Award & meme

I feel very privileged to have been given this award not only for a second but also a third time within a few days of each other by my very kind friends Kitten and Alison. I'm only sorry that it's taken me a while to get this post published. Along with the award comes a meme which I might just have done before, I didn't trawl my archives to check so here goes:

(A.) attached or single? Attached for the second time for past 30 years.

(B.) best friend? I would have to say my children

(C.) cake or pie? depends if it's home baking...I hate having to choose so I won't!

(D.) day of choice? if I was still at work it would be Friday now I'm retired it's holiDAY

(E.) essential item? gotta be the computer where would I be without you guys!

(F.) favorite color? I love autumn colours but also the whole purple/deep pink/blue range

(G.) gummy bears or worms? difficult but gummy bears

(H.) hometown? Bristol UK

(I.) favorite indulgence? Champagne

(J.) January or July? It ought to be January when it's my birthday but much prefer July when we should get some sun!

(K.) kids? two girl who have long since flown the nest

(L.) life isn't complete without? my family what else would you expect me to say

(M.) marriage date? March 78 that's as close as I'll give you and it's not because I can't remember!

(N.) number of brothers & sisters? I only have 1 brother and that's enough to cope with

(O.) oranges or apples? apples~oranges are not good for my arthritic joints

(P.) phobias? small enclosed spaces really panic me

(Q.) quotes? Love means not ever having to say you're sorry. Erich Segal

(R.) reasons to smile? being alive :)

(S.) season of choice? oooh difficult spring/autumn but summer is also great (I'm sitting on the fence on this one!)

(T.) tag seven peeps! not sure I know 7 people who haven't done this or who would thank me for tagging them~sorry but if anyone is keen let me know and I would be delighted to tag you!

(U.) unknown fact about me? if I tell it won't be unknown!

(V.) vegetable? any that are home grown and freshly picked.

(W.) worst habits? liking chocolate and crisps thats why I'm overweight!

(X.) x-ray or ultrasound? I've had both I'm sure you won't thank me for details!

(Y.) your favorite food? the food I would have as a treat is beef

(Z.) zodiac sign? Aquarius

Not sure you will have learned anything new about me!
Postscript:
I'm actually giving the award and tagging Lisa @ Bombastic Bandicoot who has been stalking following me for some months (I didn't know). I feel quite flattered. Lisa has some really cute doggy pictures you should visit her and say hello as she is fairly new to blogging.

Archives:
2007: Embee's Birthday Bash

Award

I am very lucky to have been given another award. I have the very kind Steffi to thank for giving me this lovely award. I have already put it into my hall of fame award link in my side bar. Steffi is such a gifted seamstress and she has made my grand daughter, Mollie, some of her favourite clothes. I know that a lot of blogger's children have benefited from Steffi's generosity. So I'm really glad that she was given this award.

As I think all the blogs I follow are brilliant I am passing this on to everyone who comments on this post. OK I admit I'm being lazy about linking to individual blogs~ it will serve me right if no one actually comments~ but I hope this doesn't happen!

Archives:
2007: Arriving in Torronto

Monday Motivation Meme and Awards

Misslionheart realises that I need something to motivate me for the week ahead! She has worked out that I spend more time on the computer than I should and she is trying to wean me off with this Monday Motivation Meme! Now I cannot do this on Monday because I always participate in Fun Monday so I'm doing it a day early~ how's this for motivation!!

The rules of the game are simple enough…just list 5 things you wish to achieve during the week ahead and hopefully get motivated!

• move all the remaining junk boxes from the house to storage area
• clean house (after new roof insulation has been fitted on Weds) I think this will take me at least a week! you should see the mess just emptying the loft~ I hate to think what it will be like after the fitters have been here.
• sort and put away winter clothes and bring out summer clothes~ am I being a bit premature~ probably!!
• ring a couple of people that I have been meaning to get in touch with since the new year~ I know I'm very bad!
• the final thing is to get the ironing done I have been adding to the basket for quite a while, telling myself it wasn't worth getting the ironing board out for a few items. This has now grown to an overflowing basket~oh and I really hate ironing! Done 29/4

Well that's my five all a bit mundane really~ which is exactly why I needed this motivational shove and I have misslionheart to thank for this!!

I know I should be passing it on but I'm not that motivated so lets say if anyone would like to motivate themselves you are tagged by moi!!

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Jackie at Mother's Pride has given this award to everyone. It's very cute don't you think! So thank you Jackie It has gone on display in my linked gallery. I consider all my visitors to be great blogging friends so I give this to everyone who drops by this post! Where would I be without good friends like you.

Alison gave me this lovely award and if you have not been following her adoption stories you should go over and read about her two journeys through this process. I guarantee you will be hooked! I love you all so I also give this to everyone especially my daughters Sam and Beccy.

Kila thank you very much for giving me 'The Good Chat Award'. I was originally given this Jackie I wondered if they are trying to tell me I talk too much~ no seriously guys I love it that blog friends like to visit me and chat I really look forward hearing everyone's news :)

Archives:
2007: Help me up

Good Chat Blog Award

My new friend over at Mother's Pride (I think this is a very clever name for her blog) has a talented daughter, the fixer who has been making some wonderful buttons for her mother and shelves to keep her awards tidy~ how clever is that! I'm lucky enough to be one of the people she thinks it would be good to drop in on for a 'good chat'. I'm honoured and delighted to be on her list. I love the button which I will be adding via my side bar link.

Now anyone who reads my blog regularly will know I'm always looking for an excuse to bake a cake and what better reason could one have than entertaining blog buddies. I had been meaning to try out the recipe for a yoghurt cake that I had seen over at winosandfoodies and this gave me the perfect opportunity. Although I haven't quite perfected it yet as the blueberries did not sink to the bottom as they should, however, I can assure you, that did not detract from the taste!

Recipe and Method:

Gateau au Yaourt (you will need to go visit Barbara for the story about the cake) 2 eggs 250grams (1 cup) whole milk plain unsweetened yogurt 200g (1 cup) sugar 80ml (1/3 cup) vegetable oil 240 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 tablespoon light rum 1/2 cup blueberries Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F), line the bottom of a round 25-cm (10-inch) cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. In a large mixing-bowl, gently combine the yogurt, eggs, sugar, vanilla, oil, and rum. In another bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture into the yogurt mixture, and blend together until just mixed. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Place blueberries on top, they will sink into the batter as it cooks. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Let stand for ten minutes, and transfer onto a rack to cool.

There are so many good friends that I would like to invite for a chat but it might get a bit crowded so I have restricted myself to a handful:

Barbara has been a buddy since I first started blogging.
Pamela she will come to get out of the dusting!
Swampy will make the party go with a swing even when lying on the floor!
john he's a lot of fun
Tigger lamb girl it would be nice to meet you.
Katy we could exchange stories about our trips to the States
Anvilcloud and Cuppa they might bring their sweet little granddaughter
Willowtree might be too busy, caring for Belle, to join us.

If I invited everyone I would like to, I could be having daily tea and chat for a month or more so if you are not on my list that doesn't mean I wouldn't love to chat to you.

Postscript:
I didn't make it clear that you can pass this 'Good Chat Blog Award' on to more buddies who like a good natter, but don't feel obliged to do so!

Archives:
2007: Thinking Blogger Award

Award and Shoes

forgotThe nekked lizard's decided I deserved a little reward for being a
This is already proudly displayed in my gallery. Although it's not always easy, I do usually, find something to 'show or tell'.............

I also saw this over at the nekked lizard's place and being me I had to have a go!

You Are Flip Flops

You are laid back and very friendly. Cheery and sunny in disposition, you usually have something to smile about. Style is important to you, as long as you can stay casual. It takes a lot to get you to dress up! You are a loyal and true person, though you can be a bit of a flake. You tend to "play hooky" and blow off responsibilities a lot more than most people. You should live: By the beach You should work: At a casual up and coming company

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

P.S. I nearly forgot British Summer Time started today three cheers~ hip hip hooray :)
Archives:
2007: Spain cont.

Recuperating!

Following on from yesterday's post. When the phone rang at 9:30 am yesterday and the caller indicated that it was Frenchay Hospital my first thought was that they were going to cancel my mother's minor op. However I was pleasantly surprised when the admissions lady said that they were running ahead of time (guess this meant someone hadn't turned up) and could we be at the hospital for 11 am. I naturally agreed and then it was all systems go. I booked an earlier taxi, having decided it would be less traumatic for my mother, not that she was too happy about this. The hospital is only a couple of miles from home and for some reason there was very little traffic so we actually got there half an hour early but I reasoned that was better than being late.

The receptionist was charming and explained the procedure including the fact that there would be a skin graft. I queried the change of plan but she said that this was listed so I wonder what made the consultant change his mind! There were two patients ahead of my mother and the receptionist said my mother's operation would take about 3/4 of an hour and she was last on the morning list.

I went well equipped with book, paper, and drinks so the time passed quickly. My mother said they were charming as they carried out the procedure and they talked to her all the time. She said the local anaesthetic didn't stop all the pain but she coped.

Apparently they all were all fans of Coronation Street (weekly TV soap) and the future plot was fully discussed. This made me smile as mum never remembers what she had already seen never mind what is to come!
There is a lot of negative press about hospitals but no complaints yesterday, except maybe that I didn't get to speak to a doctor after the procedure was completed!

We finally arrived home early afternoon and I felt my mother had coped well. She has a substantial dressing on her leg and one on the opposite thigh but still managed to have a pretty good night ~ I was only up once to help her. This morning it's less painful and she feels quite bright and as you can see from the photo below~ me I'm hoping all this running around will help me loose a couple of pounds!!

We go back to the hospital for the graft check next Tuesday.

My mother also wanted me to say a big Thank You for all the good wishes you sent her yesterday.
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Earlier this week I was given this award by two lovely ladies :)

So I say a big thank you to Alison over at RDH Mom and Alix at DC Days I'm flattered that I can make you smile. I will be proudly add this to my other awards (linked in my side bar). If you haven't visited these ladies I would recommend you drop in and say hello.

Archives:
2007: No Archive

Rocking Grandmas

Some of you who read my blog regularly might remember this Witty Wednesday post, when I had a bit of fun with the pictures! Just after this Laurie gave me an award and Pamela commented......

"I see that award/button has a blog address on it.
Hey - we ought to invent a new blog button with OUR addresses on it. You could use that motorcycle grandmas you photoshopped! hee haw!"

Little did Pamela know that I had been pondering for ages about making my own button. However me being me, I didn't have an original idea in my head! Eureka, Pamela didn't realise it but she had just given me the perfect idea!
I have never seen a button just for 'grandmas'! I am still pretty useless with my photoshop but I had a little play around. What I came up with looked reasonable when it was large but it was hopeless when I made it smaller. So in the end I had to enlist a little help, from an expert and the final result is below..............
Now I'm quite sure hope all the grandmas out there are going to covet this award!! and I am going to start the ball rolling by giving this to 5 Rocking Grandmas.

Lisa-Marie
Katy
Swampy
Sandy
Beth

You may pass it on provided you link to this post. Thank You. I am sure Pamela will be giving out some awards soon!!
Archives:
2007: Fun Monday-Precious Objects

Meme and Award

Cynthia over at 'Dahhhling I love you but give me Park Avenue'... has tagged me some of these I've done before as part of other memes so sorry if I repeat myself!!

4 Jobs I've Had:

Childminder~ I'm not sure if I ever mentioned I was once a childminder. In a way this was not a job I chose because I was rather begged to do it by a ward sister at the hospital where I had worked. She wanted to go back to work and as I was home my own daughter, who was a just under a year old, and I was very short of money, I agreed. There were no doubly buggies back then and it was hard work!

Mother~ this is the best job I have had. Although I had to work outside the home from the time my eldest daughter was 7 yrs old and youngest was 4 yrs old. Being a mother is the job I value most.

Daughter ~ have you ever thought how suddenly roles reverse I may no longer be caring for my children although sometimes I think that is not strictly true! I am however caring for my mother and this is almost like a nursing/domestic role as she relies heavily on me for many things.

You may not think being a wife to two husbands as a job. However when I married the first time I knew that I wanted to be at home for my children and create a warm homely environment for my husband to come home to (he was in the Merchant Navy). I was young and naive and although he was our world we were not his and we got dumped after seven years~ a very painful period in our lives and a sharp learning curve for me. I knew that I only had me to rely on and after 6 yrs back nursing I joined Social Services, did additional training and carved myself a career until I retired. I did marry again and have been looking after embee for nearly 30 yrs ~ he may not agree with this but he is not a new age man, however he does manage to do the garden and a few simple DIY jobs (he's out weeding the garden as I type and he fitted new security chains to two of our doors last week)!

4 Movies I've watched over and over:
I'm not that bothered about watching things over again but if they come on TV I do tend to watch...
Gone with the Wind
Grease
Dirty Dancing
Any of the classics such as Dickens, Bronte..oh, and romantic comedies who can forget 'When Harry met Sally'.

4 Places I Have Lived:
I have not moved very far in all my life:
I was born in Oxfordshire and when my father left the army after the war, my mother moved to Berkeley as in Glucestershire England not to be confused with the Calafornia one! We lived in a small cottage, then a shop when I was 8yrs, and at 16 my parents gave up their shop and bought a new house. At the age of 18yrs I left home and moved to Bristol where I lived in the Nurses Home for a couple of years. I have lived in and around Bristol ever since. Two flats, first house, then to my favourite house (a lovely four bed detached house), and from there we moved to current our Victorian house.

4 Shows I Watch:
These probably won't mean a lot to many of you!
Antiques Roadshow~ I love old things and seeing how much they are worth
Home and Away ( Aussie Soap)
Dancing on Ice (contest for celebrities who have a professional dance partner)
Primevil ( a sci fi not really that good but it fills a gap on a Saturday night)

4 Places I've Been: Can I cheat and give a few more!!!!!
Ireland
West Indies~several of the islands~ that trip was one good thing from my first marriage!
Las Vegas~ Grand Canyon
Portugal
Spain
San Francisco
Florida
New York
New England (lots of places here including Boston, Plymouth, Cape Cod just to name a few!)
Canada~ Toronto, Niagara

4 People Who E-mail Me Regularly:
Well firstly I get email comments from all my blogger friends which I really look forward to every day.
Embee sends me jokes from his work computer!!
My girls
Oh and all the spam which is usually filtered!

4 Favorite Things to Eat:
Being English I'm sure you would expect me to say:

Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding
Fish and Chips
Any pasta dish
Anything cooked by my daughters!!

4 Places I'd Rather Be:
I'd rather be visiting my children
Walking in the countryside
Living in a warm country near the sea where I could walk bare footed in soft clean sand~ heaven.
Sometimes I would even like to be back at work but I'm sure if I did go back I would then wish I was retired!

4 Things I Look Forward To This Year:
Holiday in Portugal with Beccy and family
Trips to Ireland to see Beccy and grandchildren.
A lovely warm summer without too much rain (well I can dream)
A year of peace and goodwill throughout the world!

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Laurie has given me this yummy award which I have added to my gallery that can be accessed via my side bar. I love reading about the Laurie's dogs and seeing pictures that remind me of my dear departed Tamsie. So if you haven't met Laurie pop over and introduce yourself!

Now I always find Willowtree 'yummily funny' and I dread to think what he might do to this award but I'm sending it his way regardless! He'll probably ignore it as he's into other things!

Archives:
2007: How not to treat your baskets

Hooray for Integrity....

Lisa who in my opinion is not the least bit chaotic has given me an integrity award. I'm flattered that she thinks that I'm honest and have strong moral principles (dictionary definition). I think there are some members of my family who might disagree with this and say I am not always honest . I suppose there have been times when I have been economical with the truth, for example 'does this make me look fat' I would not necessarily be blunt and say 'yes' I would be more likely to say something like 'so and so suits you much better'.
However this week in the local shop when I was given too much change I did point it out to the girl on the check out~ something I have not always done in the past~so I think this award is having a good affect!
In my blogging what you see is what you get~this is me. I dabble in this and that and plod along, middle of the road, msaverage~ I think my blog report would read~tries hard but will never be a high achiever! I would be happy with this, especially when someone like Lisa, who takes such beautiful photos, gives me an award!
Now I know I should be passing this on but I'm going to keep it in the family! So I give this to my daughters~
Sam always maintains her integrity. Her love of good food and wine is evident to anyone who reads her posts. Her restaurant reviews are written honestly from her personal experience, even when she knows they will not be well received. She does no advertising on her blog and this prevents her being influenced in any way, shape or form. Also anyone who gives up their car to help reduce the carbon footprint needs rewarding!
Beccy keeps me up to date with the trials and tribulations of her busy life with three children, and she isn't afraid to let us know when disasters as well as good things happen!
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I wasn't exactly given the second award personally. Katie Her Indoors offered the Wonderful Women on the Web Award to all of us so I had to add one of these to my collection.
Both of these will be added to my gallery. Thank you my friends.

Archives:
2007: Good Neighbours

Cool Award

My friend Alix was kind enough to give me this 'Major' award because she feels reading my blog gives her a taste of home. Now isn't that sweet of her.

I am going to pass it on to Grannymar who always puts a smile on my face. Hannah because she was kind enough to say I could use her recent post for my Witty Wednesday. I also give it to Kitten for hosting Fun Monday next week. Finally I give it to Karmyn just because I wanted to make her smile. You don't bite (not much) and I would have liked to sit next to you......you will need to read her post to understand what I'm talking about!

POSTSCRIPT:
I just wanted to let you know why Willowtree sent me 'that photo'!. He was just responding to a comment from the previous day. I know what a nosey interested bunch you are! On my Thursday post Willowtree happened to mention that he had been to mineral baths in Napa. So I responded by giving him this link and you know what happened then!!!

Archives:
December 15th 2006: Catching Up

Friendship Award

I had a another lovely surprise this week when Kila momto3cubs gave me this award. I think this is a lovely sentiment. Since I started blogging I have made friends around the world and I so enjoy my daily browse to see what is happening in everyones lives. So instead of choosing individuals I would like to pass this award on to everyone who reads my blog. I consider you all to be my friends.

Big thank you Kila:)
Hope you all enjoy your weekend.

Archives:
November 10th 2006: Traditional Champ

New Awards for moi!

Last week two of my blogbuds bestowed awards on me.

Terri over at My4kids has given me this 'you make me smile award'...

and this is what 'she says "Chrisb makes me smile especially every Wednesday with her Whitty Wednesday posts she started awhile back. Sometimes the fun is in her comments though when Beccy and her and her other daughter Sam getting into it together!"
Isn't Terri just the kindest person and I'm lapping it up:)

I think I've said before that I always find it difficult to choose recipient as many of you make me smile and this means I love your blogs.

However I think the smile award needs to go to ten bloggers:

Merle over at Third Try is a lovely lady who can be guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face and I think she is Embee's favourite blogger.

John who can often be found in the Pub keeps me supplied with jokes and I need to keep on the right side of him I love his sense of humour.

Willowtree doesn't really want awards but how can I help it when his is one of the first blogs I read everyday because of it's crappy brilliant content ensures I start the day smiling; well that is until I do his trivia quiz and get frustrated because it often takes several attempts to submit my answers which clocks up my time. I must remember it's just for fun!!

Sally of Sally Writes is a long time blogging friend whose battles with a certain bank are so well written and hilarious. I also love hearing about her family.

Grannymar I started reading recently after she joined Fun Monday. You'll need to read some of her posts to see why I enjoy her blog.

Alix from DC Days has just put the biggest grin on my face because she was passing on a book and guess whose name was pulled out of the hat! So thank you Alix :) :)

Misslionheart who has...'A Place for Everything' and keeps me laughing as she has joined in with 'Witty Wednesdays'.

Beckie at Give it a try because I enjoy her posts and she grows beautiful lemons.

Karmyn from Dreaming What Ifs' is always so entertaining and I just think she is a fun person. Have you seen her profile photo!!

My last award goes to both my daughters. I know Terri already gave it to Beccy but I still wanted to give it to her and to Sam who writes a food blog very cleverly in my opinion.
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Katy over at Her Indoors only gave out two of these awards and she says "chrisb gives us something new every day, amazing woman, with a great blog"
(blush) Well the amazing woman bit isn't true but I do try and scribble something albeit boring drivel everyday!


I'm giving this one to Mushu the Bichon Frise who resides with Joy as I love the posts written by this incredibly clever little dog. I'm sure Mushu will be sharing it with mom!

Archives:
November 2 st 2006: Window Repairs

Halloween Treats

Aren't I lucky Hootin'Annie has given me this Halloween treat, definitely better than a trick and who doesn't just love a treat!

Each day up until Halloween [October 31st] Hootin'Annie will be handing out a treat for up to five bloggers who drop by her blog during the week for visiting. She has been giving a different treat each week. She says I'm more than welcomed to pass it along to blogs I think are deserving of a special treat for the season. She says "Kinda like 'Pay it Forward' But DON'T just choose your friends making this cliquish and 'just groupies'". That's quite difficult because I want to treat all my friends, for being loyal and reading all the witty, clever rubbish I write but I know what she means when she says....

"Make NEW friends by choosing random visitors!!! Make it RANDOM"!!

I have been very lucky to have had a lot of people feed my addiction visit me this week so I decided to pass on my treat to some of my Witty Wednesday visitors. I would love to pass this on to everyone but these are the people I am treating today:

Grannymar who is starting a Thursday Special and today's little story is amusing.
Katy who is Her Indoors will know why I think she needs a treat.
Sandy at Myanderings because anyone who loves dogs and is so kind deserves a lot of treats.
Misslionheart at A Place For Everything just joined in my Witty Wednesday for the first time and that deserves a treat.


If you do decide to share it with others
then, use the IMAGE and link it back to my blog and to Hootin'Annie to
explain where the idea originated.

Archives:
October 18th 2006: No Archives

Nice matters

I have seen this award doing the rounds and I was beginning to think no one thought me nice enough but Beckie over at Give it a Try made my day when I was on her list of nice people. So thank you Beckie I am more than delighted to accept. Beckie did some research and found the award originated from Bella Enchanted

I now have to give seven other bloggers the award. According to Bella Enchanted the award is supposed to be given to those who are just nice people, good blog friends and those that inspire good feelings and inspiration! Those that care about others that are there to lend support or those that are just a positive influence in our blogging world!

As far as I'm concerned, as I said in yesterday's post, everyone I read fits that bill but I am passing this to these seven nice people :

Nikki I hope this cheers you up a bit. You will need to hop over to Nikki to see what's bugged her today and you might come up with a solution for her.
Sally
Purpleworms
MJD
Emma
Tigger Lamb Girl
Are you counting and that's only six....

I have to give this award to Willowtree who is a big softy because he is kind to animals, well that's except when he lets them fight like cats and dogs, and he gives us nice little things like this to play with Hope the authorities don't catch up with me as it's a serious crime to deface a coin of the realm!!
And it also goes to John because he was very nice to send me a present. I know I can't count and this makes eight but then arithmatic was never my strong subject!!

Rocking Girl Blogger Award

Daughter Beccy gave me this award which is really so sweet of her. I don't really think I qualify but I'm very pleased that she feels that I do. I'm not really sure I rocked even when I was young and these days what with a dodgy hip, eyes that don't focus, an ear that seems to block out rather than let it in sound and a rubenesque figure- do I need to go on. Does that sound like a rocking chick to you!! Before you think about taking it away........... I accept it!!

During the month this post has been languishing (half finished) in draft I have been lucky enough to have been given this award a second time by Lisa The Food Snob. I thank you both.

Ever wondered who started this award you can find out here (well I always admitted I'm a nosey so and so!)

Now I'm going to be a real party pooper and not name any recipients for this award. I know many of my blog buddies have already had this award bestowed upon them, so I will just say I give this award to everyone I read. You are all rocking girls and guys. You keep me hooked with little snipets of your daily lives, I love seeing all the beautiful pictures and I feel I share some of your joys and sorrows. So I thank you all :)

I rock, you rock we all rock together- well I can always try !!!