Friday news on Saturday.

 Friday News time. Yes, I am aware that it is Saturday! So, I am a day late. I have been busy and not 100% well and frankly my get up and go, got up and went around Tuesday. Still waiting for its return. It's 9.45pm and Simon is watching a film so I have come up to rest in bed.

Last week, I said that any future Friday News posts would be positive stories only. Happy, nice, uplifting stories. I have been looking around to see what I can find. So here goes.

International.

I am well aware that a big chunk of that country across the pond is suffering a terrible blizzard right now. Our news reports are full of it. Over 2 feet of snow in some places. It looks pretty horrendous. But it seems that there is one little guy who is loving it. Tian Tian, a giant panda who is a resident of Washington's National zoo is having the best fun ever. This video certainly put a smile on my face. Just watch him. That's pleasure right there.

UK.

Well! Did nothing good happen in the UK this week? No happy stories? I am sure there must have been plenty but after spending an hour searching the internet, I have come up with a zero. That is not good.

Local.

OK, nothing here either.

You know what? Those of you who said positive news would be hard to find were right! I have spent ages reading rubbish stuff and now I am feeling grotty so I am going to miss out Entertainment news altogether.

So I don't end up feeling depressed at my failure, I am going to watch Tian, Tian again. He is one happy panda.

They say the snow storm is headed here next week. If it gets as far as us, maybe I will go out and roll in the snow. Now that would be news worthy!

Wednesday Hodgepodge. 20th January

It's HodgePodge time again. I must be on a roll, I think this is the third one of these I have done!

The Wednesday Hodgepodge is brought to us courtesy of Joyce at 

 From this side of the pond Pop over there to see other posts and if you want to join in add the link to your Hodgepodge blog post to the Linky List at the end of Joyce's post and don’t forget to visit at least your neighbours on the list. Have fun.

1. Speaking of skating...when did you last 'skate on thin ice', 'skate over the details', 'encounter a cheapskate', or just plain skate?

It is at least 15 years since I last went skating. Where we used to live there was an ice rink just a mile or so away and we occasionally took our children. Not often as it was too expensive with 5 children. We went there for birthday treats and the like. I am not bad, I can stay upright! As a child I used to enjoy roller skating. Do you remember the metal skates, the ones that had the wing nut in the middle to adjust the size and they fitted over your shoes? I had those. No plastic boot styles for us.

2.  What would you say is the biggest problem of people your age?

Staying fit and healthy. I think when you get to your middle and later years you can't take things for granted the way you did when you were younger. The body no longer deals with excess so well! If you want to live to a good age then you have to get serious about taking care of yourself. That is my main concern. I suspect that for a lot of people the problem is more about money. Will they ever have enough to retire? How will they manage? Retirement is a big issue for many. My OH retired from teaching back in July last year and so far we are doing fine, with every aspect! We haven't got on each others nerves, too much…….Yet!

3. What's your favourite accessory? Is it something you wear every day, often, or only on special occasions?

Well if we are talking every day then it has to be my rings and my earrings. I have 4 rings that I never take off. My engagement ring, wedding ring, eternity ring and another ring which OH got me on our 30^th wedding anniversary. All 4 are permanent fixtures. The earrings are gold, creole, hoops and were my Mum's. Another accessory I like but don't wear daily are scarves. I have a fair size collection.

4.  January 20th is National Cheese Lover's Day Are you a lover of cheese? What's your favourite dish made with cheese? Last thing you ate that contained some kind of cheese?

Who comes up with all these “days”? It is so random. I don't dislike cheese but I am not a big lover. I like soft cheeses more than harder ones. Brie is my favourite. I prefer milder cheese to strong cheese. My OH likes strong Cheddar but that is a bit much for me. I hate blue cheese and don't get me started on Parmesan which I think smells like sick!

I do like homemade lasagne which we have really cheesy. Last time I had cheese was one day last week when we had homemade courgette (zucchini) soup with a dollop of soft cream cheese stirred in.

5. What's something guaranteed to make you roll your eyes?

Middle aged women in leggings and cropped tops with their belly on show, hanging over the top! Saw one just the other day and it was gross. Don't get me wrong, I am not totally against this mode of dress but there is a time and place and it isn't a look that I feel is appropriate in the local supermarket. I also think you need to have the body for it. I do come down on the side of “if you’ve got it, why not flaunt it”? On the other hand if you haven't “got it” best keep it hidden! I haven't “got it”! 

6. Your favourite book series?

As a child I was a massive bookworm and devoured everything I could get my hands on. This continued through my teenage years and into adulthood. Recently, not so much. I read every day but short articles, not often whole books. Something I intend to remedy this year. Consequently I can't think of a recent favourite series. When I was a child, I loved all of Enid Blyton's books and my favourite series was the Mallory Towers books. The ones about the antics of girls at a boarding school. Then of course there was the Famous Five series and the Secret Seven. I LOVED those books.

7. Why did you choose your profession?

I have never had a profession unless you count housewife and Mum which actually in my opinion equals any profession you care to name. When I was doing my final year at school, I wanted to be a nursery nurse. I wanted to do the NNEB course at college. My parents and the head teacher of my school had other ideas. Back in those days any kind of nursing was for girls who were less academic. The less clever girls. The head and my parents thought that I was capable of more. I didn't want more.

Long story short, I left school and got a job. Initially for a few months just as a supermarket cashier. Then I got work as a clerical assistant at Her Majesty's Land Registry. I loved that job and worked my way up to clerical officer and then executive officer. Then I got married and moved away and a year later the first of my children arrived. Since then I have had various jobs for short periods, ranging from office work, shop work, waitressing and even cleaning. My last job was as an exams officer and invigilator in my OH's school. I haven't worked for about 10 years now. I have been very lucky, that I have never HAD to work. It has always just been for a bit of extra money, not to pay bills. No, we are not wealthy, we have just learnt to manage our money very well.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

I really must get off the internet and go get on with the ironing!

JILLY

Loulou

Today we are remembering our beautiful girlie Loulou who we lost last year.  Miss her so much. 

Loulou 28-03-2000 - 18-01-2015

Rip Baby. 

Update on the challenge I started

Who remembers my blog about the Challenge? A sort of self improvement thingy that I supposedly started on the third of January. It was inspired by my friend Melanie and 2 Facebook posts currently doing the rounds.

See them here if you are interested:

http://brightside.me/article/how-to-change-your-life-for-the-better-in-just-one-month-505/

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/52-fun-things-try-a-new-one-each-week-of-the-year/

I promised an update so here it is, for what it is worth. The word fail is in my head!

Week 1. Purifying the body and mind

Step 1 - Get up earlier.  My goal was actually to make sure that my light is off by midnight and that I was up by 8.30. I did manage to stick to this for the whole of week 1 but week 2 has seen me slip back to reading, browsing etc. until the wee hours. So little time during the day. I can't say that I noticed any real difference in a few more hours of sleep because I didn't really sleep anyway.

Step 2 – Better nutrition.  My goal here was to try to eat more light, healthy but nutritious meals and they needed to be easy to make, quick to cook and relatively cheap. I wanted to try a new recipe each week. I did actually do this on week one. I cooked Mujaddara which is a kind of pilaf made from rice and lentils. It isn't particularly light, but it is nutritious, healthy, cheap and easy to do. It was OK but could do with being a bit spicer. I might make this again. Find the recipe here

Step 3 – Sport I.E. Exercise. I am going to try and incorporate some simple stretches into my day. BIG fail here, it simply didn't happen. Lack of time I think. I did keep to my 10,000 steps everyday though and actually lost 2lbs. (8stone 10lbs now).

Now to the list of 52 new things to try. The idea is obviously one a week for a year.

Week 1. Write a handwritten note and post it to someone you haven’t been in touch with for a while.

Another big fail. I did not write a letter. I have decided who I am going to write too though so that is positive. Just need to stop procrastinating and just do it.

So all in all not the best of starts! I haven't even looked at the week 2 goals and it is nearly week 3. I'll take a quick peek now…………

Clean up your personal space. This one is about de-cluttering and getting rid of unnecessary “stuff”. I think I can put a tick against this one. I am pretty good at doing this anyway and the last few weeks I have had a bit of a purge on several things. I have gone through all our DVDs CDs and books and have sold a lot of them on Ziffit.com to raise money for 3CDR. I have also sorted out all of our shoes and boots and winter coats and jackets and lots have gone so I am happy that I have a result here.

Sort out your personal business. This is about completing those promises that you have made to yourself but not got around to doing anything about. The author says that you either fulfil them or strike them from your list forever. I have been promising myself that I will find the time to really learn how my Cricut machine works and what I can actually do with it. I think I can put a tick here too as I have managed to have several sessions on it this week. I have also made a note for next week to prioritise time for this.

Sort out your social life. This one is about surrounding yourself with positivity and so ditching those friends and acquaintances that make you feel depressed and miserable with their negativity. Learning how to say no. Not sure what I could have done here as my friends are not like that anyway. Maybe the best thing to do here is to just be kind and offer a smile to anyone I meet. I shall try to carry that on to next week.

And lastly from the 52 Week list: Make someone a birthday or celebration cake. It was little Jackson's 3^rd birthday this week but my cake making skills are nowhere near Verity's as she makes cakes for a living. So another fail! I might carry this over to next week and make a cake for everyone at the kennels to celebrate Beanies birthday.

To be honest, I have realised that this is not a good challenge for me. It is just another pressure and more things on the never ending to do list. So I am ditching it. There will be no further updates. What I am going to do is to keep an eye on that 52 week list and try and do some of those. A new thing each week is a lot more doable. I think it also needs to be something new. Trying out new things and getting a little outside of your comfort zone has to be good.

Friday News - 15th January

So it's Friday again and I am giving Wendy's Friday News another go. You may remember last week that I had trouble with the sport category as I simply don't “get” sport! This week I am scrapping sport in favour of UK news. This will be in addition to International. Let's go…….

International.

The international story which I have noticed today is that of the medical trials in France that have gone so badly wrong. Apparently the drug trial was in phase one which is where a tiny dose is given to healthy people to test for side effects. One man has been declared brain dead and 5 more have suffered permanent brain damage. It is being said that the drug being tested was derived from cannabis but it is not clear what the eventual drug would be used for.

This is truly horrible. I know that we need new drugs for all kinds of conditions and at some point they must run trials with real people but that means there is always going to be the potential for this kind of tragedy. For the record, I am totally against animal testing. Apart from the often cruel way the animals are treated and the pain and suffering they endure, I cannot see any logic in it at all. Every single animal is different to us so how testing on a mouse, or a dog, or a monkey has any bearing in what a drug will do to a human is beyond me.

UK.

Apparently we have a British astronaut in space! Who knew? Not me! He is called Tim Peake and today he was doing a space walk with another astronaut to repair an electrical box. Simon has the news on and this came up whilst I was typing. It would seem the space walk has had to end early as the American astronaut had water inside his helmet which is not a good thing it would seem.

Can you tell that I am not overly enthralled with space stuff? I guess some of it is interesting but I am afraid that I think we need to put our house in order here on Earth before we start worrying about what’s out there. So much money is spent that could be spent on better things. Just an opinion of course.

I commented to Simon just now that I had no idea that there was currently a Brit up there in space and he said how could you have missed that? Easily. I try really hard to not watch or listen to the news. It is so often depressing, half of it is totally fabricated, they only tell us what they want to tell us which is not always the truth, plus I simply do not have the time for anything that doesn't interest me.

Another cousin of mine, Pat, posted on her FB page today how sad she was at the death of Alan Rickman. I thought she had just lost a friend. It soon became apparent from the comments that this was not a friend but a celebrity. I had to ask her who he was and got told to wash my mouth out! I think she couldn't believe that I didn’t know. I hardly ever watch TV and haven't the patience to sit through a film, and I have zero interest in “celebrities” so consequently I never know who anyone is.

Local.

The local news buzzing around the nearby town of Bourne is that a well established and loved gift shop is to close to make way for a new pub. A Wetherspoon's pub, which is a big chain here in the UK. The general feeling seems to be that there are enough pubs in the town anyway and we don't need more and also that the big chain type establishments ruin the image of the country market town. I tend to agree. There is already a big chain pub as you enter the town but this new one would be right in the middle of the main high street. However, it could help bring more custom into the Three Counties Dog Rescue charity shop which is just a 100 yards or so further along. Now that would be good.

Entertainment.

I guess the big news story this week is the death of David Bowie. Yes I had heard of him! Not a fan though. I am continually surprised by how the death of a celebrity apparently causes so much distress to so many people. It is sad when anyone dies, particularly when that person is no great age, but I don't understand why it would cause such upset if you didn't know him personally. I am also rather taken aback by some of the tributes. I quote: “Singer David Bowie, one of the biggest stars and most influential musicians of his era, has died of cancer at the age of 69.” Was he really that big and that influential? Perhaps I missed something? He wasn't ever really on my radar. I was a teeny bopper and massive Donny Osmond fan.

Miscellaneous.

My misc news is that today is my little grandson, Jackson's 3^rd birthday. 3 years ago today he was born at just 28 weeks and he lay in an incubator whilst we stood by helplessly. He has come such a long way since then and today he was going bowling with Mummy and Daddy. So very, very proud of him. Happy 3^rd birthday Jackson.

Here is a photo of me and Jackson.

Well those are my 5 bits of news. I said earlier that I find the news depressing. If I do this next week, I am going to seek out positive, happy stories. Maybe I can even find something that really interest me!

Friday news was the idea of my cousin Wendy.  Why not join in. It would be very interesting to read what is going on in your area and maybe we could open discussions on some of the topics. 

Wednesday Hodgepodge 13-01-2016

Going to have a go at joining in the Hodge Podge again.

Wednesday's Hodgepodge is brought to us courtesy of Joyce at 

 From this side of the pond

Pop over there to see other posts and if you want to join in add the link to your Hodgepodge blog post to the Linky List at the end of Joyce's post and don’t forget to visit at least your neighbours on the list.

Have fun

1. Share one thing that really makes your day.

Blue sky and preferably sun. Not much chance of that happening here any time soon. 

2. Lots of these kinds of lists out there, but one found here says the fifteen most colourful places on earth are: Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy~Burano, Italy~Havana, Cuba~Rio de Janiero, Brazil~Chefchaouen, Morocco~Balat, Istanbul, Turkey~Menton, France~Jodhpur, India~La Baca, Buenos Aires, Argentina~Guanajuato, Mexico~Capetown, South Africa~Valparaiso, Chile~Wroclaw, Poland~San Francisco, California~and Pelourhino, Salvador, Brazil.  
Of those listed which would you most like to see up close and in person? Of all the places you've seen or travelled in your own life, what would you say was one of the most colourful?

That depends on what you mean by colourful? Does that actually refer to colours or colourful as in what goes on there? I have been to France and to San Francisco. France can be very colourful in summer when there are fields and fields full of giant sunflowers. San Francisco is colourful in its eclectic mix of people and cultures.

3."Everything you want is on the other side of fear." Jack Canfield  In general, would you agree or disagree with that statement? Why? 
I think in certain circumstances it can be true. Sometimes you need to conquer your fears and if you can then the end result will be positive. However, I pretty much have everything I need right now so I have to disagree.

4. Imagine you're stranded on a desert island and dessert appears...what do you hope it is? Do you ever struggle to remember which spelling is desert and which is dessert?

I know how to spell both words and do not get confused over them.  I would choose Malteser cheesecake with a dollop of double cream and a dollop of clotted cream! I LOVE my cream!

5. What song almost always makes you cry?
I am really not mush into music But the Vera Lynn song “we'll meet again” was sung at both of my parents funerals and I can't hear it or even think about it with out being totally wretched. Tears running down my face right now!

6. January is National Soup Month.  Everything from soup to nuts, in the soup,thick as pea soup, souped up...which saying most recently applies to your life in some way? Explain. Who on earth comes up with these “months” Why soup month? How totally bizarre. I have never heard of any of those expressions and they don't sound like they would be relevant to my life at all.  
7. Write a two word note to your younger self. What does it say?

Be happy.  

8. Insert your own random thought here. They keep saying that it is going to get colder towards the end of the month. They forecast snow today but we haven't seen any. I HATE winter. Roll on spring.

Friday Five - In the news

I needed inspiration so I am copying Wendy's idea which is to choose 5 news stories that have caught my eye this week.  There are 5 categories.  You'll get the idea.

The only problem with this is that I try very hard to avoid the news!  We do not get a newspaper and I do not watch it on the TV if I can help it.  I see snippets whist I am on the Internet.

International.

Not sure if Scotland counts as International?  They are independent of us and you do cross a border to enter Scotland albeit just a sign on the road side. (No men in kilts playing bagpipes)!
Anyway, this is the story that I first heard this morning and it is all over our news.  Yet another river has burst its banks causing terrible destruction and misery.  This time it is the river Don in Aberdeenshire which broke its banks overnight. Many residents had to be evacuated from their homes.

I can only try to imagine what it must be like to be in this situation.  It must be very scary to watch as the water gets higher and higher and finally enters your home. The damage and mess left behind once the water recedes is devastating.

We seem to be seeing these scenes more and more here in the UK. It seems that it is getting wetter here. We could debate all day on why that maybe.  Global warming?  Who really knows?  It is a solution that everyone is more interested in.  Well we can't stop it raining, if only!  So we have to do something to stop the flooding.  There is much talk about our flood defences and river dredging and the like.  I don't know too much about it.  What I do know is permission is still regularly granted for new homes to be built on flood plain land and that can't help can it?

Fortunately for me,  although we live in the Fens, most of which is at or below sea level; our house is slightly uphill so it would be very unlikely to flood.  That said if there was to be a massive tidal surge on the coast.......  In fact Lincolnshire County Council has recently spent a ton of money erecting escape route signs!

It was quite funny actually as they erected all the signs before telling people what they mean so much guessing was going on! This is the sign.   They are designed to lead people away from the lower coastal towns to the higher ground of the Lincolnshire Wolds.  Spalding which is about 15 miles from us is at particular risk of tidal flooding.  It is inland but the river  runs out to the Sea on the East coast.

Local.

There doesn't seem to be anything happening in my village this week or even in the nearby town of Bourne.  There is an interesting story for Stamford though.  (Stamford is about 15 miles away so at least the Merikans will think it is local)!  They are reviving the ancient tradition of Wassailing.  This originated in the British cider making districts and traditionally took place on the 17th of January (the old 12th night). The purpose of wassailing is to awaken the apple trees and by scaring away the evil spirits, encourage the tress to fruit well in the coming year. Stamford is holding a Wassail this Saturday at the community orchard.  Perhaps I should do the same here to see if I can encourage my one apple tree!

Sport.
I have no interest in sport at all so any news simply won't be on my radar.  I shall scrap this category next week if I do Friday News again.  For today my sport news is...... drum roll please..... Fitbit have a new fitness tracker coming out!  The Fitness Blaze is due for release in March and I want one!  I  currently have a Fitbit Charge which is brilliant and it has got me moving.  The Fitbit Blaze has a colour screen and measures exercise too.  Plus it comes in purple and you can make the screen pink!!! Need I say more?

Entertainment.

The BBC "The Voice" programme starts again this Saturday.  I know this because there are constant trailers for it on the BBC.  I have never watched this as I am not really into these talent show things.  If you don't know "The Voice", it has a slightly different format to begin with as the judges can't see the contestants so they base their decision on the voice alone and not on appearances.  That has to be a good thing?  Remember the Susan Boyle story?  That was Britain's Got Talent. All 4 judges and the audience were discarding her the minute she walked on to the stage.......until she opened her mouth. Simon Cowell's shock was visible.  Trouble is with these sort of programmes is they seem to offer nothing more than a few minutes of fame.  Very few of the contestants or even winners go on to be stars.

Miscellaneous.

Apparently our government have had a review on alcohol consumption and are about to revise the guidelines on safe drinking limits. They are basically saying that there is NO safe limit and that you should always have 2 alcohol free days a week and no more than 1 unit for women and 3 for men.  So, what happened to the claim that red wine is good for you? HMMM.

There 5 bits of news. If I do this next week, I am going to scrap sport.  I shall have International, UK, Local, entertainment and Misc.

Friday news was the idea of my cousin Wendy.  Why not join in. It would be very interesting to read what is going on in your area and maybe we could open discussions on some of the topics.  I would love to know what you think is the cause of the change in our weather.  Now if only I could  get blogger to let me comment.  Stupid thing.

Week One of "The Challenge"

Oh dear, seems I am already behind with the blogging. I need inspiration and motivation. One of my old blogging friends, Melanie, is doing a sort of self improvement challenge.

She was inspired by 2 Facebook posts currently doing the rounds.

I have decided to join her as it may just help me get my blogging mojo back. Can't hurt to try anyway.

See them here if you are interested:

http://brightside.me/article/how-to-change-your-life-for-the-better-in-just-one-month-505/

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2014/12/52-fun-things-try-a-new-one-each-week-of-the-year/

The first link promises “4 weeks, 12 steps and in just 1 month you won't recognise yourself”! A very bold statement. Sounds good to me and it can't hurt to try. So….

Week 1. Purifying the body and mind

Step 1 - Get up earlier. The author suggests 6am. Now I don't know about you but that is the middle of the night as far as I am concerned! However I can see her logic that if you give yourself more time at the start of the day then you should have more time to get stuff done and that includes “me” time.

She also says that often we are not actually tired so much as lethargic and fed up. I think that is true. I am not a morning person. I like my bed. I think part of my problem is that I do not go to sleep early enough. I am usually in bed before midnight but because I find it so difficult to get to sleep I have my light on until at least 2am. I read and use my computer.

I am going to adapt this step to my own needs. So I am going to try and make sure that my light is off by midnight. I will try to be up by 8.30.

Step 2 – Better nutrition. This is a no brainer. The message is basically to ditch the junk and allow our bodies to recover. The ultimate aim is a fit and healthy body. Well we all want that don't we? I think I eat fairly healthily most of the time. I have lost a lot of weight over the last year so I am pretty good about portion sizes. However we have just had Christmas and New Year and a daughters 30^th birthday celebrations and I have stuffed myself with all kinds of rubbish. No wonder that I feel slow, heavy and lethargic. My energy didn’t just get up and go I chased it away with all the rubbish I have fed it.

I need to try to eat more light, healthy but nutritious meals and they need to be easy to make, quick to cook and relatively cheap. I am going to try and make one new meal this week that fulfils this criteria.

Step 3 – Sport I.E. Exercise

Hmm, me and sport do not compute. Computer says “NO”. Merikans probably won't get that joke. I am already getting my 10,000 steps a day (mostly). So how to try and do this step? I need to increase my flexibility so I am going to try and incorporate some simple stretches into my day.

Now to that 2^nd link. This is a list of 52 new things to try. The idea is obviously one a week for a year.

Week 1. Write a handwritten note and post it to someone you haven’t been in touch with for a while.

I can't really remember the last time I wrote a personal letter. I mean occasionally I have written a letter to my bank, but a letter to a known person? Not in an age. Actually letters to the bank are not handwritten and this specifically says handwritten.

I am going to have to give this some thought as I can't think right now who would most like to receive a letter. This sort of comes under the heading of a random act of kindness. I like that.

So to recap; this week I shall be properly in bed and attempting sleep by midnight and up to greet the day by 8.30am. I shall do some stretching exercises, cook one new meal and write a letter using a pen! Quite how all this will help with my blogiing mojo, I have no clue!

Like my friend Melanie, I will update you next Sunday. Fell free to join in.

Melanie s blog is here: http://chovblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/01/week-one-of-challenge.html

2nd January 2016

Well Christmas is over and New Year has gone so that is all done and dusted for another year.  Only 357 days until we get to do it all again!

I was looking at some of my blog statistics today. The last 2 years have been rubbish. I managed just 28 last year and about 38 in 2014. I used to love blogging so much and more or less never missed a day. It seemed to all go downhill when we moved 4 years ago.

It isn't that I don't want to blog.  It is simple lack of time.  I never have enough hours in my day and right now I often have other things that I prefer to do.

However, I do miss the people that I used to interact with.  I am now only in regular touch with 2 of my old bloggy friends which is such a shame.

So, I know I have said it before, but I am going to try and give it another go.  I'm not promising daily blogs or even weekly blogs but I am going to  try to be here more often. If I have time and it suits me.  I'll see.

Right now I am snuggled up in bed with Beanie.  I have my cosy PJ's on and I am waiting for Simon to come up with a drink.   It has been a great start to the New Year for us with all our family together in Peterborough to celebrate Saskia's 30th birthday.

We went to Bella Italia which was ok.   I am not a fan of Italian food but everyone else seemed really pleased with their meals.  We had a wonderful time. I'll post a few photos when I get up.

Ok time for bed now as it is really late. Be back soon hopefully!

Welcome 2016

Well here we are.  I hope that by now we have all all arrived safely in 2016.  My daughter commented yesterday that she always feels sad as the year closes.  I think the opposite.  We must be happy that we have made it through and that we have another year stretching ahead.  I find it exciting.  So many possibilities lie ahead.

Those who know me will already know that they will not be finding resolutions here.  I don't do those.  There is nothing magical about the 1st of January.  If you want to start something, well just get on and start it.  Want to make changes?  Well do it.  Start right away.  It doesn't matter what the date is.

I do have hopes and plans for the year ahead.  Here are a few:

Our biggie which I am so excited for is our youngest sons wedding in August.  

We want to get away more in Tallulah this year.  Maybe even venture abroad in her.

I want to progress with my various crafts and maybe learn some new ones.   I must get to grips with my Cricut.

I want to make sure that I stay healthy and maintain last years weight loss.

We want to see as much as possible of family and friends.  That is more important than anything else.

There are loads more things in my head too.  I can't list them all but I expect you get the idea.  My plan is basically to take care of myself and of those around me. To be happy and busy and simply grateful for every new day.

I will remember that today is the only day that I have.

In the words of Mother Theresa "Let us begin".

 

I wish you all Enough

I wish you enough love in your heart, and enough communion with your soul.

I wish you enough light to illuminate your lessons, and enough dark to integrate your wisdom.

I wish you enough giving to open your heart, and enough receiving to bring you home.

I wish you enough activity to sharpen your mind and strengthen your body, and enough rest to bring you peace.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright, no matter how grey the day.
I wish you enough rain to nourish your garden and to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough gentle wind to lift your hair and your dreams

I wish you enough storms to clear away the old and make room for the new.

I wish you enough dirt to grow your herbs and flowers and to keep your feet firmly on the ground.

I wish you enough clouds in the sky to inspire you to reach beyond them.

I wish you enough birds in flight to delight your eyes and enough birdsong to serenade your ears.

I wish you enough kisses and cuddles with children and animals to bring you simple joy.

I wish you enough friendship to remind you that you are not alone.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and ever lasting.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough starlight to inspire your imagination and enough moonlight to stir your soul.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

I wish you ENOUGH.

Out with the old and in with the new.

Well here we all are on the cusp of another new year. It is 23.31 here in the UK so not long now. I can hear some fireworks already although they are distant. Probably at the far end of the village where there are more houses. I am writing this in bed, in the dark, with a little grandson fast asleep next to me. I hope the fireworks do not wake him.

It is little Morra, Saskia's son, who is having his first ever sleepover on his own. He has obviously stayed here lots of times but never without Mummy and Daddy. They are currently having a few days in London to celebrate Saskia's 30^th birthday which was yesterday. I have no idea how she can possibly be 30. That is 4 of my 5 children now in their thirties. I am of course still sticking with 46!

Those of you that know me will know that I don't really celebrate new year. As far as I am concerned it is just another date on the calender and doesn't mean much. It is the simple passage of time, nothing more or less. The 2^nd of January is as much a new day as the 1^st. Every single day is a day to start afresh.

Despite the lack of any celebrations, like most people I do take some time to reflect on the outgoing year. So I thought for this blog tonight I could do a quick rehash of 2015. I have hardly blogged at all so you will have all missed out on what I have been up to.

The year got off to the worst possible start when our Loulou died on the 18^th of January. This was followed within hours by the devastating news of the fire at the kennels where we do volunteer work. Three precious doggies were lost that night along with the reception building.

Much of our spare time this year has been spent working with the other volunteers to rebuild and move on from that dreadful night.

January had one bright point when our Beanie came to live with us. He is a Saffy / English Bullie Cross and he has given us so much joy this year.

February saw us take our first overnight trip In Tallulah our camper van. Since then we have had lots of day trips and weekends and 4 extended holidays including visiting Scotland for the first time. We also had a lovely family weekend with 2 of my cousins, my sister and some of our children.

In May Simon celebrated his 60th birthday with a big gathering of family and friends. The weather was lovely. He also made the decision that it was time to say goodbye to teaching and he did his last day on the 17^th of July. He officially retired on the 31^st of August and he is LOVING it.

September was a busy month with celebrations on the 10^th for Sam and Lisa's 10^th wedding anniversary. It was also the month that we became the owners of a second house. That was a biggie as the income from that has made living on a pension a lot easier.

October saw Coralie finally heading off to Tanzania to do her cycle ride in aid of womens cancer charities. She raised over £4000. We are incredibly proud of her.

In November Three Counties Dog Rescue opened a charity shop in Bourne and we have been heavily involved with that. It has been hard work but very exciting.

December and the lead up to Christmas was all quite calm and stress free and we were lucky to have a wonderful Christmas and to enjoy the company of our children and grandchildren. Since then, things have not been good as our eldest daughter Coralie has once again found herself back in hospital. We are crossing our fingers for better health for her in 2016.

My biggest achievement of the year is my weight loss but it is now officially 2016 so I think that has to be another blog. Suffice to say 2015 was the year that I lost over 4 stones in weight! Go me!

Time to say goodnight I think and time to snuggle up with my little one. I do wish you all a very Happy New Year and many blessings for 2016. Above all I hope that it is a peaceful one and as always I wish you “ENOUGH”.