Friday 13th

Photo Copyright:Maggie May

First of all, I want to apologise to anyone who commented on my last post. I know I had at least sixteen comments that have now disappeared. Obviously, I cannot reply to you now, as I don't know who you were because I couldn't get into the blog to read them.

Blogger certainly had a major blip on Friday the thirteenth!

Just as well I am not the least superstitious.

However, it was not a good day for us as, apart from Blogger chewing up my latest post and preventing me from commenting on other people's posts, Harry started his first chemo session on that day and has obviously got to go through quite a lot of discomfort that is part and parcel of chemo therapy.

So far, he is doing well.

My brother, Eddie Bluelights from Clouds and Silvery Linings, wanted me to apologise that he hasn't got in touch with anyone because his phone line and broadband has been playing up. It will be a week before he gets fixed up with a new system. He also says he will be getting back to his Sunday Roast as soon as he can.

Looking forward to uneventful blogging days in the future though eventful blogging days are probably more fun.

Are You A Zombie Chicken?

I have been awarded a Zombie Chicken award by my brother, Eddie Bluelights. Not sure whether he thinks I'm a chicken, a zombie or both!

In order to qualify for this honourable award, I have to answer several questions.

So here we go.

1. What came first - the chicken or the egg?

The chicken! Well it stands to reason that an egg can't just appear. The chicken was probably made by God in the first instance. So thats an end to it.

2. Which facet of blogging do you enjoy most?

a) Writing

b) Visiting

c) Commenting

a) Writing.

I like visiting and commenting too, but the writing comes first. Sometimes I feel I will explode if I don't write.

Not silly stuff like this, though. You can tell I'm low on ideas at the moment to have undertaken to do this in the first place. Sorry brother.

3. Runner beans - do they really grow clockwise in the southern hemisphere and counter clockwise in the northern hemisphere - or is this a load of tosh, they grow either way wherever they are?

They please themselves how and where they grow. I think gravity pulls them down no matter which hemisphere they grow in.

4. What attracts you most to the opposite gender?

a) A good sense of humour

b) He/She is loaded with dosh

c) He/She is romantic

d) He/She has a fast sports car like a Corvette

e) Good looks

f) Neither - please specify

f) I suppose different things in different people.

I'm not looking!

5. What New Year's resolution did you make?

Look at my last post and you will see.

I am supposed to pass this award on to other people. However, you will realise that I am a kind person and will not inflict this on anybody. However, everyone who comments on my blog is worthy of the award, so please help yourselves. I am not suggesting that you are a chicken or a zombie for one minute.

Maybe someone could come up with the explanation of what a chicken zombie is!

(I've led a sheltered life!)

Preparing For Christmas

Photos Copyright: Maggie May

This week in particular, I have not had much time for blogging as I have suddenly realised just how far behind I am with Christmas preparations.

As well as Christmas things, we have had two very important Birthdays recently. Millie, who I have already talked about in my last post and my sister in law, Mrs Bluelights. You can get to my brother Eddie's blog here.

Mr and Mrs Bluelights invited us to a wonderful feast last night to celebrate my sister in law's 60th birthday, in a really lovely country pub.

However, we left the instructions on the table and managed to get lost, turning off the Bath Road before we should have and ending up in a country lane that got narrower and narrower as the time went on. Just as well that the snow and ice had completely thawed, else we might have missed the family gathering altogether.

Two phone calls later and eventually getting on the right path, we managed to get there just in time!

It is always lovely to meet up with a large family group and to catch up on all the latest news while sharing a meal together.

As well as family things and trying to get the Christmas decorations sorted out, there have been grandchildren's school activities to go to and these are always wonderful occasions. This year Millie had to have a santa outfit (which was bought from a charity shop) and Amber had to be dressed as a Russian peasant girl. This was all put together by foraging amongst old clothes and shawls and things that I hadn't thrown out and that sometimes come in really useful. There is still one more full week of things before the school breaks up.

Some of you might be wondering what happened to Lily, my sex starved rabbit. Did I have her spayed or not?

Well no....... not yet. Things seemed to calm down and Lily has accepted Ash as a brother again. Well that is how the land lies at the moment but as everyone knows, things can change pretty quickly with animals and children and I always say, *Always expect the unexpected*!

For the time being, it looks like Lily will not be spayed until the New Year or possibly later.

Thank you all those people who commented about the subject with useful advice. It has all been logged down and noted.

Well, Harry is tapping his feet and looking at his watch every few minutes because we have to be somewhere else very soon. Everything is such a rush.

Must go.

The First Re- Roast

My brother asked me to put this image on my post.

Is it because he thinks I am a pig? Oh dear.... is this me on a spit?

And has he forgotten that I'm a vegetarian?

Click the side bar to find out!

I am being Re-Roasted this weekend.

Re-roasted by my brother, Eddie Bluelights over at his blog, Clouds and Silvery Linings, on his regular Sunday Roast pitch.

This is his opportunity to give me a real grilling and get back at me for all the things that I might have done to grieve him when we were both little!

I was first Roasted by David McMahon some time ago, and when he decided to quit his blog so that he could devote time to write his novels, he handed over to my brother Eddie, who added lots of funny questions, making the whole thing a bit of a headache!

However, some of the answers from other people who have been Roasted over the last year, are quite funny.

I am delighted to see that David, from Authorblog has recently started posting again but has indicated that Eddie should continue with the Sunday Roasts.

So Eddie thought of all the people who have missed his new questions and he is now inviting all those former Roastees to have another go and answer them.

I seem to be the guinea pig in this new venture!

I am the first!

Why not click on Eddie's link or on the Sunday Roast Logo on my side bar and find out what it is all about?

See me sweating and gasping on the spit.

Don't forget, if you have already been Roasted but would like a chance to answer Eddie's new questions or if you've never been Roasted but would like to be, leave a comment on either blog and we will get back to you.

Eddie Bluelight's Hip Replacement

Yesterday, Friday, 12th, Harry and I went to lunch with my brother, Eddie Bluelights and sister in law Maria. It was good to be able to catch up on all our news and as usual, Maria put a lovely meal on the table that we really enjoyed.

Actually, when I come to think of it, none of us are in particularly good health right now but Eddie is the only one who is having problems getting out of a chair or walking across the room and it is awful to see him struggling like this, in pain, as he is normally such an active person.

He was due to have his operation today.

*********

I have just heard from Maria, that Ed had his operation this morning and was the second on the list.

He is apparently sitting out of bed eating a light supper! Hows that for the path to recovery? Marvellous I think.

If there is any different news, then I will add bits onto this post. I will leave it on for a few days.

My daughter and grandsons are on their way, so I have been informed by phone.

Have a good weekend everyone, mine will be busy!

Blaise on a Wet Day.

Photos copyright: Maggie May

When I was just about getting over the worst effects of chemo 2, a very kind person from Church, who I have known for a very long time, asked me if I would like to go to Blaise for a walk at the end of the week. I had previously told J that this was the type of thing that I missed most...... being able to get out of the house for a walk in a lovely environment, like I used to do on my own in the days before cancer treatment.

At the time we talked on the phone, I was still suffering quite a bit from the chemo brain syndrome and I really couldn't visualise ever feeling well enough to be able to go for a long walk. This attitude unfortunately, comes as part of the chemo package, the thought that this time my energy would not come back. However J managed to get me to give a firm date for Friday.

Well of course, by Friday I was feeling quite fit but the weather turned out to be dreadful... pouring with rain from the moment I got up, to the time that J was due to pick me up.

When she arrived, we decided to go ahead with the arrangement anyway and found ourselves at Blaise, a beautiful spot in Bristol, with marvellous walks and scenery. I have posted about this place before and have often visited in the school holidays with the grandchildren, sometimes with all four of them.

Obviously on Friday morning, a normal school day, there were very few people about. The rainy day probably made even less people go there than usual, though a few stoical dog walkers with dripping wet canines in tow did brave the elements.

There is a small cafe near the car park, so it seemed best to start off having a coffee in a dry place. It was good to chat and catch up on our latest happenings because neither of us normally has the time or opportunity to do that.

The rain seemed set for the day, but we decided to go for our walk anyway. Armed with umbrellas we set off, not only soaking up the rain but also soaking in the beauty of the wet trees and grass that looked new and unspoilt.

We walked along to the Mansion and then towards the river walk, passing this stone dog on our way.

We are really fortunate in Bristol to have so many lovely green spaces to walk in.

Then it started to rain really heavily and we turned and walked back to the car.

Walking in the rain with our umbrellas brought me a good deal of pleasure and I was so grateful to J for taking me there. Thank you J if you are reading this.

I would like to bring to everyones attention that this weekend, a very important person is being Roasted by my brother, Eddie Bluelights. It is none other than our old friend, David Mcmahon, the Melbourne journalist, author of several best selling novels and professional photographer, who has helped and inspired so many of us in the past. Every ones chance to learn more about him.

Please go over and see Eddie's Sunday Roast.

The Fight Is On....

Ok, so I had to blog about my shock yesterday in my last post. People have been so kind with comments and email and sending me funny things. The bra was sent by Mickle from Mickle's Pickle and it was great of her and I had a laugh. Anyway thank you for all the support and kindness in comments on the post and email. It really means a lot.

I am now in fighting mood and getting myself into gear for whatever might be ahead.

This is the post that was supposed to go out this weekend, so here it is. Back to business.

Blogging Is Like A River...

Photo copyright: Maggie May

I have sensed that there has been a kind of apathy going round in Blogland lately. Everyone, myself included, has experienced a huge hole since David left.

Eddie Bluelights has made a great success of taking over his Sunday Roast and Hilary also with her Post Of The Week but there is still an unexplained void. Just makes you wonder how any one man could post so many photos and articles and keep the interest of hundreds of people, every day?

All this nostalgia has come to a head for me, after reading Saz's excellent post recently (Fat,Frumpy & Fifty) and she's none of the first two! It was entitled *What Is Your Sell By Date?*

It set me thinking. I wonder what my sell by date is? I don't mean that literally, thank you very much. I mean my blog shelf life.

I have lost several good blogging friends without warning and many others have tapered off writing altogether, only returning intermittently. Even sadder was when a couple of friends died.

Is it strange to think of people who I have never met, as friends? I think not. I feel that I have shared so much with other bloggers over the years and when they suddenly disappear, there is a feeling of sadness, bereavement even.

There is that saying, when one door closes another opens and there is much truth in that. There are many new and upcoming bloggers out there in cyberspace as well as all the established ones that I already know and value and those ones that I have yet to meet.

One of the comments in Saz's post was that (blog) life was like a river, flowing endlessly on........ I suppose gathering some new things and losing others as it swirls along, just like in real life. Another person said that she thought that a true friend thinks you are a good egg even if you are slightly cracked!

I liked both those replies!

In the end, we must decide who are we blogging for, other people or ourselves? It is good to have people appreciate our work, but as long as blogging gives us pleasure then that is the main thing.

I feel that my blog is therapy for me and combines my interest in photography with my love of writing. However, I think it is essential to visit others' blogs and leave comments. How can anyone have a one sided relationship? So please keep those comments coming in......... they are much appreciated and I will do my utmost to return to you.

Sleeping Daddy

Hosted by Cecily and Carissa

Photo copyright:Maggie May

This is what happens in our house when a Daddy tries to have forty winks. Those naughty granddaughters stuff toy cats down his ears.

There is no peace for the wicked.

I recently posted here about a 65th Birthday celebration with Eddie Bluelights and my son, Sam, thinking that people would twigg that we were all related to each other (as I was sure that people didn't know) and I was quite amazed that this passed right over most people's heads and that they really did think that we met up by accident in a pub when we were at other individual 65th Birthday celebrations.

It was meant to be a conundrum.

Each of us left a clue on each of our posts that went out at identical times with identical pictures.

Quite funny, really, when you think of it. How amazing would that be to meet up by chance while enjoying other people's 65th Birthday meals ?

We had fun doing this as a team.

I wonder if there is anyone else who doesn't know what we are talking about?

Forgive us if you don't.

Photostory Friday is hosted by Cecily.

The Sixty Fifth Birthday

I was recently invited, along with my family to a sixty fifth birthday meal in a lovely pub/restaurant not too far away. It was good to all get together and laugh and joke as well as catch up on all the news and eat good food that we hadn't had to prepare ourselves. Notice I am not mentioning drinks here?

Well it wasn't long before I heard even noisier laughing and noticed Eddie Bluelights was there!

I told you I'd had a bad day. (Didn't I?) Was it an illusion or not? Could it really be him? Photos started snapping all around me and I could do nothing to stop these bloggers from taking my picture. Full frontal as well. I had thought of suing them, but whats the use.

Photos copyright: Maggie May

Presents were opened and out plopped a black tee shirt that someone's son had bought for the Birthday Boy. This is the front of it.

And this is the back of it. Don't you think it was an ideal present to give to a blogger who can't keep away from his computer for one minute? Eddie's wife hates the thought of anyone encouraging this hobby. She much preferred the words on the back of the tee shirt and seemed to be most unimpressed with the front, as she thinks that she is flogging a dead horse with her complaints. I think Harry had great empathy with her about that too. Maybe they should get together and leave the bloggers in peace. Only joking, if she is reading this!

We soon all started to laugh the place down for some reason. Hard not to when the Birthday Boy is such a comedian.

The Sunday Roast

Most people who know David Mcmahon from authorblog will have been shocked and disappointed to learn that he decided to close his blog in order to promote more time to writing his novels.

Although this was an exciting thing for him to move on to, we will all certainly miss not only his photography and excellent journalistic writing, his sense of humour and his comments, but Verse and Worse (his funny rhymes), Post Of The Day, that made us all compete in a friendly way for recognition, and The Sunday Roast.

Whilst the Post Of The Day helped many people, myself included, to receive new comments and in turn, good blogging friends, similarly The Sunday Roast helped to introduce us to bloggers who were unknown to us.

Well I have got good news for you. David has recommended someone to take over the Sunday Roast and he is the Bristol Blogger, Eddie Bluelights who has agreed to do this and hopes to take over mid October.

Eddie wants to keep David's interviews in the same tradition and style and if ever David came back to blogging, he would hand everything back to him. So he is looking after it for him until such a day that this might happen.

There are quite a few people trapped on David's draft folder, who should have been appearing on his Sunday Roast. These people might have never seen the light of day if Eddie hadn't agreed to free them. It would be good to see who they are, if they are new people or whether they are good friends, whom we already know.

Some of you might well be thinking, "Whatever is this Sunday Roast?"

So for those who have never heard of it, I will explain quickly that David invited people to be interviewed via email, to use on his post every Sunday together with their picture.

Some of his questions were Why Do You Blog? What Is The Reason Behind The Blog Name? What Advice Would You Give To A New Blogger? He also asked what they thought was their most significant post on their own blog and why. Also what other blog had influenced or made the most impact on them and why.

These posts have always been really interesting to read and I have made some good blogging friends this way.

I was Roasted last December just after Christmas. It was good fun, if not a little hot!

Eddie also wants these back numbers linked to his blog for others to see but if this is not possible, then you can always check them out at David's place.

Well Eddie hasn't as many followers as David has (getting on for 1000). Who could compete with that? Therefore, it has been decided that some of his followers would spread the word around so that readers will know that the Sunday Roast is still in operation. That is why I am writing this post that I will leave on my blog for a week or so, before I post anything else.

So my dear readers, if you enjoyed David's Sunday Roast, please would you post a similar notice on your blog to help promote the fact that it is still in operation and point them to Eddie Bluelights?

I wouldn't be a bit surprised if David didn't come over and have a peek from time to time.

Let's give him something to be really proud of....... a tradition that was started by him and that lives on.

Righty ho then, over to you, as he would say.