What was I knitting ?

Look what Winivere made for me isnt it great ?

 

Hi every one, Maurice is in bed its 10 .30 and as  I had a little sleep this afternoon  I thought would do a quick entry ,before going to bed. I suppose like me you are all busy ,I have a few more cards to write ,A couple more presents then I’m done ,I finished my knitting ,and am wondering what to make next ,I have a meeting on Monday morning followed by a Christmas lunch ,with the members of the tenants forum ,Maurice and I went to Huntingdon on Friday bought quite a lot of Christmas presents there ,It’s a much smaller town than Peterborough ,so the shopping isn’t as frantic ,and there are some lovely shops .Well I asked you a couple of entries ago what you thought I was knitting, I had some interesting answers, I must admit to throwing you off the scent a bit by talking about socks, many of you thought I was knitting socks, some thought a scarf Kath from ‘my simple rhymes’ thought I look nice in it whatever it was …..Of course my sister Jean, daughter Kate and my friend Debbie knew, so I thank them for keeping my secret, so what was I knitting?......

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There you are, now you know ,and she loves it hee heee ,so now Im off to bed ,night night Godbless every one ..Love from

 

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Rainy day shopping ...

 

 Hi  there here I am again, I have caught up with all your lovely entries, so now… shall I do an entry? Or shall I do the ironing?... .Hmm guess what I decided?

As ever at this time of year such a lot to do and not enough time I still have loads of cards to write, though the ones that have to go abroad have gone ,just the rest to do ,and the final post for second class mail is next Monday , I can now put up my decorations ,little tradition of mine ,It is my second son Derek’s forty sixth birthday today ,I would never put up the trimmings until he had had his birthday ,So that his special day didn’t get confused with Christmas ,

With all my love a very Happy Birthday son.

May be you would prefer this to the cake ....

 

As I mentioned I found another one of the Twelve days of Christmas windows, this was in a children’s wear, shop window .Eleven Pipers Piping. It was pouring with rain on the day I took the picture; you either get reflections or raindrops!

 

 

 

 

Last Wednesday ,I went to the over sixties Christmas party, we had lots of lovely food and fun .We were again served by the gentleman of the local Rotary club, amongst them was Richard who I worked with when I first left school, and entertained by the choral society, They entertained us with many lovely Christmassy songs and we all joined to sing carols, Incidentally I learned that the club has been running for fifty eight years,Have a lovely day everyone ,with love from

              

 

Put a sock in it !

Thanks to Chris for the graphic ,I know it says Autumn on it ,but disregard that ,and enjoy the following ,it has been on my notice board for ages and I thought I would like to share it with you ,

My washing machine is a mysterious thing .I have a theory that it is not the innocent household electrical item it masquerades as being.

Now you may think me rather strange for saying this,but I believe that my washing machine is a connecting  tunnel to an alternative world ,a world where socks rule the earth,

In this other world,the unloved,unappreciated neglected socks of our world can roam free,no longer down trodden ,no longer trampled on by their thoughtless oppressors,My washing machine allows these socks a convenient escape route to this alternative world .

However not all socks may go through,The master of the sock tunnel has declared that through this route no partners can pass,Every sock must start life afresh.Only one can go.One is left behind.

The sock tunnel master,also rejects ageing haggard and holey socks .

They are cast back into the whirlpool with the rest of the washing.In this brave new world only gleaming new young socks,especially those born under the sign of the patron Saint of socks St Michael are allowed to pass therough,Yes ageism exists even in the sock world,

As I said before,this may sound rather strange,but it is the only explanation I have for the vast numbers of absconding socks that have disapeared from my washing machine,sorry tunnel over the years,leaving behind a forlorn,now useless partner.

I estimate that the' sock missing,presumed lost'list is extensive enough to keep the freezing peoples of Syberia sock happy for centuries.

I wonder if you can guess what I am knitting now? ,

And so to bed ....Lots of love

                                  Thankyou Missie for my dancing Santa .

 

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December the first

Good morning a lovely sunny day here but very windy and cold,I have just been out, to hang out the washing ,and look who wants to go out again !

Ok then  ,but dont expect me to join you !

Here we are the first of December ,and the beginning of Advent

I bought Maurice a calendar ,to open through Advent as the kids do ,but was pleased to read the word advent wasnt on this calender, doesnt lend it self to the Simpson image does it ? ,or is it not PC  to talk about Advent now ? (I dont much care for the Simpsons but he loves them )

Any way as I promised I posted the latest pictures of the Lavender Blue window ,I was a bit dissapointed to see all the reflections again ,however I have put all the ones I took on here so you will get the idea of how lovely it looks ,and then as I was walking home....What a bonus , I discovered the Vets window had been decorated ,and the Antique shop too ,I am wondering if we have theme going on through the town ,'The twelve days of Christmas' ,I will need to go on a reccy  to see if I can discover more ,Thats all for today. Have a lovely weekend everyone with  love     

               

The sig today is one of Debbies .....

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Stepping out

Thankyou to Sugar for this graphic ,as you see Kizzie is reading her journal ....

Last Saturday Evening, Maurice and I went over to Peterborough, His brother Mike is sixty five, so invited his family out for a meal .We met up at Mike and Jackie’s, left our car at theirs and all went in a Taxi, along with their son, also called Mike. We started at out at the Bull Hotel ,for drinks in the lounge bar there ,to wait for Francis ,Mike and Jackie’s daughter ,and her husband Craig. When they arrived Mike proceeded to embarrass every one with lots of family photographs. Our table was booked for eight o clock ,so we took a short walk just around the corner to a very nice Indian restaurant ,Where we were greeted like royalty as we were shown to our table ,The food was absolutely delicious ,and we all ate our fill ,The company was excellent as you would expect at a family gathering such as this ,jokes anecdotes and reminiscences all served to make a very enjoyable evening ,We went back to Mike and Jackie’s afterwards ,Jackie and I still nattering nine to the dozen in the kitchen whist the men watched some football ,I think ! Sadly at half past twelve it was time to come home, Mike and Jackie Fran and Craig flew out to New York yesterday, Fran and Craig’s birthday treat, to their Dad, Craig’s Grandparents have a home there, so they plan to see the sights .I need to digress here, as most who live in Britain know, and I am reluctant to share this with our friends across the pond, thus letting them know there are some dicks running our country! H.M.R.C. (that’s short for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) has lost? Two discs with the details of two and a half million peoples information on them, people who are on child benefit, their tax and insurance details bank sort codes etc, and whilst they are assuring the people they don’t have any indication that the discs have fallen into the wrong hands, the relevant departments are in big trouble and the government are somewhat ,erm ,shall I say embarrassed !!! With great big dollops of egg on their faces.

So back to the story ,Michael is always teasing people .So….in with his Birthday card ,We put two empty CDs on which I had written ,H.M.R.C….” highly confidential “,see his face he roared  with laughter ,

There is however a sting in this tale, my daughter received a letter, informing her that they were profoundly sorry, but she is amongst the people whose details are on the misplaced discs, and although there is no reason for alarm, as any moneys she might lose!! Would be re reimbursed, it went on at great length to reassure and justify, but that is the jist of it, Huh!!!

And now to finish ….I wentup to the town this morning, only to find Lavender Blue have changed the window again, so I took more piccys,      So on that happy note, With Love from

 

Thankyou Donna for my siggy today ,Donna called this one stepping out !Stepping out !

Lavender Blue and things

I thought it was time to do another entry, time slips away so fast though goodness knows what I do with it? I did remember to get my batteries charged and take the latest pictures of The Lavender Blue shop window, twice before I tried only to find the batteries were flat, ah well third time lucky.

Last Tuesday, In my capacity as The Residents Forum Secretary, I went to a meeting organised by the Peterborough City Council, entitled ‘’Building Cohesive Neighbourhoods ‘’, it was extremely interesting, and there were some very good speakers, We have in this region 17500 new immigrants, putting a strain on all our resources, Housing, Police, health care, Schools etc, of course many are helpful to our economy and many are doing jobs we wouldn’t want to! In the Fens where a lot of fruit and vegetables are grown ,there are lots of packing companies employing these people and many work hard ,long hours ,They all need to live somewhere and there are I am afraid many unscrupulous landlords ,And of course there are culture differences ,The chairman ,and chief executive of the city council Ms Gill Beasley  was to take our findings , (we had workshops and discussions in the afternoon)to London where she was to be in discussion with MP Heather Blears the next day ,as was the Chief of Police for the Cambridge area ,(also a Woman  who’s name escapes me ! )to appeal for an additional two million pounds to help with policing.

A lighter note, it is very cold and sunny here today, I have just had notification that my heating allowance, is now in my account, so I can turn up the heat lol ,Here in this country everyone over sixty are awarded an annual £200,towards heating costs ,I pay my heating ,gas and leccy ,on a direct debit so two hundred pounds is very nice thank you ,

I told you Ihad finished my cardi ,its made in chunky wool so is nice and warm and looks better on than in the picture ,Well I am now going to brave the elements and go and get Maurice’s Euro lottery tickets for the draw this evening ,So every one as usual ,keep warm and lots of Love From

Remembering

My friend Debbie ,you know Debs Dabs (shes in my side bar )made this graphic for me ,Thanks Debs you are so clever ...

Like many of you I have been watching the service of Rememberance ,at the Cenetaph,on the TV  ,watching members of the royal family, led by the Queen (what an amazing lady ,I watched her lay her wreath, pause ..then walk backwards down those steps ,shes over eighty ! )lay wreaths of poppys to our fallen in the wars ,this ceremony has been taking place since 1918 ,but is even more important now as we still have young men ,going of to war ,and not all of them are coming back .........

Two years ago ,when I had been writing my journal for about six weeks,  I posted the following entry ,with apologies to those of you that read it then ,I am posting it again .

Sixty seven years ago ,on another November day a young man couldnt cope any more ......

 At the going down of the sun and in the morning.....

As I begin this entry ,the time is ~~10.57,on the eleventh of the eleventh ,it feels appropriate to tell you about an uncle ,I never met ,My Uncle Jack ,he was my Dads younger brother ,I never met him but he was often spoken of with lots of love, sometimes with lots of laughter because I gather he was quite mischievous, as a young boy, And quite a "leg puller”, when in his youth .One story I remember (little pitchers have big ears ) my Granny telling ~~she was storing some apples for Christmas ,under her bed!! on a large tray and would check them from time to time for bad ones ! She realised though that the apples were disappearing so she ,became vigilant ,when Jack thought no one was watching ,he crept up the stairs ,unknown to him watched by his Mother from the stairs where she could see into her bedroom, he was lying on his belly ,half under the bed  with crunching noises coming from, under the bed Granny crept up and to use her words,” Slapped his arse ,and said caught you ,you little bugger !"She always told this story with a proud chuckle and wiped away a tear, Uncle Jack was popular with every one, had lots of girl friends until he became engaged to "Aunty" Dorothy, a lovely girl from the next village.

And then came the war ,my Uncle was called up along with thousands of other men to fight for his country .I don’t recall any more of the story prior to this ,but he was badly shot at Dunkirk,dont know how he got home .but this happened in the May of 1940,he was hospitalized ,patched up ,and sent home to recover ,but in the November ,was due to go back to the hospital for more surgery .Uncle Jack had, had all his private parts shot away, and according to an older cousin who sadly ,recently passed away, she could remember putting her fingers into the holes in his legs ! My Mother, who was pregnant with me , then (I was born the following February ) asked Uncle Jack ,would he be home for Christmas ,his reply Oh yes Phyllis,yes Ive got some thing planned ,A couple of days before he was due to return to the hospital ,he went over to the wash house across the yard at the back of the house and shot himself through the head ,my Granny heard the shot ,................after finding her son ,she ran the seventy yards or so to our house for my Dad ,who was home for his lunch .I wont do any more …….

Aunty Dorothy I can remember ,I can clearly see some brown gloves she knitted for me ,so she must have been around for some time after ,and I can also remember every one getting excited at wedding photos of her ,She married an American air man and went back to America, with him after the war ,I do hope she had a happy life .

When the war was over, I can also remember standing by my Dads side at a service in our Church when the plaque was unveiled, with the names of the men from our village including J Giddings, who had lost their lives that we might be free, I wouldn’t have been very old but I can,still hear the last post being sounded, and singing the hymn Oh,Valiant Hearts.

                     Have  Blessed Sunday ....love Jan xx

The State Opening of Parliament

The above are pictures I took from the television as I watched the ceremony ,sorry about the quality ,but I wanted you to see an example of what I was watching .

The State Opening of Parliament.

The nice part of being retired is that I can watch on TV the wonderful coverage, of these events.

I am sure no one is going to disagree with me when I say no one does this sort of thing better than we do in the British Isles, The colour, pageantry and tradition in these spectacular events ,are some thing we in this country are extremely proud of.

A great deal of preparation is done for this ceremony, some practical obviously and some traditional, for instance before the new session of Parliament ceremony The Yeomen of the guard do a ceremonial sweep of the cellars ,following Guy  Fawkes attempt to blow up Parliament ,some four hundred years ago

Her Majesty the Queen , enters by  the Norman Porch ,the opposite end to the bell tower which houses Big Ben , and through to the robeing room ,where she puts on the ceremonial robes and the crown with which she was crowned ,this crown is very heavy ,due to amongst other valuable stones are three thousand diamonds ,it is said the Queen wears the crown at home the day before a state occasion, when she is to wear it ,to get used to the weight, it is normally kept in the tower of London .

The Queen delivers her, speech, (which is written by the prime minister and the government, out lining forth coming proposals) from the throne, which has been used for the last one hundred and sixty years, and seated beside her is her husband and consort Phillip Duke of Edinburgh.

Another part of the ceremony, is when Black Rod knocks on the door three times with his rod to gain entry and to announce to the members that the Queen requests their presence, once all her ministers are assembled, the Queen then delivers the speech .......This is the fifty sixth time her Majesty has opened parliament ,she has only missed two during her reign,in 1959 and in 1963,when she was having her children ,and she has seen eleven Prime Ministers in office during that time .

I hope you enjoy a little bit of our  tradition ,and to see how I spent my morning ,

Lots of love Jan xxx

 

 

Here I am again !

Thankyou Chris ,CABS  creations for todays lovely graphics .

I cant believe where the time has gone since I last posted ,I have been quite busy ,in spite of still having some bad days ,I seem to be coping better, I went back to a news letter meeting two weeks ago ,and an article I wrote has been accepted for the next edition ,then I went to a meeting of the residents forum ,I am the secretary ,well since my illness I was the secretary that wasnt ,so at the last meeting I took the minutes so looks as thouigh Im on track again ,and because we are on the forum representing the residents we were invited to the Sheltered housing conferance ,another day I thoroughly enjoyed ,I know so many people since I did holiday/sickness cover when I first retired, as some of you might remember ,so yes it was great to see so many old friends ,and to be greeted by them was lovely .What other news have I ? oh yes Maurice now works permanent days ,making my life so much easier ,I am injured too ,as you will see ,in the pictures, Kizzie likes to be attached to me.... a week ago I tripped over her in the kitchen ,and banged my side on the work surface ,think I probably cracked a rib or something , gosh it hurt ,but nearly better now ,though at first it did hurt if I sat at the computer too long ,and at one point I had 157 emails for your journals ,but I have now caught up ,hence this entry ,I ended up just reading ,I cant bring my self to delete ,too nosy ! I might be missing something ! I dont feel right doing an entry ,when I have alerts still to read ,strange woman !!Oh the other exciting ? thing is ...I finished the cardigan I have been knitting ,so when I sew it up I will put a picture of it on here so you can see what Ive been up to ....Well I really think that is it for this time ,so as ever Love Janxx

Farewell sweet man

 

Aubrey,Such a nice man .....

I have finally caught up with all my alerts, I had masses! And the situation wasn’t helped by lost entry’s then back they came minus comments oh, you know! Well by the time I had read and commented I didn’t have the time or the inclination to post myself, so where shall I begin? 

Oh yes a week last Monday, I got a phone call from the surgery asking if I would like a flue jab? Yes please says I, What about Friday the receptionist asked, oh no I am going to a funeral, well could you come this afternoon? Maurice dropped me off, on his way to work, I had the flue jab in one arm and the pneumonia one in the other arm, then spent the night tossing and turning from one sore arm muscle to the other! I felt very unwell the next couple of days? I know, I know it’s not a live vaccine! (I used to give my residents all this assurance!)Hmm coincidence or what? Any way I’m done now, the flu jab for this year and the pneumonia for life.

Fortunately I was better by Friday (a week ago today) and was able to attend the funeral of my late husband Mick’s Brother Aubrey, What a bitter sweet day that was, the weather was kind, It was so sad to say goodbye to Aubrey, he was always so kind and reliable, everyone who knew him spoke well of him, and as well as the  family, who all love him dearly , the church was absolutely packed extra chairs were needed ,and it was a testament to how much he will be missed by so many people .And my heart breaks for his dear wife Sheila ,who has been by his side for fifty five years ,Mother and Father  in law ,had ten children ,three girls and seven boys (We were the seven brides for seven brothers )The eldest brother is dead and my Mick ,now Aubrey ,but the rest of the family who could attended ,it was so nice as it often is on these occasions when everyone gets together ,The family had been brought up next door but one to the church ,and played a big part in their lives ,Mother in Law cleaned the church ,and as each son was old enough ,he would light the boiler in the stoke house on a Saturday night making sure the church was warm for the service next day ,When Mick and I were courting ,after the Saturday night dance ,we would go round to the back of the church , in the dark ,trees creaking ,to light that wretched boiler !And Peter the brother younger than Aubrey and his best man at Aubrey  and Sheila’s wedding  ,who did the eulogy spoke ,of all these things ,how they rang the church bells  pumped the organ ,before electricity, and sang in the choir .

In the first years of our marriage Mick and I and our then two little sons lived next door to the church one side and to my dear in laws  the other ,and looking back what happy days ,so long ago. sigh.. As usual lots of love Jan xx

 

Thankyou Debbie for the tag xx

A sunny Autumn day ,here in the Fens .

I love this graphic from our Friend Donna (our garden swing has hibernated now for the winter )

I went to the over sixties club again yesterday, I enjoyed it too, and didn’t get so wound up before I went this time so I must be getting better ,though I still  find mornings hard ,I have said I will attend the Tenants AGM  on Saturday ,and have to leave at nine o clock ,that will be a test !Yesterday afternoon I took a bowl of fruit ,it was our Harvest Festival ,and we had a service ,then after tea all the produce we had taken was auctioned off and was great fun ,I bought some mint in a pot ,and a jumper for Aunty Kitty !!I know a jumper at a harvest thanks giving lol .

When I got home I received a very sad phone call from my niece Bridget, to say that her Father Aubrey had passed away the previous evening, Aubrey or Ben as he was fondly known in the family, was the older brother of my late husband Mick, and when Mick died he was the brother who helped my sons and I organise Mick’s funeral ,and was always a rock to us ,I then had the sad duty to ring around to tell my children the sad news ,except Mark ,who is on holiday in Egypt with his wife Chrissie ,we decided to text them later in their holiday depending on the date set for the funeral

This entry I planned to do last evening but obviously didn’t feel up to it, so here we go …..

Many years ago ,probably about fifteen years ,My Daughters cooker broke down, I bought a second hand one from a friend who’s Dad had died ,for fifteen pounds ,she took one look and said no thanks Mum ! So it went into the garage, only to be used by me when mine broke down! , I have used it since, it has moved house three times with me! But as I told you in my last entry we have bought a new cooker, The sad thing is every thing on the old  one still worked, I felt as though I was kicking out an old and faithful friend ,however the new cooker is lovely ,  I told you I had found all my plates in the shed when Maurice was moving it, sol  I washed down the walls ,(not well enough judging by some of the pictures lol prompting us to think about redecorating sometime soon ,it doesn’t look to bad to the naked eye ,but on the pictures I can see the muck lol  ) So I am now going to try to add the pictures for you to see (warts and all ) The sun is shining here ,and I hope you are having a good day wherever you are as usual …love from

 

And this lovely siggy was made by my friend Debbie ,hasnt she come a long way ,with her graphics ?

Playing catch up

The Graphic is one of Donna's...Thankyou .....

After two weeks absence here I am again, Maurice went back to work on Saturday, so I have been playing catch up, First of all I finally caught up with my alerts phew,We didn’t do half the things we planned ,(either the weather or ME !,didn’t always feel good ! )We finally sold our caravan, which was at a site that has a fishing lake, when I was at work it was our retreat, but we had never been there since I retired, we sold it at a loss, but expected too really, but we wont have the site rental now .We had to empty it and find a place for every thing ,I think I have finally done that .Then Maurice ,re sited his shed from one side of the garden to the other ,to make room for the water feature (remember the water feature ? ) he is still keen to make one and has his plans drawn up lol ,as he emptied the shed to move it ,out came a couple of boxes of stuff ,from when we moved ,one containing ornamental plates I had collected over the years and they are now on my kitchen wall ,We also went out and bought a new cooker ,so we actually got quite a bit of useful stuff done .

September 22nd, was Maurice’s birthday, his brother Mike and Sister in law Jackie invited us over for Dinner, we had a lovely evening with them, Jackie had recently been on a visit to Lourdes, she had brought me back a candle that she had blessed for me, I was so moved that she should do that for me .The next day on the Sunday ,as the sun shone we drove down to Norfolk, to visit Walsingham ,known as England’s  Nazareth, such a tranquil, peaceful spiritual place ,we spent a couple of hours wandering around ,in the warm sunshine, looking at all the places of worship ,all the delightful cottages ,sitting out side a café to have our lunch and people watch .People watched us too or rather Kizzie who was ahhed over ,which she loved !

http://www.walsingham.org.uk/

We then came back via Wells –Next-The- Sea, where we wandered, bought a fresh crab to take home for tea, and sat on a wall and ate chips. I am now going to try and add some pictures so have a good day everyone with love …..

 

And the siggy is Debbie's look how Kizzie has grown !

Sunny but windy Sunday

Maurice has just gone off to work his last night ,so here I am ,in case I dont get back for a day or two ,Maurice will be on holiday for twelve days ,and who knows where we will go ...

Thanks Chris for my lovely graphic today ,its from last year but still lovely ,

Well as you can see ,I took the pictures of the shop window ,it difficult to take the pictures with the sun shining ,but I hope you get the idea ,I bought the usual grocerys and the tele mag ,before I went and browsed the second hand books in the charity shop ,I found''The Luxury of Time '' by Jane  and Mike Tomlinson,Jane died recently ,losing her battle to cancer ,but my, what a brave lady ,she ran three London Marathons,one 2,500-mile bike ride and a Full Ironman Triathlon,she has raised over one million pounds for charity and become a national heroin,Her husband and three dear children must miss her terribley....I also bought two books by a new author to me Minette Walters,'The Echo ',and 'The Scolds  Bridle',has anyone read any of her books ?

I share this computer with Maurice but it seems we have some competion .  ....

Hmm ,where do I start?

Ah  yes I see ! 

Now dont you think Im clever ?

Well I will go now and make myself something to eat ,yes my appetite has come back ...Lasagne I  think !

So for what is left of this Sunday ,have a blessed evening every one with love and  

                               Jan  xx

Sunny Saturday in September

Good morning every one ,Do you like the above picture, Debbie took of me in my garden ? OH I know ! some times I lie ! Debbie did actually make the graphic ,before she went off to Portugal with her husband Dave her son Jason and her Mother in law .....I hope they are having a good time, I miss her,

Maurice is in bed after working the night ,he will work tonight and tomorrow then be on holiday for a few days ,so I hope we will be going out to some places of interest ,I am feeling so much better ,with the bad times getting less and less ...'.thank heaven for little pills '

As you know ,we went to Huntingdon last Saturday ,well on Sunday Maurice went fishing ,then on Monday ,we went to Peterborough ,we went to see Aunty Kitty ,who though so frail is still hanging in there ,very sleepy ,but once she woke up was pleased to see us and we had a glimpse of that lovely humour of hers ,

My daughter Kate had rung me on Sunday to say Martin had painted the pergola ,and they had put the gravel down so of course Maurice was anxious to see how it looked now it was complete, so we went to see her ,,I took the pictures so you can judge for yourselves ,Her hairdresser told her it would be lovely at Christmas ,with lights ,she agreed,saying I could turn it into a stable ,and it would be a good idea to buy the donkey she had seen ,when she bought the calf !! Never misses a trick our Kate !

Well I guess thats it for today I going to venture up to the town with my Trolley,and camera ,The Lavender Blue shop man was dressing the window when I was by there in the week and as I was about to take a picture he asked me not to ,as he hadnt finished it yet ....

Have a lovely weekend everyone ..with Another graphic made for me by Debbie ,see Kizzie on the footstool  

Air Balloons at Pidley !

Good morning ,lovely sunny day here in the Fens this morning,abit cool but hey it is mid September,have you noticed how the nights are drawing in it is dark just before eight o clock

Last Saturday ,Maurice's days day of ,so we decided to go into Huntingdon and over our breakfast coffee we were watching the local news on the TV a number of Air balloons were to gather at a village in Cambridge ,       Pidley!

 

Yes Pidley ......

We thought since it was on our route we might see some of them ,alas no we didnt ,We had a nice morning browsing the shops ,I was looking for books in the charity shops Maurice in the sports shop looking at fishing tackle ,We spent alot of money stocking up on toiletries ,since I have been ill ,everything has been running out ,and my roots were growing through ,so I bought a box of hair colour as well  ,We also came across the copy of the Monet ,Maurice asked would I like it ,well of course yes please says I ! so that curtailed things abit ,because Maurice was carrying this big picture,so we set off for home ,We had some lunch then during the afternoon I felt sleepy so went to bed ,I was woken by Debbie ,telling Maurice get Jan ,look ,and yes I quickly got up grabbed the camera and snapped away ,the sky was full of Balloons as far as the eye could see ,so we didnt miss the balloons after all they came right over head  ,and what an awesome sight in the late afternoon sunlight ,we could hear the gas purring into them , Have a lovely day every one with love from

                         

 

 

Last years entry

Feeling Sad
Hearing The Day thou gavest Lord has ended Edit Entry  Delete Entry

John Santore

    This was the entry I did a year ago today , In that year we have lived and laughed and loved we've cried ,smiled and the whole range of emotions , We have seen the seasons change ,,and for Johns family another year has gone by ,I know from experiance that it  still hurts ,but with each year you get some sort of strengh to carry on ,but how Frances and the girls are coping ,given the horror of what took John away from them I cant begin imagine ,after doing this entry last year I think of John often ,and my love goes out to his family ................................................................................................................... When journalists were invited to do a dedication,to a victim of 9/11,I thought about it and decided I would like to pay a tribute ,to one of these brave people ,It has however become a very moving thing to do ,and as I have researched this my heart has become heavier and heavier ,John has become so real to Maurice and I, of course we couldnt know him ,but it so important,to bear in mind ,many people did know and love him and be mindful of their grief ,then and now.

  John was one of,that number of people !

He was a married man,with two daughters ,how they must miss him .He was fourty nine.

There has been alot of TV  coverage ,on the disaster that started the millenium off. and we have been watching it all ,The New york fire Brigade had been featured on a film some Rooky firemen were making at the time ,and as it coincided with the disaster they decided to carry on ,and as you see from the above pictures John's picture was also featured .Here is the tribute left by his wife

John Santore

World Trade Center

Spoiling the Girls

When the Santores traveled, a few things always accompanied them: candles and two Champagne glasses wrapped in a towel. The candles were store-bought; the glasses were a relic. They were the same glasses John A. Santore and Frances Scarselli used to drink to their happiness the night he asked her to marry him. Mr. Santore asked the waiter if he could keep them.

Both the candles and the glasses were necessary tools for Mr. Santore, a firefighter with Ladder Company 5 on Staten Island, the father of two girls, 20 and 13, and a romantic.

"He would set the table withthe candles and the flowers and the wine and then cook for us," Mrs. Santore said. "We are three girls in the home, so he would always spoil us."

On weekend mornings, Mr. Santore would run to a deli to buy coffee and croissants for the family so they would not have to cook. During the week, he would often surprise his wife with a bunch of wildflowers.

When someone mentioned the need for a maritime museum on Staten Island to honor John Noble, a famed local artist, Mr. Santore, 49, formed what he called the Noble Crew to build it, his wife said.

"He was wonderful with his hands," she said. `There was nothing he couldn't do."

Profile  published in THE NEW YORK TIMES

 

 And here is a lovely picture I found of John off duty

John it was my honor to be assigned  to you ,as my victim you became my hero,and I shall think of you often ,and I send very special love to your wife Frances and  your daughters

......Jan xx

•  

Getting out !

 It’s the ‘over sixties’, meeting this afternoon, I am informed we are to be entertained by A pearly king and Queen, sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? , I have missed the last two meetings, but today I am going to try and attend the meeting, there I am committed now! I will continue this entry when I get back ………..

That’s what wrote   yesterday morning, and yes I went, the first time I went to a gathering on my own, I have been to my daughter Kate’s a few times with Maurice ,Maurice has been building Kate and Martin a pergola (sp? )The last time we went to Kate’s was last Thursday; My Grandson Paul was there, to help Maurice, he had Keira with him, she is the daughter of his girlfriend but she is as much Paul’s and ours, as if she really was his .making me a Great Grandmother, and she is a treasure .Then in the afternoon My Sister Jean and her daughter my niece, Jo and her little daughters Rachel and Emma turned up, so we had a lovely family day, I have  to admit to feeling worn out when we got home ,but a very nice day out none the less,

Right back to yesterday ,We were all assembled waiting for the entertainer when the Chair lady announced that the man George ,had put the booking into his desk  diary but not on his wall diary, so had forgotten !! ….however he drove like mad and turned up alone and not in his Pearly suit and without his wife , but he did entertain us with lots of songs some old cockney story’s and jokes ,and a promise to come back again ,I do hope he does then I can take some pictures ,Well there you are an entry ....without to much trouble ! bet you think shes better now ,well I am , and err Im not if you know what I mean ,but I amgetting there and again I want to thank you all ...for your love and support   With my Love

                                             

Two years journaling !

Yes,two years ago I took the plunge, and started to write in this journal, and what an experience it proved to be, I have made so many wonderful friends, which has been proved to me recently when I became ill with depression, so many comments, from you all sending me your love, and assuring me of your prayers, I firmly believe in the power of prayer, and as my sister said to me if love could make you better, then you have it ,Happily, I feel so much better now ,thanks to love and prayer  and the magic little pill I pop each morning 

                                                           

What did you think to my opening tag today? My dear and talented friend Debbie made it for me; it was through the net I met her! Even though she lives just round the corner, I was shopping one day and she said she had seen me on the welcome page when I was featured as a Silver Surfer, a year last May, and we have been friends ever since, now she doesn’t often enter in her journal, she is far to busy making her very clever graphics, and sharing them with us all.

 

Over the last two years I have introduced you to my lovely family, and you have shared many of our gatherings, I have taken you along with Maurice and I when we have gone out and about .I have shown youknitting, sewing and patch work I have done, I told my Mothers life story, told you about all the Vicars I had the joy of knowing, Like so many of you I did a tribute to a victim of September 11th

I was honoured to get to know and mourn John Santore ,this for me, like many of you was a moving thing to do ,and I will always keep a place in my heart for this brave young fire-fighter. You shared our joy when we got our puppy Kizzie; I have told you about my ironing, and when I have cleaned my windows! (Guess what; we haven’t had our Summer duvet on yet!)

I have told you what books I have read .all about Maurice’s shifts and what I have for my supper .and you have faithfully commented and given me so much pleasure with your reply’s and your own journals ,So thank you all for sharing the last two years  with me ,sharing your journals/blogs and lives with me  ,

                                                           

    I will close this entry ,as always ...love Jan xx