Today is Blog Day 2007

I have just discovered that today is Blog Day 2007. It was created with the belief that bloggers should have one day dedicated to getting to know other bloggers from other countries and areas of interest. On this day Bloggers will recommend other blogs to their blog visitors. I was thrilled when Barbara over at winosandfoodies said she had given both Beccy and me a mention in addition to her five recommended blogs.

I know the idea is to introduce new blogs but I haven't been reading any new blogs lately, so what I've done is pick out some bloggers that I visit from around the world. With only five to choose from this was an impossible task and so for the US I put names in a hat and drew one out.
Here goes:

Steffi over at Mausbär´s - Nähkiste lives in North Germany. She writes a duel language post to help her develop her already good English. She makes the most amazing children's clothes and gives us a glimpse into her garden and her life through her photos.

Willowtree over at at A Dingo's got my Barbie (no prizes for guessing which country) is amusing he has a little gang of pets and we get to see some videos of their antics.

Anvilcloud over at Raindrops lives in Canada he's a retired teacher and takes some beatiful photographs. He has recently become a grandfather to Smudge who is a beautiful baby.

Terri over at My4kids has just moved from Oregon to Alaska and she is not yet up and running with her internet connection but it's going to be fun reading how her family settle in a completely new environment. She writes very candidly about her family and her life. She has had several guest bloggers recently to help cover her move.

Pamela over at The Dust Will Wait lives in Washington. She is currently writing some amusing posts on recent travels. She takes some lovely photos in her garden and you should see the water feature her husband has just built, oh and she has new grandchild who is very cute.

Also worth a mention is that I have been following the journey of Gluten-Free Girl who recently married the Chef. This is always a good read.

I must also mention her in doors she's a granny from Sheffield and I think this is one of the blogs I only started reading recently since she joined in our Fun Monday posts. She's just gone on holiday so won't even know about this until she returns!

I think that most people who read my blog already read the ones I've mentioned above and I would really have liked to include my whole blogroll.

Pigeon Post

I won a prize from John and I'm not sure if it was beccy's comment........

"That's a shame the smoked ferret nostrils sound quite tempting!"

that prompted Jonhn to send us this little delicacy!!
What you don't know !!
Oh some of you have worked it out!!
Yes that's right it is a smoked pigeon breast. I knew what to expect so I was anxiously awaiting the arrival and wondering what it would taste like. The last time I had been close to a cooked pigeon was when my brother was a teenager and he had potted one with his air rifle. He had wanted my mother to cook it but when she refused and he took it to my granny who naturally obliged!

I was full of trepidation as I opened the package and a smoked gamey whiff hit my olfactory organ. I then promtly did the bloggy thing and took a photo. We tried it that evening, when Embee got in from work and did we like it...........

Sorry John... Not a lot

It was very chewy (outside a bit rubbery) and Embee commented the taste was a bit liked smoked salmon and I could see what he meant. If I ever see it on a menu I would not be curious enough to order.

John THANK YOU I really appreciate the thought, it was great fun, but next time I win one of your prizes I'll have something other than smoked pigeon!!

Witty Wednesday # 17

We all know those cute little computer symbols called "emoticons," where:

:) means a smile and

:( is a frown.

Sometimes these are represented by

:-)

:-(

Well, how about some "ASSICONS?"
Here goes:

(_!_) a regular ass

(__!__) a fat ass

(!) a tight ass

(_*_) a sore ass

{_!_} a swishy ass

(_o_) an ass that's been around

(_x_) kiss my ass

(_X_) leave my ass alone

(_zzz_) a tired ass

(_E=mc2_) a smart ass

(_$_) Money coming out of his ass

(_?_) Dumb Ass

This came from Embee I think he's lowering the tone of this blog !!

What kind of frog or work of art are you ?

I found these on House of Purpleworms and had to have ago!


The Spring Peeper is only .75 - 1.5 inches long, but is has a very powerful high-pitched whistle with the occasional trill that can be heard over long distances. Peepers are abundant in wooded areas in or near flooded ponds and swamps. In these ponds, the Spring Peepers will form singing choral groups, making sounds that can almost sound like jingling sleigh bells from a distance.

What kind of Frog are you?

So this is me now I'll sit back and wait for the rude comments unless of course you turn out to be a mate!!!

What kind of work of Art are You

What Work of Art are You Your Result: Degas' Dancer   Appearances belie the strength and commitment in your life. You know that hard work pays off and work dilligently to bring beauty and happiness to others. You retain your innocence despite the ardors of your life and you never forget what it is like to float like a butterfly and stinglike a bee.
Egon Schiele's Agony
Mary Cassatt's Young Mother Sewing
Blue boy by Gainsborough
Picasso's Dora Mar
Friedrich's Wanderer
Dal'is Burning Giraffe
Titian's Venus and/or Adonis
What Work of Art are You Create MySpace Quizzes

Fun Monday# 31

Lisa's Chaos is our host and she's want's to know more about us... is it wise to disclose too much I ask myself!! Lisa says...

"I’d like to know more about you, what makes you tick. I’d like to know how you started blogging. Did you keep a diary under lock and key safely hidden as a child? Do you still? Do you share the same things on your blog that you would have, or do, in your diary? Why did you start blogging and why do you continue? May as well throw in any roadblocks you have run into while blogging. If you still have your old diaries we’d love to see them".

I think I'll start with blogging because that's an easy one and really the answer is in my profile. I only started my blog last September before then I had been reading a lot of food blogs since my daughter Sam started Becks & Posh in May 2004. Seeing what she was doing somehow made me feel I was still involved with her life even though she was on another continent.
Once I had made the decision to retire I began to panic! Work had been the pivotal part of my life since I was forced to provide for my family back in 1973.

(I always wanted to be a stay at home mum but sadly this wasn't to be- I often wonder how things would have turned out if our lives hadn't changed so dramatically back then. I also wonder how much my having to work affected the way the girls developed and I don't necessarily mean this in a negative way. There are many things I would do differently if I could turn back the clock but my girls are kind, independent, talented individuals who make me very proud).

As usual I digressed so back to the main plot. Sam had been telling me to start a blog, one part of me was thinking to myself I could do that 'it's only a diary' the other part of me was saying but that's too technical for me as I'm not a clever writer and not a good photographer (I always manage to get something awful in the background). Anyway when people asked me at work 'what were my plans' I took the bull by the horns and said I was going to upgrade my home computer and start a blog, I was going to try my hand at painting and travel as much as I could afford. My blog was going to be a way of keeping in contact with the girls and any friends who cared to read it. I think you will see how I came up with the name as it was going to full of 'bits and pieces.

Once I told Beccy I was going to start a blog she followed suit (she might even have beaten me to the first post I can't quite remember). My grandchildren also have blogs and I started a second blog for random photographs a few months back. What I never ever imagined would be the enjoyment I have got from finding a whole new circle of friends, joining in the different swaps, sharing joys (I do a lot of laughing) and sorrows (I also cry quite a lot) and even getting to have a couple of great telephone conversations with one bluddy! Here I must pay tribute to Fun Monday because this been a very effective way of meeting even more people. I don't know about anyone else but I really love seeing houses being built, following pregnancies, hearing about children, pets and holidays. I am full of admiration for those who share some very personal stories and often it's about things that touch a chord, maybe I should try it one day as I know it can be very cathartic.

Now to diaries: I think as a teenager I did try writing a diary but do you know I never kept it up and I certainly would NOT have committed my innermost thought to paper. I could not have trusted my father not to read it and I was far too scared of him to write anything he would disaprove of- actually it might have done him good to read what I thought of his methods of discipline and the way he didn't trust me even though I had never given him any real cause to feel this way. But that's another story I may write about one day.

I think I will leave it there!! By the way I have done quite a bit of travelling in the past eleven months but have not even opened up the paints yet (just in case you comment Purpleworms- who is giving me a prod every now and then- I will get there!).

I must remember there is no Fun Monday next week but the following week September 10th Nikki is the host.

Eveything happens in threes!!!!

Why is embee still working when he is way past the age most people have retired. Well I think, secretly, he quite enjoys it and he knows if he was at home he would have to start working on my list of things to do!! But most importantly we still have some security that when things go wrong we do have some income besides our pensions. But why does everything have to happen in threes!! In the last three weeks....
We have had to replace an iron that had burnt out and we now have this Breville which has a ceramic soleplate and a supreme steam. Doesn't seem that much different to the old one with a stainless steel plate (probably a marketing ploy for suckers like me). I don't even do a lot of ironing so hopefully should last me out!!
A washing machine that was leaking and we got this Siemans. I am delighted with it as it has a bigger drum capacity than the old machine, the wash takes less time and it has a better spin. Now I wonder if I could take in washing!!!
The third item is a television. We have a TV in the dining room as well as the sitting room. This prevents major battles as Embee is a channel hopper and he watches a lot of sport need I say more!! The TV in the dining room lost its colour a long time ago but because Embee is colour blind it didn't bother him too much. However we knew that we would need to replace our main TV as within the next couple of years analogue is being replaced by digital. So we decided sooner rather than later and we had this 40 inch Sony Bravia installed yesterday. My eyes are still adjusting to the large screen and Embee is adjusting to colour; as I write this I can see him happily channel hopping!! Now you would think this was the end of our problems but unfortunately we now need to upgrade our TV ariel why does one thing always lead to another!!

Have a peaceful Sunday... I'm off to load the washing machine!!

Pay it Forward

How dumb am I that I didn't notice that I was Nikki's third commenter on this post. So never one to refuse a free gift (you never know I might get something rather special given Nikki's talent) I'm playing along.
This exchange is based on a movie with Helen Hunt in it called 'Pay It Forward'. The movie was based on a book written by Catherine Ryan Hyde. I have not read the book or seen the movie (which I now intend to do) but it's a simple idea 'when someone does you a favour you don't pay it back you pay it forward' and this is what the PIF Exchange is all about. I suppose simply put the idea is about spreading goodness through deeds and making the world a better place.

I'll send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this 'Pay it Forward' exchange! The only thing you have to do in return is "pay it forward" by making the same promise on your blog". I'm now puzzling what to send because I don't have a particular creative talent. This will probably be a time when I get no comments because no one is interested. No I must be optomistic not pessimistic. My glass is half full!!!! I do hope there are three of you willing play along :) :)

I'll need you to email me your address when you comment so that I know where to send the gift. Just so you know it may take me a couple of weeks or so before I mail anything out.

What does your eye see????

I'm getting very lazy so I'll just leave you with these optical illusions!!!

CN Tower and Toronto Island

The time has been slipping by and I suddenly realised I had this half written post about my jaunt up the CN Tower and my visit to Toronto Island. On the second attempt we we made it up the Tower. The first day we tried but by the time we had driven into the city visibility was so poor we realised it was a no go. We had a drive around with my friend showing us some of the landmarks such as the Parliament Building. We saw the designer shops on Bloor Street and drove down Yonge Street which is the city's longest street. Here we saw the famous Sam Sam sign which was saved from being sold and is now a Heritage sign and we decided to do a little shopping in the Eaton Centre which was fun. I was pleased to find an Abercrombie and Fitch, albeit a very small outlet but I was then disappointed that they did not have a children's section. Although I was assured they planned to open one next year. When the guy realised I was from England we then had a long conversation about the time he had spent in London.
The CN Tower is very impressive and I'm sure that on a clear day the views are spectacular. However, visibility was still not that brilliant when we went back for our second attempt, but we couldn't put if off any longer as time was running out. My photos are therefore not that good.

 

You will see that I did stand on the glass floor (my head has been chopped in the collage), I really did feel jittery about it but I was determinded to it (my friends did not join me) and I even took a photo looking down. Not bad for someone who really doesn't like heights!! One of the guides was jumping up and down to show just how safe it was and that's when I beat a hasty retreat!

 

The trip over to the islands was perfect. The weather on that day (last full day before returning home) was very sunny, so perfect. The short ferry ride took us to over to Central Island. We decided to hire a bike and see a bit of the island (hard work but fun), seeing us three trundling around certainly amused some of the children who were yelling to their parents 'look at those old grannies'. My friend who is the same age as my daughter was not amused!! There are a lot of unusual sculptures dotted around and the river and the gardens are very pretty. There were not many people sitting on the sandy shore and it was very peaceful just enjoying the view across the lake.
My first taste of Canada has certainly made me realise I would like to see a lot more of the country and we have been invited back so who knows I may yet get to Vancouver and I do fancy seeing the Rockies so I'd better get saving!

Witty Wednesday # 16

Senility was sent to me by my friend Ruth.. I wonder what she's trying to tell me!!!!

I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor's permission to join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.


Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: "And what do you think is the best thing about being 104?" the reporter asked. She simply replied, "No peer pressure."

The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs.

Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked, "How old was your husband?" "98," she replied. "Two years older than me." "So you're 96," the undertaker commented. She responded, "Hardly worth going home, is it?"

I've sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, new knees. Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I'm half blind, can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my driver's license

An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher she had two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over Tesco "Tesco?" the preacher exclaimed. "Why Tesco?" "Then I'll be sure my daughters visit me twice a week ."

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.

Know how to prevent sagging? Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.

I'm getting into swing dancing. Not on purpose. Some parts of my body are just prone to swinging.

It's scary when you start making the same noises as your coffeemaker.

These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart says, "For fast relief."

Don't think of it as getting hot flushes. Think of it as your inner child playing with matches.

Don't let aging get you down It's too hard to get back up!

Remember: You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing.


THE SENILITY PRAYER : Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.

Now did I remember to thank her for this!!!!!
******************************************************************************
This is John's ........ Lesson in Logic

If your father is a poor man, it is your fate but, if your father-in-law is a poor man, it's your stupidity.
.............................................................
I was born intelligent- education ruined me.
.............................................................
Practice makes perfect.....
But nobody's perfect......
so why practice?
............................................................
If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the others here for?
.............................................................
Since light travels faster than sound, people appear bright until you hear them speak.
.............................................................
How come "abbreviated" is such a long word?
.............................................................
Money is not everything.
There's Mastercard & Visa.
.............................................................
One should love animals.
They are so tasty.
.............................................................
Behind every successful man, there is a woman
And behind every unsuccessful man, there are two.
.............................................................
Every man should marry.
After all, happiness is not the only thing in life.
.............................................................
The wise never marry, and when they marry they become otherwise.
.............................................................
Success is a relative term.
It brings so many relatives.
.............................................................
Never put off the work till tomorrow what you can put off today.
.............................................................
"Your future depends on your dreams"
So go to sleep
............................................................
There should be a better way to start a day
Than waking up every morning
.............................................................
"Hard work never killed anybody"
But why take the risk
.............................................................
"Work fascinates me"
I can look at it for hours
.............................................................
God made relatives;
Thank God we can choose our friends.
............................................................
The more you learn, the more you know,
The more you know, the more you forget
The more you forget, the less you know
So.. why learn.
.........................................................
A bus station is where a bus stops.

A train station is where a train stops.

On my desk, I have a work station....
what more can I say........

Have a fun packed day :)

Georgian Bath

Last Sunday, the day before Beccy went home, we decided to go to Bath. This beautiful Georgian city is only about 15 miles away and is well worth a visit. Bath is such a popular tourist attraction that I was expecting it to be a lot busier than it was. A bonus was that parking is a lot cheaper on a Sunday, not that we realised this at the time. Beccy took Mollie and Ben to visit the Roman Baths and take the waters (yuk have done this-drink the water I mean!), Dillon and his friend wanted to do their own thing (once we had got Dillon a new pair of daps, trainers, runners or what ever you call them). Embee and I took a little walk and then he sat while I went and took some photos.
This is my view of the famous Pulteney BridgeThere are shops running either side of the narrow road (not much traffic on a Sunday, but not many of these shops were open anyway).
This is the view from the other side of the bridge. Several of the old buildings are being renovated and it looks like they are being turned into appartments.
You can take a river trip on the pleasure boat.
Or you can speed up to the weir for a closer look. Or just stroll along the river banks and sit and admire the view.
As soon as you sit down the pigeons think you are going to eat and they hover in hope. This guy was unlucky but he hung about for quite a while.


For anyone who is interested The Royal Crescent is a beautiful example of Georgian architecture and it is often used in the filming of period dramas.

Embee and I have decided that we are going to make a return visit in the near future. The city opened a new Thermae Spa last year and when Sam and Fred come to visit in September we are going to try it out.

Fun Monday# 30

theotherbear is determined to out us.

Share with us a little white lie that you may, or may not, have gotten away with. Perhaps it's something more sinister than a little white lie - maybe even a deep dark secret that you've kept buried for years! All the better! Now's your chance to get it off your chest and confess: "Yes, I did eat that last slice of cheese cake", "No, I wasn't washing my hair that Saturday", "Those pants do make you look fat"!

Well I though about this and decided that I couldn't come out to play today because I could not think of any white lies or dark secrets. Actually that in itself is a white lie but there's nothing I can share with the world!!!!!!!

However, I will be sneaking over to read everyone else's secrets!!

John's Challenge

When John asked to see what's on or above our mantelpiece I realised that I had actually done this, first in a Fun Monday post and then more recently when I got my new picture (so if you read those you may not want to read any further). Never one to resist a challenge and I wouldn't want to upset John as he sends me jokes for Witty Wednesday, the first thing I did when I came downstairs was to take a couple of photos (no I tell a lie the second, first I went and got the Sunday papers so that Embee had his crossword-well I have to keep his old brain oiled somehow!!)

My fireplace is a reclaimed marble surround that replaced a wooden monstrosity about fourteen years ago. I wanted to be able to have a log fire but I must confess that I only lit it a few times because of all the dust it made and the room got very hot. I suppose now I'm retired and have more time it would be nice on a cold winter evening to see the flames dancing up the chimney and I still have a lot of peat bricks (brought from Ireland) so I ought to think about it again.
You might notice my old toasting fork (was my gran's) sitting in the log basket. One of the pleasures of a real fire is toasting bread or crumpets, we loved this as children and it tastes so much better done this way.

My tall jugs were given to me by an aunt of my ex and the ginger jars are Crown Derby and belonged to Embee's mother. When my gran's sister left me a small legacy over thirty years ago I bought the carriage clock as a memento of a very sweet lady. Probably too small to see is a china bird given to me by Sam as a child, a tiny pig which we found on the original mantelpiece when we moved into the house and a small teddy bear given to me by a nursing friend when we had a reunion a few years ago. Oh and I wrote about the card back in May on Friendship Day.
Now I'm off to have breakfast.

Signs Speak Louder than Words!!!!

Before I knew I had won John's road sign competion I was browsing the internet and by chance came upon these on a site called 'extremus fun pictures' (some of the categories were a little risqué). I originally intended to use these for my next Witty Wednesday as they are amusing, but I've got a busy day lined up so wanted to do a quick post. The first one's for you John!!











Have a good weekend everyone :)

P.S. Embee is concerned because I didn't report that the bookshelf (last paragraph of this week's Witty Weds) is now very firmly fixed to the wall and all the books have been put back. I think he wanted to prove you wrong Beccy!! Thank you Embee.
Comments on blogs work wonders!!