wagwaan?

Westward bound

We're gearing up here to get Claire ready for her trip to the US of A. It's really HUGE for the girl who doesn't even like to go to London on her own, and I can't tell you how proud of her I am.  I've always said, like my mother, that parents raise their children to see them "fly off" on their own, but now the moment's nearly here I'm turning into a paranoid mother who is beginning to see the point of a tracking device...!  Taking my cue from this mother here. And you know what? I'm only half joking!!! What do YOU think about it?

Fave show of the moment

Just popping in to share a video of one of our favourite shows, Jon and Kate plus 8. Can you imagine having twins and then sextuplets???  I come from a family of 7 kids, and I can remember how chaotic it could be growing up, but that doesn't even begin to compare because we were all different ages, and the big kids could take care of the little ones.  I take my hat off to Jon and Kate, and hope all the media coverage about a possible divorce isn't true.  Check out the hugs and kisses in this video. They are too sweet!

Sunny weekend

I live for the weekends :)   Yesterday I walked into town with the boyf - well actually we walked to the bottom of town, where the huge Tesco is, and we sat out in the sun having a coffee by the stream watching the wildlife. A couple of times we had to duck (no pun intended) when a mallard and his mate flew up over the wire to come and eat some crumbs that were on the ground. I had no idea that there was so much to see in such an urban setting; I saw a swan, loads of ducks, ducklings and a moorehen or two. The stream goes right through the retail park and I'd never even noticed it! 

On the way home we were walking past the Girls' grammar school when OH asked me what the huge building on our right was. When he found out it was a gym and pool he insisted we go and check it out. Well, I'd been meaning to for ages but it took his prompting to actually do anything about it.  Turns out, anyone is free to use the facilities. You can become a member for £35/month or pay £4 per visit. There is a pool, a sports hall and a gym and there is a whole timetable of activities. I want to sign up for Pilates and the gym, as they have a Powerplate there. OH wants to use the sports hall to shoot hoops and train.

In the afternoon, Claire and I took the train up to London to meet some friends for Dim Sum in Chinatown. it's quite a regular thing and we always end up buying Chinese sweets because the packaging is so cute, and this time was no exception.

 

In the end, this is the selection we came home with:

This morning we went and worked off all the excess sugar by taking our first trip to the pool at the Girls' school. Just Claire and I because OH has gone home to see his family.  We left home around 10.30am and it was already really warm out. We duly paid our fee and got changed. The pool was divided into three parts, with private swimming lessons going on in the outer lanes, and the middle lanes reserved for laps. Apart from the kiddies having lessons, there was only one other person swimming.  Claire and I started doing laps and I also did some exercises using the water as resistance. Then I surreptitiously swiped one of the foam "spaghettis" that were lying on the side and used it so I could lie back and relax in the water.  It was wonderful!  After about 30 minutes of laps we were exhausted and I still had the headache I woke up with, so we decided to call it a day. For a first outing, I suppose 30 minutes isn't bad! 

When we got home I cooked some chicken breasts and broccoli and then sat out in the garden with a cup of coffee. It was too gorgeous to stay indoors, but I didn't have the energy to get the strimmer out - hopefully the weather will still be good tomorrow...

I'm really enjoying the Cherry Cake book - Jane Brocket is the author of The Art of Gentle Domesticity that my SIL got me for Christmas 2007, and also of Yarnstorm fame. I was feeling quite peckish after reading about fruit cake and scones, so I decided to rustle up some scones for tea. Absolutely delicious, if I must say so myself; it's all down to Jane's recipe no doubt.

While I was reading, I had a visitor...

I'm coming back as a well-loved cat in my next life.....

Well, I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful spring weather. Tomorrow, I hope to update the blog with some of Claire's pictures that are for sale. Pass it on!!

Fundraising

Right - the heat is on!  Claire has her e-ticket to the States, departure date 21st June!!  She needs to find over £500 to make the final payments for the return flight, the working visa, airport fees and lots of other stuff that we didn't realise she'd need (for example, she's getting board and lodging, so please tell me why she needs to bring a "3 season sleeping bag"?!).  She has wanted to go since seeing Mariah Carey's video of "Always be my baby" and she's looking forward to making smores and eating sloppy joes. A whole education... and I promised her we'd find the money somehow.

I'm working on raising some funds via another route, but Claire has decided to make some cards/notelets or booklets of her photography to sell on folksy or etsy. I thought it would be an idea to advertise them on my blog in the hope that some of you might like to buy some thereby helping her to reach her goal.  I don't have a picture of them yet, but they include pictures such as those found on her flickr, and some other "never seen before" ones. Time is short, hence the hurried approach!  The photos are still life ones, some of daily objects, some of food, and some of nature, so be sure to leave a comment as to your preference. 

SOOOO, if you feel so inclined, and huge props to Anam for pointing me in the right direction, there is a Paypal "DONATE" button below. There is also one that will stay in the left hand column until she reaches her goal.  If you could spread the word, even if people just donate pennies, it would mean the world to Claire.  There should be a way of leaving a comment when you donate - if it hasn't worked, please come back here and comment as we need to know where to send the stuff, a'ight?

  

 
I know you guys are amazing, and I'm counting on the power of the internet to try and create a little magic for a girl who truly deserves it... God bless you!! 

Great news!

I'm so excited for Claire right now - she had signed up to Camp America to be a camp counsellor over the summer, and today she got news that she's been placed!  Just this morning she was wondering if she'd ever hear from them, and was thinking about pulling out because she's worried we won't be able to come up with all the money for the trip, and then this afternoon she got a phone call out of the blue, telling her a camp in New York state wanted her as a photographer. How fab is that?!?  It turns out it's a "secular camp based on Jewish principles". Interesting. Claire did say she'd be happy to go to a religious camp, thinking a Christian one, but I think this would be a great learning experience for her. Not to mention travelling half way across the world and spending 2 months in another country. 

Camp America is highly regarded and well known, so I'm happy for her to go with them. The youngsters have to pay registration fees, police check fees, visa and other travel costs, but they get paid for their time over there.  Now I'm thinking about how we can sponsor her to raise the £500 or so she still has to find. If anyone has any bright ideas, then I'm all ears.  She is going to go to the bank on Friday to see if she can get a loan, but I'm not sure if that will work as she only has a lowly paid part time job at the moment, while she tries to build her portfolio and start her photography business. She has started to create some goodies to sell on etsy, and there's always ebay... We'll manage somehow!

No pictures today, because it was a day of hanging around to see the Rheumatologist, have xrays, and then rush back to work to take care of all the Execs who are in town for meetings. Shame, because the sun was shining nicely between the rain showers and I would much rather have been out and about with the camera!  The Rheumatologist (a new one, a Professor) is doubting my diagnosis because I have symptoms of two types of arthritis and he's inclined to think it's one sort, but I'm being treated for the other... I won't bore you with the details, but I had the delightful opportunity (!) to bare my a** cheek in front of two med students to get a rather painful steroid shot, which I'm hoping will give me the same kind of relief I got two years ago. I must say, so far it feels promising.

Anyhoo, now I'm chilling with a cuppa and Debussy on Classic FM - they're playing the whole shebang tonight, and it was La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin (the girl with the flaxen hair) a minute ago, which sooooo reminds me of my mum and grandma. One of my all-time faves.  

I hope you are all happy and healthy where you are. Feel free to comment - I know people drop by thanks to my visitor counter, but everyone seems mighty shy if you ask me.  Night night!  

Chillaxin'

Yesterday I decided to take Claire's camera and try out her lens in the garden between rain showers. I particularly like the colour of this one:

 

 

They make my garden look quite interesting, although in reality it's a bit of a mess because ONE DAY we shall be doing an extension to the kitchen and dining room, and you just KNOW that builders wreck your garden when they work.... The wood in these pictures are the end panels of our Anderson shelter.

 

 

 

Oh, and I nearly forgot - here's a close-up of the apron that she bought me:

 

In the evening we had our "Eurovision party", which wasn't really a party but just me and Claire eating popcorn and singing along to the songs with the subtitles that the BBC very thoughtfully provided. We had such a laugh with some of the words - "dum tek tek" and "sister give me hand" and various other strange lyrics. Well, I suppose you had to be there, but WE found it funny anyway.  We were SO glad that Jade put up a brave fight with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's song "It's My Time" and finished 5th, instead of a repeat of the "nul points" as the English are calling it. 

Well, I'm off to watch the latest episode of "The Hills" which I'm ashamed to say Claire and I are both addicted to... Nite nite!

 

 

Playing catch up

Helloooo!  It's a lovely sunny but breezy day, and I'm seriously thinking of doing some gardening... if I can juuuuust get away from the computer for a bit (ahem).
I realised recently there were some iPhone photos I hadn't uploaded, so here are a couple. First off, I love love love my umbrella from Next, but when I first got it out the boyf said "it's like something you'd have in primary school", which dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. However, the first time I used it I realised how clever it was to be able to see in front of you when the driving rain is horizontal so you have to hold the umbrella in front of your face. No more collisions! What do you think?

And then, I never showed you the CK goodies, did I? Well here are the toilet bag and catalogue I got with a magazine. CK can never go wrong in my eyes... apart from her prices which are sometimes verging on the ridiculous.

I was happy with the freebie, anyway!

Claire and I are preparing for a girlie Eurovision party tonight. It's a tradition that we never miss - and this year it's going to be different because there have been some changes to the format. I missed the semi-finals that took place during the week, but I'm hoping that some of the tactical voting will be eliminated. Also, Old Tel' has finally given up commenting and I think it's Graham Norton's turn. We're just looking forward to a good laugh and some junk food (oops) - oh, and some good music hopefully.

Mother's Day No. 2

Aren't I lucky?  I get two lots of Mother's Day surprises - the English one, then the French one, which is today. (ETA: we stand corrected!  Today is USA Mother's Day. French one is 7th June this year. Claire informs me I should not expect any more presents this year!!!)   This morning when I came downstairs Claire hugged me and wished me a Happy Mother's Day and then gave me a present in a Laura Ashley bag. She got me a very beautiful apron 

and some Lavender and Basil room fragrance   . What a lucky mum I am!  The apron is gorgeous and the perfume makes my bedroom smell yummy.  

Talking of Laura Ashley, we went there yesterday when we went into town. I really love all her stuff and Claire said  "it's like Cath Kidston stuff" so I had to explain that Laura was around WAAAAY before Cath LOL!  Here's a sneaky peek:

 

I can't decide whether I prefer the blue or the red.... Both would look equally good in my house, hint hint! (Edited to add: Look! My apron in the next picture!

 

After that, I wanted to go and trawl the charity shops that are all at the top of the high street, looking for glassware, pretty china and linens. Unfortunately, there was really not much on offer. No linens at all in fact.  When we go to the charity shops in Rickmansworth there are richer pickings - maybe because it's a more affluent town! 

Then we had a cuppa in Presence, a gorgeous gift/coffee shop that always plays Christian rock. It's run by some local Christians and upstairs there is a spa, where I went with the boyf once, and a reflection room where anyone can go and, well, reflect. They don't ram it down your throat, but there is a prayer box on the till (I put in a note for my mum and my sister in law, and also for Louis my colleague who died last weekend), and that's all really. 

Restored and revived, we continued on down the High Street towards Primark and Waterstones, Claire's next two destinations. On passing Bhs, though, I remembered that a friend got some gorgeous plates at a knockdown price so I dragged Claire inside.  Oh what pretty stuff!  More CK inspired goodies:

   

I wouldn't mind one of those to store my eggs.... Also, pretty cushions:

  

You can see that cake stands are all the range. I think I prefer the blue one in the top picture from Laura Ashley.

We went and tried on shoes at Primark as Claire wanted to get a second pair of sandals after buying a really cool pair last week. She didn't like them in the end, and chose some powder pink ballet pumps, which are adorable and I want too, but she won't let me copy her :(  I'll have to get a picture of them soon.  Oh yes, and I also got two cushions to add to our pink theme in the living room. They look really expensive, but you know Primark.... nothing is expensive there!  What do you think?  See the patterned one here, behind Lyle:

OK, so this picture, unlike the others, was taken with the Digi SLR and new lens, so there is a gorgeous blur, but you get the picture, right?   And isn't our boy handsome?  Such a sweetheart. 

So, that was our Saturday. I was quite pooped after that little jaunt so we waited for the bus home rather than walk. Lazybones eh?

Hope you had a lovely weekend too and are ready to face the week ahead.  Nite nite!

Still no photos...

Oh well... I'm not such an IT geek as I thought I was. Uploading Java helped initially, but the computer has started crashing again, so I can't upload a single photo.  How frustrating!   I shall have to go and use the boyf's Apple Mac instead, when he's out of the house. 
Meanwhile, the weekend has come round again, and this time I'm determined to get something done, so off I go. 

A sore lack of photos...

You'll have to excuse me but I haven't been able to get many photos uploaded recently, either here or on my flickr account. The culprit is a very strangely-behaving PC, which has taken a dislike to uploading and downloading pictures. Not a very happy state of affairs when one's main interest is photography, I'm sure you'll agree.  For the moment we shall pretend that the photos are here and I'll go through the list of ones I've had to leave off so far....

First, a view of what it's like to be wired up to monitors in A&E.

Then, a view from my bed in the brand spanking new AAU - notably "the Green Suite" as you can see from the colour of the wall.

(unfortunately, the PC crashed again and I can't upload this just yet...)

All these acronyms might be a bit confusing to any non-UK residents, so I'll explain: A&E stands for Accident & Emergency; AAU stands for Acute Admissions Unit.

I must just mention how much I love technology - having my iPhone on me, I was able to "tweet" and take pictures and keep my friends updated on how it was going while I was in hospital.  Brilliant for a photo-mad scrapbooker like me. That, and the games that I've got on the iPhone meant that I was able to pass the time quite happily.

Lastly, the picture you've all been waiting for - the boyf in the garden. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he DID help in the pruning back of the jungle I call my back garden. I think he secretly quite liked wielding the secateurs, actually, because he got into it with gusto. Until they broke. The secateurs, that is. 

Oh my goodness - I just reinstalled the latest Java and it seems to have worked!  I don't pretend to be an IT guru (oh ok then, I am, I admit it) but I browsed the IT forums and thought this was one thing I could do to see if it improved matters. So far, crossing all fingers and toes, it seems *whisper* to have worked.