Sandra`s Scribbles

Hi friends,

Just a line to let you know I`m back home again. We had a wonderful holiday in the Candian Rockies, but as I`m still jet lagged I`ll tell you all about it in another entry. I have loads of photos to show you too. See you again soon. :o)

Love

 

labdancer51 at 12:42:31 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 14 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

 

At last I`ve downloaded the photos, I`ve been so busy...again...because of getting ready for the holiday that I just don`t seem to find enough hours in the day to do what I need.  This afternoon I packed most of our cases and seem to have done a good job, there is still lots of room for the few remaining things that will go in at the last minute. Our new neighbour is a taxi driver and Jim tried to book his cab to take us to the airport...he agreed but has told us he will do it for free even though Jim insisted. He told us we are good neighbours and he wants to help where he can, you can`t do much better than that can you. We`ve decided to buy his toddler daughter a present in way of a thankyou.

The weather is so humid at the moment that I don`t seem to have any energy at all. Despite the promise of thunderstorms not much has happened, just a few showers here and there that have certainly done nothing to clear the air.  Oh dear, I just noticed that rhymed...lol!

When Jim and I go away Slava`s parents Ivan and Nadia are coming over for a fortnight. We`ll all have dinner together on Sunday evening and that will be the only time we`ll get to see them this visit. Also it will be really good for Roman to spend time with his Baba and Dedde without the distraction of having us around. When he was in Russia Roman did`nt take to Nadia as well as he should. He was alright with Ivan and all his other Russian relatives but he is very shy with Nadia and won`t stay with her without Kerry or Slava being there, it`s very sad because if our positions were reversed I`d be devastated as I`m sure Nadia is. I really want her to have the same relationship that I have with Little Man because she is missing out terribly.

Anyway, my friends, I`ll say goodbye for the time being. I won`t post another entry before I go away on Monday so I hope all is well with you.  I have my trusty camera all packed and ready to go and I`m taking a notebook for the best bits that I don`t want to forget for my entries.  Bye for now. :o)

 

 

labdancer51 at 2:41:59 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 20 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

 

A little tiger at Marwell zoo!

 

Although I`m a day late I want to wish Roman, our darling grandson, a very Happy Birthday. I can hardly believe that he is 3 years old already, the time has truly flown by and he has practically grown up in front of our eyes.

 

On Saturday we had a BBQ in his garden in Hampshire where he had a fine time opening his presents. Jim and I bought him a sand and water tray with he played with for much of the afternoon, he was obviously very impressed though I`m not sure about Kerry when she sure the state of him by the end of the day.  Oh well, that`s little boys of three for you, they get dirty and enjoy every minute...lol!

I did take lots of photos but I haven`t been able to download them yet, hopefully I`ll be able to post them tomorrow.  For now though.........

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Roman James!

Love you darling,

 

Nana and Grandad xxxxxxx

 

aprox. 5mths

Ist birthday

9-10 mths....I think!

4mths

Now. :o)

labdancer51 at 3:47:04 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 22 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

 

 

I can`t believe how long it is since I last posted an entry, it looks like a fortnight.  Jim and I are looking forward to our holiday in Canada on August 4th but before that we have Little Man Roman`s 3rd birthday on 28th July. My goodness we have much to do before then.

Last week Jim had the results of his cholesterol test and unfortunately it is far too high. His blood pressure is still high despite the fact that he has lost a good amount of weight over the last year. In a week he has to see the doctor again and have his blood pressure checked for the 5th time and if it`s still high then its tablets for him. Also if he doesn`t bring his cholestrol down 6 weeks by diet alone he has to take something called statins, a tablet that he will have to take for good, something that he doesn`t relish but knows it`ll be for the best. he has a wonderful doctor who he trusts which is reassuring for him...and me I might add, I love him dearly and I don`t want anything to happen to him.

I have to see my doctor too though I can`t see her till next Thursday as she is fully booked.  I`ve been getting an awful pain in my wrist which has been waking me up at night so I think it`s time I had it looked at, also I`ve had an acid reflux for years but it`s got considerably worse so I want to get it sorted before I go away.

Kerry is still waiting for her hospital appointment which is in the middle of August but that isn`t too bad really, where I live we would have to wait much longer that 2 months.

The weather has been dreadful here and more like October than July and though we haven`t had the promised wet week it has been dreary, overcast and very cool. I can`t belive I`m wearing clothes that I usually wear in Autumn or even Winter....it`s bizarre.  Of course the weather puts people of visiting garden centres and along with the current `credit crunch` plants and flowers are more of a luxury than ever. Customers have to drive toour centre as there is bus route at all. I`ve even had some people say that because of the cost of petrol they don`t come as often as usual....not good for business at all. I know that garden centres all over the country are really suffering, even the large ones. We are only small and we are certainly feeling it.

The photos are of my own garden (of course) except for the ones from Jim`s cousin`s 60th birthday/retirement/Ruby Wedding Anniversary party.  It was a smashing party and everything had been done for the sake of the guests. There was a marquee with seats all around. The food table there too and guess where we sat? Right beside it of course...lol!  It was lovely too, there was so much I didn`t know what to have first. There was fresh salmon, roast beef, chicken, prawns, every kind of sandwich you could think of and everything, right down to the most amazing apple pies were all home made the night before. Also and this was the best bit, more desserts than you could eat though I had a good try along with Jim`s sisters, Sue and Beryl. Jim kindly took a photo while we were eating...lol!

The only thing that could have been improved upon was the weather, it was freezing, despite all of us having warm jackets. Mind you, guess who only took a thin Summer jacket and spent the later part of the night shivering...erm...me?

The Saturday before my old friend Pat celebrated her 60th birthday and Jim and I went to her birthday dinner.  As there were young children there it started at 5pm and went on until about 9. Again we had a lovely time and a very tasty meal and the highlight was when Pat was presented with a laptop computer from all of her guests, she couldn`t believe everyone could have gone to that much trouble and she was really touched. She is really excited about being able to send her friends emails and like I told her there is so much to do online once she gets used to it.

Anyway my friends, I`m sorry I haven`t commented very much on your journals lately but I`m reading as much as I can and hope to visit many of you this evening. I hope you all have a lovely weekend,  Bye Bye and take care. :o)

 

 

labdancer51 at 1:27:16 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 19 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

I thought it was time I posted another entry, it has been a while since my last.  Jim and I took Roman to stay with his sister Sue and her hubby Steve the weekend before last and we had a wonderful time.  Roman really enjoyed his visit to Broadstairs and his time on the beach, he is fascinated by sand and couldn`t wait to start digging with his little bucket and spade. However, Jim and Steve built a rather elaborate sandcastle which they wouldn`t let Roman  near in case he knocked it down...spoilsports...lol!  In the end though when we decided to go further down the beach they let him jump on it and what fun he had too!  There was the annual Dickens Festival on and it was fun watching the local people dressed up as characters from Charles Dickens books.  My late grandfather would have loved it as he was a Dickens fanatic, having read everything he wrote more than once.

On the Sunday we visited the RAF museum in Manston and again we had an enjoyable time there. Roman loved all the old planrs and was particulary taken with an out of service Sea Rescue helicopter that he said was `massive`, his favourite word at the moment.  He wanted to climb in the cockpit of the planes but they were only suitable for adults so we managed to talk him out of it.  It was a really windy day but very hot and we almost were blown away whilst sitting outside with a cup of coffee. Roman and I went for a walk in the memorial garden and he asked about the war memorial and told me that he liked the pretty red flowers there. He was looking at a wreath of poppies that had been placed there. It brought a lump to my throat.

By the time we left for home on the Sunday evening I was exhausted, Roman had been waking me up at 5am for the last few nights and I badly needed some sleep. However, sleeping in the car was out of the question as he didn`t stop talking all the way home. I can assure you though that night I slept like a log and even though I was up at six for work the next day, I felt so much better. Now I know why parenting is for the young...lol!

The last couple of weeks I`ve been doing some extra hours at work as we`ve been short staffed and I have to say the money will come in handy for our holiday to Canada on August 4th.  Now it`s getting nearer I`m starting to feel excited and can`t wait to go. The only reservation I have is that I hope Danny, who will be staying here remembers to water the plants, including the tomatoes....if he doesn`t ....well I won`t be responsible for my actions....lol!

This weekend coming we are going to a friend`s 60th birthday party, the following Saturday we are going to another 60th birthday party, this time Jim`s cousin. We go all year without an invite anywhere and like buses they all come along at once!   It`s Roman`s 3rd birthday at the end of July, my goodness I can hardly believe it, and we`re going to Kerry`s for a celelbration BBQ on the Saturday followed by a visit to Legoland on the Sunday. At the moment Jim only has the Saturday off but is first reserve for the Sunday, fingers crossed that he gets it.

My bloodshot eye looks normal again and is only slightly tender to the touch. I`ve been really careful not to have any accidents but I banged my head the other day on the wash basin in the bathroom, though not too hard this time.

Whilst driving to work one day last week I scratched the side of my car on a branch of a tree that was hanging down by the side of the road. I couldn`t swerve to avoid it as there was a lorry coming the other way...I can tell you I used some very unladylike language at the time and again when I saw the damage. It`s not as bad as I feared it would be but bad enough. Hopefully I can rub some of it out and then I will decide if it needs some professional attention....sigh.

Our new neighbours have had their new drive completed and have cleared the very messy back garden, repainted the whole house and replaced the dreadful carpets that the old owners had laid.  They are so friendly and the children that visit are so polite too. It`s so nice to be able to just say hello and get a hello back and a smile, something that only happened with the last owner when he wasn`t drunk, and that wasn`t often.  Now we hardly ever hear a thing, they are so quiet....bliss!

Anyway, enough of my rambling. I must try to post more often though my intentions are always good. It`s actually getting round to it that`s the problem so I hope you forgive me....lol!

Take care and I hope you are all well. Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

 

labdancer51 at 3:33:19 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 20 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

 

Oh dear, I`m in the wars again.  Yesterday I almost poked my eye out on a cane in the greenhouse. I was leaning over watering the tomatoes and that was it, the cane collided with my left eye socket preventing it from going right into the eye itself. My goodness it DID hurt too. My eye is really bruised and bloodshot (see above graphic for the general idea...lol!) and I`ve got the start of a bruise on the side of my nose and is a small cut just below my eye....I do look a fright I can tell you. It`s very painful but it has taught me to be a bit more careful. First thing this morning when I got to work I bought a couple of packets of cane eye guards, a bit late perhaps but at least if I do it again I won`t do myself any damage.....and knowing me I WILL do it again!

Jim has been out all day fishing in Theale,  the next village to where Kerry lives. He rang me just 30 mins ago to say that he hasn`t caught a thing all day and will be home soon. He has had an enjoyable day though.............somehow I can`t imagine how you can enjoy a days fishing and catch nothing, oh well I`ll never understand this fishing lark...lol!

The weather has been nice the last few days though according to AOL weather it`s going to be wet until the weekend. The BBC site however, says that it will stay fine all week. I think I`ll wait and see what tomorrow brings and see for myself. I need more sun to bring all my flowers into bloom, at the moment the garden is looking a bit dull. The hanging baskets and wall mangers are doing really well but I want the whole garden to look good now. Also I can now sit outside on my new sun lounger chair that I bought in Wilkinson`s for £30. We have the same one on sale at work for £69.99...exactly the same make and style too. Wilko`s had an offer that was 2 for £50, £20 less than the one at work. I think I did rather well spotting that one because I nearly bought the one at work using my discount though it would still have cost me over £40!

Anyway, my eye is getting rather sore as I`ve been online for a while now so I`ll say goodbye for now. Take care.

 

 

 

labdancer51 at 2:18:42 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 27 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

I`m here at last!  I`ve been unable to add an entry because like before I had no `add entry` button. I discovered just now that by signing in to AOL they came back again. I think AOL doesn`t recognise me as a customer...weird!

This last few weeks have been busy as usual. I`m rushed off my feet at work, what with customers buying all our stock almost before it can be replaced. I can`t believe how much some people spend but it is a LOT of money. Seeing as how expensive prices are here it seems the garden isn`t one of the first things to go when people `tighten their belts`. I`ve had the odd comment myself about what I spend on my garden but the way I see it, I pay my bills, don`t smoke or drink so why not spend money on something I love?  Of course I have spent hours outside lately and I`m starting to resemble an old brown handbag...lol! At last I really don`t have any serious work to do and all I have to do now is potter around, dead heading floweers and pulling out the odd weed. Good job too, it`s been rally hot the last couple of days and I just haven`t had the energy. Instead I`ve been reading my book in the shade and enjoying the peace and quiet.

I haven`t seen Danny for almost a week, methinks a woman is involved....watch this space.  Kerry has been to the doctor and is to see a specialist at the hospital but it seems her problems are all linked to the same thing,...again, watch this space. Roman is doing really well and last Thursday I drove over to their house ( I said I drove, ME!  That was a first!) Roman was delighted to see us and couldn`t believe it when he saw it was my car and not his Gwandad`s ( he always says it that way...lol!). We sat outside and Roman decided to run in circles around the garden and made me follow him despite my protestations. In the end I fell to the floor and he dived right on top of me....and he`s no lightweight any more either...lol!

On the Friday, ( not the Friday just gone but the one before) I split my head open when I brought in the washing, put it down, stood up and hit my head on the corner of the kitchen worktop. Well, you never heard a scream like it and I`ve never hit my head as hard as that before. I nearly passed out with the pain but pulled myself together to see if I`d done any damage. I felt blood running down my face and thought I`d probably need a stitch in it. I looked in the mirror and saw the cut and as it wasn`t as big as I thought I decided not to bother with the hospital as I`d probably have to wait hours to be seen. I took some paracetamol as I had a thumping headache, who wouldn`t after that? The cut was still bleeding slightly all through the night but had stopped by the morning, however I still had a headache for several days afterwards. I still have a small bruise on my head to remind me to be more careful in future, I don`t want to do that again!

Our new next door neighbours have had a drive laid and the front of the house looks very smart now after years of neglect by the last owners. Jim said that he had spoken more to our present neighbour in two months than to the last one in fourteen years! And they are much nicer people too. It`s a shame that the wife can`t speak English but I can sort of understand her, when she locked herself out the other day she came round to us and we sorted things out for her. Good neighbours can be hard to find, where ever they are from.

At the end of last week Jim and I went shopping for clothes for our holiday to Canada in August. We`ve not been shopping for clothes for sometime and after a trip to Matalan we came home with what looked like half the shop...lol!  Of course I was on a roll after that spree and on Saturday I went to Windsor with Kerry and Roman with a view to walking along the riverbank. We did DO that, I also sneaked in to M&S and bought a couple of tops, just in case I didn`t have enough....well, you never know ladies do you?  ;o)))

Do you remember some time ago me talking about the man from the "crime house" who was sent to prison for seven years for all sorts of fraudulant dealings?  Well, so much for 7 years, it seems he`s out after about 2 years and his time in custody before that. His cars that were impounded have been returned, (all four of them, brand new too!)  It looks as though he hasn`t had to pay any money back either, it makes me mad to see that he`s more or less got away with it....grrrr!

I hope you like the photos I`ve posted, I haven`t taken many of late and some that I did take were deleted by mistake...sigh. I get out with my camera and take some more, goodness knows there are so many opportunities. Anyway my friends, I hope you are all well and are enjoying some nice Summer weather. Now I must go and put my tomato plants back in the greenhouse.  Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

 

 

labdancer51 at 3:17:24 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 22 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

 

Ugh, what a wet and miserable day it`s been, it`s not stopped all day and today being Bank Holiday too. I feel really sorry for working people who have today off with their families as it`s unlikely that they`ll be able to enjoy a day out as they would have hoped.

As I guessed yesterday, work was a complete washout. We are supposed to be really busy at this time of year and at Bank Holidays we should be rushed off our feet. Instead we were sitting around after doing our usual daily tasks waiting for the customers to come through the doors. They DID come but mostly the ones who wanted cheap discounted plants and the ones who didn`t quite know what they wanted so left empty handed. I can tell you, I was really happy when 1pm came around and I could come home again. My poor garden has taken quite a beating from the wind and rain and it has seen off the last of the Spring flowers that were vainly hanging on to their fading petals.  The Clematis are hanging on to the trellis for dear life and I can only hope they don`t get blown down. One of my roses was so battered that I`ve tied twine around it hold it up, it looked so sorry for itself despite its many flowers. Jim was going to finish digging over the new flower bed but of course he had no chance today, anyway, the poor bloke had to go to work himself at 12am so at least he could have a rest before he went.

Kerry was coming down with Roman tomorrow but she hasn`t been feeling well and has called it off. I don`t blame her either, she hasn`t been right for some time and I wish she`d go back to the doctor as I know something`s not right with her, you know these things about your own children don`t you?  Danny was here overnight as he went to Twickenham to watch the rugby sevens yesterday. Like before it was a corporate do and it didn`t cost him a penny. When he came home a little worse for wear he told me that the hospitality there was wonderful, the food the drink ;o) and of course, the rugby...lol!  I didn`t see him this morning and when I got home he`d gone home but I`m sure he`ll tell me more about it another time.

This morning on the way to work there was a fallen tree lying across the main road, I found out later that it had only fallen down just a few minutes before I got there. I did notice other overhanging trees looking just that little bit lower than usual and I must admit to being more than a little nervous, somehow being crushed by a tree isn`t something I relish, nor, as it happens did I enjoy being hit by a tidal wave after a car that was driving much too fast, hit a deep puddle. For a split second I couldn`t see a thing and where it happened the road is very narrow. I wish people would adjust the way they drive to the weather conditions, it could save their lives one day....grrr!

Right, I`m off now, time I put something on for my evening meal. I hope you all had better weather and have enjoyed the Bank Holiday. I hear the weather in Scotland and in the North is lovely today so to my friends there I say, please send some of it here...lol!  :o)

 

 

labdancer51 at 12:38:52 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 24 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

 

 

What a weekend!  I can`t believe how much has gone wrong and what has gone right the last two days.  On saturday I slept in and woke with a start thinking it was friday and I was late for work... I do hate it when that happens. Once I was awake I decided to read in bed for half an hour but it was no use, I couldn`t concentrate so I got up. The morning was really nice so I got my housework done and decided to go to Homebase as I`d seen some really nice ornamental grasses that would look really nice in my garden. While I was there I saw a very reasonably priced (cheap) edging knife, just what I needed as Jim and I are in the process of changing the shape of the garden and digging out a new flower bed. I went home with the grasses and the edging knife, very pleased with my purchases.  We did lots of work in the garden in the afternoon with Jim putting up a large trellis panel behind what would be the new flower bed. I`d made a list of garden jobs to do so I got on with those.  Later on I was cooking dinner when there was a loud bang......I screamed and almost frightened the life out of Jim!  We don`t know what happened exactly but it was the cooker that did it and everything seemed alright at least for now. (something tells me that it will soon be going to that big scrapyard in the sky so watch this space.)

This morning I was just beginning the ironing (my favourite....not!)  when the iron started making funny noises and switched itself off. Oh dear, not another electrical problem thought I.....well not those exact words but you get my meaning. ;o))  After a bit fiddling around I managed to get it going again and hopefully it will stay that way. Now what on earth could go wrong now I wonder.  Well I didn`t have long to find out.

This afternoon it stopped raining after a horrible start to the day. Jim was digging out the new bed and I was cutting the edges with my brand new toy. I was almost finished the edging when SNAP, it broke in half. Just one day old and as useless as a chocolate teapot!  That meant when we finished the flower bed and had taken all the excess turf to the council dump it was back to Homebase to change the edger for a new one. Luckily there was no trouble with the exchange but I decided on paying more for a much better one. This one carries a ten year guarantee so I can safely say it will last a bit longer than the last one.

I just looked out of the window and it`s getting very gloomy. No doubt it will rain again as is forecast....of course it WOULD be miserable because it`s a Bank Holiday AND I`m working tomorrow. I just hope it`s not too bad tomorrow or we won`t have many customers and it will be very boring. Mind you it was really busy on Friday and there was one woman I could have cheerfully throw out of the shop. I couldn`t believe how rude she was to me through no fault of my own. You would think the lovely sunny weather would bring out the best in people but some of them were probably just born miserable. It will be interesting to see what tomorrow brings through the doors...lol!

I want to say thanks to all of you who expressed concern about me not being around for a couple of weeks, it`s lovely to know I wasn`t forgotten. Now I will carry on reading journal alerts until I catch up with them all, even though I won`t be able to comment on them all for a while yet. Take care all of you and have a lovely evening. :o)

 

 

labdancer51 at 1:55:12 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 18 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

 

 

 

Oh my goodness, I don`t believe it, AOL has given me an `add entry`....at last!  I`ve been trying to post an entry for almost two weeks and there were no edit or add entry buttons all that time.

Anyway,  I`m here now so I shall begin. I`ve had a hectic two weeks with the lovely weather we had. Work has been frantic with everyones thoughts turning to their gardens. My garden has been keeping me busy every day after work, what with planting and weeding and generally trying to make it look beautiful!  Now I have my greenhouse up and running I have quite a few plants that still need to be planted. My tomato plants are growing really well and I`m hoping for a bumper crop.....well, I`ll be happy with a few if I`m honest, I don`t know much about them but I think I`m doing the right thing...lol! I`ve also become Sandra the Slug Slayer, not exactly Buffy I know but I`ve done too much work to let those slimy creatures eat all my efforts. I`m sure they know I`m coming, armed with salt and a plastic spike, because I don`t see many of them, just the leftovers from their feasts on my dahlias and petunias!

Roman is doing really well, he is getting so tall and so grown up. He never stops talking and at the weekend he was telling all about the garden table and chairs that Kerry bought last week. " It was too big for mummy`s car so they had to take the wrapping off" he told me."  "Did it fit then?" I asked  " Yes, but I got squashed"  he said....he does make me laugh!  Sunday was my Danny`s birthday, he`s 31, how did he get that old?  He`s my baby!  Jim and I bought him a laptop for his birthday as he`s been so helpful to us lately and as he was away on holiday for his thirtieth birthday last year we decided to get him something special a year late.  Anyway, on Sunday we all went to Kerry`s and we had a BBQ in her garden. Despite the cold wind we had a lovely time sitting at the new table, even though birthday boy was inside watching football on TV, as unsociable as ever but I still love him...lol!

In the last few weeks I`ve had a bad cold, got rid of it and am suffering from a bad throat again.  I`ve had a flare up of arthritis in my hip, knees neck and fingers and a trapped nerve in my shoulder. My shoulder is on the mend but I`m being very careful how I move it, just in case it gets trapped again. When it first happened it was so painful I hardly slept so I don`t fancy going through all that again.

I`ve not read many journals the last fortnight either but have started to catch up again. I just hope my journal is fixed now and I`ll be able to post my own entries also. I did ask the journals editor if there was a problem but he didn`t get back to me, oh well it doesn`t matter now. I do want to catch up with what my journal friends are doing, it seems strange not to know what`s going on.

Anyway, that`s it from me today, so much has happened the last couple of weeks and my mind has gone blank, either it`s a senior moment or I`ve forgotten completely.  I think I should`ve taken notes so I could write a better entry.  Bye Bye for now and take care all of you. :o0

 

 

 

 

labdancer51 at 3:13:43 PM EDT Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 27 comments: Show Recent | Add your own