As you’re ringing out the old year
And you’re ringing in the new,
don’t forget the best year ever
is sincerely wished for you!
May the future bring you
Enriching days, happy hours and
Meaningful moments.
Live each moment & make it count!
I have spent an hour this morning trying to work on a post for today with a crucial link at the end of it. No matter how I tried it would not work. Without the link, the whole thing was pointless. Grrrr!
Maybe I was not meant to make the point in the first place.
You will just have to settle for a photo instead.
Since we had black frost last night, I don’t expect to be greeted with a sight like this when I eventually pull back the curtains!
I might be singing, but it is not what you think.
I might be making a list and checking it twice, but it is not what you think.
I see some one is trying the 101 Things to do in 1001 Days challenge. That seems a little daunting for me, but I might try stealing a dozen or so ideas from Hailey and do one or two a month.
So in no Particular order:
No promises mind, but I will do my best!
It was in the darkness of an early Saturday morning, as autumn bustled and blew into preparing us for the winter ahead, that I walked briskly across the carpark to the brightly lit multi-storey building. The sound of several sets of footsteps, covered the various silent thoughts of those around me. As we reached the entrance doors the cluster around me grew, soon all my close family had gathered. The building was Dublin Airport and they were there to wave me off.
I was leaving home. I was not the first to break the circle, but the two who left before me, did so to begin their own dynasties – they had married and were living in Dublin, not more than 20 miles away from the parental nest. I was leaving the country!
It was not a sudden decision, planning had filled the previous few months. If fact the kernel of the idea had formed with the awakening of Spring.
I was in a steady job that I enjoyed, had a fun social life, and coming from a large family meant I was never short of company. I had realised that in ways I was alone, yet never alone. I wondered how I would cope on a desert island? The practical stuff was no problem, I could cook and clean and sew to beat the band. The major problem as I saw it, was – could I live alone? Would I be able to stand totally on my own two feet, not having others to fall back on for company, a loan if money was tight, or share the good times with? A letter would take five days to reach most Continental Cities and phone calls were expensive.
Well, walking through the doors of Dublin Airport were the first steps in that voyage of discovery. I took a deep breath and headed for the check-in desk, I presented my ticket, passport and my suitcase. A small trunk had gone on ahead to the address I was heading for that day. Once checked in, I returned to my family for the last few minutes and farewell hugs and kisses. The boys cracked jokes, but they had the air of the first few hushed jokes at a wake. My parents were quiet. There were no tears, just whispered phrases. The flight was called, a final round of hugs and as I turned to walk away, regained voices wished me a pleasant journey. I walked up the incline with a tight grip on my hand luggage, at the top I stopped and turned to wave, then turning to the right and out of sight, I stopped. Stopped to take a deep breath, I was on my own, next stop Frankfurt, Wiesbaden here I come!
That was forty years ago.
Little did I know then, that the exercise in ‘going it alone’ was preparation for the past fifteen years of widowhood. It stood me well.
The topic: First time travelling abroad alone. (not in a youth/School group) was chosen for us by the intrepid traveller Paul/Blackwatertown. So why not set down all the baggage from the past week, pull off the hiking boots and settle in to see where he takes us, before gently strolling map in hand to see what the other active members have to say on the topic: Delirious, Maxi, Maria/Gaelikaa, Maria SilverFox, Padmum, Paul, Ramana, Shackman speaks, The Old Fossil, Will Knott.
This little treasure was sent to me many a long month ago via email. I know that many people begin planning the garden for the year ahead in the quiet days post feasting, so I thought I would share it with you now.
How To Plant Your Garden:
FOR THE GARDEN OF YOUR DAILY LIVING, PLANT THREE ROWS OF PEAS:
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF SQUASH:
PLANT FOUR ROWS OF LETTUCE:
NO GARDEN IS WITHOUT TURNIPS:
TO CONCLUDE OUR GARDEN WE MUST HAVE THYME:
WATER FREELY WITH PATIENCE AND CULTIVATE WITH LOVE. THERE IS MUCH FRUIT IN YOUR GARDEN BECAUSE YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW.
I’ll try to whisper as I wish you all
I think it is time for the tasting test to begin!
I was touched by this tale of a babies touch.
Less than two weeks after giving birth, Emma De Silva was hit by a car as she took her newborn for a walk. Yoshi her husband, was told his wife would either die or live with brain injuries for the rest of her life. What doctors didn’t count on, however, was the extraordinary connection between mother and child and the healing power of the baby’s touch.
Melissa Doyle follows the inspiring, powerful and emotional story.
I found this Sonnet about a baby’s touch and immediately wanted to share it.
The topic Touched was selected for us this week by Will Knott with two ‘t’s. Now why not check out what has touched him and all the other active members this week: Delirious, Maxi, Maria/Gaelikaa, Maria SilverFox, Padmum, Paul, Ramana, Shackman speaks, The Old Fossil, Will Knott.
As we progress into 2013, I want to thank you all for your educational e-mails over the past year.
I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery.
I can no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, nor let the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
I can’t sit down on a hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.
I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one’s nose.
Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years.
I can’t touch any woman’s handbag for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public toilet.
I must send my special thanks for the email about rat poo in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
I can’t have a drink in a bar because I fear I’ll wake up in a bathtub full of ice with my kidneys gone.
I can’t eat at KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes, feet or feathers.
I can’t use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
Thanks to you I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
I no longer buy fuel without taking someone along to watch the car, so a serial killer doesn’t crawl in my back seat when I’m filling up.
I no longer use Cling Wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer.
And thanks for letting me know I can’t boil a cup of water in the microwave any more because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me for life.
I no longer go to the cinema because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS when I sit down.
I no longer go to shopping centres because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me..
And I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a huge phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore and Uzbekistan ..
Thanks to you I can’t use anyone’s toilet but mine because a big black snake could be lurking under the seat and cause me instant death when it bites my butt.
And thanks to your great advice I can’t ever pick up a quarter coin dropped in the car park because it was probably placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over.
I can’t do any gardening because I’m afraid I’ll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off.
If you don’t send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhoea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbour’s ex mother-in-law’s second husband’s cousin’s best friend’s
beautician!
Oh, and by the way…
A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mails with their hand on the mouse!
Don’t bother taking it off now, it’s too late.
P. S. I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet..
Thanks must go to Barbara’s dad for this one!