Poor Wendy!

Wendy is missing her Great Gran Josie who is away on holiday.

Her friends Heather, Jenna and Jordan are away on holiday.

Sean and Waggy will be away on holiday next week.  

Nursery School is on holiday until September.

Toddler group is on holiday until September.

Stephen and Margaret were here on holiday, but they have gone now.

Wendy isn't on holiday; she's at home, wondering where her friends and relatives have gone and why she hasn't gone too.

Sean took her to Lathe Barn last weekend, and she loved it.  A friend from Toddler group was there and they played nicely together.  The friend, Sam, was scared of animals, but she got up close to some sheep after Wendy went to feed them, and Sam fed them too.  Sam's mum says you can buy a season ticket to Lathe Barn for £22.  It would be worth getting one because there is always someone to play with. It costs Sean, Wendy and I £7 entrance fees per visit, so it would pay itself off very quickly.

Sean and Wendy outside the shop at Lathe Barn

This is going to hurt just a little bit

Smile with me at this Ogden Nash poem: 

One thing I like less than most things is sitting in a dentist chair with my mouth wide open.

And that I will never have to do it again is a hope that I am against hope hopen.

Because some tortures are physical and some are mental,
But the one that is both is dental.
It is hard to be self-possessed
With your jaw digging into your chest.

So hard to retain your calm
When your fingernails are making serious alterations in your life line or love line or some other important line in your palm;

So hard to give your usual effect of cheery benignity
When you know your position is one of the two or three in life most lacking in dignity.

And your mouth is like a section of road that is being worked on.
And it is all cluttered up with stone crushers and concrete mixers and drills and steam rollers and there isn’t a nerve in your head that you aren’t being irked on.

Oh, some people are unfortunate enough to be strung up by thumbs.

And others have things done to their gums,
And your teeth are supposed to be being polished,
But you have reason to believe they are being demolished.

And the circumstance that adds most to your terror
Is that it’s all done with a mirror,
Because the dentist may be a bear, or as the Romans used to say, only they were referring to a feminine bear when they said it, an ursa,

But all the same how can you be sure when he takes his crowbar in one hand and mirror in the other he won’t get mixed up, the way you do when you try to tie a bow tie with the aid of a mirror, and forget that left is right and vice versa?

And then at last he says That will be all; but it isn’t because he then coats your mouth from cellar to roof
With something that I suspect is generally used to put a shine on a horse’s hoof.

And you totter to your feet and think. Well it’s all over now and after all it was only this once.
And he says come back in three monce.

And this, O Fate, is I think the most vicious circle that thou ever sentest,
That Man has to go continually to the dentist to keep his teeth in good condition
when the chief reason he wants his teeth in good condition
is so that he won’t have to go to the dentist.


Ogden Nash

Psychiatrist vs Bartender

EVER SINCE I WAS A CHILD, I'VE ALWAYS HAD A FEAR OF SOMEONE UNDER MY BED AT
NIGHT. SO I WENT TO A SHRINK AND TOLD HIM, 'I've got problems. Every time I
go to bed I think there's somebody under it. I'm scared. I think I'm going
crazy.'

'Just put yourself in my hands for one year,' said the shrink. Come talk to
me three times a week and we should be able to get rid of those fears..'

'How much do you charge?' I asked.

'Eighty dollars per visit,' replied the doctor.

'I'll sleep on it,' I said.

Six months later the doctor met me on the street. 'Why didn't you come to
see me about those fears you were having?' he asked.

'Well, Eighty bucks a visit three times a week for a year is an awful lot
of money!
A bartender cured me for $10. I was so happy to have saved all that money
that I went and bought me a new pickup!' I said.

'Is that so!' With a bit of an attitude he said, 'and how, may I ask, did a
bartender cure you?'

'HE TOLD ME TO CUT THE LEGS OFF THE BED! - AIN'T NOBODY UNDER THERE
NOW!!!

Just Family Stuff

Teresa Jayne, who is 8 weeks old, is starting to do things as her big sister did before her. She makes it clear that she wants to stand, with someone supporting her, of course.


A big smile for big sister Wendy


Caelyn and Kids


Look at this little angel. She couldn't be naughty, defiant or have the screaming ab dabs, could she? Don't believe it. She is a wilful little madam who outsmarts us regularly. Last week, she was here when I needed to bath before going out. She wanted to climb into the bath with me, but Caelyn wanted to bath her at home. Wendy whined, begged and pleaded, but Caelyn was adamant. I pulled out the plug and went to get dressed. Caelyn was uneasy about her being so quiet so she went to check on her. Wendy had stripped and was using the damp sponge. She was "washing". What could Caelyn do? Wendy wasn't bathing, was she? She was washing, and there was no water in the bath. She outsmarted us. At 3!!

What would you have done if your child did that to you?

Stephen and Margaret

Stephen and Margaret came to see us yesterday, and at 2pm brother in law Paul took them to Ashford International to catch the Eurostar to Paris, where they would catch their plane to Australia. Its always sad to say goodbye.

We went to the Italian ice cream shop then took the ice cream on to the Leas so they could walk about and have some fresh air before their loooong journey back home.

Sean, my mother and I thought the barbecue had been "idyllic" in terms of weather being just right and having just the right people there. It was a lovely surprise to hear Stephen and Margaret talking in those terms too. We're glad they enjoyed the day. If you would like to see the Barbecue photos, they are HERE

Stephen and Margaret:

With nieces and great niece:


Margaret and Wendy outside the Ice Cream Shop:


On the Leas:

Microwave Combination Ovens

I bought a Samsung Microwave with Grill in South Africa in the 90s, and it is still going strong. It was such a great oven that when they made a microwave/grill/convection oven, I saved up and bought one. From the very first use, I loved that oven. I had it repaired once, but when it gave up the ghost last year, it was an obsolete model that couldn't be repaired.

By this time, I was so used to having it that I made plans to get another one fast. I used it on its own because it uses much less electricity than the main oven, or if I was doing a big dinner for the family, it was great to have a second oven which could be relied on. The fan in the oven ensured that all was cooked evenly. I really missed it.

So, I bought a Kenwood combination to replace it. After a few weeks, it looked and sounded as if it was working but the food stayed cold and uncooked. So I took it back to Currys, who changed it for a Russell Hobbs, which worked for a while. On Friday night the glass turntable shattered while cooking, so Sean took it - and me - to Currys again. This time they asked me to choose what I wanted as a replacement, and I chose a Samsung. I had to pay in a bit more, but I believe it is worth it. For a start, the build is sturdier, and it is a lot quieter. So far, I am happy, and think that state of affairs will last a good while yet.

My mum has a Belling which had to be replaced as the turntable shattered during cooking. Caelyn's first one broke and had to be replaced. The replacement oven isn't cooking food properly any more, so she wants to change hers. All of us - my mum, Caelyn and I - know how to use these appliances, and I think that 100% of microwave combination oven owners in the family having to have a series of replacements suggests a problem. As evidence that we don't vandalise our stuff, the Samsung Micro/Grill, bought in the mid 90s followed us through numerous house moves and half way round the world and it is STILL working very well.

When I was in Currys yesterday, my suspicions were confirmed. The Bellings, Kenwoods and Russell Hobbs are all made by the same manufacturer. They all used to have such good names too. I hope Samsung aren't doing it, as I'm counting on many years of reliable use to come.

The new Samsung:

Mum off to SA for Rash of Birthdays.

Mum is off to South Africa today, and ironically she would be warmer here, as the average temperature of the place she is going to is around 15 degrees and recently our temperatures have been in the high 20s and lower 30s.

She isn't going for the weather, though. She is going now because her eldest grandson Nicolas is about to have his 21st birthday. Nicolas is my brother Paul's child. Paul has another son, Justin, who is having a birthday in July too. My mum has just had her birthday, and Paul's birthday is on the 21st. It hadn't occurred to me before now just how many people in the family are July babies. I really hope the celebrations will be wonderfully happy.

My daughter Caelyn, is a qualified beautician so they met at my house to 'defuzz' her before she goes. This photo shows Caelyn plucking Josie's eyebrows, baby Teresa Jayne on her lap and Wendy reading them her favourite book, The Tiger who came to Tea. I think it is a sweet family tableau.

After this, Wendy put some of her balloons in a shopping bag for my mum to take home. She loves balloons, so it is endearing for her to give some to her Gummi as a present.



I have been quite unwell and not up to much. I've had a lot to do and not enough rest, and I feel bad about not posting about the famous BBQ yet. But I will get round to it soon. It was such a lovely day, with family enjoyment across 4 generations and perfect weather. Everyone was blown away at how happy Stephen is, and we credit his wife Margaret for that. She is really sweet, very nice, and the best thing that has happened to Stephen in decades. We would like him to be geographically closer, but we wouldn't really wish him back here where things were so hard for him. He is flourishing with Margaret in Australia and we are delighted. It is absolutely right for him and whether they need it or not, they have my blessing.

The online photo album of their visit is HERE . If that doesn't work, this is the url http://tinyurl.com/n7ajvf

Rest Well, Rachel

A 26yr old girl, Rachel, lost her short but intense battle with cancer.

Like hurting children everywhere, all she wanted was her Mum. Her Mum, Ann, did all she could, of course. Her husband, Rachel's dad Bernard, tried to spare Ann and worried that her strength would give out. Bernard and Ann have the support of their other two daughters, but its a hard time for all the family.

Rachel also leaves a little girl who now lives with her dad and stepmother. For some reason, they would not let the little girl see her mum while Rachel was still conscious, so she never got to say goodbye.

Tomorrow at 11am, she is being buried in a beautiful place. Her family have chosen THIS as a resting place for her.

May Rachel know true peace at last, and may all who mourn her be comforted.

She is Growing Up!

Wendy is growing up fast, and she has such a love of language that I am sorry that my English teacher Mr P.B.S Ireland is no longer here to teach her. She would flourish under his care. He was a retired headmaster when he taught me in a tiny primary school in the middle of nowhere. On Facebook, people still talk of "the legendary Mr Ireland".

At 11 and 12yrs of age, we knew the difference between perspicacity and perspicuity, bathos and pathos, empathy and sympathy, as well as the origins and derivations of many words and phrases. He died years ago, and his son went to work in a bank, so we can't look forward to the Legend returning every generation. A great pity.

All this to say that on Thursday, my mum and I took Wendy swimming. She looked out of the car window and asked "why sea sparkling?" "Sparkling" isn't the sort of word usually used by 3yr olds. Soon after she asked "why water wriggling?"

Here she is, making a SPLASH!




She and Waggy had an ice cream on the way back. I think this picture is adorable.


She was baking for her Great Gran's birthday party. Its to be a surprise of course, so Mum has to be told to be Very Surprised when she walks in on the party.

About my Mum

Today is my Mum's 74th Birthday.

Lives are always a "work in progress". A birthday is an opportunity for reflection. How far have you come? How are you living? Have your thoughts and feelings changed? Who are you?

My mum has had a difficult life. Born in WW2, at the age of 4, she was sent to boarding school in Lincoln to keep her away from the bombs. She trained as a teacher in Digby Stuart Teachers Training College, then met my very charming and very handsome father. She married him against her parents advice. Her parents, sadly, had been right. He didn't take to the responsibility of marriage and fatherhood, and the marriage didn't last.

She taught in schools and opened a Bed and Breakfast, which was hard work. One of her visitors had a husband seriously ill in the local hospital. She had a German Shepherd Dog who was at home in an outside run, with the neighbours feeding him. As the winter drew in, my Mum told the lady to bring the dog to her B & B, but that he would have to stay in the cellar, as my mother was frightened of GSDs. One cold night as we all sat around the fire while the lady was at the hospital, my mum felt sorry for the dog down in the cold. He was paralysed in his back legs, and she carried him upstairs and put him next to the fire. That was a courageous thing to do, as well as compassionate, because she was genuinely afraid. The dog gave his heart to her, and when the doctors advised the couple to live abroad because of the husband's chest condition, Bruce became ours. My Mum took him to the Vet for his paralysis, and it was an obscure thing like a Vit H deficiency. Bruce was treated and soon recovered. He was a faithful and loyal friend to us. Here is a picture of Bruce with my mum's departed brother Chris:



She married her second husband George, who turned out to be a most unpleasant person. They moved to South Africa, where my mother continued her teaching career. The best thing he did for her was to leave her a widow. He is one of the rare people who depart this life "Unwept, unhonoured and unsung".

She studied further in later life to improve her career prospects. She rediscovered Christian faith, which made a great difference to her. She enjoys going to the church she belongs to and she is really quite involved in it. She and a small team from church visit primary schools locally, at the request of school principals, to do puppet shows with a Christian theme during Assembly. Her teaching skills are still being put to good use. Its true that no learning is ever wasted.

Now, at 74, she is a happy widow, a mother, a mother in law, a grandmother of 5 and a great grandmother twice over. The photo shows her holding Teresa Jayne, the youngest member of the family.

Happy Birthday Mum

Saturday 4 July

It was Preparation for Barbecue Day and I roasted two chickens in my oven as I don't feel OK about cooking chicken on a barbecue.

Wendy had had a busy day with my mum. Then, in the heat (it was terribly hot) she played in the Park. Then her folks took her home to bath and dress her for the dinner in the evening. She was so hyped up and bouncy that none of us thought how exhausted she would be.

We met Stephen and Margaret for dinner at 7pm, and at first it went well. After Wendy had eaten a bit, her tiredness kicked in and she began running around and crying when she was stopped. Eventually I said I would take her home but she had a full-blown tantrum then. Margaret had 'flu and really wasn't well. I'm starting to think that Michelle is right about that place being jinxed for us.

Here, she was still OK. She had been taking everyone's ice
to put in her glass so she could suck it.



Nigel on Daddy Duty



I went home puzzling why Wendy had behaved so out of character. When I saw the time and realised that she had had a very busy day in temperatures of 30 degrees and that it was getting on for 10pm, I felt very bad. I hadn't been thinking straight. No wonder the poor little mite was beyond herself! She and I should have stayed at home and played Peter Rabbit instead. In all fairness, you can't expect a 3yr old to have a day like that and be full of polite smiles at 10pm. My sense of time is bad and getting worse, so I think I will use my mobile phone's Reminder section a bit more. I hadn't realised it was so late, and neither did anyone else. Poor little kid!

Friday 3 July

My brother Stephen and his wife Margaret phoned to say that they were in Hythe and would we like to meet them for a drink at the Burlington Hotel in Folkestone? I said 'yes' straight away, and phoned Caelyn because she has been longing to see her favourite 'Nunky' again.

Wendy had been at a school Teddy Bears Picnic. When I called Caelyn, she grabbed her baby and told Nigel she was getting a bus and he should bring Wendy in the car when the picnic ended. I met her at the bus station. The bus had been late and she was in a right ferment. We galloped along the Leas and she was sooooo excited!! Then she caught sight of Stephen and RAN, with the pram, straight into his arms. They were both in tears.

In the lounge at the Burlington



This is Margaret, who has a gift with young children. She's lovely. Unfortunately, Teresa Jayne chucked up all over her in typical baby fashion.

Nigel and Wendy were already there. Caelyn was late because the bus was late. We had a nice drink together then they came back to my flat as Lisa was on her way to do my hair and I didn't want her to get there to find no one home. She was overjoyed to catch up with him too.

We arranged to meet for dinner on Saturday evening.

Love It!!!

Brilliant story about a burglar getting his just desserts HERE

Boxing grandpa hits back at thief

A WOULD-BE thief made the worst mistake of his career after breaking into the house of a retired Army boxer.

Gregory McCalium, 23, fronted court yesterday with a black eye and a fat lip after he was busted - and subsequently bashed - by 71-year-old Frank Corti in Mr Corti’s house in Oxford, UK.

Mr Corti said he was woken in the middle of the night by noises in his house and was confronted by the knife-wielding McCalium when he went to investigate.

He said McCalium “took a slash” at him, but Mr Corti ducked and threw two big right hooks at the lout.

And Mr Corti knows how to throw a right hook – he was famous for it as a featherweight in the Royal Engineers.

The blows almost knocked McCalium out, allowing Mr Corti to perform a citizens’ arrest and wait for the police.

McCalium’s lawyer told the court his client “looked like a car accident”.

“Photos of the scene looked more like a murder scene,” he told the court.

The judge wasn’t moved, saying McCalium “got what he deserved” before sentencing him to four-and-a-half years’ jail.

Heatwave

England is in the grip of an enervating heatwave. Temperatures have averaged 30 degrees and at times hit 34 degrees. Temperatures that high knock the stuffing out of you, and today I slept until late afternoon, and feel I need to go straight back to bed. Part of that is the ME, especially with all the excitement of seeing brother Stephen and his wife Margaret. They are in Paris and we will meet up on Sunday for a barbeque. Stephen and I lived together for several years, and we never got round to having a proper SA barbeque, or Braai as it is known.

I'm feeling guilty about the dog. I really should get dressed and take him out. He gets cabin fever if he is kept in too much, and a Brak with cabin fever can drive you round the bend. But I'm so tired and my body feels too heavy to move. My head and body ache and I'm nauseous, and all I want to do is go back to bed. If I do that, that dog will make me sorry I didn't take him out by being hyper up and ultra bouncy. And when you are feeling delicate, a bouncy Brak isn't the most soothing of companions.

The kids have been ratty in the heat too. I'm going to post a couple of pics of them I took yesterday. They had been crying, but see the tenderness between Wendy and Teresa Jayne, who is now getting on for 8 weeks. She is starting that Wendy thing of making it very clear that she wants us to hold her in such a way that she can 'stand' on her legs.

Caelyn describes her as a contented, sociable baby who is interested in everything, and I'd agree with that.

Teresa Jayne with her Mum.

Teresa Jayne in her chair. Isn't she thriving beautifully
on her Mum's milk? I predict that soon she won't have a neck
for the fat rolls. That is typical of breast babies, and they
lose it when they start walking. Interestingly, if she was
bottle fed, she would be considered overweight and if it
continued, she would be put on a diet. They use different
measures for breast babies because, for them, it is healthy fat.

Not surprising really, if you consider that cows milk was
designed for calves, who walk from birth and whose brains don't
develop much. They are a very different species to humans, so
the milk isn't the same. There are factors in human milk that
grow new brain cells and also provide ongoing immunity to
germs that Mum is immune to, so breast babies don't really get sick.

I am completely anti-bottle after seeing children die of it in
Africa. I truly think bottles and artificial baby milk should
be available on prescription only, and for good reasons only.
Women don't realise just how sub standard artificial feeding is.
It should be talked about at schools to try to correct the
propaganda bandied about by baby milk manufacturers for decades.
How can people make wholesome, healthy choices if they never
hear all the facts?

They could start with pointing out that human babies and
bovine babies might both be cute, but that is where the
similarity ends.


Being grumpy


Sisterly comfort and cuddles


PS/ Wendy doesn't hold Teresa Jayne unsupervised. I was there taking
photos, and please note all the cushions next to them. So no need to worry.

No reckless risks were being taken.

Poor kids were just too hot


It was a great relief when they finally went to sleep


Caelyn says that Wendy is sleeping through the night in her own bed now. She tells everyone that she is "growing", and she is very proud of the sunflowers and veg she is growing in my Mum's garden.

I'll have to ask my Mum to write about this but I'll outline a story I thought very funny. She and Wendy were at her house, which has a nice garden that Wendy really enjoys. The local kids play ball in the street and the ball frequently lands up in people's gardens. After you have had your door knocked on 5 times in an afternoon to some lad asking for his ball back, you can get irritated. Well, my mum got irritated and told them to go and play on the green. The lads, age about 11 or 12, said they weren't allowed to do that. Wendy was taking all this in.

She and Josie went indoors only to hear the football game resuming. Wendy tells Josie not to worry, she will fix it. Madam W grabs a chair, drags it to the fence, stands on it and begins shouting at the kids, forefinger wagging all the way. "You not play ball here, 'kay?, not play here, 'kay'? not kick ball garden 'kay?" and more on that line. My mum was nearly bursting with suppressed mirth. Wendy gave those boys a good finger wagging talking to, then goes back in to tell my Mum, very proudly, "I fix it"

She had, too, according to my mum.