, and didn`t seem bothered when I stopped the car beside them and got out to take their photo`s.

Whenever we go for a drive round the country lanes we always seem to come across something different to see. It really is a beautiful world in this part of the country.

Back to routine

What am I going to write about today? Not a lot really. I went back to work today after having three weeks off. Surprising really isn`t it how quickly one adapts to changes like that.

Yesterday I was feeling and thinking I don`t want to go back, I like my life at home. I like not having to be watching the clock all the time.
Yet, today I enjoyed being back at work. Back amongst other people, catching up on their news and events, settling down into the routine of the jobs I had to do. Yet, a part of me still wanted to be “free”, to be able to not be tied to a set pattern or routine for each day. I could do with a job with flexible hours!

Voices

What a difference a voice makes. I don`t mean between having a voice or not being able to speak. What I`m talking (or should I say writing?) about is the tone and volume of voices.

I`ve attended two services today, but I have to admit that the manner and voice of this mornings preacher simply made me unable to concentrate. My mind just wandered the whole while and I took in nothing of what he was saying. Yet, this evenings preacher I found so easy to concentrate and take in what was being said.

Why the difference? They were both male voices, both quite loud voices (I do normally prefer quiet spoken people and voices as I find those the best to listen to). This mornings voice was very excitable, erratic, seeming to rush through everything he read and said without a pause to draw breath, whereas this evenings one spoke calmly and smoothly without rushing. Another difference seemed to be that the first one seemed to just be talking `at` me, whereas in contrast the second seemed to be talking `to` me.

I find the same thing in conversations too, some people are much easier to listen to than others.
That makes me stop and think – how do I sound to others?

Missing manners

Where have good manners gone to now-a-days?

I was brought up that if people were talking and you wanted to speak to one of them you waited until they had finished their conversation. You didn`t go up to them and butt in. Neither do you walk through the middle of two or a group of people talking, you walk round them, or behind them. And, it`s not just the young people who do this. I was talking to someone yesterday morning, and starting to say about something that`s worrying me when someone barges through the middle of us, thus ending what I`d just had the opening and opportunity to say and to ask.
It was so frustrating and annoying.

Windscreen update

Having written last week about the mysterious crack appearing in my car windscreen, I expected by tonight to have got rid of the crack. I rang up all the relevant insurance people straight away last week, and had a phone call back from their windscreen replacement firm with the earliest they could come and replace it, being this afternoon between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.

So, I duly waited in.
Now, I know that if it had turned out to be raining they obviously couldn`t do it, but in the middle of the afternoon I got a phone call from the repair chap that he was on his way, but that it was pouring with rain, and asking if it was raining here. No, I replied its dry here. So, about 15 minutes later he arrived. The sky was a bit cloudy but it was dry. He got out of his van, looked at the sky then at my car, said, yes I`ve got the right windscreen with me to replace it, and the glue to fix it. Then he looked again at the sky and at the windscreen, went and got his invoice and looked at that. Although he`d got the replacement screen and glue, they hadn`t listed and he hadn`t got the black sealing strip to go all round the windscreen!
So, he couldn`t do the job.

Now, wouldn`t you have thought he`d have known he needed that too before he set out?
So, I`ve still got to drive round with a crack and wait for another phone call to know when he can come with all the parts and replace it. And ofcourse to hope that it doesn`t rain on the day they decide on.

Who would have thought it could be so complicated to get that job completed.
Why is life so complicated.

Difficult spending

I had two gift vouchers given to me as a gift last Christmas. I greatly appreciated them and the thought behind them. But – I find it so difficult to spend them. Is it only me, or do others have the same dilemma?

It`s not that I can`t find the shop or place they`re to be spent at. In fact I`ve been wandering round one of them this afternoon. I`ve looked at this, and that, and the other, but yet – what to get with them, is another question altogether! I`ve come back without getting anything.

I can happily go shopping and look round and see and buy (finances allowing!) something that I want or takes my fancy, using cash or cheques etc. Yet, when it comes to spending a gift voucher it seems so difficult to know what to get with it. Is it, I wonder, because I want it to be `something special` or something worthwhile as the person has been kind enough to send me the vouchers. I don`t want to waste them by not getting the `right` thing with them. But to keep the vouchers and not spend them isn`t doing justice to them either, nor to the person who sent them for me to get myself something with. It somehow seems different spending my money to spending someone elses.

New Life

For months this has been sitting on our window sill, completely dead looking. It was on the point of being put out. Then, about a week ago I looked closer and thought is that a tiny bit of green I can see deep in the centre, so we left it on the window sill. Now, just 7 days later what beautiful fresh green life there is. Three leaves appear to be growing, or dare we hope that they some of them may be flower stalks?

To me, its a wonderful sign of life after death.
So inspiring.

Beautiful creatures

Rules of the road

A question that went round my mind today after I`d been out for a drive today was - Who first decided that we should drive on the left? Did it just naturally happen or evolve or when did someone, and if so who, first decide that it should be done? Was it in the days of pony and traps, stage coaches, bicycles or did it not come about until the motor car? And, where did the rules of the highway code originate from?

Yes, I know I come up with some strange thoughts at times! But these questions suddenly pop into my mind. Wonder what that says about me?!!

And, if you want to have a go at a driving test try these.
Glad to say I passed on the one I tried.

If I weren`t me what would I be?

What would I be if I weren`t a human? That`s a questions posed by someone on their Blog today, and it set me thinking. What would I like to be?

Not an insect – they get trodden on and despised by many people, although I could quite fancy being a pretty butterfly flitting about, but then, they don`t live very long do they.

Not a fish – I can`t swim! Nor a crab or lobster – beautiful as the underwater world is shown to be, I want to be on dry land.

So maybe I should be an animal? – I could be a elegant giraffe nice and tall and able to see all around, but - having just had a bad throat, think of the long sore throat one would get! Or should I be a polar bear, I quite fancy that nice warm furry coat- but do I fancy living somewhere so cold? No, they`re not for me.

I think that I too would like to be a bird – but what sort?
I think I would like to be a canary in a cage – feeling safe and secure in my own home, being given food and water and titbits every day, being given a bath to splash about in when I wanted, having people to clean my home and talk to me and I`d chirp back and sing to them, and then just be able to curl up into a ball when I wanted to be left alone.
Yes, I think that would be for me.

An enjoyable day

Nothing very interesting or exciting to write about comes to mind tonight. I`ve just spent a day doing some of the things I enjoy doing when I get time to do them. Like making a lemon cake, some chocolate buns and a lemon steamed pudding before cooking a roast lamb lunch. Then a lazy afternoon and evening sitting doing some cross-stitch work.

A Cracking Mystery

A cracking mystery – have I been watching too many of Agatha Christie`s detective Poirot programmes in recent afternoons you may ask by that title of today`s blog?

It`s true I`ve been doing the unaccustomed activity (or non activity depending how you look at it) of watching afternoon television during the last couple of weeks while I`ve not felt well.

But, no, this isn`t one of them. My mystery is, that my car has been sitting quietly in my drive outside the front of the house for the last couple of weeks, not going anywhere (well, apart from a few yards to the doctors and back twice). But on getting in it this afternoon I looked at the windscreen, then looked again, must be the way the light is catching it I thought as it was a beautiful sunny afternoon, but no, on getting out to look closer and to feel it with my hand, I find a crack in the glass, about 6 inches long and curving upwards.

Now, the question is – how did it get there, what caused it?

Bird Feeding

We had an unusual visitor to the garden yesterday. We`d put out the remains of the chicken we`d had at the weekend, and it was as usual quickly surrounded by a flock of starlings. (Wonder if they ever realise that they`re eating almost one of their own kind!!). Anyway, we were then aware of a larger bird sitting on the building at the end of the garden watching. It`s not one that we find in the garden as a rule. I think the cold weather had maybe made it hungry and brought it in. Gradually this bird came nearer, hopping along the grass in its peculiar gait, then it came to the snow that hadn`t yet melted and almost as if he (or she) didn`t like the feel of the snow under its feet the way it put its feet down and quickly lifted it up again. (Wonder if birds do feel temperature in the way we do?) Eventually it got to the chicken carcass, the other birds by this time had flown off at its approach, so it got stuck in and had a good feed. I just had to get my camera out and take this photo of it from the window. Yes, it was a magpie.

Does anyone know – is it unusual for one to come and feed like that?

March the First

Snow to start March with. Another month starts today, and there`s a sprinkling of snow outside, quite unusual for here. This is a view of some rooftops nearby with a covering of snow, I always think the snow makes them look so pretty but I`m really glad though that I`m off work and didn`t have to walk on those icy pavements this morning!

Still as the saying goes -

If March comes in like a lion it goes out like a lamb. –

Let`s hope that proves true

Pancakes

It`s Pancake Day. Yummy!! Yes, I made and cooked some for dinner today, with the usual sugar and lemon on them, and they were delicious. Not, that I only have them on Shrove Tuesday, I like them on other days as a pudding too.

I came across some unusual facts about pancakes on here. Did you know that there`s an old Lent custom for children to throw old crockery at neighbours doors and ask them to throw pancakes back? Wonder what would happen if we brought that back to do, bit like trick or treat isn`t it?!

I`ve also discovered several more customs and some old rhymes children are said to have recited on Shrove Tuesday. And, that the ingredients all are said to have four crucial points of significance at this time of year:
Eggs ~ Creation
Flour ~ The staff of life
Salt ~ Wholesomeness
Milk ~ Purity

Bulb trouble

Having written the other day about my dislike of these energy saving bulbs, the one in my room here has now decided to save even more energy for the electricity board. It`s gone out completely. I thought that these bulbs were supposed to last a lot, lot, lot longer than ordinary bulbs? This one certainly hasn`t. Maybe it heard be grumbling about it, so decided to pack up!!

But, the question now is – what shall I replace it with?
Shall I `be good` and get another of the same energy efficient ones, and put up with a poor dull light, or, now that it`s packed up shall I go for a good old-fashioned proper bulb that gives good light?

Decisions, decisions!!

Stuck!

I`m stuck for what to write again today. I`ve not been doing anything interesting, not heard anything lighthearted to write about here, not come across any interesting sites. So, it will have to be post a picture again. Hope you enjoy looking at another spring flower!

Pretty in pink

Nature at work

Looking out of the window during this week, several signs of spring approaching seem apparent. Several of the shrubs are now beginning to show small buds of green, the pots of bulbs now have yellow crocus almost visible, the daffodils have flower spikes appearing. And on top of all that, I`ve seen two blackbirds gathering and flying off with beakfuls of nesting material which they`ve foraged for in the borders. It`s amazing to see the strength with which they tug and pull at the old dead stems and the way they fold the long pieces to fit them in their beaks which never look as if they`re going to hold all the pieces they`re trying to carry. They are such clever creatures.

Appointment Wanted

Why is it so difficult to get an appointment with a doctor?

I really do wonder at times why life seems to get more and more difficult to even do the simplest things. Surely it should be one of the easiest and most accessible things to do, to be able to visit ones doctor when in need? I can remember in my childhood and youth (and its not that long ago – well, not really), you just went to the surgery on the day you felt unwell and wanted to see him, were given a number and waited until your turn came. Simple. Easy. Then it changed so that you rang up and made an appointment for the day you wanted – again fairly trouble free.

Why, in the so called days of progress is it no longer simple?

I rang our surgery yesterday afternoon to make an appointment for today. Straightforward enough request I thought. But, oh no. `No sorry, we can`t prebook any appointments, you`ll have to ring early in the morning`. (wonder how they manage to have patients to see at opening time if you can`t pre-book!!!) So, I rang first thing in the morning “I`d like to make an appointment to see a doctor today please” I said. (that sounded plain English to me!) “You could see the Practice Nurse, she deals with minor things and can prescribe antibiotics”, I was told. “No, I`d like to see the doctor please”, again I was told that P.Nurse was available. And again I insisted I wanted to see a doctor. In the end I got an appointment.

But, should it really be so difficult?

Under the Weather

I`m feeling under the weather today. Now why do we use that expression I wonder?
Is that that the state of the weather has an effect on us? I know that a bright or sunny day usually makes me feel cheerful and more confident to do things, whereas if I have to tackle something I`m not sure about on a grey dull day it seems so much harder to do the same thing.
But does the weather really have any effect on our actual health?
So why say ‘under the weather’ for not feeling well? I`ve just looked up the definition of that expression and come across that it`s said to originate from the fact that an inexperienced sailor who feels seasick shelters from the wind by crouching down beside the bulwarks – “under” their protection – on the “weather” side of the ship.

Hugs

I heard an interesting item on the radio the other morning, that hugs are good for you, and I`ve just come across this. How true it is.
But, on the other hand it`s only good if you have someone to hug you. For those with no-one, its no help at all to be told that what you feel you most need, is what you can`t have anyway because there`s no-one to give it.

Brain dead

Well, I think this cold has dulled my brain, I can`t get inspired to write anything today. So, sorry to anyone who reads this regularly, that`s all I`m going to write today. Will try and do better tomorrow

In the fashion

Yes, I`m in the fashion.
No, I`ve not got the latest fashion clothing, nor the latest hair do. I`ve got a cold. Now, where did I get that from? Can`t have been where I was on Friday because that would be too soon for it to come out yesterday, so it must have been the one someone I was working near on Wednesday at my place of work had.

Wonder why it is that we say “We`re in the fashion” when we`ve got a cold? Anyone any ideas on that.

Chips with everything

Do you know what week this is?
I`ve just discovered that this is National Chip Week. Now, how could I miss that with my liking for chips?! And there`s even a site all about chips ! I`m a great potato lover and don`t think you can have a meal without them. I`d eat them at every meal if I had a chance. Not for me rice and pasta – give me good old potatoes. Roasted, Baked, Fried, Boiled new, Fried mashed, and especially Chips! Whether they`re home cooked chips (the best kind) or chip shop chips I enjoy them all, but oven chips – no, not to my taste they`re nothing like real potato chips.

Solutions

If you didn`t manage to solve my question of yesterday, have a look at this. I found it the other day and was impressed with the way it had been done. I wonder how long it took whoever did it, to do it? Many hours I`ll guess. Being a person who enjoys creating quizzes myself I can appreciate the work that went into it.

I know people say to me, how do you do it (make quizzes), it must be very difficult, you must be very clever? No, I`m not very clever! I find it far easier to make them than to solve them. One has the answer already so just work backwards!

What a pity life`s questions and problems can`t be solved by knowing the answers first!

Strange Stations

How well travelled are you?! I found some strange stations the other day. So, I`ll pose the question today - Where can you find the stations called Thorn Lot; Rodent Channel; Koa Wood; Watery Towage; Con Took Pond; and Taprock Avenue?

A walk by the sea

I`ve been walking by the sea again this afternoon. The sun was out and for the time of year it was a pleasantly mild day. The tide was then coming in, washing over the sand just wave after wave rippling that little bit further up the beach, almost as if the waves were trying to see which one of them could be the first to touch the stones. It was quiet, it was peaceful, it was the wonder of nature.

Energy Efficiency

I`ve just found an interesting Energy efficiency test, which I`ve just done. Only got half the questions right though, but there were some interesting and surprising answers to some of it.

I know that we should be using energy efficient light bulbs as they use far less electricity, but although we do, I don`t like them for the amount of light they give. Even ones that are said to be equivalent to 100 watts, don`t seem to me to give as much light as a normal bulb of that wattage. Is it just me or do others find the same?

What sort of a day is it?

Following on from what I wrote yesterday, I came across this piece which I`d read some time ago and kept….

`Isn`t it an awful day?` said the customer in the bakery. It wasn`t, it was a `soft` sort of a day, fine drizzle and a breeze. Far from awful!

Why do we criticise the weather so much? It`s awful when there is two feet of snow and we can`t get out! Or, as happened recently somewhere a devastating flood, ruining homes and businesses and preventing people getting to work.

Whatever the weather, snow, cold, rain, gales or sunshine, there is something in it to be enjoyed. On a cold day it is pleasant to sit round a fire with a good book or a favourite television programme. On fine days it`s a pleasure to work in the garden or walk somewhere. Imagine the pleasure of a lot of people, especially children, if we were to revert to snowbound Christmasses, just like the Christmas cards!

Every day is a gift from God: every day should hold something to take pleasure in. Search it out, and even the `awful` days will seem good if you let them.

A miserable day?

“What a miserable day”. No, not my comments, but the remarks of many people I came into contact with today. Why miserable? Yes, it was raining. But why complain about rain, surely it`s an essential to life. What, I wondered, would they do if it never rained?

If it never rained we would have no water – nothing to drink, nothing to wash in, nothing to water their plants and gardens with, and consequently probably no life.

So yes, although the rain may be unpleasant to walk out far in, I still think that we should feel and be thankful for it.

Lost for Inspiration!

What can I write about today? I wonder how others get their inspiration for what to write. It`s now late in the evening and I still haven`t thought of what to write today, so I`ll just post a picture instead.



Anyone any ideas of a caption for this photo??

A Day to Myself

I`ve had a day to myself – well, most of the day. I went up to the “big city” – and had a lovely time on my own. I`ve not had (as I said the other day) the house to myself lately, so to get away and have time to myself really did me good.

I spent quite a long time at the Cathedral looking at the Quaker Tapestry which they`ve got on display. I saw it when I was on holiday last year at its home in Kendall, and was fascinated by it, so to have the opportunity to see some of it again on its visit to Norfolk was something I just couldn`t miss! The stitch work and detail in it is so well done, and to think that people all around the world and of all ages have done part of it makes it even more special.

From there I had a good wander and browse around the shops. Not everyone`s idea of a good activity, I know, but its something I enjoy doing from time to time. But, I ended up spending more that I intended!

All in all, it was a really good day, and a good break from routine.

How old?

How old are you? What`s your age? Common questions that we get asked at times. And we always give the answer as from our birth date – our Birthday`s count our age.

Yet, since seeing that photo that I wrote about yesterday, it`s made me realise that we are alive long before our birth and its set me thinking.

Surely we are really nine months older than we say we are? We`ve been alive and living since we were conceived so when we are born we are already nine months old, so when we are three months old we are actually a year old.

So in that case can I retire nine months before I thought I could, because I`ll have been alive the required amount of time by then?!

Amazing Life

I saw yesterday a most amazing photo. Well to me it was, although I guess its common place to a lot of people. It was the first photo of a baby forming in the womb. (it was about three months). This was the first time I`d ever seen such a photo and I found it so amazing and marvellous that one could see so clearly the shape of the head, the nose, the arms and legs of such a tiny being. The miracle of seeing new life forming in that way really was very moving.

Looking for something to do and inspiration of something to Blog about I came across the ink blot test. If you`ve not tried it, its worth having a go at for something different.

And this is the result it came up with for me!

Your unconscious mind is most driven by Curiosity.

You are full of questions about life, people, and your own potential. You spend more time than others imagining the possibilities for your life – and you're open to things others are too afraid to consider. You have an almost physical need to know and do more. It's only through new experiences that you feel a greater understanding of yourself and the world. You also have a rebellious streak that shows up when you feel unable to truly influence the world or circumstances around you. Your appetite for novel experiences also shows an openness others don't have, but wish they did. Your psyche is very rich; the more you learn about it, the more you will understand who you really are.

Well, I guess some of it is true, especially `being full of questions` - I seem to write a lot of them here in my blog. As for the rest of it, I`ll leave you to imagine if its a right description of me or not!!

Health Warnings

I had to listen twice to know that I was hearing correctly what the news reporter on the radio was saying the other morning, but yes, he did say it…. Firms are going to be putting health warnings on chocolate ! What health risk is there to that? – I`m sure I`ve actually read that eating plain chocolate is good for one. Ok, I can understand there`s a weight problem if one over eats it, but that applies to many other foods too.

And, whatever next I wondered? Then came up with a few suggestions –
a warning on sheets of paper, that the edge of a sheet can give you a nasty cut if you happen to catch it wrong.
a warning on a iron – that it can get hot and burn you
a warning that the radio too loud – could affect your hearing
a warning on a tin of food – open with care, you could cut your finger

Would we really ever do anything? Where will all these silly warnings stop, and give people some credit for having some common sense. Or, has common sense disappeared??

Favourite Sound

I wonder what others would class as their favourite sound?
I think mine would have to be the sound of waves. Whether they be breaking over rocks or gently lapping on the sand. There`s something very rhythmic and soothing about them to me. Maybe that`s why I find a walk by the sea always seems to help calm me and help me think when I have problems on my mind. I don`t always find the answers to my problems there, but I come back feeling better for being close to nature. For being made aware of getting things into perspective. To have a deserted beach to walk along at this time of year, and just be alone is one thing I appreciate so much.

Frustration and relaxation

Why do I write this Blog. One reason is because it’s the place where I can really write/say in the open what I`m feeling; what`s bothering me; what`s worrying me; what`s affecting me; and hopefully help myself by doing so.

At the moment I`m feeling very frustrated, very in need of relaxation. I don`t mean that I`ve too much to do, but these last couple of weeks I`ve not had the house to myself for a single minute. I`ve become used over past months to having at least a couple of afternoons and evenings to myself. Evenings when I can sit in the lounge for an hour or so, maybe watch television, read or just sit and do nothing but be quiet. Now, I can`t even do that, because every evening my mother is there and has her man friend there too. I feel “gooseberry” in my own home. So I stay here at my computer. Even to sit and watch one of my favourite tv programmes just with her after he`s gone isn`t the same, because she`ll keep making comments as it goes along instead of how I like to sit quietly and listen to it all. It`s so frustrating and I feel so in need of time to relax by myself.

The observant one!

Having written here about having new glasses (no not drinking glasses, I mean the sort you wear), I`ve had my new ones for a couple of weeks now, and so far only one person has noticed or said to me – are they new glasses. And that was a lad at work – someone you wouldn`t expect to be very observant. He doesn`t appear to be the brightest of people yet he noticed. It just goes to show that you shouldn`t judge people by appearances doesn`t it?

Vanishing time

I`ve just come across this in something I was reading, and I thought how true….

For disappearing act`s, its hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left for us after eight hours sleep and eight hour work.!

Thoughts

Fourteen years ago today (by the date) this was the worst moment of my life. I walked into my parents bedroom, as normal before going to work, and she said to me ‘did you hear the phone in the night?`, it was to say that my Dad had died. I`d know he was very ill and was incurable. I`d been to see him in the hospital the previous evening, it was heartbreaking to see him. When I got home I prayed “Please Lord take him, don`t let him suffer any longer”.

My first feelings were a mixture of great sadness yet thankful for the answer to prayer and that he wasn`t suffering. Since then, though, I`ve felt so guilty that I did pray that, that maybe if I hadn`t……. Yet, realistically I know that he wouldn`t still be here. But I can`t help wondering.

I do take a little comfort from knowing that the last person my Dad saw (apart from the nurses) would have been me. But the deep question still burns, did he know how much I loved him.