ALL DONE AND DUSTED

 

Hello everyone,

Phew.....Am I glad to be sitting down.  We went to Uxbridge shopping this morning...or should I say, Jim did the shopping and I followed after him with an empty purse.  I didn`t need to buy anything more and even if I did I can`t afford it now, I`m all spent out.  The crowds are now out in force and the irritability is creeping in amonst the shoppers, with lots of moaning and pushing and shoving, Hah! says I, who has all the gifts bought and wrapped, "Serves `em all right, they should have shopped early....like ME  LOL!"  How grateful am I that I did, I really hate to have to fight my way through a crowd at the best of times but at Christmas it`s ten times worse.  Of course we all know that Christmas is far too commercialised, but does it stop us....that`ll be the day!

When we got home it was to find that Jake hadn`t chewed anything apart from his now beloved chew bone.  Jim took him out for his afternoon stroll and came home to say that while they were out Jake had been really ill.  I do hope it`s not the bone that caused it, but he is a terrible scavenger while out and he may have picked up a `nasty` yesterday. I do hope that is the case because I don`t want him to have another bout of colitis, it makes him so ill.  We`re starving him tonight and will give him light rations tomorrow and hope it was a one-off and that he`ll be fine tomorrow.

Tommorrow we are doing a big Tescos shop for Christmas foods.  Dry stuff mainly and meat that will be frozen, I really must make a list or I`m bound to forget what I want.  I`ve decided to make my own mince pies this year, the first time for ages. I should have made a cake but I left it too late now, but I`ll make my own sausage rolls too. I`ll enjoy cooking as I`m not working at the moment will have more time.

Talking of working, I`ve even tried getting a Christmas job but many places have cut down on extra staff despite needing them.  I asked a lady who works in Marks and Spencers if there was anything going, but she said no, they`ve taken on some staff but by no means enough to cope with the rush.  I would have liked to work there too as most of the temp. staff work out the back in the warehouse and that would have been good enough for me for a few weeks. I suppose I`ll just have to wait until the new year to start looking seriously.

Anyway, must go now, I`m going to ATTEMPT to put some Christmas music on here so watch, and listen to this space!  Have a lovely day all of you, and take care.

 

CHRISTMAS FACTS

Some priests in Australia advise you to say "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry Christmas", because Merry has connotations of getting drunk - which brings it`s own problems.

December 26th, was traditionally known as St.Stephen`s Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing day. This expression came about because money was collected in Alms boxes placed in churches during the festive season.  This money was then distributed to the poor and needy after christmas.

According to tradition, giving a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children comes from Italy.

Poinsettias were attached to Christmas starting in 1928.  Joel Roberts Poinsett, then the Mexican ambassador from the US, imported the plant from Mexico.

 

THE BONE DID THE TRICK! (so far!)

 

 

Hello everyone,

Firstly, may I thank everyone who has given me advice to help with Jake`s chewing problem.  It has all been very helpful and yes, the rawhide chew bone really does tire his jaws out, though he is getting through it quite quickly.  He is happy to let me take it away from him as he is not obsessive about it food or bones, so I remove it after about an hour and give it back to him later on.  The only thing is it is making him quite thirsty and there are puddles of water all over the kitchen floor from his slurping!  Never mind, it is a very small price to pay to live in an un-chewed house.  I think the main thing is that he now has something, apart from his Kong, that he can call his own, he used to have so many toys but he destroyed them all one by one and we were worried that he was swallowing bits of plastic and goodness knows what.  So much for `indestructable` dog toys!

This morning was really bright and sunny and definitely not as cold as of late.  In fact, in was nice and warm in the sun and I thoroughly enjoyed the long walk through the lanes and around the back field, where Jake found some rabbits to chase.  It could almost have been Spring, temperature wise, how long will it last though?  We still have lots of leaves on the trees and shrubs in the garden, something really isn`t the norm for late November.  Our magnolia tree looks rather strange with it`s brown drooping leaves.  I actually shook a branch and not one leaf fell to the ground.  I wouldn`t be suprised if they stayed there awhile longer.

Kerry is downstairs at the moment.  Roman is sleeping on Jim`s lap,  his favourite place for a nap in the afternoon!  I`m going downstairs now to have a natter with my daughter, so have a lovely day all of you and do take care.

 

 

 

A NEW BONE

Hello everyone,

Welcome to another Monday.  How quickly the weekends fly by, strange too because I`m not working at the moment so it shouldn`t affect me, but it`s funny, weekends seem different to week days, or maybe it`s just me thats funny....lol!

Kerry and Slava really enjoyed Flight Plan at the cinema last night.  They said Jim and I should go to see it, maybe we will as they won`t tell us what happened apart from that it is a thriller with lots of twists and turns. So there you are Sara, it is well worth seeing! Roman was as good as gold and slept as soon as I put him to bed, despite feeding him an hour early because I thought the clock said 5 and not 6pm.  I told Kerry but she told me not to worry, he won`t wake until 6am for his next meal.  In two weeks we wioll be having him overnight as Kerry and Slava have a company dinner to attend and won`t be home until after 2.30am, so I have to play Mum for the night and bath and dress him in the morning....Oh, those were the days...I`m really looking forward to it and I know Kerry trusts us with him.

This is what Jake has done to the bookcase!

The above photo says just why I was cross with Jake yesterday, but it`s not so bad it can`t be fixed.  Jim has rubbed it down a bit and we don`t have any sandpaper, but when we get some we`ll rub it down some more and stain it.  Being solid pine it will have the "distressed" look that some people pay a lot of money for.  Maybe I can hitre Jake out to do the job for them...lol!

Thanks Jeannette,  I have taken your advice and bought Jake a large cowhide chew bone.  He hasn`t stopped chewing since I gave it to him this morning, though he has chewedanything indoors since I told him off yesterday.  Linda suggested that may be I get a puppy to keep Jake company, though I`m sure it was said in fun...lol! My reply to this is....what, with a husband, son and Jake...what would I do with a puppy? More to the point, what would the puppy do to my already disintegrating house?  I would be forced to leave home...lol!

One very happy dog and one enormous chew bone.

As you can see the bone is enormous, it makes jumbo Jake look tiny.  I wonder how long it will take him to get through it?  Jeannette told me that they last for ages with her dogs....hmmm....I`ll give it a fortnight, this is Jake I`m talking about, not a normal dog by any stretch of the imagination!  It would be great though if it does last for a while, they are not cheap if we have to buy one every couple of weeks.

I have been trying to use Photobucket.com instead of FTP for my photos.  I did manage to get them on my journal but I need to do a bit of tweaking here and there to get it completely right, it would certainly be a bonus not having to worry about space or being able to retain the quality of the photos. 

I`m off to catch up on my journals now.  I hope you all have a great day, please take there and Bye Bye for now.

 

 

This tag was made for me by Donna of D`s Designs

THE MUTT STRIKES AGAIN!

Roman and Mum and Dad

 

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all well, I`ve been very busy this weekend so I decided rather than post a rushed entry I`d leave it until I had a bit more time.  We didn`t go to the cinema as planned yesterday so Harry Potter will have to wait.  We just couldn`t be bothered as we were both really tired, Jim because he is on early shift and this week he is up at 4am, and me because I decided to give the house an extra spruce up with Christmas around the corner, so I was cleaning, dusting and polishing etc. for over five hours on Saturday.  For me, that is a marathon and I was worn out at the end of it all, so I made do with watching "Strictly Come Dancing" and "I`m a Celebrity" on the TV.

Tonight though, we are looking after Roman whilst Kerry and Slava go to the cinema, they are going to see "Flight Plan" with Jodie Foster, I must admit it does sound a good film and I hear it was a big hit in America. 

We are having a few problems with Jake at the moment.  He has started chewing and has been gnawing at the wall where he sleeps at the bottom of the stairs, so Jim has fitted a stair gate and last night Jake was relegated to the hallway, where early this morning I was woken by a crunching noise.  I crept downstairs to find the bone-headed mutt chewing away at the bookcase....I was furious and told him in no uncertain terms that he will be for the dogs home if he carries on like that....lol!  Knowing that he has an aversion to anything metal I found the ultimate deterrent,  my chrome kitchen step, a small single step that I use to reach my kitchen cupboards.  I placed it in front on the corner of the bookcase and he slunk back to his bed and was asleep in no time.  Tomorrow I will be going to Pets At Home to by some of that bitter spray to deter chewing.  I don`t know why he has started behaving like this, Jim thinks it might be the presence of Roman but I don`t think it is, he is always having a fuss made of him still, we made a point of not leaving him out when Kerry brings him over.

Anyway, must rush as they will be here soon, take care and I hope you`ve all had a lovely weekend.

 

 

I DON`T BELIEVE IT!!!

 

 

Hello everyone,

Well, Have I just seen something....  Across the road from our house there is a school.  The school doesn`t provide parking for the parents who drop off and collect their children.  We live in a very small service road just off of the main road and is separated by a wide stretch of green.  In the summer the grass is lovely, green and lush.  In the winter it is a quagmire because of the cars that drive up there while picking up the children.   It`s not the majority of drivers that cause the problem, but the minority who use the green to cut from the main road to our little road to save them two minutes of driving.  It`s not the parking outside our house that bothers me either, though it can be a nuisance when I go out early and someone is blocking our driveway.   No, it`s none of those things, but this afternoon the unbelievable happened.  Firstly the weather changed for the worse at the time school came out.  Everyone who has a car drove to the school and there was no room for a lot of them.  One by one they drove on the grass which was becoming very marshy and they were getting stuck, then there was a stand-off between two cars.  Neither really had the right of way and neither was going to give way to the other, so these two mums turned off their car engines and just sat there while other cars drove up behind them.  Soon there was a queue of traffic building up down the road,  as Jim and I looked on we could see them gesturing at each other in a way that could only be described as hostile....lol!  Then they got out and the shouting began, then other drivers joined in and we thought there was going to be a fight.  Eventually, one of the Mum`s went back to her car, took out her tiny baby and pram, locked her car and walked away with her car left in the middle of the road.  She then changed her mind, went back to the car and put her poor little baby inside, left her pram out in the rain and drove up on the green and nearly crashed into another car coming the other way THEN almost ran over a woman and three young children who were, quite rightly walking along the path.  We just looked on in horror at the scene.  Thankfully, no one was hurt but I think it`s only a matter of time.  Myself, and several other residents have spoken to the local council about the parking problem but they are not interested and they inferred that as there had not been an accident yet, there doesn`t warrant a change in the parking laws in our area.  Obviously, they are waiting for someone to be seriously injured or worse before they act!   I`m sorry about the rant but it makes me so mad and I do worry about the children and their parents that are walking to and from the school.  Enough said.

The weather has become really nasty now, starting this morning mild and damp,  it became quite cold as a north wind blew in and brought some sleet with it.  There was a storm,  complete with thunder and lightening, and by 3.15pm it was so dark that I had to put the lights on.  Talk about a blustery day....Winnie the Pooh would really be at home here today...lol!

Must dash now,  Have a lovely day, and please take care...oh and thanks for reading my journal!

 

 

JUST WAFFLING

Hello everyone,

Welcome to a damp and dismal Wednesday eveing..  The above photo of Jim with his fishing pal Steve.  As you can see they were well wrapped up against the elements but that didn`t stop them from feeling really cold.  They only caught a couple of tiny fish, but they still enjoyed their day by the lake.

This morning Jim told me that the newsagents round the corner to us was robbed yesterday morning.  The manageress wasn`t working today as she is in a state of shock.  She wasn`t hurt in the incident but was really terrified, her husband told Jim.  This is the second time in a couple of years that this has happened,  each time it was 6am when the shop had just opened and the only money there was the early morning float, so they didn`t get away with much.  The most important thing was nobody was hurt, though one of them SAID he had a gun.  We`re not used to this sort of thing happening around here, it`s very scary, to say the least.

This afternoon I went with Kerry who had to take Roman for his injections.  He only cried a bit and cheered up quickly afterwards.  Then we took him to be weighed and was surprised to be told he is now 17lbs.2oz.  I think it must be the solid food he`s having now, I keep telling Kerry not to keep giving him burgers for his tea....lol!

It seems to be getting much colder again.  Despite the temperature going up a couple of degrees, the damp weather really chills me right through, and my joints are aching more too.  Give me a nice, bright, frosty day anytime rather than this gloom.

Kerry says that Nadja and Ivan reached home safely.  They were met at the airport by their SIL to-be and taken straight home where the family were there to welcome them.  Nadja`s mother stay`s with them in the winter, leaving her home in the village where she has spent her entire life.  The snow can get very deep out in the country and it`s better for her to be in the city with her family until May when she can return home to her little smallholding.

On Saturday night, Jim and I are going to see the new Harry Potter film, I`m looking forward to that as I haven`t been to the cinema for ages.  I`m sure we`ll love the film, mind you, last year we went to see a film, I don`t remember which one and there was no heating in the cinema, so we decided against going.  I couldn`t sit there freezing whilst paying for the pleasure!

Must go now, I haven`t read a single journal today and as you must know by now, I have to watch `I`m a Celebrity...` at 9pm. I hope you all have a lovely day/evening.  Take care and Bye for now.

 

AIRPORT CHAOS

 

Hello everyone,

A very early entry for me today.   I thought I`d explain about what went on at the airport when Nadja and Ivan went to catch their Sunday flight home.

When they arrived at the airport, it was a bit misty but not bad by any means.  Just after they had checked their baggage in the flight was cancelled, along with 14 others, due to weather, not in St.Petersburg, as they first thought, but at Heathrow Airport.   There were now 600 passengers from those 15 flights stranded at the airport.  These poor people were told that they had to queue up to re-book their flights, so all 600 of them waited while only TWO check-in desks dealt with them in turn. 150 of those were bound for Russia. Slava stayed with them for a couple of hours but had to bring Kerry and Roman home.  They stayed in contact by phone as the waiting went on and on.  For Nadja and Ivan it was a nightmare because there were no Russian speaking airline staff to help them and they had to find other passengers to interpret for them. In all the FIVE hours that they were waiting, they were only offered water, no tea or coffee or anything to eat.  Eventually, they called Slava who picked them up from the airport and brought them home, his Mum was quite distressed as you would imagine after going through all that without being able to communicate or being given anything to eat.

It turned out that they were offered a flight into Moscow for Sunday night but that was no good as St.Petersburg is hundreds of miles away and they would have an all night train journey on top of the flight.  They were then booked on the next flight to St.Petersburg on Monday morning which DID take off, but not before being delayed.  Thankfully, Slava told the check-in that he wanted assistance for his parents to make sure they got to the right departure gate,  he just wanted to make sure they were going to get home safely without anymore hiccups. 

I`m sure that the airport incident won`t over shadow their memories of  their holiday though as they have done so much while here.  As Kerry says, they have seen theirfirst grandchild for the first time, and that in itself is priceless.

Kerry say Roman is a bit grumpy and she thinks that, apart from the teething, he is missing all the attention he was getting from his Russian grandparents.  Oh well, I`ll have to make up for that myself, it won`t be a hardship for me...lol!

 

Well that`s about it for me, I hope you all have a lovely day, and take care.  Bye for now.

 

MY LITTLE MAN

Hello everyone,

Just a short entry today.  I wanted to show the photo I took of Roman this afternoon.  Nadja and Ivan`s flight took off on time at around 9.50am, Slava was very relieved that his Mum and Dad were safely on their way home at last.  They were very badly let down at the airport yesterday.  I`ll tell you all about it tomorrow.  It seems that Roman has about four teeth coming up at once, no wonder he has been a bit grumpy lately.  I hope he doesn`t have too much trouble with them.  Anyway, I`m off to read all  my journals before `I`m a Celebrity...` comes on at 9pm.  Bye for now and take care.

 

 

A SORE DAY SUNDAY

Hello everyone,

Welcome to a cold and frosty Sunday.  From the moment I got out of bed I knew it was going to be one of those days.  The first thing I did was to stub my little toe on the bedside table, and did I howl!  I didn`t swear, though how I managed to stay so controlled is anyone`s guess.  The central heating hadn`t come on so I fiddled around with the boiler and it sprung to life.  While boiling the water for our early morning tea I burned my hand on the kettle, not at all badly but it did sting a bit.  Things seemed to settle down for a couple of hours before the phone rang, it was Kerry telling us that Nadja and Ivan`s flight had been cancelled because of bad weather, not in Russia where there is a foot of snow on the ground, but here in England where there was some fog.  Rather than delay the flight they cancelled it leaving 150 passengers stranded at the airport.  There is only one flight to St.Petersburg on a Sunday, so after they had booked another flight for tomorrow, Slava had to bring them home again.  The trouble is, bad visibility is forecast for tomorrow too.  I do feel sorry for them as they are both due back at work tomorrow.  Nadja has a very responsible job and it`s a very busy time for her company at the moment, she`ll be quite worried and being delayed.

I tackled the ironing with my brand new steam iron today.  It`s really good because the sole plate is much bigger than my old one, the only thing is I think there is a leak in the water reservoir, I know I haven`t overfilled it, far from it, but I`m wondering if I`ve got a setting wrong on it, I`ll have to check as I don`t want to be blown sky high if the water gets into the electrics.   THEN while putting the iron away, I banged my elbow on the door frame ( the bad one, the elbow, not the door frame...lol!)  sending ice cold shock waves down my arm.  My fingers now have even less feeling than usual and it will take several days to come back again.  I forget that I`ve had the op but am reminded very quickly if I knock it.  Apart from tripping UP the back door step nothing else has happened to me today, but then it`s only 3.34 and anything can happen.  I`ll be very careful when I get up from this chair, I don`t want any more incidents or accidents...lol!

Can you guess what this is?  I won`t tell you now, I`ll leave it for another time, but suffice it to say, Jim took it this morning while walking Jake.  It looks as if it`s come from outer space and would be at home with ET.

Despite being so early the sun has just disappeared behind the house across the road.  These shorter days seem to race by, when no sooner is the sun at it`s height than it sinks away again.  Let`s hope the winter goes quickly and it will be spring again.  I don`t want to wish my life away but I wish sometimes I could hibernate through this season, except for Christmas, of course, I don`t want to miss that!

I won`t ask you to guess what this is, but they do say that when the holly has lots of berries it will be a very cold winter.  It has been forecast that we are in for a hard winter and I`ve not seen many berries the last few years when it has been mild...hmmm, there might be something in it then.  We shall see, Jim keeps saying that it`s very cold for November.

Oh well, I`d better go now, but before I do I`d better say that the reason my journal is American, I think, is that AOL gave Jim and I .com screennames when we signed up with them, so I blame them entirely, and why not indeed...lol!  Have a lovely day all of you and take care.

 

 

MISTRANSLATIONS

A Paris shop:

Dresses for street walking.

 

A Hong Kong shop:

Order your summers suit.  Because is big rush we will execute customers in strict rotation.

 

An East African newspaper:

A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.

 

A Vienna hotel:

In case of fire, do your utmost to alarm the porter.

 

A Hong Kong dentists surgery:

Teeth extracted by the latest methodists.

 

FAREWELL AND HAVE A SAFE JOURNEY

Two pairs of loving grandparents with their Little Man.

 

Hello everyone,

Welcome to Saturday and what I can now confirm is a US journal.  I might be writing from England but I have been told by Joe, the journals editor that I`m an honoury American, journal-wise that is!  That accounts for me advertising the Bank of America, though I would prefer that you all ignore it and carry on thinking of me as your British friend that is totally against ads being used on journals.

This morning Jim and I said goodbye to Nadja and Ivan.  They are not leaving until tomorrow morning but as Jim is working today is the last time we will see them.  There was lots of last moment photos taken and the above photo was taken by Kerry.  She also took another of the same on her camera and Slava took one for his parents.  If you look at Roman`s face you can see that he is teething, this morning while feeding him, Kerry noticed a white mark on his gum, she thought it was milk, but no, a tooth has moved up close to the surface, though I have told her that it might be a long time before it sees the light of day.  She told me that she will be buying a teething product in just in case.  As I haven`t seen much of him this last week, I was amazed at how much he has changed, he is trying to roll over and is grabbing everything in sight, while we were there he tried to put a large rattle completely in his mouth...lol!  It is so delightful every time he does something new, I just love being a Nanna, I know I keep repeating myself but it`s best feeling in the world.

I had a comment about PC`s in Russia,  Nadja and Ivan do have one but it had a few problems a little while back and I don`t know if it`s been fixed yet.  I`ve been sending photos since Roman was born and also Kerry and Slava keep a video diary and send the tapes over for them to watch, and CD`s of photo so that they don`t miss out completely.  We would be heartbroken if we had to leave Roman like they have to and we count our blessings that it`s not OUR child who lived overseas.  We have been invited to the wedding of Slava`s sister Julia next September.  We are really hoping to go but it will all depend on the timing.  We are however, honoured to have been asked and we would be made to feel very welcome there.

That`s it for me today,  I hope you all have a nice happy Saturday, take care all of you, Bye for now.

 

 

MISTRANSLATIONS

A Bucharest hotel lobby:

The lift is being fixed for the day. During that time we regret that you will be unbearable.

 

In a Paris hotel elevator:

Please leave your values at the front desk.

 

A Moscow hotel near a Russian Orthodox Monastery:

You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists and writers are buried daily except Thursday.

 

In an Austrian skiing hotel:

Not to perambulate the corridors in the hours of repose in the boots of ascension.

 

A menu in a Polish hotel:

Salad a firms own make; limpid red beer soup with cheesy dumplings in the form of a finger; roasted duck let loose; beef rashers beaten up in the country peoples fashion.

 

A Bangkok cleaners:

Drop your trousers here for best results.

 

 

ANOTHER ENTRY COMPLETED....WOW!

Jims robin

 

Hello everyone,

I`m back again via Internet Explorer....boo to AOL for not fixing the journals yet.  Some people can`t even get to them at all, let alone through IE.  Anyway, moving swiftly on, the above photo was taken by Jim when he was fishing but I forgot to post it yesterday.  Whenever he fishes that lake a robin always comes along and sits beside him, trying to pinch whatever bait he is using.  At the moment he is using luncheon meat and it is very popular with the birds as well as with the fish...lol!

He took some more photos, early yesterday morning while out with Jake in the back field.  It was very frosty and it made everything look really pretty.

 

The back field in the morning

Cold and frosty

 Today didn`t start to well for Jim this morning a screw fell out of his glasses, then after fixing them temporarily with tape, took Jake out for a run and returned to find he had lost the back door key.  I won`t say what he said but suffice it to say he wasn`t very pleased!  After retracing his steps he found the key on the path at the bottom of the road, before dashing into town to the optician`s to have his glasses repaired.

As for me I had a lazy morning before going to Windsor with Kerry and the in-laws.  Being a freezing cold day I wrapped up really warm but still I was cold, this sudden drop in temperature is a bit of a shock to the system!  We trawled around the over-priced souvenir shops with Nadja,  Ivan stayed outside, bored rigid, looking after Roman.  Nadja bought some of the touristy stuff that the locals, myself and Kerry included, wouldn`t touch with bargepoles...!  We made sure she didn`t get anything we thought was vastly overpriced, and there was a lot of stuff like that.  She wanted to get rid of her change as there is no chance of getting ANY money changed in Russia, only if you are a tourist, and then you can`t take any Russian currency out of the country, just as Russians can`t take any foriegn currency IN.

I bought Roman a pair of mittens that we put on him straight away as his hands are always cold, regardless of the weather.  Kerry says that the winter coat he is wearing is getting too small for him already, I`d better have a word with Jim.....lol.  He is wearing 6-9month old clothes now and he is only 4 months.  Considering he was only 7lbs. 12 at birth he has certainly made up for it since, though it might be something to do with being on solid foods now, and does he love his food, bless him!

When we were walking in Windsor, Nadja kept stopping us to take photos.....Have you ever tried posing and smiling outside macDonald`s?  Nor had I until today, then it was outside Windsor Station, where there are cafes and designer shops, a pretty place but not where you would want to take photos.  Kerry told me she had to do it all day yesterday so today it`s my turn...lol!  We then walked along the river, where it felt even colder, the sun was going down and we just wanted to go home but we had to entertain the guests and let them see all the Queen`s swans being fed, they were fascinated by them too...Oh well, I suppose it`s not as though they see them everyday and they are enjoying their last couple of days here.  They leave on Sunday morning and Jim and I will say our goodbyes tomorrow morning before he goes to work.  Kerry knows Nadja in particular, will get very upset to leave Slava and Little Man.  It must be so hard for her but that`s the way things have to be, they can`t live in two countries and I know Kerry wouldn`t bring Roman up in Russia as she only wants the best for him,  for which Jim and I are very thankful I can tell you!

I must get on and read some journals.  I haven`t even started them yet and I hope I have time to read them all.  Have a lovely restful weekend and take care all of you. 

 

 

HOORAY.....AN ENTRY SAVED AT LAST!!!

Hello

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my journal, at least you will be welcome if this entry is saved, unlike the last one I posted on Tuesday.  Oh well, I`m not alone by a long way I know, but it`s so frustrating.  I couldn`t save anything via AOL itself, I had to get here via Internet Explorer...talk about a fuss!  I do wish AOL would get on with it and fix the journals that we pay so highly for.

The seriews of photos I`m posting were taking by Jim while he was fishing.  They show the sky getter darker and darker and there are some beautiful colours that I know you would like to see.  The one at the top was the first he took, now for the second one.

We all had a very busy day yesterday, we went to Reading shopping and had a good look round the Oracle shopping centre there.  It`s a great place if you like to shop and very pretty and clean too.  It is designed around the canal waterway, where the coffee bars and restaraunts are.  If it had been a bit warmer we would have sat outside in the sun.  As it was we went into BB`s, a nice little coffee house that over looks the water for cappuchinos and mini muffins, very tasty!

We bought presents for Nadja and Ivan, we bought Black Magic chocolates and Thorntons dark chocolate. A scarf for Nadja and suede gloves for Ivan, and two Quarry Critters for them both.  We bought the last of the Christmas presents including a winter coat for Roman that was only £5.99 in the sale....now that is what I call a bargain.  We met Kerry, Slava and the in-laws for lunch in a place called Tootsies and had their `famous` homemade burgers, and I have to say thet they were really nice too, all meat too, I`ve not had a burger like that before in this country.  We left Reading at 4.30 and we were worn out.  While driving home the moon was on the rise and it looked just like an enomous orange hot air balloon hanging in the sky, it was really beautiful.  It`s atmoments like that when you want to take a photo, but somehow I think stopping in the middle of the motorway would not have been a good idea....lol!

This is the last photo that Jim took of the evening closing in.  I think he caught it beautifully.  Anyway, I`m going to read some journals now or perhaps tear my hair out, depending on whether this saves or not...lol!  Bye Bye for now, and have a lovely stress-free day!

 

SATURDAY NIGHT AND ALL DAY SUNDAY!

Hello everybody,

 

Welcome to a beautiful day here in England.  It was a cold crisp start to the day, with frost covering everything until 10am, when the sun was warm enough to melt it. The kind of day tha is just right for Kerry and Slava to take Nadja and Ivan to Brighton for the day and to experience that very British custom of a fish and chip supper.

The above photo was taken on Saturday night, not long after arriving at the party.  From the left of the photo is Ivan, Danny, his girlfriend Salina, Kerry, Slava, Jim and Nadja.  We all had a lovely time at the party, there was a free bar and the drinks flowed continuously through till the end.  My head isn`t quite back to normal even now!

Danny and Salina

Roman was really good and slept right through the entire evening, despite countless friends and relatives having a sneaky peek at him in his pram.  For Kerry this was the first really good night out she has had since having him and she was glad of the opportunity to have a few drinks and to let her hair down, leaving Slava to do the driving and therefore to only have a couple of drinks.  His parents however were made to feel very welcome and they were soon dancing along with everyone else there.  All in all it proved to be a very good but tiring night, we eventually got to bed about 2.30am and slept like the proverbial logs!

This is the birthday cake made by Jim`s younger sister for our BIL.  She is an excellent cake maker and she always makes the family birthday, anniversary and wedding cakes, including Kerry`s.  Our BIL is a rock music fan and he was delighted with the Rolling Stones theme.

I just adore this photo of me with my two children.  It`s such a close and intimate picture of us together that I have decided to print it off and frame it.  It looks so natural.

Yesterday evening, despite being slightly hung over and very tired.  We all went out for dinner in the early evening, though we were all drinking orange juice!  Nadja and Ivan have never eaten a traditional English roast dinner and they both enjoyed it very much.  Slava has really got into translating very well and we almost forgot he was there and just kept talking to each other while we ate.  Poor Slava was the last to finish his as he spent most of the meal talking for us...lol!

After the meal they all come home with us for coffee and we were given presents from Russia. There are chocolates, and a small ceramic style picture and two very pretty ornamental cups that were made to represent the city of St.Petersburg.  We have one each and they have taken pride of place on the kitchen dresser.

Nadja told me that she liked my quarry critters and she looked at all the different ones with great interest.  Now Jim and I know what to buy her as a leaving present, We had been racking our brains trying to decide and now she has made it easy for us.

Jim is fishing today and he left at about 8.am not expecting to catch anything because of the cold weather.  At lunchtime he rang me up and told me that he`d caught first a10lb and then a 19lb carp but try as he might, he couldn`t find another person around the lake to take a photo.  He was so frustrated that he had caught his biggest fish for along time and had no record of it.  He told me it would have looked good for my journal as the fish was almost two feet long and had a big fat body and looked very impressive.  He sounded so disappointed that I really felt for him.

Well now, I must go now, but before I do, I hope you all have a lovely day and please take care.

 

 

MISTRANSLATIONS

 

Acapulco hotel: The manager has personally passed all the water here.

Japanes instructions on an air-conditioner:  Cooles and Heates: If you want just condition of warm in your room, please control yourself.

Car rental brochure in Tokyo:  When passenger of foot heave in sight, tootle the horn. Trumpet him melodiously at first, but if he still obstacles your passage then tootle him with vigour.

Two signs from a Majorcan shop entrance:  English well talking;  Here speeching American.

 

 

RUSHING AROUND

 

  Hello everyone,

Today I`ve been rushing around trying to get my usual Saturday jobs done plus getting everything sorted for this evening.  So far, the house is clean, the washings done, Jake has been taken to our friends for the night and I am here trying to post my entry....phew!

 

Last night we met Slava`s parents for the first time, we were taken unawares by Kerry who called us just fifteen minutes before she was bringing Roman to us and she said that Nadja and Ivan wanted to meet us ......OMG!  I wasn`t ready, the place was a mess and I was sitting around wearing a very scruffy pair of jogging trousers.  I ran and changed into and pair of jeans and then loaded the dishwasher.  In less than the fifteen minutes notice I had transformed the house into something fit to be seen by visitors...lol!  They seem to be a very nice couple and Jake muscled in and of course they just adored him, Russian didn`t stand in HIS way as words don`t matter to him as long as they are spoken nicely.  As for me and Jim, we managed to pin down Slava and asked him to translate directly to his parents, if only we could talk properly to each other, I`m sure we would get on very well.  Tomorrow will be much easier as we`ve already met, and I will make sure I take loads of photos as I want to share them with you all.  Roman was as good as gold and didn`t wake up once.  He is very good at night and now goes to bed at 6.45pm and sleeps through until 6.30 am!  When Kerry got home she hated to have to disturb him to take him home again.

The above AOL cartoon is just right at the moment.  I can`t open my email box, and the only way I can access my emails is by picking thm up individually from the drop-down list, which is painstakingly slow.  I have no idea why this is happening but I blame it all on AOL!  Is anyone else having this problem?

Anyway, I`d better get on, I have loads of alerts to read and I will try to read all  journals this weekend but I won`t have as much time as I`d like on here, so do forgive me if I don`t comment much.  Have a really nice weekend all of you and please take care.

 

MISTRANSLATIONS

Bangkok Temple:  It is forbidden to enter a woman even a foriegner if dressed like a man.

Tokyo bar:  Special cocktail for the ladies with nuts.

Copenhagen airline ticket office:  We take your bags and send them in all directions.

Moscow hotel room:  If this is your first visit to Tussia, you are welcome to it.

Norweigian cocktail lounge:  Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.

Budapest zoo:  Please do not feed the animals.  If you have suitable food please give it to the guard on duty.

Office of a Roman doctor:  Specialist in women and other diseases.