Christmas comes early to my house this year
we’ll share gallons of giggles and plenty of cheer,
With family and food we’ll recap the year.
Into the barrel of stories we’ll delve
Whilst wishing each other a happy 2012.
I’ll have my hat on and sit by the tree
With loved ones around me,
I’ll happy be!
Tilly The Laughing Housewife left a comment on my recent post showing an upsidedown cow over an entrance,
It made me think. I am in the fortunate position of having green fields within a mile or two, no matter what road I travel from home.
Right now the fields might have some sheep in them, but certainly no cows. The latter are now kept indoors for the winter.
Suddenly the image of cows wearing furry slippers, listening to iPods whilst eating Mince pies (the sweet variety) and drinking hot port came to mind!
I think I need a day job!
Through my window - how the view changed in one week.
The ‘Saint Monica’ (Cotoneaster) tree was heavy laden and very colourful on 11th December, just a week ago.
Three days later, the party was under way.
15th December and word is out about the good food in this neighbourhood, I counted about 13 birds in this one.
Sunday 18th December 2011
A night of high winds, a fall of snow and a couple of days of icy conditions, made the birds determined to strip the tree of its bounty.
I wonder where the birds will dine on Christmas day?
You like my gloves?
All my life my fingers have been a little bent. I hear you Mayo, what do you mean, just like me?
They get worse in cold weather. Mammy had the same problem. My toes were badly curled too and I had surgery on them in 1993 - Joints were removed and the bones fused. Years ago I was warned not to get cold. In Ireland with cold damp weather any day of the year? Not easy. But you know, I could be sitting by a roaring fire and if an internal door were opened, the draught would be enough to make me cold to the bone!
Two sips of cold water cool my body right down from the inside. That is why I drink water off the boil. I will happily drink hot water by the kettleful.
The problem is caused by my heart going into spasm. NO! It has nothing to do with Toyboys. Honest! Chasing Toyboys is way better than running on a treadmill any day. 
I wear gloves almost all year round. Cold air passes through woollen gloves or mittens, so they are no good to me. I found that lined leather works best for me. I need them for driving the car too, hands stuck on a cold steering wheel are a hazard for others as well as me. If the lining in the gloves is thick, I have no grip, so silk lined are my preference. They are light, comfortable and keep some heat in my hands. Unfortunately they also keep the shape of my bent fingers. Heck, they work, so I’ll not complain.
I am right-handed but can use both hands for most tasks. If I was out of doors for a long spell in severe weather, my hands would become painful, otherwise they don’t cause me much bother bar being very stiff. When I hold something like a phone for a long call, or a heavy saucepan, the fingers will lock around whatever I am holding and need to be peeled off. I have trouble opening a jar of jam or marmalade for the first time, to break the seal, but Elly found me a gadget years ago and it solves the problem.
In fact I have a little collection of items that I find helpful round the house.
Six Handy gadgets
Working clockwise from left:
Kitchen Craft Jar and Bottle Openers, Rubber - I have this pair of rubber jar openers for over twenty years. You use one in each hand to help grip a jar or bottle. They have had so much use that there is a permanent curve in them, but they still work!
Standing grater - This cone shaped grater has three different sized grating holes. The rubber knob on the top makes it easy to hold. I find it works best on a large flat plate or board.
Good Grips Swivel Peeler, the handle is soft to the touch and never feels cold like metal.
Lever Action Jar Key Opener It opens most jam jars.
Kitchen scissors - I found these in my supermarket, they are good & sharp, though slightly heavier than a previous pair and much easier on my hands as the finger and thumb holes are larger and softer to grasp. They were not expensive and I am very pleased with them.
Nut Crackers - Recently I found difficulty breaking the seal on my breakfast juice carton. The handle of the scissors was too thick to fit in the small space, so seldom stuck for an idea, I tried the nut crackers and they fitted perfectly. Set in place, half turn, lift and repeat as before. Hey Presto! Breakfast is ready in seconds.
I hope that you will find these helpful.
I wake up this morning to discover that my Google Account has been disabled due to suspicious activity.
Please be careful if you receive any email supposedly from me today I suggest you bin it without opening.
I am in the process of trying recover the account and it may take up to 24 hours.
Fingers crossed that I can get back to normal very soon.
Scrap that, I am back online alive and healthy. Thanks Elly for your assistance!
My daughter is the best!
We are about to face another Christmas. Yes I did say FACE.
Already the round of fluster and fuss in preparation for the greedfest has started. Office parties here, club parties there, and the ‘Well, sure it is Christmas’ and we must get together parties.
The rush is on.
Trees are covered in fairy lights and decorations placed in every available space
Shopping for cards and gifts and don’t forget the the gift-wrap, ribbons and gifttags.
Families arranging to be together, some racing half way across the country if not the world.
Cooking, baking and candle gift making (it rhymed) all for one day.
What has any of this got to do with Christmas?
We are in a world wide recession.
Maybe this world wide recession is actually a gift. A wake up call. Yes, we have heard them before, but have we listened? I mean really LISTENED!
It is Our World. The one true gift we can give to future generations.
The message in the link is not new, but certainly worth the six or seven minutes it takes to watch. I urge to stop what you are doing and give it your FULL attention.
Then go and have a Happy Christmas!
Powerless. That is me today. For two reasons.
* pay more into their pensions
* work for longer
* and accept a pension based on a “career average” salary, rather than the current final salary arrangement which many of them are currently on
Unions, however, say the proposals will leave their members paying more and working longer for less.
There will be no buses or trains running, most schools will remain closed and hospitals will provide emergency services, while elective surgeries and outpatient clinics will be cancelled. As well as those working in health, education, transport and the civil service, workers in local councils, the NI assembly, the PSNI (Police), Human Rights Commission, the Equality Commission and the Labour Relations Agency and a host of other non-departmental public bodies are also expected to take strike action.
The private sector should be working as normal, and since my electricity provider comes into this bracket, the transformer maintenance should go ahead. I was notified about the lack of power about ten days ago by letter, and yesterday afternoon I had a phone call from the company to check that I had arrangements made for food etc., for the duration.*
Anyhow, an early cooked breakfast, and a late dinner will be the order of the day, I have a small single ring camping gas stove so I should not run out of hot drinks and I’ll fill a flask with my own homemade soup for lunchtime. I’ll not starve by any means.
Weather permitting I’ll walk down the hill, and through the park in the morning. I’ll have the phone and Laptop charged, so I’ll drop in at some stage to check up on you.
I have decided to toast my toes at the open fire for the afternoon. Wisewebwoman will know what I mean when I say “I’ll try not to get the ABC’s“! Worry not, for it is no dreadful life threatening disease. It was a condition way back in the last century, before any, never mind every home, had central heating. We gathered as a family round the fireside and watched the glorious display of flickering flames take half the heat up the chimney.
The older the women, the closer they sat to the fire. By the end of the winter their shins were burned from the heat leaving a series of small dark red rings from knee to ankle. The men may have suffered in the same way, but since they never removed their trousers, we were never able to confirm this fact. Houses were not so well insulated back then and drafts whistled under doors and around windows, Our fronts were roasted and our backs were frozen. The bedrooms back then were so cold the frost formed on the inside of the glass and people got dressed to go to bed! Brrrr!
I have knitting at the ready, and a few sewing repairs that can be done by hand. I might even find distraction with a book. I’m hoping it won’t be another dark and dreary day. The candles are at the ready, so I’ll come to no harm.
* Since I have a heart condition and live alone, I am on the ‘At risk’ register. It was the electricity company that suggested I have my name added. They keep me informed of any scheduled breaks in transmission, and check up on me during unscheduled breaks. The Water service now have a similar list. I am not sure if everyone in NI is aware of these lists.
May your country road take you home, to the place you belong and the people you love.
It didn’t work for this guy. Who taught him to drive?
Drive safely, and have a
Tomorrow
In life friends come and go, and your life goes on.
One day one of you just stops calling/writing/talking/chatting. No fight, no reason, you both just stopped.
In life friends come and go, and your life goes on.
We need people – partners, friends, casual acquaintances, and even strangers – who will walk with us awhile, as we make our way to our potential. No two people are exactly the same, and one soul certainly requires different experiences than the next. We need to allow them to be who they are.
In life friends come and go, and your life goes on.
People come into our lives to add to, and complete the jigsaw puzzle of our time. Once all the pieces have been placed together, the puzzle is complete, thus fulfilling our journey.
In life friends come and go, and your life goes on.
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.
~ Eleanor Roosevelt
Lose 40+ pounds and feel great!
If I lost £40+ in the present financial climate, I certainly would not have a smile on my face or feel like partying, I can tell you.
I weigh 130 pounds. Take away 40+ pounds from that and we are talking about 90 pounds or LESS.
I was a walking skeleton for years through no fault of my own, forever hungry and I eat like I had hollow legs – it was the way I was made. Everyone I encountered in life, except my mother, tried to feed me up and increase my weight.
We were a family of stick insects, all under weight even at birth, and in those days bonny babies (read chubby) were considered healthier than us. All through our young lives we had two multi-course dinners a day, we had more food than they did at Downton Abbey!
The few pounds I gained over the years have at least given me a little shape, if not enough to keep me warm, I have no desire for regression.
So, no thank you! I will gladly hit the delete forever button and not open that email.
