My Jolly Holidays!

 

 

Hello Everyone,

This is my last entry before  I go on my hols on Saturday.  I thought it best to do it today in case I don`t have time tomorrow, so here goes:

This morning I went to Tesco`s even though I didn`t have much to get, food wise.  When I got there the place was swarming with police and the petrol station was cordoned off, it was obvious something major had happened but I couldn`t see anything and forgot all about it as I did my shopping.  When I`d bought all my groceries I decided to have a look in the clothes section where I bumped into a friend who works there.  She told me that a man had been stabbed in the store car park at about 6am.  Despite his injuries he managed to stagger into the petrol station where staff raised the alarm.  Apparently there was a gang of youths that were causing trouble and had to be moved on by security staff, then it happened and some poor man was injured, I just hope he`s going to be alright.

It`s been a nice day weather-wise,  very warm and dry, thankfully.  The forecast for the Weymouth area for next week is good at the moment so I hope it stays that way.  I`ve been washing, ironing and packing today, hopefully leaving tomorrow free.  I will have a few things to do in the evening as I like to leave the house clean and tidy for our return.  I also sorted out my wardrobe today filling two large bin liners with clothes for the charity shop, I didn`t realise I had that much stuff that I didn`t wear anymore.

Yesterday evening I went to the bottom of the garden with Jake and found that someone had thrown a half full bottle of Jack Daniels into my garden!  We know who the culprits are so Jim asked me to empty the bottle so he could give it back to them.  I`ve a feeling us and then are going to fall out at some stage..  Later in the evening Jake discoved a hedgehog in the middle of the lawn, he was having a veritable feast of the slugs that were there.  It did look funny when his curiosity got the better of him and he poked his nose into its prickles, he did get a surprise, though hopefully not the fleas that are ever present on hedgehogs.

Roman is standing for several minutes at a time now, he still only takes a couple of steps but it`s only a matter of time before he`s off.  He`s so funny, he stands watching CBeebies and dances in time to the music.  Maybe when I come back I`ll have some news about it. 

Tomorrow Jim and I celebrate our 33rd wedding anniversary, I can`t believe it`s that long already, I don`t feel old enough....lol!  On Saturday night we`ll all go for a meal to celebrate, not only our anniversary but Kerry and Slava`s 3rd on Sept 10th.  Then of course there`s Kerry`s birthday on Sept 11th.  It`s all going on in the course of a fortnight.

Anyway, my friends, I`m turning off my alerts now.  I`ll read todays journals and possibly some of tomorrows but I have to go through my journal list for that.  Have a great weekend, take care and I`ll see you in a week`s time.

 

A Riverside Walk

 

Hello Everyone,

I hope you`ve all been having a nice weekend, and to all you here in Britain, I hope you`re having a great Bank Holiday Monday.  It was pouring with rain all night and I thought it was going to carry on into today.  We`ve had some heavy showers, make no mistake, but in between it`s been really warm and sunny, let`s hope the sunny spells last longer than the showers!

Yesterday afternoon, Jim and I went out for a drive, we didn`t have any particular destination in mind so had no idea where we`d end up.  We drive up through Berkshire into Oxfordshire and back again into Berkshire, taking in the pretty countryside on the way.  We also tried to find my friend B`s house but to no avail, I`m going to have to get a map or I`ll get lost if I go there on my own, my sense of direction has always been terrible and isn`t getting any better with age...lol!

We ended up in Cookham Dean, an affluent, but very popular area by the River Thames.  We had a coffee in a nice little cafe and sat outside and chatted for some time, it was lovely to have some quality time together instead of having to rush off somewhere.  The only problem was keeping the wasps away, there were loads of them and most of them seemed to make a beeline for me.  It must have been quite amusing for passers-by to see me dancing around waving my arms in the air, I don`t mind someone having a laugh at my expense...lol!  It was a really hot Summers day, just as it should be in August and I even got a bit sunburnt.  We walked along to Boulters Lock whwere the boats were queueing either end.  The lock is a good size and can fit several boats in at a time,  which is good news for the boats owners as I`m sure they don`t want to be waiting around on such a lovely day.  I took loads of photos but ended up with just the fourteen, I took what should have been a lovely one of a family of ducks but for some reason it came out really dark.  Jim ordered two icecreams but was given three so instead of giving it back to the seller he gave it to Jake instead who  polished it off in no time at all.  All in all we had a really nice day out and I hope the weather stays fine so it won`t be our last this Summer.

When you read this entry it will most probably be because you` received an email that I sent you.  That`s because I went dog walking with Jim and had to turn the computer off.  What was I to do?  I had already added and captioned the photos that I wanted to share.  Then I had a cunning plan,  I saved the photos but put TEST ENTRY ~~~ PLEASE DELETE in the subject line so nobody would read it,  thereby saving the photos.  Then I copied and pasted my entry from notepad to email which I sent to myself.  When I got home again I opened the email and copied it back to notepad where I continued my scribbles.  Of course, because the saved photo entry had to be edited in order to add my text it wasn`t going to send out an alert, hence my email to you.

Today Kerry and Slava are supposed to be going to a theme park in Milton Keynes called Gulliver`s Land.   I just hope it stayed nice for them as they were really looking forward to it...I`m sure Roman will have enjoyed it too...lol!  Oh dear, it`s just started to rain again...I must go now, not because of the rain !!!  but I have journals to read and dinner to prepare.  Again I hope you all had a lovely day, take care and Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

 

Goin` Back

 

Hello Everyone,

I`m so sorry that I couldn`t read any journals yesterday.  I just didn`t have time seeing as how I didn`t get online until nearly 9pm.  My friend B, the one I told you about a couple of weeks ago came to visit.  We hadn`t seen each other for about 15 yrs so we had so much to catch up on.  She was still as gorgeous as ever.with the same infectious laugh, how have I managed all these years without her in my life.  As the afternoon wore on we talked about everything, work, or in my case lack of it, husbands, kids, cars, golf and fishing...don`t ask...lol!  Then of course we talked about us, things we did in the past, the nights out, the boyfriends, the break ups and the down right disasters in our lives that we somehow managed to survive...lol!  We were seventeen again for those few hours we spent together, we even danced around the kitchen, much to the delight of Jake, who absolutely adored her...and could also smell her adored Boxer dog Scooby!   B has now thrown down the gauntlet to make sure I overcome one of my worst, but irrational fears.  I only way I`ll see her again is to drive to her house....not a problem in itself but I am terrified of driving on motorways which I must do in order to get there.  I have decided that enough is enough, I`ve been driving safely for 20 years and I know I am perfectly capable soooo.....that is what I`ll do.  I will go out one day next week when the rush hour is over and I`ll drive a couple of junctions down the M4.  Once I`ve done it I`ll be ok, it`s doing it for the first time that is the problem so please, wish me luck and watch this space!  This morning I feel really upbeat,  I even FEEL younger and fitter, it must be the follow on from yesterday.  Whatever it is I wish I could bottle it and sell it, I would make a fortune...lol! I spent the morning doing housework and for much of the time I was singing and dancing, again much to the amusement, or bewilderment of Jake.

The weather is still very unsettled though quite mild, I`ve done loads of washing that will of coursebecome loads or ironing once it`s dry...sigh.  I must get it done because I need to pack the things that I`m taking on holiday next Saturday.  When I come back I`ll be looking very seriously for a job, this time I WILL find something, anything, or almost anything within reason will do, so again, watch this space.  Roman has been as good as gold since the `bad day` he had at the beginning of the week.  I really appreciated it last night as I was tired out from all that talking and laughing with B, who he took to immediately.  I forget to say that Danny came over last night for a shower.  His boiler has broken down  leaving him with no hot water but with luck the plumber will be there some time this morning, he`s let him down once already so fingers crossed he turns up this time.
Anyway, my friends.  I hope you all have a great Bank Holiday Weekend. Take care, Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

Just Stuff

I took this photos several weeks ago and I thought I`d share it with you for no ther reason other than I really like it!

 

Hello Everybody,

 I hope everyone is having a nice day.  I wish I could tell you that the weather is lovely, but it`s not.  It feels more like Autumn with dark skies that are threatening heavy rain....again and it`s also is very cool for the time of year.   I can`t believe it`s August Bank Holiday this weekend, somehow I can`t see the usual hordes travelling to the coast.  Also it`s the Notting Hill Carnival in London , if it rains there it will certainly ruin the festivities...sigh.

           

 Yesterday I went to Windsor with Kerry just for something to do.  It was the busiest I`ve seen it this year with lots of tourist AND a strong police presence.  I wonder if it was because of the airport scare that security has been heightened, I knowThe Queen wasn`t in residence but something was definitely going on.  The sky was really dark the whole time we were out but were spared the rain until after we got back to the car when it poured down.  Good job we took our umbrellas, if we hadn`t you can guarantee it would have rained earlier and we`d have got soaked....lol!

         

 Yesterday morning Jim and I went to Currys where we bought a new printer.  I`ve really missed ours since it gave up on us.  This one is another Epson and if it last as long as the last one (18 mths) we`ll be happy.   It was in the sale so it didn`t cost too much.  I also went clothes shopping but have yet to find something I like, or if I do it`s not in my size.  I expect I`ll go out looking again on Monday as it`s our last week before we go away, mind you, there are some nice shops in Weymouth that we don`t have here so I`m bound to find something.

         

 I had a lovely postcard from Linda who has just returned from a cruise to Alaska.  Read all about her travels in her journal Linda`s World .  Would you mind visiting Krissy`s journal too.  Her husband John is very ill in hospital and I know you`d like to show your support.

        

 That`s it from me today, I have Roman at 3pm today so I must get on.  Oh I forgot, Tuesday night he was an absolute angel for me at bedtime, the complete opposite to the night before.  I can only imagine for whatever reason he was having a really bad day and I felt his fury even more by putting him to bed...lol!

Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

 

Hissy Fits and Holidays

 

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to my scribbles on a warm, pleasant August afternoon.  I just hope it stays that way and I don`t mean the weather.  Last night my sweet, loveable grandson Roman decided to reveal another side to his character, something he`s not done before...at least in front of me.  When it came to bed-time, the little `angel` decided to have a temper tantrum, a hissy fit, call it what you will but this was a seriously cross little boy who didn`t want to go to bed.  I gave him 20 mins to fall asleep, which he does usually but this time his whinging turned into yells, and they in turn became screams of anger.  I decided he wasn`t going to settle  and went up to see him and I couldn`t believe what he`d done.  He`d thrown not only his dummy, but his quilt out of the cot and onto the floor, and he`d pulled IN his money box and a picture frame.  Was this screaming squalling bundle my sunny natured little grandson?  When we got downstairs even Jake thought better of staying in the living room and headed for his bed out of the way of this noisy creature!  After a drink Roman decided that he wanted to play so I got out his toys again, 10 minutes later he bumped his head slightly on one of them and the tears started all over again (he wasn`t hurt, I checked).  Eventually he was so exhausted he fell asleep on the floor and I put him on my lap with the intention of taking him back to bed.  When I did however, he decided that he was going to start all over again but as soon as I had got to the bottom of the stairs he fell silent.  Peace reigned at last...sigh.  Kerry rang this morning to say that he`d slept through the night without waking once, despite my warning last night to Slava that they may have a bad night with him.  I wouldn`t mind if he was teething but he`s absolutely fine.  Let`s see what this evening brings.  Little Lord Torn Socks, as Jan calls him, is showing himself to be a bit of a devil...lol!

I thought I`d share this photo of Kerry when she was 18 mths old.  I`d forgotten just how pretty she was with her lovely blonde hair.  I do remember that she never had a bad temper as a baby, Roman must take after Slava`s family...lol! When I think of it neither of my children had tempers, Daniel especially was extremely placid and rarely cried, let alone screamed.  Never mind, I`m sure it`s just a phase he`s going through.

Changing the subject completely, I did my usual garden check this morning and they is definitely an Autumnal feel to it.  Leaves are starting to turn brown.  The ones that don`t shed their leaves are changing red or bronze and the morning dew is getting heavier.  The flowers in the pots and baskets will have to be thrown away so I can prepare them for the winter flowering plants.  By rights, it`s still Summer but with the cooler temperatures I wonder if it`s gone for this year.  I couldn`t believe that my other Magnolia has a flower on it (see above), highly unusual for the time of year so I decided to take a photo or two to show you.  I think it`s a bit sad when Summer comes to an end, I`m not sure exactly why but it`s a feeling I`ve always had.  Maybe that`s why I feel so happy when Spring comes around again.

One more week to go and Dorset here we come!  Jim and I can`t wait for the break in `our` seaside cottage once again.  I hope the weather will be nice but that`s something we don`t have control over.  No matter, we`ll have a great time regardless with Kerry and Roman there as well.  Poor Slava couldn`t have the time off work and will have to make do with staying for the weekend only. :o(  Also, Jim and I are going to Amsterdam for a long weekend at the end of October.  It was only decided last week and I`m really looking forward to it.  I`ve not been to Holland before despite it being only a short hop over the channel.  Jim`s also mentioned that we can go to Prague one weekend too, I`ve always wanted to go there too.   He can be a real sweetie sometimes. :o)

I must dash now, I have journals to read before Roman arrives later.  I also have lots more washing to do too while the weather holds.  I hope you all have a lovely day, take care and Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

                    

Happy Anniversary J-Land

 

Hello Everyone,

I want to wish every journaller a very Happy 3rd Anniversary.  I`m really pleased that journals are still going strong after 3 years, although at the time I started I had know idea I would still be writing mine, let alone have any readers!  I started mine at the suggestion of Jeannette (Jottings).  She helped me enormously,   giving me tips about what would be of interest to others, explaining how to find and use graphics, down to how to promote it so others could find me.  So before I go on, thank you so much Jeannette for your help and friendship over the last three years.

I`ve met so many nice people along the way and I like to think of them as friends although we haven`t yet met, like Jeannette of course, Jan, Ally, Jeannette (Travels), Joyce, Lisa Jo and Linda from the USA.  I won`t mention any more names because there are so many of you ,and with my memory I`m bound to forget some of you and don`t want to leave anyone out.  I`ve been writing in my journal since August 16th 2004 and like many of you I`ve seen journals come and go.  It is always a pity when someone stops writing without saying goodbye,  of course it`s their choice but a pity no less.  So many of you have carried on and made a real impression and I often can`t wait to hear what`s coming next, being a nosey person of course.  Each journal creates a personality for the reader because each of you has a unique style, so long may you all continue so I can  know you better.

 As you know, just one year ago, Roman my first grandson was born, changing the theme of my journal forever.  Most of you have seen the photos and read the progress reports so you know the state of his health, how many teeth he has, when he first sat up as you read it.  I know I talk incessantly about him but he is the light of my life and I`m proud to do so.  It`s impossible to be around him and be miserable for very long.  So that was what my last year in J-Land was all about, just in case you were in any doubt!

This afternoon while reading your entries I was so impressed by them all, by the time I got to Jeannette`s (travels) entry I had almost run out of things to say, the standard was so good.  So again, Happy Anniversary to you all dear friends.

 

 

Sunday`s 2nd attempt at saving!

 

Hello Everyone,

If you`re reading this it`s because I managed to save it first time.  I had enough last night trying to get AOL to be nice and let me save my entry but to no avail.  Thankfully I now use notepad and then copy and paste, and, in case I lose that I copy to email as well.  Better to be safe than sorry as I`ve found out to my cost.

This morning Kerry came over and managed to find an excellent insurance quote online.  I knew she would eventually but she just had to keep looking.  Later on we went over to her flat for a cup of tea, while we were there Roman took his first steps...all three of them!  We were all so excited and he just looked at us in amazement, wondering I`m sure what all the fuss was about.  After that of course he lost interest and carried on crawling around and getting into mischief.  It was so nice to see that special moment, however brief. :o)

If you read my last entry you will know that I baked a pie yesterday.  I gave some to Kerry and Slava though Jim pointed out that I should have given them smaller pieces...hmmm, I wonder why?!!!  Tomorrow morning we`ll have Roman for an hour while Kerry goes to collect her car and Jim has been assigned the task of keeping him amused while I get on with the washing.  They`ll have a great time watching CBeeBees together....lol!
Anyway, that`s all from me as there`s not much else to add seeing as it`s been a quiet day.  I hope you`re having a really nice Sunday, Bye Bye for now and take care. :o)


              Miscellaneous Proverbs

`The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.`

Winston Churchill

`There is no point taking life seriously; no-one gets out alive.

Anon

`Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth, but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.`

Winston Churchill

`A rumour goes in and out of many mouths.`

Chinese

`If you think no-one cares whether you are dead or alive, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.`

Anon

 

Feathers and Blackberries

 

This is Saturdays entry that I`ve tried to post 7 times last night and again just now.  As I`ve just succeeded in posting a test entry, I might be lucky with this one!

 

 

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to Saturday evening.   It`s been another showery, but warm day here in the South East of England with a few flashes of lightening from time to time.  This morning while tidying the kitchen I found more feathers from the pillows I washed yesterday.  As soon as I started sweeping them up I started sneezing again and it took me ages to get rid of them all.  I say all, but I`ll bet I`m still be finding them in a weeks time.

Kerry has found a new car at last.  It`s a black Skoda (no jokes please!) Fabia and it sounds really nice.  It`s got air/con which is good for Roman when it gets really hot.  Kerry`s really pleased because she`s been looking for weeks now to no avail.  She told me that she`s spent ages ringing round for a quote for car insurance and still hasn`t found a favourable one.  Oh well, I`m sure she`ll get one eventually, it`s just a case of persevering.

This afternoon Jim and I took Jake to Upton Park for a run.  We were out for over an hour as it was lovely and sunny when we started out.  However, while walking back we noticed the sky darken considerably and a bolt of forked lightening split the sky...Oh Oh!  we were going to get soaked!  In the end it came to nothing and the dark clouds moved away and left us very relieved.

Later I made an apple and blackberry pie that we ate after our evening meal.  It was really nice though I say so myself.  Jim decided he was responsible for how the pie turned out as he had picked the blackberries so that had to be the most important thing about it... hmm..yes dear lol!  Tomorrow he is going to pick some more so that I can keep him supplied with pies and crumbles.  he gets them from the back field where he exercises Jake in the mornings.  The blackberries seem to be enormous this year and as they are in a secluded area they are in abundance.

It`s getting really dark outside what with extremely black clouds gathering...aggghhh rain on thewindows, must get the washing in.............................................................................Sorry about that but I didn`t want it to get wet again!  Jim is hoping to cut the grass tomorrow if the weather stays fine that is,  it`s really started to grow after the few days of rain it very badly needed.  While we were out this afternoon we noticed quite a few trees had large fallen branches where they had become so dry.  I remember the long, hot summer of 1976 when we had a drought.  We lived in Northamptonshire at the time and one day we were at a fete of some sort.  We were surrounded by trees that had shed branches.  There were even warning signs telling people to be careful while walking near to trees.  I recall being worried that one would fall on my head.  Well I was young and impressionable at the time...lol!

Right, that`s it from me for now. I hope you`re all having a nice, relaxing day, take care.  Bye Bye. :o)

Friday`s Thoughts ~ 2nd attempt at saving!

Hello Everyone,

It`s been a showery day today.  Kerry walks into town now that she lives nearby, I on the other hand live a couple of miles the other way so I have to drive. It`s easier for me because I got into town earlier and after going to the building society I had a look around some clothes shops.  I found some nice things that I wanted to try on so I asked the shop assistant if she would keep them behind the counter until later.  Not that it did me any good.  In all I tried on 4 skirts, 3 blouses and a pair of casual trousers, none of which looked very nice at all.  I ended up buying a short sleeved cardigan, or shrug as I think they call them now.  It`s an oatmeal colour which is  neutral and I `ll be taking it on holiday and I`ll be taking it on holiday with the cooler evenings in mind.  I`ll be going shopping on Tuesday and perhaps I might try Uxbridge, Slough isn`t what it used to be when it comes to clothes shopping.   It just doesn`t have the smaller shops that gave us more choice.  I might take a trip to Tesco and then Asda, they certainly have some nice quality, reasonably priced clothes.  Isn`t it always the way when you have money to spend you can`t find a thing, but when you haven`t got any there are loads of things you like....sigh!

I weighed myself this morning and though I shouldn`t complain I`ve gained more weight than I`d like.  I`m not very tall, 5`4", so I really can`t carry it off.  Besides, all my clothes are a 10 or a 12 so I can`t afford to replace everything.  The reason for the gain if I`m honest is,  lack of proper exercise.  I haven`t been going on my long walks with Jake just lately, what with the heatwave and there my hospital visit, also, when I was working my weight was steady.  I really must get back to walking Jake and eating the right things again.

Today I washed the pillows off my bed, nothing unusual about that you say, but it says on the label: Do Not Wash, Hmm...well how am I supposed to clean them then?  Anyway I went ahead and did the deed and when I took them out of the washing machine it looked like I should have done what it said., they looked terrible .  I put them in the tumble dryer and an hour and a half later I had twowhite, fluffy pillows that are as good as new.  The only problem I had was cleaning the fluff and feathers out of the dryer.  There were bits of it flying around the kitchen, most of which got up my nose and sent me into sneezing fits...lol!

Anyway, my friends.  I really must get on with reading journals.  I`ve only read a couple today and I have loads left.  I hope you all have a lovely weekend. Bye Bye for now. :o)