A lot of trees are in blossom and more are flowering daily.  There are daffs in the garden, and grape hyacinths and plenty of tulips getting ready to bloom.  I love the spring, seeing everything coming to life.  To watch the trees when you can notice the changes every few days from twigs to a hint of colour at the ends, to tiny leaf buds, then little leaves etc.  It's the beauty that gets to me.

I'm well and happy.  Busy but happy.  I've been mixing with people more, online and in real life and that is good for me.    I seem to be always busy but I've also been sleeping a lot.  I get up earlier but have an afternoon nap.  Must be doing me good though.

Chel often has the radio on in her car when we are out and about.  I've started to listen to the same station when I'm busy around the house and am finding my joy in that again.  Current fave is Bruno Mars.  There's just something about his voice and music that I like.

Last night we put Sky Arts channel on to watch/listen to Andre Rieu.  Well, he got me in  floods of tears with his solo of Brahams Lullaby.  I've just found someone playing it on a harp on YouTube.  I used to sing it to my children all those years ago and haven't heard it or remembered it for years.  I really think music is the language of my soul.  It can affect me so deeply.

Jess dog ate my grapes this afternoon while we were out.  Don't even wonder why they were on top of the printer at the back of the desk.......but she got 'em and ate 'em all up.  I wanted them.  That's why I bought them after all.  They were exceptionally nice ones as well.  Trouble with a tall dog, and a lurcher certainly is that.  As a former lucher owner said, they are designed like a giraffe.  (Thanks for that Maggie.)  No matter what she does we can't really get too annoyed with her - and Stevie loves her too.    One night she woke Chel by trying to curl up in a laundry basket of clothes in her room.  Pretty funny.   I caught her trying to get up on a shelf in a cupboard because something was on her bed.....she is soooo funny.  And very loving too.

Well, that's it for tonight.  My bed is calling loudly so I'll go keep it company. 
Thank you for reading this blog, BTW.

before I start todays writing I just want to point out that I had saved a blog and never got back to post it, so although it has today's date it is actually a couple weeks old.  (see my red face?)

I did it!  It was wonderful!  I'm so so happy!   "It" was finally meeting my sister.  She and her husband are smashing and I'm so lucky to have them in my life now.  I really enjoyed their company on Saturday.

Now to recap the past few weeks or however long it's been since things were at all normal....whatever that means.

One thing I've done is agreed to help with a Wikipedia site.  It's fun but challenging.  My first task was to amend some logos.  That meant learning to edit photos etc, deleting the old logo and adding the new one in it's place and they are different shapes and sizes.  That involved using layers and all sorts of techie stuff.  I struggled with it and spent many hours doing it but feel so proud to have accomplished it.  To do this I made a new online friend, Bex.  This lady lives in the US and is deaf.  She teaches American Sign Language and is busy helping people with it.  She seems to do so many things I'm not sure if she ever sleeps.  

She asked me to include two websites for you to look at. One is about her son Craig who has overcome handicaps: www.caringbridge.org/visit/craigbennett  The other one is her singing on Youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/user/sign4uall/     It pleases !"students to look and see that more people have looked at her youtube song.   Thank you. 

It's nice making new friends, especially ones who are totally on your wavelength.  This lady keeps me laughing.  I have missed it for that past few days with no internet!

The weather has turned nice and springlike.  I can't wait to get out into the garden and that is something I seldom say.  I have been trying hard to get the house back up to my standards but am wondering whether to say goodbye to those standards.   I just like everywhere to be clean and shiny and nice.  For myself.  We all like it nice but I do it for my pleasure.












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I've just been too busy to come on here most of the time. The rest of the time I've been too tired. Every day I think "I'll write about this or that on my blog later"  but somehow it doesn't happen.  It would appear that a) the thoughts don't just jump from my mind to the computer without some physical input from me and b) the good fairies don't do it for me.  Now isn't that just amazing!?!  and surprising?!

I'm happy.  That is the main thing.  Life is good.  Sure,there are things that could be better but overall it's good. 

The dogs keep me laughing (or swearing sometimes).  When we went out Jess has again grabbed a roll of giftwrap and tore a lot of it to bits all over the floor.  Annoying?  Yes but not enough to  get mad about.  We just laugh because you can see how much fun she had doing it.  Now Stevie never did this before we had Jess so she gets the blame but...........  And one day this week we left the kitchen door open when we went out....big mistake.  By the back door we found: a bread wrapper torn up and empty that had held half a loaf, a cake wrapper (empty) that had been unopened when we left, an empty toaster waffle packet that had 4 waffles in it when we went out, and maybe more.  Oh, we also had one noticably stuffed lurcher.  These are skinny dogs like greyhounds so a distended belly really was obvious.  These doggy goodies were at the back of a countertop on top of a four inch high storage container.  The container was right at the front edge when we got in.  As it held sweets and biscuits it's a good job she didn't go for that as well or she'd have been ill for sure. 

I'm gobsmacked.  Really.  Just before our phone line died and took the internet with it I looked for my high school yearbook and class information.  It's our 50th anniversary this year, so I figured it was a good time to see if anything was planned.  And I found a bunch of information, including a contact address.  Long story short this kind lady emailed me straight back with a lovely letter.  I have not been in touch with anyone from the town in more years than I care to admit.  Looking through the yearbook was a real walk down memory lane this eveing. Many thanks to the person who did all the work to put them out there for us to share.

More later, now off for a coffee or maybe a *small* glass of something to celebrate.

No, it really isn't that bad but getting there!!  I'm basically contented and happy.  Just restless this afternoon.  My breathing isn't great, I feel like I have a chest cold and have been like this for about a week now.   Andy pained two doors last week and the fumes set me off with breathing problems and it hasn't gone away.  It's getting me down a bit.

The dogs are keeping me company and are so amusing.  Stevie decided last night that he'd start barking using his 'big boy' bark all of a sudden for no reason that we can find.  He just had a session of looking at us, wagging his tail like billy-o, and barking.  It was hilarious to say the least.  He can bark and sometimes does to say 'let me in' but indoors just  make funny noices that are particular to him - we call is yipping or Stevie talking. 

I'm doing okay with the knitting.  I just tend to unpick it and start over when I make a mistake that I can't repair.  I am getting better at picking up stitches and going back etc.  I quite enjoy knitting at the moment.  At least it's something I can do while listening to TV etc.  I'm slow but not in a race so that's fine.  I gave two scarves as gifts that were well received.

I've read a book called the Mouth Trap in another effort to curb my eating, as well as keeping a food diary for several weeks.  Sometimes I don't eat because I don't want to write it down, and I am trying hard to be honest with myself.   This does not present a pretty picture..... but it is showing me good points as well as areas for improvement.  I eat better so I can enter that I've had a meal.   And I'm often more aware of each bite as suggested in the book.

Here's a funny thing that happened today.  Good job I wore trousers. We went to the shopping centre at Wellingborough.  In the first shop I felt my knickers (underpants) start to slip downwards.  And they kept going south.  Not very comfortable I have to say.  But at least I had on trousers to stop them falling completely off so I didn't have to pick them up off the floor!  I hope you are giggling here, I am.   One pair of knickers ready for the bin, I won't risk them again.

I've been playing with my knitting again.  I got some size 12 needles (Andy called them ginormous when he saw them) and boy are they great.  I tried the same pattern I was making using an 8 and a bigger needle but using an 8 and the new one. It's nice with the smaller ones and even lovlier and lacier using the bigger one.  I've unpicked that multi-coloured scarf I made last week so I can reuse the wool to make a nicer one.  I'll make it narrower and longer this time.  And probably making a proper pattern just because I can.

This house needs some time spending cleaning and tidying.  But my knees ache so badly today that I don't want to move too far.  We did the shopping and that's enough.  I should have taken my stick with me yesterday......good time to decide that, huh.  You'd think I'd know by now that going to town = need a walking stick.  No exceptions at all, ever, anytime.

Still getting used to the hair.

When I look in the mirror all I see is a dark thing on top of my head.  I coloured my hair a dark red yesterday from a blondish colour.  And I feel it's all wrong.  But Andy and Chel like it.  I know it wlll fade quickly - red always does.  It a colour I used to use all the time but I'm no longer used to seeing it.  I'll get used to it.  Or I'll get it cut really really short and bleach it again.  It will be a bugger to bleach from red and it's not really worth the effort. 

My hair really darkens in winter and lightens in summer naturally so I felt the need to change the colour somewhat.  This isn't somewhat - it's drastic.  By this time next week I'm likely to love it!!!   (Maybe)   Added later in the day:  There are some positives to this colour.  My favourite jumper looks great with it.  Eye makeup looks better with it. I feel that I need to wear it now but I didn't with the other colour.  Out shopping this afternoon I didn't catch sight of myself at all so I  didn't frighten myself.  No one screamed and ran away.  

I'm knitting all the time lately.  I found another easy pattern which I'm enjoying far too much.  I'm loving the result.  So I'm working on two scarves and reading one book.  I just finished the two books I was reading.  One paper one and one Kindle one.   I also  had a new game for the DS.  It's the Uno card game.  Good fun and second hand.  What more can you ask for?

It's time to do a bit more house work to keep this place the way I like it.