Grannymar

The day is dull and the rain is falling but my heart is bursting with sunshine.

Mark the Postman knocked on my door, he had a parcel for me. It came from The King! Excitedly I opened it

and look what was inside:

Then Elly sent a text to say she had one of these in in her hot little hand:

It makes my little mobile phone look like a toy and it reminds me of a story.

Many years ago Jack wanted me right go wrong to have a Mink coat. We were staying in Dublin at the time and having a few hours shopping while Elly was playing shake the flour all over Nana’s Kitchen at making black pastry (well it was nearly black by the time she was finished). The coat was beautiful. A work of art, semi fitted with lustrous skins in a rich deep colour that at that time enhanced my auburn tresses. I did try it on and for the moment wrapped in luxury I felt like a Movie Star.

Then the voice of reason began to lecture, you know the way it is, we all have those nagging voices deep inside our heads. ‘Where are you going to wear this coat’? The voice asked. My lifestyle did not warrant a Mink Coat! It would spend more time in the wardrobe than on my back. So I declined Jack’s very generous offer.

Since I heard that I had won the Nokia N95 8GB through the generous Sponsorship of 02, for the Blog Post of the Month, a new venture of the Irish Blog Awards, my mind has been in turmoil, I could not with all honesty justify keeping it. I have a mobile phone for emergency purposes. Last month I used it for 2 very short calls and 7 outgoing text messages. The technology behind the N95 8GB would be wasted on me.

I made a decision. George, my son-in-law has a dying phone and I know he has lusted after an N95 8GB since it was introduced, but a love-nest took priority and all his pennies. We came to an agreement… the N95 in exchange for an upgrage of my mobile whenever I want it, plus a promise of an upgrade in whatever Nursing Home that Elly picks for me! Enjoy the phone George!

Now perhaps he won’t think of me as the Mother-in-Law from Hell

Blog Post of the Month started in April. Darragh was the worthy winner for May. We are ready to snuggle up closer on the winners bench and make room for new winners over the next 10 months.

Think about it, everyone has an equal chance of winning. Write from your heart and the rest will follow.

If you read a blog post that you feel is worthy, nominate it by blogging about it and linking to it as well as nominating it here. Remember to venture beyond your usual daily diet of blogs. There are many very worthy specialty blogs out there covering music, food, photography, politics, news, crafts, health issues, the Irish language and Technology, among others. While you visit all those blogs don’t forget to say hello and leave a comment. Comments are the Readybrek for bloggers, giving them the zest to keep going time after time.

I look forward to having you join Darragh and I on the winner’s bench. Good Luck!

We all know the phrase ‘Walking off into the sunset’. Mostly it brings to mind the idea of walking off into the never, never land of eternity, or as I like to think of it, walking into a new life, a new beginning. I was reminded of it last night while watching the sun set.

The sky at night on several occasions this month reminded me of another new beginning thirty years ago. Elly arrived in our lives in the early days of May and with her the beginning of a glorious summer. She was outdoors from 7.30am until it was time to bed her down for the night. The good weather lasted until October that year. Many a night Jack and I sat until well after the sun went down, I can still hear his remark ‘I suppose we better go in!’

May was a beginning for Elly and now it is also a time of endings. Last year it saw the official end of her single status as she prepared to marry her true love, George. This year May marks the ending of the time they spent is their temporary home and the new beginning of the move to their first step on the property ladder. Making a move like that is not easy nowadays. The current climate in the financial world has not made it any easier. They are to be admired for sticking in there and seeing it through.

I wish them well in their new home and look forward to sharing many visits. I hear ‘Mammy’s bed’ is on order so it won’t be very long before I have an excuse to travel south more often.

I only hope my visits are not like this:

There are days when I find myself surfing. No, not that kind of surfing.

I never liked swimming, because after one minute immersion I would start to shiver and my teeth would chatter louder than a Reggae Band. The air might not be blue but my body certainly would be. Opening the freezer door in my house requires more preparation than a polar expedition! So surfing the ocean waves is not my kettle of fish.

My surfing takes place in warm surroundings while sitting comfortably, and the only extremities necessary are my fingers. You guessed it; I surf the Net!

Well it is better than golf! If I joined a Golf club in this country, I would be battered and soaked by the elements and only be allowed play on Lady’s day while listening to the latest gossip about who wore this, or how dreadful Flossie looked in that outfit. You know exactly what it would be like! The Bar always peopled by men, far too old and boring for membership of my Toyboy Club! Their only topics are about chips, slices, woods, irons and handicaps! Now I have enough handicaps of my own without taking on any others

My surfing on the Net opens doors to new subjects and areas for exploration. I find them from links in blogs, shared items, online newspapers & magazines, emails and dear old Auntie Google

One of my latest forays brought me to:

Mike Moore B.A. M.ed who is a Humorist - Author - Cartoonist – Musician.

I thank him and agree wholeheartedly with this little snippet:

“What People Learn Laughing They Never Forget”

“It is impossible to worry while you’re laughing.”

All I would add is that a day without laughter is a day wasted!

Happy Birthday to my Baby.

The 6^th of May is for me a time of reflection. With each passing year there are more memories to ponder over. I think about all the things that Elly has accomplished over the years. From an early age she showed great promise and talent.

She became a sculptor

She learned to dance to:

She learned to cook

She became a bookworm

Became expert at Car maintenance

Carried out surveys

Became accomplished as a needle woman

With this wealth of talent George must have a very easy life

(pity we forgot to teach her to wash dishes;) )

today is International Disturbed People’s Day.

Please send an encouraging message to a disturbed friend… just as I’m sending this to you.

I don’t care if you lick windows,

take the special bus

or occasionally pee on yourself..

You hang in the sunshine, you’re friggin’ special.

Every sixty seconds you spend angry, upset or mad, is a full minute of happiness you’ll never get back.

Today’s Message of the Day is:

Life is short, Break the rules, Forgive quickly, Kiss slowly, Love truly, Laugh uncontrollably, And never regret anything that made you smile.

Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we should dance.

I should have known.

It was becoming an obsession…..

all this reading of blogs and surfing the net…

I opened yet another email and look what I found…

Whoever produced this document was very clever, so I took the advice and went in search of Toyboys

I found Two

A man, a boy, a dog and an open book on the ground. The sculpture has a central place at Junction One Outlet shopping Centre, between Antrim and Ballymena, Co Antrim. At first glance it seems very ordinary. To appreciate it fully you need to read the message in the open book on the ground.

The message in the book is as follows:

Brian Alabaster of Suffolk made this

sculpture in 2003. His son Sam, a 15 year old boy with Downs Syndrome sits reading with his Grandpa, Dickie, who is 82, Sam’s dog Billy, age 10, is at his feet.

I have an acquaintance with a life sentence!

She has received the news none of us want to hear. The illness she has is not curable and the time scale is very short. Three young children wander about the house bewildered because they know something is wrong, yet they do not know what it is. Mum is prone to crying and dad and granny are constantly trying to reassure her.

Mum realises that she will never see her children grow up, not be there for many more birthdays, or family celebrations, or to comfort them in times of need. She worries that they might forget her. Or that they will remember her as the person always lying under a rug on the couch crying.

She has baby name tags, early pictures, bootees, baby toys and locks of hair in a treasure box. I have suggested to her to have three boxes, one for each child with their name on it, in her own handwriting. Then place the items for each child in their special box. Next I suggested that she write letters to each child in turn.

“Start writing now”, I said; “beginning with how you felt when you heard that they were expected, the planning and preparations for their arrival”. I suggested she tell them how special they are and about the little things that made her heart sing. Write about her feelings for them now, and of all the hopes and dreams she carries for them.

Put each letter in an envelope and seal it, Put each child’s name, and the date when you want them to get it, on the front. Think about this date, 18th, 21st birthdays of even on your death.

What better gift can a mother give!

While writing this I received an email from a dear friend. The attachment was a story:

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “yes.”

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognise that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things…. Your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favourite passions— and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else— the small stuff. “If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

“Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and put out the rubbish. Take care of the golf balls first- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked.”

The coffee just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend.

Still proud ~ of my Elly

Still thinking ~ I’m 30 in my head

Still grateful ~ for life, love and friends

Still enjoying ~ meeting new friends

Still wondering ~ what I am here for.

Still hoping ~ to be a grandmother one day

Still working ~ out what life is all about

Still facing ~ life one day at a time

Still pleased ~ about life’s little pleasures

Still trying ~ to learn something new everyday

Still glad ~ I started to blog

Still amazed ~ people read the rubbish I write

Still eating ~ a little of what I fancy. Never mind the Doctors!

Still dancing ~ round the room on rainy days

Still breathing ~ works best when not chasing Toyboys!

What about You?

or print.

This little beauty appeared in the Business section of the Irish Independent on Thursday 6th March.

I may not have a degree in engineering or technology, but I try to use the few grey cells that I have. Growing up with red hair and freckles really toughens you for life and as my grandmother taught me many moons ago:

‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me!

I won’t let it bother me, instead I will smile and remember a conversation the previous day.

On my journeys between Co Antrim and Dublin I always have a stop to stretch my legs and drink a coffee. Since the road now bypasses Carrickdale I make my stop at The OUTLET Banbridge. While there I made a friend for life! Christine Watson, Marketing Manager for the Centre and I were talking about their web-site. I suggested that she should think of starting a blog to interact and connect with customers and pointed her in the direction of beaut.ie. She was very impressed with their site and Bookmarked it right then and there.

Signing me up for their VIP Club, she needed some info, you know the usual stuff, name, email, etc. Then she asked what age bracket she would put me in, or rather she said ( Now sit up and LISTEN, this is important!!) “45-49 age group, would that be right?” I tried not to splutter and asked Christine to repeat the question, she did!

“45-49 age group, would that be right?” asked Christine.

This time I laughed heartily. “I’m sorry, are you younger than that?” asked a worried Christine.

“No, I am not younger than that” I laughed! “I will be 61 next Monday!”

The smile has not left my face since!

Back in January I was checking my emails and discovered this little gem. Immediately I decided it was just the thing for Mother’s Day.

If you are fortunate to have a Mother show her you care.

If you are a Mother have a wonderful day!

And now for the story…

Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, “I’m tired, and it’s getting late. I think I’ll go to bed”

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day’s lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.

She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button

She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer.

She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.

She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.

She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store. She put both near her purse.

Mom then washed her face with 3 in 1 cleanser, put on her Night solution & age fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth and filed her nails.

Dad called out, “I thought you were going to bed.”

“I’m on my way,” she said.

She put some water into the dog’s dish and put the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.

She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV’s, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.

In her own room, she set the alarm; laid out clothing for the next day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.

About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. “I’m going to bed.”

And he did…without another thought.