2007!

Happy New Year to you all!!

Have you made your New Years Resolutions yet???? Well one I know I will keep is my Blog! What an amazing community there is to be found out there in blog land. It gives you the opportunity to pop in and visit anyone, see what there up to, what there doing and can inspire you to take on new challenges!!

I have tried candle making, soap making, beading in cross stitch, knitting with wire and beads and I don't intend to stop there!

Now the BIG challenge is this photo a day!!! Having looked round a lot of blogs who do this, they seem to go out and take pics of there local community, buildings and such like. Well the problem I have, is there are only so many 'cow' pictures people can look at!!!!! Being as rural as I am, and enjoying it, this is going to be one massive challenge! So be prepared for the odd, the obscure and alot of my garden!!!!!! I hope it will bring out the creative in me, Oh I know I can sew, cook garden, etc, that has always come relatively easily, I realise I need to think outside the box. Leonie at Country Garden posted a picture of 'barbed wire' on the Potting Shed forum. Don't get me wrong, it was a beautiful picture but for goodness sake, what was it, that even made her think of taking it!!! So now you see the challenge I have!!!

Pips at the ready? no I haven't done mine yet, either!!! But I will!!!

Plenty Going On!!

Happy New Year To You All!!!

Plenty going on, you can join in the Daily Photo or the Pip Challenge, please read below and let me know so I can put a link to your blog!!

I will not be back until Next Year!!! So until then Cheers!!!!!

A Photo a Day and The Pip Challenge 2007

Photo a Day!

On my friend Lotties site, a suggestion was made about taking a photo a day during 2007. Apparently there are lots of blogs that do this and it helps on the days when you have nothing to write about!! I never seem to have a problem about finding something to write about but I thought I might do this anyway. So if you fancy joining in then let me know and I will add a link to your blog here!!

The Pip Challenge

My Nana was always growing all sorts of pips so I thought why not have a go!!!

The Challenge: to produce a beautiful plant from unwanted material!

Don't forget you are dealing with unwanted pips and great as the potential is of the pip to grow, your efforts will be a bit of a gamble as well as a test of skill!

Some suggestions of pips you could use:-

Avocado, Date Palm, Peanuts or Monkey Nuts, Orange, lemon, Grapefruit, Cherry. I'm sure there are loads more to choose from!

So who fancies a go then???

Tis! The season to be Jolly! fa la la la laaa la la la laaa!!!

What is nearly as good as a White Christmas??

A Frosty One!!!!!!! How cool (excuse the pun!) would it be if these really hard frosts stayed over Christmas Day!! I know its not as good as snow but it will be close!

Now these pics where taken this morning by my hubby..............









Now can you see one of Santa's Reindeer or is it something else??



We have actually had a busy day, and satrted early so we could get to Devizes Market, and boy was it cold! I dragged everyone along and we had a great time, I'm sorry I didn't get any photos, but my hands where full!!!!

When I came back having unpacked I then iced the Christmas cake, with Tori's help.



I also made some of Lotties Mincemeat Crunch, which has had to be 'means' tested by the family (a number of times!!!)

I do feel sorry for all those people being held up at the airports by fog and do hope they make it home, in time for Christmas. My mum and her partner Bruce are due to fly to Guernsey. So we will have to see, if they don't make it I will ask them, if they don't mind the drive, to join us!

What next???

So now we are all organised for Christmas what are we going to do next??????? I didn't post yesterday because I had nothing much to write about!!!! I know I still have the cake to ice and the mince pies to make and the fresh shopping to do but nearly everything else is, as I said earlier, done!!!

So here are some pics.............

Sassy is happy now Kathryn is home



Frosty Days....







The fog and frost are due to stay with us for the next few days, so I will take my camera with me when I go out!!!!

As you might have gathered I'm abit short of things to do...........

so I 'Googled' Christmas News and the year of my birth and look what I found

The Illustrated London News 1959
Events of this year in the Illustrated London News


January 1st - The then President, General Fulgencio Batista, fled Cuba as Dr. Fidel Castro took power
February 3rd - Buddy Holly, 22, was killed in an air crash at Iowa, USA
April 19th - The Dalai Lama found sanctuary in India from Chinese aggressors
July - Billie Holiday, 44, considered one of the greatest Jazz singers died
June 17th - Eamon de Valera was elected President of Eire
August 25th - BMC (British Motor Corporation) introduced the Austin Seven Mini and the Morris Minor Mini (same car except for their grill and badge) it will do 50 to 60 Miles Per Gallon and can be parked in a space of only 11 ft 6 inches. It was designed by Alec Issigonis and it was priced around £500.
October 8th - A Conservative government was elected for the third time in Britain with Harold macmillan as Prime Minister still with the message "You've never had it so good"!
November - The London to Birmingham Motorway was opened and the first fatal accident was four days later
December 14th - Archbishop Makarios was elected president of the new Republic of Cyprus
There was a lot of talk about station and line closures on British Rail and massive investment into Britains roads
Cliff Richard and Room at the Top were part of the social scene along with Espresso coffee and Wimpey bars. Stereo music players were being intorduced to the home and Penicillin was about to become the wonder drug
The USSR Lunik reaches the moon
Pope John XXIII summons the Vatican Council
Louis Leakey discovers the skull of 600,000 year old Nutcracker man

how cool hey!!!!!

Now you have a go and let me know what happened in your year!!!!!!

Ho! Hum! Friday!!

I thought I would start todays post with a beautiful picture I took this week! Just to cheer us up. So warmest year hey!!! doesn't bare thinking about, its quite scary really to think that global warming could be the reason why!!! I feel sorry for all the animals! They don't have a telly with weather stations explaining what is happening, poor little hedgehogs are totally confused as are alot of the plants, trees and hedges!!!!!

Before I get on the band wagaon and start preachimg I think I will change the subject.

Here is someone, who, no matter what the weather is doing, can always make himself comfortable!!



This is him asleep on Kathryns pillow, which I have had to cover with an old towel. I'm not sure what will happen when Kathryn comes home??????? They may have to fight it out!!!!!

Anyway I have been exceptionally busy today...... I have washed two very muddy cars inside and out, I have hoovered all the downstairs including the porch (well it is nearly Christmas!)Filled the recycling box that is collected, done the ironing (definately ill!!)cooked some lunch, and after having a shower, I shall take the cardboard and plastic to the recycling place, get some petrol, collect Tori from school and then come back home and get on with a few making and doing things!!!

Although I am quite busy, I can't really write about it!!!! All very hush! hush!!

Leave a comment and let me know what your up to, please!!

Monday 11th!!

I did not sleep well last night, I woke up at 01.15am and didn't get back into bed until after 04.00am. I was worried about what the specialist would say today!!! As it turned out I was right to worry, I have to go back in for another op on Jan 12th!!! Lets hope it sorts out the problem this time!!!!

We went up Cherhill Downs yesterday, it was a lovely day but bitterley cold. I got some super photos...................
This is looking back down the track we had just walked up towards the A4!! believe it or not........



Now we are standing above the Cherhill White Horse looking again towards the A4 and the village of Cherhill



This is taken from the same place as above but I have zoomed in. If you look carefully you can just make out Cherhill School. This is where both the girls went and we where very fortunate that at the time Kathryn joined it was an up and coming primary school. Beyond the mound of sand is the town of Calne.



we now walked along the ridge towards Cherhill Monument






This is taken standing at the bottom of it and looking up!!!



The plaque reads:-
The Lansdowne Monument
Designed by Sir Charles Harry and built in 1865 by the Third Marque of Lansdowne in memory of his ancester Sir William Petty 1624- 1684 Physician and Surveyor. Repaired by the National Trust 1990 with funds raised by public appeal snd grants from the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commision.

This looks beyond the monument, in the distance you can see a clump of trees. This is Morgans Hill, supposedly named after the last man to be hanged there!!!!!



Now I have turned my back on the A4 and I am probably looking towards Westbury in the very far distance...



So I hope you enjoyed our walk. I hope to do quite a few over the festive period as I would like to lose another 1/2 stone before my operation in January.