DINNER
Organic Pasta Twirls with Ham and Mushroom Tomato Sauce
Organic Beetroot
Tomatoes sliced in a wooden bowl

Walnut Dream Ice Cream

The results from Mr A's, ah, 'specimen', has come back confirming that he has a Campylo Bactor bug which needs antibiotics to treat it. So I scrubbed the toilet with disinfectant and got 'His' and 'Hers' towels sorted. Now he knows what the diagnosis is he feels a bit better as it is being treated. He still gets dizzy with moving around but eating a full diet, lots of fruit included.

Still haven't found any sherbert lemon sweets............

DINNER
Veggie Burgers (they are really tasty)
Oven Chips
Salad a la Moi

Well, Mr A is back from Cambodia, but came back quite unwell. He has the dreaded runs and had it 2 days after arriving. He bunged himself up with medication and worked for a week and came back to recover.
He thinks it might well be the side effects from the anti-malaria tablets he has to take for a week after returning. Only 2 days to go when he's finished them, so we will see.
As he hadn't eaten for 2 days before he came back, I've been feeding him good plain food and made soft white bread for him.
We cleaned out the chimney on friday, which entailed him climbing onto the roof, me looking upward anxiously at the bottom of the ladder. Actually, as it's a bungalow, it's not that high.
After sweeping all the crap down the chimney we opened up the box at the top of the Rayburn where all the crud collected and swept it out. Mr A had the good idea to keep our old hoover which we use to vacuum out the last bits so it's all swept out.
He remarked that it was a bit like the dentist. He was poking the crud off the sides of the pipe through the hole, and I was holding the tube of the hoover, like a dentist's assistant holding the suction to suck up the saliva. In my case I was sucking up the dust that was blowing out. Well, I thought it was a funny analogy!

The veggie burgers are almost ready, Mr A is watching footie and in a good mood, despite feeling crap still.
I potted up the cos lettuces, there is going to be a real glut when they are ready. Everything is growing well, despite it being a rainy dull day.
Reading Ian Rankin's latest Rebus novel. So far it's good. Mr A reading Iain M Banks latest Sci-Fi novel, a different read altogether. He bought them at the airport to read on the flight.

I want some sunshine! I've had enough of rainy wet days...

The benefit went really well on saturday. It was sold out! I also did a raffle. One of the prizes was a pair of garden fairies, the same as the ones that I've got dotted around the garden. Anyway, no one was owning up to having the winning ticket for them, so in the end the winner of each ticket could choose what prize they wanted. One of the artistes donated her latest CD to the raffle which was a real incentive for people to buy a ticket as she is really popular.
So yesterday I handed over a cheque to the organisers of Women in Tune for £265. Because it was only a small venue it wasn't as much as I would have liked, but every amount helps I guess.
Scarabella went down well although my voice kept cracking for the first few songs as my throat was dry. Probably nerves. No one seemed to notice except for me, well they didn't mention it and we got plenty of compliments on the set we did.

Right. Chips are now ready and the burger done, so cheeriho, sleep well and sweet dreams.

Hurrah! Mr A is back. At least his body is back, lying in bed sleeping, so I'm tip toeing round the house.
I was typing away when I heard this loud 'tap tap' on the window, or could have been back door. I thought it must be my grandaughter come for a visit.
So I open the back door and find 2 blue tits flying away in a flurry of wings.
They had been tapping at the window 'cos their feeder was empty!
Cheeky things! But oh so cute....

DINNER
Spag Bog
Salad a la Moi

Going for the quick n easy option tonight, though the salad does take effort and time it's always worth it.
Went 'Meals on Wheelsing' this morning, having 11 clients to go to, many of whom don't get out of the house at all.
I've just typed the same thing 3 times, and I've accidentally erased it with my moving finger on the laptop mouse.
I was just going on about one client who complains to every volunteer to delivers to her. Last moan was that the apples weren't peeled in the fresh fruit salad....
The meal she had today passed muster so she told me that on wednesday the chicken in sauce she had was awful, the sauce was just clear water.
Looking beyond the habitual complaining, I think she uses it as a way of communicating with people and has done it for a lot of her life. If you moan to someone about something, it's like becoming a confidante, especially if the moan is directed at someone else.
Despite her moaning about the food, I do like her but working with someone like her would drive you nuts.

Phew, managed to type that last bit without accidentally erasing it. Let's hope it stays there.
'Stay!'

It's been raining most of the day, what a change from those sunny skies of yesterday, mind you, it rained a bit then as well...I want to see some clear skies and sunshine! As it is, I keep having to haul the cushions from the 3 seater swing seat in and out of the house in case they get wet. Mr A has an objection to having a cover over it as he thinks it will look ugly in front of the house. on The seat is on the wooden deck which angles off the path in front of the house to overlook the sloping front garden. (Just so you get the picture and see it in your mind's eye).
Wheras I am more inclined not to be bothered, and think it's less hassle just to throw plastic over it in case it rains. At the moment I haven't found a cover big enough, so am toying with the idea of buying a tarp big enough and chucking that over it. However, if I do,
There will be ructions.

It would have been nice to have got some feedback from the short story I wrote recently, as I got just one response. I emailed it to Mr A and some friends and they all loved it, but then they would say that wouldn't they?
So, (hint hint) even constructive criticism is welcome, it's just the waiting I can't stand.
The incessant waiting, that dentist room feeling, it's like driving me mad! Mad, I tells ya. That mind-numbingly deathly cyber silence that makes me want to scream out loud!
(What? Me? Drama queen? Are you sure?)

Still haven't found any sherbert lemon sweets, so I had to settle for some sherbert centred hard boiled sweets. (Try saying that out loud a few times after a few drinks). They have just enough sherbert in them to cover a gnat's arse.

I think I am finding a similarity in my musings to the ever-complaining O.A.P lady that I wrote about in this post earlier. So that's why I like her! Because I am like her! Oh my god! If that revelation isn't enough to change my disposition (I like that word), from a moaning Minnie into a sweet little sunshine girl, then, well, I could start an organisation called Complainers Anonymous (C.A.) and even broaden the scope to incorporate F.A (Fusspots Anonymous) so we could all meet have a good old moan and fuss about things in general. Anonymously, of course.

So, the rambling has started, who knows where it will lead? Thoughts tend to wander (or is it wonder) when there is nothing more interesting to add....Well, it's hard to top the excitement of the failed sherbert lemon hunt after all.
Still, I'm going to perservere and see what the clockworking wheels and cogs of my mind come up with next.
Zebras. I wonder if they ever feel split between thinking whether they are black, or white? Or black with white stripes, or white with black stripes?
Here's another thing. Energy saving bulbs? I don't think so. It takes just as much effort to plug them in as it does ordinary bulbs.

DINNER
Lamb and Leek Curry. Readymade from the 'Authentic Curry' brand, got in the Co-op. It was quite nice.
Brown Rice
Salad a la Moi with lettuce, grapes, cucumber, tomatoes, onion, capers, apple

I made far too much salad, hope the chickens enjoy the rest that I left. I gave their run and house a good clean out with fresh straw, a bit like you or me having clean sheets on the bed I guess. They love fresh straw! They run around kicking it up in the air and moving it around. The darlings are still laying an egg each every day.

Got some things for a raffle for saturday night at the gig. An extra way to make up some money, I was quite pleased that I thought of it! It's not the sort of thing I would normally do, mind you, organising this event is not the sort of thing I do anyway!
I sent directions to 2 of the women who are performing at the gig, quite detailed info on how to reach the venue. After going to town and watching out where I was going, I noticed that I didn't give the right number of traffic lights for them to go through. There's a stretch with loads of lights, and I thought there was only 3 sets before turning off. So I'll have to email with a correction and warn them not to turn at the 3rd set of lights, otherwise they'll end up in an industrial estate!

I've got my car back from the garage after a major cardiac (engine) repair. A cylinder had gone, that's why it was so hard to get uphill before. It's whizzing around now, and got uphill in third gear, where it was second gear before the work. The car has got a new lease of life and drives lovely now. Mr A said he would pay for the repair, so I don't know how much it's going to cost yet, but I imagine not much change from £250. Our mechanic is totally trustworthy and has done us favours in the past, so I know he wont rip us off over the cost of the repair whatever it is.

I've been searching for Sherbert Lemons. Do you remember those sweets? Quite tart tast on the hard outer coating, then a fizz of sherbert when you got to the centre. Anyway, I can't find any yet...the search continues....
Mr A will be home tomorrow. Hooray! His last text was just before boarding the plane, and that he felt shite. I expect he will need a couple of days to recover from jet lag and the stomach upset he had over there. It'll be nice to have him back home again, for a start, the chimney needs sweeping.........

DINNER - courtesy of Sushi Bar
Vegetable Tempura in a Dashi Sauce. Veg fried in a light crispy batter with a dipping sauce
Cooked Eel with Salad. I love eel...
Walnut Dream Ice Cream when I got home

As I had an appointment in Swansea today anyway, I decided to go for a sushi meal. It's very tasty, but I don't like the raw fish, I always have it cooked. I love the pickled ginger and have bought a huge root which I intent to pickle myself...stay tuned to the great Pickling Ginger experiment..

I have organised a benefit for this saturday to raise money for the wonderful Women in Tune camps. We have 5 great acts. I'd forgotten that I'll need someone on the door to take money, so I've left a message on a friends answerphone to ask her to do it. I think I'll do a raffle as well so will need to buy 4 prizes to give away.

Now the weather is warming up there's a lot more to do in the garden. I have to remember to open the door of the greenhouse, water the plants in there and also seedlings in the lean to. There are lots of flowers ready to transplant but I haven't had time today. The sun was shining and it was so nice after yesterday's miserable rain.

Enjoying 'Britain's Got Talent' so far. The 13yr old singing Frank Sinatra was very good as was the high voiced boy. The large lady who danced with abandon to a sexy funky record was great. Her bra strap fell down one side but she looked like she enjoyed herself, which is always a good thing to see. She said she dances while she cleans her house, well, she was covering a fair amount of space on the stage, so she must have a large roomed house! The acts that appeal least to me are the crowds of kids aged 10 and below with their sparkly costumes and make up. No way would I ever pay to see something like that. I think you'd have to be a parent of one of the kids to enjoy their act.

Hopefully it'll be sunny tomorrow and I can spend time in the garden, transplanting flowers and potting on some plants that are too big for their boots, I mean pots. Also, time to muck out the chickens. I've already changed the straw in their house, I now need to change it in the run. They love fresh straw, they go round kicking it up and clucking happily. Just like I enjoy sleeping in clean sheets I guess.
Still getting 3-4 eggs a day, 1 of them really huge, speckled hen's egg is brown and still quite small.

DINNER
Yes! It's Potato Wedges with Chilli n Cheese night!

Rehearsal later, so I'll go to the pub for my £2.75's worth of tasty dinner.

I forgot to put tags on my short story (last post) so I'll do it on this one.
So if you're wondering where the short story is, scroll down to the last post for the final exciting episode of 'Love in the Sky if We Don't All Die.'

Got a call from Mr A, away working in Cambodia. All is fine except he has the runs and it is very very hot so he gets up at 4am to work before the day gets too hot.
A bit of a change from here, where it's raining today, dull and miserable.

We are getting 4 eggs most days, except for the odd day when there are only 3. One of the eggs is huge! Extra large, I'd say, poor girl must have been stretched to the limit for that size!

Got my pension, at last, but not the ill health one, I'm still working on that one.
I've got to pay tax on my monthly pension! How bad is that! Bastards, taking from the poor to let the rich have more benefit from their tax fiddles through the accountant money.
I'm not versed in the ins and outs of the tax system, but to be taxed on less than 3 grand a year seems miserly to me. It's not as if I can have a say on what my tax is paying for. For a start we wouldn't be spending the millions on sending the armed forces to other parts of the world for no good reason, yet alone getting them killed in the process. In fact, I think having a military force in Iraq is not a good idea at all and seems to be begetting more violence than if we stayed out of it.
I would also cap M.P's expenses especially for second homes. It seems unfair that they can have 2 houses, mostly paid for by us when many people are losing their only homes because of the inflated prices of recent years. Why can't they stay at a b@b? Then they could only pay for the times they stay there overnight.
I could go on and on, yes, and on.

My bath awaits.

Part 1 saw the ruggedly handsome Captain Charles Lockwood, and his delectable co-pilot, Katrina, trying to save the jumbo jet they were flying from crashing into the sea. A singularly lack of good judgement from Cpt Lockwood meant that they were running out of fuel, fast. Katrina gave the Cpt 2 bottles of a 200% proof spirit drink that would enable the plane to land, on land. Katrina watched anxiously as the Cpt had to go outside the plane and pour the spirits into the fuel tank.
Now read on...

'Be careful, my darling!' Shouted Katrina, now realising how much her bosom heaved from thoughts about the gallant captain, 'and close the bloody door, it's freezing in here!'

She could see him struggling to open the screw lid on the bottle as the plane was hurtling in a downwards direction. What a pity that brakes didn't work in the air she thought.
Just enough time for a quick check of the lippy and mascara before he came back in she thought, as the compact came out of her handbag which was behind her seat.

Katrina thought she had better tell the passengers something to calm them, as the plane was dropping fast.

'Hello. This is the co-pilot speaking. We are experiencing some turbulence which should pass quite soon. Please fasten your safety belts and secure any items that may roll down to the front of the plane as we are unable to navigate through lack of fuel.'
'Damn!' she thought, she hadn't meant to say that last bit.

'Open the door!' Captain Lockwood was knocking on the window! Katrina opened it as the pilot came tumbling in with his hair messed up from the wind outside. She shut the door quickly and helped the captain to his seat.

'It was hell out there, but I managed to hold onto the door handle with one hand, the hardest part was unscrewing the lid of the the bottle with my teeth,' he said as he smoothed down his hair, checking it in the wing mirror.

'Charles! Charles! The fuel gauge is climbing, we are going to be ok!'
Yes, indeed, the little needle was climbing out of the red zone and Captain Lockwood had managed to get the plane to fly level once more.

'Hello passengers. This is the Captain speaking. Apologies for the 45 degree descent of the plane, we were experiencing a bout of turbulence. You can unfasten your safety belts now.'

Katrina thought it wise not to mention her slip of the tongue to the passengers. Thinking about slips of the tongue, she admired the touselled hair look of the handsome captain and remembered that there was some unfinished business.

Katrina turned to her pilot, tears welling up in her eyes. She dabbed them daintily with a clean hanky.
'Charles, Charles, when I thought that this might be It, I realised how much I do love you, after all. It took a potential disaster of enormous proportions to make me see it. Can you find it in your heart to forgive a silly girl?'
'What silly girl?' he asked, looking around the cockpit as if there should be someone else there.
'Me!' I've been blind, but now I am ready to accept your proposal.'

Charles looked blank and said,
'proposal? What proposal?'
Katrina looked puzzled, a tiny frown grew between her thinly arched eyebrows, like a slow spreading crack in a pane of glass, just before it breaks.
'Oh. Sorry. I thought that, well, earlier, when you were saying all those lovely things to me about how much you loved me, that you were, well, er, you know, proposing.'
Charles turned his rugged jaw back to gazing out of the front window and said in a stilted voice,
'after nearly losing my life back there, outside the plane, a chap had a few thoughts. Life and death sort of thing has a way of making a chap realise what is really important in life. You know I feel that it's time that old Charles Lockwood loosened up a little, saw a bit more of life, in the fast lane, if you know what I mean.'

'What do you mean Charles?' as Katrina suddenly saw the writing on the wall, and it wasn't the graffiti she expected, she knew that her chance to become Mrs Captain Lockwood was disappearing quicker than a tube of mints in an alcoholic's pocket whilst they were at work.

'I mean, my dear girl, that from now on, old Charles is going to join in with the swingers, get with it and maybe even drop some acid. Life's too short to get stuck in a rut.'
Katrina's hanky was now quite sodden.
'Oh Charles,' she said in a quivering lip kind of way, 'I can wait. When you've exhausted all the possibilities of wild, abandoned sexual encounters, I'll be here, waiting.
Since I'm now unencumbered with a monogomous relationship, I may well just experiement myself, see what this gay business is all about.'

A mutual understanding was reached. They would both reclaim the swinging 60's, 40 years later and live a carefree life, taking hedonistic pleasures wherever they could find them and then see if their love would stand the test of time.
Charles smiled in a 'Jack the Lad' kind of a way and spoke with deep sincerity.
'How about giving ourselves 5 years of unmitigated frolicking each, then see if we both still want to be tied to each other in matrimony.'

'Sounds good to me,' said Katrina, 'and we should start to look out for places to land this mother now.'

DINNER
Monkfish and Scallops in Spicy Tomato Sauce
Brown Rice

I love brown rice but rarely have it as Mr A doesn't like it. As he is away working I can eat it till I get bored with it. If it came to a choice though, I'd rather pick the ol' man over brown rice anyday...

I have neglected to read my friends' posts for a while now, so how are you all doing? One blog I love catching up on is Prydwen's, it's so full of jokes and humorous adverts that it always raises a smile.

I got smoked out of the house today. I think I've been burning too much wood rather than anthracite, so the chimney's got clogged up and the Rayburn was spewing smoke when I relit it today as it had gone out overnight. It's eventually settled down and I'm burning coal to make sure, but when I went shopping, I was aware that I stank of wood smoke, confirming to everyone I met that I really am an old hippy.

Went to M&S to spend my birthday voucher from my sister. She specified that it had to be spent on something indulgent, so I went and got a red polka dot bra and knicks, along with a cheap pair of trousers, with some change to be spent later. I went to a couple of charity shops, something I haven't done for a while and found a lovely sky blue silk top, chinese style with a high neck and toggle. I asked if they would take L.P's, as I've got a barrel load of them. One shop said they would, the other didn't want them, as people don't bother with them anymore and rather play c.d's. I'll have to take a trolly bag with them in when I go as they are really heavy, (the amount I've got anyway).

The other Scarabella's came to my house for rehearsal last night for a change. We went through our set, as we have 30 minutes for the gig on 26th and found, with chat that we had 31 minutes worth. We then sat and watched ourselves on dvd from the last gig with a critical eye. I still do the ducking and diving movements too much when I should be standing more still. I can't help it though, the rhythmn is in my body, even if no one else can hear it and I move to it, even before we start to sing! Brenda looks great, she is very elegant, there's no other word for it. We now wear turquoise and deep blue big feathers, to go with the black dresses and turquoise scarves. Brenda wore hers sticking up and had a beautiful sparkly dress on, I thought that she looked like the owner of a saloon in an old wild west movie. She doesn't move much when we sing and stands straight with good posture, that's what I should aim for. As it is, I tend to hunch my shoulders, stick my neck out (yes, I know, where it shouldn't be) and generally bob about. It's strange seeing yourself on dvd, like looking at someone else.........anyway, we learnt that we need to synchronise our movements more and make it pleasing visually. Even though it seems o.t.t. to us, from an audiences point of view it's more entertaining.
We've even practiced a little 'comedy moment'. Whilst we hold a chord in the song 'Java Jive', Carol will launch into a frenzied chorus from another song, as if she couldn't hold back in vocally letting rip. As she gets more carried away, the rest of us stop and look at her in mounting horror. Then myself and Brenda come in with her to make a very corny last chord with arms outstretched, passionately giving our all to this cheesy chord whilst the others are watching us with amazement at this (apparently) anarchistic detour from the song we are singing! Carol then looks suitably sheepish, as we carry on with the original song as if nothing has happened.
Well, it went well at rehearsal, let's hope it doesn't look too contrived on the night.

I've become a bit addicted to buying fairies. Yes, it's true. Morrisons have a collection of sweet fairy statues, suitable for the garden in muted colours, of the size that is just about right for a fairy. They are selling at £1.99, buy one, get one free, so I couldn't resist! My garden now has fairies dotted about, blending in nicely with the flowers. So far I've got 6.....and will still be counting after future shopping expeditions I'm sure....

Just finished reading Tony Hawks book, 'One Hit Wonderland'. It's very funny, and about his making a bet that he would get a top 20 hit record within 2 years with a girl that he fancied. He did make no 4 in the charts in the 80's when he was in Morris Minor and the Majors, with their 'Stutter Rap.'
So, he tries several ways to get a hit record, including going to Nashville, Holland, and eventually Albania, as the bet doesn't specify where he has to have a hit record.
So he wins the bet finally, and this is the craziest part....writing a song with Tim Rice with Norman Wisdom singing...Apparently he is very big in Albania, everyone recognizes him as they play his films on the tv and he is a real film star to them, so Tony uses that fact and sure enough, the song they record gets to no 14 in the charts. Anyway, it's a good read with some crazy situations happening, all written as a very easy read.

Ooo, American Idol is on. Gotta go...........

We have been eating.......

Smoked Mackerel with Fennel and Orange
Rice n Salad

Roast Chicken with the works, including gravy.

Steak n Chips with salad.

TONIGHT
Tortilla (fried Potatoes, Onions in egg
Salad

It's a bit chaotic at our house as Mr A is off to Cambodia for 9 days on a job, so there's things all over the place. The worst bit is having to leave at 4am to catch the train for the airport. So it'll be an early bed and even earlier rising in the morning.

I went to my creative dance group this afternoon (or arvo as the Ozzies so quaintly put it). I was the only one who turned up! There was the woman who is organizing it, so just the 2 of us. We worked out a duet that's only going to last about 2 minutes. It's being based on the 'Ugly Duckling' story, which has been renamed 'Odd Swan.' It's about feeling left out and searching for an identity, finding someone else who is the same and feeling content to then go away from them feeling better. I haven't put it very well, and the original story is much better. I still can hear Danny Kaye's voice on the record he made of it which was popular when I was younger.
'Me! A Swan! Go on!' Etc.....

We are now the proud owners (though no animal is really owned) of 4 egg laying hens.
Yes, the little beauties have gawn and laid their very first eggs and can't stop.
Their first ones were tiny, but now we are into medium eggs and asking all our friends to save boxes for them.

Had a great jam yesterday with our neighbour Pete, who only comes every now and then as it's their holiday home. He is an ace guitarist, can play anything, in the right key as well!
Mr A had a great time on the drums, bashing away to his heart's content. Because I was the singer, it was up to me to start the songs and I stuck with a few nice riffs I do on the guitar, then some jazzy chords on the piano. We were flying!
Was it loud?
Hell yeh!

Yay for the new Dr Who series, some good writing and plot lines going on. Also watching 'Britains got Talent', which was interesting, the 13yr old lad has a good chance of winning, that's if his voice doesn't break before the final. The dancing dog was good too. By gum, Collies are smart dogs!

Lots of gardening going on, onions are in, lettuces almost bursting out of their pots in the greenhouse.

LAST NIGHT'S DINNER
Chilli Con Carne. Delicious! Used left over bolognese and added kidney beans, chilli more onions and green pepper.
Brown Rice. Nice for a change, it takes longer to cook but is more chewy.

TONIGHT
Bangers n Mash
Greens from the garden

I had to pick up Liberty from school today, having to borrow my daughter in law's car as mine is in the garage. Wow, what a difference! My car grunts and groans going up hills and hasn't got much puff, whereas hers soared like a bird. Made a nice change to whizz around with power steering.....
We played the usual acting out Cinderella with dolls. I was playing with minimal attention, just saying the right words in the right places as she had enough enthusiasm for the both of us, and I'm finding this particular game a bit tedious now, so shall have to think of something else to do with her.

Mr A has just returned from work, so signing off toot sweet.

I've just caught up with my messages and found 12 birthday wishes!
OOoooo what a treat!
So thank you to everyone who sent one. I'm going out in a mo so I haven't got time to thank each and everyone of you, so this is a general thank you from the top of my heart.

On next log on, I'll come around to each and every one of you and whisper a 'thank you' to keep it on a personal level.

It was a real surprise, and though it's 9 days since my birthday, it feels like it is here again today!

Hurray!

ttfn x

DINNER LAST NIGHT
Spag. Bog
Spinach from the garden

Damn you Morrisons for selling that scrumbumptious Walnut Dream Ice Cream that I have to have after dinner every day

I put half a chilli in the bolognese sauce which gives it that extra pep plus a sprinkling of Lea and Perrings Worcestershire sauce.
I went back to an old love - Potato Wedges with Chilli n Cheese. For £2.75, it's a huge plateful of scrummy delicious grub, and I finished off with a Sticky Toffee Pudding with custard, which was £2.95, a bit more than the dinner. God I was full, god I was satisfied!
We had a rehearsal on monday and talked about how we move on stage and tried out some new moves, to go with the words we are singing. For instance, we sing 'Java Jive' which goes, 'I love coffee, I love tea, I love the Java Jive and it loves me.' When we sing 'coffee pot', we make a handle and spout with our arms and wiggle our hips. Another change is that we will all take turns to introduce the songs, before, Carol used to do all the talking, mainly because she is so good at it. I didn't realise that one certain person is really nervous about talking in public, she said that she gets really stressed and dries up. It doesn't show though, and we reassured her that she carries it off really well.

Mr A is going to Cambodia for 9 days next week for work. I know I'll miss him, so it should be an ideal time to get out more and visit friends. Of late, I don't seem to have seen any friends, apart from Scarabella and have been neglectful of keeping up with my mates. In the evenings, when we are either watching tv or a programme on the laptop, it's so cosy and comfortable, that I don't feel like going out.
Though last night was a bit different, there was an Arsenal v Liverpool game on and Mr A could have been in the Albert Hall with a full audience and not noticed!
'Go on, my son! Handball!' Were being yelled regularly while I sat and read my book. (Lawrence Block, Small Town). When Arsenal scored a goal, he got up and ran around the room, clapping, laughing, shouting 'yes' and really happy. Ah, bless!

I rang the library to renew my books to discover I owed a fine, quite a hefty fine at that. £14! They told me not to leave the country...........

We now have an egg laying hen! She started monday. In the corner of the nest box was a cute little egg. The other 3 are just getting fatter and not earning their keep yet. They are finding their voices now and can be heard clucking away most of the day.
I cut back the Passionflower and Clematis to withing an inch of their stems as the growth was dying on the stem. I just hope I've done the right thing, not having grown them before...
When the sun is shining everything seems that much better. I love living here, having the front garden as 'my' project and planting new flowers and placing new stones in it. The main garden for veg is behind the house on 5 terraces. Mr A has planted trailing plants over the boards holding up the terraces so it should look a riot of colour later on. I have lettuces in pots in the greenhouse that are growing fast which means we will have loads of lettuces at about the same time... The peas are up to about an inch in growth. Mr A sows them in drainpipes which makes it easier to transplant them into the ground when they are ready.

The meals on wheels is going well. I have 9 clients on a friday. Mavis (81) always has a moan about the variety of the food she gets. Usually it's because she's had the same sort of food, like beef, for a few days running. The women are more lively and mobile than the men I've noticed. One man is very frail and needs his food cut up for him. The first time I gave him his meal I forgot to put it on a tray. He has his meal on his lap as he is sitting down. I placed the plate on his lap and thought 'this isn't right!' and realised that it should have been on a tray. I quickly apologised, put the plate on the table and went to fetch the tray. Poor bloke! I expect he dreads it when he hears my 'hello' on a friday, wondering what I'll do wrong next....

I've got a £30 voucher for M&S to spend for my birthday. So that's where I'm going this afternoon. I'll have to keep away from the chilled cabinets in the food hall or otherwise I'll spend it all on food.
I've been putting on weight recently. I went to put on my jeans the other day and they wouldn't fit over my hips! Damn! I've been a regular size 10 for ages and now I'm more like a 14, so I can't fit into most of my clothes now. I blame that Walnut Dream Ice Cream, as it's become a regular thing, after dinner every night now. It is sooooo delicious..........

Liberty (3yrs) comes down quite often in the afternoons and the latest game she wants to play is acting out 'Cinderella.' I have to act out at least 3 different characters, usually the step-sisters and step-mother, sometimes the fairy godmother as well.....Her usual greeting upon coming into the house is 'Can I have some gherkins, olives and Kit Kat?' I give her food that I never gave her dad when he was her age. In fact I hardly ever gave my son chocolate or sugar when he was growing up, and it was a real treat when he had some. I've become slack with his daughter though, but she doesn't have the chocolate every visit.

Enjoying the new series of Dr Who on tv. In fact, someone rang me up while it was on and I had to tell them 'I'm watching Dr Who, can I ring you back later?' It was that good! It was a collegue from Meals on Wheels on the phone, she probably thinks I should grow up and act more like an adult!

I've just noticed the time, so I'd better get a move on if I want to get something lovely with my birthday gift voucher.........next time I log on I'll go and visit some of my friends and find out what they've been up to.

DINNER
Sheesh Kebabs in Tomato Sauce
Rice
Salad a la Moi

Things keep cropping up and I'm thinking that 'ooo that'll be good to blog', so can I remember any of it?
No.

DINNER
Chicken Soup made with Sunday's roast with Celery, Onion, Potatoes, Parsnip

Thank you everyone who sent me birthday greetings!
My spirits were lifted by each and everyone of you who thought to send such lovely messages.
Juzzzy - I've forgotten my Facebook password so haven't replied to you yet, so if you read this , then ta mate.
........oh yes, and the Queen sent a message on My Space as well. Thanks your Maj.

Mr A is coming back this evening about 10ish, I imagine he might need help to carry the huge present that I'll be getting from him......
So, another year older, not particularly wiser, but still trucking, and musn't grumble...etc.
Not getting the free bus pass just yet.

Can't think of anything else to write about, I'm watching Dr Who fight an alien in his pyjamas (Dr Who in payjamas, not the alien). I think I know who's going to win, the planet is at stake and they are battling with swords on the edge of a spaceship. Oooo, Dr Who's hand has just been chopped off, but hang on, he can still regenerate a new hand. There he goes, clashing swords, and.......down goes the alien with his life spared if he swears to go and never return...etc etc.