Playing Catch up !

I cant believe its a week since I did an entry ,where does the time go ? It is also twenty four years since Mick  died ,my childrens father, and if things had been different we would be looking at a wedding aniversary of fifty years in three more years time, well it wasnt to be, and life went on .....

I had quite a busy week ,woke up to the snow on Wednesday morning ,though by the time I took my picture it had nearly all gone .Wednesday morning was the day Maurice came home bearing gifts. He is in management security ,and the company they are with ,have sales from time to time ,this time it was Debenhams ,see my lovely leather handbag ,that he bought at a greatly reduced price ,(its not quite as red as the picture suggests ,more like the wool I bought )he also bought two boxes of beads ,I have been incorporating beads into my patchwork ,the boxes of beads have given me ideas for some jewellery,feel another hobby coming on  ! Thursday and Karen picked me up and I went to the meeting with the complaints and compliments group,we are working on updating the procedures .This was held at the building of the companys newest venture ,An extra care home for the elderly,and what a magnificient place it is ,beautiful flats and facilitys,Princess Anne officially opened it a couple of months ago ,they have a computer suite ,a hobbies room, a gym ! and many other wonderful features .the interior decor would put a top grade hotel in the shade ,We are to have our next news letter meeting there next month I will see if I can take some pictures .

On Friday I caught an early bus over to the village where I worked as a manager,to attend the funeral of a very dear resident ,Rene was ninety five and  a very independant soul to the end ,she had brought up her Grandchildren ,when her daughter died with MS ,and they were all there as were her other daughter and Greatgrandchildren ,it was so rewarding to be greeted by them and told how their Nan missed me when I left ,and how pleased they were to see me there ,I told you about Rene in an earlier entry ,she kept po pourrie (sp) in her late husbands slippers in her bedroom  ! One of her Greatgrand daughters gave me a lift half way home ,and it was  while I was waiting for Maurice to get the car back from the garage ,after a successful MOT to bring me home ,I bought the wool ,that so matches my new handbag ,never miss a trick me ! and I found some gloves on the market on Sunday .....Maurice has gone fishing today ,with my sister Jeans husband Pete ,so I am playing catch up ,needless to say I have a pile of ironing needing my attention too ,Maurice goes back to work Thursday night so another holiday has whizzed by ,now Im pretty much up to date I will say bye for now and have a lovely day everyone with love from ....

    

Cold and frosty Tuesday

Good evening everyone ,well winter weather caught up with us at last ,when I opened the curtains this morning I saw Jack frost had been busy with his paint brush .and though it looked  pretty it was very cold .Making me happy to be retired ,I dont need to go out until ,it warms up a bit

Maurice has gone off to work ,for the first of his three nights ,then he is to have a few days off ,the car is due its MOT  so ,once that is done ,we will have to go ,exploring again ,the nice thing about living here there is always places of interest to visit .I am still doing  my patchwork ,so am still keeping my new years resolution ,does it count as a resolution ,if its something you enjoy ?

Do you remember me telling you about the book about the Titanic Survivor,about Violet Jessop who was a stewardess on board various ships during the early 1900's,that I bought from the charity shop for 50p,written from Violets manuscripts by John Maxstone-Graham ,I made an exciting discovery .....

I think that is the signature of the Author ,and think it reads ~For Nichi bon voyage.always !

John Maxtone-Graham ,and then QE2..??????..2002

What do you think ? I am enjoying the book ,which starts with the Family leaving Ireland at the time of the potato famine ,and going to live in Argentina, when her father dies and they come to England,and her Mother struggles to bring up her young family ....Well its time for me to go and make myself some supper ,so I wish you all a very good evening and keep warm all of you ,with love from

                                                 Thankyou for my siggy Donna ,a nice warming drink on a cold and frosty night

Graffitti & cleaning

An other Sunday and another weekend nearly  gone again ,Maurice is working ,I had a nice surprise yesterday,Kate and her husband Martin and my Grandson Matthew came to visit ,and after coffee and chat ,Martin took Kate and I up to town ,whilst they went to look a friend up at the football club ,Kate and I had a wander around the shops ,she got a whole load of bones from the butcher for Maddy her German shepherd dog, I took a few pictures that have been painted onto the boards that have been nailed onto the  doors and windows of the old cinama ,that is due to be pulled down, and flats built in its place ,I particulary like the one on the door, of a drain (a man made river ,to drain the fens) with the bridge and the wind turbines in the background ,and bull rushes in the foreground ,dont know whether you can see it very well .....

Woke up this morning and though it was cold out ,the sun was shining ,and it was showing up all the dust ,and the odd cobweb ,so I set too ,to get rid of them ,noticing the shades on our lamps were very dirty ,I leaped up on to the couch ,just like a young mountain goat  !! unscrewed the fitting and washed the shades so now they are sparkling ..Hey maybe I exaggerated about the young and  mountain bit !!......My favourite TV  programe last year was ~' Who do you think you are',where celebreties ,try to find out about their ancestors,it was on BBC1 ,I see ITV  have a similar version starting onTuesday evening at nine o clock to be called'You dont know you are born' which I am looking forward to...........This afternoon my son Mark and his wife came to visit ,so I have had a good weekend ,Im now going to prepare dinner for when Maurice gets home from work ......Janxx

Memorys

Well there is no-one in the British Isles ,who needs to be told what an awful day yesterday was ..with the worst gusts of  winds ,for seventeen years .so apart from the familys  and friends of the thirteen people killed in the gales ,and to them we send our heartfelt sympathy,we are counting the costs as well as our blessings that we are safe .Numerous lorrys turned over on the A14 ,near Huntingdon as well as part of the rail station roof torn off,and at Ely a double decker bus was blown over .Maurice was on his time off, so  we decided to stay in doors where we listened to things crashing and banging around all day ,peoples sheds and fences suffered,and we  watched on the TV  ,telling of all the horrific accidents the gales had caused ,our dinner was just about ready ,flicker flicker phut ....out went our electricity supply .

We found candles and torches ,and Maurice found our gas stove that we take fishing with us ,so we were able to have a  hot drink ,and out came our little transister radio ,then came a knock at the door, Glen from next door whose parents were at work came round ,and we all sat around talking about the days before we had any electricity .......

When I was small ,we had a fire place very much like the one in the above picture ,My Mother used to cook on this ,pans would go on the top ,and delicious meals came out of the oven ,the kettle was always singing on the top too ,at the left hand side we called it the boiler ,it would be kept filled with water ,so we always had hot water ,well small amounts any way ,I can remember my Dad filling up his enamel mug to shave with ,larger amounts of water was boiled up in the copper in the scullery ,this 'copper' was a brick built affair with a chimney at the back ,and a fire would be lit underneath to supply our wash day water and for bath night too,then the zinc bath would be set in front of the range ,for us to get our bath .we got our water from a pump in the street, like the one in the main graphic ,but not as grand ,for light we relied on lamps that burned parafin oil ,it stood on the table and as children ,we were constantly being reminded to 'mind the lamp' we also used candles ,in wee Willy Winkie type candle stick holders ,and our wireless,had a great big everready battery ,and an accumalator to make it fuction ,and what programes we listened to Childrens hour ,with Uncle Mac ,Laaarry the lamb,Norman and Henry Bones the boy detectives ,and listen with Mother ,We listened to Dick Barton special agent ,The ovaltinys and many other favourites ,And then in 1947 ,(just after the war ) we had Electricity ,so things began to change .

So yes while we sat in the candle light last evening ,I took out all these memorys ,and thought about all the changes I have seen in my life ....Have a happy warm and safe Friday everyone ,and a good weekend ..with love From

                                           

Thanks to Kath for the picture of the range .  http://journals.aol.co.uk/astoriasand/MYSIMPLERHYMES

Great News

Hey we did didnt we ? and as ever Donna made the graphic,Hooray !!!!

So what did we wish for then ? Well as you know Steve has been going to auditions to become part of a boy band ,we have waited with baited breath as he went to each meeting until he was chosen as part of the final six ,and then today he learned he had been selected ,and in true Steve style ,he was feeling for the two who didnt get through .He let us know the good news today ,and I for one am delighted ,and as I told Steve I shall tell everyone ,I knew him before he was famous! I have always wanted to say that about someone !!! and yes we all got our wish !

 

This story has a funny little twist ,Steve has always said ,he read my journal ,when I was featured as Silver Surfer,of the week back in May last year ,and it prompted him to start his own journal ,well we all know how successful he became ,both in the UK and US  ,and has made many friends ,We have all heard him sing ,and agreed he would go far ,Well he hasnt let us down ! very well done Steve and the twist ? for the time being the name of the group is ~Serendipity!! though I'm inclined to agree with Steve not the best of names for a boy band ,as I say at the top of my journal ...My dictionary defination is ~'Faculty of making happy discoveries by accident',

http://journals.aol.co.uk/stevietwain/ThelifeofSte/

So on that very happy note ,pun intended ! Good Luck our Steve ......With Love Jan xx

A funny sort of day !

Ive had a very disjointed sort of Saturday,I lost the remote for the TV set in the kitchen, so for the last couple of days I have been looking everywhere for it ,although it is a way, to tidy up all the annoying little things that find them selves in there on all the work surfaces ,so spent alot of time searching ,then gave up ...am aware my library books should have gone back on the 9th ,so after a long chat to a dear friend on the phone I realised ,I should go to the market ,but was too late for the library ,decide they are late now ,they will have to wait now till Monday ...set off with my trolley ...the wind nearly blew off my baker boy cap ,which Id slapped onto my head cos I didnt do too much to my hair ,before I rushed out ...I caught the' sell most anything shop' before it closed for lunch  ,to buy one of those things ,for the strip light in the kitchen ,think its a starter thingy ,that Maurice said we need cos the strip light is not working ,am using a table lamp in there since it went defunct last night .Carried on with my shopping ,all the mundane stuff then a visit to the home made bakers for a couple of squidgy cream cakes finished up in the charity shop ,and bought a book ,well I need another ,hmm lol ? entitled Titanic Survivor,and it is the memoirs of Violet Jessop ,who survived both the Titanic and Britannic disasters ,looks interesting ,I also bought a bag containing enough material to make a skirt and the pattern,for a pound ,I came home ,and still annoyed by this lost remote ,I went to see if it had been thrown away in the rubbish I looked through the bin,with no luck ,came in to see Debbie had IM d me to see if I wanted to pop round for a coffee ,so I went along and Debbie ,Jason and I chatted away ,about all sorts of everything ,for a while ...I came home and cleared up all the outstanding e-mails ,appealing to Ted the old gentleman who had lived in this bungalow before us ,to please put the tele remote back , finished what I was doing ,then went to read the tv mag beside me to see what time the evening news would be on ,and lo under the magazine and on top of my knitting pattern was ,....yes you've guessed it  ,the lost remote !!  in the lounge !! Told you my day was disjointed didnt I ? One very nice thing ,when I started to read my alerts today I found the following siggy from dear Donna ,and I love it ,It is so me isnt it ? So have a great Saturday evening everyone ,with love from

Donna says she knows I,m not keen on these critters ,but these are quite sweet arent they? ,as long as they dont chew my material or knitting wool

Friday again

Hello every one ,its a bit of a nothing sort of day ,weather wise ,the wind has dropped thank goodness ,its been so wild the last few days ,doing a lot of damage and lots of flooding .

I havent posted since the beginning of the week ,On Monday evening I went to the Womens Institute ,Ipaid my subsciption for the year,and enjoyed the  'speaker slot ' we had four people telling storys ,And this might sound dull, but believe me they told their storys  with such enthusiasm with out hesitation on different topics ,with out notes  ,they had us spell bound ,and I hadnt thought about it before ,but this is an art ,a talent ,and thoroughly enjoyed by us all .

I enjoyed  seeing the ladies,who had taken part in the Pantomime ,remember I took pictures ,they were all very smart and if I hadnt seen for myself ,you wouldnt have believed they were capable of some of the antics they had got up to ,remember the ballet dancer with her Tu tu caught up in her  knickers ,very smart intelligent  Lady totally out of character , you never know, do you what people are capable of ,but such good fun ,They were delighted with the pictures I had taken ,and I was asked if I was interested in joining the group ! Watch this space  !!

Maurice was off Monday Tuesday and Wednesday ,we went to Huntingdon on Tuesday ,where I bought some wool !a card for the camera I had bought for Maurice for Christmas ,and toiletrys from Wilkinsons ,quite what has happened to the rest of the week ,I am not sure ,but hey ,here it is Friday again ,and we are nearly mid way through January ,'Doesnt time fly when you are having fun 'So every one have a good day and a restful  weekend ...with Love From  

And so to sew !

Good Evening every one ,what have you been doing today ?

Here is a clue ....apart from chatting to some friends on IM  ,and making meals ,Mark and Chrissie came over to see us, before Maurice went off to work ...I have been sewing,I did say ,my resolution was to get back to my patch work ,well as my graphics suggest that is what I have been doing ...I didnt realise how many pieces I have started ,and before I retired I promised my self I would complete some of my projects ,so after just over two years retirement I think the time is NOW .My dear neighbour Ally (Glens Mum)bought us a delicious box of Marks and Spencers choccy biccys,We have been savouring these biscuits,but I think the time has come to gobble up the last few ,while Maurice is at work(insert wicked giggle here ) because this tin is ideal for all the little pieces of material for the next cushion cover ,and so to sew ,Have a lovely evening every one with love and  

        Jan xxx 

A Soggy Saturday

Not a lot to write about today ,from the moment I drew back the curtains this morning ,to closing them tonight it has rained !In between times I went shopping with my trolley,wearing my waxed hat ,that I bought in Ireland a couple of years ago ,they know about rain over there! so my head was dry ,more than I could say about my boots that were made goodness knows where ? they leaked ,but they were pushed to the limit with puddle holes everywhere , there were groups of work men and women ,taking down the Christmas decorations through the town ,so I was walking round ladders on pavements as I went from shop to shop ,I walked round ,its too early in the year to push my luck by walking under them .I came home and took down our decorations ,every where looks bare ...so I suppose thats Christmas over for another year! we spent forever getting ready, and there it was gone ! So now we look forward to all the exciting adventures that 2007 has in store ,I am planning to go to WI on Monday evening ,subs due there too ! Maurice is doing his second nights work ,soon be his days off ,I am going to make some supper and watch some TV ,have you noticed how many adverts there are for sofas ?I have never seen so many .well thats it for today with love from

Thanks to Dianna for my siggy today   

Mainly About Wednesday

Hello everyone yes its Friday again  ,for those of you that work ,very welcome ! I can still remember how great it felt ,to go into the weekend with a good weeks work behind me ,though having said that Maurice has just gone off to do three nights work ,so his days off will be Monday Tuesday and Wednesday,this week .

When I signed off,here on Tuesday I had a pile of ironing to do ,you will be pleased to know, I did it all ! and completed a patchwork cushion I had been making ,now I have to start on another one .On Wednesday I went to the over sixties club ,and we had a lovely time For the entertainment a members husband Sid came with all his Karioke equipment ,boxes and boxes of records .We were all singing along ,and Sid sang a few songs then a lady named  Belle who is over eighty ,sang a Jim Reeves number ,'Welcome to my world 'she needed help on and off the stage but my she could still sing .Then Sid played some dance music ,we watched for a while as a few people took the floor ,then a Barn dance ,and my friend Betty said 'Shall we have ago ',so we did ,then we did the Birdy song/dance,then a bit off jiving ,till Betty says' lets sit down ,I'm putting my blood pressure up ',didnt say so but was happy to sit down too lol obviously the days are gone when I could dance all night !

When I got home ,I got a phone call from Derek to say he left work,at about four fifteen ,but would ring me later ,when he got nearer ,we got ready ,Jean and Pete Stuart ,Vicki and Charlotte,all came to my house ,we all went the Hotel ,Derek was booked into and met him there ,Kate and Martin and their boys Matt and Sam came with Mark and Chrissy ,so it was a lovely family gathering ,The hotel is an old coaching Inn set in the middle of the town ,and at the back, the stables have been coverted to rooms so it was a good place to stay ,and you will see we didnt miss the chance to take a few pictures when Derek gave us the keys, to go and collect the bag of Christmas presents from the room , and the photographs he had taken on his business trip to Korea recently .

Then yesterday ,as I said I was so excited to learn my friend Debbie had finally taken the plunge and posted , so in responce to my entry, you all went to make her welcome ....thankyou so much and I know she has lots to tell us ....so now Im off to make myself some thing to eat, so have a good Friday evening ,With Love From

                                xxxx

Hi Everyone ,I had an exciting IM  from my friend Debbie this morning .she has started a journal,you remember Debbie is Jasons Mum ,I told you how we went to Jasons school concert last month ,and how much I enjoyed it, Debbie is an interesting and lovely person and I'm sure you will give her a big J-Land welcome   http://journals.aol.co.uk/drb1064/whatever Im sure she will enjoy getting to know you all  as I have  ,lots of love Jan xx 

January 2nd

Good morning ! no its afternoon ! I have been clearing out the file manager file ,so many lovely graphics, I collected and didnt use ,so forgive me for this one its so nice I couldnt resist ,any way its only the 2nd so its still new year isnt it ?

Well Maurice went back to work this morning ,and the children here ,go back to school  on Thursday ,Derek my son is going to make another stab at a visit tomorrow evening ,remember he had to postphone /postpone ?before Christmas due to the awful fog,so that will be nice ,I have been ringing round the rest of the family to let them know,he will be coming by himself ,he actually lives in Dorset ,but works in London near Heathrow ,so he will head up here after work on Wednesday ,then go back Thursday morning ,just a flying visit ,but better than nothing ,so more presents to swap (that have been in our spare room since before Christmas ) It is the first meeting of the year of the over sixties club ,in the afternoon ,I will try to go ,we have to pay our subs for the year ,dont want them thinking I'm trying to shirk that do I ?I will be home from that about four fifteen so I will have time before Derek arrives ,Well I should go and unearth the ironing pile ,I have had hidden ,be brave and do something useful with myself ,and so on that daunting note I will go!        Have a good day everyone with love from .....

                                

First entry of 2007

A Very Happy New Year Everyone

Yes, here we are again everyone ,now like alot of you 2006 left ,and as it went ,had me wondering where ?,It seems no time at all since I was doing my entry for January 1st last year and saying ,that my New Year Resolution was to learn to add graphics I had been saving them for ages mostly ones Donna was offering .Donna very kindly talked me through it and I havent looked back...... Once again Donna THANKYOU !

  It was a good year ,thinking back ,for Maurice and I ,Maurice got his promotion and is in line for another ,his shift pattern is a bit crazy but we have had some great days out on his days off and I have adjusted ,to my time with him when ever it falls ! I joined the over sixties club and the WI ,had some nice days out and good meetings. And am looking forwardto next years programe .Iwent back to the company I used to work for,on the news letter team ,and also joined the complaints and compliments committee ,we went to London and Karen and I met  Bob the Chelsea  pensioner,at Portcullis house.

In May last year AOL invited me to be silver surfer of the week,which was exciting and I met lots of new friends  ,and I am still on the page under Blogs in a list of ten blogs .In September we all did a tribute to a victim of September 11th and Maurice and I took forty nine year old married ,and father of two, John Santore  ,to our hearts ,and I know all of the journalers who did similar tributes were as affected as I was .When journals became three years old ,we celebrated ,two very clever Steves compiled pictures of us all so that we could look at each other and see who we were writing to,and what our friends look like  .

And I cant miss this opportunity to thank every one again,for voting for Jan at Serendipity,'Lady of the Blog ' I felt so proud .and thanks have to go to the girls who worked so hard to make this a success......I am looking forward to this coming year hearing about you all and sharing some more entrys with you ,Thankyou to all the girls who make my journal a more colourful place with their lovely graphics.I want to wish you all A Happy Healthy, Prosperous New Year  ,God Bless You All and Love from