Five little things

Here are five little things I am grateful for in the winter....

ONE.

Cosy Aran jumpers - preferably knitted by the best mum ever,

but a bought one will do!

TWO.

Cold, windy nights that you can shut out

by closing the blinds and turning the volume up on the telly!

THREE.

Pyjamas!

(When you're menopausal they are just a no-no in the summer!)

FOUR.

Comfort food - stews, mince and tatties, rice pud!!

FIVE.

The build up to (Shhh!!) Christmas!

I can say that (almost) safely now that Halloween is

almost upon us!!

What five little things are you grateful for in this coldest

of seasons?

Gratefully yours.

xx

Feeling full

No, I'm not feeling that kind of full!!

I'm feeling full of fulfilled-ness!

Meggie and I got all the finishing touches done in

her room today - It's only gorgeous!!

The beautiful, pink, crystal chandelier-type light fitting

really sets the whole room off!

I then set about the daunting task of getting my house back

to some sort of normality!

I had to find places for furniture that came out of Meg's room,

tidy away all the decorating paraphernalia, hoover, clean

the kitchen, do the laundry, cook dinners and go to choir!!

Easy!

It really does feel good to get things done!!

I'm grateful for that fulfilling feeling!

Now, looking at that cake is making me hungry!!

Anyone for baking???

Gratefully yours.

xx 

Parrot Paradise

It was touch and go there for a while!

But the decorating is done, and it

only took us 4 days!!

First of all, after the new turquoise walls were painted,

the woodwork had to be done.

As well as stinking us out, it takes a day to dry,

so the papering had to wait.

Then K was golfing - which took another day out of the equation!!

Well, everything stops for golf!!

Then, we were all set to get stuck (see the pun there??) into it this morning,

when Meggie announced that her mouth was sore and

her face was swollen!!

Considering here recent surgery, we had to get that seen to

before we tackled the papering!!

(Nothing to worry about!!)

But, finally, it is done!

Now all we have to do is the little finishing touches,

and Meggie has finally got her new room!

I'm grateful it is done and dusted!

I only hope the paper doesn't give her nightmares or keep her awake

all night!!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Memories

I'm not great for remembering trivia.

I'm not great at remembering specific incidents from my past.

(I'm not even great at remembering where I'm meant 

to be, or why I went into the utility room!!)

What I DO remember are feelings.

And I remember that, growing up, I felt loved, nurtured and nourished!

Poor Mam used to bake once a week, filling tupperware boxes full

of delicious cakes and biscuits, only to have us scavengers

eat everything in sight!

Only now do I realise how fulfilling it is

to know that you are doing this wonderful thing

for the people you love most in the world.

And I'm quite sure that in a day or two, when MY boxes are empty,

I'll be asking why I bother when all they do is eat it all!!

Today I am grateful for wonderful memories, and the chance

to follow in my wonderful Mammy's footsteps

in baking for my own brood.

Wait till you see.....I'll be on the Bake-off yet!!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

The Book Club

Well, we had the books

and we had the tea.

We also had plenty of discussion...

.....but not much of it was about the books!!

But I have decided that I love

 Book Club!!

I guess the next step is to actually read some books

and talk about them!!

Listen....it was a good night!!

I'm grateful to have a reason to go out once a month to a nice

hotel, and drink tea with a pal!!

The books will just be an added bonus!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

The bread line

I can only aspire to this!!

The Great British Bake Off has done it again!

Filled me with inspiration and a huge desire to bake!!

I only recently discovered the wonders of YEAST

when Meg learn to make Pizza at her

cookery camp in the summer.

So today I jumped in, feet first, and made my first batch of rolls.

Okay, so they were heavy enough to sink the Titanic,

but I know why!!

I ran out of time to prove them properly, as I had to get the Meggie

from school!

So, it's onwards and upwards from here!!

It was such good fun...and they tasted yummy!!

Today I am grateful for a budding new hobby!!!!!

There's no business like DOUGH business!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

True friends

I haven't spoken to my friend Fay for over a year!

We text occasionally, and send cards, but the last time we

spoke was last summer, when we were in Scotland!

Well, today is her birthday.

So I phoned her to wish her a Happy Birthday!

You'd think we'd only seen each other yesterday! We just had 

a great blether, caught up with all the goings on

and had a laugh.

It's no great surprise then that today I am grateful for good friends.

Never underestimate the power of friendship!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Misty morning

Can you spy the bridge??

Who stole Autumn?

Last week was the first week since May that I wore tights,

and now, just a week later, it's full winter undies, boots and winter coat!!

I mean to say....could we not have had a few weeks, at least,

of it getting gradually colder??

Obviously not!!!

Still, even freezing fog has it's good points!

My walk to work was amazing. I could not even see half way

across the river. The swans appeared and

disappeared as if by magic!

Everything seemed even more calm and peaceful

So, today I am grateful for a different perspective.

Looking at my normal surroundings through new eyes!

So tomorrow I am expecting six feet of snow...

....or maybe a heat-wave!!!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Up and Down

Photo from Google Images

It's been a bit of an uphill struggle this week.

Don't quite know why, but it has been.

Energy reserves depleted (my new and amazing vitamin

supplement has been out of stock!), and lacking any

sense of focus on the positive!

But, life is full of ups and downs!

And don't forget that at the top of the hill,

the view will be spectacular!!

It's been a good couple of days - we've survived Thomas's

first Disco of the year, and been to Meggie's intended Secondary School,

which seems to be just what she needs.

I had my choir concert tonight, which went very well,

and has given me a wee bit of a boost.

So, all in all, today I am grateful that I've made it this far.

Not sure how much higher this hill is, but I shall remind myself

that "the hills are alive, with the sound of music"

and sing my way to the top!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Same old same old

I've been reading back some of my "October" posts from the last two years.

Choir comes up a lot!!

That's because we do a concert in early October every year.

I wonder if I need another new black dress??

But seriously....

......a hard week of rehearsals, but it will all be worth it.

What with my singing, and my piano,

my neighbours must be climbing the walls!!!

Ah well, today I am grateful to have so much MUSIC in my life!

As hobbies go, they're not quite, but they sure are fun!

Gratefully yours.

xx

Just keep singing....

I knew I was taking on a challenge by changing from

mezzo-soprano to alto in the choir.

But I didn't realise quite what a challenge!!!

I've always been very quick to pick up the words of all the songs

we do, and assumed that I was just going to

singing the same words to a new tune.

Not as easy as it sounds!!

In my brain, the tunes and the words seem to be stuck together,

so I'm finding it hard to remember the words of songs

I should know well, because I'm now singing a different tune!!

Ah well, what's life without a challenge??

We have a concert on Saturday night,

and I will be doing my damnedest

to learn off all the songs.

I'm grateful that if all else fails.....I can do the fishy!!

(open and close my mouth with no sound!!)

I just love singing, so this is going to be a very enjoyable week!!!

Gratefully yours.

xx

The time is right

It just dawned on me....

....it's no coincidence that Downton and Strictly

both go to air in October...

.....Sure, what else would you be doing at the weekend

in this weather!!!

It's blowing an absolute hooley out there tonight.

We need some drama, romance, intrigue

and glitter to get us through the dark winter nights!

I'm grateful that the TV bosses have their priorities straight!

Now, where did I put my snuggly jumper and socks??

(Oh, yes....Meggie pinched them!!)

Gratefully yours.

xx

Small pleasures

It doesn't take much!

I got a great boost watching the seagulls today, as I was crossing

the bridge on the way home from work.

They just looked as if they were having such fun!

They were chasing each other, ducking and diving,

and then riding the updraughts,

the wind blowing out from under the bridge.

They seemed to be laughing and having a great time!

A good lesson for us all!

I'm grateful that I took a few minutes to stop and watch them.

Like I say....the smallest things!!

Gratefully yours.

xx