Has he been yet ?

A very happy Christmas eve everyone ,I cant believe I havent done an entry for six days ,though I managed to keep up with the alerts and comments ,just !I didnt even turn the commputer on ,on Monday and Wednesday ,both of those days I worked and went out in the evening ,so the following days were spent playing catchup !!I think everything is under control now ,So as I promised Ally ..........

My Dad loved to sing ,in my head there is a whole song book of songs he sang ,what ever he was doing hed be either singing or whistling ,though if I were to whistle hed say ,stop that ! "A whistling woman and a crowing hen ,neither any good to God nor men !!!" When I was really small ,(and remember the war was still on) ,this was the song he sang to me every Christmas.

I met a little fellow with a letter in his hand, he asked me if Id post it in the box to fairy land , So I  slipped it in the mail box for that little curly head it seemed to make him happy as he smiled and said .......Im sending a letter to Santa Claus ,a letter I hope he;ll recieve ,he;ll get alot of letters for playthings from other girls and boys ,But I want my soldier Daddy who;s better than all those toys ,So Im sending a letter to Santa Claus to bring Daddy safely home to me !                    (Is that sad enough for you? dear Ally !)

Well I guess thats it for today ,still things to do, as Im sure you all have so I wont hold you up any longer,except to say   have a lovely day tomorrow ,and thankyou to all my lovely J land friends ,for all the pleasure you have given me .......With all my love ,                     Have blessed Christmas time                      Jan xx 

Not long now

Goodmorning everyone ,Maurice came in at about six fifty this morning,and after a quick cuppa .Went to bed and is sound asleep ;so Im busy finding quiet persuits ,so I wont desturb him ,though he does sleep quite soundly once hes off ! I was busy last evening  after hed gone to work ,putting up even more strings of Christmas cards ,I found the tree ,and lights but not the baubles !!Hmm ?no doubt at the back of the hall cupboard ;I also wrapped up most of the presents ,to be passed around the family when we assemble at Sharons pub ,tomorrow night ,as you will see the two big bags ready to take!right thats explained most of the pictures !The fairy ,I hear you say what is that ?!!Well Charlotte my eleven year old ,and only Grandaughter ,(eight grandsons!) made the fairy when she was four ,at play group,and though her doilly dress is getting very yellow and the tinsel is not as bright as it once was ,I love her !although Charlotte fanes embarrasment when she sees her ,I know she is secretly pleased to see her again ,and pleased to know I keep her year by year .I used to have another fairy,but she got lost ....!She was the butt of a lot of jokes ,especially when my kids were teenagers ,they would love to point her out to their friends To look at her she was quite nice with pretty wings ,nice blonde hair ,and a lacy dress ,but on closer inspection she was found to have cross eyes and green knickers !! As I say she was lost for many years ,and then she appeared a couple of years ago ;with my daughter Catherine s (you know my Kate ) tree stuck up her posteriar ,!Theres my fairy I shriek ,amidst her laughter Kate said you gave her to me !did I?I might have done ??Mothers do strange things lol ....did I ?HMM

THE SUN IS SHINING HERE ,SO HAVE A BLESSED SUNDAY

        With Love from Jan xxxxx

Caroling through J-Land

Donna ,of nightmaremom fame ,suggests we do an entry entitled Caroling through J-Land ,with our favourite carol ............So I have chosen ..Away in a manger ,no crib for a bed ,the little Lord Jesus lays down his sweet head .

On December 11th  1961 ,my second baby boy was born .twenty months after the birth of his big brother Mark .Derek was born in a big house ,where at that time one floor was taken over as a Maternity unit .A big house wonderful architecture ,lovely grounds,Oliver Cromwell is reputed to have stayed there ,so although I dont know its age ;that at least puts it to the time of Henry V111.It is called Thorpe Hall and is in Peterborough .Some years ago now it was sold.And is now owned and run by The Sue Ryder foundation,who do wonderful work ,palliative ,respite care  etc for cancer sufferers .

I came home from the maternity home on the late morning of  December 23rd ,and after settling baby and me in at home ,my late husband Mick ,went to a village a few miles away to get Mark who had been staying at my Mums .After introducing Mark to his new baby brother ,we settled them in for the night and as we sat down to eat ,we heard the carol singers at our gate ,being a village everyone new Id come home with our new little one ,We opened the door and was greeted with crys of delight and good wishes for us and our little boys ,Before they sang for us.. Away in a manger . 

All these years later I still wipe away a tear when I hear that carol .And Ive had lots of opportunities to do just that ,I went on to have two lovely Daughters and between them  they have given me nine fantastic Grandchildren ,so I have been to many nativities ,over the years ,where Ive indulged in shedding ,what must amount to a lake of (happy )tears .

       With Love Jan xx 

Ladies who lunch!

Hi ,everyone ,just a quickie today Ive not long been in .Left for work at eight this morning ,I worked through till twelve then ,joined the other Managers ,for a very nice lunch .I started with a prawn cocktail,(I know no imagination )but I love prawns !Then chicken with bacon ,brie and a piquant cranberry and rasberry sauce ,drizzeled over it ,with all the nice veg ,parsnips,carrots ,brussels and creamed potatoes with swede ,I couldnt eat a sweet so opted for a very nice cheese board and coffee .The girls were all on good form ,were all happy to see each other ,we swopped Christnmas cards ,and lots of lively banter ,I went for a ciggy with Anita ,she wanted to know what I get up too in my retirement ,I told her about my journal ,discovered shes with aol ,so she is going to have a look .Well this has to be a short one today ,so enjoy the rest of Friday folks     With Love Jan xx

PS  The skirt is the one I made !

Its driving me~ see mood !

Lovely sunny morning here ,the sort of morning that makes you want to get up and go ,thats the theory ,but some things gone wrong here in da bungalow !! well I caught up with all your entrys and made comments,Ive made some phone calls ,Ive tried on the skirt I made and the jumper I bought to go with it ,its the Managers Christmas lunch tomorrow .So I suppose Ive made a sort of start !!Work is so hectic as you would imagine ,I think Im giving it my all and not alot of me left for home ,of course its an age thing ,I havent got the same level of energy I had few years ago !There Ive admitted it !  I have a few more cards to do then that will be done with .Most of the presents are now bought (but not wrapped )things could be worse .My word ;what a whinger Iam !

My diary reads like this ,Friday -Rebecca picking me up at eight ,work ,then Managers lunch at midday (need Christmas cards for all other Managers ) ,Rebecca is to bring me home too .Saturday Maurice is on nights for three nights, Monday- Rebecca  rings and  suggests I move my Monday ,and come in Tuesday as they cant pick me up !Hah .......Cant do that Im promised to help do the funeral tea /coffee after Madges funeral on Monday (her family had asked could they come back to the hall after the service )its nice for her friends at the court to say their farwells and  it saves the family alot of work at this time ,some of the residents are going,to the service, I organised the transport yesterday.....  Am I boring you ?..... So Maurice has offered to take me in when he gets home ,Then my son Derek is coming up from work late Monday afternoon ;He lives in Dorset but works near Heathrow somewhere ,for our annual gathering of the clan and to exchange gifts ,he will stay over night here ,then go to work Tuesday morning ,my older daughter Sharon has a pub in Peterborough the ideal venue for us all to meet up Monday evening .So watch this space for updates !!and possibly some photos. I shall need Tuesday off to recover wont I? Then Im working Wednesday and Friday ........then on the twenty eighth.The company can then put me back in the box with the tissue paper ,onto the shelf till they need me again ,and I will be once more retired ...whew ! well my dear friends all that has worn me out as Im sure it has you! so I will say bye for now,       with love Jan xx 

Yours in haste !

Here it is the entry Im far too busy to do today ,But Ive just put a colour on my hair ,so what better way of passing the time ,while I wait for it to do,twenty minutes I think ,I should know Ive done it often enough !!Back to the "old grey mare again "Work yesterday was hectic ,yes I remember now how it used to be !! The girl who has just left didnt completely clear her desk !!I found the TV licence forms,which have to be completed by the end of November  !! =Those above seventy five dont pay of course ,but the other ones below that age pay a token five pounds ,so no prizes for guessing who was completing forms with nat ins numbers  and collecting fivers all over the place yesterday .Maurice was working until two yesterday ,so he said stay ,and I will pick you up,with the result I worked from eight thirty till two thirty ,but it was most satifactory as I shifted some stuff work wise lol ,So today the plan is to finish off the Christmas cards do my hair and some token housework  Maurice will finish at two today so that gives me a deadline !Hell be here just before three oclock .He may get chatted up to put up the decs  we still havent done it ,and Ive got piles of cards to put onto their strings around the lounge I think it would be nice to put all the ones from my dear journal friends in the study here ;as thats where  I seem to spend so much time ,on my addiction ................time to rinse hair!

Right, thats my hair coloured for another year !!Now just the cards to do and some tidying up!the rugs are all up the walls in the hall Scooby has just come scooting in and with the new laminate floor ,they go all over !! So on that happy note I must get cracking on ,Have a good day everyone          With love Jan xxxxx 

Chasing my tail

THREE.FIFTEEN  PM,every thing is running late in da bungalow today ,I got up quite early for a Sunday ,read some journals and commented on them ,I got caught up reading archives of a new one Id discovered ,phone rang it was Pete my sister Jeans husband ,"we ve been to a car boot near you,put the kettle on ,be there in fifteen minutes "Great ,I get dressed put kettle on ,and there they were ,lovely surprise for me; Maurice at work so he missed them ,lovely relaxed chat over coffee ;they were just thinking of making a move when Chrissy and Mark ,ring to say they are on their way over ,told them Jean and P ete are here ,so Chrissy said oh tell them to stay ,havent seen them for ages ,so more coffee,more chat lovely ,its so nice to get together better than phone and email which we all do ,as well !! So I havent done any thing that was on my list ,the mental one in my head ,of things to do today ,I dont care ,Im getting so laid back in my old age ,they will get done ........or not lol .My daughter ,Kate of Wood Green and Dodger fame !!was reading her bank statements ,only to realise sums of money were being taken from their bank account ,that she couldnt account for ,she rang the bank to query ,only to learn Martins(her husband )card has been cloned ,and the card was used in London ,the bank have the fraud squad involved and ,they should get their money back but not before Christmas !!!she said shes cried and cried ,poor Kate what a thing to happen ,bad any time but just now !!!....I will keep you posted on developments .I am now going to prepare dinner I wont tell you what we are having ,other wise you will all be here again and I really do have get on !and Im working again tomorrow .So for whats left of a bright sunny Sunday ,you all enjoy .....................With Love Jan xx