Just a quick post tonight as I am pretty tired...and apparently I have to get up hideously early tomorrow morning to make fresh lemon curd for my daughter's Lemon Drizzle cakes in her 'Food Tech' lesson. She cannot make do with a jar from the co-op up the road, she wants to score brownie points by having freely home made...and yes, I know I am pandering to her, but it does taste jolly nice, even if I say so myself!
By the way, It's not cookery anymore, or even home economics...just the soulless sounding 'Food Tech' - and they wonder why kids don't find cooking inspiring? Call it something exciting and they might just discover a passion for creating delicious dishes! (I can dream!)
Now what could we call it eh? I shall give it some thought.
Anyhow, that was not what I had been planning to write about...
It has often been commented upon that whilst other countries have a 'climate'; Britain only has 'weather', something which has always amused me...it is just so true!
The last couple of weeks have been, erm, variable on the weather front. Anything from blazing sunshine and hot sticky nights to torrential rain and thunderstorms with a good dose of humidity, occasional cold days and some windy weather thrown in for good measure.
Of course nobody likes it.
It does not matter one jot what the weather is, we don't like it. It's too cold or too hot, too wet or too dry, too windy or not a breath of air to stir the heat. As the saying goes, if I had a penny for every time somebody had said that it was too hot for them over the last few days, I would have had enough to buy half a pint of diesel.
We have no choice of course...we invest a huge amount of time and effort in predicting the weather, watching and reading about the weather and even now, fiddling with weather apps!
In our home, 5 of us have smartphones and I have my beloved iPad too...so that's 6 different weather apps to compare with the tv, radio and newspaper forecasts. Why cannot we just accept that the weather will do what it eases and go back to the ancient art of looking out of the window?!
Better still,use the time spent trying to work out what the weather will do, to gazing at what the weather is doing now...
There is a beautiful scene constantly changing and unfolding above our heads, but only a few of us bother to look up. We are blessed with wonderfully changeable weather which gives us incredible cloud formations to give perspective and background to our daily lives.
As an added bonus, the good weather right now is throwing up some of the most beautiful sunsets... Get out there and enjoy them!
Incidentally, I have what I hope are some stunning sunset pics uploading from my husband's phone as I type...I shall upload them here tomorrow!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, 3 July 2011
Friday, 1 July 2011
You can't hurry a Murray...
I am watching Andy Murray play Rafa Nadal...
As always it is a stress ridden, edge of the seat, frustrating, nervy and downright ohgodIcannotbeartowatch experience.
The Tsonga match was bad enough; I did so want him to win, but in the end, Jokovitch had the better game and will be playing in the final on Sunday.
But who will he be playing?
Nadal is playing extremely well, Murray has had a distinctly dodgy second set, after a fabulous first set and Rafa won something like 7 games on the trot. He has broken Andy's serve in the third set as well.
Andy now needs to 'dig deep', as the commentators, safe in their comfy studios and commentary boxes are fond of saying. It is all very well for them, they are nice and safe...not like us shredding our fingernails here at home!
Hey ho.
However Murray plays it, he will need to draw on his reserves of focus and determination and somehow keep playing to the highest standard he possibly can- despite being down that break, knowing that the hopes of the nation are on his shoulders... I think we put so much pressure on our hopefuls, that they are almost bound to crumble under the pressure.
Still, there's a long way to go in this match yet...I really hope Andy Murray can win it...but if he does not win it this year, there is always another chance next year...and the year after that!
Whatever happens, I am proud of his achievements, and so should he be.
My best friend is hoping that Rafa wins...We may fall out...!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
As always it is a stress ridden, edge of the seat, frustrating, nervy and downright ohgodIcannotbeartowatch experience.
The Tsonga match was bad enough; I did so want him to win, but in the end, Jokovitch had the better game and will be playing in the final on Sunday.
But who will he be playing?
Nadal is playing extremely well, Murray has had a distinctly dodgy second set, after a fabulous first set and Rafa won something like 7 games on the trot. He has broken Andy's serve in the third set as well.
Andy now needs to 'dig deep', as the commentators, safe in their comfy studios and commentary boxes are fond of saying. It is all very well for them, they are nice and safe...not like us shredding our fingernails here at home!
Hey ho.
However Murray plays it, he will need to draw on his reserves of focus and determination and somehow keep playing to the highest standard he possibly can- despite being down that break, knowing that the hopes of the nation are on his shoulders... I think we put so much pressure on our hopefuls, that they are almost bound to crumble under the pressure.
Still, there's a long way to go in this match yet...I really hope Andy Murray can win it...but if he does not win it this year, there is always another chance next year...and the year after that!
Whatever happens, I am proud of his achievements, and so should he be.
My best friend is hoping that Rafa wins...We may fall out...!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
An Angel Shouted 'Hoi!, What's Your Game Chummy?!
If you ever wonder if the gods, whoever and wherever they may be, have a sense of humour, this should give you an idea...
I had forgotten about this incident until recently; I was looking through some old diaries and found this from December 1976...I was just 14 at the time...
'Today started out well at school, we had all clubbed together to buy John Boy, (name changed to protect the guilty!), the bloke we all fancied, a Christmas present. We bought him a cigarette lighter, but decided we didn't want him to get lung cancer, so we wrote a warning on the wrapping paper.
I was the only one brave enough to give it to him (out of a form of about 30!), so we all signed the card and at lunchtime I went to find him. I did find him, but he was snogging a sixth former in one of the labs...so I waited until they came up for air, and then gave it to him, on behalf of all of us.
I think he liked it, he said thank you a lot!'
The poor chap must have been terrified at the thought of 30 manic hormone ridden teens all lusting after him...and as for writing a warning on the present not to smoke...oh god the whole thing is just too painful!
I was always the one who went up and asked, who crept into empty classrooms and left notes in desks...I think I was hoping it would give me a greater sense of being included; I was lucky to have some very good friends, but I suffered from lack of confidence...and made up for it, by appearing over confident.
Over the years I have managed to mostly get it under control; anxiety can make us behave in all sorts of bizarre ways...I have even asked for Jim 'Here's what you would have won' (Bullseye) Bowen's autograph on behalf of a work colleague in a hotel in Woverhampton!
The moral of this story is don't take yourself too seriously, and don't feel obliged to do all the daft things you are asked to!
...And if the angels didn't have a good laugh setting me up for that last one, they really don't have a sense of humour!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I had forgotten about this incident until recently; I was looking through some old diaries and found this from December 1976...I was just 14 at the time...
'Today started out well at school, we had all clubbed together to buy John Boy, (name changed to protect the guilty!), the bloke we all fancied, a Christmas present. We bought him a cigarette lighter, but decided we didn't want him to get lung cancer, so we wrote a warning on the wrapping paper.
I was the only one brave enough to give it to him (out of a form of about 30!), so we all signed the card and at lunchtime I went to find him. I did find him, but he was snogging a sixth former in one of the labs...so I waited until they came up for air, and then gave it to him, on behalf of all of us.
I think he liked it, he said thank you a lot!'
The poor chap must have been terrified at the thought of 30 manic hormone ridden teens all lusting after him...and as for writing a warning on the present not to smoke...oh god the whole thing is just too painful!
I was always the one who went up and asked, who crept into empty classrooms and left notes in desks...I think I was hoping it would give me a greater sense of being included; I was lucky to have some very good friends, but I suffered from lack of confidence...and made up for it, by appearing over confident.
Over the years I have managed to mostly get it under control; anxiety can make us behave in all sorts of bizarre ways...I have even asked for Jim 'Here's what you would have won' (Bullseye) Bowen's autograph on behalf of a work colleague in a hotel in Woverhampton!
The moral of this story is don't take yourself too seriously, and don't feel obliged to do all the daft things you are asked to!
...And if the angels didn't have a good laugh setting me up for that last one, they really don't have a sense of humour!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Snoozy place
Monday, 27 June 2011
Guardian Angels
I firmly believe that each of us has at least one Guardian Angel; I have had several experiences that have convinced me of this, although my proof may not prove anything of the sort to you!
Let me give you an example.
We visited Helsinki in February this year (Finland; beautiful country, wonderful people, magnificent chocolate), but unfortunately I broke a toe a couple of days before we left. I was extremely nervous about boarding the plane, it is always a scrum, allocated seats or not, and the thought of my toe being trodden on was making me feel nauseous...
We were waiting at the gate, and Phil, my husband wandered off to find a loo...naturally the flight was called the minute he vanished from sight, and horror of horrors...we had to go by bus to the plane!
I watched as it filled up; so many passengers in such a small space! By the time Phil reappeared, there were no seats and very little standing room and I was certain of being severely injured...
Now whilst I was waiting for Phil to reappear, I had been on the hotline to my Guardian Angels, with an emergency request for help...
As we went through the gate, all I could see were people crammed into the bus, right up to the doors...I wasn't even sure there was room for us...when suddenly, the driver came up to us and said there were two seats right behind the drivers seat, and we should have them!
Now at no time had I told anyone of my predicament, or asked for special treatment, he had appeared right out of the blue!
The other standing passengers (there were many) looked on in surprise; it was almost as if those two seats had been invisible up until that moment...
But more was to follow!
As we approached the plane on the tarmac, I knew I still had the worst part in front of me, fighting through a narrow aisle full of folks trying to find their seats and put luggage overhead...but as the bus stopped by the steps, the driver only opened the doors in front of us, so that I was the first off the bus and the first up the steps and onto the plane!
I have to believe in Divine intervention after that!
...But I appreciate you might not!
So how do you find your own 'proof'?
The first thing is to accept (just for the purposes of this experiment), that angels exist. You then need to ask for a sign that they can hear you, and that sign can take all sorts of forms; what you can be absolutely sure of, is that it will be a sign which only means something to you.
The most convincing evidence comes when we are in real need, like me with my toe (!), but your Guardian Angel will respond to every one of your requests...you just might need to learn to spot them.
Look for something that comes when you ask...not hours or days later, something that provokes a real response from you, at a deep emotional level. I tend to laugh a lot; somehow knowing that they are there watching over me just makes me giggle!
I shall write more on angel signs another day, but will leave you with another of my personal experiences...
My car is called Baby Blue; she is a 2008 Fiesta in Pompey (Portsmouth Football Club) Blue, and she is the only car I have had from brand new!
She has a little glitch...something it will probably take a man with a computer days to trace...which is why I am not bothering right now! Sometimes, the radio console is dead when you turn it on; no lights, no anything. It stays dead for a varying amount of time and no amount of fiddling will have any effect.
So one morning, I get into Baby Blue, start the engine and there is no radio; I was not a happy bunny anyway, things were not going well, so as I drove I was asking the Angels for a sign that all would be well...
...About 10 minutes into the journey, the radio sang into life, right at the point where Aretha sings the line 'I say a little prayer for you...'
I burst out laughing and thanked them for their attention and response, but then, a few minutes later, I was worrying again, so as I parked up, I was asking for yet another sign, to prove the first one was a proper sign!
I had hardy got to the end of the plea, walking along the pavement under some overhanging trees, when I walked into the perfect fluffy white feather hanging by a gossamer thread...
Fair enough. I get the message!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Let me give you an example.
We visited Helsinki in February this year (Finland; beautiful country, wonderful people, magnificent chocolate), but unfortunately I broke a toe a couple of days before we left. I was extremely nervous about boarding the plane, it is always a scrum, allocated seats or not, and the thought of my toe being trodden on was making me feel nauseous...
We were waiting at the gate, and Phil, my husband wandered off to find a loo...naturally the flight was called the minute he vanished from sight, and horror of horrors...we had to go by bus to the plane!
I watched as it filled up; so many passengers in such a small space! By the time Phil reappeared, there were no seats and very little standing room and I was certain of being severely injured...
Now whilst I was waiting for Phil to reappear, I had been on the hotline to my Guardian Angels, with an emergency request for help...
As we went through the gate, all I could see were people crammed into the bus, right up to the doors...I wasn't even sure there was room for us...when suddenly, the driver came up to us and said there were two seats right behind the drivers seat, and we should have them!
Now at no time had I told anyone of my predicament, or asked for special treatment, he had appeared right out of the blue!
The other standing passengers (there were many) looked on in surprise; it was almost as if those two seats had been invisible up until that moment...
But more was to follow!
As we approached the plane on the tarmac, I knew I still had the worst part in front of me, fighting through a narrow aisle full of folks trying to find their seats and put luggage overhead...but as the bus stopped by the steps, the driver only opened the doors in front of us, so that I was the first off the bus and the first up the steps and onto the plane!
I have to believe in Divine intervention after that!
...But I appreciate you might not!
So how do you find your own 'proof'?
The first thing is to accept (just for the purposes of this experiment), that angels exist. You then need to ask for a sign that they can hear you, and that sign can take all sorts of forms; what you can be absolutely sure of, is that it will be a sign which only means something to you.
The most convincing evidence comes when we are in real need, like me with my toe (!), but your Guardian Angel will respond to every one of your requests...you just might need to learn to spot them.
Look for something that comes when you ask...not hours or days later, something that provokes a real response from you, at a deep emotional level. I tend to laugh a lot; somehow knowing that they are there watching over me just makes me giggle!
I shall write more on angel signs another day, but will leave you with another of my personal experiences...
My car is called Baby Blue; she is a 2008 Fiesta in Pompey (Portsmouth Football Club) Blue, and she is the only car I have had from brand new!
She has a little glitch...something it will probably take a man with a computer days to trace...which is why I am not bothering right now! Sometimes, the radio console is dead when you turn it on; no lights, no anything. It stays dead for a varying amount of time and no amount of fiddling will have any effect.
So one morning, I get into Baby Blue, start the engine and there is no radio; I was not a happy bunny anyway, things were not going well, so as I drove I was asking the Angels for a sign that all would be well...
...About 10 minutes into the journey, the radio sang into life, right at the point where Aretha sings the line 'I say a little prayer for you...'
I burst out laughing and thanked them for their attention and response, but then, a few minutes later, I was worrying again, so as I parked up, I was asking for yet another sign, to prove the first one was a proper sign!
I had hardy got to the end of the plea, walking along the pavement under some overhanging trees, when I walked into the perfect fluffy white feather hanging by a gossamer thread...
Fair enough. I get the message!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:You guessed it!
Sunday, 26 June 2011
Frustrated Golfist Blues
It has been a really hot day; blue skies and soaring temperatures, an ideal day to try my hand on the golf course!
I have always liked golf; one of the few good things my father shared with me, was his time out on the golf course..
Over 18 of the 20 years that Phil and I have been together, he has robustly maintained his Opinion that golf was a good walk spoilt, however, a round with our friend Ross 2 years ago changed all that, so that now I am danger of becoming a golf widow! I got straight out there with him, but fate took a hand (or foot) and comprehensively killed a tendon in my left foot!
This has left me seriously impaired in the golfing stakes; unable to wear the proper footwear and with treatment ongoing, I had to take a break...
You simply cannot buy ladies golf shoes with a wedge heel, well, except for the TipTeeToe ones in the USA, which cost as much to ship over as the shoos themselves! So today, I tried it with an orthotic support in my.golf shoes...way too painful...and then my sandal...feet don't hurt but it puts me off balance so I have to learn my stance again...
Oh boy was I awful...
My swing ranged from mildly ghastly to laughable...the ball went just about everywhere but forwards...and of course, the more frustrated you become, the worse it gets...
It wasn't all doom and gloom, I had a few passable shots, but I have relearnt an important lesson or two, or three...
1. Don't try and play all the holes... Select the ones you like, and drive the buggy the rest of the time!
2. At least try to stay calm...
3. Celebrate the better shots, and learn from the rest, and...
Enjoy the sunshine and the company!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I have always liked golf; one of the few good things my father shared with me, was his time out on the golf course..
Over 18 of the 20 years that Phil and I have been together, he has robustly maintained his Opinion that golf was a good walk spoilt, however, a round with our friend Ross 2 years ago changed all that, so that now I am danger of becoming a golf widow! I got straight out there with him, but fate took a hand (or foot) and comprehensively killed a tendon in my left foot!
This has left me seriously impaired in the golfing stakes; unable to wear the proper footwear and with treatment ongoing, I had to take a break...
You simply cannot buy ladies golf shoes with a wedge heel, well, except for the TipTeeToe ones in the USA, which cost as much to ship over as the shoos themselves! So today, I tried it with an orthotic support in my.golf shoes...way too painful...and then my sandal...feet don't hurt but it puts me off balance so I have to learn my stance again...
Oh boy was I awful...
My swing ranged from mildly ghastly to laughable...the ball went just about everywhere but forwards...and of course, the more frustrated you become, the worse it gets...
It wasn't all doom and gloom, I had a few passable shots, but I have relearnt an important lesson or two, or three...
1. Don't try and play all the holes... Select the ones you like, and drive the buggy the rest of the time!
2. At least try to stay calm...
3. Celebrate the better shots, and learn from the rest, and...
Enjoy the sunshine and the company!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:In Bed Again!
Friday, 24 June 2011
It's Very Late
Despite what you might think from the time displayed on these Blogs...actually I write late at night, from my bed! I am not in bed in the mud afternoon even though it insists it's about 3.00 or 4.00pm...
So if anyone has worked out how to set the time...let me know please!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
So if anyone has worked out how to set the time...let me know please!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Still in bed!
On being a winner...
I have been glued to the telly tonight, watching Andy Murray in action in the third round at Wimbledon. He was playing Ljubicic (loo-be-chitch), a veteran player at 32, and someone who has certainly come through an awful lot to get where he is.
As a young player, being driven around by his father in Bosnia, they were stopped by hooded gunmen and scared stupid; his father sent him and his mother abroad to safety after that and for six months he did not know if his dad he was alive or dead...
Thankfully, he did reappear and after some time as refugees in several countries, the young Ljubicic was spotted by an Italian coach and the rest as they say, is history. He has been ranked in the Top 10 in previous years, but is most definitely not yet ready to throw in the towel and retire!
He played with skill and determination, his years of experience at times giving him a distinct edge and demonstrating that you do not always need power shots to get the upper hand... He used very gentle short taps over the net to devastating effect on several occasions!
Ljubicic won the first set, Murray won the second, and stormed through the third. The game swung first to one, then the other, and even for those of us used to the edge-of-the-seat-nerves of watching any British player at Wimbledon, it was stressful!
But young Andy has come a long way, not just physically, but mentally.
Yes, you could see the frustration when he lost a point, or fluffed a shot, but he got over it, and moved on. Not only that, but he moved on very quickly; in any fast paced game, such as tennis (or life!) you cannot afford to hang about, you need to be taking the positives and using them to learn how to avoid the pitfalls next time.
Murray eventually won in a tiebreak at the end of the fourth set; we all heaved a sigh of relief and can now relax and watch the Roger and Raffa show tomorrow!
But both players were winners tonight; it was a fantastically entertaining match! Murray may be headed into the fourth round, but we haven't seen the last of Ljubicic, I am sure of that...
Remember, never give up...if things don't pan out as you plan, change the plan!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
As a young player, being driven around by his father in Bosnia, they were stopped by hooded gunmen and scared stupid; his father sent him and his mother abroad to safety after that and for six months he did not know if his dad he was alive or dead...
Thankfully, he did reappear and after some time as refugees in several countries, the young Ljubicic was spotted by an Italian coach and the rest as they say, is history. He has been ranked in the Top 10 in previous years, but is most definitely not yet ready to throw in the towel and retire!
He played with skill and determination, his years of experience at times giving him a distinct edge and demonstrating that you do not always need power shots to get the upper hand... He used very gentle short taps over the net to devastating effect on several occasions!
Ljubicic won the first set, Murray won the second, and stormed through the third. The game swung first to one, then the other, and even for those of us used to the edge-of-the-seat-nerves of watching any British player at Wimbledon, it was stressful!
But young Andy has come a long way, not just physically, but mentally.
Yes, you could see the frustration when he lost a point, or fluffed a shot, but he got over it, and moved on. Not only that, but he moved on very quickly; in any fast paced game, such as tennis (or life!) you cannot afford to hang about, you need to be taking the positives and using them to learn how to avoid the pitfalls next time.
Murray eventually won in a tiebreak at the end of the fourth set; we all heaved a sigh of relief and can now relax and watch the Roger and Raffa show tomorrow!
But both players were winners tonight; it was a fantastically entertaining match! Murray may be headed into the fourth round, but we haven't seen the last of Ljubicic, I am sure of that...
Remember, never give up...if things don't pan out as you plan, change the plan!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Yep, in bed!
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