Thought I'd share this

A friend sent me the piece below, via e-mail.
I thought I'd share, and No, I didn't even know we'd had an earthquake. I was asleep, like most sane people are at 1am.

News Item: An Appeal for Your Help. A major earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale hit in the early hours of Tuesday morning.Epicentre: Barnsley, England.News of the disaster was swiftly carried abroad by the town's 35,000 racing pigeons, as victims were seen wandering around aimlessly muttering 'fookinell' and 'chuffin-norah'.The earthquake decimated the town, causing £6.84 worth of damage. Several priceless collections of mementos from the Balearic Isles and the Spanish Costa's were damaged beyond repair. Three areas of historical burnt out cars were disturbed. One hundred and seventy three pints of Sammy Smith's were spilled at a local 'community centre'. Many locals were woken up well before their Giro arrived. Radio Barnsley reported that hundreds of residents were confused and bewildered, still trying to come to terms with the fact that something interesting had happened in Barnsley. Most are finding it difficult to come to terms with finding two nine o'clocks in one day.One resident, 15 year old mother of 3, Tracy Sharon Braithwaite said: 'It was such a shock, my little Chardonnay-Madonna came running into my bedroom crying. The twins, Tyler-Morgan and Megan-Storm slept through it all.”Locals were determined not to be bowed, as looting, muggings and car crime carried on as normal.So far, whilst the British Red Cross has managed to ship 4000 crates of Sunny Delight to the area to relieve the suffering of stricken locals, rescue workers searching through the rubble have found large quantities of personal belongings including, benefit books, jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos, and bone china from Pound-stretcher.Can You Help? Please respond generously to our appeal for food and clothing for the victims of this disaster. Clothing is needed most of all, especially: * Fila or Burberry baseball caps* Kappa tracksuit tops (his or hers)* Shell suits (female)* White sports socks* Rock-Fort boots or any other product sold in PrimarkCulturally sensitive food parcels are harder to put together, but your efforts will make a difference.Microwave meals, tinned baked beans, ice cream and cans of Colt 45 or Special Brew are ideal. Please do not give anything that requires peeling.Remember: * 22p buys a biro for filling in compensation claims* £2 buys chips, crisps and a blue fizzy drink for a family of 9* £5 will pay for a packet of B&H and a lighter to calm a child's nervesUrgently required: Tinned whippet food. Bones for Jack Russells. Please do not send tents for shelter. The sight of such posh housing will cause discontent in the surrounding South Yorkshire communities.

Thanks Jimmy

Sad today

Oliver went back to uni this morning. I dropped him off in Lancaster to catch the train, whilst I went for a check-up at the hospital.
We drove around the "Crook of Lune" to drop into Lancaster at the southern end. Driving through at 9 in the morning takes ages. Anyway, we got there at 8.50am, early for my appointment and plenty of time for Oliver to walk to train station.
I was sent for an x-ray before my appointment, and was told to saunter to x-ray, as they got cross if people arrived before 9am. X-ray done, walked back to orthopaedics. Took a seat, waited for the consultant to arrive.
He's very pleased with my progress, albeit slow, and I have to return in 3 months.

From there I went into Lancaster to pay a bill, and visit the bookshop, and get a couple of waistcoat buckles for waistcoats for my partner. I was going to get Oliver a new mobile phone, as he's cracked the screen on the one he has, but the shop didn't have the one I was looking for in stock.
I now have to start thinking about presents for my dad and Edwin as their birthdays are soon. I don't think I can get away with buying Dad a box of liquorice this year, like I did last year. (If you ask my Dad what he wants for a pressie..he usually says, just a stick of liquorice will do...so I got him loads. :D )
I'll have to think of something different this year..also..I have got Mum a jazz CD for Mother's Day, so that rules out a jazz CD for Dad.
Anyway..am missing Oliver, but he'll be back for Easter soon, so not that sad.

The Apple!

There's an apple in my fruit bowl, and it was bought before Xmas, all red and shiny. Sam said she would eat it, as she only likes shiny red apples. But she didn't, and after a a couple of weeks, everything else in the fruit bowl had been eaten, and it sat there, shining, no duller than it was when it was bought.

And now, probably 8 weeks after it was bought, it's still there, red shiny and looking perfect.

What's wrong with that? I hear you ask, well actually, loads. You see, the apple is a red delicious, and way back I used to sell fruit and veg. There is one thing I can tell you for certain, the "delicious" apples are not terribly good "keepers". What I mean by this is , they don't store well, after a certain period of time, the skin begins to wrinkle slightly, and the flesh, if you bite into one is no longer crisp and juicy. Don't get me wrong, at the time I sold fruit and veg, you could still get English Golden Delicious, these apples had a very short season, about 4 weeks, but they were far better apples than their French counterparts, which I contend should be described as green apples, as they are neither golden nor delicious, (well the ones they send here aren't...they keep the good ones for themselves! Sorry, it's an EU dispute..food is supposed to be what it is described as!)

Similarly, the Red Delicious we had back then, had limited shelf life....so...WHY is this apple still red and shiny. I suspect it has been irradiated, but I was under the impression that if food was irradiated, it should state clearly that the food has been irradiated.

Anyway, I keep asking Sam "when are you going to eat that apple?" I think now she just wants to see how long it will stop red and shiny, and looking good enough to eat? (Not by me, am not a red apple person myself.) Oh, by the way! It's a USA Red Delicious. I'll report back when it starts to decay..if it ever does!

Weekend

This weekend has been quite a noisy one. Oliver came home for a couple of days, think to play with his birthday pressie I got him. A crash cymbal, so now his drum kit has new cymbals, new drumskins all apart from the bass drum, and the bass drum still has a stuffed camel in it, to stop it being so noisy.
After he played his drums, Oliver played his guitar, although the other two both have electric guitars, and other instruments, Oliver is the one who plays most days. Perhaps thats why he is on the top floor in his hall of residence. he's got his other guitar and bongos there, as wellas a practise drum pad

Anyway, he's back to Manchester on Monday, flying visit this time, but Easter is only three more weeks off. Then he'll probably be back for three weeks. I know he's enjoying himself, and the "Mum, how do I cook.....? " phone calls have lessened, and he can cook quite well now, as I found out at Xmas, when I couldn't do anything.

Funny day

Today has been a funny day, funny peculiar, not funny haha.
The youngest is away for a few days, and this morning I ran my daughter to the train station, so that she could catch the train to Manchester, to go to a gig with her other brother. It's Oliver's birthday tomorrow, and it will be the first time I haven't been there on his birthday.
When you become a parent you expect the eldest to leave home first, but I know that doesn't always pan out. He's away at university, which isn't quite the same.
Anyway, with everyone away, I decided I was going to have a tiny bit of a pampering day. Apart from walking the dogs I have had a relaxing day. I even used a facemask..not a usual thing for me to do, as I don't wear make-up I think it was possibly a waste of time. Had a soak in the bath, had a take away and watched Crocodile Dundee II , as it was on TV.
It felt really peculiar, because I never expected to be alone as much as I am ..at my age. Although I have a lovely boyfriend, we spend a lot of time apart, and some days it just feels like I'm going to be alone forever, mind you, that is greatly preferable to where I was 10 years ago.
I'm sure things will work out...eventually.

Young Love!!

Valentine's day...despite having a bf for over two years..I didn't even get a call. Strange, you must think, but he sometimes goes abroad..and we don't communicate for well over a week.
Anyway, that is not what I wanted to write about.
On Thursday it was Valentine's day, as if any living breathing person could ignore it?
My youngest son spoilt his girlfriend rotten..there is no other explanation for it....if I was his gf..I'd have been over the moon. She got a handmade card,a lovely squishy teddy bear, a box of chocs and a lovely handmade picture of a panda...made from scratch by my youngest..then on top of that..he took her to the local Italian restruant for a meal. I really hope she knows what a lucky girl she is..although they are very deeply attached, and I know she does.
Over the last few months the two of them have become very close, and his gf has been through some very difficult times, and I know that if my son hadn't been there for her things would have been much worse. They are keeping each other happy, and I hope it carrys on. Right now, they are both away at her paternal grandparent's house..and am missing him already. Wednesday, and my "peace" will be shattered.
night all

Walking a tightrope

Sometimes, you chat to people and you see their reactions. If they are sat in the same room as you. And you know the people well enough, and if you can read body language, you can tell by the reaction that you might have hit a raw nerve.
But....if you chat online, you have to be aware. If you have studied English language you are at an advantage, because people say certain things when they wish to close a subject. I'm not going to say what, as it doesn't always work like that, but I am fairly good at telling when people have frozen me out.
So, when you are talking to someone online, it's like walking a tightrope, you have to feel your way. You might start talking about something, and they shut the conversation down, and because they have done that, they don't see exactly what you are saying, as they shut their mind to the next part of the conversation, as they think it is going to relate a happy ever after scenario they don't believe in...when in fact...it is something completely different.
Also, I'd never be so insensitive to rub a happy ever after scenario in someone's face, when they are obviously angry at the whole of the opposite sex. Mind you...I haven't been through things they have, but conversely..they haven't been through what I put up with for 15 years for the sake of my children. Relationships are hard..they are tightropes as well, in some cases.......sometimes you get a nice wide flat rope..other times you get a piece of thread so fine it cuts into your feet.
This might not make sense to some, but to other's they will know exactly what I am talking about.

A goal?

The physio says I need to set myself goals. So, here is one I would like to do, but dunno when.
I will set off in the morning with both dogs, walk down to the town centre. Then walk back along the prommenade. I am not going to set myself a return time, which is why I think I should take the dogs with me. I also think I should put my boots on, in case I feel up to making part of the return journey on the beach

Stairs!

I never thought about it before the other week, but the majority of UK houses have stairs, mine has rather a lot, it being a three storey terrace.
Why have I picked now to mention this?
Well, when Blue was staying last week, she claimed my stairs would "kill" her, as she was stopping in Oliver's room, whilst he is away.
I really never considered it before, even when I couldn't put my foot on the floor for 6 weeks. Stairs are just a part of my life.
I have 2 steps into the house at both the back and front. There are stairs into the cellar, a spilt flight to the first floor, and same again to second floor. Oh! and two from the half landing to the study and bathroom.
The only time there haven't been stairs were when I was very young, we lived in a bungalow, and on holiday sometimes.

Last week

Last week I didn't post much here aas I had a friend staying with me. I'm sure she'll blog about her time over here in UK.
I made a brief post on Book Addicts Anonymous about our trip to the bookshop.
Having company all week made the weekend feel a little unusual, as there'd been people around for well over a week, every day, and being alone on Saturday left me feeling lost all over again. I suppose I'd just got used to the company.

Getting back to normal

Well, On the Thursday after the plaster was taken off, I went for physiotherapy. Every time I go back again he gives me more exercises.
Last time I saw him he asked if I'd managed to go swimming, so that is what I did today. I only did 8 lengths. (Those who read this regularly will know that 8 is only a small amount of what I normally swim, but it's a start.)
Anyway, it feels like I am getting somewhere with my ankle, but I'm not rushing it. I need it to go right and stay right.