Serendipity

TEN YEARS .....

2011-09-10T23:17:00.000+01:00

When journalists were invited to do a dedication,to a victim of 9/11 to mark the aniversary five years ago,I thought about it and decided I would like to pay a tribute ,to one of these brave people ,It , however become a very moving thing to do ,and as I researched this my heart 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.
Nearly 3000 people perished on that awful day...... John was one of,that number ! And now ten years on I still hold this man in a very special place in my heart

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

Here is part of my entry....

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 with the 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

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

Petanque and...The Forties weekend

2011-08-20T22:09:00.035+01:00

A busy week end,which in honour of The J-Land aniversary I want to share with you all. On Thursday evening I had my annual Board member assessment ,which went well .

Above is a picture of Humphrey,introducing what was to be a marvelous afternoon . But I'm getting ahead of myself ~One of the committees I am on, decides how a community fund ,set aside by the company, can best provide something that would better the lives of the residents ,this must have been one of the biggest projects so far ,but what a success ,it has proved to be .....At one of our sheltered schemes for the elderly,(a beautiful old property ,converted into flats and set in the most beautiful grounds)

A few years ago a resident there saw an advert for a set of Boules in the local paper ,they were as new,so Ruth bought them ,and since then they played on the grass.....until their scheme manager suggested they apply through community grant system for a boule piste to be built ,we in due course approved the idea,.....So below you see a picture of Ruth on the left,next to the Mayor of Huntingdon who cut the ribbon to officialy open the piste On Friday afternoon,Next to him is Stella who is their teacher and trainer ,and then the head of the council .

We all had a little turn,and it proved to be so much fun we all want to learn and play ,Hmmm I forsee some matches coming up ......

I was proud of this picture see how the boules have just left their hands !

Below see Stuart ,our ops Director ,trying to beat Ruth

Isnt it great ?

My sister Jean had a birthday yesterday so of course I made her a cushion Now every year at this time our litte Market town turns back the clock ,and we have a fortys weekend ,so as I was shopping yesterday I'snapped' a few people ,who I encountered

An American officer and his lady

This chap told me he was riding a Belgium Amy bike called a monarch .

And here is his lady who was happy to pose for me

And here is my friend Jane getting into the spirit of things .

Jane is the chair person of the Ramsey intiative ,and works hard for our town .And below the ladies in the charity shop having lots of fun ,lots of fortys music playing

So there you have it !Have a Blessed Sunday everyone ,with a good week to follow,and as ever love from Jan xx....and Kizzie!!

Beauty,really is only skin deep.....

2011-07-31T10:54:00.014+01:00

Hi there everyone ,I hope you are all well .I am fine ,busy as ever ,and like the cow's tail all behind as usual,lots of meetings and some sewing .....Because I am a board member ,I was invited to the staff conference .I love this I meet up with old colleagues,as well as other staff members .The theme this year was 'Challenge ',so due to the changes government are making ,in the housing sector,it was appropriate , so mindful of cut backs and everything else this year is going to be challenging .However Alan our chief exec is confident that we are able ,for what ever presents it self .

After all the facts and figures were explained to us ,by the different departments ,we went on to play some really interesting quiz games .before a delicious lunch ,where we could again chat to our friends .

After lunch more corporate stuff before our guest speaker .....

Yes it was Simon Weston O B E ,what an insiration ,this man is ,handsome inside and out !! I remember watching the programes on TV about his ,struggle with all the surgery he needed when he returned from the Falklands conflict of 1982 horrifically burned,(he is a similar age to my second son!).....and boy has this man accepted the challenge ,he helped to form 'Weston Spirit',helping disadvantaged youngters ,build their lives and believe in them selves .He has worked tirelessly for the Star and Garter homes ,as an ex Guardsman with the Welsh guards ,some thing close to his heart .Now happily married to Lucy with three young children,he campaigns,for many charities,-he has jumped with the Red Devils -run the New York marathon-to create a better future for the young people and veterans alike......Of course he has had his dark moments,some of which he spoke,and as many of us wiped the tears from our eyes ,he would have us all roaring with laughter , he has a fantastic sense oh humour ...A great Man ,God Bless you Simon ...

I went home feeling very humbled ,greatful ,inspired ,and clutching a copy of his latest book that he signed for me

A trip to London

2011-06-12T19:14:00.024+01:00

I cant believe it is 12th June.since I put these pictures on here ,and never got back to finish this post. . Ah well Im here now

Before I start I want to introduce you to Debbie ,she has been blogging for about a year but doesnt have many readers SO~ shall we see if we can change that ? pop over ,you will be pleased you did http://notcompulsary.blogspot.com

Now what are those people doing below ? you may ask ....perhaps not ! We are a group of residents ,who participate in the Residents Inclusion Group,or RI.....I am involved in The News Letter ,written by the residents,for the residents.I am vice chair of ARF ,Axiom Residents Forum , and a resident board member ....Axiom Housing association involved in social housing ,who value residents input and we work closely with them ,(I was a scheme Manager,on a sheltered scheme for the elderly ,until I retired seven years ago .)The picture below is us working on 'The Annual Report 'some thing the government want housing associations to do with the aid of residents .....getting boring now isn't it ? (nearly done now with the explanation)Last year we were,highly commended by TPAS (tenant particiption advisory service) and went for a lovely Lunch at Solliehull near Birmingham ....Then ......we were invited to give a work shop ,in London last month

Angela, who is PA to the Chief Exec,and communications Manager ,booked us all on a train to London,(she asked for assistance for us as we dont walk far !)So Angela Jackie Ann and Jan off to the big smoke

Not a good picture but this is where the meeting was to be

Bit of interest, you will need to click to make it big enough to read

Here we are at the side of the stage, assisting Angela as she gave her presentation which included us too .

Pheew we did it ,and with such aplomb,though I,say it myself ,we were a hard act to follow

Oh and I made a bag to go with ......

As ever love from ..Jan xx

Having a 'cushie' time

2011-05-23T12:39:00.029+01:00

Sorry about the 'Good Morning ',it will be afternoon by the time I post this ,
and I will warn you
,this is a multi picture entry ,many of you asked to see what I had been making since I got the new sewing machine for my Birthday .The first picture is of Rachel my Great neice ,who shares a Birthday with me ,She is 11 and we are all extremely proud of her , she excels at swimming and has won many medals.She competes all over the country .

,
So for her Birthday I made her this cushion scanning a picture of her then transfering it to a transfer that is then ironed onto fabric, the idea for this method was explained to me by Laura
http://vintage-laura.blogspot.com I am very grateful to her and her patience in talking me through it via Email

Next I made a cushion for my Taxi driver Muncha who is so kind, and takes me to all my meetings he lent me a picture of his little daughter and
voila ...they were all delighted and little Atitia wont be parted from Her cushin! I have to make one for her cousin now !

My Friend has been fighting a very nasty illness ,so to cheer her up ,I snagged a picture of her Granddaughter from Face book ,and made this one for her .....

Then for a bit of a change from cushions ,I made some wall pads for along side the wall by Great nephew baby Harry's cot

Harry's great Grandparents are from Ireland ,so I put a shamrock on the back of one of the blocks!

I was telling my friend Jackie about Harry's blocks she said she would love a set for her new Great Grandaughter so I made some for little Rubi ..

And then Joanne my neice was 40 , (Jo is Rachael 's Mum)
so of course ,another cushion seemed right !and since Jo likes cats I put some onto her
one ,holding ribbons attached to balloons.....

Another dear friend Violet had her birthday on May 16th ,the same day as my Daughter Kate so two more cushions were made and two more happy Ladies

Sorry the pictures arent as good as they might be , but I sure you get the idea and at least you can see what I have been doing with my time ....

As ever lots of love from

Good Friday 2011

2011-04-22T12:32:00.011+01:00

A Very Blessed Easter time everyone ,I bet you can't remember me ! I am ashamed to say I havent posted since last October ,So thought it was time to put that right .I have been as busy as ever .I have been doing lots of sewing ,and for my 70th Birthday in February ,Maurice and the family all chipped in to buy me a super new sewing machine,one that does wonderful things because it is computerised I love it ,I ,must show you some of the stuff I have made some time ,not today though ,because I want to share with you all where I went this morning,I feel so good ,so uplifted and erm ..humble ......Each Good Friday all those that believe ,and of different faiths ,do a silent walk of witness through the town , following the cross ,as we all assembled on a car park ,on a gorgeous warm sunny morning,The Rector said a prayer, before asking for a volunteer to carry the cross ,a dear little boy piped up ,''I will '',However his Dad stepped in to do the honours ,accompanied by a very proud little boy and his even smaller brother ,we walked in silence right through the town (me on my buggy )quite away,until we came to the green beside the Church,St Thomas a Beckett,with the ruins of the walls of the old Ramsey Abbey behind us ,I was amazed how many people had turned out ,For a wonderful open air service ,with Easter hymns ,readings and prayers ,I did say how up lifted I felt, as you will imagine .Afterwards came the Dressing on the Cross,where we all threaded our flowers through the wire on the cross that stands permanantly on the green,Afterwards tea and coffee was served so we were able to sit in the sun and chat to our friends ......

This is the cross that was carried

Out side the Church afterwards

The Tall Gentleman with his back to us is our Rector

Wishing you all a joyous Easter ,and in the words of Our Lord 'Love one another '

As ever love from

October issue !

2010-10-22T21:57:00.021+01:00

Once again my graphics are by Donna ,Thankyou Donna,

Now after the confusion on my last post ,the girl in the prom dress was my Beautiful Granddaughter Charlotte and not my neice as some of you supposed .So talking of Granddaughters here is Alice aged seventeen, who is the Granddaughter of Maurices's cousin Jim.Isn't she another beauty ?A real peaches and cream English Rose,but since her Grandparents are Irish ,I suppose that makes her a lovely little colleen as well .

Whoops ,what does this racing car have to do with things ? you might ask!

The car is in fact being driven by Alice ,and very well indeed ,Below are a few quotes from Alice and links to the story of her success My Renault is the identical car to Lewis Hamiltion’s UK car when he won the title at 18 yrs old. To reduce mechanics’ fees, the BARC championship does not allow gears cogs to be changed to suit track conditions, and there is a slight restriction put on the engine to extend its life. Both cars cost the same to buy.
I raced against UK’s top GT drivers (300BHP) in 2010, out qualifying ex-F1 driver Martin Donnelly: This link explains how I got my Renault title at a year younger than Lewis Hamilton: http://news.driverdb.com/2010/10/18/alice-powell-wins-formula-renault-title/ I only got a few qualifying laps on a cold track, near the end of the session, and I still managed to get a pole.

Alice has been supported and encouraged by her Granddad Jim ,and here is the link to her website http://www.alice-powell.com/

A champagne moment !

And Alice does after dinner speeches and has met many famous people ,From Prince Andrew ,to Sir Stirling Moss.

Well done Alice ! you are a clever and lovely girl as well as a plucky one and we are all very proud of you ,.....and as they say Watch this space .......

So as usual I will close ,with love from

Catching up ..Again !

2010-09-27T07:09:00.016+01:00

Hello Every one ,yes it's me again ,I checked and my last post was August 4th ,that is bad ,I just don't know what happens to the time ,I'm not wasting it honestly ! Though I did spend two days in bed recently, with this throat bug that has been doing the rounds . My Header and my signature to day were made for me by Donna ,a very talented lady and dear friend in the States .The rain is very appropriate as thats all it did yesterday ,and doesnt look too promising today ,So what have I been doing since I was here last ? Well I was helping to prepare and take part in the Annual Tenants conferance ,I did a work shop ,'Computers for fun 'which was well attended ,and though I didnt do anything very techy ,Chris my friend and fellow board ,and forum member ,was able to deal with that part ,we hope we inspired people to go 'silver surfing' ,and since computers are to be installed in all the company's sheltered schemes for the elderly it seemed the thing to do .Here is a picture of me arriving on my buggy ,with all my props on the back and front of the buggy .In case you are wondering what the turquoise shoes have to do with the black and white theme they match my beads ,and nail polish !!!

My dear Granddaughter Charlotte has now left school and is doing a college course on' Hair and Beauty' she loves it, so Im looking forward to some treatments soon ,below is a picture of her at her school prom ,Charlotte is the' Lady in Red ' isn't she lovely ? Of course I might be prejudiced !(clutching mobile phone !! )

A couple of weeks ago we had a visitor ,Mark and Chrissy brought Sam over to see us ,perhaps some of you will remember Blue their previous dog ,he died and was so missed ,but now they have Sam and he is just as loving.... what a gentle giant he is ,

Though Kizzie is a bit in awe of him

We went shopping the other day for some more material ,I have yet another bag to make for my Daughter Sharon ,who has a Birthday on Thursday . Can you see the Elephant in the picture I won him ,and some gorgeous covered buttons with sheep on them ,just the job for our Kate's next project ! And some lovely green beads, I wear quite alot of green and they are super .The butterfly material I fussy cut to put onto appliqued projects ,

Sarah had called the Elephant Morris ,and he arrived with the other goodies in time for my Maurices Birthday ,I also bought him a new jacket and a Cardigan .Sarah We discovered ,lives not far from me ,well about 15 miles, small world isn't it ? And her Blog has the delightful name 'Happyness is a bottomless button box',do have a look and tell her I sent you

http://sarahlpayne.blogspot.com/2010/09/quick-catchup-and-my-100th-post.html Oh ...I nearly forgot Serendipity ,was five years old on the first of September ,So on that happy note I will send you my love as ever ....from

Birthdays and bags

2010-08-04T06:11:00.037+01:00

Hmm ..guess what this is ?

Good morning ,every one ,,look what came in the post yesterday ,I was the lucky winner on one of Gina Farrari's Aniverary post ,celebrtation draws ,a beautiful hand made corsage ,some of her own postcards ,and some delicious fudge Thank you so much Gina I love it .Gina is an extremely talented Textile Artist . http://ginaferrari.blogspot.com/2010/07/sketchbook-project-iii.html

I was showing you some of the bags I had made for family and friends in a previous entry ,here are the latest oners I have made ,

one for ME !

Russian Dolls

And the back

Hmm ...look at this pile of material !

A bag of tomatoes ? So what was the first picture ?

Look Julie ! I used the letters you gave me ,Julia is another talented artist ,

can you guess what it is yet ? http://mixedmedia-jem.blogspot.com/2010/07/grand-day-out-and-cake.html

Yes it is a bag for my laptop
I love this material ,of a key board ,click on the pic to make it larger .

My Dear Granddaughter Charlotte was 16 on June 27th she shares her Birthday with her brother Stuart who was 25,

Charlotte likes animal prints ,and playboy items so,I combined the two and made her a handbag ........

Charlotte and Granny Jan

The Birthday boy and girl with their Mum and Gran

Iain was still on leave

Colin Maurice and Iain

These pictures were taken out side Sharon's pub

The world cup was still on ,so you can see the flags in some of the pics ,Oh yes Mark ,my eldest boy ? was fifty at the end of April ,EEEK my kids are all middle aged ,gosh what does that make me? ....'NO ! don't go there' hee hee ,and then Sam my Kate's youngest was 15 in July ,no pictures Sam hates having his picture taken ,I don't know why he is such a handsome chap ,like his bigBrother Matt ,who was 18 in August ,and has been accepted for the college of his choice ,but will work for a year first ,I am so blessed to have such as lovely family .

My sister Jean has a Birhday this month too ,guess what she has asked for ?

And what a Maurice and Kizzy doing whilst Im slaving away over a hot sewing machine ???
Why ,cruising around the garden on my buggy ,in the sunshine ,see my flag ? didnt do much good though did it ?

Well folks I had better get back to the sewing machine ,so as ever love from

Iain's Homecoming ,after seven month deployment

2010-07-20T11:30:00.046+01:00

Remember in my last entry I told you, we had been to Portsmouth (Pompey)to see Iain's ship come home ...well here I am ,with the pictures of that memorable day .Sorry it has taken so long ,but the thoughts of adding the pictures as we do from the last one first was a bit daunting ,time wise ,as it is it took most of the morning yesterday ,

We left home on the Wednesday evening ,at around seven o clock Colin had been to work ,and Sharon had to wait until her bar staff came on for the evening .Well of we went Sharon (my daughter and Iain's Mum) Kate my other daughter ,Colin Sharons fiancee and me,we had a good journey down stopping on the way for a meal ,We arrived at the Travel Lodge at about ten forty five ,Kate and I shared a room ,and Sharon and Colin were in a room just opposite us .We woke early next morning to drizzle ,but it didnt dampen our spirits we were going to see our boy today after a 'Peace keeping deployment in the middle East ,'and he'd been away seven months ,Iain is in charge of the ships canteen and shop ,like a NAAFI ,he does however take part in many of the ships activities ,such as crossing the equator ,and is in as much danger as all aboard .Part of their mission was to take out and capture some of the pirate ships ,we saw that on the news !!!

Whilst in Dubai Iain bought me this crystal copy of The Burj khalifa, Needless to say I was delighted I had seen a programe on TV about it ,the tallest building in the world .He gave Maurice ,who was sadly working and couldn't get the time off ,a zippo with the ships crest .

Getting ready to go ,down to the harbour ,Iain had rung his Mum yesterday as we were driving to say he could see the white cliffs of Dover ,and then last night to say they were anchored out in the Solent,and could see the lights on the Sinnaker Tower ...so near and yet so far ,but very exciting for us all .

We set of in the car to park up ,and join one of the coachs that were waiting to take us down to the harbour ,and on the way saw many famous ships .

Once down by the harbour we took our place amongst other excited frinds and familys of our dear returning boys ,we stood in the rain as the band played ,lots of sea shanties Hearts of Oak amongst them ,OHhhh !

OH LOOK ,The Harbour masters boat ....

Then the tug ....theN HMS LANCASTER

W ITH ALL HANDS ON DECK

Home at last ,some of the sailors first off ship ....

My Boy ,Sharon all tearful and joyful ......

Hello Colin ,good to see you mate ,

My Auntie Kate ..... see how wet we were !

Hallo Granny .

Then Iain took us on board ship ...

This is a picture of the Spinnaker

Well folks I have finally manged to make this entry ,I hope you enjoy it as much as we did ,

As ever love from Jan xx

Back in business

2010-06-06T12:24:00.017+01:00

Hello everyone remember me ? in case you have forgotten Here is a recent picture ,taken after a meeting at a Sheltered housing sceme in Littleport near Ely , Where the co maker of the Harley Davidson ,had his roots ,before he went of to America and teamed up with Mr Davidson ,and they then produced the world famous Harley Davidson motor bike ,the one I'm sitting on is made of stainless steele in commemoration of the towns famous son ,and is opposite the Church where Harley senior is buried ,I did an entry on it a few years ago when we were AOL journals many of you will remember .....This entry is to be a condensed version of what I have been doing ,as it has been sitting in the starting blocks since last Sunday ,when I found I couldnt add my ,pictures however The lovely Pam came to my rescue and pointed out I was in HTML mode instead of compose ,Thankyou Pam ,as ever fellow journalists/bloggers are never far away in times of need ,

In April , Sharon and I went on a quilting course at Peterborough ,at Art and Stitch ,owned by Angela ,our tutor that day was Pam ,such lovely and talented Ladies ,along with Barbara ,here is a picture of Sharon ,hard at work ,dont know why we didnt take a pic of me, to busy sewing (or nattering) I suppose !

And here is the quillow that Pam was teaching us to make ,Id like to say mine is finished .it is in mauves and lavender colourways ...but erm I have been busy , ,....www.artandstitch.co.uk

For my Kate's BirthdayMay 16th , I made her a handbag ,she loved it ,especially as I put a sheep on it ,(she loves sheep ! )now everyone wants one a bag ...not a sheep !

and below, a picture of the other side of the bag ....

And then ,the highlight of my last few weeks ,we went down to Portsmouth to welcome home my Grandson Iain ,who had been on board ship the HMS LANCASTER ,after seven month tour ,so we stayed overnight ,in order to see the ship come into Portsmouth harbour early Thusday morning May 27th (lots more on that in another entry ) so I made myself an over night bag ,

And finally has anyone ,in the UK been watching ,the seach for the girl to play Andrew LLoyd- Webers version of Dorothy ,it has been wonderful and great entertainment for a Saturday evening ,and now a very talented young lady called Danielle was chosen and she gets to wear the ruby slippers in Lord Andrew's stage version of the Wizard of Oz .... And, the programe has now finished, I miss it ..... and guess what ,we have wall to wall football coverage of the World cup Grrr ....

and so on that happy note I will click publish post ,and send you as usual , love

Problem loading pictures

2010-06-06T09:36:00.002+01:00

Hi Everyone ,this isnt an official blog entry ,more a call for help ,I cant add pictures to my blog ,I try, but end up with alot of numbers and letters where the picture or graphic should be,also I have no facility to choose my colour for page or script ,no sizing for script ,this is so frustrating as I have so many pictures to show you and much to tell, I do hope someone can tell me what is wrong ,as usual have a blessed Sunday ,With Love Jan xx

The Pavilions

2010-03-26T09:25:00.038Z

Yesterday was one of those days to treasure ,It was the official opening of the Pavilions ,Axiom's latest Extra care home for the elderly ,and everyone who attended had such a wonderful day from the residents who live here ,to all the people who made this happen ,and of course all the disinguished guests ...the Pavilions is on the site of the sports field where the staff from Baker Perkins a company in Peterborough would enjoy many leisure and sport facilities ,and yes ,there were Pavilions on the site ,incidently My Late husband Mick served a six year apprenticeship with and went on to work at Baker Perkins for many years .But back to yesterday as a member of the board ,as a tenant Board member I was among the priveleged to receive an invitation ,which was indeed a great honour .

If you care to double click you will be able the read the story from our local paper .

Here some of the guests are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Lord Lieutenant of Cambidgeshire, Hugh Duberly CBE .In each County in the British Isles ,Her Majesty The Queen has a Lord Lieutenant to represent her ,and to defend her .though today The Lord Lieutenant was'nt wearing the ceremonial sword ,(Health and safety issues !!!)

Extreme left our Chief exec Alan the lady with her back to us in the cream jacket is Irene Walsh the right worshipful Mayor of the city of Peterborough ,Then we have the MP for Peterborough ,talking to John Haste the chairman of the board at Axiom next is Gillian Beasley who is the cheif executive of the Peterborough city council ,next to her ,with her back to us is Angela who is PA to Alan our Chief exceutive ,then two of the supported housing line managers.

Here is Stuart our operations director ,with Louise who is head of the finance department ,the lady who controlls the purse strings

HE'S HERE !!

See Alan , waiting to accompany The Lord Lieutenant into The Pavilions

Board members lined up waiting to be presented To the Lord Lieutenant by Our board chairman John Haste

See anyone you know ?

Alan made a speach, then the Lady Mayor ,and then John .

Sir Hugh had time for everyone chatting away to each in turn ,here he is talking to a married couple who are residents at the Pavilions .June the scheme manager can be seen in the picture introducing her residents to the Lord Lieutenant .

I like this picture of Mavis ,with him ,Mavis is on our News letter team ,so this picture will be very handy for the next edition ,never miss a photo opportunity !

Even the Community Bobby's got involved,I asked this resident if they were arresting him ,he chuckled and asked me to bail him out .

And I couldn't let the day go by without a picture of Eileen and I, who, I have known since she was in sheltered care and is now of course in the Pavilions ,which she says she loves .

Here is The Lord Lieutenant unveiling the plaque

The Lord Lieutenant ,and the Lady Mayor helping June the very worthy manager of the Pavilions ,to cut the cake .

I am sure you would like to join me in wishing 'The Pavlions' and everyone involved ,every success in this wonderful venture

One man's rubbish is anothers treasure

2010-03-08T22:32:00.019Z

Huntingdon ,the county town near to us , and the postcard a favourite of mine , I dont seriously collect postcards ,but find I have quite a few collected by accident really .Although having said that I do have my Late Fathers collection of saucy sea side postcards ,my Dad was the village Barber ,and when his customers went to the seaside ,would send him a postcard ,vie-ing with each other to send the most outrageous ones ! he would display the latest ones round the mirror ,and this created much interest with his customers .
Now where is all this leading you may ask , last Wednesday was my club day ,and we had a speaker who was really interesting ,He has an antique shop in our town ,and doesnt mind if you buy or browse ,but he is always a mine of information,his wife collects Mabel Lucie Atwell ,so there is always lots of interest to muse over .
John came along with his private collection ,as he says some of it is worthless ,though to him priceless .We were enthralled as he took us back down memory lane, with many of his treasures
In the picture below is a bottle with a marble in the top that used to work as a seal ,but as kids we broke the bottles to get the marble out ! The bottles were made by a man called Cod so the bottles are called Cod bottles ,and the drink inside ....well ...'cods wallop '!

What else can you see, that you remember ? double click the pictures to see the detail

Here is John discussing a hat pin with a lucky rabbits foot on the end .

See the record player ?on the top left of the picture ,sorry it is so dark ,John has a Donald Peers record ,of the song' By a Babbling Brook 'which Donald Peers wrote as he sat beside the Brooke that runs through the Abby grounds ,here in this town where he used to stay .He then played a bit of a record by the Andrews sisters singing'Red River Valley ',and explained if the music was too loud a sock would be placed in the back of the record player case ,hence the saying 'put a sock in it '

To the right of this picture you can see John's collection of WI (womens Institute) badges ,and among his treasures he has a little statuette of Lord Baden Powell,(the founder of the boy scout movement ) that he bought as a young married man ,for sixty pounds ,alot of money for those days ,he said they lived on baked beans for three weeks ! and though John says his wife is fairly tolerant of his crazy buys maybe on this occasion she wasnt perhaps quite so enthusiastic !!

You can see the little Baden Powell statuette at the bottom left of this picture ,

So there you are I do hope you enjoyed John's visit as much as we did

As ever lots of love

Here come the girls ......

2010-03-02T10:29:00.015Z

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a number of years ,will remember when I went to Portcullis house ,in London for an award ceremony for people involved in promoting the internet for the older members of our society ',Silver Surfers ',I went with Karen who was then our Resident inclusion manager .We spent a lovely morning wandering up Whitehall taking pictures and seeing the sights .After lunch, Karen and I went to the meeting at Portcullis House ,for the ceremony ,we knew I hadnt won but it was so nice to see those that had ,and hear about their work in this sphere ,gave us lots of ideas too ,during the networking and coffee tea break we met this charming Chelsea Pensioner who was only to happy to have his picture taken with me ,

So I was interested in the announcement last year when I learned that Ladies were to be allowed to live at The Royal Hospital at Chelsea ,for retired service personnel .(this happened almost a year ago and I have been meaning to blog about it ,since then ! Ah well better late than never !)

'The First Women to join the ranks of the Chelsea pensioners have been welcomed with a ceremony'

Dorothy Hughes 85,from Oxford,who was a gunner and Winifred Phillips 82 who is from Deal in Kent was a former Auxiliary service member.

They will live along side 300 men at the Royal Chelsea hospital and wear the red coat .

General Lord Walker said it was " an historic event ".

The decision to open up the membership ,reflects the growing number of Women who have joined the Army since the 1950s

Ms Phillips who served in the Army for 22 years said she raised the question of why women were not allowed to become members a decade ago ,

Now she has seen her wish come true .

"When I was living in Shropshire 10 years ago I read a magazine article called the legion and it said they wanted more men ,so I wrote back and said ! why not Women".

They wrote back saying they agreed ,but it has taken me ten years to get here .

Declaring! "I like men",she added ; "its been fabulous.Its just like the Amy all over again,but you dont have so much to do ".

The new pensioners will wear specially adapted scarlet coats while off site and blue tunics when on it .

Like the male veterans they must also meet the criteria of being over sixty five,free of a dependant spouse and in receipt of an army pension.

There is also talk of designing an official handbag .....

I think its fair to say these Gentlemen think its a good idea !

These Ladies took part in the Royal British Legion ,Festival of Remembrance service last November ,at the Royal Albert Hall in front of The Queen and others members of the Royal Family ....

I hope you enjoyed the story, as much as I did in reseaching it ,history in the making ....

As ever lots of love

Jan xx

Falling behind again ......

2010-02-06T16:15:00.025Z

Lots of Birthday celebrations this month ,including mine ,thankyou, to all my dear friends and family for the lovely cards ,messages on facebook and e messages ,you are lovely .

Another month has flown by since I last posted ,so I thought I should crack on with another entry .and since I seem to have rediscovered how to add pictures ,with the new camera ,there are some for you to see ,And I have been knitting and sewing as well as my meetings ,which does take up alot of time .
I went back to the court where I used to work the other week ,on Valentines day, Dear Ruby was ninety ,and so had a party ,and she kindly invited me ,it was so lovely to see all my old friends again .

Here is a picture of Ruby with her niece ,she certainly doesnt look ninety does she ? a lovely Lady who I keep in touch with even though I am retired and have moved away ,such an interesting lady to talk to ,she does beautiful tapestry,and is very well read ,it was her who introduced me to the book ,'Lark Rise to Candleford ' long before it became a TV series ,when she lent me her copy.

Here I am with Jackie ,on the right of the picture, who I see often and love dearly , and Emmie the other side of me, another lady I speak to on the phone frequently ,and at her side is her sister Clara .

My Daughter Kate's son Matt (my Grandson) has a lovely little girlfriend Sara ,who was 18 on the 23rd of February ,so I made her a quillow she was delighted ,it was worth the effort to see here face when she opened it

Here is the cushion that the quillow folds into ....

And now before I sign off let me show you how much shopping I can get on my buggy hee hee ......

Have a good weekend everyone ,and as usual

Love From

Trying to remember

2010-01-18T12:10:00.018Z

One of Donna's graphics, lovely isnt it ? ...did any one in the UK see 'Country file' on TV on Sunday evening ?or even 'Inside out' on Monday ,though 'Inside out' is a regional programme,it featured Ice skating in the Fens ,something that has been happening for a few hundred years on the frozen flood plains on the Fens ,this year the conditions were good to go ,so people of all ages get out their skates and skate ,well this was all filmed about two miles from where we live .

When I last posted in June we were looking forward to our 'Party in the Park ',The Day Dawned fine and Sunny ,and we all met up, over a hundred of us ! from different parts of the country ,a lovely day was had by all and even the local press turned up ,I dont know how well you can see the press cutting ,but here it is ......

I called this entry " trying to remember" ,that is ,how to 'blog '? and what we have done since I posted in June ,on the twenty seventh of June it was the joint Birthday of Charlotte and Stuart ,some of you will remember two of my daughter Sharons children share a Birthday ,so we had a lovely family party for them .

Here she is look, Charlotte fifteen years old

And our lovely Stuart

Here is a picture of some of us right behind me is Stuart then Kates Matt ,the other side of Maurice is Iain and Paul ,Stu's, brothers ,in the front with me is Sara Matts girlfriend who will be eighteen in February .

My silly back wont allow me to walk long distances any more so in August we bought me this and I love it ,it is amazing how much shopping I can load onto it too heehee ,a bag full behind my legs ,some in the basket and more under the seat I can be seen cruising the paths of our little Market town....

Then in August we went to a little town near Leicester to stay with my neice Stella ,her Mum Dot is my late husband Micks sister ,we went to see the Barwell Festival that is held there each year ,when the whole town turns out to see the manificent floats and join in the carnival ,the proceeds of which go to various local charities below is a picture of Dot and I enjoying the festivities

I had forgotten you start from the bottom with pictures etc ,so I forgot to add a signiture ,but by and large I think I managed quite well ...more another time ....

love from Jan xx

Please Miss, Janet has been absent because ......?

2010-01-16T10:11:00.006Z

Errm ...Now ..if in years to come a member of my family is reading this, they are probably wondering why I havent posted in seven months ,seven months!! Hangs head in shame ....... Doesnt time fly when you are having fun AND as you get older ! dont seem to have the same energy level ,or the right inclination ,no clear answer really ,yes I have been busy ,with my hobbies ,knitting ,I made three quillows for Christmas presents ,my candlewick embroidery, not to mention house work ,no we wont mention housework ,I have also been busy with my Axiom residents forum meetings ARF ,of which I am vice chair ,I am now on the board of Axiom Housing Assocation .I still enjoy going to meetings at my club the over sixties , and of course family and friends, also about the time I stopped posting ,my camera died ,I bought a new one, but cant seem to get to post the pics they are too big or something ,sooo whats a blog with out pictures ? I want to thank all of you for checking up on me to see if I am ok ,So now I have broken the ice I will post this ,and try not to leave it so long next time as usual love from Jan xx

Remember me ?

2009-06-10T10:50:00.015+01:00

This lovely graphic made by Donna reminds me of the mystery trip I went on recently with my 'over sixties' club,we went all around the Fens and the tour guide on the coach was our old friend Ernie who is a mine of imformation ,wherever we go, he can tell us some interestings facts and points out places of historical interest ,of which the Fens are famous .

Sorry I havent been around much lately ,no excuse I still have the same amount of time I always had...in between ,Residents meetings,Resident newsletter meetings ,over sixties and visits to and from family ,Though I have to admit, I do forget to go to my dashboard to see who has posted ,I was much better when I got an alert ,I would comment ,then I think I was more motivated to do my entry .......

Talking of visits from Family ,My Grandson Paul ,brought a dear little visitor to see me the other week ,Remember Keira ,she is Pauls ex's, daughter ,and Paul keeps in touch and loves her as his own .She is a little charmer ,here she is in the garden on the swing .....

And here with Granny Jan .....

Our Kate had another Birthday in May ,here we are with Charlotte, who came around to see her Aunty Kate while we were there ,

And here is Sharon my other Daughter ,who is mine host (Land Lady) of the pub just up the road from where Kate lives ,you will notice its tea for Sharon and coffee for me ,Maurice has been known to partake of the odd Guinness !

Happy Birthday Kate May 16th...

This is a picture of me with my two other lovely 'sons'Sharon's Colin and Kate's Martin.

Here we are setting off to see the family ,Do you like our new car ? The Shogun ,was getting so that it needed some costly repairs so we have gone for a smaller car ,that consumes alot less petrol ,thus making our carbon footprint smaller ,and being alot easier on the pocket .
And here I am getting ready to go to a residents meeting ,posing beside my candlewicking embroidery of hot air balloons that is at last nearly done ,

AND the exciting part ,is that a week on Sunday we are to have another party in the park for all the members of my late husbands family ,who can make it ,remember last year we were nearly a hundred strong ,with children and grandchildren great grandchildren ,inlaws, out laws and who ever ,so I am really looking forward to that, and meeting up with everyone again ,Just hope the sun shines ,

So there we are, thats me all up to date again ,Im not going to promise to post more often because ...well ya know hee hee

Lots of love to you all

Grosgrain: Blueberry Pie Refashion Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-05-21T10:17:00.000+01:00

Grosgrain: Blueberry Pie Refashion Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Silver Surfers Day

2009-05-15T11:48:00.009+01:00

Hello Everyone I hope you are all well ,I am.... 'I think '? never does to be too sure of one self does it ,Well here in the UK ,it is Silver Surfers day ,don't know about elsewhere ,And so I decided to write a comment as was asked for ,and duly sent it off .,and thought I would share it with you ,I am also adding the pictures that appeared on the AOL welcome page ,when they were promoting older bloggers ,back in the days when AOL liked us journallers ,Thankyou Google for rescueing us ... So folks here it is ~~

I am so pleased my Mother taught me not to point ,thus saving

my index finger you all the reams I have typed on the 'net' I cant type you see !!But have the fastest index finger in the East! This is my fourth year,on the net,though I had used a computer at work, and... I 'coped'! When I retired four years ago I went on line and well my life changed ,a whole new world opened up ,I am with AOL so I started a journal,called Seredipity which was hugely succesful,I was featured on the AOL welcome page as a Granny of nine ,who loved to BLOG (web log )I also won 'Lady of the blog', the competion was really quite fierce I was so proud ,run by some bloggers in the USA .AOL closed down the journals last September ,but thanks to Google we were able to migrate our journals over to Blogspot . I am on the Editorial group of our Residents news letter and have had a number of items published there ,so my Inclusion Manager ,at the company entered me in the Silver Surfers comp ,I didnt win but Karen and I had a wonderful day in London ,at Portcullis House ,where we met some like minded people, a charming Chelsea Pentioner ,and of course the winners . I am vice chair on Axiom Residents Forum ..A.R.F.so the internet is invaluable to me ,to keep in touch with the other officers ,committee, Axiom Staff (Axiom housing Association)and most importantly the residents . I joined Freinds Reunited ,some time ago ,and recently a second cousin found me how exciting that was ,we now swap pictures and family stories , from years gone by.I am an avid reader so can look up my favourite Authors ,and learn when the next book is due ,I knit sew ,patchwork and quilting so have benefited from the many craft sites available ,my recent interest is Candlewicking ,and I have bought some kits on Ebay .I also have a trivia quiz on line ,called Jan's brain jerk ,and should you go to the side bar on my blog you will see I have many readers all around the world ,and I have made some really amazing friends ,we exchange Christmas and Birthday,cards .So yes If I were to lose my internet I would be bereaved!Though I might then get the ironing done .

..Of course many of you will remember all this ,so if I am repeating myself I am sorry . As ever lots of love ,from

Oh Dear ! ,,,where to start ?

2009-05-10T10:12:00.011+01:00

Thats the problem when you don't post as often ,where to start ? So much has been happening lately,some happy ,some exciting ,and some horribly heartbreaking ........I think I will just charge in .....
Here in this picture with me, is my Eldest Grandson Iain on his twenty sixth birthday on April 21st ,and since he had some shore leave ,he was managing his Mum (my daughter Sharon's) pub whilst she was having a well earned holiday in Grand Canaria ,Maurice and I popped in to visit him ,and to take him a nice big chocolate cake .

Well that was the' Happy '

Now the' devastating '

It was April ,when we learned of the death, in a house fire ,of a dear old friend Rod ,who I had known all my adult life ,what a lovely man Rod was ,It might be a cliche, but I dont think Rod had an enemy in the world ,and our prayers are with his son and two daughters .

Then on April 9th ,we were absolutely devasted to hear that David who had been working away from home ,but was due to return on Maunday Thursday to his partner and their baby son,for Easter ,was killed in a road crash ...we were all so shocked and heartbroken as you will imagine David was a week older than my second Grandson Stuart ,and they had grown up together Stuart called him' my brother from another Mother' At the funeral Stuart and other friends of David's carried his coffin , I could well remember them all as little boys ,all bursting out of school together .So you will guess how I felt watching them carry him.......

David and Stuart taken at Stuarts wedding ,two years ago .

And now the exciting ...

When I went on line back in 2005 ,like many of you I signed up with Friends Reunited ,putting my details ,where I went to school etc ,Imagine my delight last Autumn when I got a message saying this lady thought she knew me and had a picture of my sister Jean and I naturally I responded ,but didnt hear any more for a while ,THEN .......

I received this picture yes it's Jean and me ! I didnt know of it's existance much less remember it being taken ,The Lady went on to explain ,she used to spend time with her Granny in Kings Cliffe ,and that her Grannie who I knew as Aunt Florrie was my Grandads younger sister ,Now Pam and I email and speak on the phone , swapping memorys ,dusting down a few family skeletons it has been really exciting ,I have been able to send her some pictures too ,she then sent this one .she described it as me sitting on a rounded sort of wall...when I saw it I exclaimed 'The Basin'! a place I had completely forgotten about,I assumed it was an old swimming pool ,so rang my Brother John who still lives in the village and he told me it was where water was stored when controlling the Mill Dam ,that ran in the field at the back of the Church (a favourite walk for us children then ) John said people did swim there ,but we werent allowed ,and that it is still there ,so that is on our to do list of places to visit and take pictures .

We always had this picture in the family ,because my Dad is the little boy with the blond curls

Pam sent this one ,we think it is my Granny and Grandad ,taken with their older children before Grandad went of to fight in the First World War .Pam was prompted to send it because I had said, I remembered a picture of a soldier wearing puttys ...

Its a lovely spring day here ,as I hope it is with you......... so have a Blessed Sunday everyone with love from

There is no 'Green Hill' in the Fens ...

2009-04-12T12:09:00.011+01:00

All , This Easter tide ......

So sorry I haven't been around much of late ,for many and varied reasons ,but I felt I had to make an entry on this Easter day ,I will endevour to make an effort to join you all again more often ...Maurice and I went over to Peterborough yesterday to see the family ,bearing Easter cards etc ,On our way home Maurice said look ,and there in a remote field out here in the Fens we spied ,the three crosses ,Maurice turned the car around so that I could get out and take the following pictures ...Hence my title today ,I just had to share them with you ,the starkness is some how ..poignant isnt it ?

Last Monday,I went to the co-op ,for some after the weekend shopping ,I always take my trolley now since my back went on me recently ,I dont attempt to carry anything anymore ,Up the road opposite me as I came away from the store I saw alot of people ,and being me 'nosy' stopped to see what was happening ,Imagine my feelings when as they came closer ,I saw it was the pilgrims on their way to Walsingham carrying the Cross ,I think I told you last year they leave a small cross as they enter a town or village as they pass through ,on the verge at the side of the road ,I hadnt got my camera ,and was tempted to walk a little way with them ,but didnt feel it would be quite right ,with my shopping trolly !!Any way the next day in the local paper I found this picture of the Pilgrims ,so I scanned it to share with you all

A couple of weeks ago Maurice and I went to Spalding in Lincolnshire ,they have an outletpark Called Springfields ,with lots of nice shops with bargains ,Marks and Spencer and Clarks being a couple of favourites ,Lincolnshire being famous for bulb growing ,though saddly not as much now as it once was ,we passed lots of fields of Daffodils ,so of course I took a picture !

As I said ,I will be back soon, meanwhile enjoy what is left of the weekend .....

And as usual.. love from

Do something funny for money

2009-03-14T11:40:00.019Z

Yesterday was Friday the 13th ,its the second one we have had this year ,and I believe another on is due in November !

Yesterday also marked the 21st aniversary of comic relief day here in Britain,where everyone ,dresses up ,wears a red nose or does something funny for money ,and the collecting boxes are every where for us to make our donations ,or we can donate on line or by phone ,Last evening on BBC TV ,was given over to all the celebraties,who had taken part ,who had given their time and talents ,(some great acts) such caring people .The whole idea is to raise money for many causes mainly children ie - kids who are full time cares to their parents or siblings ,and who are missing out on a normal childhood ,a child support centre for kids who are living in difficult situations like with a drunk parent ,and for children who have such difficult lives abroad , The item that really moved me ,and there were many such moments ,was the film of some of the celebs visiting Africa ,and seeing the amount of children who were dying from Malaria ,simply because they dont sleep under nets ,which cost aprox £5 each !well a team of heroic caring talented on and on ...Bless them .people from the music world
Chris Moyles and Fearne Cotton were joined by Cheryl Cole, Kimberley Walsh, Alesha Dixon, Ben Shepherd, Ronan Keating, Denise Van Outen and Gary Barlow, whose idea it originaly was .
They walked for seven days to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise money for Comic Relief ,it was anounced they had been sponsered to the tune of 3 million pounds ,what an achievement ,and the film showing them on their ardous climb showed just how hard it was ,and though some of them got sick during the climb they carried on ,because they said they kept a picture of these poor sick children in their minds to spur them on .What they and the other famous people did was admirable God Bless them all .

And then on the other hand ordinary folk did their bit too ,we at the Residents forum had a committee meeting sheduled for yesterday ,so we all wore some thing red ,and of course popped our money into a collecting box ,we raised quite a bit and still counting ,with the money from the people at the office .

The day before My daughter in law Chrissie brought my daughter Kate and our friend Dawn over for a visit ,we had a nice day together ,I bought a red hat from the charity shop !!!!,so with my red tee shirt,shoes and bag ,(black trousers and jumper ) I was set hee hee ......

Of course every one wanted to wear it ,especially the men ? I mean look at Howard, doesn't he look great ?

Sitting beside Howard ,is Elsa ,who said she had nothing red to wear ,so she made us a big box of red nose cakes ,and they all dissapeared and were yummy

Here's Suzy ,showing her red stripey belly ...

Ray red tie .George red tee shirt ,red october I think it was hee hee ..

I told you they all wanted to wear the hat ,here is Dick ,who works with the youngsters

So my friends, I will leave it here ,but not before telling you ,that the Head lines read-- Recession fails to dampen comic relief ,at 2am last night ,the total stood at a record breaking £57.8 million pounds ,with love from Jan in GREAT Britain

Bog Oaks and other bog standard stuff

2009-03-08T10:48:00.013Z

Lovely sunny Sunday morning here in the Fens,thats if you are indoors looking out !it is very windy and cold ,I think the wind is blowing straight from the North Sea ,and being the Fens nothing much to stop it ,March winds doth blow and we shall have sn .....NO dont even go there !
Last Tuesday I went along to the News letter meeting ,as you know I am on the editorial team ,I wore my new red jacket that Maurice had bought me for my Birthday ,(as well as the Laptop)!

I also wore the yellow jumper I had made, and had finished the previous evening ,do you like it ,I made it quite long to keep my back warm !

I had missed the previous meeting (because I was incapasitated with my back )and in the main the news letter was complete ,but they were just a bit of copy short ,so I was asked to do something ,below is the result ,The first picture goes with the item ,the others we took whilst out ,

Spring 2009 Bog Oaks .
There has been a lot in the media recently about the amount of ‘Bog Oaks’ that have come to the surface this year, as our Farmers have been ploughing the fields ready for spring planting,
And naturalists and farmers across Cambridgeshire believe more will continue to be discovered as the Fenland soil continues to dry out.
The trees were once part of a thick blanket of Oak forests, but couldn’t survive the floods which resulted from large lakes formed when the rivers Ouse, Nene and Welland began to silt up with tidal sands. The Oaks couldn’t survive with their roots soaked in water, as they began to rot; they either toppled over or were blown over by the infamous Fen blows, with result many of the trees trunks were found facing in the same direction. Over the years reeds and other dead plant material gathered on top of the wood to form a peat.
This acted as a natural preservative over the trees, because there was no oxygen to rot the wood.
Natural curiosity led my partner and I to look out for these old trees ,we have spotted markers in fields left by ploughmen to avoid the area and to remove these monsters at a later date, or to see fields where these great oak trunks have been
Cleared to the headlands, the one in the picture is at least twenty feet long and there were piles of others in the area. And to think I am sitting on something that last saw light of day, many thousands of years ago.

A pile of the Oaks left at the side of the field ...

Right behind the telegragh pole, is a dyke ..see it ? part of the drainage system in the Fens ,they vary in widths throughout the Fens some as wide as rivers ,and controlled by locks and sluice gates ,this one is narrow beside a field as many are .

Oh yes ,after dinner on Tuesday evening ,Maurice and I were discussing our days ,when he suddenly burst into laughter ,for no apparent reason ,when I questioned him ,he said put your arm up again ,I did so only to find I hadnt ,finished sewing up the seam on the sleeve of my jumper ,Durrr ,yes folks I losing it ! ( wonder if anyone noticed? ) hee hee

Have a Blessed Sunday Everyone ,With love from ...

Yet another Birthday been and Gone ....l

2009-02-27T11:26:00.024Z

Well it was morning when I started this !

"Thirty days hath September ,April June and November,all the rest hath thirty one,except February!"and this year not being a leap year February has twenty eight days ,so on Sunday we are into March ,And I can hardly believe it ,I dont know where the time has gone ,I had a really lovely Birthday ,I want to thank you all for the lovely Birthday cards ,e-cards and messages ,you are all such good friends ,My dear Friend Kath even did a blog entry for me http://kath-mysimplerhymes2.blogspot.com/ click onto her blog to see ,what this talented lady does with rhyme ,thankyou Kath and for my card and present too ,you are a lovely friend to have ,Well the day of my Birthday,I went to a meeting of the residents forum ,saw all my friends there and we shared a lovely fresh cream cake ,Howard who is an old family friend is also on the committee,so after the meeting he took me to see My daughter Sharon at her pub ,where Howard is a regular ...
I had lots of lovely presents from everyone ,including some M&S vouchers .................and
Lots of cards

And look, Maurice bought me a laptop ,I am so lucky.

On the Saturday night those of us that could , all met up at the Pub my Daughter is Landlady of it was so nice to have so many of us together for the evening . Derek ,Mickie and Steph travelled up from Dorset .

Below is a picture of me and my boys ,Mark my Eldest on the left and Derek on the right ,

Then one with my girls with me ,Sharon on the left and Kate(Catherine ) on the right,and that is in order of age too

Me and Mine !

There is Sharon and Colin ,her new man ,with Maurice getting into the picture ....

My sister Jean and I .

Howard and I ...he so wanted to be on Serendipity !

Pete my Brother in Law and Maurice

Grandson Stuart and his wife Vicky

Mark and his wife Chrissie ,and me ..

Son Derek ,his son

(my Grandson) Mickie and Steph ,Mickies young lady

My Kate ,with her son Matt, and Matts young lady Sarah

I dont know what happened but I didnt take any pictures of my Beautiful Granddaughter Charlotte ,or Kates husband Martin who were there too ,ah well! there will be another time ,

But we did get another picture of the pub dog Mylo! isnt he sweet?

And so my friends here I am at the end of another entry ,so I will close as ever with my love

I'm back ...OH! me back !!

2009-02-18T07:39:00.013Z

and Gentlemen......

Thank you to those of you, who noticed I haven’t been around, and for your kind remarks ,the fact is my back went into spasm again so I have had a pretty painful time, I haven’t been on the computer very much ,the pain meds made me sleepy , or I couldn’t sit too long ,and I have missed my meetings ,I couldn’t go to the TPAS one in Cambridge ,and I missed the newsletter meeting, fortunately for me the forum meeting was cancelled due to the bad weather, until this Friday(also my Birthday! ) so ….fingers crossed ,I do hope I can manage to stay reasonably mobile and pain free ,we are to have a family gathering on Saturday evening at my Daughter Sharon’s pub, for my Birthday and to welcome Sharon’s new gentleman friend to the family . Those of you who read my journal will remember, we bought a kennel for Kizzie although she helped Maurice assemble it she refused to use it, So it is to have a new occupant!!, yes we went to the garden feature shop and bought Toby!,I cant wait for the better weather to get into the garden and set out all the new ornaments we now have ,and decide which looks best in which area

You remember in my last entry I told you about my lovely new friend in the fabric shop ,she has completed the quillow she was making ,for a lucky child ,’The Hungry Caterpillar’ ,and sent me a picture ,isn’t she clever ,it looks lovely doesn’t it ?

And so dear friends, I think I have been sitting long enough ,so I will leave it here....................... as usual Love From

Snow ,So Stay indoors and Sew.....

2009-02-07T10:53:00.009Z

Thank you, to Donna for my opening graphic today,

Good Morning again! Lovely Sunny Saturday morning here ,even if there is three inches of snow still lying around ,The children are really enjoying it they havent had as much snow as this for a few years ,so are making the best of it ,Yes children love snow ,that just tells me I have, at last grown up .

Last week when Maurice was off work we went over to Peterborough to see some of the family ,first we went to Kate's ,and look who turned up! Two of Sharon's boys (My Grandsons ) Stuart and Paul ,Kate took this picture of us all

We then popped to Sharon's pub for a quick visit and a cup of coffee (really Maurice is driving)and to give her a copy of a knitting pattern she wanted ,and of course to see Mylo. The reason we didnt stay long at either of my daughter's was because we wanted to call in at a nearby town Whittlesey,Maurice had seen a pair of jeans he wanted to buy ,I didn't object because attached to the mens wear department is ,my idea of heaven, knitting wool ,patterns and all sorts of sewing and knitting accessories..and masses of lovely fabrics ,a delightful likeminded lady served me ,I didnt have to explain what a Quillow was ,as she has made a few ,eight I think she said ! we chatted away as she cut lengths of material for me,we exchanged email addresses ,and she sent me this verse ,which we agreed suited us perfectly .

10 Good reasons to .....

1It helps keep the economy going. It is our patriotic duty to support cotton farmers, textile mills and quilt shops.

2. It is less expensive and more fun than psychiatric care.

3. A sudden increase in the boll weevil might wipe out the cotton crop in the next ten years.

4. I'm participating in a contest - the one who dies with the most fabric wins.

5. It keeps with out refrigeration. You dont have to cook it to enjoy it, you never have to feed it, change it, wipe it's nose or walk it.

6. Like dust, it's good for protecting previously empty spaces in the house- like the ironing board, the laundry hamper or the dining room table .

7. When the big earthquake comes , all the quilt shops might be swallowed into the ground and never be seen again.

8. Stress from dealing with the Fabric Control Officer ( my husband ) made me do it.

9.It is not immoral, illegal or fattening. It calms the nerves, gratifies the soul and, makes me feel good.

10. Buy it now, before your husband retires and goes with you on all your shopping trips !

And below is the material I bought , isn't it gorgeous? I think the tomato one is great !

Well thats it for this time ,keep warm everyone ,and safe ,as usual lots of love from

February-Gardens and Garden centres ...

2009-02-01T11:56:00.012Z

Hello Everyone ,well thats January gone,quite where ,I dont know ? of course I lost the middle weeks with that 'flue' ,Maurice had some holiday ,which he spent in the garden ,when he was'nt looking after me! He had some paving stones delivered last Autumn ,but couldnt get to do what he wanted then, because he was recovering from his hernia repair operation.
Did you all remember to say 'Rabbits' to greet the month of February ,surely it won't be long now till Spring ,it is what we are all waiting for ,thought I would start by showing you a picture of the cheerful little daffodils that have flowered for me and say Spring is just around the corner ,the snowdrops are out too ,which always makes me happy .
February looks like being a busy month,looking at my calender I have a number of meetings ,for the Residents forum ,and on Wednesday next we have a party for the over sixties group ,the group celebrates sixty years so that should be fun ,we have written to the press ,I will of course let you know how it goes .and this month I have a birthday ,when I will be 68 years old ,for those of you with poor eye sight that says 45 ? (sometimes I lie ! )
The picture below shows Maurice working away in the back garden....

Well thats the paving done

On Wednesday last week ,I was going a bit stir crazy ,so Maurice and I went to the Huntingdon garden and leisure centre ,from the craft section I bought a knitting pattern ,£2.50 arent they expensive now ,I have some old patterns here with 1/6d on them .oh and I bought a spider plant ,and have put it into a macrame' hanging basket I made years ago ,with the garden in mind Maurice bought a frog and a goose for the area near his water feature,

Hmmm ! now what have they bought ?says Kizzie !

Oh yes ! well you already know I'm whappy.but I like to think I'm caring as well ,so since it was raining ,I bought a sou wester and cape for Maurice's goose .......see?

It is trying to snow here ,I hope you are all having a good weekend and managing to keep warm

So as usual ,lots of love and a......

2009-01-27T08:22:00.006Z

Here in East Anglia this morning it is a Cold Foggy and Frosty morning, so I thought I would share this story with you, and hopefully make you smile…..
At the beginning of November last year, we were shopping in Huntingdon when Maurice led me into a mobile phone shop; he had decided he was going to buy me a new mobile phone for Christmas, my old one couldn’t pick up a signal, here where we live, now I wasn’t too worried about that, because I mainly used the land line, and I found it quite amusing as we left the town to be alerted to messages that had been left for me! when I finally got a signal. So now I have a lovely new pink phone that takes pictures videos and all sorts of things that I haven’t yet tried ….I was allowed to have the phone then so I could get to grips with all the new features.
Just before Christmas Maurice and his brother decided it would be nice to spend the morning together, so Maurice drove over to Peterborough, parked up at his Brothers house, and they walked into town, the route they took was by the river, something they had done many times as children; by the land where their Dad’s farm had been and where they were brought up, it must have been so nice chatting away together, reminiscing about the old times.
Maurice knew I was saving my Boots reward points, to buy my self some perfume I was lusting after, all through the autumn when ever we went shopping I would pop into the shop for a sample spray So he thought he would buy me a little surprise aditional Christmas present..... Right so now we have the brothers ,who it has to be said both have a wicked sense of humour, and not a little blarney being Irish !in Boots ,Maurice asked the young lady who served him “have you got Estee Lauder’s Sensual perfume please ? “We have says she", she duly sprayed some for them to check! “Hmmm “says Maurice in an aside to his brother Mike,”smells like Flit to me “, Mike walked away giggling, as Maurice was paying, the young lady asked him, did that erm what’s its name? you mentioned, smell nice?”Oh yes”, says Maurice” it was a killer “!......of course the poor girl was far too young to understand the joke,

.....'Flit’. This was a tin of insecticide mounted sideways on the bottom of what can best be described as a bicycle pump. You pumped the handle as hard as you could and a fine spray of fly killer emerged from the nozzle. The trouble was, that unless you could keep pumping at an almost impossible speed the pressure dropped and the spray became more of a squirt. ..... And the smell was---- well !.........nothing like Estee Lauder's Senuous........

And the moral of the story is ....dont let those two out on their own !

.As usual folks have a nice day

I opened the door ,and IN -FLU-ENZA !

2009-01-21T13:21:00.014Z

I cant believe it is three weeks since I last posted ,but inspite of having my 'flue' jab last October ,I am afraid I have been stricken by a horrible bug that laid me low for nearly two weeks,with aching bones aching muscles you name it ,it ached !Each day since Monday has seen me feeling abit stronger ,I still feel tired ,but not as bad as I did ,so here goes..... if we forget the time I was languishing in my bed

It was the AGM of the residents forum on January 9th,I am on the committee as you know ,a vacancy had arisen for a vice chairman/woman ,I was nominated and duly elected ,and got two thirds of the votes ....

Here I am Madam vice chair !!

My well done hug ,from my dear chum Jackie ...

if we both look surprised, it is because we didnt realise Jackie's Husband John was taking the picture ,I just had to include the picture because I know Jackie's cousin Sandra in Canada reads my blog .....hi Sandra (waving )

Then it being the first Wednesday in the month,off I went to my over sixties club where we had a high old time ,Sid who is Shirley ,one of the committee members husband came along with his disco gear and kari-okee,is that how you spell it ? never mind you know what I mean ,Sid sang some favourite songs to us ,he has a lovely voice and he took us back to our teens ,ahhh ,for a while !He invited singers to the stage and Bella ,who is over eighty ,sang a lovely rendition of 'Welcome to my World',and I wasnt the only one wiping away a tear

And then Sid asked us to dance ,weeeeelllll ...He is playing ,'I am the music man 'I come from down you way and I can pla ay ,I play the Damn Busters ....der der der der da da dar darr ....See the turquoise aero plane !.... Hmm !

Think the one below must be' match of the day ' sig tune yerr ,thats Shirley with me .

And of course no party would be complete with out the birdy song ,'with a little bit of this and a little bit of that and you shake your bum ' That is Bella in the embroidered cardi ,I got her up for a waltz ,and she told me off for not following her ,thought I was taking the lead ,OH NO ! she is quite a gal ! bless her dear heart shes lovely .....

So there you have it dear friends ,I will try not to be awol so long next time ,as usual have a good day avoid that flu if you can (I dont recommend it )As usual lots of love from

Should old aquaintance be forgot ...

2009-01-01T12:40:00.004Z

I am hopelessly behind ,with the contents of my Dash board ,over the last two days ,what ever page I tried to open ,I got the message,page cannot be found ! Then after numerous attempts this morning.......it is now afternoon ,so we are well into the first day of 2009 ....I managed to find my blog ,and seem (touch wood and a good back wind )to be back on course ! Did you stay up to see in the New Year ? We did ,though we stuggled hee hee ! Maurice had a good excuse he had been to work from six till six ,but had a nap when he came in ,We had phone calls from the family last night and this morning ,and made some too ,Maurice is off now till Sunday ,we will probably go out tomorrow but today we will just chill out at home ,Chill, being the operative word here, it is very cold out .

We watched the fireworks on the TV ,from the London Eye ,what an amazing sight ,there were also some pretty amazing firewords around here at midnight ,Maurice watched them from the garden along with Glen our neighbour ,I couldnt go out with them I had a petrified little dog cuddled up to me ,poor Kizzie she hates fire works

I would like to wish all my Family and Friends near and Far ,A Happy Healthy Good New Year Maurice joins me in those wishes to you .....So as ever lots of love from

Now I can show you what I have been making !....

2008-12-29T07:34:00.016Z

So here as promised are the pictures of the the presents I made for Christmas ,for obvious reasons I couldnt show you before as I didnt want to spoil the surprise !
First is the cushion of Charlottes(my Granddaughter) quillow.....

and now the quilt part

Jean's (my sister)cushion

Jeans quilt

The cushion of Kate's (my Daughter)quillow

see the sheep ,in the left hand corner ?

The Quilt...

I embroidered the tree and ironed on the sheep !see here in detail ,still on embroidery frame !

All three quillows together amongst some of my cushions

And I made my older Daughter Sharon a cardigan

Oh yes ,along with a book token, we gave Jeans husband Pete a jar of pickled onions ....

Have a good day everyone ,with love from

A pictorial catch up!

2008-12-19T06:59:00.023Z

Good Morning everyone ,Well since I havent posted for simply ages ,I thought the best way to catch up would be with pictures of what we have been doing ,this very busy month ,The first two I took the other evening when the Santa Wagon came round ,This is done by the Rotary club who do such good works locally .

Now the next one is of the girls,we all went to Corby, Christmas shopping ,last Saturday ,of course we split up otherwise we wouldnt have got anything done ! Can you see Kate and Charlotte and Sara (my Grandson Matts girl friend)and me ?all on the left ,The others are friends .We all had a great time and spent lots of money hee hee .

And then ,the week before that ,Maurice and I went to Sunday lunch with Kate

And Martin

We had a lovely day .......,and some after dinner conversation!

Kate's boys hate having their pictures taken ,...Here is Sam

And Matt and Sara !

Oh yes, Sharon my older daughter, has a dog now ,he is called Milo ,but wont stand still to get his picture taken !

Here is Sharon trying to get him to pose .....NAH!

So now we come to the beginning of the month ,when I was at lunch ,with my friends at the over sixties club ,after a delicious lunch ,waited on royally by the gentlemen of the afore mentioned club ,we were entertained by the ladies WI drama group ,whose performance of Jack and the bean stalk held us all spell bound ,when we werent our splitting our sides laughing .....

Isnt this next one, charming? This lovely lady and Gentleman ,actually deliver my church magazine each month,and were happy to pose for me .

Oh yes, theres me ! Santa hat earings and Santa brooch !

The next one is of Len ,he collects me and brings me home each month, a lovely man .

The lovely lady in the centre of the picture is our hard working President Ina ,everyone loves her .

And here are the ladies I usually sit with ....

So now I am somewhat up to date ,with my blog I must now go ,and get back to the sewing machine I am on the very last lap .of the final Quillow ......I will take pictures when Im done so that can see what has been keeping me so busy,Have a lovely day everyone ,It wont be long now Ooooo! as usual lots of love from ....

Its getting nearer !

2008-12-09T11:21:00.017Z

As my title says it is getting nearer.... Christmas I mean !do you like the Santa graphic? of course you do, it is one of our dear Donna's ,who as you know has been very poorly ,but we all send our love and continue to pray for her fast and complete recovery .Well before we go any further I want to share with you some pictures we took at Sheila's recent 80th birthday party ,Sheila was married to the late Aubrey who was my late husband Micks brother ,phew are you with me so far ? Well we worked out I have known Sheila now for 52 years ,gosh ! when Mick took me home to meet his family I was 16 ,in many ways she has been like a big sister ,always there to offer her advice and support ,And when Mick died her and Aubrey were our Rocks ,

Here is Sheila thanking us all for coming ..etc..doesnt she look lovely ?(I think all ages have a certain Beauty ) here Sheila proves that point .

Aubrey and Sheila have two lovely daughters ,who in turn have delightful husbands and familys ,here is Bridget left and Judith right ,Judith is making a lovely tribute speech to her Mum .

The three remaining brothers ...are Victor ,Dougie and Peter between and behind them ,

Here is me with Dot, and Stan her husband ,Dot was Micks sister ,Dot and I have always been close ..

Sheila and Peter

Dot just arriving next to my Kate

Dougie ,his wife Joyce ,my sister Jean and my daughter in law Chrissie ,who very bravely drove us there and back in the fog !There I hope you enjoyed a look at our party pictures,

And lots of love Jan xx

Cinderella comes to the Fens ..

2008-12-02T07:45:00.021Z

Imagine my delight ,last Friday when I went up to town ,and discovered a lot of the shop windows were telling me a story ,a favourite one with us all ,Cinderella,I started of passing the antique shop ,(I wish I was a better photographer) but Im sure you will enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed looking into these shop windows....

Below is the vets

now the bakers

The accountants

Good old Lavender Blue ,never lets us down !

The Childrens clothes shop

And the dress agency (love this shop I often go in here ! )

With a real glass slipper ! see it ?

How lovely, they all lived happily ever after , I hope you enjoyed our walk around the shops ? as much as I did ,have a lovely day ....with love

Brrr it's still Autumn !

2008-11-25T11:46:00.008Z

The above graphic was made by Missie ,who rightly said how proud of it she is, having won a competion with it ,

As it has been so cold and damp here, I havent ventured far the last few days ,we had no snow ,well none that settled ,the winds have been strong ,and did I say its been cold brrr ?I havent been idle though , just completed another quillow,it is for my Granddaughter Charlotte's Christmas present ,and I have started yet another one also a present ,and I have knitted the back and a sleeve and a half of a cardigan ,also a present ,back to good old fashioned Christmas ,home made presents ,made with love !

Maurice is at work today ,the last of six ,he will be off for three days,so we may be busy , and find somewhere to go .Then on Saturday ,when Maurice goes back to work ,Chrissie my daughter in law ,my Daughter Kate ,sister Jean and I are going to my late Husband's, sister in laws Eightieth Birthday party ,Her Husband Aubrey died last year ,but her daughters who are giving her the party said Dad would have wanted her to have a party ,so it will be nice to see everyone again ,I did venture out to the co op ,which is just down the road ,yesterday and bought a couple of books in there ,a Tess Gerritson that I hadnt read and an Ian Rankin they were £1.99 each not bad ?as well as whatever else it was I had run out of !As I said to my Kate when she rang yesterday, life revolves round the 'computer ,the telephone,the sewing macine,the TV and the cooker ,probably in that order hee hee ....poor hoover and ironing board ! '.....Any way to continue the theme started on my journal I am posting some pictures I took of Lavender Blues latest window display ,

Ah well better get back to the sewing machine ! Have a good day everyone and keep warm ,With love from,

Answers on a postcard please ....

2008-11-22T14:07:00.016Z

No header today ,I have spent nearly all day trying to do this entry ,Last Monday Maurice and I went to St Ives again ,we like that little market town ,it is the St Ives in Cambridgeshire,not the one in Cornwall,otherwise we would be visiting Jayne ,I had spoken about us going when I saw Charlotte on Saturday and she promptly recited the rhyme ,

As I was going to Ives,

I met a man with seven wives,

Every wife had seven sacks,

Every sack had seven cats,

Every cat had seven kits,

Kits , cats , sacks , and wives,

How many were going to St. Ives?

It reminded me of some pictures I had taken on our way there ,some time ago ,fields with llamas ,these were taken when they had all been shorn ,Thankfully I noticed that their fleeces have grown again ,Think of all that lovely knitting wool 'corr '

We called in at the Garden and leisure centre too and guess what ? You remember those big polar bears that were for sale ? Maurice drew my attention to the fact that they had all been sold ...thought we were in a credit squeeze ,I hadnt noticed I had my head down making for the craft section ,Well I think that is it for today,except to say it has turned very cold so if you are going out wrap up ,you can borrow my socks if you like ... lots of Love

The tenants conferance

2008-11-12T13:07:00.006Z

Hi again ,every one ,before it becomes ancient history , I thought I would post some pictures of our Tenants conferance that we attended on November 1st ,held recently at the Deaf /blind association building (we hold it there as we need a big venue ,so therefore we are suporting a worthy cause ,rather than one of the big hotel conferance rooms where they charge the earth )As well as work shops ,(the one I went to was safety in the home )We have speakers ,on varios subjects, competions ie best garden etc Lots of lovely eats and chats to our friends ,This year a group of us thought it would be nice for us to hold a craft exibition ,of craft work done by our residents ,Needless to say I took some of the things I have made ,

but Jackie ,Jen and I were delighted by the amount of clever people who brought along examples of their handiwork Janice and Dick our Tenant Participation Managers were pleased with the results too ,and gave us all some delicous choccies to show their Appreciation

Here I am all packed up to go ! big bag of craft stuff and table covers etc ,and my old sewing machine not the one I use ,an old one I have ,that added to the display !!

Jackie ,Jen and I ...(the three J's )

Here is our lovely Janice showing of the cake that was made for the occasion,

We were entertained by these very talented singers ,

Jan and Maria ..who is a Housing manager chatting away ,

See the toy dog wearing Kizzies sweater ! and my Quillow

My poncho ,and sewing machine with a part made cushion cover !,can be seen in this one beside that book of beautiful paintings ,we also had the most amazing cross stitch embroidery on show too .

Bestest friends Jackie and Jan

And last but not least Maurice and I ......

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of our pictures ,as ever with love from ....

We must Remember them ....

2008-11-09T13:59:00.004Z

With thanks to my dear friend Debbie who made this very special tag for me last year .

Last evening Maurice and I watched The Royal British Legion service of remembrance from the Albert Hall, on Television .It was as impressive as ever, Her Majesty the Queen ,and her family were in attendance ,as well as members of the government ,All the ranks of the British forces were represented ,we sang along with some of the songs ,We admired the displays ,and we shed tears at some of the stories told ,we joined in the prayers held at the Drum Head service .No one watching could fail to be moved.
This morning ,after saying we might go off to the market ,We had turned on the TV ,and got caught up with the service of remembrance from The Cenotaph, held in Whitehall in London , again her Majesty and members of the Royal family were there and all laid wreaths ,as did members from all the services and the government ,There was of course the two minutes silence ,wreaths were laid from all over the Commonwealth ,until there was just a sea of poppy’s
After the First World War, it was decided that the poppy should be the emblem, and it was a Canadian John McRae, who wrote
In Flanders field the poppies grow,
Between the crosses row on row.

I tried to take some pictures from the TV screen ,most were not fit to be put onto here ,but one of Prince William ,just after he had placed his wreath ,was worth posting ,What a wonderful young man ,

They shall not grow old ,as we that are left grow old ,age shall not weary them nor the years condem,at the going down of the sun ,and in the morning ,we will remember them ,
Have a blessed Sunday everyone ...love Jan xx

The lost pictures !!

2008-11-08T11:21:00.014Z

Thankyou Chris for todays lovely graphic ...

Now detemined not to let these pictures beat me , I put in some more today ,and I have to say I didnt take them for obvious reasons...The ones in the frames were taken by our President Ina ,and it was she who put them into the lovely frames , and e mailed them to me ,so no ,I cant take the credit for that !!The rest were taken by a friend with my camera ,and as she wasnt very familiar with the camera ,They could have been better ,but I am grateful for the ones she took ,she did say she didnt take a picture of all the outfits 'cos' some she didnt like !!! bless her hee hee OH! and no I didnt buy anything ,though many people did,A.I didnt take my cheque book ,and B. I can always buy from the shop when we go to St Ives ....wasnt I good ? This one is Shirley in her trousers and gilet

Helen in a similar out fit

Betty here is showing off a little jumper under her suit

Helen again ,chose all warm clothes, wise girl and looked so lovely in all her outfits

This is one I deleted by mistake the other day !

Shirley ready for bed ,

Shirley Betty and me! night night hee he

Enjoy your week end every one with love from

When I grow up I want to be a model !!!!

2008-11-06T12:07:00.012Z

I have spent all morning putting this entry together ,first it posted itself and I had to find out how to delete it and start again ,well here goes ,....and I had planned to put the pictures from our craft display at the tenants conference .that I went to on Saturday ,maybe that would be too ambitious so I will just show you the pictures from the fashion show ,that 'Edinburgh Wool Shop'in St Ives put on for our over sixties group ,and as I told you eaqrlier I had been invited to be a model !!!,four ladies went last week to select outfits to be worn... a selection of which I have put on here for you to see ,what I wore yesterday , I will do an entry about the Tenants conference another day .

The first out fit is for golf , black trousers a cream polo neck sweater and a little pullover ,in navy and pink ..

Grey trousers and little blue Jacket
Slipping off the jacket a navy jumper worn with the grey trousers

A nice evening outfit consisting of black trousers ,a black lace camisole top and a pretty cerise cardigan hembroidery detail

And a turquoise plaid skirt ,with watching jumper and little boucle jacket ,that you can see I am having trouble with because it caught on the matching bracelet I was wearing .

And for the finally there was a picture of us all in our night wear but I seem to have deleted it ,I will show you on another entry I cant go through all that again lol .So thats what I did yersterday ,Tomorrow I am off to a forum meeting ,so I will have more to tell you next time ,

As ever lots of love from

Another busy week ....

2008-11-02T12:57:00.010Z

Sunday morning, Maurice has gone back to work today, it does feel strange. He was off for two weeks before his operation, so has been here for two months, Ah well I suppose I will be able to get back into some sort of routine again! Though thinking about it, I don’t do routines well! Since I last posted I have been busy ,Last Monday Maurice and I went to St Ives ,there is a lovely Market there as I have said before ,A great haberdashery stall ,where I buy buttons and other craft accessories .Then on Tuesday I went again to St Ives this time with the ladies from our over sixties group ,We went to the’ Edinburgh wool shop’ to select outfits to be worn at a fashion show they do for our group ,with members as models ! So watch this space.
On Thursday , Maurice went to see a couple of his friends who where fishing at Godmanchester ,so he dropped me off in Huntingdon ,where I did some shopping A book (of course)Patricia Cornwell’s ‘At Risk’ . And some much needed cosmetics, I had nearly run out of blusher and I got a couple of eyeshadows from Boots, buy two get third free and a colour for my hair and some tights! ,and then my Boots points, I do love a bargain ,I guess we all do .Thursday late afternoon we went to Peterborough ,to see my Son Mark and his wife Chrissie, they have moved house so we had to go and check it out!
On Friday, when Maurice went to get his hair cut I put my colour on my hair and cut it .and started to get my stuff ready for the Tenants conference .My Daughter Kate and Grandson Sam have been down to Dorset To visit my son Derek and his wife Tricia and the three boys , whist the children were on half term ,so after Derek had dropped them off at Kate’s he popped over to see us .So as you see it has been a busy week ,then yesterday Saturday I was up early and off we went to Peterborough for the Annual Tenants conference ,but I think I will leave that for another entry ,

We went to see Mark and Chrissie and of course Blue

Floyd was pleased to see us too ...

Mark and Maurice

Isnt he gorgeous ? ..

I hate these ..taken by surprise pictures dont you ?

Paul (my Grandson and his girlfriend )Tamara came over with Derek .see who else got in the picture !

Have Blessed Sunday Everyone .....with love from ...

Pictures

2008-10-29T14:33:00.012Z

Oh dear! did you think I had posted an empty page ? I have posted a variety of pictures today ,just to prove ....that I can hee hee .The top graphic(thankyou Caroline )is so much like where we live here in the Fens .And then a couple more pictures from the garden centre.Correction one more picture !

And then Maurice took the pictures below of the fish in Martins pond ,it is a raised pond and you can see the edge of it behind all Kate's animals .

There can you see?

A donkey a deer and a black pig !

Sam and a friend and Charlotte in my daughter Sharon's pub,

Iain was home on leave so we had gone over to visit ,see Charlotte and Sharon trying not to have her picture taken ,

These two dont mind smiling for Gan !

Here is Stuart another Grandson,and when he saw me he said ''I like your shoes Gran ,THEY ARE FRISKY ''

What do you think ? they have kitten heel and are so comfy !

I think that is it for today ,so I will close for now with love from

Still trying...... very !

2008-10-24T13:17:00.004+01:00

I would say good morning everyone ,well it was ,when I started this entry ,I have tried so many times ....but here goes again ,Joan http://joansnewmusings.blogspot.com has been trying so patiently to explain things to me ,about the graphic and picture set up so fingers crossed and here we go ~
Donna http://dsdesignsandotherthings.blogspot.com/thank you for the graphics today and for the one that got away, on my previous entry,before I was ready lol so I got to choose another one hee hee !since they only seem to allow five pictures and that includes the graphics and siggie,unless you know any different ? I have just put in a few of the pictures we took ,

This is one of many scenes around the store ,I will add more another time if you can bear to look at Christmas things just yet ,it was all so lovely I wanted to share them with you ....

There were groups ,of these very life like polar bears all around the store ,and Reindeer too ,Darn't show my daughter Kate she would want to buy them all .....

This one with me is priced at £499! Oh and do you like this cardi I made I actually bought the pattern for it in this store in the summer ...Well since my script keeps changing I am going to close with love from

Gosh I really think I have done it !! hooray !!

2008-10-24T13:13:00.000+01:00

Delicious Autumn

2008-10-23T12:06:00.003+01:00

No animation on this one Donna! but still lovely ,and with a favourite quote too ,
Well I promised would ,let you know all the things that have kept me busy the last few days .So here goes ...last week after the funeral I went on the Thursday to a meeting with the Residents newsletter group ,where we began to plan the Christmas edition of the newsletter ,it is going to be interesting ,two residents gave us accounts of their holidays ,Jackie went to Canada,to visit a long lost cousin who she had rediscovered on Friends Reunited in Cambridge ,she got all excited at her finding Sandra ,only to find it was Cambridge in Canada ,not England ,but not to be deterred off she went after much planning and excitment ,and not a little trepidation ,to have the experiance of a life time .And then Ann went with her son and daughter in law to Singapore and Australia,Ann asked me to type up her account and it makes interesting reading Then on the Friday ,ugh that was two days in a row I was up and dressed and out of the house early ,(I dont do mornings anymore lol .)The Residents Forum had a study day ...now I have done these courses before when I was at work but it doesnt hurt to refresh ,does it ?The subject was ;negotiation,well to me that means getting your own way ,so you either flutter your eyelashes or sulk hee hee ,however we all had a good day ,and a delicious lunch ,jacket potatoes quiche salad,followed by trifle ,at the weekend we had lots of visitors all checking on Maurice's progress ,Jean and Pete came also Michael and Jackie which we all enjoyed ,,On Tuesday Maurice got brave a drove me over to the Huntingdon Garden and Leisure ,where I bought some craft bits ,we had a cappuchino and I took some pictures of the Christmas decorations ,if you can bear to see them and I find out how to put them into the body of the post after a heading and the entry ,I cant seem to add a final siggy tag either ,but never mind ....one day ?.....Oh yes I had my flue jab yesterday morning another up early and out !!

So for now I will close....with love Jan xx

Let Go ,Let God....

2008-10-20T12:15:00.003+01:00

Well, I seem to have slipped back in to my old ways, not posting often! However I did have a very busy week last week,I last posted on the Saturday now when I look at my blog I’m sick to death looking at the back of my own head lol as I’m sure you are !So here goes ,Well on the Sunday, Maurice’s brother and his wife Jackie came to visit ,and then on the Monday , thats a week today,because Maurice wasn’t driving still (he has done a bit now, just up to our town )Pete my sister Jean’s husband came to get me and we all went to Dear Jenny’s funeral ,Jo is my niece and Jean and Pete’s daughter ,Jenny was her Mother in law, Tony’s Mum ,I hope I have explained that ok ! Jenny died suddenly the week before it was such a shock for us all, if it is possible to have a lovely funeral, then this one was, Jenny was a lovely Lady slightly younger than me ,her Dear Husband David had died four years ago ,and she never really got over losing him ,she had missed him so much ,they had been together since she was thirteen ,meeting each other at the Methodist Sunday School ,Jenny’s faith was strong all her life ,and her service was to quote her sister ” Just Jenny”, We started with the’ Hymn How Sweet the name of Jesus Sounds’, after the opening prayers . Her eldest Granddaughter Beth read a psalm so beautifully, And her Daughter Karen, told us some lovely things about her Mum ,and read a poem of her Mothers, Jenny wrote the most wonderful poetry ,and has been published ,Whilst Tony, Karen and Jo ,were searching among Jenny’s things for Jenny’s’ list ‘which they all felt sure she had left ,but couldn’t find anywhere ,they decided at least some of Jenny’s poems should be read at the service ,so after selecting the ones most appropriate ,they went to put the folder of poems away ,and there on the table was a piece of paper ,it was Jenny’s list !so we were able to sing the hymns Jenny had loved ,and her family were able to carry out her wishes ,We then sang ,Immortal, Invisible, God only wise ,and then Tony told us his memory’s of his Mum ,and thanked her for all she had done for them ,he then also read one of his Mothers poems ,that she had written after a visit to her childhood home village ,so very moving ,The service closed with the hymn ,’Oh Lord My God, when I in awesome wonder ,……We all went back to the Beautiful old Orton hall, for a lovely meal and lots of family chat, and Corrine, Jenny’s sister and I slipped outside in the afternoon sunshine and to talk about how Jenny and I would slip away for a crafty puff too ! Corrine left me with this thought, which I thought I would share with you all, When you seem to be burdened with troubles and worry’s that you really cant do any thing about, “Let Go, Let God”…I wont tell you about the rest of the week on this entry ,but will pop back later , So as usual Love

Lovely Sunny Autumn day

2008-10-11T16:45:00.006+01:00

Hello again ,I wonder how many you are able to get through and read this...We took some pictures in the garden this morning ,before shopping ,I wanted to show you the jumper/sweater I have just made ,the blue one ,it looked good with a cream jumper underneath and cream trousers and was lovely and warm ,then as I was putting the pictuires from the camera onto the computer You know who has to help hee .
I had a phone call from Jeannette this morning ,she is extemely distressed to find she has lost her internet connection ,so if any of you are wondering why she hasnt commented on your blog ,that is the reason ,though ,in the meantime I suggest we all continue to comment on hers ,At -Outside-Looking in-Jeannette's Jottings ,to let her know we miss her when she isnt around ,And so dear Friends Iam now going to see about making some dinner ..........as ever love Jan xx

Back among the archives

2008-10-10T15:16:00.004+01:00

Hi Everyone once again ,gosh I have never made so many entry's in so few days ,I am enjoying finding out all the new things available to us ,so very trial and error though isnt it ? I have just come in from taking Kizzie for a walk ,what a lovely afternoon we both enjoyed being out in the sun shine ,I hasten to add the picture above isn't where we walked ,that is Stourhead gardens in Wiltshire,my son his wife and family live near there ,and it is beautiful .Derek and Trisha were married in the little church that over looks the gardens .
I have decided before I do anymore work on the new blog,I am going to use the one with my journals archive ,plus the new one 's gadgets didn't always work and these ones do ,so it makes sense to me to use this one ,sooooo if I can ask all my follower's to join me here http://serendipitylives-jan.blogspot.com/ I would really appreciate it

Look at Kizzie ,is she making a note of my new link do you think ? or maybe writing a thank you note to you all for your patience with her Missis,Well that is it for today ,Thankyou all joining me love you Jan xx

I just put this entry on my old journal

2008-10-09T20:21:00.000+01:00

Have managed to migrate my journalIt is appropriate I use one of Donna's tags to add here ,she called this one New Beginnings,rather apt since AOL have redeemed them selves somewhat and allowed us to take our old journals with us.Along with many of our graphics and comments too ,I followed the instuctions given on 'Magic Smoke 'at first I was adding the wrong password ,then when I put in the correct one ....Voila !! It worked like a dream I couldnt believe it ,now I have just one problem ,do I continue on this one now ,or will I carry on with the one that Dear Yasmin has been on the phone all afternoon helping me to sort out ,what patience that girl has ,I will add the link anyway .... http://serendipitylives-jan.blogspot.com/ but will let you know what I decide,well I guess this is where I sing to you all that lovely song from 'The Sound of Music' sung by the children ''Farewell Goodbye,lol la lol la la ...and Love From Jan at Serendipity xx See ya over Yonder

I didnt last long

2008-10-07T21:43:00.000+01:00

Tuesday, 7 October 2008

Im Blocked

I opened up my computer this morning to find an email from Kath ,(My Simple Rhymes) to say she had been blocked ,Hmm ?? Now what have you been up to Kath ? Surely you having started chucking those tangerines around all ready ....Read more emails ,get rid of spam ,no thankyou,I dont want holidays, credit,singles group or Viagra ...read on Oh Joy I have been blocked too ,Was it because of all the moaning I did yesterday hee hee ,do you think? I rang Kath and we decided someone had pressed that flag BY MISTAKE ,Hopefully ???

Maurice and I walked ,all the way up to the Doctors this morning because he still isnt alowd to drive ,we walked at five miles a fortnight ,but got there ok ,and back home again Phew ...the Doctor gave him a sick note for two more weeks ,after soup and rolls, we sat down to watch the award show that we had recorded last night ,For the best crime thriller ,film . TV series ,book. etc It was excellent the category I voted for was won by the wonderful Colin Dexter the writer of the Inspector Morse ,played by the late great John Thaw,I had voted for my favourite Author Val MacDermid,and will aplaud what the gorgeous Robson Green who plays Tony Hill in Wire in the Blood ''If you havent voted for Val?I know her well,she has friends who could harm you ''hee hee well said Robson ...I really dont know why Im posting as Im blocked but hey ,,love you all Jan xx

0 comments:

Try this one, Please

2008-10-02T15:54:00.000+01:00

Sorry folks not a good start ,try this one ....love Jan xx

http://serendipity-jan.blogspot.com/

MY NEW BLOG

2008-10-02T14:53:00.000+01:00

Well there certainly lots of these going on at the moment,Goings from journals ,because we have no choice and coming round to thinking if the blog is the way to go......When I heard on Monday that we were to lose our journals I was devastated ,but like many of you I am prepared to give this blog idea a go ,I cant say Im comfortable with it ,I hope to learn more as I go along I can honestly say though at the minute I dont know whether Im coming or going hee hee .

I have managed to link to some of you ,but others I havent Jeannette and Sandra are two that I cant ....HELP !!

Here is the link to the new Serendipity,~ http://serendipity-jan.blogspot.com/

I do hope you will visit me as I plan to visit you all ,so as usual ..love

Three years

2008-09-01T13:12:00.000+01:00

Very special hello today to you all, yes a red letter day for me, you see today Serendipity is THREE YEARS OLD today, I cant believe it is now three years since I plucked up courage and pressed save on my first entry and joined you all, so many dear friends I have met, so much of our lives we have shared, both good and bad.

Another reason for today being special, I had a phone call from Stuart my Grandson this morning to tell me he had passed his driving test ,Well done Stuart now Vicki wont have to do all the driving ! He didn’t tell anyone he was having lessons so this has come as a complete but lovely surprise.

Well September the first has started well lots of sunshine ,a cool breeze ,(the washing is blowing on the line )typical now the children return to school ,the weather has improved but for how long is anyone’s guess ,Iam not complaining though, because my heart is aching for those poor people in the path of Gustav.And we in the UK are watching the news bulletins ,with horror.

I promised you I would show you the pictures of the lovely wedding I went to in July , Gary my nephew ,Godson ,and Jean and Pete’s son married his lovely Holly at a civil ceremony at The Marriot hotel ,And as they both have a boy and a girl each ,it was a really lovely family wedding ,Un fortunately Maurice had to work ,(it was right in the middle of the holiday season ,so he couldn’t get cover .) I stayed at Jeans as did Pete’s sister Judy so as you can guesswe had a lovely girly time getting ready, and afterwards, talking into the night (poor Pete) I took a lovely video film .but Iam afraid I cant share it as it isn’t digital, but still lovely for them to keep ,They had a lovely honeymoon in Turkey .

And so before I close this entry ,with my love to you all as usual ,I want to say thank you to all of you who have commented supported me and allowed me into their lives too

Did you see my tag Debbie made for me ,that will go into my side bar along with the one she made for me last year Thanks Deb x,And just before I go Iwant to say congratulations to Sara ,who has been journaling now for four years

Remember me ?

2008-08-25T15:29:00.000+01:00

Hi every one, remember me? Don’t ask where I’ve been cos I’m not sure myself! Thank you to all of you who inquired about my absence, Iam fine really, I think I just needed a break from the computer, I have been busy doing other things though, Maurice, Kate and Martin and I spent a lovely weekend in Leicester to celebrate my niece Wendy and her husbands thirtieth wedding anniversary, We stayed at my lovely Niece Stella’s house, and her and Steve made us so welcome, lots of pictures to show you another time, then my nephew Gary(Jean and Pete’s son) got married to lovely Holly..Ditto the pictures! ,Charlotte my Granddaughter came to stay for a week so we had lots of super girly time together, she is growing up so quickly fourteen now! I made myself yet another cardigan, and a little summer jumper….finished the quillow!

Being on the editorial team, another resident’s news letter has been compiled and as I’m also on the Forum we are currently planning the tenant’s conference to be held in November.

One piece of exciting news to share ….my clever Grandson Matthew (Kate and Martin’s son) achieved excellent grades in his GCSE exams and is now looking forward to the sixth form.

Last Wednesday I joined residents from a court I used to do holiday and sick cover at, and where my friend Jackie lives, we went to Dudley, is that in Warwickshire? To the Black Country Museum, We stepped back in time to see what life was like living along side a canal, in a mining community, ,and Jackie and Ienjoyed faggots and mushy pes and chips for our lunch !so now Iam going to see if I can remember how to add pictures, so I will close as usual, with lots of

Three weeks absence tut tut !

2008-07-09T11:20:00.000+01:00

Hello again everyone, remember me? I have been missing in action, due to a computer/writers block…. however I have been busy doing lots of other things ,I finished a cardigan ,that had been hanging around for a while ,

I have been working on the quillow , I have been to a couple of meetings for the residents forum ,and a lot of stuff has been happening in the garden ,until the rains came !It really is amazing how much you can do if you don’t sit at the computer for long periods of time ! Ah well, you couldn’t keep me away forever!! I left you with plans for the party in the park, and what an amazing success, over a hundred members of the R###e family came, my son Derek came up from Dorset,

his son Christopher (I didn’t see much of Chris as he was playing with all his cousins and second cousins) a niece came from County Durham with her family, another from Corby, another from Stamford, My late husband Mick’s sisters Connie and Dot from Leicester with all her family ,his brothers Peter and Dougie with their family’s my family including my sister Jean and her husband Pete ,although we had torrential rain over night ,and it was a bit windy ,but the sun shone and out of the wind it was quite warm ,because a few of the family caravanned and camped overnight some of us went for a meal on the Saturday evening prior to the party .So yes we all had a fantastic day ,My daughter in law Chrissie went to collect Connie who at 83 ,came just for the afternoon ,she came with her picnic in her Harrods bag ,announcing she had a presentation to make ….many years ago ,in the early 1970’s a lady gave me a cup and saucer, Connie had admired the cup and said you must be careful with that ,don’t let your children break it ! So I gave it to her, to look after for me until my children had grown up! Well she gave it back to me, with a slip of paper inside that said ‘Staffordshire 1840’, she had checked up on it for me,

So there we are the first part of my catch up entrys,I will be back soon with more ...as ever love from

Thankyou to Donna for todays Graphicsxx

"Party in the Park "

2008-06-18T12:14:00.000+01:00

Good morning everyone, though it could well be afternoon by the time I post this!

Do you remember I told you a couple of months ago , another one of my late husbands brothers had died ,so we all went of to Warwick for his funeral ,and as ever when we all get together ,we said , we only ever get together for sad occasions , we should have a gathering when as many of us as possible can meet up .Well weather permitting ,it is going to happen ,On Sunday as many as can will meet up in a local parkland ,starting at 11 am ,and going on until whenever !Some are going to camp ,some are coming in caravans ,we will drive over for the day and many others will do the same ,

Here you can see a picture of my late husband’s family all together taken in the late 50’s , there were seven boys (yes we were seven brides for seven brothers )and three girls ,but sadly four of the brothers are no longer with us ,and Eileen and her Husband Gerald emigrated to Canada with their daughter Sheila ,shortly after the picture was taken ,So those of us that are left are coming with our spouses ,children ,grandchildren and in some cases great grandchildren , casts of thousands ! Every one is bringing a picnic, and I must make sure my batteries are charged formy camera,

Here is a picture of our Kate and her Aunty Dot (my lovely sis in law )

You will guess lots of preparation has been going on via emails text messages and phone calls, with us all getting more and more excited ,My Daughter Kate and sister in law Dot’s daughter Julie ,have been the main organisers ,Julie rang Kate one day saying” have you seen the advert for Waitrose “? There are lots of people picnicking, and they have a wonderful blanket for them all to sit on! “And so my Kate always up for a challenge promptly emails Waitrose, and asks if it could be bought or borrowed, and the following is the email, she received back from them!

Dear Mrs R,

Thank you for your e-mail.

Following the filming of the ad in Durban, South Africa, the blanket was donated to the Waitrose Foundation, a project dedicated to improving the lives of South African Farm Workers who grow and pick fruit for the supermarket. Farm workers at Westfalia Farm, an avocado growing farm in the Limpopo Province, will turn the blanket into over 400 individual quilts with workers being paid for each quilt they make. The quilts will then be donated to crèches across Waitrose Foundation farms and distributed to the workers of the Foundation farms for use in their homes.

Regards,

Chris Zawadski

Waitrose Customer Service.

and if you care to click on the url below you can see the advert

http://www.waitrose.com/summer08/video.aspx

As ever lots of love

Busy doing nothing, working the whole day long ....

2008-06-06T11:13:00.000+01:00

Maurice starts work at six o clock in the morning so he leaves home early, and doesn’t usually wake me, but rings around nine am to say good morning, and check we are OK ,he asked what my plans were for today ? well I said hmm I might go shopping and spend lots of money ,or I might go back to bed with my book ,or I might do some washing cos I’ve run out of ironing ! Or I might do some sewing, I am making a patch work quillow as Marie Alice Joan once suggested and kindly sent me the instructions (a Quillow is a quilt which folds into a built in pocket to form a pillow) “Use me as a pillow, unless you get cold, then pull out my stuffing and gently unfold, I’m a lap quilt now with a place for your feet, and when your all done, fold me back nice and neat “,

I can’t take the dog out for a walk, as she is in an interesting condition, I will vacuum later, and I cleaned the cooker yesterday (as well as my halo!) I hate that job, who does? ….

Mort, dear man awarded me with a caring friend award so I think while I am machining my patches together I will be thinking who among you, to pass on this award to, and that is hard because you are all so caring ,and so instead of just talking about it I had better get on ,So as usual to you all love from

Thankyou to Win for my siggy today .

Its Warm and sunny ....Sometimes I lie !

2008-06-03T12:19:00.000+01:00

Yet another wet day, here in East Anglia, and even a flood warning for the area, the people who were flooded last year must be living in dread of it happening again. We are lucky where I live I can only imagine it is because of the way the Fens are drained, and can be more easily controlled by all the different drainage systems.

We finally went to the Garden centre in Huntingdon the other week, Freda, you told me about it very early on when discovered we lived quite near each other, (when Maurice was off) Maurice is planning to do some more things in the garden so the first time we went it was a reccy to see what was available, and prices etc, Well we were pleasantly surprised at the amount of things they stock, what a selection, I bought an African violet and a dog kennel! And the second visit resulted in, spending lots of money, and more still to be spent, I will of course show you the end product when it is done, but that wont be for a while yet!

And what a great craft section they have, well you can imagine I will want to back again and again …..

As I said we bought a kennel for Kizzie and though she helped to build it, she has no intention of using it, mind with the weather as it is at the moment I can’t say I blame her !

Iain is home again getting used to his land legs, I haven’t seen him yet but we have been speaking on the phone, And Sharon went down by train to watch his ship come in, what a thrill !I wish I had gone with her now ….
Hey! …. I think it has stopped raining so I am going to dash to the shops, so have a good day everyone with love
Thanks to Debbie for my siggy today