It's warm!! Well warmER

The bird bath has been very popular this morning. It has been frozen pretty much constantly for the last 2 or 3 weeks but now had water again rather than ice and there has been a lot of splashing going on. The birds have queued up in the trees to take their turn. Just watched a robin hogging it. He/she was loving it and splashed around a lot. It's still only about 6C outside but seems so much warmer than 2C with a wind chill of -5.

I had an early start this morning with Jen going to a new dentist for the first time and guess what? The only appointment I could get to see my doctor in the next two weeks is 8.10 next Monday morning! :-( It's bad enough being a Monday but 8.10?? He is fully booked this week and only in on Monday next week *sigh*.
Between a long wait for a blood test to be done and now a wait to see doc, it will be over a month since initial request. Good job it's not urgent eh? At least I know the blood test results will be there. They should already be there now!

Mum

Did you watch 'midwives' last night? I found the deaths of the loving brother and sister very moving and I was in floods of tears. It brought back some awful memories and some good ones for me. I re-lived the day I heard my Mum had finally left us after a severe stroke, followed by my lovely hubby, Peter later that same day.
I had spent time at Mum's bedside that last week, just sitting holding her hand and talking to her, not knowing if she could hear me or if it sunk in, as she drifted in and out of consciousness. One piece of news I know she did hear was that my first grandchild was on the way. Later on she managed to say "Craig - baby", with difficulty, in a lucid moment.
 Losing Peter was a huge blow and nowhere near as peaceful as he had the full response team working on him to bring him back. They sent me out of the room while they tried all sorts to bring his fluttery heart back working but to no avail. I don't think he knew what was happening. I had found him 'asleep' in his chair in front of the tv, but could feel a faint pulse so opened the front door and  dialled 999 while I tried to drag him onto the floor. The paramedic was there in less than 2 minutes! and the ambulance followed about 2 mins after that. They did all they could.
All that happened 7 1/2 years ago now yet the memories of that day will be with me forever. It took me 3-4 years to be able to watch CPR and re-suss scenes on Casualty and Holby City without feeling that panic again.

January 2011

My grandson will be 7 next month and is the most adorable little boy. I had the chance to spend time with him and his half brother last week, enjoying bedtime especially. Alex is gentle and loving and loves being read to in bed. I got special lovely hugs as he snuggled down. Jack is almost 11 now and way too grown up for a story or hugs and kisses... but he can't run away when he's in bed *evil grin*.
Horrible Grandma inflicting kisses on him!

I am lucky that this last cold snap came before most of my camellia buds had opened. The few that had went brown very quickly with the deep frosts, and the rest seem to have halted their opening. I hope they do recover and open later rather than just dropping off.
The pic was last year showing the first buds opening. Not so many are open yet so fingers crossed they survive the frosts.
The blooms are lovely and the bush looks spectacular for about 3 weeks.
There are daffs well up now and should be flowering before too long :-)
Spring is on its way.


I am watching the skies for the starling flight displays, but it is maybe a bit early yet. There are several around Poole town and I love to watch them while I walk the dog pre-sunset. It won't be long - I've seen small training flights taking place with last years babies practising the moves.

We had a shock last week to find our quiz pub has changed hands and the new owners were moving in on Tuesday! I do hope they don't do major changes to the menu, but I expect there will be quite a few. The Acorn is one of the few remaining pubs in the area that is a drinking pub that does food, rather than a restaurant that does beer. Their meal prices were very reasonable with most dishes in the £4-£7 range. Good basic pub grub, nothing fancy, but well cooked and a good plateful for the money. We will miss Margaret's meals. Hope they have some food in for tonight!

Keep warm folks - not long until summer! :-)
xx

Febrrrrrrruary moans and groans

I knew winter had to come some time - and it's been - two weeks of near arctic conditions with a flow of air straight from Siberia! Normally I enjoy cold weather and snow (we didn't get any) but my knees have reminded me I am getting older and cold weather sets off the pains something rotten. The knee injection has fully worn off and I'm back on pain killers to keep functioning.

The diet is going well with over half a stone off so far. Slimming World seems to suit me and is easy to manage. My friend Linda is doing it with me and we both have good and bad moments. But we have our holiday in May to look forward to, both being something like 2 stone lighter than when we started!
Honey had a bout of illness with a raised temperature and dramatic stiffness in her back legs. The vet wasn't sure if it was a strained back or possibly viral arthritis. She was on home rest, anti-biotics, and anti-inflammatories for over a week before she gradually got freedom of movement again. It was painful for her going up and down the step in and out of the garden for quite a few days and she took ages to hobble upstairs to bed. I thought she'd sleep on her day bed as it was obviously painful for her to get up and down the stairs, but she would rather face the pain and sleep near me at night than sleep alone downstairs.
She is now off all the medications and seems ok again. I started walkies again gradually, keeping her on the lead for a week so she didn't go mad and run about too soon. She is now back to running her laps at speed, but doesn't run as fast or as long as she used to. I have to remember she is now 8 1/2 and not as young as she used to be. She is about the same age as me now so I should expect her to slow down a bit.

It's that time of year when we look ahead to summer festivals and try to plan which we are going to. Two are dead certs - Cropredy, celebrating 45 years of Fairport Convention - and Shrewsbury because it's the best folk festival in the country. Both of these are camping jobs  but it's ok once tent is up. My tunnel tent is spacious with plenty of head room for little me. Half tent is bedroom, half is living space. It's supposed to be a 4 man tent but like most tents they are better with half that number.

I love my double thickness air bed. So comfy to sleep on. No that isn't me on the bed! But it is like the bed I have. 1 metre wide and a decent height off the ground. It takes up half the bedroom space in the tent! If needed you can unzip it and make a single thickness king sized bed :)
There is also the benefit that should you lose any air from either mattress you do not end up feeling the ground under your bum :-)

Getting excited about Cropredy - they've been announcing bands being booked and it's looking great. Richard Thompson is down for the Friday night and of course will join FC for the final long set on the Saturday night. They have booked Legend to come back again. A Bob Marley tribute band fronted by Bob's son. They were last there a few years ago on the wettest Cropredy I've experienced and yet everyone was smiling during their set. It was like the sun shone on the stage and spread a warm glow through everyone. It was impossible to not move to the beat of the music. Lovely to see the 'mosh pit' people all dancing around in waterproofs and umbrellas. I hope they don't bring the rain back this year.  Friday also sees the Saw Doctors and Joan Armatrading! Did someone say 'folk'?