My Dad is really, really not well at the moment. He is having terrible pain in his hip. They think it might possibly be a bit of bone detached from his back surgery, pressing on a nerve. He had an MRI on Friday & the technician said 'You have to brace yourself that this won't be good news, the surgeon will be phoning you.' So we're just waiting to hear.
Poor old Dad, it's awful he's in so much pain.
Tuesday 30 November 2010
Christmas lunch is cancelled
Oh no! Our coffee morning Christmas lunch tomorrow has been cancelled due to the weather! I should be sitting down to smoked mackerel pate, roast turkey & all the trimmings & lemon cheesecake in a lovely restaurant & instead I'll be eating marmite on toast & staring out of the window at the snow.
Ok there's an awful lot of potential 'should be thankful fors' here & it is merely postponed until after Christmas. It's a shame for the old people though, although most of them somehow manage to pack in 4 or 5 Christmas lunches.
At the rate I'm going I could probably join the over 60s & no-one would query it. Actually they do have loads of fun outings. Where's the phone number?
Ok there's an awful lot of potential 'should be thankful fors' here & it is merely postponed until after Christmas. It's a shame for the old people though, although most of them somehow manage to pack in 4 or 5 Christmas lunches.
At the rate I'm going I could probably join the over 60s & no-one would query it. Actually they do have loads of fun outings. Where's the phone number?
This week
I'm just trying to think what else I've done recently. Hmm...
Last weekend we had J's school fayre at which there were just wonderful chocolate brownies, still warm. Bliss...
P's brother stayed only one night instead of two because his wife was missing him so much! It was quite handy though as we had Tim & his sister to sleep so it wsa easier to work out who slept where.
I spent ages helping J with Biology homework at which I should be an expert really but he only got a good mark, not a very good mark (school say we can & in fact should help with homework) but honestly it took 3 hours, how much longer do they expect? I thought my arm movements demonstrating the action of cilia in your respiratory tract & what happens when you smoke was pretty good. So was my idea of stuffing buttons (ie platelets) & tissues in a tube to represent your arteries getting clogged up. Shame the platelets ended up getting thrown around the room.
I went to both old & new housegroups & went out to lunch with new group which was very nice but a lot of new people to get to know. Leader is so nice though. Leader at old group is really nice but she does turn up looking like a model, really she does, black leather mini skirt, thigh boots, immaculate make-up & hair dyed red (as in scarlet) & it sort of makes me feel a bit inadequate sometimes in my tracky top & jeans & hardly-brushed hair. Apart from that though she really doesn't know the Bible very well which is the big problem.
And then this really misery-making thing happened at the group (old one this is). This lady in her seventies turned to me and said 'These young mums make me feel young again, don't you find that?' at which I gave her a look of despair & she said 'Well you're not as old as me but you're not as young as them are you?' 'Shall we start the study?' I said.
Sigh.
Then on Sunday morning we had this missionary couple visiting whom we've known for years & I was talking to her & she said 'What's your name?' cos she didn't recognise me. Is this cos I've got so old?
Sigh.
We went to this other church on Sunday evening & the teaching was awesomely good which made the sermon we'd had in the morning seem not really all that good. We've got a lot of different people preaching now, which is good in some ways but quality is a bit patchy at times.
Sigh.
Last weekend we had J's school fayre at which there were just wonderful chocolate brownies, still warm. Bliss...
P's brother stayed only one night instead of two because his wife was missing him so much! It was quite handy though as we had Tim & his sister to sleep so it wsa easier to work out who slept where.
I spent ages helping J with Biology homework at which I should be an expert really but he only got a good mark, not a very good mark (school say we can & in fact should help with homework) but honestly it took 3 hours, how much longer do they expect? I thought my arm movements demonstrating the action of cilia in your respiratory tract & what happens when you smoke was pretty good. So was my idea of stuffing buttons (ie platelets) & tissues in a tube to represent your arteries getting clogged up. Shame the platelets ended up getting thrown around the room.
I went to both old & new housegroups & went out to lunch with new group which was very nice but a lot of new people to get to know. Leader is so nice though. Leader at old group is really nice but she does turn up looking like a model, really she does, black leather mini skirt, thigh boots, immaculate make-up & hair dyed red (as in scarlet) & it sort of makes me feel a bit inadequate sometimes in my tracky top & jeans & hardly-brushed hair. Apart from that though she really doesn't know the Bible very well which is the big problem.
And then this really misery-making thing happened at the group (old one this is). This lady in her seventies turned to me and said 'These young mums make me feel young again, don't you find that?' at which I gave her a look of despair & she said 'Well you're not as old as me but you're not as young as them are you?' 'Shall we start the study?' I said.
Sigh.
Then on Sunday morning we had this missionary couple visiting whom we've known for years & I was talking to her & she said 'What's your name?' cos she didn't recognise me. Is this cos I've got so old?
Sigh.
We went to this other church on Sunday evening & the teaching was awesomely good which made the sermon we'd had in the morning seem not really all that good. We've got a lot of different people preaching now, which is good in some ways but quality is a bit patchy at times.
Sigh.
Our church
What follows are a video and some photos of our church. I'm saving these largely for my benefit because it's the last time I would see our church looking like this. Work has started to transform the building - taking out the organ, pews replace with chairs, alter the stage, new floor. On Sunday most of the organ had already gone. Anyway I just wanted to keep a record of how it was.
The sound system at the back is where P hangs out. My favourite seat is the one by the wall in front of the red chairs at the back on the left hand side. This is a very warm seat, right over the heater.
The sound system at the back is where P hangs out. My favourite seat is the one by the wall in front of the red chairs at the back on the left hand side. This is a very warm seat, right over the heater.
Get your act together deputy head!
Ok we've finally caught up with everyone else & got snow. Lots & lots of snow.
What schools are meant to do when it snows is decide early in the morning that they are closed so parents can stay in bed. What they're not meant to do is say they're open so poor parents who live in the country have to be dug out of their drives then spend an hour driving just 2 miles in horrendous conditions & then once they've reached the bottom of a big hill the school texts to say they're now closed. So parents have to turn round & join traffic jam going up icy hill at top of which a bus has broken down.
This was actually just about the scariest journey of my life. Every time I stopped in traffic it was a real effort to get going again on the ice & slipping & sliding all over the place. There were 4 really nice people at the top of the hill giving cars a push, otherwise I'd still be there.
So anyway we spent 2 hours this morning going basically nowhere.
It's very pretty though, once you're safe & warm indoors.
What schools are meant to do when it snows is decide early in the morning that they are closed so parents can stay in bed. What they're not meant to do is say they're open so poor parents who live in the country have to be dug out of their drives then spend an hour driving just 2 miles in horrendous conditions & then once they've reached the bottom of a big hill the school texts to say they're now closed. So parents have to turn round & join traffic jam going up icy hill at top of which a bus has broken down.
This was actually just about the scariest journey of my life. Every time I stopped in traffic it was a real effort to get going again on the ice & slipping & sliding all over the place. There were 4 really nice people at the top of the hill giving cars a push, otherwise I'd still be there.
So anyway we spent 2 hours this morning going basically nowhere.
It's very pretty though, once you're safe & warm indoors.
Friday 19 November 2010
Who wants to be a wombat?
P's brother is here for a couple of days. He's here to try & sort out his dad's house out a bit which is good.
J had a non-uniform day at school today, unlike the last time he & I remembered. He went off to school in his hoodie which has WOMBAT across it. This hoodie is made from fair-trade cotton & guaranteed not made by child-labour ( made by a company called Wombat, believe it or not). This is a result of the research I did when I was preparing for the pudding & prayer evening as I wanted us to do some serious praying about slavery & human trafficking etc Anyway while the prayer evening didn't happen I did start to have more of a conscience about fair trade issues which is why I paid about 4 times what I'd have paid at Peacocks for J's hoodie.
His big concern though was that for the rest of his school days he'd be called 'Wombat'. Apparently that didn't happen though. Anyway being called Wombat's better than being called Gingerhead.
I think.
J had a non-uniform day at school today, unlike the last time he & I remembered. He went off to school in his hoodie which has WOMBAT across it. This hoodie is made from fair-trade cotton & guaranteed not made by child-labour ( made by a company called Wombat, believe it or not). This is a result of the research I did when I was preparing for the pudding & prayer evening as I wanted us to do some serious praying about slavery & human trafficking etc Anyway while the prayer evening didn't happen I did start to have more of a conscience about fair trade issues which is why I paid about 4 times what I'd have paid at Peacocks for J's hoodie.
His big concern though was that for the rest of his school days he'd be called 'Wombat'. Apparently that didn't happen though. Anyway being called Wombat's better than being called Gingerhead.
I think.
House group dilemma
I'm better now & back to my usual routine, except P was off today & did the school runs.
This morning I did something a bit unusual. There's another church we've been going to sometimes on a Sunday evening & I had decided to try one of their house groups. Last night I thought I wasn't going to bother but P said why not give it a try. Anyway I felt really shy when I got there but it was really good. We watched a dvd of someone called Andrew Womack teaching & then discussed it. I can't believe how much stuff I shared. Then we listened to a really good song I'd never heard before & had a time of prayer. There were 6 other women there & they were all really nice. So I think I'll go back next week.
For the whole of this term at my usual house group we haven't managed to have a single in-depth discussion which is frustrating. I really love the people there but increasingly it's not giving me what I'm looking for, which is the opportunity to grow in my faith. Two of the people who go aren't yet Christians, two are older & quite set in their ways & really don't seem to want to change & our leader became the leader when she was still a very new Christian & has a lovely personality but a very limited knowledge of the Bible. On top of that the teaching on Sunday is now quite variable & while we're meant to get notes for the house group from the preacher it doesn't always happen & often they're really not enough to get a discussion going.
So long term what should I do? I don't know is the answer. The new group breaks for Christmas after next week anyway. Just have to see.
This morning I did something a bit unusual. There's another church we've been going to sometimes on a Sunday evening & I had decided to try one of their house groups. Last night I thought I wasn't going to bother but P said why not give it a try. Anyway I felt really shy when I got there but it was really good. We watched a dvd of someone called Andrew Womack teaching & then discussed it. I can't believe how much stuff I shared. Then we listened to a really good song I'd never heard before & had a time of prayer. There were 6 other women there & they were all really nice. So I think I'll go back next week.
For the whole of this term at my usual house group we haven't managed to have a single in-depth discussion which is frustrating. I really love the people there but increasingly it's not giving me what I'm looking for, which is the opportunity to grow in my faith. Two of the people who go aren't yet Christians, two are older & quite set in their ways & really don't seem to want to change & our leader became the leader when she was still a very new Christian & has a lovely personality but a very limited knowledge of the Bible. On top of that the teaching on Sunday is now quite variable & while we're meant to get notes for the house group from the preacher it doesn't always happen & often they're really not enough to get a discussion going.
So long term what should I do? I don't know is the answer. The new group breaks for Christmas after next week anyway. Just have to see.
Tuesday 16 November 2010
Monday 15 November 2010
Not well
I'm in bed cos I'm not well, I feel dizzy & the glands in my neck hurt. Wonder what disease I've got. I feel a bit bad about it cos last week J kept saying he felt ill but I ade him go to school. Perhaps he really was ill & has given it to me.
Had to miss Remembrance Service yesterday but they played the hymn we always have on Premier Radio & did 2 minute silence. P said it all went well at the memorial. J was there handing out hymn sheets, rather reluctantly as he was tired after Saturday.
I'm going to have a sleep now.
Had to miss Remembrance Service yesterday but they played the hymn we always have on Premier Radio & did 2 minute silence. P said it all went well at the memorial. J was there handing out hymn sheets, rather reluctantly as he was tired after Saturday.
I'm going to have a sleep now.
Saturday 13 November 2010
Party
Today J had his paintball party, this was actually his belated birthday party. He had 7 friends there & they seemed to enjoy it. I am really, really thankful that it wasn't raining as I had to sit there all day. It was nice to get to see some of his friends whom I hadn't seen before.
That's definitely the last big birthday party we're doing.
That's definitely the last big birthday party we're doing.
Friday 12 November 2010
A funeral & a new computer
Today we went to the funeral of the man at church who died recently. It was a very nice service but sad, several of us were discretely crying. I was trying hard to hold it together when we sang hymn that was at my mum's funeral. There were a lot of people there which was good. I felt like I was back in the past at one point as the woman sitting next to me, who has now left, used to sit next to me years ago & we were singing an old hymn we used to sing but don't any more. It's not a good sign though when you start talking about 'the good old days'.
We just got a new desktop computer which has P & J very excited, I'm just staying out of it & letting them get on with it.
The boys are complaining about the way the cleaner has put away their computer cables, I'm going to retreat to the bedroom.
J's wrist is a lot better he says so he can go paintballing.
We just got a new desktop computer which has P & J very excited, I'm just staying out of it & letting them get on with it.
The boys are complaining about the way the cleaner has put away their computer cables, I'm going to retreat to the bedroom.
J's wrist is a lot better he says so he can go paintballing.
Gone into hiding
Just to clarify last but one post, it's only one or two people from church, in the younger age bracket, who swear etc on facebook. Most people at church are clean-living respectable people, as far as I know. Anyway the person who had a friend make a comment which appeared on my page & totally shocked me has now had her posts 'hidden' so won't be seen again.
Thursday 11 November 2010
Stuck in the mud
Can you believe P thought he would get away with changing the hymns at the village Remembrance Service? The same hymn has been sung for decades & he suggested to the Unity Committee they should change it, they agreed but needed ok from British Legion. Man from BL has just phoned up & said basically 'no way' & he hoped P wouldn't be disappointed. 'Yes he will be disappointed actually' I said which I thought was quite daring of me. He just laughed nervously.
Sometimes I think our village exists in a bubble, a nice, cosy, middle-class we've always done it this way.
I mean for goodness sake does it matter if we sing a different hymn. Will the world end?
Don't quote me.
Sometimes I think our village exists in a bubble, a nice, cosy, middle-class we've always done it this way.
I mean for goodness sake does it matter if we sing a different hymn. Will the world end?
Don't quote me.
A sprained wrist & bad language
Wet, miserable day! J has fallen & sprained his wrist, he's paintballing on Saturday so hope he's better by then. This happened because his blazer button fell off, his friend picked it up & ran off with it, J chased him & tripped over someone's foot. When I was doing his Bible reading that night he said 'Why did God let that happen?' I'm not sure there's much of a case for blaming God for it really.
Talking of which I'm really shocked by some of the posts from people from church which appear on my facebook page. Swearing, rude pictures, photos of their halloween parties. I must be just very innocent cos I didn't think they were like that.
Anyway must go, delivery man about to arrive with samples of tiles for our kitchen!
Talking of which I'm really shocked by some of the posts from people from church which appear on my facebook page. Swearing, rude pictures, photos of their halloween parties. I must be just very innocent cos I didn't think they were like that.
Anyway must go, delivery man about to arrive with samples of tiles for our kitchen!
Thursday 4 November 2010
Bad night
Last night pain in feet was so bad that couldn't sleep. Today feel miserable. Cleaner came, wrote out list of jobs for her to do, seemed to work a lot better.
My brother came last night & we had lovely meal cooked by P - slow-cooked wild boar casserole followed by cherry ice cream I made in my new ice cream maker. Yum. He also brought back the last of our stuff he's been storing in his loft. We've now got all our belongings out of storage. There's boxes of books everywhere & I've got some decisions to make, like do I really need the Mexican cookbook or should we just get a taco kit from Tescos? I like collecting recipe books, I think I've possibly got enough recipes to eat something different every day for the rest of my life.
My brother came last night & we had lovely meal cooked by P - slow-cooked wild boar casserole followed by cherry ice cream I made in my new ice cream maker. Yum. He also brought back the last of our stuff he's been storing in his loft. We've now got all our belongings out of storage. There's boxes of books everywhere & I've got some decisions to make, like do I really need the Mexican cookbook or should we just get a taco kit from Tescos? I like collecting recipe books, I think I've possibly got enough recipes to eat something different every day for the rest of my life.
Tuesday 2 November 2010
I have to confess I have been a bit disloyal to my blog & have been hanging out on facebook. I've opened an account because some of my friends have moved away & it seems to be the best way to keep in touch these days. It's been a bit disturbing though, some 'friends of friends' use some quite strong language!
I think I prefer my blog on the whole, I can be a bit more real.
I think I prefer my blog on the whole, I can be a bit more real.
Going round in circles
I had arranged to borrow an electric wheelchair at the Eden Project but I couldn't get the hang of steering it. I went up in a lift & when I tried to reverse out I just went round in circles with a crowd of people watching me!
Been away
Just been to housegroup, a bit sad as old man who used to come to our group has just died from cancer. It was a bit of a shock when we got back to find email saying what had happened.
Last week we were in Devon & Cornwall. We stayed in really nice B&B near Tavistock. The man had built the house himself & his wife is a part-ime wheelchair user - coincidence! Her brother lives near us & they're going to call in next time they're up this way.
Went to Eden Project, Plymouth Aquarium (a bit pricey) & Buckfast Abbey. Will put on some photos.
Last week we were in Devon & Cornwall. We stayed in really nice B&B near Tavistock. The man had built the house himself & his wife is a part-ime wheelchair user - coincidence! Her brother lives near us & they're going to call in next time they're up this way.
Went to Eden Project, Plymouth Aquarium (a bit pricey) & Buckfast Abbey. Will put on some photos.
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