Empty house!!

It has been very quiet here today as mum has gone home and Andrew is away for the weekend. Ian and I quickly did some housework/jobs this morning and then we decided to take advantage of the last day for a £5 roast dinner at a carvery with Jenny and Ed. Everyone else in Thanet seemed to have the same idea as it was very crowded but we didn't have to wait too long and had a lovely meal.
We then went looking for a new bed settee but didn't have any luck, will try again tomorrow.
Off for a game of bowls now!
sudoku - 567

The woodpecker

We had a very busy woodpecker on our lawn this morning having a good dig around. I tried to creep out of our kitchen door to take a picture but it flew away, when it came back I crept out the front and managed to take a picture over the garden gate.

This is a close up. I get a great deal of pleasure watching the birds and spend a fortune on bird food. Fortunately our cat was sleeping on Andrew's bed at the time.

I've just posted the next CJ to Sharon, what a relief! I now have to think of the next one.

We are taking mum down to the sea front this morning for a last stroll and a coffee, she goes home tomorrow. I think it has done her good being here, she certainly looks a lot better.

sudoku - 589

So much to do!!

Ian has finished the bedroom and last night I sorted out all my stash and have my desk back to normal, I just need to encourage him to put up some more of my pictures and apart from a new carpet, we are finished. It is such a relief to get everything back to normal as I am getting withdrawal symptoms from not scrapping!
Today I want to get my CJ done, I need to research my birth year first which will be very interesting and then I think I will keep the page very simple as I have to post it on Tuesday.
Next I want to get all my christmas stash together ready to start Shimelles christmas class, I'm really excited about doing this and hope I will be allowed the time to enjoy it!
I also have a few pages of her last class to finish and all my christmas cards to do so I have a busy time ahead.
Ian is taking Jamie to the football this afternoon and Jamie is also coming around for lunch tomorrow so that he can watch West Ham v Spurs, I think it had better be a draw to satisfy everyone in the family!
Mum seems better in herself but still very forgetful, I think the company and the daily walks by the sea are helping, she can be a little moody though which isn't like her but I put that down to the steroids. She is helping with the dishes and making me the odd cup of tea which is more like her.
sudoku - 435

Ian and the seagull!

Had a nice day yesterday with mum. We decided to go down to the sea front and get a bite to eat. As it was a nice day we sat on one of the benches with a hot cheese and bacon pastry, something Ian drools over but I don't let him have much as they are too fatty. I gave him his pastry and with great delight he raised it to his lips for a bite, only to have a large seagull swoop down and pinch it out of his hands, I wish I had taken my camera!! He was not impressed and neither was mum as she is frightened of birds, after I had moved us to safety and given my pastry to Ian, things settled down again and when we went into Morellis for Ian to have an icecream, he actually managed a smile!
Today, after several months, Ian and I finally have our first appointment with our new NHS dentist, I can't wait!
sudoku 440

Lovely day

Mum has come to visit for a couple of weeks as she has not been feeling too good. Friday, as the day was so lovely, we took her down to the front to get some fresh sea air and a pot of tea and a scone! We had a good walk along the front and I managed to take a photo complete with shadow!
Yesterday I took her to my hairdressers and she got a well needed perm to cheer her up and today Jenny, Ed and the children came round to see her. Hopefully with me reminding her to take all her pills, walks by the sea and a few good meals she will soon be feeling more like her old self.
Have just watched Strictly come dancing and poor Kate and Anton are finally out, I thought she really tried hard for the dance off and felt quite sorry for her and I will miss gorgeous Anton. Must be out of practice because my sudoku today was too bad to record hope I'm better tomorrow.
Our bedroom is getting there slowly, everything seems such a muddle and I desperately want to do some more scrapbooking, I have been trying to finish a cross stitch instead.

Happy Birthday Jenny!

It's Jenny's birthday today and I couldn't let it go by without saying happy birthday to her. Here she is at Grandma's on her second birthday, just after this photo was taken she was sick all over the table!! The look on her face suggests she was planning to do that all along. We all went out for a lovely meal last night to celebrate and tonight I think Jamie is having "baby food" while Jenny and Ed have a delicious M & S meal, he is hard done by!

Here are two more pages for my shimelle book, not the right sort of bowls I know but this page is about us taking up bowls, we had our last coaching lesson today and thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have always enjoyed teaching young children and this is why, everyday to them is exciting and new and there is always so much to learn, I wish we could all feel like that.

sudoku - 503

Design Collective

Ian, Peter and I walked along by the sea this morning to blow the cobwebs away!! A lot of the beach huts had been damaged after the very high tide last week and the sea was still quite choppy. Peter then treated us to a coffee and scone.

I did this layout of mum using a class from the Design Collective by Scrapdolly. I have been a member of this from it's very beginning and can't recommend it enough, I have made some good friends there and have enjoyed all the classes and the support from the designers.

Jenny, Ed and the children came round in the afternoon and nearly demolished a chocolate cake.

I'm looking forward to the result show of Strictly Come Dancing soon, so not a bad Sunday!

sudoku - 657

Assertive or caring?

Apparently I am not assertive enough, I can choose whether to visit my sick 84yr old mother or not. Other people choose not to, they are being assertive.
Well in that case I choose to love, worry and care for my mum, I will phone her up and listen to her worries and try to cheer her up. I will visit as often as I can, have her to stay several times a year, include her in family weddings and Christmas. We don't choose to be ill, as we know all too well, circumstances dictate otherwise. The one thing mum has always worried about is being a burden on her daughters as she grows older, I choose not to make her feel that way.

As promised!!

I've actually done some scrapping today, I'm trying to finish off my shimelle book before I do a class from the Design Collective. This page is about the dreaded weekly shop!
This is mum outside her bungalow, she is the kindest person I know, she has always been there for everyone, now it's our turn to be there for her, love you mum!
This one symbolises (not sure if that is spelt right!) how I have been feeling lately.
We all went out this morning to do a bit of Christmas shopping, Peter managed to get a few things and I ended up with a scrapbook magazine and a cookery one. I came home and whizzed around getting the housework done so that I could do a bit of scrapping and relax a bit. Have just watched It takes two and I'm looking forward to tomorrow night, hope John Barnes does well.
sudoku - 427

Busy cooking!!

I spent the first half of the morning trying to get Ian out of a very bad mood, I have never seen him like this in all the years we have been married, it's usually me who has the moods!!! We went to the shops to get some goodies in ready for the children tonight and Peter who is coming back for a few days, yes I have made you butter tartlets Peter! I wasn't sure right up to today whether we would actually be here to see him so it is nice that things have fallen our way for a change.
I've just spoken to mum and a very kind neighbour had brought her in a casserole which she was tucking into, I had to remind her about her pills again and I'm a bit concerned she might have taken the wrong dose of one of them, but she seemed a lot brighter.
Yesterday I had to add some more pages to an album to finish shimelles class, I got myself in such a muddle with it I ended up bursting into tears, shaking all over and so hot I had to open the window wide, Ian came rushing to the rescue and it was soon all sorted, I am an idiot! After that I was so stressed I couldn't do anything else and I've been too busy cooking today so hopefully tomorrow I will get the book finished. My blog seems to be one long moan at the moment and I want to get back to posting some layouts etc. Be patient with me I will get back to normal soon.
sudoku - 437

Have been finding it hard to blog lately as too worried about mum. She is still very confused and not feeling like doing anything. Thank you to my friends from the Design Collective who always ask after her and to Jenny who always sticks up for me and also loves her Nan.
Ian and I managed to get a game of bowls yesterday, it is only a 6wks course and we have had to miss 1 and 1/2 lessons to go to mums so we really had to start from scratch, it was fun though and my team won!
Today I was going to finish shimelles class as I have just signed up for her christmas one, but things got in the way as usual. Ian and I ended up going for a walk by the sea which was just what we needed.

Back!

Well, I'm back from Mum's, having missed Jamie's birthday and party, something I absolutely hated doing. Mum is home from hospital and is hopefully settled in her home now. We did the garden, cleaned the house from top to bottom, did all the ironing and filled her fridge and freezer. I felt terrible leaving her but we had to get back to sort our own house out as we weren't expecting to be away more than a couple of days. Hopefully Sue will stay the night tonight as she is popping in.
Jenny and Ed very kindly invited us for lunch as we have nothing in to eat and it was a chance to see the children and say happy birthday to Jamie. We had tuna pasta and some lovely cheese and onion bread that Ed had made.
I've caught up on all the news on the Design Collective and UKS and I'm now going to have a relaxing bath and read my book.
I read a really good book whilst over at mum's called The Tenko Club by Elizabeth Noble. I haven't read a book so quickly for quite a while and would definitely give it 9 out of 10. I must look out for more books by her.
Jenny has leant me the last series of 24 so I have that to look forward to, might try and persuade Ian to watch it too! I have so much to watch at the moment, most of it Ian doesn't like though so I have to choose my moments carefully!
sudoku - 545