Yesterday was a real scorcher - blue skies and unbroken sunshine. It clouded over later on and the wind got up - we were forecast rain, but none appeared, despite looking really stormy later in the evening. I felt quite let down as I love a good storm. Today started good again, but soon clouded over and looked thundery. Sprinkling with rain, but nothing more.
Rubes is back in the broody cage and happily warbling away to herself in there. the cats aren't too impressed with their new (rather camp) flea collars - Georgie's is red velvet with diamante studs and Biscuit's is sparkly silver - very Scissor Sisters!!!
Phil has some babies at his house - the pigeon nest in the wisteria on the front of hius house has two fluffy baby pigeons in it. His pond has tiny baby froglets, the size of my thumbnail hopping about. I was hoping to get a photo, but they are soo small and move very fast.
Rosie has another secondary school open evening coming up - Warriner School this time. This one is en masse rather than an interview. I'd rather see the school in session though, so will try to arrange to go back and see it another day before they break up.
I just love this clip about magnetism:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=IT2AQC3X5bk
Sorry, bit of a geek sometimes!
One of 'Those Days' today *roll*
For starters, I let Ruby Tuesday out of the broody cage this morning and she went back on the nest to brood *Grrrrr* so have to hoik her off (in my smart work clothes) and pop her back in the cage.
On the way into work, I had a call from the hospital. When they started talking about re-scheduling, I thought they were ringing to tell me that they'd changed the date of my operation, but what they wanted was for me to go in tomorrow for my pre-op assessment tests rather then on Monday. Seems that there was some clerical error. No problem as Kevin isn't in tomorrow and I can easily catch up on what I need to do.
Despite me warning all the staff that I will be off as of 10th July for quite some time, they have only just cottoned on that it's next week, so I am inundated with stuff that could really have been done ages ago!
Rose was being grumpy and trying again this morning; we were walking to school and I might as well not have been there, apart from the odd snarl from her. I stopped walking and when she eventually turned round, I suggested that as she was being so grumpy with me, she could carry on to school on her own as I wasn't prepared to walk her in with that attitude. Let's hope that she's in a better mood tonight.
I had a lovely get well soon card today from Charlie, Lorraine and the bump. Chickens on the front of it, so Charlie chose it.. he knows how much I like them.
It has been a loevly day - hot, warm wind and balmy. sat out for lunch watched by a row of chickens eyeing up my salad *lol* it has turned very windy now, and rain is forecast to move in overnight.
I've not had time to download these, so it's a bit of a medley I'm afraid.
London's Pride; one of my favourite flowers. They remind me of my childhood - we had so many of them in our garden
Some feathers that I plucked from Sadie (on the right) after she died. They join the feathers from Layla and Ruby Tuesday
Broad beans in a pod:
I love the way that they nestle in the soft, fluffy nest inside the pod.
Some ranunculus; they are beautiful flowers with a glossy finish and intense colours which make them look enamelled. I didn't capture this well at all and one of them is out of focus, but you get the idea..
Race for Life photos:
Before the race
L-R Deeley runners, a lost fairy, Pre-race hug, Rosie checking my shoes, Rosie strolling instead of running.
Another busy weekend - Deddington market on saturday morning, popped in to see Chris and Min in their shop Arujo to stock up on some supplies and for Ian to give them some eggs and lemon curd.
We dropped in to a new deli/cafe place (can't remember the name) in Bloxham on the way back to check it out; lots of lovely stuff, but the service fro a cuppa was painfully slow and the produce is mostly not local, which is a shame. They have a large courtyard though, which could be good for holding a local foods market in.
Rosie and I raced down the road to get her hair cut. I stayed well out of it this time and let her talk to Stacey, it was cut exactly as Rosie asked for it, but she still wasn't happy, so we had tears and tantrums all round town after that.. my patience is wearing very thin! We got our shopping done and headed back home to sort the animals out before we went off to see Prince Caspian - the latest Narnia film. It was absolutely fantastic - a real fairy story with wonderful effects.
We were late back, but had to be up at a decent time on Sunday because it was our annual group family day for work, at Blenheim Palace. So a quick whizz around and off we went; Rosie had several changes of outfit and hated her hair, so stropped all the way there, then cried when we got there and wanted to go home. I think we're getting into teenage-hood!!!! She ended up having a good day in the end, playing rounders and riding on the estate train with the others. I was shattered after dealing with all her tantrums and not sleeping because of the hot flushes, so I sat out of the games and just stuffed my face on all the food! Phil played rounders and football, so was hot, sweaty and exhausted at the end of the day!
The animals had to have a very quick clean out last night as time was tight. Rosie is with Ian today as her school is closed for an inset day, so I had the evening to myself last night to get food made for the week ahead and things in order for work.
How to hypnotise chickens... must try this sometime:
I wonder whether it would calm Lily down - our strop-meister... she's like Pat Butcher with feathers!
This is what life is all about
I just love the abandon of all the bystanders - dancing is so happy and infectious. Who was it who said - dance and the world dances with you; weep and you weep alone.?
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/?fbid=Bzgh_n
Enjoy today my friend.
This is priceless:
An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly that he had a home and was well taken care of.
He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner and fell asleep.
An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.
The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot in the hall and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.
Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'
The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'
Friends eh? I got thinking yesterday after an email from Sue; we were best of friends at primary school, then middle school, but lost touch when we went to separate secondary schools and I then moved away. We then got back in touch when my old primary school (opposite my folks house) was closing down and the folks went to meet up with some of the old teachers; they bumped into a contemporary of mine who had started up a website for the school with a link to Friends Reunited. Longstoryshort, we met up and Sue had a party with some old school friends I hadn't seen since we were 13. Sue and I still keep in touch.
T'interweb is wonderful really, I can keep in touch with Ali, who has moved back to Oz and now has 3 boys, Kate who has moved to NZ, Emjay and Hetta in the US. Suzie and Julie who still live 'down south' and loads of other friends up and down the country.
Your 'world' can be anywhere really, as your friends can be so close with the internet and phone. Some friends drop out of the loop for a bit, then resurface; but it's such a small world really
Has anyone else noticed how everyone is having babies at the moment? Mel is expecting twins, Emma is due in September, as is Beth. Kerry next door is due at the end of July, Charlotte down the road is due in August. Charlie has just told me that Lorraine is expecting for the end of the year, and James' brother is going to be a dad. Must be something in the air!
A bit fluffy for me I know, but I'm in a slushy mood today:
Slow down for three minutes to read this. It is so worth it.
Touching words from the mouths of babes.
What does 'Love' mean?
A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, 'What does 'love' mean?'
The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
'When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.
So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love.'
Rebecca- age 8
'When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different.
You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.'
Billy - age 4
'Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.'
Karl - age 5
'Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.'
Chrissy - age 6
'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.'
Terri - age 4
'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.'
Danny - age 7
'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss'
Emily - age 8
'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.'
Bobby - age 7 (Wow!)
'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,'
Nikka - age 6
(we need a few million more Nikka's on this planet)
'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.'
Noelle - age 7
'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.'
Tommy - age 6
'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.
He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.'
Cindy - age 8
'My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.'
Clare - age 6
'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.'
Elaine-age 5
'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.'
Chris - age 7
'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day'
Mary Ann - age 4
'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.'
Lauren - age 4
'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' (what an image)
Karen - age 7
'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.'
Jessica - age 8
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.
Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,
'Nothing, I just helped him cry'
When there is nothing left, that is when you find out that love is all you need
I like this one:
Looks just like Biscuit aka Fat Boy!
This kind of thing makes me sick - do these people end up as mass murderers?
The RSPCA again - turning a blind eye to cruelty yet again. Ticking the boxes.. filling the forms, filling the quotas.
Some of you may find this footage distressing..
http://www.fivetvonline.tv/news.php?news=639
It has moved me to tears of frustration, and I'm used to going into battery shed on rescues.
I know! Stop nagging; I've been trying to find time to post these photos taken at my folks' 50th wedding anniversary a fortnight ago.
The cake I had made:
The folks cutting their cake
Above; Hilary (my sister) and her son Connor, Julian and I, Mary and Marjorie
Below: Pops cutting the cake, supervised by Rosie, Molly and Connor
Below: Rosie and her cousin Molly
'Toddy' and I looking at the folks' wedding photos; trying to put names to faces
Tod, Mummy and I
What a weekend! Stratford market on Saturday to stock up on goodies and admire both Emma & Beth's baby bumps. Wish that I'd taken my shopping trolley as I ended up with some heavy stuff! I popped over to Jude's when I got back to Banbury, to stock up on chicken feed, and snuggle the last of the puppies before they all go to their new homes. Those gorgeous puppy tummies are just so delicious, and their ears smell so good too - can you imagine Biscuit's reaction if I bought a puppy home? He'd be insanely jealous of anyone stealing his Mum's affection! I do yearn for another baby animal though....
I managed to dodge the showers to get the animals cleaned out. Lately, I have been lettting the bunnies run around the lawn together, as the vet says that they shouldn't live together again just yet. It was too wet to so that, so I popped Hunny Bunny in with Cupcake in the Rablu run, and they seemed fine. Cupcake wasn't bothering Hunny's ears at all and they are so much happier when they are together. I have left them in the run and there's been no ear bothering and Hunny's ears look to be healing - they have a light downy covering again and no more scabby bits.
No rain on Sunday, sunshine and gales instead! Rosie and I did the race for life at Heythrop Park (photos to follow). They had changed the course from previous years - obviously not designed with running in mind this time though... muddy bogs in the woods and single file in places. Only one accident that I saw - a woman behind me got hit in the face by a falling branch - looked like it broke her nose. It was nice to see a few friends there; caught up with Chris, who was cheering Min on, Linzi, who was racign with friends. Ann and Jayne, but missed Simon and Becks. At the start, I was behind a girl who's notice on her back said that she was doing the race in memory of Val Tyrrel - I could resist tapping her on the shoulder to tell her that Val used to live next door but one to me, and I knew her well.
We came back home for lunch; homemade quiche and salad with rhubarb crumble and ice cream for afters. Then Rosie went back to her dad's while I got on with making jars of lemon curd, home made burgers and meat balls and chocolate cupcakes.
Just been reading this from an acquaintance about her ex-battery hens:
They have gone from merely standing when initially released from their transport crate to ....
- enjoying the grass between their toes
sunbathing
not knowing what the dark was
learning to lay in the nesting box
getting used to a few pellets in with their mash
integrating with Pepper and Matilda
free ranging all day every day
chasing wood pigeons from the garden
knowing what treats are ... and loving them
eating from my hand
learning to go to bed at dusk
pecking my toes and ....
only today, they had their first dust bath and it brought tears to my eyes
- I know how she feels - they have remarkable powers of recovery. Here's a picture or Rhapsody's hen The Edge, who is so bald that she needs a jumper.. made out of an old sock
