What a cracking time we’ve had and how very friendly are the Scots eh!!

Although we only knew a few people among the hundred or more at Friday night's birthday bash we felt like we were among friends we’d known all our life, it was brilliant.

I’m giving a run down of the pics instead of captions under each one because blogger is moody.

1 – John and the birthday girl.
2 – Me and Pauline.
3 – Jessie on the dance floor…..again.
4 – Pauline & Andy.
5 - Our room was called Glenfiddich and these were the pics on the wall......love it.

The food was so yummy at the party I had to take an extra plate of it back to the hotel, I nibbled before bed, again when I woke at 5am and finished it off in the car on the way home. Did I mention that the breakfast was to die for and that butcher man makes the best pies I’ve ever tasted.

I can honestly say I’ve never ever seen anyone with as much energy as Jessie she wasn’t static for more than five seconds the whole night.

Counting the days till I see you all again, thank you for making us so welcome.

P.S. Pauline I'll put all the pics on facebook.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly.

I haven’t really got anything to blog about but I’ve got an overwhelming urge to do a waffley one, its been a while since I wrote loads about nothing in particular so bear with me, I’ll be normal again soon honest.

I have a very very busy time coming up and I have a tickle in my stomach, it’s the one that happens when you know you’re way behind in practical terms but your mind is miles ahead of you. I haven’t slept at all well with it all going round and round and I reckoned if I blog about it then it will fool my mind into thinking I’m more ahead than I am, this is good.

We’re off to Scotland tomorrow till Saturday and I can’t wait, I’m excited because I’m going to see a lovely friend who’s having a birthday bash, this is well good. I’ve had every top and frock on in every shop for miles around and hated them all, this is bad,

We have the church barbecue on Sunday afternoon after the service, this is relaxing and good.

On Monday I’m taking Chris’s drawing over to the CF unit, this is very good. I said I’d write an article to go in their magazine and I have a head that refuses point blank to put some words together, this is bad.

Up to now Tuesday is being kept free for the hundred things that will come up.

Wednesday and Thursday are induction days at college, this is a mix of good and apprehension.

Friday is run round like a headless chicken checking everything is in place to travel to London in the morning for the Hydro, this is a mix of panic and good, mostly panic.

Train leaves Chester at 7-30am, hard cheese if I didn’t get everything done yesterday.

Saturday doing much good stuff with two lovely friends, this is fun and good.

Sunday morning travel to Hyde Park to meet up with more lovely friends and WALK the 5k, this is excitingly good.

Train leaves Euston at 4pm Sunday and arrives in Chester sometime after 7pm this is a looooong time, why haven’t they invented something to beam me back?

Monday morning I go back to school full time for 4 years, its going to require mega effort to stay awake that day, this is a mix of good bad and downright ugly if I don’t get some decent kip sometime soon.

Do I feel more relaxed now its out of my head………..nope! in fact I feel worse because I could have ironed our togs for tomorrow instead of sitting here whingeing :D

Love to all.

Blog stuff

I have some time on my hands today because the motor has gone for its once a year 'sorry its failed and its going to cost you £300' test and I'm a bit bored as well because facebook has removed my favourite pastime. So I'm playing about with the layout on my blog but I'm a bit stuck.

I want to add a link for people to contact me by email, can anyone out there tell me whether I have to display my email address on the blog or if I can just put a link to it. If that makes sense.

Thank you.

Quarry Bank Mill/Styal.

Hubby's been off a week and two days and we've waited patiently for decent weather, it wasn't going to happen was it, so today we ventured out in the rain cos we're British and 'ard'. Hubby's suggestion of a cotton mill went down as easy as swallowing a piece of thorny hedge, its got a massive water wheel he said, oh I said, its got working machinery he enthused, oh I said, its got a secret garden and a resaurant, he had me with that one.

Because it takes an awfully long time for me to put pics on here and caption them I'm going to tell you about them now and you'll have to remember whats what. The the mill from the outside, me in a cave, view, secret garden, machines and matching hat and bag (for clare).

I have to say I was totally absorbed in this place, I read every bit of info and did all the hands on displays, there were a few of these things dotted about called The Gov'nor so I asked John what they were, he gave me a knowing look because I'm not the easiest person in the world to explain technical stuff to. He said 'those two balls swing round, get wider and push a rod up' Oh I said thats impressive isnt it. I feel my brain is expanding with these trips.

Love to all.

Dozy Berk!

Whilst trying to delete one friends blog link I inadvertently deleted them all, I'd love to blame it all on blogger but it would be an out and out lie it was moi.

I'll add them all again soon, just so you know I wasn't becoming antisocial in my old age.

:D

More excitement in my world.

Ooooowwww!!! I'm very excited again.

I've just rung the cf nurse to arrange to take Chris's drawing up and she's asked me if I'd be prepared do a write up and have a photo taken presenting the pic to the unit and it'll be going in their magazine..........woooohoooo!! What a wonderful tribute that will be to our Chris.

So its back to scribbling some notes down again, great practice for studentness this is. Note to myself though, do not write a book they only need a write up.

I don’t know where to begin about Sunday, it was an amazing day, one I’ll never ever forget. I was surprised to find I wasn’t quite as nervous about giving my testimony in public as I thought I’d be when I first open my eyes and even managed a couple of pieces of toast. However, as the hours ticked by (yes hours because I was up at dawn) I began to feel the old knee’s getting a bit wobbly.

The logistics of the day kept my mind occupied because we had to take a different route to the one we normally take to church in order to pick my mum up on the way. I also had my lovely friend Eve travelling with me and John, our Mike and Sophie following us and my sister Julie and niece Natalie following at the back. Only I knew the way so we had to make sure we didn’t lose them.

I can’t describe how special it was for me to have them all coming to my Baptism, especially our Mike who is still very angry about Chris leaving us, I know it took a lot for him and I really did appreciate it.

When the time for the talk came Col called me and D (the other person who was being Baptised) to the front and introduced us, then handed the microphone to D who spoke for a while and then became emotional. I put my hand on his shoulder and felt a huge lump in my throat. Oh heck I thought I haven’t even started mine and I’m off on one already. Then it was my turn, my voice was shaky for a while and I did falter once or twice but I did it, I got the whole thing out and I was so chuffed because I wanted more than anything to share my story.

Then it was off to get changed into pool gear for the most important bit of the day, my life long friend Wendy was also coming into the water with me as she was the person who was most significant in my giving my life to God. I have no words to describe how it felt when I came up from the water, I just threw my arms in the air and jumped up and down ecstatically, this was the icing on the cake, the thing I have looked forward to for ages and I felt so full of pure joy.

I'll add my testimony to my other blog later for anyone who would like to read it.

Love to all.

Big day for me tomorrow

Tomorrow is a very important day for me, I'm going to be Baptised in my new church and its something I've been looking forward to for a while now. At our church we have the option to share our story or not and I've chosen to talk about mine because I think its a positive (for me) that came about after something which was as negative as it gets, losing my son. I'm nervous about speaking in public, just in case you missed the 100 or so times I've said that I thought I'd throw it in again, but I so want to do it and I will.

I'm not going into the details of my testimony on here but will post it on my quiet time blog in a few days time if anyone would like to read it.

If you pray say a wee one for me for courage and strength because it will be a bit emotinal methinks.

Arghhh!!

Tips for talking in public needed urgently, c'mon all you who have done it.....help me ;-)

Line dancing tonight, that'll take my mind off it.

Love to all.

First taste of line dancing tonight and I'm loving it, we (note I'm already one of them) are called The Elton Eagles and I will have a black t-shirt with the name printed in gold. The men wear these black boots with long pointy toes and there's loads of bits and pieces like hats, shiney metal edgings on shirt collars, badges and of course country music. I'm well excited and can see myself in years to come doing the forward box, the shuffle, the heel toe double and the side step backwards with a quarter turn......in my dreams! Its been great fun tonight and I loved it, its good to tryitandsee.

We did the castle, no dungeons, stone walls, pigeons, stone walls, steps, more stone walls etc..... I did however conquer one of my all time phobia's as I bravely climbed very narrow dark staircases whilst grabbing a rope and repeating 'I can't do closed in' and 'arghh! I don't like being this high up' in fact thats two isnt it. Major getting over phobia's day for me, I just kept thinking c'mon girl you're only here once get over it and it worked........Yippeeee!

I have no idea why I was smiling at this bit of wall, John talks to trees, I smile at walls thats why we get on so well.

Mike's answer to my whinning that I couldn't do heights 'just do it mother' so I did......

Wake up its a beautiful morning.....

We planned to do a castle today, the men wanted one with dungeons and not too far away, after googling last night I decided on Conwy, no idea if it has dungeons but there's a beach and many food places... sorted. Naturally its lashing down just now because its the weekend but I have a sneaky feeling the sun might put in an appearance later so I'm voting to go anyway.

Have a good Saturday everyone.

Garden stuff

I made a start on the secret garden at the weekend, well on the entrance to it anyway.

Before

After

The sun creates havoc in our pond, its as green and gooey as anything. We've tried everything apart from chemicals, then I remembered something my second aunty once told me, get some straw (I had loads of that due to 6ft grass being cut and dumped here and there), roll it into a parcel and put it in tights. Lower into the pond and within a couple of weeks it will be clear.

A wasps nest right above where I was working all day, John says they're made out of chewed up wood so we're looking for the hole in the cabin now. Cute wee thing isnt it.

This post has taken nearly a week to get to publishment because of a very bad pc, power cuts (due to electrical storms) and I'm back at work so life is busy busy busy!!

Love to all.

Meeting oneself coming back from holiday before you go.

At work today I was astounded!

I’m covering the next two weeks for someone who is about to fly off to a sun drenched beach somewhere much nicer than Chester. I was excited for the person and arrived singing something about a Summer holiday…..Oooow I said, not long now and you’ll be off, are you in holiday mode then.

The reply was astounding!

Hmmpf!! all I keep thinking is this time next week I’ll be entering my second week and then home.

‘YOU HAVENT EVEN GONE YET FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!’

I was astounded!

I’ve been trying to think of something a bit more negative to beat this one, its going to be hard but I’m determined to come up with a better one by tommorra.

Night All.
Astounded – Chester.

Its all go here.

Ive had a busy old weekend, we went to a National Trust thingymajig on Saturday.

Ducks

John talking to a tree

I want this in my garden.

Me in a den

This looked like a duck on a ledge from a distance, honest.

Deer

The effective way to teach Health & Safety (the white sign says 'If you come near me I'll kill you) charmin.

Hat.

Saturday night I went to a wedding reception at our local community centre which gave me terrible problems at church the next morning. I normally go off into a dreamlike state when we sing, I close my eyes and kind of sway and its the most wonderful feeling ever. This week though due to the thundering disco noise the night before I had no balance so had to grip the back of the chair in front of me and keep my eyes wide open just to stay upright, anyone with bad tinitus will understand that one. Church was brilliant again this week, for anyone interested in why I thought so I'll be putting it on my other blog later.

studentness

Its official, I'm now a student it says so in the letter that postie brought this morning. I have to start reading psychology, sociology, biology and other ologies......in preparation for September. I'm excited, but my blog may become a bit too intellegent for my readers as my brain starts to expand - yeah right!

Have a good Saturday everyone, we are going National Trusting today despite the fact that its lashing down here.

Nosey parkers.

What about this Google thing ‘Street view’

When I first read it I wasn’t sure I liked the idea, I thought it was a bit cheeky actually and the pictures of the Google car’s with the 3D camera’s going up and down the roads taking pictures of our houses and cars unnerved me a bit. Now I’m going to have to make sure I take my curlers out and get out of my pj’s if I want to add something to my brown bin, just in case its that day that they are in our road. I’ll have to wash the care an all because I parked under a tree on Thursday and every pigeon in Birkenhead had a poo on it.

Blimey, what’s the world coming to.

Edit
My windows are not getting washed. I advise everyone else not to clean theirs.

Housey House.

It’s been a well exciting week so far this week, so good that I can barely restrain myself from bubbling over with hysteria and delight in fact.

As with most of the country we’ve had a monsoon descend on Chester so no threshing about in the soil or smelling the lovely cut grass, I don’t mind though because I’ve been doing the domestic scene with a smile (cos we're still in Love month) I just couldn't wait to get the marigolds and apron on, yeah right! For three day’s now I’ve dusted, hovered, mopped, ironed, cooked, sorted out mounds of paper and been to the tip so many times that Erick (the man who sits in the kennel telling you which skip to use) and I are on first name terms. ENOUGH!!! That’s my contribution for the rest of this year, I hate loath and despise housey stuff and I’m doing no more.

I finally dragged myself back to the gym today, (mainly to avoid finding another job to do in the house) and was dead chuffed to find I could still swim a mile, which incidently is 60 lengths, hardly surprising with all the legging round housewifeing. I'm going to try to push it to 70 lengths over the next couple of weeks and if I do it I'll award myself the most expensive dish in the restaurant and a cake, yummy I look forward to that providing I'm not being stretchered out.

Tomorrow is mum day, she gets to choose what we do on a Thursday so this week I’m off to The Bingo........hmmmm!!

‘I’m so excited an I just can’t hide it’

Line dancing might be on the cards because I was very impressed with Margaret's moves at the barbecue, its bound to be easier than belly dancing and I already have some cowee gear.yeeeeeehah.

A perfect day.

Did I ever mention that I love my new church, well I do. All this week there’s been a marq, marc, erm……big tent in a park where about eight churches have got together and each night there has been a joint service. Unfortunately I could only make it on one of the night’s, that was Tuesday and the speakers for the night were Paul Jones and his wife. Now I knew I knew the name and I was also pretty sure he was a singer from way back but like many others couldn’t quite place the group he was in. According to Paul on his travels nobody else could remember either so he gave us a quick rendition of ‘There she was just a walking down the street’ and we all bellowed ‘Doo ah diddy diddy um diddy do’ oh yeah! It was Manfred Man, silly.

Col, our pastor was to introduce Paul and his wife and he came to chat with us before things got underway. I have a bit of something up my sleeve he said and pulled out a mouth organ, by the look on Liz’s face (Col’s wife) she didn’t think it was a brill idea, but he said I might or might not do it and I think she hoped he wouldn’t. Naturally he did and to be fair he was pretty impressive. I have to say at this point that Col is a great inspiration to me, apparently he used to be a very quiet member of the church who never put himself forward. I’m guessing he was shy and not at all an extrovert. But week after week he shows no sign at all of the person he used to be as he sings, speaks, comforts, cries and is never ever afraid to show emotion, that has a very liberating effect on me and no doubt many others because to be able to just be yourself and know for certain that nobody will think you are weird is something so special and I love it.

This morning was a chance for all the churches to set up a bit of an exhibition around the tent, we had a band, some solo singers and much mingling went on. The atmosphere was magic because although all the churches there today do it slightly different our aim was to unite and we did big time.

Tomorrow morning starts at 10am and I’ll be there……..I’ll be theeeere

Love - Part whatever.

Well the starting the day with a cheery note and feeling the Love has been dead easy recently, the get together was fab and I thoroughly enjoyed it. What comes better than getting many people (family & friends) together in the great outdoors with music and food, its priceless. I did stop for a moment and nearly went very sad when I thought about Chris not being there, but then I looked around and realised once again that most of the beauty in our garden was put there by him and his mates. He’ll always be right there with us when we’re in the garden and in my head I said thank you babe for giving us this little haven. Then I was happy again.

Although playing hostess is a wee bit stressful I have to admit I love it, I’m into doing the food and I love walsing round chatting so we’re planning another one around the beginning of August, just got to get a theme organised. On the Sunday we had a couple of mini get togethers to finish off the nibbles and of course I still had to be taught how to play poker. Well……..I can get the bit about making a hand with the cards that are on the table, but as for the betting bit, it defeats me, I just don’t get it. Raise, call and whatever else seems to cost you and the chips were going in at a frightening speed, I didn’t understand when I had to match a bet and when I didn’t and it confused me no end when the chips I’d already put it were counted as some of my stake thing. Oh nooooo!! Poker’s not for me, I’ll stick to what I know.

I’m off out with my mum today armed with the mobility bike, now that’ll be a test for the cheery note and share the love won’t it, because in my experience as with wheelchairs, some people are convinced that if they just keep on walking they will be able to morph right through it. My mum’s an expert though, its no end of fun to watch faces as she ploughs on regardless.

I plucked one eyebrow last night because it was getting on my nerves, I did intend to do the other this morning but I’ve made a conscious decision to leave it as it looks like I’m winking in a slightly surprised way and will add to the humour of the day.

Have a good un.

LOVE to all.

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