A Nice Weekend

Hello my friends,

I hope you`ve been having an enjoyable weekend so far. I for one have had a particulary nice couple of days though I have to work on the Bank Holiday tomorrow. Yesterday was hot and sunny, just as you`d hope an August day to be and in the afternoon Jim and I went car hunting.  I was only looking and wouldn`t have been too bothered had I not found anything suitable...but not only did I find something but I found the perfect car for me and I collect it on Friday afternoon after work. It`s another Renault Clio but much newer with more creature comforts than the old one. When I took it for a test drive I fell in love with it and decided there and then it had to be mine. After some hard bargaining I got a very good part-exchange price deal on my old car, good job too or there would have been no deal, so I signed on the dotted line. I can`t wait to collect it so I can spend all afternoon driving it around, it`s just like a new toy for me.

Afterwards Jim suggested we go to a nice little pub not far from here for a celebratory drink. We went to the Red Lion and sat outside in the shade of the ancient oak that dominates it`s front garden. I say we had a drink buy although Jim had a pint I only drank cranberry juice, because I was driving and because ice cold cranberry is very refreshing on a hot day. It was nice because we managed to spend some quality time together, something that we get precious little of these days and it made such a difference.

Today I did a huge pile of ironing before Jim came home from work, had lunch and then went out together with Jake to Black Park. Again because the weather was so nice I took the camera and took photos of whatever took my fancy at the time. Jake had a great time swimming in the lake and at one point he even tried to outrun a young greyhound.....silly boy, he had no chance and almost wore himself out trying...lol! At the cafe there Jim bought us an icecream each, I had coffee flavour and Jim had choc chip...it was scrummy.

When we got home we found Slava and Roman waiting for us in the back garden. Roman came running up to me with a big smile on his face when he saw me...he melts my heart when he does that...bless him. For those of you who don`t know, Jeannette`s young grandson isn`t very well and is in hospital. It would be lovely if you would pop in to her journal and and leave a message of support, I know she`d really appreciate it.

I forgot to say that Jim spent Saturday morning in the garden mowing our extremely jungle-like lawn. It had become so long after all the rain we`ve had and it`s been far to wet to cut it. We were begininning to wonder what was lurking in the undergrowth...lol! My summer bedding flowers are all but finished, especiallt the petunias that haven`t enjoyed the wet weather. One of the magnolias however is in flower for the second time this year and the hellebores that flower in winter are also flowering now, as is one of the roses that should have finished in July. I just hope the magnolia will get back in sync and flower properly in the Spring.

Our roof is finished and the roofers have done an excellent job. A friend of ours was surprised at what it cost too, which apparently was very reasonable. I`d have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone who needs any work done. The only downside is the mess in our loft and that`s after they cleared up too. Mind you a bit of mess didn`t hurt anyone, especially Jim who has to do it...lol!. There`s no way I will ever go up there until we have floorboards laid, with my luck my foot would go straight through the ceiling!

Anyway, my friends that`s all for now. I`ll be reading journals until 9pm when I`m going to watch the new series stariing Martin Clunes. Bye for now and have a lovely Bank Holiday...even though I have to work...lol! ;o))))

 

 

Miserable Weather and other Afflictions!

Hello my friends,

I hope you are all well on this miserable Summer`s day here in southern England. If this miserable weather stays with us much longer Summer will have gone and Winter will be very long indeed. I know we`ve had awful Summers before but I can`t remember one myself that`s been this bad. Anyone who says the British are preoccupied with the weather are right, we are and no wonder I say...lol!

                                   

This morning the roofers started work and they have finished the front of the house already. Tomorrow they will likely finish the job and the scaffolding will down by the weekend. The two chaps who are doing the job are really nice, friendly young men and I`m not surprised that they get so much work, they work hard all day and are still cheery at the day`s end, sometimes all you need is a smile to brighten up your day.

 

Yesterday it was one of those days, we hardly had any customers at work and the ones we did get were awkward. I don`t know if I`ve said this before but I always treat customers the way I`d like to be treated myself bevcause good manners cost nothing and like I said earlier, a smile can make a difference. I often find that I have the upper hand with rude people because they don`t quite know how to react to someone who smiles back when while they are complaining. It disarms them and gives me the upper hand....Oh yes, I`ve learnt as much about people as I have about plants in the 11mths since I`ve worked there.

 

At the end of next week Jim and I go to Dorset for the week. I`ve just realised that we`ve been going there for nine years now and we still enjoy every minute of it. I do hope the weather will pick up a bit though we`ll still have an enjoyable stay regardless of the weather. Each year I have to pack clothes for all weathers so I am prepared for anything. I`ll be sleeveless vests and shorts down to sweatshirts and wellies, I`ll have them all with me....just in case...lol!

 

My mouth is almost healed now though I still get the odd twinge in my jaw, natural I suppose after the trauma of the tooth removal. At least there`s no more infection that will cause any more problems (fingers crossed!).  But......I have swollen glands in my throat and I feel just a bit under the weather, Jim says what do I expect with the weather we`ve been having.  He`s right of course....sigh.

Since my last entry I haven`t broken a thing, let alone my last pair of glasses. If I break them I`ll only have my cheap pair of shop bought reading glasses which are adequate but only just, with luck they should last until the end of September when I can visit the optician with a view to getting my eyes tested and handing over a wad of hard earned cash for the pleasure of a pair of specs!

Anyway, I`m going to try to catch up on some journals before I sigh off at 9pm. I hope you all have a nice, restful evening and that the weather is much better where you are. :o)

 

 

Breaking Glass and other Tales

Hello my friends,

So much for me telling you all about Thorpe Park as I haven`t even posted an entry since Sunday. Really all I can say was that we had a terrific day out with all of us enjoying ourselves. I didn`t go on any rides except for the little ones with Roman and one called The Flying Fish which I call the rollercoaster for the cowardly...lol! Long gone are the days when I risked life and limb for the thrill of the most scary ride that I could find. Though I have to say that I agree with the comment that Jeannette left on last weeks entry, the rides were never as big and scary as they are today. There is a beach play area called...ummm, I forget now but Roman absolutely loved it and we spent over an hour paddling around in the warm shallow water, with the Little Man having great fun splashing water all over me...lol!  As we took our own food we hardly spent any money apart from the admission fee except for icecreams and coffee. The highlight of my day was getting accosted by a group of manic clowns! I was about to take a photo when one of them grabbed my camera and another started waving a rubber chicken in my face. Good job I wasn`t one of those people who might have told him what he could do with the flippin` chicken...lol! It certainly made Kerry and Roman laugh as I made a hasty getaway and let the clowns pick on someone else...lol!  At the end of the day I for one was exhausted and all I wanted was to sit down with a nice cup of tea, which I made as soon as I got through the door.

On Monday the chap who is fixing our roof, Jason called to say that the scaffolding was going up the next day but because of the drastic change of weather the work (due to begin on Wednesday) would have to be cancelled till Thursday. It was still wet on Thursday so he won`t be able to start till Monday. Never mind, it`s not as though we`re in a rush to have the work done, it`s not as though the roof is leaking.

On Thursday I broke another pair of glasses, my third pair in six months! Now I have just the one pair left and will have to visit the opticians after we get back from Dorset next month. I can`t believe that I could be that careless, it`s not something I`ve ever done to one pair let alone three. Also my sunglasses are about to fall apart so I`ve had to invest in another pair. I have had them for about six years and they weren`t cheap either but I suppose I`ve had my monies worth out of them. I suppose I`ll just have to get used to this new pair and hope I don`t break them too.

I`m nearing the end of my course of antibiotics for my jaw infection and I`m pleased to say it`s almost completely better now. I say almost because I won`t know if they`ve been successful until after I stop I finish the course but I`m very optimistic. Anyway, I`m heartily sick of the dentist and won`t be going back there in a hurry...lol!

Yesterday evening we hung the new mirror and the pictures in the living room. It`s nice to have something to look at on the walls again and the mirror really makes the room look bigger. Because the mirror is quite big and really heavy Jim and I did it between us, mind you with my track record of breaking glasses I wasn`t the best person to help with a mirror....lol!

This morning we went to see Kerry and Slava`s new house in Tadley. It`s in a nice area that is fairly rural that is about 35 miles from here. The house itself will be really nice once it`s had a good clean (I`m not at all impressed with the present owners` housekeeping skills) and tidy. Later on when they are nearing completion we will be going over there armed with cleaning products and vacuum cleaners to give the place the once over. The kitchen is thick with grease and I won`t even begin to describe the inside of the oven!  It`s nothing that we can`t put right and I know once they are surrounded by their own things they will feel right at home. The garden is in need of a major overhaul but it won`t be too difficult as it`s not very large. The first thing will be to dig up what`s left of the lawn and re-seed it before winter sets in. The owner has thrown seed over it but I`ll be getting rid of that as soon as possible, along with the stinging nettles that are growing all over it. I forgot my camera as I wanted to get as many before and after photos as possible but I`ll take it next time....hopefully!

Right, I must go and prepare some dinner but I hope to post again within the next couple of days.....if I remember...lol!  Bye for now and have a great weekend. :o)

 

Our Day at Thorpe Park

I hope you like the photos of our day at Thorpe Park, it was a wonderful but exhausting day. I`ll tell you all about it in my next entry. :o)

Love

Saturday Chat

Hello Everyone,

It`s been another beautiful day though I`ve been too busy to enjoy it. I went to the hairdresser this morning and did a huge pile of ironing this afternoon. I usually do it on Sunday morning but I`m going to Thorpe Park with Kerry tomorrow and I won`t feel like it when I get home. For those of you who don`t know, Thorpe Park is a theme park that is not too far away in Chertsey, Surrey and I haven`t been there since my own children were small. It`ll be fun to go though I doubt if I`ll be going on any of the big rides, they don`t hold the same appeal they used to, nothing to do with my age of course...lol!

I`ve been taking the antibiotics that the dentist prescribed and I`ve noticed that the soreness has abated a little. He did tell me that if they don`t do any good after the first two days to double the dose, it`s very safe to do so apparently but I don`t think I`ll bother. I just hope they do the job as I`m really fed up with the whole thing.

There`s going to be a meteor shower starting tomorrow I think, and lasting for the whole of the month. By all accounts tomorrow is the best time to view the phenomenon so I`ll be out there at 11.30pm with my camera at the ready. Did I mention that our next door neighbours are selling their house? Well, Jim was talking to the lady of the house and she said they had just put it on the market and are hoping for a quick sale. I wonder who`ll buy it and will they live in it or rent it out?  I just hope we get good neighbours.

Yesterday afternoon Jim and I found a mirror for the living room that we both like. We`ve been searching for weeks now and came across this one quite by chance. Jim has to go and collect it tomorrow as we were in my little car and it wouldn`t fit in. Talking of cars, I`ve decided it`s time to get a new one. I love my car but it`s ten years old and won`t stay as reliable as this forever. Also I want a slightly better with more creature comforts that will last me as long as the one I have now. My car would make an excellent first car for someone who has recently passed their driving test so I know I`ll have no trouble selling it for a reasonable price. All I have to do now is find one to buy.

Kery and Slava came round this afternoon for half an hour. Kerry says that buying the house is so stressful and it`s giving her headaches. I told her she`s lucky she isn`t selling a house as well as buying as that WOULD be stressful! I think I`ll be going with her to the house next week so she can measure up for curtains and a few other bits that she wants to do. It`ll give me a chance to take those photos and have a good look at the garden and see what wants doing. I`m looking forward to seeing the garden as Kerry`s more than happy to leave me to it. The garden is completely bare apart from a scrubby bit of lawn so I almost have a blank canvas to work with.  I`m going to have a lot of fun!

The cold that I confidently told you wasn`t too bad DID develop into a full blown head cold, that will teach me to be so smug...lol!  Anyway, I must try to read some more journals, I`ve fallen really behind again. I hope you all have a lovely evening and Bye for now. :o)

 

 

Houses and Dentists!

Hello everyone,

The weather has been lovely again today, warm and sunny but not too hot. I just hope it lasts after the dreadful summer we`ve had up till two weeks ago. Things at work have settled down a little as it has been agreed that I job share with my colleague instead of changing jobs completely. I`m not one to complain usually but I had to say how I felt this time and hopefully it will work out for the best. I expect I`ll be outside tomorrow weeding for the time I`m there, a job I don`t mind doing at all, especially in the sunshine.

 

                        

This afternoon it was back to the dentist as my mouth is still painful. It turns out that the bone and gum are still infected and I was given another course of strong antibiotics. Also I was told that my jaw is very arthritic, something I didn`t know beforehand. Apparently the jaw is used more than any other joint in the body and is a common site of arthritis...now you know! Anyway, I hope the pills do the trick because it`s very annoying having to keep going back to the dentist and besides, it`s costing me a fortune.

 

                         

Kerry and Slava`s house purchase is now in the hands of a solicitor and they have been told it will take between 6 to 14 weeks to complete. Most likely it`ll be nearer the 6 as there is nothing that should slow up the proceedure. Talking of houses Jim and I are having our roof lining paper replaced and the builders will be in on Wednesday to put up the scaffolding. We were told by the surveyor when we bought the house it needed doing but we`ve been putting it off because of the cost. It to be done because when we put our house up for sale we could lose a lot of money if we don`t have the work done. I know we won`t be moving for a few years yet but they were recommended by a friend so we decided to go ahead now.

                        

I still have a bit of a cold, not that it was much of one in the first place. Kerry, Roman and Jim all had really heavy colds so when my throat started to feel scratchy and my glands swelled up, I thought I was in for the same thing. But I haven`t had anything near as bad with just slightly watery eyes and a bit of a sniffle and I don`t think it`s going to get worse either. One thing I have gained in working at the garden centre in the countryside is that my immune system is much better than when I worked at Royal Mail in the middle of town. Since I started the job last October I`ve had no time off sick at all. I have had colds and viruses but nothing that would prevent me from working as yet. I always take 50+ multi-vitamins and zinc tablets for cold prevention so maybe that`s whats doing it. Whatever is responsible long may it last and hopefully I`ll go through another winter in good health (fingers crossed...lol!)

 

                              

I`m really behind with journal reading and I hope to get through some alerts tonight. Please forgive me if you aren`t getting comments from me at the moment, I am reading but just don`t have time to comment on all of them at the moment so please accept my apologies.  I hope you all have a lovely evening, Bye for now. :o)

 

 

Excellent News!

Great news, Kerry and Slava have got the house. The owner has accepted their offer and with luck they should move in about 6 weeks time. They are both over the moon and can`t wait to move away from their flat and their noisy and inconsiderate neighbours. In a couple of weeks Jim and I are going with them to visit the house and I`ll take a couple of photos so you can see how nice it is.

I went back to work today to find out that I`ll be working outside for a couple of months. I don`t mind too much but the reason for it is another thing and I`m not at all happy with that. Of course I can`t go into detail here but time will tell and I think I`ll be back inside before too long. As it`s Summer I`ll make the most of working with the plants for now, and as for the person who`s doing my job...do I wish him well?   I`ll say no more!

Jim was showing Roman some photos this evening, some of which were of him as a baby. Even though he recognised everyone else he couldn`t understand that the baby in the photos was Roman. He kept saying " No, Nana...baby, not Roman!"  Bless him, I know he`ll understand eventually. Just recently he`s started drinking from a `proper` cup without a lid and he has a straw instead. This evening while downstaairs with Jim he managed to pour his milk all over the carpet...it never happens when I`m with him...as Roman says " Silly Grandad!"

Anyway, the main reason I posted tonight was to let you know about Kerry`s new house. I`m just so happy for them as they`ve worked hard for this and it`s not easy for young people to get on the property ladder these days. I`ll say goodbye now and I hope you all have a nice evening.

 

 

Thanks Lisa Jo for this great tag

Hope and Humility

Hello everyone,

Sniff....I have a cold, well not just any old cold but Roman`s cold to be exact...lol! Never mind I`m not complaining, it could be worse.

It`s been an eventful weekend with Kerry and Slava having made an offer on a house yesterday and they are crossing their fingers that the seller will accept it. There is no onward chain and the property is vacant so if all goes well they should be moving in about six weeks time. It`s a lovely little house in  North East Hampshire which is about 30 something miles from here. Kerry said it`s a nice little town/village with a school just around the corner from the house. It sounds lovely and I`m praying that they`ll be successful in their bid.

Yesterday evening despite Jim having a cold also we visted some friends who were having a small get together in their garden. We had a wonderful evening with lots of food, drink and good conversation. At the end of the evening we all sat around the fire pit to keep warm and played silly games and told scary stories. Who says we had to act like grown-ups?   lol!  Two of our friends have life-threatening illnesses and they both have a positive outlook on life. After chatting to one of them I truly wondered if I could be so strong in her situation...I think not and I admire her courage, it makes me feel very humble and puts my own trivial problems into perspective. My mouth has been giving me trouble again but I didn`t mention it last night, it just seemed pointless.

As I said my mouth started hurting again so on Friday it was back to the dentist again. My dentist is on holiday so I saw his partner again. He`s a very nice man who instantly puts you at ease and the first thing he said to me was "You`re not having a lot of luck with this are you?" He found that I had what he called shrapnel coming out of the side of the gum so he pulled it out and it felt a bit better. It seems that fragments of bone are finding their way out and I think there are so more to come yet...sigh! It`s been three weeks on Tuesday since the tooth was removed, surely it will settle down soon.

This afternoon we had a nice Sunday lunch in the garden under the gazebo. Kerry and Roman came over and we all tucked in al fresco. The weather has been wonderful all week and the last two days have been really hot just as it`s supposed to be in August. Now we shall see if it stays nice or it goes back to the wet and miserable conditions that we`ve grown used to this summer.

Tomorrow I`m back at work after a lovely week off, and though I can`t say it was relaxing I certainly made good use of my time. So I`ll say good night to you all and hope you have a nice week. :o)

 

Roman`s Party - 2nd Time Lucky!

Hello everyone,

At last I`m posting the entry on Roman`s birthday party and what`s been happening since. I`ve been off work all week so I could spend some time doing nothing (some hopes) and have ended up doing twice as much as I would normally!  Anyway, back to the party.

 

 

We had a wonderful day with good weather from early in the morning. We needn`t have bothered with the gazebos but we didn`t want to take a chance. I spent much of Friday evening cooking and all of Saturday morning preparing the food. Thankfully most of it was eaten, especially my special recipe cajun chicken wraps which went almost as soon as I put them out. I keep being asked what the recipe is but I won`t tell, it`s very easy but I like to keep up the mystique...lol! Roman was really happy to see his new slide in the garden and had a go straight away, if only he`d known the drama that lay behind the flamin` thing!  When Jim started to put it together he found that 1) there were no instructions 2) that there were lots of pieces missing. Now, my husband is not one to swear...but he certainly made an exception that time...lol! He had to drive all the way to Toys`R`Us, get the replacement parts and instructions, drive back and finish the job, have a shower and change with just over two hours before the guests were due to arrive. Well he did it with time to spare though he must have driven like a man posessed ...lol!

We had a bouncy castle on loan from a friend and all the children went on it at some time in the afternoon. At one point Roman insisted that Nana join him so what could I do but obey.  And what fun I had  and I didn`t even ache the next morning. Bouncing is fun so why not give it a try. Note to self: Buy a trampoline...lol!

It was lovely to watch Roman and his little friends playing together, well playing along side each other is the best way to describe it, they seem to watch and copy each other rather than play. Roman was very well behaved and seemed to mingle with all the adult guests, chatting away to them and giving them food, often something that someone had dropped on the floor...lol! He also kept telling everyone that it was his birthday and he was TWO! Also it was nice to see friends and family that we`d not seen for some time. My brother`s two sons, Adam and Ryan are now 16 and 15 respectively and two of the nicest and best mannered young men you could hope to meet. And the tallest, Adam is 6ft 4in tall and still growing!

We also polished off quite a bit of liquid refreshment. At least 8 bottles of wine, several cases of beer and goodness know how many cokes, lemonades and fruit juices were consumed in one afternoon. I was just so happy that everyone had such a good time and Roman thoroughly enjoyed his birthday and that I had lots of compliments about my garden....the day couldn`t have been better.

When the last guests left at about 8pm the first raindrops began to fall, and just after we`d finished clearing up the garden the rain came down in earnest. I`m certain someone was watching over us to ensure Roman had a very special birthday without getting wet and for that I`m very grateful. I would like to have shown you all the photos we took but I didn`t think it was right to show photos of other peoples children without their permission as I know you`d understand. What I have done is post some photos of days out.

On Monday Kerry, me and Roman went to Reading shopping so there`s no photos there...lol! Tuesday was another birthday party as you will have seen and today was a visit to Odd`s Farm Animal Park with a photo of Roman stroking the baby Pygmy goats. Tomorrow there is yet another birthday party to attend, that is if Roman and Kerry`s colds are better. Roman is getting over his very quickly but I can`t say the same for his Mummy who is still full of it and didn`t go to work this evening to give them both time to recover. Now why is it that my glands are swelling up and I`ve started sneezing.....grrr!

Today my new bed arrived and I`m looking forward to a good night`s sleep in my super-dooper kingsize divan. What I did forget was to buy a larger headboard so I`ve propped up the old one behind the bed until we get a new one. Our old bed has gone into the spare bedroom that Danny is occupying at the moment whilst the bed in there will go with him when he moves out in October. Until then it remains propped up against the wall of his ever-shrinking bedroom...lol! Bye the way, Dan has accepted the new job after much consideration and is just awaiting a letter of confirmation before he hands in his notice.  Right, I`m off now but I hope you all have a lovely evening. Take care and Bye Bye for now. :o)