Had to chuckle at my mother

I've always said that when I get old..I'm going to be an eccentric old bird!!

I am very much like my mother..... so I reckon the genetics are going to help me..'cos she's beaten me to it!! Do you ever speak to older people and find yourself shocked at their mischievous innovation?

Well, as with many ladies "of age"...incontinence appears now and again and the odd packet of Tena Lady finds its way into your home. Mother is mortified at the thought of TL, necessary as it may be. Not very fashionably discreet...if you see what I mean? "Too bloody bulky"..as she says" She doesn't want to end up having undergarments the size of an aircraft hanger...even if she is nearly 80!!

Anyway....we are shopping today and she has hatched a plan to hide this indiscretion......Thongs!!!! They're the answer she reckons.. So, she's experimenting!!! lol

We youngsters are just as bad!!


Junior..."Mum!!"
Me..."what?"
Junior..."Can I have some bird island?"
Me "What?"
Junior.."CAN I HAVE SOME BIRD ISLAND?"

Goes into kitchen and finds that she is asking if she can have a drink of dandelion and burdock!!!!

Must clean out ears more often. LOL

You Are Bare Feet

You are a true free spirit, and you can't be tied down. Even wearing shoes can be a little too constraining for you at times! You are very comfortable in your own skin. You are one of the most real people around. You don't have anything to hide. Open and accepting, you are willing to discuss or entertain almost any topic. You are a very tolerant person. You are accepting and not judgmental. You should live: Somewhere warm You should work: At your own business, where you can set the rules

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Couldn't live anywhere warm at the moment......pesky peri-menopause!!

Romeo and Juliet

So, do you ever have one of those days when you've seen things, by chance, that you wish you'd never seen..however trivial it might seem to other people? Stuff that just gets to you, pulls at your heart strings, is not fair and spoils the day? Today was one of those.

We are late...as usual..appointment in town..late for bus. Sod it..we've missed it..so have to walk. Anyway, finds that there are people at the bus stop. Yippee...bus is late!!!! Buses run when they seem to please in hill billy land. So, we wait. saves having to walk a few miles or so in the stormy winds of late. There is not point in having a well-groomed hairstyle here lately!!

So, we are at the bus stop. It's outside a house that was for sale a few months ago and that Junior took a shine to and wished we could afford to buy. We did purchase lottery tickets...to no avail:O(

There's a garden wall, then a grass verge..then the bus stop. All very nice. But, bugger me, I had to glance down on the grass and there was a pair of black birds. One male, one female...dead. Laid side by side....It looked like one had died and the other had stayed at its mate's side in support. Reminded me of Romeo and Juliet. Can't explain except that it was really, gut-wrenchingly poignant. Maybe the ferocious winds got them..looks like it. It was so sad to see, though.

Mum was pragmatic, as per usual, and tells me that they don't live for long but, still, it ain't fair.

Call me soft. I don't bloody care!!!!

We walked home from Mum's the other night (missed bus again) and ended up helping some local frogs to get to safety. Well, they would decide to want to cross the road and risk getting flattened!!! Junior wouldn't hold my hand on the way home after that, though!! Wonder why? lol

Got a bit more cultured with the playlist. I like Michael Nymen and think this track is lush:O))

Clearer view from the house. The bad weather comes from over there!! LOL

Bad-tempered walker

We have a major storm heading for the UK, apparently. It's all over the news and there are flood warnings out, etc.
So, we've tidied up the garden, put stuff away that could be carted off by any storm in the offing and are now inside trying to keep warm. It's absolutely freezing so heating is on. I really feel for those in North America who have had 20 inches of snow fall in a day!! Eeeek.

Hope everyone keeps safe:O))

Gratuitous pic of Smiling Spooky....who is the most cantankerous cat I know!!:O)))

Today, we went on a little hike around a local trail/walk. Junior was happy to do this instead of sitting inside and it seemed like the weather was lovely. If we ever go on walks then it always entails packing grub and drinks so we can have a little sit down somewhere:O) Junior insists on this. "What if we get lost and are starving?" LOL.... So, with sarnis and flask prepared, warm clothing on, maps and pooches at the ready..off we went.

Now, I have come to the conclusion that I am really, really, really a terribly bad-tempered walker!! I hate all the farting around, waiting for people with dogs to pass us while we hold onto our two.... who always show us up and bark at other dogs. Then, Molly especially, pulls like anything on the lead. She wants to be off and racing around, being as she has a bit of whippet in her:O) But, I can't let her off the lead 'cos she chases birds into fields and dislikes joggers and cyclists and would happily clamp her jaw into any passing backside. Why, oh why do other people always walk their dogs when I'm walking mine? It's just not on!! LOL

This is the same walk we did in the summer and it's amazing how different the land seems now that the trees have shed their leaves and you can see more. We discovered loads of little paths, secret cottages (so lovely) and even a farm I didn't know existed..sort of Secret Gardenish:O)

Anyway, after we had been oiked around for half an hour or so (yes, don't laugh!!!) Junior decides she is hungry so we eat our supplies:O) Then, it's off again on a different track to see what we can find on the journey. Lots of horses, who could have done with a blanket or coat on in my opinion, some birds which I think were female peacocks, donkeys..we even came across a fishing lake. By this time we were frozen and headed back home. We'd been out for a good few hours by then and there were storm clouds on the horizon. You can see them coming across if you look from my bedroom window. The light wasn't good enough to get a good shot of the moors, so apologies. My professional photographer brother would be shaking his head in disgrace if he saw these, but I know you lot can keep a secret! lol




Junior is still happily pursuing her linguistic studies...which are leaning towards French. She'd quite like to go there. Yippeee......wine tasting holiday coming up!!!:O))))

Brain Hurts

All day...ALL DAY!!!

Junior has been downloading language courses. French, Ukrainian (too Russianised), Japanese, Spanish and Swedish...so far! The iMac is steaming!! Think she may also have her eye on Arabic, Hebrew and Urdu. The preliminaries have been jogged down in her new language exercise books for a bit of bedtime reading (lol) and aural practice. Tomorrow she wants to do much of the same. So, for today we have a head full of international numbers, colours, days of the week, seasons and general greetings. I am knackered..she is not and has now moved onto art. Dobranich folks:O))

PS. Our wheelie bin has returned from its jaunt:O) Yay. No more toddling down to mother's with our rubbish:O)

Mothering Junior

Meg the mummy cat woke me up this morning.....at 4.30am!! She purr purr and trills like anything..a proper little feline conversationalist:O) She's a really good mother.

Anyway, she hasn't been allowed out since having her babies and is busting a gut to get out into the fresh air of hill billy land. So, consequently she seems to get bored now and again of this imprisonment, hence her waking me up for attention. So, after an hour or so of giving her due attention I drifts back off for much-needed beauty sleep...but not quite..if you know what I mean?.."one eye open, 'tuther shut" sort of thing. Well, her attention is now on the next bod who will play with her...namely Junior!! She has absolutely no chance there....not with comatose child. So, what does the sweet, little animal do but cuddle up and lovingly nudge Junior, the same way she does with her kittens. She was mothering her!!! Bless:O)

Anyway, we are on manouvers again!! Musical bedrooms. J has loads, and I mean LOADS of stuff and nowhere to put/display it all. So, we are swapping bedrooms, again. Not furniture this time, just contents. She will have my lovely, comfy bed and walls decorated in a relaxing theme whilst I will have to endure Gran's rock hard mattress and pink/purple/blue walls adorned with fairies. To make this moving process a little more enjoyable (for Junior) she has her music on. I'm being bombarded with the Sugababes..on repeat. Joy!! What is it with this child and the repeat button? Time someone bought me an iPod!!

Once we've done then a bit of French is on the agenda, bread making and buddhism. Some of her blog mates have been discussing this and so she wants to know a little more and about religions generally. Oh, and she is looking into the anatomy of snakes, courtesy of David Attenborough and the Life in Cold Blood series. He's getting on a bit now, isn't he?... but still so watchable.

Happy Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day.

My kids sent me a three foot tall card and pottery teddy bear....by special delivery:O)

Had a cup of tea in bed, courtesy of Junior and pancakes and maple syrup...and lots of little nik nac pressies that only Junior could think of.

Spent most of the day mooching around and then went down to my Mum's with her pressies and cards. She's getting anxious 'cos she's getting on for 80 and feels guilty because her own mother, my Gran, died when she was only 64.. She was a nice, kind person and it's not fair. Anyway, we ate Mother's Day cake and nattered away, like we do. Before we knew it, it was time to go home....buses only every hour. We did, of course, manage to miss it so Junior and I walked...pushed home by the wind. I shall be as fit as a butcher's dog with all this walking:O)

Our wheelie bin disappeared with the gales. Been out looking for it...to no avail. It's probably in Ireland by now!!!