Mimi Meme.....

A little while ago Mimi Queen of Memes challenged her readers to do this meme, on pain of being locked up in the dungeon if you don't. So as I don't fancy spending any time in a cold dark dungeon I thought I'd better give it a whirl even if I am a bit late with it.

1.Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4 and write what it says.

'...covered with water spots that couldn't possibly......'

2. Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What can you touch?

The wall!

3. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

Commando - a documentary about a group of men training to be accepted in the Royal Marines.

4. Without looking, guess what time it is.

I'm guessing it's 10 a.m.

5. Now look at the clock.

Right I've looked - what now????

6. With the exception of the computer, what can you hear?

The hum of the racing game MWM is playing on his XBox downstairs!

7. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

Last night when we came back from our meal and the pub.

8. Before you started this survey, what did you look at?

The time so I'd know how long I have to blog before I have to go and start lunch.

9. Did you dream last night?

If I did I don't remember!

10. When did you last laugh?

Last night whilst out with friends, over something silly but it carried on all night. We were like a bunch of hyenas!

11. What is on the walls of the room you are in?

It's mostly lined with books.

12. Seen anything weird lately?

Most of the contenstants on the X Factor! It's supposed to be a talent show for goodness sake.

13. What do you think of this quiz?

It's OK when you've nothing better to blog about, and you can slip another award in at the end! No don't look now wait until you've finished reading the meme!

14. What is the last film you saw?

It was that good I can't remember!

15. If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy?

A bungalow, a makeover and a trip around the world, twice - in case I missed something the first time round!

16. Tell me something about you that I don’t know?

I have a bent index finger. You want to see a picture now don't you?

17. If you could change one thing about the world, what would you do?

Eradicate evil.

18. Where are you on the war in Iraq?

We have no business being there.

19. Would you ever consider living abroad?

Only if all my family would come with me.

20. What do you want God to say to you when you get to heaven?

You did good girl.

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And just when you thought they'd all be given out - I got another award!

The Rotten Lovely Correspondent gave me this beauty.

Now I looked this up on 'World Wide Words' and here's what they say Bodacious means.

Blatant, remarkable, audacious, impressive, or attractive.
As you can tell from the wide-spectrum definition, this American word is one of those wide-ranging superlatives to which speakers turn when they want to say that some quality is present in large degree; that quality might be unreasonableness, impressiveness, insolence, or (most recently) female attraction, specifically big breasts. This last meaning seems to have become widely known in the middle 1980s after it was employed in the film An Officer and a Gentleman in 1982. Another film, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure of 1989, contributed to its growing nationwide popularity.
As a result, many people would guess the word is modern, but the earliest record (actually of the adverb bodaciously, which appeared as body-aciously) is from as long ago as 1832. The adjective is known from the 1840s, often as bowdacious in the early years. This leads lexicographers to think that both it and the adverb are from a English West Country dialect form, written as boldacious or bowldacious, which was probably an amalgam of bold and audacious.
Among older users and before its recent surge to popularity, the word seems to have been most common in the American South, though not among African-Americans. One of the earliest examples is from Georgia, dated 1845: “She’s so bowdacious unreasonable when she’s riled”.

I have to say “She’s so bowdacious unreasonable when she’s riled” that is spot on! Also MWM would agree with this 'female attraction' (he'd better!), and as I've put a lot of weight on since I've been immobile the following is true 'specifically big breasts', but as MWM keeps reminding me when I lose weight they will be the first to disappear! So I guess it's a pretty accurate description.

Now with the following description in mind I'll pass it on to the following, it doesn't mean you have all these qualities, just maybe one or two, and I'm not saying which applies to who, you have to guess at that (wink)

Blatant, remarkable, audacious, impressive, or attractive.

Linda Are We There Yet

Bella (the mad) Household of Bellina Mammima

Nea The Front Porch

Val 123 Valerie Strikes Again

Laney A Sideways Look At Womanhood

Jenny Blog This!

Have a great Sunday.

Stop the abuse.....

Today 1,000's of bloggers around the world will be joining in BlogCatalog's Bloggers Against Abuse September 27th, 2007. The Outcome we are after is to be part of the largest group of bloggers to ever blog about an important cause, all on the same day.

My post today is about the abuse of children.

Abuse can take many forms emotional, physical, sexual - they are all totally evil and unacceptable. A child has no defense against abuse, no matter how old they are, they are children and as such should be nurtured and protected. There have been reports that some children make false claims of abuse, I can tell you from experience that the majority of child abuse cases are never reported because children are sworn to secrecy, ashamed, frightened of upsetting the family or so convinced that they will not be believed over an adult that they never tell! Those cases that do come to light are usually because a third party (a schoolteacher, a neighbour, a relative) has noticed something 'not quite right' and investigated the problem, not because the child has reported the abuse.

Abuse of children, particularly sexual abuse, has been happening probably since time immemorial but that doesn't make it right. It is only now that it is reported in the media that people have become aware of just how widespread the problem is. Paedophiles who commit sexual crimes against children excuse themselves by saying the children like it. Children are compliant beings who mostly do as adults tell them, just because they don't complain doesn't mean they like what his happening.

What is worrying is that when Paedophiles are charged with sexually abusing children and brought to trial the sentences do not reflect the crime. I have often thought that some judges who mete out light sentences, or in one case told a paedophile to buy the child a bike, must be paedophiles themselves to not understand the seriousness of what the child has endured! There can be no excuse for hurting and using a child for sexual gratification, and in my opinion there is only one sentence for convicted paedophiles - death, but as this is not an option in England then castration and life imprisonment should be fate of them all!

I would urge anyone who has doubts, information, suspicions about a child being abused, in whatever form, to contact the authorities. OK you may be mistaken but take that chance, far better to be wrong than to do nothing - it could mean a child's life.

Childhood Friend.....

This week's question from David (Authorblog) is

Who was your best childhood friend?

Here what David would like you to do if you want to join in:

Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Please link to this blog (or to this post) just so I can follow the progress of the discussion.

My best childhood friend was called Susan. We were inseperable from the age of four when we went through nursery, primary and junior school together. We frequently went to each other's house for tea and spent all the school holidays together. We lost touch when we went to different Senior schools at the age of eleven. I wish I could meet up with her again to find out how her life has turned out and whether she has any children and grandchildren. I loved Susan so much I called my dolly after her.

This picture is of us in class at around 6 years old.

Now the memory has been stirred I think I may try to find her on Friend's Reunited.

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Now just when you thought the awards had all been given out Bella (The (mad) Household of La Bellina Mammina) has graciously awarded me another one! Thank you Bella you make me smile too. x

The You Make Me Smile Award

In the words of the creator:

"The thing that I love most about blogging is that I learn so much about a person just by reading their blog. I have met MANY wonderful people with wonderful stories to tell, and I am grateful every day for each person that I have the pleasure of crossing paths in life with. I wanted to create something special for the top ten people who have inspired me through their blogging; the stories they tell, and the lives that they lead with grace and dignity. I visit their blogs for inspiration and encouragement".

Apparently one has to pass it on to ten people in alphabetical order so here goes.....

Catch (A Penny For Your Thoughts)
Smalltown RN (A Place I Call Home)

Jenny (Blog This!)

Tisha (Crazy Working Mom)

Elween (Diamond Drops Mansion)

Flowerpot (Flowerpot Days)

Empress Bee (Muffin53)

Buffalodickdy (Opinions & Rectums We All Got One)

Pig (Pig In The Kitchen)

Ciara (Ramblings & Whatnot)

Go visit them and let them make you smile too.

Better than the Oscars.......

It's Awards day here (again)......



The Rotten Nice Correspondent gave me An Apple for Teacher Blog Award.


Here is the description of this one -

"It is for those people who spend so much time and energy teaching us how to do things on blogs, encouraging us, enabling us, instructing us and enthusing us."


I'm truly honoured - I really don't know what I've done to deserve it but you know me never one to turn down an award. I get to pass it on so in light of my post yesterday about publishing my Dad's book I'd like to give it to


Cream (Screamers) and Miss Understood (A Sideways Look at Womanhood) who pointed me in the Direction of LULU which enabled me to fulfil my Dad's dream of seeing his mother's biography in print.
Also to Lettie (Lettuce Eating) who told me how to do Rebus posts and
Claire (A Little Piece Of Me) who has given me so many tips I've lost count!





Jo Beaufoix awarded me this snazzy bit of bling too. You know me all awards gratefully accepted and I get to pass it on so pick it up



Dumdad (The Other Side Of Paris) - read about his rise to Fleet Street.
Pauline (Cursuum Perficio) - writes the most fabulous Flash 55 Fiction.
Linda (Are We There Yet?) - is basically a fantastic wordsmith.


Wait - there's more....


Mimi (Mimi Writes) has bestowed this award on me too. Mimi said

Akelamalu - Everything and Nothing - A beautiful blog written by an intelligent and deep-thinking woman from Lancashire, United Kingdom. She's a Hawaiian girl at heart. You've seen her out and about encouraging other bloggers wherever she goes. And listen to this. She just became a published author. I'd say she's definitely Breakin Out.

I'm touched, I really am that the Queen of Memes and founder of the Peace Globe movement things I'm worthy of this. I must point out though, I am not an author I have only published a book written by my Father, but I did put a lot of work in - typing his manuscript, setting up a webpage and formatting the whole thing to self-publish it on LULU, so I'll accept a bit of praise.


This award orginated at Bobborama Dot Com who says:

This award casts a spotlight on bloggers who are just beginning to draw lots of attention — the equivalent of a song with a bullet on Billboard’s Top 100 chart. Lotsa good posts. Lotsa good buzz. Thesebloggers are going places in a hurry.

The instructions for passing on the Break Out Blogger Award are:
1)Display the Breakout Blogger button in a post about the award —- using the special code. Please do not alter the code, because the button links up to Bobborama's Awards Page listing both the history.

2) Give the award to three to five of your Breakout Bloggers … and then send them to my Awards Page here for the instructions and code.

Phew, I hope I've copied that right. So here's my choices:

Queenie (Queenie's Random Ramblings) - my lovely friend who hasn't been blogging much lately because of health problems but has lots of fans.
The Rotten Correspondent - who's not rotten at all - only recently discovered by me but already has a rising following and no wonder her writing is witty, funny and riveting.
Ruth (Me, My Life, My Garden) - a lovely lady who has a passion for gardening but has now taken to the classroom as a student.

Published......

You may remember my post about my Dad having written his Mother's biography a while back, and how I had tried in vain to get it published, and in desperation I set up a webpage and published it online. Cream and Miss Understood both suggested that I self publish with LULU so I had a look and decided to go ahead.

It was really easy to do with comprehensive instructions to follow, though I had to do all the formatting, page numbering etc., with a choice of paperback or hardback - I chose hardback, and best of all it's free! After I clicked the publish button I ordered one copy so I could make sure everything was ok.

Here is the result

I'm thrilled with how it has turned out. I have set the price for just the cost of printing, we are not interested in making any money out of it, the sole aim is that it is available for people to read. I have now ordered another three copies - one for each of my boys, as a sort of 'family bible' and one which I hope to send to the British Library - where they keep copies of all books published in England. As Kit is published in America I have emailed the British Library to ask if I send them a a copy will they include it.

I took the book and gave it to Dad today and he was over the moon to finally see it in print. He has kept his promise to his mother and I have kept my promise to Dad to get it published for him - we can both rest now!

Hollywood here I come.....

David's (Authorblog) question this week is


Hollywood's knocking on your door, to offer you top billing in a studio blockbuster, alongside any movie star of your choice. Whom do you choose?

If you'd like to take part here's David's instructions:

Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Please link to this blog (or to this post) just so I can follow the progress of the discussion.



My co-star would have to be Harrison Ford. Born in Chicago in 1942 he is a few years older than me and been in movies for a while so he could show me the ropes.

How I would love to play opposite him in yet another 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', being saved from a pit of snakes by 'Indiana Jones', he could teach me how to crack a whip! Oh, to be 'Han Solo's' sidekick in yet another 'Star Wars' battle. I'd willingly join the Amish and be a 'Witness' if it meant spending some time at a barn raising with 'Det. Capt. John Book'. It would be heaven being stranded on a desert island with 'Quinn Harris' for 'Six Days and Seven Nights'. I could be a trolley dolley on 'Air Force One' looking after 'President James Marshall' or play the 'Working Girl' who teams up with 'Jack Trainer'. I could help 'The Fugitive, Dr. Richard Kimble' find the one-armed killer, or I could assist the 'Frantic' Dr. Richard Walker find his wife, but I really quite fancy myself as an inventor helping Allie Fox on the 'Mosquito Coast' .

Now point me in the direction of Make-up, the possibilities are endless -

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

Heartbeat.....

You may remember a couple of weeks ago we had yet another weekend away, well I finally got round to downlowding the photographs so you can suffer enjoy them. The main aim of the trip was to visit a place called Goathland in North Yorkshire where the series "Heartbeat" is filmed and get there via the North York Moors Railway from Pickering. Goathland station was also the setting for Hogsmead station in the first Harry Potter movie!

We went with our friends K&T setting off early on the Saturday morning heading for Scarborough , where we had booked a B&B for the night. We arrived in Scarborough about lunchtime and found a nice little cafe where we had the traditional seaside fish and chips and a pot of tea sitting outside in the sunshine - it was a beautiful day. After lunch we booked in at the B&B which was right on the front with fantastic views of the coastline like this. the B&B was quite nice, very clean and looked as though it had recently been refurbished, though the landlady was a bit stern!

We quickly unpacked - I didn't take the kitchen sink as we were only staying for one night - and set off to Whitby. Being Saturday afternoon Whitby was packed to bursting with people and we couldn't find a place to park for love nor money, so we drove up into the hills to Whitby Abbey and took some photographs of the town and surrounding countryside from the hills. Whitby Abbey was founded in 657 by St Hilda, and is said to be the inspiration for Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.

Then we decided to go to Robin Hood's Bay , what in the 18 th century was reportedly the busiest smuggling community on the Yorkshire coast. Its natural isolation, protected by marshy moorland on three sides, offered a natural aid to this well-organised business which, despite its dangers, must have paid better than fishing. After a cooling drink in the pub overlooking the bay we set off down the very steep hill to the bay itself. I took a few photographs of the cottages and little alleyways on the way down the hill but I think my camera must have been playing up because they didn't register! You can see the view of the bay from the top of the hill though in the next slide show.

We arrived back in Scarborough with enough time to have a swift drink in the pub down the road from the B&B before we went back to freshen up, get changed and go out for a meal. We found a very popular Indian Restaurant where we enjoyed a very tasty curry before turning in for the night.

The next morning we enjoyed a cooked breakfast before packing up and setting off to Pickering where we boarded the train on the North York Moors Railway , the longest steam railway in England, to Goathland. The village is better known as Aidensfield in the 1960's period TV series Heartbeat giving the area the name of Heartbeat Country. It's a very popular tourist destination and we joined the throngs taking pictures of the Aidensfield Arms, Scripps Garage, Aidensfield Stores, the various vehicles used in the filming of Heartbeat and the station which, as I said earlier, was Hogsmead Station in the first Harry Potter film.

We headed back to the station and boarded the train back to Pickering where we found a lovely pub and had some lunch. We'd been really lucky with the weather, it was sunny and hot on Saturday and dry and warm on Sunday, that was until we got about 50 yards from the car to set off home and it started raining, we just managed to get in the car before the heavens opened and it rained most of the journey home - how lucky is that? We're now planning our next trip - hopefully New Year in Spain, but it depends on the price of the flights, wish us luck.

90 Useless facts....

I 'borrowed' this from Ciara. It's supposed to be 100 useless facts but she was looking through it and noticed there were a few #s missing...so she called it 90 useless facts, then she copied and pasted so it's still numbered the same way and I've done the same.


1. Slept naked? Oh yes, can't be doing with nighties and pyjamas tying me up in knots!
2. Taken a shower with someone? Of course , one has to save water! ;)
3. Kissed a member of the same sex? Yes I kiss all my friends male and female.
4. Driven a car? Yes I drive all the time.
5. Stolen anything? Much to my shame yes, when I was a child.
6. Been in love? I am in love!
7. Been dumped? Oh yes, but he came back and is still here.
8. Stole money from a family member? Definitely not.
9. Gotten in a car with people you just met? Yes, with a friend, we were young and reckless.
10. Been in a fist fight? Unfortunately yes, but she started it.
11. Snuck out of your/someone’s house? Yes when the parents arrived back early in the midst of the party.
12. Had feelings for someone who didn't have them back? Unfortunately yes.
13. Been arrested? No, but stopped and questioned with a friend because we resembled two girls who had absconded from a reform centre!
14. Hugged a stranger? Not yet
15. Met up with a member of the opposite sex somewhere? Are you talking cheating on my hubby? Never!!
16. Left your house with out telling your parents? Oooh no, I wouldn't have dared.
17. Had a crush on your neighbour? Never had any neighbours worth fancying!
18. Ditched school to do something more fun? Only once and my Mum found out - needless to say I never did it again!
19. Slept in a bed with a member of the opposite sex? Oh yes!
20. Lost a friend in a shop? All the time.
21. Been on a plane? Yes, frequently.
22. Been to an island? Been to a few.
23. Slept in until 3? When I was in my late teens I regularly slept all day!
24. Miss someone right now? My friend Queenie. Although I talk to her every week I haven't seen her for 12 months.
25. Laid on your back and watched cloud shapes go by? Yes recently on the island I visited.
26. Made a snow angel? No but I've made a snowman.
27. Played dress up? For fancy dress parties yes.
28. Cheated while playing a game? Only playing 'How to be a complete Bastard' but you're supposed to cheat.
29. Been lonely? Not since hubby and I have been together.
30. Kissed more than 4 people in one night? Probably, on New Year's Eve.
33. Touched a snake? Yes, briefly.
34. Ran a red light? No but I've been an amber gambler.
35. Been suspended from school? Oh no, I was miss goody two shoes at school.
36. Had detention? No see #35
37. Been in a car accident? Yes but thankfully no-one was hurt, and I wasn't driving.
39. Used a fake id? No but then we don't have to have ID here.
40. Crawled through a window? I don't think I could get through a window!
41. Been lost? How many examples do you want?
42. Been to the opposite side of the country? Yes I've done North, South, East and West of Great Britain.
44. Cried yourself to sleep? Oh yes but a long time ago.
47. Done something you told yourself you wouldn't? Yes
48. Laughed until something u were drinking came out ur nose? Oh yes, it doesn't half hurt!
49. Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Doesn't everyone do that?
50. Kissed in the rain? Of course bad weather doesn't stop me kissing.
51. Sang in the shower? All the time, though I don't think the neighbours appreciate it.
52. Had sex in a park? No, though I had the offer ;)
53. Had a dream that you married someone? Yes and I did!
54. Glued your hand to something? Almost.
55. Got your tongue stuck to a flag pole? Errr no, do they taste good or something?
56. Ever gone to school partially naked? No I always wore my uniform!
57. Been a cheerleader? If you count cheering your team on then yes.
58. Had more than ten boy/gal friends? Yep
59. Didn't take a shower for a week? Definitely not, I shower every day - whether I need it or not ;)
60. Ever too scared to watch scary movies alone? Oh yes, I hate to climb the stairs to bed alone.
61. Played chicken? Only jumping off high walls, never running out into the road.
62. Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes? No and if someone did that to me they'd be sporting a black eye!
63. Been told you're hot by a complete stranger? Yes.
64. Broken a bone? Yes my ankle when I was 12 years old.
65. Been easily amused? I often get a fit of the giggles over something that isn't really that funny to others.
66. Laugh so hard you cry? YES!!
67. Mooned/flashed someone? Only my husband ;)
68. Cheated on a test? Yes but I felt so bad afterwards.
69. Forgotten someone's name? All the time, I'm terrible with names.
71. Done something dumb while drunk? You don't want to know.
73. Blacked out from drinking? Probably but I can't remember.
74. Played a prank on someone? Yes
75. Gone to a late night movie? Yes
76. Made love to anything not human? Yuk no!
77. Failed a class? No.
78. Choked on something you're not supposed to eat? Nothing goes into my mouth that isn't edible.
79. Smoked pot? Yes but not until I was over 40!
80. Cheated on a boy/ girl friend? Yes but I was young.
81. Celebrate the 4th of July? No it's not a holiday here.
82. Thrown strange objects? What like tossing the caber or welly throwing - No
83. Felt like killing someone? Frequently at work.
84. Thought about running away? Yes when I was 20 and pregnant.
86. Got a piercing? Only my ears.
89. Made a parent cry? Yes but not because I wanted to hurt them.
90. Cried over someone? Yes
91. Kept somebody else's clothes you borrowed? No.
92. Dated someone more than once? Of course.
93. Had/Have a dog? Yes and I still miss him.
96. Been in a band? No, but I've been out with a guy who was!
97. Drank 25 sodas in a day? No, not even 25 beers!
98. Broken a CD? No
99. Shot a gun? GOOD GOD NO!
100. Wanted someone but could never have them? Yes.

Feel free to do this yourself, let me know though so I can come and have a nosey at your answers please.

So you think you've seen everything?.....

Take a look at these........

An archeological team, digging in Washington DC , has uncovered 10,000 year old bones and fossil remains of what is believed to be the first Politician.

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Nea (The Front Porch) posted this and I thought it's brilliant so I pinched it. I told her first of course. This list should be given to all high school students before they start their first year of study!

From the book "Dumbing Down our Kids" by Charles J. Sykes, 1995, and is directed at high school and college graduates.

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself

Rule 3: You will NOT make $40,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping - they called it opportunity

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time!

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one

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I got my Hula Hoop!

And I can still do it!

Latest News........

After the worry of taking my Dad to hospital last week, he's now feeling on top of the world! His blood sugar levels are normal now and he has had some wonderful news from the hospital.


You may remember he phoned himself an ambulance last Thursday because he couldn't stand the pain in his hip and knee any more. Whilst he was at A&E one of the nurses went out of her way to get him into an Orthopaedic clinic to see a consultant about it. Well on Monday (this week) a letter arrived asking him to go to the hospital the following day to see the Anaesthetist, with a view to carrying out his surgery in approximately four weeks time.


Dad went for the assessment and was asked to sign a disclaimer in case anything goes wrong during the operation, because of the state of his heart. Now this may not seem unusual but it seems his hospital records show that he has something wrong with his heart and everytime he attends hospital - which is quite a lot these days - they ask him if he's ever had a heart attack or a stroke and his answer is always the same - "not that I'm aware". We can only assume he has, at some time, had a mild heart attack and not been aware of it, but it has left scarring. Anyway, he was happy to sign the disclaimer as he said he'd rather die on the operating table than live with the pain! Cheerful isn't he!


The doctor confirmed that his surgery will probably be in about four weeks and he will receive a letter asking him to attend for his pre-op assessment at which he will be given the date for the operation. Dad's not sure if he's just having a new hip and knee or just the hip. I don't think they will do both together but we'll have to wait and see.


The way the hospital have responded to my Dad's plight has amazed me, as waiting lists can be months and months. Dad's so grateful to finally be having the operation which hopefully will mean he can get out and about again, especially to tend his beloved garden, but most importantly he will be pain free. The news that he will be having the operation fairly soon seems to have given him a new lease of life, he's sleeping better, and looks five years younger!

We'll be keeping our fingers crossed that all the pre-op tests go well and nothing interfers with the operation going ahead.

Toy Story.....

This weeks question from David (Authorblog) is

Which toy was your childhood favourite?

The rules are that you answer this week's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Please link to David's blog (or to his post) just so he can follow the progress of the discussion.

I had to cast my mind back to the dark ages, when I was a child, and delve into the dark recesses filled with cobwebs and memories to pluck out the happy times I spent playing in the cobbled Manchester street where I lived.

The first toy that comes to mind is my whip and top.

For those of you who are not ancient as old as me this is what a whip and top looks like. The chalks are for putting coloured circles on the top so that when you get it spinning it looks pretty. You have to wrap the thong around the groove in the top then pull the stick sharply so the thong leaves the top and sets it spinning. My friends and I use to set our tops spinning together and see who's spun the longest.

Another of my favourite toys was my Hula Hoop.

This is what it looks like. Again my friends and I would have contests on who could keep the hoop going round our waists the longest. We became really good and progressed to spinning the hoop round our necks, arms and legs. Actually I may buy one I think it would be good for whittling down my waist which has become huge thickened over the years.

Something else that would keep me occupied for hours was making pipe cleaner dolls like these. I'd make whole families of them, dressing them from scraps of material and bits of wool.

My very favourite pastime was painting and colouring. I spent hours laying on my tum on the floor with my colouring book, crayons, water paints and a jamjar full of water to clean my brush.

I also had a metal trike with what looked like a bread-bin on the back with a lift up lid. This enabled me to take my dolls for a ride.

The one thing we used to do that didn't cost anything at all was sitting on the kerb popping pitch bubbles with a lolly stick, as they formed with the heat in the cobbles . Of course that was when we had hot summers that lasted from May to October! We had to be careful not to get the pitch on our white socks because Mum would go beserk!

All these things cost next to nothing but kept my generation amused and entertained. We didn't get a television until I was 11 years old! Now most children have one in their bedroom, along with computers (and games), I don't think they could entertain themselves with the sort of toys we had, they would probably find them very boring.

I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about my toys, it brought back some lovely memories. I hope you've enjoyed reading 'Toys from Yesteryear'.

Now I wonder if I can get a hula hoop on Ebay?

How nice......

Cindy at Kaleidoscope gave me this award a couple of weeks ago but I've only just had time to post about it being a working woman again!

I blushed when I read what she had written about me -


Akelamalu at Everything And Nothing Akelamalu is another nice person that I have had the privilege of meeting and getting to know. I always enjoy the variety of things she has and posts about at her blog- it's like a fresh breeze blowing through an open window...

This is the second time I have been awarded this and I'm truly honoured.

I now get to pass it on to another 7 nice people.

Bankerchick (Bankerchick's Scratchings) who has a lovely blog and has been married 40 years. Now correct me if I'm wrong but you don't get to be married to the same person for 40 years if you're not nice do you?

Shaz (Us Danes and our Family) has a busy blog, there's always something going on and has some seriously nice dogs.

Nea (The Front Porch) had a beautiful blog - The Southern View- until someone pinched it. Now that's NOT NICE! However, undeterred she has started up again and I'm sure the new blog will be even nicer than the old one.

Buffalodickdy (Opinions & Rectums) shares all his nice recipes - makes your mouth water.

Correspondent (Rotten Correspondent ) is so nice she didn't hit the roof when her hubby cleaned his plastic model parts with HER toothbrush!

Josh (Gabbatha) is such a nice man, always willing to help with anything.

Lettie (Lettuce-Eating) writes such lovely posts and finds such nice pictures to go with them.

I hope you all feel able to accept and pay the award forward.

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Now test your mental age:

Mental Age Assessment

The following simple test was developed as a mental age assessment byHarvard University - School of Psychiatry.Take your time…see if you can read each line aloud without a mistake.The average person over the age of 40 cannot do it!

1. This is this cat.
2. This is is cat.
3. This is how cat.
4. This is to cat.
5. This is keep cat.
6. This is an cat.
7. This is old cat.
8. This is fart cat.
9. This is busy cat.
10. This is for cat.
11. This is forty cat.
12. This is seconds cat.

Now go back and read the third word in each line from the top down and betcha’ you cannot resist passing it on.

Best Laid Plans..........

always go to pot don't they!

All day yesterday I was looking forward to an evening of blogging as I haven't been able to do much of it this week having gone back to work. Then I got a phone call from my brother to say Dad wasn't well and he was really worried about him, though it wasn't life threatening. I said I'll be there are soon as I finish work at three.

Dad had phoned an ambulance at 7 a.m. on Thursday to take him to A&E because he couldn't stand the pain from his arthritic hip and knee. The doctors and nurses had been wonderful with him giving him Tramadol to ease the pain and one 'angel' (as my Dad described her) had even managed to get him down to an orthopaedic clinic to see his consultant before his scheduled appointment on the 10th October! Now that's a true nursing angel! Anyway, after the pain had eased he was quite happy to go home.

He took two Tramadol at bedtime and had the best night's sleep he's had for months waking up yesterday refreshed and ready for anything. The hospital had arranged for the district nurse to visit to keep a check on his blood sugar levels (he's non-insulin dependent) and advise him on pain relief for his arthritis. The nurse duly arrived after Dad had his shower and suggested he take a Tramadol along with the Paracetamol he'd already taken for his pain. Within 15 minutes of the nurse leaving Dad said he felt really ill, luckily my brother arrived to check that he was OK and found him swaying, dizzy and incohorent! Brother phone the doctor who refused to come out - no change there then - don't get me started, and then the nurse who came around straight away. Apparently Dad's blood sugar levels were way too low so brother made Dad some lunch and they got him to eat it all. By the time I got there at 3.20 p.m. Dad said he was feeling better but he didn't look it.

The nurse came by again expecting Dad's blood sugar to be up but it had dropped even more, I made him something to eat but that didn't make any difference either. The nurse decided he needed a visit from the doctor so rang to ask for a home visit. She said if the doctor didn't come we had good cause for complaint. At 5 p.m. the doctor rang to ask how he was - he wasn't getting any better - and said she'd order an ambulance and send him to hospital. I asked why she wasn't coming out to see him, she said there really wasn't anything she could do except send him in hospital. I told her he didn't want to go into hospital and I wanted her to see him before she assessed he should be in hospital or was she refusing to visit him.

"Oh, no, I'm not refusing but I don't think there's anything I would be able to do" she said.

"I want you to come" I said "and in the meantime I'll keep checking his blood sugar level and if he gets any worse I'll phone an ambulance myself".

"Alright, but it will be a couple of hours because we have to finish surgery first" was her reply. It was a miracle she'd agreed to come out to see him so I didn't argue.

At 6pm Dad was feeling very unwell and when I asked if he wanted to wait for the doctor he said he wanted to go into hospital - so that's what we did. Once again the doctors and nurses at A&E were fantastic with him giving him sweet drinks, chocolate and IV glucose to get his blood sugars up, checking his blood, urine and a chest xray to make sure he had no infection. Then they had to send him up to the medical emergency ward for the registrar to decide whether to send him home or admit him. We were still there at 11 p.m. waiting to see the doctor so after a word with the nurse it was decided Dad would be better off spending the night there as he was really tired and nobody knew what time the doctor would get to see him, so brother and I left him there sleeping.

Hopefully he will be home today, they're going to check his blood sugar levels after he's had lunch and if they're OK he can leave. The puzzling thing was why his blood sugar kept dropping even after eating. The only thing different he'd done was take Tramadol - does anyone know if Morphine can make your blood sugar go down?

UPDATE

Dad's home and feeling much better. The doctors have no idea why his blood sugar was up and down like a bride's nightie. Dad takes Gliclazide and Metformin for his diabetes - the doctors have told him not to take the Gliclazide any more, so we don't think it was anything to do with the Tramadol, but to be on the safe side Dad is only going to take Tramadol at night when he's off to bed.

Nursery Rhyme Quiz Part 1 Answers.....

Well you seemed to enjoy the quiz so for all those who took part here's the answers:

1. O.K.C.W.A.M.O.S.- Old King Cole Was a Merry Old Soul

2. J.S.C.E.N.F. - Jack Spratt Could Eat No Fat

3. O.T.B.M.S. - One Two Buckle My Shoe

4. L.J.H.S.I.A.C. - Little Jack Horner Sat In A Corner

5. T.O.A.T.P.C.W.T.S. - The Owl And The Pussy Cat Went To Sea

6. T.M.T.M.T.B.A.F.P. - To Market To Market To Buy A Fat Pig

7. L.P.F.S.A.T.C. - Little Polly Flinders Sat Among The Cinders

8. R.A.C.H.T.B.C. - Ride A Cock Horse To Banbury Cross

9. J.A.J.W.U.T.H. - Jack And Jill Went Up The Hill

10. P.A.C.P.A.C.B.M. - Pat A Cake Pat A Cake Bakers Man

Here's all those who got some right. Those with most right first, in the order I received their answers.

Annelisa (Words That Flow)

Ruth (Me, My Life, My Garden)

Linda (Are We There Yet?)

Jo (Jo Beaufoix)

Tammy (Mom knows everything)

Tisha (Crazy Working Mom)

Miss Understood (A Sideways Look At Womanhood)

Ann (Life In The Hovel)
Libby (Woodlands World)

Linda (This and That)

Betty (Country Charm)

Ann (At Home With Ann)

Julia (A Piece Of My Mind)

Patty (Autumn Meadows)

Shan (Rambling Shan)

Dottie (Dottie's Place)

Helen (Helen's Haven)

Ali (My2Angels)

Maria (I'm a Pretty, Pretty Princess)

Boggy Woggy (BoggyWoggy's Cache)

Shaz (Us Danes and Our Family)

Smalltown RN (A Place I Call Home)

Cream (Screamers)

Cindy (Kaleidoscope)
Joe (Day by Day Adventures of The PD Warrior)

Skittles (Skittles Place)

Elween (Diamond Drops Mansion)

Sheila (Alabama Kitchen Sink)

Nea (The Front Porch)

So thanks for taking part, I hope you all enjoyed it and you can all take the badge to put on your blog. If I've missed you off the list please let me know and I'll double check my emails.

Look out for Nursery Rhyme Quiz Part 2.

What makes you happy?....

This weeks question from David at Authorblog is

What makes you happy?

If you want to play along here's what to do:


Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Please link to this blog (or to this post) just so I can follow the progress of the discussion.


What makes me happy......

1. Seeing MWM's face last thing at night and first thing in the morning makes me the happiest.
   
2. Seeing my sons and playing with my grandchildren always cheers me whatever mood I'm in.
   
3. Going for a long walk - something I can now enjoy again.
   
4. Sunshine always brings a smile to my face.


5. Going on holiday makes me happy as I love visiting different places.


6. People remembering my birthday by sending a card makes me happy, I'm never bothered about getting presents a card is always enough - it says I remembered you!
   
7. Enjoying a lovely meal and conversation with friends is a happy time.


8. Sharing Christmas Day lunch with all the family.


9. Getting my hands dirty in the garden then sitting back and surveying the result.


10. RETIRING FROM WORK will make me estatic!

Blogging Star....

Last week the lovely Skittles made up a new award called Blogging Star. She says.....

This award is for bloggers who shine their light throughout the Blogoshere. Some do it with humor, others with creativity, and others with their kind and thoughtful natures. We all know more than a few of them so why not give them some recognition?

I am honoured to be one of the first to receive this prestigious award from a TRUE BLOGGING STAR - SKITTLES!

Here's what Skittles said about me:

Everything And Nothing - This blog is full of "Everything." Akelamalu shines her light with stories of travel adventures and more. She is very thoughtful. Plus I think she needs one more award.

Of course I need more awards - the mantlepiece isn't full yet!

Here's what to do if you receive this:
Proudly display it on your blog along with a link to who gave it to you.
Mention that it originated at Skittles' Place so she can follow it's journey.
Pass it on to any blogger(s) you think should have it.

I'm in a dilema now! It would be so easy to say you're all blogging stars - which you are of course - and everyone just take the award, but that's not how awards are awarded are they? To really mean something they have to be awarded personally. So, in the spirit of the oscars, I would like to bestow the BLOGGING STAR award to


Empress Bee (Of the High Seas) who is entertaining, funny and thoughtful. Also she has some health problems at the moment but does she let it get her down? Does she heck!


Julia (A Piece Of My Mind) gets it for her wonderful poetry. These lines from a recent poem she wrote made me catch my breath

Of blueberries hidden

In the springy shrubs

As they give themselves away

To be cradled in my hand like jewels

How creative can you get? I hope Julia won't mind me reproducing her words here.


The lovely Ruth (Me, My Life, My Garden) brings sunshine to blogworld every day with fabulous photographs of her gorgeous garden and tales of her walks and her lovely family.


Dumdad (The Other Side Of Paris) spreads humour through the blogosphere with his tales of life in Paris. He's a keen cyclist but has trouble with earwigs. Don't ask, go on then ask him!


Gewels (Imagined Life) for her stupendous photographs. Go check out the ones she has posted of her trip to Alaska.


I could go on, and on, and on, but I think I'm only supposed to pass it on to five other people. Hopefully it will go around and around and you will all get one eventually - you all deserve one.

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We have been travelling again this last weekend, over Yorkshire way to Scarborough, Whitby, Robin Hood's Bay, Pickering and Goathland. We took some photographs but my brother has borrowed our USB lead so I can't download them yet, so my post about this weekend will have to wait.

Also I am back to work tomorrow (Arrrggghhhhh!) after six months off recovering from my operation - please put on your black armbands! I don't think I will have time to post nearly as much as I have been doing whilst I've been off work, but I will post when I can and visit you all. I hope you won't forget me :(

Quite a lot of you have already emailed me with your answers to the Nursery Rhyme Quiz from Friday. If anyone else wants to join in the fun you have until Thursday to email me with your answers. You only have to get one answer right to claim the little badge for your blog - go on, have a go, you know you want to.