Short and Sweet

Hello everyone,

This is going to be a much shorter and less rambling entry than usual.  I`m feeling a bit poorly today, it must be some virus or other.  I`m not too bad, not like last time and I hope to be back to normal very soon.

It`s been a lovely sunny day but with a really cold wind, Oh well, I suppose the one good thing that came out of it was it soon dried the washing.  The down side being that I wanted to go out and do a bit of gardening, but what with feeling like this and the cold wind, forget it!

Anyway, I`m going to read your journals now.  I think this evening I`ll be better at reading that writing.  Have a really nice evening and take care all of you.  Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

 

 

Friday Frivolities

 

Hello everyone,

I hope you`re all having a lovely day. I`ve had another busy day with little chance to rest since I got up. I had to get up at 6am a) because I was going shopping and b) because we had a plumber coming to fix our boiler at 9.  I managed to do all I needed to long before he arrived an hour late, isn`t that always the way?  As it happened I went out with Kerry at 9.30 Jim wasn`t at all happy and thought he wasn`t going to turn up at all.  When he did eventually get here he did a thoroughly excellent job at a good price too, we`ll very likely use him again.

                      

Before we started our shopping Roman had an appointment at the hairdresser.  His hair was getting very long especially at the top, and Kerry wanted it tidied up a bit.  Well, it all started well, after being fussed by everyone there, hairdressers and clients alike, he sat on Kerry`s lap and C, Kerry`s stylist started to snip away.  Then all of a sudden Little Man burst into tears and until she was finished there was no consoling him, bless him.  Once she`d finished though, he was fine and being fussed by everyone again.  I suppose it`s something he`ll get used to but I just hope that he won`t be like Danny who had to have his hair cut at 6 weeks old, so thick and long was his hair.  HE didn`t get used to it until he was about 4 yrs old, and then he really hated it!

 

                                

 

Once in town we knuckled down to some serious shopping.  Kerry was buying herself some new clothes for a change so I tagged along for the ride.  Roman who wasn`t inthe best of moods because he`s teething didn`t like being taken into clothes shops and changing rooms which meant Nanna had to spend a lot of time playing with him.  Well as you know I love my little grandson to bits and I`d do anything for him, but singing and dancing in a busy shopping centre isn`t something that I really wanted to do. But I did anyway and I tried to ignore the amused looks from passing shoppers and launched into a fine rendition of `Pop, goes the Weasel`...lol!  I did manage to but the two new lampshades for the hallway at a VERY reasonable price, just £5 each and they are just perfect.  They are faux suede just like the curtains I`ve ordered and I know Jim will like them too.  After walking around town for several hours we went to Marks&Spencers for our weekly cappuchino and Roman`s lunch, then it was homeward bound with sore feet and in my case backache!

                   

One thing I did forget to but however was....the rat-trap!  I must ask Jim to buy one soon before there is another generation of the flippin` things running around my garden.  Goodness knows how I managed to forget, I keep looking outside to see if I can catch a glimpse of it.  Maybe it`s moved away to pastures new, I do hope so because then I can avoid killing it and let someone else be guilty of it...lol!  Anyway my friends, I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  I`m off to read your journals now as I have a few hours on here undisturbed as Jim is on late shift.  Bye Bye for now and take care. :o)

 

 

Photos, Cats, and Rats Tales

Hello everyone,

Before I start to talk about my day.  I`d like you all to send some sunshine to our friend Jeannette.  It turns out that the lovely warm weather didn`t stay with her yesterday while it was lovely here.  Mind you, it must be payback time today because it statrted off warm and sunny but clouded over later and the wind was decidedly chilly.  I think I may be getting a cold too, I not sure if it`s that or hay fever.  If it`s hay fever I`m sure to have it all Summer long which is a real pain.  I`ve not had it for several years now so maybe it`s back to haunt me again.......sigh.

These are the pics I took yesterday of Little man on his swing.  Just look as his cheeky grin becomes broader!

Roman`s appointment with the Dermatologist went really well.  Finally Kerry`s mind is at rest and something is now being done.  Apparently he was a really nice man with three children of his own and he told Kerry that it is definitely Infantile Exema and not allergy related.  He said that antibiotics were useless because although they killed the infection they didn`t deal with the cause.  He now has to have a new emolient cream applied all over three times a day.  A steroid for his torso and legs, and hydrocortisone for his face and arms.  Apparently the face is the most difficult part of the body to treat with exzema so the lotion has to be stronger than for the body.  The quantity of special bath oil that he is prescribed has to be doubled too.  The doctor wants him to be as slippery as an eel after all the above are prescribed.  He wants to see him again next week and expects there to be a marked improvement. He said that if Kerry follows the regime as he told her it should be kept under control until he grows out of it.  Kerry is brimming with confidence and I`m really pleased that the doctor was so positive.

A pic of the pushchair as requested by a few of you.  Kerry is really impressed by the room in the shopping tray...lol!

I had an email back from the company I ordered the curtains from and it said they are out of stock of that particular colour and would I like to choose an alternative.  I had a look but there wasn`t another pair that I liked enough so I tried another site and found a similar pair in an even better colour than the first pair.  They cost a couple of pouinds more but the delivery charge was a lot cheaper so one cancelled the other out.  Also they deliver in 3-5 days so I`ll soon have curtains up at the window.

This afternoon I was washing up...again...and I saw a cat at the bottom of the garden by the shed.  I decided to watch it as it seemed very interested in something and I was right.  She had sniffed out the rat and was sitting waiting for it to make a move.  Then after sniffing around the rat run she moved down the garden fence until she came to the spot where ratty makes his escape into next door.  Then she sat there patiently waiting for some time before losing interest and disappearing over the fence.  Methinks she`ll be back, hopefully with her friends...lol!  Jim bravely had a good look under the shed yesterday evening and found the nest.  There don`t appear to be any young in there but tomorrow I`ll get the trap and we`ll make sure once and for all.  Hopefully by the weekend it`ll be curtains for ratty!

I`ll say goodbye to you all now.  I hope you`ve all had a really nice day.  For now, do take care. :o)

 

 

A Beautiful Sunny Day ~ Honestly!

 

 

Hello everyone,

I hope you`ve all had a lovely sunny day today.  It`s been really lovely here, really warm and sunny, just what the doctor ordered eh?!  Actually, it seems we have Jeannette (Jottings) to thank for it.  You know what I mean Jeannette...lol!

Jim and I had an early start as we wanted to go to Homebase and B&Q to get some more bits for the hallway.  We went to Homebase first to take back some unused rolls of wallpaper and bought a new curtain pole and net curtain rail and the laminate flooring.  It`s called Rustic Oak and is just the colour I was looking for, it`s an excellent contrast to our woodwork and will match the carpet beautifully.  We then went to B&Q and Jim bought a couple of things to use in the fitting of the flooring and we were supposed to buy a trap for our rat but quite forgot.  It seems that he/she has had a reprieve until Friday when I go into town and buy one.  Afterwards we went into Mothercare and bought Roman a pushchair.  Kerry is over the moon with it because unlike the usual buggies that have been around for so long, this one is actually a pushchair like the old-fashioned type. They are a lot nicer looking than the old ones that I remember my little brother having but are built of the same principle.  We road-tested it with Roman sitting on board and he loved it too, good job as he`ll be the one transported in it....lol!

                                    

After all the shopping we went to the garden centre for a leisurely lunch.  It`s so nice to go there and as they know usas do all the regular customers there, and most importantly they make great coffee, lovely grub and all at a very reasonable price.  Once we got home Jim decided to take advantage of the lovely weather and mow the lawn, I brought in all the dry washing and hung out another lot, you know me and my love of fresh dried clothes straight from the line, the smell is heavenly.  Who knows tomorrow it might pour with rain so like Jim, I took full advantage.

                               

This afternoon I finally found a pair of curtains that I liked.  There weren`t any in B&Q so I went online to buy the ones I`d seen yesterday but when I looked again it seems I hadn`t read the the small print.  Like a lot of adverts it said from £15 which I took to be the smallest size, it wasn`t, it was only the price of the tie-backs.  When I looked properly I found they were more than I was prepared to pay so I started my online search again.  It didn`t take me long either,  The second site I found had a pair almost the same as the other ones and this time they were lined and were in the sale.  I`m quite pleased now that I had to look again because I`ve ended up with a much better pair.  The only drawback is that I have to wait up to a fortnight for them but I can wait.

                                       

Much later this afternoon I was playing with Roman on his little swing.  He was so funny as he built up quite a speed and was soon swinging so high I had to slow him down.  I had visions the swing going right over the top...lol!  Of course he didn`t want to get out when it was time to go indoors but it was time to get ready for bed and he soon found something else to keep himself amused.  He went to bed this evening quite exhausted and at the moment he`s snoring his little head off in the other room.  Tomorrow he has his appointment with the Dermatologist and I can`t wait to hear how he gets on.  As for me tomorrow morning is shopping at Tescos...ugh!  I`m not really in the mood for it but like Old Mother Hubbard, my cupboards, though not quite bare, aren`t far off of it so shopping I must go.

                           

Well, that`s enough from me tonight, I`m off to read the rest of your journals now.  I hope you all have a very nice evening, whatever you`re doing.  Bye Bye for now. :o)

Happy Birthday Jim and an Unwanted Garden Visitor

 

 

Hello everyone,

I`m back after a couple of days off from journal entries, not because I didn`t have anything to say, far from it but I`ve been really busy and haven`t been able to get online until evening.  Anyway, I`m here now and I have to start by wishing Jim, Hubby of mine and decorator-general.....Oh, and my beloved, of course....lol!  So here we go.................

At this present moment he is putting the finishing touches to the wallpaper that he has just finished hanging and a great job he has made of it too.  I can`t wait for the floor and carpet to be laid and then I can take some photo. Yesterday I spent most of the day driving around trying to find a suitable pair of curtains fopr the hall window.  When at last I did find a really nice pair I took one look at the price and decided that  they weren`t what I was looking for after all....lol!  So I came home empty handed do decided to go online for 10 mins to see if I could find anything there.  I did, two pairs in fact for a fraction of the price.  Jim wants me to wait until tomorrow when we go to get the flooring from B&Q and see if they sell them.  I`ll bet the ones online turn out to be the ones I buy, they are just what I want.

                        

Kerry has an appointment for Roman with a Dermatologist on Thursday morning.  She only rang up for an appointment with the doctor and the receptionist suggested it to her.  She is really happy that at last she is seeing an expert as Roman`s skin keeps infecting and it`s been driving him mad.  Antibiotics just don`t seem to work and so Kerry wants to explore the allergy side of it now.  She is quite determined that she won`t be fobbed off this time and will say she wants to see the Eczema nurse at the hospital.  I`m really hoping that something can be done to alleviate it at least,  his healthy skinis beautiful and soft and it would be lovely it it was all like that, bless him.

                     

I`ve spent most of the day cooking for Jim`s birthday meal.  This morning I made the Guinness cake a la Nigella Lawson and, I`m pleased to say that it couldn`t have turned out better.  The only drawback being is that it`s loaded with calories and I can feel my waistband tightening as I think about it...lol!  This evening I made Beef Strognanov courtesy of Rick Stein and Jim loved it.  I`ve made it before but that was for some friends that I`d invited to dinner when Jim was working so he never got to taste it.  At the moment he is watching the football and scoffing his birthday cake, having put the final touches to the wallpapering, giving me the oppotunity to post this entry and read some journals.

                         

Also today to my dismay I found out just what`s been living under the shed.  Not for me a cute Beatrix Potter hedgehog, Oh no.........It`s a rat, not a particularly big one, but a rat all the same.  I was doing the washing up after breakfast when I saw the creature, bold as brass, trot out from under the shed and run along my flower border and disappear under the fence.  There is now a declaration of war from me to the rat.  I`m not at all squeamish so if I get the chance I will kill it myself.  There is no place for it in my nice tidy garden.  It should stay next door where the garden is full of rubbish and goodness knows what.   Now I know why Jake has been acting strangely in the garden lately, he knew it was there and very likely has tried to catch it.  If only he were a Jack Russell he probably would have by now!

                            

Right,  I`d better save this now before AOL decides to close me down.  I hear there have been a few probs with journals and AOL yesterday,  and I don`t want to lose my entry at the last moment.  I hope you all have warmer and sunnier weather than here, though according to the British weather forecast I doubt it.  Have a nice evening anyway and take care my friends. :o)

 

A Beautiful Saturday

 

Hello everyone,

Hasn`t it been a beautiful day?  Well it has been here at any rate, really sunny and warm this afternoon, just like an early Summer`s day should be.

I was up at 6.30 this morning as the tumble dryer engineer had arranged to call today instead of Wednesday so I didn`t want to open the door to him in my dressing gown ( not a pretty sight!).  As it turned out he didn`t arrive until 11.30 so I needn`t have rushed, still, I managed to get loads of housework done in the meantime.  It seems that the pump has lost most of it`s power and the water built up at the back and got onto the electrics, hence it tripping the electric switch.  He had to order the pump so it won`t get fixed until May 2nd but I`m not worried now that the warm weather`s here.  Now for the dishwasher, it seems that it`s either something electrical or........the pump needs replacing, phew, more expense!  The thing is that there is water in the back of it and it`s starting to smell pretty bad.  I opened the door this morning and the smell hit me and I shut it quickly.   The problem being is that we can`t move it and drain it out ourselves as it`s built in.  The engineer today said he`s not been trained to repair dishwashers so Jim is going to ask around before we call anyone....sigh!

                                                 

This afternoon I decided to go outside and do some weeding.  I managed to do more than I intended and as well as digging out the weeds I did some serious pruning.  I`m quite pleased with the result too though there`s still a way to go yet. I also dug out a few plants that keeled over during the Winter, including the lavender that I mentioned before. Now I have room for a couple of new shrubs but I won`t tell Jimjust yet, I`ll let him notice the gaps and maybe he`ll suggest it first...lol! My back is really aching now but I`m hoping it`ll be easier by tomorrow so I can do some more.

               

Kerry took Roman to Runnymead this afternoon, she told me that after a walk along the river they sat on a blanket and shared an icecream, isn`t that sweet?  Roman`s favourite thing is to call every one he sees DaDa, he says it so clearly too.  Kerry keeps saying MaMa to him but he just laughs and says DaDa, bless him.  When he arrived at our house this evening Jim had just sat down to watch football so Roman sat on his lap and watched it too.  Jim asked him which side he was going to support and he said.....DaDa...lol!

                                           

I think I`ll say Goodnight now,  I still have quite a few journals left to read so I`d better get on with it.  I hope you have a nice evening and take care.  :o)

A Happy 80th Birthday to Our Queen

 

H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth II

A very Happy 80th Birthday Your Majesty.  Long may you continue to reign.     

                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~      

 

      

 

Hello everyone,

Today is a much better day than yesterday all round.  The tension between myself and Kerry seems to have melted away and it looks as though things are back to normal.  I will however ask her to keep things tidy when she stays here though, it`s only fair that she does her bit.

This morning I went over to her flat to uninstall some programs from her computer.  The original owner of the PC wants it back as apparently she has some important stuff on it.  It was a bit of a hassle but she has been given another hard drive in it`s place and its a much better one so alls well that ends well.  The old PC is really slow and takes forever to load and we`re hoping the new one is a bit faster.   

Later this morning after walking Jake I sat down and watched The Queen go on a walkabout around the streets of Windsor.  She really is a remarkable woman, 80 yrs old and looking and acting much younger.  She`s never off duty and I have to say that I think she has done a wonderful job over the years, taking on a job that would be her`s for life.  It must have felt a tremendous burden at times, though she`s never shown it.  I wish you many more years as our Head of State Ma`am, and I wish you a very Happy Birthday.  May you enjoy it like everyone else. 

 Yellow Camelia

The weather is much improved today giving me the chance to get my ever increasing pile of washing dry.  I also put Kerry`s outside when I can because she has no outside line to dry anything on and it`s not healthy for Roman with damp washing hanging around inside.  I know she can`t wait to move to a bigger place in July, and with luck a downstairs flat with a garden.  

Pink Camelia

I`d like to say a big thank you for all your supportive comments over the last few days.  I did feel so low and it helps tremendously to know that you understand.  Like I said I feel much better today.  I think the weather helps with it being nice and warm today, I do find that the better weather lifts my mood.  I think I must suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, I think that`s what it`s called.

This afternoon I was doing the daily garden inspection when I found a big hole in the corner of the garden, then Jake comes trotting up to me with mud all over his nose and paws looking as innocent as you like!  I took him indoors and cleaned him up sitting there sheepishly the whole while. I think he knew I was annoyed at him because even though I didn`t say a word to him he watched me fill in the hole and then he ran inside.  This is where I found him a bit later................

He thinks nobody can see him hiding there...lol!

Anyway, I must away and read some journals before Kerry brings Roman round.  I hope you all have a lovely, restful weekend and that the weather will be very kind to you.  Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

      

Not a Happy Bunny....!

 

Hello everyone,

Welcome to a miserable day, weather wise and mood wise.  It`s been raining on and off throughout the day and I`ve been feeling pretty fed up too.  I did the Tesco shop this morning and had no enthusiasm for it whatsoever.  I usually quite enjoy food shopping but not today, I felt tired and still rather cross with Kerry as there is still stuff that hasn`t been resolved between us.  She knocked at the door this afternoon with something for Jim but she wouldn`t come in as she said Roman was asleep in the car.  The atmosphere was very frosty I can tell you and she said she would see me tomorrow evening when she brought Roman over before work.  Perhaps it`s good thing that we don`t see each other for a couple of days as I don`t want a row but I can see one brewing. 

Right, enough of that, now on to something more cheerful.  After work today Jim went to visit his Mum.  She has been moved to a different unit in the care home and he told me that the staff there are so much friendlier and caring than the last place and he feels much better about her being there now.  He then went to visit his sister who gave him his birthday cards for next  Tuesday.  When he finally got home he started the wallpapering again but on my advice gave up until tomorrow afternoon. He`s been up since 4.45am and is really tired and I think it can wait.

Thanks for the comments left about Jim`s carp, some of you asked whether we ate it or not.  Right, for my friends in America we never eat any fish from lakes, rivers or canals, only trout, salmon or any other game fish.  I suppose carp is edible but it has to be put back and is only caught for the sport.  I`ll bet if we DID eat them they would keep us going for quite a while and there would be no end of fish recipes that I could try.  Jim did tell me that carp are quite bright for fish and they are very wary of anything that resembles a hook and line.  How COULD anyone know that...did they ask the fish???  Oh well, they do live to a ripe old age so there must be something in it!

When I was eating my lunch I decided to watch last night`s Desperate Housewives that I had video taped.  When I rewound the tape it made a really strange noise and took ages to wind back.  I think the head might be going on it but I think I`ll let Jim find out for himself, if it is that`ll be the third electrical appliance to bite the dust in the last fortnight...Oh dear.....

I think tomorrow I`m going to have a busy morning but at least it`ll be peaceful and I don`t have to get up as early as I have lately.  Hopefully the weather will be much better so that I can hang out the basket full of wet washing that`s sitting in the kitchen.  It`s times like this when I wish the tumble dryer was working, Oh well it should be by Wednesday and hopefully we`ll soon find someone to have alook at the dishwasher, mind you I seem to be coping well enough without it for the time being.  Oh yes, that reminds me, while I was in Tesco I saw an offer for 50 Finish dishwasher tablets for half price.  Guess who bought them having forgotten that the thing`s not working at the moment...lol!

Anyway, that`s it from me today.  I hope you`re having a a lovely day wherever you are.  Take care and Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

The Missing Bottles Saga and the Monster

 

 

 

Hello everyone,

Firstly a special thanks to Jan (Serendipity) for letting me snag the crazy woman graphic.  That was me this morning and I still have a rotten headache from the fallout. The day started like any other, nothing different at all apart from Kerry and Roman being here in the mornings.  I do have to admit that Kerry`s untidiness is really starting to annoy me as she never offers to help but I was prepared to let that go until it happened............Roman`s bottles went missing and it was MY fault...........not her`s, oh no, mine!  I was NOT amused I can tell you.  I`d just found out that the dishwasher had packed up leaving me with all of the last 24 hours worth of washing up and I was in no mood for an argument about bottles, and definitely not up for being wrongly blamed....grrrr!  Anyway she stomped off home and then she phoned 10 mins later to ask if I`d found them...er...no.  They did eventually turn up in the rubbish because she`d left them in a bag next to some stuff to be thrown out.  The culprit being, not me but Jim and Kerry told me that she wasn`t annoyed at being messed about..... Oh really?   I just stopped myself saying out loud that that I wasn`t offering an apology and silently screamed......aaaaaggghhhh!

Despite a pounding headache I went along with Kerry to Little Steps Baby Gym where Roman and several other tinies were put through their paces to music.  It`s intended to develop the babies motor skills though I think personally it`s more fun than anything else.  They have all these apparatus and toys that they play with but the session is only 45 mins long and is quite expensive for what it is.  I think I preffered Teddies Music Club yesterday though I didn`t tell Kerry that. 

The one who tried to get away!

 

And the one who didn`t.  Jim`s 17 1/2lb. carp, what a monster!

Jim had a wonderful day fishing yesterday as the above photo`s show.  He`s very proud of the big carp he caught as it`s his biggest fish since last year.  He thought at first it was a 20 pounder but he didn`t mind it being just a bit less than that.  He did say however that it was really chilly because the lake though I thought it was a realy nice, mild day.  I suppose it was sitting in an exposed spot by the lake all day without moving that had something to do with it.  I`mn afraid I`ll never be able to quite understand fishermans enthusiasm for their beloved pastime!

Now we have no dishwasher I`m back to having to do the washing up by hand, horror of horrors, and I`ve just rang the engineer and booked an appointment to have the tumble dryer repaired. The earliest date they could give me is next Wednesday morning but I can wait, a dryer isn`t that important in the scheme of things.  Now a dishwasher to me is a real luxury and I`d always wanted one.  Now after having been using it for four years, the thought of going back to manual is really annoying.  The thing is there is no warranty on it so we`re going to ask around to find an engineer who doesn`t cost the earth, and again it just have to wait...sigh.

Jim has been wallpapering all day and the hallway is transformed already.  We really made the right choice with the paper as it makes the hall look very light and modern.  The carpet fitter came and measured up and quoted us over £60 less than the shop, so that was a good result.  I`m really impressed with Jim`s wallpapering so if you`re reading this my dear, "well done my love, and now get back to work and finish the job!"   ...lolol!

Right, that`s it for now, we`ve got a quiet evening as Kerry is on her two days rest from work so our mornings also will be peaceful and tidy...ah, bliss!  Anyway my friends, Bye Bye for now and enjoy the rest of your day. :o)