Bye For Now

Hello Everyone,

Just a flying visit to say this is my last entry before I go on holiday. I was going to wait until tomorrow but I don`t know how much time I`ll have, also I will be having an early night as I`ll be up at 4.40am. I`ve just finished the last of the ironing, I`ve cleaned out the tumble dryer filter (it was in a right old state!) and generally tidied and cleaned the house. I`ve almost finished packing and I`ll leave the rest until tomorrow evening. Also I`ll be turning off alerts this evening, though I might leave it until tomorrow. I hope you all have a lovely weekend, take care and I`ll see you in a weeks time. :o)

 

Tying Up Loose Ends

Hello Everyone,

I`m writing this entry in the middle of a thunderstorm...I`m not outside in it, you understand, but the heavens are really making a row this evening!  Jim and I have been home from shopping for just a few hours and we`re exhausted. We took advantage of a Roman-free afternoon to get the last few things we need for our holiday, nothing really for us but presents for Slava`s family. We are very pleased with things we bought so I hope the like them. Kerry told us that towels are not a good quality in Russia so we bought a set for Julia (Slava`s sister) and Sergei, her husband. They are moving out of their flat for the week so we can stay there so we want to thank them with something that will be useful for their home. We also bought personal presents for them as well as Slava`s mum and dad, Nadia and Ivan and his grandmother whose name I don`t know yet. I`ll start packing tomorrow evening and I have to admit to being more than a little excited about the trip.

                                                

Yesterday Jim climbed a ladder to bring down the nest box that had been occupied by a pair of blue tits. We knew that they had young because we saw the adults bringing back food for them on a regular basis. Then we heard the chirping of the little ones until one day it stopped and I didn`t see any of the family again. We assumed they had all flown away and I didn`t give it any more thought until yesterday when Jim removed the box......the baby birds had died and their little bodies were curled up in the nest. It was quite upsetting and I really wonder why that had happened. The nest box was completely safe from all preditors and it was used to me, and all the family. Even Jake didn`t payany attention to the birds who fed from the feeders in the tree and there was no way a cat could get anyway near. Whatever happened was a mystery as the birds had their feathers and were blue and yellow like their  parents. We`ve put a new box up as the old one has seen better days, hopefully the adults will return next year to raise another family, successfully this time.

I`ve been feeling much better after the viral thing that has been bothering me, I still have a dodgy throat but nothing I can`t cope with. My only complaint is an insect bite that I`ve had since last week isn`t healing as quickly as I`d like and is still rather red and itchy. I have some wonderful stuff called After Bite that you put on and it stops the itching right away, apart from this particular bite...it must have been one BIG insect that got me...lol! In Russia at this time of year the mosquitos are out in force, but they won`t come anywhere near me if I have anything to do with it. I`m going prepared with my extra strength insect repellent. I expect I`ll smell vile but I don`t care if it does the job...lol!

The atmosphere at home is a bit better today. Dan is speaking more to me and I`m doing my best to get on with him. A family discussion is not a good idea at the moment, trust me, I know my son too well and it would just cause another row, the last thing we need at the moment. I keep worrying about Salina and what she will do with herself now. I know her parents will be telling her "I told you so." and she will have to bear it. With her her being Asian and Muslim it was never going to be easy for her and Dan, but they had come so far and her parents were close to accepting their relationship, I just hope she`ll be alright, I am very worried about her but can do nothing...sigh.

Anyway, my friends. If I don`t get the chance to update before I go away, I hope youall have a great weekend and a nice week to follow. I`m off to read your journals and this time I`ll comment as many as I can. Take care all of you and Bye Bye for now. :o)

Another Week Goes By!

At Runnymede on Thursday afternoon.

Hello Everyone,

I thought I`d make an entry before another day passes by. Again it`s been almost a week since the last one. You may notice that I deleted the last one where I told you about Danny and Sal`s break up. The reason being is that he has srted using the computer quite a bit and even though the link to my journal isn`t on view, he might find it and somehow I know he wouldn`t like what I`d written. Still, I stand by what I wrote and even more so since we had a huge argument on Wednesday that has resulted in us not speaking unless it`s necessary to do so. He is talking to me a bit more but I just don`t have anything to say at the moment. The atmosphere has been horrible but I`m not in a mood to forgive and forget after the row. The row started over something that happened between Dan and Sal that evening and I got the full impact of it. So much for staying in the background and letting him deal with his own problems...sigh.

I`m really looking forward to our trip to Russia this coming Saturday as I know a break will be good for me and Jim, we need to get away from the house all the bad feeling that is hanging around us at the moment. We`ve got our suitcases down from the loft and I`ve washed and ironed everything that we`ll be taking with us. I want to leave the  washing basket empty because as you all know, there`s always so much to do when you get back from a holiday. I`ve cleaned the oven over the weekend and it`s as sparkling as when it was brand new, the problem is I don`t want to cook in it again in case it gets greasy again...lol!  I did cook a roast dinner today though and I cleaned the oven straight afterwards,. I just hope I keep it up but somehow I doubt it knowing me!

The week in general has been uneventful. I`ve not been feeling too well the last couple of day, some sort of viral thing I expect. You know, sore stomach, headaches and a dodgy throat, I definitely need that holiday!  On Thursday after work,Kerry and I took Roman to Runnymede so he could run around to his hearts content by the riverside. We had a lovely afternoon though both Kerry and I were tired out, me from having an earlier start than usual and Kerry from being up in the night with a restless Roman. I hope you like the photo of Roman who looks deep in thought, we were playing football at the time but he lost sight of the ball and was looking around for it.

Anyway, I`ll continue this tomorrow night, I`m of to watch the final of Britains Got Talent.  Bye for now. :o)

 

 

Another Week Already!

Hello Everyone,

I can`t believe it`s been a week since my last entry,  I thought it was just a few days ago. Oh well, time passes when you`re having fun so they say. Only I`ve not been having fun at all really. The family crises is still very much in evidence and I still can`t tell you about it for the moment...but I will, of that you can be sure.

I`ve been in an awful mood for most of the week and I`ve no idea why. I`ve gone from being very irratable and snappy to everyone to downright tearful though I feel a bit better today. It hasn`t helped that I`ve had difficulting sleepy all week, that is, more like not being able to go back to sleep once I`ve woken up. It can be really hard waking at 4.30am when you have to get up for work at 6. Anyway, I`ve caught up on my sleep this weekend and I should be fighting fit for work tomorrow, well not exactly fighting fit but with enough energy to do my job...lol!

I finished the planting yesterday and I am very pleased with the garden now. Jim has done all the weeding for me this morning so there is nothing left for me to do for a couple of days at least, apart from some dead heading. On Friday I bought myself another orchid.......I know..lol!   It WAS half price before my discount so I just had to buy it and I had no intention of buying another this month. What happened was that I went into the houseplant section with the intention of buying a couple of pots for my existing orchids. However....I just happened to glace across to the 50% off table and that was it..... Anyway I haven`t got a white one and this one is in excellent condition with lots of new growth, plus the flowers that are covering one of the spikes. I`ll take a photo so you can see for yourself. Oh dear, I think I do protest too much...lol!

I had Roman all week as Kerry had her days off at the weekend. He seems to be coming on in leaps and bounds and he just doesn`t stop talking. It`s Nanna this and Nanna that. He has recently spotted my hanging basket that I grow strawberries in, now it`s "Nanna strawberries!" and he usually gets one a day (after I`ve washed them that is!).  He is still a little darling but he certainly tires me out these days, this afternoon Slava brought him round and he and Danny went for a quck drink. Roman wanted me to push him around in his little wheel barrow. Something I could easily do a couple of months ago but he`s far too big for me now. He wasn`t at all impressed and was starting to get quite cross when he was distracted by a pigeon that landed in the tree, crisis over he was soon his happy little self again as he kept calling "Nanna, penguin!"   ....lol!

Jim and I have our visas for Russia and they look really impressive too. We can`t understand what they say but they look very official I can tell you. I know we have a fortnight but I`m starting to plan what to pack for the week. The weather is really nice at the moment but I`m going prepared for anything the weather will throw at us, just in case. It will be very strange not having dark nights but I`m sure we`ll get used to it. On night we`re going on a midnight cruise along the river though it will still be light. Mind you it should be easier to spot the mosquitos that are out in droves at this time of the year, I for one will spend much of the time covered in insect repellent or I`ll get eaten alive by the things. As we`re staying in Slava`s sister`s apartment in a highrise we won`t have to worry about being bitten there, Slava says for some reason they don`t fly that high...lol!

Anyway my friends, I`m off now, have a lovely evening and I`ll be back again soon. Bye for now and take care. :o)

 

Thanks to Indigo for sending me this lovely name tag.

Sunday Snippets

Hello Everyone,

It`s been one of those days as far as I`m concerned, not that anything has gone really wrong, I`m just in a bad mood that won`t lift. :o(

I suppose if I`d managed my usual Sunday morning lie-in it wouild have turned out better but I awoke at 5.15am and couldn`t sleep after that, it was just too hot. I got up at 6.30 and had breakfast after doing a few odd jobs around the house and by the time I had breakfast at 8.00 I felt wornout and fit to drop. At least my back is much better today though still a bit stiff AND so is Jake`s paw, he is still lifting it occasionally but it`s much better so it can`t be a fracture. I did the ironing this morning and was relieved that I didn`t have as much as some weeks...phew, another good thing to happen, even though I ended up doing a couple of Danny`s shirts. He returned the favour this afternoon by giving my car a good clean inside and out, saving me another job...he`s a good boy sometimes....lol!

I can`t believe we are going to Russia on the 23rd of this month, and I think I`m looking forward to it at last. I can`t say I was too enthusiastic at first but I didn`t want to turn down an invitation to visit a country where I wouldn`t think of going if it weren`t for Slava and Kerry. I still have some reservations but will go there with an open mind....and my camera to show you all the sites. Slava sent off our visa applications the other day and we should have them some time next week, all being well. I have a feeling that what was a nice sunny day is going to end up with a storm. It`s very hot and oppressive and the sky is very ominous looking with very black clouds. It nneds to break to cool things down a little. I love the hot sunny weather but not this humidity...ugh!

At last we have our classic photo view back and we now know what we`re looking at now we can have captions again. I thought I`d post a few photos of my flowers that are blooming at the moment. As Joan suggested I took photos of the newly planted pots and mangers and then I`ll take some more in a couple of weeks so they`ll be a marked change, if we get the right mix of sun and some light rain, more sun than rain hopefully...lol!

Anyway, I`m off to have a shower before watching some TV. Have a nice evening and take care. Bye for now. :o)

 

 

Dog Days and Backache!

Hello Everyone,

Before I go any further I`ll tell you all about Jake`s visit to the vet on Thursday. The reason Jim took him was because he was in such pain he didn`t even want to stand up, let alone walk into the garden, we both had to coax him along and had to stay with him or he`d lay down again. The vet examined him carefully and when she found the painful spot, he growled at her showing his nice white set of teeth!  He had to be muzzled but the vet said she could tell he was in a lot of pain and she didn`t get as much as a whimper from him after that. She said either the toe was badly sprained or there was a possible fracture, giving Jim the choice of continuing with the Rimadyl or having an x-ray straight away. He asked whch she thought was best and she said it would be an idea to try the medication first as it might do the trick. Now we have come to the end of the pills and now we will see if he`s starts limping again without strong painkillers. He hasn`t been allowed any excercise whatsoever, not even a gentle stroll on the green across the road. Hopefully the tablets and rest will be all he needs but if not, it`s back to the vet on Monday afternoon and an x-ray on Tuesday morning. Also you`ll be pleased to know that the German Shepherd that was badly savaged by two mastiffs is alive and doing very well indeed,  far, far better than was expected. As for those dangerous dogs, I don`t know what happened but I`ve not seen anything in the local papers about it so they probably got away with it. I just hope they don`t escape from their garden again.

Talking of dogs, I have to tell you what happened at work last Monday. I was busy serving customers and out of the corner of my eye I saw a large brown dog walk through the open doors and continue to the back of the shop. It was so funny as she (it was a girl)  seemed to be looking for something to buy, unfortunately we don`t sell dog food so she was disappointed...lol!  She was so friendly it was easy to have a look at the name tag on her collar so we soon established that she had escaped from her garden just a couple of roads away though she had most likely made her way through the fields and into the centre. Very soon her young owner arrived to take her home though her impromptu visit certainly brightened up the day. Also at work I had a customer who is an orchid expert and he was very interested to hear of my enthusiasm for his passion. He said he`s going to bring in details of an orchid show in August, which I have to say I`d love to visit. I must say I do meet some very interesting and nice people at work.

Yesterday afternoon and today I`ve been planting out the bedding plants in tubs, baskets and wall mangers, to say nothing of the flower beds in the garden. While I was hanging out washing yesterday evening my back gave way and I thought I wouldn`t be able to straighten up again, it hurt so much. Anyway, I lay down on the grass for a while and just relaxed hoping it wouldn`t hurt when I got up again...wrong!  It was as usual my own fault for not being careful when lifting, I`ll never learn I know but what can I do? Today it`s still very sore but not anyway as bad as yesterday. I think it must be a nerve that catches every now and again because I`m quite strong and fit and I shouldn`t really suffer from back problems as much as I do.....I hate getting older...lol! As I said, the flowers are all in though I still need a few more, and when they all flower I`m hoping for the best display I`ve had for some time. I just hope we get enough sun to bring out the best in them.

We have a family crisis going on at the moment but I can`t explain just yet as not everyone who needs to know hasn`t been told. I will say that it`s very upsetting but as a parent what can you do for your children in matters of the heart? Anyway my friends, I must go and read some journals and catch up on your news.  Have a great weekend and Take care. Bye for now. :o)

 

 

Jake Update

Hello Everyone,

Just a flying visit to let you know that poor Jake might have a fractured toe. The vet told us to give him the remaining Rimadyl tablets and to keep him rested. If he`s no better by Monday it`ll mean an X-Ray.  I`ll explain properly tomorrow.  Bye for now. :o)