Alphabe-Thursday - O is for Oasis and Optimism

This blog was never intended for anything but a bit of fun. My banner says it was meant to provide an oasis and that was what I wanted to do - promise anyone who followed that there would always be something positive to read here, or something funny or entertaining. Not for me the angst, the baring of the soul, the ranting and raving. Most of those things are, at least in my life, short lived and I have no wish to record them for posterity! So I have been a little quiet recently. Last week's Note From My Mum was not a joke. I have, in the last few weeks, had to come to terms with the fact that I am now a full time carer, my husband and my mother both need a lot of care and between them they take a lot of my energy and time.
I have worked since I left school at 18. I was a lawyer though I tend to keep that to myself these days. I was also a book keeper as a sideline. I was single until I was 36. When I gave up my job just before Christmas it was to give myself six months to catch up with a lot of things before I looked for something else, but I now realise that planning to get another job has been creating its own stress. My own health has been a bit suspect and I don't have the stamina to keep going all the time. Now that I have decided that I am not going to do that I find myself truly feeling a lot more optimistic about the future because I can give my energies to the two people who I love most in the world, and who need me the most and be very glad and feel, frankly, very blessed, that I harbour not one iota of resentment about the situation..
I am extremely fortunate that we can manage without my earning. Hubby being in a wheelchair means that we don't spend on things like holidays, or going very far afield for trips, neither of us smoke, he doesn't drink and I only do in moderation, I have time to cook real meals which are much cheaper than ready made and I have a wardrobe full of clothes that I used to keep for work, or best, which I can now wear to do the gardening in should I so desire. The social life I have is with the people I genuinely want to spend time with, not because they are the people I need to cultivate or people to whom I "owe" an invitation.
I may actually find that I will have the time and space to start preaching again - oh yes, have I told you I am a Methodist Preacher? I haven't been active for a few years because of all the other stuff that has been going on but I am hoping that might change in time. In God's time and mine.
So, for all you fraught and frazzled bloggers, this little oasis will remain open for business for the foreseeable future. I will welcome your company on this new journey and will stay optimistic I hope
More "o" s ( which makes an "oooooo" ) HERE

Alphabe-Thursday N is for Note from my mum

Dear Mrs Matlock, I am afraid I had to keep Jay from class today. I know that her education is important but I needed her more than you did.
Kind regards
Mrs Dubblah

Alphabe-Thursday M is for Music

Anyone who has been reading my Alphabe-Thursday posts regularly will know that I have already introduced some of you to a couple of my favourite singers but in fact my musical tastes lean a lot more in the classical direction than you might so far have thought. Music has been an important part of my life. As a small child I was taken along to rehearsals of Gilbert and Sullivan, as my dad belonged to two and sometimes three, amateur operatic societies. I appeared in my first musical at the age of 9, just a small part as a gypsy child in a musical called "Gypsy Love" and I was my dad's attendant in Iolanthe when I was 10 - he always played the G&S comedy role. I played a lead role in a school musical when I was 10 as well and at the age of 14 I sang in my first oratorio with the local choral society. That was as a soprano but I soon moved over to the altos. I have sung solo on occasion and have a video to prove it but not the technology to put it on YouTube (don't all breathe a sigh of relief quite so quickly ha ha) What was then called the "Third Programme" on the radio was on at home a lot, that was the classical music station, and I studied music at school. It is now called Radio Three and I still have it on a lot. Three of my favourite composers begin with "V" and that is my planned post for that letter when we get there. I do like popular music but if I had to choose then it would be classical. I like "World" music too, that is, music from non-western traditions. So, I thought I would set myself a little challenge and try to pick one classical and one popular composer or artist for every letter of the alphabet and this is what I came up with - I had to cheat a bit with first or second names and stretch the definition of classical or popular in a few cases. And there are surprisingly few classical composers for N and none that I like so I put in The Naxos Catalogue, which is the hugest list of classical CDs that I know of and which I drool over regularly. And I didn't want to cheat so I had to leave a few gaps. But I would be really interested to know a) how many of the 48 in the list you have heard of and b) any suggestions for the gaps

Albinoni and Alice Cooper,
Bach (J.S.) and Jacques Brel,
Canteloube and Leonard Cohen,
Dvorak and Dave Brubeck ,
Elgar and Electric Light Orchestra,
Faure and Brian Ferry,
Gershwin and Georges Guetary,
Handel and Lionel Hampton,
Isobel Baillie and The Inkspots
Jussi Bjorling and Japan,
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and The Kinks,
Lehar and Lata Mangeshkar ,
Mendellsohn and Mohammed Rafi,
The Naxos Catalogue and Peter Nero,
Orff and Mike Oldfield,
Phillip Glass and The Police ,
John Shirley Quirk and Queen,
Rodrigo and Diane Reeves,
Sondheim and Sade,
Tedesco and Tom Lehrer ,
?? and Unit 4 plus 2,
John Vickers and ??
Weil and Scott Walker,
Xavier Depraz and XLNC,
Yves Montand and The Yardbirds
??? and ???

Sorry I haven't put any pictures up with this, I was going to do a photo of my cd collection but the battery's gone on the camera again! See what other things the letter M has brought to mind HERE

Alphabe-Thursday L is for Langham and Lehrer

I found myself torn this week between introducing you to one of my favourite places and two of my favourite singers. But then I remembered that some of you do not confine yourselves to one subject, so I am going to take my L-lead from you.
The place is Langham Glass. I have only been there twice but hope to go again someday. They make glass ornaments there which are very expensive but they also have a visitor centre where you can go and watch stuff being made. Glass blowing is an amazing skill and the people who do it "in public" have a terrific patter which is very entertaining. It is mesmerising to watch. There is a beautiful walled garden there too. HERE is the link to their website There is, of course, a shop, which is why I have a "second" paperweight, much cheaper and just as lovely. It would be easy to spend an awful lot of money there. Hubby gave me a wren for our wedding anniversary this year so I have posted a picture of my two pieces of Langham glass

The singers are Tom Lehrer and Leonard Cohen - poles apart! Leonard Cohen is a Paris memory so you will have to wait for the letter P but Tom Lehrer, well I can't quite explain what it is. He is very clever for a start, he was a Maths Professor at Harvard who had a sideline in very funny songs. THIS is one is one of the less Politically Incorrect ones. Look at others at your peril. His career in singing was short lived and he was on The Frost Report a few times here in England. I am not sure how I came across him but listen to him over and over when I need cheering up

For other people's take on the letter L go HERE

Alphabe-Thursday K is for Kaleidoscope

I bought a new photo manipulation programme a while ago. It has some amazing features including what they call "Reflection" effects. One of those is called Kaleidoscope and I can't stop playing with it.

It turned this

into this

and this

into this

I didn't find the letter K very easy. I could have talked about the knife I used to cut the onions yesterday and how it cut my finger instead. I could have talked about my kinfolk, about not having any kids, about Kierkegaard or Khachaturian, but I want to go back and play with my photos some more.

See what other people thought of for the letter K HERE

Alphabe_Thursday J is for Jacques Brel

I don't speak French very well. I can just about make myself understood I think. I can read it a little better and am quite surprised how things come back to me when I try. I did do "A" level at School.
My parents were quite "bohemian" in a way and it was through one of their friends that I first discovered Jacques Brel . I don't remember much about that, it seems that I have loved his voice and music all my life. Those of you who know me will be shocked to discover that he features in my subconscious even before Bryan Ferry hit the scene!
His voice is just so.....The words of his songs, well, it sort of doesn't matter if you don't understand them, although over the years I have gradually understood more and a few years ago got hold of a copy of his complete works in book form so now when I feel I want to I can follow a song and get out my great big French - English Dictionary and try to sort them out.
He died relatively young at 49, which is the same age my dad died, in 1978 And he wasn't French - he was Belgian
The link at the end of this post is to what is probably my favourite. Basically it says that although there are so many things in the world that cause us pain, the worst is to see a friend cry. There a few pics there too.
Scott Walker made a bit of a name for himself singing translations but his interpretation was very different, far more angry, than the originals. If you are interested then have a hunt round YouTube for some more. Some are slow and sad, some are angry and some are very funny. Try Madeleine and then Mathilde. And there is at least one song that many of you will know "Ne me quitte pas" which really means "don't leave me" but which in the translation became "If you go away" The original is better I think. Some of the translations really miss the mark
He also wrote "The Impossible Dream" which doesn't really sound much like anything else he wrote

LINK to Voir Un Ami Pleurer

Read more "js" HERE

Wednesday Waffle #004

Inside this right handed person there may be a left handed person trying to make herself heard!
Due to some medical issues which I won't bore you with, the hospital consultant suggested that I buy a Wii. So I did. In fact, I had been tempted for some time but this gave me the clincher when it came to persuading Hubby that I wouldn't be wasting my money.
If you don't know, then I need to explain that one of the things you can do with it is a set of tests that give you your so-called "Wii-Fit Age"
Now I don't want to get all lopsided so I decided, as I am a bit ambidextrous anyway, to do the tests both right handed and left handed.. On the first try my Wii-Fit Age right handed was 74 and left handed was 62. I have now got the right hand down to 53 but the left hand is 39. At least, those are my best scores so far, it does go up and down.
My dad was left handed and the things he taught me to do I do more naturally with my left hand. I can write with both, use a screwdriver with both (very useful when you are putting flat pack furniture together) and do tend to get them mixed up, as in "turn right here dear", while pointing left.
So am I messing with my brain or was I just right handed generally because that's the way you are taught to be unless you have a really strong tendency the other way?

On the bathroom front, things are going well except that I had a really bad allergic reaction to the fumes coming off the stuff they put down on the floor before the waterproof flooring is laid. The builder is a happy chap and startles us regularly by suddenly singing one line from a song, quite randomly and then going quiet again. Then when you have got half way through that song in your head he has another go with a totally different song. Very strange! It should be finished by the weekend - here's hoping

Alphabe-Thursday I is for India

If I was fit enough and money and time was no object then the one place I would visit before all others is India (and Pakistan too) My maternal grandfather was in India in the British Army during the First World War. I have his photo albums of his time there but the pictures are so tiny and frankly most of them are quite boring because they are sepia and faded. I like this one though, of him writing at his desk.




We had, I should now be ashamed to admit, a tiger skin rug, which I remember being in Granny and Granddad's bedroom when I was little. There were quite a lot of bits of brass, some of which I still have and an embroidered shawl, which I have used as a backdrop for this next picture.




I am fascinated by the music and culture of the area, I love qawwali and I love bhangra and if you know about these things you will know that is going from the sublime to the ridiculous, to coin a phrase. I also love all that Indian cotton stuff that I used to wear when I was a hippy and which I now feel old enough to get away with again




The place I would go first is Jodhpur. This is in Rajasthan and is where my puppets came from. A lot of the buildings are painted a particular blue and it must be a wonderful thing to see. The picture here is a photo of a poster that I have on a wall




I have found a couple of good blogs about India so for the moment I have to be content with being an armchair traveller. See what other people have for I HERE

Wednesday Waffle #003

When I went out for my walk this morning I thought that at long last there was a smell of Spring in the air and the wind was actually almost warm.
It's been quite a busy week and blog watching has been rather low on my list of priorities. Those of you who also look at my "arty" blog, as opposed to this one which is my "wordy" blog, will know that I have been joining in a few photographic and illustrative challenges from time to time. I like to get real comments, constructive criticism is always welcome, but I know from looking at the contributions of other people that it can be difficult because there is no universally accepted form of notation for a tone of voice. When my husband started his OU course on computing the thing they called "netiquette" was heavily featured and it is something we can all do with learning about from time to time. The problem for me at the moment is that although I manage to do the challenges I don't always have the time to start trawling through all the other contributions and then I find it difficult sometimes to know what to say so I just slink off again without saying anything. So naturally I don't get a lot of comments either. So what do you think - is it better to stay quiet, say what you really think but being careful how you say it, or just say "how lovely" to everything whatever your real thoughts? It is such a subjective thing anyway.
The bathroom is coming on and the latex went down on the floor this afternoon. Much fun was had at the weekend as we went to the local swimming pool so that I could give OH a hose down in their disabled adapted shower room. Does anyone remember when Public Baths meant something other than a swimming pool? Are there any in big cities still?
I also had to go to the hospital for an appointment with a consultant and he suggested we get a Wii, so we did. Aren't they a lot of money! Anyway, my Wii Fit age right handed is 74 and left handed is 62. That gives me a lot to work for as my real age is only 54 and three quarters!

H is for.......

Come in, come in, take off your coat, sit here in this chair, no, not that one, that's MOTHER'S chair. Well now that I have lured you, little innocent that you are, into my strange blog (you really would have thought that you would have known better) and now that the door has closed mysteriously and of its own accord behind you, I will tell you that H is for........

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha, ooops, sorry, forgive the maniacal laughter

H is for Hammer Horror Films

Don't worry, you are quite safe, you are the heroine so you will survive, albeit traumatised for a minute or two. You only have to worry if you are second billing, the friend of the heroine, or the slightly dozy servant girl from the village, then you will be what is known in the trade as an STBT character (soon to be toast)

When I was in my teens I had a little black and white television in my bedroom, on which I would watch late night films. In those days television still went off in the early hours, none of this 24 hour stuff, and on a Friday night there would be a good old fashioned horror film that went on until after midnight. Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing were the three main protagonists, although you will find it difficult to name a film in which all three appeared. (As far as I am aware there are only two) The formula was pretty straightforward. Innocents abroad have to spend night in creepy location for whatever reason and are either preyed upon by monster/vampire in situ or provide the means for said m/v to travel to a more populated location and cause havoc among the friends and relations of said innocents. Or mad scientist experiments with electricity and soft tissue, or strange virus from space and creates something nasty in the laboratory which then escapes and causes havoc among his friends and relations.

Dracula featured heavily in my favourites but the thing about them was that they were not gory or horrific, they were just a bit spooky or scary and lots of fun. Identifying the STBTs was a good game, continued into my Star Trek days when they became STBTEs (soon to be toast Ensign) They were also great fun for spotting people in their younger days who became famous later on. That game was called "Good heavens it's him/her"

So there I would be in my little bed watching my little B&W tele in the wee small hours in my formative teenage years and you wonder how I grew up to be the well balanced intelligent individual that you see before you now? hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

Other more sane people will have posted their H's for Alphabe-Thursday at Jenny Matlocks Blog, now that the US has caught up with us HERE is the link

Wednesday Waffle #002

I'm sitting here at my computer with a nice cup of Orange Mango and Cinnamon tea and wondering what to waffle about. I could tell you the long tale of the bathroom but there are a lot of negatives in that story. The short tale is much better as we have found a really good builder who is treating us like intelligent human beings and comes highly recommended from people who's judgement I trust. But OH is without a proper bathroom for up to three weeks which is challenging. Thank Tesco for their facilities. It will be lovely when it's done though, a proper wheelchair friendly wetroom.
I must tell you about the tiles. We had decided to go with white and a pretty border. I went to a rather nice shop on the local trading estate which had a huge choice of accent and border tiles and saw some I really REALLY liked and then some others that I thought himself might like and some others that we might just possibly agree on. The next day we went back together and he wandered around and then said "I like these" and with my heart in my mouth and my head saying "it's his bathroom so it's his choice" I went to see what he had picked out. Well, I guess you are ahead of me. Yes, he picked the ones I really REALLY liked. I couldn't believe it. In 18 years of marriage it was a first.. So we will be having pink metallic sheen sort of pearly border tiles, white for the rest and the grey Altro floor and white paintwork. It will look lovely. I'll take a photo when it's done and show you all.

Oh well, that's enough waffle for one day, must go and make the builder some more tea

Alphabe-Thursday G is for Greens

It's Thursday again - doesn't it seem to come round quickly, and here were are already up to G, which stands for GREENS

I don't know if "greens" is a universally accepted expression for cabbage, broccoli and other brassicas but most people of my generation at least will recall the horror that the word evoked in us as children when faced with school dinners or a visit to a culinarily challenged relative. I have a feeling that it may mean something slightly different in the US - you will set me straight on that I am sure.

However, the greens I want to talk about are the beautiful shades of that colour in both art and nature. In my box of watercolours (which have been sadly neglected of late) the pan that is almost empty is the sap green. This is the colour of fresh green leaves, a slightly yellow green which looks good with any other colour.

In my wardrobe there are many different greens and I have selected a few for my next picture. When I was at High School our uniform was navy blue but when we got to the sixth form we were allowed to wear anything blue. After a while a chart went up on the art room wall, showing what was and what was not "blue" and woe betide anyone caught wearing something that did not match the chart. So those bluey-greens, or greeney-blues always remind me of Mrs Archer and her chart!

I believe I am right in saying that there are more recorded shades of green than any other colour and that it is considered to be the most restful. As summer comes and the leaves on the trees turn from Sap Green to Hunter Green or Viridian, Serpentine or Celadon, sitting under them is the most wonderful way to experience and rejoice in God's wonderful world.

Click HERE for more "G"s

Wednesday Waffle #001

Well, I promised you waffle, so here I am wondering whether watching the televison in a mirror is messing with my brain.

Let me explain. My computer is basically in a fixed position, on a desk which faces the wall. The television is on the other side of the room. So I have a mirror on the desk so I can watch the television while I am at the computer, if it is a programme that I don't want to concentrate on. I am aware that a lot of people have these fancy phones that allow them to tweet and blog and facebook wherever they are but I am still confined to my desk most of the time as my laptop is so old that I can no longer get a battery for it to make it portable, so it has to remain attached to the mains. So when you watch The One Show the guest is sitting to the presenter's left, the Prime Minister lives at number 01 and Wales is east of England on the weather map. Should I worry?

Anyways up, today I have been busy and not at the computer at all (much) and this afternoon I have been painting a plate. In Woodbridge there is a shop called Jars of Clay where you can paint a plate or a pot of any number of interesting bits of pottery with the design and colours of your choice while having a cup of tea or coffee and a piece of cake. Then they fire it for you and you go back and collect it the following week so we all have that bit of excitement to look forward to. It took me rather longer than I had anticipated but I think I will be pleased with the result.

We also took the first step towards the new bathroom - the man with the skip arrived. Well, if you have been, thanks for reading. See you for Alphabe-Thursday tomorrow.

New Timetable

I am very aware of the fact that I have hit that point where one becomes a bad blogger! That is to say, I have not been edifying you with the wondrous goings on in my life, lifting your spirits, lowering your blood pressure, or otherwise keeping to my self imposed task of providing that little oasis of calm and happiness as I had intended. Do not fear, gentle reader, I am getting myself organised. I have been somewhat pre-occupied with trying to get my other blog looking pretty and now that I have, at least in part, achieved what I wanted to achieve, I can start waffling on here again. I have a few challenges on my crafty blog which I hope to continue and so I have set myself a challenge here which I shall call Wednesday Waffle. (Yes, I know it is only Monday but this is a pre-waffle) That way you will be hearing from me at least once a week - I know, I know, but do please try to contain your excitement.
I shall need an oasis myself for the next three weeks as the bathroom is being "done" to make it more wheelchair friendly for hubby so that is going to make life interesting in the meantime! But if the sun carries on shining I will be able to get out into the garden and start clearing away some of the debris, and pruning and nurturing. When I was a little girl I had a picture on my bedroom wall of a lady in a crinoline, standing in a garden and the words read
"The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the bird for mirth
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than any place else on earth"

Alphabe-Thursday F is for Ferries

At least one person I know is going to know where this is leading. As I think about ferries I find myself wandering off into all sorts of nostalgia.


REEDHAM FERRY

Reedham Ferry is just down the road from the house where my mother's cousin and his wife used to live in a place called Nogdam End, Norton Subcourse (I haven't included the name of the house, although he sadly passed away some time ago and his wife doesn't live there any more) It is a funny little boat that is pulled across the river on a big chain and saves a trip of about 30 miles. It takes ages and you can go on foot or by car. This is a post card of the old ferry, I think there is a newer one now. All very unhurried because it saves nearly an hour of driving. When I was a lot younger I used to go to our cousin's house and have wonderful meals and drink their own wine made from their own grapes (yes! in Norfolk!) with my mum and granddad and it was a lovely walk to the ferry along a country lane that was, weirdly, below the level of the river, so boats would go past and you would have to look UP at them


ON THE DOVER - OSTENDE FERRY

This next picture was going to be the one of me at the age of 14 on the Dover to Ostende ferry on a school trip to Germany. It was a long journey and a step back in time when we got there. The school my school was twinned with was in Southern Germany and everything was like the 1950s or so it seemed. I have just spent half an hour trying to find said photo but so many are stashed away in shoe boxes waiting to be sorted out I have given up. However, this is one that I took on that trip in 1969 from the rail. I got very sea sick below decks so froze in the fresh air. I fell in love with a boy called Klaus who had a lovely dark green courduroy jacket and danced with me a lot because I was the only one of the English girls who knew the Polka


PULLS FERRY - NORWICH

This one is Pulls Ferry which is in Norwich, you can see the cathedral in the background. My granddad grew up in the late 19th Century in Norwich and told some grand tales. We used to visit him a lot and I still love going there. Norwich Cathedral is wonderful and the Castle Museum is fascinating and the old parts of the City just gorgeous. I haven't been for a long time - must make the effort again.

And so to the most important ferry of them all
Have you guessed?



BRYAN FERRY

I have loved Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry for the last 35 years and more. I still listen to their music and enjoy it even though my tastes in music have expanded over the years and tend towards the classical. The early albums take me back to the back garden of my friend Marion's house when we were still care free teenagers. A lot of water has passed under a lot of ferries since then!

You can see what other folk have written here

E is for 18

This week we are up to "E" in our Alphabe-Thursday challenge. If you would like to visit some other offerrrings go HERE
Next Monday me and him celebrate our eighteenth wedding anniversary. There were some who said it wouldn't last. A 36 year old spinster and a 60 year old disabled bachelor both very set in their ways. I think some of his family thought I was after his money. Little did they know he didn't have any. One friend said "You'll end up looking after him" Isn't that what you do for people you love? In fact I think he looks after me in all sorts of ways. I am amazed that he put up with me at the beginning. I was not the sweet, kind, patient person you see before you now. I have learnt so much from him and he is kind enough to say that he has learnt from me too. I think the people that know us well would say we have been very good for each other
Now, enough of this soppiness! E is also for earrings. I have a few, here's a picture. I do not have pierced ears but I make a lot of my own earrings and put them on those little screw fixings. I love beads. Unfortunately I often lose them so I have an interesting selection of single earrings which are waiting to be re-made into something else
By the way, what do you think of my efforts with Paint Shop, I am spending way too much time playing with it.

Sunday Stealing 14/02

Sunday Stealing: The Clown's Meme 1

I'm doing this on Saturday as I won't have time tomorrow

1. How old will you be in five years? - 10 years older than I was 5 years ago

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?- My husband

3. How tall are you? - 5ft 4" if I stand up really really straight

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?- Warmer weather

5. What’s the last movie you saw? - Blade Runner

6. Who was the last person you called? - a friend to remind her she's invited for pancakes on Tuesday

7. Who was the last person to call you? - my mother

8. What was the last text message you received? - Can't remember, hardly ever use it

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail? - don't have voicemail

10. Do you prefer to call or text? - Write

11. What were you doing at 12am last night? - Sleeping

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? - Mum is a widow

13. When is the last time you saw your mom? - Last week but will be seeing her Sunday morning which is why I am doing this on Saturday night

14. What color are your eyes? - mud

15. What time did you wake up today? - 7

16. What are you wearing right now? - grey denim skirt, grey shirt, bright orange tights

17. What is your favorite christmas song? - Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar

18. Where is your favorite place to be? - Sutton Hoo

19. Where is your least favorite place to be? - Any supermarket

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? - India

21. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? - not far from here

22. Do you tan or burn? - Neither, I don't sun bathe and cover up or stay in the shade

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? - I didn't know what it was, that's what made it so scary

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? - Giles Coren in The Times today (Sat)

25. How many TVs do you have in your house? - 2

26. How big is your bed? - big enough

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer? - laptop

29. What color are your sheets? - at the moment they are lime green on the bottom and a sort of sparkly shiny mauve and pink and grey on the top

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? - 1

31. What is your favorite season? - They all have their attractions

32. What do you like about Autumn? - late sunshine, gorgeous colours in nature,

33. What do you like about winter? - the fact that it doesn't last for ever

Woodbridge in the drizzle

I've been for a walk in Woodbridge again and this time I remembered to charge the camera battery, and to put it in the camera, and to put the camera in my pocket. I worked in Woodbridge in the late 1980s and again in the late 1990s. I used to go walk about at lunchtime, sometimes along the river, which is mostly where I have been today, sometimes round the residential roads looking at front gardens. There are some nice houses in Woodbridge, and some grotty ones, but I guess that's what most places are like. There's a market there on a Thursday, and some good independent shops too so it is worth a visit.
Today was not the best for taking photos as it was drizzling and a bit cold but I wrapped up warmly and walked fairly quickly. Once I got away from the busy part of the river walk it got quite grey and spooky and there was a curlew calling and it was very therapeutic
By the way, if anyone can tell me how to put photos side by side rather than one under the other I would really like to know!

Bring me sunshine

I'm all of a flutter because Caralicious has awarded me a sunshine award. Gosh, I'm quite tearful and need to thank my mother, my personal trainer, my stylist, the back room boys (see what they will have) Katie Boyle and everyone else who knows me, sorry I can't mention you all sob! gasp!

The rules of this award are pretty simple:
- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers. (or however many you can manage, I haven't treated the 12 as compulsory!)
- Link the nominees within your post.
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

And now I'm giving this award to the following bloggers:
(Sorry I haven't had time to sort out 12, having difficulty moving around in blogger so I may add to this over the next few days)

easternsparkle
Lady Banana
PoshTotty
Lynne's Days (who has promised to try harder)

D is for Dictionaries

It's Thursday again and that means another post for Jenny Matlock's challenge Alphabe-Thursday. Go HERE to see other D posts

I have just gone round the bookshelves in our house and found 24 dictionaries. I won't list them all individually but there are 2 Law, 3 French/English, 1 French, 2 Quotations, 4 English, 2 Latin/English, and 1 each German/Eng, Modern Greek/Eng, New Testament Greek/Eng, Bible, Phrase and Fable, Synonyms and Antonyms, Rhyming, Crossword, First Names, Initials.
I don't have an American/English dictionary which is a shame because I now realise that my B post confused a few people because I talked about blackberry jam and blackberry jelly and I now realise that what the English call jam is what the Americans call jelly. Not sure what Americans call what we call jelly in this context because I'm not talking about Jello but a jam that has been strained through muslin to get rid of all the seeds and pips and lumpy bits
We do a lot of looking things up in this house. We like to use words correctly. Like "Decimate" which means to reduce BY a tenth not TO a tenth. So if your crops are decimated it isn't that bad!
Another favourite word of ours that begins with D is "Discombobulated" which I often am. No, not telling, if you don't know you'll have to look it up in a Dictionary