New Entry

I think there is still a problem with Alerts if it is a long entry, so just a note to say I have just written a new instalment.

Trying to get back into a routine isn’t easy when you’ve let everything slide for months.

 

My house is full of clutter and rubbish (No! Not the smelly kind!) Post by the ton, interspersed with photographs and family history documents. There are piles of it everywhere.

 

I decided to blitz the house and started with the large dresser in the dining room. It has six cupboards and four drawers. The shelf parts I keep tidy with some favourite ornaments but that saying, out of sight, out of mind is very true. Having crammed the parts not visible with goodness knows what for years, they are now too full to put anything else in. The same is true of the writing bureau in the sitting room.

 

The truth of the matter is, they are full of stuff that we never use, or look at. There was 13 years accumulation in the dresser. Well it’s sorted now, as is the bureau and I filled a black bin bag with rubbish and the breakfast bar is now piled with items going to a car boot sale. (Don’t hold your breath on that one! I’ve been saying I’ll do one for the last two years.)

 

I bought some beautiful new bedding back from Ikea in Frankfurt, it’s a wine red satin cotton, with self colour flowers embroidered on the top part, with a love ly faux, fold over detail, which I can’t explain but it looks very luxurious. I bought the big square pillows and pillowcases to go with it. I can’t believe the price, the kingsize cover and pillowcases were just over £30 and the pillows £5 each.

 

When I got home I bought some new cream curtains and with the cream carpet and walls and the dark oak Jacobean style bedroom furniture and antique washstand, it looks really good. Mike was very impressed when he saw our ‘new ’room.

 

I'd been speaking to Catherine on the phone earlier and said I had to hurry, as I wanted to get the bedroom finished before he got home. She said "Oh, are you planning a 'Big Night' then?" We both had a good laugh about that. My idea of an exciting time in bed these days is......a good book!! 

 

Autumn is truly on the way and I don’t mean because the weather has gone colder, it will more than likely go very hot in September, it usually does. No, the reason Autumn is here is because I’m sitting here by an open window and I can hear one of my Robins in a tree in the garden, singing his ‘Autumn Song’. I don’t know why they do it but it is the most hauntingly beautiful sound and they seem to improve it over the next few weeks, so that by mid September it’s a sound that fills my garden.

 

I remember one glorious September day, a couple of years ago. It was one of those days when you get that wonderful hazy golden sunshine. The apples were ripe on the trees and the smells of warm, moist, earth and fruit and the more  pungent,bitter, scents of leaves starting to turn colour, were filling the air. It was so still and quiet and then a Robin started to sing on an apple branch ,just above my head. The experience is one I shall never forget, it was so heady, I felt as if I’d had a glass of wine and a warmth coursed through my veins making me light headed. It was almost as if I was floating and somehow the Robin’s song became part of me, it was inside my head as much as it was all around me. I stood there for several minutes, entranced and hypnotised. I felt I never wanted to move outside that moment, yet it was as fragile as a bubble that could have burst at any time.

 

Autumn days like that are my favourite times of the year, much as I love certain aspects of all the other seasons.

 

Well, I’m waffling on far too much here. I need to get on with sorting out the rest of my house, which will no doubt take me weeks!

 

I’m very impressed with fellow J-Lander Rachel, who has lost three stone .....Actually, if she lost anything, it was probably in one of my dresser drawers, the rest of the world seemed to be in there! Anyway because she feels her success is due in part to support from other people, I am going to try and do something about my three stone that need to go.

 

Before I went to Germany I had got down to 12 st 12lbs. When I returned I weighed 13 st 3lbs. This is no doubt due to the Black Forest Gateau I ate, on several occasions, including two days when I had it for breakfast!

 

Anyway, I’ve managed to get back to 13 stone exactly this morning and I shall now do a weekly weigh in and post it here, even if I don’t have time to write anything else some weeks. Maybe that will get me a bit more motivated.

 

I had a lovely time in Germany and will write more and put some photos on later. Catherine and Flo do live in a beautiful place but I can see why they find it a bit back of beyondish, you have to drive over an hour to get to a city with a good selection of shops. While it might suit me at my age, I can see how they find it a bit quiet.

 

I will put one picture on here today. I took  it last week, on Catherine’s 30th birthday. Of course I’m biased but I think she is so beautiful and little Isabella looks so pretty too for a two month old baby.

 

 

 

Catherine said they measured Isabella at the Doctor’s yesterday. When she was born on June 14th, she was 53 centimetres. She didn’t feed too well for the first month and when she was measured on July 20th, she was still 53 centimetres. Yesterday she was 60, that’s 7 centimetres in a month! I think she may take after her Uncle Simon, she already has the big feet  that indicate height.

 

Oh well, back to the housework now.

  

             

 

 PS. Just as I finished writing this, the heavens opened and for the second time this week we seem to be having monsoon type rain. At least it saves time watering all my tubs and pots.

 

 

Travelling Mum.

Hardly any time to get anything done!

 

I went down to Plymouth on Monday morning, to stay with Simon and see his new apartment.

 

It’s about a three and a half hour drive from here. I set off fairly early and arrived at half past ten, I went through rain and fog and there was an accident near Bristol. But it was worth the trip, I had a lovely time.

 

It’s an amazing place to live and the views are wonderful. This entry is mainly for family who live elsewhere and want to see some photos, of course, anyone is welcome to see the pictures but I warn you, the views might make you a bit envious. I didn’t want to come home but on a grey, wet day, it might not be so appealing.

 

One of the other residents sits out on one of the benches every afternoon, just reading, chatting to people who pass by and sipping a glass or two ofwine,while enjoying the sea view and air. I think I could put up with that for a few months.

 

It’s amusing when the tour boats pass by and over the loudspeaker you will hear “ And this is the Royal William Yard, until the 1960’s, it was the Stores for the Royal Navy. It is now being converted into luxury apartments.” Simon quite likes being a tourist attraction!

 

On Tuesday we took my car and went on the Torpoint Ferry over to Cornwall, what a bargain, free to go and £1 to return.

 

I think the Cornish are in fact Aliens from another planet. For a start they talk another language and their place names are bizarre, to say the least. How about living in Narkurs? I have never seen so many middle aged men with ponytails and wearing kaftans or smock type clothing, is it where all the hippies went after the 60’s?.

 

I must go, as I’m of to Germany this afternoon, more pictures after then.

Family Photos

I have put some photos of Isabella and my trip to Germany on the Blog I did for Catherine and Flo's wedding. The link is in the side bar for other blogs.

Update

I haven’t had much spare time since I returned from Germany and I’ve found it impossible to keep up with my favourite Journals here in J Land.

 

I was finishing off a couple of family histories that I had promised for a number of newly discovered relatives. I also met up with one of them, which was a very pleasurable experience. But the work took many hours a day.

 

Also I haven’t been well for the last month, added to that my Mother has been in hospital for a couple of weeks, so it’s all been a bit difficult really.

 

Anyway Mum is improving and I am at last recovering. So let’s hope I can draw a line under the last couple of months and get back into my old routine.

 

My granddaughter was born on 14th June 2006 and she has been named Isabella Rose, a very pretty name for a pretty little girl. She weighed nearly 7 pounds and apart from a touch of jaundice has been a healthy baby.

 

 

    

 

 

I shall be going back for a week long visit in the middle of August, which means I will be there for Catherine’s 30th Birthday.

 

Apart from the ill health, life has continued here in George Mansions in much the usual way.

 

Harper Dog is on valium and anti depressants for his senility. I think I may start sharing them with him.

 

The chickens are becoming more thuggish than ever. If we eat in the garden they attack us and try to get to our plates and last night they did the most unspeakable thing, which made me feel ill...... I say it’s unspeakable but I will write it down.

 

They found a frog and ripped it to bits and ate it! They’re grounded today; I’m not letting them out of their ark, as I do not want to witness that sort of carnage in my back garden. Speaking of which, it’s got completely out of hand. I’m going to start tours to the lost gardens of George Mansions, a guide essential. Cream Teas available!

 

Mike rang me this morning to say he’d been contacted by the present owner of the farmhouse in Gloucestershire, which I mentioned in an earlier entry. It is the farm Mike’s family lived in when the 1841 Census was taken. This gentleman has very kindly offered to show us round the farm, so we will take him up on his offer soon.

 

It’s amazing, the power of the Internet, his son discovered the entry in my Blog and told his father about it and as Mike is broadcasting from Gloucester this week, he was able to track Mike down at the radio station and give him a ring.

 

We’ve just discovered Lily Allen, who was number one in the charts for a couple of week with a song called Smile. Now I know her lyrics are sometimes a bit rude and the odd F word in there but her voice is delightful and fresh sounding. The stories she tells are funny but considering she is only 21, she must have lived quite a bit to know so much. I wonder what she would think if she knew two of her biggest fans are a pensioner and his 53-year-old wife? My mother would be disgusted at us for listening to such bawdiness but then she’s 78 this year, so I suppose it would be a bit much for her.

 

There’s just the one picture of Isabella here. I shall add a new entry as a follow on to Catherine & Flo’s wedding, with pictures of where they live and lots more of the family.

New Entry

Following Debbie's example, a short note to say I have posted a new entry called Belgians & Chocolate.

                                    

Belgians & Chocolate

It’s been an exciting week for me and a very busy one. 

 

First I need to clear my conscience. I have to confess to buying a bar of Lindt dark chocolate full of yummy, intensely orange bits. Not a small bar mind you but a large £1.50 bar. I came home with it on Wednesday afternoon plus a hot, barbequed chicken from our local supermarket. I’d called in on the way back from school to buy a couple of things we needed and I had a complete breakdown of common sense and into my basket went the chocolate. I got home and devoured half the chicken with a few tomatoes, without even sitting down.

 

Then it was time to take Harper to the Vet’s. I was worried about what was going to be said. I knew he was showing classic signs of dog senility but I didn’t know if anything could be done for him. One thing for certain was that something had to be done, he’d woken us at four that morning and I just don’t get back to sleep afterwards. Even if I did, he would only allow about half an hour before he starts crying again.

 

Anthony, our Vet, is very good. We started going to him when Catherine worked there as an assistant/receptionist. All Vets should be like him, no nonsense, explains everything, gives you the options and supports you in whatever decision you have to make. He advised some tablets, which are actually anti depressants, (for the dog, not me!!!) one dose a day. The blurb on them said to try for 2 months and if nothing happened after then, to discontinue. He said that’s rubbish for a start, we would know in a few days if they would work, so just gave me ten days worth, as he didn’t want to waste my money.

 

I came home, relieved and hopeful and then set about eating the whole bar of chocolate, whilst catching up with my emails. The good thing is, after a month of taking Oregano Oil capsules, my body seems to have got back into a more normal state and I didn’t get any palpitations after my binge eating.

 

One definite, I will not now be taking antibiotics unless my life depends on it, it has been very sobering over the last few months to realise how over-prescribing them has almost ruined my life.

 

Whilst not wanting to go on about it too much, it has been a huge discovery for me to realise that the palpitations and shortness of breath, which were diagnosed as panic attacks, are actually a reaction to sugar and starch. This is caused by the rampant Candida I get after having two courses of antibiotics, back to back, when I have had a really bad ear/chest/sinus infection.

 

The two times in my life I have ended up on Valium and Anti-depressants have been after bronchial pneumonia and a really nasty bout of flu. I now feel a much stronger person, as I know what has caused these difficulties in my life. As I spent most of my childhood on Penicillin, it’s no wonder I was considered a problem child, if I’m honest I do feel bitter about the life I didn’t have and the fact that the tablets that were supposed to be helping me actually made me ill. Anyway, as the kids at school like to say ‘Get over it!’ So I will, no use crying over spilt milk.

     

 

Harper had his first tablet that evening. We’ve had him in our bedroom since the crying got really bad and he stayed there that night, as we didn’t know if there would be any improvement.

 

They worked, it was brilliant……… well it would have been……..

 

At 4 am Mike woke and wanted the loo. On his way out of the bedroom, he kicked over the dog’s water dish. Large dish, lots of water! He had to get a bath towel to mop it up. Then he had to go and refill the water dish. On returning to bed he obviously wanted to test the effect of the tablet and fell over the dog. Harper just moved and went straight back to sleep, unfortunately, I didn’t. I’m now considering some form of medication for Mike.

 

Thursday night we put Harper downstairs, in the doorway to the sitting room. I asked Mike to put his food and water bowl in the hall. Mike decided to put them right next to the dog’s bed, so he wouldn’t have to go far if he wanted anything. The result of that was, Harper knocked his water bowl over. But last night was uneventful and we slept until 6.30, the first time in months. I hope we can continue like this.

    

 

I’ve been corresponding, by email, all week with two newly discovered relatives from my Welsh/Belgian line. I have always been intrigued by the idea of a Belgian great great grandfather, who I imagined to be dark haired and good looking. I was despairing of ever finding a photo of him; he was born in 1852 and died in 1891. My mother had seen a large photo of him when she was a child but no one knew where that had gone.  One of these new relatives said she had a photo of Paul and I was over the moon to receive a copy of it this week. I have to write up a family history for all the relatives I have found, which is keeping me busy, their number increases weekly at present.

 

 

 

This is Paul, we think, with his eldest son Edward. When I first saw it, I felt, 'Oh! It's you' He looks just like I imagined, it was as if I had always known what he looked like.

 

Little Edward died in his 20’s from TB, as did a number of my ancestors. One 3 x great grandfather died at 29 from Cholera. On my farming side, they all live into their 70’s but many of the manual, furnacemen died very young.

 

   

 

 

What a fuss at school this week! I was sitting in the classroom working on Tuesday lunchtime and thought I could smell cigarettes. In my innocence, I dismissed the thought and carried on. Then one of the dinner ladies walked by the door to the girl’s toilets and dashed inside. Sure enough, there was a very strong smell of smoke.

 

Detective George is now on the case! I went found the cloakroom sniffing the bags of girls I had seen go into the toilet. Sure enough, a prime suspect’s bag had a very strong smell. We had a peep inside and there were two, part smoked, roll-ups! This girl is ten years old and she had been coming into school fifteen minutes late, over the last few mornings, with no good explanation. Two other girls had been found to be involved. Parents were called in and there was a general weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth. I’d like to think we’ve nipped it in the bud but, probably not.

 

  

 

Other things that happened this week. I have been volunteered to put on a Birthday Party for my sister in law in early July. I don’t mind but it could have come at a better time with my trip to Germany coming up and the Big Family Picnic at the end of June. Still, no doubt I will cope and she deserves it, as life has been very difficult for her over the last few years.

 

Simon and Tori have come for the weekend, I actually got 24 hours notice this time. They are going to Cardiff on Sunday for the final in the playoffs for a place in the Premiership. If they win, they will be taking my team’s place (West Bromwich Albion).

 

My cousin came over yesterday, with some old family documents he is giving to me, as I am now officially the Harper family historian and archivist. He wanted to see how I do my research on the computer and was amazed when I was able to trace his father’s line back to 1861 and discovered his 3x great grandfather was born in Portsmouth in 1814. He thought all his paternal line had been born in Leicestershire. We spent a lovely time together and were both shocked to find it was 7pm when he got up to leave.

 

My biggest laugh of the week was from my friend Catherine, who recently moved to France. She likes to read my Journal, as a way of keeping up with what’s happening here. She was quite excited about the unusual, sideways flying, hot air balloon in last week’s entry and was showing it to her work mates, until they pointed out what an idiot she was and it was simply a photo on its side. Never mind Catherine it gave us both a good laugh. Hope to see you for a decent cheese and wine session here soon.

 

My Catherine is doing well, according to her doctor but is feeling tired. Three weeks on Tuesday I fly out there!

 

The garden is calling, I have lots of plants that need putting in , plus I haven't been on Pooh Patrol this week, so no doubt there will be some doggy deposits that need attending to !